Gwyar ‘Aries’ Ariethous Fraoch | Male | 17 | Demisexual | Ambi | Physical - Weapon Knowledge | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

Its eyes darted around Briar, looking for any signs of whether what it’d said would work or not. Looking for any signs of what its punishment would entail. Looking for any signs of what it could do to try and apologize if what it’d done didn’t work. It caught sight of red lining Briar’s wrist, their hands at their sides now. Blood. That was blood. Did Briar prefer blood?

--

Don’t breathe, or breathe as little as possible. Don’t speak unless directly asked something. What else- What else was there that the ones who preferred blood responded well to? It needed- It needed to listen. It needed to apologize fully, reaffirm. Definitely reaffirm. It hadn’t managed to do that fully. That was a problem. No one liked something that couldn’t even admit what it was aloud. It needed to be quiet though. It needed to accept the punishment no matter what, it shouldn’t be trying to make the punishment lesser.

--

“Fine, fine, not yer fault! Didn’ do nothin’ wrong! Yer books! Yer a person! You! Don’ ‘pologize! Good, good! Yer good! Thing… My fault! Yer a person, okay! Fine!”

--

That… Was bad. It had failed worse than originally thought. Why was Briar calling it a person? They knew! They knew it wasn’t! Briar would get in trouble too if anyone else heard that! It’d get into even more trouble- It’d managed to trick someone- It needed to- It couldn’t- Briar hadn’t asked it a question. It couldn’t speak. It had to listen. It needed to listen. It needed to stop breathing so much, so loudly. Why was it breathing? It needed to stop. It needed to listen. It needed to be quiet. It needed to bleed.

--

Bleed… It needed to bleed. That always worked better for the ones who preferred blood. And it- It deserved to. It tricked Briar. It deserved to bleed. It needed to bleed. Nails dug into palms of hand harshly, it needed to bleed. It looked around, it had to bleed. It had to fix this. It had to stop breathing, keep walking, listen, be quiet– It needed to bleed. Nails dug deeper, only motivated further by the familiar warmth that began to coat the palms of its hands.

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hiei Hikari | AMAB Demi-Boy | 17 | Apresexual Demiromantic | Ambi | Trust/Truth - Lie Detection / Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

“Of course! Those colors are great! Are there any designs that you want, like stripes, polka dots, or anything really? I can make pretty much whatever, though I may need a reference if it’s something super specific.”

--

Micha’s enthusiasm at Gen’ya agreeing to have a sweater created was rather contagious. Not that they really minded! They just weren’t used to this level of enthusiasm from anyone other than Jass, and even then- Fashion wasn’t really one of those enthusiastic topics. Especially with them. So it was just a little bit odd.

--

Regardless, he smiled lightly and shrugged a bit. “Not particularly. You can surprise me, if you want. I’m sure that whatever you’d choose to do would look far better than anything I say. You are the expect, after all.”

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

This time, Revan wasn’t sure if the silence was because of his lack of focus or not. Regardless, he tried to use it to try and read the text on his phone’s screen, the numbers that just wouldn’t stop blurring. He tried bringing the screen a bit closer, as subtle as he possibly could. ‘Nico’ was already too much like Katalyn, digging into things that they had no business in digging into. Heavily annoying. He held back on scoffing as much as possible, and tried to get the numbers on the screen to smooth out, to come into focus. When he realized ‘Nico’ had finally said something, he forced his mind back, to go over the words and figure out just what they meant. To make them stick in his mind.

--

“Oh, no reason! Just never hurts to save a little money, you know? And, I don’t know, maybe some places are just better to shop! I don’t get out much, so I wouldn’t know.”

--

And… Okay. Those words were odd. He glanced over, trying to take in ‘Nico’s face for… Maybe the second time? Did he ever look up last night? He thought he had, but he couldn’t really recall at the moment. Either way, his eyes dragged themselves up to look at the one who’d been walking beside him.

--

Now, Revan wouldn’t call himself an expert on reading people. He also couldn’t say his vision was exceptionally good at the moment. But he could see the taut, nervous smile from a mile away. The way ‘Nico’ seemed to be compensating for something that they normally didn’t need to. Had he struck a nerve with his question? His eyes narrowed instinctively, mouth pulled into a thin line as he thought.

--

Was he concerned? Of course not! Obviously not. But he’d also obviously struck a nerve with ‘Nico’ due to his question. About why pricing mattered. And, sure, what ‘Nico’ had said was a fine excuse. He understood saving money, he often looked over the company’s budget. But there was a difference between saving money due to major financial decisions and coffee prices. And, yes, Revan almost never went out either. But… Well, ‘Nico’ seemed like the type who would’ve liked to get out, especially when compared to him… Not wanting to.

--

He was probably staring for too long. Wasn’t he? He pursed his lips in thought, forcing his gaze back to his phone, eyes staying narrowed. He didn’t care either way about what was going on in ‘Nico’s’ life. He didn’t. He couldn’t. But, well… He’d paid Katalyn as his assistant, so… It’d only be polite? He huffed, he didn’t care. He didn’t. Not even as he spoke, obviously, “Sure, all of that is fair. Regardless, don’t worry too much about spending. I’ll be giving you money to use to buy anything I’d send you to get. Of course, since you’re… More or less… Working for me at that point, you can also expect me to actually pay you.”

--

Truth be told, he was planning on paying ‘Nico’ either way. And since he’d never told them how much, a little extra than what he’d been originally planning wouldn’t be noticed at all. To ‘Nico’, it’d just be what he’d been planning on paying them anyways. Not because he cared! Of course not. Obviously. All it was, was him fairly paying an employee. Nothing more, nothing less.

Nico Cosmos / AMAB Agender / 16 / Unlabeled/Queer / Ambi / Sound- Musical Knowledge / M: Everyone (Dir/ind)

Okay, maybe it wasn't the best excuse, because, after the drawn-out pause that Nico figured they better get used to when talking to Rowland, he actually looked up at Nico, nonetheless!

Smiling nervously, she watched as Rowland examined him with narrowed eyes and lips pressed together. Expecting some sort of insult or something, Nico braced themself as Rowland looked down again and began to talk.

“Sure, all of that is fair. Regardless, don’t worry too much about spending. I’ll be giving you money to use to buy anything I’d send you to get. Of course, since you’re… More or less… Working for me at that point, you can also expect me to actually pay you.”

That... Was unexpected. There was nothing accusatory about the tone, nothing mocking, just the rather tired business tone. Nico relaxed again and let out a quiet breath, smile returning to normal. He didn't actually expect to get paid. Everything they were doing was in hopes of gaining trust and maybe even friendship, not for money. Maybe she kinda expected Rowland to pay for the things that he actually needed, but other than that? The... Offer? Was unexpected.

"Oh. I appreciate that!" Now, the question was, how the hell do you accept money?! Like, just, 'Oh, thank you for the money, I don't know what I'm going to do with this, actually. Any suggestions?' That hardly seemed appropriate! Truthfully, though, Nico had absolutely zero idea what to say and even less idea what to actually do with any money that she was given. They already had food, shelter, and clothes, what else did people need? So, then, 'Thanks, but that's okay, you don't have to pay me!'? Or was that rude? Also, what if Rowland insisted on paying them even if Nico turned it down? That would just be awkward.

So, what 'Oh. I appreciate that!' good enough then? What else were they supposed to say anyway?!

Briar Sallow / Nonbinary / 17 / Minsexual / Poly / Manipulation/Judgement- Minor Illusions / M: Everyone (Dir/ind)

Thing took a moment to process the fact that Aries hadn't answered. Which probably wasn't good, right? He was panicking, so no response was probably bad.

Forcing itself to look over, the thing's chest tightened with even more panic when it's eyes landed on the blood now pooling from Aries's hands too. Shit, was he following the creature's example?

Its breathing accelerated and it paused, stepping closer to Aries and reaching over to grab his hands in its own. It didn't matter how the creature felt right now, Aries was more important. Aries was hurt. Thing had to help Aries!

Its fingers grew slicker with Aries's blood, but it didn't care. Carefully, fighting the need to start sobbing or screaming, thing pulled Aries's fingers away from the abused skin of his palms, shaking slightly as it did so.

"No, no, 's okay! Don' hurt yerself, please. Sorry, th... my 'xample... bad. B-breathe! 'S okay! You... Aries... be fine, okay?"

Things eyes flicked down to Aries's side, landing on the daggers. He'd been fiddling with them earlier, right? Were they helpful?

Blinking hard and trying desperately to calm its breathing, creature nodded toward the daggers.

"T-them? They h-help? Good? ...Can tell th... Me 'bout them?"

Maybe that would help? Hopefully? If it didn't creature was running out of ideas, it couldn't think clearly right now, everything hurt, everything was too loud, too bright, too much, and dear god, it needed a damn mirror!

Micha Abbott / Male / 17 / Homosexual / Ambi / Elemental- Air / M: Everyone (Dir/ind)

“Not particularly. You can surprise me, if you want. I’m sure that whatever you’d choose to do would look far better than anything I say. You are the expert, after all.”

Micha's eyes seemed to sparkle at that. Creative liberty! He absolutely loved that idea! "Okay! I'll start working on that tonight, then!" He examined Gen'ya with bright eyes, already piecing together an idea in his mind, noting how Gen'ya liked to wear their clothes. Slightly baggy, fully covering. He also picked up on the choker, and, if he remembered correctly, he still had some leather and silk, both of which would be decent materials for a necklace like that, though, with the leather, he'd have to add something softer where it would touch Gen'ya so it didn't irritate his skin. M estimated their basic measurements as well, he was usually good at figuring those out without having to ask... Unless he was making something fitted, which Gen'ya definitely didn't want, according to what he'd said previously. Besides, he could always make alterations if needed.

"Do you prefer silk or leather?" Micha questioned, still calculating measurements and patterns in his mind as he spoke. Black, purple, and black could all work together decently as long as you had the right shades and ratio of each. Some sort of gradient might work best. Or, perhaps a black base with red and purple designs. "Also, you said you like poetry, right? Do you have a favorite quote?"

Gwyar ‘Aries’ Ariethous Fraoch | Male | 17 | Demisexual | Ambi | Physical - Weapon Knowledge | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

Briar didn’t say anything for a long time, and it assumed that it had finally done something right. Bleeding had been the answer. Being quiet and listening had been the answer. Not breathing, because things don’t need to breathe, had been the answer. It should’ve already known all of that though, it should’ve already been doing those things. The answer, the way to make up for mistakes almost never changed. So why had it forgotten? Why had it not been doing those things from the start? Had it been so mistaken, so caught up in pretending, that it had allowed itself to simply… Not do those things? To forget to do those things?

--

It deserved worse if so. If it had deluded itself so much as to even begin to believe that it could ever be someone. Then it deserved worse, deserved more punishment, and it shouldn’t be trying to lessen what it had earned. But it had already begun to try, hadn’t it? It had tried when it didn’t deserve to. The only choice left was to continue doing what it should’ve been doing the whole time. It couldn’t just stop now because it realized it shouldn’t be trying to lessen anything. If anything, it should be apologizing for trying by listening more, listening better.

--

With that in mind, it dug its claws deeper into its palms and tried to slow its breathing to a stop completely. Not the slow, minuscule breathing it had been trying to get away with. Not breathing burned, even though it didn’t need to breathe. It probably just got too used to breathing while pretending to be who it could never be.

--

It didn’t get very far before it saw Briar step closer to it, and it managed not to tense more than it already was in anticipation of what was surely to be its punishment. That was the only thing that would make sense. That was the only thing it deserved at the moment.

--

Instead, it felt Briar grab its hands and pull its fingers away from where it was digging into its palms. It lost its focus in not breathing by the confusion that gripped it by their actions, its eyes looking in Briar’s direction, careful not to actually make any eye contact.

--

“No, no, ‘s okay! Don’ hurt yerself, please. Sorry, th… my ‘xample… bad. B-breathe! ‘S okay! You… Aries… be fine, okay?

--

Briar didn’t want it to bleed? Or was that only because it had tricked them? Tricked them into believing it was a person when it wasn’t and put them at risk of punishment that only it deserved. It didn’t know- It didn’t know which- Briar had known though- Right? Hadn’t they? Hadn’t they known what it was? The fault still had to belong to it. A faulty, broken, flawed tool was more likely than a faulty, broken, flawed person. It couldn’t disagree or argue though, it couldn’t correct them- It would get in more trouble, it would be punished more severely. It had already messed up so much— But it couldn’t let Briar get hurt- People shouldn’t get hurt! People couldn’t be molded, beaten back into shape the same way a tool could be when flawed and faulty. People couldn’t be fixed as easily as a tool. It was already getting punished, it had to make sure Briar didn’t get punished too. Briar hadn’t done anything wrong, all the fault was its own.

--

Briar was nodding towards something though, so it had to wait. It had to wait because listening to people took precedence, even compared to making sure they didn’t get wrongly punished for the mistakes it made. It followed to where Briar had nodded to, its eyes landing on the daggers at its sides.

--

“T-them? They h-help? Good? …Can tell th… Me ‘bout them?”

--

This time, it did tense, staring at the daggers at its sides. Briar wanted to know about Tereus and Tereine. Was calling Tereus and Tereine them. Which either meant Briar knew more than what it had thought originally and was testing it. Or it had tricked Briar more than it had thought originally.

--

If this was a test then it would fail no matter what it did. It had to answer, but everything it could say would only dig its grave deeper. Show just how many mistakes it had made. But Briar obviously already knew those mistakes, or had been deluded by it. Convinced that its pretending was true. So it had to denounce those mistakes, fix what it had done. But if Briar knew then they might be wanting it to admit those mistakes as part of its punishment. Or they may just want it to fix its mistakes and they were offering it a chance to do so without much prompting.

--

Either way, it had to answer. What was it supposed to say though? Denounce or admit? Both? It could admit and then denounce, so that Briar didn’t have to prompt it but it still would’ve admitted to its mistakes if that was what Briar wanted. Would that work? …Hopefully. Because it didn’t have any other ideas and it had to answer. People didn’t like having to repeat themselves to things.

--

Even still, it was always worse at admitting and fixing mistakes compared to letting people correct it. Its voice now was still slow, choked back, not wanting to listen and do what it had to do. “..It calls them— The daggers— Tereus..and…Tereine.” A choked breath, setting its jaw, why was Briar keeping it from bleeding? “Tereus is the- The one with… With a purple ribbon. Te-Tereine is the one with a- A red ribbon. They—” It kept messing up, why did it keep messing up? It tensed, bit back a scowl, and fixed its mistake again. “The daggers— Are… Tereus is… Tereine’s brother and..Tereine is his— Its— Sister. Th-The daggers are… Tereus and Tereine…are…tools. Things. Not- Not people. Not… The daggers are— Are just daggers. No Tereus or— Or Tereine.”

--

Its throat felt tight, it was vaguely aware of its shaking, of tension and not being able to steady its breathing. Breathing that it shouldn’t be doing at all. Things don’t breathe. Why couldn’t it stop messing up- Why couldn’t it just admit and fix its mistakes without making more? It deserved to bleed but Briar was keeping it from bleeding and it didn’t understand why. It deserved the punishment. It deserved worse than what it could do to itself. It did. So where was the actual punishment? Simply admitting and denouncing mistakes couldn’t be everything. Right? It deserved more, after all.

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hiei Hikari | AMAB Demi-Boy | 17 | Apresexual Demiromantic | Ambi | Trust/Truth - Lie Detection / Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

“Okay! I’ll start working on that tonight, then!”

--

Gen’ya nodded in turn of Micha’s excitement, a small smile playing on their features. They weren’t sure if they’d ever get used to the rather soft enthusiasm Micha had but it was certainly a nice change of pace from the loud enthusiasm Jass had. And Micha’s was about fashion, which was a topic that Jass liked to explore without words but with money to spend and outfits in mind. So Micha excitedly offering to make them something was rather nice, even if a bit odd.

--

Unfortunately, it also meant that he couldn't tell if the eyes on him were good or bad. Because he felt Micha looking him over, and the familiar crawling feeling peeled over his skin and made him want to hide, but he was also fairly certain that Micha looking at him was just a part of the topic and offer that he had already accepted.

--

“Do you prefer silk or leather? Also, you said you like poetry, right? Do you have a favorite quote?”

--

Gen’ya looked over, electing to ignore the crawling feeling on their skin for now. Instead, they thought over the questions. “I prefer silk, personally. Leather’s nice but I can never wear anything leather for very long, it’s either too hot, too heavy, or too scratchy.”

--

He hummed a bit to himself as he considered the other two questions, and then smiled softly. “I do enjoy poetry, though picking a favorite quote is hard. I suppose one of my favorite quotes though would have to be ‘The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.’ by H. P. Lovecraft in ‘Supernatural Horror in Literature’. Not a poem, but it is a great quote by a poet.”

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

Silence dragged on for a while, and Revan was fairly certain that it wasn’t because of his inability to focus on whatever ‘Nico’ was saying this time. It was just a hitch in, what barely counted as, the conversation. He hoped it meant they were running out of steam, of things to talk about and waste his time with. Or maybe Revan had managed to strike a nerve on accident, it wouldn’t have been the first time he did so.

--

He should be using the silence to work though. Not wondering about why there was silence to begin with. It didn’t matter why there was silence, after all. All that mattered was that there was silence, and he could try to work. To do something, at least. Even if the numbers on his phone still didn’t want to focus and every time he shifted his gaze the world tilted. How he managed not to trip was purely practice, purely because of how many times he’d dealt with this before. It still felt wrong, because it hadn’t been that long. He’d gone far longer without sleep before. 80 hours was nothing compared to the week and a half he had managed, the 252 hours he’d done then. He wasn’t even 4 days in. He was fine.

--

He realized ‘Nico’ had said something, merely because he had forced himself to still try and listen if the silence broke. If ‘Nico’ tried to decline the money he needed to know, after all. Not paying an employee wouldn’t be right. That was all there was to it.

--

“Oh. I appreciate that!”

--

The words sounded genuine, sincerely surprised and appreciative. Something about it seemed wrong, a pit in his stomach trying to warn him of… Something. It wasn’t hard to figure out what. They hadn’t thought he was going to pay them, so by him telling them that he was… They thought he was kinder than he was, thought he was better than he was, like he wouldn’t just end up hurting them beyond repair one day. Like he cared when he didn’t. He didn’t. He couldn’t and he didn’t.

--

He narrowed his eyes, kept his tone curt and clipped. If any venom dripped from his words, he hid it under the cloak of professionalism and his exhaustion. “It’s not a big deal. All it is, is you doing a job and getting paid for that job. There’s no reason to appreciate it, it’s just how the world of business works.”

Gwyar ‘Aries’ Ariethous Fraoch | Male | 17 | Demisexual | Ambi | Physical - Weapon Knowledge | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

The hands didn’t leave, and it still couldn’t get the punishment it deserved. It didn’t understand why. Briar should’ve remembered what it was by now. Should’ve realized it needed punishment, needed to be corrected. Should’ve realized that it had tricked them. It didn’t understand why Briar hadn’t. Maybe it wasn’t supposed to, or able to. It still wanted to, and it shouldn’t. Because things can’t want, and it was a thing. A weapon, just like T– Just like the daggers at its sides.

--

“T-they… They’re c-cool… Tereus… and Tereine… a-are cool…”

--

It almost froze, almost breaking its walking, only managing not to due to practice. That wasn’t right. That wasn’t what it had meant to do. Had Briar not heard it denouncing, fixing its mistakes? Had it messed up more? It took a deeper breath on accident, trying to figure out how to fix what it had just done. It had to remind Briar, it had to. Before Briar got punished too. But it was a thing, and it wasn’t supposed to correct people, it wasn't supposed to question people. Because people weren’t wrong. But Briar thought it was a person, and that was wrong. But it wasn’t supposed to question them, because they were a person and it wasn’t. It didn’t know what to do. It’d get in trouble for correcting Briar, but Briar would get in trouble for getting tricked into thinking it was a person. It would get in trouble for tricking Briar, it’d get in trouble for that even if it corrected them. It had to correct them, it had to. But it wasn’t supposed to question people. It couldn’t. That would seem like it thought that it knew better. That it thought it was above people. It wasn’t. It knew it wasn’t. It couldn’t be, it’d never be. But Briar would get hurt if it didn’t correct them- Wasn’t the better option to let it be hurt more? People came first. If anyone found out it hadn’t corrected Briar then it’d be punished then too. That would seem like it thought that Briar was right, like it thought that it wasn’t a weapon. Wasn’t a tool. Wasn’t what it was and always would be.

--

“You… Aries… cool t-too…”

--

It barely processed the words. It had to correct Briar. Briar thought it was a person, it wasn’t. It had to correct them. It had to. It opened its mouth, went to say what had to be said.

--

Instead, its throat tightened and no words came out. It choked on air for a moment, flinched into hunching its shoulders, tense and taut, eyes screwing shut for a moment. It wasn’t supposed to question people. It wasn’t supposed to correct people. It wasn’t supposed to doubt people. People knew better. Even if they didn’t, people didn’t need a thing to tell them. To remind them. Wanting to try at all was deserving of even more punishment. This was probably a test, to see if it would correct a person. To see if it thought itself to be an equal. It wasn’t. It couldn’t be. It deserved whatever punishment came from failing. From wanting to try and correct them.

--

“U-um… Yer a… a cool… person… f-friend.”

--

Its breathing, breathing that it shouldn’t be doing, hitched. This was wrong. It wasn’t a person. It wasn’t. It couldn’t be. It— It wasn’t a friend. It wasn’t. It couldn’t be. Weapons didn’t have friends. Couldn’t have friends. Friends were people and people died and it killed them. Because it was a weapon. Because that was all it could and would ever be. It couldn’t not be a weapon. It couldn’t.

-

The air smelled like blood, it wasn’t sure why because it knew Briar still had their hands gripping its own. It wasn't sure if the smell mattered much. Not with how much the world was tilted, not with how much everything was off center. It blinked, trying to push against the shifting of the earth beneath it. This was wrong. It was wrong. Its hands felt heavy, as if there was a weight, similar to Ter— To the daggers at its sides. It didn’t think it was fighting, was it? It didn’t know. It couldn’t tell. Its eyes swept around, trying to find some sort of connection, find some sort of clue to where it was. What it was doing. It couldn’t focus. It needed to focus, it’d lose the fight if it didn’t focus. It couldn’t lose the fight. It’d be punished, corrected. It didn’t want to be corrected. It deserved to be corrected. It had to be, to make sure it didn’t lose. Was it even fighting though? It wasn’t sure. It couldn’t see, everything was blurry and it couldn’t see or focus or figure out what was happening. It wasn’t sure what was going on.

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hiei Hikari | AMAB Demi-Boy | 17 | Apresexual Demiromantic | Ambi | Trust/Truth - Lie Detection / Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

“Great, thanks! Anything else I should know style-wise? Certain cuts or things to avoid? Sweaters are pretty easy for the most part, not a ton of variety in cuts and stuff, but I thought I should double-check, mostly regarding the neckline. No need to worry no matter what preferences you have, by the way, I can work with literally anything. If I’ve got a needle and some thread I can think something up!”

--

Gen’ya nodded and thought over the question. Listing out cuts they didn’t want would take longer than listing the cuts they were preferred. And it’d be less likely to have Micha ask why… Which was always better. Any chance at not having to tell anyone about obvious things would be better for them, after all. “When it comes to neckline cuts, I tend to prefer turtlenecks, cowl necks, crewnecks, mock necks, and polo necks. Though, to be honest, I tend to simply prefer anything that isn’t too showy.”

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

It didn’t take as long for Revan to hear and process what ‘Nico’ had said this time, if only because he’d been purposefully listening for it. Only because he wanted to know how much he’d messed up already, how wrong ‘Nico’s perception of him was. That was all. That was all there was to it. Not because staring at the screen of his phone was starting to make his headache worse and he desperately wanted to keep it from getting worse despite how much work he had to do. Despite how much worse he deserved…

--

“I suppose. I’ve never really had a job though… Well, not one that gave me any benefit, anyway, so, uh, is it acceptable to thank you for any opportunity at all? I mean, I was prepared to do whatever without pay, so I appreciate that you’re offering anything.”

--

That… Was somewhat, not concerning or worrying because he didn’t get to be concerned or worried about them but… Well, he’d definitely have to look into that a bit. Someone working jobs that didn’t give any benefits or pay for the work? Even unpaid interns technically get something. Yeah, he’d have to look into that. Unfortunately, that meant getting their name. Full name. Which, frankly, he probably should get anyways so that he could force himself to get used to using their last name and all. He needed the distance.

--

“It’s more than anyone’s done for me before, after all.”

--

Revan almost didn’t process it at all, but he caught it. Just because he still wanted to know just how badly he’d messed up, how necessary the last name really would be or if he could postpone it. And, well, he’d messed up. ‘Nico’ definitely thought he was nicer, better than he was. Far nicer and better than he was. The last name was definitely necessary. Was probably necessary last night. Why didn’t he ask for it last night? He should’ve. He should’ve asked as soon as this person agreed to be something similar to be an assistant. He should've already known better since Katalyn. Katalyn, who he still didn’t know the last name of. Because he’d messed up, messed up like he always did. It was just his luck, wasn’t it? He had to remedy this. He had to.

--

He cleared his throat, gluing his eyes to his phone and refusing to look up, refusing to even glance at them as he spoke. If his tone was venomous, good. He needed that distance. He needed it. “Right, well, onto more important matters. If you’re going to be working for me; which given how I’ll be paying you, that is what is happening, then I’ll need an answer to a question in order to tell the company that I work for as well. What’s your last name?” He paused, kept his eyes on his phone, and then continued in case that seemed like an odd question, “Normally, I’d ask for your full name but I already have your first, so I only need your last.”

--

He stared at his phone. As soon as he knew, he could use it. He could have that distance that he needed to have. That he should’ve already had. Though, he wasn’t too sure about which honorific he should be using. And while he couldn’t tell the company about that, his mother would throw a fit, he could still be respectful whenever he spoke to them. So, he went on, “I’d also like to know which honorific you’d prefer. Mr, Ms, or Mx? Or if there’s another one you know of and would prefer, then tell me.”

--

Revan figured that would do. He tried to keep his tone professional for it, if only because he didn’t want to come across as reluctant to use any of them. If only because that was a line he wasn’t willing to cross. He did keep his eyes on his phone though, unwilling to give the person walking beside him a chance at eye contact.

Gwyar ‘Aries’ Ariethous Fraoch | Male | 17 | Demisexual | Ambi | Physical - Weapon Knowledge | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

Its eyes refused to focus, despite everything in it screaming that it needed to. Nothing good ever happened when it didn’t focus. It’d miss a command, a rare explanation, an overview of its upcoming fights, an otherwise obvious strike, or some other important thing that it needed to know. But it wouldn’t, not if it didn’t focus.

--

And then, suddenly, catching it off guard, the world shifted as if it were being pulled back— It should’ve focused, it should’ve focused, it didn’t and now it was losing or being punished or something it didn’t know because it hadn’t focused— And it’s vision unblurred as it tried to look over to see what was happening to it due to its mistakes— It didn’t want this, it’s sorry, please please please— And it saw Briar, knees buckled and crying. It stopped, staring and reeling as it tried to understand what had happened.

--

A voice broke through the confusion and fog in its mind, and for a moment it thought that it was the one speaking. Out of turn and unjustifiable. But then, a second later, it realized Briar was the one speaking. Was the one apologizing.

--

“I’m sorry. ‘M sorry. Sorry. So sorry. Sorrysorrysorrysorry…”

--

…Why was Briar apologizing to it? That didn’t make sense. Briar was a person, people don’t apologize to things. To tools they use. But still, Briar was crying and apologizing and… Had it read the situation wrong? It stiffened at the prospect that it hadn’t understood the situation.

--

It moved, went over, it didn’t know what to do. It couldn’t speak unless Briar spoke, because they were a person. But Briar was speaking, but were they speaking to it? But… But if it was right, and it had read the situation wrong then… Then that rule didn’t apply. Because that only applied to the ones in charge. Right? Like- Like the leader of the group. Horatio. But did Hora- the main handler know what it was? It didn’t know. It wasn’t sure. Briar knew, but if they were from the arena too then that made sense. It hadn’t ever seen them but that didn’t matter, it had met people there that it hadn’t ever seen before.

--

So it shook its head, because the rules didn’t apply as heavily when potential opponents were the ones involved. It shook its head and shifted so that Briar would be sitting. It didn’t know if Hor- the main wielder had a rule against doing so but… It could take the blame. It could take the punishment. Whatever correction that was decidedly necessary to forge it in the image that the wielders wanted, it could and would take.

--

It sat in front of them, keeping the grip on their hands, and shook its head again at the continuation of apologies that they were doing. It forced itself to speak, forced itself to try and fix what it had misunderstood. Tried to think of what might be needed, tried and tried. “Don’t. No apologies. Briar didn’t do anything. Briar is a person and people don’t mess up.”

--

It paused, it didn’t know what to do. The longer it sat, the longer Briar sat, the more likely to get in trouble. The more likely for punishment, for necessary correction. It used the grip on Briar’s hands to push into Briar’s chest, the more air they took in the faster that it could get them off the ground.

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hiei Hikari | AMAB Demi-Boy | 17 | Apresexual Demiromantic | Ambi | Trust/Truth - Lie Detection / Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

“Got it. I can do that! What about for sleeves? Do you prefer for them to be loose all the way down or more fitted at the wrists?”

--

Gen’ya had to think over the question for a second, there were pros and cons to both choices. Having the sleeves loose all the way down meant that they could easily fall down, which he didn’t want. Having them fitted though meant that everyone could see the size of their wrist. Could see even more proof of how disgusting he was.

--

They shifted, humming to themself in thought. Then, they sighed. “Honestly, I enjoy a bit of a median, cuffed sleeves that aren’t so loose that they move up and down my arms with every movement but loose enough that I won’t lose circulation due to them.”

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

Revan waited as patiently as he could, staring at his phone but not trying to register the words and numbers that resided on the screen. For now, it was just something to stare at. Admittedly though, his patience was thin today, and the one that was walking beside him was taking quite a bit of time to answer his questions. Especially given that all he’d asked for was a last name and an honorific. Still, he kept his mind searching the answer so that he’d hear it and process it whenever they did answer.

--

“Um, Mx is probably the best honorific.”

--

When it was finally given, he almost missed it. Not because he hadn’t been listening for them to answer, no, that was why he hadn’t missed it. He’d almost missed it because of the volume. The mumble that he hadn’t been expecting from the one walking beside him. Regardless, he kept his eyes on the ground, and focused on the continued answer.

--

“And, uh... Cosmos. That's my last name, but it's really not necessary to use it. My first name's much more interesting anyway, don't you think?”

--

Mx. Cosmos… Revan could work with that. It’d be easy enough to remember. And so much better than the risk that came with first names… He wasn’t too sure what to make of Mx. Cosmos’ hesitation. Was it just because of their overall apparent friendliness? Somehow, he doubted that. But, well, it wasn’t really his business, no matter what. Getting into someone else’s business was just asking for distance to be broken. Which he didn’t want.

--

So he stared at his phone and gave a small hum in response before speaking, thinking over his choice of words as cautiously as he was willing to. As cautiously as he could without getting into any depths he didn’t want. “Both names are rather unique, quite frankly. However, when it comes to business, last names tend to be what is used. So even if I were to use your first name towards you, I’d still need your last name for anything pertaining to the company. So, at that point, it’s easier to carry over the professionalism as to make sure no mistakes or misunderstandings happen.”

Gwyar ‘Aries’ Ariethous Fraoch | Male | 17 | Demisexual | Ambi | Physical - Weapon Knowledge | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

When Briar let out a whimper, pained and quiet, trying to hide away… It wasn’t sure what to do. The longer it took to get Briar off the ground, the harsher the correction would be, the harder to keep them away from Briar too. It didn’t know what to do though. This hadn’t happened before. It didn’t think this had ever happened before. Though, it couldn’t really think, so it wasn’t sure.

--

Briar went still though, and it could work with still. If they were still, it could move them. Move them. Stand them up, help them walk, make sure that Briar didn’t get corrected by main wielder when Briar hadn’t done anything. Itself, on the other hand… It’d deal with whatever was necessary. It would. As long as Briar wasn’t hurt.

--

So, it pushed at Briar once more to make sure they were breathing, and then pulled them to their feet. Careful to not put any pressure on their back, it kept them in a position where it could help them walk until they were ready to walk by themself. It couldn’t do much else. It didn’t know what else to do. Keeping the correction to the minimum had to take priority. It could try and figure out how to help Briar later.

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hiei Hikari | AMAB Demi-Boy | 17 | Apresexual Demiromantic | Ambi | Trust/Truth - Lie Detection / Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

“Sure! Okay, I think I've got everything I need! I can probably get it to you in a couple of days! On another topic, do you have a favorite musician or band? I know you mentioned playing guitar earlier. Any particular inspiration for that? If you're comfortable sharing, of course!”

--

He thought over the question for a moment, before nodding.. “I don’t mind sharing. My favorite band is probably one of the ‘emo trinity’ as they’re called. My inspiration for playing guitar is, well, it’s mostly my family..”

--

They shifted, glancing around before continuing, better to keep the conversation lighter than where that would lead. That was for certain, “What about you? Do you have any favorite bands?”

*~*~*~*

Revan Rafe-Hassen Rowland | Male | 18 | Gay | Ambi | Space - Alter Gravity | Mentions; Everyone(Dir/Ind).

--

The response from Mx. Cosmos took a bit longer than what he would’ve expected from them but… Well, he didn’t care. He didn’t. The lack of conversation was proof of him being able to push them away. Was proof that he didn’t need to worry about them being safe from him. And that outweighed any guilt he may have felt any day. Still, the response he ended up getting had an uncomfortable stinging feeling settling in his gut.

--

“Yeah, sure... Okay.”

--

Silence lapsed after that, with him not really having anything else to say, and Revan was rather sure that it wasn’t just the lack of sleep he’d been getting. He… He wasn’t regretting it. He wasn’t. The silence meant distance. He’d effectively pushed Mx. Cosmos away before they got hurt because of him. That wasn’t something to regret. Or feel guilty about. It didn’t matter in the long run.

--

Refusing to think about it any longer, he forced his mind to return to the words and numbers on the screen of his phone. He had work to do, after all. He couldn’t let people get in the way of it.