#scarleiji

[erabundus]

@scarleiji &&. said... gibs a leaf

holds the leaf. admires the leaf. puts the leaf in his mouth ... salad.

[momijiba]

maple 🤝 milla angst buddies

[momijiba]

( @scarleiji ) said..... pats kazuha's head ... its gonna be fine.................

feeling a familiar hand patting his head was comforting and he wanted to do nothing more than lean into it.  ''soon everything will be oke... they always will be oke in the end... right?''

[kikun]

@scarleiji asked ; damn i hope this is one of the last 5 asks for the honesty thing // " ... do you even care about me? because sometimes, it feels like i am just ... wasting your time. you ought to know that i have no desire to be a burden to you, & yet ..." a voice teeters off, tone strained against the weight felt heavy against one's chest. " nevermind. forget i asked. " yet, they hope he doesn't. they hope he answers, as candid as possible. For the next five asks, my muse cannot tell a lie.

if he could breathe, his sigh would have cast a fog upon the reflective surface that stands before him. with a penchant to contemplate, akihiko inevitably happened upon a mirror and with it his portrait to dwell on. he stares for a moment, catching kazuha's pristine features but only an afterimage as opposed to authenticity.

honesty is unforgiving. the truth is relentless.

❝ i have spent the majority of my life moving away from anything linked to humanity. to ask whether i care about something, is only setting yourself up for disappointment. ❞

he folds his arms, letting fabrics drape to whisper in the breeze created through faint movements.

❝ care is subjective, kazuha. you need to be more specific. do i care for you as a friend? or as a lover? perhaps affection is amateurishly mistaken for care. or maybe i care for you as the general populace would? do i see you as a possession? something superficial? then i would care not to break you for it would be an inconvenience and costly. do i see you as an asset? or a tool? i would care not to lose you for my endeavours would require your assistance. or maybe i see you as someone helpless and out of pity i care to guide you. ❞

a fire crackles nearby and akihiko lets his eyes drift across to watch the naked flame dance.

❝ ...i'm still learning what ❛ care ❜ is. ❞

[kikun]

bats my pretty eyes at u

flutters luscious lashes back.

[cryosewn]

@scarleiji said: absolutely 🥺💕😳😗💖

big kiss from caiying slime for you <3 mwah

[kikun]

kissy face :<

grabs him and pulls aside to an alleyway~

nothing to see here, move along.

[zorkaya-moved]

❝ please don’t make me do this. ❞  :3

@scarleiji

Her face looked rather unimpressed at the words spoken by Kaedehara. If anything, she was oddly too calm about the request she had just made. The previous battle already proved enough of how much change had transpired while they were away from each other; that darned flying companion of Traveler did everything that didn't need to happen as she were ready to just escape upon being chained in the Akademiya's jail... or die, if she were honest.

The problem was what happened in that laboratory. How to tell Kazuha that she can hear their heartbeat, sense their elemental energy, and notice the change in their temperature? How else could she tell them that she was far beyond humanity now, despising every single second of it that chipped away at her humanity and her mortality? No, she wasn't even mortal anymore. Will they genuinely continue to think of her as insane when she simply asks for their sword to prove her saying? It wasn't like she was going to die from cutting her hand deep enough it'd make a normal human bleed out and possibly perish without a tourniquet. It wasn't just for them, obviously, but also to prove to herself that these powers were still ever-present.

"If you refuse to give it to me personally, I will take it by force, Kazuha," her voice is cold and threatening, but then she looks around and sees a treasure hoarder's knife lying on the ground. Her mind already knows that if she were just a normal human, picking up that sword from the ground meant bringing germs and infection into her wounds, but it won't happen. She had already tried, she had already attempted, and she had already hurt enough to test how far she could go after consuming so much energy from beasts and elemental creatures. "Fine. If you refuse me, I will simply find another way. It's important for my experiment and for you to know when not to get in my way."

Something changed, but it's not her feelings for them. This was needed to ensure they won't try to save her when it was not needed and won't put themselves in danger. They must live and continue to be her guiding wind, her most beloved treasure, and her link to humanity. If they looked at her like they were their moon, she would always look at them as her light and guiding northern star.

Zarina ignores their inquiry and the horrified look on their face as she walks past them to her destination. Her walk is confident and with a set destination in mind; they won't be able to be faster than her in getting that dagger. The move from behind, it was already expected but instead of reaching for that dagger with her hands. She knew exactly which part to hit to make it fly up, where she would catch it at the handle right away. It almost makes her feel bad... seeing Kazuha's expression as she let out another sigh while twirling the knife in her hand all too flawlessly and effortlessly.

Her serpentine eyes glowed at this moment as she looked at them, not caring exactly about their inhuman look before her beloved. This was important to her, she didn't wish for them to interfere. Zarina doesn't hesitate to bring the knife to her neck, her expression is still too aloof and too uncaring regarding what she's about to do. To Kazuha, it may look like

"I've done worse to test my abilities out," she confesses before sliding the knife's sharp edge against her skin, finally letting out a soft chuckle before her sharp move, cutting the pristine skin and bringing out the blood to the light. With the gasp and the raise of Kaedehara's voice, Zarina almost felt bad, but it was essential. However, the blood doesn't rush out as expected from a wound to the neck. Instead, it seemed to be healed almost immediately, with her eyes glowing just a bit brighter and her Cryo vision gleaming dimly with darker energy. Sokolova felt nothing (but disgust), the sharp pinch of pain was already gone like an itch, and she looked at the silver blade that had her blood on it, but then she tossed it away. "See? Even if I get my throat slit, it'll be nothing. Who knew that... the one who wanted immortality the least would obtain it through such means."

Her chuckle is dark but angrier than anything else. Her grudge against the ruination of her plan by making her merge with the Serpent (without her intent) was devastating in a way that she couldn't explain.

"I promise I will not do it again, but I needed to be sure." Sokolova reassures them, but not reaching her hand out to them. It felt that if she were to try, they would slap her hand away, and she wouldn't be able to take it at this moment. She hoped it would've hurt more and wouldn't heal so fast, she hoped there'd be some consequence, but there was none. None that a human would have.

Zarina grits her teeth before turning on her heels to walk the opposite way.

"I'm going to the lake."

She doesn't even ask if they want to come. They could if they were ready. Zarina wanted to be near water, to wash her face and hands. She wouldn't deny that she wanted them to come with her, to sit by her side, to let her lean against them, and to still hear them say her name. The distance wasn't something she usually put between them. Still, the apparent distress inside with the growing conflict about her newly found abilities brought devastating results to one in the short run. She'll need just a day more to fully ease the dislike before finding opportunities and solutions. But right now? She just wanted to splash her face with cold water and hope that Kaedehara would come after her.

Or maybe they won't... maybe they saw the regeneration and the glow of those serpentine eyes and decided this would be the end. The wind must've told them enough about how the scent of death would cling to her now. It would be better for their safety to stay away, but she still wanted them to stay. So selfishly.