oo1 ✦ let’s begin.

[richesse]

[ There’s a whisper through the murmur, more a breath of feeling than a fully formed thought. It’s sweet, and warm, and laughing—though it is not gentle, nor kind.

A voice follows the whisper, chased by darkness and shadows, the very suggestion of a nightmare. ]

Do you think we’re still dreaming? Or is this a living nightmare?

[ a hum, and another brush of teasing laughter, there and gone like a brief burst of memory, the last moment of summer that you can taste on your tongue before it’s irretrievably gone. ]

You’ve changed, haven’t you? We all have. What are you thinking, right now…? Who are you?

What are you?

Comments

[richesse]

[ she quirks a brow and paints their manes red, drawing them up until they are shoulder height. ]

Better?

[ a smile. ]

I was right the first time. They’re fairly similar animals, with a few tweaks. We just use different names for them.

[ tapping on her chin with a finger, Lortel rolls her eyes skyward and thinks.

the mental canvas is replaced. upon it she paints a fox, soft and small and orange with sharp teeth and a barking laugh. ]

Familiar? That’s a fox. [ she glances over her shoulder at her absurd, fluffy tail. ]

I have a tail just like that fox, now. Ears, too. [ … sigh. it’s so bizarre to say aloud that it feels unreal. ]

[offseers]

[ huh. clever way of utilizing this space. taion could have done that, he thinks. this method of communication is different from the iris . . . but not so much that he can't grasp it. ]

So that's not normal for you.

[ hm. ]

Does it bother you?

[richesse]

Of course not, [ she sighs, vaguely aggrieved.

At his question, she pauses—

—and crinkles her face into a soft smile. ]

Noah.

It’s your turn to answer my question. Don’t you remember our deal?

[offseers]

[ changes. noah had thought his eyes looked distorted at times. it's hard to make out the ring of snakes lighting up his right eye. the ouroboros mark. it was still there, but sometimes it flickered. sometimes he sees the rings of red and a nameless fear awakes.

was he still . . . noah? or was he — ]

You've asked a lot of questions. So I'll pick one.

I have changed. But I don't know what that change means.

[richesse]

Well, how does it feel?

[ might as well start somewhere. ]

[offseers]

It . . . doesn't feel all that different honestly.

[ a new fluctuating power to deal with? well, that's just ouroboros. ]

[richesse]

Truly? I’m surprised.

[offseers]

Maybe it's about the right time.

Not all powers kick in immediately.

[richesse]

[ … ]

Then your appearance hasn’t changed, I suppose.

[offseers]

[ his expression softens, sympathetic. ]

No.

But that doesn't mean you're on your own.

[richesse]

[ sympathy.

good. she’s getting somewhere. ]

What does it mean, then? I feel…

[ she trails off. the murmur coils itself around her, shield and snare. presses on her throat, making her swallow uneasily. claws and fangs and puffed up fur leak through before she can control it. ]

[offseers]

[ hm. this kind of change isn't similar to the ouroboros link. and that one could be turned on and off. this one feels more permanent. damning, in a way.

but noah never sees it like that. ]

That's up to you to decide. No one else can make that decision.

[richesse]

I have a tail, [ she laughs, weakly. her arms fold over her chest, hands cupping her elbows. almost a defensive gesture. ]

And claws. I’m going to ruin my clothes.

[offseers]

It's not that strange.

I knew someone with long ears. Flaming hair. All kinds of differences.

And you don't seem like someone who would struggle with adapting.

1/2

[richesse]

[ IDON’TWANTTOBECHANGED ]

nm I lied 2/3

[richesse]

[ the murmur shrieks like a massacred violin, cacophonous. there’s static, LOUD, flooding the connection between them until there’s nothing left but— ]

[richesse]

Me, struggle to adapt? I’m Lortel Kehelland. I’ll always survive, regardless of the price.

[ what was that?

that explosion of shrieking, dissonant terror, of desperately sobbing rejection—

—well… it’s gone, now. like it had never been. ]

[offseers]

[ well. that was the first feeling noah got that feels . . . real. like a mote of light brushing against his cheek, long ago. like a woman's voice in the cell next to him. like the moon, hanging in the sky. ]

. . . You can be afraid and still survive.

I won't use it against you.

[richesse]

Don’t— don’t comfort me. I can’t afford the cost of fear. This—connection! [ she snaps, her intonation a scathing rebuke. she hates it. ]

You must know I cannot possibly trust you.

[ this might be the real Lortel starting to leak through, even just a little. ]

[offseers]

[ noah takes this all in his stride. after all, he's dealt with this before. she reminds him a little of alexandria. barriers upon barriers. a keen intellect that pierces through. but deep down, a singular unknowable pain. ]

All right. Would you prefer if I just trust you then?

[richesse]

[ her mouth hangs open in wordless shock. ]

I … why? I’ve given you no reason to.

[offseers]

Actually, you did.

You need someone. But you're not ready to trust people.

So. I'm here. I'll take that first step. I'll trust you.

[richesse]

[ she opens her mouth— ]

What’s in it for you?

[ brittle. untrusting. un…sure. ]

[offseers]

[ noah cocks his head, a small smile playing on his lips. ]

Hm, I guess . . . I hope someday you'll trust me too.

I think that's enough.

[richesse]

… trust has a price, and I try to avoid debts.

[ as hard as she tries to stonewall him—to keep him out—



there is the faintest, neediest tendril of soft, scared, hopeful feeling. ]