foolishjustice | Private communications

foolishjustice

Moshi moshi!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

makejapangreat

[He draws in a breath as he focuses, then lets it out once he's done, setting it down.]

It should give us roughly an hour.

[He motions for the other lamp.]

From:

foolishjustice

[He hands it over, taking the first and setting it just out of range of the light from the station door.]

...So probably around the time I'd need to take a break, anyway.

From:

makejapangreat

[And he charges that one as well, taking it over and placing it next to Goro.

Carefully, he reaches up to try to grab the bug, which does a little hop and lands on the back of his hand. Slowly, he lowers it.]

Why don't you stay with him for a bit? [He looks at Goro.] How's that sound?

From:

foolishjustice

[He holds out a hand with a slice of fruit in his palm.]

I can hold onto it for a little while, yes.

From:

makejapangreat

[Shido carefully moves his hand next to Goro's, watching the Oglop crawl onto it and start munching away on the fruit. He gives a small smile before he heads back, grabbing the larger lamp and heading to his spot. He'll place this one a little closer to him, so he'll definitely be illuminated, before he charges it.

... all this charging is really taxing...]

From:

foolishjustice

[Oh no it's even cuter when it's eating. There's a moment where he just stares at it, starry eyed, before he remembers he's holding it for a reason. After taking a moment to put the bug and its snack on his shoulder, he spaces the lamps out a bit, then settles a little away from the station door.]

I'm as ready as I will be.

From:

makejapangreat

[Shido lets out a breath when the large one is finally charged, and...

Just turns into lion form and immediately flops on the ground.]

From:

foolishjustice

[Maybe it's because he was braced for it, maybe it's because he saw Shido transform, or maybe it's just because he's getting better at fighting off the fear, but he manages to push back the jolt of panic at the change. After a moment of hesitation, he takes a few careful steps forward...only to freeze in his tracks as the terror breaks through. It's not enough to send him running, but it does bring a look of fear to his face.]

From:

makejapangreat

[Shido isn't looking at him, so he can't see his expression. All he can do is wonder what might be going through his son's mind as he takes steps and stops. He lies still, patient as ever for the boy who's working so hard to overcome his trauma.]

From:

foolishjustice

[This time, it was just a momentary jolt of fear. He pushes it back with a huff...but hesitates on moving. For a moment, he just stands there as the fear builds back up. Then he takes a few hasty steps back, before letting out a choked off gasp and stopping cold as panic overwhelms him. For a brief moment, his back is against a hard wall rather than empty air, and the lounging lion in front of him is a tiger Noise, watching him hungrily.

It's only a moment, though, before he manages to ground himself back in the present. He's not trapped, there are no Noise here, and he's safe. He doesn't feel safe, though. His hands are shaking, he can feel the sweat on his face, and his instincts are screaming at him to move. He takes a few more steps back, putting his back right up against the station wall.]

Shit fucking dammit...

[Are things...moving in the shadows, past the range of the lamps? His head snaps around, but he can't. Be sure. It's too dark out there, and there's a frantic look to his expression as he searches around for what he thought he saw.]

From:

makejapangreat

[O-oh, he can definitely hear that, and this time? He's changing back from a lion before he looks over, just in case. That... escalated so quickly? Did they wait too long to do this again?]

Akechi.

[He's coming over quickly. He's not sure where the oglop's hopped off to, though that's not his primary concern at the moment. Instead, he approaches his son.]

It's alright. There's no danger out here.

From:

foolishjustice

[Shido changing back...helps. All at once, his legs go out from under him and he drops down to sit on the ground. He's still shaking, but the phantoms of movement in the shadows have faded.]

From:

makejapangreat

[He gently kneels in front of him.]

Perhaps doing this at night was too ambitious.

From:

foolishjustice

[As soon as Shido kneels in front of him, he leans forward and wraps his arms around him. Maybe he's still worried about the older man's physical condition, because he's incredibly careful not to squeeze. He's still a little too shaken up to speak properly, but he slowly nods his head. It's too much, when he can't see his surroundings.]

From:

makejapangreat

[He draws in a breath when Akechi clings to him; somehow this is starting to feel less strange and surreal, and... he can't say he's complaining.

But it still is surprising for his son to cling to him like this, specifically out of a desire of safety and security. . . He gently embraces his son back, waiting patiently for him to settle.]

From:

foolishjustice

[The tangible presence helps to a massive degree. He takes a breath, and just manages to keep his voice from wavering.]

When I can't see what's around me, I...every little movement makes me think they're there.

From:

makejapangreat

[He gives a hum of understanding, taking a moment to think...]

The mask you wore last time. That helped, right?

From:

foolishjustice

It did...I can see better in the dark when I'm wearing one of my Persona masks. Not perfectly, even with the black one, but well enough to be able to navigate dark areas of the Metaverse.

From:

makejapangreat

[He gently claps his shoulder.]

Then how about we do that, and see how it goes?

From:

foolishjustice

It won't make you too uncomfortable, will it? I...remember how you jumped the last time I tried it.

From:

makejapangreat

Well, it certainly helps when I know it's coming.

[He gets back to a stand, and offers a hand to help Goro up.]

From:

foolishjustice

Alright.

[He takes the hand to pull himself to his feet, then brings his fingers up to his forehead as blue flame washes over the top half of his face and solidifies into his tengu mask. Standing close, Shido might notice that his eyes have turned a pure brown, over their usual muddy red.]

I should be able to at least be sure whether or not something's moving out there now.

From:

makejapangreat

[By taking a deep breath, he's able to keep himself from tensing from the sound and sight of the mask appearing. And he does see the slight change in eye color— curious...]

Right. If it's still too much for you, just let me know.

[He heads back to his spot, then transforms again before laying down.]

From:

foolishjustice

[He nods, taking a steadying breath as Shido changes form. He tenses a bit, but it doesn't stop him from taking a few steps forward. After a moment, he stops, and a brief surge of nervousness has him take a step back...before he shakes his head. He's fine, there's nothing here that can hurt him. He pushes his mask up onto his forehead, nervousness swelling up again as it briefly obscures his vision, but it's not enough to break his self-control. For the moment, however, he seems to be taking time to make sure he's steady before he tries to get closer again.]

From:

makejapangreat

[Based on what he hears, this seems closer to how he would react before, so he supposes the mask must help a great deal.

He feels slightly drowsy, though, due to sleep issues continuing to plague him. Humorously enough, he slept a lot better when he was ill, and now that he was healthy again, well...

He really probably should reach out to that woman and see about help with those nightmares...]