#writelives

It's easy to get lost in this, in Thalien. They were in a tavern, in the farthest corner they could manage. it was easier that way, it was better to be able to watch people come & go. The last thing Percy wanted was for one of Thalien's siblings to find them here. Despite a few glances the tavern's inhabitants casted towards their prince, they seemed relatively safe here. It didn't seem like anyone was running to spread the news ofThalien's presence here & for that percy was thankful.

So they spent the night in good company, drinking & eating & dipping into distant memories. Percy's usually acute vigilance fades with every cup of wine & he becomes comfortable. Too comfortable. The tension shifts from his shoulders, driving him to melt into the space between them. Shoulder against shoulder, elbow against elbow, the back of Percy's gloved hand occasionally drifting down Thalien's arm. Maybe the tips of their fingers touch, for just a moment.

Passing affection was not always a forte of his, but the wine helped. Percy was usually smarter than this, but he was usually drinking alone. He often made it a point to keep his wits about him, as it was all he had left. But it was easy to be comfortable with Thalien, dangerously so. Perhaps this is why they were sitting so close, Percy drawn towards him instinctively.

He's not sure when their lips meet, but he knows he melts into the embrace. Percy knows Thalien's hands are in his & he knows the moment transcends reality. It's hardly the first kiss he's ever had, but it's the first one he's wanted so badly. it feels like a dream, he thinks. When Percy pulls back, it hits him & it hits him hard. He searches Thalien's face for a reaction, a rejection. He hopes he will find the latter, as it would make everything easier. His inability to control his impulses would surely come back to burn him, this was thoughtless. Percy feels his breath stop with his heart & he instinctively recoils.

Kakashi had been sent out on his own mission shortly after Shizuka had left for one of her own. They had been set to return home around the same time. What he had not expected, however, was to come back to news of Shizuna in the hospital. He hadn't missed a beat before making his way to the hospital, crawling into her window rather than wasting time with the orderlies.

At first, he was angry. Angrier than he wanted to admit. Despite any bickering between the two, he wasn't sure what he would do without her. Something was terrifying about the thought of Shizuna being careless enough to die. People were dropping like flies in this damned war & he couldn't afford for the name 'Shizuka Hatake' to end up engraved on a headstone. But the moment he laid his eye on her, his gaze softened. There were a few bandages on her face & arms, she seemed impossibly defiant in the hospital bed she was lying in. It was almost a relief.

He bit back any lecture he may have for her wellbeing but it had not gone unnoticed. He immediately regrets the decision.

" So you just ... make poison, in your body? " Kakashi probably sounds a little too interested. His gaze was still transfixed on the palm of Akira's hand. It was still seeping blood from the poison-coated kunai he had just hurled at his opponent. Kakashi was amazed, to say the least. He had read about such an ability in a very old book, but the information had been limited. He was briefed on the abilities of his team but seeing it firsthand was different entirely. It wasn't something he expected from the other, who was so prone to soft smiles & hopeful ideals. He probably sounds foolish so his gaze finds a spot behind Akira to focus on. Still, he continues, " and it just... comes out? "

It would have been a tempting offer, in another life. He could be someone else here, if he wanted. He could adopt a new name, a new outlook, exist in relative but hollow peace. Forging a new world would do little to erase the person he had been. The person he would continue to be. Thalien had seen glimpses of his truth, fleeting moments of suffering & was still foolish enough to offer Percy somewhere safe. To invite him into his home, back into his life in full.

Touching as it was, stopping here would leave his tragedy with little meaning. If he stayed here, safe, Percival may has well died with his siblings, his parents... Unfortunately, he still had much life to live. Percy lets out a deep sigh, his shoulders falling with his breath. He wants to say yes, somewhere inside of him. Perhaps it's the boy locked deep in his heart, who wants to stay by Thalien's side. Who imagines a world where they are inseparable.

He feels weaker than he wants to be & with this weakness Percy raises a metaphorical wall. If he buried Percival with the rest of the De Rolo's, no one would be left in this world to remember their truth. Their worm-eaten corpses would continue to rot in shallow graves, their story erased by those who had wrote it. No one would be held accountable & no one would be remembered. to stay here was to give up his family's legacy, to stay here was to fail them.

" I can't, thalien. " even as he speaks, he regrets the words that spill from his lips. he regrets tearing open this wound of a friendship, opening thalien's eyes to his world. it had been so damned selfish of him, percy had been unable to stay away from these fleeting moments of familiarity he found in Thalien. They made him feel so wonderfully, terribly human. He couldn't afford to feel that way, especially not now. There was too much to do, too much left unfinished. Staying where he was now meant everything he's already done would have been for nothing, for the evil he invited into this world would be nothing more than a whim.

In the scar, is a memory. it takes Percy a moment to realize what is happening as he feels his old friend dip into his past. Percy had made it a point to keep Thalien far from his truth as he could. He could not afford to implicate him, paint a target on Thalien's back. The less he knew, the safer he might be... But he should have known better. Thalien would always see the truth, whether or not he was looking for it... Percy learned this when they were very young. a passing touch, the casual embrace of fingers against his forearm. the action is enough to make Percy's hair stand on end, pale green eyes flash to his old friend's features. a clouded gaze was enough for percy to recognize what he was doing, what was happening. suddenly, his heartbeat feels invasive.

( There are shackles around his raw wrists & it is difficult to see. His cracked glasses are set on a tray of horrid tools, unidentifiable from where he is sitting. with each breath is the invasive scent of mildew & iron. Cassandra is strapped to a chair across from him, his sister unconscious. She was exhausted, unable to take another moment of her waking world. Percy is not sure if he is thankful that Cassandra will miss this part or terrified that she will not wake. He was always terrified, it seemed. )

( The doctor crosses the space between the siblings, the dull light catching the metal hook in her hand before she takes his chin in between her fingers. The doctor gives him one final chance to tell her what he knows. He knows nothing & thus nothing is all the information he can give. But when he tells her this, she does not believe him. Or maybe she doesn't care if he's telling the truth, it's hard to tell. When she releases him from her grasp, it's too gentle action for what follows; the white-hot pain as she revisits an old wound, reopening it as she drills him for information he does not have. he begs her to stop, prays for anything to save him, his sister, to free them from this. nothing answers. the pain is matched only by the brutal embrace of fear. helplessness. rage. this would not go unanswered. )

With this rage is something unholy, black smoke that assaults whatever is invading the memory. It consumes the scene, hurling itself at Thalien's presence to try & push him out. It is an abrasive retaliation, replacing the musty scent of the memory with their waking world. Maybe there is sulfer on the air, an indication of Percy's defense.

Percy jerks his arm back, his features already falling into defense. It shows in the tightness of his jaw, the way his lip curls in disgust. He did not know what Thalien had seen, but there were a great many things Percy had wanted to keep for himself. He was different than the boy he had been, he had done many things he was not proud of in the name of revenge. Cruelty was one of many tools he had become familiar with, though it was like a horrible cancer in his heart. It was a truth he wanted to keep out of Thalien's hands, lest he may see what Percy had become.

a comprehensive list of scenarios

DAZE : for one muse to wake somewhere and find the other hovering over them. / also offering benji here

accepting || @writelives

Alastor didn't remember much about being knocked out but coming to felt bizarre. His eyes rested uneasily behind tired eyelids for a moment more and he slowly began to stir awake. He could smell a human above him.

a comprehensive list of scenarios

25.  UMBRELLA :  for one muse to share their umbrella with the other on a rainy day.

accepting || @writelives

It was cold and miserable. Sure it wasn't snow, but the gross cold rain was still distinctly unpleasant. And while he'd not minded being caught out in the rain, it just felt sad.

When the green-haired stranger gestured towards his umbrella the blonde pulled a face. At first, he thought he was being taunted but with a second to let it sink in, he realised, "The fuck -- oh -- to share?"