[OPEN]

[justscribing]

WHO: (justscribing) & you!

WHAT: October Catch-All (open + closed)

WHERE: Poison garden, University, Around

WHEN: all through October

WARNINGS: TBA + marked in threads as necessary




OPEN PROMPT LINKS [UPDATED AS ADDED]

Poison Garden

University

Feel free to reach me by PM or plurk (monochromic) if you want to plot for something specific!

Comments

[cashewlater]

[ kaveh's guess is indeed correct. when kaveh speaks to him, cyno begins to calm a little more, though his lips continue to twitch, his growling quiets. pls don't take it personally alhaitham.. kaveh's just a warm and tender person!! it comes through, to a cornered animal.

when that hand is held out.. cyno first hesitates, then extends his shaggy neck to sniff at kaveh's palm. smells nice. familiar. safe. after a moment, he pushes his head into kaveh's palm.

this is okay. this is safe. ]

[fussiest]

[ literally kaveh right now.

anyway: kaveh looks. cyno approaches in increments. his shaggy neck extends. kaveh holds still as cyno sniffs, first cautiously, and then with the slow press of his head into the palm of kaveh's hand. something in kaveh hurts at it, at the show of trust. it has always been hard-earned, with cyno. kaveh knows that. even in animal form, cyno is still cyno - cyno will always be cyno. the city couldn't rob him of that, not when kaveh refuses to allow it.

slowly, kaveh's hand raises, first to run a slow finger along the side of cyno's head, and then to gently rub the spot between his eyes. kaveh breathes. the glance he casts alhaitham's way is thus - seeds. and then down his gaze shifts as he holds out his other hand too, so that he can show cyno that both hands mean no harm. no part of him does. ]

... I wish I brought treats. You know me; I used to bring little dried fish in the back of my pack for stray cats and the like. But coming to this city, there weren't any animals here, so I stopped. Perhaps I ought to pick up the habit again, hm? See what else this city sees fit to throw at us.

[justscribing]

[It's much different, though Alhaitham finds no offense in it. Cyno, after all, clearly is mentally addled. He is seeing only distant impressions of them through animal eyes. Pushing his head into Kaveh's hand, Alhaitham doesn't worry about a bite.

Alhaitham straightens up, crossing behind Kaveh to make the loop around to the seeds. He spares another glance to them as he does so.]

[cashewlater]

[ though he is certainly less wary of kaveh, cyno nevertheless tenses at every movement, his long tail sweeping; every second is a battle to contain his animalistic fear, the jackal's sense of wariness and uncertainty.

it's not so different from how learning to control hermanubis had been.

but that rub between the eyes.. is nice. cyno's ears lay flat to the sides of his head, his eyes closing to contented slits. so far, so good. ]

[fussiest]

[ like a pup enjoying the midday sun. kaveh's fingers slowly run themselves up again the pale snout of cyno's face. up close, kaveh can see the etchings of cyno's armband along his shoulder, the gradient colour of his fur much like cyno's pale hair had been. it's the eyes, kaveh thinks. they haven't changed at all. the city maintains these elements of the person's personhood, much in the way of a calling card. he seems healthy, from what kaveh can tell. tighnari ought to know, kaveh realises, but that's a thought for a different moment.

in the now: kaveh's hand continues to pet. a second hand joins the first. his fingers slide past cyno's jaw, seeking a comfortable point to scritch along his ears. ]

There we go. Better than a treat, then. [ kaveh says, slow and low. ] Do you remember? The little bugs you won for me at the carnival. I've added grippers to their feet and replaced the gears and power source. They can climb up walls now. Perhaps they can keep up with you as you trawl rooftops. When you're more yourself, I'll propose a race. What say you?

[justscribing]

[The green seed been is proof procured. And then two more, just in case. Alhaitham sandwiches then between fingers as he turns around, taking steps to Kaveh and Cyno.

He rips open the first packet.

The sound is audible.]

[cashewlater]

[ kaveh certainly has a way with animals, his gentle demeanor comes through easily and clearly, his body language soft and easy to read, his voice soothing. it's easy to allow the petting, easy even to tilt his head into those scritches.

the sound of the tearing paper startles him, however, and his heavy head whips toward alhaitham with a snap and a snarl, and before cyno can even think to control himself he's lunging forward, claws scraping the earth. ]

[fussiest]

[ kaveh starts. ]

Cyno! [ the call is loud even to his own ears. kaveh winces, but it's cyno. cynon would never want to hurt alhaitham - cyno would never. and so kaveh lunges forward - he makes to take cyno back into his grasp, to field the teeth against his arm. ]

Cyno, it's alright, it's just -

[justscribing]

[It almost goes well. The packet is too loud for canine ears. Cyno realizes Alhaitham was not where he left him and lunges.

Alhaitham curses under his breath, twisting out of the way and stepping backwards into the space Cyno just left. The tea table sits behind him by inches.]

[cashewlater]

[ and just like that, the relative peace is shattered. cyno loses control.

the rest is a blur of fear and madness, and if asked, cyno will remember precious little of this moment, only that he was driven by a force he could not name, a primal, bestial force not unlike what he feels when his claws come out.

snarling and snapping, he fights, teeth finding purchase around kaveh's arm, but he's still shoving forward, still pouncing toward the noise that disturbed him, slamming his body full force into alhaitham. ]

[fussiest]

[ kaveh thinks - hopes - prays, that cyno remembers precious little of this moment. this is a prayer that kaveh sends despite not being in the strictest sense religious to lesser lord kusanali. to celestia and beyond. to those that observe the world from afar, to the new deities that govern this one. may cyno not remember, because ought not to. not this. cyno, whose hands had trembled in the mall, who had looked at the false body of collei and felt his world rend itself apart. not cyno, never this.

his teeth sink into kaveh's arm. kaveh's jacket shred. it keeps at bay the worst of it; the trickle of something wet and dark and warm reminds kaveh that the worst of it is not all of it. kaveh braces, reaching for cyno, only for his fingers to meet thin air. there's a stifled curse, followed by a leap, and kaveh pivots with reaching hands to once again attempt to pull cyno back to him. ]

Alhaitham! [ kaveh calls, ] Give me your cloak!

[justscribing]

[Cyno's teeth sink in. The red blooms starkly between shredded cloth. Alhaitham thinks--that Kaveh's hands are his lifeblood. That the nerves of them run up his arms. That the jaws on a dog are meant to lock and tear.

The solution is clear. Cyno leaps at him. Alhaitham braces himself against the weight that hits him. The back of his legs hit the table and he topples backwards as he keeps his arms forward to restrain Cyno instead of catching himself. The whole table flips with it, send the ceramic toppling over with them. Alhaitham squeezes his eyes shut as one of the teapots spins off his head, spilling down his cheek and neck. It trickles between his lips as his back hits the ground. The last thing he hears it teacups crashing against each other. The last thing he sees is a jackal's maw peeled back to bite. The last thing he tastes is ginger.

And then it all goes dark.]