The world could overwhelm me

CHULANE

He loves that she doesn't try to fix the tears that threaten, to explain them away, to throw mindless words of comfort at him in an attempt to stem the flow. Instead, she lets him cry, she leans into him, she lets him have his emotion, lets him ride its wave, just as he would, as he does, to her. Her touch is where he finds the most comfort anyway, and he shuts his eyes as her hand presses against his cheek, accepting it, willing it to last forever.

But it passes, and ultimately he is glad for it, as she leans closer to him, and he flexes the arms that encase her against him gratefully. Another note of a chuckle rumbles in his chest as she mentions the hot spring again, as his frazzled mind parades images of her at a hot spring before his mind's eye (a prospect that any other time would have him suggesting construction be completed ASAP). Fatigue and grief and sorrow affect him in crazy ways however, and while he enjoys the imagery, he doesn't indulge in bringing it up.

"It was home," he quietly and fondly responds, thinking of home, of Australia and all it's quirks. "The heat could be annoying. You can only take so many layers of clothes off before you were declared a public nuisance at the market." A half-hearted attempt at a joke, told for her ears only, to see if he could elicit from her what she had slowly been drawing from him - a simple laugh.

The only true wisdom is in knowing
you know nothing

it's 2am and i took 17 shots of vodka trying to forget your name

but the only name i forgot was mine. and sober —

Oh, as if she’d deny the want to see him in a hot spring as well – the thought of it flushing along her neck, enhanced a bit with the alcohol, replacing the numbness with something that she’s entirely thankful for. But she lets him run through the emotions he needs to, no complaints from her in the slightest, because she’s had her time to mourn and Chuy was still relatively new. The fact he hadn’t yet still surprised her, that he hadn’t hollowed out and raged like she had when she’d arrived, before she’d found people to pull her out of it.

The comment of home has her smiling softly, leaning into the strong arms that brace her on his lap, her fingers returning their light stroking along his cheek and down to his neck. And when he comments further about the heat, something Kiada wasn’t fond of herself, she can’t help but to offer him a brighter smile, a joke and jest to lean into, teeth partially shifting to the fangs of her caracal shift, elongating in her mouth as she pins him with a playful look – trying her best to block out all the sorrow and sadness for later.

“Oh, they weren’t a fan of nude shopping?” She asks, wiggling her eyebrow before she offers him just what he’d sought. A small laugh, before she settles in his lap, finishing the glass and setting it down on the bar behind her before wrapping both arms around him.

— or drunk, you're the only thing on my mind

KIADA

CHULANE

Her laugh stirs some satisfaction, in amongst the otherwise desolate landscape of dreary emotions. Though the world would never feel like "normal" again, at least they could pave a way to a new normal, a normal where the palace no longer stands and Weaver no longer smirks from behind the bar. He knows time is the only real way to tend to this wound, never completely healing it but at least making it easier to bear - and with Kia, he knows they'll get there, eventually.

Heat follows her touch, as his body responds so eagerly to her, so ready to comply with whatever whim she beckoned forth, and the low, barely audible in this pub environment, purr-moan veins within him once more, relishing each caress, each stroke. At her display of teeth some bizarre recollection of Neron jumps to the forefront of his mind, though he laughs softly with her for the moment, pressing another kiss upon the tip of her nose - simply unable to resist given the proximity and the attempts at playfulness. The world still weighed heavily on both of them, neither of them were near being over it, but this simple, weird, branched conversation was a part of grief management too - a gentle way to remind themselves that life went on, whether one went with it or not.

"It was definitely heavily frowned upon," he commented quietly before letting a quizzical look cross his face. "Your shift reminded me of something. Neron explained to me about the ascended, about how they can get energy from biting others, and that it can be, uh, pleasurable?" Chuy shrugged lightly. "I offered him to bite me if he ever needed it, and he seemed surprised." His gaze sought hers, genuine innocent curiosity on his face. "Any idea what that's all about?"

The only true wisdom is in knowing
you know nothing

it's 2am and i took 17 shots of vodka trying to forget your name

but the only name i forgot was mine. and sober —

It’s an easy distraction, a weight lifted, a means to figuring out how to deal with the emotions later. And she takes it in stride, a light chime of laughter leaving her, leaning into his touch with everything that she can, until eventually he’s laughing lightly along with her. A small light in the darkness, a glimmer of stars beneath a dark and stormy sky. So when he comments it was definitely heavily frowned upon, she can’t help the laughter that leaves her with it, a shrug of her shoulders as if she doesn’t see the problem with it.

Though she supposes, she would if given the option to. But that’s not as much fun as the joke.

It isn’t until his face shifts, and that quizzical look crosses over it that her dark brow raises a small amount as she keeps both arms wrapped around his neck. His confusion over the term as he questions the Ascended, only leaves both eyes growing a bit wide, lips quirking into a bright grin as she snickers slightly, surprised somewhat at the mention that Neron seemed surprised.

She supposes he has no idea what pleasurable really meant. So she recovers as swiftly as she can, leaning into him and pressing her cheek against his, lips hovering by his ear. “When the Ascended bite you… They can take your abilities. Like shifts and magic and stuff. But it doesn’t hurt, so I’ve heard. I’ve never been bit.” Her shoulders rise and fall in a shrug before she’s angling her head a bit closer, lips brushing against his ear as she lowers her voice to a conspirator’s whisper. “I hear it's like an orgasm in a bite." She hums, face flushing slightly as she keeps her head there so he doesn't have to see the awkwardness of her trying to explain it.

— or drunk, you're the only thing on my mind

KIADA

CHULANE

Though he hadn't intended to make her laugh this time, he was glad when she did - he always loved the sound of it, the effect it had on him, even if it was at his own expense. She expanded on what Neron had already told him, on how a bite from the ascended can borrow one's abilities, and how it didn't hurt. When she leaned towards him he listened keenly, the hairs on the back of his neck rising as well at the nearness, at her breath dancing along it.

And then she said her words.

And then he understood the full implications of pleasurable.

"Oh," was all he could say, as he replayed the memory of telling Neron through his mind, wondering if he had just offered the man something a bit more than a simple life-extending bite. It certainly hadn't been his intention, he had genuinely meant to offer to help the man if he was ever put into a position where he couldn't access a shrine.

A rush of air is pressed through his lips as he can't help but laugh, properly, at his own naivety, his own ignorance and obliviousness. He pressed his forehead down to rest on Kia's shoulder, to hide his face amongst her hair, the blush clearly visible as it creeps up his neck. It was absurd, to be feeling this way at a time like this, and yet, as before, these bizarre emotions needed to be released as well. So he laughed, and it felt right, that laughter should be heard at the place where Weaver had once promoted such things herself.

"That might explain the surprise, then," he breathed out, having only just caught his breath again and lifted his face so that his chin was upon her shoulder, his lips near her ear. "If he ever takes me up on it… if he ever needs it, like really needs it, I think I would still want to help." He pressed a cheeky kiss against her, well, cheek. "Might need you there too, though. To help me."

The only true wisdom is in knowing
you know nothing

it's 2am and i took 17 shots of vodka trying to forget your name

but the only name i forgot was mine. and sober —

“Oh.” He says, and it causes her to laugh lightly again — a chiming sound that has her resting as she keeps her face by his ear, until his head drops along her shoulder and she presses her cheek into his head, a soft nuzzle so much like her caracal shift would do. Though it helps to hide both their flushes on the subject.

But he continues and she listens, keeping her arms tight around his neck, the smile on her lips felt by the way her cheeks fill out. “Probably.” She murmurs with a light laugh to accompany his own, feeling so much lighter than she has since this entire ordeal started.

Still, she listens more when he mentions he really would like to help if Neron needed it, and who was she to blame him? If given the chance to help save someone versus watching them die when she knew she could help them? She’d choose to help. So she nestles her head in a bit more, arms tightening around his neck as she lets the alcohol swell through her. “I would if I were you. And I’d be glad to help where I can.” She murmurs, pressing her own kiss to his ear, pulling back slightly to press one to his bearded cheek, too.

But now her stomach begins to fight back, and she focuses on him as she withdraws a bit more. “So, how about making some of that dinner we mentioned earlier?” She asks, tilting her head with a bright smile.

— or drunk, you're the only thing on my mind

KIADA

CHULANE

They laugh, both of them relishing in the moment, not ever forgetting what brought them here this time, but not letting it rule them, not letting it swallow them whole, consume them. Together, they would get through this. His old habit of stuffing his emotions away in the back of his mind seemed to fail with her - she brought them out of him, she let him feel and deal with whatever he was meant to. It was cathartic, it was nice. All the talk of homes had him recalling a saying from his home world - home is where the heart is, and he had never really understood that before now. As they laughed into each other's shoulders, as they supported each other and rode the wave of emotions their minds stirred up, he began to really understand that home wasn't a place at all.

The idea of her helping him should such a circumstance as the one they're laughing at ever arise amuses him to no end. But really, he is appreciative of her supporting him in this, despite the consequences and implications, grateful that she understands he only wants to help in a completely platonic, utterly innocent way. That the bite caused a reaction similar to popping a pill of viagra (an experience he never personally participated in on Earth) was quite the unexpected side-effect. She kissed his ear, and his cheek, and he smiles against it much like she had to him earlier, feeling all the more grateful for that fateful broken bag of vegetables however many months ago.

Kia mentioned food then, and it brought a stark realisation to his own condition, his own hunger pangs that tugged and poked at his stomach. As she withdraws from him, his hands move to sit more along her elbows, as he sits up more too, mirroring her expression with a warm, if very tired and worn, smile of his own. He nodded. "Yeah, let's go raid the kitchen," he winked, before moving his hands to her waist to help lift her/steady her as they stood up from their chair. Then he led her to the kitchens, where he had spent countless hours prepping food, cleaning and otherwise helping. With a nod to the kitchen staff, who were understandably in different stages of grief at the loss of their manager and friend, he secured a corner for he and Kia to work at, and got to work creating something simple, quick and satisfying for them to consume.

It was the best way to close out what had been an otherwise terrible day.

--

FIN <3333

The only true wisdom is in knowing
you know nothing