thenearshore | (no subject)

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Who: Archer, Caster, Alex
When: Jan. 17th, late afternoon
Where: Cú Chullain’s Temple
What: Just talks abd watching people sleep

It was hard to tell what time of day it wad with the smoke and ash still covering the sky. Everything looked gloomy—appropriately so with the damage to left behind. While less affected, there still was ash and the strands of gold laying about in Cú Chullain’s forest, which Alex teleported to the moment Archer gave her the green light.

She stops outside the door, knocking on it then waiting. Alex shifts in place anxiously. She had been rehearsing what she’d say in her head for a while, but now there were new things to add thanks to what she had just learned. She wasn’t terribly good with speaking, and she hoped to not make things worse, but she knew she had to speak with them.

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Pal and Lucky are the first to welcome her, both dogs showing their joy clearly with happy barks and licks - at least Pal has learned not to pounce unexpected visitors. Archer opens the door wide.

"Come in, Alex. It's nice to see you." he's trying to offer a welcoming smile but it's clear that he is tired. While the smile itself is strained, the relief on his face upon seeing her is genuine.

Edited 2018-09-24 21:05 (UTC)

Alex holds her arms out to meet Lucky's welcome, ruffling the dog's fur with one hand while reaching to pet Pal with the other. While she'd normally give them much more attention, she immediately looks over at Archer, scanning him from head to toe to check for any visible injuries. Her eyes stop at his face.

"Archer..have you gotten any rest?" When she moves to step into the temple and closer to Archer, Lucky steps off her, the dogs moving about in front of her but not getting in the way.

"I had." Archer nods, as he's leading her through the more official meeting and dining area to the sofa near the fireplace. Lucky circles them happily like most puppies do.

"Would you like some tea?" he offers first, then glances at the stairs leading upwards. "I'm afraid Caster is still asleep, those last days were a bit ...exhausting." he hesitates and then finishes, with almost a shrug. Almost, because he catches himself with a wince.

“You don’t look like you have,” she responss as she continues to watch him. Then she ctaches the wince.

“Archer...,” she tries to get him to stop, just for a moment, by gently tugging his sleeve. Alex’s eyes glance over at the stairs as well, but she brings her attention back to Archer. “I’m not just here for him.” Because she knows this man will always take care of others first.

Archer covers her hand with his and tries to smile again, but it feels brittle at the edges.

"I don't mean physical exhaustion only." he says quietly. "Thank you, Alex. I truly appreciate your care."

Lucky tugs him closer to the sofa, and Archer finally gives up.

"I'll sit and wait with you. Caster forced me to take extra rest after I pulled a muscle, and had me promise to take breaks often." he adds as explanation; as he tilts his head light catches on an earring he's wearing, an exact match of Caster's ones.

“So you are hurt..” And she doesn’t just mean in the physical sense. The earring only reminded her all the more of how alike both of them could be what with always trying to smile through pain..and both of them having such warm, gentle hands.

“You should by lying in bed too.” She Alex didn’t mind waiting alone. She’d rather make sure both of them were getting rest.

It almost makes him chuckle, but Archer remembers that he shouldn't. Broken rib seriously hinders his reactions. Caster's going to laugh once he hears about it.

"You're also good at taking care of others." he says quietly, his grey eyes oddly warm. "Very well. Follow me, although would you mind carrying Lucky? She can't quite manage the stairs on her own, and I can't carry her."

On hearing her name the puppy wags her tail and barks happily.

"I--," she stops herself from retorting. It wasn't time for that kind of debate.

What may have been odd, to her, was just how Archer naturally was. Kind and warm..just this time a little more tired. Honestly, she had expected him to resist a little more, so it was a pleasant surprise that he was willing to actually go with it.

"Ah--s-sure!" Lucky wiggles a little too much to make it easy for her to pick the pup up, but she manages to.

Archer gives her a moment to make sure the puppy is secure, and then leads to the stairs. He's not stopping once they reach the next floor, though, and climbs upwards to where Caster's alcove is. The huge bed under the slanted roof is occupied; Caster is buried in fur and more fur, as huge white pelt raises head to blink sleepily at the visitors. Sleepy is taking his duty as a guard dog seriously.

Pal slinks between them to happily join the fur pile, and Archer gestures at the comfy armchair covered with more fur.

"Make yourself comfortable." he speaks quietly to not wake his god. "Cú will be happy to see a friend waiting for him once he wakes up."

Caster makes for a sorry sight, sprawled along the bed, a picture of utter exhaustion. Volcanoes, magic battles, tough decisions, losing a friend and lover. At some point, you just have to catch up with sleep debt, god or not. Or maybe that's a good way to not think about things.

Both, why could not be both?

The sudden jump by Pal produces a very embarrassing squeaky noise that should absolutely be attributed to the bed.

Alex follows him, trying to keep the puppy safe in her arms, but she is rather wiggly. She is surprised when they end up in Caster's room in the end.

"Archer..why are we--" Then the dogs move and there's a squeak that most definitely didn't come from the bed. She brings her voice down to a whisper. "Archer..why are we here..? What about you?"

"The bed is big enough for me to lie down without disturbing Caster, and this way I can keep an eye on him too." Archer whispers back with a very slight hint of amusement. "Besides you can keep an eye on both of us at the same time."

Lucky wiggles more, definitely enticed by the warm pile on the bed. She wants there too, and she wants to lick Caster's nose. Or poke him with a wet nose ~~to make more squeaky noises.~~

There are little dots connecting in her head right now that end with a little bell dinging.

Oh.

Oooh.

Lucky manages to wiggle free and hop down onto the floor, only to run up and wiggle her way up onto the bed.

"Ah--Yeah..no..that..that works for me." Convenient, really, though she was ready to go room to room if she had to.

"If you need anything, just ask, okay?" Her voice is gentle, but also firm. Those two were going to get their rest and she was going to sit on that chair to make sure of it. That, and she really needed to talk to them after anyway.

She makes herself comfortable, bringing her legs up to hug against her chest.

Archer sits on the bed and turns to Alex, and that's when he notices the bell ding even if he can't hear it.

OH.

Right. Alex probably didn't know and in his tiredness he just exposed her accidentally to how close the two of them are. It's not like it's a secret. But it's still a private display that can make someone uncomfortable, and making Alex uncomfortable is last of his wishes.

"Sorry, I'm too tired to think." he rubs his forehead. "Does this make you uncomfortable?"

"No--no, not at all." She wondered how she missed it, sure, but it also wasn't any of her business. If they're happy, that's all she needs to know. It did make sense now that she looked back at their interactions before. But with looking back, she also feels bad about any lines she may have crossed, such as how handsy or affectionate she might've gotten with both of them. At least now she can be more aware about it.

"Get your rest, Archer." Alex offers a reassuring smile, resting her chin on her knees. Being able to watch both of them at the same time was a definite plus.

That's also the moment when Caster decides to stir, waving his hand in the air, trying to push an imaginary dog off himself- but it's a puppy so his aim is way off. Finally, he wakes up and collects himself to a sitting position with a large yawn that he doesn't even bother to cover.

"What's going on here?" Archer why have you brought so many dogs. HOW MANY DOGS CAN BE HERE?

But that's when he notices the guest and his eyes go wide. Why is Alex here? Okay, guy, cover that yawn, belatedly.

"Oh, hi-" If Alex is here, then... there is someone it might be about. Did something happen to Ginia? Wait, no, don't go into darkest scenario from the start, it's possible she'd rather just talk in person.

Archer opens his mouth to say more, to explain their relationship is open, but it's stopped short when Caster wakes up.

"We have a guest." Archer says belatedly from his spot on the edge of the bed. Caster can most likely feel the amusement seeping through their link. As well as fall victim to a very enthusiastic greeting of all four dogs.

Alex sits up, much more alert now that Caster was awake. There was a subtle passing of concern on his face, and Alex promptly reacted to that. Maybe it was regarding what happened with Ginia, or maybe the incident between the two of them. Either way, she didn’t like making him look like that.

“I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to wake you..! Go back to sleep! I can wait here!” Her words tumble out of her mouth, and not the ones she had rehearsed prior to arriving here. Making it sound as if she was here to watch the two of them sleep wasn’t part of her speech, nor did it sound right.

“I mean— I can wait downstairs too...or not here..! In the temple! Not in the temple but—um..” This didn’t sound any better either. She was practically tripping and falling over her own words at this point. Her mind was spinning now, and she could feel her face heating up. If she just curled up a bit more would she be hidden from sight?

Edited 2018-10-11 15:23 (UTC)

Caster shakes his head as he tries to wave the residue sleepiness away. Gods don't need sleep anyway.

"No, no, I wanted to talk with you-" He left her a message after all. There are things he wants to ask her about, things to ask her she would do. Sure, take care of Ginia. But don't forget to take of yourself too Alex- in a way Ginia might be a good company to her, since she surely will keep an eye on her. Maybe that's the way he should think about this whole thing, something to be done for Alex-

But then he remembers there is also Ebisu, and he no longer knows how he can understand it again.

"Just give me a second." Like let him brush his hair back, get himself look presentable or something. But first, before going off the bed he kicks Archer in a hip. "Oy, Archer, you could just wake me up."

Look at her, Alex is clearly nervous. Guess it's a testament about how thrown off the rails everyone are if Archer instead of letting Alex wait a bit and make her tea, led her up here.

"We could go downstairs-" He agrees. "But since you've braved all the stairs, it would be rude to send you down now."

So you know, he will just get out of the bed and sit down on the floor. A perfect picture of divine he is not. But it allows him to cut the distance between them enough to try and catch Alex' hand in his and finally let his true concern show.

"How do you feel?"

Archer ruffles his short hair in a payback and shoos the dogs off the bed.

"Alex didn't want to wake you up and wanted us both to get some rest." So, you know, it's better if she's here rather than alone downstairs. He's a bit too tired to think of other possibilities.

He stays on the bed, watching Caster sit on the floor and all dogs find a spot nearby. It's adorable, though he won't voice that thought ever.

Her body tenses when he brings up wanting to talk to her, but her fretting stops when he takes her hand, eyes on him as he sits on the ground. Her tone is softer, her brow furrowing.

"I..should be asking you that." After everything he was going through, some of them she was a part of, he shouldn't be the one worrying about her. It's tempting to squeeze back, it feels like the natural thing to do, but with everything that's happened and is happening, Alex decided to pull her hand back. How is he still so nice to her after all that? After telling him she respected his choices and still went back on her word, after what happened between them at the volcano...

"If..if it's about Ginia..I wanted to tell you that I had intended to take her name back. It was just a safety precaution back at the volcano. And I..I agreed to it so that's on me." Her fingers pinch and press against each other, trying to make sure she said everything she practiced. "I was going to tell you, I swear. I just wasn't able to take the name back soon enough because we got separated and..and.."

Edited 2018-11-02 22:38 (UTC)

[ Alex taking her hand away immediately gives makes Caster expression go more somber. Guilt again, regrets- so many of these. But it's done, the curtain had fallen, and there is nothing to do. Maybe he could truly be angry at her, but- two are needed for this dance. ]

I don't blame you Alex. She wanted that. [ Hallucinating ayakashi, keeping Alex safe from them. Alex is a friend, and he is a bit blind-sided about friends, if given the possibility to. ]

I think she wanted to be your shinki for a longer while- not that I blame her, who wouldn't. [ Once, when they first met, he told her he wouldn't mind being a shinki to her- if he was a shinki. Something that could have been seen as a joke, especially on his first day here. But he never took that back, and he doesn't plan to. ] I want to say, take care of her- she'll take good care of you too.

[ Maybe it's time for another several weeks of sleep. Not that anything will change- ]

Neither of you is to blame. [Archer adds from his spot. Honestly, he'd prefer to keep his thoughts to himself, but with two of his dear friends blaming themselves he can't really do that.]

Ginia- [he pauses, it's hard to say her name without some pain.] I think that she feels lost. If you treat yourself like a tool you lose ability to treat yourself like a human. Serving others always comes first, and most often at a price of forgetting about your own needs.

[Archer shakes his head. It's a mindset he knows all too well.] All she knows is how to kill and nothing else. Without any practical skills she's at a loss. [he pinches the bridge of his nose and adds much quieter.] I should have noticed that sooner.

[ Alex is about to protest, but stops, taking in what they had to say. Here they were, trying to relieve her and Ginia of any blame, but because they felt the responsibility fell elsewhere. She looks from Cu, to Archer, letting her feet down to touch the ground and stop hiding behind her legs. ]

You two..aren't at fault either. [ It sounded like everyone was at a loss at this moment. ] Everyone's..trying.

[ Yes, she was here to talk about what happened, but also to check on them. ]

Are you two taking care of yourselves?

[ Caster glances at Archer and grimaces- ] I can't really complain.

[ What he means that even if he wouldn't take care of himself, Archer would. He channeled all his worry and care over two other people in the temple. An easy way to make himself forget about himself and how he feels. ]

With time pain fades, guilt fades- like every wound. Time is the best healer. [ He moves to get closer to edge of the bed and sit there cross-legged ]

It must be really tough. [ Caster knows shinki can suppress their emotions, but he also knows it's not really healthy for them. Archer he pushed into not doing that, but Ginia was always more open. Alex must feel a lot of she feels, even if she tries to supress it. ] Can we do anything to help?

[Archer knows that look, and the reason. He knows about his own tendency to focus on others' wants and needs forgetting about his own, but he's trying to work on it.]

I can say the same. [each of them is affected and deals with pain and loss differently. Each of them makes sure that the other two are taken care of. The temple may feel a bit empty but it's not abandoned.

Caster is right, though. Time will dull the pain and heal the wounds. Perhaps he will move on, perhaps they'll reconcile.]

Caster is right. Alex, if any of us can help in some way, just say a word.

Edited (I can html) 2018-11-25 02:57 (UTC)

You both do more than enough already.

[ At this rate, paying them back was going to take much longer. And she can't keep relying on them like that. ]

And here I am taking up your rest time too. You two should go to bed.

[ Maybe she can clean up around the temple or something while they sleep, if Archer hadn't already gotten the place to sparkle. There had to at least be some fur to sweep up. ]

[ Caster stretches himself and lets out one last yawn. ]

Nah, I'm up. Gotta walk the dogs too. [ He pats one of the furthings on the bed and it makes the dog stir. They are unmoving though ]

I might need help to motivate them though. [ For the dogs are asleep and they are mighty ]

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