[Open Post, backdated to November 1st] The Rising

[oldmantiger]

 Kotetsu wakes up.

...which is a little surprising, considering he hasn't actually slept in a month.

He wakes up, flat on his back in the gardens. The grass is warm beneath him, the breeze is crisp around him. For a moment, he just enjoys it. Even when memories of the past month start to filter back, he lets himself entertain the idea that it was all just a bad dream. 

But then he remembers the monster. He remembers being...twisted and transformed. He remembers everything he heard, everything he did. And no, there's no way it was all a dream. He's never been that lucky. 

Kotetsu lays a hand against his chest, but...no, there's no denying that whatever Asriel had taken is back where it belongs. Right now, it mostly feels like a heavy weight on his chest. A heavier weight, at least. All of him feels pretty heavy and clumsy now, after a solid month of being insubstantial and invisible.

There are people he needs to see. That knowledge forces its way through to the front of his mind. Kotetsu braces his hands on the ground to try and get up...and immediately gets distracted by the feel of the ground. Such a simple thing that he wants to never, never take for granted again. He laughs out loud to feel it, laughs just to be sure he's not going to sob.

It's been a long month. He kind of wants to get drunk until the next one. But...the grass just feels so nice right now. He's not ready to stand up.

So those of you who are out, about, and reacting to your newly normalized states might come across Kotetsu in the gardens, laying on the ground, pulling up blades of grass a few tufts at a time and watching them be carried away on the breeze. He's smiling like he doesn't have a care in the world.

He has plenty, though, and they eventually become impossible to ignore. So when Kotetsu does get to his feet, he immediately starts running. As he runs, he calls out: "Bunny? Toshi? Where are you?"

Though if he passes by anyone he encountered as a ghost - whether or not they knew he was there - he's definitely going to slow down and hesitate for a moment, wondering what to say. If he should say anything. 

Comments

[oldmantiger]

He's long past the point of being surprised at how much stronger Grune is than she looks. And, truth be told, Kotetsu isn't about to say no to someone strong and steady to lean against for a minute, while he deals with actually being on his feet.

Besides. Grune just gives some pretty great hugs.

"I'm so glad I am, too," he says. And if his voice is wavering and a little unsteady still, it's at least partly due to happiness.

But there are other things on his mind, other people he has to worry about that probably aren't holding up as well as Grune seems to be. "Is everyone back to normal? Have you seen anyone else today?" It certainly seems like it's late morning or so, maybe early afternoon, but he'd kind of lost a lot of sense of time.

[lostinmyway]

She can hear the small tremble in Kotetsu's voice. For just a moment, she holds him a little tighter.

When he asks her that question, she pulls back a little to look at him, but not before she presses a kiss to his cheek.

"Yes, I've seen all kinds of friends. I think everyone is back to the way they usually are."

But then her smile slips just a little. At least, their bodies are. So many of her friends were sad this month. Sadness isn't so quick to leave.

[oldmantiger]

Oh. Well then. Kotetsu actually feels himself blush a little, at the kiss. He ducks his head in embarrassment even as he tries to hide a smile. Every little bit of extra affection means the world right now, no matter how embarrassed it makes him.

Even so, his mind returns stubbornly to the matter at hand. If people are back to normal now...

"...have you seen Bunny? Or maybe Toshi?" Maybe they'll have stuck together, at least. Even if, judging by the look on Grune's face, it's not going to be that easy. Then again, it never is.

[lostinmyway]

Grune sighs again. It isn't the same sound of relief as before.

"Toshi and I spent a little while together this morning." She had tried so hard, but.... "He's still sad."

And.... "I can't find Bunny."

That worries her most of all. What had happened to Bunny was very wrong. She had done her best to look after him, but he had been hurt anyway. And she thinks he's still hurt now.

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu feels his breath catch in his throat at Grune's words. His grip tightens reflexively on her for a moment, as though to keep her from disappearing on him, too.

It takes a conscious effort to steady his breathing and get his heart beating back on track again. Okay. Okay, he knew this was a possibility. That's why he asked. And it's not like this is the first time Bunny has disappeared on him. The castle is large and twisting and strange, but it's not infinite, and Kotetsu can generally find his way around better than some.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on Toshi. But...do you think you could help me look for Bunny, Grune?"

He doesn't doubt that she's looked already. So maybe, even with her memory problems, she can save him some time.

[lostinmyway]

It hurts a little bit, how hard Kotetsu held her for a moment, but she doesn't say anything. He's very worried right now--she doesn't want to make him feel worse.

She nods at his question. "Oh, yes. I want to see him, too."

He was very upset last month. She hopes she can help him feel better again.