Bullet 22 (closed commentlog) [Backdated to Thursday, 9/30, around 9pm]

[hadalotofsugar]

[After Tanvir left, King had spent some time fuming, and then a brief stint in the gym. Finally, he'd ended up just hanging around the room, finding things to do or distract himself with, as he waited for Bryn's (hopefully) return.

He was fine with being without her - when she chose to spend the day away, not because she was  dead.

He sat on their

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[brynkitten]

[Bryn had been laughing with Tanvir, rushing to Kuma-ko. She remembered losing her balance, grasping at thin air, and falling. Falling had hurt more than she'd anticipated, and when she hit her head, it had felt like explosions going off behind her eyes. She'd lost consciousness quickly, and died not long after her tumble down the stairs.

From her perspective, it had been an unexpected and chaotic end.

This was her third death, and upon returning to her room, she found herself almost as disoriented as she'd been the first time. Bryn opened her eyes slowly, not moving as she let her mind catch up with where she was and how she'd gotten there.

Then she looked for King.]

[hadalotofsugar]

[King doesn't even notice for a moment. One minute he's reading the book, glancing up habitually, and the next he sees Bryn lying on their bed. It takes a moment to register, but it finally does.]

Bryn! [He says her name suddenly, and tosses the book aside, reaching for her, pausing, and then just gathering her naked self up in a hug, not saying anything for the moment.]

[brynkitten]

[Bryn's eyes meet King's the moment he looks at her, and it's when he says her name that she shakes herself out of her thoughts. King pulls her toward him and Bryn gladly lets herself be embraced. She doesn't say anything yet, but closes her eyes to savor the moment, to feel warm and safe in his arms.

She uses this moment to take stock, carefully wiggling and shifting ever so slightly here and there. Bryn tries to determine if any of her senses aren't working properly, worried about coming back imperfect.

...this is her third death. The system has been improved but Bryn doesn't know how it's changed. Are her eyes blackened?

Bryn looks up at King with obvious worry.]

My eyes...are they...?

[hadalotofsugar]

[King strokes his hands over her back, through her hair, as if reassuring himself she's real, at the same time letting her wiggle and move to reassure her own self.

When she asks about his eyes, he pulls back to look at her face, running a hand over her cheek.]

No, they're fine. Still all there.

Nothing's out of place?

[As if the hands running over her body aren't already answering that question.]