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Entry tags:
that time i got reincarnated as a baby catboy.
WHO: Eustace, various
WHAT: Post-dissipation / September catch-all
WHERE: All over Horos
WHEN: From the ~22nd of Firaseri onwards
WARNINGS: just max amounts of shitposting
WHAT: Post-dissipation / September catch-all
WHERE: All over Horos
WHEN: From the ~22nd of Firaseri onwards
WARNINGS: just max amounts of shitposting
gray, gen — rebirth (round 2)
It unfolds in much the same way as the first time, a vague sense of discomfort giving way to alertness and then a spike of panic as he feels familiar walls encasing him, inhibiting his movement and the supply of oxygen being delivered to his lungs. (Has he remembered that he doesn't technically need to breathe? Not yet.)
The upside is that he knows what to do this time around, jumbled memories filtering back into his mind as he claws at the chrysalis surrounding him, ripping and tearing as best he can with what limited strength his body can afford. It feels, once again, like the whole process takes forever, each second agonizing and stretched paper thin, when in reality his escape takes maybe a few minutes at most.
He lands on the hard ground with a thud, too busy coughing and gasping for air to pay any attention at all to his surroundings, his brain frantically trying to assess his current internal condition rather than worry about any external force that might wish him harm. ]
no subject
The only blip, more like a catastrophe in her terms, comes when Add stops responding to her. So comes a deep and mind-seizing panic, and soon afterward she also finds that her ability to hold communion with other Aions has severely deteriorated. But those are crises she can do nothing about, and she holds it together, quietly fretting until Gen returns to the shrine soon afterward.
Gen's return is a balm to her anxieties, but there's a high tension in her posture as the two of them continue to play the waiting game. It's only when she hears a crack behind her that her tension fractures, and she moves quickly to the crystal Eustace emerges from with a cascade of emotions to speed her there.
There are some things they prepared for his arrival, but Gray forgets them completely as she hovers anxiously, waiting for him to catch his breath. In the back of her mind, she worries that somehow he may not be completely intact in body or mind, her one green eye nervously reflecting the light of the chrysalis. The other is still covered in clean bandages running over a large corner of her face. ]
Mr. Eustace...?
[ She tests the waters gingerly, waiting to see how he'll respond. ]
no subject
But that's not too surprising, is it? She might have gotten an inkling of it from the moment Gen had crashed for exactly one night at the Seeker's shrine before declaring that, now that Gray was settled in to the shrine and Eustace was on his way to being revived, he was leaving for a bit. To keep an eye on things in the surroundings, to make sure they weren't being pursued. And while he'd returned in a hurry the moment he hadn't been able to contact Gray through her shard, his time spent away from the shrine hasn't done that much to temper his restless demeanor. While Gray spends her time patiently attending to Eustace's burgeoning chrysalis, Gen wiles away the hours constantly on the move -- sleeping for a few restless hours curled up in a corner, pacing around just inside the shrine, doing a round of the immediate surroundings before returning to skulk around at the periphery of Gray's field of vision.
By the time Eustace begins to stir, he's slumped over near the entrance to the shrine, leaning against a small cluster of rocks as he nurses one of his carefully-rationed remaining cigarettes --
and he jerks to his feet the moment he hears that rustle of movement and the quiet sound of Gray's voice. ]
-- is he waking up?
[ It's a matter of such importance that he doesn't even pay attention to his cigarette slowly burning away between his lips as he stumbles over, gaze fixed intently on the twitching chrysalis. And while he does give a slight flinch at the sound of the harsh crack and the slop of viscous fluids as Eustace spills from within that strange cocoon ... he can't bring himself to look away, either. His entire focus is on watching the rise and fall of Eustace's shoulderblades with each breath -- that concrete proof that Eustace is alive once more. It's only once Eustace has finished hacking up that fluid that he manages to find his own voice, his words emerging uncharacteristically small and breathless: ]
... Eustace. Are you ... [ alive? well? okay? ] ... yourself?
no subject
Once he no longer feels as though his world is tipping side to side, he raises his head to blink blearily at his surroundings. A familiar cavern wall to each side, reflecting rays of multicolored light. A shrine, then, though which one he isn't too sure. They all look the same on the inside. Though usually he's walking in from the entrance and not clawing his way out of a crystalline enclosure. Which means...
Confusion ebbs, replaced with somber understanding. He's not unfamiliar with the concept of dissipation, even if it's largely been a theoretical for the Kenoma up until now. Clearly he'd died at some point in Achamoth, and Gray and Gen had managed to bundle him up and cart him somewhere safe. But despite how much he tries to remember the circumstances that have led him here, only bits and pieces flash into his mind. Barnaby, face cold and aggressive, as he aims lightning-quick kicks and punches. The vivid bloom of pain through his body as his ribs had shattered. The light of the Sanctifier's glow reflecting off sharp claws. Anger, pain, an unrestrained urge to destroy. And then....nothing but an uneasy suspension, spiked through with the occasional press of worry and fear.
He lets out a slow breath, the rise and fall of his chest evening out into something more steady. ]
Gray. Gen.
[ There's a faint rasp of exhaustion to his voice (because breaking out of a crystal cocoon is hard work for a baby catboy) but at least he sounds fully aware and cognizant of who he is and who they are. ]
Where are we?
no subject
Thank goodness. Oh, thank goodness...
[ It will be up to Gen to answer Eustace's question while Gray sniffles wetly in the background... ]
no subject
It's okay. Eustace is back. Eustace is back, and whole, and free.
They protected him.
He'd stiffened almost imperceptibly when Eustace's eyes had landed on him, but at that low question Gen stumbles back a half-step. It feels like all the muscles in his body have suddenly gone slack, and though habit dictates that he not permit himself to look weak -- Gen still ends up leaning against the wall to his side. He wouldn't be able to remain standing otherwise. ]
It's ... [ He needs a moment to take a hoarse breath and swallow thickly before he can try again. ] ... we're at the Seeker shrine. [ Another deep breath. This is mortifying, he knows, and so he fights to drive all his emotions deep down in his chest, bury them deep like he always does. It just isn't as easy as he'd hoped it would be. Gen closes his eyes as he rests his head against the wall. ] It's been four days now. Since everything at Achamoth. We figured this one'd be pretty empty, and I've been keeping an eye out for anyone who might come looking. So.
[ The exhaustion's been compounding over the last few days, but it suddenly seems to grow exponentially as the realization truly sinks in -- that Eustace is alive once more, and without the Regent's influence tainting his soul -- Gen breathes another low sigh. Then permits himself to say quietly, ]
... welcome back.
no subject
While Gray cries, he turns his attention to Gen, leaned against the wall and with even deeper circles under his eyes. It's obviously been a long four days for the both of them, and he's not sure if he feels grateful for how much care they've shown him or guilty that he's imposed on them to such detriment. Both intertwine in his heart, alongside a bevy of other emotions he's too afraid to touch at the moment. Gen's explanation is short and to the point, but somehow manages to raise more questions than it answers. Seeker Shrine and not Firebrand? Keeping an eye out for anyone who might come looking?
The silence ticks on, broken only by the rustle of leaves as the summer wind gusts past. His frown stays fixed in place as he tries to slot all the pieces together. It's not a complete picture he ends up with, a gaping hole right in the center that he can't bring himself to ignore. ]
Will you be going back after this?
[ To Achamoth. ]
no subject
I don't think I can. I'm... [ She struggles for a term. ] I'm like I was when I first arrived. Before I drank that black substance.
[ What goes unsaid is that she isn't eager to drink the black goo again, and not just because it tasted foul.
With her answer out of the way, she looks to Gen for his. It's a simple question, but the answer may not be so simple for him. Now that his reason for coming this far has been met... now that he's been away from Achamoth for this long, what has he decided on? Gray's uncovered eye gleams steadily against the crystal light as she studies him for his answer. ]
no subject
She, at least, is free. Even if she pays for it with her current helplessness.
He might be a little jealous of that. It's hard to be sure of his own feelings right now. ]
I don't know. [ Gen heaves a weary exhale as he slowly slides down the wall to take a seat on the ground, scuffing his hand through the mess of his hair and yanking his fingers free when they catch on stray tangles; he feels like shit, and he's sure he looks it, too. And maybe because of that, he ends up answering frankly. ] ... I probably can't. Barnaby -- I took your shard from him, saying I'd be taking it back to the Citadel. [ He breathes again, just a touch shaky. ] ... they must know by now. That I didn't.
[ And he's not sure what a return to Achamoth would entail, as a result. He doesn't want to know, not given what he's found out about Barnaby and Liem's treatments after their attempted backstabbings. Gen forces another slow breath before pointing at where a small collection of clothes are folded off to the side, just barely within Eustace's reach -- contributions from that Pleroma guy who'd come to help Gray, along with Gray's cloak. ]
... I should probably leave soon.
[ Now that Eustace is awake and can protect Gray. ]
anyway i'm sorry to boba, who was not informed in advance of my shitpost intentions
His hand goes slack when Gray pulls away, falling down and back to his side in order to give her space. Now that she isn't huddled into his shoulder either, he takes the time to drag himself more fully upwards, settling into a kneel on the cool ground. The (slightly) higher vantage point and steadier position means he has an easier time looking between both Gray and Gen. Both look—terrible, to say the least. The bandages swathed around Gray's face prompt an immediate deepening of his frown, though he keeps his mouth shut for the time being. He had died back in Achamoth; it shouldn't be a surprise that those around him had sustained their own grievous injuries.
It also shouldn't be a surprise that Gen is busy contemplating the possible repurcussions of his actions. He might be quick to anger and quicker to fight, but he's not stupid. Which leads to the current disconnect at hand — if he'd known about the consequences he would have surely faced, why still bring him (his shard) all the way out here?
Surely Gray must have known as well, although her apparent lack of connection to the Kenoma provides a partial explanation on it's own. (He remembers also the last time he'd talked with Ciel, and the silent image of Gray with her tear-streaked face she'd wordlessly sent him.)
Still. Still. ]
Why? Why didn't both of you bring me back?
[ He wouldn't have faulted either of them if they had. He'd known the risks that going back would have entailed, and would have accepted the consequences of death or recapture. It never strikes him that he might not have severed all the relationships he'd made in Achamoth, or even that any of those bonds might have been strong enough for someone to want to prioritize him over their own safety. ]
looks at you both
If the Regent had your shard, they would have done something to you. Maybe the same things they did to Mr. Barnaby and Mr. Liem. Or... maybe they would have tried to make an example of you.
[ Just like Abel and Himeka. If the Regent saw fit to torture and tamper with people who were still Kenoma, even if they were rebellious, she doesn't want to know what they would do to someone who switched completely to the Pleroma. As if to chase the dread of that thought away, she reaches to take the clothing (singular??) that Johnny had brought and adds her dusty but voluminous cloak to it. She offers these things to Eustace almost absently as she returns her focus to Gen. ]
You can't leave. [ She puts that out there before the notion of Gen taking off alone can settle in too deeply. ] We'll be safer together. If the Regent sends someone to take you back... it really will be the same as with Mr. Barnaby.