sleepyhollowed | IC Inbox for redshiftrp

[It’s hard for Kieran, his nature as panicky and nervous as ever, to remain still when Elleru runs her hand up his arm and to the side of his face. If he didn’t trust her so implicitly, he would’ve flinched back and away the moment her touch started traveling, but he remains steadfast, stiff at first but then relaxing once her palm comes to its final resting place. One thing he can’t help, however, is the way his cheeks heat up, and how he’s positive that the tips of his ears are blazing red. The embarrassment is enough to keep his back straight and his jaw set for just a couple of seconds before he surrenders to that innate need for comfort and relaxes his stance so his face presses into Elleru's palm.]

[It makes him long for the few moments back home where he'd gotten the chance to enjoy a woman's touch. Not in a way that's based in any romantic or sexual overtones--Lord knows he lacks any sort of meaningful experience in that area--but in that gentle warmth that's missing when it comes to any sort of companionship with his male friends. They were always too rough, too overtly callous, too abrasive when it came to Kieran's innate benignity. It's an unfortunate societal byproduct of his time: men were expected to be hard, tough, and mired in emotional stoicism unless surrounded by their most intimate of friends and family, but that simply wasn't him. Still, Kieran had no such outlet, nobody he could bond with and trust that deeply, platonic or otherwise.]

Thanks.

[His voice barely rises above a whisper, but then he clears his throat.]

Sorry, I'm bein' rude. Wanna come in? I don't... uh... I can't really offer much outside of some food, but yer welcome inside.

[Kieran can't see the way Elleru beams as he leans into her palm, but she certainly does, pleased her bid to comfort him seems to have worked. She can't fight away all his fears and uncertainty, but she's determined to try. Even if she helps him only a little, that's still more than not at all; she will take what progress she makes, however small.

She removes her hand from his face, the one holding his hand tightening approvingly.]

Your company is all I seek this day. Come. We will sit, unless you would like me to lead you somewhere. We could walk.

[Kieran's head immediately perks up at the prospect of a walk. Just the idea of leaving this place is enough to excite him.]

Really? You'll go outside with me?

[Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kieran can't help but feel utterly disheartened over his exponential enthusiasm over a walk of all things. As if he's been relegated to drawing as much pleasure as possible from the things he'd taken for granted now that he's lost just a smidgeon of his autonomy. Just a couple of weeks ago, going outside was only a matter of opening up a door and stepping through. Now he needs to wait until someone is around to guide him, and make sure they have the time, and that was assuming he could get over his initial misgivings over being a burden to his friends, despite their insistence otherwise.]

[But he has to put that aside. Elleru's made a gracious offer, and he can't turn it down.]

I-I ain't sure if I'm dressed to go, but I'll do it.

[He's wearing a simple hospital gown--shirt and pants, thankfully. As a bonus, not only is the gown clean, but for the first time in a while, so is he, thanks to those robots.]

[There's just the matter of finding something for his feet.]

[Elleru lets out a single, chirp-like chuckle at Kieran's. reaction.]

You are dressed enough. And if someone says you are not, they will speak to me.

[She's not wearing shoes either, after all. She gives his hand a little tug.]

If you are ready, then let us go.

[Kieran’s face lights up in a grin, his misgivings from moments before giving way to the excitement of some sort of adventure.]

Okay, yeah! Lead the way!

[He’s still holding the paper flower close to his chest, unsure what to do with it, so his gait is a little more awkward than usual, but that’s okay. Kieran is used to awkward. It’s almost comforting in its familiarity.]

Where’re we headed to?

[In good news, Kieran is nearly Elleru's height, so their gaits line up well enough for them to walk at a good pace; she keeps her steps even, a little slower than normal to help him keep up as she leads the way.]

To the park. It is my favorite place. You have been there?

[Although Elleru's steps are smooth and even, Kieran takes a little while to match. He thought he'd gotten used to the manufactured smoothness of Anchor's floors, but without his sight to help him balance and accommodate his movements, the lack of minute bumps and slopes is amplified by what feels like hundreds of times. It just doesn't feel natural--he'll be glad for when they actually make it to the park. Nature, no matter how manmade, will always have those tiny imperfections that are predictable in how unpredictable they could be.]

Yeah! A few times when I was finished with work over at the ranch and needed a break. I didn't get a chance to look around too much, though.

It, uh, it's different than I'm used to seein' back home. There ain't much need fer parks when you got all that nature surroundin' ya.

[Thankfully, Elleru is keeping an eye out for Kieran, watching him carefully as he walks. She doesn't release his hand, but she's absolutely ready to catch and carry him to the park, if need be.]

I, too, live in the wilderness. I am not used to it being isolated as it is here, kept in one or two areas, as in a city. It is very different. Not bad, but... different.

[Kieran nods. He totally gets that feeling.]

That’s a good way to put it.

[Back home, cities represented the antithesis of freedom. They were closed in, suffocating, and mired in bureaucracy. Kieran had learned to dislike the very notion of cities, but his short time in Anchor has definitely made him a bit more open to the concept. Especially if he could still have a taste of the outdoors.]

D-Do you mind tellin’ me more about where you lived?

I lived in the woods at the base of a mountain. It was a colony of my kind.

[And that's a term she's coming to realize might mean something different to uprights than it would to her people. She continues.]

Each of us there had our dens, and our roles to play. Some are priestesses, like me. Others were born to protect our people, and some, our lands. The forest could be a very dangerous place for someone who was not of our kind, but we could always see the way home.

[Kieran listens carefully. It’s clear that Elleru wasn’t exactly of his world, despite her spot on guise, but to actually hear something of her people is fascinating. That said, he still doesn’t know the truth of what her people actually look like, but he’s intrigued nonetheless.]

S-So you and yer people, you, uh, you helped anyone who wandered into the forest?

[He kind of wants to ask about the whole den thing, but he feels like that would be a bit rude.]

[Elleru lets out a low chuckle.]

No. We are the ones who made the forest dangerous.

Oh.

[Kieran pauses, then laughs.]

Should I be worried, then?

[He makes it sound like a joke BUT ELLERU SHOULD HE BE????]

[There are few things more unnerving than being blindly led by the hand to who knows where by an individual who makes statements like that. She lets out another laugh, somewhere between a giggle and a bird-like thrum.]

Oh Kieran! You do not need to be worried! I would not let any harm come to you. And if anyone tries, they will be more than blinded.

[She's smiling; it's audible in her voice.]

Oh, I definitely believe that, Miss Elleru.

[HE DOES. 1000000%]

Just remind me to never get on yer bad side. Ever.

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