6/24: rapunzel

[randori]

[ It's two weeks in a row now that he'd been forced to spend a good chunk of the weekend just lying there doing nothing, so a s soon as he's able to— maybe out of refusal to accept any of the situation as reality— he decides to take a walk amongst the trees. He never strays very deep into the forest, always keeping one or two rows of trees between him and the view of the castle, but he just needs somewhere secluded he can walk, find a rock on the path, and kick it as hard as he can so that it hits a tree trunk and shatters on impact.

This whole... dying and reviving and whatever crap doesn't matter to him. He still feels like he failed, like he feels every Sunday afternoon, but this time, it's a personal failure. ]

Comments

[hairbrain]

[ rapunzel's out here herself scouting the woods -- wanting to learn about them without going in herself.as much as she wants to know, she remembers what happened to the last people who went in there, as well as herself in the hedge maze. she needs to be careful, as much as she wants answers. ]

[ which is desperately. she desperately wants answers. ]

[ she doesn't expect to find them now, nor does she expect to see natsuo wandering, but as soon as she spots him, she startles and runs after him. ]

--Natsuo! What are you doing out here?

[randori]

[ Trying to get away from all his keepers, tbh. He hasn't been out in the woods before, and only got a vague notion of what dangers lurk within the trees, but he's more surprised to see Rapunzel here than anything else. ]

Clearing my head. What are you doing? There's supposed to be monsters in here- go back inside!

[hairbrain]

[ joke's on natsuo, thinking he can escape his babysitters!! rapunzel's volunteering as one. ]

Then you shouldn't be out be here on your own. [ she doesn't want to bring up the fact that he just died because it's insensitive but she does give him a significant look. ]

.... But honestly, I came out here for the same reason. Soo... maybe we can clear our heads together?

[randori]

Mm, well... [ Well. It doesn't look like he wants to stick around here any longer than necessary, and he hadn't been very successful at clearing his head to begin with, dragging his feet and picking up stray thought after stray thought until his head feels all muddled. ]

I was trying that whole breathing fresh air thing, but I don't think it worked. I know a method for clearing your head in one second, though! It's foolproof! And then we can leave!

[hairbrain]

What's the foolproof method....?

[ she imagines he has a lot of thoughts he wants to clear -- he was dead and buried, after all. her head's a jumble and nothing ever happened to her. so, she'll go along with whatever he wants to do. ]

[randori]

[ The foolproof method is to walk up to one of the trees and slam his forehead into the trunk. Can't overthink if you're in too much pain to think!!




...LOOK. I have canon to back this up, I literally cannot make this up. ]

[hairbrain]

[ she

doesn't know what she expected. ]

Natsuo!

[ it's pretty much shrieked.... why is he like this. ]

[randori]

[ Nothing clears up your head like a self-inflicted concussion. Once the brief dizzy spell clears up and he wipes the blood out of his eyes, he turns to Rapunzel. ]

There. See? Now you try.

[hairbrain]

I--- I don't think that's a good idea! I think I need to um, check your head to make sure that you're not----

You're bleeding!

[ natsuo why are you like this. literally why. ]

[randori]

[ It's also completely broken, figuratively. Literally, Natsuo just raises a hand- probably awful and grimy for having dug his way out of the dirt- and swipes at the blood again like it's sweat. ]

Still? Did I get all of it?

[ He just lost a couple layers of skin, this usually heals in two manga panels, it's fine. ]

[hairbrain]

[ rapunzel uses her dress sleeve to clean up him, ignoring any protests. ]

No, just---- Natsuo, that's dangerous, you really shouldn't... just slam your head into things.

... That hard.

[ because she's done it before, just not literally slammed. ]

[randori]

[ He definitely protests, screaming all the while about not wanting to soil Rapunzel's clothes and generally making the process twice as hard as it needs to be because he keeps trying to squirm out of the way. ]

It worked though! My head's totally clear now!

[ it just hurts ]

[hairbrain]

[ she presses on despite the protests.... she's more stubborn than he is!!! ]

Isn't that because you're thinking about how much it hurts?

[ a little flatly. ]

[randori]

......It's a good replacement.

[hairbrain]

[ she's just gonna gently take him by the shoulders and start walking him back to the castle. ]

Come on. I've got a better idea.

[randori]

[ He quickens his pace, just so Rapunzel can stop... touching... ]

What is it?

[hairbrain]

[ good luck with that natsuo. ]

How about hot cocoa with a friend? ... And a compress for your head.

[randori]

Uh. I'll take the hot cocoa, but don't compress my head, it already hurts.

[hairbrain]

A compress is a cloth with cold water, Natsuo. It'll help you feel better.

[ according to the first aid books she's been reading. ]

[randori]

...Oh. Yeah, that does sound a lot better.

[ :( How could we have let Rapunzel die?? ]

But what about you? Do you feel any better?

[hairbrain]

And maybe don't slam your head into things in the future? Instead, talk it out with good friends? Liiike, me and Pascal? [ bad ending. ]

Oh, you know. [ she just smiles. ]

I'm keeping it together. Trying to stay positive, all that.