[ Something in Yuzuki wants to sob. He doesn't. He can't and he won't. Instead, he grabs hold of his magic and, with a wrench of will, yanks both his form and the shadow portal back into shape. They're still fraying around the edges, badly in places, but they're stable enough to work with.
He dives through the portal without letting go of Macaque's hand. The moment all three of them are safely through and on the other side, the portal doesn't close so much as collapse. Normally he'd never in a million years be so fucking sloppy, but.
They'll understand why soon enough.
Korone had fallen asleep on the cosy nest-couch in her log cabin's living room. It's not all that unusual — sometimes she gets so into decorating that she loses track of time, plops down for a well-earned break, and accidentally conks out. That she's able to sleep at all, let alone outside of her bedroom, is a mark of how safe she feels.
(there's blood in the air, blood on the trail – cries echo through the trees, the broken howls of human beings strapped down, experimented on, begging for mercy and freedom – and they run; they're chased, stumbling and tripping through the dark, and she falls into a bed of rotten sticks and leaves. She tastes blood, tastes honey as her skin — the ache inside — begins to itch, begins to crawl, begins to buzz and gnaw.
And it's fine.
Haha, it's fine, isn't it?
Everything is fine, like this. It's right. It's good.
And soon it'll be(e, heh) even better. She'll show them. She'll show them all, she has to, wants to; nothing would make her happier than to see them thrive.
She has to show them, all of them, show everyone how great this is, how right it is!
The thin veneer of peaceful sleep begins to shatter. Faint twitches turn restless, turn violent; her breathing rasps in her throat, erratic, too quick and too shallow, becoming laboured as she's dragged down, down, down, eaten alive from the inside out—there's something there, something inside, and the world snaps back to rights, oh god, oh god, no, this can't be happening, this isn't fine, this isn't right, the heart-stopping terror hits her like a knife in the gut and oh god please somebody help her, make it stop, make it stop—until the scream is wrenched out of her like a twisted blade, awful and bloodcurdling, and it doesn't stop)
… She doesn't feel safe right now. She isn't safe, and if Macaque and Lucifer were almost anyone else, they wouldn't be safe either.
It's dark, and Korone is screaming. It's dark — because the living room is a seething, roil pit of shadows, whip-sharp and knife-edged tendrils lashing out in a blind frenzy. The couch is well on its way to wrecked already. Korone is halfway to the floor, tangled in a blanket, glamours glitching and spasming violently as she screams and screams and screams. She's drenched in blood (it's not real) she's missing so many pieces, limbs ripped off, torn and shredded (it's not real) she's younger than she should be, wingless, just a kid (it's not real), they ate their way free of her from the inside out (it's not real), she's coughing and crying blood and honey (it's not real) — it's not real, not really, it's just glamourie, it's just a nightmare, it's a nightmare it's a nightmare and —
And Korone is lost in it, writhing, clawing at herself. ]
[ Yuzuki had managed to keep enough of a grip on their shadow magic that it hasn't wrecked her in the frenzy, not even so much as a scratch. Whining behind grit teeth from the strain, he grabs more, holds tighter, and throws everything he has into pinning the magic down. The shadows buckle, trembling and twitching. Yuzuki buckles too, his shadowy form flickering as he crashes to his knees, but he doesn't let go. He won't, not until Macaque and Lucifer confirm it's safe. ]
Macaque takes in the scene in a single glance, and instantly helps Yuzuki take over holding the shadows, shrinking them until they're manageable. And then he grabs Choco's wrists, hoping not to bruise them, so she'll stop scratching herself.
"Choco, it's me. It's Dad. Wake up. You're safe here."
He doesn't really expect that to work, but he's starting with gentle and proceeding from there.
This is bad. This is horrific. This is terrible. Lucifer watches Choco and the horrible state her form flickers in and out of. The glamours displaying the torment and pain of her nightmare. Maybe even her past. He moves with Macaque to gently try and keep her nails from hurting herself. He snaps his fingers, summoning soft wool mittens over her hands. Hoping it helps even a little.
"Choco-chan. Your dad is here. You're safe. Come back to us. It isn't real here. It isn't real now. Wake up, sweet girl. Come back to us."
[ Yuzuki gasps in relief as the weight is lifted. He'd never have forgiven himself if he'd fucked up — if he'd let her get hurt like that on his watch. That he's fighting to keep his head above the stormy waters of Korone's nightmare is irrelevant. ]
[ He tries to pull himself together both literally and figuratively. Macaque and Lucifer might still need his help, Choco might need him, or Korone or Koronai, he can't let himself get pulled under. Shakily, breathing hard even though he doesn't technically need to right now, he patches up his shadowy form. Reweaving where he has to. Quickly smoothing away the gashes and holes that ooze shadow rather than blood and h
hhh
— fuck.
No. Stop that and fucking focus. ]
[ Yuzuki shakes his head sharply, just once, hands clenched into fists against the urge to scratch and chafe and shake, and shoves everything down as deep as he can. He has to be here if they need him. He has to. He will. ]
[ Choco is fighting herself like a wild thing, with all of her desperate strength. And when Macaque and Lucifer get close enough, the moment she's touched, she struggles to fight them just as much. It's a good thing they're sturdy, because those flapping, flailing wings could easily land a human in hospital, and she's kicking hard enough that even a fully armoured Wash would feel it if one landed. ]
[ The screams mercifully(...?!) give way to muffled keening when she whips her head around and snaps at Macaque's hand and wrist, frantic as any terrified, cornered creature. A bite lands and she latches on with everything she's got. Her teeth are human, at least, and between Macaque's strength and Lucifer's mittens, she won't be able to claw herself to shreds anymore. ]
Firm hh, hrk — helps more than it hurts. [ That's Yuzuki, his voice rough and rasping. ] With this. Nothing light, gentle.
Macaque grits his teeth when she bites, less because it's painful and more because this isn't working. Firm, then. He'll just have to risk her getting a little bruised. She'd probably think it was better her than them.
His free arm, the one without teeth in it, wraps around her and squeezes, hard. He knows what she can take so he makes sure to be just a bit tighter than usual.
"Wake up, Choco. We're right here. We'll help you."
While he's at it, a shadow clone rises up beside Yuzuki and holds its arms out. If Yuzuki needs to be held tightly, then its ready to help. But since Yuzuki is awake he'll need to give permission first.
Lucifer winces at the biting. They will tend to that after. Macaque can take those teeth, he's definitely had worse. The Devil wracks his brain. Firm. Not rough but firm. Nothing soft. Okay. Think, Lucifer, think. Macaque is wrapping his arms around her tight. What can he do to help get her up that's firm. Oh! He puts his hands on both of her cheeks and firmly presses in to try and keep her head still. Firm voice.
"Wake up, Choco. It's time get up." Lucifer summons an orb of light above them. Not so bright as to banish the shadows but enough to try and shine a light that even the closed eyes can sense. Maybe a firm light will help draw her out of the darkness of the nightmare.
[ The moment Macaque lets go of Korone's wrist, Yuzuki grabs it. More specifically, he summons Shigeon to do the grabbing for him. Good birb —]
[ Maybe it says something about how fucked up this all is that the shadow clone actually startles Yuzuki. His tail bristles, and he narrowly bites back a warning growl. It's just — it's just Dad. Not a threat. ]
[ It's just Dad. ]
[ Dad wants to help. Even him? … Even him. Apparently. ]
[ Yuzuki hesitates for a long moment. He shouldn't need this. He doesn't. … But if it'll help him tune out the noise and ground himself … he'd be in a better position to do his job, right? It's practical. Finally he jerks his head in a nod, accepting the squish and burrowing into it without ever taking his eyes and ears away from what's happening. He mutters instructions, ]
Tighter than that. Even pressure over a wider surface area. Legs too, if you can. It feels — [ he shudders violently ] like they're everywhere.
[ Breathe. In. Hold. Out. ]
Keep talking. Or try singing, that might help. Make sure you don't get too close to her temples, Toucifer. The light — that's good.
[ It's unexpected. Jarring. It doesn't fit. It doesn't make sense. It isn't enough to wake her, not yet at least, but it's one more solid step in the right direction. While she doesn't fully let up on the biting, she's somewhat less of a bear-trap, and the godawful glamourie horror show seems to be slowly losing steam. Slowly. Slowly.
(Her eyes are gone.)
(She's coughing up blood.)
(She's — wearing her clothes from the Temple, stained scarlet, asking a Macaque who doesn't remember her if she should try to get the bullet out herself—?)
(She's choking and laughing and laughing and laughing behind her big brother's hand, eagerly awaiting her turn to become one with the hive. Rude of him to try to stop her, but it won't be long now.)
She's —
… Being held?
Whimpering and squirming, eyes squeezed shut. Held tight. Lungs wet, full, heavy and eaten away, no room for air, it's just blood and honey and bees and bees and —
And sometimes, those whimpers sound like words. Broken pleas to make it stop, make it end, make it all stop, please, she can't do this, just make it stop please make it stop. Sometimes those whimpers sound like a seventeen year old girl begging to die, because death is a mercy when every other option is pure torment.
… Sometimes those whimpers are breathless hiccuping giggles, and the squirming eases. She's a delicate hol-e maiden. Get it? Hee. ]
Macaque's shadow clone grasps Yuzuki tightly, with arms and legs and tail and more arms still that come out of the shadow. Macaque applies the same to Choco, wrapping all his limbs and his tail around her and summoning more clones to wrap her up tight.
He's mildly horrified when Lucifer grabs her face, knowing her proclivity for panic, but Yuzuki gives him instructions... 'Touficer'? Well, he'll ponder that one later.
Lost for more to do, Macaque starts singing a Japanese folk song. Hopefully it'll call her back from whatever she's going through.
So much blood. So much screaming and laughing and her nightmares rage on. Yuzuki is being taken care of. The cute little bird he clocks as it helps grab her wrist. Okay. He'll remember that adorable thing for a later thank you to Yuzuki. For right now, they need to focus on Choco. No temples but pressing his hands against her cheeks, holding there right, no temple brushing or touches. Macaque is wrapping himself and his clones around her. What else can he do to help with the weight needed?
Touficer? He would squeak if things weren't so out of control. He will squeak later. For now, he has to think. What did Charlie like when she had nightmares? Think weighted blanket. Maybe he could do something that just helped all this pressure feel like more. Wind starts to move in the room. It blows down on them all. The air warming as it pushes down. The blankets and anything loose gets pushed down and maybe slides across the floor. It's more warm pressure over everything, though he makes sure it doesn't touch her eyes to the top of her head.
The joins in the singing with Macaque, the melody of the folk song playing on the wind as it blows down on them all.
[ Escaping this nightmare is like climbing out of an abyss, where every ladder is made of ice and thorns and broken glass. It's all too easy to slip, to falter and fail and flay yourself apart. But this … this helps. It all helps, is helping. ]
[ Slowly, slowly, slowly, painfully slowly, Korone's wild thrashing winds down. The bite eases to nothing, leaving her mouth and chin stained with blood — whether hers alone, or Macaque's as well. The crying, the screaming, the heart-wrenching whimpers and broken pleas taper to uneasy, exhausted quiet. ]
[ It's a long while until she's anything close to settled, and even longer before her lashes flutter for the first time. Even then, she doesn't really seem to be awake ... Macaque may be able to hear the misfiring electrical signals somewhere deep inside, subtle on the surface and fortunately short-lived, or else sense it through Yuzuki, who trembles and wavers like a guttering flame. ]
[ The shadow clone almost vanishes completely, only to claw himself stubbornly back from the brink. He rasps, ]
I'm. G-Going to take front. For Choco. Wake up for her. Let her rest.
Macaque can feel Choco slowly easing into a less frenzied restlessness. he knows that she's not out of the woods yet, but it helps him to relax a little. He keeps holding on though, him and his clones.
The clones holding Yuzuki are left with empty arms as Yuzuki nearly vanishes. Macaque nods at his inclination to front for a while, give Choco a chance to be a little less jolted by the experience of waking up and finding herself not alone.
"Good idea. But one thing first--" His shadow rises up from the floor and unwinds the scarf it's wearing, the one Macaque rarely takes off. He wraps its silhouette around Yuzuki's neck, draping it loosely. "Take this. To ground you."
Things are slowly calming down. Though Choco isn't waiting up yet. Yuzuki will take the driver's seat, as it were. Let her actually rest in hopefully peaceful sleep. Good dreams or no dreams. Lucifer just hopes there are no more nightmares. He keeps the wind going and keeps his pressing firm. He watches as Macaque gives that scarf to Yuzuki.
It is no small gesture and he's sure Yuzuki will know that.
"We'll be out here for you too, when you take the front. We're not going anywhere. You got us here for you too."
[ Yuzuki's breath hitches sharply, and his glassy eyes widen in shock. He's wearing Dad's scarf. Dad ... Dad gave him -
He touches the scarf, shakily but so, so gently, as if it's a delicate treasure. Beyond priceless. Uncharacteristically lost for words, lips trembling and nose ever so slightly scrunched exactly like Korone when she's trying not to cry, Yuzuki nods. He swallows, blinks a couple of times, and nods again, then carefully tucks the scarf in closer, nice and snug. Perfect for hiding in. ]
[ And then, finally, he sinks back into the shadows, Shigeon following close on his heels. Korone sinks too, albeit metaphorically; she drifts down into heavy, molasses-y fuzz and restful oblivion. ]
[ Macaque and Lucifer will have a moment to themselves. It's going to take Yuzuki a few minutes to muddle his way up. ]
Lucifer watches that reaction and can't help but smile. He will be making Yuzuki his own cute little shadow duck. Complete with adorable scarf. Like the little bird friend he has. For now though, Yuzuki has a job to do and Lucifer knows he needs to look after his fiancé.
"Take your time, love," Lucifer says softly and spreads one of his wings to gently lay over Macaque's shoulders. Just soft down feathers there as his own personal reminder that Lucifer is here and not going anywhere.
Macaque gives up on having his eyes closed when it gets him a weird combination of blue static and nothingness. The last time he held Choco this tightly was in the jar.
He's shaking all over when Lucifer's wings find his shoulders.
"Don't leave," Macaque pleads with Lucifer despite that he knows it's unnecessary.
Lucifer makes a double to hold Choco's face as he slides over to wrap his arms around Macaque gently. He leans against him and nuzzles the back of Macaque's head with his nose.
"You are stuck with me. I will be there when you wake up like this. Here to hold you, sing to you, pet you, or simply sit with you in your line of sight so you know I am here. You lay beside me when I couldn't get out of bed. You held my hand, you sang, and you come to me the moment you hear me need you. I will forever to the same for you, Macaque."
Macaque leans down to nuzzle one of Lucifer's arms with his cheek. Then he nods. He knew that would be the answer.
"I'm so scared that you'll be gone again." Not something that Macaque would ordinarily admit, but he feels like if they're going to be married than they should share everything.
"I do not plan to leave you, love. And I will fight, nail and tooth, to always come back to you should we be separated," Lucifer keeps holding Macaque and nuzzling back.
He'll only be able to fight to be together again if he remembers that Macaque exists, he thinks bitterly. But there's nothing they can do about that. The same thing could happen to any of them.
"I know," is all he says instead. He leans against Lucifer without sacrificing his hold on his daughter.
"Love you too. I'm glad you're here right now. And always."
[ There's an exceptionally groggy, even more exceptionally wrecked mumble from your local pigeon, ]
Hm. Wow. Think 'm gonna throw up.
[ Your local shadow pigeon, because their blended voice is far more Yuzuki than Korone. When he finally succeeds in cracking his eyes open for all of 1.24 seconds, inky purple and gold are bleeding in to replace their heart's true blue. ]
[ ... Also, he's not joking. Like, yes, he is, but oh boy oh boy he absolutely is not, not even a little. ]
"Thanks, love." He'd deal with getting puked on but it wouldn't be fun. Sorry about more mushiness but it's gonna happen again, so best get used to it.
He glances over at Yuzuki's shadow (and his own since he's still holding on), seeing that it's wearing his scarf. Good.
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Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
He dives through the portal without letting go of Macaque's hand. The moment all three of them are safely through and on the other side, the portal doesn't close so much as collapse. Normally he'd never in a million years be so fucking sloppy, but.
They'll understand why soon enough.
Korone had fallen asleep on the cosy nest-couch in her log cabin's living room. It's not all that unusual — sometimes she gets so into decorating that she loses track of time, plops down for a well-earned break, and accidentally conks out. That she's able to sleep at all, let alone outside of her bedroom, is a mark of how safe she feels.
(there's blood in the air, blood on the trail – cries echo through the trees, the broken howls of human beings strapped down, experimented on, begging for mercy and freedom – and they run; they're chased, stumbling and tripping through the dark, and she falls into a bed of rotten sticks and leaves. She tastes blood, tastes honey as her skin — the ache inside — begins to itch, begins to crawl, begins to buzz and gnaw.
And it's fine.
Haha, it's fine, isn't it?
Everything is fine, like this. It's right. It's good.
And soon it'll be(e, heh) even better. She'll show them. She'll show them all, she has to, wants to; nothing would make her happier than to see them thrive.
She has to show them, all of them, show everyone how great this is, how right it is!
The thin veneer of peaceful sleep begins to shatter. Faint twitches turn restless, turn violent; her breathing rasps in her throat, erratic, too quick and too shallow, becoming laboured as she's dragged down, down, down, eaten alive from the inside out—there's something there, something inside, and the world snaps back to rights, oh god, oh god, no, this can't be happening, this isn't fine, this isn't right, the heart-stopping terror hits her like a knife in the gut and oh god please somebody help her, make it stop, make it stop—until the scream is wrenched out of her like a twisted blade, awful and bloodcurdling, and it doesn't stop)
… She doesn't feel safe right now. She isn't safe, and if Macaque and Lucifer were almost anyone else, they wouldn't be safe either.
It's dark, and Korone is screaming. It's dark — because the living room is a seething, roil pit of shadows, whip-sharp and knife-edged tendrils lashing out in a blind frenzy. The couch is well on its way to wrecked already. Korone is halfway to the floor, tangled in a blanket, glamours glitching and spasming violently as she screams and screams and screams. She's drenched in blood (it's not real) she's missing so many pieces, limbs ripped off, torn and shredded (it's not real) she's younger than she should be, wingless, just a kid (it's not real), they ate their way free of her from the inside out (it's not real), she's coughing and crying blood and honey (it's not real) — it's not real, not really, it's just glamourie, it's just a nightmare, it's a nightmare it's a nightmare and —
And Korone is lost in it, writhing, clawing at herself. ]
[ Yuzuki had managed to keep enough of a grip on their shadow magic that it hasn't wrecked her in the frenzy, not even so much as a scratch. Whining behind grit teeth from the strain, he grabs more, holds tighter, and throws everything he has into pinning the magic down. The shadows buckle, trembling and twitching. Yuzuki buckles too, his shadowy form flickering as he crashes to his knees, but he doesn't let go. He won't, not until Macaque and Lucifer confirm it's safe. ]
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
"Choco, it's me. It's Dad. Wake up. You're safe here."
He doesn't really expect that to work, but he's starting with gentle and proceeding from there.
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
"Choco-chan. Your dad is here. You're safe. Come back to us. It isn't real here. It isn't real now. Wake up, sweet girl. Come back to us."
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
[ He tries to pull himself together both literally and figuratively. Macaque and Lucifer might still need his help, Choco might need him, or Korone or Koronai, he can't let himself get pulled under. Shakily, breathing hard even though he doesn't technically need to right now, he patches up his shadowy form. Reweaving where he has to. Quickly smoothing away the gashes and holes that ooze shadow rather than blood and h
hhh
— fuck.
No. Stop that and fucking focus. ]
[ Yuzuki shakes his head sharply, just once, hands clenched into fists against the urge to scratch and chafe and shake, and shoves everything down as deep as he can. He has to be here if they need him. He has to. He will. ]
[ Choco is fighting herself like a wild thing, with all of her desperate strength. And when Macaque and Lucifer get close enough, the moment she's touched, she struggles to fight them just as much. It's a good thing they're sturdy, because those flapping, flailing wings could easily land a human in hospital, and she's kicking hard enough that even a fully armoured Wash would feel it if one landed. ]
[ The screams mercifully(...?!) give way to muffled keening when she whips her head around and snaps at Macaque's hand and wrist, frantic as any terrified, cornered creature. A bite lands and she latches on with everything she's got. Her teeth are human, at least, and between Macaque's strength and Lucifer's mittens, she won't be able to claw herself to shreds anymore. ]
Firm hh, hrk — helps more than it hurts. [ That's Yuzuki, his voice rough and rasping. ] With this. Nothing light, gentle.
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
His free arm, the one without teeth in it, wraps around her and squeezes, hard. He knows what she can take so he makes sure to be just a bit tighter than usual.
"Wake up, Choco. We're right here. We'll help you."
While he's at it, a shadow clone rises up beside Yuzuki and holds its arms out. If Yuzuki needs to be held tightly, then its ready to help. But since Yuzuki is awake he'll need to give permission first.
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
"Wake up, Choco. It's time get up." Lucifer summons an orb of light above them. Not so bright as to banish the shadows but enough to try and shine a light that even the closed eyes can sense. Maybe a firm light will help draw her out of the darkness of the nightmare.
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
[ Maybe it says something about how fucked up this all is that the shadow clone actually startles Yuzuki. His tail bristles, and he narrowly bites back a warning growl. It's just — it's just Dad. Not a threat. ]
[ It's just Dad. ]
[ Dad wants to help. Even him? … Even him. Apparently. ]
[ Yuzuki hesitates for a long moment. He shouldn't need this. He doesn't. … But if it'll help him tune out the noise and ground himself … he'd be in a better position to do his job, right? It's practical. Finally he jerks his head in a nod, accepting the squish and burrowing into it without ever taking his eyes and ears away from what's happening. He mutters instructions, ]
Tighter than that. Even pressure over a wider surface area. Legs too, if you can. It feels — [ he shudders violently ] like they're everywhere.
[ Breathe. In. Hold. Out. ]
Keep talking. Or try singing, that might help. Make sure you don't get too close to her temples, Toucifer. The light — that's good.
[ It's unexpected. Jarring. It doesn't fit. It doesn't make sense. It isn't enough to wake her, not yet at least, but it's one more solid step in the right direction. While she doesn't fully let up on the biting, she's somewhat less of a bear-trap, and the godawful glamourie horror show seems to be slowly losing steam. Slowly. Slowly.
(Her eyes are gone.)
(She's coughing up blood.)
(She's — wearing her clothes from the Temple, stained scarlet, asking a Macaque who doesn't remember her if she should try to get the bullet out herself—?)
(She's choking and laughing and laughing and laughing behind her big brother's hand, eagerly awaiting her turn to become one with the hive. Rude of him to try to stop her, but it won't be long now.)
She's —
… Being held?
Whimpering and squirming, eyes squeezed shut. Held tight. Lungs wet, full, heavy and eaten away, no room for air, it's just blood and honey and bees and bees and —
And sometimes, those whimpers sound like words. Broken pleas to make it stop, make it end, make it all stop, please, she can't do this, just make it stop please make it stop. Sometimes those whimpers sound like a seventeen year old girl begging to die, because death is a mercy when every other option is pure torment.
… Sometimes those whimpers are breathless hiccuping giggles, and the squirming eases. She's a delicate hol-e maiden. Get it? Hee. ]
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
He's mildly horrified when Lucifer grabs her face, knowing her proclivity for panic, but Yuzuki gives him instructions... 'Touficer'? Well, he'll ponder that one later.
Lost for more to do, Macaque starts singing a Japanese folk song. Hopefully it'll call her back from whatever she's going through.
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
Touficer? He would squeak if things weren't so out of control. He will squeak later. For now, he has to think. What did Charlie like when she had nightmares? Think weighted blanket. Maybe he could do something that just helped all this pressure feel like more. Wind starts to move in the room. It blows down on them all. The air warming as it pushes down. The blankets and anything loose gets pushed down and maybe slides across the floor. It's more warm pressure over everything, though he makes sure it doesn't touch her eyes to the top of her head.
The joins in the singing with Macaque, the melody of the folk song playing on the wind as it blows down on them all.
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
[ Slowly, slowly, slowly, painfully slowly, Korone's wild thrashing winds down. The bite eases to nothing, leaving her mouth and chin stained with blood — whether hers alone, or Macaque's as well. The crying, the screaming, the heart-wrenching whimpers and broken pleas taper to uneasy, exhausted quiet. ]
[ It's a long while until she's anything close to settled, and even longer before her lashes flutter for the first time. Even then, she doesn't really seem to be awake ... Macaque may be able to hear the misfiring electrical signals somewhere deep inside, subtle on the surface and fortunately short-lived, or else sense it through Yuzuki, who trembles and wavers like a guttering flame. ]
[ The shadow clone almost vanishes completely, only to claw himself stubbornly back from the brink. He rasps, ]
I'm. G-Going to take front. For Choco. Wake up for her. Let her rest.
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
The clones holding Yuzuki are left with empty arms as Yuzuki nearly vanishes. Macaque nods at his inclination to front for a while, give Choco a chance to be a little less jolted by the experience of waking up and finding herself not alone.
"Good idea. But one thing first--" His shadow rises up from the floor and unwinds the scarf it's wearing, the one Macaque rarely takes off. He wraps its silhouette around Yuzuki's neck, draping it loosely. "Take this. To ground you."
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
It is no small gesture and he's sure Yuzuki will know that.
"We'll be out here for you too, when you take the front. We're not going anywhere. You got us here for you too."
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
He touches the scarf, shakily but so, so gently, as if it's a delicate treasure. Beyond priceless. Uncharacteristically lost for words, lips trembling and nose ever so slightly scrunched exactly like Korone when she's trying not to cry, Yuzuki nods. He swallows, blinks a couple of times, and nods again, then carefully tucks the scarf in closer, nice and snug. Perfect for hiding in. ]
[ And then, finally, he sinks back into the shadows, Shigeon following close on his heels. Korone sinks too, albeit metaphorically; she drifts down into heavy, molasses-y fuzz and restful oblivion. ]
[ Macaque and Lucifer will have a moment to themselves. It's going to take Yuzuki a few minutes to muddle his way up. ]
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
He keeps holding tight with his limbs and tail, refusing to let go. Yuzuki might need it as he wakes.
Shutting his eyes tight, Macaque speaks to his mate in a low, pinched voice:
"Lucifer--" He needs a minute of comfort himself, after seeing them like this. Just one minute and then he can go on.
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
"Take your time, love," Lucifer says softly and spreads one of his wings to gently lay over Macaque's shoulders. Just soft down feathers there as his own personal reminder that Lucifer is here and not going anywhere.
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
He's shaking all over when Lucifer's wings find his shoulders.
"Don't leave," Macaque pleads with Lucifer despite that he knows it's unnecessary.
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
"I am not going to leave. You're stuck with me, love."
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
Re: tw: body horror bee nightmare
"You are stuck with me. I will be there when you wake up like this. Here to hold you, sing to you, pet you, or simply sit with you in your line of sight so you know I am here. You lay beside me when I couldn't get out of bed. You held my hand, you sang, and you come to me the moment you hear me need you. I will forever to the same for you, Macaque."
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"I'm so scared that you'll be gone again." Not something that Macaque would ordinarily admit, but he feels like if they're going to be married than they should share everything.
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"I love you."
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"I know," is all he says instead. He leans against Lucifer without sacrificing his hold on his daughter.
"Love you too. I'm glad you're here right now. And always."
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Hm. Wow. Think 'm gonna throw up.
[ Your local shadow pigeon, because their blended voice is far more Yuzuki than Korone. When he finally succeeds in cracking his eyes open for all of 1.24 seconds, inky purple and gold are bleeding in to replace their heart's true blue. ]
[ ... Also, he's not joking. Like, yes, he is, but oh boy oh boy he absolutely is not, not even a little. ]
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"Do you mean that legitimately because we can get you a bucket," Lucifer snaps and poof. Puke bucket appears.
"Or you're going to have to learn to live with us being so cute like this all the time. I'm sorry that I am not sorry, as the young folk say."
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He glances over at Yuzuki's shadow (and his own since he's still holding on), seeing that it's wearing his scarf. Good.
"Let me know when you want me to let go."
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