[ keith.exe has stopped working. he just freezes in place, as the purple on his face spreads all over, ears sprouting from his head and the whites of his eyes going yellow/gold. it's like time has stopped. and he's left just staring at the person in front of him.
kosmo steps back from them, looking up with a questioning gaze. this face is familiar to him, but different from what he's used to. ]
What... [ his voice barely comes out. where does he even start?? there's so many questions he has, so many things he wants to say. his eyes study the face, how the metal has been contoured across their features. his features. the hair is different... keith hasn't seen it this way in so long.
breathing is so hard. thinking is hard. he wants to move, but he can't. but after a brief moment of silence, his eyes crinkle, a pained expression settling on his face, as time slowly unfreezes and his mind catches up to him. he wants to say his name so bad, it gets stuck in his throat... but he promised...]
That's... kind of a loaded question to answer. [ ganymede's voice is a little rougher than it would have been, when keith saw him last, but that shouldn't be too surprising considering the way that the cybernetic... prosthetic? the wetware wraps around his throat, his neck, dips into his collar.
he just... has to stand there for a moment, fingers flexing against the helmet in his hands. nervous energy, uncertainty. but he doesn't run away.
can't, really, considering the reaction that keith has. that kosmo has. he owes him answers, but - he can't give them, not when he's owed them too. ] Bits and pieces are kind of foggy, so we're taking it one day at a time, trying to figure things out as they come to us.
[ the way keith flinches when ganymede speaks for the first time, no filter to the voice, just as they are. it hurts. he swallows, like it's his own throat and neck scarred. he wants to reach out, touch what is there, if only to confirm that what he's seeing is real. that this person...
he tears his eyes away, focusing downward, maybe if he stops staring... maybe when he looks up again things will be back to normal. maybe all of this is just some nightmare universe, an alternate reality, just like before.
his fingers curl into fists by his sides, emotions bouncing around, not sure if he should be mad, upset, sad, happy... he doesn't know what to feel. ]
Amnesia then. [ a beat. voice quiet. ] Is that why you didn't just tell me in the beginning. But I guess you guys aren't exactly supposed to show us your faces, because of some stupid rule. I just...[ words get caught. stuck. there's too much to say. and he really doesn't want to say the wrong thing. ] I don't know what to believe.
[ the implication that he doesn't believe ganymede isn't wrong, but it also isn't what he completely means. THERE'S SO MANY HORSE EMOTIONS. GOODBYE. ]
Go figure, right? That it's happened again. [ that it's happened to me again. pieces of his memories, fractured or just outright missing - again, again, again. forced to bear the weight of metal fused to his skin, again again again again again. he takes a deep breath, again, before releasing it slowly in a sigh and making himself properly look at keith, even if he won't. ]
... no, I. I didn't realize anything was wrong, before this week. With - us, I mean. You and I. We've been realizing that things are wrong from day one, it just gets more and more serious the longer things go, the more it really sinks in. [ an aborted step forward, weight shifting like he's going to move closer, but - he hesitates. he stops, not sure if it's welcome or not, considering so much of what this exchange simply is. ]
[ this really has happened so many times. too many times. he’s lost count of the number of times he’s found shiro like this. broken. broken with missing parts, replaced with new ones. aside from the time that he—… this is one of the worst.
his ears droop, the fur softening, and he lifts his to actually look at him. take in this version of shiro, from head to toe. what’s familiar and what’s not… ]
And I’ve always managed to find you, even at your worst. [ shakes his head. now back to eye level, not moving his gaze now. ] In every universe.
[ watching keith, with all of his galra heritage right on the surface, would send most anyone that's been through what he has running. but ganymede - he knows who keith is, even now. even with everything that's happened, here and before. it just makes him all the more expressive in the moment.
he can't help the slight smile that pulls at his mouth, hesitant. it doesn't get much bigger. can't, really, with the way his wetware is. ]
... ha. [ a weak laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. ] Yeah. Yeah, you sure have. How many times are you going to have to save me, huh?
[ this exchange is so familiar. deja vu, if you will. probably because it's still fresh, from the last time... only a few months before all of this. ]
Sh-... Ganymede. [ his eyes fade away from that yellow, going back to normal. he takes a step forward, towards them. ] What do you remember, from before you left with the Eudora.
[ he has to know. he has to know where they stand. when they stand. ]
there's a small pinch in his expression, hearing the start of a different name, but it fades away quick enough as keith continues onwards. his hand goes up to rub at his jaw, where metal meets scar tissue. acid burns. ]
... it was before you reunited with the others. [ his eyes flick to keith's scar, the one on his face. ] I was watching from the Black Lion, and you found me there, inside.
[ he inhales, sharp. that exact moment replaying in his head. there, in the astral plane, inside the mind of the black lion. where he had to say goodbye... ]
I remember. [ he reaches up to touch the scar on his cheek, as he catches his eyes. the fur recedes, ears and purple along with it. which also means his hair... it goes from purple, to his normal black, to stark white. reflecting something... someone... ]
After the battle, with the clone, we fell. [ it's a memory he can recall so clearly, so vividly. hanging on by the hilt of his knife with one hand, while the other held tight to the limp clone body. as the colony fell apart around them... and when they fell, he never let go. he quickly came to terms with dying there. but he didn't... they didn't. ]
[ how could he ever forget that? how could it have beenn gone? ganymede has to reach up and hold his head for a moment, eyes closing tightly. not against keith - but against something that causes his brow to pinch for a moment. what did this? what's taken everything from him yet another time?
his eyes do open, then, and he's still that astral plane figure. the effect doesn't change for him, save for the faint glimmer of galaxies that float off him here and there. ]
A lot's happened, since. You left to get back to the others, but after that... it was the Eudora. And even that's a haze in many places. Not just for me, but for many of the other officers.
[ he watches him and it's then that keith breaks the remaining distance between them, a hand reaching out to lightly touch his right arm. the concern on his face clear, just as it always has been. ]
More than you know... [ so much has happened since then. he doesn't even know how he'd begin to tell him. but that's not what's important right now. ]
I get the feeling all of this, these injuries and prosthetics, the amnesia... none of it was an accident, was it. [ if he can even recall any of that. he doesn't want to push the subject, especially if it's going to cause shiro pain. ]
ganymede doesn't shy away from it, doesn't step back. he's almost relieved that keith does this, that he closes the distance - that it's okay. that it's real, not some hallucination or dream that he's falling through. but it also fills him with dread, at the same time, because keith is here, and people are dying.
he feels for everyone. bleeding heart, he'd said to lucien. adrastea's called me a bleeding heart before.
but it's keith. it's keith here. and he doesn't know how, or why, or if he can even do anything to truly help. ]
... the wetware is from a mission. [ but that's all he'll give. ] That's kind of patchy, too. But none of us think it's an accident, no.
[ yeah his right arm. why did you say it like that.
always trying to save everyone else... but never himself. keith has always found that part of him frustrating, but at the same time, it's one of his favorite qualities. a bleeding hear that never stops. never gives up. even in the hardest of times. ]
I see. [ he moves his hand to shiro's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. ] Well, I'm here to help you navigate it, just like before. [ like so many times before.]
I'm not going anywhere. [ he says this with such certainty, even when staying alive is not guaranteed.] And I'm not giving up on you.
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no subject
kosmo steps back from them, looking up with a questioning gaze. this face is familiar to him, but different from what he's used to. ]
What... [ his voice barely comes out. where does he even start?? there's so many questions he has, so many things he wants to say. his eyes study the face, how the metal has been contoured across their features. his features. the hair is different... keith hasn't seen it this way in so long.
breathing is so hard. thinking is hard. he wants to move, but he can't. but after a brief moment of silence, his eyes crinkle, a pained expression settling on his face, as time slowly unfreezes and his mind catches up to him. he wants to say his name so bad, it gets stuck in his throat... but he promised...]
What happened to you?
no subject
he just... has to stand there for a moment, fingers flexing against the helmet in his hands. nervous energy, uncertainty. but he doesn't run away.
can't, really, considering the reaction that keith has. that kosmo has. he owes him answers, but - he can't give them, not when he's owed them too. ] Bits and pieces are kind of foggy, so we're taking it one day at a time, trying to figure things out as they come to us.
no subject
he tears his eyes away, focusing downward, maybe if he stops staring... maybe when he looks up again things will be back to normal. maybe all of this is just some nightmare universe, an alternate reality, just like before.
his fingers curl into fists by his sides, emotions bouncing around, not sure if he should be mad, upset, sad, happy... he doesn't know what to feel. ]
Amnesia then. [ a beat. voice quiet. ] Is that why you didn't just tell me in the beginning. But I guess you guys aren't exactly supposed to show us your faces, because of some stupid rule. I just...[ words get caught. stuck. there's too much to say. and he really doesn't want to say the wrong thing. ] I don't know what to believe.
[ the implication that he doesn't believe ganymede isn't wrong, but it also isn't what he completely means. THERE'S SO MANY HORSE EMOTIONS. GOODBYE. ]
no subject
... no, I. I didn't realize anything was wrong, before this week. With - us, I mean. You and I. We've been realizing that things are wrong from day one, it just gets more and more serious the longer things go, the more it really sinks in. [ an aborted step forward, weight shifting like he's going to move closer, but - he hesitates. he stops, not sure if it's welcome or not, considering so much of what this exchange simply is. ]
You've always managed to find your way, Keith.
no subject
his ears droop, the fur softening, and he lifts his to actually look at him. take in this version of shiro, from head to toe. what’s familiar and what’s not… ]
And I’ve always managed to find you, even at your worst. [ shakes his head. now back to eye level, not moving his gaze now. ] In every universe.
no subject
he can't help the slight smile that pulls at his mouth, hesitant. it doesn't get much bigger. can't, really, with the way his wetware is. ]
... ha. [ a weak laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. ] Yeah. Yeah, you sure have. How many times are you going to have to save me, huh?
no subject
[ this exchange is so familiar. deja vu, if you will. probably because it's still fresh, from the last time... only a few months before all of this. ]
Sh-... Ganymede. [ his eyes fade away from that yellow, going back to normal. he takes a step forward, towards them. ] What do you remember, from before you left with the Eudora.
[ he has to know. he has to know where they stand. when they stand. ]
no subject
[ but.
there's a small pinch in his expression, hearing the start of a different name, but it fades away quick enough as keith continues onwards. his hand goes up to rub at his jaw, where metal meets scar tissue. acid burns. ]
... it was before you reunited with the others. [ his eyes flick to keith's scar, the one on his face. ] I was watching from the Black Lion, and you found me there, inside.
no subject
I remember. [ he reaches up to touch the scar on his cheek, as he catches his eyes. the fur recedes, ears and purple along with it. which also means his hair... it goes from purple, to his normal black, to stark white. reflecting something... someone... ]
After the battle, with the clone, we fell. [ it's a memory he can recall so clearly, so vividly. hanging on by the hilt of his knife with one hand, while the other held tight to the limp clone body. as the colony fell apart around them... and when they fell, he never let go. he quickly came to terms with dying there. but he didn't... they didn't. ]
no subject
[ how could he ever forget that? how could it have beenn gone? ganymede has to reach up and hold his head for a moment, eyes closing tightly. not against keith - but against something that causes his brow to pinch for a moment. what did this? what's taken everything from him yet another time?
his eyes do open, then, and he's still that astral plane figure. the effect doesn't change for him, save for the faint glimmer of galaxies that float off him here and there. ]
A lot's happened, since. You left to get back to the others, but after that... it was the Eudora. And even that's a haze in many places. Not just for me, but for many of the other officers.
no subject
[ he watches him and it's then that keith breaks the remaining distance between them, a hand reaching out to lightly touch his right arm. the concern on his face clear, just as it always has been. ]
More than you know... [ so much has happened since then. he doesn't even know how he'd begin to tell him. but that's not what's important right now. ]
I get the feeling all of this, these injuries and prosthetics, the amnesia... none of it was an accident, was it. [ if he can even recall any of that. he doesn't want to push the subject, especially if it's going to cause shiro pain. ]
no subject
ganymede doesn't shy away from it, doesn't step back. he's almost relieved that keith does this, that he closes the distance - that it's okay. that it's real, not some hallucination or dream that he's falling through. but it also fills him with dread, at the same time, because keith is here, and people are dying.
he feels for everyone. bleeding heart, he'd said to lucien. adrastea's called me a bleeding heart before.
but it's keith. it's keith here. and he doesn't know how, or why, or if he can even do anything to truly help. ]
... the wetware is from a mission. [ but that's all he'll give. ] That's kind of patchy, too. But none of us think it's an accident, no.
no subject
always trying to save everyone else... but never himself. keith has always found that part of him frustrating, but at the same time, it's one of his favorite qualities. a bleeding hear that never stops. never gives up. even in the hardest of times. ]
I see. [ he moves his hand to shiro's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. ] Well, I'm here to help you navigate it, just like before. [ like so many times before.]
I'm not going anywhere. [ he says this with such certainty, even when staying alive is not guaranteed.] And I'm not giving up on you.