[ His doubt is one Subaru mirrors for all of the few seconds it takes to break his way in. If the architecture will betray them, maybe the space of this object won't? That echo of the locking mechanism coming apart rifts his attention between the noise and the unnerving silence that follows. It's the silence of being perceived. And in it, a tumultuous wave surges: it's rage and it's agony, it's the lulling dance of a viper's tongue licking at its edges.
On the edges of it, creatures come calling on them to make a choice. He hears claws on pavement, dripping.
Subaru follows Agent Choi's bid to get him in first, though he makes a face when he realizes that he intends to put himself closer to the door. Inside, the space is taller than it is wide — to call it enough room would be gracious. But even hurriedly clambering into the dim metallic scent of disuse, they fit. Balancing a palm on Choi's middle, he loops his opposite arm around him to get at the door's lock. Sternly, he refuses to entertain the strange psychic runoff he's feeling from One and from Sleep. Just for a moment. ]
Hold the door closed as tightly as you can.
[ Voice thinning to a whisper against his arm, he starts tracing another glyph onto the door, something to invert force placed against it. It should, theoretically, act as a second lock. It's also not the only magic emitting soft light in the dark.
All the places they touch blur with a similar glow, too. ]
[ closer to the door, yes, and ready to shut subaru inside and pull aggro if they don't happen to be quick enough too. there are options here—a necessity as the beings hot on their trail continue to approach, shambling steps pulling a twitch from choi's spotted ears even as he steps inside the locker himself.
one elbow rests against the cold metal over subaru's shoulder, while his other hand holds the door shut tight behind him. the space is cramped, if just sizable enough to do the job, but there are certainly worse positions to find oneself in—and worse people to find oneself with. as for the instructions, choi will offer this much: ]
You don't have to tell me twice.
[ but that's all he'll say—all he can say aloud, before those heavy steps come closer still, catching up with them at last. the sounds outside of the locker are wet and raw. lips smacking and teeth clicking together, panting and whining and growling; none of it spells anything good for the two of them inside this locker as the spongy sounds of claws against fungal matter begin to spread out around them, surrounding them.
those creatures know they must be here, and it's just a matter of finding out where now.
as for agent choi, he's lowered his head now, ducked down by subaru's shoulder, breath warm against his skin for a few moments before he leans in. his lips are by contrast cold, but soft as he presses them against subaru's neck. ]
[ There's something binding them together in this space, something that's not the fragments of their convergence, murmuring in the dark. Subaru's senses flood with the clamor of everything racing to claim them — the nauseating outcry of One, Sleep's droning purr, her hounds, the sudden, incriminating hush of their hunting. And closer still, the radiant chill of Agent Choi's mouth at the pounding column of his neck. A shiver ripples his skin, attention immediately drawn to him and his touch.
Some other bond is overlaying the one they have, casting this new light around. But the longer it lingers, the more Subaru understands that it's a beacon. Whatever calm it's giving him, whatever instincts it's sating in Choi, it's coming at a cost. The metal around them rattles and warms as something breathes outside the door, an eerie humidity flowing through the seams.
Silently, his fingers flex back from the door, away from the spell and where Choi holds it shut. His other hand tightens into his shirt as a warning. In that shift, his intent unfurls:
He's going to retract the spell. He's going to try and sever this link in favor of their tether.
Then it'll just be Choi's strength and their own silence standing between them and whatever's outside. ]
[ it's a stark contrast against the uproar that subaru experiences in this small, shared space of theirs. sleep's words that carry through the murmur, and an awareness of one unaccompanied by sensation—they overlay an uneasy sense of calm over choi, as if experiencing the tense world around him through dulled senses, even when his nose and teeth are as sharp as ever.
for him, it's the tensing of fabric—subaru's hand curling into his shirt that calls him back from this awareness and into the present moment. his mouth is filled with the sweet scent of tea, accompanied by paper and ink, and his lips curve into a smile in their brief distance from his skin.
Go ahead, he thinks, and his grip on the handle doesn't shift in the least. if this is the decision that subaru has made, agent choi can trust in that, and he can trust in himself too, he thinks. at least enough to protect the other man should push come to shove; if they're lucky enough, maybe those creatures outside will move on without too much fuss in the first place. choi has always been more of a hopeful person, if not an optimist. ]
[ There it is, so vivid he can feel its thrum jump against his skin — his smile. Given that acknowledgement, he doesn't waste time they already can't afford. The spell rifts in an instant; the sensation of their tether wanes back, severing the fortifying connection. All at once, the interior of the locker plunges into darkness.
Now, to see if it works. The creatures outside will surely sense what he's done, but will it cause them to turn elsewhere? Or will the darkness itself alert them? There's no telling. All he can do is believe he's made the right decision, and that Choi hasn't wrongly put his trust in him this time. Subaru holds his breath in these close quarters, heartbeat churning. The seconds stretch long. With the link gone, Sleep's whispers slither against his mind, sweet and soothing. And outside, something snarls.
His fingers that once drew the spell settle on Agent Choi's forearm, sensing the dull tension in him. Almost a question, if he had the space to ask it. ]
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On the edges of it, creatures come calling on them to make a choice. He hears claws on pavement, dripping.
Subaru follows Agent Choi's bid to get him in first, though he makes a face when he realizes that he intends to put himself closer to the door. Inside, the space is taller than it is wide — to call it enough room would be gracious. But even hurriedly clambering into the dim metallic scent of disuse, they fit. Balancing a palm on Choi's middle, he loops his opposite arm around him to get at the door's lock. Sternly, he refuses to entertain the strange psychic runoff he's feeling from One and from Sleep. Just for a moment. ]
Hold the door closed as tightly as you can.
[ Voice thinning to a whisper against his arm, he starts tracing another glyph onto the door, something to invert force placed against it. It should, theoretically, act as a second lock. It's also not the only magic emitting soft light in the dark.
All the places they touch blur with a similar glow, too. ]
no subject
one elbow rests against the cold metal over subaru's shoulder, while his other hand holds the door shut tight behind him. the space is cramped, if just sizable enough to do the job, but there are certainly worse positions to find oneself in—and worse people to find oneself with. as for the instructions, choi will offer this much: ]
You don't have to tell me twice.
[ but that's all he'll say—all he can say aloud, before those heavy steps come closer still, catching up with them at last. the sounds outside of the locker are wet and raw. lips smacking and teeth clicking together, panting and whining and growling; none of it spells anything good for the two of them inside this locker as the spongy sounds of claws against fungal matter begin to spread out around them, surrounding them.
those creatures know they must be here, and it's just a matter of finding out where now.
as for agent choi, he's lowered his head now, ducked down by subaru's shoulder, breath warm against his skin for a few moments before he leans in. his lips are by contrast cold, but soft as he presses them against subaru's neck. ]
no subject
Some other bond is overlaying the one they have, casting this new light around. But the longer it lingers, the more Subaru understands that it's a beacon. Whatever calm it's giving him, whatever instincts it's sating in Choi, it's coming at a cost. The metal around them rattles and warms as something breathes outside the door, an eerie humidity flowing through the seams.
Silently, his fingers flex back from the door, away from the spell and where Choi holds it shut. His other hand tightens into his shirt as a warning. In that shift, his intent unfurls:
He's going to retract the spell. He's going to try and sever this link in favor of their tether.
Then it'll just be Choi's strength and their own silence standing between them and whatever's outside. ]
no subject
for him, it's the tensing of fabric—subaru's hand curling into his shirt that calls him back from this awareness and into the present moment. his mouth is filled with the sweet scent of tea, accompanied by paper and ink, and his lips curve into a smile in their brief distance from his skin.
Go ahead, he thinks, and his grip on the handle doesn't shift in the least. if this is the decision that subaru has made, agent choi can trust in that, and he can trust in himself too, he thinks. at least enough to protect the other man should push come to shove; if they're lucky enough, maybe those creatures outside will move on without too much fuss in the first place. choi has always been more of a hopeful person, if not an optimist. ]
no subject
Now, to see if it works. The creatures outside will surely sense what he's done, but will it cause them to turn elsewhere? Or will the darkness itself alert them? There's no telling. All he can do is believe he's made the right decision, and that Choi hasn't wrongly put his trust in him this time. Subaru holds his breath in these close quarters, heartbeat churning. The seconds stretch long. With the link gone, Sleep's whispers slither against his mind, sweet and soothing. And outside, something snarls.
His fingers that once drew the spell settle on Agent Choi's forearm, sensing the dull tension in him. Almost a question, if he had the space to ask it. ]