[ dextera pokes his head out of his room, greeting guren with that very special name that he made!! when he’s not quite as emphatic or emotional about it, it’s easy to forget that the sign for life has been snuck in there. ]
Guren.
[ now that leliel has a nice new house, dextera has been trying to encourage her to use it more so that she knows where to go when she needs a place to lay eggs or rest or hide—so she’s not in the room today, though he’s probably going to bring her in later because that’s his daughter. ]
[That cute little sign for his name that he absolutely doesn't deserve... Life. Guren smiles, reaching the top of the stairs with a slow last few steps.]
Everything going okay? [It's strange not to hear Leliel clucking around inside, but the chicken house was something he could admire. It was cute.]
[ dextera is honestly pretty stoked to show him this feather that he received—the only explanation he has is that it’s the reward for a quest, but it could just as easily be something from home.
so he nods, shuffling back into his room to retrieve his reward. it’s such a pure white it almost glows, like the feathers of the wings of a false angel.
[Guren follows Dextera into his room, nudging the door shut behind him without really thinking about it. He's more focused on what Dextera is getting, and the second he sees it, he's a little nervous. Even without ever seeing him, a guy by the name "Archangel" does make him think wings.
So, he's skeptical, and reaches out a hand to ask for it.]
[ oddly, or luckily, dextera isn’t thinking of the archangel with such a feather. the archangel’s wings are tattered and faded from too long spent on that spike, and even the projection of his image has no glow like this.
this... is safe.
so dextera shakes his head, and he oddly even seems reluctant to hand it over, like it’s going to disappear the moment someone else touches it, but it’s just guren. so he offers it out. ]
[At first, he doesn't think much of it. His fingers go for more of a grip than they need, but they slip and miss, and it's just the feather he touches as he brings it back. That was his own fumble, right?
He takes a look at it, noting the way Dextera had seemed so hesitant with a frown, and makes it quick.]
It doesn't feel like anything dangerous. [So... he'll hold it back out for him.] I just wanted to make sure.
[ things that glow so gently like this usually have good effects, as he’s learned in his many lives. the crystals, the soft light of certain wings, and eliza and alice’s chambers... they’re all good for him, all safe, all pure, and even if this feather is nothing more than something nice to look at, he wants to have it.
he might just be a hoarder. ]
...
[ he takes the feather back gently, not noticing the way that guren’s fingers might curl away from his touch. ]
Hope. [ an explanation, as well as he can offer it. ] White light.
[Guren stares at Dextera's hand as his own parts from it, wondering if the feather caused that strange pushing sensation, as slight as it was. He hadn't felt a thing magical about it, but...?
Oh. Dextera is signing, and Guren looks back up to view it again.]
As long as you feel like it's something good to have, then I'm glad. [It doesn't seem actively harmful, anyway. So he can't bear to tell Dextera to throw it out when he looks so happy about it.]
Maybe it is your reward. Nothing happened with me, so it might be good news, for a change.
maybe the punishment for failure was just not receiving a reward. it seems odd, when the town hasn’t been so kind to them before now, but it’s not like dextera wants guren to get punished for anything.
he pockets the feather, wanting to keep it close, but he’s realistically probably going to put it somewhere much safer than his pocket when he gets the chance. ]
Not that I've noticed, anyway. I even got one of those coins... You have one too, right?
[The ones that their reason is clear? He's definitely going to use that soon. For now, he reaches out to touch Dextera's arm, such a simple gesture, but... a strange feeling makes him pause.
No, not pause. It's a force, and his eyebrows are furrowing at it now. Like a magnet... he can't bring his hand closer.]
The hell...? [Hold on, because now he's confused and a little alarmed, and he brings his hand in front of Dextera, to try and touch his chest. It's the same.]
[ dextera doesn’t feel anything, of course. to him, it simply looks as if guren is stopping short of touching him but gesturing for it anyway. he frowns, but when he tries to touch guren, to close this metaphorical circuit here, guren’s hand seems to move away from his. ]
...
[ why? is it the feather? but guren could touch it just fine. ]
[He tries to increase his strength, to push against the force with all of it, but all that happens is that his hand slips off to the side, repelled back, and he's left shaking it out with a curse because he moved it funny.
This can't be right. He tries again. And again. And now he's slamming his hand at this invisible force, and it must look both ridiculous and scary to poor Dextera, but he stops soon enough, spinning away and running his hand through his hair in genuine frustration.]
Damn it! I spoke too soon. [He's so angry about that.] Try to... try to hand me something else. Anything.
[ dextera knows, consciously, that even if guren were to accidentally hit him, it’d be just that—an accident. he still flinches, as guren increases in strength, and he’s left confused and a little nervous when guren wheels away from him. ]
Ah—
[ he... hopes it isn’t the feather, but just in case, he sets it on the pile of blankets instead of in his pocket, and retrieves something else. something normal.
what he decides on is one of the bones he’s gathered that he knows won’t explode if broken, and he tries to pass it to guren as gently as possible. ]
[What happens is just the same. The bone is something he can touch without problem, but when his fingers try to brush Dextera's, they slip away. He clutches the bone angrily in his hand, nearly wanting to crush it right there—
But he stops himself, and passes it back with a quiet understanding. This is his punishment. He'd had no problem with his housemates before he left, so he knows what this is, too. This is specific to Dextera. This is specific because they'd found what would bother him the most and they ruined it.
His heart sinks and his stomach knots and he stares at Dextera's hand as his own drops away.]
[ dextera’s understanding dawns as well, and he looks equally distraught about it, but it shows much more as pain and sadness on his face than anger. he tightens his fingers around the bone, upset. ]
[Guren tries to find a way to say it, not liking that sad look on Dextera's face. It's not Dextera's fault at all, and he doesn't want him saying "me?" as if he's anything to blame in the equation.]
They're just trying to screw with me. That's all.
[But it's eating at him already and it's been maybe a minute. How long is this going to last? Is this permanent?]
[ guren’s punishment—is not to touch dextera? that seems like such a strange thing, such an odd punishment to lay on someone for giving into temptation, especially when dextera is happy to think everything guren does is justified. ]
...
[ this feels like a punishment for dextera, too, as he reaches out to try to place his hands against guren’s chest. he can’t. there’s no weight stopping him, but he can see the way guren is forced to move away from his hands by whatever reverse magnetism has been laid over him as a curse.
his brow furrows, as he’s troubled by the same thing—is this permanent? ]
[Guren gets it, meanwhile. It's the number one temptation he gives in to, after all. Not that he shares that. He sighs, and he can't even reach out to comfort Dextera, so he's at a loss. He's thinking.]
It'll be okay. [It's just... touch, right? But immediately, he's realizing just how much he's been using touch. With someone who can't speak, and with someone like Guren who can't use his words for his emotions, touch had been so easy. Now what?]
[ that may be true, but without touch, it’s as good as an illusion. he became spoiled, by this contact—and now he’s sad to have it taken away. it’s not fair. ]
...
[ dextera nods, but he’s only somewhat comforted by guren’s reassurance. they can’t sleep next to each other, like this. it should be the furthest worry from his mind, but it’s something that occurs to him anyway. ]
Try. [ he signs, stubbornly, but even he doesn’t seem to believe that trying is going to get them there. ]
He lifts his hand again, reaching with all of his might for Dextera's arm. Pushing, straining, and as he applies more strength and his feet dig in to the floor, curse marks even begin to creep along his cheek, all for nothing.
He grunts out at the effort, giving up when he's given it his all and catching his breath for a very short moment.]
I can't. I'll try every day, but I don't know when this is going to go away, if at all.
[ but it’s not fair. that’s all he can think—uncharacteristic of him, when he’s usually so quick to accept the things that happen to him. why did the town take this away? it’s not just guren’s punishment, like this, and the feather seems like a pity prize.
he tries to lean forward, to rest his head on guren’s chest, something habitual and mindless until he stumbles because there’s a space between them that shouldn’t exist. ]
...
[ his head still lowered, like he doesn’t want to see guren’s face after that misstep, he exhales. ]
[Oh no, that may be the saddest puppy Dex he's seen in his life, and he frowns for his own realistic wording.]
Hey...
[But his hand is trying to reach, and he realizes with a click of his tongue that it's not going to work, and drops it again. What can he do... A quick few more seconds of thinking, and he's reaching to his own chest, unbuttoning his jacket.]
[ dextera wants to completely close this distance between them, to be warm against guren’s chest, but he can’t do that for as long as this punishment has them locked apart. ]
...?
[ he does move closer, though, just enough that it’s obvious he listened, and he glances up at guren without lifting his head too much.
[ this, he genuinely didn’t expect, and he’s lifting his head properly now as some of the sadness in his eyes gives way to surprise instead—guren’s fancy military jacket! he does associate it inexorably with guren, for obvious reasons, and having it around his shoulders is thus a comfort.
he tightens it, and he nods, but... something...
he wants to give guren something too, but he doesn’t know what. it’s not right that guren should be the one to comfort him when this is, after all, guren’s punishment.
so once he’s sure the jacket is balanced on his shoulders, he unhooks one of the bright red bracelets around his wrists, and offers it out to guren urgently.
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Guren.
[ now that leliel has a nice new house, dextera has been trying to encourage her to use it more so that she knows where to go when she needs a place to lay eggs or rest or hide—so she’s not in the room today, though he’s probably going to bring her in later because that’s his daughter. ]
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Everything going okay? [It's strange not to hear Leliel clucking around inside, but the chicken house was something he could admire. It was cute.]
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so he nods, shuffling back into his room to retrieve his reward. it’s such a pure white it almost glows, like the feathers of the wings of a false angel.
it isn’t a bird feather. ]
Reward?
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So, he's skeptical, and reaches out a hand to ask for it.]
Does it feel strange at all?
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this... is safe.
so dextera shakes his head, and he oddly even seems reluctant to hand it over, like it’s going to disappear the moment someone else touches it, but it’s just guren. so he offers it out. ]
Warm.
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He takes a look at it, noting the way Dextera had seemed so hesitant with a frown, and makes it quick.]
It doesn't feel like anything dangerous. [So... he'll hold it back out for him.] I just wanted to make sure.
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he might just be a hoarder. ]
...
[ he takes the feather back gently, not noticing the way that guren’s fingers might curl away from his touch. ]
Hope. [ an explanation, as well as he can offer it. ] White light.
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Oh. Dextera is signing, and Guren looks back up to view it again.]
As long as you feel like it's something good to have, then I'm glad. [It doesn't seem actively harmful, anyway. So he can't bear to tell Dextera to throw it out when he looks so happy about it.]
Maybe it is your reward. Nothing happened with me, so it might be good news, for a change.
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[ really!
maybe the punishment for failure was just not receiving a reward. it seems odd, when the town hasn’t been so kind to them before now, but it’s not like dextera wants guren to get punished for anything.
he pockets the feather, wanting to keep it close, but he’s realistically probably going to put it somewhere much safer than his pocket when he gets the chance. ]
Nothing?
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[The ones that their reason is clear? He's definitely going to use that soon. For now, he reaches out to touch Dextera's arm, such a simple gesture, but... a strange feeling makes him pause.
No, not pause. It's a force, and his eyebrows are furrowing at it now. Like a magnet... he can't bring his hand closer.]
The hell...? [Hold on, because now he's confused and a little alarmed, and he brings his hand in front of Dextera, to try and touch his chest. It's the same.]
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...
[ why? is it the feather? but guren could touch it just fine. ]
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[He tries to increase his strength, to push against the force with all of it, but all that happens is that his hand slips off to the side, repelled back, and he's left shaking it out with a curse because he moved it funny.
This can't be right. He tries again. And again. And now he's slamming his hand at this invisible force, and it must look both ridiculous and scary to poor Dextera, but he stops soon enough, spinning away and running his hand through his hair in genuine frustration.]
Damn it! I spoke too soon. [He's so angry about that.] Try to... try to hand me something else. Anything.
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Ah—
[ he... hopes it isn’t the feather, but just in case, he sets it on the pile of blankets instead of in his pocket, and retrieves something else. something normal.
what he decides on is one of the bones he’s gathered that he knows won’t explode if broken, and he tries to pass it to guren as gently as possible. ]
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But he stops himself, and passes it back with a quiet understanding. This is his punishment. He'd had no problem with his housemates before he left, so he knows what this is, too. This is specific to Dextera. This is specific because they'd found what would bother him the most and they ruined it.
His heart sinks and his stomach knots and he stares at Dextera's hand as his own drops away.]
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[ dextera’s understanding dawns as well, and he looks equally distraught about it, but it shows much more as pain and sadness on his face than anger. he tightens his fingers around the bone, upset. ]
...me?
[ is he the problem? ]
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[Guren tries to find a way to say it, not liking that sad look on Dextera's face. It's not Dextera's fault at all, and he doesn't want him saying "me?" as if he's anything to blame in the equation.]
They're just trying to screw with me. That's all.
[But it's eating at him already and it's been maybe a minute. How long is this going to last? Is this permanent?]
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...
[ this feels like a punishment for dextera, too, as he reaches out to try to place his hands against guren’s chest. he can’t. there’s no weight stopping him, but he can see the way guren is forced to move away from his hands by whatever reverse magnetism has been laid over him as a curse.
his brow furrows, as he’s troubled by the same thing—is this permanent? ]
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It'll be okay. [It's just... touch, right? But immediately, he's realizing just how much he's been using touch. With someone who can't speak, and with someone like Guren who can't use his words for his emotions, touch had been so easy. Now what?]
I'm still here, and so are you.
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...
[ dextera nods, but he’s only somewhat comforted by guren’s reassurance. they can’t sleep next to each other, like this. it should be the furthest worry from his mind, but it’s something that occurs to him anyway. ]
Try. [ he signs, stubbornly, but even he doesn’t seem to believe that trying is going to get them there. ]
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[
oh my god does he tryHe lifts his hand again, reaching with all of his might for Dextera's arm. Pushing, straining, and as he applies more strength and his feet dig in to the floor, curse marks even begin to creep along his cheek, all for nothing.
He grunts out at the effort, giving up when he's given it his all and catching his breath for a very short moment.]
I can't. I'll try every day, but I don't know when this is going to go away, if at all.
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he tries to lean forward, to rest his head on guren’s chest, something habitual and mindless until he stumbles because there’s a space between them that shouldn’t exist. ]
...
[ his head still lowered, like he doesn’t want to see guren’s face after that misstep, he exhales. ]
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Hey...
[But his hand is trying to reach, and he realizes with a click of his tongue that it's not going to work, and drops it again. What can he do... A quick few more seconds of thinking, and he's reaching to his own chest, unbuttoning his jacket.]
Come here, just a little closer.
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...?
[ he does move closer, though, just enough that it’s obvious he listened, and he glances up at guren without lifting his head too much.
he is so sad. his big eyes? the saddest. ]
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...Until it's back to normal, you can hang onto this.
[There. Optimism. A promise, a gift...]
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[ this, he genuinely didn’t expect, and he’s lifting his head properly now as some of the sadness in his eyes gives way to surprise instead—guren’s fancy military jacket! he does associate it inexorably with guren, for obvious reasons, and having it around his shoulders is thus a comfort.
he tightens it, and he nods, but... something...
he wants to give guren something too, but he doesn’t know what. it’s not right that guren should be the one to comfort him when this is, after all, guren’s punishment.
so once he’s sure the jacket is balanced on his shoulders, he unhooks one of the bright red bracelets around his wrists, and offers it out to guren urgently.
take it! ]
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