spellbinders | [WORLD ONE | AIMINTAS REBUILDING]

Entry tags:

[WORLD ONE | AIMINTAS REBUILDING]

Who: Coven members and the Palai
Where: Rebuilding the Aimintas marketplace.
When: Day 59
Open/Closed: Open to All
OOC Note: For Prompt A -- the egg claiming is closed to those who selected eggs from this thread! Anyone can use the prompt creatively, but please don't give your character an egg if they aren't listed in the above thread.

The initial setting information found here should be utilized for threads here.

There's no official OOC account for the Palai people. You're free to roleplay their actions and reactions on your own, as in depth as you want -- asking questions, hand-waved interactions, becoming best friends. The new world is your oyster!

Many efforts have been made to help rebuild Aimintas, which has become a little bit water-logged and bloodied after the confrontation a few days previously. The Palai are fully capable of rebuilding their own city on their own, but with coven members around and willing to help, hopefully the repairs that need to be done can be completed much more quickly.

The marketplace is quite expansive, which is both good and bad when it comes to coven involvement. While the areas that need to be repaired are expansive, this creates the opportunity for most coven members to help rebuild in some way or another. With everyone taking responsibility for a task, the work can get done much more quickly.

Aside from the repairs, many Palai are still in mourning. Because this incident happened during their mating season, many Palai are essentially shut out of reproduction or are going to potentially lay eggs a month from now without one of their previously supposed parents. The demeanor around the marketplace is glum for this reason, though the steadfast species is certainly not giving up.

Are you willing to take an egg?

TDM #2, Prompt E

a lot

were

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( Emil's agitation just peaks when Lalli continues to pass blame...but to who? If it's not his own fault and it's not Lalli's, then who does the blame belong to? Why exactly is it that he decides to run away and act so strangely, effectively making Emil feels like he's in the wrong again?

His magic was easier to control now, but he can feel the heat begin to prickle under his skin. It's definitely not the best time to focus on egg warming. This miscommunication made sense when they couldn't understand each other, but when they can talk? When they can communicate telepathi--

That's when the onslaught of a sentence enters his head, running together so quickly that it's a good thing he's paying attention. It's actually hard to dissect it -- some of it he certainly can't. Lalli's emotions are pushing into his brain too strongly. It's not a bad thing. Now he can see the struggle Lalli's going through, as well as feel the pinpricks of it in his mind.

Right now he knows touching Lalli isn't the wisest idea. Emil sighs and places his egg on the ground as gently as he can and bunches up his comforter, standing up and draping it over his friend with just as much care. A compromise. )

You can use telepathy -- just calm down and go slow. I still don't really understand what's going on, but you can explain it to me. ( Bits and pieces of the telepathy stand out to him because they're what his brain remembers and hung onto, but he wants to know more. )

[He makes a few angry engine noises, but he pulls the comforter tighter around himself and quiets down again. His mental feed reduces to a steady hum, too, while he forces himself to calm, breathe, think.

After a minute or so, some of the tension leaves him, but he doesn't drop his blanket cocoon's tightness.]

Something...was wrong. I don't like being touched. Mostly. [It was hard to claim that as a hard and fast rule, when Emil had always been something of an exception...] But I really, really wanted to. Touch you, and...

[The blanket bundle huffs and shakes its head.]

No one knows what I'm talking about... They think I'm just being stupid or angry. It feels weird and bad, I'm not...crazy. [Okay, he's getting off topic. Let him take another minute.] I felt...things. That I don't feel. It wasn't me. You liked it. I really liked you.

( This telepathic exchange is much easier to digest, from beginning to end. Still, some of it is understood exactly while other bits are understood by definitions alone. It's all better than getting a tornado of emotion and jumbled words. )

I know you're not crazy. Or stupid. Angry... ( It did seem like Lalli was angry, and if he's not then that is good news. The complexity of all these emotions is foreign to him at such an intensity. )

If you really wanted to, then it doesn't matter right? I didn't mind. ( Which is one thing he remembers about the last telepathy string. ) You didn't make me do anything -- if I didn't want to do something, I wouldn't have. ...I did like it.

( Emil's voice has lost all of its angry edge. Instead, it's tinged with real empathy. They certainly have different ways with dealing with things; he's still irritated that Lalli avoided him, but Emil also knows how it feels to suddenly have to deal with emotions you're not at all used to. He won't try and let him get away with it, but now isn't the time to hammer in that nail. )

Lately...I've felt different about a lot of things. Things I've never felt before. I don't think it's bad...it's just different.

[The blanket burrito goes still and silent.

...

The blanket burrito flops forward with a groan. Everything was complicated! Even if it sounds like Emil is getting the general idea, there's the annoyed buzz that suggests he isn't understanding what Lalli's actually trying to explain. It's nothing new -- in fact, that was a large part of his frustration. No one ever understood it. Just the weird, sulking freak of a boy, yep, that's him yet again. At least...Emil said he wasn't stupid and crazy... That was nice.

The blanket burrito inchworms forward some and curls itself around the egg while it thinks.]

You don't know for sure. I thought I was making decisions, but that's not stuff I do. [Even just considering holding himself as close to Emil as he had the day before -- heck, earlier in the day, even with as tame as that comparatively was -- made something in him freeze and boil at the same time. He wanted to fight.] I don't want...

[Well. Hmn. Wait a second.]

You talk more now. I need to think.

( Emil just steps out of the way while the burrito slug slinks and slithers up to his egg. Well, at least that will warm it now. Speaking of, he can feel the prickling in his skin dying down, no longer impassioned about his aggravation.

There's no context for Emil to think that Lalli was somehow influenced by anything, so he's lost on this line of thought. Instead, he sits cross-legged on the ground, observing the breathing mass surrounding his egg baby. )

I don't know...I can't really explain why you would do something you didn't want to do. ...Well, we talked a little about that, actually.

( Lalli asks him to talk, but he suddenly isn't sure what to say -- uhh what else had Lalli talked about?? )

Even if you don't like what you -- we did, I don't want you to avoid me. You can tell me whatever you want and we can talk about it. If I did something wrong, just tell me... ( Which feels weird to say. He certainly doesn't like feeling like he's in the wrong about anything, but with Lalli...he'll take his licks. ) I can't undo what happened, but we don't have to do it again.

( He can live with that...except something about it does hurt. It may be hard to avoid touching Lalli when in the past he's been feely with him -- Lalli did have a point about how he isn't the best at giving space -- but it did feel nice to be intimate like that. He was sure he and Lalli were friends before then, but whatever that amplified feeling of closeness was...feeling that again would be nice. )

[See, he's a pile of burning garbage in a depressed heap, but he can still be useful... Being of benefit is a good point of anchor his current self to to calm down. It was hard, even though Emil was doing what he asked -- again, he was always doing what he asked, whether it was talking now, or embracing him, or staying away. That's a little... Hrmn.]

I can't tell you whatever I want. It's hard. [Gotta get that straight first, while he lets his eyes unfocus to the dark of his comforter hell.] You didn't do anything wrong this time. I know that.

...I meant it? I think? Stuff I said. I just --

[Words are failing him like they always do, but they have this new connection, now... Tentatively, he tries to convey the feeling he gets, that jolt of overwhelming discomfort he wanted so badly to avoid, that made his previous desire so baffling. It isn't a preference. It's a deep wrongness flooding him from the second someone brushes against him or reaches towards him, something that made him distance himself even from those he was closest to because it pushed on a sensitive nerve he couldn't brush away. Couldn't explain.

Forcing the feeling now, he can feel his bones wanting to leap out of his body in protest, and he struggles to tighten the blanket around him further. This was helping...]

...Things are a lot.

[everything happens so much]

( Frustrating. It's frustrating. )

I know it's hard...but you have to try! At the very least, don't avoid me. Even if you don't know what to say, just tell me you don't know.

( But at least he knows he didn't do anything wrong, that's good to know. Despite being assured, it doesn't quell Emil's feelings of queasiness. He wishes he could comfort Lalli in ways he knew how, but some of those were put on display the day prior and look how that turned out. He knows a little bit about how to make his friend feel better, but at the same time he doesn't know what to do.

Giving him space is perhaps the best way to go about things, but it suddenly feels so arduous when just 24 hours ago they had been closer than Emil had ever been to another person he wasn't related to. Shifting away, he licks his dry lips and clears his suddenly itchy throat. )

Things are difficult right now...for you, especially. I just want both of us to feel better. ( That las part is said into the air and not to Lalli. They both suck at this apparently, which. Sucks. )

[...That would be ideal, wouldn't it? If they could both feel better.]

I...don't know.

[He's testing it out, clearly, but it's still true. He doesn't have any damn clue how he's supposed to make either of them feel better. Everything was awful!

Being able to think that is kind of...weirdly freeing? A thin arm emerges from the burrito to lightly prod the egg next to him. Weird to think there's life in there, even if there's clear evidence of that to him.]

Why do you do everything I tell you? It's weird.

( Despite trusting Lalli, Emil hears the egg shift against the rock and swivels immediately to watch him tap at the egg. It won't hurt, so he'll let him. )

It's not like I'll automatically follow every order you give me. ( Emil has limits, they just haven't been tested yet. ) But if it will make you feel better and I can do it, why not?

( He already said something to the tune of this, but it feels...tingly? To say it again somehow. ) Yesterday, I liked that you asked me to do those things, so it's not weird that I'd say yes.

[Satisfied, he steadies the egg again and rests his hand against it. Gentle, gentle, little lizard. No causing even more trouble for them just yet.]

Okay...

[It's a very weak croak, but hey, it's actual talking. That's good. He's still not sure he understands Emil's way of thinking, but it's abundantly clear that Emil doesn't understand his way of thinking, either. That was kind of...a thing between them.]

What do you mean you liked it?

( If he was entirely honest, Emil would probably say he still didn't understand what the big deal was, especially considering it was enough to elbow him and run off faster than he'd seen him sprint before.

At this point, it just seems like he won't ever fully understand some eccentricities Lalli harbors. He's taking the note that maybe he should watch how much he unconsciously touches him in the future, just to avoid anything similar in the future. It's a subconscious entitlement Emil never had to examine before.

Changing course slightly, the question is a little harder to answer because...half of it he gets, half of it he doesn't exactly understand that well himself. )

I don't know. ( See, he can telepathy too. ) I guess I liked that I could do something for you, you know...make you feel better? Holding hands and things like that are supposed to be mutually nice... I think.

( He's never actually done that before so he's going off of mutual experience and his minimal knowledge of relationships, okay. )

[ooh mindspeaking ooh... how nice. Lalli sighs, not unhappily, and let's his eyes drift shut while his arm outside the blanket relaxes to signify the gentle change. It wasn't immediate relief of his problems, but it was...something. Hard to put his finger on, like so many other somethings.]

They are, I think. I didn't think so before.

[It really had been a nice feeling... Getting to be so close to someone, knowing they trusted him and feeling like he could trust for a little while. He wishes he didn't so firmly believe in the walls he'd built around himself. Being someone else -- to him, that's what it was like -- had been indescribable. But he couldn't be someone else for long, nor would he want to. Lalli's accepted the kind of person he is, even if it comes with hardship after hardship crashing down around him and swooping loved ones off to the other side.]

Being around you...hurts? Sometimes? Because I'm still...scared of what could all happen. But you help me by being you. No one else is like you.

[Though that still begged the question of how Emil could comfort him, when he went off the rails like this. Mrrh...]

I wish I knew what to ask for, like that...other me did, but I don't. I don't even understand what I'm feeling. Just...bad. I feel bad.

( Lalli is relaxing visibly, but Emil doesn't feel any of the sleepiness he'd indulged in earlier, despite the fitful sleeping he'd tried to do. Instead that prickly sensation in his skin returns -- Lalli has a way with saying something that he thinks is supposed to make him feel badly, but instead it starts up that odd feeling in his flesh.

...Of course, Lalli had just given him such a supreme compliment that it was hard not to feel a little palpitation about it. His usual ego-stroking giddiness instead feels more like something that sticks in his chest. The instinct to pat himself on the back for it is missing and replaced with that mysterious shy embarrassment.

Maybe if he can't touch Lalli, he can at least touch the blanket that still cocoons most of him. Emil pats an odd spot in the blanket with an awkward hand, not sure what of Lalli is underneath it, but he feels like it gets his emotions across. Hopefully this doesn't result in something horrible. )

I'm sorry. ( There's so much he can respond to with half of it making the words catch in his throat and his brain, but the natural response to 'I feel bad' is simply that. ) I don't want you to feel bad, but I'm happy that I can help you somehow. Even if it hurts.

( Revisiting that...that's does hit him a little harder when he thinks about it for himself. He superficially understands the hurt and fear that comes with what happened to Tuuri, but he knows they've talked about this before. Frustration comes with not being able to be as reassuring as he wishes he could be. )

I hope one day it doesn't, though.

[The impact is dulled by the thickness of the comforter, but the fact that he isn't expecting it still makes him flinch. It's...not so bad, though, and he goes limp beneath the cover again almost immediately. Definitely better than what he would have expected...]

...Yes.

[SURE WOULD BE GREAT. After a few more deep breaths, he moves to a sitting position and shakes his head to move the "hood" of the blanket and peek his face out again. Still not looking at Emil... Shouldn't look directly at the sun so much, you know.]

...I hope the lizard isn't like me. Even if it's a horrible monster like those other three.

( ...Look. He likes you and all, Lalli, but part of Emil does agree that some of his tendencies...well, he would appreciate if they weren't replicated in his charged lizard baby. What's happening now is a good example -- it would be hard to handle a baby if one day it was fine with being picked up and tucked in, and then the next day threw a tantrum when he tried to do the same. It's also not great to have different communication styles with a baby you need to tell things to and have them listen fully.

But those qualities are just some of Lalli's negative quirks. He has good qualities. Great qualities. Otherwise, why would Emil be friends with him in the first place?

Despite Lalli's refusal to look at him, Emil stares at him quite openly, in between peeks at his egg. At least he's not still a blanket burrito slug. )

Why? I wouldn't mind if it was at least a little like you. ( Y'all talking like this thing actually has a chance at having his DNA or something. )

That's because you're nice.

[Emil said horrible things and hit him sometimes, but it was different than when someone like Tuuri did it. It was gentle punches speaking of friendliness -- even if he still didn't understand the point of that -- and words meant to be uplifting that struck him oddly out of ignorance on the other's part. He knows this...]

It'll be easier if it's normal. For us and it.

( Lalli can't be too angry at him if he's throwing around compliments, even if he means them more as fact than flattery.

Emil uncrosses his knees -- which he didn't realize how sore he was after doing so much all day -- and instead stretches out, resting his weight on his arms. He'd certainly like a break from both emotional and physical issue.

"Us," though...he breaks using telepathy since he's no longer speaking on something that apparently emotionally compromises him more than he expected. )

I already told you I'd take care of it. You don't have to worry about it, and I'll make sure it doesn't paw at you like my cousins did.

[He hums, but falls silent again shortly like that's going to help him straighten out his scattered thinking or help him figure out what it is he's tracing against the egg's shell. It doesn't...sit well with him. Not really.]

...Okay.

[But it might be for the best anyway.]

( Lalli's irritability and emotional volatility recently probably won't be made better by even more agitation in the form of being bothered by a tiny lizard he didn't want to deal with in the first place. Emil's sure that he'll have to keep clicking lizard claws away from his friend, but he's prepared to handle the situation -- or at least he thinks he is.

He reaches out to touch the egg himself, sitting up fully to feel how warm it is. Despite the blanket, the egg still feels more flush than warm. It's hard to stand at the edge of actually producing flame and the heat is intense, so he can't do it for very long. Still, it's better to heat the egg with his hand for a moment than let it get too cold.

After retracting his hand once the egg is relatively warm again, he examines the heat he can still feel tingling under his skin. That sort of energy...it reminds him of the temperature he felt feeling Lalli's skin. He can't but still feel a little unsettled. )

Lalli. Are you staying? ( Maybe that might have been implied earlier, but sometimes it feels like it's better to get things in black and white language. )

[ARE YOU ACTUALLY FUCKING SAYING THAT TOUCHING LALLI IS MAGIC WHAT THE HECK

He hunkers down a bit more while he watches Emil work, letting his mind drift. The situation was settling now...sort of. When he's questioned, he even manages to have found the peace enough to look over, though his vision is slightly obscured by the comforter hood still hanging around.]

...I want to.

[Is that cool...]

( IT'S THE HEAT, IF HE HAD THAT FRIDGE MAGIC SHIT IT'D BE A DIFFERENT STORY

Wow, what a gremlin...Emil can barely see the tip of his nose under there. He doesn't understand why Lalli is so enamored by being concealed under things, from jackets to blankets to beds, but that's...just Lalli. He's also prone to making swift decisions Emil doesn't understand, so knowing he's not reneging on staying in his suite. )

Mmm...I'm honestly relieved. ( Knowing where Lalli is, as well as the state of his mood...both of these things seem like a good idea. Those are practical needs, but it's also comforting to know he'll be there. It's not the same as being in Denmark together, but also it's not different in a bad way. )

I want you to stay here, in the suite. ( Not this lizard hell place. There's no caveat that he wants that if Lalli wants to; there's still that selfishness that wants him to be there whether he likes it or not. Still, space is a limited commodity and fitting in himself, Lalli, an electrobaby....yikes. ) If the lizard bothers you too much then we'll figure something out.

[what do you mean he isn't like the sudden arrival of a complex machine, cold to the touch and colder inside, but it works hard to preserve things

I can twist any magic power to be gay...that's my magic power]

...Hn.

[He nods, and with the assurance he can settle even more.]

Don't put your arm around me.

[That's the only warning Emil will get before Lalli rests his head against him, curling up to be a more formidable heat source next to the little egg -- though that isn't his reasoning. But maybe...getting a little closer wouldn't be so bad? He still shudders a little at the contact, but having control over the situation does help, as does the open option of escape should he need it.]

I'll stay.

( FAIR

The warning confuses Emil at first because...he wasn't planning on doing that, but okay. It makes sense when Lalli gets closer to him, head suddenly touching him -- he knows that what it is since he can still see a peek of that upturned nose. The vibration of the shudder makes it through to him, though only slightly. Emil takes it as a small shiver, despite being so blanketed.

It's actually hard, he discovers, to not do what he was instructed explicitly to avoid. Maybe not exactly that, but there's a tiny voice in his head that is humming shrilly because he can't put a hand on Lalli's shoulder or head. Boundaries...they kind of suck sometimes. With a sigh, Emil just lets him slump there, obeying Lalli's command. At least he's staying. As stressed as he felt before, and as muddled as he still feels right now, being like this for a while...it's not so bad. Something about it feels calming and completing.

...Which of course is preposterous, because he needs so much more to be complete. His family, his job, his home. However, this may be as close as he's felt to totally emotionally fulfilled since before he even left Sweden. )

I don't know if I can sleep again tonight. ( He's not moving, is what he means. Stay where you are as long as you like. )

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[WORLD ONE | AIMINTAS REBUILDING]

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