"Here?" Nin asks, his body coming to a halt while I am pointing in a completely different spot. Picking up with the frantic nature of my arm, he only seems to struggle further. Oh, he's useless.
Air blasts out of my mouth and I stomp up to him, "No, here!"
Pressing up against his back, forcibly guiding one arm to lead the other and what needs to go back finally does so. But, rather than let go, I shift my movements into a hug, giggling all the while he is taking more boxes off of the trolley. Pointing out each shelf as he goes through it, he does more work in a couple of minutes than he has so far today. I snuggle my face up against his neck and drag myself away.
"I want to fight crime or something..." Nin mutters with wounded pride, making my giggles pick up in their intensity.
"You are fighting crime, Nin. You're helping me stop the crime of a messy shop!" I tease, sticking my tongue out when he looks my way. He shakes a lazy fist at me and I get back to work on rolling out some pie crust dough with Lorreabry. I cannot recall the filling it will cover and regardless, I am certain of its insatiable flavour.
"With how much the boys enjoy fighting, who do you think would win?" she dares to ask when I get started pushing the cylinder of wood along the pale mass. So easily bruised it takes but a finger to mould in a new scar for me to then squish right back out.
"Nin." I go without missing a beat, a song on my humming lips.
"Oh, really?" Lorreabry huffs as if I am deluded and my hips sway far to one side. Bringing them back, I gently bump against Lorreabry and she starts to hold back a laugh. Her hand is dangerously close to a bowl of flour. Fingers pinch and pins push up against my skin whilst she tops off her surface.
"Can you pass me so-" I begin to ask, only to have a puff of white end up over my face.
"Of course." she says, smirking with a rising, finger-rubbing hand.
"Thank you." I go, ignoring her action for the moment while she seems to inspect my newly decorated features. I suppose I really do just look that good.
"Oh, Liada, you seem to have... You know what? Let me help..." she goes, sucking her thumb with a pop and then rubbing it right against the mess. She smudges it in, daring to giggle louder and louder while my joyful temper rises with the literal moment of rubbing it in.
"God help you." I threaten as I feel her finish up applying her special brand of make-up. Personally, I feel like she could maybe have applied some yolk to my cheeks to give them a better shine. Maybe something with a nice rusty red colour to really help it blend in with my skin.
"I don't think even the best make-up artist can help you." Lorreabry taunts right up against my cheek before a mocking peck seals the deal.
"That's my line!" I laugh, grabbing her and throwing us to the ground so I can bleach her hair with a new cakey shampoo. Though, I'm certainly doing a good job of doing it to my floors as well.
"NO! NO! NO! STOP IT!" she laughs, screaming while I do my best to get some ingredients into her hair while also minding my nails. Feeling I might be getting a little too close to clawing her by accident, I stop and back away with a shy smile. The same perpetrating hands come together and redirect the hot air coming out of my laughter.
"Lorreabry, darling, do you need me to save you from this foul monster?" Seigunfrei asks, hanging from the storage room's doorframe.
"Yes!" she answers, begging for assistance like a little girl wanting her daddy to protect her. Pouting a little, I let the two have their fun without ruining it with my jealousy. Getting up and letting out one final huff of laughter, I threaten her once again with a good time and put the bowl back.
"Everything all right back here, Baltanthan?" I make sure to check in with on my way to Nin. My pale friend looks back at me with a slight twitch to his eye and he nods slowly. Frowning, I watch him hold around the area his arm joint is. Did he pull a muscle?
"I'm fine..." he mutters eventually and I step in, minding Seigunfrei who comes back in for a tub of pudding spices.
"We can go upstairs and check Nin's room for any of his old supplements. That should help dull the pain if you can get past the initial burn. I know you're not only dealing with whatever you might have just pulled." I explain and he starts to nod some more, his face contorting with how badly the hidden pain must be hurting. I offer my hand on the way up the stairs but he refuses to take it. The human two give us a glance and I gesture for them to not worry.
Directing Baltanthan through the right door, he quickly sits down and I close the bedroom door just in case. I'm not sure how Baltanthan likes to handle these sorts of things, all I really know is Nin's former habits during the Smiling Jhurack problem. He would always come up here and effectively lock himself in. Cut open and bleeding, and at some point, he would come out healed. Though, stained and stinking of the byproducts of the battle that put him in that situation.
"How long has this been going on for?" I ask, moving to take off at least a portion of his robes but he refuses. Violently.
"None of your business..." he manages to get out with a shudder, a right nasty one at that. Whatever bruises he's managed to accrue because of Seigunfrei must be swelling quite badly.
"Baltanthan..." I say, unfortunately forcing the injury he clearly has and my eyes widen as I open up his robes. The insides are covered in little blades, each one digging into his skin just enough to have blood come out. And while it was all caked up around their little edges, some of it starts to bleed again.
"His supplements?" Baltanthan wants to know, his eyes glaring as if I am not his friend. I don't understand, when did he get something like this done? Why does he even have clothes like this!? Having some little decorative spikes is one thing but to have them be inward going to the point it's like having a...
I cover my mouth, almost heaving at the memory. Getting up, my crotch and chest start to have a ghostly itch I know I cannot simply scratch away. I look away, waiting for the now uncomfortable sound of him putting his robes back in order. Nods quickly captivate me and I rummage through Nin's draws and cupboards, a shaky hand grabbing what I am desperately thankful for.
"H-Here..." I say, passing a small lid of the strong-smelling stuff. Baltanthan, with a steady hand, takes and swallows it in one go. A drawn-out, teeth-clenching groan rumbles in his mouth. I take the lid back and store everything away.
He gets up to leave and I gulp, getting in his way to stop him.
"Why're you getting in my way, Liadanann? I am here to help you." Baltanthan asks as if there isn't a problem with what he is wearing.
"Take that off now. I do not want to see you in my home with it on again." I tell him, straightening my back and putting into practice the backbone Nin unintentionally managed to put into me. I could keep my eyes in contact with his while he was a bloodthirsty hunter, I can do it with my stressed friend.
"It's to help me with my magic, the exam..." Baltanthan tries to explain away and I shake my head at top speed from the get-go.
"I don't care, take it off, borrow something from Nin's whatevers. You will not wear that anymore in my home." I explain once again and my friend relents with a nod. He strips down near fully, showing off just how all-consuming this outfit is. My time as an airship maintenance worker comes to mind and I pay closer attention to how the metal is on the inside. It's a circuit of some kind, one fueled by blood magic.
"Is this fine?" my friend asks with a slump in his posture.
"Yes, put it on and ignore the issue if anyone asks, I am going to find this a box and let you take it home that way. I will handle anything from Nin." I explain, taking Baltanthan's robes and folding them up so I don't have to look at the metal. Though, unfortunately, I can still feel the collection through the metallic fabric.
Hurrying down the stairs, I slip into the gap between Nin and Seigunfrei and snatch up a box. I go into the kitchen and put the robes inside, slamming it shut and taking a step back. Putting a hand to my face, I go down onto whatever chair is near and sigh. My hand slips away and I find myself staring back at six, human eyes.
"Get back to work, please..." I ask of them, keeping to myself until chitters are seemingly above my head. Finding the dark carapace, I wrap my arms around it and pull it in. The body above shapes itself around me, offering me the warmth my body is craving.
"What happened?" Nin asks, quietly and against my ear.
"I don't know... Something's gotten into Baltanthan and he's been wearing a conduit suit or something for how long!" I explain, hugging the one I love tight while I hear the sound of someone coming down the stairs. It's all quiet outside the kitchen, the laughs and joking about that there should be is not. Come on, just one little giggle, anything.
"I know I might not be the best one, but, I can talk to him about it?" Nin offers, the kitchen door clicking shut much to my chagrin. I get up slightly, my hand touching the handle so I can open it again and he stops me.
"It's fine, I've already told him not to wear it again in my home." I mutter, thinking about how often I have seen Baltanthan come into my shop and likely in these robes. Even the other day, when the two just came around for tea and biscuits and a fun time. He was in it during that!
My friend was hurting himself in such a way right in front of me, he was wearing that when I was striking him during training...
"Liada, I know full well what this is. It's a mass-expansion suit." Nin explains, his hand going along the box while I look at it.
"Can you explain what it is for me?" I ask, despite the sickly feeling bubbling away within my stomach. Honestly, I want to scream my change in thoughts, I don't want to hear him explain. All I need to know is I hate this kind of clothing.
"It works on the same idea as a staff or other conduit, only as the rest of the body cannot focus magic like the hands do. It digs into your skin and the clotted blood bridges you to it. Think of it like a wearable boost in one's power. By coincidence, the job I've recently come back from, we went by a bust of their production. I can't say much about the specifics of the thing, but. These are dangerous things and I guess Suhurlodst has different views on what is considered bad behaviour compared to others." he explains and I slowly nod, moving closer to Nin so I can feel his warmth so close to me once again.
I want to be enveloped in the touch of the man who saved my life from that dark pit of despair. He freed me from my chains, the blades that dug so deeply into my body that I spent months afterwards bloated by the swelling. Even with his help, the scars have not gone away and I can't help but hate it. Silly things like buying bras are always so stressful on the inside, knowing my chest is all messed up compared to some other girl's pair.
Nin hugs me tight, his chittering becoming a soft rumble above my scalp.
"I'll get to Seigunfrei when we can and we'll talk to him, Liada. I don't know Baltanthan as well as I should, really, but, we will get to it. Much as I owe Lari and her efforts, it really was Baltanthan who pulled me through in my first year atop this mountain. Much as he might do things like this, he's a good lad. I know that much." Nin reassures and I nod, my grip tightening.
"Thank you." I say, his breath blowing through my hair while my lips shift.
"He's got a lot on his plate, but, don't worry, Liada. Nothing's going to happen to any of us. He's as you said, he's got an exam coming up and he needs to do what he can to pass it. Thankfully, he has us, doesn't he?" Nin says, his ending question bringing my head out into the open again.
I smile and bring my lips to his cheek, pressing up against their sweet shine.
"Yeah, he has us." I let out, getting back up and getting my mind back on track to the task at hand. We have a delivery to sort, a big one at that!