𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙝𝙞’𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 received a welcoming such as this. of course, megumi’s shown the shikigami off before - times like this were common when he was younger. learning something new, practicing it, perfecting it, and showing it off to gojou whilst acting as uninterested as possible. but he’s never been given a reaction such as this - it’s nice, that someone appreciates the shikigami as much as he does ; even if he’s quiet in his own admiration.
𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙩, he’s already accepted that he’s now stuck here for the time being. rather than answer, megumi sticks his middle and index finger together, and makes a shooing motion in minoru’s direction. orochi obeys instantaneously. as slowly as he’d instructed, the snake moves, hissing quietly as it does. it circles around minoru, coiling up but never touching her, and stops moving when it’s fully encircled her ; leaving serpent and girl face to face. ‘ go ahead. ‘
she’s certain that if she pinches herself, she’ll awake to find herself tangled within her many sheets and pillows.
somewhere deep within, there’s an appreciation in the boy’s lack of words -- and the lack of questioning. why a creature of such magnitude, of such species, would be of such interest to her. ignite such immense joy and fascination.
she knows that she will not tell him if he did. that it was a matter of motherly favoritism - and that, in some manner, it’s fallen into her lap as well. ( gazing up at the creature which has spun around her, she’s reminded of a day long past. when she was much smaller and her mother was --- standing there once as well. with the same smile that emerges upon minoru’s cheeks. )
❝ i knew just seeing you from afar that you weren’t as scary as mai-chan said you were . . . ! and you know it too, don’t you, you big cutie ! ❞ her movements betray the voice that leaves her. full to the brim with warmth, yet her palms carry a careful path as they run across the creature’s smooth scales. with a sensitivity she rarely showed. out of respect for the shikigami -- and perhaps as well . . . ❝ like shikigami, like master, huh ? all prickly but just a big ol’ softie from deep within ! ❞ the girl coos ; chuckling in the boy’s direction as she turns to catch hold of how he may react to her words.
❝ aren’t you going to join in, fushiguro-kun ? ❞ holding the massive serpent’s head between her palms, one cheek hovers over the creature’s snout. a pleading ( if clearly for the sake of dramatics ) expression thrown in his direction. ❝ don’t you want to pet them too ? you want to, too, don’t you ? ❞