It's Amicus! [OPEN]

[tidesnpc]

Characters: Anyone from Serenity
Content: It's Amicus once again and Bydan has their celebrations prepared and ready. However, current events have put a dark cloud over the holiday.
Setting: Anywhere on Serenity or in Bydan
Time: All day during Amicus
Warnings: Paranoia? Angst? Parangstoia?

Comments

Hope you don't mind. He's like a parasite with a strong jawline.

[surfaceshine]

Amicus had never really held that much interest for Dean; he didn't take many relationships seriously, and those few that he did were hardly of the sort and involving the type of people that would appreciate any kind of flower or flower-related paraphrenalia. Unless they'd started etching flowers on the sides of bullets, anyway, or maybe a good sturdy knife... In any case, it wasn't one that he'd picked up much appreciation for, and this year was really no different.

However.

The missing air of celebration, the determined cheer on those few faces that still insisted despite everything, made it kind of heartbreaking in a way Dean was never in any reality remotely willing to admit. The recent victory of having stopped it where they had been, of saving at least part of the continent, had been shortlived; instead it had been replaced with a deepseated, anxious fear that was also not something Dean was really prepared to get into with most anyone.

In short, he had gone into town for a little while, but the press of people had worn on his nerves quickly enough that once he'd checked around and confirmed that no one had heard from his dad and he certainly was not in Bydan, the young hunter returned to Serenity. Now he was wandering the upper deck, enjoying the weather and the sensation of not moving and trying very hard not to think too hard - when he saw what he readily identified as a familiar shape ahead of him. He grinned reflexively, and his stride took on more purpose.

"Hey, kiddo."

I don't mind at all! :3

[anonymousryuuki]

Ryuuki looked up automatically at the word 'kiddo'...and made a face when he realized what he had just responded to.

But he was honestly glad to have company. Not that that was going to stop him from complaining.

"...not a kid, Dean." And if anyone asked, he was definitely not pouting.

*\o/*

[surfaceshine]

"Sure. Sorry. This spot taken?" The face Ryuuki pulled only made Dean's own expression take that gentle turn towards real; he neither sounded sincere in his apology, though, nor really waited to be invited into the spot he indicated with a nudge of his chin to the air. Folding his arms loosely over the top of the railing, he leaned next to Ryuuki at a companionable distance.

"How's it goin'?"

[anonymousryuuki]

Ryuuki only grumbled in response to both the apology and the question, but he didn't move to make Dean go away or to leave himself.

How's it going?

Back home, he didn't have the luxury of showing any kind of weakness. It came with being nobility, especially in the Shi family of which the previous generation had built the family's wealth and reputation on bloodshed and violence.

But this was not Bellcius.

So he just sighed and buried his head in his arms.

"...I have no idea." Because he really didn't know how he was supposed to feel about any of this.

Welcome to the Dean School of Pep Talk

[surfaceshine]

"Huh." It was a bit belated, Dean slanting a steady look at Ryuuki from the corners of his eyes; it took him that moment to decide that he probably could handle this, or at least give it a good shot. If he stopped to think about it, he might be a bit surprised that he was willing to try; but there was that thinking thing again, and he'd been avoiding that heroically all freaking night. The grin and the tone both dropped with Dean's head so he could rub at the back of his own neck with one hand.

"Well, that makes two of us. Which is a bummer, because I was just gonna do whatever you were doing - personally, I'd hoped for stargazing, but bafflement and borderline morose will probably serve." One corner of Dean's mouth tipped up slightly as he first turned slightly more towards Ryuuki, then shifted position entirely to be leaning his elbows on the rail and steadying himself with his shoulderblades, facing the rest of the ship instead of the view over the side. He flipped a hand at Ryuuki instead of a shrug and grinned, bright and empty. "My brother'd say to talk about it, but he's damn near a girl, so it's hard to take him seriously."

[anonymousryuuki]

Ryuuki's head didn't come up from where it was resting on his arms, but he tilted his head so he was looking at Dean. Ryuuki hadn't noticed, but he almost always defaulted to this posture, or something like it, whenever he was upset. Arms crossed and hunched over so he wasn't eye level with whoever he was talking to. It was a strange habit he'd picked up from the years when his mother was still alive.

"Oh." He said finally, while just staring at Dean. He was sort of hoping that maybe Dean would know the right answer...but he felt a little better, knowing that he wasn't the only one who didn't know what to think and it showed in the way his shoulders relaxed a little.

At the mention of Dean's brother though...

"He's fine, right?"

[surfaceshine]

Dean was working way too hard at being casual, but it was a ruse he was well accustomed to; the muscles of his frame were loose and relaxed where he leaned on the railing, and he was content to apparently stand around all night while Ryuuki thought that one over. Then he kind of blindsided Dean, and the young hunter shot him a look that ruffled his too-cool-for-school front.

"What? Oh. Yeah. 's far's I know." Dean huffed a short breath, part laugh, part snort. "The little shit's in Melior, well clear of the blast zone." Despite his less than flattering description of Sam, there was no heat to Dean's voice; just the faint tint of a quiet kind of sadness that was always present somewhere amidst the other emotions whenever he came up. Sam hadn't been where his mind was when he walked up here, but it never took much to bring him back to center stage. Dean shook his head.

"You got any people to worry about that might've been in the area?"

[anonymousryuuki]

He breathed a sigh of relief at that answer.

"I'm glad." Ryuuki still couldn't understand why someone would avoid their own brother like this...but he really was glad to hear that Dean's brother was all right and that relief was audible in his voice.

"No." His answer strangely certain for someone who apparently didn't know his brother's whereabouts.

But then he slumped a bit and turned his face so he was looking out, "Is it bad to be relieved? I know a lot of people died but all I can think of is, 'I'm glad no one I know was there.'"

[surfaceshine]

"No, it's not." Dean's reply was every bit as certain and probably twice as swift; he was still looking at Ryuuki, eyes steady. "A lot of people died, but you can't care for the entire world; a lot of people die every day. You spend your energy caring about the chunk of them you know, do what you can for the chunk you don't, and it's about all you can do. Fuck knows it's a lot more than most people bother with."

Some heat had crept into his voice towards the end, though it was unaimed; not personal, but a learned principle from his father. Dean, his brother, and his father had helped the poor folk who couldn't defend themselves against monsters as equally as the rich folk who could afford to pay others to defend them; they had met plenty that wouldn't, however, if the victims couldn't pay. He shook his head again, ducking his head to try and catch Ryuuki's eyes with his own.

"It's not bad to be relieved that you've still got whatever you had before. It's normal. Okay?"

[anonymousryuuki]

Looking away had been such an instinctive action that he hadn't even been aware that he had done it until he caught Dean's movement. He slowly tilted his head back to meet his eyes.

...was it really okay?

Ryuuki didn't know. A lot of people had died. He'd even heard on the network that someone's entire hometown was gone. But because he didn't know, as soon as Dean said it was all right to be relieved, Ryuuki decided to go with that answer.

"...okay."

[surfaceshine]

"Okay," repeated Dean, like the third time was the charm. Cinching the knot tight. He held Ryuuki's gaze a few moments longer before his mouth tipped up into the slightest bit of a smile - timid and real and remarkably soft for someone as rough and tumble and loud as Dean normally tried to be. Then he kicked it up to a grin and lifted his head again to look across the deck.

"So. I knew I was bad at housekeeping, but I didn't think I was all that bad until I had to use a machete to get into it earlier..." It had taken Dean several minutes to pick all the thyme, snowdrop, and myrtle off his clothes and, because he'd gotten a bit rowdy digging his satchel out from under his bunk, his hair; the mixed scents were, however, still clinging to him. So was the small beat of warmth he'd acquired once he'd figured out what was going on.

[anonymousryuuki]

Ryuuki returned the smile, albeit a little hesitantly.

Then his face broke into a bright grin when he realized what Dean was referring to. If he were a dog, he would be wagging his tail fast enough to give the impression it might fall off.

He pushed off of the railing and straightened.

"Did you like it? Didyoudidyoudidyou? You did right? Right?" It hadn't even occurred to him that all those plants might have caused any kind of problem. After all, Dean didn't sound angry, and with presents it was always, 'more is better', right?

I need a happier icon than this one. Christ.

[surfaceshine]

Well, if they did (and let's face it - they did, to a point), Dean was certainly not going to be the one to freaking point it out. Especially not when Ryuuki was reacting like that. Though his abrupt switch from stationary to mobile triggered a reflexive alarm in Dean, but he managed not to tense or jump or even move off the railing himself, grinning wider instead.

"It was... singularly pleasant. Not sure I've ever seen that many plants in one place." Normally, he would've tried to play it a bit cooler, maybe tease Ryuuki a bit, prolong the excitement; but Dean wanted to move full steam ahead away from their previous subject, so he just poured on the wattage to the grin that was damn near about to break his face in half.

And I need a "smiling like an idiot" icon. Also: what is haitus?

[anonymousryuuki]

"I'm glad!" Ryuuki's answering smile was so bright it practically sparkled, "I've never gotten anyone anything for Amicus before...but giving you can never go wrong by giving more, right?"

I need to retcon in some injuries from the satyr SL - I knew I would, but still.

[surfaceshine]

Actually, Dean could think of quite a few things that were better in sparing helpings, but that wasn't the point of Ryuuki's question so he just kept that bit to himself. Instead he shifted off his bad leg before it could warn him to do so or find himself facefirst on the deck, and basked a bit in that smile.

"I've never gotten anything for Amicus, so we're even."

[anonymousryuuki]

"Never?" In a surprised tone that suggested Ryuuki thought all normal people (i.e. people who were not from his family...because quite frankly, a more than a few of them were borderline insane) celebrated Amicus.

He might not have though to much on Dean's movement if he hadn't remembered the way the other had been limping during the rescue mission.

"Is your leg still bothering you?"