#tidwell

It’s funny you should say this because I just observed to @purronronner the other day that there hasn’t been any consensual dæmon touching in Dæmorphing, even though that’s a very standard trope in dæmonfic. 

This response is slightly unfair because it’s basically a missing scene from a fic I haven’t published yet: “Hospitality,” an Illim/Tidwell backstory fic I'm writing for @mewmewimakitty. But I promise that when you return to this ficlet after I’ve published “Hospitality” you’ll like it better.

Inez and Julian didn’t touch each other’s dæmons the day of their engagement or on their wedding night. It wasn’t anything like the scenes he’d read in books. 

It was on a quiet evening of their honeymoon, as they sipped pisco sours on the balcony of their hotel room, enjoying the sunset over Cuzco. Belkatry perched on the balcony railing, his wings outstretched, feeling the mountain breeze. Julian had the top of Kalysico’s tank open. Inez watched the sunset light play on Kaly’s pale scales, murmured, “She’s so beautiful like this,” and trailed her fingers in the water. And Kaly just... rose to meet her fingers, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The moment was so quiet, so peaceful, but it rocked Julian’s world. Nothing was ever the same after that. 

The first time Illim touched Kaly wasn’t much like that. It was quiet, too. But it didn’t change anything. It felt like a natural extension of what had come before.

“I want to practice the purification rite with you,” Kaly told Illim. “Before we do it in the Aftran Plisam Pool tomorrow. It’s our first time touching. That means something to dæmons. It shouldn’t be for everyone to see.”

It was the same purification rite that all new visitors to a Pool go through. She asked to be purified so she wouldn’t contaminate the Pool’s waters. And Illim swam to her, in the water of her tank, palps outstretched.

He spread the slime gently over her face, first, with slow strokes of his palps. Then he rubbed his side against hers, adding the slime coat there. They twisted around each other like the twin fish of Pisces, until she was covered, a layer of protection between her and the water. It wasn’t gross or strange. Just one creature of the water greeting another.

Hospitality 

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Illim/Mr. Tidwell Characters: Illim, Mr. Tidwell (Animorphs), Tobias (Animorphs), Original Characters Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Grief/Mourning, Voluntary Controllers, Sharing a Body, Codependency, Yeerks, Horror, Slow Romance, Backstory Series: Part 20 of Dæmorphing Summary:

How Mr. Tidwell lost one great love of his life, and found another.

"The most rewarding part of my career is being able to address families' concerns and provide answers. When a family has concerns about their child's development, a hearing evaluation is often part of the diagnostic process. Whether I am able to provide clarity by diagnosing or ruling out a hearing loss, it is always rewarding to help a family get one step closer to the appropriate diagnosis and intervention."