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

[icarusalsoflew]

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. ]

Comments

[larue]

[ He's turning onto his side so he can move a hand up your thigh. There's no heat in the gesture. He just really needs to touch you. ]

Everything, actually. [ Peering up at you now, a smile on his lips. ] But I guess we can start with what you like the most about it.

[ The look in his eyes is steady. He can't imagine how traumatic Arcadia was for you, but he saw the files, read your dossier. The Lightless Lands are a safe haven in large enemy territory -- that's the impression he's gotten. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[ A thoughtful noise, before he's taking a good, long drag. He's missed the kind of tobacco and cloves that they grow here. He will have to thank Tala for sending some over. ]

That's a tricky question, honestly.

[ Because the Lightless Lands are, indeed, beautiful. It was not always like that. ]

[larue]

I figured it would be. [ He says that softly as he tangles his fingers with yours. ]

Let me rephrase that question then: [ a beat, ] It's your kingdom, Hikaru. And I want to know the most important things about it precisely because it's yours.

[ Propping himself up on one arm now, and lifting your hand to his mouth so he can press a kiss to the center of your palm. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[ Words can't accurately encapsulate the mix of things in his eyes as he watches you. There's fondness there, a tinge of lingering disbelief that any of this is even happening, admiration, appreciation, and then some.

Right. Might as well try to answer you properly. ]

My realms are called "the Lightless Lands" because it's one of the places in Faerie that's eternally wrapped in darkness. That isn't an entirely accurate name for it, though.

[larue]

[ Nodding at that and looking back up at you with a small smile. ] Will there be more flying jellyfish?

[ Excuse the insertion of humor, love. ] Because those were a bit cool... if slightly weird.

[icarusalsoflew]

[ Chuckling at that. ]

If you already find those creatures weird, I'm afraid that you're not going to last very long in my kingdom.

[ ...Excuse him, he can't quite stop himself from reaching out and tracing the curve of your jawline with his fingers.] ]

[larue]

[ And he'll push himself up so that he can drink from your lips again. Sorry, love. He just really misses the taste of you. ]

Just because I said it was a bit weird doesn't mean I can't get behind the idea.

[ A smile now, as he pulls back. ] What are the people like?

[ He's seen how loyal Zangyaku your oni-tsukai are, how the hunters in Netsach, in the Vigil itself, consider you with so much respect. He was able to speak briefly with some Changeling from the Lightless Lands at the Winter Festival, but that's not much to go on. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[ Mmm. Thank you for that.

...Anyway. ]

They're all survivors, and they can all be trusted. Many of them were ones part of Izanami's chattel.

[ And given that they stayed, you can probably guess how deep their loyalty runs for your fiancee. ]

I try to make the Lightless Lands as opposed to Arcadia as possible, just to see if things will catch on. The Gentry are much more malleable these days.

[larue]

[ Tracing your cheek now with one finger and letting his thumb ghost over your bottom lip. ]

You're one of the most compassionate people I know. [ A beat. ] I don't think I've ever told you that.

[ He'll lace the fingers of his free hand with yours at that. ] I know we're only going to be here a year, and that's not a short time, but I hope I can do something to help. And I don't just mean with the mission at hand.

[icarusalsoflew]

I'm pretty sure that you and the other Hounds will be able to do a lot down here. Your blade, after all, was selected for a reason.

[ Even if said reasons had been grounded on potentially cold, totally pragmatic thinking. Brianna was a logical choice. As for the rest of you... let's just say that your individual attachments to him were a big consideration for the Committee.

On a much more lighter note, though, he honestly couldn't imagine a better blade to have his back out here, beyond the three blades he was instrumental in bringing together back in 2012. ]

[larue]

[ He nods at that, and then sneaks a kiss to the side of your neck.

If he looks a little sheepish, it's because he is. ]

I was thinking along... different lines.

[ He's marrying you. Eventually. When this is all done and you two can actually work out the details of what kind of ceremony you'd like ( he's okay with whatever matters to you, he'll tell you as much, when the time comes. ) ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[ That piques his curiosity, and has him blinking at you, momentarily shelving what the two of you were talking about. ]

Okay...?

[ (Sorry, Josh. He's shelved this sort of possibility for so long, he's pretty rusty at considering all the strings that would come attached to it for himself.) ]

[larue]

[ He'll indulge in leaning in so that the bridge of his nose is snug against the slant of your jaw. What is it about you, here in this place, that he can't seem to breathe enough of you in.

Right: Arcadia.

Okay. Enough. Pulling back now and just... offering a slight shrug. ]

Do... do I still count as consort?

[ If that last word comes out awkwardly... it's because it's still pretty hard to say without sounding odd. To him, at least. ] I-it's just that... you know. I don't want to trip all over myself when we get there.

[ Yep. He's rubbing the back of his neck nervously now. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[ Ah. Right.

Watching you a moment before he's leaning in to kiss you on the cheek. He doesn't pull back, though, because he wants to look straight into your eyes right now. ]

No. You're my Betrothed now. My Court is aware of it, and I believe that the news about us has traveled fast.

[larue]

[ A quiet nod. ]

I just... [ He wets his lips a little. ] It matters to me, you know?

To be able to stand beside you. To share whatever load you have to carry, if you'll let me.

[ He knows that sounds incredibly naive and young. But it's what he knows from the people he's watched and had in his life. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

No kid gloves. I promised you as much before, right?

[ And as things stand, he's getting better at letting you and other people he cares about share in that heavy portion of the world that he only too often takes for himself.

You're getting another kiss on the mouth, by the way, for that. It's soft and chaste and grateful, all in one breath. ]

Thank you. Having you close is really going to help.

[larue]

[ That makes him smile. This -- you, him, here and now -- makes him smile; puts him at ease. ]

Then it's a good thing I'm not really inclined to leaving your side. Not unless I absolutely have to.

[ Have an eskimo kiss, love, and a sigh. ] I can't get over the way you smell.

[ A sheepish chuckle at that. ]

God, that sound so lame, but it's true.

[icarusalsoflew]

[ Chuckling at that, because it's just like you to be so cute. ]

So do I taste better than I smell? Or is it the other way around?

[ Just throwing that out there, just to see if he can make you blush. (Or to see if you'll snap right to it, because you do, very often, manage to keep pace with him.) ]

[larue]

[ There's no blush, but the expression that crosses his face probably makes up for that -- at least, right before he leans in and presses his mouth over yours to taste you again.

You taste like what he imagines the holidays could be like, things he and his family never managed to indulge in because America is a shadow of what it used to be, once upon a time. He presses close because you're solid and warm, a steadying presence in a place that seems so strange. ]

Don't make me pick. I happen to like both.

[icarusalsoflew]

[ And maybe you don't know this yet, but you're exactly the same thing for him right now. He's Fae and a Rivers of the Mordechai Line inasmuch as he is the Blade King: it is well within his power to take this place, to own it, and ultimately rise above it.

Some things, though, you just can't go back to without hurting, without wondering if you really left on your merit or you actually just died somewhere and you're only ghost who's dreamt up his freedom. ]

And how much do you like me?

[ Murmuring that in your ear, all warm breath, amusement, and an invitation that you're welcome to take at your leisure.

(You help him forget what doesn't matter, though, and remember what counts.) ]

[larue]

Who said anything about 'like'? [ He'll catch your lips with his. That near-overwhelming feeling is nagging at him again, the one that makes him wish that you were both somewhere safer that you could both relax in.

He's leveling his gaze with yours now. ] I love you.

And by that, I mean all of you.

[icarusalsoflew]

[ A soft laugh, just as he's catching the side of your face again and bringing your lips towards his for a kiss. ]

Even like this, huh? Or when I take this Mask off for real.

[ His voice is a little soft, yes, and maybe there's a small amount of apprehension in his eyes, but it's all tempered by the look on his face. It's the expression of someone very much in love with you, and also grateful to have you by his side. You can make him believe in pretty much anything these days, and sometimes? That includes himself. ]

[larue]

[ He'll tangle his fingers with yours at that, grip loose enough to cradle your hand in his and firm enough to show that he signed on for the whole package knowing full-well "no return, no exchange" ( as if he would ever. ) ]

You're always beautiful to me.

[ He means that. He's seen what Arcadia did to you -- what your durance made you. He knows, especially after speaking with Brianna, with the Vega sisters, that the mien is a scar that Changeling live with... but that doesn't matter to him. Scars mean you survived. It sucks that it happened in the first place, but what matters most is that you're here, you're alive and warm and with him. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[ Laughing quietly, because you make him so happy at times that his heart aches under the weight of all of that joy. ]

You're hopeless.

[ And he's perfectly okay with that. ]

[larue]

[ He'll steal another kiss at that, one that hints at the faintest bit of hunger that has nothing to do with food and everything to do with you. ]

I mean that. [ He says that with a smile when he pulls back, breathless, and one hand is now drawing you closer, because he misses the solidness of your body against his. ]

I thought you were gorgeous. It... [ he hesitates a little, and wets his lips at that. ] I couldn't look away. But I had to, because you were just so beautiful it hurt.