ximilialog | open | no boys allowed

Entry tags:

open | no boys allowed

CHARACTERS: EVERYBODY, toplevel away!
LOCATION: smushed very precariously into the North Wing
DATE: first night following the June log
CONTENT: slumber party!111!!1!!
WARNINGS: n/a - pls add to your threads as appropriate <3
NOTES: I'm posting this log OOCly, but ICly consider this a group effort rather than Yujin's doing - feel free to handwave how your character helped out :)

It's been a long, exhausting, and emotionally trying mission. It would've been enough, even without the orbers finding themselves in this strange past incarnation of the Ximilia station, forcing them all down so many painful trips down memory lane.

And yet, at the end of the day... everybody's still got to sleep!!

With the help of Iris, the infirmary staff, and any others who've volunteered, the North Wing's been outfitted as much as it can be to sleep a crew of over 40 people. Spare linens from the infirmary, whatever pillows or makeshift cots the team has been able to create: though humble, it'll sleep everyone. It's hardly luxury accommodations-- this station is older and more worn, and the North Wing is meant for half their number-- but it's cozy enough for anyone desperate for some rest to get it.

(Some of you will have to share bunks, though. Or sleep on the floor. Sorry.)

Perhaps your character:

helped set up the place, pitching in to wrangle up whatever sleeping supplies they could;

is still helping get others settled, or checking in with the injured (or, emotionally distraught?);

is too wired to sleep, their mind racing from the day's events (or, maybe they just don't sleep?);

is CRANKY about their assigned Blanket Pile On The Ground, and trying to find somewhere else to rest;

or is trying to bring the orbers' spirits up, joking or laughing or entertaining in spite of the situation they all find themselves in.

Or maybe they're doing something else like having a pillow fight or something silly. I'm not the boss of you!!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Itachi is already sitting just outside of the door with a steaming cup of tea when Wei Wuxian turns the corner and begins making his way towards the north wing. There isn't anything especially telling in Wei Wuxian's walk or approach except for the fact that he keeps his head down and doesn't say anything to Itachi as he approaches. He doesn't even seem to notice him.

Instead, he comes to a stop and leans against the wall, pausing to send Itachi a message all while standing a mere few feet away.]

Hey, are you busy?

（ his focus cuts to wei ying, and his eyes narrow faintly.

under normal circumstance, he would think it a joke.

but they are not in normal circumstances, are they?

instead, aloud: ）

No. What do you require?

[Wei Wuxian jumps and then immediately curses under his breath, the words indiscernible but the sulk within them less so.]

Ah, well. [He reaches up a finger to swipe at his nose, turning in Itachi's direction and letting out a soft sigh. There's no hiding this from him now.]

Having a little problem. [He gestures vaguely in the direction of his face, lifting his head so that Itachi can see his unfocused eyes.]

Can't see. [Followed by another sigh. He is very clearly more annoyed by the ordeal than any kind of distressed. It helps that by now he's aware that things like this have been happening to most of them and that the effects appear to be temporary.]

It's not that bad, but I don't think I can go in there. [He gestures towards the north wing this time, crowded with people taking up nearly every inch. He's definitely going to end up stepping on someone.]

（ the terrifyingly uchiha urge to rip your own eyes out and give them to someone you care for to fix their blindness, actually. ）

（ hm, no. ）

Take four steps in your usual gait in the direction you are facing, then a quarter turn to your right, and sit. You will be beside me.

（ he makes space, immediately, and dispatches a clone to fetch a blanket and something to eat from within the sleeping quarters themselves. ）

[He snorts softly but does an instructed, moving over to sit beside Itachi.]

Can't believe you were just sitting there as I messaged you...[He mumbles, amused and exasperated at himself in turn.]

Nothing weird for you then, right?

No. I am unaffected.

（ he could speculate as to any dozen reasons, but there is no point. the orbs crave chaos. ）

Is it only your vision?

Good. [And then a short nod.]

All other senses are working fine, and if I have any memory issues, I haven't noticed. [He snorts at the comment though, aware that if he'd forgotten anyone, he'd hardly know about it.]

I haven't forgotten you at least. [He grins in what he's pretty sure is Itachi's direction.]

（ he snorts, not quite amusement but not quite hurt either — the statement was not intended to wound, but he is still a little raw from doctor mccoy's waylaying him in one of the corridors, fingers pressed against his shoulder as the man spoke to him in anguish. ）

Hopefully it will be temporary. It seems the other effects have been so, thus far.

Mmm. [He isn't really considering the possibility of it being anything but temporary. If it turned out that way, he'd deal with it, but that doesn't mean he wants to think about it.]

On the bright side, the orbs didn't think this one through. Can't exactly watch anyone's memories now, can I? [He snorts. The humor doesn't last though, and he slumps a little, exhausted.]

Still, I'll be happy when this is over with. [Whether he means the blindness or entirety of it isn't clear. One thing that is clear is that the mission is wearing on him, even if he's trying not to show it. He'd been on the last mission for over three months thanks to their staggered arrivals, and now this interference means it's been well over four. A third of a year gone from the station, and he knows he isn't weathering it as well as most. Not this week at least.]

（ watching something is not the only way to experience it, but there is little point in saying so. he recognizes that wei wuxian is merely speaking deflectively, and not searching for some definitive response to the situation at hand. he studies the man's face, those unseeing eyes, and then averts his gaze. it is difficult to say why this feels more personal than the memories they have witnessed of one another, only that it is. ）

Stay with me, until then. I will endeavour to keep you from trouble.

（ his tone says: might be tricky, as you are a magnet for such things. ）

[The smile that blossoms on his face isn't entirely put on, and it chases away some of the exhaustion in his features. His head tilts instinctively towards his friend though his eyes have closed by now.]

I'll put myself in your hands then, hmm? [He lets out a soft laugh.]

I'll even do my best to stay out of trouble. [He grins and then sits up straighter, reaching for one of his vambraces and beginning to unwind one of the long strips of black cloth that usually rests over it. When it's fully unwound, he replaces the strip over his eyes, carefully tying it behind his head.]

This is better. [Because he dislikes the thought of anyone meeting his unfocused gaze, and while this might signal his vulnerability to others, he's with Itachi now, so it's safe.]

（ he watches this process, and when wei wuxian begins to tie the cloth he reaches to help him, stilling the man's hand with the press of his own over it. ）

Let me. You've caught some of your hair.

[He huffs playfully and then scoots closer, dropping his hands to allow Itachi to work.]

You know, I know the station well enough that I can get around perfectly fine [mostly] but it's my image that's really going to suffer here.

I'm going to count on you to tell me when my hair is out of control. [It's a playful remark. He won't pretend not to enjoy looking good, but it's never been a priority for him when there were more important things to worry about. That won't stop him from playfully complaining about it though.]

（ he combs wei wuxian's hair gingerly with his fingers, untangling a few errant knots before he reties the black cloth. he takes care not to tie it too tightly, and when he's finished he lets his hand rest just a moment at the man's nape before he drops his hands away. ）

I don't believe anyone aboard the Ximilia is so shallow as to judge you for having mussed hair. If they are, they would only be fools.

[He laughs and nods, subduing the urge to raise a hand to touch the spot Itachi's has just vacated. He doesn't even know where the urge comes from and he swats it away like an annoying fly.]

Yeah. It just makes me look attractively tousled anyway.

[He leans back into his own space, finding the wall and pressing his back to it.]

Are you sleeping out here?

Mm.

（ it isn't quite agreement or affirmation, and after a moment he clarifies: ）

I'm not of much mind to sleep, but if I do it will be away from the others, yes.

[He nods in silence, pulling one knee up to his chest to rest an elbow on top of it. As much as he loved being around people, the idea of sleeping in such cramped quarters didn't exactly fill him with bliss.

The sound of movement catches his attention and he straightens again. He hadn't heard any footsteps, no one has spoken, and Itachi isn't reacting like there's anyone there either.]

...clone? [he asks, voice tentative.]

Yes.

（ the clone drops off the items itachi had sent it in search of and dismisses it — immediately receiving its memories of what the sleeping quarters looked like. who was gently bickering with whom. the movie they seem to have been playing — what on earth is a 'gaytrix'?

itachi sets the food off to one side, and then unfolds the blanket. rather than simply sling it over the both of them, he takes one of the man's wrists and lets him touch it first to be aware of his intentions. ）

Will you be able to sleep like this?

[He allows Itachi to guide his hand to the blanket and then nods silently in understanding, lips quirking up just a little.]

Out here? [If he were blind and on his own, not a chance, but with Itachi?]

Yeah, I'll be fine. [He's confident that if Itachi needs to leave, he'll either wake him or leave him with a clone which really doesn't feel that different than if he'd stayed.]

Maybe when I wake up, I'll be able to see again. [He suggests with a lazy grin, his voice betraying the lack of confidence he has in that thought.]

Depending on the mechanism of blindness — whether it's a function of the eye itself or a severance of the optic nerve, or your brain's ability to process visual input — it can very likely be fixed with a combination of medicine and/or something Viveca will be able to bring aboard if asked.

（ he reaches up, and touches his fingers against his own brow bone, thinking of his own surgery not too very many months ago. ）

If it is that your mind is no longer processing visual stimuli, that is something I may be able to remedy with a jutsu. It would require some research, but the way genjutsu affects the mind mean that it is well within my capabilities.

Ah, I'm sure it won't come to that. [He isn't, but the truth is that he doesn't want to think about it. Not now when it's still entirely possible it'll pass. Still.]

But...if it does, I...we can talk about it then, alright? [He isn't turning the idea away and it's important to him that Itachi understands.]

Even if...I mean, I'd adapt. [he grins.] I always do!

Of course.

（ he's not offended by the subtle plea to change topics — instead, he shakes his head and reaches for the tray of food that his clone had brought for them. most of it is small finger-food, things that are easy to consume and not make much mess.

again, he takes wei wuxian's hand and guides it to the tray, indicates the manner of food and where it sits with a patient verbal explanation, and once he's satisfied the man will be able to navigate it accordingly — ）

It feels strange, to miss the Ximilia we know. But I do.

Is it strange? [He asks aloud, unsure if he himself knows the answer. This Ximilia isn't really that different when it comes down to it, but then again, it was lacking in a few critical areas. Or maybe it is more than just Viveca and Degar that he misses. He could live without the things in his room—various baubles and trinkets that he's collected from supply drops and missions—and without the luxuries of the station itself.

But he won't deny that in a way, all of those things come together to form the place he's called home these last few years.

He takes a few bites of the food Itachi had brought to him as he considers the subject.]

I miss it too. I think it's...hmm. It's nice to have a familiar place to return to.

Yes. A space that feels lived in.

（ like wei wuxian, he is not swayed by the materiality of the objects he has come to possess. but it has been many, many years since he had a space that was wholly his own, in a place he was free to return to, somewhere that provided some level of safety he did not have to bloody his hands for.

he has stopped putting tripwires across his door. ）

It is difficult to think the current state of the station represents only two months of disuse.

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