( OPEN ) JUNE CATCH ALL

[cranekin]

WHO: Tsurumaru and you
WHAT: Open memshares and custom starters
WHERE: Vegas, memories of the past
WHEN: June
WARNINGS: Murder/death (including children), violence, religious themes

catch-all for the month, open to using event prompts, setting up starters, etc.
if you would like an original starter or have your own idea, hit me up yosakoi | discord: diejoubus

Comments

[gundemn]

[ He feels his hair rise when screams cut through the silence. Cold dread runs through his entire body, more chilling than the snowfall around him. Don't tell him Sadayasu's family had political enemies raring to eliminate them through good old slaughter... You must know he's experiencing the biggest FML moment. He didn't ask to become an actor in this kind of script!

When someone unseen grabs onto him from behind, he struggles on reflex, relenting only when he hears "his" mother's voice in his ear, delivering a final and chilling plea. Self-preservation grips him. He heeds her words and breaks into a run, leaving the poor woman to her fate, but after he's put distance in it's only natural to want to look back— ]

[cranekin]

(Sadayasu runs, leaving a clear trail behind him for anyone to find but it isn't like there's anywhere to go. No matter where he runs, there's only untouched snow to give him away. Inside the building is no good when it's filled with desperate screams and the scent of smoke begins to fill the air.

When Elan looks back, he'll see Sadayasu's mother, surrounded by her ladies in waiting and guards, her body bloody in the snow, a protective dagger at her side and just beyond her... a soldier takes aim, draws his arrow, and fires at him. It cuts through the air unnaturally quick and finds its target right in Sadayasu's chest. The snow at Sadayasu's feet begins to turn red with his own blood.

The archer readies another arrow.)

cw: blood and death from here on

[gundemn]

[ Ahaha...fuck. The arrow pierces close to his heart and pain explodes in his chest. Red blooms over Sadayasu's pristine robes and his hand comes away bloody where he reaches to touch it. Oh, come on. If this is a mirage, there's no reason it has to feel this real!

He's seen enough to know what will be his fate if he doesn't move. If there's a tree nearby, he's going to throw himself behind it for cover, wincing as every step agitates his wound. Breathing heavily, one hand clutched at his chest, the other reaches to draw the sword by his side. He doesn't believe in gods, but right now, he's praying like hell. ]

Tsurumaru! Now would be a good time to show yourself.

[ Some help here? Mind explaining why he's getting murdered?! ]

[cranekin]

(The next arrow whizzes by as he retreats and the soldier calls out,)

"Over here!"

(Despite his prayers, Tsurumaru does not answer. He is alone until a pair of soldiers run up, their footsteps crunching in the snow closer and closer. He may notice one of the soldiers looking surprised when they see Sadayasu's face,)

"This is..."

(One of of the soldiers raises their sword,)

"Don't fight."

(He says and he brings his sword down...

And everything is quiet.

Completely,

totally,

and

utterly,

quiet.

A great warmth spreads across Elan's chest as a heavy cold sets over his shoulders. In front of him, the trampled snow is stained a deep red and the estate burns but not a sound can be heard. No one is around. Now is his chance to escape and get help. But try as he might, he will not be able to will himself to move.

And then, as suddenly as everything had disappeared, someone appears in front of him. Dressed in immaculate white robes, perfectly unstained like the snow had been before this nightmare. Had they just arrived? Missed the entire thing and come to help? They take a step towards him but they don't even leave a print in the snow. It's almost like this person isn't even here.

They drop down on their knees in front of him. Not even the fabric of his robes make a sound. A pale hand reaches out to him, shaking. From cold, maybe...? It's really cold. In fact, Elan may feel that it's become even colder. If he can summon enough strength to look up...

He'll see Tsurumaru at last. Pale gold eyes are wide with surprise, face twisted with what anguish, and when he speaks... There's no sound. He's as quiet as the snow but from the way his mouth moves, it's clear what's saying,)

Sada...yasu...

(Elan's vision will begin to darken. Tsurumaru tries to touch his face but he'll feel nothing. Is it because the Tsurumaru in this memory is just a spirit? Or is it because Elan simply feels nothing now. He doesn't even feel cold.

When everything finally goes completely dark, nothing to feel, and nothing to even see, he may hear a voice at last:)

I'll stay by your side. Forever.

(The memory ends, he'll find himself back exactly where he was before this surprising vision, and in front of him... Tsurumaru stands, waiting.)

[gundemn]

[ Buddy, you're a little late.

'Sadayasu' is dying. He tries to open his mouth to speak but he's unable to form words. It's so, so cold, but even if it would be easier to close his eyes, he's seized by the primal urge to fight 'death' until his last breath. It's human instinct to want to live, and he feels it more desperately than most. Hah, that's one thing he and Sadayasu have in common; they're cursed with short lives.

Did Sadayasu struggle in his final moments? Did he die slowly and agonizingly? The 'Sadayasu' that raises his head to Tsurumaru looks fearful, pained, and betrayed.

He can't feel his limbs anymore. Mercifully, he can't feel anything anymore. Darkness shrouds his vision and the next moment, Elan finds himself back where he used to be, in the stifling heat that can only belong to the desert.

First thing he does is to find a chair or makeshift seat to collapse in, holding his head between his hands and rubbing his temples. After taking a moment to reorient himself, he grumbles crankily. ]

What the hell was that...Thanks for nothing.

[cranekin]

(If he's bothered... he doesn't look like it. Instead, he keeps a perfect smile on his face, looking perfectly composed and shrugs,)

There was nothing I could do.

(And he holds out his hands at his side,)

I didn't have a free form back then.

[gundemn]

I can see that.

[ Sorry, Tsurumaru. Elan is still annoyed over being fake killed but he'll get over it. If he wasn't busy trying to regain his own composure, Tsurumaru's perfectly casual reaction might have struck him as eerie. He finally takes his head out of his hands to look at him. ]

That was your owner. The one from long ago.

[cranekin]

(He nods,)

Adachi Sadayasu. My first master.

(And because Elan was the one he had a certain conversation with...)

My first love.

[gundemn]

[ Elan remembers their conversation. So Sadayasu's the one he's been in love with all this time... ]

Even though he was human?

[cranekin]

Are you surprised?

(That he would care so much for a human?)

[gundemn]

I mean, could you even speak to him?

[ That comes out ruder than he intends and Elan combs a hand through his hair because even if he's still ticked, it's not Tsurumaru's fault. It's obvious losing Sadayasu left a deep scar on his heart. It hurts to have someone ripped away from you, and worse is watching it happen. ]

[cranekin]

(He'll come over to sit next to Elan. He flops right down on the ground, hands behind him on the ground and support and look up at the sky... shaking his head,)

I could speak to him all day and night but he would never hear. Maybe when he was younger, when children are closer to the gods... or maybe it was my imagination.

(He likes to think he could hear him back then, though. He, too, had been a young spirit and those little moments had meant a lot to him. It helped him feel like he had a purpose.)

Back then I could only listen and observe humans. I couldn't even act without someone carrying me.

[gundemn]

You're down pretty bad for someone you've never held a conversation with.

[ Elan nudges him in the side when Tsurumaru settles down. Devotion like that isn't something he could understand. Love works in mysterious ways, they say. ]

So what made you finally take physical form?

[ Regret? The inability to let go? Or was it something completely unrelated... ]

[cranekin]

Is that strange?

(To him, it feels perfectly natural, like he was always meant to love him.)

... My most recent master gave me this form. Since they aren't a warrior, it was more convenient for me to carry myself.