i'm a healer, but... /cocks gun [ nehan ] (
torpour) wrote in
deercountry2022-01-14 09:05 am
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[open] bad doggie!
Who: Nehan + OPEN (one thread closed to specific people)
What: Someone (Nehan) died before someone's (Nehan's...) birthday, and not of fun. Featuring the aftermath of said death, an angry squid, and a doctor who's bad at taking care of himself.
When: forward-dated to Jan. 19 and later
Where: Primarily in Nehan's house, but the death thread is set in the wilderness.
Content Warnings: Violence, beasthood, death, paleblood powers, traumatic memories of near-death experiences, some nudity, Nehan-typical self-loathing, mentions of sex, Jan. TDM-style body horror. More TBA as they come up.
a: squid time
b: cant sleep (cw: really morbid jokes)
c: winter mourning's last hurrah (nehan's memories/cw: eventual near-death experience)
d: the days after: achelliac (cw: nudity, self-loathing)
wildcard
[[ hit me with your best shot-- everything is a-ok and will match prose or action, but the actual boss battle is restricted to certain characters. nehan dies on the 19th, revives as a squid on the 22nd and is returned to his house on the same day, while his headcanon birthday is on the 20th. thanks to #justpalebloodthings, nehan can admit that his birthday is coming up to any palebloods. he is also a paleblood, so people can speak to him more freely as well.
people are free to come and go as they like. snooping is encouraged, but the basement is guarded by nehan's omen. i'm also open to changing the memory in prompt c. if we haven't threaded yet, we can just handwave the first meeting and nehan giving out his address. if you're unsure, just ask! ]]
What: Someone (Nehan) died before someone's (Nehan's...) birthday, and not of fun. Featuring the aftermath of said death, an angry squid, and a doctor who's bad at taking care of himself.
When: forward-dated to Jan. 19 and later
Where: Primarily in Nehan's house, but the death thread is set in the wilderness.
Content Warnings: Violence, beasthood, death, paleblood powers, traumatic memories of near-death experiences, some nudity, Nehan-typical self-loathing, mentions of sex, Jan. TDM-style body horror. More TBA as they come up.
a: squid time
[nehan's tub is modest by human standards. large for a man of his (usual) size, but massive for a little squid, almost transparent save for its rainbow-colored insides, the most prominent of which is sunshine-yellow. the squid is absolutely tiny, no bigger than an adult human's hand.
there's a grab bar attached to the wall next to the tub, and the edge of the tub opposite it, clearly for nehan's use when he's an erune, because what will a squid do with those? he cant even reach them. though he's definitely trying, swimming back and forth, and occasionally reaching out with a little tentacle in an attempt to reach it.
but of course, he cant reach it, and that frustrates the squid enough that he jets out a little bit of dark ink. literally farting in anger, this one is.]
b: cant sleep (cw: really morbid jokes)
[the evening after nehan's squid was retrieved from the water and returned to his house, he returns to normal. annoyed as he rises from inky water and having to clean himself, but still, he's a skinny, scarred erune again, without the additions he gained over the past months. an erune that needs a long, long nap, and will head straight to his bed to have said long nap without even drying his hair.
if anyone chooses to stay longer and keep vigil over the once-squid... well, no one is stopping you, not even the omen, who is guarding the door to the basement underneath the stairs, and will not move away.
nehan might not be too much of a host however, when he's bedridden, having gone through a traumatic death and unable to control his limbs well. every time his left arm or leg has a spasm, his expression twists into one of chagrin and irritation, and he clutches at the limb until it stops. he tries to lay under his bedding just to lessen it... but well. that doesn't work as well as he hoped, and it's not proper medical procedure, but when it comes to himself, nehan has never cared a goddamn bit. still...]
... Stay a little longer. Without anything to do, I'll have another death soon, and this time of boredom. [that was a joke. but it's bad and he knows it's bad.]
c: winter mourning's last hurrah (nehan's memories/cw: eventual near-death experience)
[there is a winter mourning in nehan's house, a wreath laying in the seat of an armchair in the living room, and despite looking innocent, it is still active. and if it's touched, instead of dragging some poor unsuspecting bastard into a dream, it drags them into a memory.
the nehan in this memory is an adult, just like the one in bed, recovering from his violent bout with death-- but he's also different. seemingly younger, more filled-out, less scraggly hair, and lacking in the eyepatch and crutch that has become nehan's signature. but his ears have much less fur on them and are tattered at the ends, the shadows under his eyes are darker, and he's sporting fresh bruises on his face, like he's just been in a brawl. or more than just a brawl-- he looks like he's been beaten within an inch of his life.
still, he's walking amongst a crowd that doesn't seem to notice him, in a crowded marketplace in a bustling town with airships flying high above them. he looks like he knows where he's going, and behind him... behind him is another nehan, walking much slower, bearing a crutch and an eyepatch-- the nehan most people know, by now.
he pauses when he notes he's not alone, turning around and ears twitching, then tilts his head towards his younger self as if to say come along.]
d: the days after: achelliac (cw: nudity, self-loathing)
[achelliac's usual clientele may be sailors, but at least they don't turn nehan away. and, as he finds out, some of his fellow customers are fascinated enough with him that he just decides to indulge them with what they want. even if he's here just to deal with the aches of his body that still linger after his rebirth. at least he's no longer suffering from muscle spasms.
the hot springs will deal with what other aches he gets in this place, in any case, that's why he's here-- get himself up to snuff so he can get back to work without problems.
making his way to the pool from the showers is always an adventure in going slow to accommodate his too-thin, too-scarred body and not slipping, just because he leaves his cane with his clothes (he needs a new crutch, a cane just isn't the same...). though he's right at the edge of the pool, he pauses when he sees another man there already.]
May I, or do you prefer privacy? [perhaps he should have asked that before he got naked...]
wildcard
[[ hit me with your best shot-- everything is a-ok and will match prose or action, but the actual boss battle is restricted to certain characters. nehan dies on the 19th, revives as a squid on the 22nd and is returned to his house on the same day, while his headcanon birthday is on the 20th. thanks to #justpalebloodthings, nehan can admit that his birthday is coming up to any palebloods. he is also a paleblood, so people can speak to him more freely as well.
people are free to come and go as they like. snooping is encouraged, but the basement is guarded by nehan's omen. i'm also open to changing the memory in prompt c. if we haven't threaded yet, we can just handwave the first meeting and nehan giving out his address. if you're unsure, just ask! ]]
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He makes a note to himself, and gives a huffing laugh at Nehan's jibe.] Perish the thought! If you are my wife and not hunting with me, you are heavy with my child.
[He eyes Nehan up and down in a mock-critical appraisal.] And you are worryingly too thin for me to put a child in, impossibilities aside.
No--if we are being primitives, you are a wounded member of my flock. I hunt for you until you are well; it is what is done.
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No thank you. [his tone is frostier than the coldest, windiest mountain.]
I wont play that role.
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Illarion returns the look mildly, not missing the mismatch between it and Nehan's tone.]
Of "wife"? I do not ask. This is what I court women for.
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No. Nevermind that-- this conversation is going nowhere. Find something else to talk about, or do with your free time. I wont accept something dead on my front step.
Find someone else to fuss over and feed. [then he goes back to combing out his fur with his fingers. not the easiest of tasks when he only has one arm to use properly.]
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Illarion should know better by now, but like someone being stubborn has ever kept him from offering help.
He echoes the sigh, though his has more amusement to it.]
As if I am a cat, leaving you decapitated mice out of pity.
[Though, hang on. Watching Nehan finger-comb his hair like is going to bother him more the longer it goes on.
He climbs out of the pool without another word and pads off down the hall with wet footsteps.
He's back inside a minute, carrying a bone comb with wide-spaced teeth.]
This is not fussing over you, [he remarks, as he sits back down on the pool's edge, within touching distance of Nehan.] This is having proper tools for the job. May I?
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he eyes the comb warily.]
Do you know how to brush fur? [he's a bird-person, not an erune with fur.]
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He's such a bird-person he hasn't even got any weird mammalian vestigial bits like nipples or a navel. Comparative anatomy!]I am no mage at it, but I have brushed human hair often enough, and been honored once or twice with currying a great-wolf for her orc. What I do not understand, I will ask about.
[He studies the erune's head and ears carefully, already knowing the answer before he asks,] You have an undercoat I must be careful of?
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not to mention...]
My ears were also torn and ripped at certain points. They have healed, but it's impossible to knit the tears together.
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So they may catch, if I am not being very careful. Might I feel these?
[He can see them, of course, but that didn't teach his hands what their edges felt like or how not to mangle them.
And he really would not mind the excuse to touch Nehan kindly.]
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eventually, he unclenches his jaw.]
Very well.
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Thank you for permitting this. [There's a certain solemnity to the words; he means them in more than a casual way.
He leans forward, taking one of the erune's ears in both hands and working his fingers through the thick fur to feel where the tears are. He's gentle about it, thorough without fondling anything. The second ear gets the same treatment.
Quietly,] Your ears are not this way from fighting your rivals, I take it.
cw: incoming mentions of slavery
I have no rivals. [which, of course, means no. that the darkblood man has the right of it.]
If I had been fighting someone, they wouldn't have been allowed to do such a thing to me in the first place. But I wasn't allowed to retaliate or protect myself from those who handled me.
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As he weighs Nehan's response, and his expression darkens like the approach of a thundercloud.]
I see. [He needn't voice his conclusion aloud; he knows very well the evil the erune's describing. There is a wealth of suppressed anger in those two words.
He takes up the comb, takes a handful of Nehan's hair, and begins working on it with the same delicate care he showed the other man's ears. And, blessedly, for the moment, he's silent.]
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even if... his head feels much less heavy because his hair is no longer a tangled mess.
but his ears cant stop flapping because he's unused to this kind of attention.]
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When it finally does come to those ears, though... He tries to catch one and hold it still by cupping his hand around it, without actually grabbing on. Then he v e r y carefully attempts to comb that disordered fur.
This is not one of his areas of expertise, but gods spit on it, he will try.
At least until he drops the comb because he has to hold it at an odd angle, very carefully, while trying not to shiver. He breathes out in an exasperated noise at himself.]
Perhaps I am giving you the comb for this part, before I do your ears any worse hurt.
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but he has no control over how his ears move, so they're trembling as the comb brushes over them.]
I only have the one hand to use properly, and no mirror. You should just do it.
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As you will.
[He takes up the comb again, sparing a moment to flex the fingers of both hands, before setting back to his task. It isn't so different from trying to comb a wiggly toddler's hair and he's been successful at that often enough.]
There is a Sleeper here, [he says, conversationally--once he's got the rhythm of his task,] a human, who advertises his services at this--grooming "non-humans".
[Gods black and white but that term grates with its reminder that humans are the overwhelming majority of Sleepers and the rest of them are just "other".]
He said to me once he is not much interested in prying into others' pasts.
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his hair and fur is... not fine, he knows this, but he's not about to put himself through a grooming session just to satisfy a fluttery bird's need to see him looking less like something the dog dragged in. his fur will get thinner when the winter ends.]
I don't care if he's discreet, I prefer not to have anything of the sort done.
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Ah, I have tainted him with my recommendation. Shame on me.
[He finishes with Nehan's ears and sits back far enough to scrutinize his own handiwork.]
Or perhaps it is too much attention to the body you are wishing not to inhabit? Hm.
[Looks good from behind. And from the sides and the front, but it's ingrained habit by now to act like he can't see that from this position, thus--]
Look at me a moment?
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It's none of what you mentioned. [his voice is deep, a soft grumble.] I don't allow just anyone touch me-- the only reason you are is because you have proven yourself as mildly trustworthy.
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This is so? It does not surprise, you will not permit it lightly. [Nor that he's trustworthy, though his future-self might puzzle over that. "Trustworthy", even "mildly trustworthy", didn't sit well with him anymore after everything he'd done.
He touches a hand to his bare chest, sketching a bow in the erune's direction.] But I will strive to maintain this trust.
[There's no mockery in it; he means this completely.
Behind him, a feathery form wisps together out of smoke and creeps forward to snuff at a discarded ball of fur. Shedding back to life has, apparently, changed his Omen as well.]
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I expect that to be proven with actions, not words, little bird.
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And what actions might suit? [It's far past time he got back in the water. He hands the comb off to his Omen before slipping back into the pool.
She takes it delicately in her teeth, then begins gleefully slapping at the scattered tufts of shed fur to round them up.] If I may not hunt for you.
[He has an idea of where this might be headed, but it's far more fun to play it out...]
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then he shakes his head, and sinks back into the water.]
I don't need constant fussing as actions.
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Illarion sighs as he settles back down to soak, more a sound of contentment than annoyance.]
You are the third Sleeper in two months to have succumbed to corruption and become a beast, [he points out.] I do not fuss as a father afraid his child will go out with her feathers in disarray.
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cw: self-loathing and internalized ableism
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u activated his trap card
i anticipated this and am pleased. he isn't tho, but fuck him
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cw: just casual offers to be vivisected, i g
it's fine, nehan is a weirdo
he's in good company LOL
they can just be weirdos together, it's Fine
just two dudes being Strange with surgical equipment
it's the best kind of friday night
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all right with an ftb soon?
np!
be cute like that will you nehan... lmk if you want to pick up after!
we can wrap up the thread right here and move on to another thread if you want
down for it! i'll shoot you a PM