maybe it’s bad for Aichi to flinch when he enters the cabin numbered the same as his key. maybe it’s bad to hold the cards in his jacket pocket tightly, like a lifeline, to make sure he’s where he seems to be. (he doesn’t feel out of the ordinary. he’s here, wherever here is.)

there’s someone else in the cabin. that shouldn’t be…abnormal. of course there would be other people. he’s not isolated.

it’s - just -

the greeting is caught in his throat. (maybe he’s scared.) 

“um -”

it’s not exactly a word. Aichi wavers there. there’s a small part of him that really, really wants to run away.

you’re not human. he doesn’t say that, because it’s the first person he’s met and he won’t say that and maybe he’s the only human here! maybe it’s another world entirely. but he thinks it, and then follows that thought with they look pretty, which is easier to prove true than the first statement but something he’s not even slightly going to say.

…they’re about the same height. he’s not going to bring that up, either. 

Aichi’s been standing here saying nothing for quite some time now, so he should either run or actually try and say something, and because bravery is still a foreign concept but one he can finally touch, he clutches the key to his chest and says -

“who are you…?”

hanako didn’t say what he was doing, because he wanted to keep it a surprise, and because before he left rui was half asleep from hanako nudging him awake long enough to tell him that he’d be right back. rui muffled something incoherently before rolling back over, not much more of an attempt to open his eyes otherwise.

and just in case ❪ and because he likes to doodle ❫ hanako wrote a note, in the event rui wouldn’t remember.

                    ‘back soon!                           ❪花❫’

but hanako’s back by now, and he holds his arms out with the bags when he’s once more inside and drops them onto the floor. he doesn’t know if rui’s awake, he took long enough where it’s possible he could be. but he doesn’t check first. the note’s been moved, though.

@cutwarmth​ said: ✎ spider kids... spider kids 

coco had drawn the keystones evenly this time.  somehow, she’d done it.  the glyph was steady enough, and the sigil split across both soles well enough so that every press lasted much longer than her previous attempts!  yet this triumph in accuracy begets a new kind of steadiness.  she wasn’t quite adept at actually using her shoes.

now that everything was just right, balance was the key.  to move with ease in the air, all while keeping your feet locked together, it was rather demanding!  without her professor or peers around, she was anxious about people watching her while she was still learning.  thus, she planned to practice when most people would be sleeping.

perhaps her goal was too high.  she wanted to move like tetia had once before--  upside-down and zipping about.  she could hardly steady herself right-side up, so dipping her body too far forward left her legs shaking enough to part and sending her careening into the bushes.

The ground’s embrace was something they hadn’t felt in a long time. They might not be capable of sleeping, but behind closed eyes, they could find their thoughts slowing down to something like peace. Almost hidden among the hearty greenery, off the path anyone would take on their way in, they stayed without interruption for a while.

At a soft rustle, their eyes fluttered open and they tilted their head back. If Kyrie had even been hidden enough before, their movement now would surely give it away.

A child, it looked like. They wouldn’t ask why he was alone at this hour when there was a much more obvious question to start with.

“Are you going to tell me to get up?”

@cutwarmth​ said: “ let me explain. ”

Even hearing that, his left hand closed as if to grip something that wasn’t there. Which was just the case- had it been, there really wouldn’t be much stopping him from ending the conversation before it even started. The fact this was a faintly familiar voice didn’t matter.