[Private] Last resource

You smile as you pull a few things from the fridge. "Castel is my quadrantmate." Sometimes he was your matesprit, other times your kismeisis. It varied on the night, sometimes on the hour. Lately, he had been acting rather red towards you due to your injuries, flipping to black when you did something counter-intuitive to resting and building your energy stores back up. "He lives in the village nearby."

You decide to make gumbo, after all it might stop Caimon from chewing on clothes for a few days. You grab whatever vegetables look good, then some cluck-beast breast. "Ok, if you can peel and then chop up dese vegetables, and den cube dis meat. Its kinda hard to chop stuff up one handed." You already had the pot on the burner and were heating it up, pouring in the soup base and water.

You glance at him -Quadrantmate? I'm guessing that means you flip a lot... It should be nice having a mate- you smile slightly. In all your life as a seadweller you haven't had a mate, ever, you once had a moirail, but everything ended completely wrong, he was a yellowblood and he was supposed to keep you calm... Of course she interfered and ruined everything, she killed him just like that, in a really cruel and painful way, you saw everything, you heard everything, though now the memories are confusing and blurry, there's nothing left. You still have the necklace he gave you, but you never wear it.

-Leave it to me!- you say happily as you wash your hands and pick up the vegetables, the meat and a knife. You firstly peel the vegetables and cut them in small cubes, then you chop the meat in a little bigger ones, finishing quickly and, fortunately, you didn't cut yourself, so everything is alright -Here, I'm not so clumsy as you can see- you chuckle a little.

You snort, "sayin' dat we flip 'a lot' is an undahstatement." You had to admit, you did prefer when the pair of you were red. But you both had so much anger at the world that you needed to get out, and what better way to get it out than on each-other. Currently, you plainly did not have the energy for a black flip, your recent ordeal with Aarush Dasura had left you completely drained of energy, both physically and power wise.

"Ah, excellent cher!" You put all of it into the thickening gumbo. Caimon was watching you, his mouth open slightly and his tongue running over his sharp teeth. You grab some herbs and spices, adding in whatever you felt like. You never cooked by a recipe, so your food was always a little different. "It's missin' someting. Try it Aryane." You hand her the spoon.

-I see- you smile and blush a little when he calls you cher, you are good with lenguages so you know what that means, and though it is probably his habit, it is special for you because you don't have a lot of close friends. You hand him all the vegetables and meat and you watch as he puts all into the pot and adds other things, a delicious smell invades the room and you just realize that you don't know what are both of you cooking, you decide asking won't hurt -I probably should have asked this before but, what are we cooking?- you tilt your head slightly.

You take the spoon he offers and taste it, the flavor is great, but it is indeed missing a little something, right, salt -It tastes great!- you smile -But I think a little bit of salt will do- you search for it and hand it to him -Here- now that you think about it, you have never helped someone or cooked with someone else, it was and interesting experience, and also entertaining.

You smile at her as you stir the pot. "Gumbo, dis is gumbo. I've been makin' it since I was tree." He wasn't surprised she didn't realize what it was, it was a region-specific food. You mentally facepalm when she suggests salt. "How da fuck did I forget salt?" You huff and add it to the soup. Much better. "Can you rustle up some bowls, cher?" You stirred it slowly as it finished thickening, pulling the contents at the bottom of the pot to the top with the ladle. Caimon now had your full attention, his jaw hanging open and the tip of his tail twitching. You snicker at him, out in the swamp he was a terrifying beast that you did not under any circumstances want to cross. But inside your hive, he was a big ball of mush that loved your cooking.

-Gumbo? I've never heard of oit, so I'm pretty sure it's a regional food, it's great you have something like this here! It smells really good- you chuckle a little when he adds the salt, smiling a little -No problem, leave it to me- you go and search for the bowls, happy to be helping someone for once, instead of being the one asking for help, which is a really good change, since you feel there is reciprocation here, and that makes you feel comfortable, you don't usually feel like this so easily.

You glance at Caimon, laughing a little at his behavior, you don't fear the beasts since you can talk with them, and though Caimon is a really imposing creature, he is like a little dog in the inside, and ir seems his favorite place is definately the kitchen. You find the bowls and a couple of spoons and you set the table, you also get some glasses and place them in the table -Done! Your kitchen is really well organized so it was rather easy- you smile and you start feeling really hungry suddenly.

You lift the pot one handed, which isn't too difficult because of your highblood strength but is awkward because you only have one hand to lift it with. You set it on the table, using the ladle to fill both bowls, then grab your glass and stand. You push your lusus's tail out of the way with your foot and fill your class with water from the fridge. While drinking some of it, you rubbed your lusus between the shoulders with your socked foot, earning you what sounded like a gravely purr. You sat back down. "Go ahead and dig in, Aryane." You were hungry, the smell of cooking had awakened your appetite.

You take your glass and walk to the refrigerator, filling it with water too and laughing a little with Caimon's purring, which is low and grave, it kind of suits him and it gives a feeling of cuteness somehow, you take a sip of water and walk to the table again, taking a seat across Sersen's place, it's been a long time since you ate with someone else other than your pets so it feels refresing, though now you're wondering where did Zielle go, definitely not the kitchen since she's not here, you take a mental note to search her after you're finished.

-Thank you for the food- you smile at Sersen with thankfulness and you fill your bowl, you then take a fool spoon of it, tasting it carefully, it's really good -It's delicious Sersen!- you smile brightly, filling your mouth again and then taking a sip of water so you don't choke because of eating to fast.

You grin, running your fingers through your hair. You didn't have the braids along one side like you usually did, but you couldn't exactly put them back in with one hand. Everything in your life had got infinitely more difficult with the busted arm. You tried to tighten your brace that held your arm at a perfect 90 degree angle, but it proved too difficult. You'd just need to wait for Castel.

"Its no problem, thank you for helpin' me make it. I can't do much with only one hand." You smile sheepishly, eating some of the soup. "I'm glad you like it Aryane. Don't eat it too fast you could scald your mouth."

You chuckle a little, and you blush slightly when he says that, you were being a little careless and you might cause trouble to Sersen if you don't take care -Okay- you smile a little and continue to eat more slowly. You wonder why is it so easy to get along with him, it was even a little difficult to talk to Eisire at first, and though now you're like sisters, in the start you were really shy, but right now, with Sersen, you even tease each other, you like that it is easy to get along with him. You notice your headache has calmed down for now, which is a relief to say the least.

-Don't thank me, I've been causing trouble by coming him while you're injured, and I also enjoyed it- you smile shyly, you wonder if there is anything else you can help him with -I'll wash the dishes after we finish, also, is your brace settled correctly? It looks a little loose...- you ask feeling a little worried about it.

You finish eating, putting your sink in the bowl and moving the pot to the floor. Caimon quickly polishes off whats left of the gumbo as you sit back down. "Aryane you are no trouble. I am quite enjoying your company." You rubbed the back of your neck, you didn't usually feed your clients or chat to them so casually. Then again, most of the time you had paint caked on your face for clients so they were all very intimidated by you. You suck absent mindedly on your lip piercing, wondering when you could take your pain meds again. "Oh dis?" You flex the fingers of your useless arm. "Ya its a little loose but its not dat much of a bothah. And thanks for offerin' to do da dishes, its been taking me twice as long to wash up as of late." You had to admit, it was quite nice having someone help you. Of course, Castel helped you in the evening when he came for breakfast. But Aryane was helping you for no real reason, just that she was a genuinely nice troll.

You contienue eating until you finish, it was really delicious and now you're completely satisfied and feeling quite content, eating with someone else is really the best, more if both of you helped with the cooking and preparations, also talking is rather easy and the atmosphere was good too, you're feeling relaxed and your headache stopped too -Thanks, I'm enjoying your company too- you smile slightly and stand up, you pick up everything, put it in the sink and start washing it -I can imagine it, you don't have to thank me though- you shrug, then you finish washing the dishes.

-That's it, I finished- you smile slightly and place the dishes in the dish rack for them to dry. You then walk to Sersen, a little shyly, but even so you smile -May I help you with the brace?- you ask, maybe he doesn't likes physical contact or something.

Sersen listened to her quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. He grinned at her, "I don't have to t'ank you, but I want to. So, t'anks. You didn't have to do any of dis." You yawn, you didn't sleep that great last day, you kept rolling onto your bad arm. You knew if you were spooning Castel through the day you wouldn't really move, but he slept at his hive. You turn and smile at Aryane when she finishes the dishes. "T'anks, I'll put the dishes away later when dere dry."

You think for a second about her offer. "Yeah dat would be great." You shrug your sling off. "You jus' have ta tighten the velcro straps till dere tight, I'll keep my arm at da right angle while you do it."

You smile slightly, almos sighing -I don't have to help you either, but I want to, so I'm helping you even if you say me not to do so- you chuckle slightly and you walk to him. You always get yourself hurt because of your clumsiness, but you have never broke your arm or any other part of your body, and you're pretty sure that is because of your luck, you have a pretty good luck after all, you're pretty sure it is painful and even if you're curious and like to try new things, you won't try to break something by yourself, it might be dangerous since you live in a forest -I think I can do that if I'm still here by the time they have dried...- you didn't have to do everything for him, but for some reason you couldn't help it, you just wanted to help, but the thing is you want to help him, that's why it seems strange to you.

-Ok, just hold it like that, it shouldn't take long- you do as he says, tightening the brace until it is comfortable for him -There!- you smile. Maybe you should start searching for Zielle now that you think about it... Oh my, I think you already have him in your hands, and he has such great abilities, you know that I'm right, you should use him for other things than getting rid of me! He won't be able to do it anyway- you flinch when the headache suddenly returns, bringing back her voice, it was too good to be true.

You thought to yourself as she fixed your brace. It was going to take you over a week to create the mojo hand, especially since your powers were so drained. Having Aryane around was going to be a huge help. Maybe you'd be able to rationalize this with Castel; by taking his client you would be off of your feet and resting more. Perhaps you would just give her the mojo-hand as a thank you. It wouldn't be much skin off of your back.

You can sense the spirit in Aryane now that she is close to you, it feels quite old. When she flinches you gently grab her arm. "Are you okay, Aryane?" You suck on your lip piercing for a few seconds. "Does dat spirit do more to you dan make you hear voices?"

Well, you have done it this time! This is all because you don't know how to hide your reactions, you're so careless. Now you'll have to tell him everything, you're lucky since he has dealt with this other times, so he won't think you're a weirdo, though maybe if you tell him about that yellow blood he will hate you, you're going to lose everything sweetheart~ You look at Sersen a little surprised, all her words making you dizzy and confused Shut up, shut up -SHUT UP!- you shout walking back and separating from Sersen, pushing him just a little.

Once you realize what you have done you stare at Sersen with a little of fear and worriness in your eyes -I-I'm sorry, I didn't push you too hard right? Are you okay?- you want to check if he's alright but you don't dare to approach him, you don't want to hurt anyone here. You think for a moment, in silence, hesitating to say the truth, but you finally speak -Yes, indeed, is much more than just voices, that's the reason I'm so scared of not being able to control her... I don't want her to take everything away from me again- you speak in a low voice, almost whispering, facing the ground feeling to ashamed to look at his eyes.

You can sense the spirit getting stronger, and let Aryane have her space. "I'm fine, Aryane, don't worry about me. Sit yourself down and take some deep breaths ok?" You smile reasuringly at her. Judging by what she said and the way she is acting, this spirit was able to posses her. The best thing for Aryane right now was to calm down. "You don't have to say anything, just breathe ok? In deeply through your nose and out slowly through your mouth." You sit on the floor a few feet in front of her, cross legged. Caimon spots you from the kitchen and walks over, curling around you like he did when you were little. You scratch him between his scales.

You nod in silence and you do as he says, sitting on the floor an leaning against the wall, it's easier for you to concentrate if you are sitting down instead of standing, since you are just resting there. Your head hurts terribly, and you even feel a little dizzy, but you're used to this by now, since the last nights and days have been like this and you haven't been able to sleep much, because the daymares haunt you, you're curious about them though, but you can't stay asleep enough time to find out.

You stare at the floor like it was the most interesting thing to see in this room, taking deep breaths and soon calming down, you raise your eyes to his arms, he looks okay and you didn't harm him, which is good enough for you -I can't help worrying about you, sorry...- you look back to the floor, you decide it might be better if you tell him what happened, mabe he will be able to help you in a better way.

-She's been with me since a long time ago, probably since I was born, at first it wasn't like this, but she suddenly became manipulative, bad, angry... I couldn't understand at all. I've always lived in the forest so I wasn't able to meet a lot of trolls, but one day there was a yellowblood who got lost there- you take a deep breath before speaking again -I decided to help him because he was really kind and funny, we became friends and in no time we were moirails too, he was everything I had, if you don't count my pets of course- you continue looking at the floor, you're eyes sting since you're holding the tears -Everything was good until one day she was acting strange, I started to feel bad and then my body went numb, I could see everything, but I couldn't move nor control my body- you pause for a moment, deciding the words -She just walked to him and killed him, then I was myself again, he was still alive for a moment, but I was to weak to help him, he died in my arms. That was the first time it happened, I decided not to meet any other trolls, but recently I've been befriending a lot, and I'm scared this might happen again, it wouldn't be the first or second time, not even the third time, but I just want it to stop- you sigh when you finish talking, at some point Zielle returned and cuddled by your side, comforting you.

You listen to her quietly, thinking it best for her to get everything off of her chest before speaking yourself. When she finishes, you stand and walk over to her. You sit down beside her, pushing your unruly hair from your face with your good hand. You take time to choose your words before attempting to comfort her. "For highbloods like us, any curses laid seem to be worse dan in lowbloods. Dat is because of the strength we hold; for you, dis spirit inside of you manipulates your strength to get out dere anger."

You take her hand in yours. "But dat does not mean dat you have to seclude yourself from everyone." You smile at her, thinking about your own problems. That anger that always lingers in the back of your mind, building until you are so angry that you just don't know what to do. "The mojo-hand will weaken the spirit and prevent it from taking possession of you. Dis is someting that you can cope with." You squeeze her hand gently.

You squeeze her hand back, her skin slightly cooler than yours. "Yes, at least dat is the goal. I will do the best I can, Aryane." Caimon has waddled over, placing his snout in Aryane's lap. Your lusus seemed to care about everyone who didn't pose an immediate threat to you. Then again, he also seemed to care a lot about the refrigerator. You put your arm around Aryane's shoulders, "'ey, you ain't alone. You've got your snake, and me, and Caimon. Although he's fuckin' weird." You chuckle.

You squeeze her shoulder, she was so much smaller than you. "Don't be sorry, Cher. Sometimes you just gotta get it all out. It isn't healthy to bottle everyting up."

You smile slightly at him, his company really comforts you -I'll do my best too then- You pet Caimon's snout slightly, it seems he likes you, though that doesn't surprises you much, since your psionics help you a lot with the beasts, but there have been indeed some of them that dislike you and have tried to attack you, most of them were someone's lusus, so you didn't do anything to harm them, even if you don't have such a good relationship with Wolfmom, you know you'll be sad if she died or something happened to her. You glance at Sersen, blushing a little when he kind of hugs you. You chuckle -Caimon isn't that weird... But thank you... -you smile at him blushing slightly, it feels great being able to rely on someone in this way.


You look at his eyes, tilting your head backwards since he's a lot taller than you -Yes, you're right, I feel a lot better indeed, thanks for hearing me out- You smile at him, feeling a lot better of course.

Caimon makes his weird chirping sound, a purr that comes out more as a growl. He seems to be smiling at Aryane, sensing that she can communicate with animals. 'My Ser is a nice boy, yes?' He tilts his head, his mouth opening a little. 'He would make a good moirail, I think. Yes, a very good moirail! And you would be good for him, he needs a calm person in his life. The boy he calls 'bebette' can be rather unpredictable. But he is good for my Ser and makes him happy. I think you would make him happy too.'

Of course, you don't know any of this is going on. "Yes, Caimon is very weird. He's in love with the refrigerator and eats clothes." Your lusus looks at you, as if to say 'sorry.' But you grin at him and scratch him between his eyes. "You're welcome, Aryane. I'm happy you feel better."

Your eyes widen when you hear Caimon's voice in your head, and you start blushing as he speaks, and continue doing it as he keeps talking, you didn't expect that at all, it was really sweet from him, since you just met both of them, but you totally weren't expecting his own lusus to suggest something like that at all, you feel a little cornered to be honest, like if you were caught stealing something. R-Really? T-Thanks, but I'm not sure about it... I mean, I... You what? Well, you actually feel a little pale for him, but you're not going to say or ask that outloud. I'm not the one who decides that! You're sure you are making weird faces while you talk to Caimon.

Praying he didn't realize all of your awkward silence you turn to face him and smile nervously at him -Really? Well, the refrigerator is white and full of food, so maybe it's that? Though the clothes aren't food...- you laugh, hoping you're not talking as fast as you think you're doing -Thanks... Sersen, can you keep a secret?- You prefer to talk with the beasts and plants outlous rather than inside your head, maybe if you tell him, you can talk outloud instead of being in awkward silence.

Caimon makes a sound that resembles a laugh and then slithers off towards the kitchen. He was content with the meddling he had done and resumed his spot next to the fridge, rubbing his head against it before settling down for a nap. You watch Aryane growing uncomfortable. You remove your arm from her shoulders, maybe she wanted her personal space? "Caimon is just very weird. I've learned to accept it and not question it." You snicker.

You tilt your head at her, pushing your hair back with your hand again. You didn't have the cornrows on one side like usual, you needed two hands to put those back in, so your hair was getting in your eyes more than usual. "What is it, cher?"