wakingthedead | waking the dead 2.0 | 1st of samhain, deardaoin (thursday)

waking the dead 2.0 | 1st of samhain, deardaoin (thursday)

WHO: The War Hounds, Hikaru, Alistair, and Jason
WHAT: Base Camp Site 001, Arcadia
WHERE: An area off the roads of Akitagawa, somewhere between the Trods, the Hedge, and Arcadia itself
WHEN: November 1, Arcadian Year ???
SAFE FOR WORK? For now? Yes.
OTHER NOTES: Make your own threads as needed!

[ Tandang Sora, with Brianna and Alistair's help, clears out an area right beside a river - at least, it LOOKS like a river, even if it shines far too brightly in the light of the sun (or moon, depending on whichever one is shining upon the lot of you at any passing minute), and its ripples occasionally form watery mouths that quietly fill the air with song. Said song matches the whisper in the trees scattered about the area, and the laughing exchanges between Sister Sun and Brother Moon in the sky.

The Tower of the Lunargent Thorn, as promised, is always a fixed point somewhere on the horizon no matter where you turn - yet another weird thing to take note of in an increasingly bizarre place. The only "normal" thing in this area, beyond the lot of you, is the way the camp site has set up.

Tandang Sora has gone off to confirm the route that you will be taking. That means, thankfully, that the lot of you have some time to cool off your heels and attempt to acclimatize to how you have all changed. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ This one's coming around to join you not long after the camp's set up. He's not really feeling too good, and while he knows now what the firefly that left his mouth was, it doesn't erase the awkward memory of it crawling up his throat and past his lips.

You, as always, are a sight for sore eyes though. ]

Need company?

[ He decided not to bring his own pack of cigarettes, but he's clearly itching for a smoke. ]

If it's yours? Always, love.

[ Any tension threaded deep underneath his skin is easing the moment he sees you. Granted, you really don't look too good, and he's 100% certain you feel even worse.

He's setting that aside in his thoughts, though, and smiling up at you as he shifts to make space. ]

[ He'll settle down at that, one hand coming down first to steady himself as he folds his legs underneath him. He doesn't pick it up at first, not until he makes the connection with that first time he'd seen your mask drop in the Bluebell Forest, but each breath inhaled is a sharper this time around.

A weak smile your direction as his hand seeks out yours for comfort -- and a curious look crossing his face as he breathes in a scent that brings to mind those handful of years in Vancouver. There's more of course, and the breath he exhales shakes, just a little.

Leaning in now to rest his forehead to yours. No words yet. He still feels a bit sick. ]

[ And he's already shifting back over once you're close, already letting his hand meet yours halfway and bidding his fingers to lace between yours like they belong there. Maybe you'll see how he watches you with concern, and how he seems ready to catch you if he has to.

As for that little trouble you're having with the air around your fiancee, and with the way he smells... ]

I'm keeping my Mask up. [ Low and quiet. No need to speak so loudly when the two of you are this close. Not when he's other hand is coming around, to curl against the nape of your neck in what he hopes to be a steadying, grounding gesture. ] I'll stand out like a beacon here if I drop it.

[ He did say that he gallivants around as Yun Song beyond the reach of the Lightless Lands. ]

Okay. [ He's whispering that as he leans into your touch.

You smell wonderful. He's not quite sure what it is that he's picking up, but it's nothing he's smelled on you before and... and he's trying very hard not to look at your mouth.

A small shuddered breath that's close enough to a quiet, nervous laugh. ] You change your shampoo?

[ It sounds so terribly lame, but it is the first thing that came to mind. ]

[ Blinking at that, because... what? And then some things start clicking into place.

That is part of the reason why he doesn't answer you at first, at least not with words. His initial response comes in the way he kisses you full on the mouth.

(He tastes different, by the way. There's him, of course, but now it's mixed with mountain berries, hints of apple, and cinnamon. More of those tiny signatures that you're picking up in the mix of things that you're smelling off of him now.) ]

Do you prefer that scent to how I am now?

[ He's teasing you, but he's doing it gently. He knows what's been happening since you and the Hounds left the Philippine Trods. He knows how losing a part of your soul to the Groundskeeper is changing you. ]

[ There's a note of disappointment to the way he breathes when you stop kissing him, and he's tempted to chase the taste of you on his lips with his tongue. He's also shifted closer, like you're the one warm thing in a cold place and he wants nothing more than to be as near to you as he can be. ]

Is that a trick question? [ He manages a smile, even as his eyes drop back down to your mouth. ]

No, it isn't.

[ That smile on your boy's face hasn't faltered, but the look in his eyes has gone a little dark. It's no fault of yours, though. Really.

(And since we're partially on the topic of his eyes, maybe you're close enough now or worked up enough from just being close to this one that you'll notice that familiar, faint, fiery glow of red in them, looking faded and partially concealed as if his human anatomy in that area is nothing but a pair of contact lenses disguising the "truth" of his form.

That is pretty much the entirety of him right now., really.) ]

You know I don't like my Seeming.

[ Kissing you on the cheek. It seems as though he's going to withdraw now, if you'll let him. ]

Edited 2014-11-30 11:44 (UTC)

[ You'll get a sigh from him when your lips press against his skin, but the fingers he has tangled with yours curls around tighter. He'll press his lips against yours again, teeth catching a little on your bottom lip before he pulls back. ]

You're beautiful though. [ He says that low and earnest, thumb tracing the inside of your palm.

God, you smell so good. It's enough to make him forget about the fact that his head still aches and he's not too up to snuff. ]

[ He could give in to you. That will certainly make you feel better, and it may even go a ways towards making him feel less like his mien is a network of open wounds that exist only to remind him of Arcadia.

You deserve to know why you're like this, though. He's here to help you work through it either way. ]

Josh. [ His tone is firm, even if he's just a bit breathless from the attention that you've been lavishing upon him. He is also pulling back for real. ] I think we need to talk before we get back down to doing other things.

[ He bites back on the urge to pull you close again and instead shakes his head, loosens his grip on your hand and leans back against the tree.

He's scanning the area again, catching sight of the others: lips parted and a crease between his brows as he remembers that you're both out in the open. ]

W...what things?

[ That's coming out a little bit more unsteady than he intended. ]

[ Watching you carefully again, because he's got a pretty accurate reading on your thought process right now. That's why he's reaching out for your hand for himself, and gripping tight.

He loves you. You know that, right? Which is why... ]

You and the rest are going to feel out of your depth like this all the way until the Groundskeeper relinquishes that bit of your soul back to you. You've gained a bit of our insight as a result, along with some of our principle weaknesses.

[ He says "we", because he might as well own THAT much about his "condition". ]

[ He's turning his palm up against yours instinctively, just as he's' focusing back on you to take in what you say. He'll grasp your hand right back, thumb moving over the texture of the ring he'd given you. ]

I thought it was just the nausea. [ If that comes out soft, it's only because he's trying to process this. ] You said insight... and weaknesses. Which ones?

[ Not responding immediately, as he considers how best to word what he's thinking. ]

You've probably heard this before, but Fae don't have souls. Not having a soul means being keenly aware of what a soul provides: memory, emotion, and purpose.

[ He's looking down at where both of your hands are intertwined now. "Purpose". Funny, heavy word, that. ]

You'll all find it much easier to manipulate your individual Patterns to use your abilities now. The trade-off is that you'll "see" emotion and memory. The foundations that each ground the sense of self that you all have, have also been compromised in an effort to make you all a little more Arcadian and thus a little less susceptible to the Gentry. You combine the terrible beauty of being able to experience memory and emotion as a physical thing with weakened resolve, and...

[ You might be able to put two and two together by now. ]

[ Ah.

He shifts and lifts your hand to his lips so he can brush a kiss over your knuckles. His gaze is back on yours now and a small, albeit helpless smile is tugging at the corners of his mouth. ]

I guess that means I'm going to end up a little distracted by you then, huh?

[ One aspect then, because if what you say is true, then... this is going to be a pretty interesting trip. ]

Any advice on how to deal with it and adjust?

[ And he can't help himself at this point. You do that, and he matches you with his free hand going up to cup your cheek.

This is real. You'll have to excuse him if he's going to be a little touchier than usual with you for a while. It hasn't been all that long since you proposed. ]

You're going to have to ride the wave, actually. Fighting it will end up physically hurting you.

[ It's happened to enough of his non-Changeling operatives in the past when they came around. ]

"Ride the wave", huh? [ Leaning into your palm at that and distantly thinking that he wishes you two could actually have a moment alone. ] Sounds a little too easy.

[ This is Arcadia, and while it's only been a couple of hours in, the whole set-up's already making him a little nervous.

He's taking both of your hands in one of his and leaning in close, while the other hand comes to the back of your neck to draw you in, press your foreheads close. ]

Why do you think there aren't a lot of Changeling operatives in the Vigil?

[ It WAS easy, especially when one found one's self in the gray shades of a mundane world whose most beautiful aspects still felt like the ugliest deformities against the simplest sensations that Arcadia had to offer. The Lost went mad far too often, and their very nature had the tendency to run directly opposite of the Vigil's principles. ]

One's deepest desires are still a part of who they are. You're just a little more aware of yours now.

[ There was nothing wrong with that, in Hikaru's opinion.

...He would really like a moment with you alone too. You're not the only one who doesn't like this place. ]

[ A soft chuckle then as he presses a kiss to your brow, eyes shut as he inhales the scent of you. ]

I hope you don't mind if I keep you-- [ a breath ] --close by for a while.

[ You're not the only one who's still reeling from the fact that it's not 'boyfriend' but 'fiancee' that he can call you by now. Yes, his thumb is moving over that ring again. He really likes that it fit you.

He opens his eyes at that, and the clock above your head catches his attention.

18:09:27:30... and the seconds keep on ticking up.

Apologies, love, for the sudden and sharp intake of breath from this one. He's not quite believing what he's seeing at this point. ]

Edited 2014-11-30 14:21 (UTC)

[ Well, that certainly catches his attention and draws him right out of the pleasant buzz that he's getting out of you kissing him/him kissing you back. ]

What is it?

[ Because in Arcadia, it could really be anything. (But if it was something in this area, he should have noticed, should he--) ]

[ He's worrying at his lower lip and shaking his head -- but that smile should be a dead giveaway that it isn't something terrible.

Pressing his lips to yours again now. ] I love you so much.

[ His hands are framing your face now, and he's shutting his eyes as he gives himself completely to kissing you.

The time you have, little as it is, is something he told himself he would gladly work with. But he'd be lying if he said that more wouldn't be welcome -- because of course, it would be. ]

[ Has he ever told you that he finds it absolutely adorable when you smile at him like that? He probably should... in a bit...

Okay. Now's good, since you've both come up for air again. Sucks having to need that all the time, eh? ]

Was it my clock?

[ He's zoning in on the one possibility that makes sense, given the setup. ]

[ You're getting a wordless nod in return as he bows his head and worries a little more on his bottom lip and brings his forehead right up against yours again.

His hands are shaking, just a bit. ]

[ Covering your hands with his own in a heartbeat, and shifting just enough so that he can look right into your eyes. ]

Hey.

[ Soft and gentle, as per usual when it's just the two of you, like this, regardless of where you actually happen to be or if the both of you are alone or not. ]

Talk to me.

[ Give him a moment. He's trying to find the words.

Taking a breath now and looking right back at you. He notes the faint hint of the fiery ring in those eyes. They're unnerving, yes, but they're also pretty incredible. He wishes that he could tell you that and have you believe him. ]

Three more years ontop of the fifteen I thought I'd only get with you.

[ You'll hear it, the way his heart is in those words. ] I feel like I just won the lottery.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject