How do You Solve a Problem like Meira?

[redlightgreenlight]

Characters: Valdis and some open
Date: August 2018 (ish)
Location: Around Aifaran
Situation: Various
Warnings/Rating: In Headers


Valdis was tired. Between the return of the Narrakra and the discovery she could return ruins to complete something would have been bad enough without the memory of the visions or what she had seen soul-walking inside that corpse. Aside from that, the knowledge that she could move the Void with more power than she believed had sparked a new determination to harness its power without fear. The events of the last week had been eventful, what with the short term Dreamfolk that had arrived only to vanish once the damage had been done. Admittedly most of them hadn’t left much of a mark, but some had. She hoped that things would calm down for a few weeks at least.

Comments

[redlightgreenlight]

Meira tipped her head, listening to more than just Devin's words, absorbing his minor shifts in emotions. He seemed fairly steady for someone with such a strange pet. But he wasn't worried, and Anani wasn't worried and the creature herself had been just as frightened.

She stood up when he beckoned, padding back over to him, slowly as to not startle Luthien. Now that she had gotten past her initial shock, she had few concerns about the animal.

You are safe, she replied, Something tells me that. I'm not sure what. But there is trust and care and security.

She jumped up next to him, flopping down to rest her chin on his knee next to Luthien, as if to prove she had no fear.

[annihilist]

Luthien curled closer to Devin but didn't flee when Meira approached. The sound had been loud and startling rather than injurious in any way. She sniffed at the Hellhound's nose and relaxed.

The part that was telling her that was probably Valdis; she seemed to remember things without knowing them. "That's true; I trust you and care about your well-being." That was the case for both Meira and Valdis, which was why he didn't want to conceal this from her.

"Your senses have probably told you by now that I'm not human," he continued wryly. She would hear the absence of a heartbeat instantly. Devin looked down at the inan as he stroked along her back. "Luthien and I are similar in that we both need to... feed off others to survive. She just takes energy; I need-- blood." He was clearly unhappy about this fact, as ever, and shook his head. "I'm called a vampire, if you're familiar with them. But I don't hurt people to live; I only accept what's been donated voluntarily."

His appetite for the mundane food before him was diminishing now; hopefully she would take this in stride, as she had everything else.

[redlightgreenlight]

Meira responded with the flick of an ear, realizing belatedly that no heartbeat sounded aside from the two creatures and herself. She lifted her head a bit, considering how life might move without aid of such a mechanism. Devin held no lie in his aura, the only shift in emotions was concern. A fear that she might reject him for what he was. The extended explanation, so sincere and soft, caused her to sit upright so her eyes were level with his. She poked his cheek with her nose.

Safe, she repeated before jumping off the couch and bouncing to the door. He needed to hurry up and eat so she could go explore.

[annihilist]

Devin could only blink at Meira in surprise for a few moments. That was not the response he was expecting; at the very least he thought there would be questions. The nosing said almost as much as her repeated insistence about him being safe. She rolled with the revelation like it was nothing to worry about.

What he wouldn't give to have been this innocent once.

Her enthusiasm to explore was clear, so Devin summoned back his appetite and finished breakfast. Luthien protested quietly at being displaced when he collected the dishes and deposited them in the sink. Maybe going out and about would tire her enough that she would stop bouncing by the end of the day.

"Is there anything in particular you'd like to see?" he asked, grabbing his keys.

[redlightgreenlight]

Meira bounced around the room until Devin finished eating, ignoring both his confusion and amusement. She played with Anani, who seemed to be offended by Luthien's abandonment of their playtime, and looked around the books more, trying to figure out which ones would be the most interesting.

She wandered back over to him, poking the back of his knee as he carried the dishes into the kitchen and following him to his keys. His question sent her bounding back to the door, nosing the handle.

I don't know what there is! she chirped, Let's just go!

[annihilist]

No matter her willingness to stay with him, Devin was probably going to have to figure out some ground rules about also staying within line of sight or... something. He needed to do research.

"Alright, alright," he said, faintly amused by her enormous amount of energy. "We're going." Devin hesitated and then gently patted between her shoulder blades. "Just promise me you won't run off where I can't find you, okay?"

Once that was agreed on, Devin opened the door and released her into the urban wilds. There were some pedestrian-only streets nearby and a decent-sized park they could visit for a start.