Angry Ramblings, Confused Logs
It started with a draw. From her - a draw, a draw where energy was needed. I was surprisingly easy to siphon from - there was no need to dig for that energy. The shadow network tying my brain to the bard’s body was just underneath the surface of my skin.
Then, I learned. I read through the notes, I studied the drawings - I learned myself. I completed and perfected. I spent nights listening to my own heartbeat, to the swirling of energies about my nerves.
Then, I reversed the draw. I took from her, for the first time, the bits of life-energy. It was the best thing I ever took. I drew from animals, from the dead, I tried plants, I tried anything that was the least bit alive -
And it felt good.
A lot of things happened after - learning to control the drains, learning when it is right and wrong to draw - mending.
Extending.
Extend the network, extend the mind. Extend the mind - flip to the conscious, flip to subconscious. Play with defenses. Read memories, build memories. Build worlds together. Fix things together.
I have never been this close - and it’s dangerous.
It already broke so much, but it’s best no one knows.
Old memories fade, and I am building new ones quicker than ever -
Better ones.
***
Dandelion yawns widely, jaws snapping shut as it ends. "Nudes," he repeats the word in a distracted sort of way.
[Auspice] says: We can have more tomorrow - I'm not sure it'd be a good idea to give you too much sugar.
[Wilhiem] says: I can try it, but I need models and Arubrey is expensive.
Wilhiem bats his eyelashes.
Auspice furrows her brow slightly, then looks him squarely in the eye, "Wil, are you ... really that concerned about seeing me naked?"
[Wilhiem] says: No, it's just bothering you, and that is amusing.
[Auspice] says: If that's what you're after - fine - I'm not offended. I do, however, destest roundabout - hmn.
Dandelion is paying no attention to the interaction. He leans against the railing, eyes half-shut, settling in.
Wilhiem draws his knees to his chin. "Detest roundabout what?"
Auspice makes a vague gesture and leans back on the rail, wincing slightly as she stretches out her legs. She rubs at her thighs. "You know well enough."
Dandelion 's head slowly sinks lower, his eyes blinking shut longer each time. His hands settle against his thighs, limp and loose.
Auspice sets her staff against the railing, then glances up to Dandelion. "Should we put out a cot for him? I wonder where he'd be comfortable."
Wilhiem cracks his neck from side to side. "I know - I apologize. I am direct when I need to be, you know as mu- hmn."
[Wilhiem] says: Yes, we should. Do you think you can help me move him?
Dandelion is nodding off, even more unaware than usual that he's being talked about.
Auspice frowns slightly, then stands stiffly with aid of her staff. "I'm ... not sure how much help I'd be, or where he'd be comfortable. I don't ... imagine he's slept in a bed too often."
Wilhiem rolls a shoulder. "I doubt you'd approve, but I am letting him outside. Snaps will watch. He- it, well, gender, rays- liked him- well."
Wilhiem , with a grunt, carefully curls his arms about the small and furry form and shuffles, wincing lightly - if allowed.
Auspice draws her lips into a thin line, "I ..w-well - I'll get the doors."
Auspice wasn't quick enough! But, she does grab an old blanket from the linen closet and hobble after them.
Dandelion is picked up, his arms looping loosely around Wil's neck, head in the crook of his neck. He makes a sleepy sound, but otherwise doesn't seem much disturbed.
Wilhiem purses his lips, as if about to let out a sharp whistles but stops himself in time to cat the Very Bad Idea. Instead, he gently places the worgen form down and motions the drooling and gurgling treetop to stop drooling and gurgling and slide to the ground.
Dandelion lies down.
Dandelion 's arms tighten slightly as he's lowered, but release once the ground is below him. He curls inward, though doesn't quite make a ball of himself.
Wilhiem smiles, slowly backing up as Snaps becomes a mattress nearby. His hand brushes across the furry ear and quickly darts back to his pocket. He exhales slowly.
Auspice leans over the worgen, then drapes the ratty blanket over him. Probably not necessary, but it's probably nice to wake up to.
Dandelion 's head shifts further inward, chin resting on the blanket's edge. No other response to it, nor to the brief contact to his ear. He sleeps on.
Wilhiem 's face is conflicted between all sorts of emotions, his hands hesitant - but he turns, and walks back inside without as much as saying a word.
Auspice steps back, then rejoins Wil, watching the worgen for a few moments. "Surprisingly docile."
[Auspice] says: Hmn.
[Wilhiem] says: What's so surprising about it?
[Auspice] says: I'd not have thought that thing was one to be slept on.
Wilhiem rolls a shoulder. "Moira, it's like a mattress."
[Wilhiem] says: With fangs.
[Wilhiem] says: That drinks blood and grows spores.
[Wilhiem] says: We have a whole lot in common!
Wilhiem turns, grinning, his arms crossed.
Auspice makes a vague gesture with her hand, then begins to hobble upstairs, "Did you see those strange statues, by the by?"
Wilhiem is silent for a few moments, then snaps back to reality. "...right. What statues?"
Auspice continues to hobble, "Arubrey found two life sized statues on either side of the office steps while we were North. He had them locked into the vault."
[Wilhiem] says: ...what. Were there any- anything else to them, were they a gift of sorts?
Auspice draws her lips into a thin line, "He... mentioned they were a reward for eating his pie. How he knew that, I'm not quite certain. However, I want to investigate them as soon as possible."
[Wilhiem] says: ...what.
Wilhiem 's knuckles whiten as he grips the railing. "...so that's- it's part of the- what. Were there notes?"
Auspice shakes her head slowly. "Not that I could get out of the man, but I imagine there must have been." She glances to the side. "I... don't enjoy being taunted."
Wilhiem turns, preoccupied with picking out splinters from under his nails. "...that's the third thing we had delivered."
[Wilhiem] says: The pie.
Wilhiem pulls out a splinter with a hiss.
[Wilhiem] says: The doll.
Wilhiem pulls on another splinter. "And now this."
Auspice frowns slightly then turns abruptly towards the man, "Wait - what doll?" She hobbles up to him.
Wilhiem winces, biting on yet another splinter and pulling it from underneath the cuticle. "There is a doll in the window. I didn't touch it. I didn't touch any of those things."
[Wilhiem] says: It looked like a child.
Auspice draws her lips into a thin line. She slides her hands down to close about Wil's, bringing his fingertips up. "I'll look into this first thing tomorrow, with Arubrey."
Wilhiem 's fingertips are a mess here and there, but these are working fingers. most of the splints were removed by the man himself. "...the statues, right. We need to lock the office - better, new locks, new wards, I- well, it wouldn't help it, they are-"
[Wilhiem] says: ...are outside, right? So they'll stay outside, I- I'm rambling. Get this over with, I'm trying to keep removed.
Auspice begins to pick the remaining splinters from the man's fingers. "If being removed keeps you calm, then I suggest you do so for a few days. However, someone is targeting us - either as a company, or as individuals."
[Auspice] says: You need to keep this in mind before you inflict more harm upon yourself.
Wilhiem wrinkles his nose. "I- I know, anger, cont- control." He looks to the side, exhales. "It's hard -not- to keep targeted. You should understand, with your past."
[Wilhiem] says: Some of us were not smart enough at forging documents.
Auspice gives Wil's hands a faint squeeze. "I am all too familiar - however, if I dug splinters into myself each time I was a victim, I'd be far more than crippled. My enemies are many, but I've kept them at bay by outmaneuvering them."
Wilhiem rolls his eyes and steps forward, resting his hands on her hips instead. "...I'm just nervous. I have plenty to be nervous enough. I'm a nervous man." He offers a half-hearted smile.
Auspice leans in, then presses her lips against his forehead. "I need your wits about you, Wil. If I'm to commit to an investigation, you need to be my third person perspective, such that I do not overextend beyond my means. Do you understand?"
Wilhiem breathes out, quickly. "...well, you are not making those wits any stabler like this." He clears his throat, straightening. "I'll be fine. I just don't deal well with- unwanted presents of all sorts."
[Wilhiem] says: And Arubrey acting like a complete moron.
Auspice offers a faint nod. "I ... told him not to eat any more foreign pies. I'd just like to know we're all on the same page, that's all."
Wilhiem stands stiffly, but manages a forced laugh. "...fair enough. Want to guess what he did when a leader of an Old God death cult sent him a fruit basket as a gift?"
Auspice grumbles, then glances to the side. "He ate it," she replies, her tone flat, assuming. Knowing.
Wilhiem makes an effort to relax and lean against the woman, his cheek to her collar bone. "He ate it. Did you mention you wanted a scan?"
Auspice nods faintly, chin pressing against his brow. She turns to the side, disentangling herself from the man, "The bedroom - have you a preference for something specific? If not - I could work from the spine, if you've not captured that in full."
Wilhiem shuffles away, awkwardly. "...whatever is- small and easy enough, I'm growing to dislike the weakness afterward. And my body is still recovering." He sits on teh edge, his hands folded on his lap.
Auspice seats herself at the edge of the bed. She shuffles her gloves from her hands, then her cloak. "Mmn - well, this may be a good time to practise a more efficient manner. I... suspect that this is important enough to both of us that we'd like it complete within our lifetimes."
Wilhiem clears his throat. "I- yes, of course it is." He stares to the floorboards. "And the only way I can really allow me to be close to you, with control."
Auspice turns slightly to the side, undoing her robe and sliding it down along her shoulders. She lays a hand on the bedpost as the garment falls about her waist. She turns her spine towards him.
Wil looks to his fingertips, the veins and capillaries already darkening. He shuffles down the bed and leans against her back, as if it was the ground, and he was listening for something to approach. His fingertips align skillfully across her spine, then across her ribs. He starts with a small draw and a sigh.
Gripping the bedpost with one hand for support, she falls into a familiar, steady rhythm. By now, concentration was far easier for her to find, the drain an accustomed and permitted attack on her body. Bundling the energies about her spinal column, she allows it to radiate with her heartbeat - this time, instead of some place forced and directed, she allows the man to coast along her system in cadence to its natural rhythm. It would gradually wrap about her ribcage, then her chest, like immersing oneself slowly into a pool of water.
Wil exhales sharply, his network flooding out; it is more than just ready - hungry, too. He tugs at it; it takes a few moments to allow for careful guidance. In half a minute or so, only half of the man is actually there. The tendrils stretch out to encompass and copy, but also to soothe. Mend. He seems to have gotten better at this, the careful, controlled guidance taking up the larger parts of his self-training. Nerve clusters are unbound, muscles relaxed, blood flow increased when needed. He is learning as much as he is copying.
And teaching, Moira is - though, instead of molding, it's a lesson in her biorhythm. The beat of her heart, the pace of her breaths, the pulse of energy flowing naturally through her veins, arteries, capillaries - it's as much the lesson here as the organs and limbs they plunge the man towards.
Wil allows for his own breathing to slow to match the woman's. His heartbeat evens out, his mind clearing, taking in. A few good minutes are spent like this, simply locked, his fingertips barely even touching the skin. He starts to withdraw - slowly, carefully, trying to match each tug and pull with the flow of her systems.
The pulse is steady, controlled - as he recedes, she fills in the void he leaves, neither pushing nor pulling, but matching each of his steps as if locked in dance.
Wil exhales, then blinks rapidly as most of his conscious control returns. He wraps his arms around her waist in a sudden flurry and presses his cheek against the base of her neck.
Moira collapses limply against the bedpost at the sudden pressure, having not fully regained control of her faculties yet. Her eyes flicker upward as she makes a faint grunt. "You ... okay?" She glances over her shoulder at him.
Wil attempts to pull her back, being something a bit more comfortable than a bedpost to rest against. "I love you." He half-mumbles, half-breathes out and doesn't say much otherwise, just gently tightening his grip.
She leans back with the man, resting her hands over his. She lets her braids spill over his shoulder as she presses her lips against his cheek. "Was ... that easier, that time?"
He smiles, then slides a hand to her chin, kissing the woman and savoring the contact for a few moments. "M- much. I don't feel like I lost the energy here at all - well, hardly, just guiding. But otherwise, it fuses. Naturally."
"M-might have something to do with the previous copies - either way, a- welcome development, I suppose."
She leans forward to catch his lips once more, before relaxing slowly, shoulders slumping. "Mmn - that ... wasn't as taxing on me either - the guiding, in any case. The exit took a more concerted effort."
"I'm ... not sure how effective that was, though - the copying, that time."
"I- admit to paying less attention than I probably should have." He rests two fingers against a prominent artery on her neck. "But leave the copying to me."
She offers a faint nod, cheek brushing against the side of his fingers as she does so. "I... thought of it more as a facilitating experience. I imagine if you've can learn to align yourself to me, you'd have an easier time getting about in the future."
"It- it worked, though it is also a bit- scary. Losing the grip - losing myself. I -wanted- to lose myself. Fuse, closer, it's- difficult." He mumbles, contemplating, sampling the word. "Difficult."
She offers a faint nod, then closes her eyes. "Mmn - I imagine a few more trials similar to that, and you'd become accustomed it. The ... loss of control, was difficult?"
"How so?"
The man shivers lightly and shifts about uncomfortably. "It's always difficult, being allowed that close. I'd always want to be - closer. And, i- in this situation, it's- just stretching out, like pulling a cork out of a tub."
"Just- closer, closer, until I completely lose control of both the network and the body and disconnect completely - but I want just that, at least not- consciously."
Her lips crease down slightly in a frown. "Hmn - I... hope you've the control to deal with further submersions. I imagine the longer you can hold it, the more you can gather. I... need not - " She yawns, " Need not remind you what might happen if that control is lost, as I couldn't predict the consequences."
"I- I do. I do know, if I could manage it today, I can manage it further. I'd- hate to lose the chance to- I just want to be close." He mumbles and slides away, kicking off his boots in the process and lying back. "Trust me on this."
"You are close." She lies back with him, pulling the sheet over her bared chest. "I can't imagine anyone else closer."
Wil turns to the side, fanning his fingertips across the line of her jaw. "I know, but it isn't unnatural to want to feel even closer - and that's where, at the line with a big 'enough' sign beside it, I'm left absolutely terrified."
She turns in towards his fingers, then reaches up to hold the tips of them within her palms. "I... can't say I'm not, either. I... could speak much more, to that effect."
He blinks. "I- could you explain? I- I think you know why I feel this way - you saw what happened when that line was crossed - no, obliterated. Though perhaps that's one of your reasons." his hand shudders as he winces, then struggles to relax.
She turns slightly to the side, then yawns against the pillow. "We're both private people, Wil - intensely so. I'd not trust my privacy to anyone else because I know you understand how much I value it - it is as you do. I share the same fears as you."
He nods, slowly, and then hides his hands underneath the pillow. "...right, I- won't bring it up again. Good night."
She offers a faint nod, then turns in towards his neck. "Love you." She presses her lips, lingering there for a moment, then closes her eyes.
"I- know, I- too." He mumbles, already half-there and lost to all sorts of thoughts.
Then, I learned. I read through the notes, I studied the drawings - I learned myself. I completed and perfected. I spent nights listening to my own heartbeat, to the swirling of energies about my nerves.
Then, I reversed the draw. I took from her, for the first time, the bits of life-energy. It was the best thing I ever took. I drew from animals, from the dead, I tried plants, I tried anything that was the least bit alive -
And it felt good.
A lot of things happened after - learning to control the drains, learning when it is right and wrong to draw - mending.
Extending.
Extend the network, extend the mind. Extend the mind - flip to the conscious, flip to subconscious. Play with defenses. Read memories, build memories. Build worlds together. Fix things together.
I have never been this close - and it’s dangerous.
It already broke so much, but it’s best no one knows.
Old memories fade, and I am building new ones quicker than ever -
Better ones.
***
Dandelion yawns widely, jaws snapping shut as it ends. "Nudes," he repeats the word in a distracted sort of way.
[Auspice] says: We can have more tomorrow - I'm not sure it'd be a good idea to give you too much sugar.
[Wilhiem] says: I can try it, but I need models and Arubrey is expensive.
Wilhiem bats his eyelashes.
Auspice furrows her brow slightly, then looks him squarely in the eye, "Wil, are you ... really that concerned about seeing me naked?"
[Wilhiem] says: No, it's just bothering you, and that is amusing.
[Auspice] says: If that's what you're after - fine - I'm not offended. I do, however, destest roundabout - hmn.
Dandelion is paying no attention to the interaction. He leans against the railing, eyes half-shut, settling in.
Wilhiem draws his knees to his chin. "Detest roundabout what?"
Auspice makes a vague gesture and leans back on the rail, wincing slightly as she stretches out her legs. She rubs at her thighs. "You know well enough."
Dandelion 's head slowly sinks lower, his eyes blinking shut longer each time. His hands settle against his thighs, limp and loose.
Auspice sets her staff against the railing, then glances up to Dandelion. "Should we put out a cot for him? I wonder where he'd be comfortable."
Wilhiem cracks his neck from side to side. "I know - I apologize. I am direct when I need to be, you know as mu- hmn."
[Wilhiem] says: Yes, we should. Do you think you can help me move him?
Dandelion is nodding off, even more unaware than usual that he's being talked about.
Auspice frowns slightly, then stands stiffly with aid of her staff. "I'm ... not sure how much help I'd be, or where he'd be comfortable. I don't ... imagine he's slept in a bed too often."
Wilhiem rolls a shoulder. "I doubt you'd approve, but I am letting him outside. Snaps will watch. He- it, well, gender, rays- liked him- well."
Wilhiem , with a grunt, carefully curls his arms about the small and furry form and shuffles, wincing lightly - if allowed.
Auspice draws her lips into a thin line, "I ..w-well - I'll get the doors."
Auspice wasn't quick enough! But, she does grab an old blanket from the linen closet and hobble after them.
Dandelion is picked up, his arms looping loosely around Wil's neck, head in the crook of his neck. He makes a sleepy sound, but otherwise doesn't seem much disturbed.
Wilhiem purses his lips, as if about to let out a sharp whistles but stops himself in time to cat the Very Bad Idea. Instead, he gently places the worgen form down and motions the drooling and gurgling treetop to stop drooling and gurgling and slide to the ground.
Dandelion lies down.
Dandelion 's arms tighten slightly as he's lowered, but release once the ground is below him. He curls inward, though doesn't quite make a ball of himself.
Wilhiem smiles, slowly backing up as Snaps becomes a mattress nearby. His hand brushes across the furry ear and quickly darts back to his pocket. He exhales slowly.
Auspice leans over the worgen, then drapes the ratty blanket over him. Probably not necessary, but it's probably nice to wake up to.
Dandelion 's head shifts further inward, chin resting on the blanket's edge. No other response to it, nor to the brief contact to his ear. He sleeps on.
Wilhiem 's face is conflicted between all sorts of emotions, his hands hesitant - but he turns, and walks back inside without as much as saying a word.
Auspice steps back, then rejoins Wil, watching the worgen for a few moments. "Surprisingly docile."
[Auspice] says: Hmn.
[Wilhiem] says: What's so surprising about it?
[Auspice] says: I'd not have thought that thing was one to be slept on.
Wilhiem rolls a shoulder. "Moira, it's like a mattress."
[Wilhiem] says: With fangs.
[Wilhiem] says: That drinks blood and grows spores.
[Wilhiem] says: We have a whole lot in common!
Wilhiem turns, grinning, his arms crossed.
Auspice makes a vague gesture with her hand, then begins to hobble upstairs, "Did you see those strange statues, by the by?"
Wilhiem is silent for a few moments, then snaps back to reality. "...right. What statues?"
Auspice continues to hobble, "Arubrey found two life sized statues on either side of the office steps while we were North. He had them locked into the vault."
[Wilhiem] says: ...what. Were there any- anything else to them, were they a gift of sorts?
Auspice draws her lips into a thin line, "He... mentioned they were a reward for eating his pie. How he knew that, I'm not quite certain. However, I want to investigate them as soon as possible."
[Wilhiem] says: ...what.
Wilhiem 's knuckles whiten as he grips the railing. "...so that's- it's part of the- what. Were there notes?"
Auspice shakes her head slowly. "Not that I could get out of the man, but I imagine there must have been." She glances to the side. "I... don't enjoy being taunted."
Wilhiem turns, preoccupied with picking out splinters from under his nails. "...that's the third thing we had delivered."
[Wilhiem] says: The pie.
Wilhiem pulls out a splinter with a hiss.
[Wilhiem] says: The doll.
Wilhiem pulls on another splinter. "And now this."
Auspice frowns slightly then turns abruptly towards the man, "Wait - what doll?" She hobbles up to him.
Wilhiem winces, biting on yet another splinter and pulling it from underneath the cuticle. "There is a doll in the window. I didn't touch it. I didn't touch any of those things."
[Wilhiem] says: It looked like a child.
Auspice draws her lips into a thin line. She slides her hands down to close about Wil's, bringing his fingertips up. "I'll look into this first thing tomorrow, with Arubrey."
Wilhiem 's fingertips are a mess here and there, but these are working fingers. most of the splints were removed by the man himself. "...the statues, right. We need to lock the office - better, new locks, new wards, I- well, it wouldn't help it, they are-"
[Wilhiem] says: ...are outside, right? So they'll stay outside, I- I'm rambling. Get this over with, I'm trying to keep removed.
Auspice begins to pick the remaining splinters from the man's fingers. "If being removed keeps you calm, then I suggest you do so for a few days. However, someone is targeting us - either as a company, or as individuals."
[Auspice] says: You need to keep this in mind before you inflict more harm upon yourself.
Wilhiem wrinkles his nose. "I- I know, anger, cont- control." He looks to the side, exhales. "It's hard -not- to keep targeted. You should understand, with your past."
[Wilhiem] says: Some of us were not smart enough at forging documents.
Auspice gives Wil's hands a faint squeeze. "I am all too familiar - however, if I dug splinters into myself each time I was a victim, I'd be far more than crippled. My enemies are many, but I've kept them at bay by outmaneuvering them."
Wilhiem rolls his eyes and steps forward, resting his hands on her hips instead. "...I'm just nervous. I have plenty to be nervous enough. I'm a nervous man." He offers a half-hearted smile.
Auspice leans in, then presses her lips against his forehead. "I need your wits about you, Wil. If I'm to commit to an investigation, you need to be my third person perspective, such that I do not overextend beyond my means. Do you understand?"
Wilhiem breathes out, quickly. "...well, you are not making those wits any stabler like this." He clears his throat, straightening. "I'll be fine. I just don't deal well with- unwanted presents of all sorts."
[Wilhiem] says: And Arubrey acting like a complete moron.
Auspice offers a faint nod. "I ... told him not to eat any more foreign pies. I'd just like to know we're all on the same page, that's all."
Wilhiem stands stiffly, but manages a forced laugh. "...fair enough. Want to guess what he did when a leader of an Old God death cult sent him a fruit basket as a gift?"
Auspice grumbles, then glances to the side. "He ate it," she replies, her tone flat, assuming. Knowing.
Wilhiem makes an effort to relax and lean against the woman, his cheek to her collar bone. "He ate it. Did you mention you wanted a scan?"
Auspice nods faintly, chin pressing against his brow. She turns to the side, disentangling herself from the man, "The bedroom - have you a preference for something specific? If not - I could work from the spine, if you've not captured that in full."
Wilhiem shuffles away, awkwardly. "...whatever is- small and easy enough, I'm growing to dislike the weakness afterward. And my body is still recovering." He sits on teh edge, his hands folded on his lap.
Auspice seats herself at the edge of the bed. She shuffles her gloves from her hands, then her cloak. "Mmn - well, this may be a good time to practise a more efficient manner. I... suspect that this is important enough to both of us that we'd like it complete within our lifetimes."
Wilhiem clears his throat. "I- yes, of course it is." He stares to the floorboards. "And the only way I can really allow me to be close to you, with control."
Auspice turns slightly to the side, undoing her robe and sliding it down along her shoulders. She lays a hand on the bedpost as the garment falls about her waist. She turns her spine towards him.
Wil looks to his fingertips, the veins and capillaries already darkening. He shuffles down the bed and leans against her back, as if it was the ground, and he was listening for something to approach. His fingertips align skillfully across her spine, then across her ribs. He starts with a small draw and a sigh.
Gripping the bedpost with one hand for support, she falls into a familiar, steady rhythm. By now, concentration was far easier for her to find, the drain an accustomed and permitted attack on her body. Bundling the energies about her spinal column, she allows it to radiate with her heartbeat - this time, instead of some place forced and directed, she allows the man to coast along her system in cadence to its natural rhythm. It would gradually wrap about her ribcage, then her chest, like immersing oneself slowly into a pool of water.
Wil exhales sharply, his network flooding out; it is more than just ready - hungry, too. He tugs at it; it takes a few moments to allow for careful guidance. In half a minute or so, only half of the man is actually there. The tendrils stretch out to encompass and copy, but also to soothe. Mend. He seems to have gotten better at this, the careful, controlled guidance taking up the larger parts of his self-training. Nerve clusters are unbound, muscles relaxed, blood flow increased when needed. He is learning as much as he is copying.
And teaching, Moira is - though, instead of molding, it's a lesson in her biorhythm. The beat of her heart, the pace of her breaths, the pulse of energy flowing naturally through her veins, arteries, capillaries - it's as much the lesson here as the organs and limbs they plunge the man towards.
Wil allows for his own breathing to slow to match the woman's. His heartbeat evens out, his mind clearing, taking in. A few good minutes are spent like this, simply locked, his fingertips barely even touching the skin. He starts to withdraw - slowly, carefully, trying to match each tug and pull with the flow of her systems.
The pulse is steady, controlled - as he recedes, she fills in the void he leaves, neither pushing nor pulling, but matching each of his steps as if locked in dance.
Wil exhales, then blinks rapidly as most of his conscious control returns. He wraps his arms around her waist in a sudden flurry and presses his cheek against the base of her neck.
Moira collapses limply against the bedpost at the sudden pressure, having not fully regained control of her faculties yet. Her eyes flicker upward as she makes a faint grunt. "You ... okay?" She glances over her shoulder at him.
Wil attempts to pull her back, being something a bit more comfortable than a bedpost to rest against. "I love you." He half-mumbles, half-breathes out and doesn't say much otherwise, just gently tightening his grip.
She leans back with the man, resting her hands over his. She lets her braids spill over his shoulder as she presses her lips against his cheek. "Was ... that easier, that time?"
He smiles, then slides a hand to her chin, kissing the woman and savoring the contact for a few moments. "M- much. I don't feel like I lost the energy here at all - well, hardly, just guiding. But otherwise, it fuses. Naturally."
"M-might have something to do with the previous copies - either way, a- welcome development, I suppose."
She leans forward to catch his lips once more, before relaxing slowly, shoulders slumping. "Mmn - that ... wasn't as taxing on me either - the guiding, in any case. The exit took a more concerted effort."
"I'm ... not sure how effective that was, though - the copying, that time."
"I- admit to paying less attention than I probably should have." He rests two fingers against a prominent artery on her neck. "But leave the copying to me."
She offers a faint nod, cheek brushing against the side of his fingers as she does so. "I... thought of it more as a facilitating experience. I imagine if you've can learn to align yourself to me, you'd have an easier time getting about in the future."
"It- it worked, though it is also a bit- scary. Losing the grip - losing myself. I -wanted- to lose myself. Fuse, closer, it's- difficult." He mumbles, contemplating, sampling the word. "Difficult."
She offers a faint nod, then closes her eyes. "Mmn - I imagine a few more trials similar to that, and you'd become accustomed it. The ... loss of control, was difficult?"
"How so?"
The man shivers lightly and shifts about uncomfortably. "It's always difficult, being allowed that close. I'd always want to be - closer. And, i- in this situation, it's- just stretching out, like pulling a cork out of a tub."
"Just- closer, closer, until I completely lose control of both the network and the body and disconnect completely - but I want just that, at least not- consciously."
Her lips crease down slightly in a frown. "Hmn - I... hope you've the control to deal with further submersions. I imagine the longer you can hold it, the more you can gather. I... need not - " She yawns, " Need not remind you what might happen if that control is lost, as I couldn't predict the consequences."
"I- I do. I do know, if I could manage it today, I can manage it further. I'd- hate to lose the chance to- I just want to be close." He mumbles and slides away, kicking off his boots in the process and lying back. "Trust me on this."
"You are close." She lies back with him, pulling the sheet over her bared chest. "I can't imagine anyone else closer."
Wil turns to the side, fanning his fingertips across the line of her jaw. "I know, but it isn't unnatural to want to feel even closer - and that's where, at the line with a big 'enough' sign beside it, I'm left absolutely terrified."
She turns in towards his fingers, then reaches up to hold the tips of them within her palms. "I... can't say I'm not, either. I... could speak much more, to that effect."
He blinks. "I- could you explain? I- I think you know why I feel this way - you saw what happened when that line was crossed - no, obliterated. Though perhaps that's one of your reasons." his hand shudders as he winces, then struggles to relax.
She turns slightly to the side, then yawns against the pillow. "We're both private people, Wil - intensely so. I'd not trust my privacy to anyone else because I know you understand how much I value it - it is as you do. I share the same fears as you."
He nods, slowly, and then hides his hands underneath the pillow. "...right, I- won't bring it up again. Good night."
She offers a faint nod, then turns in towards his neck. "Love you." She presses her lips, lingering there for a moment, then closes her eyes.
"I- know, I- too." He mumbles, already half-there and lost to all sorts of thoughts.