IC INBOX

[reveilation]

Tsubomi Kido

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(uhh, insert whatever message Terry had on his phone last)

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TEXT / VIDEO / VOICE / ACTION

© EFRYNDIEL

Comments

[overstrain]

[ As long as it helps with the eventual Shadow fight, he will take any and all frustrations as a pom. Sliding on the ice might be fun if he wasn't a pom, but alas. He's just cold now. He's still sliding and once he's facing away from Kido, he presses on the ice momentarily to make a crack and a hole to hold onto so he stops sliding.

IT'S COLD and he's shivering so much but he just gotta deal with it. ]

[reveilation]

[ Nekogami will be the eventual Shadow fight and then he's going to go back to doing nothing and living off growth 3 for the rest of his life.

It takes a bit for Kido to catch up, but she smiles a little when she does. Good boy, waiting for her instead of dashing off. Nekogami pins Terry with a stare and flicks his tail, but Kido doesn't notice. ]

Are we heading out into the forest?

[overstrain]

[ Must be a nice life, Nekogami... Terry would let you leech exp again when you stop being mad at him. Terry yaps once, noticing Nekogami staring at him, but points to the shrine way over there with his paw. ]

[reveilation]

[ Kido looks over at the direction the dog's pointing, but her eyes focus on the trees directly in front of them rather than the forest as a whole or what's in the distance inside the forest. But alright. Sure. They're near the path that leads to the castle and the shrine, so Kido goes ahead and scoops Terry back up in her arms— Nekogami hops down from Kido's shoulders the moment she touches him, and yawns, arching his back. He's on path making duty. ]

You'll slam into a tree if you go running off again, so I'll carry you instead. Just bark or something to let me know if we're going the wrong way, okay?

[overstrain]

[ Terry nods. Her hands are always cold, and the moment Kido picks him up, his trembling intensifies. He can't even whine and shivers in her arms. ]

[reveilation]

[ Endure it...

Kido probably doesn't leave her jackets just lying around everywhere so we'll just say she took it back and tied it around her waist or something. With that in mind, she sets Terry back down again, wrings out the jacket as best she can while keeping the umbrella clamped between her cheek and shoulder, and puts the jacket back on. It's wet and gross and heavy. But she'll endure too, crouching down so she can pick Terry up and put him in there, in between her wet jacket and the front of her wet shirt. Can't help wet and gross, but at least her core is warm, if nothing else.

Is that any better, dog? ]

[overstrain]

[ It may be gross and wet, but he likes this a whole lot better than being cold. Terry the pom licks her cheek after standing on his hind legs and nestles into the jacket to stop shivering. ]

[reveilation]

[ She's glad, and the doggy kiss earns him another smile, but she also turns him around so he's facing forward instead of looking at her. You're the navigator, don't forget, but Nekogami more or less just makes his ice path overlaid across the original one leading through the forest. ]

[overstrain]

[ When the shrine is a lot closer, Terry barks towards it while staring up at the stairs. He remembers some things around the shrine too, but not quite everything. ]

[reveilation]

[ Kido looks over at the shrine. It's where she intended to go in the first place, so why did the dog want to go to the school? He's a weird dog. Cute, though, so she forgives him.

Nekogami disappears once she gets to the steps, climbing them slowly and carefully since everything is wet, and soon, the rest of the shrine comes into view. ]

Huh. There's no crows for once... You should've seen this place during the summer. There were crows everywhere.

[ And they were mad. And it was partly her fault. But now it's empty and quiet, save for the pattering of rain. The water basin is empty, the cover keeping the rain out of it. ]

[overstrain]

[ Terry glances over at the water basin with a cover on it. Oh. Yeah, note to self, remember to check on that everyday. He knew there was something important here, but he forgot what. He looks at the offertory box too. That's where they put those colorful rocks inside. It reminds him of back home, where they would build some fancy structure for him and offer "the finest blood pack the world had" and it was so fucking weird. All blood tasted the same, except his own. Drinking his own didn't add to the lifespan and it was bitter as hell for some reason that he never thought about.

Hm.

He also remembers that the crows would flock around and be annoying from time to time. Oh yeah. They stole Rei's takoyaki once. They deserve to be barbequed.

Terry looks up at Kido. He'd prefer to stay like this, but if she looks uncomfortable while holding the umbrella too, he'll hop off. ]

[reveilation]

[ She looks uncomfortable holding the umbrella, so she'll let him hop off. The moment she does, she closes the umbrella and sets it aside on top of the empty water basin, and walks towards the offertory box. Now they're both wet, because Kido's just given up keeping either of them dry.

She digs into her pants pockets, and drops a couple of small gemstones into the box, where they clatter on top of one another. It's getting to be pretty full, seeing as it's the end of the month, but the level always differs whenever she goes here, so she's sure somebody must be emptying it out every once in a while. She's not a religious person, but standing in front of the box, staring down into the contents... ]

I wish I could have seen you one last time. I'll never forget you. May you rest in peace, Terrence Nowell.

[ Terry is dead. ]

[overstrain]

[ Terry gives Kido an appalled literal puppy look.

I'M NOT DEAD! KIDO!!

Terry barks at her when she's done with that and stands on his hind legs, pawing at her leg. YAP YAP YAP YAP YAP YAP ]

[reveilation]

[ Kido leans over and pats him on the head. Shhhhh. ]

I'm trying to mourn for a dearly departed, so I'll play with you in a minute, okay?

[overstrain]

[ Terry grumbles, but sits back down while still looking up at Kido. At least he's quiet now. Though after three more seconds of waiting, he runs off to investigate the state of the shrine but never too far from her. It looks the same as last time... at least, from how he remembers it. The kid who asked him for crow-scaring advice, the fox, the shrine water... he remembers that one time when he came up here with Kido while he was blind. ]

[reveilation]

[ Kido closes her eyes again and says the rest of it in her head. Basically... the same sorts of thoughts she had over the past few days, but said all at once and to Terry himself instead of vague "If I could, I'd tell him this or that." Apologies, mostly. Wishes. Quiet words of love. A fair bit of scolding. Things she won't ever get to say to Terry because he's dead )':

While she does all that, the ground at her feet start to freeze over, spreading out across the ground. Nekogami sits on the offertory box watching Terry wander around. ]

[overstrain]

[ Terry eventually come back and is surprised to see ice forming on the ground she's standing on and then Nekogami. He trots over a little closer while warily staring and growls a little, though it sounds more confused than threatening. ]

[reveilation]

[ Kido is busy affectionately calling Terry an asshole inside her head, so Nekogami opens his mouth in a yawn, and then sends out a barrage of dream needles at Terry before snapping his jaws shut. ]

[overstrain]

[ BONGOGAMI AAAAAA NOT THIS AGAIN

Though Terry, even as a pom, manages to swiftly dodge even though the ground is wet and all he has for traction are paw pads instead of his usual anti-slip parkour shoes. His tiny size helps with the evading well. He growls for real this time. ]

[reveilation]

[ Kido opens her eyes and turns around to look at Terry. ]

What's wrong? Did you see the fox around here? Don't go chasing after it, if you do.

[ Nekogami stretches his back and fades away, because he got his message across. ]

[overstrain]

[ ...

Terry can't recall a time when Nekogami was actually NICE to him on his own volition instead of Kido telling him to heal him and stuff. So Terry just assumed that Nekogami just always hates him for whatever reason.

He whines and gestures to the ice with his paw. ]

[reveilation]

[ He's a little better when Minato summons him, but he's still... yeah...

But when Terry gestures to the ice on the ground, a flicker of realization crosses Kido's face and she ducks her head. Yeah. Yeah, she knows. With a sigh, she sinks down into a crouch and hugs her arms around her knees, looking at Terry. ]

I know. I'm trying to control it, but it's hard... Like when I was a kid and I couldn't control my eye powers at all, and I kept fading away when I didn't want to. It was scary and this is too, but I'm trying. Sorry to get you caught up in all this, though.

[overstrain]

[ Though, Terry can understand since he did kill Kido with his own hands... That's not something he can just forget. Terry trots a little closer to Kido, making sure not to slip on the ice and nuzzles against her leg.

It's okay. I believe in you, Kido. You'll learn to control it and be the best ice queen ever... is what Terry would have said if he didn't have puppy vocal chords. Alas.

He barks once and tippy taps on the ice.
He supports you!!! ]

[reveilation]

[ Kido just stares at him, because if he isn't hungry, then she has no idea what he wants. Animal are hard. But it doesn't matter, because Terry just barking and prancing around or whatever is enough to make her smile a little, and she picks him up again so she can hold him and give him a hug. ]

I have no idea what you're trying to tell me, but it's okay. I love you anyways.

[ This is the summary of their entire relationship. ]

[overstrain]

[ I can't believe how real this is, card...

Terry lets out a soft whine. Even after those long, long years, he still loves her. All those 40k years. Though he's a little concerned that Kido still seems to like him even after killing her once?! For even Terry to realize that, it's... quite something. He's more worried for her all of a sudden. He feels guilt. He's always felt that for so long and now it starts again. Where is his snake friend to snap him out of it... eating crows probably.

Anyway, love is hard. ]