[fieldbox="Koshi, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]A dry chuckle, a sound as pained as the snap of dry twig came from him, and Koshi dropped his hand, but kept his fingers entwined with May's so the when the hand floated down to the jacket-covered ground, it was still connected gently with the girl's.
"No... It's useless." He sighed, dropping his gaze to the snow. Crestfallen features grew tense and bitter, and grey eyes focused on the snow until suddenly, they burned and watered. "I... I don't want to become a monster..." Quickly, he lifted his free hand to the face and pressed the back of his hand against his cheek - God, no, don't cry. Not in front of her. How painfully embarrassing... But, the memory of his twin overpowered Koshi for a moment.
"My brother... I saw him... I saw him grow corrupt. He used his form to keep me safe from one of the sunspirits, and... And he just got stuck. He's an angry, strange beast now, there's nothing human in him... I don't want to become that. There's nothing that scares me more." Just imagining the red-eyed, wild gaze of the twin made him shudder. The last time he had gone to see what the wind spirit was up to, the jaguar-creature reared on hooved hind legs and bore jagged fangs at him, as if about to strike. The pounding of the feet against the clouds was awful... But worse still was knowing that that wild thing, roaring and biting, was his brother. [/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May Tachibana, green, dashed, 10"] A small frown settled onto her lips as he dropped his hand, yet kept his fingers intertwined with hers. May had expected for this to work, given what he said yet nothing had happened. Surely there had to be a solution to this.
"You won't." May stated firmly as she gave his hand a squeeze. "We will find a way to fix this." Before anything else could happen, the male began to tell her what had happened to his brother and it frankly surprised her. He had turned into a full on beast. She couldn't imagine Koshi ever becoming something like that. He seemed far too good to meet that fate. "You don't know anyone that could possibly help us with this?"
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Koshi shook his head, and faced away from the girl to hide the burning tears of fear in his eyes. "No, there's no one... Not even the Spiritmakers."
He was utterly terrified of the fate that awaited him - truly nothing could be worse than the pain of turning into a beast - into a creature, and loosing all hope, all understanding... Kaito had become a being of nothing but instinct - the South Wind flew as a jaguar-monster over the equator and followed the duties that came to it without understanding why it was doing what it was. He had no awareness, no high mental function... He wished that the twin would go back to being himself... "May, I'm so scared..."
The whimper would have sounded pitiful, if it wasn't for the fact that Koshi really had the right to be scared. At any moment, he could start turning into a demon... And there was no way back - at that point, nothing could bring humanity back to him. Koshi pulled his arms around his body in a tight hug, as if he was trying to warm himself.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May Tachibana, green, dashed, 10"] No, there had to be. They couldn't just give up so easily. She had the power to stop this from happening to him, they just needed to find out how. At his whimper the girl felt the ache in her chest grow. Without a second thought, she leaned over and wrapped her arms around him.
"I'll help. We can't just give up that easily." She said as she began to rub his back by creating invisible circles with her hand against his back. Surely it must be really bad if he was reacting this way.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Koshi's back stiffened - not because the touch wasn't welcome, because it was... But because suddenly, he felt a tidal wave of strange energy rip through his body.
His eyes went wide and he stared up at the sky with the expression of a silent cry. The deer mask briefly appeared over his face, the winding horns spread out and up, then shattered again, and in the same moment, waves of feathers appeared from the air behind his back and fluttered over his body and past him, carried by the breeze in a grey flock. Koshi shuddered as his heart pounded, and the tufts of hair sprouted from him again, scales lines his arms, and claws were spurred out of his fingertips again. Once more, the winding horns re-appeared, but they were mask-less, and tree-like - and Koshi felt the tingling of his ears growing pointed like a sprite's. This was the first part of his form - the base, the template. The deer skull and long hair appeared only during stage three, where the corruption was out of control.
And because he was in this form, Koshi knew that somehow, May had managed to reverse some of the curse's effects on him. He turned to her with wide, happy eyes. "May, you did it...!"[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May, green, dashed, 10"] May felt him stiffen and for a moment she had believed that her hug wasn't wanted, until she saw the transformation Koshi was going through. She leaned back an watched it all with an awe filled expression. Had it worked? Was it helping him? May frankly didn't know what to do so she just sat there watching, until he suddenly turned to her. The expression on his face was breathtaking and she loved to see him happy like this. "It worked! See, we just needed to find a different way." A small chuckle left her lips and she for some odd reason felt like hugging him again, so she did. Call it a spur in the moment type of thing, but she frankly didn't care. He was someone who was actually willing to hang out with and not because someone set him up to it or because he had lost a bet. This was genuine and she frankly appreciated that.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]The second that May smiled and hugged him again, Koshi's hair went black again, and the scales peeled up from his skin to float upwards and dissolve in the air.
In a second, he was once again back to normal - back to being himself. Arms with normal hands (claws absent) wrapped around the girl, and his body curled into the hug, pressing tightly forward to envelop her in his warmth. He laughed happily, a sound as clear and crisp as snow and bells, and pressed his head and neck against May's - they were so close, not a snowflake could flit between the two bodies. "Thank you... Thank you so much. You have no idea how relieved I am..." The boy muttered into her ear.
God, this was the first time he had been so close to anybody since his death... No, not even in life had he experienced something quite as wonderful.... It felt liberating, it was freeing - and it thawed the ice of uncertainty in his heart.
After a long moment, Koshi pulled away to meet May's emerald gaze, his joy clear in the ice-grey eyes. "You're a life-saver, literally."[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May, green, dashed, 10"] A smile of pure happiness settled onto her features when he thanked her. Making other individuals happy made her happy. Maybe this would be the start of their friendship-she hoped it was because she didn't like being alone. Having one friend was more than enough.
He pulled away and so did she, despite how badly she wanted to keep on holding him. It made it seem all the more real and she wanted to hold onto that. "It's no problem. I'll help you anytime you need help. Just tell me." May said with a small smile before glancing over to the city bellow them. "Do you want to be friends?" She finally questioned as she looked back at him.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]May's expression lit up - and Koshi swore that nothing in the world felt better than seeing her happy. He made somebody happy - that was all Koshi really wanted to do. That was why he wanted to reach out so badly. For that, and for help. He reached out to May and rested his hand over her's - it felt so good to be seen by somebody, to finally feel like he was a part of the world, and not just an invisible, strange shadow that followed people around or sat on roofs. At her question, Koshi chuckled. "Of course, I'd love to. In fact, I owe you my life. If you didn't get rid of the corruption... I'd be... Well, a mindless monster."
Koshi ran a finger over the knuckles of May's dainty hand, before realizing what he was doing and stopping the caress immediately. The boy hoped that she wouldn't be too weirded out by him. "Sorry, I need to keep reminding himself that there's somebody next to me... That I can actually touch, and be seen by. It's amazing."[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May, green, dashed, 10"] "It's okay! You don't need to think that. I did it because I wanted to." May didn't want him to feel like he owed her. "That's what friends are for." She added with a warm smile, obviously she was happy at the fact that she finally had a friend. Sure, other people couldn't see him but he could and that was all that matter. Plus, it just made things more meaningful.
Her gaze briefly dropped down to look at his fingers, that were running along the skin of her knuckles. It was such a little touch that brought her so much comfort. "No, no. It's fine," she gave him a reassuring smile and turned her hand so she could grip his hand. "Do you come here often?" She questioned as she gestured to their surroundings. It was such a peaceful place and she frankly loved it.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]May turned her hand over so she could grasp his, and Koshi felt like he was a million miles over his body and flying right beside the sun. She was so very warm, and kind - and nobody had show him such patience, such understanding, in a long, long time. He shifted closer and pressed his arm against May's, all the while smiling down at her through half-closed eyes and dark eyelashes. The spirit, finally, felt truly alive. What strange, and wonderfully unfathomable things this girl made him feel.
At her question, Koshi finally looked up and glanced around with an air of both longing, and suspicion.
Pine needles rustled as the wind picked up again, blowing cool Alpine air through the dense coniferous jungle around them. "Yes. This place is... Important to me." Suddenly his expression had done a complete 180 into an odd, wondrous sorrow. The eyes dropped to take in the city once more and reflected its amber light - now glowing more brilliantly than before due to the setting sun. How long had they been there? It honestly didn't matter, he could sit here forever with the girl beside him. "I came here a lot before I died. It was funny..." Koshi trailed off, stemming the next flow of words, because he himself could barely take them. What had happened was still unfair, and incomprehensible. Not even society, distant and open-minded, had been willing to accept the sin committed in these woods, among the faeries and sprites, watchful over the dank under-grove grave.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May, green, dashed, 10"] The mere touch of their hands was enough for her to relax. This was the first time since third grade where she actually had someone to talk to and have physical contact besides her family. It was nice and she wanted more of this, but for now she would settle with the fact that they were friends.
The second he began to answer her question, his expression completely change and she, for a second, regretted asking it. "B-Before you died? Would you come here with your friends?" He was such a kind person, surely he had had friends before he passed. He probably had a better social life than she did. Oh heavens, what if she appeared like some sort of pity party to him. What if he was just being her friend because he felt bad for her. She didn't need pity nor did she want it.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]"Friends?" Koshi asked, as if he hadn't heard her. "No. I didn't have many friends." He spoke carefully, measuring his words... Counting them, on them, that they wouldn't make her too uncomfortable. He had been in a similar situation as her, but for likely different reasons. "I had school friends, not... Real-life, after-school friends. I didn't really... I wasn't that kind of person... When I was little, I was alone so often that I guess I had no choice but to start liking it. So, I found myself here a lot. Looks pretty peaceful, right?" His head swiveled around again as he looked into the pine woods, where he could see the twilight sprites awakening, and peering back at him with large, yellow eyes. Some hid behind thick trees-trunks as he spotted them, shy and reclusive as they always were... They were small, and humanoid, and Koshi thought that they looked beautiful. Their wings trailed behind them like wedding veils, as the early-risers crossed over the snow.
"One day... I wasn't alone," He muttered, cryptically. [/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May, green, dashed, 10"] Wait...so he didn't have many friends either? They were in somewhat similar situations then. "What about your brother? Did he spend time with you?" Surely, his brother must have been with him. After all they were related.
For a moment, silence followed and she was frankly comfortable. Though his vague words caused her to grow confused. "What do you mean?" She questioned as she leaned close to the male.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]At the mention of his brother, Koshi's gaze move downwards to stare at the ground. He left her question unanswered, because knowing what he brother was now... That thing... It pained him too much to speak, because surely bad things would come out of his mouth... And right now, he didn't want to be upset at Kaito - he missed him far too much.
The grey eyes travelled up again searching in May's emerald eyes - green as the pines around them - for... For understanding. He was afraid to tell her what had taken place underneath the shade of the trees that fateful, late December afternoon. The mind-numbing contrast, a splash of bright-red blood across the white snow - that was all too terrible a moment to recall... But it was his one chance to tell somebody what had happened. Nobody knew. After all, dead men tell no tales.
"He stepped out from behind a big pine tree... I was... murdered here." Suddenly, Koshi's hands went to his eyes. He covered the optics with his pale palms, like a child would do when they cried and didn't want to, or like one would do if they were witnessing something terrible. The left one ached strangely from the loss of contact with May's hand.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May, green, dashed, 10"] Koshi completely avoided answering her question about his brother, clearly showing that it wasn't a good question to ask. So, they remained in silence until he finally spoke out.
Her throat ran dry and she starred up at him with wide eyes. He was...murdered here? How could this have happened? Why was he murmured? "Heavens, Koshi..." May immediately leaned over to wrap her arms around him. The newly acquired information about this place made her wonder why he liked coming here if it had such a tragic event tied to it. "How? Why did that even happen?" The girl honestly didn't know what to do. This was just something that didn't happen all the time in someone's daily life.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Koshi dropped his hands to tightly grasp onto May when she hugged him - clutching onto her for dear life, ironically, it was too late for him to be saved anyway. He ducked his head down, and hid his face in the crook of her neck - and it was already wet with the pea-sized teardrop raining down his cheek.
How? Why? Those were things that the boy asked himself all the time for the first year or two of his undeath. Slowly but surely, he had waned himself off of denial, and tried his hardest to understand what had happened... But, that was to just to hard. It was simply incomprehensible.
"I don't know... It was just some guy." And that made it all the worse - no rhyme or reason, just a grueling fear and pain. Why? Why had it happened? He went to the woods, he stayed by his grave because maybe... Maybe one day he'd understand. In this place, the boy had a backwards way of searching for a way to understand his murder. "I think they never caught him, but I don't know."[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May, green, dashed, 10"] May was left in silence at his words. He had been murdered for no reason at all? Who would do such a thing? This world truly was cruel and she had experienced how hard it could come at you. The names she would be called, the bullying, the occasional beating from other students here and there, but he...No, he had gone through something far more worse than she had. He had been murdered, for crying out loud. his life had been taken away by some cruel soul that had no purpose to do so.
Her thin fingers soothingly ran through his hair, trying provide some comfort to the spirit. "I hope they did," she murmured as she closed her eyes and tightened her grip around his form. It wasn't fair. Heh, but life wasn't fair right? That's what everyone around her would tell her and it sucked because it was true. There were things that you had no control over and unfortunately, they weren't positive things sometimes.
"When did this happen?" May questioned.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Feeling her fingers delicately card through his hair brought the emotions, boiling and smoldering in his chest, down just enough to keep him from crying anymore. Shaking, but otherwise surprisingly collected as he held tightly on to May, Koshi muttered, "I think... I think it might have been half-a-year ago. Time works differently for spirits, it's like we don't really... Feel it pass anymore," Koshi sniveled and felt his cheeks heat up with embarrassment. God, he had just met this girl, and he was already crying against her shoulder... He hoped she wouldn't find it strange - but after all, how else could someone deal with being killed? He needed this - for years Koshi had been dealing with all kind of terrible things, and just when things were finally getting better... There was a man in the pines.
All so sudden, so unfair. "I just minding my own business... I caught his eye, he was wearing big, washed-out jeans, and a black shirt. He looked about forty, but the look in his eyes... Made him look a hundred... Like he had seen the world, and hated it." The males warm hands ran up May's back from where they had settled around her waist, and cupped the girl's shoulder blades to pull her even closer against him.
"He had a gun, and a knife. He didn't use the gun-" and then the boy couldn't continue speaking - too many terrible things were pouring into his mind from the darkest reaches of his memory.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May, green, dashed, 10"] May listened to the male speak about that terrible day where someone had taken his life. It must be hard talking about this, which was why she didn't mind that he was crying on her shoulder. In fact, she was quite happy, not for what happened, but because he trusted her enough to cry in front of her. She felt that it took courage to cry in front of another person. Usually people tended to put up a strong front, just so they wouldn't appear weak, but crying wasn't being weak.
"That's horrible. How could someone bring harm to someone else? It isn't right." May breathed, trying to keep her emotions stable. "You don't have to continue if you don't want. I understand that this is something hard to talk about." May didn't want for him to talk about something if he wasn't ready.
[/fieldbox]
