auroraexpress | (no subject)

[ Surely it's fine to take one more memory publicly. ]

[ Surely! It's fine! SURELY. ]

[ Except no, it isn't, because it turns out that this memory is Fucked Up: she and a group of others are hunting a mimic monster because they need some of its blood for Important Reasons that aren't made explicitly clear. After hours of nothing (that is conveniently montage'd through), things go to shit very extremely super quickly! There's blood, carnage, people getting chomped on and having their blood drunk, and fighting desperately. It's bad. It's b a d. ]

[ And as it plays out on the screen, Faito, sitting on the couch, just stares blankly. ]

[On one hand, so THAT'S the deal with the pendant.]

[On the other hand, ALL THAT OTHER SHIT.]

[So she's knee deep in something that involves needing a Mimic's blood and also that's a whole hell of a lot of magic treated normally and Kaito is there and]

[Yeah, that is a lot, but most importantly]

[He is absolutely not gonna touch her, instead moving to sit down on the floor in front of her so he's obvious, Sunset in his lap and he's just gonna wait to see what kind of reaction she's gonna have to that because he knows it's gonna be bad.]

[ It takes a while. ]

[ The memory was long, intense, and — a lot. It was just a lot. Reliving it in all of that vivid detail, feeling every hit, every ache and pain, every ounce of fear as one of her friends or comrades was beaten down … ]

[ So of course. ]

[ Of course the first thing she does is strike out, aiming a hard kick at him if he's in range and then immediately catapulting herself over the back of the sofa. ]

[He doesn't grab her leg, he knows flight instincts are strong, especially for her. But he does make sure to redirect to the side of his head instead of letting her kick him in the face.]

[In one fluid move, he's scooped Sunset off his lap and left her on the floor and he's moving over the back of the couch after her in case she's about to hurt herself on accident.]

Faito!

[ She doesn't have time to collect herself — she has to move now, fast, before she's trapped and caught and helpless. ]

[ There's no real thought to it. It's instinct, raw and honed. As he moves towards her she puts the couch between them again, shoving it lengthways at him like it weighs a whole lot less than it actually does. ]

[ Luckily for both of them, it misses Sunset by a mile. ]

[ It's a barrier. An obstacle. Not the best, but she'll use whatever she's got, and she needs to find a ... ]

[ A weapon? She falters suddenly, some of the differences filtering through the haze of adrenaline. She's looking, trying to find something she can use to really fight, and - it's light, she's indoors, this isn't-? ]

[Sunset has dashed off under a coffee table. Gotta be fast when a kitty for a super soldier who wakes up from night terrors.]

[Couch to the cut isn't actually fun, but he grabs it to keep her from trying to kick it again or something else, how is someone so tiny and petite so strong, jesus-]

FAITO! You're on the train! There's no mimic, no one is going to hurt you!

[Loud, drill sergeant/dad voice. Hoping that'll get through the panicked haze.]

[ … Oh. ]

[ Oh. ]

[ Her eyes dart from him (threat, Mimic — no, that's Dusk, isn't it?) to the windows and all around, though she never quite lets him out of her peripheral vision. Oh. That's right. She's not there. She's not in the mountains, she's not fighting a Mimic. There's no blood in the air. ]

[ She lets out a shuddering breath. ]

[ Breathes in again, stronger, and eases out of her defensive stance, step by step, like she's done it a hundred times before. Gives herself a little shake to try to clear her head. ]

Dusk — I'm so sorry, are you okay? [ jesus christ mistakes have been Made — ]

I'm fine.

[And his voice is softer, gentler now that she's acknowledged him. He doesn't need to cut through the panic so much.] Just focus on breathing right now. You look on the edge of a panic attack.

[Or in one. Either way, breathing helped.]

Yeah. I know. I've got this.

[ She starts to sink down onto the displaced couch, only to immediately stand back up again. Okay. Too antsy. Sitting bad. Okay. ]

[ Walking it is, letting herself burn off some of that excess energy. ]

So. Uh. Those pendants.

Yeah, those pendants. [THAT IS. CERTAINLY A THING.]

....want to go to the gym? [Because he's pretty sure she's a 'do something when things are bad' sort.]

[ Her response is immediate: ]

Yes. [ She's pivoting and heading that way before the word is fully out of her mouth. ]

[He's gonna scoop up Sunset again and follow after quickly.]

Want to try using the pendants, or something more mundane?

Or sparring?

[What will help the antsy most????]

Not the pendants. Yet. I need to move.

[ Looks around at what's on offer, shifting on her feet. ]

Don't know if I should spar right now. [ There's too much of a chance that she could lose track of where she is. ] Push up competition? Squats?