Before and After (Open + Closed posts)

[redstray]

Who: Eric and you! IV is for Eric and Ren
What: Playing with a pup, fire training, not sleeping, and dealing with nightmares. Just a grand ol' time
When: Early August
Where: Far Shore
Warnings: IV contains death, blood, nightmares

I. August 3rd - Playing and Training a Pup

[ The pup that Eric had found, found a home with him and Ren. The little shiba inu was more then happy with the new place and Eric enjoyed taking it out for walks and giving it some play time. He was in the park, treats and toys abound as he was throwing a ball or frisbee to the puppy. When he wasn't playing with him, he was trying to give it some training, learning to sit and come when called. Though it seemed more interested in playing with a ball more than learning to lie down.  ]

II. August 4th Morning - Playing With Fire

[  It was a nice day to train, and Eric was getting pretty used to these fire powers. Now he was trying to expand and learn more of what he could do with them.

He made a makeshift target and squared off against it. He was learning how to put the flames on a knife and slice the target from a distance. Sometimes small flames, sometimes large. When he wasn't using a knife he was using his hands, varrying between large and small balls. He was learning more about control and power. How much can he push this thing while still being in control. 

Stop to bother him or help with training. ]

III. August 7th/8th - What is Sleep?

[  It's a quiet late afternoon, early evening when Eric's on a bench in the park area. He has his legs curled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. Although he seemed to be zoning out, he was also pretty jumpy, constantly looking for the source of a noise. It didn't seem he was leaving or even moving from that spot any time soon.

To say he was and looked tired was an understatement. Even though he seemed to try and doze, he always shot back up, ready to stay awake even longer. ]

IV. August 6th Morning - Closed to Ren

[ Someone was in front of him. Tied up with begging eyes. They were hurt, beaten pretty bad. They kept trying to speak, say words, but he couldn't understand them. There were tears and snot running down their face. He watched them calming, they should stop complaining, he was also pretty banged up but there were no tears.

'Got an order for you mutt.'

He blinked, his hands tightening around the knife in his hands. He didn't move though, only staring at the scared, tied up target. He will only move when that voice said so. When his owner commanded he would obey. Ignore the pain, ignore the hollow growling of his stomach. Just listen, then he can get a reward.

'Kill him.'

He nodded, raising his hand to strike a blow. It was not a person, it was something that needed to die. Then he could live. He could get food. He lowered ithe knife swiftly to the targets neck. He felt it go in, heard screaming. It was fine, he had done good. He took out the knife. This wasn't a person, this was fine.

There was a lot of blood. The body slumped, eyes open, mouth gaping like a fish as if trying to take in air. Then it stopped, but the blood kept leaving, the eyes staring at him, no life in them. This was fine, he was a goody boy. Better them than him. 

He heard laughter, applause, others around him talking excitedly like they just saw a show. A few approached, congratulating his owner on a the training.

He felt a hand on his head, feeling it being patted, ruffling his dirty hair. He could hear the grin in his owners words. 

'Good dog.'

He nodded, looking down, seeing himself covered in blood. Yes, he was a good dog.

Eric's eyes flew open and he scrambles to sit up from the bed. It didn't take long before he was out of his bed, more in shock, and paced his room.

He's had dreams before, even a bit of nightmares here and there. But this, felt different. In his mind he knew...it was a memory. He remebered something from his life before. That just made him feel worse.

He...he killed someone. Because someone else told him to...

Good dog...he was a dog. His stomach twisted, he felt sick. He stopped his pacing to curl up in a ball on the floor. An owner gave him commands. He killed, how many times?  That time when he became younger made so much more sense but it did not make him feel the slightest better.

His mind was whirlling as he tugged on his hair. The images of blood, of him placing the knife in that persons throat kade him whimper a bit. If this was what his memories were, he didn't want to remember.]

...Not a dog. I'm not, 'm not...

 

V. Wildcard!

[ooc: Want to do something different just let me know! I'm Senea on plurk or just pm me]

Comments

III - August 7

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai is on his way home -- it's his night to cook dinner -- when he notices the young man balled up on a bench flinching. It takes him a moment to place the face.

Ren's new shinki -- isn't it? Well, 'new.' Ren's shinki after Hibari. And he's visibly distressed.

Hakkai's first thought is, Ren is gone. His second, more sensible one is to turn off the path to pause by the man's (Eric? Yes, he thinks, Eric) bench and clear his throat politely.]

Eric, isn't it? Good evening. My, it's been a while.

Re: III - August 7

[redstray]

[ Eric jumps a bit at the noise and turns his head to find the source.

He remembers his face, but his name escapes him right now. This was the guy that Hibari tolerated, right?

He gives a nod, trying to relax at least a little bit. ]

Y-yeah...uhm...

III, probably the 8th

[revolutionfalcon]

[It's been an eventful week, for better or worse, but unfortunately that doesn't void the need for normal housekeeping activities. Shun happens to be walking through the park with a bag of what's obviously some very basic groceries when he spots Eric, looking...much worse than he's ever seen him. It's not entirely different to what Shun can get like when he hasn't slept in a few days, so after a moment or two of eying him off, Shun decides to approach.

He keeps his movements steady and intentionally a little louder than his normal near-silence, so Eric has time to register his presence and identity before he gets close enough to be considered any kind of threat.]

You look like hell. Sitting out in public like this isn't going to help you when you're that alert.

/o/

[redstray]

[ The apporaching noise has him looking over and spotting Shun heading towards his way. His stomach drops a bit. Did Ren talk to him?

He looks away and shrugs. ]

Not a lot of people around, it's a lot easier.

[ It's a wide, clear area too. And he wasn't exactly expecting people to bother him.]

Placeholder for August 4th

[freezetheheavens]

[Somewhere above Eric, Toushirou watches him. He was only passing through, only to stop when he noticed the shinki working on his fire powers. Looking at it now, it makes him think back to what Yata said and shown him, making him wonder if there's some relation.

At the same time, he's curious as to what exactly Eric is doing. Sure, he's offered his help in the past, but it seems like Eric has grown more comfortable with it. Either way, in the air, Toushirou will watch him for a bit longer before descending to the ground.]

I'm just gonna reply to this anywho >>

[redstray]

[ Eric had just finished with another attack before he sees something...coming to the ground? He thought it was going to be Goten with Nimbus but it was Hitsugaya, right? That's something you don't see everyday.]

Enjoying the view?

puppies!

[solaris9]

[ The puppy is so cute. Goku is beside himself. He doesn't mind that he'd rather play fetch than lie on command like Eric wants him to. Goku is a terrible influence if you want the train the dog to pay attention. He's much too engrossed in getting him to release the ball to him so he can toss it again. ]

What're you gonna name him?

[ He says laughingly as he jiggles the ball in the dog's clutches. He doesn't really mind that it's covered in slobber. ]

Puppies are the best

[redstray]

It's Shibau, Ren named him.

[ He's still a puppy, so he doesn't mind all the games. As long as some basics go in, enough to make sure he doesn't run off somewhere. He enjoys watching Goku trying to get the puppy to release his ball. So stubborn. ]

That's his favorite ball, although... [ Eric picks up the one that was near him and Shibau instantly drops the other and goes towards Eric. He tosses it to Goku. ] he tends to forget that when there's another.

III.

[forsakens]

Ne, don't you think it's quite dangerous being out in the open like this?

[ Not that his tone had any actual concern for Eric but he couldn't help but want to bother the person for his own reasons. Perhaps, their brief conversation during the whole aging down ordeal had him thinking.

However, Ichiru was a bit of a hard nut to crack so Eric wasn't going to get anything too nice from him but it was at least toned down since their first meeting. ]

[redstray]

[ He frowns, because he knows that voice before he looks to see Ichiru coming over to him. Oh great...he shrugs. ]

Nothing around, people normally don't come around here...

[ Except apparently they do. Was there no place he could do for peace and quiet? ]

I.

[water_meebo]

[ Mikleo saw Eric on his way home from doing some grocery for Sorey.

He was going to approach Eric and greet him.

However, he stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed what Eric was with, thus freezing up.

At some point he backs into one of those trash cans left out for environmental purposes, creating a loud sound.

Well, that was graceful Mikleo... So damn graceful. ]

...

I'm laughing

[redstray]

[ The noise startles the puppy but instead of being scared, he went to investigate. Eric turning to follow and finding...Mikleo practically tumbling over a garbage bin. Smooth. ]

Mikleo? You okay?

III >.>

[thevanguard]

[ Yata often comes to the park to skate and clear his head when he needs to - it's the best place to go with sidewalks around here, after all, unless he went down to the city and that was considerably harder without a god to piggyback reliably with at the moment. He's used to the strange spirits and things that linger here - for some reason they bother him less than spooky "ghosts" seemed to, not that he's thought about that a lot.

But it only takes him a moment to realize there's someone else in the park today besides him. He almost steers clear when he sees who it is, especially after how their last conversation had gone but there's something in the way Eric is sitting, watching every direction like he's expecting someone to jump him, that has him drawing closer without even thinking about it.

His gaze narrowed and a frown on his lips, his own gaze scans the area as he skates closer, skidding to a stop in front of the other boy as he makes sure he can't spot anything threatening in the immediate vicinity. ]

What's wrong?

[redstray]

[ Eric hears the wheels and inwardly groans, hoping that whoever it was, wasn't going to stop nearby him. until they actually so and it's Yata. This guy has the worse timing. ]

...Nothing.

[ He sort of tries to curl up a bit more, tugging on his hood a bit. Yep, totally fine, nothing to see here. ]

I :D

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako is flitting her way through the park on her way back to the temple after visiting a friend, wings keeping her aloft as she swerves around trees and other things, still practicing her flying at every available opportunity.

Although the sight of Eric with a puppy gets a sound of delight from her and an instantaneous redirection of her course. ]

Ohhh! It's so cuuuute! Is it your puppy, Eric?

[redstray]

[ Eric perks up, hearing the excited noise and sees Nanako flying on her wings.

Shibau barks a bit, Eric tries to shush him but he's just excited to see a small human flying about and the puppy runs up to her, sniffing her shoes, his tail wagging.

Eric nods. ]

Yeah, this is Shibau. Found him in the near shore

III - the 8th

[bartenderizing]

[ Shizuo was taking the long way home, because despite taking over the bar while Izumo was sleeping, you call it a day after your arm gives out for the third or fourth time.

So he sees Eric in the midst of him falling asleep and jolting back awake almost instantly. ]

Y'know, people usually go home and to their beds when they're tired.

[redstray]

[ Eric blinks and looks over at him. ]

That's what they usually do, yeah.

August 4th, morning

[heartshutter]

[ Eric may or may not notice he’s somehow acquired a captive audience at some point. After he lands a fair shot with a flaming knife, Tatara quietly claps. ]

Nice, nice! You're learning quickly!

[ He hadn't known Eric even knew he had the gift of flame. But apparently so. ]

[redstray]

[ He jumps a bit at the clapping, his face turning a bit red in embarrassment. He was not expecting an audience, nor one as complimentary as him. ]

Ah...thanks.

[ He rubs the back of his head. ]

I've had some help, just been practicing what I learned...

IV of course

[shadowrevenger]

[Off in another part of the temple, Ren also bolts awake, and he automatically slaps a hand over the back of his neck before he even realizes he's doing it. Waking up so abruptly has left him feeling dioriented for a moment, and he sways a little and his fingers curl in his sheets as his stomach chuns uncomfortably.

What on earth...he hasn't felt his awful in months, but he'd also never had trouble sleeping through Hibari's raging emotions...It must be one of his shinki, though, because it's not like he ate anything last night that would make him feel like this...

It finally registers that he's clutching the back of h is neck and that's the source of a lot of his discomfort to, and he staggers to his feet immediately to stumble his way around the temple to look for his shinki. He can't tell which one of them this is coming from, but he can't just ignore it. He shouldn't have ignored it when Hibari stung him, and he's not going to repeat that mistake now. he'll just have to check on both of them.

He reaches Eric's room first, though, and it's pretty obvious as soon as he looks in that he won't have to go any further. Ren crosses the room in only a couple long, hurried strides and kneels down next to Eric, reaching out with one hand to touch his should, his other hand still clutching his neck.,/small>]

Eric? What happened?

Of course

[redstray]

[ Eric doesn't realize someines in his room, he's too busy staring at the floor and trying to calm his thoughts down. This was too much right now.

He flinches away from the hand, although it makes him look up, try and figure out who it was. It takes awhile before Ren slides into his thoughts. His owner? No...right? His god...god not owner. He was asking about what happened. ]

Ah...uhm...

[ He shakes his head, going back to hiding his face in his knees. Did he wake up Ren? This was bad this was bad. ]

II

[fizzipocus]

[When Lilka saw that fire, what else could she do but think it was just like her own magic? While she was curious, she knew she should wait until a calm (well, calm-ish) moment before speaking up, at least.]

How'd you make your magic stick to those knives like that?

I'm so sorry for the late reply!!!

[redstray]

Huh?

[ He jumps a bit at the voice and stares at the girl, confused for awhile beofe her question finally registers. ]

Uhm, well....I don't think it sticks. It surrounds it when I want it too. And moves with it, it's hard to explain.

[ He was still figuring out how he did these things, explaining it to others was a bit more difficult. ]

V-ish: since im so late. Aug 14th

[sonofson]

[There's a certain blond that Goten has missed seeing around. After not catching him roaming around or near the bar, he's more curious then ever. It's after school and throwing his backpack on that the young shinki decides to track him down himself. It isn't too hard because Eric's energy is fimilar to him no matter how faint it sometimes is. He flies over the area until he can locate the older teenager.]

Bah you're never late

[redstray]

[ Eric was tired from lack of sleep and lack of good sleeping spots but was still wandering around. He tilts his head as he hears a strange noise in the sky and looks up. Normally when he heard something like that, it was because something was flying by. And lo and behold there was, although it wasn't a plane so much as a small boy flying without anything to help him.

Eric can't help but give a small smile, sitting down on a bench as he waited for the little guy to find him. Unless he flew past. ]