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Ari is... so, so lost. He didn't know this amount of lost was physically possible. One minute he's in a briar maze deep in Winter picking frostberries for a pie, then he takes four left turns and he exits the briar and he's in a temperate forest. Not even any snow on the ground. He turns around and there's no thicket to be seen.
He puts the frostberry pouch in his backpack and mutters the incantation to open a Way back to the mortal realm; he might land somewhere dangerous, but better endangered in the mortal realm than completely lost in the Nevernever. And... nothing. Literally nothing happens, no backlash or fizzling or anything that would indicate that he fucked up a spell, but the kind of nothing that happens when you don't have a spell to cast.
In something of a panic, he tests that he still has magic by punching a nearby tree, which splinters and crashes to the ground. "So that's still working, I guess," he mutters. "Punching systems: still online."
So, recap: magic works, he just got snatched out of deep Winter territory and put into something that kind of looks like the Wyld, and the Ways are on the fritz. Either something big is screwing with him or he's very much not in Kansas anymore. Either way, he'd better figure out what the hell is going on.
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bitterchill
imeanforever
Promise nods.
"What did you see? ...And how starving are you, I don't know how long it takes mortals to starve, will you eat something now or are you still intent on not eating..."
bitterchill
"I saw... I guess it must have been your birth. You were in your tree, and you learned the things you were supposed to know and you hated them, and you made- a promise. And, food, Mothers, I almost forgot food in all the breaking my nose and giving you a nervous breakdown and ridiculous confessions of love. There's no hurry on a scale of seconds, but I am literally starving to death at the moment, so- food, it'd be good. I don't really... I know it's safe now. I don't need to protect myself, anymore."
He pauses. "The irony of protecting myself by starving to death has not escaped me."
He pauses. "The irony of protecting myself by starving to death has not escaped me."
imeanforever
"I don't see the sense of it even correcting for irony," says Promise, picking up the fruit that has rolled least far away in her clumsy fall. She dusts it off and peels off a section for him and holds it out.
bitterchill
"There may also have been a bit of death wish mixed in there. My terrible decisions are many-rooted." He cooperatively eats the fruit, making vaguely indecent noises as he does so. Favorite food, plus starving to death, makes for a very pleasant eating experience. He'd do it more often if it wouldn't upset Promise. And if it weren't for the fact that it's horrible in every other possible way.
imeanforever
"What were you protecting yourself from?" She peels off more sections.
bitterchill
"It was stupid. I loved Belinda, and she wanted to kill me. So I thought that loving someone was... too dangerous. That it was better to die on my own terms than to let myself love you. But then the soulgaze, and the- objective truth, that you'd never want to hurt me like that, kind of blew down that whole house of cards. Speaking of which, Iron is a terrible name for any number of reasons, I appreciate you going along with it but Winter really is much better when I'm not being a miserable little twat. I apologize for the confusion."
imeanforever
"You could pick something that isn't either of them if you preferred," she points out. "Some people change nicknames all the time. ...Are you saying that you needed to... look at my soul....?"
bitterchill
"I knew Belinda for my entire life. She was literally incapable of lying to me. My entire worldview was centered around the "fact" that she loved me. To have that taken away- I'm not saying that there couldn't have been some other way, but... it'd be hard. I don't know if you could have done it. I don't know if anyone could've done it. And it hurt you, doing that, but- it happened."
bitterchill
Ari sits, quietly, and wonders if he can wish for Promise's sake that she hadn't saved him.
imeanforever
She collects all the nuts and the other rolled-away food, peers at the spilled liquid components of the meal and decides that they're a lost cause and sorceries them away, and brings Ari what's left, dusted off.
bitterchill
Ari eats them. They remain delicious. Ari doesn't make any more vaguely indecent noises.
bitterchill
"I'm still starving, but I don't think I can have any more right now. Starvation's inconvenient that way."
bitterchill
"Yeah. Rather not die anymore. And-" He almost thanks her for that, but he shouldn't. "And thanks. For the food."
bitterchill
Well, that went predictably.
Ari goes out to check on the frostberries, finding that they've actually flourished in his absence. Fairy blood seems to have had the obvious effect on them. (He tries not to think about the fact that Promise fed his baby for him. He's not going to think about that until he can confirm or deny that she hates him forever.)
He takes about half of a harvest, since he can't lose too much blood at the moment. It might be his imagination, but they seem to perk up a bit at the taste of him. He murmurs to them, "Yeah, I'm back. Sorry for leaving you alone, there was... stuff came up. Did you like Promise?" The vines rustle amongst themselves. "She's nice, isn't she?" Further rustling. "...I know. I'm sorry."
He returns to his basement to pick up the pieces.
imeanforever
Promise, meanwhile, writes.
She burns the paper when she's done with it; she doesn't have to draw without Yellow breathing down her neck, but keeping actual records in plain text anywhere outside of her tree is not a mistake she's prepared to make.
She goes out and pulls some paper materials from her farm and goes back to her room and makes more paper. It's meditative.
She burns the paper when she's done with it; she doesn't have to draw without Yellow breathing down her neck, but keeping actual records in plain text anywhere outside of her tree is not a mistake she's prepared to make.
She goes out and pulls some paper materials from her farm and goes back to her room and makes more paper. It's meditative.
bitterchill
Ari melds the shattered statues back into the floor. To the established fact that Happy Ari is a promiscuous ass, he adds the clause that Sad Ari is an overdramatic ass. Which may be worse.
Then he turns to crafting. Making useful things will get his mind off this whole mess. Useful, useful things.
Then he turns to crafting. Making useful things will get his mind off this whole mess. Useful, useful things.
imeanforever
Promise goes and finds him again after a few hours, holding a bowl of mashed roots.
bitterchill
"Thanks," he says. Mashed roots are delicious, are consumed.
"Do you want to see what I'm working on?" he asks tentatively.
"Do you want to see what I'm working on?" he asks tentatively.