[ the frown tells all. he may say it's not pity, but it feels a lot like it. in a lot of ways, the notion of repayment is more about her dignity and comfort than about his need. she tightens her fist on the bottle, waffling over it.
it's not until he offers the pickaxe out that she gets an idea. ]
I want to try something else, first. [ she turns to look up at the substantial bone barrier. it resists being looked at, the white too blinding.
if she is going to fight aristaeus, though, she need to be able to do this on purpose. she needs to have some kind of control over it. and surely, it would make quick work of what was in front of them. spare them the fatigue of their illness, and potential injury. ]
[ He can't blame her for the indignant spike that follows his request. However, taking care of oneself is a task many people here struggle with... Himself included, sometimes. ]
Something else? Powers, or...?
[ He's curious either way, lowering the offered pickaxe to follow by her side. ]
[ she nods, confirming it's the same thing as 'powers' in the general sense. she tucks the bottle away into her jacket to free up her hands, as if she will need them.
this has only happened a few times. in each, she has drawn on strong emotions. panic. overwhelm a sense that she will die. she reaches for the thoughts of the screaming thing beyond the barrier, tries to test out if the answer lies in some of that, but ...
it's not human enough. not for her to really use it, connect with it. she huffs through her nose. ]
I'm not good at this. If something goes wrong, you should probably knock me out. [ she looks back at him, at the pickaxe. ] That should work.
[ He echoes the word. It resonates strongly in his mind; not because he understands what she's referencing, but because raw fury is an emotion he has always known how to weaponize.
[ she scrutinizes him a moment, skeptical or at least confused by the alternative methods, by the eerie glow of his eyes. in the end, it hardly matters. she does not mean to fail, even if she hardly knows what to do.
she draws on what she does know — on the breathing pattern that aristaeus had shown her, forced upon her, at the harvest festival. her lungs strain with the effort, with the urge to hack and cough against the itch and flutter of her illness.
she makes fists of her hands, tries to imagine the explosive force that had killed ta'ghul, that had hurt those adolescents in stygia when she set fire to the dumpster. every weapon she had turned on others. the case of cornmeal in the kuruko camp, that had covered her escape with mitzli.
a tension winding tighter and tighter inside her, building brighter and brighter until it had nothing to do but explode.
instead of the wall of bone, however, it is the dead trees nearby that shatter into a thousand wooden shards from the sudden telekinetic burst, and no small number of them come flying towards mavis and kaito both. ]
[ He watches quietly. Emotions ring in the back of his skull, steadily growing in pitch and volume until it feels like his eardrums might burst despite the lack of actual physical stimuli.
And then, something snaps. Kaito feels the trees wail just moments before they shatter, and his body does the rest. A quick pivot places his body between Mavis and the wooden shrapnel, but instead of crossing his arms over protectively, his hands thrust out and the energy gathered around his eyes sparks to life.
A thin, translucent silver barrier sprawls out from over his palms, tall and wide enough to shield them from the shower of bark. The sound of glass splintering and the sight of cracks are worrying, but his construct holds just long enough to survive the onslaught before dissolving.
Slow, shuddery breaths escape his lungs as the tension unravels from shaking hands. Concentration remains written over his features, but there's frustration woven in his frown.
[ mavis' eyes snap wide when he steps in front of her, and she does not flinch away from the wooden shards or the silver shield that protects them from it. intuitively, she knows there is no need.
instead, her lips part slightly, all wonder and awe over the beauty of it. ]
It's not just you. [ that's what she says, when she finally speaks. she clears her throat. that tickle is ever present. she responds to his thoughts as if they were words: ] Sometimes, it's quiet for me, even in Stygia.
[ but not in a dependable way. not in a way that makes her able to brave the crowds. she draws her gaze back to him, head tilting. ] What was that?
[ He's become more used to having the telepath in his head. It helps that Hibiki lives there rent free, too.
Focusing on what he can't control will only make him more agitated. Kaito splits a smile instead, then snaps gloved fingers. Silver sparks eventually transform into a visible aura emanating around his body. It's bright, but not painfully so. There's a warmth to it. ]
This is aura—a tangible energy that exists in all living things. I've mentioned it once or twice by now, I think. Aura's what I draw upon to perform most of my antics. I can normally do cooler stuff than just barely withstand an incoming rain of splinters, but it is what it is.
[ she looks away from him as she says it, feeling ... vulnerable, more than anything. the kind that anticipates a negative reaction. she wants to keep looking at the aura, the enchanting silver glow about him, but instinct tells her to avoid his face.
as if that has ever helped. as if she hasn't ever had unfettered access to people's honest reactions, telegraphed directly into her mind.
but her people had exiled her for it, and that experience sticks with her. she cannot help but shy away from it. ]
Same as reading your thoughts. [ she wrinkles her nose. ] Sounds like the same. But I don't glow.
[ Ah. That unease is more than tangible—it feels like a memory more than a familiar sensation. Empaths are often conflated with telepaths. Well, the stronger ones are. As for why?
With an ease that suggests he anticipated Mavis' gaze would stray, Kaito quietly steps back into her field of view. He knows he doesn't have to, but he lowers a bit of the resistance that he's become used to throwing up around her, exchanging the comfort of dampening his thoughts with the knowledge that his words will reflect them perfectly. ]
I think it's cool. Could use a little fine-tuning in the control department, cool regardless. There are theories in my home world that many different schools of magic or supernatural powers stem from the same energy source, and that it's simply a matter of culture that divides them into fields like aura, mana, chi, and so on.
[ If she's going to shy away, he'll simply keep matching her movements so that he remains obnoxiously at the center of her perception. The smile on his face is warmer than usual. ]
I only learned how to glow after some family drama. Don't count yourself out of the running just yet, Mavis.
[ she doesn't quite bristle, but she draws up, startled by his persistence. her hands ball into fists, tuck into her pockets. one knocks against the bottle he'd brought her.
she pulls her hand back out and scratches the back of her head with it, tousling her hair. ]
You're so weird. [ she ducks behind this dismissal, then goes to grab the previously offered pickaxe. ] We can talk while we work.
So I've been told. [ A smirk takes over for a brief moment as he hands her the pickaxe. Fortunately, he has no intention of properly teasing her (baby steps, one foot forward at a time).
Instead, he slinks his way to the wall and swings. Kaito's had many long hours to properly practice how to flail this thing around, and he's a quick study. The resulting crack of steel against bone is satisfying. It might only be satisfying to him, but that's all that matters.
He just wants some validation for power leveling MIN to 67 in a matter of days, okay? He didn't even abuse levequests!!! ]
I did a lot of things the weird, roundabout way back home. You can probably guess since I talk so much.
[ mavis observes the way kaito uses the pickaxe. it's an unfamiliar tool for her. no one mines in clan lands.
no, her shadow reminds her, that's not true. kossos mines them now as they please. there are no kuruko to protect the mountains anymore.
she shakes her head softly, dislodging the thought. studying, instead, how kaito goes about it. then she tries to mimic his stance, making a sloppier strike against the barrier. ]
I wouldn't have guessed. [ she clarifies. ] Isn't it normal? [ she adjusts her grip on the pickaxe. ] Talking. [ everyone else seems to be better at it than her, so she just assumes kaito is just affable and likable. ]
Back straight. Knees bent. Your non-dominant hand should be at the base of the handle. Keep your eyes on what you want the pick to strike. ...Good. The most important thing for you is making sure you don't pull anything or hurt yourself mid-swing.
[ He corrects her while swinging away. Each instruction is succinct, but he never sounds cross or impatient. When she poses her question, he hefts the pick on his shoulder and glances her way.
His head shakes in the negative. ]
It wasn't normal for me. Not for a long time. [ He lifts his free hand. Clenches a fist until his entire arm is shaking. ] This was my mouth for many years. No one outside of my family understood me. No one wanted to understand me.
They only wanted to hurl obscenities and barbed remarks. So I learned to throw punches and kicks in return. If I hurt them enough, they would fear me, and I'd never have to worry about being hurt myself.
[ Kaito relaxes his hand and taps his chest, offering a wan smile before going back to work on the bone. ]
In a way, I was just as bad as them. I didn't want to understand anyone either. I only wanted to be left alone. People hurt. I was tired of being hurt.
Wasn't until I was a bit older that I realized how much I actually wanted to be accepted. ...And I was fortunate enough for someone to recognize that without having to be told. That person influenced who I am now. They refused to let me push them away, and I'm grateful to them for that.
[ A particularly strong overhead swing blows out a large chunk of the barrier. They're making solid progress. ]
I suppose I've become like them over the years. Now I look for people who are in need, and I offer my hand to them.
[ The empath's smile brightens. ]
...They just have to get used to my incessant talking, first.
some of it is familiar — understandable, for her. not the parts about family, but the sense of wanting to be accepted, and the appeal of finding a person who wouldn't let her push them away. he has become that in a way, hasn't he? she isn't trying to push, but she always seems to. kaito shows up anyway.
she looks away from him. back at her task. ]
It's not that bad. [ strike. ] It's easy to ignore.
[ she stops again. he is the first to say so. and it occurs to her, then, that it matters. that she cares if she is easy to get along with, that it is a valuable trait as much as a strong arm or a quick foot. ]
[ she looks down at the pickaxe in her hands. some feeling she doesn't recognize swells up in her chest, like wet pressure. she clears her throat of the tickle of flower petals.
the silence stretches as she searches for words. ]
I don't have much practice.
[ there. that's the crux of it, right? she goes back to swinging the pickaxe. ]
My family died. [ would she recognize her parents if they were here? she tries to imagine their faces, but all that comes up is their slave brands. it makes her arm itch. ] And I lived apart from the clan.
[ a feeling like a sucking void, one that she is constantly skirting around. rejection. worthlessness. they hadn't just made her a slave for some crime, they'd exiled her, treated her like she was more kossian than kuruko, even though she wanted no part of them, had no blood in common with them. it is a fluttering, fearful sense of guilt and grief. ]
[ Kaito's actually not the worst when it comes to silently listening and processing information without throwing his two cents all over the place. As Mavis explains, even in so few words, Kaito can see vivid pictures—assumptions, all of them, based off his interpretation of the emotions bleeding from her aura.
Either way, he's been seeing auras for his entire life. He has a pretty good feeling that his guesses at her emotions are at least somewhat accurate.
In the end, he doesn't stop swinging. But his eyes are firmly set on her figure. ]
I know you didn't have to share. Thank you.
If there's any silver lining in this hellscape... it's that you have time to practice some more. With me. With the rest of us.
[ she looks up at him. tightens her grip on her pickaxe. chews her lip. ]
Yeah.
[ she nods a little, finally. it had not occurred to her until now — that the things which she was missing, the life that she had not gotten to live for exile and early death, might be lived here, now. that maybe she had already begun doing just that.
she looks back down at the pickaxe, then continues her work, a little more spirited for this reminder. ]
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no subject
Take care of yourself and we'll be square. And don't take that as me pitying you, because that's not what that is.
[ Straightening up, he reaches behind him and offers one of his pickaxes. It's fairly rugged and sturdy. ]
Here. There's gonna be a lot of rubble in the way. Don't overdo it if the coughing starts to get real bad, though.
no subject
it's not until he offers the pickaxe out that she gets an idea. ]
I want to try something else, first. [ she turns to look up at the substantial bone barrier. it resists being looked at, the white too blinding.
if she is going to fight aristaeus, though, she need to be able to do this on purpose. she needs to have some kind of control over it. and surely, it would make quick work of what was in front of them. spare them the fatigue of their illness, and potential injury. ]
no subject
Something else? Powers, or...?
[ He's curious either way, lowering the offered pickaxe to follow by her side. ]
no subject
[ she nods, confirming it's the same thing as 'powers' in the general sense. she tucks the bottle away into her jacket to free up her hands, as if she will need them.
this has only happened a few times. in each, she has drawn on strong emotions. panic. overwhelm a sense that she will die. she reaches for the thoughts of the screaming thing beyond the barrier, tries to test out if the answer lies in some of that, but ...
it's not human enough. not for her to really use it, connect with it. she huffs through her nose. ]
I'm not good at this. If something goes wrong, you should probably knock me out. [ she looks back at him, at the pickaxe. ] That should work.
no subject
[ He echoes the word. It resonates strongly in his mind; not because he understands what she's referencing, but because raw fury is an emotion he has always known how to weaponize.
A̷n̴d̸ ̴o̸n̴e̸ ̷t̵h̸a̶t̸ ̶y̸o̶u̸ ̶h̴a̴v̵e̸ ̸m̶a̷d̶e̸ ̸g̸o̸o̷d̵ ̶u̶s̷e̷ ̷o̶f̷ ̶r̸e̶c̸e̸n̸t̸l̵y̷.̸
When she advises him, he nods—yet he puts the pickaxe away. Sparks of silver-white energy begin to dance around his eyes. ]
I have gentler methods.
Go ahead.
I've got your back.
no subject
she draws on what she does know — on the breathing pattern that aristaeus had shown her, forced upon her, at the harvest festival. her lungs strain with the effort, with the urge to hack and cough against the itch and flutter of her illness.
she makes fists of her hands, tries to imagine the explosive force that had killed ta'ghul, that had hurt those adolescents in stygia when she set fire to the dumpster. every weapon she had turned on others. the case of cornmeal in the kuruko camp, that had covered her escape with mitzli.
a tension winding tighter and tighter inside her, building brighter and brighter until it had nothing to do but explode.
instead of the wall of bone, however, it is the dead trees nearby that shatter into a thousand wooden shards from the sudden telekinetic burst, and no small number of them come flying towards mavis and kaito both. ]
no subject
And then, something snaps. Kaito feels the trees wail just moments before they shatter, and his body does the rest. A quick pivot places his body between Mavis and the wooden shrapnel, but instead of crossing his arms over protectively, his hands thrust out and the energy gathered around his eyes sparks to life.
A thin, translucent silver barrier sprawls out from over his palms, tall and wide enough to shield them from the shower of bark. The sound of glass splintering and the sight of cracks are worrying, but his construct holds just long enough to survive the onslaught before dissolving.
Slow, shuddery breaths escape his lungs as the tension unravels from shaking hands. Concentration remains written over his features, but there's frustration woven in his frown.
Are my powers wilting even more? ]
Whew... close... That's some strength.
no subject
instead, her lips part slightly, all wonder and awe over the beauty of it. ]
It's not just you. [ that's what she says, when she finally speaks. she clears her throat. that tickle is ever present. she responds to his thoughts as if they were words: ] Sometimes, it's quiet for me, even in Stygia.
[ but not in a dependable way. not in a way that makes her able to brave the crowds. she draws her gaze back to him, head tilting. ] What was that?
no subject
[ He's become more used to having the telepath in his head. It helps that Hibiki lives there rent free, too.
Focusing on what he can't control will only make him more agitated. Kaito splits a smile instead, then snaps gloved fingers. Silver sparks eventually transform into a visible aura emanating around his body. It's bright, but not painfully so. There's a warmth to it. ]
This is aura—a tangible energy that exists in all living things. I've mentioned it once or twice by now, I think. Aura's what I draw upon to perform most of my antics. I can normally do cooler stuff than just barely withstand an incoming rain of splinters, but it is what it is.
Your turn. What was all that?
no subject
[ she looks away from him as she says it, feeling ... vulnerable, more than anything. the kind that anticipates a negative reaction. she wants to keep looking at the aura, the enchanting silver glow about him, but instinct tells her to avoid his face.
as if that has ever helped. as if she hasn't ever had unfettered access to people's honest reactions, telegraphed directly into her mind.
but her people had exiled her for it, and that experience sticks with her. she cannot help but shy away from it. ]
Same as reading your thoughts. [ she wrinkles her nose. ] Sounds like the same. But I don't glow.
no subject
With an ease that suggests he anticipated Mavis' gaze would stray, Kaito quietly steps back into her field of view. He knows he doesn't have to, but he lowers a bit of the resistance that he's become used to throwing up around her, exchanging the comfort of dampening his thoughts with the knowledge that his words will reflect them perfectly. ]
I think it's cool. Could use a little fine-tuning in the control department, cool regardless. There are theories in my home world that many different schools of magic or supernatural powers stem from the same energy source, and that it's simply a matter of culture that divides them into fields like aura, mana, chi, and so on.
[ If she's going to shy away, he'll simply keep matching her movements so that he remains obnoxiously at the center of her perception. The smile on his face is warmer than usual. ]
I only learned how to glow after some family drama. Don't count yourself out of the running just yet, Mavis.
no subject
[ she doesn't quite bristle, but she draws up, startled by his persistence. her hands ball into fists, tuck into her pockets. one knocks against the bottle he'd brought her.
she pulls her hand back out and scratches the back of her head with it, tousling her hair. ]
You're so weird. [ she ducks behind this dismissal, then goes to grab the previously offered pickaxe. ] We can talk while we work.
no subject
Instead, he slinks his way to the wall and swings. Kaito's had many long hours to properly practice how to flail this thing around, and he's a quick study. The resulting crack of steel against bone is satisfying. It might only be satisfying to him, but that's all that matters.
He just wants some validation for power leveling MIN to 67 in a matter of days, okay? He didn't even abuse levequests!!! ]
I did a lot of things the weird, roundabout way back home. You can probably guess since I talk so much.
no subject
no, her shadow reminds her, that's not true. kossos mines them now as they please. there are no kuruko to protect the mountains anymore.
she shakes her head softly, dislodging the thought. studying, instead, how kaito goes about it. then she tries to mimic his stance, making a sloppier strike against the barrier. ]
I wouldn't have guessed. [ she clarifies. ] Isn't it normal? [ she adjusts her grip on the pickaxe. ] Talking. [ everyone else seems to be better at it than her, so she just assumes kaito is just affable and likable. ]
no subject
[ He corrects her while swinging away. Each instruction is succinct, but he never sounds cross or impatient. When she poses her question, he hefts the pick on his shoulder and glances her way.
His head shakes in the negative. ]
It wasn't normal for me. Not for a long time. [ He lifts his free hand. Clenches a fist until his entire arm is shaking. ] This was my mouth for many years. No one outside of my family understood me. No one wanted to understand me.
They only wanted to hurl obscenities and barbed remarks. So I learned to throw punches and kicks in return. If I hurt them enough, they would fear me, and I'd never have to worry about being hurt myself.
[ Kaito relaxes his hand and taps his chest, offering a wan smile before going back to work on the bone. ]
In a way, I was just as bad as them. I didn't want to understand anyone either. I only wanted to be left alone. People hurt. I was tired of being hurt.
Wasn't until I was a bit older that I realized how much I actually wanted to be accepted. ...And I was fortunate enough for someone to recognize that without having to be told. That person influenced who I am now. They refused to let me push them away, and I'm grateful to them for that.
[ A particularly strong overhead swing blows out a large chunk of the barrier. They're making solid progress. ]
I suppose I've become like them over the years. Now I look for people who are in need, and I offer my hand to them.
[ The empath's smile brightens. ]
...They just have to get used to my incessant talking, first.
no subject
some of it is familiar — understandable, for her. not the parts about family, but the sense of wanting to be accepted, and the appeal of finding a person who wouldn't let her push them away. he has become that in a way, hasn't he? she isn't trying to push, but she always seems to. kaito shows up anyway.
she looks away from him. back at her task. ]
It's not that bad. [ strike. ] It's easy to ignore.
[ #bonding ]
no subject
[ Clack. Clang! Kaito barks out a laugh, unabated, very amused. The smile he beams her way is brighter still. ]
You're easy to get along with, too.
no subject
[ she stops again. he is the first to say so. and it occurs to her, then, that it matters. that she cares if she is easy to get along with, that it is a valuable trait as much as a strong arm or a quick foot. ]
no subject
[ Not a hint of hesitation. His voice echoes with the thought resonating in his mind.
Clang! ]
I hope that's as meaningful to you as it is to me.
no subject
the silence stretches as she searches for words. ]
I don't have much practice.
[ there. that's the crux of it, right? she goes back to swinging the pickaxe. ]
My family died. [ would she recognize her parents if they were here? she tries to imagine their faces, but all that comes up is their slave brands. it makes her arm itch. ] And I lived apart from the clan.
[ a feeling like a sucking void, one that she is constantly skirting around. rejection. worthlessness. they hadn't just made her a slave for some crime, they'd exiled her, treated her like she was more kossian than kuruko, even though she wanted no part of them, had no blood in common with them. it is a fluttering, fearful sense of guilt and grief. ]
no subject
Either way, he's been seeing auras for his entire life. He has a pretty good feeling that his guesses at her emotions are at least somewhat accurate.
In the end, he doesn't stop swinging. But his eyes are firmly set on her figure. ]
I know you didn't have to share. Thank you.
If there's any silver lining in this hellscape... it's that you have time to practice some more. With me. With the rest of us.
no subject
Yeah.
[ she nods a little, finally. it had not occurred to her until now — that the things which she was missing, the life that she had not gotten to live for exile and early death, might be lived here, now. that maybe she had already begun doing just that.
she looks back down at the pickaxe, then continues her work, a little more spirited for this reminder. ]
no subject
This tightening of his chest. The swell of warmth, the dizziness.
It's a different kind of happiness than what Hibiki evokes. All the more important because of that.
I̸t̶ ̴w̵o̸n̶'̷t̴ ̴l̴a̶s̶t̶.̷
'Ah, but nothing lasts forever.'
Smiling without saying a word, Kaito returns to their task. Right now, only the clang of steel against bone can overpower the beat of his pulse. ]