soul_campaign | [25 // video // 13 September]

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[25 // video // 13 September]

[Mello hardly ever uses video, but he's rather proud that he came out of a battle with a Witch with only minor injuries to show for it: the bandages on both his forearms are the extent of the damage.

Near was slightly more worse for the wear, but he is the one who had to consume a Witch soul. Now he's awake and on the mend, and though Mello hasn't yet left his clinic bedside (the IV stand and bed railing, but not Near, are clearly visible behind Mello), there are public service announcements to be got out of the way.]

Yesterday, my partner and I defeated the Witch Isabella, and became the newest Death Scythe pair.

[He permits himself the closest to a real smile most people are ever likely to see from him, which skews slightly wicked before he speaks again.]

We might have broken the Grand Canyon a bit in the process. Sorry.

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[Mello watches intently, of course, for the physical evidence of what Near isn't saying. He clearly settles into halfway sitting up because he can't manage more, but even for someone as impatient as Mello, this represents significant improvement in a short time period.]

I'm sure you'll still be ready to go home long before they'll want to release you.

[He's curious what Near thinks about abilities manifesting themselves without him even being in his Weapon form, but he'll wait and let him bring it up.]

Hungry at all?

[Mello's right: it is significant improvement. Near no longer feels as weak and disoriented as he felt not that long ago, and that is the most encouraging part of every little step he has already taken towards his recovery: he can deal with pain, but not with the loss of control over his own mind.

He doesn't agree with what his Meister says next, though.]

Perhaps, [he leans more heavily against the pillows on his bed and reaches up to twirl a strand of hair; at least he can do that much.] But I don't want to risk my new abilities manifesting in an uncontrolled environment.

[He misses how warm and comfortable his own bed is-- and he misses sharing it with his Meister-- but he is so obsessed with having control over himself that he doesn't want to take any chances, not if he can help it.

He opens his mouth to say 'yes' to Mello's question, but his body does that for him: his stomach makes a very embarrassing noise that declares just how hungry he really is. That has got to be a side-effect of all the strain he's been through; he rarely feels hungry at all.]

...very.

We'll train with them.

[Going out into the desert would be the safest route. Mello has been conducting research, as much as he can without leaving the clinic and given that he's drawing on a limited pool of knowledge.]

They should get easier to control with time, too.

[He reaches under his chair for a bag from the closest grocery store, and one from Death By Pastry, ignoring that Near's stomach decided to weigh in on the topic.]

Eat one semi-healthy thing, and you can have the chocolate croissant.

[Yes, bribery. There are fruit and granola bars in the grocery bag.]

So I’ve read. [That doesn’t make their current situation any less volatile, though; he’ll stay for as long as the doctors will tell him to, no matter how much he dislikes being at the clinic. He really hates not knowing as much as the doctors obviously do about his current condition.

He wrinkles his nose at the contents of the grocery bag. He’s recovering from a very heavy strain; he should be having comfort food, not healthy food.]

I’m not a bird, [he complains as he glances at the granola bars, looking suspiciously at them. Mello can have them; there’s only one thing Near wants out of all of the options that are being presented to him.]

Give me that, [he says, reaching out with some difficulty to try to grab the Death by Pastry bag, just out of his reach… and then something seems to shoot out of his hand to grab the bag: ant jaws, no less, seemingly made out of soul wavelength. Near isn’t shocked at this new development, but he is surprised enough to pull his hand back instinctively, and the jaws keep their hold on the bag without any effort at all, before disappearing completely when he tries to take a closer look at them. He doesn't open the bag on his lap just yet.]

…I like this new ability.

Edited 2014-06-08 06:04 (UTC)

[Of all the abilities that have done what Mello can only think of as manifesting, this one catches him off guard the most, because the soul-wavelength pincers just appearing out of nowhere is fucking weird. He startles at the sudden motion, and reacts far too slowly to keep his grip on the bag, but quickly gets control of his surprise.]

Cheater.

[But he's already thinking of the possible uses for this power, too, and is eager to test it out. He doesn't even question that Near will gain control of his new abilities quickly, and even with them being unpredictable, the thought that his Weapon might hurt him, even accidentally, is almost ludicrous.]

Fine, have it. You're almost as bad as I am with chocolate.

Do you think you can do any of these on purpose?

[Near doesn't blame him for reacting in such a way: he didn't expect to sprout any appendages made of soul wavelength, either, but then again he didn't really expect any ability in particular. (Except for an increase in strength; he'd feel cheated if that hadn't come with the whole ant Witch package.)]

It's not cheating when it happens accidentally. This ability just happened to manifest itself very favorably.

[He’s going over possible uses for this ability, too, and he’s already comparing it to all the ant research he’s done before, but he doesn’t mind putting that thought on hold to tease his Meister yet again:]

I'm currently recovering from the strain of becoming a Death Scythe. You can't deny me food.

[Near doesn't know if he can use any of these new abilities consciously just yet-- so far, and until moments ago, they had only manifested in situations that were either stressful or appeared dangerous to his subconscious mind-- but instead of admitting he doesn't know something, Near tries to test things out by himself: he more heavily against the pillows and closes his eyes, obviously focused on the task at hand, ignoring the croissant for now.

He focuses on the wall and tries to picture acid corroding it, but that proves useless, so he tries a different approach. He remembers that, when he and Mello challenged each other in a Rubik’s cube speedsolving contest, it was the thought of focusing on a battle do-or-die situation that made Mello win. So Near does the same, and tries to imagine a scenario in which both of their lives are in great danger, thinks back to the times Mello was almost killed, turning all of those stressful scenarios over and over in his mind... and then his eyes snap open, and he can definitely see the area where the acid corroded the wall just now.]

Apparently, I can. For now at least.

Technicality, and you know it, [Mello counters Near's first claim, only just managing to keep a straight face. He realizes trying to get the Weapon to eat something actually healthy is about as likely to succeed as any attempt to get him to live on something other than predominantly chocolate and coffee.

He could point out that Near once would have been more cautious about trying out his new powers, that the urge to act on ideas right away is obviously a result of Mello's influence, but he doesn't.

He's not expecting anything to happen on Near's first try, not when today is the first day he seems remotely ready to leave the clinic, but he really ought to know by now not to underestimate his partner.]

Not bad.

[But Near's obviously still too drained to do much more.]

But I should probably be making you rest instead.

My point remains. [He raises an eyebrow at Mello’s teasing, but he really can’t resist teasing him in return. Near wants to point out that his partner just had to have the last word in this, but he is guilty of the same thing, too, so he doesn’t.

Indeed, trying to get him to eat something healthy-- or even healthy-ish-- would be nearly impossible, despite the appetite he has gained after becoming a Death Scythe. It’s only natural for his body to require more food than usual, given the strain it’s been through, but that is not enough to make him want fruit or, god forbid, vegetables.

(He definitely wouldn’t mind pizza, though. That sounds really good right now.)

Mello doesn’t have to point that out-- Near is well aware of how strongly they have influenced each other, so that his Meister is more patient and careful and he is far more active than he used to be-- and what he says next sounds almost like a compliment; to be fair, Near wasn’t expecting it to work, either, but the scenarios he pictured hit him hard enough to bring out one of his new abilities.]

Mm, you are a terrible Meister, [he begins, finally digging into the croissant, a small pleased noise escaping him. He really couldn’t help it; Near doesn’t think anything has ever tasted this good. He has to hold himself back from devouring the entire thing in one go.] But I'm willing to forgive your carelessness if you bring me more croissants.

[It's amusing, and strangely charming, how Near's trying to keep from just wolfing down the whole croissant. Just for that, Mello's willing to give him another, not that he'll admit it.]

Mm-hm; I'm the worst. That's why I'm not feeding you any more junk food until you promise not to overdo things.

[Which means resting right now, even though Mello's intensely curious how much control Near can exert over his new powers, and which ones he can do at will even in his current state. Non-ideal conditions aren't easy to replicate, and they're not always going to be going into a fight perfectly rested and well: sometimes they'll be as exhausted as they both are now and still need to survive.

But there's such a thing as taking preparedness too far.]

[Near pouts slightly at that, not even bothering to react in a more subtle manner; he has other priorities at the moment, like eating and resting and making sure Mello stays by his side. Contrary to what his partner is implying, however, he has no intention of overdoing things, not at the moment, when his powers are still significantly unstable. As much as it annoys him to do so, he can wait until he actually feels back to normal to start experimenting in earnest.]

I promise not to overdo things, [for now, is the implicit message, but he knows he doesn’t have to say that. He shifts in his seat so that he’s leaning back more comfortably-- moving very carefully, but not as gingerly as before-- his eyes never leaving Mello’s as he does so.] Now it’s your turn. Where is my food?

[A deal's a deal, though Mello would rather have got something healthy into his partner. He gets another chocolate croissant from the bag.]

Fine.

[He moves his chair closer to the bed, and holds the pastry out to Near, a not-so-subtle way to manoeuvre closer. Near is significantly better than he was only yesterday, but the careful way he's moving has certainly not escaped Mello's notice.]

I'm going to make you sleep when you're done with that.

[That is quite far from being a subtle move, but Near can’t talk, not when he’s acting just as unsubtly: his fingers brush against Mello’s when he reaches for the pastry, and then he shifts closer to the edge of the bed, because getting closer to his Meister is higher on his priorities list than eating a second croissant.]

Fine, [he echoes, and although he’d rather stay awake and do something, he can feel how heavily tiredness is settling in all over again. But he isn’t the only one who needs to take care of himself.] But you need to eat, too.

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[25 // video // 13 September]

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