prismatica | ( text, un: lavieenrose )

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( text, un: lavieenrose )

Bonjour, everyone.

This post will be much more light-hearted than my last one. While looking for things to keep me occupied during Sanguis so as to not disturb others, I happened across this book in the “digital library.”

It’s a gripping tale of a Prismal girl and her horse seeking freedom in a world that would hope to suppress them. I don’t want to spoil it, but I did notice that it seems to be a part of a series. If anyone knows where I might find physical copies of the rest of them, please let me know.

Incidentally, it has inspired me to ride again. Where can I find a stable? Or horses, for that matter? I was in the equestrian club in school, so I assure you I am no amateur.

Bien cordialement,

Serge

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[ he feels an odd twinge... perhaps because having serge an overbearing doctor really doesn't sound that bad. (or perhaps it's just that it makes him think of sphintus.)

in any case, as he continues to chew, he reaches out (slowly and deliberately, because he's putting a great effort into doing it slowly and deliberately) and... takes serge's paw, almost reverently, in both of his own hands. (one underneath, one on top.)

the fur is so furry, the paw pads so soft and smooth and squishy, the claws so perfectly curved...

having chewed and chewed, he eventually remembers to swallow. but it's going to take longer for him to break out of this paw-touching trance. he feels each individual digit... he strokes the furry back... he rubs little circles on the biggest pad with his fingertips. ]

[ this is oddly intimate, and it’s more than enough to generate chroma between them—making serge’s face flush, and his little ears twitch, even nestled in his curly hair as they are. ]

…

[ he’ll let titus touch for as long as he wants, but after a certain amount of time, he does have to ask— ]

Are they that nice?

They're so nice...!

[ he's compelled to briefly, gently gather the paw to his bosom and hug it close, the little claws making pinprick indentations in the skin just under his collarbone. (he leans forward as he does this so that he isn't yanking serge's arm toward himself.) (as he bends his arms, his sleeves slip to his elbows, exposing the cracked oval gemstones embedded in his forearms—and the cracks in his forearms themselves, radiating outward from the stones.)

...and then, at long last, he lets go.

and he takes a deep breath. ]

...I really am sorry.
You just wanted to be alone today, but here I am... doing strange things... with your paw...
You must think I'm weird.
Do you think I'm weird?
I am sorry for being so weird.

[ serge has very little to look at besides titus, and even the kettle reaching a boil in the other room doesn’t distract him from what he sees. those odd gemstones, embedded in titus’ arm… serge realizes he doesn’t really know all that much about titus either, even if titus has told him so much already. ]

I don’t think you’re weird, Titus.

[ quietly. he smiles, feeling less awkward now and simply concerned. ]

Not with… these features… but my roommate from home was very, erm, hands-on. So it’s not something I could hold against you.

Um...
I suppose, but just because you won't hold it against me does not mean you actually like it...

...
Do you really not think I am weird?

[ because like... no offense but titus feels like serge should have been able to notice by now that titus is pretty weird ]

[ of course you’re weird, serge wants to say. most people with a shred of social decency don’t behave this way. but serge doesn’t think it’s bad, exactly, so he doesn’t want to muddy the waters by admitting that it’s odd. ]

I like it.

[ he says this, firmly, if only to ease titus’ worries. he doesn’t dislike it, at least—the chroma feels very nice. ]

There’s no need to hold back! As long as we’re both wearing our clothes, you can do anything!

[ suspiciously obliging tbh ]

...It's getting even harder for me to imagine your bad Sanguis behavior.
Or your being at all difficult to live with, for that matter...
It makes me wonder whether you are trying harder than ever.

[ he can't help glancing intently at those furry little ears... but... ]

Maybe another time.
...Perhaps during a Triple Moon? We might both end up liking it more; I will have a nice smell, at least. [ he'll also definitely be more willing to believe anything that justifies a bit of self-indulgence, though he doesn't feel like he should say that part out loud. ] Ah, as long as I don't turn into a little fairy again, of course.

[ serge’s on again off again boyfriend from home has really done a number on him, okay. ]

…a little fairy?

[ serge is listening to the rest of what titus has said, and is ready to refute it with anecdotes about how he’s started some street fights just for the hell of it, but titus says that and he’s immediately distracted. ]

Pardon?

Well... not exactly a fairy, as such... depending on the definition, and so forth.

But, you know, on a few occasions my Cordis moonblessing has caused me to shrink to about this size [ he holds his thumb and forefinger a few inches apart ] and grow butterfly wings... and little, you know, antennae.

Ah, I see…

[ it’s serge’s turn to hold himself with the tension of someone who is doing their very best to refrain from yelling i want to see that!!! with all his heart and soul. ]

It does sound sweet… if not incredibly inconvenient.

[ titus leans in!! ]

Oh! Terribly so!! My voice was so tiny that no one could hear me unless I used magic to amplify it... but it was very difficult to calibrate since I still sounded normal to myself, so I would often accidentally become way too loud and startle people. And of course I could barely lift anything... again, unless I used magic.

...though on the other hand, a very small amount of food went a long way. And it was fun to ride on my friends' shoulders or heads.

[ serge shan’t wish it on titus again, since he’s sure it’s frightening to be that small, but he does regret that he missed it. ]

If it happens to you again, now you know where I live. I would be happy to help at any time.

[ nailed it! ]

Thank you. I will remember.

I do have some pictures, if you are interested...?

I am.

[ serge is going to have to boil the water again, in his poor, taxed electric kettle… but it’ll be worth it to see titus so small. ]

That is, if you don’t mind…

Not at all!

[ he pulls out his device and starts going through his camera roll!!
...the past month or two notwithstanding, he's REALLY taken a ton of pictures... even filtering by selfies isn't helping much. ]

...They are in here somewhere...

[ now might be a good time to get the tea ready ]

…

[ serge didn’t even know the device could contain so many pictures. he isn’t a big user of it, so he lets titus scroll for a few seconds before realizing that they could be here for… hours? days?

he stands. ]

I’ll prepare the tea while you search. Again, feel free to help yourself to the cookies.

[ eventually he finds them!!

when serge comes back he will hand the device over. ]

Here's the first one; just scroll through to the right.

[ there are a dozen or so in all; a few are out of focus (the device's on-board camera wasn't quite made to detect this type of subject, and it certainly wasn't developed with users of this size in mind), but he got the hang of it eventually, so most of them are okay! they depict a not-quite-four-inch-tall titus with the aforementioned antennae and butterfly wings. (in a few shots, the light catches just right to show how they reflect in a sparkling blue.)

of course, his clothes did not shrink with him, so he's barefoot and clad in a tunic fashioned out of a linen handkerchief; in many he's wielding a fancy stickpin, and in most of the rest it's tucked into his belt (which is, of course, a length of knotted thread). ]

[ serge sets down the two cups of tea to take the device instead, and his expression says everything the moment he manages to actually spot titus in the first picture. no, nooo, he’s so cute. ]

My goodness…

[ an understatement. ]

You look like a little creature from a fairy tale! Thumbelina, perhaps?

[ he’s going to cry. his claws tap the screen as he scrolls through the device. ]

[ titus starts in on the tea at once, because he likes tea, and because it's nice to have a prop at a time like this!! he feels shy all of a sudden, but also he's kind of proud that serge seems to like it, and his heart's fluttering a bit...!! (if this is the way he made serge feel earlier, then he's not really sorry...) ]

I fear I am not familiar with Thumbelina.
It's a... good thing to look like them, I hope?

Really? It’s a popular fairy tale in my world. She’s a girl scarcely bigger than a finger… and that’s about the sum of it.

[ serge isn’t a master storyteller, okay. he’s here to read, not to write. ]

…in other words, it’s a compliment.

[ he hands titus’ device back, with a smile. ]

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( text, un: lavieenrose )

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