#☾ — replies. › kira speaks.

[verdaent]

"⎯⎯oh." in the beat between recognition and weirdness, there existed the trickle-slim relief of seeing a familiar face. (well. familiar, in the sense that she could pick them out of a lineup. the very literal definition. familial, on the other hand: pending.) she half-turned, numb fingers slipping her phone into her back pocket, and tucked her lips into a smile that probably looked as awkward as it felt. "hi . . . haru." just saying their name felt weird, but at least that wasn't personal. kira could hardly utter derek's name without wanting to claw its taste off of her tongue, years and years after their first uncomfortable interaction. "um. nice night." god, kill her now.

[verdaent]

𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐲𝐮𝐤𝐨 𝐲𝐮𝐤𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐚. — ☾ "and i seem to have such strength in me now, that i think i could stand anything, any suffering, only to be able to say and to repeat to myself every moment, ‘i exist.’" history grad student. twenty-three. kitsune.

[verdaent]

kira started slightly at their admission of being lost. not so much because she couldn't imagine being lost in beacon hills⎯heavens knew she was more prone to wandering off-path than anyone she knew⎯but because she'd never had such an easy time admitting it. and there was something almost painful in that; in seeing how hopelessly different they were. even so, she found herself offering a smile. the circumstances could be worse. someone else could have run into them; someone else could've run into her. something crackled beneath her skin, zapping her senses awake. in the far away caverns of her chest, kyuki stirred, pressing around for a danger that only existed in kira's irrational mind. "c'mon," she said, shifting on her heel and tipping her head. "i'll walk you home." before they took a step, though, she stopped to consider their question. "i'm fine. the moon doesn't..." she paused, letting her tongue pass over her lips. "i feel okay, haru," she said, almost surprised to find herself speaking japanese. but it felt right, somehow; it felt comfortable. she imagined it was kyuki's doing. she always did take the wheel when kira started regressing. "thank you. i actually feel calmer when it's like this. the same can't be said for my pack, though. what about you?" she asked as they started walking. "do you feel better or worse on nights like this?"

"kira!" they weren't calling for her⎯given multiple warnings by lorilee why doing so to a woman who's known him far, far shorter than he's known of her would be awkward at best and grounds for a restraining order at worst. it still didn't keep the exuberance out of their voice at her acknowledgment. haru nodded at the remark, dimples denting into cheeks as evidence of their agreement. "yes. i like when i can see the stars," they mused in full sincerity, pointing a finger up towards the sky and indicating a couple; the kitsune, in all likelihood, had gotten a better view of the celestial bodies than most (on account of having been one for a century), but nonetheless found joy in never having them too far away. lips pursing slightly, he glanced around campus, inadvertently turning in a clumsy circle. "but haru thinks...they are lost now." that was unfortunate. haruto could find their way back to the dorms easily enough, but the less obvious buildings still gave them trouble⎯⎯and the names of them had yet to stick. signs were difficult, anyway, so they'd been hoping to get by on visual landmarks. at...some point. haru scrunched their nose and blew out a breath in realization of their predicament, though the moment was stolen by a sudden jolt of awareness, followed by concern. "oh! are you feeling okay? with the moon." he canted his head a fraction in innocent appraisal; he would gladly offer to walk with kira to her destination if she was feeling unwell, but reminded himself not to intrude upon her life any more or less than she wanted.