#tetheredflame

     Okay, so it probably wasn’t the best tasting meal they’d ever had, but it was hot; that was what mattered after days of eating tin cans and whatever else they could find that hadn’t gone to rot. Rice, some pickled vegetables she’d found, soy sauce, and canned chicken mixed together and heated over a propane stove wasn’t gourmet by any means, but to Kuina it was the best thing she’d tasted in forever.

“Here.” Dropping to the floor across from him, she passed over the second bowl in her hands. “Eat this. It’s…passable. We won’t starve before the next game.” Odd to think of it that way since they were in what should have been one of the busiest cities in the world, and yet here they were struggling just to find basic necessities like hot food. “Tomorrow, if you want we can go to that market near the subway station. See what they have there. I can probably find enough stuff to make something a little bit more decent than this.”

What they weren’t talking about was the giant pink elephant in the room – the card that Chishiya had been hyper-focused on since they left the last game. A six of diamonds, one that had cost them nearly everyone they went into the game with – one that had left them on their own once again.

Despite having only known each other for the span of a few weeks, Kuina felt like she could read his mind. She knew that he was working through what it meant, how the cards were significant, and what each one meant in the grand scheme of getting out of there and returning home. It was one of the reasons she’d thrown her lot in with him from the beginning; he was a survivor, just like her.

Except he was so much more methodical.

random dramatic prompts. ㅡ open ㅡ @tetheredflame

He has failed his disciple. That’s the thought Chu Wanning can’t seem to shake off of his mind even as he lays bare amidst stained sheets, pale skin bruised from all those previous times Mo Ran has touched him so shamefully. Even as he is the one still trembling from the happenings of the past few hours, muscles protesting when he makes a weak attempt at covering himself, he can’t find it in his heart to blame him. After all, if he hadn’t been so hard on him, if he had taught him properly and showed a little more attentionㅡ 

But, he hadn’t. The Yuheng elder has monstrously failed his disciple for fear of losing face, finding it easier to use sharp words instead of encouraging praises. That’s his own mistake and he’s paying the consequences now. Not only he is, but the world is suffering the consequences of his inability at communicating properly. How many lives, how many sects have been destroyed by his fault? How much blood has been spilled onto the ground? 

You should have died instead of Shi Mei.

Mo Ran’s deep voice momentarily drags Chu Wanning away from such haunting thoughts and he doesn’t know how he finds it in himself to sit up, messy dark hair cascading down his back, but after a few seconds of dizziness, his phoenix eyes find the now familiar shape of Mo Ran’s body standing by the window, large hands loosely resting behind his back. The black robe he is wearing does little to conceal the strength in his body; gone is the small, all dimples, excited disciple. 

“Here Mister Albedo.” She came up to her teacher and put a scarf around his neck, she had made him one. Knitting was a relaxing pastime of hers, Sucrose usual knitted before bed. She had one around her neck as well. “Since we have a limited amount of warming bottles I brought us something to help stem off the cold.” 

"Antir! Please get back here! We'll have time to get to every spot in the festival, but you need to stay with me!" Inomi ran after the...surprisingly fast Seelie, rounding a sharp corner she had seen him round.

Only to crash headfirst into a...very study body. Luckily, Inomi wasn't as clumsy as she was when she was younger, and only stumbled back a step or two. Although, she was admittedly a little embarrassed when she saw who she had run into.

       never in his life before did natsuki imagine that he would be living in the sea  —  after all, he had always preferred to enjoy it from a distance, to stay closer to the land instead  —  but having kazuha there made so much easier and bearable. perhaps he should keep the pda to a minimal when they were outside of the privacy of the other’s room, but seeing kazuha standing there by the edge made it nearly impossible for natsuki to control himself. it was already nighttime, surely there would be no problem... making his way to him, the blond wrapped both arms around his waist and tightened his embrace, placing his chin by his shoulder after giving his cheek a light kiss.  “ are you busy, kazu-chan? ”

     “Your eyes really get on my nerves. All the goddamn time. Staring like you know more than you should. Someone should pluck them out.” The words were said for what was probably the hundredth time in the course of their knowing one another, but Nigari meant it each and every time it was uttered. Still, Chishiya was the one he sought out after the Beach went up in literal and metaphorical flames. In all honesty, Chishiya’s eyes made him nervous, like a mirror that reflected his darkest sins.

Guilt.

And guilt wasn’t a feeling Niragi ever wanted to allow himself to feel.

He made himself at home on the sofa of some ridiculously run-down apartment, feet kicked up on a dusty coffee table, ever trusty sniper rifle leaning against the shoulder that wasn’t bandaged from the burns. “I should shoot you.” Grin stretched across his face, maliciously turning up the corners of his lips – but they both knew he wouldn’t. If he’d been intending to shoot Chishiya, he would have done it from the building rooftop across the street. “Or set you on fire! That shit really hurt, and if the pool hadn’t been there, I would have died.”  

         however, being there did not mean that the grievings of her heart would be completely gone too. these days, it felt that it had grown quite heavy, even if its loneliness had been slightly soothed by the company of those such as cloud retainer and the conqueror of demons. it had been a long time since the two of them had ever interacted in a more intimate manner, but, as days had passed, ganyu almost felt as if they were returning to what they used to be in the past, when she was nothing more than a kid  —  or at least she had grown more comfortable in his presence, despite the threatening and uninviting aura around the yaksha.

         quietly, ganyu patted down the back of her dress before taking a seat by his side at the top of the mountain. although the land of the adepti was sometimes disturbed by bold travelers looking for some blessings, it was normally secluded and quiet, with nothing but the sounds of the nature around them to be heard. after a moment or two of silence, the half qilin spoke softly.  “ the clouds up here are truly wonderful, don’t you think? ”