Event Fourteen.

[awashmods]

Roses bloom and cease to be, But we shall the Christ-child see.

t's very, very cold. It's cold enough that you'll see your breath fog in the air before you, that goosebumps appear on your arms and legs and a chill goes up your spine. You're inside, in a huge palace with sweeping arches and rooms, but it's no real shelter from the cold -- it's just as cold inside as out. There's a throne room, a kitchen, various rooms and even a dungeon to be explored -- and outside, a frigid, frozen garden, a lake that's naturally frozen over, and miles, and miles of snow as far as the eye can see. But be careful while you explore. The snowflake soldiers are naturally dangerous, but even more dangerous than that...there's that creeping sensation of numbness going up your arm, a pang through your chest, and the slow, slow freezing from the inside out. Try not to leave any of your friends behind, okay? Even if they might look a bit too uncannily like some of the statues hanging around for decoration when they're frozen over. Welcome to Awash's fourteenth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to make your own logs for this event, but please keep in mind the lack of laptop function during this event when it comes to forum posts! If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you!

Comments

[apocalypticist]

Yeah. A little cold, but otherwise okay.

[ Ryo's never been particularly expressive even without the shard dulling his emotions like a rock in a streambed, but something about his demeanor seems a little more distant than it should be. ]

We should find something to eat and a place to rest.

[lacrimose]

[Akira reverts back to his usual self, and his now-human face gives him a curious look at the subtle shift in his demeanour, but otherwise he doesn't push it.]

Sure. There's supplies in the kitchens, and I found fish when I checked out the lake earlier. [He holds out his hands expectantly for his shirt and jacket back. It's freezing without all that fur, okay. :( ]

[apocalypticist]

[ He opens his coat just enough to reach his arm inside, taking out the shirt and the jacket before pushing them into Akira's hands. ]

I'll gather materials for a fire from the garden and you catch us some fish to grill. Does that sound good?

[lacrimose]

[Akira takes both, dressing quickly. Neither is nearly as warm as Ryo's coat, but they'll do.]

Sounds fine. I'll meet you in the kitchen when I'm done. [He touches his shoulder, before turning to make his way across the grounds to the lake. It's only getting colder by the minute, so the sooner they get to work, the better.]

[apocalypticist]

[ Ryo tosses a glance over his shoulder as Akira leaves before heading toward the garden to pick up some wood. When Akira steps into the kitchen a little later, a nice and cozy fire is already burning brightly—but the heat does nothing to ward off the creeping cold that only grows stronger with each passing minute. He tries to ignore it as he guts the fish with one of the sharp knives concealed under his fur coat, and he feels absolutely nothing as he watches Akira practically eat them whole. It's wrong and he knows it, but he's too mired in apathy to care at all.

He keeps going almost like an automaton as they find for an unused room to sleep in and before long they're fast asleep, curled up next to each other. Or at least Akira is, snoring away like a buzz saw, because Ryo wakes up shivering from the relentless chill that now seems to have consumed his body entirely, all the way from his fingertips to somewhere deep in his chest cavity. He stares up at the ceiling for the next several minutes as he feels his flesh begin to freeze over. ]

[lacrimose]

[Akira is getting the feeling more and more that something is wrong with Ryo, from his sheer, unsettling indifference. He'd always liked eating with Akira before, but not even a nudge to the ribs and a grinned, 'It's good, isn't it?' elicits much reaction, even over food they'd worked together to prepare.

He's worried, so when they go to sleep, Akira keeps an arm loosely draped over him as if to keep him close. And while at first he sleeps like a log, the shivering and the creeping ice under his arm continues to spread. Soon his loud snoring peters off as he stirs, uncomfortable at the feeling against his skin.]

Nnn... Ryo, s'cold... [He mumbles sleepily and tugs the blanket over them more without opening his eyes, settling down to try to go back to sleep.]

[apocalypticist]

[ There's no response. In fact, Ryo doesn't even seem to be breathing; he's frozen over entirely, unmoving eyes staring blankly ahead.

But he's still conscious and aware of what's happening and he tries in vain to move away from Akira before his unnaturally warm body will cause him to start melting. ]

[lacrimose]

[The cold doesn't go away, and Ryo isn't speaking or moving. Akira sits up and blinks, and he realises with a surge of horror what he'd been oblivious to this whole time. The same thing that happened to Pyra, and many other residents of the castle.]

Ryo! [He touches his arm to see if he can move at all, but as he pulls the blankets back again he realises he's frozen from head to toe. Dangerously, his right side where Akira had cuddled up to him looks a little more in danger of melting than the rest.]

Ryo... I didn't know. I'm sorry...

[Shocked at his condition, and the idea he could have melted him without even noticing, he begins to cry over his frozen body.]

[apocalypticist]

[ A pleasant warmth begins to blossom where Akira's tears touch him, spreading throughout his entire body. He tries once again to move, managing only a near imperceptible finger twitch at first, but as the heat thaws his frigid body movement comes easier.

He blinks the frost out of his eyelashes and turns his head to look at Akira, slowly lifting a hand to touch his cheek. ]

[lacrimose]

[Akira had wondered what would happen if he couldn't save Ryo like he did Pyra, and that only made him cry that much harder. So with his tears blurring his vision, he misses that twitch of the fingers, crying until he feels a cold hand on his cheek.

Surprised, he clasps his hand over Ryo's. For all their differences lately, he still wants him to be okay and safe, and right now he wants that more than anything.]

[apocalypticist]

[ Something in Ryo's eyes softens, the corners of his mouth curving up, and once he feels like he has enough mobility to do so he scoots a little closer so he can feel more of the warmth Akira's body gives off. ]

You can stop crying now.

[lacrimose]

[Akira sniffs and blinks away the tears. Ryo doesn't look in danger of melting any more, so he reaches forward and hugs him, both in relief and to help him warm up faster.]

I should've realised sooner something wasn't right... I'm sorry, Ryo.

[apocalypticist]

It's not your fault, Akira.

[ He puts his arm around him, returning the hug. He's so warm and nice and right now he feels like he's never going to let the hug end. ]

[lacrimose]

[Akira pulls back only fractionally to look at him.] I'm glad you're okay.

[He doesn't understand why, but the same thing happened when he'd found Pyra, too. The only thing in common he can think of would be crying and hugging both of them before they turned back...]

What happened? Did someone do this to you?

[apocalypticist]

[ There's a pause as the considers different possibilities; what could have possibly led up to being frozen over? Why did he turn into a statue when a lot of other people don't seem to be affected by it at all? ]

...Maybe it's because of the mirrors. I'd sometimes start feeling cold for seemingly no reason at all after I broke mine.

[lacrimose]

Why'd you break it? The mirrors were annoying, but they weren't that bad.

[The most troublesome thing for Akira was hiding his mirror from other people, otherwise they might see his Devilman form. Which, for better or for worse, is a dark part of himself he's already had to learn to accept.

He knows that others' mirrors weren't so easy to be confronted with, however.]

[apocalypticist]

It kept following me around and I wasn't in the mood to deal with the town's nonsense.

[ He also didn't want others to come across the damn thing. He was aware there could be consequences for breaking it, just like there were consequences for giving in to temptation that one time months ago, but it seemed like the logical option anyway. ]

[lacrimose]

Ryo... [There's a slight growl of frustration in his voice. What if he'd been here all alone, and no one found him? Akira wipes his eyes and turns his face away. He knows Ryo is normally logical enough to think through the consequences of breaking a magical object, so something about the mirror must have really gotten to him to make him snap.

Still, scolding him isn't going to change things, least of all with Ryo of all people. What's done is done.]

I think you should be safe now. I helped someone else who turned to ice. After she turned back, she was fine.

[apocalypticist]

Did you cry on her, too?

[ His hand finds its way into Akira's hair, fingers pushing into the dark mane. ]

[lacrimose]

[Akira's eyes are half-lidded as he feels those fingers running through his hair, finding the sensation helps him relax.]

Yeah... Maybe it sounds crazy, but it was like my tears melted the ice. Like a story.

[apocalypticist]

[ Ryo idly runs his fingers through his hair, the repetitive motion making him relax a little. ]

Your crying is useful for once.

[lacrimose]

What do you mean, 'for once'?

[Akira grumbles and leans forwards until his forehead moves to rest against Ryo's shoulder. Please continue petting his hair, he's going to pretend to sulk like this.]

[apocalypticist]

[ PET PET what a good furry. ]

Crying has some biological purposes, such as signaling caregivers that the baby needs something, but doesn't have much use otherwise.

[lacrimose]

Maybe I am a useless baby. But you must have been really scared.

[He hugs him around his middle. Ryo can tease him all he likes, he's going to get upset about things no matter what.]

[apocalypticist]

You're not useless.

[ He says with firmness in his voice, delicately tucking a strand of hair behind Akira's ear. He doesn't acknowledge the second part of what Akira said, because he doesn't want to admit that being frozen and entirely aware of it was actually pretty terrifying. ]