closed 🪶⚡ i'll be the light to lead you home

[garudas]

Who: Cidolfus Telamon & Benedikta Harman.
Status: Closed.
Where: The Roost, The Farplane.
What: Cid and Benedikta move to a new house in the Roost. Event stuff later.
Warnings: The usual. :)

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[garudas]

Hardly.

[She buries her face into the crook of his neck again, that breath of her laughter tickling his skin.]

I should like to ask you someday of how I do so because I find that hard to believe.

[For all the bolstered confidence in her, there are ten other places where she isn't so confident.

... Or maybe she just likes fishing for his compliments.]

[ramuhs]

You don't want to hear them now?

[He'll tease her a little with his lips, brushing them over her temple near her ear.]

[garudas]

[That provokes a much-needed peal of laughter from her, and it helps to loosen some of the ache in her chest.]

We might be here all night if I do, will we not?

[More teasing.]

[ramuhs]

As if we won't be already?

[He continues to smile fondly against her. But just as he's about to say more, it will be his stomach that decides to speak out, a quite loud grooOWoowoWwlwlL disrupting their cute little moment.]

[garudas]

[That is true enough. She had no plans of leaving or letting him leave their quarters until they arrived home, so he is stuck with her for the night.

Her giggles halt when the sound of his stomach rumbling unceremoniously interrupts their moment, and she pulls back to look at him, a brow raised in surprise.]

My, my... Will I need to contact someone to bring us a proper meal, Cidolfus?

[ramuhs]

[There's just a bit of a rueful laugh at that.]

I can't even the last we've eaten, so it might not be such a bad idea. I'm sure you would need it, too.

[As his eyes drift down to her stomach, as if waiting to see it join in the chorus like it tends to do.]

[garudas]

[She sees the way he glances down at her stomach.]

It was not mine that grumbled this time. [For once...] I had asked someone to bring us up a platter of snacks that could be left out, but I suppose it would not hurt if—

[And there it goes, her stomach giving a good grroooowwwwllll.

And before he can say a word about it...]

It is only because you brought it up...!

[ramuhs]

[He just laughs at that before he starts to sit up.]

Think we'll need more than snacks.

[There's a shine in his eyes as he knows she was about to suggest a proper meal. Though as he moves, he winces a bit, feeling the soreness around his shoulder.]

Could do for a bath as well.

[garudas]

[There's worry in her brow as she moves back, allowing him some room to sit up, biting back her own wince of pain when she feels the aches shoot through her. She takes a breath, lets it out in a sigh, and kicks her feet off the bed, rubbing the back of her neck.]

Agreed.

[She just kind of walked in here, undressed them, and dragged them straight into bed without much thought for anything else that needed to be done.]

I could call for some cheese and fruits? Perhaps some soup...

[ramuhs]

[As he rolls his shoulder and stretches a bit as he stands, he lets out a low hum.]

Mmm, aye all that sounds good. Don't need anything too heavy.

[garudas]

[She huffs quietly, remaining on the bed while she searches for her phone again among the sheets and slowly starts to type out a message to one of the ship's cooks to bring them some extra food before she slowly hobbles to the door to pick up what had already been left for them. Soon enough, they're eating their light chicken soup with some cheeses in mostly silence, with fruits for dessert that Benedikta will bring with them on a tray to the bathroom.

There, she draws their bath, a towel wrapped around her shoulders as she suddenly feels more self-conscious of the stone on her skin while she waits for him to join her, afraid to look at it in the mirror for fear that it's grown worse...]

[ramuhs]

[The meal was very much needed, even if it was a small one. There was still a lot to think about a lot to process—in many ways he's reminded of those days when it was after a major battle or mission. They became so commonplace it didn't really matter too much. Just take a day to decompress and then get ready for the next.

But what about now? What about here? He never thought he would be in this kind of position, and now that one of his biggest thorns has been removed, rather than feel elation, he just feels... Tired. Has he really grown so numb to not care so much anymore? Or has it not really hit yet that this is real? Will he wake up and it all turns out this was just a long dream?

Maybe he's afraid to believe it just yet.

It's with these thoughts that he undresses and readies himself for the bath, idly checking his arm as his hand runs over where it was once covered in stone. He still doesn't feel anything now, though as he flexes his wrist and forearm, he can't tell if the stiffness he feels is a phantom memory of the past or the curse advancing.

Soon he's ready and walks up behind her, hands going to her shoulders.]

All right?

[garudas]

[She's been quiet for the better part of the hour, quieter and quieter as they got closer to the bottoms of their bowls and the last of the platters. She usually does not fear the idea of a bath, but today, the thought of removing her smallclothes and this towel and seeing whether there has been any change has filled her with a dread so palpable that it seeps into the air. She had noticed Cid glancing down at his arm as well and seeing that does not make her feel much better about this.]

Mm.

[A small sound of a lie as she turns around to face him, a hand slipping out from under the towel to run over that arm of his, checking for stone that is not there.]

Just a little... nervous is all.

[ramuhs]

Nervous?

[He looks at her carefully, and it's then he realizes how she's covered.]

...Do you want me to check?

[garudas]

[Her lips press together, holding in what she knows would be a shaky breath if she let it free as she nods slowly.]

It has been hurting since it all ended...

[Which isn't exactly a direct answer, but it says plenty without saying it at all.]

[ramuhs]

[Although it was years ago he remembers how it feels for skin to turn to stone. A feeling that never goes away but dulls over time. After what they had to do it wouldn't be so surprising, but...

He only hopes it's not too much if at all.

So he just gives her shoulders a reassuring squeeze before his hands slowly move to push away the towel...]

[garudas]

[There will be some resistance when he moves the towel from her shoulders, and there's a small sound of discomfort beneath the rushing of the tap in the tub. She holds onto the corners for a little longer, her expression tightening, before she finally lets it go and allows him to push away the towel completely. And with her back to the mirror, she refuses to look when she feels the very obvious and dull prickling on her shoulder blades.

Closing her eyes, she presses her forehead firmly to his shoulder.]

... And?

[While it is not much worse than before, there is a noticeable difference. While the spots have not grown bigger or thicker, they have spread further across her back, now no longer just speckles over her shoulder blades but inching closer to her spine and upward to the curve of her shoulders and base of her neck.]

[ramuhs]

[His expression falls when he sees the spread, about as much as he expected. It was always a slow process, spots here and there dependent on how much was used. But it was still never pleasant to see, especially for her...

Slowly and gently his fingertips brush over the new patches, sighing.]

It's not a lot...but it did spread here.

[garudas]

[Her fingers dig gently into his sides as she tries to stem the anger that she feels rising and burning in her chest. If she had it in her, she might have screamed, broken something, cursed Ultima's name... but instead, all she can manage is a shaky sigh, and a dry, self-admonishing scoff for trying to hold it all in. Better that she does anyway, she would not want questions from the crew about what those noises were coming from their quarters in the middle of the night.

With shoulders tense under his fingers, she shakes her head.]

It is to be expected, isn't it...

[ramuhs]

[Another low sigh.]

Unfortunately. Once you reach this state, the primary cause of it worsening is whenever we shift to use our Eikons in some way for an extended period of time and using a large amount of our powers.

[Which they did. It's a stark contrast to when he last saw her, where she was able to stay semi-primed and fight for so long with nary a sign of the curse affecting her. Of course, she was also not as pressured to use her powers as much as the rest of them have, or for as long.]

[garudas]

Mm. I suppose I have not used my powers quite like that since...

[All that aether that she used up, and all of it had been her own, not this world's magic. But it does nothing to help with the disappointment and the roiling anger that she feels beneath it all, and the air buzzes with her aether, a chilly wind coming in from somewhere before it disappears.

It's yet another reminder that they need to work harder to find a way out of this curse.

As her hand runs over his arm again.]

You feel nothing, do you?

[ramuhs]

[A small shake of his head as he flexes his arm a little beneath her hand.]

Thought I felt some stiffness, but it's gone away. Could have been from the fatigue, but I'll keep an eye on it.

[garudas]

[Her fingers give it a gentle squeeze, and she lifts her forehead from his shoulder only so that she can press it to his.]

I suppose I should pay Alfyn another visit soon. See if he has not made any progress since the last time...

[A brush of her lips over his, to console both herself and him, a sadness carried outward in her sigh.]

I think the bath is ready.

[ramuhs]

Would be for the best.

[He gives her a kiss in return, gently stroking her shoulder blades with a heavier heart before glancing at the bath and turning off the faucet before stepping in. And then as he usually does, he'll pat the top of his legs, a small humorous gesture for her to join him.]

For now you'll get a special treatment from me.

[garudas]

[The way he pats his legs after he sits draws a snort out of her, her sorrow turning into a smile as she lifts a brow before she's carefully climbing in. The tub is smaller than the one that she's already grown used to in their new home, but being closer and more snug to him was never an issue. If anything, it is exactly what she needs tonight.

She settles between his legs, fitting there perfectly as usual, her back to him. He'll see the tension in her shoulders, the self-consciousness making them stiff, even as she tries to keep things lighter.]

And what might that special treatment entail?