resumed | NIMONA 💀

i'm at goat but

[there's typing for a bit, the little ... appearing and vanishing, and then:]

you can stay at fox with will if you need to

no it's okay
i need to take care of him
and that means i was going to go get food for us anyway for when he wakes up
he has to eat later
i can pick you up from goat in ten
we could use a walk

okay
just don't freak out

[ominous but ok

she'll be standing outside of goat, with ace's hat pulled low over her face and reigen's jacket rolled down to cover her hands. a dragon tail sways anxiously behind her.]

[ ominous.

but he goes and he wanders to outside of goat's dorm, bat wings folded slightly and hands in the pocket of his hoodie. he approaches, looking at her quietly before he pulls an arm out to open to to her.

hug? are you good. why are you hiding your hands. ]

[she just has a lot of eyes right now. and a lot of dragon scales and dragon claws. there's smoke coming from her occasionally too, but it stops when nico offers her a hug.

she wanders over to him and leans into the hug, trying to keep him from looking too close at her face.]

[ baby nooooo. he's just securely wrapping an arm around her and letting her lean into him. ]

I'm sorry. About all of this. [ that murder happened, that danny's dead, that she's the last tiger...all of it. he's aware that she and danny were still on extremely rocky terms, but. this is still a lot to process. ]

I'm fine.

[she says, insistently. she doesn't want him to worry about her. she's just - last tiger standing makes her feel like she's going to explode, a little. but it won't be for long. she doesn't want to think about the last thing she said to him, so she just will not.]

You don't have to lie to me if you're not. It's okay. [ not that she's lying, but he's just throwing that out there while he's leaning his chin on her hair. ]

[a pause, and then:]

I don't want you to worry about me. You have bigger things.

Nimona. [ a warning tone. do not tell him what he can and cannot worry about young not-person. ]

[another burst of smoke comes out of her mouth when he warns her.]

Nico. [she says back, all stiff.]

[ oh. wild. he does at least pause in his admonishing for a moment, but his response is actually to hold her a little tighter as he thinks of what to say. ]

...I told you before I can multitask. I can care about multiple things, and just because...I'll take care of Will. I'm going to go back to him later because he needs me. But that doesn't change that I'm right here and... [ "i think you need me, too, even if you can't say it." ]

[well, he's not wrong, but. it's complicated. she's mad and she doesn't have anywhere for it to go, and she really doesn't want to take it out on nico. she knows this was the best choice. and she has suspicions, but she's not voicing them.]

You and Will both never take care of yourselves. You just take everything on your shoulders and you don't have anybody to look out for you because Danny killed Reigen and let Ace get fucked over.

You can care but if I have to watch you sweep how fucked up you feel under the rug to deal with my stupid shit one more time I'm going to sail into the sea and not come back.

[ the thing is she's not wrong either, but his expression is pretty quick to cloud over anyway. to his credit, despite the way he wants to, he doesn't interrupt her and waits until she's actually done talking.]

Will and I have each other. [ which is very much not the same as having an actual adult or someone to look up to helping them, and he knows it, but. ] I'm not sweeping anything under the rug. Okay? I have nothing to sweep right now because I think just about everybody's gonna know how much of a problem I have with this entire outcome in less than 24 hours.

[hmmmmmm wrong answer!!! she doesn't like that answer!!! she is a thousand years old she knows having two teenagers be the only supports for each other is bad!!!

more smoke comes out of her mouth.]

I don't believe you. [about the rug sweeping. because she's watched him do it a few times, with reigen, with ace, with lillium, with danny. maybe he got it out somewhere else, but she doesn't know.]

You're gonna get sick of m-- it eventually, so don't bullshit me.

[ that is also the wrong answer, this is why both of them really need their adults, fuck. ]

Don't you dare insinuate I'm going to get sick of you. [ he heard that aborted word. ]

[help they are SUFFERING

her tail flicks in annoyance, and there's smoke curling out from under her jacket now, but she doesn't say what instinct wants her to say because she knows he'll get mad. madder.]

[ it's fine he's still, stupidly, holding onto her. ]

I mean it. Do not put words into my mouth.

[she hasn't moved away, either.

silence for another couple of seconds, and then:]

... I just want to help you like you've helped me.

[that's all.]

[ well. all of his anger kind of fizzles out piece by piece, bit by bit, and his shoulders sag and his mouth turns down into another frown as he looks at her. ]

...can I ask why you think you aren't already doing that?

[a beat.]

I don't know what it looks like. [helping people. she doesn't know if she's doing it right because she never really has had a reason to before.

helping before this was kidnapping a guy and doing a smear campaign on the internet, she doesn't know how to do emotions.]

[ his response is entirely inappropriate since he just. snorts in amusement. tired amusement, but amusement nevertheless. ]

You're dumb. [ lightly, but he's saying this into her hair. ] Nimona, I...don't always know what it looks like to actually let people help. But I can at least say that helping you and talking to you about all of this stuff does help me kind of figure things out. I know that doesn't make a ton of sense, but...it's really hard for me to ask still. So I don't. But I also don't let people close like this if they aren't doing something that makes me feel better in their own way.

[he's right she IS dumb

this doesn't make her feel entirely better, but. she feels a little less sucky.

she just pushes ace's hat back so it's resting on her back, and turns to hug him full on, burying her face in his hoodie. this means he can't see her twelve eyes so it's a win-win.]

I'm older than you. I should be good at solving my own problems. [grumbles.]

[ it's fine he's bringing the other arm out of his pocket to hug her back. the fact that they're still outside of goat's dorm is super funny actually, ace would be proud maybe. he also doesn't mind the burrowing. ]

Shut up. [ lmao. ] My dad's, like, way older than you are and still can't figure out how to solve his problems either. Age doesn't mean anything. [ ... ] I like that I can help. It makes me feel better about not knowing how to not be so...dependent, I guess.

[ which is a choice of a word considering who he is. ]

[ace would be proud yeah. tama too, those are her goats.

anyway she curls up into the hug.]

Dependent, he says. [she mutters, smoke rising off of her.] You shut up.

(no subject)

resumed - 2023-11-04 10:27 (UTC) - Expand