thenearshore | [OPEN + closed/semi-closed] a nightingale in a golden cage

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[OPEN + closed/semi-closed] a nightingale in a golden cage

Who: A + B: Shun and you! C: Shun and existing CR, D: Shun and Ren
When: A: July 20th, B: July 21st, Morning, C: July 20th-22nd, late evening to ungodly hours of the morning, D: July 22nd, late evening
Where: A + B: Around the Far Shore, C: Temples of just about anyone Shun knows decently, D: Inanna's Temple
What: Shun having sleep issues and trying to be productive about them ~~by lurking suspiciously around the temples of people he knows at why this in the night/morning~~, testing the surveillance bird Ankh left him, and toting a vulture around with him as one does.
Warnings: Possible minor mentions of murderplot things, prompts C + D will be dealing with PTSD-related traumatic nightmares.

Prompts A-C [2 Open + 1 Semi-Open]

[A: July 20th, Open]

[It's been quite a while since Ankh's disappearance - almost a month and a half by now, and Shun's spent that time on and off messing around with the can bird robot the god had left him. He'd managed to work the thing's transmission method out enough to view the last video left on it by the old owner, but actually making it work to transmit images to the device he has best suited to that sort of thing, namely his duel disk, has taken much more working out. Even so, he still doesn't have a good idea of the distance the thing can transmit from or how well it can actually be remote controlled, so it's time for a little field testing.

As such, people around the Far Shore may encounter a very small, red and silver bird robot attempting to get up in various business, poking around temple gardens and maybe bumping into some heads at its worst. Not too far away in any of these cases is Shun, who might appear to be wearing some kind of oddly designed wrist computer to anyone unfamiliar with the technology. Not helping is the fact that he's returned his cards to their deckbox for the moment, since there are a quite a few people here now that he'd rather not catch wind of him having them at all, and one of them lives with him.

As always, Shun is the epitome of polite company (except not at all), and if the bird happens to be inquiring around anyone in particular, he'll call out to them across the distance with a short nod to the bird.]

Say something to it. [He mostly just wants to know how well it takes audio...]

--

[B: July 21st, Morning, Open]

[As he'd said he would a few days ago to Izuku and Lavi during their late-night discussion, Shun's accentuated his morning patrol with a friend. Specifically, an almost-metre-long, fluffy-headed, brown and white and feathery friend who is presently riding on one of his shoulders. Apparently his coat is thick enough to shield from the claws involved, and having a not-insignificant weight on his shoulder doesn't seem to be bothering him any aside from the times the vulture leans too far into his peripheral vision and he has to look around her to actually be able to see anything.

Having a hand-raised vulture is presenting one or two unforeseen problems, though, the main one being that she's prone to jumping off Shun's shoulder at the sight of other people and hopping over in apparent birdly curiosity. Her size might make even that offputting to some people, though, so it's probably lucky Shun's around to distract her if she decides to inspect anyone too closely.]

Don't bother with her, she just wants food. [Excuse him while he takes a cleanly-wrapped ball of raw meat out of his pocket and holds it out to lure her back in his direction.]

--

[C: July 20th-21st, Late Evening/ungodly hours of the morning OR July 22nd, Evening, Open to existing CR]

[Unfortunately, Shun's particular surge of productivity, even for him, has been born of something else. Namely the fact that his nightmares are coming back in force for the first time since May, and it's getting to the stage where even trying to sleep is a laughable idea, when it feels like so much as shutting his eyes is all the cue his mind needs to pull sounds and images of burning and screaming, combat and destruction out of everywhere from its surface to its deepest recesses. So obviously, the solution here is to spend that additional time on something else useful.

As such, anyone Shun knows and might be inclined to keep an eye on may end up with him lurking in and around temple grounds at what ranges from reasonable but still late in the evening to hours of the morning that should only be known to night shift workers. On one hand, at least he's quiet, so he shouldn't be waking anyone up. On the other...maybe hope your windows aren't available to be stared through, or that you don't run into him by chance. His eyes are a little sharper than they should be in the darkness, owing to the silver bracelet he's wearing with the kind of thick body and intricate lines one might expect to see more on a ring, and his focus turns just as quickly as usual to anyone he notices through it...though perhaps not quite as well as the days wear on, and anyone catching him on the 21st or 22nd stands a good chance of noticing the more pronounced shadows and lines beneath his eyes, those of sleep deprivation rather than his usual faintly worn countenance.

Anyone who catches him outside from inside is likely to just get stared at until such a time as they might choose to come out. If they're already outside, they'll get a slight nod from Shun as if this is an entirely normal thing to be doing at entirely normal hours.]

You're out late. [Implying he isn't.]

[D: July 22nd, Late Evening, Closed]

[Even with what he knows will be willing help available, it takes Shun a while to swallow his pride enough to take it. But by late on Friday, he can feel his alertness and habitual reactions slipping away like they had done the last time he went without sleep for longer than this, and with things as they are right now, he doesn't want to risk that. He isn't sure not being alone will help, but nothing else seems to anyway, and all that's going to happen if he doesn't admit it now is getting found out tomorrow.

It still takes him longer than it should to actually send the text asking for that help, that isn't even directly doing so. Old habits die hard.]

If you're not asleep, I'll be at your temple in a minute.

[He doesn't really think this is worth dragging Ren out of his temple or even out of bed for, but the text is more a warning for something he was already on his way to doing. It is really only about a minute before he shows up, leaping up to alight on whichever balcony happens to be closest to Ren's bedroom, and then having to lean back against the barrier and press a hand against his face as even that simple motion makes his head swim. He'd been driving himself much less the last time he went this long or longer without sleep, and the additional exertion apparently hasn't been doing him any favours.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[More than suspicious of, Shun had been outright angry with him at the time of the murder, but the whole thing had slapped him back to his senses as effectively as anything possibly could. Seeing a death that brutal was still new to Shun despite all his time on the battlefield, and there's little else in the world that sobering.

At Ren's question, he grits his teeth harder, as if he doesn't really want to answer. But he'll probably find out one way or another even if he tries to hide it, and it's really a bit late to do that now.]

...He was murdered. Decapitated. The morning after that age shifting wore off. [Despite the obvious unwillingness to say it and the stuntedness of the sentences, there's an element of rehearsed detachment to his words, as if he's had them on his mind a lot. As he goes on, though, the affect of composure starts to wear thin, and he looks away again like he had earlier, as if in shame at his own perceived weakness.] I couldn't let the other two who found the body see I was shaken as well. They needed someone to hold them together.

[It's an attempt, an excuse, to say why he's failed to keep holding it down. He's been holding it down since the murder, and though some remaining reasonable part of him is aware that this isn't the kind of thing he should be able to just handle, the rest still thinks it should have been his burden to bear. It's not like he could share that part with the rest of the group investigating.]

[It's a good thing he isn't holding anything (like the kettle of extremely hot water or the very breakable mugs of tea), or it would be on the floor now. Whatever he'd been expecting, it definitely hadn't been that.

Decapitated... That, more than anything else, has him looking a bit ill. Not that he hasn't seen worse while he's been here--he did watch and help clean up while Hakkai dismembered some creature right in front of him...but that wasn't Johan. And he's certainly imagined inflicting worse tortures (and probably will be again in a minute), but nothing that was real...]

That's... [all he can get out for the moment, despite having a million questions. Why? How? Who? Why Johan? What happened to his monsters? Why hasn't Johan come back yet? But if Shun knew the answers to any of that, he'd undoubtedly say so on his own.

...And Shun had to see him that way? No wonder he hasn't been able to sleep.]

...You don't need to do that with me. [He should never have felt like he needed to do it at all...although Ren can't say he wouldn't try to do the same thing in that situation. He's already trying to tuck some of his shock and disgust away, just so Shun doesn't feel like he has to do the same thing. It's probably less convincing than it could have been, as he ends up having to (casually) grab on to the edge of the counter to help ground himself.]

[Despite the turn of his head, Shun's gaze shifts to Ren to check his reaction, to see whether he might need to do anything for him in the wake of that revelation. It's not surprising to see Ren looking a little ill as well, nor that he can't find the words to describe it. Shun had enough trouble himself, and he's well-versed with death and losing people. If he didn't know Ren had a much stronger constitution, he almost would've expected his reaction to be more in line with Izuku's.

But stronger constitution or not, Shun turns his head back with an unreadable look when Ren says he doesn't have to conceal it. It's been a good week or so now of dealing with people using the exact same coping mechanisms Shun does and failing to hide them from him, and Ren's not doing any better a job of it.

As Ren grips the counter, Shun eyes the motion and steps forward, letting the kitten in his arms up onto his shoulder for the moment so he has his hands free. In the space of a few strides, he crosses the kitchen, leaning over Ren and moving to pull him into a hug. There's a kind of gentle security to it, a little more subtle than his usual protectiveness.]

You don't have to do it with me either. Assuming either of us can even hide it from each other anymore. [They're not particularly good at leaving well enough alone when it comes to each other's problems.]

[Ren tenses up in surprise at the sudden hug--Shun is hugging him???---but only for a moment. Then he smiles and wraps his arms around Shun as well as he leans against him, definitely grateful for the support. Even though...he can't be the one who needs it most here...]

Aren't you the one who really needs this...

[His smile fades away again as he leans his head against Shun's shoulder. Shun undoubtedly needed this more than he did, but he's be lying if he said he didn't need it at all. The shock of what Shun told him hasn't quite worn off yet. He didn't even know Johan that well but...it's kind of like hearing Christopher Lo had died. He'd only spoken to Chris a couple times too, but he was still important. They're alike, in a way. They're connected. And Johan had been important that way too.

It's true that they can't really hide anything from each other anymore, and Ren doesn't really want to. He's also pretty terrible at trying to express his feelings with words, nor does he particularly like trying (which was why he'd started letting Leon do it for him), so Shun will just have to glean what he can from Ren standing there silently for a while. Eventually, he does think of something he can say and he tightens his hug a bit.]

I'm sorry you had to see something like that.

[As long as Ren doesn't voice his surprise about the hug, Shun doesn't mind. It's been a while since he's hugged anyone, and quite frankly, with all that's going on he doesn't really want to think too hard about who he usually hugs either. There's enough on his mind right now.]

This way we both get it. [It's not quite an admission that he might've needed something like this as well, but it's at least a concession that he had considered it might be best to have it go both ways. It's certainly voiced in that very straightforward way he usually presents his logic in, even if it's less bad for him than his logic tends to be.

Turning his head slightly so it leans a little on Ren's, Shun shifts his hands a little, one to hold against his upper back, the other down near the base of his spine. It's meant to be an expression of support, and it's easier to position himself for that now that Ren's leaning on him instead of the counter. Otherwise, he keeps the silence until Ren speaks again. Sometimes that's all that can really be done in a situation like this.

Shun's fingers tense slightly at the apology, but at least he doesn't have to bite his tongue on rejecting it. This kind of thing is one of the few situations he considers that reaction fairly valid, but he's still not sure it should be pointed at him so much, and it takes him a few moments to answer. His voice is quieter this time.]

It's the others who saw it I'm worried about. [Their initial reactions had been bad enough, but he hasn't heard from Naoto at all since then, and Izuku he already knows is having as much trouble sleeping as him. Neither of them had seemed equipped to handle it, and it's hard not to be concerned.]

[It's at this time that the kitten has decided she's tired of being where she is and the fastest way to get to the floor is to move onto Ren's shoulder and climb down his back. Ren hisses lightly at the sudden onslaught of claws and also leans even more against Shun in an unconscious effort to get away from them. Once the kitten is dashing out of the kitchen, Ren straightens back up a little, but not quite to where he'd been before.]

That's okay. I can be worried about you instead.

[Somehow, he isn't surprised Shun would be more concerned about the others than himself, even though he's definitely been affected by it too. That lack of concern for himself isn't something he's going to get over overnight, if ever. But his acknowledgement that he needed a hug too--and that he was having trouble sleeping and could use some company--is a good start and more than enough progress for Ren right now.]

As long as they have people they can lean on too, I'm sure they'll be okay. [Eventually. But he doesn't want to say that.]

[One of Shun's hands shifts a little as if he's planning to let the kitten down himself instead of letting it go down Ren's back, but by the time he gets there it's already most of the way down, so he reluctantly leaves it and instead moves his hand up and down a bit to try and rub out some of the pain. This, at least, is more familiar to him, more like a consoling motion even if that isn't entirely the intent right now.

Ren's comment just makes him let out a low breath, though.] You know I don't like worrying people.

[It's a nice sentiment and he recognises that, and he's glad he has Ren to help when he needs it. He still just doesn't really think he should need it. That he should be able to handle it, and be the person other people are coming to for this.

There's a slight nod at the mention of if the others have people to lean on. Kanji doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd let his shinki languish in pain if he knew about it, and Izuku had been talking about that Todoroki guy often enough for Shun to be confident there's support happening there.]

It might hurt them less in the meantime, at least. [Either Shun picked out that unsaid "eventually", or considered it to have been inherent to a statement like that anyway. It's hard to tell.]

[Ren hums appreciatively as he closes his eyes for a moment, and his hand curls against Shun's lower back in an unconscious imitation of Shun's movements. This is definitely worth having a few new scratches on his back. (He would much rather have Shun touching him like this without having to get scratch first, though. Like maybe while they're lying in bed.)

That comment and the sigh that went with it makes him laugh a little.] I guess that's something else we have in common.

[His other comment, though...Ren opens his eyes again, just enough to stare straight forward at nothing. While he's is glad it sounds like Shun's friends also won't have to be dealing with this alone, it's the word "hurt" in particular that sticks out and sends his thoughts spiraling in another direction. One which he was trying to put off as long as possible, but there's no helping it now. The shock has mostly worn off now, leaving primarily fury in its wake.

He doesn't think Shun will approve, though, so he tries not to sound furious when he speaks up again, and ends up sounding a little too casually innocent instead.]

I don't suppose you have any ideas yet of who it could be...?

[That observation just gets a brief hum of agreement. It's one of the more obvious things they have in common, especially given their preference for focusing on each other's problems to the detriment of their own. That, and it's just nice to have a more quiet moment after all that.

But when Ren speaks up again, Shun's eyes narrow immediately - while Shun can't see Ren's expression shift, that tone is far too innocent to not be suspicious. There's a few reasons he doesn't want Ren involved in this, so he doesn't even need to accurately guess what Ren's actual thoughts on this are to immediately have an answer ready.]

Even if I did - which I don't, there's not enough evidence - do you really think I'd bring you into a confrontation with a murderer? [They have no idea what they could be dealing with right now, and while Ren's more capable of defending himself than he once was, Shun is definitely not interested in testing how well he'd hold up against someone with the kind of brute strength and familiarity with killing their culprit has displayed.]

[Welp. That's pretty much how he thought Shun was going to feel about it, given how he'd felt about Ren running after him into the fire, and this would undoubtedly be more dangerous than that. But that doesn't mean he has to like it. Ren sighs and turns his head so it's lying on Shun's shoulder as his fingers start drawing on Shun's back with a little more purpose.]

I didn't say you had to bring me.

[In fact, he hadn't been imagining Shun being there at all, except maybe if he came swooping in at the end to help finish the guy off. Bot that he's actually stupid enough to try to confront the guy alone or even with only his shinki, but it isn't more satisfying to imagine it that way.]

I'd be even less likely to let you do it alone. [Even if his shinki were helping, Shun's planning to have a lot more numbers than just three whenever the confrontation happens, and hopefully with people more equipped to deal with this sort of thing than Ren. Not to mention that he's starting to suspect a bit more what Ren might be angling for here, and he'd really rather not let that happen when Ren's already having worries about himself.

Once he's gotten past that declaration, though, he tilts his head a bit with what appears to be one of those thoughtful frowns he wears when he's trying to decide how he feels about something on his face. That being the fingers on his back, because while it feels like an odd thing to do so purposefully, it does feel nice enough that he's not sure he really has grounds to question it.

A few moments later, though, he does bring the hand at the base of Ren's spine back behind himself in an attempt to catch Ren's hand.]

We should go back upstairs. [Other than the awkward questions they're likely to get if they get walked in on like this, Shun figures it's best to keep any further debate about handling the killer away from potential prying ears as well, even if it seems they've largely run themselves down on that.]

Oh, right. [Upstairs. He'd kind of forgotten that they needed to go back upstairs at some point. And while it's tempting to be difficult and keep moving his hand out of reach and just stay like this a little while longer, he's definitely more interested in heading back upstairs, so he lets Shun catch his hand without any fuss and starts pulling away so they can get moving.

Then he suddenly looks alarmed and abruptly turns away.]

I almost forgot--here you go.

[And the turns back to hand Shun one of his two owl-shaped mugs of tea, which has probably steeped way too long by now but at least it's also probably at a drinkable temperature.]

[At least Shun probably would have pointed out the tea if Ren had completely forgotten to grab it before they went back upstairs, but since Ren remembers at the last moment, he doesn't need to. He takes the cup with a slight nod of appreciation, but then seems to hesitate for a moment longer as he looks at it.

Once he notices he's doing that, though, he turns away himself, apparently not planning to actually drink the tea until they get back upstairs.]

At least it'll be strong by now. [Says the guy whose coffee strength is fit to probably knock out the uninitiated. He sure does seem to be paying a lot more attention to the cup than he is what's in it right now, though, like he's trying to figure out something about it.]

[Is this really the kind of tea they want to be disgustingly strong, though...Not that it matters since he's going to drink it anyway.

The amount of attention Shun's giving to the mug as they head out definitely doesn't escape his notice, since it's pretty rare for Shun to pay so much attention to something like a mug. Ren spends most of the trip across the courtyard studying Shun just to make sure he's right about that (and a little because he just likes looking at Shun, especially when it seems like he's trying to figure something out).

But eventually, he leans over to smile cutely up at Shun.] It's cute, isn't it?

[Apparently, Shun doesn't have much of a filter when it comes to what drinks should or shouldn't be disgustingly strong.

Ren studying Shun doesn't go unnoticed for long, and eventually he glances over like he's wondering if Ren is about to point something out he's missed. Which...okay, he kind of does, but it's also not the sort of thing Shun is apt to admit, and he lets out a quiet huff.]

It's a mug. I wouldn't know. [Yeah, about that not drinking any tea until they got back to Ren's room. He's just going to drink some now and pretend Ren didn't pretty much nail what he'd been trying to figure out.]

[That pretending isn't going to do him much good. Ren's smile turns more sly and knowing anyway, since he's just going to take that lack of saying anything as an agreement, whether he meant it to be or not.

After all, it's an objective fact that the mug is cute and since it's a bird too even Shun should be able to see that.]

I have another one with an owl on the inside where it's hidden until you've drunk enough to see it, but I thought this one was cuter.

[At this point, Shun doesn't really expect it to, but he can at least try to preserve some of his dignity. However little that tends to work either.

At least he gives up on the drinking tea instead of answering part, though he seems thoughtful again now.] I didn't know you liked owls that much.

[...And he still has an owl plushie that, among others, he needs to get rid of at some point. But for now, he's going to incredibly subtly switch topics a bit so he stands less of a chance of embarrassing himself more.] I haven't seen the rest of your cats today.

[He already had a couple when they first met, and he did mention wanting more when he contacted Souji, so he's been kind of expecting more than two.]

Oh, well, these were supposed to be a gift. [He shrugs to say it's complicated and he doesn't really want to talk about it and he probably wouldn't even have said that much if he didn't think Shun would ask why he made a face.] But I think they're cute too. There are a few owls in Vanguard. Not in my clan, though...

[They're fierce predators that hunt at night and can be cute and also spin their heads around to a disturbing degree. What's not to love?

he's more than happy to move on to the other cute things in the house, though, and he pauses at the bottom of the stairs to tap his chin and glance around the room for a moment.]

I think a couple of them were already asleep on the couch...they don't always come to bed with me--oh, there's one.

[He unnecessarily points to the kitten that just came clattering along the edge of the fountain, chasing after one of the fish inside.]

You'll definitely see them all in the morning, though. They know when it's time for breakfast.

[Given Shun is well aware of who Ren might've wanted to give something with a cute animal design to once upon a time, he doesn't ask, instead just moving on to respond to what he says next.] I have a few in my deck, but that's to be expected.

[With the kind of theming Shun's deck has, it was pretty much a given he was going to have owls in it somewhere. Not that he really considers them "cute", because that sounds too soft for his monsters.

As Shun hears the sound of one of them running along the edge of the fountain, his attention immediately turns that way probably a little before the pointing. As soon as Ren mentions the morning, though, the knowing look of someone who has experienced a similar struggle crosses his face as he turns back.]

I know that much. I've had to open up at the cafe a few times, and we've got a lot more than five, or however many it is you've got. [Getting mobbed by a dozen or two cats is not a new experience for him.] I suppose I figured they came to bed with you more often with the pictures you've taken.

[Ren waves an open hand to agree with Shun's estimate of his number of cats.]

But you're already awake when they start telling you it's time to eat.

[Granted, it's not actually that bad--only the two newest kittens haven't figured out that making a fuss isn't going to get him out of bed faster--but Shun can find that out for himself in the morning. For now, he's just going to start heading up the stairs.]

Some of those I took during the day. Some of them are from after taking a bath--nobody was there when went upstairs but somehow they were all there once I was out of the bath...

I'd probably be awake by the time they start doing it here as well. I don't sleep in often. [Preferably, he doesn't sleep in at all, but there have been times he was so exhausted he couldn't help it.

Heading up the stairs as well, Shun takes another sip of his tea. He already started it even though it was mostly as an excuse not to answer, so he might as well keep going.]

Maybe they wanted to surprise you. [It's hard to tell if he's serious or not, but he does still remember his conversation with Kaneki way back when about cat motivations. And then he shrugs.] Or maybe they were waiting for you to come back because you'd be warmer to sit on after you came out of a bath.

[There's the pragmatism.]

Oh, so are you going to make me breakfast in the morning too?

[Since, if Shun's going to be the first one up, he gets to be the one who feeds the kittens too...it might help if Ren actually explained that thought process, but he's pretty sure he doesn't have to.

(He may or may not be kidding.)

Shun's assessment of his kittens' reasoning is pretty spot on and Ren laughs a little.] I bet it was both. Oh, and it looks like they wanted to surprise me again.

[Having reached the top of the stairs, he can now see into his room and the bed in his room, where three kittens are now laying in various places.]

I owe you for helping. If you're actually going to let me make breakfast. [If Ren didn't think Shun was going to take that request 100% seriously given the situation, he was very wrong about that. Obviously if Ren won't let him help tonight, he can make up for it in the morning.

Shun's halfway through another sip of tea by the time they reach the top of the stairs, though he lowers the mug pretty quickly with a bit of a raised brow once he notices the kitten-filled state of Ren's bed.] Looks like they're covering their bases on not leaving you any space.

[...Well, they're kittens, so they don't take up that much room, but lying down straight would still be a bit of a challenge.]

Of course I'll let you make breakfast. [After all, that'll be after Shun has slept a little. Or at least laid down for a few hours.

Ren finally takes a couple sips of his own tea as he crosses the room, and then sets the mug down on the bedside table so he can have both his hands free to shift the kittens around to just one side of the bed.] Too bad for them, I'm just going to move them~

[Luckily, although the kittens sound pretty put out and cling to the bedspread when they get picked up, they're pretty happy to resettle on top of each other when Ren sets them back down again.]

So do you want to sit or lie down?

[Well, that's something he can do, at least. For the moment, Shun just figures he might as well finish his tea before he isn't really in a position to do it anymore, so he does that as he watches Ren move the cats. While he isn't quite smiling when the kittens resettle themselves into a pile, there's definitely a somewhat soft look on his face.

The question distracts him, though, and he sets his cup aside for the moment.] Whichever one works better. I've never had this done or seen it done before, so you'd probably know that more than me.

[Obviously he has the general idea of what it looks like, but he genuinely doesn't know if posture makes a difference.]

[OPEN + closed/semi-closed] a nightingale in a golden cage

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