keepsthefire | IC Contact

[ you're joking, right. this is a dream—is a nightmare—it has to be. ]

Leave

[ if you're joking, he sure as hell isn't. demon or no demon, Rin can't possibly be capable of scaling sixty meters of pure muscle, every fiber of which in all likelihood absolutely does not want to be scaled. ]

Get as far away as possible

You are not equipped for subduing that form

[He's not joking.

Sorry, Armin.]

that is the least helpful

cant you give me something better???

[Rin]

[ honestly, he's not surprised, but he's sure as hell disappointed. and terrified. and in between texts, he may or may not be launching from where he'd been seated to rifle through Rin's things for a pair of pants and put on his gear. ]

[ or he would have, if a sudden wave of vertigo hadn't slammed into him the moment he'd jumped up and put him on the floor. fumbling for the new messages on his phone, he curls up where he's landed, ]

He's encased in the nape of its neck, only a deep and precise slice will release him by force

Rin please don't do this

If he isn't hostile, stand down.

[ Bertholt is Rin's friend, but even by virtue of size alone, he's liable to do more than some major damage, especially if he's already been provoked into shifting for the first time since his arrival... for the love of all the gods and walls, his chest is tight, something in his head feels fit to burst. ]

[He really is sorry, Armin. Beneath all of the desire to get Bert to just stand the fuck down and let him get taken where he's not going to be alone and miserable.

Really, if he knew how bad things were over there (thanks, network, for only have text functions working still) he might actually reconsider.

But he doesn't, and of course Armin unwittingly gives the dumbass half demon exactly what he wants to see.]

is that really it?

shit i have a sword i can do that!

[Rin what part of anything you do "precise"?]

[ THAT WASN'T A FUCKING INVITATION, OKUMURA. ]

STOP

[ is there a point? of course there isn't a point. he's as stubborn as Eren, if not moreso. but even when Eren had rushed the colossal titan, he'd years upon years of training and knowledge under his belt, been armed to the teeth with the most efficient weapon against them in existence... it isn't as if he doubted the other boy's abilities, but against that... ]

[ Rin wouldn't be texting back and he knew it. he'd be running directly for that damnably defensive pillar of flesh and steam. ]

[I'M SORRY I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF BECOMING WANDER FROM SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS.

BRB CLIMBING UP A TITAN ARM.

So yeah spot on there, Armin.

~~He's so so sorry~~.]

[ GOOD HE'S TOO BUSY HAVING AN ANEURYSM IN YOUR GIRLFRIEND'S ARMS TO CARE ANYWAY. ]

[Oh well you two can get to know each other now.

Just as planned... ?]

[ how do you have friends. ]

[Bitches love the tail.]

[ She heard a thud. She heard a thud.

While it wasn't all that uncommon to hear that in the house, she and Armin were the only ones home at the moment and ... well, given the place they were in and the condition he was currently in, Kohaku had every right to be worried. She rushed over to check on him, and then quickly makes her way to his side.

Clearly Armin isn't doing well. ]

Armin, are you okay?!

[ Do you need a healing arte, mister?? Will that help?? ]

Edited 2014-06-13 07:20 (UTC)

[ by the time she reaches his side, he's managed to sit up, one hand pressed to his aching head, the other clenching the phone in frustration and dread. he's useless like this, dizzy on standing, fit to bleed out the face at the slightest provocation (not that either instance has been even remotely petty thus far). ]

[ as if on cue, Armin is sniffling, dropping the phone and clamping a shaking hand over his nose. ]

That suicidal bastard...

[ he can't quite bring himself to explain just yet. after all, it is her significant other on the other line. running straight for certain death. ]

[ ... a healing arte certainly couldn't hurt, if that's what you're asking. ]

[ That reaction absolutely meant something was really wrong, and it wasn't just being ill. She wanted to ask what was going on, but her attention was more drawn to how he was shaking and covering his nose.

She wasn't sure if it would do anything to help (her heal spells were more suited for physical injuries rather than illness-related things), but she placed her hands on his shoulders, closed her eyes and murmured the incantation for her healing arte. Within the next minute a light covered Armin for a moment, and he would likely feel a rather warm feeling as the healing arte started to take effect.

After the light from the arte faded, she moved a little closer and gave him a gentle hug. She hoped that was okay. They didn't know each other very well, but she couldn't just do nothing when he was very clearly upset about something. ]

What's going on?

[ he flinches slightly at the touch, but he doesn't pull away, content to let her mumble incomprehensibly over his shoulder as he pinches his nose shut. but the moment light begins to spread from her fingers and envelop him in a gentle glow, he lets out a soft but startled sound. he isn't completely ignorant of the concept of magic, but having it used directly on him in such a capacity is something of a first. ]

[ but the feeling it offers is a comforting one in more than just contact. it's warm, soothes the pressure in his head and, if only for a moment, calms the flutter in his chest. caused by illness it might be, the bleeding itself is the result of a physically burst blood vessel, and as such, her spell manages to clot it before any begins spilling down to his chin. ]

[ with the shock of realization out of the way, hopefully he can avoid being roused to harm once more by the heaps of lingering dread. though he doesn't return the embrace, he leans his head against hers for a moment or two before drawing back to look at her straight. ]

You saw Rin dash out of the house, didn't you? [ not an uncommon sight, nor is it easily missed. ] Didn't you hear that thunder? [ less common, much harder to ignore. ]

[ Actually, she did remember seeing that. She hadn't had time to actually ask him what was going on, not to mention that with him gone, nobody was left in the house to look after Armin. She wouldn't worry about that ordinarily, but, well ... Armin was currently sick and all.

She knew Rin was worried about Armin as well, so she'd trusted that whatever Rin was up to, he'd come back soon enough. It seemed Armin knew what was really going on, though, and it was freaking him out. A lot.

And then he mentioned the thunder ... which, yes, she had heard. She hadn't exactly thought that was anything related to why Rin was rushing out of the house, though.

Now that Armin was talking about the two in the same vein, though, it was making her think about it.

And all she could do was facepalm. ]

He's running himself right into something dangerous, isn't he?

[ SHE'S HONESTLY NOT SURPRISED. Worried now, yes, but not surprised. ]

[ he lets out a long sigh as she turns the gears over in her head, not so much facepalming in kind as kneading at his temple. he'd dealt with enough in the past week, enough stress, enough loss, and now the only enormous idiots he knows to be left are butting heads in the biggest of ways. ]

[ he nods at her query, sitting up straighter. ]

Depending on where he is, he could very well be endangering a lot of other people as well.

[ not to mention the property damage... part of him imagined Bertholt to be far more mindful of his form than Eren might be, and with the two of them being friends without baggage, it's unlikely the colossal titan would be on the offensive. but it was all about location and situation. too many variables, not enough data. ]

[ pushing himself to his feet, he's quickly propping hands on knees as his vision swims. gods, he'd yanked Rin from the jaws of death feeling like shit before, the dizziness passes, maybe he could reason with them... ]

[ As he tries to stand, Kohaku quickly stands and grabs his arm to try and help steady him. ]

You're still recovering! You really shouldn't be moving too much!

[ She's going to be stern on this. She couldn't let Armin make himself worse, no matter how worried they both were about the idiot boyfriend.

She didn't know what to do about the whole thing, really. She felt she needed to stay here and take care of Armin, but there was also the matter of Rin ... who, as much as she wanted to smack some sense into him, would probably be stubborn about whatever he was doing and do it anyway.

And then there was the matter of endangering other people ... She was just hoping they wouldn't be endangering anyone else or causing too much damage. Though, in this place, hope seemed like such a silly thing to have. ]

I ... don't think there's any stopping him, Armin. If he's got his mind made up, he's going to go through with it no matter what we tell him. He's a stubborn idiot like that.

[ If he survives this, we are so going to have words with him. ]

It goes away...

[ more under his breath, more to himself than to reassure Kohaku; not that he'd exerted himself much in the past few days, but so far the act of standing is the only thing to really get the spots dancing in front of his eyes. ]

[ he knew long before the words left her mouth that it was hopeless. that even if he were perfectly healthy, trying to get Rin to back down from a challenge would be harder than tearing the moon out of the sky. ]

... He is.

[ and after a moment—he doesn't pull away so much as gently detach himself from her before moving for the door. it isn't quite ambling, but it's slow, outwardly calm, in no rush to escape her. all he wants is a look outside. ]

[ Regardless of whether it goes away or not, Kohaku is pretty concerned. As he starts to move toward the door, she doesn't quickly go after him. Instead, she watches him for a few moments before following behind him.

She's got the idea that he isn't trying to escape her, or the house, so she feels pretty safe in letting him do what he wants there ... but her concern for him and his condition is definitely going to make it so she keeps an eye on him anyway. ]

He's our stubborn idiot, though. If he were acting any different I'd be concerned.

[ Rin is important to a lot of people, even if the dolt didn't seem to realize that sometimes. ]

[ once he's outside, he's quickly scanning the horizon out toward the mill; a logical first place to start if Bertholt has decided to recluse himself, and sure enough, there is a definite column of telltale steam drifting on the wind. whatever's happening, the colossal titan isn't at full height (or he can only hope and dream, the situation has already diffused and he's abandoned the form) but the smoke and thunder didn't lie, and neither did Rin. he'd awoken something. ]

It isn't as if I don't trust him to come back alive.

[ tentative as that trust is, weighted with bias and bitter memories. ]

I just wish he would trust me when I say this isn't something he should ever provoke...

[ Rin may be just as bullheaded as Eren, but the degree to which they take his word seems infinitely divided at times. it's the difference between a fast friend and a childhood one. he knows for all their similarities, they're entirely different people, ones that should never be held up to the standards of the other, but the revelations of the past week and frustration to boot make it an easy thought to harbor. ]

Mm ...

[ She sighs, standing, leaning against the doorway and watching Armin closely. Kohaku could definitely identify a little with what Armin was saying about Rin ... she'd definitely had her moments where she wished the same thing. Still, Rin was Rin, and when he had his mind set on something, there was rarely anyone who could stop him. Even Yukio was powerless sometimes. ]

We'll have to yell at him later, when he returns. For doing something stupid and worrying us like this.

[ not taking his eyes off the steam curling into the sky, Armin nods absentmindedly. it does seem to be dissipating, should it not be his imagination suggesting such; at the very least, it had been a brief encounter. whether or not it was brief on the merits of Rin actually managing to scale a sixty meter beast and slice open its neck, or if the latter had smashed the former underfoot in a single step, remains to be seen. ]

[ they're good friends, Bertholt is nothing like Eren in terms of control... it's all he has to keep telling himself. ]

For all the good it will do.

[ with a bit more conviction, he nods again, making his way back up toward the door and slipping past her, back inside. probably to go back to curling up on the couch. ]

[ She watches him, then follows him back in and closes the door behind them. If he's going to lay back down again, then that's probably for the better. He's still recovering and all. ]

Want me to get you some water?

[ It's been boiled and it's safe to drink, we swear. Rin makes sure to boil it. ]

[ he doesn't lie down, but he at least sits on the sofa and draws his knees to his chest, settling in close to the armrest. it's always been much more of a comfort, making himself small as opposed to sprawling out over any given space. ]

[ before Armin can put his head down, he nods in response to her offer. her spell from before had stopped his bleeding nose and quieted his little aches and pains, but it could do little to ease the tightness in his throat born of all the worry. a drink would probably be most appreciated. ]

[While Kohaku is absent from the living room, a knock comes at the door.

Well not so much a knock as a thudding. A foot being used in lieu of a hand against it.

Why?

Because Rin currently has several feet of unconscious sweaty no-longer-a-titan Bert in his arms and he's trying to not drop him.

After the "knocking", his voice will call out.]

Guys? Look, I know you're probably pretty pissed at me but I really don't wanna stand out here holdin' Bert all night. Please open the door.

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