Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Mar 27, 2021 0:54:11 GMT -5
Nico stepped back, considering that. He knew it was hard for Sam, knew there were things that Sam didn’t want to think about, parts of himself that he didn’t want to show. Nico understood that. Hell… he felt the same. It was just that his life had been put in danger enough times that he had learned he would rather use his full abilities than die. He hoped Sam was never in as drastic a situation as that, but… if he could help save his friend’s life by being honest about this? He would do it in a heartbeat.
“I know it’s not easy,” he said after a moment, coming a little bit closer to once again adjust Sam’s stance. “You don’t have to like it. But… part of you… your instincts… know how fast and strong you can be, even if you don’t know how to control it yet. We can… try some things here, if you want? I can be pretty fast thanks to shadow travel. I don’t want to… to make you do anything you don’t want to. But it might be easier to practice what you can do if you know you’re not going to hurt anyone, right?” He hoped that was the case. And he hoped Sam believed him when he said he was very, very difficult to hurt. Even if Sam had already managed it once… he pushed that thought to the back of his mind. He was here to help Sam learn how to swordfight.
“You also don’t need to go as fast or as strong as you can possibly go. Just… go with what’s natural. Actually… do you mind if I attack you?”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Apr 5, 2021 0:40:01 GMT -5
Sam's face seemed to droop a bit. He looked at the sword and the stance he was being directed to take. It seemed so ... distant. Humanity.
And Nico was making him remember it. He was making him remember that he wasn't human. He knew it wasn't meant as to be mean. He knew it wasn't meant to be. But it took him a bit of staring at his hand to really feel like that was what it was.
Finally he nodded. "Okay. Okay, you can attack me."
He wasn't sure if he'd live - unlive - up to Nico's expectations. He wanted to. But at the same time he didn't. Being what he was felt impossibly out of reach.
But even still, he looked over his shoulder at Nico and straightened his shoulder. "What would you like me to do?"
Nico had asked if he could attack Sam, but Sam suddenly looked very nervous about that. He was slightly reassured that he probably couldn't hurt Nico, but he wasn't as confident with how his own body would react.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Apr 5, 2021 2:17:20 GMT -5
Nico almost wished he could take back what he had said, but he couldn’t afford to regret it. If facing what he was meant Sam could live a few days longer or even just… see the end of a fight… then it would be worth it. Nico looked at him, trying to give an encouraging smile as he moved to the other side of the room and prepared himself for what he was going to do. He didn’t have a second sword to attack with, but he could pretend. Besides, no sword meant he couldn’t accidentally hurt Sam.
He rushed forward, eyes narrowing as he leapt off the ground towards Sam, shadow travelling just moments later so he ended up coming at Sam from a completely different direction. Hopefully, the quick shift would give Sam just barely enough time to reorient himself and block Nico’s strike. If he didn’t… well, Nico was falling with enough force to bring them both to the ground. Hopefully, if that happened, Sam could get the advantage there.
Nico wasn’t aiming to hurt him, just… aiming to simulate a real situation where Sam might need to be a little bit more than human.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Apr 13, 2021 3:18:24 GMT -5
Samuel stiffened, having been unaware really what to prepare for when it came to shadowtraveling. He hadn't expected him to just ... appear.
Sam's swift turn was vampiric, a blur of Sam-color that made the edges of his body almost seem to blink - like the House had made him disappear and reappear in a new position. However, the reaction after that was slow, human, hesitant. Maybe part of him didn't want to or was scared of hurting Nico, but it might have been more around the lines of his hesitation to preform any action.
So Nico managed to barrel right into him without much resistance, even with Samuel's quick turn. Samuel yelped and his eyes widened, even though the impact hadn't hurt. It just did exactly what Nico thought it would and drove him to the ground. The breath he'd had was driven from his body and there was the brief feeling of the very little air in his body being driven out of it.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Apr 13, 2021 17:48:27 GMT -5
Nico blinked, surprised to find them both on the floor. He had expected to end up almost ramming himself into the wall, Sam having either tried to attack or gotten out of the way. But… perhaps he was just used to people who had more experience fighting. People who had been threatened before and were used to fighting for every breath. Not that he thought Sam didn’t have to fight, just that… the way Sam fought was different. Not as literal, it seemed. He forced himself to his elbows, trying to get out of the way before Sam could fight back.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, rolling away and getting back to his feet, wondering if Sam would try to attack then. Wondering if Sam actually wanted to do this… it was one thing to learn a little bit about how to handle a sword, and another to face the reality of a fight, even if it wasn’t a situation where either of them could get hurt. Maybe Nico had been just a little bit too intense about this whole thing.
He stood his ground for a few moments, waiting to see if Sam was going to come at him, then allowed himself to relax a little bit. He didn’t want this to be painful or stressful. Sam didn’t have to fight for his life, not the same way Nico had to. There were people in Sam’s life who could look out for him.
“We can… do this another way, if you’d prefer,” he managed softly, rubbing his hands on his jeans. “Maybe… more for… fun… than for anything else?”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Apr 17, 2021 21:42:46 GMT -5
Sam had gotten back to his feet, but there was hesitation and a clear sense that he was waiting for Nico too. He didn't look like he wanted to attack his friend just yet. He relaxed when Nico suggested another way. "What did you have in mine?" the small boy asked, tilting his head in response.
"What fun way?"
He didn't want to admit it, but he thought that it might be more fun if he ... he actually didn't have to do this in such a serious fashion. But at any rate, he didn't want to say that to Nico. It wasn't like he minded, he just wasn't sure if it was something that he was familiar with doing.
He straightened a bit more, his shoulders for the most part, and then also relaxed. There. Now he felt a bit for comfortable with the current conversation.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Apr 18, 2021 0:15:58 GMT -5
“Sorry,” Nico managed after a moment, twisting his ring around his finger for a long moment before looking back up at Sam. “I just… I was going about this the wrong way, I think. In my world… well, if you can’t fight you’re probably going to die. At least for demigods. And it’s easy to forget that it’s not… like that for everyone. So… I’m sorry it got too intense.” He shifted awkwardly, searching Sam’s expression for a long moment. He knew it wasn’t that serious, but… he hadn’t meant to hurt Sam at all, and he had an awful wriggling feeling in his gut that told him he had, even without meaning to.
“Fencing is a sport, in my world,” he said after a moment, swallowing back his other thoughts. “We could… we could try it like it’s a sport. That way there aren’t any real stakes and it doesn’t matter if you actually beat an opponent.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Apr 30, 2021 1:41:58 GMT -5
Sam saw that Nico was sorry and he half wanted to hug the other boy, just to show he understood. But instead he nodded several times, relaxing a little and letting a smile slip back onto his face.
"Yeah," he said. "It's a sport in my world too, I think. They wear funny masks." He nodded, just to be very sure that Nico saw that he got it.
"We can do it that way. That ... that sounds like a good start." It sounded a bit better for easing into what he wanted to do while still spending time with Nico.
He looked around, then pushed a back of a chair. He had felt before like there was a bit too much stuff in the way and if this was going to be a bit more ... 'sporty' then a clearer space was probably a good thing. Once he had done that, he turned back to Nico and smiled wanly.
"How ... how do you want to start?"
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Apr 30, 2021 2:28:16 GMT -5
“En garde!” Nico announced in the most overly pompous voice he could manage, a soft smile peeking out from his expression. He pointed his sword directly at Sam, then faltered as he seemed to reconsider.
“Okay… so that was a bit dramatic, but… more fun?” he asked uncertainly, sheathing his sword and feeling at the ground for a few moments. He stuck his tongue out, eyes squeezing shut as he pulled at something from the ground until the carpet split and revealed two swords in black stone, their edges blunted and the tip capped. “These are probably safer than actually using my sword,” Nico explained, passing one over to Sam with a small, uncertain smile. He may not have known what he was doing, he may not have known how to fix this, but he was doing absolutely everything he could think of. He didn’t want Sam to have a miserable blink because of Nico. Even if he couldn’t fix what had already been done… he could at least make the second part of the blink better. That seemed to be his life, sometimes. Spending day after day trying to find a way to make up for his mistakes. At least… Sam hadn’t seemed inescapably upset over it.
“They’re a bit brittle, so they might break, but they should be… good enough for now.” He banged his experimentally against the wall, giving a satisfied nod as neither broke. “Safer,” he confirmed. “Probably.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on May 5, 2021 22:41:22 GMT -5
Sam blinked in amazement at the appearance of the swords, eyes widening a bit. "That's so cool!" he breathed. "How did you do that?"
He knew it was Nico's powers, but he didn't actually know the extent of Nico's abilities. He took one of the capped swords that Nico offered, his hand moving lightly to check that it was really as solid as it seemed. Nico had said they were brittle, so that probably meant he shouldn't use the powers which he didn't like anyway. These might break if he did and there would go the fun.
That was a relief.
He glanced up at Nico, then grinned a bit. Then the boy struck a stance and said, “En garde!” right back. He didn't mind if it sounded weird or cheesy. It seemed like a fun thing to say. With that in mind, he adjusted his stance and angled his shoulders a bit in the way Nico had just showed him, hoping that it looked correct.
"Ready?" he asked Nico, waiting for Nico to make the first move.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 6, 2021 1:52:28 GMT -5
Nico breathed out in relief, grateful that Sam seemed to like this way of doing it much better. Nobody could get hurt this way, and there was less pressure. It would be more fun, though Nico had very little experience with fun. Perhaps… perhaps this would be good for him, too. It had been too long since he had allowed himself to do something just because it seemed like it would be fun.
Sam’s stance was better than Nico had expected. He was a quick learner, when he wasn’t being pushed to use powers that he didn’t want in the first place. Nico considered that, then stored it away for later use. With any luck, even an exercise like this would help Sam if it came to a real fight. A foundation with good form was better than nothing at all, and if he could get that while having fun… perhaps that was why so many of the activities at camp were touted as fun.
“Ready,” Nico confirmed, getting into a fighting stance himself before meeting Sam’s eyes and giving him a small, genuine smile. Then he darted forward, not bothering with feinting, just striking towards Sam’s left. He was a little slower than he had been a few minutes before, but it was clear he wasn’t pulling any punches, even when it was for fun. He just wasn’t aiming to cause harm.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on May 14, 2021 0:24:16 GMT -5
This was what Sam enjoyed. You could see it in his face very easily. It was what he liked - spending time with his friend, even though it was hard. There was of course the fact he wasn't actually being treated easily to be considered - he had to watch - but sparring with Nico was easier than actually fighting.
He blocked Nico's strike, grinning just a bit as he did. Then he glanced at Nico's defenses and tried to think of how he could best get around them. He tried to move his sword toward Nico's shoulders, but it was clear already that he would be a lot better at blocking an attack than doing one of his own.
With that in mind though, Sam was finding this fun. It was just a matter of what else he had to think about. This time, there was a bit less about being a vampire on his mind. Which was good. But that didn't mean that he wasn't watching Nico. Noting what he was doing. Smiling a bit at him.
Whoops.
Sam figured it this was indeed the better option of things to do ...
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 15, 2021 0:06:29 GMT -5
--
Nico appeared, his head leaned back against the wall, his legs spread out in front of him as though he had just sunk down to the floor without caring much for how comfortable the position he landed in was. He was tired. Not the bone-weary, aching kind of tired, though that never really seemed to go away for him, but the soft, sleepy kind of tired. The kind where you say things you don’t really mean to say out loud, but you find you don’t regret them when they’re out.
He was in the middle of something, but the House was a welcome distraction. As long as he didn’t have to fight anything, he’d be good. So… probably no rooms. He wasn’t used to being there on his own for a long time – he had a feeling someone else would appear soon. With any luck, it would be a familiar face.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on May 20, 2021 0:06:05 GMT -5
It was a familiar face, though that familiar face was crying. His outfit had changed, which hopefully indicated that Sam had been doing something other than completely losing it - like he was now.
He'd blinked in huddled up, head mostly pressed against his arms, which were also curled around him. A hint of a red tear here and there peaked around from the cloth.
He noticed the blink soon enough though, head rising from his huddled position. There were red stains on his shirt (which may or may not have been pajamas. They looked a bit like it.)
Almost at the same time, he noticed Nico. The small boy hurriedly rubbed at his eyes, the blood smearing away before on a second on third rub being removed altogether from Sam's round face.
"Oh he-hello," he said, clearly trying to pull himself together for the sake of Nico. It had been several days since he'd last seen the other boy. He ... he appreciated the familiarity.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 20, 2021 3:50:16 GMT -5
Nico yawned, about to take the opportunity to curl up and go to sleep when he felt someone else blink in a short distance away. He tensed, ready for a newbie or someone antagonistic. That wasn’t what he got. What he got was a sad looking Samuel, curled in on himself in a position that was all too familiar to Nico. Crying, but trying to hide that you were, in case someone walked in. You could pretend you were just thinking, if anyone asked, and the tears didn’t have to go anywhere other than your pant legs.
“Sam,” he murmured once he had been noticed, his heart breaking a little bit as he watched Sam try to brush away the tears. He knew why he was doing it, but he couldn’t help but wish that Sam didn’t feel the need to. It hadn’t been terribly long since he had seen him, but a lot had happened. He pushed all of that aside in favor of making sure Sam was as alright as possible.
“You don’t have to pretend to be okay, for me,” Nico murmured, stifling another yawn as he forced himself to his feet, settling down within an inch or two of Samuel. He didn’t seem to be paying attention to the distance, even though he was. “Do you… want to talk about it? Do you… need a hug, or anything?”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on May 26, 2021 23:32:11 GMT -5
A hug.
It seemed like the one thing in the world that Sam wanted, yet couldn't half. It seemed like a very distant thing - a far away hope that wasn't a possession he could keep.
But even with that disassociation from his own reality, Samuel still uncurled. Slowly, but still with a sense that every limb was too heavy, too awkward ... too alien ... Samuel reached out. The hug had been something he'd been given permission for, but he found himself melting into Nico. Like it was the only prop he could find to keep himself up. To keep himself from falling into the darkness of his own brain.
"Please," he murmured, trying to keep his voice steady. At least right then and there, he didn't think that he could explain what was wrong. He didn't think that he could explain the awful feelings which were tangled up in him.
"I just ... need someone here ..."
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 28, 2021 3:16:30 GMT -5
Nico breathed out, letting his eyes close for a moment as he held Sam against him, as he let Sam lean his entire weight on him like they were the only two solid things left in the world. He didn’t like physical contact. It made him anxious, it brought back memories he didn’t want to have, but this… this was okay. This was comfortable, because Sam needed it, and it was the one thing Nico could give him to help with whatever it was that was going on in his world. He didn’t know, he just knew that he had experience dealing with things that were too much for him to bear, and he’d had to do it mostly alone. He’d had support, later… Rae… Noctin… Myrnin… Kelsier… even Sam, though he’d known the other boy for a shorter period of time than he had known most of the people he was close with. If he could spread some of that safe feeling to Sam, he would.
He hummed something under his breath, the tune not carrying as well as it might have were he practiced at music, but that wasn’t the point. The point was to be present and real and calming. It was a half-remembered tune – something in Italian. Something Bianca had sung for him once.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 3, 2021 22:47:49 GMT -5
It was reassuring. Knowing that Nico was there, even if there wasn't anything he could do. Sam wasn't sure what he was supposed to do either. He felt a bit trapped. A bit cornered by all of these hard to define feelings and this oppressive taste of blood in his mouth.
He had to breath. And then he had to be careful of breathing. Everything came with difficulty. But after what seemed like an age, he managed to compose himself. Enough to say, "T-thank you."
He meant it too. He just wasn't sure about anything else. All of this was like a deeply hard to follow story which he dreaded the end for.
"W-w-what are you doing?" he wondered. "Are you o-okay?"
It was what he wanted to ask. He wanted some way for Nico to have a way out. A way to talk about everyday things without having to address Samuel's issues.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jun 4, 2021 12:19:18 GMT -5
Nico held Sam for a long moment, only pulling away when Sam began to speak again. He took a few steps back, increasing the distance between them with the hope that it wouldn’t upset Sam. He still wasn’t that used to physical contact, and he wanted to make sure that he was still functioning enough to be able to help Sam. So a little bit of space between them had to work.
“I’m… yeah, I’m okay,” Nico replied, shaking off the last of the exhaustion that had besieged him when he blinked in. “I guess… it’s nice to be able to do something tangible to help my world, even if it’s really difficult.” He wasn’t going to tell Sam how tired he was. He had a feeling that Sam would insist on him taking care of himself first, and that wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to be able to help Sam for as long as he could before his body gave out on him.
“You know… if you want to talk… I’m here. I think I’m pretty good at listening.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 11, 2021 2:54:26 GMT -5
Sam rested his face against Nico's arm. In the position where Nico couldn't see his tears, but maybe it was also a bit too familiar ... Sam wasn't paying attention enough to notice. Rather, he just remained like that. Quite for a bit. Then he said, "I don't know what to talk about. I feel sick. I ..."
He wanted to bite Nico again. He always wanted to bite everyone with any meaningful bloodflow. Time Lords were only mostly exempt. Nico, however, was not.
Sam took in a shaky breath. It wasn't as bad as all that. Not to do that, anyway.
"I don't know what I'm doing with myself," he admitted. "It's ... it's hard getting up in the morning. I'm scared things will happen. I don't want to hurt anyone. But I also don't know what to do about it."
He only relaxed a bit after saying that. And even then, it didn't feel like a perfect response. He wanted to ask Nico what was wrong for him, but it seemed like Nico didn't want to tell him. Sam just remained where he was, hoping that Nico would tell him someday.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jun 12, 2021 0:05:19 GMT -5
There was nothing Nico wanted more in that moment than to be there for his friend. He didn’t know what Sam was struggling with. He had a feeling that even if he did know, he was never going to be able to understand. He had done bad things. He had hurt people. But unlike Sam, he didn’t need to keep hurting people in order to stay alive. It wasn’t that he thought being a vampire was a horrible existence, just that he wasn’t sure that Sam was cut out for it. He was too kind. Too gentle. There was so much more he had to worry about because he cared about the people he wanted to take blood from. Perhaps it would be different in a few hundred years, but Nico wouldn’t know Sam in a few hundred years. He would be dead, and Sam would probably barely be recognizable. The Sam he was seeing in front of him was the remnants of Sam the human. Sam the vampire was likely a very, very different person.
“There have to be ways for you to feel okay without hurting people,” Nico murmured, letting his head rest against the top of Sam’s curls. “But until you find it… you can always take a little bit from me, if you want. I’ve got a lot of blood that I’m not currently using for anything.” He said it like a dark joke, but he wasn’t kidding about the offer. He wanted Sam to know the option was there, if he ever needed (or even just wanted) to take it.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 18, 2021 0:44:41 GMT -5
Nico didn't know what he was offering. Not really. Not at all, in fact. Sam knew that. But he didn't say it. Didn't really even think about it. Why? Because Sam ... Sam just felt like hugging Nico. He felt like it was something small, but at the same time larger than Nico could imagine.
But he didn't say that and he didn't hug Nico. Instead he slowly separated himself from the other blinker and leaned his head against Nico's shoulder instead. Briefly. Then he lifted that too. There were still the occasional sniffles. Maybe several sniffles. But he was holding himself together rather well. He did, however, take several shaky breaths before he said anything.
"Thank you f-for being here."
He felt tired. He felt like curling up and sleeping here. But that meant the nightmares. He didn't want to face those.
"Can you t-tell me something? Anything? So I c-can stay awake?" Sam asked, biting his lip as he said it.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jun 18, 2021 1:14:14 GMT -5
Nico took a deep breath, falling completely still as Sam leaned his head against him. It was… it was comfortable. Familiar in a way Nico wasn’t really used to. All he knew was that he didn’t really want Sam to move. He thought he could stay like this forever, if time and the House both allowed. But they wouldn’t. Neither entity was particularly kind, especially not to Nico.
“Anything?” Nico asked, brow cocking. That was a tall – and rather vague – order. Nico was happy to oblige, though… he didn’t know for sure that Sam was afraid of nightmares, but he knew what it was to be exhausted but to be afraid of falling asleep. If they were closer… Nico would have offered to accompany Sam into his dreams to fight the monsters. But for now, he wasn’t sure if that would be welcome.
“I guess… I can tell you some of my favorite stories…” the issue was that most of them were tragedies, but would anyone blame Nico for tweaking the endings to be a little bit happier if it made Sam feel more comfortable? He began slowly, making sure his voice was soft and even.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 18, 2021 3:24:52 GMT -5
It was slow, but Sam nodded. Maybe on a better day, there would even have been a soft smile on his face. But in the end, it just looked like he was tired.
He leaned up against the edge of the couch. The floor wasn't exactly a comfortable resting place, but he managed. And at the same time, he also knew that Nico would likely have something very interesting to say.
"Yes please," he murmured. He didn't know what Nico's favorite stories were. He really wanted to know. It would mean that he'd know Nico a bit better because of it.
And so, while Sam still looked on the verge of crying again, he had settled down to hear what would happen next.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jun 18, 2021 14:27:13 GMT -5
Nico knew a lot of stories, but most of them were myths. It was hard to live surrounded by heroes and monsters without absorbing some of their stories. Without, honestly, becoming very well versed in them. Besides, Nico had thrown himself into his strange and incomprehensible world, and he didn’t regret it. He liked the stories of heroes, though many of them ended in tragedy. He liked hearing of gods who acted human, he liked the stories that people tended to overlook…
“Have you heard of Eros and Psyche?” Nico asked after a moment, shifting so he could get a bit of a better look at Sam’s face. “It’s one of the happier ones… I mean… mythology is pretty steeped in tragedy, but sometimes things turn out alright. I think… I like the stories where you can hope that things will be okay. This is one of them.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 23, 2021 1:20:38 GMT -5
"I've never heard it before," Sam said, his nose feeling slightly stuffy from crying and his head hurting a little. After a second, he knew that he'd only just left, but he curled closer to Nico. Not brushing up against him, at least not much, but certainly closer. "Tell me about it?"
He needed something with a happy ending. Or at least, he would prefer it. But while he was with Nico, he could probably find enjoyment even from a sad story.
"I want to hope that things will be okay," he said softly. And with Nico here, he had someone to ground him in that possibility.
"Thank you," he whispered.
He was still feeling very tired. Sleep tugging at him like a relentless siren, but he continued to try and ignore it as best as he could.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jun 23, 2021 12:58:50 GMT -5
Nico glanced at Sam, a tiny smile spreading across his face as Sam curled closer. He wanted to tell him it didn’t matter if he touched him or not, but they both knew it wasn’t quite the truth. They both knew that Nico was still working on it, trying to get to the point where he was more or less okay with prolonged contact. Soon, he told himself, and it was a silent promise to Sam as well.
“Well… Psyche was a young maiden well renowned for her beauty. She had men all over Greece pursuing her, but none of them wanted her, they just wanted her beauty. Aphrodite… do you know who she is? She’s the goddess of love… anyway, she was jealous. And in an odd series of events – it differs depending on who’s telling it – somehow Psyche ends up alone on a mountain, married to a beast. She’s not allowed to see his face, but he keeps her happy. He even lets her sisters visit, though he warns her not to get too drawn into their conspiracies. She doesn’t listen, of course, so that night she tries to see who she’s married to. Eros, her husband, was betrayed, and left. Oh… I should mention that Eros’ mother is Aphrodite… anyway, Psyche talks to Aphrodite because she refuses to let Eros and Psyche meet again, and tells Psyche that if she can prove herself worthy of being Eros’ wife, she’ll let them reunite. So Psyche does a bunch of impossible tasks and when Eros finds out everything she’s doing for him, he forgives her and immediately searches her out, convincing his mother that they belong together. Psyche gets to be a god, and they lived happily ever after. At least… I think they’re still together. They’re a good deal more functional than most Olympian couples.”
Nico fell silent, blushing a little as he realized how lackluster his storytelling was. He would have to work on that.
“The point is, even when it seems all the odds are against you, there’s still hope. I… I promise.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 23, 2021 14:29:46 GMT -5
See, the story had been good. Really good. Sam had liked it. He just hadn't remained awake for all of it. He'd heard the happy ending, his eyes having been closed at the time, but maybe he'd just invented that in his head too. Because what he did hear was Nico's voice and the reassurance and ... it felt like the reassurance was a dream too.
He huddled closer to Nico, properly drifting off now. He breathed in and out slowly, then stopped breathing all together. Body going still and quiet. Deathly, really. One would think that was exactly what he was. A small corpse with a soft smile on his lips.
Then he was asleep, curled up against Nico. And, for the time being, peacefully dreamless.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 30, 2021 2:39:50 GMT -5
And Sam stayed asleep. Quiet. And maybe that was why the nightmares stayed away. Because Nico was there and there wasn't any reason to drive him out of his deathlike state into those nightmares.
Good.
Maybe it would last. Maybe it wouldn't.
But at least for this moment, the House was letting Sam have peace.
(Skip?)
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