#thymost

Send me a heart for my muse’s reactions to yours giving them a kiss…

💕 …out of sheer excitement

@thymost

     "Where is he?!”

     “He went back in to-- Lio, you can’t go after him!” Aina’s arms caught his, twisting them behind his back so as to restrain him - and, more importantly, to keep Lio from rushing into the burning building after one of her teammates. “It’s too dangerous--”

     “Let go!” The blond struggled immediately, the command leaving his lips as a snarl, though Aina’s hold on him didn’t relinquish, or even loosen as the former Burnish squirmed. His next words were lost in an explosion that rocked the burning building in front of them, the force throwing both he and Aina back against the pavement and knocking the air from Lio’s lungs. For several moments, he lay there, dazed, as his ears rung and he coughed, staring up towards the night sky as it was obscured by tendrils of dark smoke. When he finally managed to sit up, the world still spinning as he tried to regain his bearings, one thought echoed in his mind.

     Galo - where was Galo?!

     And that was when he saw it - or rather him. A familiar red mecha emerging from the wreckage with the body of an unconscious woman in its arms, Lio felt a wave of relief wash over him. Of course Galo would have managed to get out of there, his dumb luck having saved him yet again from burning up like paper in an open flame. The thought had something else bubbling up with him - an irritation of sorts - as the blond staggered to his feet and rushed over to where Galo was now handing the girl off to medics so that she could get the proper treatment that she needed.

     “What were you thinking?! Do you know how close you were to ending up caught in that blast?!” The snappish words came instinctively as the hatch to Galo’s mecha opened, allowing the firefighter to climb out of the cockpit and drop down in front of the agitated blond, “You’re such an idiot, are you trying to--”

     His scolding, however, was silenced as Galo stepped closer and a set of strong arms slung around the former Burnish’s waist. Instead, Lio let out a strangled yelp as he was swept up and off of his feet, the firefighter swinging him around with that familiar laughter that Lio knew so well. It was the sound of a man who was exhilarated by having yet again gone up against death and won, the sound of Galo as he relished in what was, to him, another job well done.

     And then, not giving Lio the time to recover from the vertigo that left him dizzy, Galo drew the smaller man in even closer, crashing their lips together with enough force that the blond wondered if he’d been caught in yet another explosion. Once more, violet eyes went wide as a heat that no flame could ever compare to pressed over his mouth, spreading along his cheeks and traveling all the way up into his ears. A set of teeth caught on his bottom lip, drawing a gasp from Lio’s throat, just before a longue swept across it almost playfully and it was only then that Galo drew back, finally giving Lio a moment to arrange his thoughts.

     “Cmon now - you know me better than that, Lio!” There was a grin already drawn across Galo’s face, an unwavering confidence radiating from the expression. Jostling Lio so as to adjust his grip, Galo hoisted him higher with ease, and the ex-Burnish found himself needing to settle his hands on the firefighter’s broad shoulders so as to keep his own balance - not that Galo would ever let him fall.

     Of that, Lio was certain.

     “I... I-Idiot,” the blond finally muttered, ignoring the way that his heart had yet to calm itself. Whether it was from his earlier fear or from the rush brought on by Galo’s excited affections, he didn’t know - he wasn’t sure if he cared to try and figure it out either. Instead, he stared down into those deep blue eyes that sparkled like pools of water, the one thing that could quench Lio’s own burning temper once it had been set alight. “You scared the shit out of me.”

     He leaned down though until their brows touched, his pulse skipping a beat at that simple contact - and before he could think to stop himself, Lio was tilting his head, catching the firefighter’s lips in a kiss of his own. It was slower by comparison, perhaps to help quiet the thrumming in his ears, though the sound of Galo’s own pleased hum had his heart racing once again. This man... this stupid man...

                         a  fire  has  erupted  within  the  KAIBACORP  HEADQUARTERS,  but  instead  of  tending  to  the  issue  with  the  haste  seto  would  LIKE,  this  blue-haired  buffoon  is  making  a  show  out  of  the  whole  ordeal.

the  chill  stays  with  him  all  day  —  becomes  a  nagging  sensation,  the  repetitive  press  of  a  healing  bruise.  an  intrusive  thought  in  a  mind  not  used  to  being  alone  with  itself.  by  noon,  steady  hands  have  developed  a  tremor.  it  takes  him  so  off - guard  to  notice  that  for  a  second  that  he  has  to  check  that  he  isn’t  holding  a  grudge  about  something.  rage,  as  it  were,  has  been  the  only  thing  to  physically  affect  him  this  way  in  so  long  that  he  doesn’t  realize  it’s  probably  normal  for  cold  to  affect  anyone  this  way.  it  is  the  same  delay  that  still  happens  when  flames  don’t  immediately  yield  to  his  intent  or  he  stumbles  to  find  a  light  switch  to  a  room  he’s  never  been  in  because  light  is  not  a  resource  he  possesses.  lio  gives  in,  let’s  himself  call  it  by  name:  grief.  settles  into  the  feeling  like  a  child  that’s  just  learned  magic  isn’t  a  real  thing  and  stubbornly  shoves  his  hands  into  his  pockets  every  moment  they  are  not  in  use.

@thymost​ rambled   "So... If you pamper a cow and give it lots of stuff, does it produce spoiled milk?" He's entirely serious as he speaks the inquire, looking all too absorbed in his thoughts as he attempts to figure out this grand mystery of life.

She was quite bewildered by Galo’s small tangent about what happens when one pampers a cow and whether or not it would produce spoiled milk because of it. “N-no...I don’t think that’s how it works Galo.”  The others tone just seemed so genuine that she couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not. Surely not right? However, thinking about it more she could not help but offer  a small pity laugh. “So then do you think chocolate milk comes from brown cows?” she asked him with a lighthearted smile.

     Fire wasn’t something that he was used to fearing. Not so long ago, Lio might have said that flames were a source of comfort, if anything, and certainly not a reason for him to be wary. In a world that had, for so long, labelled him as a fugitive, as a monster long before he’d ever joined the likes of the Mad Burnish, his fire had been one of the few things that he could count on, constantly driving him forward, no matter how difficult things got.

     To find himself at the mercy of a force that he’d once relied on for protection, however, reminded him of just how much had changed in the last few months. Woken in the early hours of the morning by an alarm going off, the scent of smoke heavy in the air, Lio had scrambled out of the small bachelor apartment that had been his home since the loss of his burnish abilities. The building itself had been made to house other former Burnish, given that most of them had been displaced and without a proper living situation for so long. It had been a decent solution, all things considered, though gathering so many of them in one place had one dangerous side effect.

     Namely, those who still retained their hatred for the former Burnish were able to find them quite easily.

     It was entirely possible that this blaze in particular had been caused by an accident, but Lio found himself doubting it as he made his way past his neighbors, ushering a few confused individuals towards the stairwells so that they might find a way to safety. It wouldn’t have surprised him, for someone to find some cruel irony in causing a number of former Burnish to burn to death, though it did spark a familiar rage within him.

     He could be angry later, however - for now, there were people to evacuate. It was the panicked exclamations of one of his neighbors regarding an elderly woman on one of the upper floors that sent Lio climbing the stairwell rather than descending it, with the back of his hand pressed against his mouth in a vain attempt at blocking out the thick smoke that hung in the air, his back hunched as he tried to remain beneath the toxic cloud. The sound of a weak, frightened voice was his guide in the inferno, and while he would no doubt be told that this had been a stupid stunt to pull, the blond could not - would not - knowingly leave someone to die here, all alone.

     One by one, he checked the doors of each apartment, calling out for the trapped woman in question and fearing the worst when her cries went silent. Desperation had his feet moving faster, throwing open one door after the other, until one unit in particular greeted him with a wave of heat, the intensity of it sending Lio stumbling back as he held his arms up in front of him to shield himself. His lungs were burning now with a mixture of superheated oxygen and smoke causing him to cough violently as he peered through the flames, though the attempt did him little good. A wave of dizziness washed over him and the heat actually had him feeling nauseated as his vision began to blur a little.

     It was strange, how one part of him wanted to run, while the other refused - not until he was able to find the victim. Pushing forward, ducking beneath the roaring blaze inside the apartment, Lio called out once more for someone, anyone, to answer to him, to give him some sign that someone was alive in here.

     “So what’d you say this guy’s name was again?”

     The question came from his twin sister as Salem watched her pour paint into a tray for him, the bright, blue shade flowing out of the can like a thick sort of waterfall. Though he’d insisted that lifting the paint can wouldn’t prove to be that much of a strain on him, Skylar made it quite apparent that she was far more stubborn than her brother - something that he’d known since they were children, though it had become all the more obvious as Salem progressed into his pregnancy. She’d just about torn him a new one a few days ago, after learning that he’d tried to drag a whole crib through the local department store on his own. It was only by revealing that a kind stranger had helped that he’d been able to save his hide, but even with that bit of information, he’d still received more than a few glares from Sky for the rest of the day.

     Perhaps she’d have been a bit more lenient about letting him help with the painting, had he not pulled that particular stunt. As it was, the heavily pregnant young man had been shooed to sit, left with only the task of putting a few of the smaller decorations together, which would cause as little strain as possible to someone in his condition.

     God though, she was acting as if he were made of porcelain rather than simply pregnant.

     “Galo. Galo Thymos. You’ll like ‘im, Sky, he was really sweet.” Glancing up from where he was twisting a strand of red willow into the shape of a hood, his dark eyes met with those of his twin’s, who returned the look with a raised brow and an amused curve of her lips.

     “I’ll say. Carrying your stuff to the truck and then offering to come put it together later on to boot? You sure you found him at Target?” Her grin widened as a laugh escaped Salem, shaking his head a little as he felt his cheeks warming a touch.

     “He was being nice, Sky.”

     “Yeah, okay - if that’s what we’re going with.” Her obviously unconvinced response had Salem rolling his eyes before returning his attention to the wooden circle that he’d been in the process of weaving.

     Only for a brief moment though, as a knock at the door quickly drew his attention away from the craft once more. Though Skylar moved to answer, her brother was quick to wave her off, even though it took him a minute to rise up from his chair. This kid was getting heavier by the day, and he was not looking forward to the final two months of pregnancy that would, more than likely, approach faster than he’d have liked.

     Okay, maybe Skylar was right in telling him to leave the painting to her.

     From her place on the couch, his grandmother cast a glance towards the door, though Namid allowed her grandson to answer it without any interference. Salem did, however, catch the way the corners of her lips curved before her eyes dropped back to her knitting, an expression that, once more, had his face warming a little. Really, he thought that they were both putting a bit too much thought into all of this.

     Or it could be that they just liked teasing him. That, all things considered, was more than likely it.

     Pushing the thought aside, Salem drew the door open and was soon greeted by the sight of a head of blue hair and a set of friendly eyes. Galo, for his part, looked to be just as chipper as the day they’d met at the store, and it was impossible to keep a smile from tugging at the corners of his own lips as he greeted the taller man. He seemed to give off an aura of warmth, Salem had noticed, and he had to wonder if Galo realized it himself.