they are not really expecting to be tackled, so there's that. they catch her, at first, like out of pure instinct, and then they both hit the ground because aquila takes a misstep, in a jumble of fabric and limbs.
they push themselves up on their elbows, or, at least try to? their hat is crooked. ] What the hell are you doing?!
[ you can't quite see aquila's face under the veil, but they just seem - really, really stunned, at first? things have been - well, they've just been, and then,
...
Something clicks.
she'll feel aquila tense up a bit, taking in a breath that's a little short, but... after a moment, they exhale. ]
...Hhhhah. [ it feels - the voice is still wrong. gravelly, a lower register. it's touch week, though, and their hands twitch briefly against the marble where they fell over. ] Is it, now?
[ there's about a million different emotions in those two words, though the two most easily featured are the emotion of "haha busted" but they absolutely refuse to acknowledge that. ]
all the tension in their shoulders just sort of melts out, and they just drop their face forward. they're careful about it - enough that the veil and hat doesn't move, but it's touch week, and their - his forehead drops against her shoulder.
...
muffled: ] ...I couldn't get to you, the week before. [ before the monster changes - when she was hurt. ] I'm sure you must have thought I was some kind of freak. [ aquila doesn't say it. maybe this is just a nice apology between strangers? but there's something unstated, there - i panicked. ]
[ ... he laughs. it's quiet, soft, and just for a second, it sounds so normal. exhaled.
... he just stays like that, forehead gently pressed against her shoulder. lifting his hands finally - aquila hesitates, for a moment, before he wraps his arms back around lup. hands hovering, and then curling in the back of her clothes. you can't see his face, but his eyes are closed, and his grip is sure.
muffled, in that gravelly, not right voice - ] My love language's touch. [ which is delivered in a sort of deadpan, like they're maybe poking fun at themselves. they are definitely poking fun at themselves. aquila "i can count the number of hugs i've had in my life before (redacted) on one hand" lastname.
[she groans at the joke, but she's amused. she's quiet for a moment, though. thinking? she's thinking about all of the conversations they've had and also about the one time that she told him he doesn't love her to his face
gently pushes that one aside anyway]
... I'm sorry. [is what she settles on, because - she desperately doesn't want him to have to do this.]
[ it's fine he also hasn't been thinking about that for weeks, probably
anyway. when she apologizes, whatever else aquila wanted to say falls to the wayside too. they're quiet for a beat. ]
... hold on.
[ is all the warning she gets, at first, before - shadows consume them both!
... and they're on the floor of lup's room instead of the lobby. it's a little more private this way. talk about a role reversal, huh? before he says anything else, he glances around briefly, voice losing some of that gravel affect. ] ...I can't talk for long, and this has to stay.
[ yep. he doesn't wince under there but does, mentally. ]
I can guess.
[ ... but it doesn't change it, any.
but, aquila's tone softens a little, and more humbly, he adds -]
... thank you, anyway. [ so there's that, at least, accepting the apology for what it is. ] It's... well. I don't have to tell you how it feels, to be the one that watches.
[a pause, and she can't help herself. she reaches for his hands, holding them tightly, biting her bottom lip. last weekend sucked so much, and there's this and who she needs to protect and who she might need to kill, and she swallows a bit hard.]
It sucks. [she says, quietly.] Being on this side is worse. I don't know how you managed.
he lets her take his hands - cold as a corpse, like always- and squeezes them. the affection week is a nice cover, anyway, and it lets him pull her hands up under the veil, so she can feel it when he kisses her knuckles, then lowers them back afterwards. ]
I know. [ god, doesn’t he. ] That’s the whole point of these places, no matter what side you’re on.
[her ear flicks when he kisses her knuckles, and she just holds her breath for a second because if she doesn't she will cry and she WILL NOT CRY. no crying.]
I don't know what to do anymore. I thought it'd be okay to avoid killing someone, but the longer we go, the more I start to think I'm wrong.
[ don't cry he'll shrivel up and die. probably. who is this again, who knows.
... he keeps a hold on her hands, for now. ]
... Harrow didn't do it easy. [ is first. aquila is calm, his words carrying gravity, but there's marked emotion there, too. ] She's dealing with the consequences of it, right now. You saw them. I think you've felt them, too.
[ see them, really. aquila's not talking about harrow's face, here. he's quiet for a moment, like he's trying to pick what to say - careful with his words, like always. the consequences of choices, like forty people's lives for one other. ]
...There are things I can encourage, and things I can't. I can tell you to make your own decisions, and that whatever path you choose is your path to choose. You have a fifty-fifty chance at your disposal that no one else has, and you have people you could lean on, if you did it. They'd do for you what you were doing for Harrow.
[ because, you know, he saw you pocket a bunch of evidence, ma'am. aquila reaches out, again - this time, tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear. ] If you walk down that path, then you don't have to walk it alone.
...I wish I could walk it with you. [ quieter, a little more frustrated. ] But I can't.
[she nods a little, finally, and she can't look up, because she's only just barely keeping herself together. she holds his hands tightly, jaw working as she stubbornly pushes the upset and anxiety away from her. no. be stronger.
it's about what you can live with.
her ear flicks, when he tucks her hair behind it.]
I want you to be safe. [she says, finally, voice cracking just a little.] No matter what happens, even if I do this or I don't do it, whatever.
I don't know what's going on here, but I'm going to fix it.
[ ugghghh. he - laughs, just once, softly, lets her hold his hand as tight as she likes. ]
My hero.
[ who's the damsel in distress, now? who knows. his fingers twitch when her voice cracks, thumb stroking against the side of her hand, and he drops his other hand again. ] ... You have to know I feel the same.
[ about lup's safety, of course - there's a little matching vulnerability there, too. it's a short response, but it says a lot more about how he feels about her potential plans than anything else. that's what matters.
aquila doesn't have anything to say about fixing it, but, maybe that isn't surprising. a little lighter, then, a little more joking to cope, as you do: ] All of you are giving me gray hair.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
guestservices) wrote2022-06-09 12:18 pm
week 4, monday
Dark. I like it.
[ (muffled ukrainian chant music) ]
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[she is sitting on the counter, checking her nails.] Mmhm. You have about five seconds to start running.
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What?
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What? Why - what.
[ HELLO? they take one step back ]
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[she's serious, boy, you better take off like a bat out of hell]
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[ WHAT IS HAPPENING
they take another step back they are not running
(have you ever known them to be a coward?) ]
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[she says, with a sigh, and she hops off the counter.] You can't even let me do my cool counting thing, can you?
[and then she fucking tackles them to the floor? or tries to, anyway.]
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they are not really expecting to be tackled, so there's that. they catch her, at first, like out of pure instinct, and then they both hit the ground because aquila takes a misstep, in a jumble of fabric and limbs.
they push themselves up on their elbows, or, at least try to? their hat is crooked. ] What the hell are you doing?!
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You were right, your greatest indulgence is being exorbitantly kind to me.
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...
Something clicks.
she'll feel aquila tense up a bit, taking in a breath that's a little short, but... after a moment, they exhale. ]
...Hhhhah. [ it feels - the voice is still wrong. gravelly, a lower register. it's touch week, though, and their hands twitch briefly against the marble where they fell over. ] Is it, now?
[ there's about a million different emotions in those two words, though the two most easily featured are the emotion of "haha busted" but they absolutely refuse to acknowledge that. ]
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I'm sorry I pushed you away when I was freaking out about the monster changes. [it makes a lot more sense in context.]
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weh.
all the tension in their shoulders just sort of melts out, and they just drop their face forward. they're careful about it - enough that the veil and hat doesn't move, but it's touch week, and their - his forehead drops against her shoulder.
...
muffled: ] ...I couldn't get to you, the week before. [ before the monster changes - when she was hurt. ] I'm sure you must have thought I was some kind of freak. [ aquila doesn't say it. maybe this is just a nice apology between strangers? but there's something unstated, there - i panicked. ]
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I sure did. Quit touching me, weirdo. [she says, absolutely not letting go.]
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... he just stays like that, forehead gently pressed against her shoulder. lifting his hands finally - aquila hesitates, for a moment, before he wraps his arms back around lup. hands hovering, and then curling in the back of her clothes. you can't see his face, but his eyes are closed, and his grip is sure.
muffled, in that gravelly, not right voice - ] My love language's touch. [ which is delivered in a sort of deadpan, like they're maybe poking fun at themselves. they are definitely poking fun at themselves. aquila "i can count the number of hugs i've had in my life before (redacted) on one hand" lastname.
their fingers curl a little tighter, though. ]
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[she groans at the joke, but she's amused. she's quiet for a moment, though. thinking? she's thinking about all of the conversations they've had and also about the one time that she told him he doesn't love her to his face
gently pushes that one aside anyway]
... I'm sorry. [is what she settles on, because - she desperately doesn't want him to have to do this.]
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anyway. when she apologizes, whatever else aquila wanted to say falls to the wayside too. they're quiet for a beat. ]
... hold on.
[ is all the warning she gets, at first, before - shadows consume them both!
... and they're on the floor of lup's room instead of the lobby. it's a little more private this way. talk about a role reversal, huh? before he says anything else, he glances around briefly, voice losing some of that gravel affect. ] ...I can't talk for long, and this has to stay.
[ the veil, anyway.
there's another pause.
... ] ...I'd rather it be me. [ so. ]
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she... nods, expression worried, at that first part. but the rest of it has her face turning sour, like he probably imagined it would.]
You can guess what I'm going to say about that, my dude.
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I can guess.
[ ... but it doesn't change it, any.
but, aquila's tone softens a little, and more humbly, he adds -]
... thank you, anyway. [ so there's that, at least, accepting the apology for what it is. ] It's... well. I don't have to tell you how it feels, to be the one that watches.
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It sucks. [she says, quietly.] Being on this side is worse. I don't know how you managed.
[...] I'm sick of feeling helpless, Z-- Aquila.
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he lets her take his hands - cold as a corpse, like always- and squeezes them. the affection week is a nice cover, anyway, and it lets him pull her hands up under the veil, so she can feel it when he kisses her knuckles, then lowers them back afterwards. ]
I know. [ god, doesn’t he. ] That’s the whole point of these places, no matter what side you’re on.
Talk to me about it.
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I don't know what to do anymore. I thought it'd be okay to avoid killing someone, but the longer we go, the more I start to think I'm wrong.
Harrow did it so easy. I should be able to.
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... he keeps a hold on her hands, for now. ]
... Harrow didn't do it easy. [ is first. aquila is calm, his words carrying gravity, but there's marked emotion there, too. ] She's dealing with the consequences of it, right now. You saw them. I think you've felt them, too.
[ see them, really. aquila's not talking about harrow's face, here. he's quiet for a moment, like he's trying to pick what to say - careful with his words, like always. the consequences of choices, like forty people's lives for one other. ]
...There are things I can encourage, and things I can't. I can tell you to make your own decisions, and that whatever path you choose is your path to choose. You have a fifty-fifty chance at your disposal that no one else has, and you have people you could lean on, if you did it. They'd do for you what you were doing for Harrow.
[ because, you know, he saw you pocket a bunch of evidence, ma'am. aquila reaches out, again - this time, tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear. ] If you walk down that path, then you don't have to walk it alone.
...I wish I could walk it with you. [ quieter, a little more frustrated. ] But I can't.
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it's about what you can live with.
her ear flicks, when he tucks her hair behind it.]
I want you to be safe. [she says, finally, voice cracking just a little.] No matter what happens, even if I do this or I don't do it, whatever.
I don't know what's going on here, but I'm going to fix it.
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My hero.
[ who's the damsel in distress, now? who knows. his fingers twitch when her voice cracks, thumb stroking against the side of her hand, and he drops his other hand again. ] ... You have to know I feel the same.
[ about lup's safety, of course - there's a little matching vulnerability there, too. it's a short response, but it says a lot more about how he feels about her potential plans than anything else. that's what matters.
aquila doesn't have anything to say about fixing it, but, maybe that isn't surprising. a little lighter, then, a little more joking to cope, as you do: ] All of you are giving me gray hair.
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