starlighthome74

[starlighthome74]

[Kik holds him for a moment longer before pulling away, smiling at him.]

"'Course. It's what friends are for, right?"

[The pages begin to flip on their own again, and a piece of lined notebook paper falls out and flutters to the floor.]

@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-

[starlighthome74]

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-

[starlighthome74]

[Kik smiles, nods, and then pushes themself to stand. They open their arms, and when Star Watcher steps into them, Kik pulls him into a very warm, very tender hug. One hand soothingly rubs at his back. They smell like their magic does, like a winter's night and a campfire. He can feel their heart beat steadily in their chest.]

[The back section of the Book is filled with all sorts of notes and observations written by Kik, their own variety of experiments and research into what the Book was capable of. If the Lords are looking for a weakness of the Black, it's in that section. Kik wasn't about to let Edwin have this knowledge for himself, it seemed. Part of it even coincided with some of the notebooks Edwin had written, parallels to be drawn between the ways Kik's magic behaved under duress...]

@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-

[starlighthome74]

"It's okay. You're okay. Do you want a hug? A snack?"

[Kik doesn't seem to mind being there for him at all. In fact, they seem happy to help.]

[Kik's Book almost purrs in response. If the Lords wanted more secrets, it would gladly show them. It recognizes them, even in human form, and is still Their Tome, despite the fact that Kik's magic is what it is imbued with. In fact... The parts that require blood seem to be... Kik's blood.]

@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-

[starlighthome74]

"Take all the time you need. I'm here."

[Kik sits with him, calmly, and waits.]

[The note is written in graphite again, smudged a little on the edge by what looks like a Kik-sized finger.

'Definitely not my first choice for garnering enough strength, but an option none the less. My test worked, and I was able to absorb the soul of a rabbit. The resulting power allowed me to summon enough of the Black to hold Court with the Void (page # 132). It didn't feel like the void, but a deal has been made/I was able to summon something, so I suppose it had to have worked. Regardless, I proved that this Book can be used like the original Book. -KW']

@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-

[starlighthome74]

[Kik shakes their head and smiles gently up at him. Their heart continues to beat steadily, their chest rising and falling with each steady breath. Kik has put aside their own thoughts and calculations for the moment, instead focusing on Starry.]

"You don't have to apologize. Do you need to talk about it? Or just breathe?"

[Kik's copy of the Black Book flips it's pages again, opening to the section detailing the spell to Devour a Soul. A sticky note is folded to hide it's text, tucked close to the spine where it would be less visible. Unless someone was looking for it.]

@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-

[starlighthome74]

...you sure?

[Kik doesn't shift their focus from Starry, focused in on trying to figure out what might be wrong. Figure out how to move forward.]

[They glance at the Watcher.]

"We'll all be okay. I'll see to it."

[starlighthome74]

[Kik watches him for a moment, taking in the murmuring, how he didn't seem entirely present. They frown, thinking.]

"Starry?"

[They sit in front of him, pulling his hand to their chest, where their heart beats steadily.]

[A passage stands out, written in Kik's hand with smudgy graphite pencil:

'It's been five days since the last time Edwin has tried to use the Book, and I think it's safe to say that whatever I tried worked at repelling his advances. However, that would mean that I have some sort of control over this copy. I can't say for sure, but it seems that the Book can recognize it's user. Or, at the very least, it recognizes me.

The original Tome also seems to recognize it's user, especially what that user might want. Interestingly enough, I think I have copied a fraction of the power in my studies. I'm not sure how all of this relates. -K.W.'

Edwin was not the only one researching, it seems.]

@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-

[starlighthome74]

[Kik smiles gently at him.]

"Yeah, I get that way too sometimes."

[They reach and gently take his hand, squeezing it in their own. They don't pry, they don't feel like that would be useful. Instead, they'll stand with him.]

[Kik's copy of the Abdominal Tome is not an exact replica, and as it flips itself open to the middle pages that becomes more and more apparent. Little notes hug the margins, sticky notes decorate passages, some passages are even added to the Book, providing relevant information. Kik's handwriting is neat and small in black ink. They knew a lot more about The Book than anyone had previously thought: and this was proof.]

@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-

[starlighthome74]

[Kik has noticed the change in Starry's demeanor, the change in focus. Concerned, they watch him as he settles before finding their way beside him.]

"Are you okay?"

[The Book's pages flip on their own, as if trying to show Pokotho something.]

@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-

[starlighthome74]

[Kik's Book feels warm in Pokotho's hand, responding to him with it's magic bubbling to the surface, spells aching to be spoken and whispered. A beat thumps through the cover, badum, badum, badum. Like a heart beat, slow and steady.]

@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-

[starlighthome74]

Kik? You good?

[Kik's hands run up and down the texture of the scars on their leg. Raised burns that curl around their thigh. Something unreadable remains in their eyes.]

"I'll be just fine."

[starlighthome74]

"He's hurt. Whatever damage Starry and I did, He's still recovering."

[Kik stares off into space, and the smell of cedar begins to shift to camp fire and flame. It's not uncomfortable, in fact it would feel comforting to anyone who knows Kik, the smell of camp fire and the hearth follows them everywhere. But it's larger than it was, powerful.]

"He is in pain."

@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-

[starlighthome74]

"If you want it to be."

[Kik's voice is even and mild. They stand, slowly, expression a little unreadable. Their eyes are a slightly different color, colder.]

"But that's up to you. Whatever happens, I'm not letting him hurt any of us again."

@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-

[starlighthome74]

"I'm sure."

[There is a certainty to them that is... different than before. It carries in the tone of their voice, in the set of their jaw. Something changed.]

"It's okay, He isn't here. I was in the Black. It's safe here."

[Their magic tastes different. A lot more potent, thick and cedar-smelling, like winter in the woods. It fills the room as they think.]

@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-

[starlighthome74]

[Kik watches the reactions, sees all the fear and confusion and something inside them sparks dangerously. Rage boils and bubbles in their chest, melting the icy layer of fear that held them in place.]

[They're getting quite tired of feeling like nothing they do matters. They were getting really fucking tired of feeling like they could never protect their family, their home. The words of Their Father echo in their mind, singing and burning and wrapping around them like the tentacles had:

You can do nothing.

Fuck that. They could do anything. And if they couldn't do, then they'd try. And they'd prove it. Their copy of The Black Book rumbles where it lays among the rest of their items in response.]

"No. The scars can stay."

@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-

[starlighthome74]

[Kik takes a breath, then another.]

"I'm okay-- I'm alright. No, they don't hurt."

[Another moment passes as the child collects their thoughts, hands still shaking.]

"I walked into the Black, and He was there... He didn't take kindly to me."

@thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite

[Kik shivers on the floor, bound at the ankles and wrists, blindfolded, and gagged. The Fabric around them is strong and multicolored, shining in the dingy room. They pant through the gag, trying to lay on their stomach as much as possible. The room smells a little like burned flesh.]

( @starlighthome74 )

Footsteps clamor nearby. Tinky slides into view, looking around.

Kik? Kik?!

The familiar smell of burnt flesh stings. He spots them in their painful state, heart pounding.

Oh, Lo - oh, shit-