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Liberty and Death (Viktoff Samson x Lilbreadstick18)

Cierra put an ear to the wall, hearing him speak but unsure of what he said. She tugged the false wall open and peeked in at him, hoping she wasn't intruding. "Mom said I just have to be up for dinner. They also might want to see my painting, but I'm going to try to just bring it up to them instead of having them come down here." She peered into the room nervously, blinking at Oten. While she was excited to paint, she was much more excited to spend more time with Oten.
 
He was laying down as she peered in the room. Oten's left side faced the floor with his cheek against the bedding and his eyes closed. "Cierra..." He started with her name, nice and soft but trailing as though he was considering what to say. "This sounds risky. We need to be quiet. Some ghouls have extra sharp senses and it'd make perfect sense if you were unaware of either of your parents having this trait." He told her in a very hushed tone above a whisper. "It'd be easier if you get closer."
 
Cierra blushed at hearing him say her name, then entered the room, silently sliding the door shut. She padded quietly to the bed and gently laid down next to him. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry, I'm not really used to hiding anything from my parents..." she said quietly, staring at the wall behind Oten. She wanted more time with him, she wanted what she had had before her mom came home, but she knew she had to be patient.
 
"I'd imagine not." He whispered to her as he rolled to his other side so that he can face her, his left palm resting on her upward left hip and giving her a slow rub in circular motions. He'd both move such that he was comforting her and yet move her clothing over her skin just barely suggestively as he did so. "How are you so youthful? I wonder where and when I lost having energy like that." He'd speak calmly near her ear with his chest inches from her back.
 
Cierra blushed as he touched her, unconsciously moving closer to him. "Well," she sighed. "When do you think you lost it?" She thought about what his past could really be. Clearly he had to struggle, forced to do things he didn't believe were moral. That must have toughened him far too early. Cierra hoped that she could bring some of the playfulness back into his life. She rested her hand on his, lacing their fingers together.
 
At first, he couldn't answer the question. Not within a reasonable time period if he had to be completely honest. And yet, as her hand touched his own, lacing their fingers after she drew closer to him, he realized exactly when he lost that energy that she definitely still had. "I was alone and it was very cold." He started, whispering to her as he did so, not squeezing her fingers or moving to touch her any further after the words started to leave his lips. He was tense as he spoke, too. Oten always did have a wide variety of emotions to put on display, and he never failed to be rather honest on the surface. "I lost my uncle. The white landscape that I used to love shrouded the world around me and burned at my skin until it went numb. It came to the point that I was so tired I couldn't move, but so numb and afraid to die that I couldn't stay sill. My little corpse found someone whose face I cannot remember. If they were a ghoul, a human, a child or an adult is lost to me now. But, after they bundled me up... I ate them." He'd clear his throat a little after his voice grew very serious near the end. "And-well, around then I'd imagine I didn't really live a normal life anymore. Now I get most creative when I've lost about half of my body's blood and still find myself fighting tough guys from the CCG." He tried to lighten up, his voice reflecting that, and yet his words were still dark in nature on their own.
 
Cierra was quiet for a while. That must have been terribly difficult. She didn't exactly understand just how desperate ghouls could get, but she knew the need for food, and the desire to eat when she was exposed to a human. She had never struggled with it, but with some ghouls that her parents talked about, she knew it was a problem in the ghoul community. She couldn't imagine having to do such things at such a young age. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She turned her head and placed a kiss very gently on his lips, hoping to be some sort of comfort. She knew she couldn't say much. This was his to deal with, she just had to support that... but still, she wished she could help more.
 
"Sorry?" He replied with a smile after her kiss. Oten subscribed to a very rigid responsibility system. The way people apologized for something they didn't do and had no hope of preventing always confused him, but he was at least aware of the fact that the term was used that way. He'd raise his hand that she held, escaping her fingers to hold her cheek that was opposite of the side he was on so he could look into her eyes. Behind the monstrous kakugan was a man that she was more familiar with than he'd let anyone else be. She was likely more aware of his quirkiness than he was, more accurate about who he really was deep deep down than he was. And yet, there was a whole side of him that he buried that clawed to be free, that painted his eyes this way to remind him of who he really is and what he's done every time he catches his reflection. "You know if your parents catch us I'm blaming myself, right?" He asked, almost certain that she was prepared to take the blame. "I'm beginning to wonder if you'd be prone to taking less risk if you knew that."
 
She rolled her eyes and smiled at him. "I'm just sorry that you had to go through that. And besides," she said, propping herself up on one elbow. "I've never lied to my parents, at least not about anything serious, so they'll certainly take my word over yours." She stared into his kakugan, fascinated by the swirling shapes that it created. She hadn't seen many ghouls' kakugan before, and what she had seen had been beautiful, but this was like none other. The blazing red, intertwining with the black swirls, created a surreal world that she could easily get lost in. She found herself doing so as she spoke, her voice trailing off a bit at the end. She watched the black swirls, her lips parted slightly in awe. It was like another universe, living and breathing inside his eyes.
 
Listening to her made him smile a little more. Oten couldn't read minds, so what she found in his eyes was still unknown to him. Cierra's face still endeared him to the point that he couldn't debate the issue further with her. There was a likelihood in his mind that her parents might know this side of her as well as he did, and he figured they might take into account her largely generous attitude when deciding if she was being honest while trying to defend him. For one, she picked up his broken body outside of her home and brought him in. Clothing, showers, etc. All without an ounce of persuasiveness, or even a semblance of a chance of being paid for her efforts. There wasn't a doubt in Oten's mind that if they knew their daughter like he did, they'd give his story a listen to whether he was agreeing with her or bold-faced lying.

He'd lean up himself to kiss her lips, his bangs hiding one of his eyes as he drew back to look at her again, smiling a little wider. "Who knew there existed a ghoul that was practically shining? You're a sun if I were a moon with no light to reflect."
 
Cierra blinked at him and opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, then opened it again. God, she probably looked like a fish. But no one had ever said anything like that to her before. She was completely speechless. When the shock finally settled, her whole face lit up bright red, this time reaching her ears as well. Her heart beat faster and she stared at Oten, just completely in awe of him. How could he be so sweet? She blinked again and shook her head a little, trying to clear it and focus her thoughts but she still couldn't find any words. She grew suddenly aware of how red she was and buried her face in her hands for a moment, whispering, "Oten- I... I don't know what to say." Finally got some words out... And they sort of made sense! Her hands trembled and she forced herself to put them back down, clinging at her shirt, twisting it in between her fingers. She couldn't quite make eye contact with him, but she stared at his hair, behind him at the wall, anywhere but his eyes.
 
Something about his observation got her riled up, and he had a good guess why she was all flustered. Though, he wouldn't have anticipated this sort of reaction to his words as he hadn't realized how much his opinion meant to her. Until now, he almost entirely dropped his opinions on himself and she mostly denied them. Thankfully, she wasn't the sort to reject the idea that she was both helpful and kind, because Oten didn't have the patience to reinforce his statements needlessly. He'd grin a little at her quirky motions and her deep red and spreading blush paired with the eventual words that left her mouth on top of the way she played with her shirt. "You could say that It wouldn't make sense for me to be a moon without light to reflect." He poked at his own words as he drew closer, a hand seizing one of her own from her shirt to weave his fingers with and hold firmly. He'd make sure she couldn't look away with his forehead on her own. "Because I have you."
 
Cierra could feel the heat from her face and she was sure it was washing over him, but she couldn't pull away. She bit her lip and smiled at him. "I-I'm glad I have you too," she said softly. She wanted to be able to be that for him, wanting to be able to support him and light him up like that. She had so much to give, so much time with herself, and she was tired of being alone. She wanted to share her time with someone, be with them for her benefit and theirs. Squeezing his hand, Cierra started into Oten's kakugan again, still fascinated with the beauty of it.
 
Slowly his eyes would seem to get heavy before they'd come to close and he'd pull her right up against his chest with his free arm. His free arm had looped around her after having moved her, his breathing leveling out as he felt not just her face warmth, but her body truly against him once more. He knew he shouldn't have this. The ghoul that killed those innocent people deserved only a swift and terrible death. But, it was beginning to feel so hard to pull away from her when his time would come. How could he do that to her? How could he take that from her? It wrenched his gut just as much as her love fueled his warmth. His mind raced, but his body was quite certain of what had to come next. "We may need to be careful, Cierra. If I fall asleep with my arms too tightly wrapped around you, then I might not be able to let you go."
 
Cierra giggled and watched him as his eyes grew heavy. "Then loosen your grip, silly. We'll be alright. And besides, my parents don't really check in on me at night so I could probably sleep down here as long as I'm up early enough to get back upstairs." She kissed his forehead and smiled at him. He'd been so macho man all day, it was becoming more and more evident that he really was just a little teddy bear.
 
Not being able to read minds would surely be both a blessing and a curse for Oten as he worked things out with Cierra. He'd both desire to know about what she was thinking when it came to him, but if he knew she was referring to him as a macho man personality and boiling him down to 'little' teddy bear by the end of the day, he'd probably offer to refund such ability to read minds in that situation. Luckily, he wasn't in that scenario and such a gift was figuratively impossible. "Now how could I choose to let you go?" He mused with his eyes closed, clearly resting his head despite continuing to hold her so tight. "That sounds mighty risky." He referred to her suggestion, his mind wandering to what else was risky about this situation. "There could definitely be a number of ghouls looking for me, too. My enemies aren't just within the CCG." He started to confess as he sighed. "Just in case someone knocks at the door looking at me, I'd want you to leave the situation and call for me quickly. Ghoul or Human."
 
Cierra propped her head up again as he said this. She knew he was drifting off, half asleep, but she didn't like what she heard. "I- I can't just leave you, Oten," she whispered. "I'll stay with you, help however I can. I would never leave." She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, then a peck on his lips, laying her head back down. She was fairly sleepy as well, but she couldn't fall asleep in case her parents called her up for dinner. Cierra began anticipating that night, when she would have the chance to fall asleep in Oten's arms. She blushed at the thought, but snuggled a little bit closer.
 
"You're misunderstanding me." Oten groaned a little and he didn't open his eyes. "Maybe if you can break my arm I'd let you stay if things get hairy." He mused about this idea a bit with a small smile on his lips. The heaviness in his eyes had reached his voice and he was falling asleep gradually. The peck on his lips from before lightened him only so much. Her snuggling up to him was quite enjoyable, but he knew she could fall asleep here. Not yet, anyway. In any case, he wasn't going to let her linger around in the event that danger finds him again. He knew she couldn't possibly imagine his wicked power, and he wouldn't want her to get hurt for his sake.
 
Cierra furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. "Well.. too bad! I'm going to stay to help you, no matter what. Whether you like it or not." She tried to keep herself quiet, but had a bit of a shouting whisper to her voice. Just then, her father called from upstairs. "Cierra! Dinner!" She jumped, and looked at Oten. "I-I've got to go, but I'll be back, hopefully no more than an hour or two, okay?" She loathed the idea of leaving him, and hugged him closer for a moment before pulling away.
 
The situational irony of her statement to stay and to be called away for dinner wasn't lost on Oten and he smiled a little wider in her embrace before she'd leave. He couldn't tell why she was so bold and determined to put herself in harm's way. He knew she shouldn't be aware of what he really could do, but did she think he was a normal ghoul? He did mention tangoing with the ccg, right? That should have been a big enough sign that anything that could give him trouble could easily spell an early demise for her if she wasn't careful. Maybe it was her own stubborn need fo help him? In either case, he simply drifted off to a silent slumber.
 
Cierra stood in the doorway a moment, watching him sleep, then slipped out, shutting the false wall, and hurried upstairs after dabbing a bit of paint on her hands and rolling up her sleeves to get a bit of paint on her arms as well. Had to make it convincing, right? She bounced up the stairs, greeting her parents before washing up in the kitchen sink and plopping down at the table. Unlike most nights, they already had everything laid out. "Your father and I brought home a bit of a project," her mother said as she sat down. "So we might be a bit cooped up in the office for a while." Cierra smiled and took a bite of her food, wondering what Oten would think of this. Three ghouls sitting down to some thawed human, eating with dishes and silverware. Her parents tried so hard to be "normal". She suppressed a sigh and instead said, "That's fine, I've found a new inspiration, so I'll be in the basement a lot." Her father smiled at her. "Oh really? And what's that?"

"Surrealism in normal environments," Cierra said. "I like the spiderwebs and the dusty boxes in the basement as images to practice surrealism. The webs make for a good focal point, then I can work from there. Or focusing on the dust on the boxes, rather than the boxes themselves." She grinned at her parents. She really had been thinking about doing these paintings for some time, but she had never wanted to spend so much time in the basement until now. About 45 minutes went by as they finished dinner, washed the dishes, and her parents disappeared into their office. She slipped back down the stairs, careful not to wake Oten, and continued working on her painting.
 
Winds pelt the city so violently and so cold that everything would be painted with a moonlight that could be mistaken as just barely baby blue in hue. Snow didn't fall, but one wouldn't be foolish to have thought it could at some point. A figure crouched over the ledge of a building, letting these winds toss the various shiny chains that hung around his hoodie about just like his faded grey hair. Strained kakugan dance from one side of his eye sockets to the other with a familiar shake that made it impossible to focus on their pin-point red iris. Beneath those haunting eyes would be a once-youthful face stained by blackened skin in dark clouds concentrated right beneath the eyes. "I'm coming for you, Onii-san." His raspy voice barely got the words out, as though it was painful to speak at all. "They say you're dead, that the doves got you and didn't announce it. But, I know you better than that. I know you a lot." His petite body fell back onto his rear, his black hoodie being tugged back by the action and his hood falling from his head. "I know you more than they do. I know you. I know you..." His words devolved into ramblings as his hands reached up to his hair and tugged on it. It'd go from just regular volume to barely whispers out loud to himself.

---

Slowly, without having had a dream or a nightmare, Oten's eyes open and he momentarily forgot where he was until he caught Cierra's scent. The fondness he had for her rushed to his heart and then the bud at the base of his brain much more vibrantly than his memories of what happened in his fight with the doves. He knew he wasn't alone the morning he'd be fashioned into a pulled ghoul sandwhich minus the meat.
 
After painting for a little while, Cierra heard her parents call from the staircase. "We're headed to bed honey, try and get some rest tonight." She listened as they walked down the hallway to their room, then she hurriedly set the brush down and walked over to Oten's false wall, knocking quietly. "Oten? My parents have gone to bed, and they'll be asleep any minute. Do you want to talk?"
 
He'd try to recollect what happened the morning of the night he'd meet Cierra. It wasn't like it was forever ago, but he must have taken a firm beating to the head here or there, or maybe he even whipped his own head with his kagune three or four times, because it was a blank for him. He'd be silent after the question, initially. Just as he felt like he was certain she might have thought he'd still be asleep he realized not saying anything would just have her leave. And he really didn't want to be alone. "Come on in." He'd raise his voice just enough to be heard by her, wondering to himself just how safe it could be for them to converse with her parents in the house. After all, they were ghouls too. there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that they'd shown their daughter what they were capable of themselves. Ghouls were undoubtedly scary creatures, even for their own kind. It was possible that one or both of them could have sharpened senses, and not telling their daughter that would surely be in their favor as a parent. Well, he gave up on the idea of being too concerned about it. Worrying and guessing wasn't going to keep him unnoticed either.
 
Cierra slipped quietly into the room, sliding the false wall shut behind her. "Hi Oten," she whispered. "Mind if I lay next to you?" She stepped hesitantly toward the bed. It may have been fine before, but maybe it's not now. Either way, she certainly wanted to talk more with him. She was terribly curious about what landed him here, how he gets into so much trouble with the CCG, and what he plans on doing about all of this.
 
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