Autumn Open Post

[callmeles]

Autumn Open Post As we know, I love my AUs and PSLs! I love exploring worlds and discovering how little changes can tumble and create big changes. My characters are top-leveled but feel free to add your own and let me know if there's someone you'd like! ♥

C

Comments

[noreasonneeded]

"A good thing that happened. You wouldn't want it on your gleaming conscience to fell a poor man with a cane," he deadpans back to her when she mentions that she cleaned his floor already. There's a part of him that naturally gravitates towards teasing and ribbing, especially when she does something kind and caring towards him.

Even as she comes nearer to him to lean against her desk, he feels safe enough to not shift away or glare until she does. He trusts Inej to keep that physical distance between them rather than push him past his boundaries. His gaze instead scans her knives, meticulously cleaned and cared for in a process he suspects she knows by heart now. One she invented, to wipe away whatever blood coats them and her by proxy. Traditions she's created, to replace ones that got lost, rather than doing what Kaz has done and tossing out the concept of tradition altogether.

"Does it help?" His gaze shifts to meet hers, a neutral look on his face. "Your cleaning ritual."

[withoutanet]

"A poor man," she says dryly but can't resist the urge to crack a grin. "That's exactly why I did it." She doesn't mind that he naturally goes toward the teasing and ribbing. Inej isn't sure what she would do if he ever acted any differently, though secretly (one that only Nina knows) there are times when she wants to know what that would be like.

Her eyes shift to the knives laying on the bed and studies them silently. The ritual helped her focus, helped her feel closer to her Saints in some way or fashion and in a way had allowed her to 'wipe' away the blood that stains her hands.

"It does, it's meditative and gives me the time to focus." And it's for her. Not for anyone else. It's the one thing she had and took time for her.

[noreasonneeded]

Traditions, rituals. It's one of many ways that he and Inej differ. To be fair, most people he knows find comfort in the familiarity of routines, of knowing what to expect and embracing boundaries that bring them joy. Kaz had that as well once upon a time, but rather than risk losing it again he's eschewed such things. There are no holidays he celebrates, no spiritual figures he embraces, no act he performs daily that would leave him feeling unsettled if he missed it.

Nothing, except perhaps her very presence in his life. His shadow that he's gotten so used to relying upon, without even realizing it. It terrifies him when he acknowledges it, yet he still finds himself wanting to draw near to the anchoring stillness she provides him.

Of course, he makes a sour face at the mention of meditation, nose wrinkling. "Are you sure meditation isn't really just an excuse to take a nap without anyone noticing?" The thought of remaining still to center himself is utterly baffling, even though he knows it's a serious practice for many. "The rest though, I get. Not doing it, but I get why you do it."