synopsychic | An Itch You Notice When It's Gone

Oh. I... I wonder if the cold bothered him?

[He's not gone, he's not, she's not going to think about it-]

Was it very bright? He wouldn't have liked it if it was very bright!

[The laugh she gives sounds strained.]

Bright enough that I wound up wearing my sunglasses a few times.

[[walking a bit faster now.]]

All the light reflecting off the snow, right, right. That's a concern when spending a prolonged time outdoors in the winter. You can go snow blind.

[She's starting to babble, in the effort not to process what she doesn't want to acknowledge.]

[[And while she is babbling, there'll be a familiar figure stepping through her doorway, not even bothering to knock. He does, at least, wait for eye contact before he rests a warm hand on her shoulder. ]]

Dakki's room has upgraded since the last time Tachibana stopped by. The aesthetic is still the same curves-and-lights futuristic theme, but the kitchen is bigger, there's a table and chairs where guests can sit to eat, and past a waist-high divider wall on the right side of the space there's an entertainment and game room visible. The finer details might easily go unnoticed, however. Dakki is who he's looking for, and Dakki was standing in the middle of the kitchen, clutching onto a slightly uncomfortable-looking Rappy.

"...Tachibana?" She turns, Rappy looks up and over, and when that hand settles upon her shoulder, words simply fail her. There are tears welling in her golden eyes, tears that she's trying very hard to not let spill.

Giving Rappy time to hop clear, he gently wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a proper hug. "It's okay if you want to cry," he assured. "If the tears are coming... don't hold them back. It just hurts more later."

Rappy knows an incoming hug when he sees one. Not wanting to get squished, he hops free from Dakki's arms with a little peep, and skitters off to fetch a box of tissues. He has a feeling that tissues are going to come in handy.

Dakki lets herself sink into that hug, head dipping and forehead resting against Tachibana's shoulder. "I-I'm not crying. I don't cry." And oh, it hurts, it does... it hurts more sharply, even, now that someone's there to hold onto. And she's holding on. "Not, not over something like this. I sh-shouldn't."

"Don't be ridiculous," Tachibana chided fondly, shifting to hold her more closely. "That guy was your friend, wasn't he?"

"He was!" As she protests, her head lifts. "But I've lost friends before, and he's not... he's not dead, he's just... gone. So I shouldn't be upset." For all that she is trying to logic her way out of the feelings that she's having, her eyes are still wet with tears, if Tachibana looks. She's averting them, at any rate.

"That doesn't mean it hurts any less," Tachibana pointed out. "Or that you shouldn't feel anything."

He was quiet a moment before continuing, voice softer. "And sometimes... it hurts a little worse, when you know they've just vanished."

"I don't want to hurt like this..." And maybe that gets to the core of the matter. Her head dips again and her fingers curl, digging into his clothes. "I don't want to hurt over someone who's ridiculous and scary and impossible and, and...." The more unkind ways she thinks to describe Zed, the harder it is to keep her tone even. Her voice crackles the slightest bit.

"Noone wants to hurt. But it happens. And fighting against it just makes the hurt last longer. You can hide your tears against me, if you don't want them to be seen. I won't tell anyone."

That's such a kind offer. How could she not take him up on it? With that promise given to her, she lets out a funny sort of gasp, before dissolving into tears. Her vocal synth wasn't perfectly designed for this, just as it wasn't perfectly designed for singing. There are little skips and catches, betraying that she's a CAST. But her tears are hot and real and genuine, and starting to soak Tachibana's shirt.

As long as she needs it, he'll hold her, gently stroking her back a in soft, hopefully comforting way, much like he did for Garren when he was upset.

It's a sudden cloudburst of sobbing, heavy and overwhelming and then, done almost as suddenly as it began. A few unsteady breaths, and she slowly loosens her grip upon him. Rather than leave her face buried against his shoulder, she turns her head and rests her cheek instead. "...thank you." Her voice is small, and she sounds tired and rung out, but there's a tension gone from her.

With what seems like the worst of the outburst done, Rappy edges back in, clutching a box of tissues.

"Feel a little better, having gotten it out?" he asked, voice soft, arms staying gently around her in support.

"Mn. A little better." She gives a very small nod, and looks over to Rappy, having had the feeling that he was there, concerned in his own way. He offers the tissues up, and she releases some of her hold on Tachibana and reaches down to grab one.

...upon realizing just how soaked the shoulder of his shirt is, she uses the tissue to sort of dab at that damp spot. "I, er, I didn't mean to... I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Tachibana assured, giving her shoulder a small squeeze. "I've got another 5 just like it back at the garage," he joked lightly.

"Well..." She finds herself laughing in spite of how emotionally wrung-out she feels. "It's the principle of the thing?"

Rappy's just... gonna keep holding up the tissues. Honestly...

"Don't worry about something like that," he assured again, tone fond. "We're family, right?"

"We are. Right." And that's a warm and comforting thing to hold on to, feeling as sad and unsure as she does right now. She reaches down for another tissue, and uses it to dry her eyes.

"...c'mon, c'mon, there's a nice place to sit now, pii, we should all sit." And he's just going to hold onto Dakki's leg and tug her gently towards the rec room/living room space that she'd so recently set up.

"Oh... oh, right..." A step is taken in that direction, though much of her focus remains on Tachibana. "I was going to invite you over to come see. But..." Well. Does it need to be said?

Tachibana nodded, giving her shoulder a pat as he finally let go. "Gave it an upgrade, huh?" he observed, looking around, a faint, soft smile tugging at his expression. "Like a proper house, but still distinctly your style." High contrast to his own little mess of rooms, really...

"Like my apartment, but.... better. Like what I wanted it to be, once my pay grade was high enough." She smiles at the idea, bittersweet though it is. "We get to have so much here, if we really want it, don't we...?"

It's pretty easy for Rappy to tug her over to go have a seat on the nice couch. Hopefully Tachibana will follow.

And follow Tachibana indeed does, nodding to Dakki's observation as he sits down. "We do, yeah. If we can figure it out what we want... we can make it happen."

Dakki does sit, and Rappy wastes no time hopping in her lap. Without even having to think to do it, she hugs the bird pogemon. "As much as I wanted a bigger home... I think what I most wanted was somewhere for my friends to be, too." And now she has one less friend to bring here. Her head dips, and Rappy gives a little peep as she squeezes him tighter for a moment.

An Itch You Notice When It's Gone

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