awashlogs | Event Six.

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Event Six.

If you see this hairy creature
Your first choice should always be to run
Otherwise you had better hope
You have silver bullets in a gun.

he full moon hangs brightly over the Town, hovering so low that it almost feels as though you could reach out and touch it. It should be comforting.

But as the howl of wolves fills the air, it's anything but.

There are werewolves on the prowl, and their target is very clear -- the Town won't be able to last without your help.

Welcome to Awash's sixth 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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…

[ dextera almost feels indignant that guren seems to think his birds aren’t clean, but indignity is better than the paranoia that was wracking him earlier. if he catches a glimpse of the moon, he’s going to remember, but for now—he feels the need to defend the honor of his living space. ]

Clean. [ insistent... dextera is helping with the feathers now, but mostly he’s trying to convince guren it’s fine. ] They go out, in the morning.

[ they sleep here, okay! and then he lets them walk, but not too far, because he doesn’t trust the town even when the sun is up. ]

Yeah, well, it smells like bird in here.

[HE'S SO NICe... but now he's just trying to see if Dextera is going to get mad if he keeps it up, because he thinks that'd be funny... He's horrible.]

…

[ dextera might be getting a little mad. he would never get defensive on his own behalf, but the birds—! the birds don’t deserve this slander, and it’s fine, maybe, because it’s all taking his mind off how scared he was. ]

Clean. [ this is the most fussed sign ever. guren is teasing him! ] Smells natural.

[ OKAY? ]

[No... don't... he's having too much fun with this.]

Does "natural" normally cling to you like that?

[He laughs, and his smug face is probably even more irritating. He drops the feathers in a little pile near the door, the other side than his sword, just so he can sign pointedly with his next sentence.]

I think you need a bath. [He signed "you" and "bath"... he's rude]

[ he signed it. the last time guren signed something, dextera was flattered, but now his eyes widen in stark surprise because guren just said he needed a bath?! ]

—?!

[ this is up there for the stupidest conversation they’ve ever had, but dextera curls away from him, lifting the sleeve of his coat to his face to sniff it. normally, he just purifies any dirt or debris off his skin and clothes, but it is true that he’s been a little more personal with the animals lately.

does he… does he really need a bath ]

You can't check by your coat. Doesn't it just stay purified?

[Cheater!! But god, he's so mean, but he's having so much fun. He covers his mouth partially.]

Besides, you're so used to it, you probably can't smell a thing. When's the last time you took a bath?

[ that’s a question that dextera doesn’t want to answer. he likes to clean up with water, making sure that his face and skin are all clear of anything that his purification might have missed—though it’s really more likely to be the other way around, the feeling of trying is more than the results—but an actual bath?

a while. ]

…

[ he wiggles his hand, not at all a sign. the last time he took a bath was [REDACTED] and that should be okay. ]

[DEXTERA... BUDDY... more than just staying clean, aren't they a point of relaxation? Anyway, Guren is definitely making a face.]

You're kidding. You seriously haven't...?

[SINCE WHEN... He's been wanting to smooch this nasty boy, he can't believe.] Alright, change of plans. You're taking a bath while I stand guard.

Ah—

[ is it okay for him to take a bath like this, though? he doesn’t want to leave guren alone out here, and a bath sounds like the quickest way to make himself utterly defenseless if a werewolf gets brave.

for now, however, his mind isn’t swelling so hard on the logistics of it all. ]

I don’t need to.

[ his final defense… ]

[Boy]

I know we're a little limited here, but you should at least try for once a week. [At least?!] Come on, I can help you get it hot. You need to relax right now, anyway.

[ do you think he has TIME to BATHE once a WEEK?

dextera has more than enough time, actually, so it’s not like taking a bath would ever cut into his daily life. he just doesn’t do it, because it’s not a habit he got into, and as long as he can purify himself, then… what’s the point? ]

…

[ finally, dextera nods. put him in the bath. ]

Don't look like I'm punishing you or something. Next time, I'll let you use some of my shampoo.

[And then it'll be worth it. For now, though, he walks past Dextera and pats him on the shoulder.]

You can stay here with your birds, and I'll get it ready for you. It won't take too long.

[ dextera gave away his shampoo to shiho, unfortunately for guren, but the idea of using guren’s sounds strangely appealing. he likes the way guren smells, after all. ]

…

[ he nods again, and once guren leaves to get the bath ready, he can’t help but think about how—ridiculous, this is. there are werewolves outside, and guren is forcing him to take a bath, but maybe there is something to it.

if he smells like chicken, this might make him less of a target. it’s fine. ]

[How the fuck did people live without running hot water, Guren's going to make a lot of trips with buckets or something, I guess, to the bathroom closest to Dextera's room. But he manages!! And when he's done, he finally moves to find Dextera, gesturing for him to come along.

He still leaves his sword leaning in his room, but he really does think they'll be fine. If, somehow, they're not, it's not a big deal.]

I can stay outside the door to make sure it's safe, if that'll make you feel better. But I want you to actually relax.

[ guren is a hero that dextera doesn’t deserve, maybe, for setting up this bath for him. he spends the idle time playing with the chicken that’s still awake, stroking her feathers and trying to get her to settle down. by the time guren returns, she’s fallen asleep, and dextera follows him. ]

Stay.

[ he’ll ask that much of him, with his hand on the door to the bathroom. before he can think too much harder about this setup, he closes the door behind him, and there’s the rustling of fabric as he strips his clothes and drops them to the floor.

and a looooooooong pause, before he actually audibly gets into the water. ]

["Stay" and then the door shuts in his face. It's a relief to have this barrier between them, but it's also incredibly tantalizing. He can try all he want to worry about werewolves or the bogeyman, but this is the right now. He's leaning against the door of Dextera's bathroom and listening to him get into the water, and he realizes now that even if he talks it's going to be one sided.

That's even worse.

Still, he can't stay silent, or Dextera might not relax.]

See? You can relax. I know the water's still warm, too, so it should be comfortable. I'll be staying here.

[ dextera realizes, too, once guren speaks—he won’t be able to say anything back, but maybe that’s not a bad thing. guren’s voice sounds different, through the door, but it’s soothing just to be spoken to.

this week has left him too anxious, terrified of the world around him, and feeling the warm embrace of a bath is strangely, perhaps, exactly what he needed without even realizing it.

he closes his eyes, pushing his body under the water so his scar isn’t so visible, and he gazes over at the door. ]

…

[ guren is always worrying about him, like this. ]

[He can hear the slight movement of the water, and it makes him want to picture too much, but he can stay calm about it. Stand here like nothing is the matter, arms crossed, silent only until it stretches for too long and he feels he should speak to help Dextera.]

This will get cleared up, one way or another. There are hints left around for the cure, probably to encourage us. I doubt they'd pop up now otherwise.

[Another stretch of silence, and he glances to the side, like it might help him imagine what Dextera is looking at from the tub.]

Just like everything else in this shitty town, this'll pass, and we'll be able to play chess again.

[ dextera wants to play chess, too. he doesn’t want to be scared of the sound of people outside anymore. he’s tired of worrying over the health and safety of his chickens, and the health and safety of his friends.

he wants to go back to relaxing, but it feels as if this town is relentless with the things it throws their way. he sighs, and touches his throat.

guren heard his voice once. he wants guren to be able to hear it again. ]

…

[ he’s trying. he’s trying—he wants to speak to guren even with a door between them, but he can’t. ]

Mmhm.

[ that’s all he has. ]

You don't have to worry about talking back.

[Why else would he make a noise like that? Guren feels a little bad, but he continues soon enough.] One knock on the tub for agreeing, two knocks for disagreeing. If you really want.

But I still think I can understand you well enough even when you're silent.

[ dextera knocks once, agreeing to the system.

it’s nice of guren to accommodate him like this. it’s nice of guren to do all this, even though he doesn’t have to. he doesn’t have to do anything, and yet he’s here, standing guard while dextera soaks in the water to try to wash off the smell of fowl from his skin.

he cleans up, dripping water over his hair even without shampoo to properly wash it. he can purify his skin and clothes, but there are still twigs and down feathers and all sorts of small things that get caught on him, and it’s probably good for him to wash all of it out now.

he wonders, briefly, if guren will see him differently afterwards. ]

[The knock gets him to grin to himself, though he doesn't say anything back to it yet. He's busy listening to that shifting, the water splish-splashing just enough that he can tell Dextera is actually using it.]

It feels nice, doesn't it? If a busy guy like me can find time for regular baths, so can you.

[ it does feel nice. dextera isn’t used to the water being warm—and, only vaguely, he recalls the feeling of taking a shower, rather than ever bathing. perhaps, as a child, it was too difficult for the two of them to bathe like this…

but it doesn’t matter. dextera knocks again, and he lets the light, meaningless conversation continue like that for a little while.

eventually, the water starts to cool off, and it feels a little weird to sit in it anymore, so he carefully stands. it’s true that he does feel better, and his body even feels like it’s been eased for sitting in that hot water for so long. he’s dripping everywhere, and there is a towel in the room, but for some reason he goes to the door first.

he knocks, gently, and then opens it just enough so he can see guren’s face. ]

Finished.

[Guren blinks when the door shifts, standing up just in time to not lose his balance from leaning against it. He turns to look at that face peeking through the door, and he can see that he's dripping, wet hair, skin—]

So go dry off with some towels. [He's looking away, pointedly, from that crack in the door!!]

You're probably making a mess. I'll help you clean up when you're dressed.

…

[ dextera nods, then, watching guren not look at him for just a moment, and then he lets the door close again gently.

towel first… he dries himself off, being tender around his scar. it doesn’t physically hurt anymore, the wound long closed, but it’s too stark to just pretend it isn’t there. then he pulls his clothes back on, making sure to purify them one more time before he wears them.

his hair is still wet, so he lets the towel rest over his head when he peeks out of the bathroom a second time. ]

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