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Entry tags:
(closed) be a being on two feet with a heart trembling
Who: Asahi and Momiji
When: After the event
Where: Vaguely waves hands
What: These two come to a decision after the event.
Warnings: Teenagers on edge? But they're both relatively harmless, so there should be nothing serious.
[ Asahi is so on edge. She was already on edge when people started disappearing. But even now the people have been rescued and those responsible for it all caught, she finds herself not being able to calm down easily. It's still a fact that all of this happened to begin with, after all. It's a fact that all those who she helped rescue looked horrible. Terrible things were done to them. Just because they ended up in this city due to no decision of their own.
The thoughts keep repeating themselves over and over in her head. It feels like she's going crazy, really. The amount of feathers growing in her hair and on her skin is rapidly increasing with the amount of stress she's feeling, and it's like she finds a new one somewhere every ten minutes or so.
She needs something to distract herself. She mentally goes over the list of people she knows, tries to find them in the middle of this chaos to make sure they're alright.
After a while she realises there's someone she hasn't seen yet. Momiji. She tries to think back on whether she saw him during the rescue attempt or not, but it all feels like a blur by now. Is he alright? Did he get caught by those people too? And even if he didn't-- who could be unaffected by all that happened?
With how easily it is for her mind to start fixating itself way too heavily on one thing in this state, she immediately starts running all over looking for the puca. Asahi is probably well out of breath by the time she finally manages to spot the boy, but she still calls out. ]
Momiji..!
When: After the event
Where: Vaguely waves hands
What: These two come to a decision after the event.
Warnings: Teenagers on edge? But they're both relatively harmless, so there should be nothing serious.
[ Asahi is so on edge. She was already on edge when people started disappearing. But even now the people have been rescued and those responsible for it all caught, she finds herself not being able to calm down easily. It's still a fact that all of this happened to begin with, after all. It's a fact that all those who she helped rescue looked horrible. Terrible things were done to them. Just because they ended up in this city due to no decision of their own.
The thoughts keep repeating themselves over and over in her head. It feels like she's going crazy, really. The amount of feathers growing in her hair and on her skin is rapidly increasing with the amount of stress she's feeling, and it's like she finds a new one somewhere every ten minutes or so.
She needs something to distract herself. She mentally goes over the list of people she knows, tries to find them in the middle of this chaos to make sure they're alright.
After a while she realises there's someone she hasn't seen yet. Momiji. She tries to think back on whether she saw him during the rescue attempt or not, but it all feels like a blur by now. Is he alright? Did he get caught by those people too? And even if he didn't-- who could be unaffected by all that happened?
With how easily it is for her mind to start fixating itself way too heavily on one thing in this state, she immediately starts running all over looking for the puca. Asahi is probably well out of breath by the time she finally manages to spot the boy, but she still calls out. ]
Momiji..!
no subject
After the assault team had emerged from the Rathmore Manor, there had only been so much that a lone puca could do to help. He'd stayed waiting at the widow's manse they'd used as a watch-house during the rescue itself, knowing his shape-shifting wasn't exactly the most useful for battering down doors. They'd needed hands to help see to people as the victims and any additional wounded were transported for care, at first, but after there were actual nurses and healers more suited for those jobs.
The most useful thing he's been able to do for a while, then, is to stay out of the way. But also the danger-sense that lurking near the Rathmore Manor had given him still hasn't truly faded, and they don't know how badly off the rest of those kidnapped are yet, and he hasn't truly slept since the night of the fires.
He is, in short, a little wound up. He's been jumping at shadows and every noise since the wee hours of the morning, fighting the urge to flee--or stand to fight--each time. When Asahi finds him, he's not even sure what he's doing, beyond not going back indoors. Her call freezes him in place, head whipping around, wide-eyed.]
Asahi?
[Oh, hello. One moment she's down the street, and the next he's right at her side, having closed the distance between them at top speed. His fur's bristling. This has to be bad, right? What's she running for? Why's she so out of breath? What's happened now?]
Are you okay? What's the matter??
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It's hard. She's still way too on edge to fully calm down and properly catch her breath. At least Momiji looks fine - relatively speaking? The kidnapped people sure look a lot worse, after all - so that's a relief, but still.. The feeling just doesn't fade that easily. ]
I--
[ She wheezes, standing back up straight. ]
I was looking for you.. W.. Wanted to make sure you were alright.
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I'm fine! I was just-- [His voice falters.]
They took everybody who got hurt away, and I didn't want to be in the way. And then...
[Another pause. He's staring at the plumage feathered through her hair. He's only seen that happen the once, and even then it wasn't nearly so prominent.]
Um. Were you there...?
[Inside the Rathmore Manor for the rescues, that is.]
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Instead Asahi is more focused on trying to process his words in her mind that feels like it's spinning around like a carousel. She isn't sure if he seems alright.. Physically, he probably is? But it's hard to make any assumptions about what he might be feeling emotionally when she can hardly keep herself together.
The question is easier to answer. She nods. ]
I helped out. Getting those people out of there.
[ The words come out in bursts of short sentences, but at least she's managing to get them out. ]
They looked-- so bad though. [ It was too much for her. She's just a normal girl, she's never seen those kinds of things before. ] And I just.. I got worried, and.. and for some reason I thought of you, and I just really wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt.. [ The whole rescue operation had been kind of a blur and a chaos, after all. It was hard to know who was even there helping out and who wasn't. ]
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[He means, for the moment, just physically. He'd only seen how badly-off Mettaton was, after the initial escapes, and then glimpsed some of the injuries on those being carried out of the Rathmores'. But that's enough to have him looking her up and down for blood or any other sign of harm.]
I didn't see anything, after the first Mirrorbound escaped. I just-- I was back in the house next door, waiting, and then--
[He whimpers into her shoulder. Asahi's right: Even the little that he had witnessed had been so, so bad. So much worse than even the Black Market had prepared him for. And it had made sense to stay out of the way, but now having it over hasn't fixed anything. They were too late to stop the worst of it.]
I'm okay! I'm okay, promise. I was safe.
[Though he's still quivering and not letting go, like there were a swarm of raptors circling them overhead.]
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So at least that means they're both physically safe. But mentally.. that's another story entirely. Asahi can tell very well just how rattled she is right now, and Momiji doesn't seem any better. She can feel him shake against her, and just the sound of that whimper by itself threatens to break her heart.
It's at least good for something though. It's easy for her to shove her own worries and fear to the back of her mind when she has someone else to focus on. Right now her instinct tells her to take care of Momiji first and foremost - to make sure he is alright before she can focus on herself. ]
.. here. [ It's almost more of a breath than a word, and when she continues her voice is much more quiet. Like she doesn't want anyone but him to overhear it. ] Come on..
[ She moves him, but only slightly. Just enough for them to not be standing out fully in the open. It doesn't feel safe right now. Even if those people were saved, it'll take a while before Asahi can feel fully safe again. Instead she moves so they're a little more off to the side, a little less likely to be noticed. And then she tries to gently get him to move with her so they're sitting instead of standing. With the way he's clinging to her it's easy to just fit Momiji on her lap, and a moment later her wings - thankfully still larger than usual from how worked up she is - wrap around them like a near cocoon.
Last time she did this it was purely just to try and hide them. This time it's maybe a little like that too, but it's more about comfort than about not being spotted. It feels safer to her when it's just the two of them like this (even though she hasn't fully calmed down yet, her breathing still kind of irregular). ]
no subject
It's just instinct, then, when he half-turns to face her and latches on again. It would be unfamiliar to him, even now, being close to someone like this and still (sort of, mostly) human. But at first he can't even think that far. Asahi's wings block out the street, the winter wind and the leftover noise of a city on-edge, and the wave of relief that follows leaves only instinct's immediate demand that he take refuge. He can't see past that urge to cling as he throws his arms around her shoulders and buries his face into her collar.
His shivering doesn't stop. If anything, it peaks at first, nerves letting loose. There's a dangerous hitch in his breath that threatens tears. They never quite come, though, as Momiji's attention tunnels into the small, close shelter they're huddled into. His eyes shut tight, and there's only the mismatched rhythm of both of their heartbeats running too fast.
He doesn't even really notice the way he begins to nuzzle in at her shoulder and collar, when the worst of his shudders start to abate. That's instinct, too. Even if Asahi wouldn't read as a fellow prey-Monster to his puca brain under any other circumstance, like this her own ragged breathing's telling enough. They're both hiding away from the same threat, and the impulse is just to keep close and stay warm and to say, without needing words he can't quite process still:
Safe now.]
no subject
It doesn't only feel safe, but warm too. Despite her worries for Momiji as she can feel the other shake so bad against her, there's something that feels infinitely reassuring and comforting about having him there. His warmth, his small nuzzles. There's something about his presence in this moment that breaks Asahi's habit of always having to check every situation twice. Every word someone tells her thrice. Even when it comes from someone close to her - because she's always learned to distrust, and it's such an awful ingrained habit by now.
But there's nothing to distrust now. She trusts Momiji fully. And so in this moment, with just the two of them, it's safe. There's no threat anymore. Just warmth and comfort and being close.
She was a little apprehensive about toucing him too much with her hands still being so close to just being talons, too worried about hurting him. But as she slowly starts feeling herself calm down a bit more, she realises that her hands are slowly growing back to their regular fleshy state. And that means she trusts them enough to wrap her arms around him and pull him even closer, if that's still at all possible. ]
I won't let anyone take you away.
[ The words are soft, mumbled, but obviously audible to him with how close they are right now.
Asahi isn't even sure who the words are meant for - to try and comfort him that no threat could seperate them in this moment and take Momiji, or to try and reassure her own overprotective feelings ramped up to eleven. ]
no subject
Anything past that is harder. In place of the fear and anxiety that's started to bleed away, there's a layer of relieved, comforting fuzz that he doesn't want to fight past. It's so much more tempting to burrow down into it and hide away like this for as long as he can. Asahi has the right idea; does he really need to pull himself together enough to say it? Does he have to?
Eventually, though, he starts to settle as well. The changes comes less obviously for him: fur standing down from attention, fitful tail-twitches petering out, and his nestling in against her turning less desperate, until finally he exhales...and dares to peek up at Asahi from the crook between her shoulder and neck.]
'mnot going anywhere...
[He can't keep the words from coming out in a dazed mutter, in answer to her own, tired and backed by an animal hum. Still, clarity's forcing its way back in, and he blinks and shakes his head, as if trying to hold himself awake.]
Promise--I won't.
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And that lightness makes her more openly sweet than usually too. It's like the usual filter that shoves an embarrassment break in before she does some things is totally gone now. She doesn't even think about what it might look like for the two of them to sit here like this - even with the wings there. Momiji seems content and happy, and so does she, and that's the only thing her mind deems important right now? ]
.. thanks.
[ She keeps holding Momiji with one arm, but her other hand moves up to gently brush through his hair. She's making sure to steer clear of his bunny ears, just in case they're sensitive or something. ]
I kind of don't want to get up anymore. [ There's still the vague awareness that they're outside rather than cuddled up somewhere inside where it's 100% safe, after all. It's not a pressing enough concern to her current state of mind for her to insist on moving though. ] I just want to stay like this..
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[He confides with no small degree of satisfaction. For a moment, with his senses clearing, he'd been afraid that everything would snap back to normalcy, once they'd both surfaced from the initial impulse: He'd blurt something without thinking, and Asahi would freeze and force out an apology, and they'd both end up red-faced and discontent, planted apart on the dojo steps.
But apparently not. Apparently, they're both still fine, and that's just the best thing.]
I think... I really needed this.
[He smiles up at her, shifting in her lap to get comfortable as she readjusts her arms, purring anew the instant he shuts his mouth. (Which is a late entrant on weird things he didn't know he could do now!)]
It's been so scary since everyone disappeared. And there's been so many places to look, and everyone was so worried--
It felt like I couldn't think straight.
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[ Her sentence trails off. It's so hard to even put the feeling into words. She constantly felt so agitated, snapping at random people, being unable to sit still even for a moment - just uselessly wandering back and forth without being able to focus on anything enough to contribute to most things. ]
It was like that time with the card game. [ It feels better to refer to it that way than 'that time I saved you', since she doesn't want him to feel like he's indebted to her for it or anything. ] I didn't even feel like myself. And then suddenly I really felt like I had to see you and make sure you were okay, and.. now I suddenly feel much better.
[ Honestly? She feels even better than usually. It's not just that weird mood that all cleared up, but it's like her usual worries also feel further away from her. She's not sure if it's just a temporary thing or not, but for now she's going to enjoy it while it lasts. ]
Just because we're like this. [ There's the slightest pause, and then some of Asahi's usual insecurity when it comes to these social things creeps into her voice, although it doesn't overtake her mostly good mood. ] That's not.. weird, is it?
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[His smile quirks at that last bit of reassurance. Not that it's hard to tell that this was good for both of them...but it's nice, anyway, to hear it aloud. For much the same reason, his answer comes blurted and immediate:]
No! I mean, I don't think so-- [He shakes his head firmly, sitting up straighter in her lap. He's begun to turn ever-so-slightly pink.] I think...all of this stuff?
[One of his arms unwraps from her, to tap his own long ears before tentatively grazing one of the wings encircling them.]
I think maybe it's too weird to handle by yourself. Even the Monsters from here don't try to that much, and they're supposed to be like this, and-- [This isn't exactly a deep revelation. This is kind of what they've been getting told as Monster 101 since they got here? But it's different, being told that as a rule and feeling the need like this. And it can't be precisely the same, since neither of them is a Witch...
He shrugs, voice lowering:]
I don't think it's weird.
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It feels like it has to be him too, for some reason. It's not as if there's no one else in this place Asahi gets along with.. but it's like there's something about him specifically that puts her at ease so much. Maybe it's something about his personality that matches well with her own, who knows. She doesn't want to think about it too deeply out of a fear that she might ruin the feeling inside of her right now. ]
.. you're probably right. [ About that it's probably too weird for them to handle it by themselves. Especially when it seems like their non-human tendencies only grow stronger and stronger.
She pauses. The conclusion is obvious. It's as if the question is already hanging in the air between them right now, and yet it takes a gulp before she manages to get the question out. ]
Then, maybe.. I know it's different since we're both Monsters, but-- would you want to bond with me?
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He hasn't thought about Bonding with another Monster before. He'd known it was a thing they could do, but...then again, he hadn't even tried very hard to find a Witch who might want to attempt a temporary Bond. Not even after it had grown hard to deny that he needed one.
It was just too big. He doesn't have to imagine what it feels like to be tied to someone like that, a connection that's always there, intangible and undeniable and unspeakably important. That's just the Curse. And that familiarity is too much to think about. It blanks out his thoughts and opens a pit in his stomach. It's more frightening than the strangeness of everything else in Aefenglom--
Usually.]
Uh-huh.
[He says, nestling his head back on her shoulder. It feels like he's actually blushing, now (he is), like his pulse is picking up the way it does on the first big hill on a roller-coaster. Like bracing for a distant leap, unable to see the ground below, and still wanting to make it. (He tries hard not to think about it past that, for now, or to laugh at the sudden, silly thought that, well, Asahi can fly anyway.)]
If you think we'd be good together...I really want to. Please?
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That is exactly why it feels like a wave of relief washes straight over her when he instead says he wants to as well. So she really was right in assuming they felt the same in this moment, under these strange, strange circumstances that brought them to this point. ]
I think we would be.
[ She idly plays with his hair a little as she seems to think about it and softly talk. ]
I.. really trust you. And I mean, big deal, people trust each other all the time. I know that. But I'm just.. I'm really bad at that? I can't help but doubt people all the time, since I can't tell whether or not they're lying anymore like I could back home. [ And that makes it so hard. Because she has seen just how much people lie, which means the same must be happening here. Except now she can't tell the lies apart from the truth anymore.
For example, Momiji's answer could have been a lie.
But she chooses to think it isn't. ]
But it really feels like you wouldn't lie to me. Not for any bad reason, anyway. And I think I have that feeling more with you than with anyone else.
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[He falters, fidgeting in her lap, then latching on even tighter. That's--not something someone's actually said to him before, like that. It sounds simple, but it's new, and he has to steel himself before he can put it into words.]
I can't ever tell who I'm supposed to listen to or not here, either. And back home, we... [Where to even start.] We wouldn't trust anyone who wasn't family, almost.
But I know I always feel safe around you. So... I think that's the most important thing.
[He exhales, nodding softly to himself.]
Thanks, Asahi.
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And that she makes him feel safe, apparently. Pride blossoms like a flower inside of her chest at that. ]
Thank you too, Momiji. You know.. Just for being you.
[ Because that's what makes him so trustworthy. ]
I'll keep on keeping you safe too. I mean, once we're Bonded, you're supposed to kind of be able to feel each other, right..? So if you're in trouble, I'll know right away and make sure to come over.
no subject
[He answers with a grin, relaxing back in her arms. So...that's settled, then.
And, despite everything else, having it settled's enough to leave him content and comfortable right where he is. Probably at some point they should quit using Asahi's wings like a makeshift tent and get out of the cold. Also, he should probably sleep for, like, a day or two. But he's in no rush to suggest they move just yet.]
...Do you know what we're supposed to do? To make the Bond happen? I haven't done it before. And since neither of us can do the spell...
Do we just go ask at the Coven?
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Sounds like it, from what I've heard. They have Witches there who can set up the magic that's necessary for it. [ And while Asahi is never too happy with the idea of being involved with the Coven in any way, she'll deal with it this one time as a necessary evil. Her desire to have a Bond with Momiji is stronger than her dislike - or rather wariness - of the Coven. ]
They've probably got their hands full with everything that happened though, so we can get it sorted out when everything calms down a bit.
[ She briefly glances at the wings around them before looking back at him. ]
.. I guess we could use some rest first too.
[ And napping out here like this probably isn't the best option. No matter how tempting it might be while they're all snug and comfy like this. ]
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[He just nods agreement drowsily into her shoulder, at first--but fine, probably he should force himself to sit up. So, he'll slowly unwind his grip and disengage, until he's perched upright in her lap, knuckles rubbing blearily across this eyes.
It would probably be a little unfair to try to stay put, when he's the one cocooned so cozily, and Asahi's stuck doing the cocooning.]
Um, but-- Do you think I could come home with you? Just for tonight? Kyo's...
[With the rest of the day's chaos, he hadn't even found a chance to mention his cousin's vanishing act. Mostly, he'd been trying not to think about it, after the Mirror House had assured him that Kyo's had shattered and precisely what that meant. There'd been enough else distressing to focus on, without latching on to that. But still:]
Kyo's mirror sent him back home, so our apartment's all empty except for me, now.
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Oh geez.
Asahi had absolutely no idea. Her jaw drops open just hearing about it - mostly since Momiji has been dealing with all of this crappy situation and someone important to him leaving on top of it? Asahi hasn't had anyone she knows from back home in this place, but she can only imagine how weird and bad it must feel to have someone you know here, only for them to suddenly disappear. ]
Of course..! [ She doesn't even have to think about it. Especially not under the current circumstances. ] I mean-- Even if it's not just for tonight, that's fine too..? If you want to stay while finding someone else to live with, then you can stay for a while, or.. um, if you'd just.. want to stay permanently, that's cool with me too.
[ She blushes a bit. Suggesting that just makes her feel vulnerable in the face of the offer potentially being rejected, but she wants to at least give him the option. ]
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[That's a ridiculous thing to be pulled up short by, probably, after they've just agreed to magically share space in each other's head. But he hadn't even thought about asking past the night. He hadn't expected to ask at all, really--]
Um, I could go pack a bag for a few days! If it's okay...
[Part of him just wants to ask when he can move in. Kyo's apartment had already been big enough for an extra person or two; without the Cat there, it was so empty that it had started to feel eerie, just walking between his room and the kitchen at night. (Probably there were other reasons he'd been jumping at shadows, lately, but still.)
Yet, on the other hand...]
I've never had a roommate or anything before, though! I might bug you if I come steal your bed for a long time...
[Not that anyone would ever call him annoying, but. It's possible, between all his fun puca finds and the excitement of living without maids for his first time ever, that his current bedroom is a disaster area. And that's just the first awkward concern that springs to mind. So, what if she doesn't like having him around all the time?
It's an awful lot, awfully fast.]
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[ He's not the only one fussing. Although - ironically enough - Asahi is not worried at all about the potential messes or mischief he may bring to the place. Judging by what she knows about him and how that one time improvised sleepover went, things should probably be.. fine?
No, she's just worried she's massively overstepping her boundaries here. Maybe Momiji is just saying those things because he actually doesn't want to live in the same place as her and is just trying to make polite excuses to let her down gently? That's probably it, isn't it. Oh god.
It's why Asahi looks weirdly nervous and awkward, even as she smiles at him. ]
Anything is fine with me..!
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He can't really miss the strain in Asahi's voice as she reassures him; that doesn't take a Bond to pick up on by now. And--this shouldn't be hard! He doesn't do reticence, and staying over with Asahi the one time was perfectly nice, so...!
Except. What if he bugs her, coming in at weird hours from Particularly Good Finders? Or if he brings home trouble? What if they can't ever agree on what to get for dinner? Or if it turns out he snores, or he wets the bed? What if he just takes up too much space in general? Asahi probably wouldn't kick him out, even if he did all those things. But she might want to.]
Mn, we can try it out! [He blurts, a little too hastily and a little too cheerfully, then. Nope, he's not nervous, this is great!] I'll grab clothes and everything for the week, and then...we can figure everything else out, later!
[That's a good plan, right? It'll have to be easier to think about this, after the Bond or maybe just with a couple days shaved off his sleep deficit. And by then maybe they'll know if his rabbit-stuff is going to get in the way of her bird-stuff!
He nods firmly to himself, committing to this solution, and then leans in for a last, quick hug.]
'Kay?
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[ And while Asahi still sounds nervous (it's not quite the jitters she's been having while looking for Momiji after this whole terrible kidnapping incident to begin with - it's a little more mundane than that, but still present), she doesn't sound like she's lying about being alright with that.
She just hopes this will work out. It should, right? The idea of bonding with him feels so right, then surely it'll all end up okay.
Asahi sucks in a deep breath, trying to get herself back in control once more. Then her wings move to fold back onto her back, no longer sheltering them. ]
Let's go then.
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Brushing himself off, he moves to stand as Asahi's wings unfurl. He gives a small shiver at the winter air breaking through the cozy, little bubble he'd been shrouded in, but it's alright. They're alright, for now, even if--well, everything else still isn't. All things considered, maybe it's good to have something like that to be nervous over, now.
He stations himself at her side, then, offering a hand up.]
It's really close! Just right up this way--
[And, when Asahi's ready to go, he'll lead them off, shooting a small grin back over his shoulder.]