thenearshore | [closed] the instant the pain you held tight spills out

Who: Lilka and Lunafreya
When: July 18
Where: Out and about!
What: Introductions and prayer 43

[Lilka was nervous. Getting to know her new god was a fair bit of pressure, and the fact that Lunafreya would be her third god didn’t do much for her comfort levels. Not only had she never fought any ayakashi before, but she hadn’t done many prayers either. With her current self-esteem levels, it was all too easy to start thinking that there wasn’t anything outstanding about herself as a shinki.

She let those thoughts swirl around in her head for longer than she probably should have before she smacked her cheeks with her palms. Hiding her anxiety wasn’t going to keep her god from figuring out how she was feeling, but trying to keep those feelings in check would at least help her feel better.

Okay! Time to try her best! And hopefully not get blighted by any ayakashi any time soon! (Or ever, hopefully.) That would be a terrible first impression, after all.]

Um... Hi! Nice to meet you! I don’t know what kind of person you were expecting to be a shinki of yours, but here I am anyway!

[That was a passable first introduction, right?]

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Don't worry! I'll be okay as long as I don't run into any ayakashi!

[Given that her exposure to ayakashi was very limited, it was entirely possible that she didn't realize how dangerous those words were. At least she wasn't running out of sight.]

That's what I'm worried about! You don't have a name yet!

[Thankfully, though, today's mission does not feature any such thing. Simply a cardboard box full of cats in a nearby alleyway.]

[She slowed to a stop at those words. Oh right. A new name. She'd managed to hold on to the one Tsuzuki gave her for this long already, so she wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. Fortunately, her coming to a stop meant it was a lot easier to spot those cats in the alleyway.]

What's that...?

[Though to any onlookers, it might have just looked like she was wandering into an alleyway.]

[There are three kittens in the box, meowing hungrily. One of them ventures out slowly to sit in front of Lilka, tail swishing curiously as the other two look on. That's about when Luna catches up.]

Oh, you found them! Good work, Lilka.

[Lilka crouched down and stared at the approaching kitten, though she didn't reach out to pet it. How cute! Now that the kittens had made their appearance, the question she really wanted to ask but didn't was now incredibly obvious. Though to be fair, being praised also contributed to that bright look on her face.

But then she remembered something.]

I didn't bring anything to feed them with!

[The brave kitten sniffs at Lilka for a moment before rubbing up against her, prompting the other two to slowly venture out. Luna can't help but simply stand there and smile - the scene in front of her couldn't be much more adorable than this.]

I'll go and buy them a nice fresh fish. Keep them company until I get back, all right?

Okay!

[She was not complaining about taking care of the kittens in the meantime. That aside, she was still a Crest Sorceress despite not remembering that, and that made this situation at least somewhat close to a witch with her cat familiars.

...Though maybe it wasn't like that at all, considering that by the time Lunafreya came back, she was at the point where she couldn't even get up without giving the kittens a rude awakening. Welp.]

I've got the-

[Luna's halfway through the sentence when she rounds the corner and sees the kittens napping in Lilka's lap.]

-fish.

[She was wrong. It did get more adorable.]

[She turned her head at Lunafreya's still unfamiliar voice, and a sheepish look soon followed. She hadn't expected to be buried in kittens either.]

I tried to stand up before, but it's hard to move kittens without waking them up!

Well, maybe the smell of food will wake them.

[Luna smiles, approaching quietly and setting the fish down near them.]

[One of the kittens practically leaped on the fish once it seemed safe enough, while the others were more cautious. The last one seemed to be more interested in curling up and napping some more, but Lilka couldn't be certain that wasn't weakness from hunger or something. Luckily the loud meowing from the other kittens was enough to get it to abandon the idea of napping any longer.]

I wonder if they'll really be okay...

[Plus she still did kind of want to take them home to the temple.]

We can come back to check on them until the person who made the prayer arrives again. I wouldn't want to take them anywhere and have them worry when they get back.

[She does smile a bit, though.]

...Though perhaps we can ask about bringing one or two of them home after.

[She simply nodded at first. How long would that take? The thought of leaving them alone didn't sit well. That latter statement though...]

Really? [Her face lit up on instinct, and while she tried to rein that in, it was much too late to hide it completely.] ..But if they don't want to leave with us, that's okay too.

[It seemed a bit mean to separate a few from the group, now that she thought about it.]

Well, it never hurts to ask.

[Luna can't help but smile too as she nods back.]

[closed] the instant the pain you held tight spills out

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