waking the dead 2.0 || october 11-14, 2063 || the black forest

[icarusalsoflew]

WHO: The War Hounds, all NPC operatives on call for destroying the Nemesis, and whoever else
WHAT: It's a tense vigil, a bad fall, an emotional departure, and then some.
WHERE: The unnamed Zangyaku outpost of Tengu within the Black Forest.
WHEN: October 11-14, 2063
SAFE FOR WORK? Probably?
OTHER NOTES:
+ I'll have some open posts labeled with specific dates for people, and you guys are also welcome to make your own together with any planned threads.
+ You guys are actually free to re-thread any scenes between each other here too, if you like. I won't be able to re-thread the Brigade stuff, though.
+ You guys are welcome to call or text people who are not actually in the Black Forest.


[ OCTOBER 11: PRE-ENGAGEMENT

There is no way that you could possibly get used to it: the eerie, bestial shrieks; the worrisome tremors; the rotting trees. This place feels cursed, and every single other operative in the area beyond your group have the masks of men who are ready to die.

OCTOBER 12: POST-ENGAGEMENT

For what should have been a victory because there wasn't a single casualty, the air in the outpost is heavier than ever.

Can you blame any of them, though? Their leader nearly lost it today, and the fucking idiot who was responsible for that is passed out comfortably in his room.

OCTOBER, 13: AFTER DINNER

The War Hounds, it seems, has gained one man only to lose another.

Maybe this one was for the best.

OCTOBER 14: WHOLE DAY

The Blade King has not been cleared for travel yet, so you've got free run of the outpost until midnight, October 15.

]

Comments

[larue]

I'm okay to wait on you.

[ He's tracing the line of your jaw with his fingers. ]

Don't have much of an appetite just yet.

[icarusalsoflew]

[ Planting a kiss right on your mouth before responding. ]

Okay.

[ This works out nicely, though. You're something warm and familiar, which is precisely what he needs given that he's recovering from the ravages of Rapturing. ]

[larue]

[ That kiss is earning you a smile -- and he shifts a little so that he can plant a longer one on you; tender and sweet. ]

I'm really glad you're okay.

[ His hand has traveled the length of your arm; his fingers have tangled themselves with your own. ]

I wanted to follow, but Bri said it was better if I hung back at a safe distance.

[icarusalsoflew]

She was right. I don't really have a good history with Rapturing and people I care about being close at hand.

[ The words are deceptively casual. ]

She took a risk, and while I'm not too happy about it, it... it helped.

[larue]

[ He'll give your hand a gentle squeeze as he rests his brow against yours. ]

I'm just glad one of us was there with you.

[icarusalsoflew]

[ You'll have to excuse the way his gaze shies away from your face at that point. ]

Honestly, it's not something that I like people seeing.

[ It isn't just because he values control. It's also because the Rapture is a glaring reminder of just how inhuman he actually is. ]

[larue]

[ You turn away but his gaze doesn't shy away from your face.

Have a kiss to your brow, love, before he cups your cheek and lets his fingertips trace the slant of your jaw until he can tip your face back up to his. ]

What can I do to make you feel even a little better?

[ He doesn't know what else he can offer but his presence and his affection. But it's all he has to give right now. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[ Perhaps he will tell you, one day, how it's the remembrance of the many small things that make up the distinct signature of your touch that keeps the dark from taking him under as of late.

One day. It wouldn't be the only thing that he has some difficulty telling you. Some things, he has found he needs to write off, and there are other things attached to those matters. ]

You're doing plenty.

[ He means it. ]

This sort of thing just takes time.

[larue]

[ He's watching you as you say that, and then nodding with a quiet smile as he draws close again. ] Okay.

[ Forehead to yours once more. ]

I love you.

I'm really glad you're okay.

[icarusalsoflew]

I'm glad I am too.

[ Blinking up at, as he's cupping the side of your face with one hand. ]

I always want to be able to come back to you, you know?

[ To all of you, really. But. ]

[larue]

[ He leans into your touch and closes his eyes a moment, and then he's cupping his hand behind yours and pressing his lips to the center of your palm.

There are no words as he looks your way, heart in his eyes. He's seen you down for the count more times than he's comfortable with, and this was wholly unnecessary had someone not jumped the gun.

But you're here, he's here, and no one except the creature that had to, died. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[ Watching you watch him for a moment, then letting out a quiet chuckle as he's setting himself on practically burrowing against you. He knows, logically, that it isn't all that cold, but he FEELS pretty damned cold.

That'll get better eventually. ]

That was nice of you last night.

[ With the dinner and all. ]

[larue]

[ And he'll adjust, let you close and then curl his embrace around you. He's also going to draw the blanket firmly around you both and hook one leg behind both of yours to draw you flush up against him.

You're shivering, and he's the one who's currently warmer between you both. ]

I felt bad. [ He's murmuring that quietly into your hair. ] I know what he did was monumentally stupid... but he's only ever meant well.

[icarusalsoflew]

Which only leads back to how he has to Walk, in a way.

[ He's getting sleepy all over again. This is your fault: being with you is too comfortable. ]

On the larger scale of things, what he didn't wasn't all that bad. Other operatives have made the same mistake.

[ What Hikaru feels like he shouldn't have to say, though, is that the results were always undesirable, especially since it meant other operatives dying. ]

[larue]

[ And he can't help but stroke the base of your nape when he sees that. ]

You're still upset with him?

[ Forgive him, babe. He has to ask. He knows it hasn't been twenty-four hours, but he has to ask. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

"Upset" is a strong word to describe what I'm feeling, Josh. So is "disappointed", but I think it's more accurate.

[ It's less about Brigade, see, and more about how he could have gotten all of you killed.

Among other things, of course. ]

[larue]

[ A quiet nod as he's tracing the inside of you palm with the thumb of his other hand. ]

If you're sleepy, you should rest. I can wake you when the food comes eventually.

[icarusalsoflew]

It'll be such a waste of a perfectly good day, though.

[ He's joking, of course.

...Mostly. Truth be told, he does like just being able to lie back like this. He just wishes that it didn't often entail being practically bedridden in order for such a thing to happen. ]

[larue]

I dunno, [ he presses his nose into your hair. ] Don't think you're missing much out there.

[ The creature -- Brig's nemesis -- is dead, and without it's shrieks breaking the silence, the forest seems a lot more peaceful. ]

And I admit, [ his voice dips to a whisper, and the look on his face is a little bit sheepish. ] I don't think I'm up to letting you out of my sight just yet.

[icarusalsoflew]

[ Smiling at you with even more fondness at that, and reaching out to stroke the side of your face. His other hand is straying down under the sheets now, and ghosting over your chest before settling on your stomach. ]

It's a good thing that I can't really go anywhere then, yeah? Keeping me within your line of sight won't be a challenge at all.

[ He really, really loves you. ]

[larue]

[ And he's reaching beneath those sheets to cover your hand with his. His smile is a little tremulous, but he shifts closer to you anyway. ]

I'm just really glad you're okay.

[icarusalsoflew]

[ He catches that (how could he not notice? He's fine tuned to notice just about everything about you, and all of the little changes that point towards the many gradients of your moods, your thoughts), and he very suddenly feels like the worst person in the Fifth World. Here you are, a boy so perfectly in love with him, miraculously capable of seeing who all that he is and not giving a shit about it, and here he is, recovering from a decision that could have meant you having to bury him when the story of the two of you has barely even started.

It's hard to find the words all of a sudden. He'll settle for kissing you instead. ]

I love you. And I'm glad I am too.

[ Both for your sake and for his. ]

[larue]

[ If he knew where your thought were actually going, he would honestly tell you that it wasn't your fault, that he is glad that Brianna had gone to you when she had because she had reminded him that he couldn't -- and that he's still holding on to the hope that everything will eventually be okay.

He leans into that kiss, falls into the comfort of you and moves even closer so that he can drape an arm around your waist. ]

I love you so much, babe.