genessia | [ action | closed ] I don’t mean to be rude, but I look so damn good on ya

Well who else would be hopping in the kitchen?

Cassian, who was busy trying to clamber up onto a counter top to reach the highest shelf in the kitchen, of course.

Cursing and muttering under his breath, the words already starting to sound harsh and wheezing.

Good way to start the morning!

"You know, I'm pretty sure we have a step-stool around here somewhere," Tannusen noted, walking on into the kitchen proper and just hoisting Cassian up---

"DAMN THE STOOL, I DON'T NEED A FECKIN' STOOL-" And this would be the moment he'd begrudgingly accept the boost...

And instead...

Well yes he was boosted, but uh.... this wasn't how he... would have imagined it.

Is that the back of his...

"... Wh-"

...Why yes, it was. And the person suddenly in charge of those incredibly damaged lungs wasn't used to the lack of air capacity; cue one hell of an uncomfortable wheeze and the quietest, least accented, "Fuck."

"... FUCK."

A real fuck this time! He moved to set Tannusen... himself... Tanssian?

Down. Put him down, and just-

"Don't panic."

Okay yes that was stupid advice all things considered but at the moment it was the only advice he could give to stave off a potential asthma attack.

Cassian's usual body really didn't weigh much to Tannusen's usual muscle, did it? Heavy, definitely, but not too much of a strain. Not so much that he couldn't make it look far easier than it was.

These lungs, though.

Tannusen grabbed the counter the other man had been trying to climb onto and just tried to fucking breathe. A wild-eyed glance back and up revealed that yes, there was definitely something odd inhabiting that body; eyes somehow too bright now, like a faint light was just behind them.

The Slipped Seeming, Tannusen's cracked Mask, went with the soul.

inhale

EXHALE

inhale

Fuck, this was like drowning. These lungs would only fill so far with air and it wasn't enough--

Nope, sorry, mild panic time.

Not at all, Cassian was a bit concerned that perhaps he was... a touch underweight.

No one should feel that light.

Soft words, Tannusen's voice but heavy with that accent, slipping in and out of Irish as the man fought to breathe.

"Forcin' it will make it worse, close your eyes, sit, sit..." Trying to help him to the floor as the man then went to... put a kettle on? Well.

The second that was on, he moved back, trying to gather the now smaller man to him.

"I'm gonna give ye a beat, Tannusen, I need ye to breathe in time with it. Aye?"

Nothing more than a light tap on those skinny ribs.

"In."

That might very well be a big part of why Tannusen had taken up cooking so much. If he dangled enough freshly cooked food in Cassian's face, maybe he'd eat more of it!

Not that the tiger was thinking much of that right now, dizzy but cooperative, going down onto the floor and then nodding, still struggling because he had to. This wasn't breathplay, he hadn't prepared to have his air restricted like this; it was very different from anything he may have signed up for in his own body.

Fingers that were too small grabbed an arm that was too familiar and held on, and he sucked in air at the order.

This body was a wreck.

An absolute wreck, don't mind the sensation of being stupidly cold despite the thick wool outfit. That will never go away.

The gentle thumping continued, the soft orders of "in" and "out" a soft monotonous mantra until the kettle began to boil.

The kettle pulled down, and the steam wafted in front of Tannusen. Something to loosen the tightening muscles, to loosen anything that started to build, the scent of some herb having been boiled with the water easing the symptoms slowly but surely.

With Cassian having lived with this shit for two thousand years, of course he was an expert on it. An expert who wasn't currently encumbered by any of that bullshit; Tannusen's own lungs were perfectly healthy, thank you! His entire body, really, minus some scarring here and there, and a few old aches and pains from assorted old wounds. All the important bits were solid, maintained.

This body felt like a goddamned dumpster fire. Except then it'd at least be warm.

But Tannusen kept listening to that weird mix of his own voice and Cassian's accent, until finally, finally, he was able to just breathe shallow and slow, slumped in place with his eyes still closed.

Just the usual amount of wheeze, now. Still uncomfortable as hell to someone not used to it.

Well that was a pretty normal sounding wheeze! Good! Progress!

Cassian began to relax himself... and indeed, started to cotton on to just how deep he could take a breath. It was incredibly, stupidly hard to not sit there and breathe as obnoxiously deeply as possible, probably a poor idea all things considered right now.

But it was on the list of things to do later.

"It won't clear out all the way, but it will get easier, I promise."

"You know I'm fond of this thing from the outside," Tannusen managed, after a few more moments of just gauging how far he could breathe. At a certain point these lungs just... stopped taking more air in. "But this is a train wreck from the inside. I didn't know it was this bad."

...Wheeze.

Their air capacity was a bit shit, yeah.

"It's... Well it's not that bad when ye adjust."

Which means yeah it's bad, and he's been ignoring it for a very, very long time. There's a gentle cough.

"Tannusen, can ye stand?"

The look Tannusen shoots him is less than impressed. "Train, wreck," he repeats. That familiar voice is a bit stern, actually.

This shit's not going to continue to slide, now that Tannusen knows how bad it is.

As for standing, "Normally I'd say yes, but."

Wow, that look on his face...

Fits right in honestly, settles nice and neatly like Cassian's face is just always supposed to look that unimpressed.

Honestly, it actually makes the swapped out Cassian vaguely ashamed to make eye contact with it. Shit.

"Are ye strong enough to do it?" Was the better question to ask.

"I ain't got a problem with me legs, Tannusen."

The dizziness had mostly passed... but that cold wasn't going away, and the short shallow breaths were taking a lot more concentration than Tannusen liked. He slumped in place for a moment, shutting his eyes and taking stock, before nodding.

Very slightly.

He grabbed onto Cassian's current shoulder to help hoist himself up with another quiet wheeze.

This sucked.

"No wonder you have all the libido of a brick. This body's barely holding it together just to run."

"Just because you're cold and wheezy don't mean ye can make fun of my libido, ye prick."

SHUT UP, TANNUSEN. He goes however, to help him up gently, steadying the other man as they both got to their feet.

"Runs just fine long as ye don't think too hard about it."

"What libido?" Okay, now he's trolling. Things must be improving. "Enjoy mine, when it kicks in. Try not to freeze any bits off in that shower of yours, they come in awfully useful."

Okay, standing at... chin-height on his own body was a bit beyond surreal, even for the Faerie.

"You know, I've never been around one of my bodies when it's alive before. Not from the outside. You're so short!"

"I'm gonna sit in the tub and fill it with ice."

FUCK YOU.

It was, however, interesting to look down and just... look at himself. He knew he was shorter than nearly everyone. He hadn't forgotten! But it was just... so incredibly strange to be presented with it so bluntly.

"... I ain't short, all of ye are too godsbedamned tall, first of all-" And second of all, as he's collecting himself, and Tannusen is getting around to trolling again, it was time for revenge, as the now taller man moved in to attempt to hoist Tannusen up under his arms.

"... But I may need to start eatin' bigger suppers."

...That was weird. The sensation of being picked up wasn't one the tiger was used to. Nor was he used to seeing that face without markings, with whites that were actually white, and... rounded ears.

"Why do you think I started baking?" Actual food and treats alike in plenty around here, Tannusen still trying to figure out what might tempt Cassian into better intake now that he was mortal again.

But, of course, he sounded distracted, one hand grabbing Cassian's shoulder while he was stuck dangling in the air, and the other darting up into the mass of white hair for an ear. Pointy? Pointy.

"Wonder what you look like with my markings." He was going to have to get to a mirror before whatever this was wore off.

Edited 2017-09-02 07:10 (UTC)

It was weird, but it was much, much too fascinating now for Cassian to be getting concerned.

At the moment.

Give him some time.

"Because I bought ye an apron." Or at least that was related to it, right? He began to move, actually going to sweep Tannusen up to more of a princess carry. Wow...

Wow.

"No wonder you're so goddamned handsy, this is fun." He'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested in seeing Tannusen's stripes on his own body. After all, his old shape officially held a pooka now.

"Might be worth lookin' at."

Tannusen was perfectly cooperative with this, draping his arms over Cassian's current shoulders with a toothy grin. And yes, teeth that had been perfectly normal before a Fae got stuffed into this body had that peculiar oddness to them, just like when he was in his own body. More of that cracked Mask of his.

"That's why I like calling you travel-sized." Just pick him up, and travel!

Grins would look strange on his own face anyway, but he decided the extra oddity of having a pooka inhabiting his body made it all the more weird.

Those teeth looked a touch too sharp.

"Cold as a corpse though." He, after all, had never been able to gauge well how he felt compared to others, a hand ghosting over Tannusen's face.

"Mm, the rest of you is warm enough to make up for it."

Leave it to Tannusen to spin that into a compliment.

And then back to the weirdness of the whole situation. "I've never seen myself as an adult with round ears and... well, whites in the eyes, and no stripes. Not even in the mirror. You look like me... but not."

"Oh shush."

That couldn't be less annoyed or more charmed if he tried. Settling onto the couch with Tannusen still wrapped up in his arms, he moved to remove the glasses for a moment, if only to get a good look at the other mans face. So strange to see it and... well see it like this.

"Have to say it's a bit of the same here. Don't think I look this.... sharp normally, do I?"

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject