#✧ ▌ in character : x'kijin lyzej.
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crystalmarred · 2 months ago
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"Don't worry, I can take care of myself." [X'Kijin]
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— FROM FRIENDSHIP STARTERS ;; ( @lcstkey )
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"I—"
A single sound came out of his mouth as he squinted at her, recalled that first time they'd met when she'd more or less slammed her face into a doorframe when he'd come around the corner a bit too fast.
"I mean... you're a little..."
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He paused again to consider his words, to choose them carefully. She could summon her... rose... thing... if she didn't like what he had to say and he didn't know her well enough to say with any confidence that she wouldn't.
"Reckless," he said and then doubted himself as soon as the word was out of his mouth. "... Reckless? ... Wait, that's not the right word... Or... Wait."
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crystalmarred · 8 days ago
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— “can… can i have a hug? please?” — smol Nier to Kijin ;;;;
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— FROM TOUCH-STARVED PROMPTS ;; ( @diademreigned )
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There was a part of X'kijin that understood Nier. He'd grown up without parents, just as Nier had, though X'kijin's departure had been voluntary and Nier's... had been anything but. And to make matters worse, he'd no time to mourn that loss in the way that X'kijin had. He'd not been allowed to grieve or to heal, thrown right into caring for his baby sister.
None of this he had known when first he met Nier in Seafront. Not once had he complained when he had every right to. Not once had he acted like a child, as would be expected of him. The moments where he could felt so few and far between, but had been made more plentiful since he had moved to the village.
It had become habit more than aught else that his free time led him to Nier's home, to Yonah during the day and startled blue eyes come evening when Nier returned to him being in the midst of making dinner.
Today had been no different, at least at the start, but something had seemed off when Nier and Weiss had returned home for the evening. They had tucked Yonah in and come downstairs. Initially, X'kijin had set about cleaning what he'd used to cook, tucking away whatever extra remained.
But he had not been oblivious to the way Nier hovered. It had been common when first this trend began, when he wasn't sure what to do when someone took care of him anymore. ... He hadn't done that in a while. He hadn't hovered.
"What's wrong?" X'kijin asked, unable to say aught else. Weiss wasn't with him, whether he'd slipped away to give them a moment or had stayed upstairs to tell Yonah a bedtime story that he would never admit to.
"Can... Can I have a hug? Please?"
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Green eyes subtly widened, mouth dry as he looked over his shoulder. Nier, with his seemingly insurmountable strength in the face of the responsibility of caring for his sister, suddenly looked so... small, so young, like a boy of sixteen instead of one aged by the burdens he carried.
"Come here..."
He sat down the plate that he'd been in the middle of cleaning, as well as the towel to reach over as Nier approached him and pulled him into his arms.
Arms encircled around Nier and Nier's around him in kind. A hand came up to rest on his head, sought out an ear that X'kijin forgot for a moment that Nier didn't have.
"You're okay," he whispered, an attempt at words of comfort that he wasn't sure Nier wanted. "You're safe here."
X'kijin wanted to ask, wanted to probe and find out what had caused this momentary lapse in Nier, to finally stop and ask for comfort.
So much had happened since they'd met—and more before. What he wouldn't give to take the burdens from him, but he knew better than to think that Nier would readily or easily accept that kindness. Even the care that X'kijin put in now, the time spent with Yonah, the money spent on dinner...
Nier had hesitated to accept it, had asked over and over if he was sure. Though the people in the village seemed kind enough, had offered help where they could for the two children, it seemed few had the time, energy or resources to do much more than give him tasks that needed doing and a few spare coins for it.
X'kijin, on the other hand, had caught the eyes of people in the town for his various skills picked up over the years. Nier was capable with a sword, but X'kijin proved capable with a saw, a hammer, things that could be used to build, to repair.
His hand rubbed against his back, could swear that shoulders shook underneath the palms of X'kijin's hands, but he didn't call attention to it. He wouldn't.
"You're okay, I've got you..."
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crystalmarred · 18 days ago
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"Will you hold me? Just for a moment." — Kijitykha
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— FROM ROMANTIC SENTENCES ;; ( @diademreigned )
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It wasn't often that D'tykha's glee gave way to despair. While X'kijin was the more calm of the two, it was easy to say that D'tykha was the more optimistic one. So to come back to the space that they called home and find his gaze downcast, blue eyes set towards the ground, even as X'kijin's steps should have made his presence known.
The flick of his ears told him that he heard him, but the way his tail drooped long and low, he knew it was only partly a welcome one.
"Tykha?" X'kijin asked, voiced into the too-quiet room in the absence of the usual music that would play from their orchestrion. Claws scrabbled against the hardwood, looking for purchase as Marv eventually tumbled and rolled towards X'kijin's feet without another sound. Eyes blinked up towards him.
Concern, X'kijin thought, though there weren't thoughts enough behind those eyes to tell him so. He'd known Marv long enough now to know the difference.
He stepped over the rotund creature after he gave him an appreciative pat on his head. Had Marv screamed, he might have taken D'tykha for distracted—or perhaps even asleep, given he sat at their dining table—but the silence wove a darker tale, one that suggested Tykha was tired in a way that sleep could not fix, that a shower could not wash away.
"Tykha..." He whispered as he kneeled down before him and no sooner had his knees his the ground did two arms encircle him.
"Will you hold me? Just for a moment."
A simple enough request, one that X'kijin would never dare refuse, never question as he wrapped his arms around Tykha, returned the weak embrace with a tighter one, trapped there against his chest.
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"I'm here now," X'kijin said as his thumb unconsciously rubbed against the fabric of Tykha's shirt. "Sorry I was late."
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crystalmarred · 25 days ago
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If X'kijin was disappointed by Orion's decision to stay, he did not show it on his face. And he was disappointed, in fact, given the small disturbance of his peace. It was bad enough that it delayed his afternoon nap, but now he'd have to hold a conversation.
... But at least he'd offered to get imp wings. That means X'kijin wouldn't have to worry about the possibility that E-Sumi-Yan would look to him to grab some when they ran out—and they inevitably would.
"You might learn a little, just to cut costs," X'kijin suggested, though he knew he never would have, if not for the various attempts of others in the Conjurer's Guild to coax him into doing things. Alchemy was just one of the few things that stuck. He had a penchant for it, which was odd given many Ala Mhigans weren't much for alchemy.
It wasn't all that different from cooking to him.
"But, uh... Not too long? They just kinda taught me because they wanted someone on-hand with alchemy knowledge," he said as he started the process of brewing the ether. And that aside, he'd seen similar enough done back home with the likes of cactus tea, so it made sense, even if it was inconvenient.
For him, that is, but he couldn't claim with his whole heart that he didn't enjoy the gratitude given to him when people were given the potions.
"What about you? What got you to try... whatever magic you're trying?"
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This X'Kijin man was polite enough, but he didn't seem to really want Orion to hang around. Well, Orion didn't really want to hang around either, truth be told; it was just that he did not have a lot else to do before the potions were finished. He supposed he could go kill things with his lance – imps, for instance, and get himself a discount while he was at it. But the going rate for these potions was good enough for Orion not to bother.
“I am no botanist, I'm afraid,” Orion replied, shrugging a bit. “I do not even know what a tinolqa mistletoe is, or how it differs from any other type. I can bring imp wings next time I come, though, now that I know you need them.”
Who even knew how alchemists did their thing? Orion couldn't imagine a plant and some monster bits somehow turning into a magic restoring ether. But then, he was gifted in other area – some people couldn't imagine some cloth and thread turning into a shirt either.
“I will wait around then,” he decided, even though it was definitely going to be awkward. “So. How long have you been making potions?” That seemed innocent enough.
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crystalmarred · 28 days ago
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" You've been staring at that page for the last five minutes, " Weiss grumbled before forcing it closed and eyeing X'kijin with the front of his body directly in his face. " Listen to me. Since we were on the topic of teaching you literacy are you aware some languages have both masculine and feminine words? It's quite astonishing, because — " Hold on. " Why do you look absolutely mortified ? "
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— UNPROMPTED ;; ( @diademreigned )
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X'kijin felt as though he should've grown accustomed to the grumbles of Grimoire Weiss in the few minutes after they'd met. All things considered, the man—er, book—was strange enough that something like how aggressively critical he was should have been easy enough to ignore. Every word that came out of his mouth—cover?—sounded near enough to an insult that it might as well be called that.
But after that quick jab came a revelation that took X'kijin entirely by surprise.
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"Masculine and—"
He repeated the words, gaze torn away from the book he'd been in the midst of reading. No longer could he focus on the words on the page that got jumbled in his head.
"What do you mean there's masculine and feminine words? They're not people?"
Confusion colored his every word as he then wondered which of those would be which, if was Weiss said was true. He was a godsdamned book he should knew far more about language than X'kijin should, surely!
"It's a word," X'kijin said as he showed Weiss the book, pointed at words on the page as if he needed to remind him what they were. "Did you swipe some of Tykha's catnip tea? ... Actually, can you even drink?"
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crystalmarred · 1 month ago
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Gaytanic. This is the stupidest thing we've done in recent memory and I was crying actual tears over it.
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crystalmarred · 1 month ago
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" You mentioned your partner taught you to read, did you not? There are no pictures. " If he could, Weiss would simply be rolling his eyes right now. " I cannot teach you the magic if you cannot read the magic. Now. Let us try it again. "
This was a Scholar right?
" I know you are brilliant. He said you were, I'm beginning to think you are simply imbued with laziness. This is an easy one, lad I promise. Severely. . . Promise. "
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— BASED ON CONVERSATION ;; ( @diademreigned )
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"You're a talking book, why do I have to read?!"
His confusion had begun to mount, as has his frustration with this odd sort of magic that the book wished to teach him. It certainly would be nice to be able to use magic and move, not unlike how some Astrologians seemed able to. He, too, had spells with no cast time, but they were a far cry weaker for that very same reason.
Lazy, he called him, and that stung despite its truth. It had been a while since anyone had used the word to describe him and he'd become unaccustomed to it, but he did precede it with a... compliment? Or maybe he was being sarcastic.
"Just because I can read doesn't mean I'm very good at it, you know. And besides, there's a lot of weird... symbols in here."
He flipped a page as he said it as his brows furrowed.
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"Can you feel it when I flip a page?" he asked, curious about the odd nature of his newest companion. "Like does it tickle or...?"
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crystalmarred · 1 month ago
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when did this start happening? — Kijitykha, trauma swap AU
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— FROM HERE ;; ( @diademreigned )
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A haze had settled over him. A fog as the world spun around him and the edges of his vision darkened. Despite the chill in the air, X'kijin had found himself tugging off the jacket as the world around him seemed to spike in temperature.
It was fortune that had led him to be with a newlyfound friend. It was blind luck that when he had stumbled back, a hand had braced him at his back, despite their height difference. Had it not been there, had D'tykha's reflexes not been as good, well...
That was neither here nor there and hardly mattered, in the wider picture, given it was no longer a concern. The hand on his back steadied him, then a body followed that he could rest himself against until he found his bearings again.
When did this start happening?
Such a simple question, yet X'kijin had no simple answer. A long time, he ought to say, though that was more of a non-answer, so he settled for something... Slightly more specific.
"Since I was a kid," he said, the words slow as a cool hand pressed to his forehead. He wasn't entirely sure when D'tykha had moved them so that X'kijin lay on the ground, rested against him.
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Green eyes glanced upwards at him, though his vision still swam and he'd surely never guess what he was looking at if it weren't for the voice that gave away who he rested against. Their previous conversation had faded to the back of his mind.
"Sorry, I..."
A hand came to rest in his own, a surprise, but not an unwelcome one in the moment.
"Give me a minute..."
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crystalmarred · 2 months ago
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i owe you my life. — Kijitykha
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— FROM HERE ;; ( @diademreigned )
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"You— Huh?"
His voice pitched upwards as did his brows, then knit together as the words sunk in—or perhaps it was the way that Tykha repeated them in the face of his confusion that allowed him to finally, properly hear the word that he spoke.
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"You don't... owe me, I mean..." X'kijin started, words slow as he tried and failed to find a way to express his thoughts. But that was far and away from what he'd expected him to say. Of course he'd been thanked plenty of times in relation to his care in the clinic in Rhalgr's Reach.
But... to hear someone say that they owed him their life of all things...
"It's not... What would you even owe me for? I just..."
Another pause. He hated getting credit for things enough, much less in regards to a debt for saving someone's life. He fidgeted, shifted his weight to his other leg as his tail swayed and ears twitched with an unfamiliar unease. It was try that he had saved him, that he'd picked him up when he'd passed out and done his best to rehydrate him as best he could.
"Did what anyone would, honestly..."
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crystalmarred · 2 months ago
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— FROM HERE ;; ( @diademreigned )
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Perhaps he was a bit too pouty, given the circumstances. D'tykha had, of course, asked the aid of others in mending his gear many times, though that had primarily been prior to their meeting and before X'kijin had become truly invested in crafting. Though he had often shared the task with Tataru after, if only to ease the worries of his husband about him taking on one too many tasks.
What he had not expected was the admission that he had acquired the dark matter himself. The implication that he himself had mended the gear did not go unnoticed and the noise of excitement could not escape him.
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The telltale mrp slipped from his pinched lips, green eyes nearly aglow, excitement evident in his voice as it pitched upwards as he spoke, "You mended it yourself?!"
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crystalmarred · 7 days ago
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X'kijin found it difficult not to crack a smile. He couldn't say whether or not Estinien's exhaustion was because of the line of questioning or because the whole event had wounded some part of the Azure Dragoon's pride.
He reached out to take the armor as it was shrugged off, inspected the jagged that was definitely from a set of claws, but...
"Hell of a crab to get through dragoon armor."
That or smart enough to figure out where the weak point in armor was, but X'kijin didn't want to think about that reality where he could be outsmarted by his dinner.
"Shame you didn't get it. Bet it would've made a good crab cake. Fried in an oil made from perilla leaves, topped with a—"
He paused, glanced up at Estinien.
"You don't care about that part," he said, more as a reminder for himself then aught else. "It shouldn't take long to repair. How's your actual shoulder?"
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"I mean a crab is a crab. Why do we need to split hairs?" Estinien responded with a bit of exasperation that hadn't been present in his tone before, "It was just a really big crab. I don't know what else to say."
He shrugged off the cracked and damaged shoulder pad. Luckily, he hadn't had his arm sliced off in the process. Crabs were nasty creatures, and the peak physical form for ocean creatures. He got lucky this time.
"The damn thing grabbed me when i was coming down from a jump and almost snapped my arm off. That crab was not normal. It was like... the king of big angry crabs."
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crystalmarred · 6 months ago
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Hiroto gently wrapped his arms around X'kijin's waist, pressing a kiss against the side of his neck. Slowly, he sits down next to the mage, placing a small, wrapped box on his lap. The viper waited a second before pulling the black-haired male towards his chest. 
"I know I've been crazy busy this week, but today is a special day. At least it is true for me. Happy name day, Kijin." 
There was a slight ruffling of paper as he observed the other open his fit. The ribbon fell to the ground as a beautiful velvet box laid on X'kijin's lap. Hiroto gave a smile, nudging him to open it, and slowly it opened to reveal a beautiful ice blue crystal necklace. It was clear from the sheer amount of sparkle in the light that it took a great deal of time and effort to make. 
"I know most people aren't really fans of their name days, but...I wanted to give you something special. It took me a while to gather all of the necessary things, and perhaps I did get a little help from my sister. Don't tell her I openly admitted that." 
(some soft ask for your boys name day <3)
MAY 19 ;; KIJIN'S NAMEDAY ⇢ @oathofpromises
It's difficult to mask his surprise. The arms around his waist aren't unusual. On the contrary, Hiroto was nothing if not consistent in the way he always grabbed him around the waist, pulled him close. It made him feel small, something that X'kijin liked more than he would have anticipated when first he'd started dating someone.
What took him by surprise was the present he sat in his lap, neatly wrapped with a pretty ribbon to top it off.
His gaze turned back to Hiroto, green eyes wide with subtle curiosity. The absentminded twitch of his ears when Hiroto speaks.
It was rare when growing up for X'kijin to celebrate his nameday. He'd stopped at some point, when the affair of celebrating had become much too depressing.
"You got me something?"
His cheeks flushed with color as the ribbon was tugged away and he popped open the small, velvet box to peer inside it and...
"Oh," he said, the familiar, gleeful squint of his eyes. His heart soared as he plucked the necklace from the confines of the box, lifted it by the chain to look at the jewel. A crystal stared back at him, an ice blue not unlike the color that X'kijin often wore.
"Hiroto, this..."
The explanation came next as Hiroto spoke of how he'd gathered everything himself—with a little help from Stella, anyways.
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His lips curled upwards into a smile, cheeks warm with color.
"Thank you, Hiroto..."
The 'r' rolled across his tongue, familiar and sweet in the breathless way he spoke his name. "Would you...?" He gestured with the necklace, turned his back to him to allow him to tie it on.
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crystalmarred · 6 months ago
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It starts with the ear, thumbing it gently, watching it twitch. Then through the long strands of hair that they'd combed prior, smelling of fresh rainwater and mint. Tykha hears him breathe, a quick sound when his arm moves to his waist.
"Good morning," he whispered, head in his neck, the rumble of purrs deep into the skin. "Happy nameday."
Long tail seeks out the others, wanting to hold, begging for their distance to gap a bridge nearly impossible. He was already too close.
"I already took the liberty of telling Tataru you needed a day or two from your commissions, I hope you don't mind." His legs looped around his as he presses his lips to his hear, humming delightfully. "Let's rest a little longer and I'll make your favorite food. Turn over for me?"
For then he could finally press his lips to the one he'd finally been able to bond with. His beloved, his soul, his heart. . . His husband.
MAY 19 ;; KIJIN'S NAMEDAY ⇢ @diademreigned
Even in his sleep, he can feel the twitch of his own ears against Tykha's hand. A purr rumbled from his through sooner than it did Tykha's, X'kijin not even bothered to stretch away the sleep for his husband's presence only furthered the desire to simply doze back off next to him.
Words pressed into the crook of his neck drew out a louder purr from X'kijin to match Tykha's own, but the mention of a nameday had his brows furrowed for a moment before they relaxed. Oh. That was today, wasn't it?
Their tails coiled around each other as Kijin's responded enthusiastically to Tykha's. Black fur wrapped around brown and a smile wormed its way across his face with as much ease.
"You did?"
Words come out slurred from sleep, barely understandable but surely D'tykha Lyzej-Lyrre had mastered the art of understanding what he was saying by now. They were long past the point of when they'd met, given their recent marriage.
Lips pressed to the shell of his ear as it twitched helplessly under the touch as Kijin's smile blossomed into a warm grin. His tail tapped incessantly against Tykha's own, not out of irritation that it could not reach the end of Tykha's this time, but out of anticipation with the mention of his favorite food.
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He rolled over to face D'tykha and as he did so, their lips met. X'kijin's lips curled upward, hand reached up to cup his cheek. Ears twitched with glee as he held his husband close until they pulled away—only briefly—for X'kijin to say, "Stay in bed with me..."
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crystalmarred · 2 months ago
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“ you promise this is okay? “ ( alphy for kijin! )
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— FROM REASSURANCE STARTERS ;; ( @palisadae )
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"... Yes?"
X'kijin's response was slow, given the circumstance. The lilt in his voice gave away his confusion, though he smiled all the same.
It was true that he knew Alisaie far better and that she had stolen his hair ties more than once when she'd misplaced one of hers. But Alphinaud wasn't so used to that. Perhaps he'd taken them from Alisaie in the past and that was why Alisaie had needed his, at times.
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"It's just a hair tie," X'kijin said with a laugh. "You're not the only one that steals them. There's a reason I've got so many."
He kept weaving them, after all, just in case Alisaie started misplacing his, too.
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crystalmarred · 16 days ago
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A huff of a laughter slipped past his lips when spoke.
"Wouldn't think so," he said, though it struck him as odd that she said again. Not a door last time, at least, he hoped, though he wasn't about to voice that.
X'kijin watched her hand move to her nose and his mouth opened before it promptly shut as her hand dropped, the warning of its sensitivity left to die on his tongue as she seemed to guess as much before he could voice it.
And then she started... stuttering? Eyebrows furrowed as he listened to her attempts to thank him... and apologize? He titled his head, an expression of his confusion at the gesture. Was she referring to the magic... key... thing?
"Apology... accepted?" X'kijin asked more than properly accepted. He was more surprised in this line of work when people didn't brandish a weapon when surprised. Hells, his own brother had done it a couple of times. X'kijin himself had done it several times, though typically only when a woman took him by surprise.
A name came from her next. Art first, though she seemed to correct herself with another. Were he a more curious person, he might have asked why the change in the midst of her sentence, but he cared little for the mystery of it.
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"Uh... X'kijin. Lyzej, if that matters?"
It was no secret that he was piss poor at introductions, especially given the not so subtle step he took backwards not that he had stopped the bleeding, the lash of his tail giving away the brief breath of anxiety that had started to stifle him.
"I have a... space thing," he explained, though it was a poor one and something of a lie besides. "Try not to touch your nose too much. It's numbed, but probably shouldn't irritate it if you don't want it to hurt sooner rather than later. I can make something for it if still hurts later."
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When the strange stated that her nose isn't broken, she exhales and is visibly relieved. The keybearer only felt the warmth of the magic sooth the injury.
"That's g-good..." Selena mumbles quietly, reopening her eyes when the warmth of the healing magic fades, "I don't want to go through that again so soon..." She lifts a hand to feel her nose; but ultimately decides against it, bringing back down.
I might make it worse if I touched it...
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"Mhm, th-thank you..." She answers, forcing herself to look at him, "I'm sorry for...for my earlier actions."
"M-my name is A-Art-" The keybearer stops herself, shaking her head and tries again,"...Selena Wolfsong, s-sir. M-my name is Selena Wolfsong." Her true name felt strange coming from her own tongue. The young keybearer realizes that it has been too many years since she's last used it and frowns.
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crystalmarred · 5 months ago
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“Don't be silly! I'm your friend and I’m not going to abandon you!” ( Alphi for X'Kijin c: )
MEME ⇢ @apricyties
"... You're very different from when we met, you know."
A distraction from his own woes, certainly, but one that was true all the same. Alphinaud had changed considerably from the arrogant little boy he'd met at the start of this long journey. He'd become truer to himself, more genuine, more earnest.
It wasn't that he thought Alphinaud would have abandoned him back then, but he was more... considerate now, cared more. X'kijin remembered how hard he tried to seem like a man, when he was only a boy—and while it was true that he was still a boy, he'd matured when he'd stopped pretending otherwise.
"It's not that I think you'd abandon me, it's just..."
He'd gotten used to it, gotten used to being abandoned, gotten used to the feeling that he should be abandoned.
That, he knew, was not a normal thing to say, not even when the conversation had already taken something of a depressing turn. It wasn't something he'd heft onto anyone, much less someone over ten moon younger.
"It's just that I know I'm not easy to deal with," he said, though it's not the entire truth. He did know that about himself, most especially the person he'd been when they'd first met. Anyone could claim Alphinaud was insufferable, but X'kijin had been no better. While the reasons might differ, the result had been similar enough that it might as well have been the same.
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"I don't blame people who decide it's not their problem to deal with."
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