lumberlady | Prismatica IC Contact

[ He'd give her a rueful smile, if he could, because he knows what she's doing — and okay, Simon gets it, and he takes a step to close the distance between them in what is intended to be kind of a wry amble-

But then suddenly it's like when you've been hungry so long that you no longer notice the hollowness; it just sits there, inert.... until you see food... and then you would do anything to get it. Including speeding up to a trot and stopping in front of her and practically throwing out his arms, knowing he must look like a toddler asking to be picked up, but just not giving a shit. Nor taking any heed of the fact that he's a hug Wendigo who won't feel the warmth of her body, or the texture of her clothes and coat, or- well, anything, except that strange thing that only happens here.

The antlers extend laterally, for the most part, and even the most hazardous ones curve upward enough to not have their sights set on anybody's eyeballs, but it's not like Simon can see or feel them, and he doesn't really want to just bear hug her on a gamble.

(Well, he does want to do that, but.) ]

[Oh, no... That's really cute.

Thankfully for Simon, Konoha is very good with toddlers who want to go uppy. Mindful of the antlers, because as much as she talked a big game, she didn't want to lose an eye, she leans down to wrap her arms around him and pull him into a warm, tight (but not too tight) embrace.

She sort of gets it, that he can't probably feel things through the suit, but...

He had ears now, didn't he? Very carefully, she leans down to try and get beneath the first bend of his antlers so she can put her head more against his temple than the top of his skull, enabling her to nuzzle against what she hopes is a tactile part of his body.]

How's that?

[ Simon surprises himself with the clumsy, desperate strength with which he returns this carefully-choreographed hug, like the grip of a drowning man.

The lifelong framework of social know-how telling him he might freak Konoha out with this is getting its ass kicked by the part of him that's concerned with navigating this weird new purgatory of not wanting to be alone but not wanting so meet someone's eyes and see that horrible opposite of recognition. Which is most of him, these days, and not having to deal with it with Konoha is indescribable. ]

That's good.

[ His voice is a little unsteady, larynx (""") suddenly in a stranglehold. That flood of warmth and wellbeing that's supposedly unique to Moonblessed is there, somehow both enhanced and offset by how brittle and exposed he feels all of a sudden. It doesn't deter him any, and the one ear that feels the warm edge of her skin tilts against her cheek like a plant finding the sun. Everything of this weird Moonblessed physical communication is in that, just there — he can feel the stray hairs on her temple; he feels like he could practically read the little galaxies of freckles like Braille. ]

It's... good. Thanks.

Mmm.

[At first, Konoha just hums happily, glad for his answer, the sincerity she hears in it. She can trust that, unlike some of the other answers he's stumbled her way in the past. She likes to think she's figured it out by now, how he sounds when he's stressed against when he's a bit more relaxed, when he's scared or happy...

And no matter how he keeps insisting he's a different Simon... and maybe he was... They sure still did act the same, though. She felt like she could trust her instincts on his voice either way.]

You're at least taking care of moonlacing enough not to get crystally, aren't you?

[From the way he hugs her now, she kind of thinks that he maybe hasn't been, but she phrases it gently, continuing to nuzzle against his ear... before she switches over to the other side of his head so as not to be biased in her tender ear touches.]

Edited 2019-11-14 18:01 (UTC)

Crystally?

[ Guess who just kind of doesn't pay attention to things that don't seem to apply to him (or that are depressing because they no longer apply to him), and thus... sometimes misses the "If XYZ, you die" part.

After all, he seems to be able to generate Chroma, for others, but... he still sees it primarily as some form of currency, which he needs little of, what with free rent and just having the one outfit. ]

That's bad, right?

[ Normally, Simon would be conscious of how long a hug with a friend is going, but this is too nice to care, and the ear touching is eclipsing practical considerations. They're very soft ears. They don't make hugging a metal suit any more comfortably squishy, but hey. The initial shock of a hearty Konoha hug has turned into something just— Well, really nice, something that quiets that internal racing itch, like a shot of Novocain to the wrongness. Apparently that's something hugging and ear rubs do. ]

[Who knew that hugging and ear rubs was the cure to body horror all along?]

Of course it's bad...

[Did he not listen properly at orientation? Simon... Just because you're a brain in a weird dead sea suit doesn't mean you get to slack off in class??? So she explains as simply as she can (as best as she understood), still hugging tight.]

People who don't moonlace enough get crystallized...

[The only good thing about what he just said was... he must be doing enough. Because she highly doubts someone could miss that happening. Right?]

[ Some of the most crucial parts of the curriculum, doled out when Simon was still pretty sure the whole place was a simulation.

Now it dawns on him that maybe he should be taking living here a little more seriously. ]

I'll try not to do that. [ he says, a little chastened by Konoha's concern and how well she's taken to living here, compared to how far Simon's inertia has gotten him. Which, fortunately, isn't to a crystalline statue form, but still.

... ]

You have a white foot.

[ the things you contemplate when you're two hugging Irises. ]

[She can't say much about not getting things the first time around. She certainly hadn't paid attention to everything during orientation... or rather, she'd tried to but it had just been so overwhelming, there was so much that just flew over her head...

But she'd heard about the crystal thing from other moonblessed after she'd settled enough to process better, so it's stuck better in her mind.]

It's a promise.

[So she makes sure Simon knows she's paying attention to his not being crystal and staying that way... and then laughs, her chuckle warm and tickling at his ear as she picks up her back leg and flexes her fetlock a few times.]

My lucky sock?

[ lucky sock.... Simon huffs out a laugh. Beneath his awareness, the ear flicks at the i tickling of her breath, as flickable ears do. ] Cute.

[ No, it's actually painfully adorable and if he wasn't already hugging her, it would be endearing enough to make him want to hug her.... but maybe that's the Prismal hug chemicals talking.

Still.... Konoha.... ]

Looks like it works, at least a little. Maybe I need one.

That's what my mother always called it.

[The woman who raised her, anyway. And maybe it was years ago, a childhood memory of the elderly woman tapping her leg, laughing and holding her hands out to cup her hoof for filing... but it's warm. Makes her hearts tighten a bit in homesickness for the village she might never see again...

But she doesn't say that. Instead, she smiles, releasing him... but not totally, still holding him by the arms.]

... Come on, Simon. Let me show you around.

[ It would be hard to say with certainty that he looks excited when he looks around, obviously. Laser pointers don't convey wonderment real well. But he does do it again, arms in hers, as if he's seeing it all for the first time.

And he kind of is. Whether the influx of Chroma has turbocharged Simon's sense of vision or he's been Chroma-starved long enough to get used to what it looks like, the sharp early-afternoon shadows look sharper, and even Konoha is a rainbow unto herself. Of browns and neutrals, mostly, but still. ]

Yeah! Yeah. That's why I'm here. [ he's seeing leaves he didn't know existed. her lucky sock is so white. ] Wow. Everything looks so clear. Did hugging do that?

[ It's almost like Chroma is literal life energy and they just discussed that or something. Anyway. ]

[Konoha knows she maybe shouldn't, but she can't help but laugh a little at what Simon says, the way he wonders over the effects of moonlacing as if they hadn't talked about it.]

Basically.

[She never tried to understand it beyond that, she knew her own limitations and her own intelligence... basically. But moonlacing helped basically everything in this place, it even helped crops grow, so.

Moonlacing was the answer.]

Now come on... Everything will look even better now!

[From the main house to the fresh vegetables growing in the fields. Maybe it wasn't the sort of home Simon was used to... But she wanted him to be.

At least enough to visit again.]

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oh god i didn't even realize how old this got

LIKEWISE omg... let's wrap for new stuff