[PRP] Counting Stars (Tevini + Cerpin)

[Yamashii]

lately, i've been, i've been losing sleep
dreaming about the things that we could be
but baby, i've been, i've been praying hard
said no more counting dollars
we'll be counting stars

 

[Yamashii]

And she complained about the noise he made with his amp. Cerpin groaned as miscellaneous drilling and clanging noises drifted down the hallway from her workshop to his room. He could swear that he hadn't seen her emerge from there in three nights. Whatever had happened to her that day she'd left to scavenge for parts in the junkyard had lit some kind of fire inside her that he didn't understand. Somehow, it seemed very off. Tevini was a driven troll but what propelled her the most was usually fear.

It was as good a night as any to find out more. Pulling some pants on, he sleepily made his way to her door. He had an idea what to do.

"Vee, come out. I need your help with something. We're gonna build something." Knocking on it loudly, he waited for her usual protests that she was 'busy' and that it wasn't a good time before knocking again and repeating his request.

"C'mon, I promise it's not another nightclub!" He laughed at his own joke, knowing her intense annoyance over the fact that half of her hive had been taken over by partying, dancing and drinking.

Gog, it was like she was allergic to fun.

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

At Cerpin's words, the noise stopped. It was childish really, the way she fell silent to try and convince him she was gone so he'd go away. Her logic wasn't working at the moment, as Tevini hadn't slept in a few nights. She was exhausted, scared, and unable to handle what was going on. Clutching the drill in her hands, the redblood took in shallow breaths as she tried to just keep breathing.

Unfortunately for her, the knocking continued.

"Cerpin! Just- please! I can't right now." Her voice was muffled by the door but her tone dangerous. Something was definitely wrong.

"Shouldn't you be asleep right now?" At least, he usually was.

Yamashii

 

[Yamashii]

She was hiding again. He kicked the door lightly with his foot to make it clear he wasn't going anywhere this time. Too often, she ran the clock out and he had to leave to make it to a meeting or a gig. But right now he had all the time in the world.

"Couldn't sleep. So come out and keep me company." Something jingled on the other side of the door that she would not be able to recognize. "I need your help with this. It's too difficult for one person alone."

He tried the door this time, wondering if she had been distracted enough by her problem to remember to lock it.

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

Cerpin had many talents. One of them was getting under Tevini's skin.

"What is that?" Her interest was piqued at the strange jingling sound. She wasn't keen on inviting him in but at the same time... Tevini felt the need to make sure her roommate hadn't brought home a pet or something. Opening the door slightly, she peeked out to see what the purpleblood had brought. Her hair was messy, as always, and her eyes red.

"Explain." The engineer frowned as she examined what he held.

Yamashii

 

[Yamashii]

In his hands and tucked under his arms were a mess of metal bars, wires and painted balls. They looked familiar, painted to resemble the planets and stars in the galaxy surrounding them. Cerpin tossed one at her to occupy her hands so he could pull her out by the wrist before she shut the door again. Tugging her nicely out into the common area, he plopped her down on a couch.

"We're making a model galaxy. It's not exactly research but I think it could come in handy for our mission. And Polair will be able to 'see' the galaxy again with this." The seadweller's blindness was not ideal but they could work around it. He took a seat opposite of her.

"It'll take us a while to string it all up so I thought the sooner we started, the better, right?" His hands got to work. The good thing about them both was they were good at focused detailed work with their hands, one from building machines and the other from expert guitar handling.

As he unraveled some wire, he watched her, still concerned over whatever strange problem had been haunting her lately.

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

"Cerpin, I- What's the poin-?" Tevini frowned about to scold him for wasting beetles and time on this until he mentioned Polair. She paused and watched as he began unraveling the wire. The blind seadweller needed their help and reassurance that they weren't going to abandon her on this planet. It was amazing how Cerpin always managed to surprise her with his little ways of caring for others, even if she didn't always understand them. She lacked that ability to find the right thing to say or do. It just didn't come naturally to her. A lot of things didn't.

"Fine. Show me the design." Sitting down across from him, she still kept her distance- afraid to touch him. Concentrating carefully, she tried to suppress any nerves or fears at the sight of all the metal wire that could suddenly spontaneously slice through the area and- Oh gog. Clenching her fist, Tevini fought to focus but it was hard.

Yamashii

 

[Yamashii]

"I drew it up here but it's probably not perfect. I thought you could fix it up if there's problems." He spread a crude sketch out on the coffee table. It was obvious that Cerpin was not an artist but the general idea was there. A floating mobile with rotating metal branches above with thin wires dangling down with celestial bodies hanging in the air. It would be able to spin the way the planets in the galaxy orbited around the star in the middle.

"I tried to put together the branches already but it's a lot harder to tie the planets on when everything gets tangled together." He sighed dramatically, what a huge inconvenience it was for the prince. Anything that annoyed or bothered him was something that he deserved sympathy for in Cerpin's mind.

"It'd be easier if the whole thing could just... fly somehow but I hate the idea of tying it to the ceiling. It'd just get tangled again when I took it down. What a ******** pain, huh?" Nevertheless, it was clear despite the obstacles, he was going to see this through. It was his job to keep morale up among his crew. That meant proving she was still a part of it in the case of Polair. And uncovering the mysterious problem that Tevini was going through.

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

"These branches need to swap or it won't spin." Tevini frowned, and leaned in to start marking up his sketch. There weren't a lot of changes, just a few minor ones to improve the mobility of the planets. Drawn in by the activity, she almost lost herself in it until his words.

"... it'd be easier if the whole thing could just... fly..."

"What?" She snapped, looking at him. Did he know? How could he? She hadn't mentioned it to anyone besides Byakko yet. Confused, she thought back to that night. How could he have witnessed? No, there was no way he could have. It was just a wish. Stop it Tevini. Stop it!

"What?" She repeated, with a breathier tone. Was she falling? Was the room shaking? Everything not tied down or heavy was floating around them now. Eyes widened. No- not now. Not him! She didn't want to hurt him!

"No!" Tevini shouted, angry and afraid. Pens and painted balls went flying as wire thrashed about and slashed into the new leather couch Cerpin had bought recently. Gasping from the exhertion, Tevini slumped against the mangled couch and looked for Cerpin in fear. She didn't want- She hadn't meant to-

Please be okay.

Yamashii

what is this?

 

[Yamashii]

The world spun around him, a blur of colors and motion that threatened to rip at his body. He was unable to stop the panicked yell from pouring out and he moved quickly to cover his face with his arms, shielding it from any possible debris. Only once he heard the clatter of everything falling back to the ground, of Tevini crashing down into a quivering ball on to the ground did he uncover it. Alarmed eyes surveyed the damage. His things were torn up but he was mostly unharmed. Just a few rips and tears in his clothes. Thankfully, leather was very protective.

"s**t, Vee, what... did you do that?" He wasn't sure what to feel. Fear? Concern? Wonder? When had Tevini had the power to do something like that? She'd never mentioned it before. It was just like her to keep secrets until she absolutely had to reveal them. But the way she was gasping for air and trying to keep her distance from him made him think this was a new development. Something she didn't have control over and thus, something she couldn't bear to share with anyone until she did.

"I'm fine. It's okay. You're okay." He took a seat next to her, his hand reaching to pull her face into his lap. Cerpin stroked her hair, letting her hide her face for now. Tevini cried easily but that didn't mean she liked others to see it, even if they had before. Only time would calm her body from shaking but maybe he could ease the terror in her heart.

"Shhh, you don't need to apologize. You can't control it yet. Don't worry about it." He knew her well enough by now to know what script her mind followed. "Tell me what happened. You can go slow." His hand continued to toy with the curls, a mix of uneasy emotions swirling in his stomach. Cerpin couldn't lie, he was scared. But he had to be strong for her right now. She needed him.

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry-" As Cerpin pulled her into him, Tevini shook from stress, fear, and shame. She was relieved at his gentle voice and understanding words, the usual script he pulled out when she needed it. At the same time, she felt terrible about how weak she was. She'd just accidentally almost attacked him and now he was having to comfort her. She should be comforting him! Reassuring him that it was okay and- it-

"I didn't know. This... I didn't know I could do this." The redblood's voice was half muffled by the embrace but she refused to pull away. Wrapping her arms around him despite the awkward positioning, she held onto him tightly as if afraid of losing him.

"I went back to my old hive, trying to scavenge old projects. But there was this girl there. She had no business being there. I- I was scared." Gog this felt so pathetic now. Scared of a child. She still couldn't believe what she'd done to the girl. But something about the tealblood had been so unnerving, so emotionless and cold. A sterile soul.

"She pulled a syringe on me. I didn't understand it but I knew it was bad. And then-" She could hear the screams of metal once more, the groans of the hive itself warping as suddenly everything in the room began to pull and fly out of control.

"Everything started flying around and it was so loud and- her- her... her arm was suddenly on the ground and there was blood everywhere! I cut off her arm Cerpin!" Her breathing hitched as she visualized the scene while she retold it. The look on Flydra's face was one she'd never forget. It sent chills down every bone in her body.

"I ran. And I don't know what to do! I don't know how to control it!"

Yamashii

 

[Yamashii]

She curled into him and he tightened his grip to make her feel more secured. He was honestly concerned what these powers could do left untrained and unchecked but now wasn't the time to voice those thoughts. Rubbing her back, he kept his voice soft and relaxed. Tevini had always been fragile and frightened, now more than ever.

"You did something bad. But that's okay. Nobody goes through life without hurting other people. It's alright." It wasn't like they had never slung hurtful words at each other. Physical violence was just another way to damage people. He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"You don't know how to control it. But that doesn't mean you can't learn." He could tell she was a mess that thought she would always be either worthless or destructive but that wasn't true. "I met a girl that could do those things. We'll ask her for help. Later." His fingers moved upwards to run through her hair. Even her curls seemed less firm and springy than usual.

"We'll figure out what to do together. Just like this." Something twinkled, a bell-like ringing sound. If she looked, she'd see him holding up the remains of the delicate metallic universe from earlier. They'd finish this together.

Just like someday they'd get there together too.

Doutei

 

[Doutei]

"Okay." Her voice was small, weak but not timid. It was hard to believe it but she had to try. Cerpin's hold was comforting, as were his words. She could feel his fingers tremble, from fear or excitement she didn't know. She knew that it felt good to finally be sharing the inexplicable feeling with someone. Nodding into him, she took in one last deep breath of his scent before pulling back to look at the object in his hands.

"Here." Carefully, her fingers plucked the metal from his hand and she rose to her feet. Looking over the plans once more, she bit her lip at the messy state of the room. Some of the wires had been shot into the couch while the other balls were around the room haphazardly. Quietly she began to clean it up, allowing Cerpin to do what he could as well. It was almost funny to see him crouch down and actually pick things up. Cerpin knew how to help out when needed but generally preferred to hire others to clean. He was brought up with different expectations, she knew.

By the time they'd gathered up most of the materials, the pair was talking as usual again. Hanging the mobile meticulously, Tevini made sure that no connections were delicate. She fused together what she could to try and protect it against any future accidents of her's. It was impossible to completely protect it, for her power could feasibly pull hard enough to break the wires if she tried, but at least for her weaker moments. This mobile was important, not only was it something for Polair but it was also something Cerpin had come up with all on his own. His thoughtfulness and consideration of others had improved dramatically from when they were younger, and when he looked over at her with a grin while trying to attach some stars... she felt proud.

He was going to make a great leader.

As they wrapped up, she dimmed the lights and admired the view. It was beautiful. Perhaps she could hook up some special lights to create more of a spotted star effect even if Polair wouldn't be able to see it. It would still make a nice surprise for Cerpin later. She watched him enjoy the sight and smiled.

"I think she'll love it. It's wonderful, Cerpin." Somehow it'd transported her back to that night on the mountain. He'd inspired her that it might just actually be possible. Hopefully this mobile would do the same for their newest team member.

"Thank you for letting me help." Tevini's voice was quiet as always, this time out of a embarrassed but determined need to express gratitude. She made no effort to catch his eyes, for they were both still too entranced by the stars to look at each other. Hopefully though, this time her sound would reach him and he would understand that she really meant it.

Yamashii

FIN!