(no subject)

[icemountain_dad]

Oh, come on, now, I said I was sorry!

[so it turns out calling in a strange doctor to stitch up a skittish wild creature's wounds does not endear you to said wild creature! who'd have thought.]

Comments

[was_no_mononoke]

[and I don't trust any more of your stupid words, so I don't care! HISSING ANGRILY FROM UNDER THE BED]

[icemountain_dad]

Look, you were literally falling apart at the seams! Don't you feel like you can move much better now?

Come on, please come out? For Yuki's sake, at least!

[was_no_mononoke]

[words words words, all of them loud and threatening and too noisy and he is not listening. ...maybe he should show the grown person that he can be even louder than it if he wants to be, and it'll leave him alone. rumbling in warning]

[icemountain_dad]

[Kiyoteru knows better than to get too close to a growling animal, humanshaped or not. he draws back a bit, softening his voice]

Come on, it's all right, Daisuke, please...

[was_no_mononoke]

[...okay well that is a little better.

...

fine. HUFFS, poking his head cautiously out. what do you want >(]

[icemountain_dad]

[aaaand he's quiet for a moment, surprised both by his slip and by the boy's actual response.

... but, well, that leads well enough into what he wanted to talk about. he lays himself down on his belly, propping himself up on his elbows, to be at eye level.]

Mononoke-san... I haven't forgotten what you did for Yuki. Helping you out is a start, but... I want to find a way to properly thank you.

[was_no_mononoke]

[he sorts through that, with difficulty. there are a couple of things with meanings he doesn't quite understand, and one blank word that doesn't have a meaning, as far as he can tell.

finally, though, he huffs again and makes a face. all he did was put the baby bird back. fixing him isn't a beginning; he'd even count it as more than enough if they hadn't brought the stranger grown person and his needles into it.]

[icemountain_dad]

[there it is again - that pause before reacting, with the faraway look and... he's not sure if he heard it this time, that faint muffled whirrr, but he knows he's heard it before. whatever this boy-creature is, he's something a little less natural than a mononoke.

he saw metal, underneath the flesh.]

Yuki is more precious to me than you know. Saving her life... it's a debt I can never entirely repay.

I'm not sure what I can give you, besides food and shelter, but I want to try.

[was_no_mononoke]

[...that makes him hurt a little. he knows parents are supposed to take care of their offspring, that's what they're there for; but that entire subject is another big hole that he doesn't like going near, and this is all but shoving it in his face. he doesn't want the grown person's pay-back if it hurts this much.

...then he frowns. something about that thought was just wrong. what was it?

going back over everything... "Yuki" is the girl? ...how is that supposed to work? words aren't people. snow isn't people, either.

... weird is people :/ he shakes his head and pulls back under the bed before this all gives him a headache.]

[icemountain_dad]

[... sigh, this kid. 8| Kiyoteru sits up again, and walks away without another word.

not for long, though. He has an idea.]

[icemountain_dad]

[a moment later, he returns, with a pen and notepad in hand. resuming his bellydown position on the ground, he turns the notepad to face the boy. on it is written one line:

can you read?]

[was_no_mononoke]

[...

what? what is that supposed to—

something in the back of his head clicks, and suddenly the scratchy treebranch markings are...

he rubs his eyes and squints at them. ...then he levels a boggled, accusatory look at the grown person. what did he do,there's meaning there!]

[icemountain_dad]

[it's not nice to laugh at the confused mononoke-thing. Kiyoteru limits himself to a grin]

I'll take that as a yes.

... Do you have a name?

[was_no_mononoke]

[blinks at him, confused and out of sorts. "name"?

...doesn't the grown person already know it? he and the little bird have been calling him by what he is almost the entire time, even if it took him a while to recognize it.]

[icemountain_dad]

I mean, besides "Mononoke-san". It's a little silly - Yuki and I don't go around calling each other and other people just "Human" all the time! We have names for ourselves so we don't get confused talking to each other.

If it's all right... even if you're the only "mononoke" around, I'd like to give you a name of your own. ...It's one way I can start to thank you for saving Yuki.

[was_no_mononoke]

[he falls silent, staring at the grown person. that word—"name"—is starting to make more sense to him, between the repitition and the explanation, but... he's not sure he wants it to. it's another hole, another thing he doesn't want to think about, so he makes himself stop and focus on something else.

if he lets the grown person give him one of those, a "name"... more than anything else, it will be a mark on him. in a way, he'll belong to this person. does he want that?

...he's still not sure. he flattens himself the rest of the way down on his stomach and whimpers]

[icemountain_dad]

[wait what that is the opposite of the intended reaction]

Er, if you don't want it, that's all right too! I just... well, I sort of think of you with this name I have in mind, and I wanted to give it to you - something you can have, in honor of what you did.

[awkward, awkward - he takes the notepad back and quickly scribbles out some words, before turning it back for the boy to see:

is it okay if I call you "Daisuke"?]

[was_no_mononoke]

[silence. then he reaches out to carefully take the notepad, pulling it up within a few inches of his face to stare intently at it.

weird as it is to understand the markings, it's easier than understanding their noises. it isn't lack of comprehension that makes him pause.

"big help," say the two symbols that have been set aside from the rest. he rubs his eyes again, and when the meaning still doesn't change he pulls the thing the rest of the way to push his cheek against. it's a silly thing to do, he knows the words aren't real things he can touch, but he, he has to make sure it's there.

it still says the same thing when he pulls away to look at it again, this thing that the grown person said he thought of him as. would probably still think of him as, even if he said no.

it takes him a little while to figure out how, but eventually he nods with the awkward air of someone who has never done it before and shoves the notepad back. this time, when he rubs his eyes, it has nothing to do with trying to read.]

[icemountain_dad]

[oh, good. he had hoped it would help, laying the meaning out for him to see. He smiles gently.]

... Thank you, Daisuke-san.

[was_no_mononoke]

[just... looks at him, and then slowly eels his way back out from under the bed. he doesn't quite know what to do once he's out, though, and for a few moments just shifts his weight awkwardly.

...

...pushing his face into the grown person's shoulder]

[icemountain_dad]

[... aww. he lifts his arms to wrap loosely around Daisuke, taking care not to press on the wounds or their new stitches.]

[was_no_mononoke]

[nice as the contact is, it's still too much like being trapped. he withstands it for as long as he can, trying to focus on the comfort it brings, but eventually panic starts to creep in and he pulls away. again, he gives the grown person that desperate, frightened look... and then he bolts out of the room.]

[icemountain_dad]

[goddammit, could I fail any harder at this /o\

pursuit obviously = bad, so he just... goes to the kitchen. at least Daisuke's out from under the bed now. maybe he can be lured/calmed with food smells.]

[was_no_mononoke]

[the soft whirr creeeak whirr a while later indicates that would be a very much yes. something smells good, what is it! :9]

[icemountain_dad]

[that would be yakitori! smell that delicious fried chikn]

[was_no_mononoke]

[if Kiyoteru looks over his shoulder at all, he will see Daisuke peeking around the corner, sniffing avidly and watching him cook with wide eyes]

[icemountain_dad]

They'll be ready in a little bit, Daisuke. Would you like some?

[was_no_mononoke]

...

...

...rrrrt?!

[he can have some? really?!]

[icemountain_dad]

[laughs]

Of course you can have some! We're taking care of you, right?

[was_no_mononoke]

[... :O!

scuttling the rest of the way into the room and coming over, hesitantly]

[icemountain_dad]

Just a moment...

[doot de doot taking them out of the oil and laying them out to pat dry and drain]

You have to let them cool first so you don't burn your mouth, but it'll be just a little while.

[was_no_mononoke]

[pacing at the grown person's heels. food food food :9 finally, he rears up and plunks his hands on the counter, staring intently at the chicken. maybe if he looks hard enough, it will impart to him the secrets of how the big person made it smell so good.

...or it could just cool down. that would be good, too.]

[icemountain_dad]

[whatever you are, you're adorable. eventually, Kiyoteru holds out a stick to him]

Here.

[was_no_mononoke]

[SNATCHING IT and gnawing at it like a bone. manners what are manners

...it tastes even better than it smells hnnnnnnng. f-flopping against the grown person's leg thank youuuuuuuu]

[icemountain_dad]

[affectionate hairruffle |D and takes one of his own :9]

Am I forgiven for bringing the doctor in, then?

1/2

[was_no_mononoke]

[food and petting yessssss. making a sort of indistinct happy noise around another mouthful of food and all but falling over—]

[was_no_mononoke]

[... he had forgetten about that.

...

pulling away and going over to sit underneath the table |T]

[icemountain_dad]

[...

sigh.

eats his yakitori |(]