♛ A knife in my heart couldn't slow me down ♛

[devouringdeep]

Who: Childe (and the rest of you wildlings)
When: All of October
What: An open Catch-all for the Bastard (bc I feel he's gonna need it this month)
Warnings: Mild self harm (as in, "exclusively just to trigger the dimension shift" kind of mild), brief mentions of gore, suicide mention

Comments

[devouringdeep]

Makes sense. Given the uh...

[He can feel her gaze burning against his skin, and he pointedly continues to do his best to avoid it. Nene's always struck him as the type to be a little more perceptive than some of the others, and he's not overly fond of getting perceived. Especially not when he's feeling particularly raw.]

Return parameters. [He clears his throat and tries to sound a bit more cheerful as he continues.] I tried to bring you back a shell, like you wanted. It didn't seem to work though, unfortunately.

[mermaidcursed]

( nene hears the effort. and it genuinely is a little disappointing, that for all they suffered, they couldn't bring anything home. make it all worth it. but... she can't help but frown a little. )

No one's told me what it is. ... And I don't like what conclusions can be drawn.

You don't have to bring me anything though. I'm just glad you came back.

( not a lot of people come back to her these days. )

[devouringdeep]

[He does glance over then, still remaining as still as he possibly can to not dislodge the juice bottle, which has remained perfectly stationary thus far. Looking at her reminds him a little too much of seeing Tonia, paralyzed by fear with tears streaming down her face, but he's always been rather good at walling off the things that bother him.

Quarantine the bad until the lighting changes, and he can realize how much better off he is after such things occurred.]

Of course I came back, rybka. Would I ever leave you all to cope without me? [The term slips out before he can think better of it, probably the fault of Tonia being so fresh in his mind's eye. He clears his throat before he continues.] The rules of the exchange were that we would have to die to return. Which, you can imagine, puts a bit damper on the mood. I'm sure there will be other ways to return more permanently, however, and once I find out how I will bring you back one shell for each of the seven nations. [He glosses right over the dying part. As is his custom.]

[mermaidcursed]

"Rybka"?

( what the heck does that mean. it sounds cute... but also what. she also notably doesn't recognize the language, looking down at him with those big eyes, confused more than concerned for just a moment- it spares him a moment of that observation. )

... Oh. I'm sorry. That...

( most people don't remember how they died. having to die again- probably do it by your own hand- it sounds... horrible. sometimes she wants to know what happened to her. sometimes she doesn't. nene sits for a moment, before moving the bottle off of childe's head finally and gently nudging him to sit up. )

[devouringdeep]

[He doesn't bother elaborating, looking slightly sheepish before he's visibly relaxing his whole body the moment the juice is removed. Apparently Nene has discovered the easiest way to render him immobile. Her power.

He does sit up, letting out a soft sigh and crossing his legs.]

It wasn't that bad, actually. [It's a lie, especially considering he'd provoked the other Harbingers into an execution by combat. He'd never gone against the First before, and now he definitely knew why Pierro was ranked above all the rest of them.] Could've been worse! At least it was quick. [The bitch just can't stop lying, can he?]

[mermaidcursed]

( nene pauses for a moment... before hugging childe around the neck, tight. he can't see her face, and she can't see his- and if he's not going to let himself be upset about what happened- or show it at least, beyond contemplation, then she will. )

You still shouldn't have had to. I'm sorry.

[devouringdeep]

[It takes him a little by surprise, and after he gets over the initial reaction of freezing and holding still his arms come up to wrap around her in turn. Childe is one of those people who gives the best, warmest hugs if you're one of those close enough to him to receive one. His eyes close and he doesn't verbally reply, although the tightness of his grip is perhaps the only true indication that he's not as put together as he's presenting himself to be.]

[mermaidcursed]

( and it's that tight way he holds her- both the way his arms wrap close and the way his hands hold on far more than they normally would- that ensures she does not let go, staying there with her chin tucked on his shoulder and her arms hanging on. )

It's okay if you're upset about it. You don't have to put on a brave face. Anyone would be upset about that sort of thing. ... You can't heal, if you don't rest properly first.

( someday she'll take her own advice. but he doesn't need to know she doesn't. )