Adapt to Live [Part 11]
Nov. 11th, 2015 11:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonFandom: Noblesse
Summary: It's been a long time since Tao had seen an angel, not since ze left Heaven and turned into a demon. Ze hadn't thought it was possible to pass through the barrier between Heaven and the physical realm without changing. M-21's task in the physical realm is to kill as many demons as they can. Except the pieces aren't fitting together.
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 1,797
Total word count: 24,705
Status: Work in progress
"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine," Tao said. "I'm Tao, by the way." Since if they were asking for the kid's name, it was good if they also gave hir own.
The kid didn't say anything their face a little blank. "I don't have a name," the kid said. "That's why I was sent here. If I could kill as many demons as I could here, then...I would earn my name."
Anger flared in Tao, boiling hir blood. "And you thought if you came here you would be changed into a demon forever." Okay, ze needed to go back to Heaven and punch whoever was the Lord in the fucking face. How could They make angels think that? How could They make angels do that?
"They said I was created just for coming here without changing but-" The kid stuttered to a stop and wrapped their arms around Tao's legs again as they wrapped their wings around themself. "My chest feels weird. It's hard to breathe."
"It's all right, kid," Tao said, "I think you're feeling sad." Ze put a hand on the kid's wing, only putting enough power there so the kid could feel it.
The kid didn't pull away, their wing trembling, but they didn't push into the touch either, so Tao just kept hir hand there.
"Sad," the kid repeated, their voice hitching. "Why does this body keep doing things?"
"It tells us when we need something, or if we want more things," Tao murmured. "Like I said, it'll take a while to get used to." And Tao hadn't gone through the same things the kid had at the start.
"There's - a lot to get used to." The kid sniffled, their body trembling and Tao let them cry it out.
* * *
M-21 had left a wet patch on Tao's thigh. From their tears. They dabbed at the spot with a finger, feeling the difference between the dry area and the wet spot.
"How are you feeling?" Tao asked, their hand still on M-21's wing.
"Sleepy," M-21 said. But not in the same way they'd felt before they'd fallen asleep. Their body wasn't trying to force them to sleep.
"Do you feel as sad?"
Did they? Their body was under more of their control again, and the tightness in their chest had lessened, so they shook their head.
Tao smiled. "That's good." Then they stretched, and M-21 heard a couple of cracks. Seeing how everything else was weird about these bodies, M-21 didn't think much of it. They would find out about it soon and Tao would tell them about it.
"We should change," Tao said, getting out of bed.
M-21 frowned at the not-warmth that curled under the blanket when Tao moved. Cold? "Why do we need to change?" They'd never needed to in Heaven.
"I need to change because my clothes are dirty, and you need to change because your rob got wet and no-one wears those in public anymore. You'd get some weird looks from people and draw attention."
Was that bad? …Oh, humans could see them now when they had this form.
Tao picked up some of the clothes they'd brought in earlier. "These are Boss'; they should fit you better since I'm smaller than you. Boss likes wearing suits, but we can go shopping at some point so you can pick out what you want."
M-21 studied the clothes in Tao's hands. "What I want." What did they want? A name. That had been all they'd wanted. Their robe had been given to them so they hadn't needed to choose anything. "Those are fine."
"They're also not yours," Tao said, their mouth quirking up a little at the corners. "It'll feel better if it's something that fits you; this is just for the moment."
Oh. They...could try. M-21 nodded and changing out of the clothes and into the new ones was strange. The clothes were more constricting, but they weren't as heavy, didn't drag down at them as much.
While M-21 studied themself in the mirror, Tao changed into different clothes. M-21 had seen a number of humans wearing similar clothes to what they were wearing, but all the buttons hadn't all been done up at their neck or their wrists. Tao had frowned when they saw their mark.
"It's the mark of my batch," M-21 explained, expecting them to ask.
"And everyone has these?"
M-21 nodded. "So we know who comes from which batch."
Tao's frown deepened at that, and that must have been another difference between their Lords.
"You don't have one, do you?" M-21 said, their voice small. They hadn't had a good look at Tao's wrists yet, but from the way they had reacted…
"No," Tao said, shaking their head. They continued helping M-21 put on their clothes, and M-21 stayed quiet, concentrating on that.
"Okay," Tao said, standing back once all the clothes were on, "how does that feel?"
"Strange." But that was starting to become normal. The clothes weren't as heavy as their robes, and their feet weren't as cold anymore. They peered down and would have lost their balance if Tao hadn't caught them by the balance.
"Heh, standing like that takes a while getting used to."
"So does everything else," they muttered as they wiggled their toes, feeling the flex at the same time they saw their toes move from inside the socks.
"Next up," Tao said, holding M-21's hands in their own and lifting them up to about chest height, "is walking. I noticed you tended to hover around everywhere, so with this, you need to pick up your feet and move them."
Everything needed so many actions and so much multitasking, but M-21 frowned as they concentrated, taking one foot and trying to move it. They gripped Tao's hands when they tilted to the side and Tao stayed standing, keeping them upright as M-21 placed that foot down.
Tao nodded. "That's right. You have to move a little faster so you don't lose your balance."
That sounded doable and M-21 took another step while Tao backed up another to keep the space between them.
"How did you learn this yourself?" M-21 asked, frowning. All three of them would have had to learn this together.
"Heh. We had a lot of trees around us so could get support from them."
So that was it. With every step M-21 took, it became easier to do, until Tao lowered their hands and M-21 could walk by themself.
"Okay, you keep practicing, and I'll get changed myself." M-21 nodded, watching their own feet as they walked. "Though you need to keep your head up so you don't walk into a wall."
Oh. M-21 lifted their head. But then how would they be able to know where their feet were going if they didn't look at where they were placing them? Multitask. They would get used to it.
"Think you can walk to the kitchen?" Tao asked, and when M-21 turned their head Tao was already in a new set of clothes, the clothes they had been wearing bunched up in their arms. How had they done that so fast? Though with them, Tao had needed to show them how to put everything on and where their limbs went.
"I think so." Tao stayed close to them as M-21 walked, and M-21 kept a hand on their elbow, gripping it on the times they miscalculated.
It was harder to breathe by the time they reached the kitchen and Tao lead them to a chair. "Sit there for a second while I get everything sorted out."
M-21 nodded, leaning back on the chair. Having a physical body was hard.
It didn't take long for Tao to come back with their arms empty of clothes and M-21 watched them pour water into a cup.
"When you're drinking, you definitely shouldn't talk at the same time," Tao advised as they placed it in front of them.
This time they would listen to what Tao said. M-21 wrapped their hands around the cup, making sure they slipped their fingers into the handle and gripped it like they remembered they should with Seira's cup.
They were able to pick it up this time with it not sliding between their hands and M-21 brought the edge of the cup to their lips.
"Don't tip it too much or else it'll go up your nose."
...Why was everything in a human body so close to each other that they ended up interfering with each other?
The water was opposite from the food Tao had given them earlier, cold and not as thick. They could feel it slip down their throat and a shiver went through them as they drank.
They stopped drinking when their body started demanding air again and they gasped when they finished. They were wide eyed as they got as much air in their body but...it felt good.
And eating was as strange and as different as Tao had said. Trying to explain the different sensations, just with the temperature and how it felt when it went down their throat... No wonder Tao hadn't been able to explain it that well.
One of the papers that hung by the door started to glow and M-21 stood up, one hand braced on the table as their skin tingled. They looked at Tao, who smiled at them.
"It's an early warning system," Tao said. "Boss set them up - it's so we know if someone's trying to flit in, and also so we know to stay out of there-" Tao gestured to a circle in the floor close to the door. "-to make sure there isn't an accident." They winced.
The shape on the paper (ward? M-21 was too far to be able to read it) stopped glowing and between one blink and the next, Tao's Boss appeared in the spot Tao had indicated.
Tao's Boss turned to Tao just in time to catch the demon in their arms as Tao launched themselves at them.
"I thought I told you to stay out of trouble. And to rest," Tao's Boss said, pressing his forehead to Tao's just enough to touch before puling away.
"I'd tried to, but some things just happen," Tao said with a laugh. "And I'm mostly healed up now."
M-21's stomach felt strange at those words, and they frowned, putting a hand there. What did that feeling mean?
"Mm? Kid?" Tao walked away from their Boss and touched M-21's shoulder. "What's wrong?"
___________________________________
Can't believe I spent about 2k just on M-21 getting used to their body, haha.
Summary: It's been a long time since Tao had seen an angel, not since ze left Heaven and turned into a demon. Ze hadn't thought it was possible to pass through the barrier between Heaven and the physical realm without changing. M-21's task in the physical realm is to kill as many demons as they can. Except the pieces aren't fitting together.
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 1,797
Total word count: 24,705
Status: Work in progress
"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine," Tao said. "I'm Tao, by the way." Since if they were asking for the kid's name, it was good if they also gave hir own.
The kid didn't say anything their face a little blank. "I don't have a name," the kid said. "That's why I was sent here. If I could kill as many demons as I could here, then...I would earn my name."
Anger flared in Tao, boiling hir blood. "And you thought if you came here you would be changed into a demon forever." Okay, ze needed to go back to Heaven and punch whoever was the Lord in the fucking face. How could They make angels think that? How could They make angels do that?
"They said I was created just for coming here without changing but-" The kid stuttered to a stop and wrapped their arms around Tao's legs again as they wrapped their wings around themself. "My chest feels weird. It's hard to breathe."
"It's all right, kid," Tao said, "I think you're feeling sad." Ze put a hand on the kid's wing, only putting enough power there so the kid could feel it.
The kid didn't pull away, their wing trembling, but they didn't push into the touch either, so Tao just kept hir hand there.
"Sad," the kid repeated, their voice hitching. "Why does this body keep doing things?"
"It tells us when we need something, or if we want more things," Tao murmured. "Like I said, it'll take a while to get used to." And Tao hadn't gone through the same things the kid had at the start.
"There's - a lot to get used to." The kid sniffled, their body trembling and Tao let them cry it out.
M-21 had left a wet patch on Tao's thigh. From their tears. They dabbed at the spot with a finger, feeling the difference between the dry area and the wet spot.
"How are you feeling?" Tao asked, their hand still on M-21's wing.
"Sleepy," M-21 said. But not in the same way they'd felt before they'd fallen asleep. Their body wasn't trying to force them to sleep.
"Do you feel as sad?"
Did they? Their body was under more of their control again, and the tightness in their chest had lessened, so they shook their head.
Tao smiled. "That's good." Then they stretched, and M-21 heard a couple of cracks. Seeing how everything else was weird about these bodies, M-21 didn't think much of it. They would find out about it soon and Tao would tell them about it.
"We should change," Tao said, getting out of bed.
M-21 frowned at the not-warmth that curled under the blanket when Tao moved. Cold? "Why do we need to change?" They'd never needed to in Heaven.
"I need to change because my clothes are dirty, and you need to change because your rob got wet and no-one wears those in public anymore. You'd get some weird looks from people and draw attention."
Was that bad? …Oh, humans could see them now when they had this form.
Tao picked up some of the clothes they'd brought in earlier. "These are Boss'; they should fit you better since I'm smaller than you. Boss likes wearing suits, but we can go shopping at some point so you can pick out what you want."
M-21 studied the clothes in Tao's hands. "What I want." What did they want? A name. That had been all they'd wanted. Their robe had been given to them so they hadn't needed to choose anything. "Those are fine."
"They're also not yours," Tao said, their mouth quirking up a little at the corners. "It'll feel better if it's something that fits you; this is just for the moment."
Oh. They...could try. M-21 nodded and changing out of the clothes and into the new ones was strange. The clothes were more constricting, but they weren't as heavy, didn't drag down at them as much.
While M-21 studied themself in the mirror, Tao changed into different clothes. M-21 had seen a number of humans wearing similar clothes to what they were wearing, but all the buttons hadn't all been done up at their neck or their wrists. Tao had frowned when they saw their mark.
"It's the mark of my batch," M-21 explained, expecting them to ask.
"And everyone has these?"
M-21 nodded. "So we know who comes from which batch."
Tao's frown deepened at that, and that must have been another difference between their Lords.
"You don't have one, do you?" M-21 said, their voice small. They hadn't had a good look at Tao's wrists yet, but from the way they had reacted…
"No," Tao said, shaking their head. They continued helping M-21 put on their clothes, and M-21 stayed quiet, concentrating on that.
"Okay," Tao said, standing back once all the clothes were on, "how does that feel?"
"Strange." But that was starting to become normal. The clothes weren't as heavy as their robes, and their feet weren't as cold anymore. They peered down and would have lost their balance if Tao hadn't caught them by the balance.
"Heh, standing like that takes a while getting used to."
"So does everything else," they muttered as they wiggled their toes, feeling the flex at the same time they saw their toes move from inside the socks.
"Next up," Tao said, holding M-21's hands in their own and lifting them up to about chest height, "is walking. I noticed you tended to hover around everywhere, so with this, you need to pick up your feet and move them."
Everything needed so many actions and so much multitasking, but M-21 frowned as they concentrated, taking one foot and trying to move it. They gripped Tao's hands when they tilted to the side and Tao stayed standing, keeping them upright as M-21 placed that foot down.
Tao nodded. "That's right. You have to move a little faster so you don't lose your balance."
That sounded doable and M-21 took another step while Tao backed up another to keep the space between them.
"How did you learn this yourself?" M-21 asked, frowning. All three of them would have had to learn this together.
"Heh. We had a lot of trees around us so could get support from them."
So that was it. With every step M-21 took, it became easier to do, until Tao lowered their hands and M-21 could walk by themself.
"Okay, you keep practicing, and I'll get changed myself." M-21 nodded, watching their own feet as they walked. "Though you need to keep your head up so you don't walk into a wall."
Oh. M-21 lifted their head. But then how would they be able to know where their feet were going if they didn't look at where they were placing them? Multitask. They would get used to it.
"Think you can walk to the kitchen?" Tao asked, and when M-21 turned their head Tao was already in a new set of clothes, the clothes they had been wearing bunched up in their arms. How had they done that so fast? Though with them, Tao had needed to show them how to put everything on and where their limbs went.
"I think so." Tao stayed close to them as M-21 walked, and M-21 kept a hand on their elbow, gripping it on the times they miscalculated.
It was harder to breathe by the time they reached the kitchen and Tao lead them to a chair. "Sit there for a second while I get everything sorted out."
M-21 nodded, leaning back on the chair. Having a physical body was hard.
It didn't take long for Tao to come back with their arms empty of clothes and M-21 watched them pour water into a cup.
"When you're drinking, you definitely shouldn't talk at the same time," Tao advised as they placed it in front of them.
This time they would listen to what Tao said. M-21 wrapped their hands around the cup, making sure they slipped their fingers into the handle and gripped it like they remembered they should with Seira's cup.
They were able to pick it up this time with it not sliding between their hands and M-21 brought the edge of the cup to their lips.
"Don't tip it too much or else it'll go up your nose."
...Why was everything in a human body so close to each other that they ended up interfering with each other?
The water was opposite from the food Tao had given them earlier, cold and not as thick. They could feel it slip down their throat and a shiver went through them as they drank.
They stopped drinking when their body started demanding air again and they gasped when they finished. They were wide eyed as they got as much air in their body but...it felt good.
And eating was as strange and as different as Tao had said. Trying to explain the different sensations, just with the temperature and how it felt when it went down their throat... No wonder Tao hadn't been able to explain it that well.
One of the papers that hung by the door started to glow and M-21 stood up, one hand braced on the table as their skin tingled. They looked at Tao, who smiled at them.
"It's an early warning system," Tao said. "Boss set them up - it's so we know if someone's trying to flit in, and also so we know to stay out of there-" Tao gestured to a circle in the floor close to the door. "-to make sure there isn't an accident." They winced.
The shape on the paper (ward? M-21 was too far to be able to read it) stopped glowing and between one blink and the next, Tao's Boss appeared in the spot Tao had indicated.
Tao's Boss turned to Tao just in time to catch the demon in their arms as Tao launched themselves at them.
"I thought I told you to stay out of trouble. And to rest," Tao's Boss said, pressing his forehead to Tao's just enough to touch before puling away.
"I'd tried to, but some things just happen," Tao said with a laugh. "And I'm mostly healed up now."
M-21's stomach felt strange at those words, and they frowned, putting a hand there. What did that feeling mean?
"Mm? Kid?" Tao walked away from their Boss and touched M-21's shoulder. "What's wrong?"
Can't believe I spent about 2k just on M-21 getting used to their body, haha.