Logs:Waffle Talk: Difference between revisions

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{{Log  
{{Log  
| content-warning=Discussion of triggers, past domestic/relationship abuse, complicated relationship dynamics, and tons of sugar.
| content-warning=Discussion of triggers, past domestic/relationship abuse, complicated relationship dynamics, and tons of sugar.
| cast=[[Little Fox]] and [[Ziv]]
| cast=[[Little Fox]] and [[Lux]]
| setting=The Disaster Darkling House
| setting=The Disaster Darkling House
| log=Well, the fun impulsive part is done--now it's time for... talking and stuff. And probably more fun, lets be honest.  
| log=Well, the fun impulsive part is done--now it's time for... talking and stuff. And probably more fun, lets be honest.  

Latest revision as of 11:14, 20 February 2021

Content Warning

Discussion of triggers, past domestic/relationship abuse, complicated relationship dynamics, and tons of sugar.

Cast

Little Fox and Lux

Setting

The Disaster Darkling House

Log

Well, the fun impulsive part is done--now it's time for... talking and stuff. And probably more fun, lets be honest.

Lux had invited Fox over to the house. Everyone else is out working or... doing whatever they're up to, so the house is quiet--save for Lux humming in the kitchen while making... rainbow colored waffles.

flutterflutter

Outside the house comes the sound of an owl screeching, followed directly by the sound of a blue Jay, and then a whipporwill, and then the fast-paced chirruping of a hummingbird, which sounds like something out of a video game, to be honest.

Then there's another fluttering sound, the rapid tap tap at the window, and the distinctive sound of a crow.

Most of those are diurnal birds, but it all makes sense when one looks out the window to see a northern mockingbird sitting on a nearby fence post, watching the window.

Lux pauses, peering out the window--not at all surprised that she would knock there. They laugh lightly, then move over to open it, leaning out. "Come on in!" Then leans back, waiting for the birb to fly in, before closing the window behind her.

flutterflutter

The mockingbird blinks its bright eyes and flutters in through the window in a rush of taupe and grey wings, swooping first to rest on Lux's shoulder before alighting once more and unfolding into Fox's humanoid shape. She holds her arms out to the side and up a bit in the universal ta dah! gesture.

"Hello!"

Lux smirks as they watch her change. "That never gets old." They snatch at her waist to draw her in, planting a smooch on her lips. "Hungry? I'm making--shit--" Lux quickly lets go and opens up the waffle maker, which had turned it's light from red to green as they were opening the window. "Ah, good, not burnt." They use a fork to plop the swirly mult-colored battered waffle onto a plate. "How are you?"

"May it never get old," answers Fox with a glitter in her green-gold eyes. The kiss gets returned enthusiastically; she flings her slender arms around Lux's neck and leans up and in, short as she is. There's nearly a foot difference in their heights. Well, in Fox's default height and Lux's, anyway, but that's neither here nor there. "I am always hungry, and whatever you're making smells amazeballs." Fox shucks off her ubiquitous backpack and her coat. "I'mma go hang stuff up!" she chirrups, and scampers off toward the front door, where she shucks her shoes and hangs up her coat. The backpack stays with her, naturally.

"I'm okay," she answers when she comes back. "Better being here. I flew around and had a good mope and a good think and I think I'm gonna try to call my baby sister. In a couple days. Like, I'm gonna think about it some more, but I think I will." Beat. "How are you?"

"Rainbow waffles--and pancakes--are the best. I probably eat them like... fifty percent of the time now. Keep batter in the fridge." They use some squirt bottles to spread different colors into the waffle maker, then closes it back up to cook.

The mention of moping makes them frown, looking back at her. "Wha--Oh. Right." They nod. "I think that's... a good idea. So long as you're ready." Then a soft smile. "I'm good. Spent most of the day dreaming. Got some sketches done for an upcoming mural."

Pap pap pap go her sock feet softly across the floor, and Fox bonks her head gently against Lux's arm while they're putting batter into the wafflemaker, a companionable animal gesture. Bonk bonk. Once the waffle iron is closed again, he insinuates himself along their side, not so very differently from the way she always has.

"Sometimes you have to have a good mope to just get it out of your system," Fox says to the Winter Courtier. "I've been sort of swinging between mad at myself and sad at myself for a while, but I think figuring out a Thing to Do is the way to not keep doing that thing."

Her eyes widen, and she grins broadly. "Tell me about daydreaming and sketches! I want to know about your art please."

"I know you have plenty of people to support you, but... If you want me there when you call, just let me know." They drape an arm around his shoulders, smiling down at them. "That's true. I spend a fair amount of time moping." Where no one can see it, but still. Its a mope!

"Oh..." They pause a beat, then shrug. "Nothing big, really. I haven't seen anything that felt... significant, lately. Nothing... prophetic. Mostly I use my dreams now a days to..." They flit a hand. "Work out my shit. And just... escape."

Which is totally not why Lux is spending the majority of their time sleeping now...

"The sketches... I'm still trying to figure out concepts. I know I want to incorporate light, somehow. I haven't decided if I want that to be with actual light, or like... blacklight paint, or what."

"I have plenty of people to support me, one of whom is undeniably and consistently you," rebuts Fox in her own precise way, and she turns his head slightly to lightly bite at the arm slung around it. Not even bite, really, just a sort of gentle closing of her sharp teeth around their arm, as if about to start grooming them. "Thank you. If -- when -- I need your support, I'll ask. Honestly, given that the weight of this whole thing is likely to land firmly on my whole cadre, being able to turn to someone outside of that will probably be very necessary." A slight shrug, a wry half-smile.

She shifts his weight to lean against them more fully. "Hmm. Well. If I can help you somehow with seeing prophetic things more clearly, I am glad to do so! I'm not sure how I would, but I'm sure I could figure out a way. Leta's really the one who's better with prophecy. It's why she's stoney baloney all the time." A pause. "But don't, like... sleep so much that you miss your life. If you need to escape, there are lots of ways to do that."

Fox's eyes half-close, as if she's trying to picture the basic concepts Lux is talking about. "Blacklight paint sounds so cool. Or glow-in-the-dark. Or both!"

They nod, enduring the play biting without complaint, just a little grin. "Alright. I'll trust you to let me know when you need be."

"I don't... think there's any way for you to help, though I admit I'm still curious about what going into a mage's dreams would be like. An experiment, for some time, at some point. Oooor, you know, you can wear me out so I sleep really deep, sometime." Their lips quirk, and they leave one arm around her as they open the waffle maker and slip the crispy goodness onto another plate.

"Hmm. Both would be good. I think I want to make it... chaotic. Dizzying. So the more the better, I think."

A soft smile, and they take a step back to let Lux handle the waffle-making. "I will, I promise. I won't do the thing where I don't tell you because I'm trying not to be a bother."

She gnaws her lower lip with her sharp little teeth. "And I'm happy to welcome you into my dreams. I think it'll be fun! I don't remember my dreams a lot, because I haven't tried. Oooh! I can make my memory perfect, I wonder what would happen if I did that and then went to sleep." And then that last sentence catches her and Fox blushes brilliantly. "Now that I can definitely do," she laughs aloud, that sharp animal sound.

"Yessssss. More extra forever. Like intricate patterns of intersecting lines so in regular light it's one pattern, then if you have bright light shining on it and turn it off, it's another from the glow in the dark, and then once that starts to fade, turn on the blacklights. That would be baller for like... a rave."

"Hmmm..." Their head tilts. "We could tire each other out, you use your memory spell..." They smirk, eyebrows arching. "And I could give you some very interesting dreams."

Their head tilts. "Mmm, that is a good idea. I'll have to sketch down some new ideas." They move to the fridge, opening it. "What do you like on your waffles? I've got... fruit, syrup, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, a ton of candy..."

Oh, the shades of red that Fox turns. Delightful! "That... sounds like an awful lot of fun," Fox admits, shuffling her feet a bit as the corners of her mouth curl up at the sides. "Deal."

"You're so good at coming up with art, I can't wait to see what it looks like." Then Fox scampers over to the fridge to duck her head under Lux's arm and peer into the fridge. They probably didn't need to do that, but he's used to being an smol fox. "I like... fruit... and ... whipped cream... and syrup if it's real syrup and not the caramel-color-and-sugar-water kind. But! I can make it into that kind actually if you don't have it." And she sticks her tongue out before ducking back out from under Lux's arm.

"Of course it's real syrup!" They gasp, affronted. They pull out fruit--strawberries and blueberries, as well as whipped cream and syrup. And chocolate syrup. Because of course Lux is going to load their waffle stack down with sweet goodness--which they do. A layer of whipped cream, chocolate, then a bag of sour candies is pulled from a shelf and sprinkled onto it.

Once Fox has her's made, they head for the living room to sit on the couch. Chomping down hungrily. "Hmm... So... I guess we should like..." They waggle a fork. "Talk. About stuff? Like... if there's any... I dunno. You don't seem like a rule person, so I don't wanna say rules, but--any expectations or... needs."

"Well I don't know! Some people like that fakey stuff. It's one of the things I'm super picky about. When I lived in Russia, my mentor made birch syrup, and I convinced her to try making maple syrup from the local maples. It is not very good, but then we ordered some and she understood why I am sort of fanatical about it." Fox goes about prepping up his waffle with berries, syrup, and whipped cream. She glances aside at Lux's waffle and smiles that sort of subtle 'you are ridiculous and I love you' smile that people get, complete with a shake of his head.

She _pap pap pap_ into the living room, and curls up next to Lux on the couch, feet tucked underneath herself. "This smells so good," she sighs happily. And then she chows down while Lux talks. "I think we probably should!" the Thyrsus agrees, and clicks a tongue against the roof of her mouth. "No, I'm not big on rules. Guidelines and understandings and expectations, those we can talk about." Another bite, and once she finishes chewing, she licks the smear of whipped cream that got onto her cheek off.

"I think the most important thing for me is, like, honesty. I know that there's gonna be stuff I can't tell you, and things you can't tell me. You've always been honest with me, so I... just want that to continue. Especially with what you said about having to act happy. Don't do that, please. Don't lie to me. If you have to look at it any sort of way, look at it like... um. Do not deny me the experience of knowing you, please. Good and bad, experiences are life, and I don't look away from them."

Lux listens to this, while idly munching at their pile of sugar and carbs. A little nod here and there, agreeing. They don't immediately reply, chewing over a bit a moment more than is necessary probably. They swallow, then puff out a breath. "I can't promise to never lie to you. I... did that, once. And I ended up having to lie to Mearcstapa, to keep my promises to Winter and my Queen--and I got gut punched by the Wyrd for it. It was not a good time. But..." Their lips purse. "I will do my best to let you know me. To not hide that sort of thing from you. And if you notice me doing it--being evasive or whatever, you have full permission to call me out. I'll... try."

And now it's Fox's turn to listen intently, focusing her green-gold eyes solidly on Lux, intent and intense as she always is. The Thyrsus is like a little battery just wandering around beaming enthusiasm at everyone and everything. "I mostly don't want you to lie to me about your feelings." Fox stops for a moment, presses the side of her hand to her mouth, and clears her throat. "Sec." She clears her throat again, and explains, "I got whipped cream down the wrong pipe. Sorry. Ahem."

"Well, I don't want you to get sucker punched by the Wyrd, or get in trouble with Winter or your Queen. I just want you to tell me the truth about what's going on in your head and your heart. I do have a tendency to fall in love with cryptic motherfuckers, so it's not like I'm not used to it. But." A tiny shrug. "I'll call you out. Don't worry." Beat. "What's important to you?"

They nod in understanding. "I get it, yeah. I'll do my best. It might be... a work in progress. But it's something I need to get better at, like... in general."

They take another bite, chewing contently a moment. "Well--the same, yeah. I'd rather you not lie about your feelings or hide them, so we can talk shit through. My other big thing is like..." They pause, then shrug. "I get jealous. Really easily. And sometimes I can get... really spiteful and bitchy. Especially if something catches me off guard. I don't like being... surprised? I'm not expecting you to hand over a little black book with everyone you have been with or anything. And I know you're already with Vasha and Leda, and you live together, I can prepare myself for that already. But like... if you invite me out somewhere, and--there's another of your partners that I've never heard about, or wasn't expecting to be there, it can throw me off. I'm just... selfish and an attention whore, and it takes me some time to realign my brain to... not be that."

Another bite, and then Fox, licking the corner of her mouth to get all of the delicious very real syrup, replies, "We're all works in progress, darling. I get it."

She sets her waffle down on an end table for a moment, though she pauses to pluck up a blueberry and pop it into his mouth, biting down on it and relishing the delightful crunch as her sharp little teeth puncture the berry's skin and send its contents splashing across her tongue. Her eyes even half-lid. "Gosh, I love blueberries. Blackberries, too." Clearing her throat, they stop for a moment. "Honestly? That was one of the things I wanted to bring up. I'm ... "

"The fox thing isn't just for funsies. I mean, it really is fun, but it's not for funsies. When I followed my soul's leadings and became an Orphan of Proteus, and when I became a fox, it wasn't... it's not playtime pretend. I really am a part-time fox. And that part-time is going to probably get more blatant as I get older and better at this thing. I am naturally very ... " She pauses. "I am generally very happy when my partners find happiness, however they do, but if I'm surprised about it, then it's very easy for everyone to get reminded that part of me is literally a wild animal, and that foxes are very, very territorial. That's not how I like to be, but if I get surprised, it is how I can be."

"All of that is to say that I understand, and actually I'd really rather that we disclose ... like I don't care, I'll give you the list, and like, any new additions to the greater merged polycule, at least those attached directly to us. So neither one of us gets surprised."

"It can be useful, though, if there are creepers hanging off you at Vertigo. Release the tiny vicious animal!" She laughs, there, and picks up her waffles again.

"Blackberries, huh? I'll keep that in mind. Could maybe keep a bag in the freezer..."

Lux pauses, eyeing him thoughtfully. Perhaps surprised to learn this. But they've never seen Fox as anything but happy and cheerful. Well, other than sad. But they've never seen fighty fox.

"Huh," they muse, taking another bite and chewing. "Mm, well, then that's good! Though, I do care less about, like... one night stands or whatever. Because I have a lot of one night stands. It's a big part of how I harvest. But like... if there's feelings... Yeah. I'd know to know who your partners are. Mostly so I can revel in all the cute juicey gossip, and see you being happy--but also so I can make sure I don't go all drama queen bitch on them. I don't have to be besties with them, don't even have to ever meet them--just... knowing is good."

They lick chocolate syrup off of their fork. "The only people I'm involved with on a regular basis is Mearcstapa, Jack, and Aaron." They consider a moment. "I did have a passing desire to kiss another of my motley mates--Asbolus--the other night. But right now we're just really close friends."

The thoughtful eyeing is met with a shrug. "It was worse when I was new to it. I've found better balance. But yeah, it happens." He forks up more waffle, crunching and listening.

"I used to do a lot of one-night stands. It's a valid oblation -- way to get back potentia, more like a prayer than a harvest, I guess -- for Orphans. But there are a lot of other ways, too, and I just have started to get ... distracted? I dunno. It's not as fun for me as it used to be. But they do happen. And yeah, I don't really care about that. If it's an ongoing thing, if there are feelings or probably will be... " A little gesture with her fork in the air which translates loosely to 'and so on.' "But yeah, mostly I want to be happy with you! ... and also not go all cornered fox if I get surprised."

A bobbing nod of her head at the list. "So... Vasha is my primary partner, which you knew. And I'm involved with Leta, and Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who are both my cadremates, too. Zoya is one of the OG Firebirds, from St. Petersburg, and I had a crush on her from basically moment one but I'm a useless queer and it took me like twelve years to admit it." Gosh, Fox, that does sound familiar. "I actually have a date scheduled with Mei, because... um. Yeah. Like. You've seen Mei Lee, I shouldn't have to explain." It's not like her face wasn't plastered all over the news for ages. "That's mostly it? I don't know if you ever met Liezel Richardson, but I'm her dom. She's been super busy lately, though, so I don't see her much."

"Why didn't you kiss Asbolus, then?"

"Oh right--I nearly forgot about Zoya..." Lux listens carefully, nodding a bit here and there. They laugh. "Yes, I've seen Mei. She's fucking gorgeous. And badass. I am not at all surprised." They swirl a piece of sour candy in whipped cream, then pop it into their mouth. "Hmm... Never met a Liezel, as far as I know. You're her dom, huh?" There's more eyeing, but definitely more playful now.

Then Lux stops and considers her question. "It's... complicated."

A winsome sigh at mention of Zoya and Mei again, Fox fluttering her eyelids exaggeratedly and tipping her head to one side. She takes another bite of her waffles. "I've been flirting with her for ages, I basically had to run up and yell HELLO I LIKE YOUR FACE AND BUTT." A vague shrug.

"Liezel struggles with socializing. She's much better with... things. She has a beautiful technique for Perfected metals, and she's a true gem of a person, just... really sort of gets lost in any conversation with too many people." And then she sticks his tongue out at Lux. "Yes, I am. I'm a True Switch, and she really needed a dom, and is delightful."

"Good complicated? Bad complicated? Just complicated?"

"I'm not judging! I think it's great. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, really." They nom down the rest of the waffles, complete with scraping the plate free of cream and chocolate, then sets it aside on the coffee table. "Not bad complicated... Well. Not really. It's..." Their brows crease. "I love him, but it's always been more... like he's a brother to me. But lately I've wondered if that's really how I feel, or if that's how I've made myself feel. We have... history. We escaped together. Worked together, when we were... There. He's... the only person I know who really remembers me, as I was... there. And I know he loves and accepts me and all, we're all different now, we're family now, but--again it's--" They gesture a hand. "There's a wall there. One of my own making. But I don't know if I could let my guard down like that, with him. I feel like... I always have to be on my toes, always working to... not be that. Which--I do that anyway. Being a different person than I was there isn't... natural. It's work. But it's especially so with him?" Their shoulders lift helplessly.

"Besides, he was having trouble telling reality from not-reality at the time, and that's not a good time for a first kiss anyway."

"Shouldn't be too surprised? Why not?" Her green-gold eyes glitter, and she crunches her second-to-last bite, like she's been forcing herself to slow down, enjoy the waffle, not just shove things into her face and consume all sweetness immediately.

Fox listens, her head tipped slightly to the side like the curious animal that she is. "Well, first of all, I validate your feelings," she offers, shoving the last bite of waffle in her mouth and crunching down on it as she gets her thoughts in mind. The plate's set aside, though she grabs the last strawberry-half off of her plate and noshes on that, too. "So... he's someone who knew you at your absolute worst, when you were doing things that weren't really under your own power, because... someone else had like... Big Influence over you... " He turns sideways on the couch to face them, leaning its arm on the back of the couch. "... and he chooses to live in the same house with you, seeing you at your absolute worst, knowing how bad you can be in a way that you just said no one else really does... "

"... and that's why you have to keep a wall between you?" It doesn't seem judgemental, it seems like Fox is really searching for clarification.

"Mmm, that is a bad time for it, yes. Good for you. Consent is very key, and it sounds like he couldn't meaningfully provide it."

"He accepts me because I've changed," Lux says, shaking their head. "But sometimes I feel like I haven't. Not really. Like I said--it's work, and I worry... I dunno. If I let my guard down like that, if we were intimate--that it'd be too tempting to... go back to old habits. And it's... bad for us, for our heads, when we remember our time There. I wouldn't want to accidentally... trigger something for him? And then the trust and love we have gets tarnished."

"Besides, I don't even know if he'd be up for it." They shrug. "We've been like brothers for so long. It might be weird--for him and me. I don't really know how I feel yet."

"Do you think that he doesn't know that it's work?" That may be a bit of a leading question from anyone else on the planet, but from Fox, it seems to just be a question. She scoots over closer to them and leans to kiss them, playfully licking the tiniest taste of chocolate syrup off of their lips before pulling back again. A little sweet to soften the difficult conversation.

"That all makes a lot of sense, and it's really good that you're thinking of him like that. But... maybe you're thinking of him like that in order to protect yourself from having to be really vulnerable by letting him make that decision? Right now, you... have a very close, platonic friendship with someone you might want to have a romantic relationship with, and if you say 'I think I might want this' to him, he might say 'I don't,' and then that would hurt really bad." Her smile goes all wry, there. Perhaps this is a thing about which a Fox knows a thing or two.

"Or maybe it's not what you want at all! I can't speak for you. I'm just saying, you told me that you put up walls and distances with people you are romantically involved in. Are you putting up a pre-emptive one with him, because he knows you that well, and you're afraid?"

The kiss is returned, and with their hands free of waffles they wrap arms around her, yoinking her into their lap to hold. Hands wander--not too overtly, not too distracting, but intimate caresses all the same.

They consider that for a moment. "Maybe. I don't think it's... completely that. But yeah, maybe there's some of that there. That's at least keeping me from really considering it."

They tip their head, kissing at his jaw. "I'll think about it and decide what to do."

A yeep! out loud as she's pulled onto their lap, and then Fox turns in their lap to comfortably straddle; much like the caresses, it's nothing particularly overt or distracting, but more intimate than just sitting on their lap, which he did a million times in the Before Smooching times. One of her slightly-sticky hands absently curls around the back of their head.

"I don't think people's feelings are completely one thing or another. I told you I'd help you with that, so, I'm doing as I said." Her green-gold eyes meet theirs for a moment, and then they tip their head to the side, making something like a real purring sound in their throat. Happy fox sounds.

"Speaking of your time... away," Fox offers, now that they're all close and snuggled. "Is there anything -- I should, like. Very much avoid, either in bed or out of it, that might... trigger you? Hurt your brain? Do the thing you're worried about accidentally doing with Asbolus? Because I never want to hurt you if I can at all help it."

They kiss her on the lips gently, snuggling close and just--holding her, for now. "Hmm..." They consider a moment. "I... can get pretty bossy. Controlling. I try to keep myself from going full dom, but..." Their shoulders lift. "The biggest trigger for me is... realizing someone wasn't completely into what I told them to do. I've... run into that before. Getting a little too into it, then later finding out that my partner wasn't as into it as I was. That was... a big shatter to my brain. Communication is good for that, though. I've gotten a lot better about it since then, grown up a lot, but--yeah. If you're not very enthusiastic about something, tell me. Doesn't need to be just in bed, either. Sometimes I think I know what is best for people, and try to tell them what to do, make them into... who I want them to be."

Fox does like a snuggle, very much. This is the natural way of foxes and also Foxes. She returns the kiss in kind, and then rubs the tip of his nose against theirs. "Well, then I won't ask you to go full dom," Fox answers wryly, one corner of their mouth curling up. For the most part, though, she just listens. "Well, I don't think that's going to be a problem," he offers back with one of Fox's laughs. "Back when Vasha and I were first together, we were in... the most terrible of triads as our core relationship. He... wanted to control everything. And I let him, for a while, because he was literally a bear, and his temper tantrums were... terrible."

"One day he physically threatened me, and Vasha threw him out of our Sanctum. Like, legit, with magic, threw him out, and made it so he couldn't come back in. Told him to apologize." A pause. "He left instead. We never saw him again. Literally, just... left."

"So, yeah, there's no chance that I'll let anyone mow me over like that. Ever again. I did it once. It sucked! I hated it! It almost ruined my relationship with Vasha, too!" And at the end of that, she pulls in a small breath and then just buries her face in the side of Lux's neck.

They listen, frowning deeply. "...That's awful. I'm sorry you had to go through that, but I'm glad that its in the past and he... left, even if it was painful. Sounds like it was for the best."

They squeeze their arms around her tighter, eyes closing as they rest their head against her's. "Good. Glad it won't be a problem, then."

"Sorry," he murmurs into the side of their neck. "I just started talking and I needed to get to the end, I guess." Fox nuzzles quietly at said neck, a self-comforting, affectionate gender that comes with a deep breath in, taking Lux's scent into her lungs. "I promise I'll tell you if I'm not 100 percent into whatever it is. Sexy or not-sexy." Her arms squeeze tighter, hugging around Lux's head. "What else should I know?"

"Nothing to be sorry for," they assure. "Mmm... Green lights fuck with my head a bit. It's nothing that will break my brain, usually, but--they mesmerize me, briefly. I can't help but look at them. Actually--lights in general sometimes... mess with me. So just don't get worried if I space out or something, if the lights are really bright or green?" They consider a moment. "I can't think of anything else. That you don't already know."

They lift his head back up so she can look Lux in the face while they talk again. "Lights are pretty," Fox agrees. "So that, at least, I get." Their eyes glitter again. "I won't get worried unless you look like you're really kind of .... not doing good. I won't freak out."

She clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "I'm going to get ... more... animalistic-looking. I don't know what it's going to look like, I just know it'll be more and more undeniably fox. Some people find some of our Elders to be very off-putting. The eyeshine, the teeth... that's where it starts. One of my local Elders is a jumping spider. We have to close the Lodge to everyone but Mages for him to come socialize because ... for some people, it gets to be, like, body horror." Her shoulders shift subtly. "I love him, he gets me. Like... a brother of my soul, you know? Or that uncle who treated you like an adult when no one else did. But he scares people, just by being."

Lux chuckles. "Fox, I know literal animal people. Like, there's this chick that looks like a butch hyena that walks on two legs. Changelings are used to... different and distinctly not-human. That... isn't going to ever bother me. Over time, I'll probably get more Wyrd too. Glow brighter. Make things feel... strange around me. Become more like... Them, in ways."

Undeniable relief etches itself across her face like lightning striking from a cloud -- quick, undeniable, and then gone again. Fox steals another kiss, a small grateful noise in the back of her throat. "That is... good. But what I'm saying is as much that ... I'm going to get more isolated from people, and that might make me sad or upset or angry. I don't know how it'll affect me. I already can't smile around Sleepers. I mean, I can't show my teeth." A beat. "Butch hyena sounds badass, though."

"I'd like to see you glow," he admits. "I can handle strange feelings. Nimbuses are pretty... normal. For us. Like I feel strange feelings every time one of my friends lets off an effect." A pause. "I... don't. Think you've seen mine. I barely notice it because it's like ... you don't smell your own smell."

"That makes sense. I get it." They smile. "I'll do my best to help you through those hard times. Do what I can to help you reconnect to people."

"Hmm, we'll do that, sometime. I've gotten wyrder since the last time you saw my mein."(edited)

Fox leans their forehead against Lux's, comfortable and content. "Thank you." And that seems to be that for that topic. "Jackie told me about the doors thing. I can make a place with no doors. And show you cool things that you've never seen, like, safely. It's like ... quite a big magic, though, so I like to prepare."

"Then we'll do that, soon. Whenever you're ready."