alienwear | (no subject)

(no subject)

The whole point of a bond is to benefit both witch and monster. It's supposed to minimize the monster's feral impulses, make them easier to resist.

This is the first full moon she and Lapis have shared since they became bonded, and Peridot is not sure she's feeling any of those benefits yet. She feels just as agitated as ever, just as on edge. She's lurking up in her room, a victorian bedroom turned out of control greenhouse, pacing back and forth in front of the bedroom window as she keeps a mindful eye on her hoard of plants. She'd contacted Lapis by Watch, asked her to come up to keep her company. Which is frankly an embarrassing request to have to make, but for some reason it's the only thing that she can think that would make her feel any better right now.

Her eyes keep flicking to the door, ears pricked up for the sound of footsteps. It's totally dark in the room except for the moonlight filtering in through the bay window.

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The annoyance isn't even noted. Sorry, Peridot, it's just a drop in the bucket.

"I've been grabbed and lifted by a lot of Gems! I never thought I'd ever get-" She makes an ugly sounding snort. "Grabbed and lifted by you! A Peridot of all Gems!"

Peridot switches from holding Lapis over her head to holding her out in front of her by grasping her under the arms, like someone incorrectly lifting a cat.

"Wow. I thought you knew better than to estimate a gem's abilities based off of her cut," she sniffs, sticking her snout up and glancing sidelong at Lapis in what is clearly supposed to be a mockery of Pearl. The slight grin twitching at the corners of her mouth is telling, though.

"You're right. How very rude of me. Do you think they'll revoke my Star because of what I said? You won't tell them, will you?" She might be being held up, but it's actually not as uncomfortable as say, being held up by one arm. Still...

"So when do you plan on putting me down anyway?"

The dragon crinkles her snout thoughtfully.

"Um..."

She doesn't really. Want? To put Lapis down? But she's not really sure what she's doing standing with her out in the hall like this, either. She glances at the door leading back into her room, thinking of all her precious treasures stashed inside. Should she put...? Lapis? with the treasures? For protecting?

She zones out a second, trailing into silence as she stand there considering this.

Lapis waits. Politely, even!

But then Peridot doesn't make any show of wanting to put her down. And like this, it's a little bit awkward to poke her in the nose. That being said, she still uses her foot to nudge Peridot's middle.

"Peri?" She's ready to be put down!

With a start, getting nudged brings Peridot's attention back to the gem in her claws.

"...We're going back into my lair," she declares, trying to nudge the door back open with her tail. She still has not put Lapis down.

"Wow. At least put me down first." Lapis has had about enough manhandling as she's comfortable with now, and Peridot is gonna start straddling that line from good nature to annoyance. It was funny, but now she's done being carted around.

"Don't make me have to kick you."

She pauses again, ears twitching. Peridot makes a half motion towards putting her down, but falters, making an upset, growly whiny noise in her throat.

"I... Can't," she complains, sounding altogether embarrassed and apologetic.

"Why not?" Is the question, because naturally, Lapis super doesn't get it? Peridot picked her up and Peridot can put her back down, thanks.

"Because I don't want to," Peridot half snaps, half whines in a moment of total petulance.

"Yeah well you're not the one being held, so you don't get a say in it. Put me down, or I will make you." Isn't this originally what their little tiff had been about anyway? Not that Lapis had thought that Peridot lacked the ability to actually put her down, but here she, still dangling like an improperly held cat.

Peridot grumbles and lashes her tail, clearly at odds with herself over this.

After a moment, she turns Lapis around in her claws... and then grabs the scruff of her shirt in her teeth, leaving her dangling from her jaws, so she can use her front paws to get the door open and bustle inside. THEN she sets her down, and closes the door.

Compromise!

"Hey!"

It's too late. Everything happens very fast and the indignation of being ABSOLUTELY manhandled makes Lapis squawk in said indignation, and when she's set down, she gives another noise of protest and gives a hearty glare at the dragon.

"Wow, rude much?"

There's definitely annoyance coming over their bond.

Edited 2019-09-27 03:34 (UTC)

Peridot, turning back to face her, looks visibly taken aback when the annoyance lands, and she reacts to it with a hearty helping of shame. Her ears fold back, like a scolded dog, and she crouches low to the floor on all fours, so she's actually below Lapis's immediate eye level when she makes an apologetic gurgling noise. She's still blocking the door out, though.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me," she whines anxiously, swishing her tail.

Edited 2019-09-27 03:47 (UTC)

Lapis does make an annoyed noise, but that's about all she does before she reaches over to-

Boop the snoot.

"It's fine. Just don't do that again. It's fine for a bit but then it kinda starts to get too much?"

Peridot's snoot wrinkles a bit as it's booped, and she makes a light sneezy sounding noise. She doesn't protest, though, and just wiggles it for a second before resuming keeping her pitiful puppy-dog eyes on her bonded.

"I know, I should know better," she whines despairingly, kneading the edge of the carpet with her talons. Notably, she still hasn't changed back from being a quadruped yet, for whatever reason. Possibly this form just feels more natural to her, with the full moons out.

The annoyance is gone quickly enough, and Lapis leans back on her arms as she watches Peridot look absolutely pitiful in front of her. She almost feels bad, but then she remembers she was the one getting manhandled.

"I can't believe you trapped me in a room."

Again, not annoyed, lowkey amused again, even if she doesn't look it.

Haha, she, trapped? Lapis somewhere?

...Oh stars. She's TRAPPING. LAPIS. SOMEWHERE. That's like, the number one thing Lapis HATES, isn't it!?

Peridot's losing it again, at least internally. Why does she feel so unlike herself? Why does she just want to keep Lapis in here with her all night, why does she so desperately want to be touching her, at least a little bit, at any given moment? None of what she's feeling makes any damn sense, and yet acknowledging that does absolutely nothing to make any of it go away.

"Nyeheheheh, heh, wow, yep! I told you I could!" she says with false enthusiasm, flashing a weakened smile.

The freaking out is something Lapis is feeling through the bond? It's not great. It makes her antsy herself, and she has to sit back up and reach over and gently pat her dragon-shaped friend.

"Peridot, it's fine. I was just joking. I promise I'm not mad, or anything?"

She believes that. She can feel Lapis is being genuine, after all. But Lapis's opinion of her is only half the issue. The other half is that Peridot knows how erratically she's behaving, and she doesn't feel like she has any control over it.

The patting helps more than the words do. Peridot exhales, lightly nodding her head in affirmation. As she nods, she rumbles deep in her throat and pushes her gem against the palm of Lapis's hand, desperate for more contact from her.

"Oh." She feel's Peridot's Gem under her palm and.. It's kinda weirdly intimate, and she's not sure whether or not Peridot means for it to be like that, or what, and she... Ends up moving her hand a little farther up her head, just to see if she does it again or not.

"Hhh--"

The tiniest squeak, barely audible. Peridot doesn't move to correct where Lapis's hand lands next. But she does stiffen, nearly imperceptibly, and her wings tremble ever so slightly.

What's more telling is that the scales beneath the other gem's palm flush warm with the heat of Peridot's embarrassment. The feeling is tangible over their bond, too... Along with a distinct sense of fear, and an aching longing that she's trying and failing to mask. She's worried that she may have taken this a step too fast and too far, and that maybe Lapis doesn't want that kind of intimacy with her.

Hm. That's a lot to really take in, emotionally, from Peridot. Alright, so she meant to do it. And she... wants to do it, specifically with her? Or is this just a kind of moon thing? Lapis wouldn't be surprised.

Why would Peridot want any sort of intimacy with her? It's not like she's been the greatest at... Well, anything. She's done better, lately, but there's still so many things that she can't really see anyone liking about her. She's... not a monster like Peridot, but she is a monster all the same, isn't she?

She's silent, but the fear and insecurity is coming off her in waves, and it's not something anyone really needs a bond to see.

"This is just a moon thing, isn't it?"

There's no way Peridot wants anything like that with her for real.

Peridot blinks at her with widened, worried eyes... Eyes that look eerily normal considering her current shape.

"What's 'just a moon thing'?" she says with confusion.

"You? This?" She replies, pulling her hand away from Peridot completely so she can gesture widely at her.

"Come on, Peridot. You know me, you know what I'm like." There's yet more fear flitting across their bond. "I know we're friends, but that's just it, isn't it? Just barnmates?" Her hands withdraw to her chest, clenching tightly in her own insecurity. It's been fine, but now there's this, and now it's pressing and right in front of her and she can't just pretend it's not there anymore.