doublecrowss | Inbox for awash

[Akira's only thought as he was dragged into the darkness was that Akechi wasn't going to be happy about this.

There's not much he can do about it now, though. He's quite literally rooted to the spot, his feet twisted and woody as they dig into the dirt. His legs have merged together, his torso elongating so that now he's almost eight feet tall, and threatening to grow taller. His chest, arms, and head are still human, and the meld from his flesh into the tree bark growing over his pelvis makes his stomach lurch.

But all he can do now is wait for rescue.]

[ Alas, Akira's would-be rescuer might be in need of rescuing, himself.

The curse has yet to strike him in full, having taken over the entirety of his left arm and the corresponding thigh, along with part of his hips and, oddly enough, his hair; at least the latter is no more than an aesthetic change, though the ever falling leaves almost give him a glimpse of what he might be like, if he looked more like his wretched father than he does.

Still, it's... disturbing, and as much as he's trying to stay level-headed, he can't help but feel panic rise every time he hears a snap, unable to figure out whether it's an ordinary twig in the woods or his own bones-- at least until he feels it, anyway. It's started to reach down to his foot, and sometimes the roots try to seek purchase on the ground, but he keeps moving out of sheer willpower, pushing and pulling and snagging his own skin turned vine; the deep red sap and the pain aren't as easy to ignore, but he powers through, decided to make his way back to town, or get help, or find-- ]

... Akira?

[Akira looks down from his high perch, eyes widening when he sees Akechi. But his relief is short-lived - it seems Akechi is suffering from a similar affliction, his skin turning to vine and his body... it looks like it's bleeding, but not blood.

Akira opens his mouth and tries to speak, but the words are hard to get out, like his voice has been taken from him. It takes him a moment of working his jaw, and then sound comes out, like the groaning of tree branches in the wind.]

Goooooo... rooooooo...

[He reaches for him, his hand still, for the moment, mostly human. However, from this height, he doubts Goro will be able to grab his hand easily.]

[ The noise barely sounds like a voice, but Akechi still makes out his name, confirming the sad truth he had just figured out seconds before; this is Akira, and whatever curse has been afflicting town this time, they're facing it together.

That will probably make it a lot harder to find a cure for. ]

... hey.

[ He calls out as he approaches, careful, wanting to offer his one good hand, but the highest he can reach is somewhere along Akira's midriff-- or what used to be his human torso, anyway. So he settles for that, a gentle touch, just wanting to connect and feel... maybe for the last time. ]

It would seem we are both in trouble this time...

[ And he doesn't have any brilliant ideas, this time. ]

[At the touch, Akira sighs, a groan through the bark that envelopes his body. It's a forlorn sound, because he can't even feel the touch that Akechi bestows on him now, can only imagine the warmth of his hand, if it still has any at all.

Speaking was so much effort that he doesn't, this time, instead nodding, his eyes closing sorrowfully. He wants to help, especially now that he knows Akechi is in trouble, too. But what can he do, like this? He's a tree, of all things!

Akechi can still move, though - Akechi has hope. Even though he doubts Akechi will leave him now that they're together again, he opens his eyes, and points away.

Go, while you can.]

[ The groan alarms him for a second-- was Akira in physical pain from the touch? Implausible as it sounded, he's been here long enough that regular logic isn't always valid, so it could very well be true... yet, it would seem Akira was even less talkative than usual.

... which makes Akira's following gesture all the harder to understand. Akechi looks down the direction he had pointed towards, in hopes to perhaps find a clue that Akira hadn't had the chance to get to, something that could break the curse or even human help, but there's nothing of the sort. And that leaves them with only one option.

Akechi frowns when he looks back up. He doesn't like this one bit. ]

You... want me to leave...?

Fiiiiiiind... heeeeeeelp...

[If there's a way to break this curse, Akechi still has a chance to find it while he can move. Akira is stuck in place, though. There's not much he can do this way.

Akechi can always come back for him later, if he isn't completely a tree by then.

These thoughts are hard to articulate when he can barely speak, though.]

[ Even though Akira can't articulate, Akechi can more or less understand what he means-- it has always been like that, anyway, having to expand on his few words. In this way, he has almost become a sort of expert translator for selective silences, and so Akira's gesture alone had been enough for him to get a solid clue on his intentions.

Alas, he doesn't intend to follow through with them. ]

No.

[ It's so short, so final, and for a moment, that's all he can afford to say; whatever little strength he has left goes toward hauling himself closer to Akira, and slide down what would surely soon become a trunk, his own rooted feet snapping as they break from forest soil. He just sits there, free for all of a second or two, but new roots sprout from the sap-like blood pooling on the floor, reaching for his hips and legs. Any plans to get back up again and try to escape would lead only to considerable pain.

Good thing he's not going anywhere. ]

I'll be with you to the end.

[ And that's all else he offers, all the explanation Akira gets. For once, maybe he should be the one trying to figure out what this unusually quiet Akechi really means.

(He did promise him, once, to never break his trust. That means never leaving him behind, too.) ]

[Akira wants to laugh and cry at the same time as he watches Akechi's slow, tortured movements to his near-trunk. So this is how it will be, then. They'll become trees together - maybe intertwined. He thinks, that would be nice, somehow.

He'd rather not be a tree at all, but if he doesn't have to be one alone... maybe it won't be so terrible.

He can't reach Akechi, but he lets his hand dangle toward him. He doesn't speak now, but the sigh that comes next is resigned, and accepting.]

[ Though Akira doesn't say it out loud, they seem to be of the same mind; as Akechi further slides down and presses his face against what was left of Akira's legs, he, too, may be hoping they'll be intertwined.

(Will they still be sentient once the transformation is complete? Will they be able to communicate somehow? There are plenty of questions plaguing his mind, but the thought of being forever bound to Akira brings him comfort.) ]

At least we agree on this much.

[ At least they won't end it on a sour note. If these are the last words they'll ever exchange, let them be peaceful.

With a sigh, he presses one hand to the ground for support, but immediately pulls it back at the moist feeling of his own blood. He's been in situations similar to this countless times before, bleeding out and helpless in the Metaverse, wondering if that would be his last day-- or the next, or the one after that. As much as he didn't want to admit it, as much as he always made it through so far, the truth is that it never got any less terrifying. Except for now.

(Maybe more than dying, it was the thought of dying alone that he feared the most.) ]

How careless of me... [ He says, idly looking at his soiled hand. Was there much of a point in wiping it off? Who knows. ] Although, I suppose this proves that rumor was only a lie...

[There's a sort of haziness that's clouding Akira's mind more and more as his body continues to twist and warp, but Akechi's words spark some alertness back into him. A rumor?]

Whaaaa...aaaat? [He manages to get out, the word creaking through him like snapping branches. He hopes Akechi can fill in the rest for himself, and explain more.

He's also noticed the sap, and he really hopes it isn't what he thinks it is, but it's hard to tell from his vantage point.]

[ That single word hurts his ears, both from the noise and what it represents-- the idea that Akira is going faster than him, that he'll be left alone until he follows the same fate. That maybe this will be the last time he gets to hear any semblance of the voice he's come to love so much.

He sighs and leans in closer, further presses the side of his face against Akira. ]

Something about blood breaking the curse. Some said it worked for them, while others were still confined to their tree forms. Even if we assume it was true, it's clearly...

[ He trails off, though Akira should be able to figure it out for himself, considering all the blood sipping out of Akechi right now. ]

[Blood breaks the curse.

He sees the sap-like blood pooling on the ground around Akechi (terrifying, but this whole situation is). It's clear that Akechi is covered in it and he's still turning into a tree, but that's his own blood - and it's only on the ground, keeping it from getting on Akira.

And Akira can still move his hands.

That spark of inspiration is all it takes for Akira to grab his knife from under his coat, still draped over his shoulders even as his body goes stiffer and stiffer, hold his left palm out over Akechi, and slice the blade over his palm.

He watches as his blood rains down on Akechi. Worse case, he'll just have a scar on his wood once he's fully a tree. But if the rumor is true...]

[ Desolate as he is, it takes Akechi a minute to even take notice of the blood trickling down his head, but eventually he feels something moist in his hair, then his forehead, until it's running down his nose. ]

Blood...? [ He finally looks up, and his eyebrows shoot upwards as realization dawns upon him. ] Akira, what are you--

[ But he doesn't have the chance to ask.

Before he can voice his concerns, he feels something else; his sides are warm and more malleable, and though his skin still looks rough and far too similar to bark, he finds that, on the inside, his left arm and leg seem to be pumping blood again; the pain from his wounds surely feels a lot sharper, too, fresh and exposed. Out of instinct, he brings his one good hand to press on it and stop the bleeding, but that's when an idea comes to mind.

Could it be the rumors might work for them, after all? It's worth a try, at the very least.

With less difficulty now than back when he settled down, he comes to his full height again, and wipes a bloodied hand across Akira's trunk, stepping back to see if it bears any results. ]

[When Akechi starts to get up and move with greater fluidity than a moment ago, Akira feels his body sag with relief. So it worked. They'll be okay.

He feels confident even before Akechi rubs his bloody palm against his trunk, but the moment it hits, he already starts to feel better. Slowly, steadily, the transformation reverses, with only some pain - his skin returns to normal, his legs are no longer rooted to the ground. He shrinks back to his normal height, to stand before Akechi.]

...It worked.

[His voice is no longer like the wind through a tree, though it's still pretty raspy.]

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