mental link; it's a catbus!

[wille]

[ It's an ungodly hour of the night as these things go, with both Misato and Gildor's minds flickering to announce their presence to all. Forceful and unapologetic, for her part, while urgent and unsettling, for his part. They insist on your attention. ]

( Everyone. We found something out there beyond the barrier. It was too dark for us to see much-- )

(Or anything, for some of us, but-- )

( But it's massive-- )

(Big as the shuttles that brought us-- )

( And predatory. At least, it seemed pretty clear that it wanted to take a chunk out of us. Some of you found tracks the other day, right? Let's talk. )
 

Comments

[shri]

- Is behind the barrier at present, still, as it has been before this. At the moment I hear a great deal of noise and panicking and not a thing productive otherwise.

[ She begins to rake her fingers through his hair, a mess as it is. Finding the tangles. But it's more than that. She thinks, works better like this. ]

Tell me what you sensed. From the beginning. Do not spare me any details. You can do it while I tidy this mess to something decent.

[perroquet]

[ It sounds so much more reasonable when she says it. As useful as the symbiote is for spreading information, there's nothing like hearing words of reassurance with your own two ears.

He takes a deep breath in, and an even longer breath out as she works her fingers through his hair. It's not all pleasant, but it's a welcome distraction from the noise in his head. ]

You're right, you're right... my mind is running away from me.

[ Just as he was warned the symbiote will do when exposed to too many others. He's gone and found a new thing for them to worry about, and now that worry is compounding on his exhaustion. He'd rather put it to rest, but Lakshmi asks for the details. He's finding it harder to say no to this queen of his brood, especially when she's handling him like this. ]

I admit it was a spur of the moment plan to explore beyond the barrier. I was awake, Misato was awake, we determined it was likely the only place we've not explored and so- ah!

[ There's a knot in his hair that's tugged a little too hard. He cautiously continues, voice lowered in case it happens again. ] And so we decided to go for stroll under the cover of night, as well as a few spells to keep us from being detected by the border guards.

Once we were over the fence I tried a few more spells on the barrier itself, but nothing worked. I believe the source of the Second's magic, this Nector, exists on another plane, one that my magic cannot exist on at the same time. By that rule, I assumed the reverse also worked.

And so I conjured a door from inside the barrier that opened to a space on the other side of- a-ah! That hurts...

[shri]

[ he is so delicate. He has no business being such, around her. She has no skill for it, and he feels sometimes like silk to her rough hands.

Well his hair would, after she was done. What a mess. He deserved everyone of those tugs for letting himself becomes this way. Another little forceful yard that she admonishes for his squalling. ]

My ladies complained less when they were bleeding than you - [ and alright, maybe she isn't all awful, or totally unsympathetic, once the whole section is undone, she let's her fingers slide through, softer to soothe against his scalp and the pulled section. ]

- go on. I'm listening.

[perroquet]

[ He has no comeback from that except for a rough sigh. Whether she means fighting or not, he's aware women experience more pain throughout their lives. The state of his hair is his own fault. So with a short reluctant huff of agreement, he obediently concedes and continues- ]

I conjured a door that opened to a space on the other side of barrier. I stepped through, and Miss Katsuragi observed from our side... and thank goodness she did, because she saw the creature before I was aware of the direction it was coming from.

Though before that, we heard it. It... groaned.

[ He replays the sound for her in his mind. A long and low sound, not quite a roar but undoubtedly fierce. Aching, desperate, hungry. ]

The wind changed, and I believe it caught a wiff of us. It wasted little time before it charged, and that's when it entered my range of awareness. It all happened so quickly-

[ That range of awareness he speaks of is not a very long one. The memory is there if she wants it, fresh in his heightened senses. Heavy paws pounded the earth and sent shockwaves through his legs, revealing the creature's massive size. ]

I might've injured it when I ended the spell and closed the door, but... it was so large I doubt it. And despite it's size, fast-

[ He's lucky he left the magic door open, and turned to run as fast as he did. He reaches down and lifts up the back edge of his robes to show her the frayed four slashes torn into them - wider than a dire wolf's paw, made clean from sharp claws. ]

[shri]

[ She starts at the bottom, in turn, her hands are more expressive than her thoughts or her words. They animate to each turn of his words. A little sharp pull on a knotted section where she finds - that had better not be a twig in there - to where she smoothes against the fear, the rawness. The thud, thud, thud of the rumbling weight of the earth being struck heavily. ]

You did well. It is valuable information, whatever comes of it, good or bad.

[ Misato's forceful determination, Shepard and Lexa's rightful hesitation. ]

Even if I should throttle you for endangering us all with that antic.

[ And for that he does not escape punishment, his ear gets a sharp twisting tug. You tell her first Gildor, before you go off almost getting yourself killed. ]

[perroquet]

[ The little tugs and pulls to his hair are tolerated, but fine. Gentler than before, save for a few instances where he knows he deserves an extra yank. He's trying to be better about holding in the grimaces, but then with a final scolding, she makes a move he's beyond capable of holding in-

She grabs and twists his ear, and Gildor screams. Screams like he's about to be killed, and in a sudden fit of panic, he elbows Lakshmi hard in the chest to free himself. Scrambles away from her in a flurry of torn robes and wildly loose hair, desperate to get away like he's just been horribly violated.

The blackness that encompasses his mind goes crimson red - a mood learned from Pidge befitting of the sudden fear overtaking him. As panicked as he's been tonight, having an ear twisted is somehow far worse than being chased down by a furious beast, though already being on edge certainly isn't helping. He stands some distance away from Lakshmi, clutching his ear and breathing hard as realization sets on him. ]

I- I'm sorry, I-... I'm fine. It's- I didn't mean to, I-I'm so sorry-

[ Frantic apologies for her and whoever he just woke. If anyone wasn't already woken up by his and Misato's urgent mental message, that certainly did it, and likely woke those sleeping several tents away as well. ]

[shri]

[ Shit - !

For a second, she has to look to make sure she hadn't done something honestly worse than what she thought she had. Looking down at her hand and then to him, where he presses back. ]

Gildor, it is alright.

[ She doesn't move closer to him, rather let her voice and the set of their connection place her at a safe distance from him. ] I should have thought not to do so to a blind man.

[perroquet]

[ He could be angry, but really, he's too horrified at his own reaction to hold a grudge. That, and at the pain still lingering in his held ear still frightens him. What if it doesn't go away, what if it's ruined? His heart pounds rapidly in his head, and though he knows it will fade, he still stands away from her. Petrified. ]

No, I never told you about my-... It's an irrational fear of course, but-...

[ The red in his mind goes muddy as it slowly settles back to it's usual blackness. Remembered voices bubble up from within it, and he slips into the old fear they bring before he can silence them. A man's voice towers over him, deeper and with an accent like the one he's suppose to be learning to speak with-

"We'll cut those oversized things off and you'll live in the streets if you don't get this right. Now, again-"

He covers both ears and sinks to the floor. ]

[shri]

[ It takes no more that that voice - to know exactly what she's done is so far beyond the playful tug she meant it to be. ]

It is a threat, like a vampires fangs. Whether it is founded or not - when it is something you have learned to fear.

[ She is told often and insistently, how she needs to put aside those fears, here, like her skin doesn't crawl every time she has to look at them and suffer them to live. But so far - she cannot lie, they haven't turned their teeth to any one unwilling. ]

I will not make such a mistake again.

[ She can only know for herself, how she responds in such a situation - so she doens't move closer where she watches him crumble, like saw teeth of a blade against muscle, she watches him. A want to hold those wounds but even so - ]

( Will you come back to me? )

[perroquet]

[ He answers affirmative, though it isn't voiced aloud or even put in verbalized thought. Just a sense of longing to be near her again, though he needs time to get there. Another moment to let the pain fade, to recompose himself. Even as she offers comforting words, there's a sense of deep embarrassment that won't fade so easily.

Eventually, he rises and slowly makes his way back towards her. Reaches blindly in her direction for her guiding hand. When he sits with her again, his thoughts have been recollected with coherence and he gently presses on her mind, afraid of prying ears as he confesses- ]

( It's why I am so reluctant to touch my own hair. I barely trust anyone near my ears, let alone with scissors. I've always trimmed the front carefully and left them a wide berth, because if anything were to happen... ) [ Just the idea of 'anything' stresses him. ]

( I should have told you, but it's a strange thing to confess. )

[ And he made the mistake of trusting her so completely. Perhaps a fault of their symbiotic relationship growing closer, but one he blames himself for. ]

[shri]

[ She clicks her tongue, as he comes back to her, and she guides it to settle back to her waist. Giving him a long amount of time to adjust to her nearness again. ]

( There is nothing strange - not when you have known such thing. Do you chide me for my fears? )

[ He might insist far differently to her where the vampire of their hive is concerned, but he hadn't acted like it was completely unfounded either.

And to it, when she lets her hands drift near his hair again, it is carefully, meticulously slow. Light and easy and not at all pulling even if that is what the mess deserves. ]

( I never want to cause you such pain. Never. Tell me when something is so much to you. )

[perroquet]

[ He sits kneeling before her, not as a subject or as brood, but as a tired man who has been exposed. His hands move from her waist, fingertips trailing downward to the ends ends of her knees and rest there, reassured by her presence and words. But still, even dressed in his heavy robes, he feels naked before her as he settles back down. ]

( I swear it is just that. The monster beyond the barrier is merely disconcerting by comparison to the fear you've revealed in me. )

[ Congratulations Lakshmi, for accidentally uncovering his worst nightmare. She reaches up again to run her fingers through his hair, and though her touch is gentle again, there's a tenseness in his neck and shoulders that wasn't there before. One he's fighting to let go of.

She asks for communication, and though the frayed nerves along the edges of his mind may be telling enough, he does as she says - he asks. ]

( Can it wait till morning? )

[ It isn't that he doesn't want her help. On the contrary, there's an underlying appreciation for her act of service that would brim over in joy if only his anxieties would allow it to. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to him, his hair is even worse now than when she started - sticking up in places she'd been working on and made wild from his sudden outburst. But he's tired and ready to try giving in to sleep, if his mind will quiet long enough to allow it. ]