deercountry | Mother stands for comfort

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Mother stands for comfort

Who: Luz and you (and specifically with Luca)
What: Luz tries to resist the hex, and not mutate herself until she finally falls to beast hood
When: Middle of February (sorry Luz, no birthday for you)
Where: All around Trench

She'd read the sermon and was sure that was when the trouble began. Luz had thought, after getting others who'd been sympathetic and lent an ear to her troubles, that she might be able to ride out the crazy of this month, that she'd get to her birthday in relative peace. Unfortunately, things didn't get better: instead, Luz found herself plagues by the past: her father leaving, the scorn of being that "weird" kid in her class, and the things that came with her Deerington and new Trench memories.

After Varian, Luz had been meticulous about trying to keep such thoughts from consuming her, trying to talk to others when she could, listening to advice and meditating more than she probably had any month. But the thoughts kept coming, and no matter what Luz did, she found she was feeling more depressed by the day, even though she interacted with people and did her best to keep her smile up.

And then one day, she found it was starting to feel worse than usual, enough that she even resorted to turning to her bird form if only to escape those memories. Now they were starting to compound, and images of the cave men and the Blood Cultists and their attacks on her began to plague her nightmares. It got so bad that she woke up feeling the cuts in her skin as clearly as she had back then, and she would be breathing hard and be so anxious she stayed in bed.

She had no idea how to stop this, and moments where she started to consider self-harm surfaced, shocking her so badly she took a cold bath, shivering and in tears, wondering what would happen next.

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The creature ran for the woods, pursued, and meant to rebound and attack the person at her heels when it felt the pull of something that had its attention. It was out of focus, but something drew the creature to this new one, this strange, huge beast it could not name.

There was some sort of promise that the creature felt obligated to uphold, and for now, the two of them had a common enemy: the prey that was now stopped in its traps.

Her claws were out and her teeth twisted in a gnarled grimace, ready to feed.

He's happy when he sees the other beast, satisfied that she's okay. But the person she was fleeing is still here. They still need to deal with him, and then they can feed. After a moment of looking at the creature that was once Luz and being satisfied that she's okay, the serpent turns his attention to the human and hisses.

He's huge, but a few things do work in Varian's favor. Though he can move on land, he's not as fast as he'd be in water, and he's not as fast as he'd be if warm. Still, his attention is focused on Varian, and he's beginning to slither closer.

Varian's really doing his best here. He knows, from the vague, fuzzy memories of his own beasting, that flat out attacking them is a bad idea. It'll only make them angry and it's two against one here. He sucks in a deep breath, trying to focus his emotions on Luz- trying to exude calm. He can't do it with the other monster- he's not sure where that-

It's a sea monster. Seeing it now, closer, it's clearly a-

"Luca? Is that you?"

Well, that would explain why he's not attacking Luz. Okay, great. He keeps his hands up, his movements slow and steady.

"Guys, c'mon. You need to come back to us, okay? You need- you need to find yourselves. You don't want to be this way."

The creature was torn. At her side was aid (she wasn't sure how she knew that, but she DID, she felt it very vividly) in the form of another, and that would be enough to easily take down this prey. It was injured after all, it should be easy.

And then, as it started to speak, it felt...familiar. She knew this prey in her mind, some place that seemed to be struggling to bring itself back, because her memory was hazy at best and she knew if she thought enough she'd be able to know.

Her beast body, for right now, was winning, and starting to circle Varian, it's claws starting to extend, readying for an attack.

Somewhere in the back of his mind Luca recognizes his name, but it's a vague recollection that the sound is important and nothing more. Perhaps he could have remembered what the name meant, and what this prey means by 'not being this way', but his mind's a fog and the other beast he's hunting with has begun to circle Varian.

Luca begins to circle the other way, using his long, serpentine body to block their prey from fleeing.

Varian tries to keep his eyes on both of them at same time, not easy with the way they're circling him. He's realising if they attack him, he's in a lot of trouble. He feels the ground beneath his feet- trying to focus on his ice powers- if nothing else he can make the ground sheer ice, if he needs to. He might be able to get a few fireballs off too before they utterly rip him to pieces. He'd really rather they not, though.

He tries to focus on Luz- on their emotional bond. He tries to find calm, to try and get her to feel the same. He can't do a lot about Luca but he seems to be feeding off her - maybe he can do a two-fer.

"C'mon. You didn't let me run around like this, I can't let you do it either. Think you two, think who you are, do you really want to do this? Really? Deep down? You both know you're better than this. Whatever it is that's caused it, we'll figure it out, okay? Together. But not-not like this."

The creature hissed, but it looked like she was starting to have an issue maintaining her predator/prey mindset. As she was readying to leap and tear at her prey, there were pieces on her mind sticking out, parts where she could see him plainly. It saw him laughing, him giving a concerned glance, and most distressingly, him looking with concern.

After all, there was the bond AND the tattoo. Much as it would have liked to attack Varian and drink his blood, there was so much of him in her, and even in this form, she could feel his apprehension at the two creatures circling him, ready to tear at him, and the creature found herself staring into his eyes.

"V....Vah....Varian," it growled, then seemed to swallow the growl, walking up to him, mere paces away now.

He'd been watching, waiting. If the prey tried to flee the other beast, Luca would strike, if the prey stood firm, then the other creature would get him. He was doomed, either way, and Luca watched and waiting, eager in his anticipation of blood and death. But then he feels something coming from his hunting partner through the familial bond they'd created just days before. Not that he remembers doing that or knows why he feels connected to this other beast, of course. All he knows is that she feels...different. Instead of blood lust toward this prey, she's feeling something else.

The massive sea serpent stares, trying to assess and understand a situation that's currently beyond his comprehension.

Varian lets out a breath when Luz starts to speak. Good, this is good. This means he has half a chance of getting through to her.

"Yeah- yeah it's me," he tries to keep his tone steady- keep the fear out of it. "I'm not gonna hurt you and...and I don't think either of you want to hurt me."

He casts a worried glance at Luca - noting the change and hoping this is a good thing and not the calm before the storm.

"So just- just focus on coming back, okay? Neither of you deserves this, you deserve to be back home, where it's safe."

"Can't hurt," she rasped, almost in laughter except the part that was Luz was not laughing. The creature in her was livid, because he was easy prey, especially with another creature willing to stop him from moving too fast.

But that was the thing. Luz had a bond with BOTH of them, so she was torn between attacking Varian and trying to comprehend who he was. But now that he was talking and she could actually feel what he was feeling, it was harder to go with her animal instinct.

Mostly, it was pretty confusing now.

"Deserve. Deserve, to be monster. Not. No. Compl-e-cated. Blood only."

He hears the words, but he doesn't understand. He doesn't understand why talking is happening and not hunting and biting and killing and blood. Deserve...deserve...deserve what? Everything is fine. But it's not fine. He can feel the confusion and conflict coming from Luz, but he doesn't understand why.

He projects his confusion towards Luz, trying to understand why they're not hunting. He's easy prey. He slithers a little closer, letting out a long, low hiss.

And, hidden in the hiss, is a raspy sound that sounds a bit like words. "What isss thisss? Hungerrr.

He'd come even closer. He would strike, but...why wasn't the other beast attacking? Did she know something he didn't? And why was there a small feeling of doubt at the back of his own brain?

Well, at least they're speaking that's- that's good. He doesn't think he ever did speak, though his memories of his own beasthood are blissfully foggy, so he can't be sure. Still, it's a good sign and he's going to cling to it desperately. He can see Luca isn't happy about this, and he's pretty sure if Luz wasn't there, he'd be toast. He'd avoided the emotional bond with Luca to save him carrying the burdens he carts around with him all the time- but perhaps now it would have made this a lot easier.

He tries to keep his tone even- to think calming thoughts at Luz- to steady his breathing and hope that has some sort of effect on Luca.

"Neither of you deserves to be monsters, you're good people. I'm sure we can figure this out, get to the bottom of what did this to you both, okay? But I need both of you to come back to do that- I don't want to lose either of you, so please, come back to us, okay?"

She could feel the anxiousness of her friend, who wanted to take on this prey. The creature understood that, because she could feel that coming from him, that bond with Luca certainly taking effect. The thing was, she had bonded with Varian TOO, so now the feelings Varian had were not only invading HER senses, but by proxy also being transferred to Luca via the bond.

So they both felt Varian's concern, his worry that they were going to be lost in themselves, and it was this thing that prevented the creature from staying in that frame of bloodlust. The creature was circling Varian, but it was doing so thoughtfully, as if it were trying to make up it's mind.

Finally, it spoke.

"Back...frum...wh-ere?"

If it wasn't for Varian's connection to Luz, if it wasn't for the feelings he's picking up from her, Luca would have attacked by now. However, he is feeling what Luz is projecting, and it is influenced by Varian, like some sort of chain of emotion, and while Luca is still quite hungry, impatient and tense, it's enough to keep him from striking. For now.

He keeps shifting around with her as she circles- trying to keep his face to her so he doesn't have his back turned. He feels...turning his back would end badly. All the time he's trying to keep his fear tampered down- if he lets that get the better of him it can feed into Luz, into Luca and that...no, he doesn't want to think about it.

"Back from this. Being...this," he gestures slowly, no sudden moves. "You can both be yourselves again," he glances at Luca, "both of you, you just...you just have to let this go. Everything that pushed you here, and find yourselves again."

Varian was right not to let the two of them see his back: feeling his fear, the creature could let that be the overwhelming factor that presses them to attack him instead, giving in to their own hunger. Instead, the creature is forced to stare at Varian and the memory of him comes in snatches. The creature is shaking its head as if trying to brush off its indecision, but instead thoughts of Varian just come more brightly, and in turn, this affects Luca.

The creature remembers him extending his hand to her, to let them live in the house. It remembered heartfelt conversations that ended with it hugging him, and times where the creature would argue with Varian about his health. It was blinking slowly, and looking at him with renewed interest.

"V...ar..ian," she managed to say, and he could see her eyes were shifting back to its brownish-amber. "Help. Us."

He may not quite understand why they're not attacking, but Luca still feels all the feelings from Luz. The warm, friendly feelings, the sense of trust, of love...and through Luz, Luca felt a little bit more like himself. He pulls back, no longer wanting to be ready to strike, and settles down into a less offensive position.

Varian had noticed this shift in Luca first, how his bulk had become less ready to spring, that was good. A good sign. When he catches Luz's eyes returning to normal, he lets out a slow breath- good, good, he's getting through.

"I'm here," he keeps his voice steady. "Just focus on my voice. Focus on my memories. You're Luz Noceda and you're a pain my backside a lot of the time, but you're fearless and decent and you try your best to help everyone, even at the detriment of yourself."

He turns his focus on Luca, knowing this will be harder without the emotional bond, but he tries all the same, his voice unwavering.

"And you're Luca Paguro. You're kind and curious and you want to learn so much about the world around you and you never shy away from trying something new," he glances between them. "You both know who you really are and it's not- it's not this. Just- find yourselves. Come home."

The creature hissed, mostly because it was losing its grip, and a moment later the more canine features it had started giving away to a young girl's face, the fur atop head giving way to her shaggy brown hair, and her posture of being crouched on all fours abandoned as she finds she can stand upright.

More importantly, Luz remembers. Moments with Varian where she watched him work, was frustrated when he neglected himself, teasing him in her own way, came flooding back. the Bond was strong, and the goodwill he was trying to extend to her was enough to remind her how much she valued him, needed him. She paused, hearing the growl from her other housemate, and turned to him.

Granted, she has no clothes right now (thank you corruption), but staring into Varian's eyes a moment, Luz knows what she has to do. She turned her face to Luca, him towering over her in his serpent form, and she gave him a hug, despite how dangerous this was, how hard and scaly his body felt, and that he could just as easily eat her right now. She closed her eyes and sent to him her feelings of appreciation, how his kindness and his interest reinvigorated her own appreciation of how varied and different everyone was, and how much she wanted to learn about them all. Luca was, in his own way, the reminder she was still that person, and how much she wanted him to stay that way.

There might be some part of his mind that registered Varian's words, but it's the emotions he feels through Luz that helped to really bring those words home. First he feels her returning to herself, feels her humanity, and feels the same desire to stay by her side that he felt when she was still a beast. Then she hugs him, and he feels all those feelings coming from her, backing up everything Varian said.

He begins to shrink. At first, that's the only change that happens, but as he gets smaller, his form becomes more humanoid, first becoming him in his sea monster form. He returns the hug, in that moment just being grateful to have Luz by his side. Then, the dry air automatically triggers his transformation back to human, and as the cold air hits him, he realizes they're standing naked in the middle of town. He pulls back.

"Um...we should probably head back. Before someone sees us."

Varian lets out a slow, steady breath- finally relaxing as Luz, then Luca return to normal. Oh, thank god. He doesn't know what he would have done if that hadn't worked.

"You guys scared the heck out of me, welcome back. Really glad to see you."

He glances around, nodding, being respectful and not looking at them.

"C'mon, we can talk in the house. Better not stay...uh out here."

"Guess we're just walking around in our birthday suits for now then," Luz said nervously, really wishing it wasn't true. Wait a minute!

"Oh no! Did I actually miss my birthday?!"

Forget being naked, this was actually the more distressing news! Oh wait, no, now ANOTHER worry hopped into her mind.

"Let's get back quick! The last thing we need is to get Lock joint! I got it last month, and it was the worst!"

Luz, please take a minute to ponder what just happened to you instead of worrying about other...reasonably distressing things.

She looked over at Luca, and gave a chuckle. "Almost wish there was a pirate ship we could rob of clothes like the last time we were in the ocean!"

Edited 2022-02-26 19:25 (UTC)

"Sorry, Varian, I didn't mean to...um..."

Turn into a giant monster is what he's thinking. Then he realizes Varian's going to have to test that chocolate...wait, where did that go? He'll have to go retrieve that...but maybe after they get clothes again. Luca's cold and shivering, and realizes the magic necklace Fern gave him to keep him warm is with the rest of his clothes. Then Luz realizes she missed her birthday, which Luca makes a mental note to get her a present and remember for next year her birthday is somewhere around this time. Then, Luz realizes something even more important.

"Yeah, we'll have to hurry back! And...once we're dressed again we'll have to go out to find my clothes. I think I might have slithered out of them before I got to my full size. I'm hoping." He's not really sure, but since he only has one winter coat he's really hoping it can be salvaged. When Luz mentions the pirate ship, he nods. "Yeah, a pirate ship or something so we don't have to go all the way back like this."

It also would save time so they could look for something else he lost that might be pretty important, too.

"And Varian, I have something I need to find again that you need to do experiments on! But it's really dangerous. It's chocolate, but it has different effects if you eat it. Like paranoia and stuff."

Which is part of what led to his corruption.

"Don't worry, we can do a belated birthday for you. Whatever you want- after you've rested."

Because sorry, Luz. You need to get yourself back together first. He's going to try and herd the kids towards the house again, doing his best to shield them from any passers-by, levelling a pretty solid GLARE on any who seem to think they can get away with looking.

"Leeeeet's work on getting to the very real house as opposed to a fictional pirate ship, huh?"

He nods at the mention of the chocolate.

"Yeah, Aridane had some too, but I'm happy to try and study some more. There's been some...pretty unusual reactions to it this month."

"Right, of course."

Luz wasn't in the position to protest, and if she was honest? She was both tired and a bit frightened that this had happened to her to begin with. What was more, now BOTH Varian and Luca would be getting those impressions, so they'd know that she wasn't lying about trying to get rest and relax. What was more, she was definitely unable to be properly embarrassed about having no clothes when she already felt so vulnerable with the whole corruption thing.

"What do you mean fictional? That's how Luca and I met! I'd already stolen clothes from some other pirate and then I helped Luca get away from that one trying to spear him!"

Yes, this was all actually true.

"Wait. Chocolate? It makes you...do things?"

That sure explained a LOT.

Mother stands for comfort

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Again, my apologies for not having a Beast! Luz icon. This will have to do.

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