fourthsaken | IC inbox!

[Oliver grumbles sleepily as Soeki checks his messages, and even more so when he abandons the warmth of their bed. He's not exactly sure what could have Soeki so eager to get out of bed this early, but a quick check of his own messages answers that.

Yawning, Oliver emerges behind Soeki in the entrance of Jade's room, looking every bit as tousled as the other two. He looks caught between touched and faintly confused upon taking in what he's seeing. Jade and Soeki have always been close. They have a bond with each other that's unique, and dens? That definitely falls under the things he'd considered "Jade and Soeki's" rather than something he could be part of.]

Is this, like, for all of us?

[Jade's sleepy smile brightens even further when she spots Oliver trailing behind Soeki. She just barely stops herself from laughing at his questions. Sometimes she forgets that Oliver can be just as insecure about their friendship as she is, just as afraid that he's not always wanted.]

Yeah. Yeah, of course. I wouldn't have invited you if it wasn't for all of us.

[Soeki smiles, warm and sleepy, to see the den she's built and to feel Oliver's warmth at his back as he joins him in the doorway. It looks like a cozy, dim place for the three of them to nap, and he doesn't try to resist the pull it has on him. He's mostly resisted his den-building instincts since moving into the new apartment, not wanting to completely take over his and Oliver's space with his own desires.

He takes Oliver's hand and gives it a light squeeze, tugging him along as Soeki moves to crawl in to the close, comfortable space with Jade.]

It's really cozy. [The highest form of praise for a den, obviously.]

Thanks.

[Jade's pretty proud of the space she's made for them. So proud that she can't stop smiling as they make their way into the den.

She scoots over slightly to give them enough room to settle, pushing her laptop out of the fort now that she knows she won't have to send more messages to lure them out of bed.]

I made it yesterday afternoon, don't worry. I didn't wake up super early to do this.

[On one of her last days of being a werebear Jade has finally given in to letting herself sleep through her post-shift exhaustion.]

It's still pretty early.

[Oliver crawls in after, maneuvering in the small den to rest comfortably on the pillows. It's warm and smells reassuringly like Jade. He props himself to stay sitting using his elbows, looking sleepy but content.]

I don't think I've done this since I was a little kid. It's nice.

[Granted, he's slept in Soeki's den at his old apartment occasionally. but he'd built that for himself. This is supposed to be theirs. His current bear instincts are probably contributing too, but he isn't thinking about that right now.]

Too early. [He's in agreement there. If this had been for anything else, he probably would have dragged Oliver back to their nice warm bed. Soeki is smiling as he wedges himself in the middle though, and makes himself comfortable, breathing in the smells of home and family and his.]

You never outgrow blanket dens. [He quirks both eyebrows tiredly at Jade for a moment.] You're gonna sleep now, right?

It's not that early.

[Despite her protests, she can't quite hide how tired she is. Tired, but happy. She lays down next to Soeki, cuddling against his side, feeling safe and happy and home. It's nice to be able to lay next to someone without the worry of suddenly going intangible when she inevitably loses concentration. It's probably the thing she'll miss the most when she returns to being a shade.

She nods sleepily, already admitting defeat. There's no way she's going to be able to force herself to stay awake much longer.]

I can't sleep all day, though. This is only part of the surprise.

Sleep until the afternoon. You need it too.

[The response is mumbled because of where he's pressed his face into Soeki's warm side, but affectionate. He reaches out a hand to brush hers.]

Let's enjoy this surprise first.

It is that early. [He mumbles back, a pretty lame retort, but he's sleepy still - they all are, or should be. He seems content, though, with Jade and Oliver curled up on either side of him. What a warm, cozy den of bears they are.

He pokes her in the side, maneuvering his other arm around Oliver.] What do you have planned? Sleep. Sleep is what you should have planned.

[Jade catches Oliver's hand, squeezing it lightly before letting go. Exhaustion is already taking over when Soeki pokes her side. She sticks out her tongue at him, too tired for a more mature or effective form of retaliation.

She's almost dozed off, when she realizes, it's the perfect time to tell Oliver and Soeki about the rest of the plan. They can't get too upset about it if they're really tired... Right?]

My tattoo. But after sleep. [The words come out quietly and slurred together as Jade closes her eyes offering no further explanation.]

[Apparently Oliver isn't asleep enough yet not to react to that. His eyes crack open. He'd thought she'd changed her mind about that.]

You can't just decide on that last minute.

[Oh. Her tattoo. Right. That's perfect, actually, because Soeki still wants a third small piece somewhere, that represents his bond with Jade. And he wants them to get them together. Oliver says she can't decide at the last minute and Soeki snorts, patting his hip.]

It's not last minute. She wanted it for a while. Hope you booked a double appointment, though, I'm getting one too.

We barely talked about it. I thought we were going to work it out together if she did get one.

Don't talk about me like I'm not right here.

[She sighs, obviously annoyed. As tired as she is, she's still stubbornly determined to win this argument with Oliver. At least Soeki's on her side. She cuddles closer to his side, as if he can protect her from Oliver's anti-tattoo argument.]

Course I booked a double appointment. It's the same place you went to before. I've been talking to them and planning this all month...

[Soeki pats her shoulder placatingly. He still doesn't see what the big deal is about her getting a tattoo, honestly. It's not like they're her parents. They're her brothers.]

She knows what she wants, Ollie. We don't get to tell her what to do with herself. Anyway, you know the place is fine, I've already gotten two there. [And both of his are probably a little more ill-advised than hers.]

Are you still going to get the protection circle?

I know, but I thought she'd changed her mind... [He winces, looking over Soeki's chest to look at Jade as he corrects what she'd only just told him off for.] I thought you had.

[Jade shifts just enough from her spot tucked against Soeki's side to look over at Oliver. He's trying to let her make her own choices. She knows he's trying and that's the only thing stopping her from getting angry with him.]

I didn't change my mind. This is what I wanna do. And yeah, it's going to be the protection circle.

See, Ollie? It's fine. It's not like it's some kind of fad thing that she'll lose interest in in a year. It's a protection circle.

I know, I know. I'm just worried.

[He still doesn't sound thrilled, but he's tired, and he lost this argument months ago.]

[Jade's grateful Oliver doesn't really seem to be arguing too much anymore. She wants him to go to the appointment with them, but not if he's going to be convincing her it's a bad idea the whole time.]

Oliver, please, just let me do this. I was gonna invite you to come with us, but I don't want you acting like it's a bad idea. I changed monster types and opened a store and you were cool with both of those things and those were way bigger deals. I can handle this.

I'm worried. I can't help that.

You're worried, but you'll still come with us?

[Jade will still go through with the tattoo if Oliver doesn't go with them, but she'd feel a lot happier and better if he was there.]

[Oliver stays silent for a long few moments, fingers stroking the material of Soeki's hoodie as he contemplates. Finally he nods, meeting Jade's eyes with trepidation.]

Yeah. I'll come with you.

[Oliver might still be worried, but if Jade's grin is anything to go by even just Oliver's agreement to go with them is enough to make her happy and confident in her decision. She offers him a sincere smile before ducking back behind Soeki, satisfied that she can sleep and get her tattoo today.]

Cool. Thanks.

It's okay.

[He sounds tired and unconvinced, but he's agreeing even if he already knows he'll regret this when they wake up again. Secretly he hopes that Jade's exhaustion will catch up to her and they'll sleep through it, but he knows in reality there's little chance of that.]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, JADED. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 005.04.008.13 * CHARACTER NAME/ALIAS has joined 005.04.008.13 <JADED> hey, you've reached Jade. <JADED> leave a message or whatever and i'll get back to you. <JADED>** God, I hope this shitty thing actually works.

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