Wolf Play : The Eight Protectors

08:03:04 Dire, DWH

so should I keep or bone him?

Ouroboros

08:02:35 Cullen

I hope next RO my alpha will make me lucky again. Two sons with two different females and they're both boosts

07:53:02 Fei The Sleepy Ghost

Will
It has. I lost three wolves

Winterbeast

07:52:47 Will

Oh it DID
Omg
Tuna lives another day

Winterbeast

07:52:27 Will

Ds hasn't rolled yet, has it?

07:50:44 Fei The Sleepy Ghost

Cae
I lost only 3. I guess the grim reaper of WolfPlay is in a cheerful mood and spared a lot of wolves

07:48:41 Dire, DWH

-WP Click-
keep or bone?

07:48:28 Fei The Sleepy Ghost

well my evil wolf and all her siblings survived

Caeruleum

07:47:28 Cae, Blue

huh, only 4 dead? lowkey disappointing?

07:47:18 Dire, DWH

ok it wasn't :)

07:46:53 Dire, DWH

I'm scared to check my game mail for fear my best breeder died >.>

07:45:16 Fei The Sleepy Ghost

who loves death script?

07:44:03 Fei The Sleepy Ghost

I need to wrap my cat's presents up

Den of Thieves

07:42:42

same

Caeruleum

07:41:55 Cae, Blue

i got my snowflakes from a shit ton of pup and reindeer rescuing and spying LOL

Ouroboros

07:38:50 Cullen

yep, I think so D: I have barely 50 or so snowflakes even though I was exploring pretty obsessively when they bumped it

Caeruleum

07:36:57 Cae, Blue

werent their encounter rates also increased like halfway through the event? :')

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

It stayed in its position, half-kneeled and looking at but not in the eyes of the main wielder and breathing as unnoticeably as possible so the forgers wouldn’t notice and it wouldn’t get into even more trouble. The hand leaving its shoulder had it refraining from tensing more. The hands’ presence had been bad, but so was the hands’ absence. The main wielder standing was worse than either though, and it waited to hear what it had to do. Or to see where the main wielder would go. If the main wielder did walk away, was it supposed to follow? Or would it have to wait here? It didn’t know, it wasn’t sure if it’d be told either.

“Okay, good. You're doing well.”

It refused to shift, refused to show its confusion. Reacting would only make its correction worse. It stayed still, right where it was, and continued to breathe as barely as possible. It waited for the continuation. Words like those were never left unfollowed by an order.

“If you're able to stand, please do. If not, that's alright, don't force yourself. However, when you're able, perhaps it's a good idea to step into another room for a little bit. To calm down.”

There the continuation was. It stood without hesitation, forcing its feet to stay planted after the swift motion. It didn’t have time to delay. The main wielder wanted it to stand, to go to another room, after all. For its correction, probably. Calming down had to be a lie. Some of the wielders had said similar. Besides, it was calm. The main wielder just wanted it away from prying eyes while it was corrected.

That had it holding back tension, holding back a flinch. Those corrections were always bad. It had messed up a lot, hadn’t it? It just had to accept its correction… It didn’t know where the main wielder wanted it to go, just another room. The main wielder probably had a room for it to go though, so it waited, still as it should be.

*~*~*~*

Gorōta Sanae Ryuugo | Male | 16 | Demisexual | Ambi | Emotional/Healing - Heal Physical Wounds | Mentions; Everyone(Ind).

Gorōta gave a small, silent sigh of relief as Juno took the notebook and smiled at him. Maybe he wouldn’t have to talk. He hoped so. He sincerely hoped so. Especially as Juno took a breath and spoke instead, doing exactly what was on the page. Explaining everything to Briar. Good, that was good.

“Hello, Briar. My name is Juno, and this is Gorōta, a doctor, or, as we call him here, the healing holder. The time is currently 10:30 AM, and you are in the main building of the eight protectors. Specifically, you are in our main training room. The person you are touching is called Aries, he is the physical holder. The one talking to Aries is Horatio, the time holder. Across the room, there are four more people as well. All of you are a part of the eight protectors of the planet Earth. This training room is where you will explore your powers and become stronger. The ceiling is rather high, the floor is white tile, and there are conjoining rooms on either side. You are safe here.”

Gorōta smiled lightly, this was good. Briar looked less out of sorts now, at least a bit. That was good enough for him for now. Juno was good at this, at explaining. Far better than he would’ve been. He probably would’ve stumbled over his words, had to restart several times, and tried paraphrasing everything. Despite knowing that wouldn’t help. Certainly better for Juno to do this than him. Looking over at Mira as she came over with a mirror, he relaxed a bit more. Everything would be fine, probably, hopefully. He refrained from doing anything yet with the first aid kit that Juno had slid over to him, Briar had flinched away earlier from Mira, so waiting was probably a good idea.

“This is Mira. She brought you a mirror.”

He watched as Briar took the mirror, their hand dropping from Aries’s shoulder. He watched as they looked at the mirror, staring into the reflective surface and eyebrows slowly furrowing with confusion.

“Do you know what a mirror is? A mirror shows people's reflections. If you point the mirror to me, the mirror will show my face, but if you hold it above yourself, the mirror will show yours.”

“It shows how beautiful you are.”

The two were definitely better at this than he was. Mira and Juno made a much better team at comforting Briar than he ever could dream of being able to. He watched Briar look at themself in the mirror, watching the slight confusion in their gaze.

“So… Who…?”

“That’s Briar! That’s you!”

“But... the creature looks... looks human… Not... like... like a... a monster…”

Gorōta winced, he definitely didn’t like whoever had told them that they weren’t even human. Whoever told them that they were a monster. Not that he could really do anything, as much as he wanted to. He wasn’t— Well, he wasn’t much help whenever stuff like that was involved. Except for helping with the aftermath. His friends knew that with no uncertainty.

Regardless, Mira seemed to have taken the wheel at this point, eyes softening and talking to Briar. The two were so much better at this than he was. He didn’t know how they didn’t get chosen for his apparent role. They’d be better than he was, that was for sure. Had he made the wrong choice, coming here?… He couldn’t really back out now. Not like he would, even if he could, he wasn’t one for confrontation.

“Well, that's because you aren't a monster. You are Briar. You are human. See, look? You have a nose like mine! And ears and a mouth! We have the same hands too! And we have hearts that beat and lungs that breathe. Just because we don't look exactly the same doesn't make either of us less human.”

“Mira… And… Briar. The cre- I am Briar.”

“Yes, good! You are Briar and I am Mira. We are human. Now, Briar, Gorōta would like to help you with your wounds, is that okay?”

He glanced at Mira as his name was mentioned, having been watching cautiously as Mira went through and guided Briar through the different features. Then, he looked back at Briar, waiting for them to decide whether or not he would be allowed to help. Or, well, try to, at least. Juno would probably still be better at this than he was. He wasn’t good at much, especially here, apparently.

“Gorōta… Gorōta is... human too... Briar would... would like Gorōta... the human... to help Briar... the human... to make... the... wounds stop... hurting…”

He nodded at the decision, opening the first aid kit so he wouldn’t have to after he got a look at the injury. When he looked back up, he saw Briar looking over towards Aries.

“Will... Will Gorōta help... help... Aries... Briar's friend... make his... his wounds stop... hurting too?”

And honestly… Gorōta wasn’t sure how good of an idea that was. Aries had only stopped his breathing when the first aid kit had been brought over, before there was really anyone crowding him. He didn’t want to make him worse. But, well, he also didn’t want to tell Briar that. In case that caused something else. So, he smiled instead, and nodded, hoping that neither came off as awkward. Or as a lie. That wouldn't be good.

Regardless, he took a glance at Briar’s hands, trying to discern which of them were injured. He didn’t want to have to ask, he didn’t want to have to speak at all. He’d already have to ask the questions in the notebook anyways. He didn’t want to speak any more than necessary.

With his bad vision though, he wasn’t having much luck. He bit his tongue, trying to get his one eye to focus and figure this out. He didn’t want to ask. He had to figure this out. Looking from hand to hand, physically having to move his head to do so, was really starting to get annoying though. He didn’t want to have to grab Briar’s hands and inspect them closer either though, the more he held their hands, the more likely they’d get worse. Especially if he didn’t ask to hold them. And he didn’t want to talk.

His hands were shaking now. Gorōta balled them into fists and tried to focus. Juno had understood when he’d given her the notebook. If he looked at her now would she understand again? No, probably not. A notebook was obvious, especially when there were words written on the paper. But a simple glance? Definitely not. He blinked, tried to focus. He had to figure this out. He was being given a chance to try and help. And he was ruining the chance. Ruining everything. He always did, didn’t he? He shouldn’t be here. He really shouldn’t be here. Juno should be the healer. Or Mira. Or literally anyone except for him.

September 22, 2023 02:22 PM

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Horatio Caeso / Male / 19 / Demisexual Panromantic / Ambi / Time- Visions / M: Everyone (Dir/ind)

Aries's response was immediate, which Tio probably should have expected from the other reactions, but, well, it was still slightly jarring and very off-putting. He definitly shouldn't have such a quick reaction time, it was almost inhuman at this point, and very worrying.

Taking in a breath and smiling slightly in what he hoped was a reassuring way. "Okay, good. Follow me, please."

He turned and started walking, relatively slowly, toward the right side of the room and through one of the side doorways. There were four rooms on either side of the main training room, all in line, linked together by relatively sound-proof doors. Lukily, the physical training room where Horatio intended to take Aries, was on the opposite side of the room of the healing room, so they wouldn't have to pass through it. Instead, they'd pass through the truth room, which was set up almost as a court room with a large screen and podium in the front and benches lining most of it. There was also a corner, like in every training room, with a water station, some towels, and some yoga mats, and, of course, a clock.

Horatio led Aries through the room and pushed open the door connecting it, allowing Aries to enter ahead of him before continuing to the resting corner of the physical room, which was almost identical to the one in the truth room, only with the addition of a stereo.

The room itself was rather large, mostly orange in theme. Various weapons hung on the walls and, beneath them, on one side, there was a rack of weights and other excersize items. There were also a few punching bags nearby.

Horatio ignored all of this, heading to the water station and grabbing one of the cups, filling it with water. He then turned to Aries and smiled again, handing him the cup and gesturing to one of the benches.

"Here, sit, rest. You can drink if you like. Just let me know if you need anything, I want to help you."

Briar Sallow / Nonbinary / 17 / Minsexual / Poly / Manipulation/Judgement- Minor Illusions / M: Everyone

Briar blinked at Gorōta, waiting for an answer to their question. Eventually, i- they were given a response of a nod and smile. Perhaps, if they were more aware, they would have picked up on the uncertainty, but with their still slightly fuzzy mind, the response was more than enough.

Silence lapsed and Briar lay still, wondering if the fact that there was no movement for so long was because they were so out of it, or if it really was that long.

Then, a voice, Mira's voice, finally spoke, and Briar looked up at her, focusing to process everything she was say.

"Hey, Briar, could you tell Gorōta what all hurts so that he can help you better?"

Briar paused, having to think for a moment about what was what.

"Um... Briar... Briar thinks i... their hand hurts... this one..." They held up their left hand slight. "And... umm... their..." They paused, eyes narrowing in confusion as they searched for the right word. After a few seconds of being unable to find it, they simply gestured toward their head. "This... this hurts. Briar thinks... thinks they hit... this..."

Hopefully, that was helpful enough. If it wasn't, Briar didn't know what else they could say. They genuinly couldn't remember what certain things were called right now.

"Your head hurts?"

Their eyes flicked back to Mira and they nodded slightly.

Head.

That sounded right.

"Briar... thinks so..."

Mira smiled slightly and nodded, glancing over to Gorōta with kindness in her eyes. Briar liked her. She was good.

September 22, 2023 08:03 PM

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

“Okay, good. Follow me, please.”

The smile given to it as the main wielder spoke was odd, but it wasted no time to try and understand the meaning when the main wielder turned to walk. Not like it would’ve been able to understand the meaning, even if it had tried to. It wasn’t capable of that, most likely. Since that would probably require thinking. It didn’t need to understand the smile anyway. The main wielder was walking and wanted it to follow, after all.

So, with just as little hesitation as it knew it could have, it followed as directed, keeping its eyes from drifting too much. It simply had to pay attention to the main wielder. So it followed through a door and into a room with benches and a podium and a screen. A corner that had mats and towels and a water station. It didn’t give the area more than a glance, it seriously doubted it’d be corrected in that room, after all. The layout was simply different from the arena, that was all. It had to pass through to get somewhere else. Perhaps an attempt at false security? The main wielder had tried to tell it that he wanted it to calm down.

The main wielder was opening another door, and keeping said door open, actually. Did he want it to go in first? That probably meant this was the room then. Right? Did that make sense? Probably. So that it couldn’t try to run. Not like it would. It was in enough trouble, and the main wielder might change his mind about Briar not being corrected too. It couldn’t have that happening. So, it entered the room and took a glance around as the main wielder entered and shut the door.

There were weapons on the wall, weights underneath one side, some exercise equipment, and even a few punching bags. This was a training room. It… Wasn’t actually sure if this was right. Though, it didn’t really get a say. It wasn’t the one in charge, it wasn’t the one deciding its correction, it certainly wasn’t the main wielder. And if the main wielder wanted to use an apparent training room to correct it? That was that. After all, maybe there was just a larger selection of ways to correct it here than in other places.

Regardless, the main wielder began walking again, and it followed along. There was a corner area in here too. Mats, towels, benches, a water station, a clock, and what looked like a stereo. It watched as the main wielder stepped to the water station, filling a cup with water. It waited, stood still and waited to be told what to do. It didn’t get to question the main wielder, certainly not.

Not even as the main wielder turned back towards it and held the cup of water out towards it, gesturing to a bench with a smile. Without a word, it took the water being held out to it.

“Here, sit, rest. You can drink if you like. Just let me know if you need anything, I want to help you.”

It didn’t allow itself to hesitate, to waste time trying to figure out just what the main wielder wanted from it with those words. It sat in front of the bench the main wielder had gestured to and drank the water it had been given. Chances were, the main wielder wanted to make sure it could handle the correction. It knew better than to ask for anything, it’d be helped as soon as the main wielder decided on the correction. Helped, corrected, disciplined… Just different words for the same thing.

It waited, it knew better than to do anything else but wait. If the main wielder needed anything from it, it would be told. And when the main wielder had decided on what to use, it would be corrected. It just had to wait.

*~*~*~*

Gorōta Sanae Ryuugo | Male | 16 | Demisexual | Ambi | Emotional/Healing - Heal Physical Wounds | Mentions; Everyone(Ind).

Gorōta wasn’t sure how long he crouched there in front of Briar, trying to get his eye to focus and just see which hand was injured. Trying to work up the nerve to say something. Because obviously not talking wasn’t working. But he didn’t want to speak, he didn’t want to hear his voice. So, he wasn’t sure how long it was before someone did speak. Mira. And, yeah, he definitely shouldn’t have been the one chosen for this.

“Hey, Briar, could you tell Gorota what all hurts so that he can help you better?”

Regardless of how stupid he felt, how absolutely ridiculous and pathetic, he was beyond grateful that Mira had asked for him. Had realized he wasn’t going to and had realized he couldn’t tell and— Yeah, she definitely would’ve been better at all of this than him.

“Um… Briar… Briar thinks i… their hand hurts… this one… And um… their… This… this hurts. Briar thinks… thinks they hit… this…”

Gorōta watched carefully as Briar began pointing out what all hurt. Their left hand and their head. Hand first, better to see how bad that was first. If they were still bleeding that needed to be fixed sooner rather than later. He could check for a concussion after. Though, since they seemed to be able to hold a conversation with Mira relatively well for someone still recovering from some sort of dissociation, as he’d assume that was most likely given how Briar’s eyes seemed glossy and all… He wasn’t too worried about a concussion just yet, so instead he just focused on making sure his own hands were clean with the hand sanitizer that was luckily in the first aid kit.

“Your head hurts?”

“Briar… thinks so…”

Nodding along, he tried to send a grateful look towards Mira before looking back at Briar. He slowly, slow enough that they could pull away, took their left hand gently into one of his own. He searched the hand for whatever injury had caused the bleeding. When he found what that was, he grabbed an alcohol wipe. Honestly, he would’ve preferred having Briar and himself being able to actually wash their hands and the wound… He wasn’t going to complain though. Anything that could clean the wound was well enough for him at the moment.

So Gorōta took the alcohol wipe and began cleaning the injury, going slow enough that the sting caused by it wouldn’t be too surprising or confusing. Cleaning the injury wasn’t too difficult, at least, the wound was small enough that it didn’t take long at all to clean. Which meant he could set aside the wipe and grab an antibiotic cream much sooner to put on it, the bandages to cover the injury with already set close by so he could put those on as soon as the cream was applied. This, he could work with, at least.

September 26, 2023 03:17 PM

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Horatio Caeso / Male / 19 / Demisexual Panromantic / Ambi / Time- Visions / M: Everyone (Dir/ind)

Horatio blinked in confusion as Aries took a seat, not on the bench that Tio had gestured to, but in front of it. Still, the time holder didn't allow himself to think on it too much, maybe Aries just found the floor more... comfortable... for some reason?

Still, he walked over and sat down on the floor as well, across from Aries. He made sure to leave plenty of space between them, far enough that he wouldn't be able to actually touch Aries without either standing or scooting over.

He hesitated then, thinking over what he wanted to say.

"Aries, I want you to know that you are safe here. I don't know your prior circumstances, but, wherever you were before, whoever you were with, they aren't here now." Saying it out loud made Horatio's stomach turn because, yeah, for Aries to think the way that he so obviously was, someone had to make him think like that. Someone had to have told him that he wasn't human and that he had to listen to everything they were telling him. All the lies they were feeding him. Still, Tio could worry about that later. Right now, he had to stay calm. For Aries. "You're safe here, I promise. Our goal is to make you feel welcome and cared about. We don't want to hurt you."

Was this making sense? Horatio felt like he was rambling or maybe being too insistent that Aries would be okay. Overbearing.

He didn't want to scare Aries more or make anything worse, he just wanted to help, but, realistically, he was probably the worst person to do that. He sucked at emotions.

Hell, he barely even knew what he was feeling most of the time, he could hardly help others figure out their feelings!

Still, he was leader. He was supposed to help the others. It was his job. His duty.

If he couldn't even do something as simple as make his team members feel safe, then what good was he as a leader at all?

Briar Sallow / Nonbinary / 17 / Minsexual / Poly / Manipulation/Judgement- Minor Illusions / M: Everyone

Briar watched Gorōta as he reached out to slowly take their hand. They were careful not to flinch as a slight sting of a wipe ran up their arm. They didn't want to mess Gorōta up, after all.

They stayed as still as possible, only their eyes shifting as Mira started talking again.

"So, Briar, tell me, what are some things you like? Hobbies or just things you find interesting?"

Briar paused, having to think rather hard about what they actually liked. Remembering was hard right now, their mind seeming to fight against itself.

Eventually, though, little flashes started to provide themselves, words and pictures that made Briar feel warm and happy inside.

"Briar thinks they remember... liking animals... snakes especially. Reptiles... they like warm summers and pretty flowers..." They smiled faintly, eyes glossing in a different way this time, more reminiscent than confused. "They like ice cream and fruit. Any food, really... They like talking to people... Friends..." Their brows furrowed slightly, a mixture of affection and sadness hitting suddenly. "Cam.. They liked Cam a lot... And racing with him... They like climbing trees and making terrible jokes..." They took in a shaky breath and shook their head slightly. "They like listening to music, especially pop and rap. They like sunsets, but sunrises are always best. I like watching sports and pretending like I could ever be good enough to join a national team. Puzzles and board games." Briar looked over at Mira and smiled, head a little clearer now. Mira grinned back, eyes warm and knowledgeable, like she knew exactly what she was doing when she asked the question. "I like making new friends."

Mira giggled, reaching over to lightly brush some of Briar's hair out of their eyes. "Well, what a surprise! I actually like making new friends too!" She smirked. "And you seem like a very interesting person to be friends with, Briar."

Briar smiled, still holding still to avoid messing Gorōta up at all. "Thank you. All of you... Er, sorry for making a scene." They chuckled a little nervously. "Probably not the greatest... uh... second impression?"

Mira shrugged. "Trust me, I know plenty of people who have made much worse impressions than you. But, seriously, no need to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong."

Briar smiled again. "I guess... Where'd Aries go, is he alright?"

"Yep, should be! Tio's got him, you can trust him to take care of Aries."

"Okay. Um, could I see him? Aries, I mean? Well, when Gorōta's done, of course."

Mira nodded. "Don't see why not! Do let Gorōta finish his amazing work first, though, wouldn't want you hurting yourself more!"

"Yeah, thanks."

September 26, 2023 06:40 PM

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

It saw the feet of the main wielder moving before it realized that he was sitting down in front of it. Not close enough to touch it, which probably meant he had decided to sit while deciding what its correction would be. A different approach from usual but, well, it didn’t know these wielders or this main wielder anyways. They probably just did things differently than the others. So, it simply continued to wait, just as it was supposed to. The main wielder speaking caught it off guard, and it barely suppressed looking up at him, knowing well that would be seen as disrespectful. Knowing that would only worsen its correction.

“Aries, I want you to know that you are safe here. I don't know your prior circumstances, but, wherever you were before, whoever you were with, they aren't here now.”

It tried not to shift, tried not to move… They aren’t here now? What… What was that supposed to mean? Was this main wielder not part of the arena? Had it— Had it left? It couldn’t. It belonged to the arena. It couldn’t have left. The arena wouldn’t let it do that. Was it taken away? It didn’t think so. That still would’ve been its fault. All that really meant would be that it allowed itself to be taken. It wouldn’t have. It knew better. The arena would never forgive it if that had happened. So that couldn’t have been what happened. But what else could that mean? They aren’t here now… It had to have left the arena somehow, it must have left with the arena’s approval… Did this new main wielder buy it from the arena? That had to be what had happened. There wasn’t any other explanation…

It didn’t… It’d have to learn new rules. It’d have to learn new corrections. It’d have to learn new tactics. They’d have to cross out the arena’s ownership. They’d have to give it their brand of ownership. It tensed involuntarily, panic and desperation clawed at its throat threatening to mess up the barely noticeable breathing it had been keeping up, the scent of burnt flesh suddenly seeming strong in the air.

The main wielder was speaking again. It needed to listen, it needed to pay attention. The rules were important to know. Its correction was important to know. Anything the main wielder said was important to know.

“You're safe here, I promise. Our goal is to make you feel welcome and cared about. We don't want to hurt you.”

The arena had liked making those promises too. It had been safe at the arena, hadn’t it? It always won its fights, it tried to be the perfect weapon its forgers and wielders forged it to be, and it was here now, in need of polishing and sharpening to fit what this main wielder needed.

And it had messed up already, within the first day. The main wielder didn’t want to hurt it, no wielder or forger at the arena ever wanted to hurt it either. They just had to because it had never stopped messing up. No matter how it tried to. It always did, so they had to correct it. It was its own fault it ever got hurt, ever got corrected. It should apologize for making the main wielder have to hurt it. But it hadn’t been given permission to speak, and it didn’t know the rules, or any tactics that would work. Though, apologies usually worked, and if those didn’t work here, it could deal with the consequence. With the added correction.

So, it bowed its head, staring at the floor and trying to ignore the scent of burning flesh trying to make it panic. “It understands, it apologizes, it won’t give the wielders or forgers any reason to correct it again.”

It kept its head bowed. Chances were, the main wielder was going through the same promises and oaths of not wanting to hurt it before deciding on its correction. It simply had to wait. Wait, and ignore the flesh burning in its nostrils.

*~*~*~*

Gorōta Sanae Ryuugo | Male | 16 | Demisexual | Ambi | Emotional/Healing - Heal Physical Wounds | Mentions; Everyone(Ind).

“So, Briar, tell me, what are some things you like? Hobbies or just things you find interesting?”

Gorōta smiled lightly, Mira was definitely good at this. Definitely better than he was. Keeping Briar talking was smart, to both make sure they could keep a conversation going and to try and help them out of whatever dissociative episode they were having.

He set aside the wipe he’d been cleaning the injury with, checking the wound over to see if he needed another one or if he could go ahead with the cream while Briar continued speaking..

“Briar thinks they remember... liking animals... snakes especially. Reptiles... they like warm summers and pretty flowers…”

He was fairly certain that he could go ahead and apply the cream, so he just needed to find that… He didn’t know if Briar was allergic to anything though… He shifted so that he could look through the first aid kit, trying to see what all was in it in the way of options.

“They like ice cream and fruit. Any food, really... They like talking to people... Friends… Cam.. They liked Cam a lot... And racing with him... They like climbing trees and making terrible jokes…”

The first aid kit ended up having several options for ointments. Neosporin, which he’d have to suggest throwing out at some point, too many people ended up becoming allergic to it even if they weren’t at first. Even then, one in ten people tended to be allergic to Neosporin the first time around anyways. Polysporin was better, but it wasn’t where his focus landed, plus the bacitracin in it could also be an allergy. One that he didn’t want to risk. What did catch his eye was that they had Aquaphor, a petroleum ointment that was incredibly less likely to cause an allergic reaction. He grabbed that one, shifting just enough so that he could open it so he could use it.

“They like listening to music, especially pop and rap. They like sunsets, but sunrises are always best. I like watching sports and pretending like I could ever be good enough to join a national team. Puzzles and board games. I like making new friends.”

Hearing that Briar was back to the first person was good. Great, in all honesty. Though they probably weren’t completely stable. Which was understandable… He should probably go ahead and finish up sooner than later. Most people didn’t want to keep the attention on themselves for too long after these sorts of things.

“Well, what a surprise! I actually like making new friends too! And you seem like a very interesting person to be friends with, Briar.”

Applying the ointment was easy, in all fairness, and it didn’t take long to rub in either. As soon as Gorōta was certain it had rubbed into the skin enough, his hands gentle as he did it so that Briar wouldn’t be surprised or sent back by it, he closed the ointment and put it back into the first aid kit, grabbing the hand sanitizer to make sure his hands would still be clean when he did the bandages.

“Thank you. All of you... Er, sorry for making a scene. Probably not the greatest... uh... second impression?”

After making sure his hands were clean, he grabbed the bandages he’d set aside for the injury. Wrapping the wrist and hand was probably the best bet, just to make sure the injury couldn’t get any worse. Bringing the bandages over to him, he shifted so he could make sure that he’d be able to wrap them on correctly.

“Trust me, I know plenty of people who have made much worse impressions than you. But, seriously, no need to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong.”

“I guess... Where'd Aries go, is he alright?”

Gorōta paused, glancing up from what he’d been preparing to do. The question was fine, just… He still didn’t know how much Briar actually remembered about what had happened, or how Aries was doing, or if Briar should go see him, or how he was going to help with someone who definitely seemed tense around anyone with even the tiniest hint of a medical denotation… He should probably just focus on the bandages for now.

“Yep, should be! Tio's got him, you can trust him to take care of Aries.”

“Okay. Um, could I see him? Aries, I mean? Well, when Gorōta's done, of course.”

“Don't see why not! Do let Gorōta finish his amazing work first, though, wouldn't want you hurting yourself more!”

The compliment had him trying not to bristle, he was still fairly certain that Mira or Juno should’ve been chosen to be the healing protector. But, well, he didn’t need them worrying about him right now.

He shifted his focus back to the bandages, shifting and beginning to wrap Briar’s wrist with them. Making sure the hand was straight on the wrist, he began the wrap slightly below the injury and worked his way up, glancing over what he’d already done every other wrap to make sure it didn’t look too tight or loose.

“Yeah, thanks.”

As soon as he reached the bottom of the hand, he wrapped the, rather luckily self-adhesive, bandage around so that it went over the palm as well before making his way back down in the figure eight method he knew how to do.

Gorōta settled on going up and back down one more time before securing the bandage, just to make sure it was secure. Just to make sure that nothing would happen. After it was securely in place with a small pin that had been in the first aid kit, he checked to make sure that there was still heat in Briar’s fingers. After doing so, and confirming there was, he pulled his hands back to himself. Looking up at Briar, he gave them a small smile that he hoped was reassuring. He was fairly certain that he didn’t need to worry about Briar having a concussion. Plus, the sooner he finished, the better. He’d rather stop them from going to Aries if they wanted to.

September 30, 2023 11:26 PM

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Horatio Caeso / Male / 19 / Demisexual Panromantic / Ambi / Time- Visions / M: Everyone (Dir/ind)

Horatio watched with growing anxiety as Aries reacted to his words, silently cringing as he only seemed to get worse, somehow. Maybe he was right in thinking that he'd done too much. He was just making things even harder for Aries to deal with, making him even more scared, more upset. He was failing miserably at helping and, by extension, being leader.

“It understands, it apologizes, it won’t give the wielders or forgers any reason to correct it again.”

It took everything in Horatio's power not to outwardly flinch at that. Aries was not only still referring to himself as "it," not only still apologizing, but he was obviously still under the impression that he would be "corrected" if he messed up somehow. Plus, he was using other titles now.

Wielders and Forgers. That was highly disturbing, especially if Horatio was correct in his assumption that he was one of the people Aries was referring to as such and that people who had carried these titles previously in Aries's life were bad people. People that "corrected" Aries.

In all honesty, Tio had absolutely zero idea how to proceed from this point. Emotions were hard for him and, even after extensive research, he still struggled to understand the best way to help people.

Just one more reason why Fher messed up in giving him this role.

However, as Horatio desperately grasped for any words that might help comfort Aries, the door to the physical training room was pushed open and Tio almost let out a sigh of relief when Briar stepped inside.

They looked nervous and slightly paler than normal, but otherwise, they looked to be nearly completely recovered, left hand wrapped up. In their other hand, they held a white cloth with something in it.

"Um, hi, sorry."

Horatio smiled slightly. "No need to apologize, Briar. Come in, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, Gorōta patched me up pretty good." They stepped farther into the room, eyes straying to where Aries was seated. "Sorry for causing a scene and all, I didn't mean to panic or burden anyone."

Tio shook his head quickly. "That's quite alright, Briar. You have nothing to apologize for, what happened wasn't your fault."

Briar nodded slightly and Horatio didn't miss the slight grimace at the movement. He didn't say anything though, just watching as Briar hesitantly approached Aries, kneeling in front of him. "Uh, hey, Aries. I wanted to thank you for everything you did for me, you're pretty awesome. I, um, I brought this for you." They peeled back the top of the white fabric to reveal one of the magic necklaces. The time holder smiled at that, heart warming a little as he watched the interaction. "I wasn't sure which one you would want, so I got you a necklace to match mine! If you want something different, that's fine too, obviously! I just thought I could help out a little, since you helped me and all."

After watching for a moment longer, Horatio stood quietly. This moment seemed like it should be private. Besides, Briar seemed healthy enough and they could almost definitely do a better job at comforting Aries than he was, so, slowly, Tio walked out of the room, leaving the two alone in each other's company.

Briar Sallow / Nonbinary / 17 / Minsexual / Poly / Manipulation/Judgement- Minor Illusions / M: Everyone

Briar watched Gorōta smile at them and smiled back softly, sitting up. They grimaced slightly as pain shot through their skull, but it wasn't so bad that it was unbearable, so they stood carefully and looked around, carefully avoiding eye contact with the rest of the group around the room.

"Thank you." They mumbled, shifting to look toward Mira. "Um, where is Aries?"

Mira grinned and stood up. "He's with Horatio through that door." She pointed to the right side of the room. "Well, technically they're through that door and then another, but my point stands. Oh, before you go you should pick out the jewelry you want!"

Enthusiastically, she trotted over to the wooden box still sitting at the front of the room. Briar followed more slowly, still getting a feel for their own feet again. Mira quickly explained the basic idea of the jewelry and offered for Briar to choose one that they liked.

After a moment of silent debate (mainly between a necklace or pair of earrings), Briar picked up a necklace, eyes shining as a charm of a puppet on strings appeared. Once putting it on, the necklace settled comfortably against Briar's collarbone, light and relatively loose.

"This is awesome!" They exclaimed, grinning widely at Mira who nodded happily.

"Right?! I totally agree! Oh, hey, you should bring Aries some jewelry, he didn't grab any before leaving with Tio."

Briar thought for a moment and then nodded, grimacing as more pain ran through their head. "Okay. I can't touch it though, right? Or else it'll think I claimed it or some shit?"

Mira nodded, pulling out a white handkerchief from her pocket. "Yep! Here, you can use this to carry it!"

Briar accepted the cloth and, after examining the jewelry again for a moment, picked up another necklace, folding the cloth over the top of the necklace to make sure they avoided any accidental contact. Then, they turned, shooting Mira another smile.

"Thanks again!"

Mira nodded once more and waved them on. "No problem! Go and speak to Aries, I'm sure he wants to hear from you!"

Briar headed through the door that Mira had pointed out earlier, then through another room full of benches and a screen, finally pushing their way through another door and finding a room of weapons and weights. It took them a moment to find where Horatio and Aries were seated, but they smiled nervously once they did.

"Um, hi, sorry."

Horatio just smiled kindly. "No need to apologize, Briar. Come in, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, Gorōta patched me up pretty good." They stepped inside the room more fully, eyes falling on Aries finally. "Sorry for causing a scene and all, I didn't mean to panic or burden anyone."

"That's quite alright, Briar. You have nothing to apologize for, what happened wasn't your fault."

Briar made the mistake of nodding again and grimaced. They seriously needed to learn from previous mistakes.

It didn't really matter though, they just wanted to help Aries, who was obviously still struggling. Briar couldn't exactly remember what had happened leading up to them lying on the floor, but their fuzzy memory provided them with the fact that Aries had been there through the whole thing. Aries had helped them.

Briar wasn't exactly sure how, but they knew he had, and that was more than enough reason to do everything in their power to help Aries as well.

They smiled softly and knelt in front of Aries, slowly extending the hand holding the necklace. "Uh, hey, Aries. I wanted to thank you for everything you did for me, you're pretty awesome. I, um, I brought this for you." Carefully, they peeled back the fabric and looked up at Aries, gauging his reaction and how aware he actually was of the situation. "I wasn't sure which one you would want, so I got you a necklace to match mine! If you want something different, that's fine too, obviously! I just thought I could help out a little, since you helped me and all."

Behind them, Briar heard slight shuffling, quickly followed by footsteps. This probably meant that Horatio was leaving. Briar didn't react, keeping their focus on Aries.

Maybe Horatio leaving was for the best anyway, it meant Briar could fully focus on helping out Aries.

October 1, 2023 09:41 AM

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

Silence stretched on, and it tried not to tense more. Apologies didn’t work, did they? It’d have to find out new tactics. How different were these wielders? What were the usual corrections here? Were they called something else? It didn’t know. How was it supposed to know? It was a thing, so maybe it just couldn’t know. Regardless, silence stretched and it had to keep from bowing its head more.

Instead, the sound of a door being pushed open reached it. It didn’t look up, it hadn’t been told it was allowed to. It hadn’t been told anything. The main wielder hadn’t spoken at all again yet.

“Um, hi, sorry.”

Panic lurched and stopped its breath for a second, before it forced itself to breathe the barely noticeable amount that it had been breathing before. That was Briar. Why were they here? In the room where it was going to be corrected. The main wielder had said they wouldn’t be corrected. It didn’t look up, staring at the ground and trying to figure out what was going on.

“No need to apologize, Briar. Come in, are you feeling better?”

The words echoed in its skull, trying to understand what was happening. Briar had no need to apologize, it could agree on that, the incident was its own fault. So Briar had no need to apologize. But the main wielder hadn’t accepted its apology either. It had apologized and nothing had been said in return. Apologies definitely didn’t work here then. How was it supposed to— What else could it do? What else was there? What other tactics were there? It didn’t know, it needed to know but it didn’t. And now Briar was in here and speaking to the main wielder as if he didn’t have the most authority here. Scratch that, Briar was in here. That was worrying enough. Had the main wielder lied? Was Briar going to be corrected after all? Had its apology not been enough earlier? If the current trend of apologies were anything to go off of then that’d make the most sense to assume.

Stupid, pathetic, mindless thing— Of course the apology hadn’t worked. It hadn’t earned the right for the main wielder to believe it was sincere. It had messed up on the first day and it expected that apology to work? It needed to apologize again, and actually mean what it said. Better yet, it should just beg. Bow down and grovel. Until the main wielder sends Briar to safety. It doesn’t know where that would be but there has to be somewhere.

“Yeah, Gorōta patched me up pretty good. Sorry for causing a scene and all, I didn't mean to panic or burden anyone.”

Wasn’t that name the main forger? Why wasn’t Briar using the title? Didn’t they know better? Was that one of the differences here? Had it misread Briar’s rank? It didn’t know, it wasn’t used to this place. What were the rules? It needed to figure this out. It needed to keep Briar safe.

“That's quite alright, Briar. You have nothing to apologize for, what happened wasn't your fault.”

Again, more proof that apologies didn’t work. Or didn’t work when the apology was a terrible one. Or when the apology was given from someone who wasn’t at fault. It knew which box it had checked earlier. Would begging and groveling even work at this point to keep Briar safe? It wasn’t sure, but it would have to try. It continued to stare at the floor, trying to understand everything going on by words alone.

At some point though, it saw Briar’s feet approach it and then another person was half-kneeling in front of it. Briar was closer than the main wielder though. Which was fine. Only they should be behind it, away from the main wielder. It couldn’t protect them if they were blocking it from the one it’d be protecting them from. It tried not to tense, to continue to only stare at the ground. Briar extending a hand with cloth was unexpected, it refused to react, it wasn’t being corrected yet but Briar was here too and that meant they would be. It bit its tongue to try and make sure it didn’t react, to try and keep the panic from surfacing.

“Uh, hey, Aries. I wanted to thank you for everything you did for me, you're pretty awesome. I, um, I brought this for you. I wasn't sure which one you would want, so I got you a necklace to match mine! If you want something different, that's fine too, obviously! I just thought I could help out a little, since you helped me and all.”

In the fabric was a necklace, though the words were confusing. Especially with the main wielder still here. It couldn’t react though, it couldn’t ask, it couldn’t explain. It just needed to wait. It needed to bow and grovel and beg the main wielder not to correct Briar.

There was shuffling and then footsteps, and then a door. Briar was still here. Briar was… The main wielder had left then. The main wielder had left. Panic lurched, it tried not to react. It wasn’t sure how well it was able to. The main wielder had left. No, no, no, no, no— It hadn’t begged for Briar to be spared— It hadn’t done anything it was supposed to— It hadn’t— It hadn’t kept Briar safe— Briar was here and the main wielder had left to go get whatever was to be used for corrections and— And it hadn’t— Briar was here—

Worthless, useless, broken tool— It hadn’t been able to protect Briar. It’d failed. It’d messed up. Again. Useless— It should’ve already begged. It should’ve kept them safe. It should’ve known that the apology it gave earlier wasn’t anywhere near good enough to work. It would have to beg and grovel and— And anything else it could do once the main wielder returned. It couldn’t— Briar couldn’t be corrected. They hadn’t done anything. But what could it do? What would work? It didn’t know, it didn’t seem to know a lot. It would have to figure that out though, to keep Briar safe.

October 2, 2023 01:46 PM

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

Briar's brow furrowed as Aries just seemed to panic more, specifically after Horatio left. Perhaps the movement had triggered something? Briar wasn't sure, but they knew they had to do what they could to keep Aries calm. Or, rather, as calm as he could be in this state of mind.

Carefully, Briar reached out and gently took one of Aries's hands in their own, letting the necklace roll out of the fabric and onto Aries's palm. They moved slowly, trying not to startle the other with quick motions. As soon as the necklace touched Aries's skin, a small dumbbell charm appeared and Briar smiled softly, looking up at their friend's face again.

"There, see? The necklace is pretty cool, right? Apparently, the jewelry has a lot of other features too, we can go over those later though. When you feel better." They lowered their other knee to the ground and sat back on their heels, watching Aries carefully. Truthfully, they didn't have the faintest clue about what might help him. Different people reacted differently to different things and Aries was obviously deep into a negative mindset right now, even deeper than Briar had been only minutes ago.

So, Briar collected all the context clues they had, using what their blurry memory and Aries's current state provided. Aries had seemed skittish around people, especially Horatio, and, if their memory was remotely decent, maybe Mira, Juno, and possibly Gorōta. Not Briar though. Actually, Aries had acted rather protective of them against the others.

So, maybe people that Aries perceived to be authority were a problem.

Then again, Aries seemed to get worse when Horatio left, which was slightly contradictory... Unless it had something to do with Aries being protective of Briar and Horatio leaving meant something different to Aries than it did to Briar. Briar had zero idea what Horatio leaving may mean to Aries, but it seemed likely enough.

Then, Briar dug deeper, silently scolding their own brain for not providing the correct information. What were they talking about when Aries broke?

Or, had Briar broken first?

There. That was it. Briar had panicked. They had broken.

Aries had responded, he'd changed. Become protective.

Pain stabbed Briar in the chest as they came to this realization. The realization that this was all their fault.

Still, they didn't let it show. They couldn't, that would make things worse. Now, they just had to fix everything. Make it all better. That was their job.

So they continued digging.

Blood.

That could have easily been a trigger. Briar and Aries were both bleeding, or had both been bleeding, and though Briar couldn't recall who had gotten hurt first, they could assume it was them since they broke first.

Avoid the wrists. Mind other potential trauma spots. The most common ones.

Face, back, waist, and basically everywhere below that.

That meant basically the only potentially safe places were the hands, head, and maybe upper arms.

Avoid trauma words.

"It."

Other words that may make Aries feel inhuman.

You, your, and you're pronouns were best. Names were better.

Don't ever force decision-making or verbal answers. Don't force eye contact. Listen if they want to talk. Keep your own dialogue simple, easy to understand, and free of potentially triggering subjects.

Avoid hugging or other settings that may make people feel trapped or like they don't have the ability to get away.

Observe all body language and react appropriately.

Engage the brain, keep the attention, but don't pressure anything ever.

The simple rules of working with a disturbed person.

Briar had done this countless times, they just had to be careful.

The only question was where they should start, that would set the tone. They had to be wise with this.

Briar examined Aries for a moment longer, eyes falling on a strand of his red hair. That could work.

They smiled kindly and, without moving from their position, they posed the question.

"May I braid your hair? I like the red, very pretty. Also, don't feel like you have ta say yes or anything, totally up to you if ya want me touching your hair or not."

October 2, 2023 04:09 PM