Meteion (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
perfectlygoodbird) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
aionlogs2022-07-31 05:02 pm
perfectlygoodbird) wrote in aionlogs2022-07-31 05:02 pm
closed
WHO: Meteion and Estinien Wyrmblood
WHAT: In avoiding the Kenoma, a bird runs into another problem.
WHERE: Venera
WHEN: 26th of Soviseri.
WARNINGS: This will only end in tears, with Meteion a shard.
.
The bird has been doing her best to keep a low profile ever since the events of the Sovereign's Moon had come to an end. She'd spoken to no one, though that had hurt. Hurt in ways that Meteion had not comprehended until now, when she was well and truly alone. There wasn't anyone she could trust any more. Not after the things she had done--but she also had no one to blame for that but herself. Meteion had made her choices now, like she had made them so long ago. Her sisters were no more, though, and despite the assurance she'd had from Cid that the Final Days had not been her fault...was that something the bird truly believed?
Not now. Not yet. She couldn't.
Meteion tugs the edge of her mantle further up over her head. She can't really hide her legs or tailfeathers--not without leaving a trail--so she keeps to the side streets, trusting in the fact that she is small and unobtrusive to hope that prying eyes simply pass over her.
WHAT: In avoiding the Kenoma, a bird runs into another problem.
WHERE: Venera
WHEN: 26th of Soviseri.
WARNINGS: This will only end in tears, with Meteion a shard.
.
The bird has been doing her best to keep a low profile ever since the events of the Sovereign's Moon had come to an end. She'd spoken to no one, though that had hurt. Hurt in ways that Meteion had not comprehended until now, when she was well and truly alone. There wasn't anyone she could trust any more. Not after the things she had done--but she also had no one to blame for that but herself. Meteion had made her choices now, like she had made them so long ago. Her sisters were no more, though, and despite the assurance she'd had from Cid that the Final Days had not been her fault...was that something the bird truly believed?
Not now. Not yet. She couldn't.
Meteion tugs the edge of her mantle further up over her head. She can't really hide her legs or tailfeathers--not without leaving a trail--so she keeps to the side streets, trusting in the fact that she is small and unobtrusive to hope that prying eyes simply pass over her.
no subject
Remembering stirs the fear in his heart. He'd made a mistake. He wants to go back. If he remained here, would Himeka and Abel be left to rot? He'd left Ryunosuke, abandoned Meteion, and broken his word to Hayame. He'd said he would be back, and now...
His fingers graze her shard, and the bond becomes unmistakable. He hadn't returned, and so it seems she's come to him.
His eyes flutter open, his slit pupils widening in the dimness of the cavern, awash in silvery irises. Slowly, they focus on his surroundings, a sharp inhale signaling his true awakening. He can see her above him, her long dark streaming down behind her like a river. He's so happy, so relieved, that he doesn't even think about how she might react to so intimate a gesture.]
It truly is you...
[It would have been a completely unreasonable thing to expect. Even if he felt she owed it to him, how could she have known? It feels miraculous.
He can still feel her, through their linked shards, like a torch in the night - and yet, her expression seems so pained.]
no subject
She had tumbled to the hay from the body of a mother whose arms had been flensed from her shoulders to make of her a broken broodmare, and it had been humans that raised her in full knowledge that she was a well-bred investment, a tool that would only find a semblance of respect and personhood in a world dominated by their species if she were obedient, strong, and easy to use. And to do that... to succeed the most she was capable of in a system such as that...
Weaknesses such as a need for comfort, sympathy with others, or a desire to feel another's heat were unnecessary. It wasn't as if her culture was particularly free with touch in general, human or jinba, especially where anyone else could see, but... beyond a few mistakes in fillyhood, the one time her brother had placed his hand gently over hers when he swore to assist her in making sure she proved herself and was sold as a warhorse instead of a mare... the one time Matsukaze had grabbed her wrist to haul her back up from death at the base of an icy waterfall as if she needed saving and hadn't just tried to kill him...
Is this what it was supposed to feel like?
Estinien's hand is warm. It is calloused, much like hers is, from gripping weapons tight with determination and rage from youth. Her palm feels unjustifiably sweaty, for reasons she cannot explain. Her fingers wants to tighten their grip and not let go only just a bit more than she wants to run away from the scandal of their bare skin touching in such an intimate way. But mostly... she understands shamefully in that moment that she wants to know if it would be different if he squeezed back. Wants him to be alive enough, awake enough, to be able to.
- Something happens, when she presses his knuckles up against her shard in the soft valley between the breasts she usually bound down as tightly as she could to minimize her femininity beyond what was necessary for an archer attempting to keep draw arm unhampered. The firebrand flares to life, like recognized like, and the torch she hoped to be to guide him out of the darkness he'd found himself glows bright and desperate...
And his eyes open. She honestly thinks it might be some sort of hallucination, at first. It couldn't be actually happening, because if it was... it might meant that she was succeeding. That this bizarre, magical, instinct-driven something technique of hers had actually worked... and it renders Hayame frozen as he blinks and tries to reorient himself in the land of the un-crystallized, as if words or movement from her, even an attempt to hide the emotional (anxious, hurt, angry, sad, lonely) look on her face or hide the fact that she is clutching his hand might ruin it.
But then he speaks, and she has to believe it. It truly is you, he says, and Hayame struggles to force the words half-swallowed and trapped in her throat back out again, part of her river of inky hair sliding over a shoulder as she leans in just an inch under the excuse of being able to hear his voice in the crystal cavern where the peaceful silence is almost oppressively loud. Was it really her?]
... Who else would it be?
[She thinks she means it physically, to say that of course it is her because no one else among the aions could be mistaken for her- not with her centaurine form, her distinctive coloring... let alone that now he lays in the bony cradle of her forelegs. It truly is Hayame, no matter how disappointing that should be... and yet all she feels through the bond is happiness and relief. (Happiness-)]
... And you? What of Estinien?
[He had spoken of the Innocence entity as something capable of stealing away his sense of self, of robbing him of memories and bonds, and so now, only able to assume that the same entity is to blame now... did he remember all he needed to? Was he yet himself, the same man that had put that hunting knife in her hands what seemed like so long ago despite it being but the pass of a single season?
She needs to know the answer from his own tongue, before she can let herself even begin to feel that same sense of relief and maybe... maybe...]
no subject
He recalls what brought him to the shrine. His stomach turns with it, in fact. He'd felt on the verge of madness with the sorrow of having lost Himeka and Abel to the Kenoma, still reeling from the entity's assault on his mind. He'd left the safety of the lodestone in a frenzy, desperate to find something, anything, that he could do to make it feel like he wasn't utterly helpless to save them.
He'd hoped to capture a Kenoma, to do whatever it took to draw from them the information he needed, and he'd failed. Instead, he captured Meteion, free of the darkness that had once burdened her. Still scrambling for purpose, he'd come upon the idea that led him here: he would bring Meteion's shard to her kin, and in doing so, implore the entity for its help in repairing the damage it had caused.
...The answer he received was predictable, in retrospect. Yet, he still remembers his pain. He remembers what he lost, and it makes him believe the entity's hold on him is not yet complete.]
...He is here, aye. Fool that he is...
[The euphoria of being free is fading, his expression falling to something more somber. Yet, there is a certain shine in his pale eyes, at seeing her so close. His brow furrows ruefully, his fingers tightening around hers.]
I... had thought to challenge it... the entity... to demand its contrition...
[He finally begins to shift. His body feels lethargic, like the aura of the shrine still wishes to hold him in place. Yet, somehow, the spell binding him has been broken.]
Yet 'tis I that must needs ask for forgiveness... had you not arrived... I would still be its prisoner. Thank you, Hayame.
[From the expression on her face alone, he can tell this wasn't easy for her.]
no subject
She might fail to save that village of orphans if she can’t return home… maybe she already had failed them, failed every jinba that ever existed if her world were gone and she was the only one that remained. She had surely failed Matsukaze, whether she could make it back fulfill her promise to die in his arms or not, unable to believe in the future he had offered her among his herd strong enough to betray everything she’d ever known. She might have failed to capture a single Kenoma in Venera and only managed to leave Achamite heads in her wake, she might have failed to let take the holy man into custody, had to watch him be snapped up as a traitor before her eyes, but this time-
This time she’d saved someone. This time, finally, she feels a well of something like pride and relief swell in her breast, filling both her hearts momentarily to the brim.
Momentarily.
And he squeezes her fingers in his, which makes her hyper focus on the desperate thrumming of her pulse, strong because of how close to her auxiliary heart their hands were, clutched between her half unbound breasts. Suddenly, she realizes how shameless she is being, had been capable of being when his eyes were closed, but now-
Her hold had been so tight with nerves that she struggles to unlock the joints and release him, even as a flush of color creeps up her skin. Even as she says-]
You are a fool, Estinien. A rash, reckless fool who does not keep his word.
[It might be a bit difficult to get up from where she had awkwardly arranged his limp body on her “lap”, and she would normally move to assist him… but not yet. Instead, she forces herself to keep looking him from this scandalous distance, even as the flush of a woman who has never held a hand creeps up her neck. First, before she can accept his apology-]
Did I not tell you that you had my bow? If you had asked—- if you had asked, I would have let those magic healers touch me.
[… Sooner. She would have done it sooner, she must mean, because in order to find him, thinking she may have been left behind because she’d been weak enough to admit to being injured… she had swallowed her pride and bowed her head low to human men she chafed to subserviate to, let hands by laid on her to knit back flesh and bone.
But once she says it, it sounds too selfish, too womanly to speak only of herself, so presumptuous to think it was her he should have called, and so she quickly tries to add-]
I am sure— I am sure that there are plenty of others who would have answered your call, instead, and yet-
[He came here alone, to a place that the ptarmigan lizard claimed the aion Tehri had already warned him not to tread, he hadn’t told a soul that she could identify. Maybe she cannot even feel glad to have saved him, when the pta- when Naruhodo might have even been good enough, and so Estinien-]
Were you not fool enough to offer me your service? If so-
[She had not truly believed him, then, when he’d said that. Even if it was just niceties, maybe nothing near as heavy or binding as such words would be in her own world…]
You will claim to me now that you will not do such a witless thing again until that winged monstrosity is out of you.
[She isn’t fool enough to demand he swear it, and make an oath breaker of him. Anyone will do. It didn’t have to be her…
But she is fool enough that her fingers clutch tighter at his hand without realizing it.]
no subject
He was used to operating alone, and much of the time, it just doesn't occur to him to ask for help. Not when he feels like he should be able to handle something on his own. Yet, he can see the cost of those proclivities here. Hadn't Himeka herself told this to him, again and again? That every time he found himself lost in his own head, fearing for what he could or couldn't do, that he needn't face it alone?
He sees now that he hadn't taken Hayame's offer as seriously as he should. He'd appreciated it, been heartened by it, but all the same he'd found himself deciding that he didn't want to bother her without cause. That she'd been offended, maybe even hurt by his choice to leave her out of what followed... his gut twists as she squeezes his hand more tightly, his eyes widening with gentle surprise. Maybe he had been reluctant to assume that he could possibly mean all that much to her.
...He's never claimed to be intelligent, with issues of the heart. And so, his brow creases with good-natured self-deprecation as she calls upon the offer he'd made to her all those moons ago.]
Aye. I was. And so you shall have it.
[He has to pause, not wanting to speak an untruth. He doesn't know what the future will hold for him, with all that has happened. But...]
...I will not be so witless as this again. Not while having such trustworthy comrades.
[Not while knowing it meant so much.]
no subject
And Estinien gives his word on the bare minimum she demands. His eyes look at her... strangely. His lips move upwards in the corners. His hand is warm in hers. And she... something twitches on her face. The death grip on her hearts relaxes slightly, the overwhelming pressure of her failures lightens a single life's worth, and after her defeats and disappointments in Venera...
Something strange happens.
For the first time in months, since even before she had woken up in the crystal-filled Firebrand Shrine in this land she hated and never asked to come to... Hayame feels her lips curl just ever so slightly into something that other people might just call a smile, a confusing, knotted mix of emotions in her chest pulled tight and then loosened just enough to allow an expression like that to show up on her face. A bit awkward and unpracticed... but sincere, and precious in its rarity.]
Good.
[Simple. That was good. And with his word secured, his limbs no longer bound by crystal, his heart and head no longer asleep...]
Then let us away from here, quickly. Here--
[She finally moves her heavier body, pulling in her forelegs from where she had cradled him in her bony "lap", hauling herself back to her hooves and using her tight hold on his hand to help him up after her, in consideration for the fact that he could possibly be weakened after his ordeal... and the hope that perhaps it will excuse her shamelessness and presumption, as if she had certainly only touched him to begin with to help him- not her.]
no subject
Ryunosuke had wandered off deeper into the cavern when she'd insisted he not look at... Wwwwhatever she was doing, and since then he's been having his own unsuccessful parlay with the Entity. Still rattled by the echoes of its screams-- screams that, in the end, had resolved into the voice of a woman, eerily enough-- it takes a second for it to click mentally, that there are now two voices coming from the direction of the spot where he'd left Hayame with the stricken Estinien. He gives a little jolt once he realizes, hurrying back in that direction... Trying very, very hard to put his discomfort and concern over the abrupt absence of the entity's presence here in the shrine out of his mind.
A thrill of relief goes through him when he emerges to find Hayame helping a now very much awake Estinien up off the ground.]
Ser Estinien--!
[A mixture of relief and concern written on his face, he hurries over to the two of them.]
Thank goodness...! [He glances briefly at Hayame.] I, I wasn't sure what to expect, Madam, but...
[But. Thank you?
...Mid-thought, his relief quickly starts to give way to exasperation, as he realizes the threat is now passed. His attention snaps back to the dragoon.]
...Gods, do you know I've been worried sick about you? You took off and, and this is where you decided to go? [His tail begins to lash back and forth across the ground, betraying further agitation.] Did you not remember that you were specifically warned against coming here??
no subject
As Hayame pulls him to his feet though, his three sets of wings adjusting and folding as he tries to keep his balance, he feels a shift of energy in the cavern. It's the presence of the entity, he's sure of it, and as he holds his head with his free hand he is about to eagerly agree to her recommendation to leave.
...But then it turns out that Ryunosuke is there, too.]
...
[Estinien looks confused - perhaps a bit overwhelmed - to be caught between Hayame and Ryunosuke here, both scolding him for his reckless behaviour. He feels foolish trying to explain himself again when Hayame has already called him out on it, and his ill ease with the vibe of the shrine doesn't help him articulate himself.]
I... had only thought to entreat with the entity... as well as...
[Suddenly it occurs to him that he's forgotten something.]
Meteion! Her shard... 'twas here...!
[He starts searching in a panic, though he doesn't have to go far. There's a familiar chrysalis growing several feet away. The kind that would be about the right size to host the Aion in question. If one looked close, they may even see her shard inside.]
...Praise Halone... 'tis yet unharmed...
no subject
But it disappears completely the moment Ryunosuke appears, to be replaced by a flash of learned shame and cultural humiliation, her locked joints finally pried open to release Estinien's hand as quickly as she can before she can be seen from up close to be holding it. Before anyone else can see her caring, or being so lewd as to touch a man's bare skin in such a fashion where others could see.
And when the other man glances at her in thanks... He's greeted with a dark, resentful glare over the dragoon's shoulder. A glare that says did I not say what would happen if you turned your eyes back here?
But the punishment will have to wait. Estinien is off, and though she almost reaches to try and keep him still, not sure if he is strong enough yet- he proves himself to be, and so she relents. Instead, she follows the short distance to gaze at the inside she can barely make out. A shard... Why did that name sound familiar... "Meteion"... ? Ah- The birdling creature.]
That is a Kenoma's shard? You managed to capture one?
[Good. He has succeeded where she failed. In Venera, she had nearly taken two... and yet they had been ripped from her hands, one by other Kenoma intent on reclaiming their traitor and one by her own betrayed trust. If Estinien at least had claimed one... They would have better knowledge of Achamoth, of other inner workings, potentially...
But the idea of staying here longer, with him affected by the entity and their continued presence feeling this risky, like it was just daring the thing to crystallize him again...]
How long does it take to reform?
[They can't move a... a crystal cocoon. She's strong, but not- not strong enough to move it unless she let herself be trussed up like a plowhorse, and that-]
Estinien, it feels as if you taunt fate each breath here...
[Only then does her gaze move back to Ryunosuke, appraising. Normally, she'd never suggest it. He looked too weak to defend anything, let alone something so precious, but it wasn't as if they were under assault... if it would just be waiting-]
If it need be watched over, Naruhodo can handle it.
[Can't he?]
Perhaps we may withdraw to the borders of the Innocent's domain, and wait there for its revival before we regroup within the wood.
no subject
...Whatever else he was planning to say to Estinien is quickly forgotten in light of what comes next.]
Meteion?!
[Ryunosuke echos the name in shock, his ears flicking up in surprise when Estinien points out the cocoon. Darnit, he KNEW the relevant clues would be in the area around where they found the body. Gosh. He could've pieced this together a lot sooner if SOMEONE hadn't shooed him off, thanks Hayame--
Was Meteion no longer under the influence of the Kenoma, then? She mustn't be, if Estinien dared to bring her back here; the man is more cautious than most Pleroma, regarding members of the opposing sect. The news brings Ryunosuke a small modicum of comfort; he'd only met the girl briefly before this, but he'd been somewhat worried about her. First on Toge's behalf, and then just generally speaking, after she'd spoken of how she no longer felt safe in Achamoth. He can't say that it's really any safer overall, being a hated Pleroma, but at least she'll be among friends who won't judge her harshly for her legacy.
Hayame appraising him makes him feel a bit like a bug under a microscope; he can't say he's particularly keen about staying alone in the shrine, but Estinien has been through more than enough already, and Ryunosuke is inclined to agree with Hayame's sentiment. It does feel like it would be tempting fate for Estinien to remain here.
...He supposes he wouldn't really be alone, anyway. It's odd how a shard can still feel like a presence, even without a body to give it voice.
His dark eyes are full of determination as he meets Hayame's stare once again, nodding his affirmation confidently.]
I'll stay with her. [A beat.] ...I might have brought a change of clothing if I'd known we'd be receiving a new arrival, but I... I'll figure something out.
[Maybe he can communion in some backup with some clothing. Or all else fails, literally give her the shirt off his back. Why not.]
no subject
Regardless, it seems that she's safe. She will return soon enough... and as the entity had said, he believes her spirit is destined for the Pleroma.]
...Aye. She was turning away from the Kenoma. I... only ensured she could not return to it.
[He couldn't bear her being taken back and ruined by them. Not after everything.]
I know not how long I have languished here, but when I was reformed... it only took two sunrises.
[As for Hayame's worries, she is absolutely right. It's foolish to remain here, even for a moment, but he had to see what Meteion was well before going. With Ryunosuke promising to watch over her, he feels secure enough to leave it at that. He looks to Hayame and nods.]
Ryunosuke will have it well in hand. Let us quit this place, before the spirit of this shrine makes another attempt on my soul.
[He'd pushed his luck enough already. He rises, eager to escape to the open air.]
no subject
She should have done the same to Liem, to Barnaby. Just taken their shards by force. If she had... If she had not failed-]
... Two sunrises can be done.
[She suspected it may even be less, seeing that a day had passed in which she'd noticed his absence, traveled here by those accursed portals and a hard gallop on legs repaired by the magic she distrusted so. Relieved that Estinien sees the sense in her caution, Hayame turns to accompany the man out of the shrine... but before she does...
She fixes Naruhodo with a withering stare, long and uncomfortable. Could he truly be trusted with a task such as this? He, who could not even obey a simple instruction to not turn his eyes upon something, who could not give a proper, succinct report? ... She does not know, but he is who is there, and Estinien has expressed no doubt. So rather than risk him bringing more people to this place in his fussy complaints about clothing-]
Do not whine so about nakedness, of all things.
[At a time like this? If she's aware of how hypocritical this makes her, when she had flushed with shame to be seen with her hand on Estinien's not moments ago, she certainly does not act it. (It was different, she was a mare grown, and it was the woman who would be shamed, anyway, not the man-)
Hayame's hand disappears into one of the two saddlebags slung over her withers, where every single thing (so few things) that she owned were located. Fishing about inside by sense of touch, she pulls out a simple piece of cloth, folds it even smaller, and tosses it Ryunosuke's way. It's her own spare shirt, a simple sage green homespun without sleeves that wraps and ties... and though it is but a shirt, it is long so that Hayame can fold it up and cushion the bite of her "waist" harness, so on a thing as slight as Meteion was, it would make a modest enough short smock.]
Dress her when she wakes, then, and contact us for our location.
[With one last look that sought to impress upon him the importance of this task... Hayame gathers herself and turns, trying to disguise the way she watches the other man mindfully for any sign he may need support or for her to slow her pace while he is yet newly uncrystallized.]
Come, Estinien....
[He had a communion to make, she had a fellow Firebrand to guard, Naruhodo had a shard to watch vigil over, and Meteion... had a sect waiting to hear from her about the place called Achamoth.]
no subject
Two sunrises?
Is he going to have to sit here in this accursed shrine? By himself? For two days? He didn't even pack any provisions!! What's he supposed to eat while he waits?!
...Oh... But Estinien is showing faith in him. He doesn't want to spurn that trust by complaining about frivolous things like food... And as for Hayame...
He tries to disguise the look of dismay that's still lingering on his face when she addresses him, snapping to attention with perfect, straight-backed posture... Just before she throws a shirt at him. He catches it, thankfully, and starts to open his mouth to argue that he's not whining, his concern is Meteion's comfort first and foremost, but-- Ugh. It's not worth it.]
Right. I... I'll keep you both informed... [He looks at Estinien instead of Hayame, nodding firmly.] You can count on me.
[It's after they leave, as Ryunosuke is settling down and trying to make himself comfortable for the long wait, that the eerie apology from the entity echoes in his head.
'I'm sorry,' it whispers faintly.
His eyes bug out as he glances around in alarm, and then he shudders, looking at the chrysalis pleadingly.]
...Far be it from me to rush you, but... Please try not to take too long, Miss Meteion...
[Ugh.]
no subject
It's only once they are out in the grass of the valley, the shrine looming behind them, that the entity's phantom whisper arrives in his thoughts. An apology.
He stops mid-step, his gut twisting. He casts an uneasy gaze back to the shrine, his fingers shaking at his sides, before being pressed firm into fists. Sorry, was it? After all it had done? After it had denied him his chance to be heard, when he had come to speak his heart to it?
Some part of him wants to go back, to try to take this opportunity to make it know just how sorry it should be. He doesn't, though. Not while knowing what Hayame had to do for him, and knowing what the consequences of entering its presence again could be. So, instead, he pulls himself together and carries on, rejoining Hayame's side.
No. He will not be fooled by its promises again.]