[ ever since being swallowed up once by that darkness, Manhattan has only gotten stranger, more unpredictable. more and more, kamui finds it difficult to sleep. it mosaics between bloodied petals and a restlessness so unsettling he has to get up and pace or walk through the city despite its growing dangers. something pulls at him, a slow barely-there current. at the same time, something warns him away. it sets the fur of his ears on end and makes his eyes narrow to slits only to widen almost comically at the smallest burst of light.
today, his light footfalls press through the snow towards an unplanned visit to agent choi. he had thought of asking caelus, or perhaps aventurine. in a moment where it felt like he coughed for an hour straight he even had an impossibly brief second in which he considered seeking out seishirou. but choi had visited with him before, was the one to name it; maybe that is why.
and, if kamui were honest about it?
he likes him. at first, he had reminded him of someone from home. but it is as often these things are: first, the familiar, second, the unfamiliar, and in between: ah this is you.
with his tail curled tightly around his own waist, another borrowed jacket hanging a bit too large on his shoulders, this is how he runs into soleum. he hasn't forgotten anything. the time in the car was not long ago nor was it brief. in some senses kamui feels he has run into soleum the most without ever planning to. this also falls into that category. ]
Is it okay to be out? The city keeps changing...kind of like black holes.
[ even a teenager can read the room sometimes, or at least put himself in the best place for what he wants. soleum had said he doesn't think of himself but kamui doesn't agree of that at all. he does, now in fact, by not asking if he can tag along. instead, he just falls into stride with him, pausing if he pauses, speeding up if he does that. due to his cat ears remaining, kamui's mask rests normally on his face rather than to the side as he would normally wear it when he looks completely human. as always, the bells make no noise despite their disruption with each step. ]
[ it's because soleum doesn't think about surviving, he thinks about going home. he's an enigma to all the things people feel here, and all he wants to do is understand the cause behind all of this, and how they can take advantage of it. he doesn't run because he's trying to hide from being swallowed by the dark voids, he brings himself out with a purpose and a bounce to his step.
the more energy the better he has to run and not get caught. he doesn't expect who he runs into, and he wouldn't have minded it if they were two ships passing by one another without making contact. it's not the case, because two separate directions because one singular as kamui proceeds to follow along.
he never asks where kamui was going as that's not important, nor does he play the card of "i'm not who you think i am," because he wasn't able to avoid him then, how could he avoid him now even when he's dressed in entirely different attire— the lack of suit and in it's place a white shirt and jogging pants, but that roe deer mask placed on properly. ]
What's the safest place you can think of? I'll take you there.
[ it's not safe, it's as dangerous as it's ever been, and even soleum doesn't feel confident in his choices at the moment. that doesn't mean he'll allow for kamui to accompany him under these circumstances, especially when he comes in contact with these voids he feels... not like himself. he doesn't have a name for the feeling, or maybe the tug, all he knows is that he has to avoid long term exposure. he can't allow himself to fall into it again.
and the other thing he can't allow is kamui following after him when he only has a contingency plan for himself and not them both. ]
The haven't caught up to here, that means there's detours we can take.
[ his words come from behind his mask, firm as always and the direction in his logic that he takes is handle kamui first, continue on his own path second. ]
[ having already fallen into one prior, there are the inklings of that which clings and calls to kamui already though they get confused in his head with other things. it serves him however inadvertently, and allows him so-far since that first time to persist outside of them, narrowly avoiding them even in more riddled areas. some of this is the contradictory instinct in him that draws him to that which is inside these Voids, but also alerts him more sharply to the danger inherent. so when soleum asks him where to go, kamui...shakes his head. ]
I'll stay with you.
[ unlike in the car, he does not ask permission. he knows very well that soleum could just turn him out, so to speak, not out of a car but out of his company. at the same time, it might be too much trouble for him to get rid of kamui and part of him banks on that, once again drawn to soleum in a way he cannot really explain but has experienced enough repetitions of that he recognizes it. like some invisible loop of string or a ripple of familiarity. cat. person with deer mask. can of peaches. subaru. everything matters and kamui follows it like an animal with a scent caught in the air, his sleek black tail wrapped snugly around his own waist. ]
[ something he doesn't have to do, but a choice made regardless that makes soleum roll his eyes behind his mask. the most he can do is try and dodge the other, but even if he does, or tries to... it's not like he'll make distance. a cat is faster than him like this, because of what he is, he can smell soleum's scent, and that means he's unable to get away. ]
As long as you acknowledged what I asked.
[ the safest place. by his side isn't that. then again, it is, it always has been before, but nowadays he feels to lack that security. even if that's the case, he's unable to leave him alone. what has soleum learned about being alone? his actions, his methods, things like that when he starts to think he can handle the issue before him only blurs the fine line of safety and danger.
he doesn't know if kamui's like that, but soleum has thought before, or maybe it was the cat, that rather than leading that the other should follow. ]
We should stay out of danger for now until we learn what we're up against.
[ and he points towards a building that's safe from the dark spots, it looks untouched, and it's the best place to start. ]
...I'm not sure. Even...if a place might be safe for me, it might not be for others.
[ loud in his ears: soleum's breaths, his silences. loud in other ways: the discordance of his heartbeats, which always distract kamui the way a trick of the dark or the light might. he follows him with a quiet inherent more to cats than to people. even the bells on his mask jostle but keep with their wearer's silence. there is more of soleum that he does not understand than the opposite, but outside of that consciousness, there is an unconsciousness, an instinct, a draw. sometimes when he blinks, he sees a black cat instead of a grown man. sometimes, when he listens, he hears not a voice but a presence of reassurance, of leading, leading, leading. sometimes, when he turns away, it feels...wrong.
muffling a cough, out-of-place in the eerie cottony quiet of the city, kamui is also being led, striations of his attention pulled like cobwebs in contradicting directions he cannot quite make sense of. in a way it feels like someone tugging on his sleeve or a soft call of his name, but when he tries to find the source, there is nothing. it means he falls a bit farther behind soleum than he means to though, reassured by the presence of his pulse however erratic because it is familiar. ]
But I think --
[ his footsteps stall, crunch of snow faint but there. something smells...familiar, but also wrong. what is it? like some kind of rot. unconsciously his ears lay flat and the violet of his eyes skews gold. this area looks for all ostensible purposes, safe. not yet mired in the strange black holes that want to keep those who enter to themselves. having seen even the bare bones of some of those repercussions, kamui cannot help but hurry after soleum, not at all sure what he can do if something happens and yet certain that he must try. ]
[ soleum is only human— what he wants to be, what he needs to be; he's a human that wants to go home. he takes responsibility for others, he wants to keep kamui safe, and he wants to do it in a way that makes sense. if he could place him somewhere that's out of harm's way, maybe he should leave him with agent choi who is suited for the dangers here. he has a weapon, he has bells that offer clarity to the mind, he's someone who is confident to the dangers, but an enemy to himself.
it's one of those times that the lack of enemies mean there's no way he'd willingly walk into a dark spot for the hell of it with someone in tow. he would keep kamui safe, lead him somewhere with whatever extensive knowledge that he has. that's something soleum can confide in if anything. he would trust agent choi with others as long as soleum had the freedom to move outside of his radius as he protects those that need it. he looks down on kamui not because he's weak, but because he's young, because he's someone who also wants to help those by him.
but it's not his place, that's why soleum takes his place for him and puts him in a position where he doesn't have to expend hims— ]
What...
[ he turns his head to look in kamui's direction when his words cut off, he's more animal than what soleum is and that places him in a predicament that his senses are sharper. slowing down, they come to the same pace and steady steps. ]
What do you think?
[ as they come closer and closer to their building, if there's something wrong, then... is it too late to run?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
late week 2 / early week 3 (february if that wasn't obvious but it would become so because soupnya)
today, his light footfalls press through the snow towards an unplanned visit to agent choi. he had thought of asking caelus, or perhaps aventurine. in a moment where it felt like he coughed for an hour straight he even had an impossibly brief second in which he considered seeking out seishirou. but choi had visited with him before, was the one to name it; maybe that is why.
and, if kamui were honest about it?
he likes him. at first, he had reminded him of someone from home. but it is as often these things are: first, the familiar, second, the unfamiliar, and in between: ah this is you.
with his tail curled tightly around his own waist, another borrowed jacket hanging a bit too large on his shoulders, this is how he runs into soleum. he hasn't forgotten anything. the time in the car was not long ago nor was it brief. in some senses kamui feels he has run into soleum the most without ever planning to. this also falls into that category. ]
Is it okay to be out? The city keeps changing...kind of like black holes.
[ even a teenager can read the room sometimes, or at least put himself in the best place for what he wants. soleum had said he doesn't think of himself but kamui doesn't agree of that at all. he does, now in fact, by not asking if he can tag along. instead, he just falls into stride with him, pausing if he pauses, speeding up if he does that. due to his cat ears remaining, kamui's mask rests normally on his face rather than to the side as he would normally wear it when he looks completely human. as always, the bells make no noise despite their disruption with each step. ]
he will turn into soup all because of kamui <3
the more energy the better he has to run and not get caught. he doesn't expect who he runs into, and he wouldn't have minded it if they were two ships passing by one another without making contact. it's not the case, because two separate directions because one singular as kamui proceeds to follow along.
he never asks where kamui was going as that's not important, nor does he play the card of "i'm not who you think i am," because he wasn't able to avoid him then, how could he avoid him now even when he's dressed in entirely different attire— the lack of suit and in it's place a white shirt and jogging pants, but that roe deer mask placed on properly. ]
What's the safest place you can think of? I'll take you there.
[ it's not safe, it's as dangerous as it's ever been, and even soleum doesn't feel confident in his choices at the moment. that doesn't mean he'll allow for kamui to accompany him under these circumstances, especially when he comes in contact with these voids he feels... not like himself. he doesn't have a name for the feeling, or maybe the tug, all he knows is that he has to avoid long term exposure. he can't allow himself to fall into it again.
and the other thing he can't allow is kamui following after him when he only has a contingency plan for himself and not them both. ]
The haven't caught up to here, that means there's detours we can take.
[ his words come from behind his mask, firm as always and the direction in his logic that he takes is handle kamui first, continue on his own path second. ]
soupcat hours
I'll stay with you.
[ unlike in the car, he does not ask permission. he knows very well that soleum could just turn him out, so to speak, not out of a car but out of his company. at the same time, it might be too much trouble for him to get rid of kamui and part of him banks on that, once again drawn to soleum in a way he cannot really explain but has experienced enough repetitions of that he recognizes it. like some invisible loop of string or a ripple of familiarity. cat. person with deer mask. can of peaches. subaru. everything matters and kamui follows it like an animal with a scent caught in the air, his sleek black tail wrapped snugly around his own waist. ]
sadcat hours
As long as you acknowledged what I asked.
[ the safest place. by his side isn't that. then again, it is, it always has been before, but nowadays he feels to lack that security. even if that's the case, he's unable to leave him alone. what has soleum learned about being alone? his actions, his methods, things like that when he starts to think he can handle the issue before him only blurs the fine line of safety and danger.
he doesn't know if kamui's like that, but soleum has thought before, or maybe it was the cat, that rather than leading that the other should follow. ]
We should stay out of danger for now until we learn what we're up against.
[ and he points towards a building that's safe from the dark spots, it looks untouched, and it's the best place to start. ]
no subject
[ loud in his ears: soleum's breaths, his silences. loud in other ways: the discordance of his heartbeats, which always distract kamui the way a trick of the dark or the light might. he follows him with a quiet inherent more to cats than to people. even the bells on his mask jostle but keep with their wearer's silence. there is more of soleum that he does not understand than the opposite, but outside of that consciousness, there is an unconsciousness, an instinct, a draw. sometimes when he blinks, he sees a black cat instead of a grown man. sometimes, when he listens, he hears not a voice but a presence of reassurance, of leading, leading, leading. sometimes, when he turns away, it feels...wrong.
muffling a cough, out-of-place in the eerie cottony quiet of the city, kamui is also being led, striations of his attention pulled like cobwebs in contradicting directions he cannot quite make sense of. in a way it feels like someone tugging on his sleeve or a soft call of his name, but when he tries to find the source, there is nothing. it means he falls a bit farther behind soleum than he means to though, reassured by the presence of his pulse however erratic because it is familiar. ]
But I think --
[ his footsteps stall, crunch of snow faint but there. something smells...familiar, but also wrong. what is it? like some kind of rot. unconsciously his ears lay flat and the violet of his eyes skews gold. this area looks for all ostensible purposes, safe. not yet mired in the strange black holes that want to keep those who enter to themselves. having seen even the bare bones of some of those repercussions, kamui cannot help but hurry after soleum, not at all sure what he can do if something happens and yet certain that he must try. ]
no subject
it's one of those times that the lack of enemies mean there's no way he'd willingly walk into a dark spot for the hell of it with someone in tow. he would keep kamui safe, lead him somewhere with whatever extensive knowledge that he has. that's something soleum can confide in if anything. he would trust agent choi with others as long as soleum had the freedom to move outside of his radius as he protects those that need it. he looks down on kamui not because he's weak, but because he's young, because he's someone who also wants to help those by him.
but it's not his place, that's why soleum takes his place for him and puts him in a position where he doesn't have to expend hims— ]
What...
[ he turns his head to look in kamui's direction when his words cut off, he's more animal than what soleum is and that places him in a predicament that his senses are sharper. slowing down, they come to the same pace and steady steps. ]
What do you think?
[ as they come closer and closer to their building, if there's something wrong, then... is it too late to run?
something may be coming. ]