middleofsomewhere | So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

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So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

Time to leave!

There is not much of the city left, but the park is holding together as those anchoring help those who are not voidtreckers through back to where they belong. Monsters continue to attack and a little further out there is a battle of hearts and minds being fought with the mass of colours and chaos.

Eventually, after the bulk of citizens had been evacuated everyone with SCA's on would hear Jin-Roh's voice after a few frantic beeps, as Chiff aligned everyone's SCA's. "We are almost done here, if you are with anyone not tethered to a voidcraft get them to the evacuation point, as quickly as possible."

Anan pulls out of the anchoring point to call out to any defenders in the park. "Come on! Anyone who isn't a voidtrecker! It's time to go."

Luckily those off fighting the entity headed the message and made their way to the park as Jin Roh spoke again.

"Everyone else get ready. When we call it you need to leave. If you don't have your SCA on then get to someone who does."

As the last people rushed to the park Anan calls out again, through her SCA and outloud to the park. "You need to unanchor, before you can evacuate. Everyone be ready."

She goes in again though, because there are some last people, those from the large battle, getting through as another message was called.

"Almost there. Be ready. On my command..."

Anan unanchored again. "Quick everyone unanchor."

"NOW" Jin Roh's voice came through strong on their SCA's. Hopefully those with SCA's would grab those without.

There is some outside help as well, the train pulls anyone who is unconscious or still under the entity's control, forcibly evacuating them. This includes Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and Zagreus.

Luggage Carriage

There has been a mass evacuation before and that was crazy enough but since then the population of the train has almost doubled and now it is an extremely tight squeeze as everyone crashes into the luggage carriage at the same time.

The train jerks and rolls as they enter into the void at breakneck speed and again as they seem to slow, rather than speeding off though the void.

There's a crackling from their SCA's. "Voidtreckers? Voidtreckers come in!" Anan's voice. "Please tell me you made it..."

There's only a few moments of signal and soon they are flying though the void again, away from the strange non-world, the entity sealed for now. To new adventures, but first hopefully some time to recover from all that has happened.

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Sleep was for best, even if he was stained with blood and cuts, if he said he was alright Taiki would believe him.

But he was injured and exhausted and Taiki was exhausted but unscathed. He closed his eyes, it took almost all of his strength to transform, a gust of wind blowing through the carriage as the boy twisted, feet turning into hooves until a horse-like creature with a horn stood before the dragon.

"I can carry you." The dragon was small, he could carry him.

There is something so profoundly settling at that transformation, different as it is from his own. Even the form is understandable, though he's not met someone qilin souled himself. (Or what they would be, on his world. He won't mistake familiarity with concept as shared truth, not after a month of it being obvious this is not the case.)

Still, Taiki has the tired dragon fully flowing forward, going from half coiled to serpentine movement forward, and then up, back an improbable arc as he lifts his forelegs up and speaks. "I always wanted to meet a qilin," he says, and so he's staring: at least uncoiled like this shows he's uninjured (all those injuries healed between Ryo and his own healing), as any creatures he'd been part of killing to save civilians... had been days ago, that feel like centuries.

He droops down not long after, the surprise enough to motivate him until the floor starts having its own unfortunate gravitational pull, and he's belly down on it again, not having answered the I can carry you yet.

He peers at the dragon as they flow forward and closer. He doesn't mind the staring and he is relieved to see the creature seems to be uninjured. Exhaustion was bad enough but it was good he was not harmed.

"It is good to meet a dragon as well." Technically he had met a dragon before, on a mission. But that had been altogether different. Truthfully it was a nice feeling to meet people who had multiple forms even if they were from very different worlds than he was.

But then the dragon is falling down again and Taiki bends down, nudging him gently with his nose before lowering himself to the ground. "Can you climb on?"

Oh, he could weep for that kindness. He won't, but he's tired, and it's an appropriately melodramatic thought, so he lets himself have it. Then he casts a look back at his robes, rolling his eyes that direction.

"Can we take my robes, too? Or do we gotta leave them." Breathing in deep, he lifts his head and scrunches his legs up under his body, rising in a sort of popping motion. His tail still drags on the floor behind him.

"I can get them." He turns and gently picks them up in his mouth, careful not to bite them or damage them in any way.

Luckily when he's in his kirin form he speaks through kirin magic, not his mouth and so it doesn't stop him asking.

"Tell me when you are ready please."

Jingyi would envy that ability if he had the mental space for it. Without that, he simply sits there collected like a loafing cat, neck arched back, chin tucked in to rest against said neck.

He hops ceilingward, more bunny like than an attempted leap shown in better skies, but it works to have him up and then settling across the qilin's shoulders. He kept his talons carefully up, bracing with the pads of his feet, and taking hold with his front claws in the mane of the qilin. The rest of his weight settles down after, tail more draped off one side instead of continuing to follow the line of Taiki's spine, as the rest of Jingyi's smaller frame is lined up to do.

He rests his neck in the same swanlike fashion, blinking slowly. "This work?"

He stays very still as the dragon clambered onto his back. It took a while for him to be positioned well but once he was Taiki nodded slightly.

"Yes. Which room is yours?"

He got to his feet and began to walk, he could fly but the train was a bit awkward for that and he is extremely tired.

The long pause that follows is Jingyi sorting his brain out to not answer with the flat number he'd had in illusion. "Upper... Two, Dee."

A longer pause follows, while he holds on and sways naturally with Taiki's movements. For a guy used to being ridden, and also used to riding when sword and dragon flight were not advised, this is familiar in another, odder way.

"Where's yours?"

How much is he making this poor qilin walk? (Kirin, really, but first thoughts are to familiarities, and it is doubtlessly a sight, small dragon perched upon kirin walking past, as one does.)

"Ah. I'm lower two, D." He walked, not so far from each other at all. Getting upstairs in kirin form might be a challenge, he hadn't tried that yet. He didn't usually use his kirin form on the train for obvious reasons.

But he would not let stairs defeat his attempts to help this little dragon. He opened the door into the dressing carriage with his nose and moved through.

Jingyi blinks long and slow, swaying with movement and eventually putting together:

"You're my neighbour." After more of a pause. "My below neighbour." Another, longer pause. "My ground level neighbour? Are your beds as tiny and sad as ours..."

Hilarious when said by him in dragon form, turning those beds into more decent size by merit of comparison to normal adult human space concerns.

"Yes." A below neighbour. There's probably a word but he can't think of it... "I... I think the beds are the same size everywhere."

On the small side sure, but... "Do you sleep in his form?"

"I could, though I don't usually. Or would if sleeping with someone." There was no room to share space with two human sized bodies; he's not particularly broad or bulky, but he takes up enough space, and he sleeps on his back. What kind of room would he even leave for anyone else? (Nap buddies, not yet something he's run into, but something he misses, even if it wasn't usually a bed-thing.)

"People get awkward about the nudity thing."

He doesn't transform with clothing, so he doesn't transform back anymore dressed than he is now, with his forehead ribbon and SCA the only accessories on him.

"Do you ever nap in this form? ... Could you fit on one of those beds if you had to?" Tucking in limbs and curving a neck down to rest against his own shoulder? Jingyi tried working out the logic, aware he was likely not dealing with someone who had as flexible a spine as he did in present form.

"Yes... It can be awkward, especially on missions." Too many times he transformed in an emergency to find himself needing hands or at a task that was better suited for his human form and having no clothes.

Perhaps if he had grown up a kirin rather than on earth he would be less awkward about the whole thing. "I've not tried... I'm not sure I'd fit..."

At least he didn't need worry about being too heavy, even in this form he was lighter than most human adults but there's really not that much room for a kirin.

Jingyi hums and agreeing note, though he was agreeing it was awkward how others made it awkward. Clearly, that's what they're talking about. (His concept of awkwardness with nudity extended only into 'times of zero intent, so not bathing, and not shifting.')

"Not sure if you want to learn... if you ever do, I can help." He adjusts his hold on Taiki's mane, leaning his head and neck forward so he can briefly nuzzle into it, like he might with an agemate. Tactile comfort and reassurance. "'M strong. Could lift you if you needed support."

Though why??? They'd need to figure out if Taiki could fit on a bunk bed while a kirin is anyone else's guess, because Jingyi only had "maybe if unable to transform this is relevant to know" in mind.

He's not sure if he needs to 'learn' how to sleep on a bed as a kirin but he also doesn't want to turn him down so he merely nodded his head. "Of course."

An experiment wouldn't harm after all... Hopefully. "Thank you."

It was only polite after all.

Taiki... Taiki no, tell the dragon no, he's tired, he's filled with terrible ideas. Even Jingyi seems to realise this, though he fails to connect it to anything, having already lost the train of his own thoughts.

"You're welcome?"

For... right, for offering to deadlift a kirin. "It's not a problem, you look very light."

Says the dragon presently riding on Taiki's back. Jingyi's certain he's now covered whatever may have been involved, and thus, lets his mind further wander up the... stairs.

"... Are you getting down again okay?"

He is very light so he nods, barely able to keep up with this conversation either as bone tiredness washes through him.

Up another step, stairs as a kirin are new. Not something he's tried before but he's doing fine, one step at a time. "Yes... I think so..."

He can cross that bridge, staircase, when he gets to it.

Jingyi, who was at least somewhat shifting his weight as if he were actually riding, stretches his neck out to the side of Taiki's, nosing at whatever he manages to reach. That wasn't selling him on confidence, but also, he didn't have the energy to argue.

"Can borrow clean clothes if you want," he says instead, because he has all those things he doesn't wear (purple shirts, the cargo pants, the other sets of clothing he hasn't bothered figuring out [read: pyjamas]) stashed at the foot of his bunk. Which reminds him he'll need to mend his robes... somehow. He's having a hard time thinking forward to what he'll need to do that.

"Oh." He blinked at him, "That would be kind of you."

Clothes would make things easier, he could transform and get back to his room without having to navigate going downstairs, which struck him as more difficult than going up. Also he would be smaller, take up less space.

He doesn't want to hinder anyone who is just trying to get to their room.

Talking of rooms, they were in the corridor now and he found the room. "Is your ticket in your robes?"

Jingyi practically oozed off Taiki's back, not falling so much as floating to the ground at his side. With a look up and down the corridor, which was at least for the moment empty of anyone but them, he sighed.

"Yeah, let me get it." Likewise, he went from crouched as a dragon to a blur of silvered light, and expanding where he was more used to condensing down to human form. His ribbon was even more of a mess, but at least now he could reach for (and into) his robes, extracting what he needed out of one sleeve. It also allowed him to take them fully from Taiki, and with the afterthought of modesty, keep them at belly level, covering what was considered least palatable for public view. (To little surprise, perhaps, his tail managed to mostly cover other assets.)

All this to shove his ticket home and stumble through the door, by some miracle first of his three roommates to arrive. Which worked for him, though as far as he could tell at least half of them wouldn't care if he was underdressed; he tossed his tattered, bloodied robes at his bunk and went for the cubby where his extra sets of train provided clothing (ugh) have been stashed since he first emptied his rucksack.

"Come in," he said, figuring Taiki didn't need to change out in the hall like he had. He tugged out a set of vaguely dragonlike blue and gold pyjamas, then turned back to offer the clothing to Taiki.

"Here, these are clean."

He is fascinated, the transformation was similar but at the same time completely different to that of a kirin. So he watches over his shoulder until the small dragon turns into a teenage boy, close to his age.

A naked teenage boy, Taiki averts his eyes out of politeness more than anything else though from his words earlier it didn't seem like this dragon-boy was so worried about such things.

Still the door was open and Taiki followed him in, taking up most of the room in his kirin form. When the cloth was held out he transformed himself, a gust of wind before he was stood there, trying to not be embarassed about his lack of clothes.

"Thank you."

He reached out for the pyjamas and began pulling them on.

The wind tugs at Jingyi's hair and ribbon, and he grins, small enough with being tired as he is. "Hah, you don't work with wind too, do you?" Being the element nearest and dearest to his heart, he's loopily amused, only realising he's watching the poor qilin get dressed when he's tired staring and, well, watching Taiki pull on pants.

There's no real interest in his eyes, only the kind of once over that spoke toward being used to checking for injuries on people in moments before they were hurriedly dressing and checking for proper robe alignment before racing out doors for the next lesson, or to make the next meeting place as required; belatedly, he shakes his head and turns back to pull out the boxers he wears like shorts when sleeping, and the purple hoodie that gives him places to stash things.

"You're welcome. You can keep 'em too, if you want."

He's never worn them. Boxers on, and then he's tying off the band that goes over his tail, making sure they stay in place (though really, this is why he wishes he had more robes, this was never an issue with his innermost layers back home) before he pulls on his hoodie and finally, tiredly fusses with his head ribbon.

"Is it on straight?" he asks, having tightened the way it pulls across the back of his head, but not trusting the feedback from his fingers over the satin and embroidery of the clouds spreading across his forehead.

The pyjamas are quite large on Taiki, but he can tie the waistband in a way that makes the trousers not fall down and pull the legs up so they are not dangling on the floor. He gives a half shrug. "Kirin work with the wind I guess... When we fly we use the currents."

But they had no way of controlling the wind, or working with it in that way. He peers at the headband for a moment before nodding.

"Yes. It's on straight." He smiled. "Thank you... I hope you can rest well."

Taiki looks like he's drowning in cloth, and Jingyi would probably be amused... if he wasn't worried about his ribbon, exhausted, and two heavy sighs away from falling asleep on his feet. The reassurance that his headband's on straight merits a slow blink and a slower smile, his hands falling away.

"Good, that's good. Very good." It'd probably go crooked after sleeping, but having it in place, that's one thing right in this world. This train? In whatever, the Void. One right thing in the Void. "You too, right? Walk carefully, just... roll up the fabric, if you need to?"

He stumbles back a step, sitting down hard on his bunk and stifling a yawn. "Make winds for you later," he adds, recalling that earlier statement late. "Good for flying. Fun winds. Winds," he says, "Are my thing. Clouds too. Can make it rain."

Can flop right sideways on the bunk, drawing his legs up at the same time, tail curling over the sides of his legs and around to his front. "Rest well, okay. Good qilin."

He is definitely fighting keeping his eyes open any longer.

"Yes." He nodded and then bent down to do that, rolling the fabric up so it no longer trailed on the floor. Standing was a challenge, he swayed on his feet but he smiled at the words. It sounded like this dragon boy was very powerful if he could control the wind, the clouds and the rain.

He would ask further questions but the boy looked like he would fall asleep any moment. "Sleep well as well."

He nodded politely before leaving the room, luckily getting to his own only meant going down the stairs, for he was exhaused and planned to do nothing else but fall into his own bed.

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So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

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cw: mentions of non-sexual nudity

cw: mentions of non-sexual nudity

cw: mentions of non-sexual nudity

cw: mentions of non-sexual nudity

cw: people got dressed!!!

They did!!