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[Of course Kalmiya is the first person Toki's going to contact when he gets his shit together. She's one of his Tethers, one of his best friends here, and even if he can't feel the Tether anymore, he doesn't care. It counts.

So he's a little surprised when he reaches out for Kalmiya and she's already there.]

Oh, fuck, I was just about to call you! What... what was all that? Sleep did that? [Like he'd suspected, underneath it all.] Are you okay?

[Because she doesn't sound okay. She doesn't sound like much at all. And where she's avoiding emotions, he's not, concern and fear, lingering misery, and a white-hot rage simmering at the edges that he's not even sure of the specifics of.]

Edited 2025-10-01 22:01 (UTC)

[Oh, Toki. Her heart aches at the tremor of the connection, impossible not to feel even without a tether reinforcing the contact they've made through the Murmur. Though it's not subtle, it's strange how muted it feels now compared to before.

After a moment, the strange static padding in the connection ebbs. There's the sense of a door cracking open for a peek. And through the gap in the door, the slow but persistent bleed of the wound Sleep left in her being, the sickly flow of loneliness and fear, staunched only by the tentative restoration of a few tethers. She speaks directly to Toki, an uncharacteristic weariness keeping the usual bounce out of her voice.] I've been better, but I'll survive.

[She will. She always does.]

She punished me. For being a blight upon her garden.

Fuck that!

[This reinforces a thought he's been having since he woke up: he's going to kill Sleep with his bare hands. Doesn't matter if he knows how, doesn't matter if he can actually do it, the desire burns through the Murmur. If his anger can cancel out all that pain he's been feeling since that happened, all the better.

He's helped to kill a "god" before. Who's to say it couldn't happen again?]

Her... her garden's fucking stupid if she thinks that.

[He's quiet for a second as he tries to get a hold on his emotions. Rage probably won't do when Kalmiya's hurting like this. He takes a deep breath.]

Do you... do you need anything? Do you need a hug?

[Despite Toki's attempt at restraint, she finds comfort in his fury. Her own hasn't been given enough air to blaze; the edges of the hole in her being smolder with it but can't quite catch, so bloody is the wound. The pain simply consumes too much of her energy.

It's nice to feel cared for in all that pain. To have the people she cares for think she's worth getting angry about.

An impression of quiet laughter follows his outburst, thrumming with subdued agreement.] That's what I said.

[Essentially, anyway.

There's a short beat of silence. While the transmission of her voice remains relatively level, the faint wobble of the Murmur around the message is telling of her effort to keep it together.] A hug sounds really nice, actually. Could I come see you and the bears?

[A snuggle in a throne of stuffed animals sounds like the peak of luxury right now.]

[Well, she was right to say that. Even the tiniest bit of laughter is welcome, and he sends a small smile out into the Murmur in response. Things don't quite feel right without their Tether, but they'll deal with it.

He shoves down his rage again. There's plenty of time for that later.

Right now, he just needs to be there for her, and he certainly will. There's absolutely zero hesitation when she asks to come over, just instant agreement.]

Yeah, of course! It'll be open, just come on in.

[He's already on his way to the door to wait for her, in fact. Gotta make sure he's all ready for visitors.]

[She had absolutely no rational worry that Toki of all people would turn her down, but it's hard for a wounded creature not to preemptively brace itself for another blow. With relief:] Sure thing. Thanks, Toki.

[It's a bit quicker a trip than one might expect between her apartment and Toki's toy store; not unreasonably so, but she goes out of her way to avoid the other living things on the streets of Manhattan.

And, well, the way she simply appears in front of the door seems to indicate that she used her phasing abilities to bypass some of the usual obstacles. It's a split-second ugly sight as her body strings itself back together before the entryway, an unpleasant knit of kinked and tangled-up threads in the colors of flesh and fur, loose like a bobbin carelessly unspooled before she comes back to solidity again.

She's less foxlike than in the dream, but much more than when they last met in the waking world, ears and three tails and asymmetrical spreads of fuchsia fur between her hands and elbows. She's also deathly pale, and clammy to boot; it's hard to tell if it's overexertion of her powers or an effect of being so suddenly without all her strongest tethers.

Regardless, her form flickers as she reaches for the door, and she has to concentrate to will it back into place before she steps through, ears swiveling and eyes worried as she searches for Toki.]

[Luckily, Toki isn't very far when Kalmiya shows up. He's pacing by the door, concentrating on the floor, mask still on in case of emergency, in case she needs to call him, or of he needs to call someone else. He's not sure. He glances up, eyes wide, when he sees movement in his peripheral vision. There's really only one person who it's bound to be.]

Kalmiya!

[Stopping mid-stride he turns, making a beeline towards the doorway as he tugs his mask off, its purpose fulfilled for the moment. He opens his arms wide to hug her, but he stops himself at the last second to allow her to decide if she needs a minute first. Better not to overwhelm, just in case.

Things feel a little off for the moment, which makes sense. He should be able to feel her like this. He doesn't. He focuses on Kalmiya, because Sleep doesn't even deserve his attention right now, even if it's all anger. Kalmiya needs to feel welcome, because she is. Tether or no Tether.]

It's really really good to see you.

[If only the circumstances were nicer.]

Edited 2025-10-13 13:05 (UTC)

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