stillarhino | inbox & overflow

[Beat himself had been lying low for a couple of days after the events at the cliffside. That in itself was unusual, considering how loud and full of energy he usually is. But after the adrenaline had worn off, he found himself tired and lethargic for reasons he couldn't explain. Was it because of how exposed he had been to the nightmare energy both in the cave and out by the lake?

It surprises him at first when he receives a message from Ori, but a small smile eventually makes its way onto his lips as he begins to write back.]

yo ori im doing aight
yeah im cool with it
you coming by soon?

[He proceeds to give her the directions to his place, found on the east side of the residential district.]

Yes, I will be there soon!

[ And that's all she says, in writing, before she sets off. It doesn't take her very long to reach the east side of the residential district where Beat's treehouse is; once she quickly checks back in the pages of her journal to make sure she's at the right place, she knocks quietly on the door. ]

Hey, there... It's Ori.

[ And whenever Beat answers the door, she'll be there with a basket full of healing potions on her arm. ]

[It's not hard to find Beat's place with the instructions he gave, and the wooden plaque shaped like a skull hanging by the side of his door, with his name spelled out on either side of the skull.

It takes Beat a little longer than usual to answer the door. Ori will hear a little bit of shuffling inside and a loud THUD. A string of curses follows immediately after. Finally the door opens with a click. Beat stands right behind it, scratching the back of his head while looking sheepishly at Ori. It's probably the most dressed down she's seen him, in a sleeveless shirt and sweatpants.]

Yo, sorry 'bout the mess. Tried to clean up but... [He really tried.] Wanna come in?

[When she does, she will find that he's moved around a few things so the place would at least look presentable, though the nearby cabinet looks like it's about to burst open. There's also a jacket on the floor that seems to have been hastily kicked aside.]

[ She has half a mind to kick the door down when she hears the shuffling and especially so when she hears that loud thud. What if he’s still in pain and fell over, or worse— still struggling with any lingering nightmare energy?!

As such, whenever he does finally get around to opening the door, Ori has a panicked look on her face, which relaxes just a little bit when she sees that he is, in fact, in one piece. ]

O-Oh. Don’t worry about that, Beat. Are you… Okay?

[ Still, she comes in and places her basket of potions atop the nearest free surface, and while she does notice the state of disarray that his place is in… she can hardly fault him for it. Gods know that she would be prone to leaving her own home in such a way, if not for the fact that she lives with someone else… ]

Huh? Yeah I'm aight. Jus'... [His gaze strays over to the discarded hoodie on the floor.] Jus' kinda wiped out is all. Ain't no biggie.

[He doesn't look to be hurt by the fall, but it's also easy to see most of where he had gotten hurt that night. The bruising around his neck and collarbone from when Eustace had tried to choke him had mostly subsided, and the wound on his arm from the bite seemed to be healing albeit slowly if the scabbing was any indication of that. Any other stray scratches and bruises seemed to have mostly healed since.]

Sorry, I kinda been MIA. Thought about checkin' up on ya too, but...

[But I felt like shit that I wasn't able to help out more? But I didn't know what to say to you after everything that happened? There were so many many ways he could finish that sentence, but none of them felt right. Each one of them felt like an excuse for not reaching out earlier.]

How you been doin'?

Edited 2022-09-13 03:11 (UTC)

[ There are a lot of blank spots in what he’s said that take a second for Oriphi to parse; most of it, she can surmise, but… All in all, she gets the idea, and more importantly it’s his subdued demeanor conveys most of what Ori needs to know in this moment. That, and the bruising and scabbing that she can see on him.

At length, she shakes her head at him. ]

There’s no need to apologize for that. I know we all need our own time and our own space to process everything. I’m a healer, though, so of course I want to check on everyone.

[ Which is also her avoiding his question entirely. While she’s here, he doesn’t need to use the health potions and can use them for another time, or gods forbid another ordeal like the one they’d just gone through. ]

I can heal you up some more, if you’d like… It’ll speed up the process a bit.

[Even if he still felt like he could've been a bit more present, he doesn't fight her once in that regard.

She was right in that he needed time too, there were still nights when he couldn't bring himself to back to sleep, plagued by image of everyone scattered across the snowy cavern floor. He would replay the events of that night, over and over in his head. And now that she was here, he can't help but think about how Ori had gotten between him and Eustace early on into their engagement with him.

But he tries to shake the thought away.]

You sure you's a healer? 'Cause you was helluva beast back there, yo.

[His tone is teasing, and there's a bit more semblance of his usual demeanor when he talks. If anything, he's able to say that with a bit of a chuckle that accompanies his smile.]

[ Ori merely blinks at him for a second, again; it’s probably rude of her to have this sort of moment pretty much every time Beat says something, but at least this time it’s because… Well, she honestly hadn’t been expecting a comment like that. It’s… Nice of him to say? She thinks?

In the end, she huffs a laugh, light and airy, and it’s as if she’s able to breathe a little easier as she expels some of that stress with the laughter. ]

That’s— Thanks, Beat. You’re talking about the fact that I was a Dire Wolf, right?

[ Still smiling, she shakes her head. ]

That form is normally a lot sturdier, but… I wasn’t anticipating how much the nightmare energy would take out of me. I’m sorry about that.

[ Really, that’s only one of the many things she’s sorry about, but she can start with that one. ]

[As soon as he realized that Ori had misunderstood what he meant, he shook his head, still wanting to be absolutely straight with her.]

Sure, that wolf you turned into was really somethin'. But I'm just talkin' 'bout you, yo. You was fire back there.

[While fighting alongside her, he could see what she was able to do. How she was able to move and how she had tried to protect him. More than a couple of times, in fact.]

You did loads to keep Wolfie on ya an' away with. [In spite of her reasoning about the nightmare energy that they all felt back there, she willingly put herself in front of Eustace in the state he was in. That alone stood out to him.] That takes guts. With or without the nightmare energy messin' 'round with everything else.

We ain't seen each other since but lemme leas' say thanks, yo.

[ First “cool,” now “fire…” Is there no end to the madness of his lingo…!

This time, at least, she picks up on how he means the words by context. And ultimately, it’s all less important than the sentiment he’s expressing, that gratitude or what she did when they fought side-by-side. ]

I… Um, you’re welcome.

[ She says it, despite the fact that she doesn’t feel like she deserves that thanks. ]

And thank you, too. You fought so valiantly - and you were so fast, I could hardly keep track of where you were!

Heh, had to keep Wolfie busy, you know?

[Even without his psychic abilities, Beat had always been fast due to his restlessness. He knew that tapping into it here, especially during that fight had given him an extra edge.

But it wasn't enough to get back in time to help everyone. Not fast enough to get away from Eustace that Ori had to get between them. Because of that, he too didn't feel like be should be thanked.

His eyes unconsciously stray to where the bite would've been, had she been in her original form. He'd seen a glimpse of it at her home and he did his best to avert his gaze then. This time, he couldn't help himself.

A crease begins to form on his forehead as a frown pulls on the sides of his lips.]

Kinda wish I coulda done more. So you wouldn'ta gotten hurt. [He pauses.] So y'all wouldn'ta gotten wrecked.

Edited (I wanted to add more) 2022-10-04 20:07 (UTC)

[ That Beat glances over to a very specific spot in Ori’s side doesn’t escape the tiefling. She can hazard a guess as to why it is he’s chosen that particular place to look, and in turn she shifts her weight from one leg to another and folds her arms contemplatively. ]

Looking back at everything now, I think… Getting hurt was unavoidable. I think we dreamwalkers as a whole are still trying to figure out how to deal with noctaere…

[ She closes her eyes, and draws in a deep breath in and out. ]

I think we all fought well that night. We can’t help what we didn’t know. But… We can all promise to do better if this happens again. Hopefully it doesn’t. And if anything… The others and I should have done more. So that you and Susato wouldn’t have had to face such things…

[ They’re so young, after all. She doesn’t know Beat very well, but she can tell from the way he’d handled himself in battle that he’s had some experience. Still, she wishes neither of them would have had to fight, that night. They should be worried about far less dire things in their lives at such an age. ]

[When Ori shifts, Beat notices this and is quick to look elsewhere, hand reaching to rub at his other arm, a little embarrassed to have been caught staring. He doesn't mean to, after all. He hadn't seen her after he had gotten back so it was the injury that she took for him that remained etched in his mind.]

If all a' 'em are like that, sounds like somethin' we all gotta learn to deal with y'know?

[If only it were that simple. Having experienced something like that made him keenly aware of the effects of dealing with a noctaere firsthand now.

He continues to let Ori talk, even if he wants to interrupt her mid-way, but there's a sudden shift in his expression as she finishes. While he is inclined to agree that he should do better, as they all should, to prevent things from happening again, something Ori says sticks out.

The crease on his forehead deepens as his brows knit closer together and the tone of his voice suddenly borders that of a growl.]

Yo, hold up! Why you gotta single out me and Loops? Why's it just me and her who don't gotta deal with that stuff and not all y'all?

[ Once she’s finished her piece, her eyes flutter open once more to find a very different expression across Beat’s features. Her eyebrows hitch up all the more when he responds in a tone that’s just as different; clearly, something she’s said has struck a chord with him, and she draws in a sharp breath in anticipation for… well, for exchanging cross words.

Because what he says pulls her lips into a frown and, mirroring him, her brows knit together as well. Her voice, however, stays surprisingly level, drawing on an endless well of patience that she seems to have. ]

Because you’re both so young. Susato, especially. Don’t mistake me, Beat, I respect and admire that you were able to fight so well and bravely that night, but—

You two shouldn’t have had to… We should have been able to protect you both and keep you safe.

[Unlike Ori, Beat did not have the kind of patience and level-headedness she seemed to have. What she said rubbed him the wrong way and he was sure as hell going to make sure she knew that.]

I ain't mistakin' nothing! It ain't about bein' brave, or how I was fightin', or nothin', yo!

[At this point, Beat's fists clench tightly, and he holds one of them up in the air. He has no intention of hurting Ori, but he takes a step towards her, towering above her as he maintains eye contact between them. He grits his teeth and lets out a sharp breath, seething with anger, the look on his face intensifying as he speaks again.]

It don't matter that we're younger than the rest of you! I went out there 'cause wanted to help Wolfie and Teef out, aight? And I'm sure as hell that Loops wanted to do the same!

We coulda turned tail but we didn't. 'Cause we wanted to be there. For Wolfie, for Teef, and even for all y'all who was out there with us!

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