Picrews (because i couldn't help myself): Yumaswix (left), Rjutqiavn (right). Yumaswix should be beefier than this but alas that's the limitation of picrew. Picrew used
When Yumaswix heard the slow, thudding knock at the door, the last thing she’d expected to see was her.
Rjutqiavn did not stand proudly. She was slumped over against the doorframe, breathing heavily. Gleaming silver ooze seeped from a wound in her neck, visible through cracks in the fingers clamped tight over it. Half of one of her horns was snapped off, clutched in a shaking hand, still raised as if to knock again.
“Rjuti?” Yumaswix swept forward, catching her in her arms. Rjutqiavn collapsed into them, all her pomp and grit gone for the moment. “What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t know where else to go.” Her throat hummed like the fan on an overheating laptop, the words barely audible beside it. “Lost the ship. This godforsaken fucking planet.”
“I’ve got you.” No more than a little heft was needed, Rjutqiavn was so small compared to her. Yumaswix carefully laid her down on the couch, sliding a pillow under her head.
Rjutqiavn groaned, half of her eyes squinting shut in the bright light of the living room, but she didn’t complain. “You’re not going to ask what happened?”
“I can guess.” The words held none of their typical amusement. She plucked the half-horn from Rjutqiavn’s hand–a slight, delicate thing, just like the rest of her, not suited to the military at all, not like Yumaswix was–and set it on the coffee table. “They’re going to branch again if you keep doing this. You’ll hardly be able to hold your head up for all the split ends.”
“I’ll live,” Rjutqiavn muttered.
“You’ll live longer if you stop fighting them.” Yumaswix peeled Rjutqiavn’s other hand from her neck, glimmering slime dribbling down onto the cushion. “Look at you. You’ve nearly been beheaded.”
“The work of your precious humans.” Rjutqiavn wiped her hand on the couch.
“It’s their planet, they have to defend it. You’re the one causing trouble.” Yumaswix wrapped her hands around Rjutqiavn’s neck, squeezing just slightly. “Now hush. I need to work.”
Rjutqiavn winced at the contact, but obeyed.
They stayed like that, the only sound the whirring of Rjutqiavn’s throat beneath her hands. Yumaswix let all her eyes fall closed, one after the other, breathing even, fins fanned out. Rjutqiavn was cold. She’d never been good at temperature regulation, not on her own. It had been fine when it was the two of them and Rjutqiavn had her to mimic.
Gradually, the oozing began to stop, and Yumaswix loosened her grip. “Better?”
“Yes.” Her voice was clearer now, only a quiet hum accompanying it. She tried to sit up, but fell back to the couch with a chk. “I need… to rest,” she said with a grimace.
“You can always rest here.” Yumaswix wiped her hands on the couch, too–it wasn’t like its state could get much worse, and she was far more reluctant to leave Rjutqiavn’s side. She drew a hand through Rjutqiavn’s hair, short and wispy, just as soft as she’d remembered it.
Rjutqiavn let her. “What about your friends?” she spat.
“They won’t hurt you. Not if I tell them it’s safe.” She traced a finger up Rjutqiavn’s uninjured horn, if one could call it that. Unlike Yumaswix’s own, thick and sturdy and all in one piece, Rjutqiavn’s were fragile, branching off into constellations like a deer’s antlers after so many injuries. She’d always thought they were beautiful, not that it could ever be considered healthy. “We could be like this again, you know, if you stopped. We could be together.”
“You’re the one who left.” Rjutqiavn half-heartedly swatted her hand away. “Don’t act like you’re not turning me in as soon as I’m healthy enough to walk.”
Yumaswix smiled bashfully, caught. “Why did you come here if you were so certain?”
“Whatever they do to me, it will be better than dying alone on a planet I hate.” Rjutqiavn snatched her half-horn back off the table.
“You talk like they’re going to torture you!”
Rjutqiavn gestured up and down her body. “If they do this when I’m capable of fighting back, I can’t imagine they’d be kinder when I’m at their mercy.”
Yumaswix couldn’t say for certain. Humans were not so unified, not like back home where she was one of few who didn’t belong. They all wanted different things, and while she could confidently claim that her friends wouldn’t harm Rjutqiavn out of fair combat, she couldn’t so much as guess at the intentions of those in power.
Not that she could very well let Rjutqiavn go. Either she would succeed, hurting humans in the process, or she would fail, and eventually die. Likely the latter.
“I will not let anyone hurt you,” Yumaswix promised.
“How? With sunshine and friendship?” Rjutqiavn mocked. “You care more about this planet than you ever did about me. You’re just–”
“Rjuti.”
Rjutqiavn stopped.
“I will not let anyone hurt you.” Yumaswix was rarely so serious. “By any means necessary.”
Rjutqiavn hesitated a moment. “Well, now I kind of want them to. Maybe that’s the way to finally get you to re-enlist.”
Yumaswix sighed, leaned in, and pressed her lips to Rjutqiavn’s forehead. “Get some rest.”
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
Ship: OC/OC
Words: 858
Picrews (because i couldn't help myself): Yumaswix (left), Rjutqiavn (right). Yumaswix should be beefier than this but alas that's the limitation of picrew. Picrew used
When Yumaswix heard the slow, thudding knock at the door, the last thing she’d expected to see was her.
Rjutqiavn did not stand proudly. She was slumped over against the doorframe, breathing heavily. Gleaming silver ooze seeped from a wound in her neck, visible through cracks in the fingers clamped tight over it. Half of one of her horns was snapped off, clutched in a shaking hand, still raised as if to knock again.
“Rjuti?” Yumaswix swept forward, catching her in her arms. Rjutqiavn collapsed into them, all her pomp and grit gone for the moment. “What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t know where else to go.” Her throat hummed like the fan on an overheating laptop, the words barely audible beside it. “Lost the ship. This godforsaken fucking planet.”
“I’ve got you.” No more than a little heft was needed, Rjutqiavn was so small compared to her. Yumaswix carefully laid her down on the couch, sliding a pillow under her head.
Rjutqiavn groaned, half of her eyes squinting shut in the bright light of the living room, but she didn’t complain. “You’re not going to ask what happened?”
“I can guess.” The words held none of their typical amusement. She plucked the half-horn from Rjutqiavn’s hand–a slight, delicate thing, just like the rest of her, not suited to the military at all, not like Yumaswix was–and set it on the coffee table. “They’re going to branch again if you keep doing this. You’ll hardly be able to hold your head up for all the split ends.”
“I’ll live,” Rjutqiavn muttered.
“You’ll live longer if you stop fighting them.” Yumaswix peeled Rjutqiavn’s other hand from her neck, glimmering slime dribbling down onto the cushion. “Look at you. You’ve nearly been beheaded.”
“The work of your precious humans.” Rjutqiavn wiped her hand on the couch.
“It’s their planet, they have to defend it. You’re the one causing trouble.” Yumaswix wrapped her hands around Rjutqiavn’s neck, squeezing just slightly. “Now hush. I need to work.”
Rjutqiavn winced at the contact, but obeyed.
They stayed like that, the only sound the whirring of Rjutqiavn’s throat beneath her hands. Yumaswix let all her eyes fall closed, one after the other, breathing even, fins fanned out. Rjutqiavn was cold. She’d never been good at temperature regulation, not on her own. It had been fine when it was the two of them and Rjutqiavn had her to mimic.
Gradually, the oozing began to stop, and Yumaswix loosened her grip. “Better?”
“Yes.” Her voice was clearer now, only a quiet hum accompanying it. She tried to sit up, but fell back to the couch with a chk. “I need… to rest,” she said with a grimace.
“You can always rest here.” Yumaswix wiped her hands on the couch, too–it wasn’t like its state could get much worse, and she was far more reluctant to leave Rjutqiavn’s side. She drew a hand through Rjutqiavn’s hair, short and wispy, just as soft as she’d remembered it.
Rjutqiavn let her. “What about your friends?” she spat.
“They won’t hurt you. Not if I tell them it’s safe.” She traced a finger up Rjutqiavn’s uninjured horn, if one could call it that. Unlike Yumaswix’s own, thick and sturdy and all in one piece, Rjutqiavn’s were fragile, branching off into constellations like a deer’s antlers after so many injuries. She’d always thought they were beautiful, not that it could ever be considered healthy. “We could be like this again, you know, if you stopped. We could be together.”
“You’re the one who left.” Rjutqiavn half-heartedly swatted her hand away. “Don’t act like you’re not turning me in as soon as I’m healthy enough to walk.”
Yumaswix smiled bashfully, caught. “Why did you come here if you were so certain?”
“Whatever they do to me, it will be better than dying alone on a planet I hate.” Rjutqiavn snatched her half-horn back off the table.
“You talk like they’re going to torture you!”
Rjutqiavn gestured up and down her body. “If they do this when I’m capable of fighting back, I can’t imagine they’d be kinder when I’m at their mercy.”
Yumaswix couldn’t say for certain. Humans were not so unified, not like back home where she was one of few who didn’t belong. They all wanted different things, and while she could confidently claim that her friends wouldn’t harm Rjutqiavn out of fair combat, she couldn’t so much as guess at the intentions of those in power.
Not that she could very well let Rjutqiavn go. Either she would succeed, hurting humans in the process, or she would fail, and eventually die. Likely the latter.
“I will not let anyone hurt you,” Yumaswix promised.
“How? With sunshine and friendship?” Rjutqiavn mocked. “You care more about this planet than you ever did about me. You’re just–”
“Rjuti.”
Rjutqiavn stopped.
“I will not let anyone hurt you.” Yumaswix was rarely so serious. “By any means necessary.”
Rjutqiavn hesitated a moment. “Well, now I kind of want them to. Maybe that’s the way to finally get you to re-enlist.”
Yumaswix sighed, leaned in, and pressed her lips to Rjutqiavn’s forehead. “Get some rest.”