vatheon | (no subject)

Who : Little Equius and whoever finds him
Where: in his backyard and around the bubble
When: whenever during the age-swap curse
Style: baby!STRONG
Status: OPEN

One: In the backyard of his hive

It's very scary, waking up in a place that's not your hive and that doesn't have your lusus! Especially when you're a much shorter, not nearly as STRONG version of yourself, and know that without Aurthor around to protect you, you are subject to the whims of a brutal, ugly society. That's why the first day of the curse finds a tiny version of Equius, with both horns intact and no glasses covering his face, hiding in his backyard in the pen with Darkleer's horses. They are the closest thing he has to a lusus right now, and he's got his face pressed against the shoulder of the larger one, letting its large body block him from view.

Or so he thinks.

Two: Around the bubble

A day or so later, Equius discovers RoboEquius, and RoboEquius is about the coolest thing ever! It's like a giant, metal friend, just for him! They even have the same sign! And the robot speaks to him, but only to him, and only in his head! It's like an imaginary friend you can touch!

RoboEquius is cool enough that the little blueblood ventures out of the backyard, holding the robot's hand and letting himself be guided around the bubble. Should anyone get close, though, he retreats behind the robot's legs and peers out with serious, solemn eyes. It hasn't quite dawned on him yet that no one else can hear RoboEquius.

[OOC: I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow, so most of this log will be backtagged!]

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"You're still the bestest to me," she tells him, not caring if it devolves into one of their usual arguments, as it probably will. She's too pleased at being allowed to snuggle him without any objections.

"No." That's exactly where it seems to be going, although Equius rests his head on her shoulder as she cuddles him. He's very young, after all, and misses his lusus, and this oliveblood is acting very uncharacteristically for a troll, but hey, he'll take it.

"Yesss," Nepeta sings out at him with a giggle, purring a little as she pets and coddles him, a warm, happy feeling in her chest that he actually goes so far as to rest his head on her shoulder. She really likes that she can make a fuss over him without being told to stop being foolish. There's nothing quite like cuddling up to her moirail.

"No." Equius is sounding decidedly less crabby now, almost sleepy, and he's slowly leaning on her more heavily. He's little enough that he can do that without crushing her or worrying about hurting her.

"Yes," she repeats, softer this time, noticing the way he seems to be drifting off. Waking up small and being scared must have taken a lot out of him, she realizes, and taking a nap out here close to the horses and with her watching over him is hardly the worst thing he can do. It's actually really nice to be able to hold and comfort him like this without either of them needing to worry.

"... no." There's some part of Equius that must remember Nepeta, and realize that he's safe with her, because she's gained his trust very, very fast. The little troll is definitely nodding off, putting more and more of his weight on his future moirail's shoulder.

This is serendipidity in action... where even curses and timeline shenanigans can't keep you apart.

"Shh, it doesn't matter," she whispers, which with her is the same thing as letting him win. She strokes his hair, watching him doze off and holding him as securely as she can. There's something about this that makes her so very happy. She can't explain it, but it does.