[So much for conserving her energy. Kaede stood still for a moment more, then gathered herself, and started shuffling forward.
...and her knee folded up under her, sending the horned girl crumpling to an awkward kneel. She grunted when her knee smacked into the pavement, but otherwise didn't react.]
[ he didn’t expect the girl to fall over, that was certain, and upon hearing the soft thud against concrete floors he turns his head halfway over his shoulder, pauses— and decides to return to her. ]
—You should sit somewhere.
[ that’s not in the middle of the street, so— he offers his hands to her. whether she wanted to take them or not, as the onlookers began to stare as they walked, was up to her. ]
[Before Eren gets closer than a meter, something stops him like an invisible hand on his chest. Kaede squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth against the sickly, too-hot feeling twining through her guts; she hadn't recovered from the last time she'd overused her powers. But this time she felt more...empty, the burn less painful.
Regardless, she had enough in her to stand.
Something grabs Eren's hand, but Kaede didn't lift a finger. The thing felt strange, like the pressure of a palm that wasn't there. A ghost touch.
The horned girl wobbled less when she stood this time, wordlessly turning her head to look for a bench or low wall or anything to sit on. Bench found, Kaede started to shuffle towards it--tugging Eren along for the ride still, oops.]
[ because the combination of that— a strange force, then another, then yanking him along— completely puts any attempt at help he had to the ground. he wasn’t even helping anymore? he was being carried by something he couldn’t see. these weren’t ghosts, were they?
he walks oddly from the clothes fitting too tight for him, something makes a brrrt sound when his leg needed to extend farther than his enclosure, and . . . now he really needs to get clothes. and, from the looks of it, she did too, but—
[Kaede kept walking for a few steps, still pulling her passenger along. But Eren's words sunk in after that, and Kaede glanced over her shoulder with another heavy-lidded blink. She didn't seem to see him, looking through the space Eren occupied.]
Huh?
[Oh--right. She could see the little shimmer of her vectors still. After another sluggish moment, the force holding Eren by the arm dissipated.
Kaede started moving again, bumping a knee into the bench when she reached it. She turned, sat, and slumped forward from the shoulders like a sack of potatoes. Very tired potatoes.]
[ okay. she really didn’t look good. maybe even some ways pale? he couldn’t just . . . leave her like that. it takes a moment more of eren’s staring before he does something about it, holding out a hand in gesture and half way turning, ]
Stay there.
[ while he goes into the store he had earlier planned to. eren isn’t picky, so, if shouldn’t take long. he actually comes out in only a few minutes afterward in a new, plain change of clothes and a plastic bag. after giving the horned girl a glance, he continues onward to a nearby food stall and orders a round of whatever they had: this time, it was a “hot dog”, but god forbid anyone explain to him why they called them that instead of, like. wieners.
it’s for her, though. the bag and the hot dog being handed to her now. ]
[While she heard him, Kaede didn't move. And while he was away, her consciousness drifted in and out like a cat's drowsing. She was practiced at sleeping sitting up.
When Eren came back, the force that had stopped him at two meters didn't manifest. It wasn't until the sound of his footsteps filtered through the fog in her mind that Kaede's head jerked up.]
You--
[Not attacking her. Not telling her to move. Offering...a gift? A bag she couldn't see the contents of, and something her nose recognized as food instantly even if it looked unfamiliar at first.
The horned girl blinked the sleep out of her eyes, and her voice was a bit quieter. Maybe from fatigue, maybe from disbelief.]
[ he's insistent in his gesture, again, holding the food practically to her chest for her to take, ]
No one else looks worse for wear. [ he didn't mean for it to come out as rude as it sounded, but it was a truth— she looked like she could pass out any minute. ] Eat, before you fall over.
[Kaede's scowl returned as her back stiffened. Just the gesture of leaning back felt like it was going to unbalance her, and instead of a pulse of vectors that unpleasant, sickly heat rose in the back of her throat again.
Without letting him out of her vision, she glanced one way, then the other. She couldn't see what was in the bag, but there was a food stall not too far away selling the same sort of hot dog. If it was poisoned, he'd have to have done it fast--and subtly as a magician, for no one to call him out. And--
Her stomach growled noisily while she was churning her thoughts into paranoid circles. Kaede grumbled, and glanced away a moment.
But finally, begrudgingly, she accepted the food. When she looked back, she kept an eye on Eren to make sure he wasn't going to try anything, and took a bite. And another, and another, and--before she knew it, the hot dog was gone.
Well. Dying took a lot out of a person, she supposed. She could still eat more, but while her stomach got to grips with the idea there was something in it that suspicious look on her face returned.]
What do you want?
[For the food, for the bag; surely there was some kind of exchange expected.]
[ eren was no edward but he was certainly aware of the equivalent exchange process, or that in most instances people do things waiting for something to be done in turn, or to be given. did he want anything from this girl? not really, he doesn’t mind if they don’t see each other again. was it his shitty righteous bullshit at it again? even when it sometimes felt like no use would come from doing the “right thing”— he couldn’t stop himself from it if his heart and circumstance enabled it.
eren comes to a more better spoken conclusion with a shrug of his shoulders. ]
He didn't answer her question, but neither did he feed her an excuse. Just the same deflecting stubbornness she would have used. For a brief moment Kaede even felt indignant at the audacity.
But she didn't have the energy to keep it going. The horned girl continued watching him, keeping her posture as stiff as possible to stop herself wobbling.
They're going to be staring at each other like wary cats for awhile, aren't they.]
though eren has more of this irresistible dead fish look to him that makes it all the more awkward (for anyone who actually feels awkward, since eren doesn’t). eventually— he even gets up and leaves with a naturally gruff later, but nothing fed up with the girl. in fact . . .
the bag of a fresh change of clothes had been left behind. a feminine sweater, and neon pink to boot. ]
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[ he never answered her question, but he felt it was already answered in a way. girl shrieks are like fire alarms for those fashionistas. ]
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...ugh.
[So much for conserving her energy. Kaede stood still for a moment more, then gathered herself, and started shuffling forward.
...and her knee folded up under her, sending the horned girl crumpling to an awkward kneel. She grunted when her knee smacked into the pavement, but otherwise didn't react.]
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—You should sit somewhere.
[ that’s not in the middle of the street, so— he offers his hands to her. whether she wanted to take them or not, as the onlookers began to stare as they walked, was up to her. ]
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Regardless, she had enough in her to stand.
Something grabs Eren's hand, but Kaede didn't lift a finger. The thing felt strange, like the pressure of a palm that wasn't there. A ghost touch.
The horned girl wobbled less when she stood this time, wordlessly turning her head to look for a bench or low wall or anything to sit on. Bench found, Kaede started to shuffle towards it--tugging Eren along for the ride still, oops.]
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[ because the combination of that— a strange force, then another, then yanking him along— completely puts any attempt at help he had to the ground. he wasn’t even helping anymore? he was being carried by something he couldn’t see. these weren’t ghosts, were they?
he walks oddly from the clothes fitting too tight for him, something makes a brrrt sound when his leg needed to extend farther than his enclosure, and . . . now he really needs to get clothes. and, from the looks of it, she did too, but—
there was fatigue in the joints he could see. ]
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Huh?
[Oh--right. She could see the little shimmer of her vectors still. After another sluggish moment, the force holding Eren by the arm dissipated.
Kaede started moving again, bumping a knee into the bench when she reached it. She turned, sat, and slumped forward from the shoulders like a sack of potatoes. Very tired potatoes.]
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Stay there.
[ while he goes into the store he had earlier planned to. eren isn’t picky, so, if shouldn’t take long. he actually comes out in only a few minutes afterward in a new, plain change of clothes and a plastic bag. after giving the horned girl a glance, he continues onward to a nearby food stall and orders a round of whatever they had: this time, it was a “hot dog”, but god forbid anyone explain to him why they called them that instead of, like. wieners.
it’s for her, though. the bag and the hot dog being handed to her now. ]
This should help.
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When Eren came back, the force that had stopped him at two meters didn't manifest. It wasn't until the sound of his footsteps filtered through the fog in her mind that Kaede's head jerked up.]
You--
[Not attacking her. Not telling her to move. Offering...a gift? A bag she couldn't see the contents of, and something her nose recognized as food instantly even if it looked unfamiliar at first.
The horned girl blinked the sleep out of her eyes, and her voice was a bit quieter. Maybe from fatigue, maybe from disbelief.]
You're...giving that to...me?
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No one else looks worse for wear. [ he didn't mean for it to come out as rude as it sounded, but it was a truth— she looked like she could pass out any minute. ] Eat, before you fall over.
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Without letting him out of her vision, she glanced one way, then the other. She couldn't see what was in the bag, but there was a food stall not too far away selling the same sort of hot dog. If it was poisoned, he'd have to have done it fast--and subtly as a magician, for no one to call him out. And--
Her stomach growled noisily while she was churning her thoughts into paranoid circles. Kaede grumbled, and glanced away a moment.
But finally, begrudgingly, she accepted the food. When she looked back, she kept an eye on Eren to make sure he wasn't going to try anything, and took a bite. And another, and another, and--before she knew it, the hot dog was gone.
Well. Dying took a lot out of a person, she supposed. She could still eat more, but while her stomach got to grips with the idea there was something in it that suspicious look on her face returned.]
What do you want?
[For the food, for the bag; surely there was some kind of exchange expected.]
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eren comes to a more better spoken conclusion with a shrug of his shoulders. ]
Don’t pass out.
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Kaede's suspicious.
He didn't answer her question, but neither did he feed her an excuse. Just the same deflecting stubbornness she would have used. For a brief moment Kaede even felt indignant at the audacity.
But she didn't have the energy to keep it going. The horned girl continued watching him, keeping her posture as stiff as possible to stop herself wobbling.
They're going to be staring at each other like wary cats for awhile, aren't they.]
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though eren has more of this irresistible dead fish look to him that makes it all the more awkward (for anyone who actually feels awkward, since eren doesn’t). eventually— he even gets up and leaves with a naturally gruff later, but nothing fed up with the girl. in fact . . .
the bag of a fresh change of clothes had been left behind. a feminine sweater, and neon pink to boot. ]