Who: The resurrected and the escorts What: You sure did die a week ago. Time to come home. When: Forward dated to the end of the month Where: The Garden Warnings: death, mentions of mutilation, potential mentions of torture
[Ezell reaches out to grab Ain pretty much immediately, so Wolfwood will keep his hands to himself for the moment, albeit feeling a little unsure as it is. He knows this is Ain, because Ain told him- warned him, even- that if he were to die, this is the form he'd take. But you have to remember this is the first time he's seen him like this, and he can't feel Ain's little Ainmotions like Ezell can. To him, Ezell is just cupping a nondescript ball of light, and Wolfwood feels a little awkward because of it.
He still has Ain's necklace and earrings in his pocket though, burning a hole there.
Wolfwood will take a small step closer after a moment, his expression difficult to discern. He starts to hold a hand out, tentatively, then pulls back like he's not sure what to do. He can't figure out this feeling he's grappling with suddenly, but his brain is screaming at him, like "what if he's just fucking like this forever now and it's all your fault because you weren't fast enough to save him you god damn piece of shit--"]
Hello, my love. We missed you - I'm so glad you're back, I... [ He wants to hold Ain so tightly right now, but he can't... so he just holds little lightball Ain out to Wolfwood. Hi, sorry, he doesn't mean to hog the Ain or anything - he wasn't even there. What a garbage boyfriend. ]
[...yeah, this is Ain. He can tell just by the way he flits around all happy, which does kindof baffle Wolfwood a tiny bit since he just died. But maybe he feels differently while he's in this form, he doesn't know.
For what it's worth, he won't try to catch him, but he will try to finally reach out and sort of hold out the edge of one of his fingers to brush against him. Wolfwood opens his mouth to say something, then thinks better of it.
No, he doesn't need to delve into the should-haves and could-haves now. He can spend time showering Ain in regrets when they're not still stuck in the garden.]
...c'mon sweetheart. We need t'get you out of here.
[ Ezell sits upright, wiping his eye with the back of his hand to clear some of the tears that have started to form against Ezell's better judgement. He's glad Ain's happy and back and safe with them, but Ezell still feels that weight inside of him and it's not going away.
Then again, he's spent most of this time being completely fucking high, so he hasn't given himself any time to, you know, grieve. That probably has something to do with it. ]
[He's not happy to have died, he's happy to see you! Goodness! He doesn't have tear ducts in this form, please wait for the breakdown when we're out of here.
("Ain are you dissociating?" he is dissociating.)
He spins around a few more times affirmatively, and then tries to find the nearest empty pocket to be carried out in. Wolfwood's is full of STUFF >:( so he squeezes out of that one and goes into Ezell's instead.]
[Haha, imagine that. Grieving. Couldn't be Wolfwood. It's easier to just not have feelings, then you won't ever get hurt! Take that, atheists.
Wolfwood pulls his hands back to himself when Ain flies away and pushes them into his pants pockets instead. Sorry he's carrying YOUR shit (and also a ton of his own shit, he has a lot of shit).]
You go 'head. I'll watch your back.
[Ezell has Ain on his person, and Wolfwood knows this forest isn't about to let them just walk out lightly. He needs to keep his head on a swivel, just in case.]
[ Oh, hello, Ain. Ezell will very gently hover a hand around the pocket to "shield" it the best he can. ]
...Mmh, we should at least stick by Aurora. They've mentioned in the town halls before that if we don't hold onto one another, things can get bad for us.
[ He's going to hold Wolfwood's hand and take him back to Aurora to hold onto her like... presumably everyone else is doing. They might not be able to conga line out of here, but hopefully everyone is holding onto bird mom?? ]
...Ain, you're likely to lose something when we leave. We probably won't know what it is until you're back as a person, but... whatever it is... I hope you know I love you so much, okay?
[Ain simply vibrates in Ezell's pocket like a very round cellphone, or an orb with battery power. This is meant to be a "yes" "I know" "I love you too" but it probably comes across more as anxious jittering.
...
Anyway, yeah, everyone's holding onto Aurora holding onto Nene holding onto each other etc etc. Out the Garden they will go, and unlike how Wolfwood probably remembers it — where a vine snaked out of nowhere and said "FUCK you dude" — that doesn't happen to Ain specifically.
Although, if Ezell is looking at his pocket at all, he'll probably notice Ain's light growing dimmer for a minute or so after they leave before it brightens back up when they're free.
Yipee! Hooray! Yay! He will fly out of the pocket when they're back in the Grove proper, then smoosh up into Ezell's cheek, then Wolfwood's. Kisses! Except it feels like a very cold orb getting too close and personal but it's fine.]
[Yeah, uh...there's a reason Wolfwood is dead silent for the entire trip, because he is Fully Expecting shit to go pearshaped pretty much immediately. He is also prepared to throw himself in front of Ezell and Ain if needed to block whatever tries to come at them, but...it doesn't. Nothing ever comes.
He doesn't know how to feel about it. He doesn't like it, at all.
But they'll keep going until they somehow make it out of the Garden without a hitch, and despite everything, Wolfwood will lift a hand to gently cup it around Ain as he comes to "kiss" his cheek.]
First thing...we need'tget you to someone who can fix you. Squirt, or Angel.
[ Ezell is honestly not nearly as prepared for something to go wrong on the way back, but only because he thinks Aurora will keep that from happening, and also... he doesn't think that Suri has quite recovered from their attack yet. ]
...Is there anything that we can do? To help or... [ Do they just get to sit on the sidelines and feel useless? ]
Hm. Ain's Elsword senses are telling him to go THAT WAY! Follow him and try to keep up through all the snow, he's very fast in this form.
...
Anyway yeah I'm not gonna make us drag Elzuki into this but as we talked about, obviously Ain has to sit on Mizuki who's sitting on Elsword for like, an hour. They can stand there awkwardly for a bit (Elsword will undoubtedly be like :D at them though) and then
with a VERY BRIGHT flash of light, suddenly!
There is an Ain, who pops into existence and slumps forward onto the floor.
[Honestly? Wolfwood was expecting it to take a LOT longer than that. Like. Days, as opposed to just an hour. So when Ain suddenly flashbangs them into existence, Wolfwood can’t help the way he curses loudly with surprise and flinches away, at least until he realizes it’s Ain kneeling there. It’s actually him, in the flesh, whole and intact.
He falters for just a moment, his chest suddenly aching because looking at him just reminds him of seeing Ain in two halves on the ground, the vision flashing in front of him every time he blinks, until the visual fades and he remembers that Ain is actually here, now. Alive.
He takes a step forward before just collapsing on his knees in front of Ain wholesale, reaching for Ain’s shoulders gently to try to help him sit up, all while keeping his angle wide so there’s plenty of room for Ezell to join them.]
Fuck, Ain, n- never fucking do that again. You hear me??
[Translation: I love you I’m sorry I let you die I’m a terrible boyfriend actually]
[ He does not think he can answer but!!! Who knows!! Maybe Ain is a clever boy and thinks of a way to communicate!!!!!!!
Ezell doesn’t stick around for that hour. He lasts maybe five minutes, spending the whole time pacing, before he goes to find something to do on Ain’s arrival, like make him some hot chocolate for warmth even if he doesn’t need to eat, along with gathering together blankets and other things that he figures Ain might need when he’s back.
Which means he’s not exactly there when Ain’s back, but uhh… maybe that’s for the best, really. ]
[Ain is not ever a clever boy he is a sneezy boy whose wings are a little dim, but that's okay. He's alive again! And little does he know he's going to have a terrible scar to show for it.
The wild look in his eye says he's a little more anxious than usual, though. In a deeply paranoid sort of way. Wolfwood might recognize it, since he was there for that month everyone's emotions went haywire and Ain would whole-ass refuse to enter homes because he was too paranoid about being welcome socially to function. And also he thought he was going to die from the flu.
That was fun.]
H-haha... I... I thought I'd be fine. But look, I came back, right...?
[Wolfwood wasn't expecting Ezell to leave, but he doesn't blame him for needing to keep himself busy. He was pacing around like an anxious cat, and looked very much like he was just going to blow up standing there waiting. Wolfwood, meanwhile, is too used to this sort of waiting around. It comes with being an assassin, having to plant your ass somewhere and anticipate for hours on end.
Anyway, Ain sneezes and Wolfwood pulls him into his arms properly now that he's sure he's in one piece, exhaling on a shaking breath as he presses his forehead to Ain's temple, one hand cradling the back of his neck while the other helps keep him supported at his shoulder.]
Came back nothin', for fuck's sake...
[He shakes his head a little, searching Ain's face for any further sign of injury...signs of things he could have lost, physical or no. Is there recognition there? Has he forgotten?]
He's been here with me the whole time. [That isn't the truth, but it's fine.] He just stepped away for a sec t'get you some stuff. Ain't...ain't like we knew when you were gonna come back.
You realise I can see when I'm in that form, right? You should probably get better at lying if you're going to try it the moment I regain my human form.
[Haha... anyway...
Ain doesn't appear physically injured, other than the fact that his wings are dim. That'll be fixed eventually, though. Since he can't entirely drop his angel form anymore thanks to the dragon magic, they'll just have to fully regenerate on their own with the rest of him. At this point, though, there's enough passive magical energy in the air for him to reabsorb it and not have an issue.
The paranoid look in his eyes says whatever happened was mental, but he clearly still remembers Wolfwood, since—]
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break my promise. I thought everything would be okay since we had so many people...
Well for the time being, Wolfwood is holding onto Ain like he's afraid he's going to just disappear into the ether again if he doesn't, brushing his fingers gently through the back of his hair. He isn't crying, because he's spent enough time doing that when he's been alone, but Ain wouldn't be wrong if he assumed the wetness on Wolfwood's lashes were unshed tears.]
...I know, it ain't your fault. Ain't like you threw yourself in the way...
[Like some people might have. If he HAD, Wolfwood would have definitely been a lot more upset, and that's saying something.
He heaves a deep, blustering sigh, then presses a kiss to Ain's hair.]
Cold... my head feels stuffy. [Sneezes!] Sad, I guess? I don't know what happened, but there were a lot of people there. I assume it went badly...?
...
And I'm... I feel like... that weird, suffocating feeling, like — the feeling you get when someone is watching you, but it's not quite that...? I don't know what that feeling is. I feel gross? I guess?
[Oh, shit. Does he not remember how he died? If that's the memory he lost, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad...but Wolfwood considers that to be a mercy, not a punishment, so there's no way that's true. He's going to try not to think about it while Ain is here and able to remember both him and Ezell, immediately shrugging off his blazer when Ain says he's cold so he can put it on his shoulders for him.
...but, not before he rummages in his pocket and gently presses his earrings and necklace back into one of his hands.]
Just try to take it easy, a'ight? We ain't goin anywhere. [...] But. Yeah, it...
[Ain will see it, of course. Wolfwood has a massive burn scar across the right side of his face now, and his eye is still sealed shut. Whether or not it's the burn, or his eye itself is still injured is difficult to discern.]
It was bad. Real bad. But that don't matter now. I'm sure we've learned our lesson 'bout fightin' the false god.
[Take it easy?? No, nope, get bonked with a heal loser. Maybe that'll help his eye unswell... maybe.]
I'm sorry... if I lived long enough, I could have prevented you from getting this hurt.
[Ain looks... so sad. So, so sad. If he didn't die, if he didn't fail to protect them all... he places a hand over his waist where he was cut in half, looking a bit green around the gills before he kisses over the burn scars.]
...I doubt people will want to stop, haha. Maybe for now, but a lot of people want to return home, right? [Not Ain, suddenly. Hm!] Like Ezell... oh, can we go find him? I miss him.
[Urgh. Wolfwood leans into Ain's kisses, his brows knitted together. He'll return the favor by pulling the edges of his jacket a little further around him, then nudging their noses together. The little heal doesn't get rid of the scarring, but it does help with the swelling. A little sliver of Wolfwood's eye is visible now, compared to before.]
Don't. Don't...blame yourself, okay? What happened to me...you couldn't've stopped.
[He doesn't think Ain's barriers could have stopped any of what Suri threw at them, in those last moments. It was just too much.]
But yeah, we can. He didn't go far, and I know he's been dyin' to see you too.
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He still has Ain's necklace and earrings in his pocket though, burning a hole there.
Wolfwood will take a small step closer after a moment, his expression difficult to discern. He starts to hold a hand out, tentatively, then pulls back like he's not sure what to do. He can't figure out this feeling he's grappling with suddenly, but his brain is screaming at him, like "what if he's just fucking like this forever now and it's all your fault because you weren't fast enough to save him you god damn piece of shit--"]
...hey. Can...you hear us?
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Glowbug flies out of Ezell's hand and spins Very Fast around his head a few times, then goes over to Wolfwood and does the same thing.
You can't catch him he is Very Fast.
...
He comes to a stop in front of both of them and bounces in the air. Hi, he can hear you! Yay, yippee!]
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For what it's worth, he won't try to catch him, but he will try to finally reach out and sort of hold out the edge of one of his fingers to brush against him. Wolfwood opens his mouth to say something, then thinks better of it.
No, he doesn't need to delve into the should-haves and could-haves now. He can spend time showering Ain in regrets when they're not still stuck in the garden.]
...c'mon sweetheart. We need t'get you out of here.
cw drug ment
Then again, he's spent most of this time being completely fucking high, so he hasn't given himself any time to, you know, grieve. That probably has something to do with it. ]
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("Ain are you dissociating?" he is dissociating.)
He spins around a few more times affirmatively, and then tries to find the nearest empty pocket to be carried out in. Wolfwood's is full of STUFF >:( so he squeezes out of that one and goes into Ezell's instead.]
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Wolfwood pulls his hands back to himself when Ain flies away and pushes them into his pants pockets instead. Sorry he's carrying YOUR shit (and also a ton of his own shit, he has a lot of shit).]
You go 'head. I'll watch your back.
[Ezell has Ain on his person, and Wolfwood knows this forest isn't about to let them just walk out lightly. He needs to keep his head on a swivel, just in case.]
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...Mmh, we should at least stick by Aurora. They've mentioned in the town halls before that if we don't hold onto one another, things can get bad for us.
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He wiggles ominously within the pocket. Wigglewigglewiggle. Y'all best hold hands while you leave.]
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Mmmumble grumble...he'll catch up to Ezell, then, and hold out his hand.]
C'mon, then.
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...Ain, you're likely to lose something when we leave. We probably won't know what it is until you're back as a person, but... whatever it is... I hope you know I love you so much, okay?
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...
Anyway, yeah, everyone's holding onto Aurora holding onto Nene holding onto each other etc etc. Out the Garden they will go, and unlike how Wolfwood probably remembers it — where a vine snaked out of nowhere and said "FUCK you dude" — that doesn't happen to Ain specifically.
Although, if Ezell is looking at his pocket at all, he'll probably notice Ain's light growing dimmer for a minute or so after they leave before it brightens back up when they're free.
Yipee! Hooray! Yay! He will fly out of the pocket when they're back in the Grove proper, then smoosh up into Ezell's cheek, then Wolfwood's. Kisses! Except it feels like a very cold orb getting too close and personal but it's fine.]
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He doesn't know how to feel about it. He doesn't like it, at all.
But they'll keep going until they somehow make it out of the Garden without a hitch, and despite everything, Wolfwood will lift a hand to gently cup it around Ain as he comes to "kiss" his cheek.]
First thing...we need'tget you to someone who can fix you. Squirt, or Angel.
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...Is there anything that we can do? To help or... [ Do they just get to sit on the sidelines and feel useless? ]
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Hm. Ain's El
swordsenses are telling him to go THAT WAY! Follow him and try to keep up through all the snow, he's very fast in this form....
Anyway yeah I'm not gonna make us drag Elzuki into this but as we talked about, obviously Ain has to sit on Mizuki who's sitting on Elsword for like, an hour. They can stand there awkwardly for a bit (Elsword will undoubtedly be like :D at them though) and then
with a VERY BRIGHT flash of light, suddenly!
There is an Ain, who pops into existence and slumps forward onto the floor.
...
And then he starts sneezing. Hold on—]
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He falters for just a moment, his chest suddenly aching because looking at him just reminds him of seeing Ain in two halves on the ground, the vision flashing in front of him every time he blinks, until the visual fades and he remembers that Ain is actually here, now. Alive.
He takes a step forward before just collapsing on his knees in front of Ain wholesale, reaching for Ain’s shoulders gently to try to help him sit up, all while keeping his angle wide so there’s plenty of room for Ezell to join them.]
Fuck, Ain, n- never fucking do that again. You hear me??
[Translation: I love you I’m sorry I let you die I’m a terrible boyfriend actually]
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Ezell doesn’t stick around for that hour. He lasts maybe five minutes, spending the whole time pacing, before he goes to find something to do on Ain’s arrival, like make him some hot chocolate for warmth even if he doesn’t need to eat, along with gathering together blankets and other things that he figures Ain might need when he’s back.
Which means he’s not exactly there when Ain’s back, but uhh… maybe that’s for the best, really. ]
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The wild look in his eye says he's a little more anxious than usual, though. In a deeply paranoid sort of way. Wolfwood might recognize it, since he was there for that month everyone's emotions went haywire and Ain would whole-ass refuse to enter homes because he was too paranoid about being welcome socially to function. And also he thought he was going to die from the flu.
That was fun.]
H-haha... I... I thought I'd be fine. But look, I came back, right...?
...where'd Ezell go? Does he not want to see me?
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Anyway, Ain sneezes and Wolfwood pulls him into his arms properly now that he's sure he's in one piece, exhaling on a shaking breath as he presses his forehead to Ain's temple, one hand cradling the back of his neck while the other helps keep him supported at his shoulder.]
Came back nothin', for fuck's sake...
[He shakes his head a little, searching Ain's face for any further sign of injury...signs of things he could have lost, physical or no. Is there recognition there? Has he forgotten?]
He's been here with me the whole time. [That isn't the truth, but it's fine.] He just stepped away for a sec t'get you some stuff. Ain't...ain't like we knew when you were gonna come back.
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You realise I can see when I'm in that form, right? You should probably get better at lying if you're going to try it the moment I regain my human form.
[Haha... anyway...
Ain doesn't appear physically injured, other than the fact that his wings are dim. That'll be fixed eventually, though. Since he can't entirely drop his angel form anymore thanks to the dragon magic, they'll just have to fully regenerate on their own with the rest of him. At this point, though, there's enough passive magical energy in the air for him to reabsorb it and not have an issue.
The paranoid look in his eyes says whatever happened was mental, but he clearly still remembers Wolfwood, since—]
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break my promise. I thought everything would be okay since we had so many people...
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[Sorry Ezell he was trying to help :(
Well for the time being, Wolfwood is holding onto Ain like he's afraid he's going to just disappear into the ether again if he doesn't, brushing his fingers gently through the back of his hair. He isn't crying, because he's spent enough time doing that when he's been alone, but Ain wouldn't be wrong if he assumed the wetness on Wolfwood's lashes were unshed tears.]
...I know, it ain't your fault. Ain't like you threw yourself in the way...
[Like some people might have. If he HAD, Wolfwood would have definitely been a lot more upset, and that's saying something.
He heaves a deep, blustering sigh, then presses a kiss to Ain's hair.]
How are you feelin'?
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Cold... my head feels stuffy. [Sneezes!] Sad, I guess? I don't know what happened, but there were a lot of people there. I assume it went badly...?
...
And I'm... I feel like... that weird, suffocating feeling, like — the feeling you get when someone is watching you, but it's not quite that...? I don't know what that feeling is. I feel gross? I guess?
[Help. What is that emotion (it's paranoia).]
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...but, not before he rummages in his pocket and gently presses his earrings and necklace back into one of his hands.]
Just try to take it easy, a'ight? We ain't goin anywhere. [...] But. Yeah, it...
[Ain will see it, of course. Wolfwood has a massive burn scar across the right side of his face now, and his eye is still sealed shut. Whether or not it's the burn, or his eye itself is still injured is difficult to discern.]
It was bad. Real bad. But that don't matter now. I'm sure we've learned our lesson 'bout fightin' the false god.
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I'm sorry... if I lived long enough, I could have prevented you from getting this hurt.
[Ain looks... so sad. So, so sad. If he didn't die, if he didn't fail to protect them all... he places a hand over his waist where he was cut in half, looking a bit green around the gills before he kisses over the burn scars.]
...I doubt people will want to stop, haha. Maybe for now, but a lot of people want to return home, right? [Not Ain, suddenly. Hm!] Like Ezell... oh, can we go find him? I miss him.
[Sneezes.]
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Don't. Don't...blame yourself, okay? What happened to me...you couldn't've stopped.
[He doesn't think Ain's barriers could have stopped any of what Suri threw at them, in those last moments. It was just too much.]
But yeah, we can. He didn't go far, and I know he's been dyin' to see you too.
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