Day 5, LN - Growing Close

[Kitsuki Naida]

Having dragged Kakita Yuuwaku out of the surf, Kitsuki Naida had found herself bringing the woman to a sheltered spot on the beach, under the lea of a rock. The rain didn't make it in under here, and she'd started a small fire using driftwood. She would have brought Yuuwaku back to town, but it seemed a good walk, and she was tired herself. Especially since she'd brought her armor and weapons in case the sea-creature showed up.

Having brought back a few more pieces of relatively dry driftwood, Naida took off her dripping hat and carefully put the wood on the fire as she looked at the Kakita with a look of concern, "You're shivering less, that's good."

[Kakita Yuuwaku]

Yuuwaku, though shivering less, is still shivering. Understandable, that, since she is soaked through, kimono hanging askance but still on her; the knots in her obi were good ones. Her sodden hair hangs down over her in disarray, and she looks up at Naida with red-rimmed eyes.

"Wha...what h-h-h-h-happened?" she stammers out, jaw trembling. "Where...?"

[Kitsuki Naida]

Naida started taking off her armor after getting the fire roaring; If some sort of beast came, she knew at this point it would do her little good, considering what had happened to the Ichro's considerably heavier armor.

"It seems as though the siren call of the curse was strong for you tonight. Fortunately, you stand out even when it is dark and raining, and not so heavy to carry even with soaked hair and clothes."

It wasn't as if Naida was much less soaked, though the hat had somewhat done it's job with her head, and the clothes under her armor had been mildly protected so were merely damp rather than sodden.

[Kakita Yuuwaku]

Yuuwaku looks at the Dragon blankly for a bit, shivers still rippling through her. She scoots closer to the fire. Tears begin to well up in her eyes.

"I...I r-r-r-remember," she begins to rasp out at length, "dancing. But I thought i-i-i-it was a dream."

Her gaze focuses on the fire.

"Are w-w-we dead?"

[Kitsuki Naida]

Setting the chestplate down carefully, Naida walked closer and knelt in front of Yuuwaku. She reached out a hand to touch Yuuwaku's cheek; Despite the rain and the night, the hand was quite warm. Not terribly soft but with long elegant fingers that held Yuu's cheek gently.

"Do I feel dead? A bit tired, perhaps, but very much alive. And you are alive as well, Yuuwaku-san, though no doubt even more tired than myself, if that's even the right word."

[Kakita Yuuwaku]

Yuuwaku shivers, not entirely because of the cold, and a trembling hand rises to catch Naida's on her cheek. She seems to clutch at it, as if anchoring herself by the physical contact.

"The dance was so sweet...how d-d-did I find myself...I was in the sea?"

[Kitsuki Naida]

"Dancing your way into the sea, hai. I do not know what dream you were having, but you were clearly dancing with a purpose, a very directed motion. Fortunately, wading out and sweeping you up in my arms seemed to let you stop, since you immediately went limp; It would have been much harder to get out of the rough surf if you had still been trying to dance while over my shoulder."

[Kakita Yuuwaku]

"You...saved m-m-me?" Yuuwaku asks, uncertainly.

Another wave of shivers takes her, and it is nearly a minute before she can force her body to be still.

"Th-thank you," she manages, knowing the words are not enough. And "I'm s-s-s-sorry you had to h-h-h-help."

[Kitsuki Naida]

"Now now... nothing to be sorry about. I can't blame you for a curse, no more so than I could blame you for the weather. We're in this together and I'll always be there to protect you, Yuu-chan. As much as possible at least."

As she talked the Dragon undressed, adding her drier layers on top of Yuu like a blanket both to warm her up and soak up moisture from the Crane's damp clothes. Soon she was nude except her tabi and sandals, a bunch of warm clothes wrapped over the short Crane woman.

[Kakita Yuuwaku]

Tears continue to well up in the Crane's eyes, and she hangs her head, trying to make herself smaller.

Still shivering, Yuuwaku stammers out "Aren't you c-c-cold, Naida-ch-ch-chan?"

As if to illustrate the point, her body convulses with the chill. "I j-j-just can't seem to g-g-get warm."

[Kakita Yuuwaku]

OOC, per viewtopic.php?f=15&t=490&start=11...

There is a strange ripple, somehow, and things are...different. Yuuwaku still shivers from the rain and wet, but she adds "It was such a v-v-vivid dream. Maybe lingering effects f-f-from...events here?"

[Kitsuki Naida]

"Perhaps. I wish I knew more, but I felt lost even at the meeting talking about what was happening at the inn. I know they said they were planning on trying to do something about the situation... perhaps it's a side effect of that?"

[Kakita Yuuwaku]

"M-m-maybe," Yuuwaku manages to get out amid her continued shivering. She shifts closer to the fire, asks Naida again, "Aren't you c-cold?"

She manages a shaky smile. "The sensei m-m-mentioned trying to f-f-follow Doji. I think they'd t-t-tell me to be l-l-less literal."

[Kitsuki Naida]

As Yuu scooted closer to the fire, Naida took her vacant spot and hugged the Crane from behind in all her layered shivering.

"Not in the slightest. Been out in the snow like this, something about the blood of Osano-Wo-no-okami in my heritage? That could just be one of those tall tales my mother has though, like the tales about my father. Regardless, I don't think it would have been quite so nice as Lady Doji's journey into the sea, no; While the waves aren't as treacherous tonight, you weren't exactly waking up until I touched you."

She had a hunch Yuu-chan had been possessed by the ghost of someone lost to the curse, from what she had seen out there in the water, but the poor woman probably didn't need to know someone might have been inhabiting her body for a while.

[Kakita Yuuwaku]

Yuuwaku begins to relax in Naida's arms. She says nothing for a while, and the shivering slows as she begins to lean back.

"I mean it, Naida-chan. Thank you. For saving me."

Another convulsion ripples through her. Quietly, she asks "Was anyone else...out there? Was anybody lost?"

[Kitsuki Naida]

"I saw... spirits. One or two other people to. But I had thought everyone had gone back to town since tonight seemed... different. Calmer, before I saw you that is. I think we might be done with this repeating day, though it's going out with a last gasp."

[Kakita Yuuwaku]

"I'm glad nobody was hurt," Yuuwaku says, "and that you weren't. And it will be good to move forward again."

She leans back against Naida. Again, tears well up in her eyes. Facing death in such a way is not an easy thing, after all, and an artisan is less apt to it than a bushi would be. She sniffs, trying to hold back the weeping that threatens to rise from her.

[Kitsuki Naida]

"Shhh, shhh..."

Naida leans over Yuuwaku's shoulder and kisses her cheek lightly, hands on Yuu's shoulders.

"Like I said, I'll be here to protect you. Maybe I'll just need to stay extra close until my Yuu-san is warm and safe and comfortable."

[Kakita Yuuwaku]

Yuuwaku cannot help it; her body shakes again, but not from the cold, and it is not rain or seawater that wets her cheeks. She turns as best as she can under the layers of cloth, still wet through warming from bodies and fire, towards Naida, pressing against her to be held in the warrior's arms. And it is not the relief of still living alone that prompts the tears, nor yet the fear and peril breaking belatedly upon her; shame, too, stirs them and stains her cheeks red.

[Kitsuki Naida]

NaIda kisses the tears away before brushing off the moisture with her fingertips. She wished she had something else with her, but swords and armor were no help in situations like these. And she had no more warmth to offer beyond what she'd already given.

The one thing that came to mind is that maybe words weren't the answer either, so she decided to hum a calming melody she knew from her youth. It wasn't exactly art, but it was calm and melodious.

[Kakita Yuuwaku]

It takes a little bit, but Yuuwaku manages to bring herself back under control, save for the occasional small shiver.

"Twice tonight already, you've aided me, Naida-chan," she says. "I am humbled by it, by you."

And she blushes fiercely again.

[Kitsuki Naida]

"And here I've been wishing I could do more, brought a blanket or some tea or such. Or had answers I suppose."

Naida had her head relaxed on Yuuwaku's shoulder, so she didn't see the army of ghosts starting to walk past their little hiding spot under the overhang.

[Kakita Yuuwaku]

"It's already more than should be asked," Yuuwaku replies. "I am in your debt. Deeply."

[Kitsuki Naida]

"Nonsense. Nothing could make me happier than you being safe and in my arms like this. Even in the middle of the night, after all this, I feel satisfied hearing your voice and sharing your warmth. Besides, I ~did~ promise."

Naida opened her eyes and saw the movement outside, but said nothing for the moment

[Kakita Yuuwaku]

"It's little enough to share," Yuuwaku comments. "Even in your arms and with the fire, I am not sure I will be warm again."

She looks up at the Dragon as she can, sees her staring off elsewhere.

"Is something there?"