[ in a shyamalan-esque plot twist, makoto hadn't developed an allergic reaction to rin's tendency for showboating or simpering precociousness (which tended to be one and the same for him, most days). more distinctly, makoto didn't spend too much time dwelling upon the particulars of their encounter, all too preoccupied with the teetering shock that sent him reeling slightly off-center, shoving his hands against the tree in rickety counterbalance when his friend came in on lunging disequilibrium (less of a prayer than a god-send in stunted freefall). ]
Rin, what — ...
[ later, he might remember the impression of rin outlined against the flame without an ounce of fondness: palms clotted with manipulated tendrils of heat and fixating light, the vastness of the encroaching vegetation eclipsed by the tremulous warmth saturating his form. even before the sparks drew, they gleamed in his eyes as a sharper refraction, a kind of lucid, liquid-bright mania. once properly alight, the fire burst open in the wake of the jungle cat's vanishing act — oxidized air reeking of sulfurous fuel and melting smoke.
in the aftermath, makoto coughs into the trunk to downplay the extent of his warping alarm, comparatively horrified by the burning leaves fluttering like talisman slips around them, fizzling out before they properly landed. ]
You sure do know how to make an entrance.
[ raggedly, he heaves up from an affected slouch, smile reduced to a lukewarm sliver superimposed over his mouth. the skittishness is still there, but his fear lives only on the precipice for the time being, muted once the immediate threat diffuses. he's grown overly complacent in the colony, indulged by each of his friends in turn, but it never negated the reality of their shared predicament.
there are questions and there are questions to ask rin, but for now makoto devotes his attention to his current plight. ]
Thanks. Um, do you think could get me down from here?
[ scraping the request out of his throat is a monumental effort. bear with him, here. he's been personally victimized by every living creature in the tropics and then some since his arrival. ]
I-I can make it to the ground on my own if it's too much trouble, though! Your hands seem a little ...
no subject
Rin, what — ...
[ later, he might remember the impression of rin outlined against the flame without an ounce of fondness: palms clotted with manipulated tendrils of heat and fixating light, the vastness of the encroaching vegetation eclipsed by the tremulous warmth saturating his form. even before the sparks drew, they gleamed in his eyes as a sharper refraction, a kind of lucid, liquid-bright mania. once properly alight, the fire burst open in the wake of the jungle cat's vanishing act — oxidized air reeking of sulfurous fuel and melting smoke.
in the aftermath, makoto coughs into the trunk to downplay the extent of his warping alarm, comparatively horrified by the burning leaves fluttering like talisman slips around them, fizzling out before they properly landed. ]
You sure do know how to make an entrance.
[ raggedly, he heaves up from an affected slouch, smile reduced to a lukewarm sliver superimposed over his mouth. the skittishness is still there, but his fear lives only on the precipice for the time being, muted once the immediate threat diffuses. he's grown overly complacent in the colony, indulged by each of his friends in turn, but it never negated the reality of their shared predicament.
there are questions and there are questions to ask rin, but for now makoto devotes his attention to his current plight. ]
Thanks. Um, do you think could get me down from here?
[ scraping the request out of his throat is a monumental effort. bear with him, here. he's been personally victimized by every living creature in the tropics and then some since his arrival. ]
I-I can make it to the ground on my own if it's too much trouble, though! Your hands seem a little ...
[ incendiary. ]
... preoccupied.