teaism | pls don't judge me I have so many injured guren icons okay

pls don't judge me I have so many injured guren icons okay

[Compared to this, the talking furniture from ages ago seemed almost pleasant. The door clicks shut behind them, and Guren almost wants to drop down right here. It's the first building they've come across in a while now— some sort of cabin in the woods that's falling apart just like the rest of the town they'd started in. Guren was bleeding from a variety of areas— a number of spots on his torso, his head, his face, his thigh— and that doesn't even start on the broken bones he's sporting, but he had a demon to take care of those injuries.

The man he was trying to support next to him was a different story. Hadn't they said something about not wanting to test if he could die and come back...?]

Look at me, Dex. [Guren wasn't trying to hide his worry now. He'd arrived too late, or at least that's his perspective. He shows up and something is nearly finished toying with Dextera like he's some sort of doll— something grey, with wings. Guren couldn't grasp what was happening, but interrupting had shown him that he was nearly outmatched. Nearly. With some biting words, he'd slain the creature(?) just before he was about to be offed himself. It was risky, to say the least.

But they're indoors now. Indoors, and there have to be supplies they can make use of somewhere. He staggers his next step forward as he tries to lead Dextera in, coughing blood against the back of his own hand. He's noticing that even his own injuries are staying longer than usual, somehow...]

Damn it...

[But he needs to know how Dextera is doing. How much can he handle? Guren doesn't want to find out his limit right now. One hand grips at Dextera's shoulder. They've been supporting each other the whole walk here, and he's trying not to weigh him down. His other hand, though the back of it is bloody now, rests against Dextera's chest carefully.] Sit down here.

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[ Ha Ha.

yes, he is happy, and his expression softens into something hopelessly fond—a true, deep affection for guren and everything guren can possibly think to do in this moment. dextera isn’t a very conditional lover, and for all that he may not deserve this, guren is willing to give it. ]

I’m not going anywhere.

[ it’s a quiet but honest promise. ]

So wait for me to heal.

[ not just to bone, though that’s a good reason to wait on its own—but to pursue this, whatever it may be, with whatever vigor the either of them feel is necessary. or wanted. ]

[He thought he was too old for feelings like this. He never even got them when he was younger, really, unless he went all the way back to five years old. It's a flutter in his heart, like excitement and hope, and a rush that he doesn't know how to stop. It's incredible and frightening all at once, and his own expression softens for it, too.

Of course, that means he's trying to look away for a second or two because of it.

He can't look away forever, and when the embarrassment isn't so intense, he looks back, meets that fond expression and listens to that request. His hand shifts beneath Dextera's, turning and lacing their fingers together with a sudden determination that he's not letting show on his face.]

I'll wait. [Leaning closer, he presses their lips together for one more kiss. Whatever this is— he doesn't know how to put a name or words to it— he doesn't want to let it go.]

[ guren doesn’t have to wait so long.

between the healing pastes, guren’s careful attention, and the occasional animal silently swallowed out of view, dextera is able to get back on his feet on good time. he might end up with a few shallow scars at the end of it all, which is... new. almost exciting, since he can’t remember ever having a body that isn’t just reset at the end of an attempt.

there’s a point at which he knows he has to get up and get going, though. it’s a bad idea for them to stay in this forest any longer, and even dextera is starting to feel restless.

he redresses in what he assumes is the morning with methodical care, and he slides his fingers along his sword. everything seems to be in tact, then. ]

Guren.

[Guren has been fretting over Dextera in his own quiet way, so knowing that he's able to be up and moving around again without pain is all he needs. He's just finishing up with sharpening his blade, slipping it back into its sheath as he looks over his shoulder.]

Ready?

[Good. He stands, holding out his arms to gesture that Dextera come closer and move past him, downstairs and to the door.]

We can't bring too much, but I have what we could. [The fog hasn't gotten any better, as if things being gray wasn't difficult enough, and so direction is going to be tricky. So is staying close to each other... He glances at Dextera's hand, like he's considering it, but that would limit their reaction time...]

We're going to try just heading in one direction.

[ dextera would gladly hold guren’s hand, but he too realizes that it might be difficult to react if their fingers end up laced for affection instead of caution. he flicks his gaze up to guren’s, still prone to staring a little even if he’s gotten used to his voice working again. ]

...do you think you can lead?

[ it feels weird to ask, when he’s pretty sure that guren was going to go ahead anyway, but dextera wants to watch guren’s back as much as he can... and he’s not as prepared as he wants to be for a dangerous battle. ]

Yeah.

[It's a quick reply, since he's ready to. He was planning on it from the start— if they run into anything, he wants to be the first one to see it. So, he heads out the door, and when he's sure Dextera is ready to follow, he starts off.

The forest is so foggy that they have to stay almost on top of each other to stay in each other's sight. It makes it difficult for staying on path, but Guren marks trees as he goes. It feels like something is watching them, but he can't pick up an actual presence.]

Still doing okay?

[ dextera’s hand doesn’t end up tucked into guren’s, but it seems they’ve both quickly realized the danger of drifting too far. instead, he keeps his hand against the small of guren’s back—unsettled and unhappy because of the forest’s eyes on them both.

the house sounds like a better place to be, frankly. ]

...I’m fine.

[ and physically, he is, but— ]

Where do you think we’re actually going?

I wish I knew. I didn't go this direction last time, so I thought we had a better chance of heading back to town, but...

[Nothing in sight yet, after walking for how long? Ugh. He frowns to himself, glaring at the forest in front of him.] Going back already would put us right back at the start, though, and with whatever it is watching us, I won't trust that cabin.

[Unfortunately.] We should keep going, for now.

[ dextera frankly isn’t sure that it will put them back at the start, with the forest’s finicky approach to visitors. it seems to send them wherever it wants them to go, which is inconvenient for anyone who’s trying to reach something the forest doesn’t want them to get to. ]

...

[ but he trusts guren more than he trusts himself, in this case. ]

Have you ever been camping?

[ it’s a pretty mirthless joke, but only because there’s a chance they’ll have to if they wander too far. ]

Haha. Plenty of times.

[Camping in a spooky fog forest, though... That's another thing entirely. Dextera must be worried, and Guren can't blame him. He turns halfway, while they're walking, to face him.]

I could always use fuda to—

[Something cuts him off. The slightest shift in the soil beneath his foot with the next step, and his head whips back around to try and catch himself. It's too late. The fog is heavy, but he could swear he sees the forest path shift right in front of him.]

Gh—! [Dirt, a winding path, the base of trees— they all give way with the ground beneath him, and he automatically shoves at Dextera before he falls. His hands grasp desperately in the air afterwards, looking for something to hold onto, but the root of the tree still working on disappearing fades in his grip, and his figure disappears below the fog with a yell.]

[ it’s strange—dextera wants to yell too, but no sound comes out, even though his voice is in tact. there’s a breathy gasp instead, as he forms guren’s name with his mouth at the same instant he’s pushed. ]

—!

[ what if the forest patches itself over before dextera can grab guren? in a split second, he makes the decision to pitch himself forward and grasp for any part of guren he can reach. if they get separated here—

he misses, in the thick fog, but the feeling of falling is soon interrupted by a splash that stings against any skin he has exposed. ]

[Some good news about the water they've just fallen into: it's not foggy down here at all, even if looking up at the sky gives them no sight of the forest floor they just fell from. It's grey, like everything else. Also, instead of being cold to the bone, it's warm and comfortable.

Guren emerges from the water with a choke of a cough, blinking through it to try and look around. He'd seen fingers reaching for him as he fell— Dextera had to be down here, too.]

Dex! [He's panicking already, heart beating fast, eyes unable to find Dextera just yet. Is he under the water? He's about ready to duck right back under, just as quickly.]

[ dextera can’t fucking swim!

but the water they’ve fallen into isn’t so deep that he can’t rescue himself, though he swallows a big mouthful before he surfaces, coughing out the water with a nasty, ragged sound.

it’s not as bad as being dunked into harbor water. ]

Ggh! [ the fall didn’t reopen his wounds, but he’s still sensitive in places, still sore. ] G— Guren—

[ he looks pathetic, honestly. ]

[NO... That is the saddest thing he's ever seen. His panic has him swimming over immediately, and thankfully they weren't that far to begin with. He snakes an arm around Dextera and starts swimming over to the edge of the water with him.]

Damn it... Are you alright? It just fell out of nowhere, I couldn't— [Ugh. His excuses don't matter anyway, so he cuts himself off, catching onto the rocks and dirt that seem to surround the body of water and shifting to help Dextera climb up. He'll go after him.

It looks like a completely different area, down here. Sheer cliffs are almost on every side, a waterfall dropping from one of them into this large... lake? It's circular, but not perfect, and smaller rivers or streams trail off in a different direction. It looks like it would be a pretty place, if there was any color. There's lots of plants, even if all of the forest trees seem to be up on those cliffs.

Guren runs a hand through his hair to slick it back and out of the way. The water might be warm, but getting right out of it is uncomfortably cold. He keeps an arm around Dextera.]

[ dextera can’t catch his breath, the water dripping from his mouth, even from his nose as the water trickles down from his damp hair. he gasps, roughly, still coughing as guren carries him over to the edge of the water. ]

I— [ HACK HACK ] I’m—sorry—

[ he’s apologizing for not being able to swim, and as soon as he’s able, he steadies himself on the edge of the lake. ]

Ugh.

[At the edge of the water, he can place his hand to Dextera's back as he gets through all of that choking. Guren takes a quick look up to see that it's all sky, and then down at Dextera again. Poor guy.]

Just focus on catching your breath.

[He thought for sure he'd lost him for a moment, there. That they'd been separated, that it would take forever to get back to him. And then, that he had fallen and hit a rock, maybe, or even worse—

His heart still isn't over it, either, and he takes a deep breath. Honestly, what can he say after that? Maybe they both need a minute.]

[ dextera is able to calm down as guren leaves him in silence for a little longer, and finally, wiping his face clean, he seems to be slightly more at peace—even if his eyes are still wide, a little panicked, his breathing has evened out. ]

I’m... okay.

[ dextera swallows, and his voice tastes strange from the water he’s taken in. ]

I thought you...

[ even now, he’s more worried about guren, even though guren almost certainly would have been just fine without dextera. ]

[ He frowns as he watches Dextera, the memory replaying in his head. Could he have handled that better? Maybe he should have pulled him closer, so they could fall but Guren could shield whatever happened. But the truth is, if it had been something that ended in death— he had to push him away. ]

I know. I’m sorry.

[ Gently, without letting himself stop to think about it and change his mind, he leans in and kisses him. His hand moves to rest on his cheek, and it’s only when he pulls away again that he realizes he’s left a smear of blood on Dextera’s face. He glances down at his hand, the faint sting finally recognized for what it is. It’s a big slice across his palm, looking a little like that tree root he tried to grab onto when it vanished. Had it been solid enough to cut? ]

Ah, woops. [ He’ll reach over again, this time with his sleeve to wipe Dextera’s cheek clean. ] Anyway, try not to worry about it anymore. We both made it, and we didn’t get separated.

Edited 2018-04-10 07:57 (UTC)

[ the kiss is a pretty good way to soothe him, though dextera finds himself fretting all the same when he realizes that that guren is bleeding. even if he can regenerate himself, no one wants to see blood like that. he takes guren’s hand, but he’s careful to touch only the back of it. avoiding the cut. ]

But now we’re here.

[ he clears his throat one last time, and then cranes his neck to look upward. it doesn’t seem like they can just climb, and it might even be too high for guren to just scale the cliffs?

certainly too high for dextera. ]

...where is here?

[ Guren isn’t too worried about the cut, since he regenerates— but slowly, he’ll have to realize that this one just isn’t closing up. It’s a little deep, so he doesn’t think anything of it right now, simply staring back up at the cliffs. It’s way too high, and there’s not enough ledges or shelves of rock to make do. ]

It must still be part of the forest. [ He turns back to look away from the cliffs, down rocks and streams that keep going lower. ]

But that wasn’t a natural drop. There was ground, and then there wasn’t... [ He honestly doesn’t know what to do. Do they go follow it down? Try to find a way back up? Stay around here in this comfortable water? The feeling of someone watching hasn’t gone away. ]

Maybe we should stop and rest here. [ They sure just went through Enough... ]

[ to be frank, if only internally, dextera doesn't remember the drop too well. it was all so sudden, and he doesn't have the observational skills when he isn't trying to focus in on something as emotionally charged as that. he remembers being pushed, and falling, and grabbing—and now he's here.

luckily, he's here with guren. he has to be thankful for that. he lets his hand fall away from guren's, but only to wrap his coat more tightly around himself—it's totally soaked, and the water is starting to cool. ]

We're lucky we didn't break anything. We shouldn't push our luck.

[ which is to say—a rest sounds good, at least while they figure out what to do next. ]

Yeah. I can’t tell where the sun is, either, but it’s going to get cold if it sets.

[ And they are both drenched. He sighs, pulling away enough to stand up, but then offering his free hand to Dextera to do the same. ] Let’s look by that waterfall first. [ If they walk along the edges of these cliffs first, then there might be somewhere that stands out where they can rest. His pack of items he brought is soaked, too, so he can’t even pull out one of the blankets, really. He has to wait until they dry, too.

The waterfall doesn’t seem interesting at all, but just on the other side of it, following the cliffs, is a cave buried by plants that he’s sure should normally be green. Guren frowns into it, like he’s not sure if it’s better to go in for shelter, or stay out here where it’s not so pitch black and mysterious. ]

[ it's cold already! but dextera isn't a particularly warm person, so that might have something to do with it. ]

...

[ it sure is dark in there, and dextera knows better than to blindly trust the dark—the dark is where monsters hide, where people die, and after narrowly avoiding death only a few minutes ago, the last thing they need is to go in unprepared. he's got his idea sephirah, but when he pulls it out, the light it provides is only enough to illuminate what's in front of their faces.

if dextera were alone, he might actually risk it. but over the waterfall, he can't even hear if there's anything lurking deeper inside the cave. ]

It doesn't look like we have many options.

Figures.

[ Ugh... If Dextera’s light thing can’t even help, then it’s better to save that cave for when they feel more up to it. Instead, he moves them further away, so the waterfall is muffled and whatever might be in that cave can’t maul them immediately, and pulls out what he brought. Some blankets... soaking wet, they don’t look as nice.

He pulls his jacket off, leaving it out to hopefully dry?? And annoyed at how his hand is still throbbing, slaps a bandage over it. Then he’s gesturing for Dextera to come closer. ]

Come here. You’re cold, right?

[ dextera doesn't miss that guren is attending to his hand, when he's usually quite devil-may-care about his injuries. he's not sure how the regeneration works, only that it does. for now, however, he doesn't ask about it—only casting a worried glance at guren's hand, hiding it by tucking away his crystal, and then he nods as if nothing is wrong.

he is cold. so he listens to guren, moving closer just as asked. are they going to cuddle for warmth? is this where they're going??? ]

...you are too, aren't you?

[ their poor blankets... ]

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