awashlogs | Event Three.

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Event Three.

I come at night, and in the day.
I'm always there, do what you may.
You may think that I hate the light,
Because it is what gives you your sight.
But truthfully in light I trust,
Because for me it is a must.
Left or right, or down below
I'll follow you, fast or slow.
You really can't escape from me,
So tell me now, what I may be.

t's always with you. Your friendly shadow, always following you, step by step. There's nothing wrong with that, right? That could never, ever go wrong...

The Town's starting to look better, the situation is starting to improve bit by bit -- there's a bit more color to be found. But it seems as though the characters' adventurousness has stirred up something that may have been better left alone, and that's caused a change in something very close to home.

Because amidst all of this optimistic color restoration, something's lurking, right behind everyone's every single step -- and as the day dawns and everyone begins to bustle about, some mischief is finally, properly afoot.

It might be better to stay by the light this week.

Welcome to Awash's second event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post.

You are welcome to start your own posts or logs for this event as well. If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you!

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[ oh, well, that sounds like a pretty important caveat to keep in mind. the shadows have been dropping things on people like no tomorrow, and if kaoru specifically needs that not to happen, then she might be in trouble. the fear that crosses his face is obvious. ]

Let me help.

[Great. Now she's made him worry. But the guilt of having worried him isn't what makes her stare at the words longer than necessary.]

I'm not sure if that's a good idea. My powers aren't always the most stable and without my Limiter if there's any fluctuations, my psychic centre might go nuts. It's probably better if I'm on my own if that happens.

[As for her? She'll be fine...for a given value of fine.]

[ she isn’t making him feel better about her safety! it may be true that there’s nothing he can do to help her, but it would be wrong to leave her without a fight. ]

Would you be OK?

[ even if she says yes, however, it’s not going to stop him from trying to keep close. she can’t watch out for her shadow, and he’s not sure she can get rid of it by herself. ]

[She doesn't want to lie though. People had lied to her before in the name of protecting her and she had never liked it. So she didn't want to do it to other people.]

Of course! Minamoto's gone though with us what to do in case that happens! We've prepared for this since middle school so I know what to do to keep myself safe!

[She'd just rather not put other people at risk. That's all.]

[ it doesn't seem like she's lying, and dextera knows he would be annoyed if someone questioned him too far about something he's confident in—he doesn't know who minamoto is, but he believes that kaoru considers herself trained indeed for this kind of situation. ]

...

[ hm. ]

Then I'll be OK too. Please trust me.

[Again, she couldn't help but stare again.]

...I do trust you.

[There's an unspoken 'but' at the end of that sentence. Because Kaoru was supposed to be the brave one. Because it was her powers, and therefore her responsibility. Still, she would hate it if the situation were reversed, being told to leave despite how much she wanted to stay and help.]

...okay. [Pause. And then there's the smallest of smiles.] Thank you.

[ dextera returns her smile. it's shy and unfamiliar on his face, but the longer he spends in this town, the more comfortable he becomes with such an expression.

he's going to help her find her limiter! and even if they don't find it before the day is out, then he at least wants to help protect her—there are too many dangers abounding with the shadows' mischief as things are. ]

...

[ he tucks away the notebook, and offers out his hand. ]

[She doesn't hesitate to reach out to take his hand. Physical contact has always been something reassuring to Kaoru (and though she didn't want to admit it, a little bit of reassurance would be nice.)]

I must seem like a pretty bad tempered girl, huh... [Since he keeps...finding her like this.

(Because she wouldn't be herself if she didn't at least try to crack a joke.)]

[ dextera laughs, softly, and squeezes her hand with that reassurance she wants. bad-tempered or not, he doesn't mind. she reminds him a bit of alice, actually, and alice has been a strange companion—but one he's always grateful to see, no matter how angry she gets with him.

so he shakes his head.

kaoru is... a friend of his. strangely enough, however this happened, she's become someone he's happy to have met, and so he wants to make sure she's safe. with his free hand, he touches under her chin, ensuring that she's going to lift her head with a smile. it's wholesome, okay!! ]

[It was childish, maybe, but having her hand held was reassuring enough that she did smile. But uh.

When he touches her chin she just blanks out. Because what...is happening? What?

WHAT?

Excuse her while her brain just freezes and she flushes. She can't even get any words out right now. She's just internally screaming in her head because WHAT WAS THIS? THIS COULDN'T BE WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE, RIGHT? THIS WASN'T--SHE WASN'T--]

I-I'm underaged!

[ wait, what— ]

—?!

[ as soon as she protests that she's underaged, dextera reels back from her with such a ferocity it's like he was burned. ages don't matter in the apocalypse, but the fact is really that he wasn't trying to do anything at all?! his eyes are wide with panic, and he doesn't have any blessed clue how she got the impression that he was trying to...

he quickly shakes his head! ]

[Sorry Dex. The only problem here is that Kaoru is a weird hyrbid of a pervert and an innocent maiden. It doesn't help that she read a lot of dirty magazines over the years.

...actually, why did she just scream that out loud? Didn't that tell everyone who was listening that she was thinking something dirty?! And judging by his reaction it seemed like she was the only one thinking it. Why can't the ground just swallow her up...?]

I. Um. It's not--I didn't--that wasn't what I wanted to say!

[She didn't know what she wanted to say!? Would it be bad if she just ran away...? Or would that be even more suspicious???]

[ what did you want to say, kaoru??

dextera realizes that it was his mistake here, in trying to do something kind, and now there's an awkward misunderstanding between them that may never truly be resolved. he's so sorry. ]

...

[ all he's got is this shaking of his head, and he presses his hand to his chest as if he can try to communicate that he was just being nice! really! he's an adult with no interest in kids like kaoru! ]

[SHE DOESN'T KNOW. She barely even knows what she is saying right now.

...and now she seems to have made him upset. Ugh. Why couldn't she just be a normal, innocent maiden?!]

How about we just pretend that didn't happen...?

[Please???]

...

[ dextera nods, but the fact is that he’s a little horrified by all this. does everyone think that he wants to kiss them when he’s especially forward with his hands? is kaoru just the first person who’s reacted so openly?

this is terrible.

he spreads his palms in open, innocent apology, and then slowly lowers them to his side to make sure she knows... his hands are safe. ]

[Her thoughts still weren't clear, at this point she wasn't even very sure what exactly she was (more) embarrassed by.

But when he held out his hand then lowered them--for a split second it reminded her of the way Shiho used to reach out for people only to curl her fingers back. Out of pure instinct, she leaned over--actually it's more like her feet actually left the ground and suddenly she was there, in his space, her arms wrapping around his shoulders in a hug.]

It's fine. [Ugh. What was wrong with her anyway? Was it lack of sleep? The anxiety at losing her Limiter? Was it all the porn magazine she's read? Either way, she was actually the one in the wrong here, wasn't she? He wasn't some weird pervert that would go around kissing highschool girls!]

I'm sorry for over-reacting. You don't need to hold back like that.

[ well, dextera is a weird pervert, but not for high school girls! kaoru's instincts aren't completely inaccurate, but it's the wrong context for assuming the worst in him. ]

—!

[ the hug is a surprise, even for someone who has become quite comfortable with grabbing hands and touching faces and all the kind of contact that hugs should fall under. so he's frozen for a moment... but then he's easing, shaking his head as he returns the hug with the uncertainty but earnestness of someone who is still not completely used to hugging people.

like she said, it's fine. ]

[She's accused people who aren't perverts of perverted things before so.

Kaoru holds onto him a bit longer before she pulls back.]

Thank you again. It's reassuring to know I won't be alone.

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Event Three.

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