[He can't sleep, but that's nothing new. Perhaps after seven years of no longer needing it, sleeping and dreaming does not return to him so swiftly simply because he has his old body back. And that's fine, too.
Henry wanders when he cannot sleep. The bleakness of nighttime is calming to him, whereas others might wish to stay indoors, comforted by lamplight. It's usually quiet at this hour, and he needn't worry about running into those he has to humor with conversation. But tonight, for some reason, there's movement within their shared living space.
Light in their newly renovated kitchen. Footsteps. Who on earth is up at this hour? Henry adjusts his course, and crosses over to the kitchen entrance, peering in like a shade at the threshold.]
[ It was a little disappointing when their newly furnished kitchen didn't come with any actual food but Alec was able to scrounge up enough stuff from the diner for a late-night omelet adventure.
He's being pretty quiet all things considered, but he's still not used to sharing space, and it's a small miracle that Henry's sudden appearance doesn't cost him a finger in the middle of chopping veggies. He still jumps a little, barking out in a harsh whisper, ]
[Lightly, fairly. He steps into the kitchen properly, so at least he's not haunting the entrance. It's so very... pink. But it's clean, and it has much more utility than before. The cartoonish little unicorns plastered on the wallpaper don't bother him.]
Isn't it a little late to be fussing in the kitchen?
[Should Alec wind his way through the graveyard, he’ll find two familiar faces. One of them is Henry, who stands face-to-face and frowning with another large and intimidating figure, one that Alec will remember from the time Henry told him of his fate in a parallel dimension: “Vecna” himself.
He is no less intimidating in person than he is as a figment of the imagination. The tendrils along his neck and shoulders writhe and squirm like living things; his flesh is undead and irreparably scared and twisted. That large, clawed left hand reaches out and stretches in Henry’s direction, though Henry doesn’t seem shaken enough not to return the favor, gripping hard against his shadow’s wrist to halt him. Why should he be afraid? This is just another visage of him, after all.
Their eyes, though. They share the same eyes, if not in color due to Henry's current possession, then in shape. In keen, piercing coldness.
Vecna’s voice is impossibly deep when he speaks. It could not be farther from Henry’s soft intonations, the delicate way he pronounces every syllable.]
If you cannot decide, then you must accept.
[Whatever they’re talking about, Henry does not seem pleased. He has no reply, trying to wrest him away.]
[ There sure has been some weird shit happening in the graveyard today. Alec has yet to run across his own personal demons, but he has seen plenty of familiar (and not so familiar) faces do so. That's the only reason he doesn't assume it's some trick of his mind, Henry's vision come back to haunt him somehow, when he runs across Henry and the thing he's supposed to be.
He's not so certain he wants to intervene just yet - or at all, so as he winds his way through the headstones, aiming to get closer, he taps into his camouflage, vanishing from sight. ]
[Alec slips away unnoticed; Henry’s attention is far too focused on his Shadow—shaped like how he should look—to notice. It appears the same applies to Vecna, whose glowing eyes look cruel yet almost mocking. How strange, to be on the opposite side of that knife, but Henry can hardly appreciate it for now.]
Nothing to say? [—Vecna growls, guttural and threatening.] Pathetic, scared child. Is that not all you are, angry at a world that’s wronged you?
It has wronged me.
[Henry spits back, but Vecna just laughs.]
You sound so, so certain. But maybe it’s just you who’ll never suit the world. Maybe your parents were right.
Shut up.
[Henry pushes out with a hand, presumably using his powers to toss Vecna away — but the creature does not move so much as an inch, and instead takes the opportunity to wrap its clawed hand hard around Henry’s neck.]
In fact, so much has happened in the past few days that Henry struggles to let it all settle in his mind the following morning, everything having taken a turn that he’s not sure he ever could have accounted for. He would call it a fever dream if not for how emblazoned every experience was in his memory, or how certain marks on his body remain lingering.
Amid sorting it all through, he realizes too belatedly that he still has questions for Alec that slipped his mind altogether. That’s reason enough to go looking for the man, wherever he might be — and Henry approaches with a faint smile when he finds him, all politeness again, even if things between them have… changed, substantially.]
I was looking for you.
[You JUST saw him, Henry, not that long ago. But. This is fine.]
[ Usually Alec isn't a hard man to track down. There are only so many places he can be around the village, but he's not in any of his usual haunts like the dorm or the diner. It takes a bit of wandering around to locate him.
At last, Henry will find Alec in a secluded corner of the graveyard, a tapestry of softly-glowing purple runes hanging in the air before him. It's like he's writing an essay in mid-air and is a full paragraph in already.
He spots Henry's approach through the curtain of marks, and quirks a brow, fingers stilling mid-motion. ]
[Henry stops just on the other side of the magic, peering at runes he cannot hope to understand, then focuses his gaze through the glowing veil on Alec.]
Don’t flatter yourself.
[Lightly wry. At least some things don’t change: the ease of which they fling jibes at each other.]
[Whenever Alec decides to take a break from their overly festive "locked" room, Henry approaches with a perfectly-wrapped pink present. It's small and rectangular.]
I'm sure you have been exchanging presents plenty because of the ongoing game, but I would like to give you one as well, if I could trouble you to take it off my hands!
[As Alec well knows, Henry is always put-together... on the outside. Presentable, polite smiles are part and parcel of his forward-facing facade, and he wears them well.
But tonight, there is something a little more strained at the eyes — noticeable maybe only as he approaches in the Unicorn common area, standing before him as he finds Alec sprawled out across the couch.]
Where am I supposed to sit, if you’re taking up all the couch space?
[Apparently he’s inviting himself to sit, whether or not the other man needs a moment to stretch out and relax, post-portal creating spree.]
[ much like with Henry, Sprezzatura's method for apologizing to Alec starts with accidentally being in the same area as him, catching sight in the corner of her eye and feeling that awful, ugly swoop. wherever this is, she once more forces herself to move, but not too close—she doesn't figure anyone who met the oni are going to want her too close right now. not until she's proven herself back in control. ]
[ Probably around the diner somewhere, it's one of Alec's usual haunts. The corner of the roof is still singed from that stray lightning bolt. Bet that feels good, huh?
He's looking pretty okay, all things considered. Not even a limp, thanks to Ori. He goes noticeably still when she calls his name, turning slowly to face her. ]
Well now. Long time no see. Assuming you're the woman herself, of course.
[Somewhere in the Unicorn dorm, Henry finds Alec. Not that doing so is very hard these days.
Regardless, he approaches, his usual little smile on his face.]
That went well, didn't it?
[Obviously, he means Komaeda's palace. It's strange, not being in control after he's entered someone's psyche, but it definitely lent a bit of excitement to the whole ordeal. A newness that he isn't quite accustomed to.]
[ Alec's always kicking around somewhere. In this case, on the way to his room after having checked on Komaeda in the graveyard. He pauses at the door to let Henry in, though Henry pretty much has free access to the place at this point. ]
As well as any of us could have hoped for.
[ He truly, sincerely hopes it helps the kid out. ]
[He has never gone from shattered to motivated in such record time. From feeling lost and alone to once more clinging to that blasted shred of hope that something could change. That the power of bonds—something he had scoffed at for so long, an idea that used to disgust him—might be his saving grace today.
Might be Alec’s saving grace.
He’s weary, and sore. Dried blood has long crusted beneath a nostril, his hair is a mess, his eyes are strained and bloodshot. No, he’s not a very pleasant sight as he hunts down Alec across the cemetery grounds, but he finds himself bolstered by renewed determination, and when he does find him, his breath hitches for just a moment. He hurts again for just a moment.
And then he closes that distance between them, quick and purposeful.]
[ Alec is much the way Henry remembers him, just sort of wandering though the graveyard with no real path or destination. All the commotion before, the pulsing of the tarot card in his pocket are just part of the drone of background noise.
He does here his name, if not the sound of Henry's approach, and he turns that lightless, lifeless gaze on him. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
striketwice) wrote2022-10-02 07:47 pm
day nice, late late night
Henry wanders when he cannot sleep. The bleakness of nighttime is calming to him, whereas others might wish to stay indoors, comforted by lamplight. It's usually quiet at this hour, and he needn't worry about running into those he has to humor with conversation. But tonight, for some reason, there's movement within their shared living space.
Light in their newly renovated kitchen. Footsteps. Who on earth is up at this hour? Henry adjusts his course, and crosses over to the kitchen entrance, peering in like a shade at the threshold.]
...Are you cooking?
[Hi Alec. What the fuck.]
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He's being pretty quiet all things considered, but he's still not used to sharing space, and it's a small miracle that Henry's sudden appearance doesn't cost him a finger in the middle of chopping veggies. He still jumps a little, barking out in a harsh whisper, ]
Jesus fuck, wear a bell or something!
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[Lightly, fairly. He steps into the kitchen properly, so at least he's not haunting the entrance. It's so very... pink. But it's clean, and it has much more utility than before. The cartoonish little unicorns plastered on the wallpaper don't bother him.]
Isn't it a little late to be fussing in the kitchen?
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day 75 night, shadow event
He is no less intimidating in person than he is as a figment of the imagination. The tendrils along his neck and shoulders writhe and squirm like living things; his flesh is undead and irreparably scared and twisted. That large, clawed left hand reaches out and stretches in Henry’s direction, though Henry doesn’t seem shaken enough not to return the favor, gripping hard against his shadow’s wrist to halt him. Why should he be afraid? This is just another visage of him, after all.
Their eyes, though. They share the same eyes, if not in color due to Henry's current possession, then in shape. In keen, piercing coldness.
Vecna’s voice is impossibly deep when he speaks. It could not be farther from Henry’s soft intonations, the delicate way he pronounces every syllable.]
If you cannot decide, then you must accept.
[Whatever they’re talking about, Henry does not seem pleased. He has no reply, trying to wrest him away.]
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He's not so certain he wants to intervene just yet - or at all, so as he winds his way through the headstones, aiming to get closer, he taps into his camouflage, vanishing from sight. ]
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Nothing to say? [—Vecna growls, guttural and threatening.] Pathetic, scared child. Is that not all you are, angry at a world that’s wronged you?
It has wronged me.
[Henry spits back, but Vecna just laughs.]
You sound so, so certain. But maybe it’s just you who’ll never suit the world. Maybe your parents were right.
Shut up.
[Henry pushes out with a hand, presumably using his powers to toss Vecna away — but the creature does not move so much as an inch, and instead takes the opportunity to wrap its clawed hand hard around Henry’s neck.]
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day 76, morning
In fact, so much has happened in the past few days that Henry struggles to let it all settle in his mind the following morning, everything having taken a turn that he’s not sure he ever could have accounted for. He would call it a fever dream if not for how emblazoned every experience was in his memory, or how certain marks on his body remain lingering.
Amid sorting it all through, he realizes too belatedly that he still has questions for Alec that slipped his mind altogether. That’s reason enough to go looking for the man, wherever he might be — and Henry approaches with a faint smile when he finds him, all politeness again, even if things between them have… changed, substantially.]
I was looking for you.
[You JUST saw him, Henry, not that long ago. But. This is fine.]
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At last, Henry will find Alec in a secluded corner of the graveyard, a tapestry of softly-glowing purple runes hanging in the air before him. It's like he's writing an essay in mid-air and is a full paragraph in already.
He spots Henry's approach through the curtain of marks, and quirks a brow, fingers stilling mid-motion. ]
What, you miss me that much already?
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Don’t flatter yourself.
[Lightly wry. At least some things don’t change: the ease of which they fling jibes at each other.]
What are you doing?
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day 78, bc i said i would
Alec. Here.
[He offers it out to him.]
These only count if we actually give them away.
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[ Clearly he's joking. He knows the rules. He offers a small box over to Henry in return. ]
Since we're exchanging. I take no responsibility for whatever might be inside.
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[Which might imply he received one of those just earlier.
Anyway, they exchange presents! Henry is also not responsible for the item within the wrapping of Alec’s new gift.
(It’s the stress pickle.)]
Open yours first.
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day 78 here too, hi
Alec-san, can I bring by a present for you?
[ a beat, and a follow-up text. ]
I know you said you don't accept things for free but I hope Christmas presents are an exception. ヽ(´ー` )┌
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day 79
I'm sure you have been exchanging presents plenty because of the ongoing game, but I would like to give you one as well, if I could trouble you to take it off my hands!
-Oriphi
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it's a text message, not a letter. you don't have to be so formal.
-alec
ps - i'm in the dorm, feel free to swing by.
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day 79;
monokumagummy bear.Thanks, for everything. - Nagito ]
day 83 nighttime
But tonight, there is something a little more strained at the eyes — noticeable maybe only as he approaches in the Unicorn common area, standing before him as he finds Alec sprawled out across the couch.]
Where am I supposed to sit, if you’re taking up all the couch space?
[Apparently he’s inviting himself to sit, whether or not the other man needs a moment to stretch out and relax, post-portal creating spree.]
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[ He motions to said wholeass chair, though if Henry were to move his legs out of the way and take up residence on the couch, he wouldn't protest. ]
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day 88, At Some Time
Alec.
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He's looking pretty okay, all things considered. Not even a limp, thanks to Ori. He goes noticeably still when she calls his name, turning slowly to face her. ]
Well now. Long time no see. Assuming you're the woman herself, of course.
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day 89, post-palace
Regardless, he approaches, his usual little smile on his face.]
That went well, didn't it?
[Obviously, he means Komaeda's palace. It's strange, not being in control after he's entered someone's psyche, but it definitely lent a bit of excitement to the whole ordeal. A newness that he isn't quite accustomed to.]
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As well as any of us could have hoped for.
[ He truly, sincerely hopes it helps the kid out. ]
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Day 95, morning - GM game fallout
Might be Alec’s saving grace.
He’s weary, and sore. Dried blood has long crusted beneath a nostril, his hair is a mess, his eyes are strained and bloodshot. No, he’s not a very pleasant sight as he hunts down Alec across the cemetery grounds, but he finds himself bolstered by renewed determination, and when he does find him, his breath hitches for just a moment. He hurts again for just a moment.
And then he closes that distance between them, quick and purposeful.]
Alec.
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He does here his name, if not the sound of Henry's approach, and he turns that lightless, lifeless gaze on him. ]
What?
[ He ain't even annoyed. ]
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