middaeg | [Open] Let's count the seasons

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[Open] Let's count the seasons

Who: Mikasa and ??? (Open + closed prompts)
When: Thoughout September
Where: The Haven hospital, Aefenglom
What: Recovering from the Nuckelavee injuries and quests. (an apple a day and under new managment)
Warnings: Will be added as needed. Some talk of injuries and probably AoT spoilers.

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The Haven's hospital - End of August till the 12th of September
[Some might have noticed that the fae who normally had a level voice, hadn't been all that level when speaking on the network recently. Nor had she been showing at her normal haunts, the gardens or work. Mikasa wasn't the loudest person around, but being a tall fae she was probably pretty hard to miss to people who knew her.

Though the hospital staff in the general wounds area hadn't missed her. Nor would anyone else in the hospital when she made a move.

Because Mikasa was not a great patient.

Sure, there were moments where she'd just sleep for most of the day. Or just lay there with her large black eyes staring straight ahead into the void, maybe she'd gone to sleep with them open, no one knew. But there were other moments, where she'd suddenly just start thrashing around. In a disorientated panic, limbs flailing, the newly grown stumps on her back waving uselessly. Then there was the droning hum of her wings as they sent her off. She never got very far. Normally because her own wings and eyes had worked against her. Sending her into a wall or sprawling out on the floor as she wobbled around.

To the nurses, this was fine. Annoying but fine.

It was when the fae was coordinated enough to intentionally be getting up. Movements still wobbly as she slowly pushed out of bed. Shaking off, doing basic stretches, loosen up, going for a wander...Being slowly chased by an old healer...]

She is Free (some body horror, wound talk)
[After many weeks of the fae slowly feeling like she was losing her mind. The healers had decided she was good to go. Take the crutches, don't put pressure on it, change the bandages. There wasn't much else to be done. For now, there would be a chunk of the chitinous plate missing from her thigh. She just had to wait for the exoskeleton to regrow and cover the raw flesh beneath.

She'd be out and about the city. Hobbling along on her crutches and slowly doing her normal chores. Picking up shopping, walking her dog, attempting to go out on quests.]

a. knocking some heads
[Apple picking... She couldn't say she'd done that before. But it couldn't be too difficult. She'd been picking berries since she was little. The crutches though, they did limit the amount she could reach. She could give a small flap of her wings to get a little higher, but the ladders were out.

But she was just glad to be out and doing something.

Of course, it couldn't last. Because while the fae was okay to keep plodding along, swinging on her crutches through the plants and bugs. Others would freeze up, staring into space, watching the dust that drifted in the dappled light. At first, Mikasa didn't think much of it. Then there might have been a yell or a shiver. Depending on how big the person was they might get a rough shake or a shove. ...Except for one dude. Levi, if that runt started being weird she was going to bop him around the back of the head. Even if she nearly fell from putting her weight too far out on crutches.

What was going on?]

b. On that day (CW - Gore, body horror and AoT spoilers)
[Eventually she'd find out. By having one of those moments where she'd freeze up, absently watching the moths flit about. The spiny stumps of her new limbs lifting, even though they couldn't grab. Then she nearly smacks into a tree, grabbing and munching on one of the moths. Mikasa made no comment at first, regaining her balance, questioning her life choices. Debating if she could just walk away, pretend she hadn't done that...

Then the rumble started. It was distant. But there was steam visible, a large skinless creature walking. It's head too small, not seeming to even be looking where it was going.

Just walking. On a steady path, not running. It didn't have to chase, it could keep moving without ever stopping. And as Mikasa gagged on moth dust, another appeared exactly the same. Creating a moving wall.]

c. Closed to Leslie - Perhaps we didn't want to notice (CW - Gore, body horror and AoT spoilers later...This one will start chill)
[In hindsight. This was not the best pair to be doing work that involved relatively heavy baskets of apple and picking them from the trees. At least Mikasa was heavy enough to be a counterweight on the ladder to stop it from sliding or toppling. That didn't mean she liked it though.]

Are you sure you want to go up? We can keep looking for lower fruit...

[Though that was slim pickings with their height. It'd be more of a slow stroll through the trees than a harvest. But she didn't like the idea of sending Leslie up. Even after last month's madness. Back then Mikasa at least had the slight reassurance that she could grab the girl and try to keep her safe, but with her limp... She wasn't so sure now.]

d. Closed to Eren - The world that girl saw (CW - Blood, stabbing, talk of human/child trafficking, AoT spoilers)
[Well, this was already a mess. The fae hated her new diet. The sight of the titans had been oddly paralyzing. She had no gear, she could do nothing against the heat, it was best to move on. But she couldn't. At some point, she'd tripped, lost her balance, the crutch being right next to her but seeming so far out of reach because no matter what she did, she couldn't bring herself to grab it. Or make use of those new wings as she led on her side. The ground still heaving with the force of footsteps that never seemed to get any closer.

Or maybe they were getting closer, Mikasa just didn't notice. She was too busy focusing on the boy looming, scowling into the bushes of the orchard, a knife in his hand. And there was a dread...What would happen when his focus shifted?]

[She had been freed, which meant it was time to act like nothing was wrong and just go about her day. Even if hobbling about on the wooden crutches slowed her down and got in the way. She wasn't going to let that stop her... The healers at the Coven had done enough of that.

Though she does pause her improper use of crutches(You weren't supposed to swing on them as quickly as she was...). Antenna sniffing the air. She knew that smell. But where from, it's enough of a bother for her to look. Then she's frowning at the dragon the moment she sees him. Not because he'd done anything wrong but-

Had he been that tall the last time they'd met? Was she seeing things? Or had she shrunk again?

She's so busy in her musing that she doesn't notice the puca on the other side of the street. Looking at the dragon with the dumbest smirk on their face. Almost as dumb as the hat they had with a stalk and a leaf... She does notice the apple though. It was bright red and hard to miss as it soared through the air in an arc.

...The bun was trying to impale it on a horn.]

Oh... [THAT IS VERY HELPFUL MIKASA.]

Edited 2020-09-20 21:42 (UTC)

[Momo has had...relative luck with the nightmare moths this venture, though that might just be because he's only been here for a few minutes and he hasn't gotten dusted properly yet. That said, it doesn't stop him from seeing anyone else's illusions even in the early stages.

His mundanity is something of an advantage in this case, because while the rumbling and huge figure (figures?) that begin to appear are impossible to miss, even if he was dusted his logical brain would be just about unable to reconcile them with anything he's seen in this world or his own. In fact, once he's had a few seconds to comprehend the sheer scale of the illusions in this case, it only matches one thing he's heard about - sure enough, it only takes him a few moments of looking around to spot Mikasa and dart over.]

Are you okay? [He's trying not to get dusted himself, but this close to the tree, it's...debatable how long that's going to last and he knows it. Still, he moves to thump Mikasa's back since she seems to be gagging, but he doesn't realise quite on what for another moment or two longer.]

...Wait, did you try to eat one of them? [Why are we trying to eat the nightmare bugs.]

[ he'd start stabbing the shit out of an illusionary man.

picking at apples now that the moths have been subdued on the trees he's (partially) taken care of, he wonders— was this his? the solid image of himself, ten years younger, hacking away at a filthy pig to save a girl that should've been some feet away, bound by ropes and bruised from strikes. while peering around, he glimpses mikasa staring at it, staring at the remembrance of him and each delving stab into the trafficker's half-dead, gurgling chest. every pierce and the thudding sound of punctured flesh could've easily earned a flinch if anyone else were watching. every last one.

but it doesn't bother him. this, this was far more justified than what he would come to do. he has no remorse. and even if the thought of him being a nightmare in the eyes of a loved one, well— hadn't that been true? hadn't that been why he pushed them away? he wasn't stupid, and he'd be lying to himself if he thought the "nightmare" here was her kidnapping. he never wanted to be seen as a hero and just simply did what he considered right.

his right is rather twisted. it's why, rather than approaching the fae, the dragon ducks his head, keeps tabs on where she is, and reaches for a ripe apple to snap it off its branch and drops it into a knitted bag nearly full, his long hair curtaining his face. perhaps it had been foolish of him to think of anything else other than isolation, and for some silent moments where the earth still tremored beneath his feet (and felt like the expanse of clouds as he ignored it all), eren reevaluates what the hell he's been doing. all you need are reminders.

it even reminds him of what he'd asked her the eve before he left: is it because i saved you as a kid, or because we're family? what am i to you? the shakiness, from zeke's word, was fluster, but doubt makes eren question in all over again. it was too contradictory. ]

[Edelgard had made it a point to visit the hospital from time to time, partially to purchase blood (shock), but also to check on some of the locals that she knew who worked there. One of which happened to be an elderly healer, an elderly healer who was chasing after Mikasa.

She blinks, realizing who it is, and immediately moves to intercept, patting him on the shoulder and telling him she'll take care of this. And then, she marches up to the fae.]

Shouldn't you be in bed?

I'm not tired. [It's quick, something she'd heard before. Heard many times even. But she pauses, adjusting her crutches more for standing than moving at Mach speed. Now she wasn't being chased by an old guy.]

It's good to keep the blood flowing, isn't it? I can't spend all day in bed.

[She was too action-oriented for that. Keep moving, work out, do some chores. Lying around would make her go crazy.]

Mikasa.

[Edie's voice is flat, unamused.]

You know you should listen to the healers. You're only going to make this worse.

[That slap on the back would probably be a bad idea, it was warm enough that the fae was only wearing a modified shirt. But those plates of chitin where pretty solid. Even if the 'spikey sticks' she'd mentioned spasmed and trembled.

There's a wheezy cough from her. Trying to clear her thoart of the fine dust that had coated the moth. This was why she hated them. All of the bugs she'd lashed out and eaten had tasted like shit when came to and realised what she'd done. But moths and butterflies, they had a texture. Like breathing in dust.

It wasn't like the gradual images others had gotten. Small flickers of things they didn't want to see, she'd gotten a big dose, directly. There's another small hacking noise and-

Does the wing cough up answer your question Momo?

Because she's too busy scrunching up her face, spitting a little to try and get the taste out. She needs a moment to catch her breath, work out what's happening.]

[There was so much, the distant steaming figures seemed so far. The fae could only see the clouds of their approach. They were unnerving in a way, but they were fake. She'd known that much.

So why did the boy make her freeze? A chill creeping up her spine as the blood-splattered. Most of the body was hidden from her view from the ground. But Eren, her was fully visible as more and more blood flew up to cover him, the nearby trees, some reaching past and staining grass.

This day...

It gave her a headache whenever she'd thought of it. But she'd been thinking of it more and more now. With Eren's actions. Looking back, seeing him. Seeing that he'd always been like this, always been capable. She'd just never wanted to think of it that way. Couldn't equate that the heroic boy could do what he'd done. Running off alone and acting. Didn't want to... But he'd done it before hadn't he? Now she'd thought of it.

Not being controlled like she'd said at the table. Something she'd thought and clung to hoping it would be true. That they just had to make him realise he was being manipulated...That everything would work out if they managed that. But he'd done it, all on his own.

And even with all the things he'd done, even with how afraid she'd been in that moment. She still felt the same...Did that say something about her? She wasn't sure. That she felt like this about someone who could paralyze her like this. ]

[ he kept himself sturdier than iron, holding weight above his shoulders that broke his bones with weight and pressure that he still chose to carry on like this, still preferes to destroy himself and everyone beyond him for a dream that he felt he didn’t know how he could reach. with clarity, these spaces of clarity— they shattered the illusion he’s made in times of dimness, preferring to fall drunk to it, be a slave to it, than live with the guilt that raked so deep into his gut he’d swear he could feel it all tearing sometimes.

he sees mikasa again, looking back over shoulder just once— and there were the screams. the screams and the shouts, the fire and the roaring quake of the earth being pressed flat. he wants it to stop, he doesn’t want to see this again. he doesn’t want to hear it and doesn’t want to even think about, but the irritable beat of moth wings on a low branch his horn catches on through its dust into the open.

they all become more vivid, even the boy clutching a knife: it’s okay, he says, stepping over the body he’s culled, you’re safe now.

the branch he’s caught on cracks like a bone, and eren flees. ]

[The mantis limbs get a bit of an aside glance, but...well, he figured it was limbs, so literal bug limbs isn't a huge shocker for him. Also his brain has just kind of settled into a state of losing any disbelief from having to process what Titans actually look like.

Mikasa coughing up a wing is enough to get him talking again, patting her back a bit more but also looking mildly horrified and sounding very concerned.] I know you're a bug and all, but they're even called Nightmare Moths, Mikasa, come on!

[He's renaming do you even lift club to bad life choices club. Letting out a breath, he glances up to the vast illusions.] That's definitely the biggest thing I've seen these moths make today, though, so uh...congratulations?

[What do you say when it's nightmare fodder? Being less affected himself and the borderline inability to fathom that those things could be real anywhere is helping him be a voice of reason in this situation, if nothing else. At least it wasn't giant maneating dragons or something that would've fit his current concept of how this world works better.]

[Her lips press together, frowning. As useless as it was here... Then she's blinking instead. Realising... She really has gotten shorter. Okay, that makes the frown slip, even if her brow was still furrowed.]

...And get bed sores?

They won't allow you to get bed sores, don't be absurd.

[Healers rarely do that. Don't be stupid.]

I know bedrest is hard, but it is important.

[ somewhere, deep down, he knows what he's looking at isn't real. from a completely objective standpoint, it's impossible.

it's impossible because... it already happened. a long time ago.

he can remember it so clearly, in spite of the time that's passed and the hundreds of others he's outlived since. there was no mistaking what he was seeing, even through the stinging mixture of blood, tears, and rain. he'll never forget the look of frozen terror on her face. Isabel, the girl he'd rescued from dying alone underground—she was like a little sister to him.

in the end, she died alone anyway. her head was all that remained. and it was all because he made the wrong choice.

so, is there really a young girl's severed head on the ground, staring lifelessly back up at him? no, of course not. but judging by the look on his face, it all seems quite real. ]

[She was about as sturdy as a leaf in autumn. Trembling on it's the branch with the smallest of breezes. How much of it was her and how much was the closening footsteps was unknown to her. The boy's approach though...

For a moment, in her large compound eyes he flickers out. Not seen by all the pupils, not truly there. But then his eyes...They seemed so bright. Like they were glowing out from the shadow and blood that covered his face. Her ears(now studded) gave a small twitch at the noise of a snap, so much louder without the echo the other noises had, lacking the hum of magic. It snaps her out of it.

Not completely. The boy was still there, the ground still seemed to shake. But there was something else. Something she couldn't see amongst the dust that was drifting in.

Mikasa couldn't stand. Not without her crutches and she had nothing to help force herself up with anything resembling speed. But she did manage to push herself up onto her knees. Wings stretching out, as much as they could, buzzing. More to make the noise than too fly, that loud horrible hum that beat the air, flecks of her own dust flying off.

Then her face twisted into a snarl as she hissed and spat. Who was there?]

[Mikasa enters his sights just a few beats after he catches the pesky puca hobbling about in an apple costume and throwing their arm back. It would appear that they have a death wish targeting a dragon like this. Admittedly, Soren looks young for his age and doesn't stand very tall, despite the fae's current impression, so he's not quite as intimidating as, say, Eren... hence, easier to want to pick on. He's still a good few inches shorter than she is, though he certainly notices that she has morphed since the last he laid eyes upon her. More importantly, she's having a rough time walking.

But he'll get to that in a second. He deflects the airborne apple with a pump of one wing and it goes sailing back the opposite direction, only harder. The puca squeals and collapses onto their rotund back just to avoid it, then rolls a little way down the slight incline of the street. Bye, loser. At least the puca didn't target her. That would slide down the scale of Soren's tolerance from plain irritating to rather reprehensible.]

I don't care. Get lost. [He readjusts the majority of his focus on Mikasa, the touch of irritation that had dented his features softening away as he looks her injuries over for clues as to what rendered her in crutches.]

Hello, Mikasa. You don't look to be in the finest of shapes today.

They won't? [She doubts, so much doubt. They didn't have healers where she was from, a few doctors. But mostly it was patch up and hope it was enough to not die.]

I'm going to get soft...[Had she already mentioned that? Maybe, it was like she could feel herself losing her edge as she laid about. Even if it was just her mind playing tricks on her. She did not like it.]

[They can be both, bad life choices lifting club.

These titans...They were especially bad. Because they lacked skin. There was nothing to retain their body heat from just...gushing out. But it could be worse? Maybe? They could be bleeding as they walked, instead, they were just...muscle-bound skeletons. Some looking more photogenic than others.

Mikasa, at least, looked sheepish. Her eyes closing to avoid meeting his eyes, the faint redness to her ears and nose as she started to flush, said tiny ears dipping.] I was getting hungry..? [Even she didn't sound sure of that, the muttering only just loud enough to be heard over the approaching footsteps. But for nightmare moths, and something that horrified her. She wasn't actually that afraid. The wall titans...

She still remembers the first time she'd seen one. When that shard of the wall had broken away, way back when they'd been fighting Annie. The grim feeling as all that fighting, all the lives lost had been for nothing. As they couldn't get any answers. Coupled with the feeling of dread as it sunk in exactly what she'd been looking at. What was inside the wall. How she'd been so still, too stunned to even breathe, as though the titan would start moving if she did.

...The only time since graduating that she'd been afraid of a titan.

The fae gave a small shudder, as she remembered how it's eye. The one massive eye that was visible, despite the hole being bigger than her. Had slowly gained focus, how the iris had slowly moved to watch her...

And even with that, these wall titans weren't as scary. Not compared to what they symbolized.]

I wonder...If that's the biggest thing they can make. Which is why Eren isn't there...

[Eren. Or the creature he had become had dwarfed even these titans. To the point that Mikasa wasn't sure if he could be called a titan at this point. But for the time being, he wasn't there.]

No.

[Edelgard's head jerks again.]

And you'll get softer if you manage to hurt yourself before you fully heal and require even more bedrest. Best to be efficient about it, rest until you're healed rather than accidentally prolonging it.

[ the crows shriek and so do the illusions of people, of a little boy and his brother running for whatever life they could still see ahead of them. this would all end, surely. he just didn’t have to look. he just had to turn the other way— and that action alone speaks so much for eren that he finds an apple tree void of the scent of moth dust and bends his legs there. his tail curls around him, his wingspan cloaks his head, and there, to avoid the illusions of a grim end he’s seen enough of, eren waits and fights with himself, in his head, about how real or unreal it was, how he can still hear them scream and the earth flattening and how he chose this and— ]

[Perhaps thankfully, the thing Momo's brain most readily compares something with muscles exposed like that to is basically a giant, walking anatomy diagram. It's a morbidly amusing connection to draw in his head, but it does help him keep his head on a bit better because these things look pretty hellish even if he knows they're illusions.

He puffs out his cheeks a bit at Mikasa's excuse, like it's not good enough to justify eating The Things Literally Called Nightmare Moths, but he lets it slide for the moment because...well, they are dealing with her nightmares here. He moves to grip her shoulder in hopes of giving something grounding, but he can't help frowning at the mention of Eren.]

So you were expecting him to be in with your worst nightmares? [That...really doesn't speak well for someone who was once her friend.]

[It's slow, the screaming people flickering away, reforming again as the illusion pulsed. The boy fading with them. She remained still for a moment. Steadying herself, puffing herself up. Antenna focusing on the scent, the one that seemed the most solid.

She didn't place that it was familiar. Only that there was something nearby. It might have been dangerous, it might not. But she was going to find it first.

Then with the location found, it wasn't moving?? She charges, her one good leg and her wings sending her forward with a burst of speed. Into the leathery wing membrane? And bouncing back of it.

That answered a few things. It was bigger than her. Bigger, and squisher?]

[Mikasa was still hobbling, would be hobbling for a while by the sounds of it. From what the healers had said. Not a lot could be done about it.

She could only roll her shoulders and get about her day. Working, picking apples.

...Or standing around. She remained still for a good moment, looking at him. The slightly tense shoulders, tilting her head to look at the ground. Solid black eyes seeing nothing.]

Captain..? [What was it?]

[ the lump— it’s a body, of course! not a dead one as it moves. his tail curls around him and he tightens what barrier he could even make as everything, the quaking, the cries, he can’t hear it anymore. just his breathing.

he’s worried about what he might see if he lifts his head too soon, needing a moment, a few moments, to recompose, and to this he mumbles beneath his layers of wings: it’s not real. ]

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[Open] Let's count the seasons

Hospital time - Open

An apple a day

Closed to Soren - this thread is dumb

b

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Hospital

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a, naturally (cw usual aot shit)

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