thisisamazing | aefenglom ic inbox

Hiccup
Her
Hey
How diid you do those things in your hair ?

did i have something in my hair?
oh wait
do you mean the braids?

Those

[ . . . ]

Something weird happened
But my captain showed up and said my hair was too long
And I don’t want to cut it

wait someone you know arrived too?
someone from home?
i'm still staying at the coven, we can meet up and i can help with your hair, and you can tell me what happened?

Edited (icon whoops) 2019-05-12 10:31 (UTC)

Yeah. But it’s complicated.
Any landmarks?

'it's complicated' never usually means anything great
i can meet you in the courtyard?

It’s not bad, just
Really weird
I’ll be there in a bit

[ and to the courtyard it was! some searching and asking around for hiccup later, since— well, the coven’s pretty big! eren should pop up turning corners and following instructions to his whereabouts straight to a lovely, airy courtyard.

he’s been itching a little lately? not too much, just absent scratching until his arms get that irritable red blotch appearance to it. it goes away if he gets at it enough, leaving spots a tad flaky. huh!! huh.

insects, maybe. ]

okay
i'll be waiting

[Despite the size of the Coven grounds, it's not too horrifically difficult to find a one-legged viking and his dragon companion. He's out on the lawn with a napping Toothless, and a stack of books from the library next to him. As soon as he spots Eren, he stands up and waves, pretty visible considering he's six foot one and long-limbed.] Eren! Over here!

[ ah, good, they’re the same height. in this world, they’re giants. eren’s fingers curl from one last (rough) scratch around the curve of his jaw down to his neck, leaving a nasty red streak in its wake, but for the time being— relief. there’s nothing better than getting an itch.

—hah, books. it almost instantly reminds him of armin, quick to go for the books. calling him over with this sparkling look in his eyes. eren! eren look at this!

those were the days. swallowing dry, he waves back, in more aefenglom-esque casual clothes compared to the uniform he had arrived with; something simple and loose fitting, except the boots. the boots stay. ]

What’s all this?

[He does frown slightly as he notices Eren scratching, once he gets closer. That's... yeah that looks kind of worrying.] Oh, uh, just some books from the library. Conjuring for Beginners and Mechanical Enchantment Theory. [Because of course he's drawn to those things.] I figured if I've got this magic, I should learn to use it-

Are you okay? That's- That looks painful. [He taps fingers to his own jaw to indicate the spot he's talking about on Eren.]

[ “oh” he says, implying that he totally gets it when he actually doesn’t.

but, alas. he doesn’t have a tinge of magic in him, looks like. eren comes over to check the books out himself, giving a lingering glance over at toothless, then clapping his palm onto the spot. lightly, at least. ]

Probably a bug. [ he doesn’t seem to give it much thought, but is hopefully capable of waving it off as nothing. if he may, he pulls the book’s hardcover open to check the text inside. figures and all . . . ] My friend would love these.

Doesn't really look like a bug bite- [Hiccup trails off, watching him go for one of the books. He lets him, settling back on the grass and motioning for Eren to join him.] Yeah? They're all really interesting. I feel like I'm a little out of my depth, but it's been fun trying to put it all together.

Is your friend the, uh, the captain you mentioned? Or someone else? C'mere, you want braids, right?

[ !!!!!!!!!

yes . . . he did. he did ask for braids. abiding with, both the motion and the verbal reminder, eren smiles, thankfully even, sitting himself on the grassbeds next to him and giving his back to hiccup. he’s bad at it, though, because in an instant he’s turning to talk to him, and bring the book along with him.

more of a prop to gesture to than anything. ]

Different people. At least Armin’s [ his friend, ] still back home to take care of things. [ and then. there was that. ] That’s where things got weird.

[Hiccup doesn't really hesitate to reach for his hair and start combing his fingers through it, separating out sections to work it into small braids that will keep the bulk of it out of his face. He's obviously used to the motions.]

It's nice to know that someone is back home taking care of things. [He agrees with that sentiment.] How did things get weird?

[ if he can see anything out of the corners of his eyes, eren is quick to observe. very little of it, of course, but maybe he can try some himself. hiccup could be his lab rat on braids. ]

He doesn’t remember the last four years. [ it was— confusing. his brows furrow and he remembers just how . . . ] It’s like . . . it never happened for him.

[He takes it pretty slowly, pulling back the bangs and braiding the sides, pulling it all to the back of his head together in a short little tail.]

Your last four years back home? That's... [He frowns, trailing off for a moment.] I wonder how that's possible. The last thing he remembers happened in your past?

Yeah. [ he’s taking mental notes by the way. he’s going to do this himself eventually. ] Too much happened just to brush it off.

I haven’t heard someone have the same thing happen.

I wish I knew what to tell you. I don't have anybody from home here, so I haven't seen it happen myself. The- the amnesia thing. I could ask around? I know at least one person who's here with someone from his home. My, uh, my roommate. [Keith had mentioned someone who came in with him. He wonders how their memories align now.]

The more information the better. At least we could piece things together on our own.

[ speaking of which— ah, dang, okay. trying not to move too much here, stuffing his hands into his lap and carefully pulling a hand over to a braid that seems half done, just to feel the twirls. nice. ]

Did you find anything interesting yet? Anything, [ hand wave ] about all this.

I'll ask him when we're both home, then. [He's pretty sure he'll have the chance sooner rather than later. They've both been around a fair bit doing work on Wilders' Edge. Luckily it hasn't rained them out considering there are still holes in the roof.

He hums thoughtfully, twisting in another small braid, more decorative than functional.] About why we're here? Not really. I've been getting to know the place, though, trying out for the Wilders with a friend. And learning magic.

[ Shiro has been gone for days.

Keith knows what's happened, but he doesn't want to believe it- doesn't want to admit it, and even though he knew that it was... for the best. It didn't make the heartache of his shattered bond any easier.

For days, Keith's felt like he's dying, and has tried to ignore it. Grieving in a way he doesn't dare name. He needed to think, he needed to figure this out, he needed... ]

Hey uh. Look, I don't want you to worry but.

...

[ He was glad he hadn't turned on the video function; didn't think he could stand it, knew how his eyes burned, and he wiped at his face, walking deeper and deeper into the woods, deeper towards the infection. ]

I might be gone for a little while, take care of Kosmo for me until I get back okay?

[Hiccup had noticed, when Shiro had stopped coming around. He'd been by so often that it was hard not to notice, and at first, he'd wondered what it meant, but then... Well, it was only a matter of time until he figured it out. Since then, he's been worried about Keith and how he's been handling it, but he hadn't wanted to press.

He's thinking, when he gets this message, that maybe he should have pressed. Maybe he should have been a little more insistent on him talking it out.]

You know that does absolutely nothing to make me not worry? [Going off alone after something like that, how can he not worry about his friend?] Where are you going?

[ Keith had been so happy having Shiro here- clone or not. And maybe that had been selfish of him, maybe he shouldn't have enjoyed the familiar, comfortable camaraderie that the other's presence afforded quite so much. But it had been so easy to fall into the familiar. And even before they had cemented their bond, it had been so obvious that they had something.

And now?

Now... Shiro was gone. It wasn't the first time Shiro had left Keith behind, and maybe it was necessary, that he was needed back home, but- it didn't make the hollow feeling in his chest any easier. Didn't make him feel any less carved hollow, husked.

When he spoke again in the call, he hoped that the other wouldn't be able to hear the unsteady shake in his tone. The longing he was trying so hard to keep tightly under wraps, had been trying to cope with for days. ]

I just need to think, that's all. [ No, what he absolutely needed was to not think. And the best way to do that was to throw himself into as much endless combat as he could find. Where better for that... than the Cwyld wastes? ]

[Hiccup hears it, because he's listening for it. He can only imagine how much it must hurt, how much he must miss his friend. He knows if it were him, if Astrid had been here and gone, as bright and fleeting as the soft-glowing moths that flutter around the shack at dusk, he would be devastated to lose her easy presence in his life. Instead, his missing her has been a low burning flame in his chest, always present but not consuming.]

So where are you going to think? [He sounds a little more urgent, now, rolling out of bed and pulling on his leg. Toothless looks up from his spot across the loft, and mrrs out a question.] Don't do anything stupid, okay? Don't- Don't push me away, if you need someone, I'm here-

[ Even Hiccup probably would have caught on that Shiro and Keith had been spiralling to something that was a little bit more than friendship. They were two halves of a whole. Without Shiro, Keith wouldn't have been half the man he was. Without Keith... Shiro would be dead.

He couldn't stop thinking about it. Couldn't stop missing him, and it's worse than he'd ever felt it. Worse than when Shiro had left for Kerberos, worse than after he'd disappeared from the cockpit of the Black Lion after their battle with Zarkon. It's worse, because he knew exactly where Shiro had gone, and for once... For once Keith didn't know how to follow.

Keith's steps stumbled, he had to stop. Dropping to a crouch and fisting his free hand into his hair. The other holding the watch pressed too hard against the side of his head. Sucking in slow, steadying breaths to try and get himself under control just enough.. ]

I know you're here. [ His voice was soft, quiet, barely audible through the connection of the devices over the soft chirping of cicadas in the background. Silence lapsed for several long moments, Keith's eyes remaining closed. He didn't mean to be cruel, but the truth of it was... as kind as it was to know that Hiccup was there, he wasn't who Keith needed. ]

I just need a few days.

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