chizuru yukimura ( 雪村 千鶴 ) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tealeafs) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
deercountry2023-03-07 07:13 pm
tealeafs) wrote in deercountry2023-03-07 07:13 pm
(closed) march catchall
Who: Ange (entreats), Chizuru (tealeafs), Daniel (miyagimagic) and various others.
What: March shenanigans.
When: During all of March.
Where: Locations vary.
Content Warnings: Nothing right now, specific warnings will be in headers when they come up.
( starters in the comments! if you want to plot anything with me, feel free to either pm the journal or contact me at![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
queeningsquare, i'm always open to new ideas and threads! )
entreats), Chizuru (tealeafs), Daniel (miyagimagic) and various others.What: March shenanigans.
When: During all of March.
Where: Locations vary.
Content Warnings: Nothing right now, specific warnings will be in headers when they come up.
( starters in the comments! if you want to plot anything with me, feel free to either pm the journal or contact me at
for break
It's a simple reason. It's just-- It's not done yet. As perfect as her little world is, just the way she wanted it, away from all the danger, it's not finished. Not even with Ruby already there with her. There's no way she could just sit in there and forget about what she saw last month. Break's body, mauled by the snake, blood everywhere, a man who tried to squabble in the way they usually do, but with a part of him that seemed so lifeless.
She almost lost him. And she can't. She can't lose Break.
Ange knows she needs him with her there as well. He's too important. Even if she has to leave the rest of the world behind outside, she can't leave Break behind. She has to keep him safe. And he's been losing people from his home so steadily as well. He'll understand, right? It's safer to be together. Away from this place.
It's a good thing the corruption hasn't set in far enough for her to just burst into his home out of nowhere. She does at least bother to knock at the door, even though she can hear her own heart pounding so loudly in her chest that it resonates in her ears.
And when he opens the door, she has to resist the temptation to just drag him right along. No, that-- it won't do.
She has to make Break see this is better. She has to go slowly. He'll understand. ]
Break. The other Alice-- She's gone too now, right? I just heard about it.
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This is because, indeed, the second of the twin Alices has gone back to the sea. Both sisters had a tendency to rifle around in Break's laundry and steal his things, especially the big floppy cardigans and shawls; the pale one always went for his purple and blue clothing, and the other always went for the red. She gave explicit instructions before she left that her room was not to be messed with, so naturally the first thing he did was spitefully barge right into it and reclaim his cardigans.]
Baltus snitched again, did he?
[Because of course Ange of all people would understand how tender he's feeling and rush right to his side once she was informed, but actually bother to knock on the door, allowing him to be the one to decide whether he wants any company at all or would rather be alone with his grief. But Baltus has already given him the morning to indulge himself, because Break is taking this loss harder than some of the others.]
She went back to the sea, yes. She told me that…she meant to find the others.
[And Break knows, he knows Alice didn't have a choice in the matter, and all the bossy proclamations she gave them before she left were her way of avoiding having to say goodbye, a way to keep control. He can't even blame her. But she was the last of his kids from home, and while he certainly doesn't begrudge Echo and Lucius their places in his house, it still feels like a personal abandonment.
Of course she'd leave him eventually, in favor of the loves she's really meant to be with. They were making the best of Trench, but they never truly belonged to one another. Nobody Break ever belonged to in his old life is here anymore now, and while there's always a chance, the lack of impossibility is painful in its own way, too. He's going to be hoping, pining every goddamn day for the rest of his life and he knows it.
It's how he's felt about the Rainsworths this whole time. As he stands aside to let Ange in, his eye gleams faintly in the shadows of the foyer.]
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That eye that glows, only barely. ]
She was the last one.
[ It's not said without softness in her tone. Ange feels for Break, after all - that's the entire problem in the first place. She feels so deeply for both him and Ruby, and that's why she has to do something about this. Are they just supposed to accept that the ocean is allowed to take away the kids that seemed so important to Break one by one? So slowly over time too - like slow torture, rather than a bandaid ripped off.
And sure, there's still kids here in Break's house. She was - literally speaking - not the last one.
But it's different. Even Ange can tell. She knows Break far too well to not be able to tell how fond exactly he is of a person simply by how he speaks of them, no matter how casual it may seem in nature.
Ange does step inside, but she doesn't move past Break. Instead she stands right in front of him in the hallway, looking up at him. ]
.. you're hurting.
[ It doesn't take a genius to figure that out, considering the circumstances, but Ange can see it as she looks at him right now, as she stares him in the eye. ]
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[Break's voice is soft, but he tells Ange this almost defensively. Of course he'd never forget anyone saving the life of a Rainsworth; it's certainly one of the reasons she lives in his house here, despite all the ways they just don't seem to understand one another at all. Even so, his expression does remain drawn and tired, as though his pain is physical.]
Mm, but...she doesn't know my past.
[Ange does, so he probably doesn’t need to explain why such a thing would matter. Break isn't an easy person to get to know in a great many ways, most of which are very deliberate on his part, and it's a simple fact that no one can ever truly understand him without that essential key. Alice was the last of his kids from home who knew that story -- and, even if Echo did find out the rest, it's not as though she'd have reason to care. She wasn't really involved with the Alices, the girls the whole story was ultimately wrapped around, and given her circumstances a much more pressing issue than Break's past as a Contractor was whether he might Hatter her to death in the present. Satisfied that Break is an ally in the now, there's no real reason for his past to matter.
Which means the last person who had reason to give a damn about just what Break meant to the story, what he went through to play his part in it, is gone. He is hurting.]
Alice was -- much more a tie between myself and what we left behind. This is...an even more "adrift" sort of feeling than when we first arrived, you know...?
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But it's a little harder when her brain has been all jumbled up, priorities shoved around until she's practically got one thing on her mind. It's hard enough to keep herself together enough to look like herself out here, when every single part of her longs to be back in her own little world already, when it is calling her back to rule as its witch, rather than linger here as a girl.
Which means her one priority right now is keeping Break safe, rather than thinking about ridiculous things like nuance. Especially when he's so openly admitting to feeling lost.
Break does not admit to these things easily, Ange knows. Not unless it is serious.
It makes her reach out, a hand moving up until it's resting on his cheek. There's concern in her eyes as she looks up at him. ]
I can help you. [ Ange states - so simply. Like it really is that simple.
Her hand glows golden, and a feeling will slowly start to creep in. It's nothing forceful, nothing that overrides any part of Break. Instead it's more like a warmth in the background, like the feeling of basking in the sun. A feeling that feels, at worst, inviting. ]
Will you let me, Break..? I don't want you to hurt anymore. You've already hurt enough.
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I suppose you've spells now to heal broken hearts and put weary minds to rest?
[He's being more dramatic than sarcastic. After the stunts she pulled against that beast last month, Break would not actually be surprised. That feeling of warmth, which he recognizes as coming from her, is very reminiscent of the peace he feels when he drinks the tea from his silly blood relic of a teapot. It's tea he's deliberately staying away from at the moment, because the notion of those feelings is just too bittersweet to confront in his current state.
…during Break's first November here, he got into a mushroom that eased all of his griefs and anxieties, so much so that it fixed his eyesight for a time. Wary of the potential to become too reliant on them, he hasn't had those mushrooms in the house since. But if Ange were to grant him such a thing for a while, it'd be alright, wouldn't it? She's someone who has only ever had his best interests at heart, and scolds him for treating himself poorly at the slightest provocation. Hell, he trusts her enough to permit her to touch his face, fingers resting right by his eye. If he were to let her work whatever magic she has in mind now, certainly he could likewise trust her to be responsible with him. To bring him a bit of peace without letting him go too far.
It's been so, so long since he was able to just — turn everything off, for a time. Let someone else make the decisions, and simply follow along and sort things out on their behalf. He knows it would be a relief, giving in like that, and the temptation to hand himself over to Ange is strong.]
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Something like that.
[ The hand on his face doesn't move in the slightest though. Maybe Ange is aware, even in this state, how rare it is for Break to let anyone do this at all when the evidence of what happened when a hand came this close to his face in the first place is right there on his face, a gem hidden underneath hair. It's why she doesn't want to make this more uncomfortable for him, doesn't want to give him a single reason to worry.
She's here to take away the worry, after all. The pain.
That's the spell she's got for him. ]
I just.. love you too much to let this world continue to beat you down. [ Her voice dips a little bit as she says it, something too emotional to not be genuine in it. Even if her corruption is driving her to crazy extremes, the wish behind it is innocent in nature.
And the way she feels about Break, letting him in closer than almost anyone else, truly considering him an adult she can rely on, she can freely love as family without fearing anything about it - that can't be bent by the corruption either. ]
I'll keep you safe.
[ The force of the magic seems to grow stronger now. It still doesn't force its way in, but it's like it lurks there, ready to wash over Break the moment he allows it to.
If he does allow it in, he'll be able to feel something form between them. It's not like the bonds that exist in this world at all, but something.. different. Something that ties him to Ange, her magic flowing into his body, connecting witch and furniture for as long as he'll let it. ]
You trust me, right..?
[ Words that Ange will - much later - be kicking herself over for sure, but right now she can't see any harm in them at all. This is for his sake.. no, for both their sakes. So they can be happy. ]
no subject
It's just never felt quite right to ask Ange. They've long since admitted they have that connection to one another; her declaration of love for him now isn't a surprise. But the theft of Ange's family has dictated her life so thoroughly that even after all they've learned of one another, all the second chances they've found in each other's company, Break hesitates to insert himself into that space in her heart. The loss is something sacred, something he doesn't dare leave bloody fingerprints all over.
Now, instead, Ange is inviting him, and Break is feeling so tender that it's a relief to accept. It will be just like a blood bond, probably. And anyway, she's poured her magic into him before, to heal his body when that snake's awful fangs pierced him through. She's held his hands and conjured her butterflies to remind him of where and when he was, at a time when this world rattled him so badly that he forgot and needed help finding his way back. Yes, he does trust Ange. Even if he doesn't quite know what to expect here, there's no doubt in his mind that she has his best interests at heart. She'll do right by him.
Then, what happens is essentially the formation of a Contract.]
...ah --
[The familiarity of it is startling. Not in a bad way, necessarily. Even after he'd realized what a fool he'd been to take on his first Chain, its absence after all those long, horrid nights with nothing else to do but stew in his own grief had been hollow and painful. It's why he was able to summon Baltus within seconds of becoming aware of himself in Trench -- the omen works in a very similar way. But Baltus is a presence, not a power. The energy flooding him now really is much more like the White Knight or the Hatter, an extra strength that he somehow knows he'll be able to use the second he decides to reach for it. It eases his loneliness almost instantly, just as Ange had promised, twisting around and through his own blood magic as though pouring itself into all of his weak spots and holding the very core of who he is secure.
On impulse, Break lifts a hand and conjures one of Ange's golden butterflies as easily as he takes his next breath in. He's amused himself attempting to conjure purple ones from time to time, but hasn't gotten the hang of making them glow properly, much less flutter. This one springs into existence through instinct, a simple trick for the darkblooded furniture of the Golden Witch.
Unseen beneath layers of fabric, the seal on his chest that the White Knight left behind edges itself with lines of gold. By the time Break bothers to notice, those metallic threads will have formed the shape of butterfly wings beneath the seal and wrapped themselves through the wicked black marks, as Ange's desire to lift Break away from the pains of the past and wrap him up in better things etches itself into his skin.]
no subject
But even so - she does know a lot. Not how it ties in with the entire concept of contracts in Break's own world, since Ange is way too focused on her own world's version of it in this moment - no idea about what's happening with the seal on his skin. But she does know that the right connection is forming. Even if Break wouldn't be out here summoning her butterflies, she'd know. She can feel it. It's like the man is an extension of her, in a way that isn't emotionally or just how she views him this time, but physically. A part of her status as a witch, a part of her magic.
It feels exactly the way it did when she used this same magic on Ruby, which is how she knows it worked.
Even Break's startled reaction doesn't seem as alarming. She doesn't figure the true reason for it in this moment, instead chalking it up to it being a whole new experience.
Ange pulls back her hands, smiling up at him. ]
Do you like it? It doesn't feel strange anywhere, does it?
[ It's not like Ange is very experienced with creating furniture, after all. This is only her second attempt, and-- both Ruby and Break are important enough to her for Ange to want to make sure this is good for them too.
Especially when she - in this moment - figures it's going to be a permanent change. ]
I guess I should say something formal about you being furniture serving this witch now, but.. we're a little closer than that, aren't we? [ It's almost said with a faint joking edge at the end there, something a little more cheeky. Even corruption can't erase the notion in Ange's heart of just how important he is to her. ]
no subject
[A weight settling over his shoulders in a perfect fit, wool lined with satin, or Qrow's arm around him when he needs to remember that he's safe. Something warm and protective. It may not necessarily be something good, in the long run. Perhaps not the thing Break really needs to get past these latest hurts. But in this moment, it's what he wants, and the comfort it provides is genuine as it settles around him.
He'd arrived at Rainsworth with his old cloak from Sinclair still fastened around him, spread beneath him like bat wings as he lay there bleeding, the hem all torn and ragged. It had been stained and threadbare at the shoulders and smelled exactly as you'd expect of a cloak he'd used as a blanket while sleeping on the streets for the better part of a year, and when one of the maids tried to take it from him, he threw a massive fit that had the staff outright terrified of him for several months. Lady Shelly herself had to slide in to settle him. She did so by taking him to choose his new cloak his own self, letting him oversee the laundering of the old one much the same way a worried child might watch a beloved toy having a bath, and personally seeing to it that the tattered old garment had a safe place to hang in his wardrobe. To have come so far from home, she'd said with a knowing twinkle in her eye, of course it made sense that he'd wish to hang on to an important momento.
This is very much like that. Now that Ange has restored this feeling for him, he won't feel quite ready to give it up for some time. Such is the power of the Witch of Resurrection.]
I'm the last person you want proper vows from. I'll find a way to make it terribly embarrassing for you.
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But the bigger thread? She can see that. Break doesn't say things without meaning it, and this specific wording does make her feel like she did him a great favour - which, ironically enough, will twist entirely back onto itself once she properly realises what she has truly done here.
But right now? Ange just feels glad that Break seems to enjoy this as much as she is. It's the entire point, after all. Why create a separate world for the people she loves to be safe if they can't be happy there? ]
You're right. I can't allow you to tease me too much now I am a proper witch. It won't do, not in front of other people. [ There's no proper scolding in that though. She doesn't even sound fully serious as much as Ange just sounds amused - still basking in the glee of knowing she will not only have Ruby with her, but Break as well. ]
But.. actually, I have another surprise for you.
[ She holds out her hands towards him. ]
Are you ready to see it? [ And then, perhaps born from gleeful excitement, she can't help but add: ] Should I tell you to close your eye?
[ You know, like a kid getting a birthday present.. ]
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[It's a reminder of one of their past exchanges, and how it really does take very little to make Break happy in the grand scheme of things. Just now, it doesn't even cross his mind that Ange might have done something so grand as craft an entire dimension just to give Ruby -- and himself -- a home in it.
Despite the fact that that's really just a grander version of what Break took it upon himself to do when he needed to find his feet, here in Trench. Give the kids a home, because he was arguably the only one out of that first batch who even knew what a loving home was. Build a safe place, a sanctuary against the horrors of the outside world, which wasted no time in beginning to treat them terribly.
He and Ange really are alike, in so many ways. Indulgent and amused, Break closes his eye.]
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It feels like coming home. More so at this point than ever. Especially since Ange now knows she won't have to leave this place anymore. People who want to see her and stay with her will surely come here to find her, so she won't have to seek them out. And if they don't-- well, then she's already got the two people she'd want to be here no matter what already right here with her.
It means this world is now perfect.
Ange glances at everything around them. The golden roses that spread out, the little gazebo with the tea table and seats around it right next to them.
Then she looks back at Break. ]
You can open it again now. [ And then, just a touch later, to continue the joke: ] I think it's probably a little better than a root beer float.
[ (Quite a large part of her truly does hope that Break likes it.
This is for him too, after all.) ]