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. ]

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[ 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.

[ Oh...

This, he hadn't expected, and it'll show on your fiancee's face. Of course, it's quickly followed by an immeasurable amount of relief, and the kind of bewildered happiness that comes with having something you hadn't want to hope for come your way.

That's been happening to him a lot lately. He could live with that. ]

Guess I should try my best to take it easy and see if I can recover a little more, huh?

[ He has so much to live for now. ]

I'd like that. [ He's cupping your cheek as he says that and it's a little overwhelming: seeing those three additional years, having you so close and inhaling once again, the difference in your scent. The taste of you on his lips is still there, reminding him of home and Falner, safe places and good things.

If he shudders, it's because the thought has come back: the one about wishing that you two had someplace you could be alone, even if only for a little while. ]

Edited 2014-11-30 15:21 (UTC)

[ He felt that, all right. It isn't difficult at all for him to realize that you're thinking along the same lines that he is. ]

We could crawl into our tent, you know. Take a nap. [ Have a crooked smile, love, with clear mischief in your boy's eyes. ] Tandang Sora isn't going to be done for a while, and the rest of your party does need to it easy for a bit.

[ So do you. ]

Edited 2014-11-30 15:25 (UTC)

[ His response to that suggestion comes in the way he takes a moment to swallow because his mouth has suddenly gone dry, and the way his gaze falters from yours. On the periphery of his sight he notes the forms of the others, the color of that tent.

He knows you mean more than a "nap" -- but could you? The group is hardly in safe territory and it seems so damn indulgent... and yet. ]

[ Following your gaze for but a moment, and knowing, in that singular gesture, what you're thinking. ]

We'll be fine.

[ He's never going to let anything happen to you, as far and as much as he can help it - and he's been known to make the impossible, possible. Besides, Alistair is around, Tandang Sora is capable, and the lot of you are formidable fighters. ]

Trust me.

Edited 2014-11-30 15:48 (UTC)

[ His eyes are back on yours now. ]

Always.

[ He means that. You've never done him wrong. And he loves you. That's what love is about right? Faith, trust. He doesn't have an incredible track record with the former, but the latter's something he's been consistent with -- or so he likes to believe. ]

[ And that's all you need to tell him, really, for him to smile against your mouth before he kisses you again. That gesture is followed by him tugging you up, and leading you towards that tent.

More than an hour later, in the privacy of that little space you've both carved out for yourselves, your boy is pulling away from the circle of security that your arms have conveniently provided for him just enough so that he can reach for his pipe. The two of you have idled away in here, pressing close, letting hands and mouths wander over familiar territory. Pretty much all of the activity was innocent, though. The two of you aren't exactly alone out here, and there was a chance that somebody could need them at any moment. ]

[ His eyes follow the way you move, taking in as much as he can of your grace. Funny how little gestures make up a person.

There's a smile waiting for you once you turn back. ] Tell me about where we're going?

[ He took in everything that he could from that crash course with the Vega sisters, but it's different, coming from you.

There's also the fact that this is your kingdom, a place you call yours in spite of the scars that Arcadia left on you. He wants to know these things. They matter to you, of course they'd matter to him. ]

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