Thanks, Sadie [Mingle]

[ourearth]

Date: 24th of February
Characters: OPEN!

---

After the earthquake on the 19th of January, the ground had been quiet. Or that was at least what everyone assumed; those who went to the meeting and listened to Walter speak might know that that was not exactly the case. Starting on the 9th of February, the earth had started to be shaken by the tiniest of tremors again, too small to be noticed by the everyday citizen, but not too small to escape seismic readers. Not that the public was told about this; why cause a panic? Things were strange enough these days in Mossgate Council.

Then, around 5am on the 24th, there is the most gentle shaking of the earth, only just strong enough to shake the leaves of some room plants, but noticeable. No damage is caused this time. At least not by the earthquake.

Because shortly after, a wave rolls towards the coastline of Mossgate. And not just any wave. It's a small tsunami wave, measuring about 1 metre at the top when it hits the shore and pressing up into the mouth of the river to reach a maximum height of 1.3m before it ebbs away.

The damage this time is substantial. Cars have been flushed into others, storefronts are shattered, the ground floors or many houses flooded and gardens torn apart. Some of the boats from the harbour sit somewhere inside the town now, and a ferry has crashed into the harbour office. By virtue of the very early hour and massive luck, there are barely any casualties - no more than one would expect from a major storm or flooding.

But Mossgate and Tarwich are in shock, and the descending media certainly don't help.

And every single Numbered in the echo boundary has received a plot echo, granted about a few minutes before the wave hit the shore.

Comments

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie doesn't answer immediately, instead shuffling the duvet off from around her head, wincing as what little muffling effect the cover afforded is lost and all the ambient sounds of the house come blaring back in and the disorientating sensation of her ears moving stop her head towards any noise her brain focuses on for too long.

Readying her phone Sadie takes a photo and sends it in the most secure way she knows; straight to Ben's Number. The picture itself is just of the top of Sadie's hair where, sticking out amongst sleep-dishevelled blonde hair, are two elongated, equally blonde furry ears. The shape longer and more tapered than a cat's usual triangular ears and the angle of the ears is slightly different too, angled ever so slightly up and backwards.

[warped_replica]

When no reply comes immediately, Benjiro turns on the light to look to the Network in his notebook as responses begin to appear from others. The sudden Echo affected more than Sadie and himself... He sets his phone safely on the nightstand with notebook left opened on his pillow, and works his legs out from under the covers slowly to turn over and sit up at the edge of the mattress. Wiping away traces of sweat from his face on the sheet, he rolls his shoulders as he moves against the soreness…. Only to slouch forward with elbows on his knees as he works through the fatigue of disrupted sleep. As he collects his thoughts, he watches the Network in his notebook and listens for the ping of his phone.

Then, he sees the image come through to his Number directly. He picks up the notebook only for his breath to catch as he stares at the image. Hand lifted to cover over his mouth as his brow furrows, he lowers the notebook back to his pillow to take up his phone instead to respond.

Do you want me to come over?

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie's breath judders out in relief as Ben asks if she wants him to come over. This time her answer is received by Ben in next to no time.

Yes please, if you can.

The noise is quite painful

[warped_replica]

All traces of sleep brushed off by the photo, he has no difficulty in relating the change in ear shape to a magnification of her hearing sensitivity. A faint frown tightens his lips together as he texts back.

I can. I’ll be on the road shortly. I have an idea.

Closing his notebook and other materials to hurriedly stack, he stoops to retrieve the book from the floor before he stands to put the work aside on his desk. He returns to his bed and strips the sheets to drop on the floor, and cuts open the side of his pillow. Removing a chunk of foam, he wraps the foam in a clean shirt to tuck into his backpack. Gathering more tools, he does the same in wrapping the metal to prevent them from clattering together. Bag readied, he heads to the bathroom to wash the sweat away and dress in a set of his second hand clothing with pace still quickened. One last tool added to his bag, he leaves a note for his great aunts and slips out into the dark to mount his motorcycle.

Far faster than a train ride, Benjiro cuts the engine as he approaches the Moore house along the street and walks his bike up to park on the drive. If Sadie has not already heard him, he sends her a quick text.

Here.

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie feels nothing but relief as Ben confirms that he is on his way to her, the fact that he might have an idea of how to help her is just a bonus on top of the comfort that his physical presence will bring. Sadie spends the time waiting for Ben's arrival just stating at the reflection of her new ears in her mirror, watching the way they swivel and move and how that relates to what she can hear. She watches as her ears raise and rotate as the noise of Ben's bike starts to get louder and louder, wraps her duvet back around her head just incase her parents start to wake up when she's downstairs and goes down to open the door for him, listening to his slightly elevated heart rate even through the duvet and the door.

"Ben..." Her voice is quieter than normal, though perfectly loud to her own ears, as she opens the door and immediately leans forward to rest her head on his chest. "Thank you for coming."

[warped_replica]

Bike parked out of the way and his helmet left with it, he reaches the door barely before Sadie is there and opening it. He offers an encouraging smile, face mask already in a pocket. Benjiro had worried he wouldn’t be able to speak without causing her discomfort, but that quiet volume at which she whispers sets a decible level he can use as a guide. So long as he keeps below that threshold... As her head finds his chest, his arms rise to embrace her. He holds her close with a ginger squeeze, and whispers as low as he can manage under his breath with her ears so near beneath the duvet, “I don’t think I could have stayed away.”

He waits for Sadie to move first, a sign she is ready to retreat inside, before his arms loosen and part from around her to follow.

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie sighs in relief, sagging slightly more against Ben for just a moment before pulling back to let her boyfriend into the house and out of the cold. "Love you."

Waiting until Ben's taken off his shoes and coat, Sadie takes his hand as they walk up to her room, listening to the thump of his heartbeat as she closes the door and lets the duvet drop. Ben now has a clear view of the way her ears perk and shift as they catch and follow noises, one ear almost always focused on him.

"I can't hide these."

[warped_replica]

“Love you too,” is whispered as his arms lower. He steps across the threshold and to the side to bend down and untie his shoes while leaving it to Sadie to manage the door. Sliding out of the shoes quietly, he shuffles off his backpack and coat separately, then picks up his bag by the top handle to bring along as he follows her to her room. Guided by her hand and memory, he has no trouble avoiding obstacles in the dark.

Once in her room with the door gingerly shuttered behind them, he lowers his backpack down to the floor and focuses on Sadie. In the soft light there, he can see her ears clearly once she drops the duvet from covering them. The photo she sent had prepared him, but it is still almost otherworldly to see them at the sides of her head and moving. His heart’s rhythm stays steady, if still fast with worry, and he reaches both hands out to touch her shoulders.

“...I know,” he begins, a phantom twinge pulling in his chest in protest of her distress, “But, one step at a time, okay? Hearing first.” It will be less consuming if she doesn’t have to struggle with excess sensory in conjunction with familial concerns. First, he leans forward to place a kiss at her forehead, then back again to ask, “Sadie, may I touch your ears?”

[dragoonrouge]

If the appearance of her ears moving around is otherworldly then the physical sensation of them doing so was even more so, the pull and tug of muscles that hadn't existed there before was bizarre and made Sadie's head feel almost oddly itchy. Resisting the urge to shake her head Sadie focuses instead on the comforting lack of change in the beat of Ben's heart rate.

"Okay," Her ears flick up and forwards as Ben leans in to kiss her forehead, Sadie gently cupping his cheeks as he moves back. She doesn't even have to think about her answer even if she hasn't touched them yet, "Yes, you may."

[warped_replica]

The way her ears move so much is reminiscent to a nervous feline, and that they are so recently changed indicates another need should be priority over trying to quell the noise immediately. At least, for a moment, she might benefit from touch before he tries to look inside.

Head bowing in her hands to press into the touch, he smiles softly to her as he looks into her eyes when she gives her consent. Lifting his right hand from her shoulder, he sweeps his fingers gently into her hair forward of her ears a couple of times first to get a feeling of where the base of her ear on her left begins as he keenly studies that single ear visually. Once he locates it, his touch stays measured as he turns his hand around to cup from behind and slide fingers from the base of her ear and up, stopping several centimeters shy of the tip. Thumb closing the circle of his hand, he brushes the front portion of the ear in a couple strokes. So long as Sadie seems comfortable, he'll go one step more to rub his thumb and a couple fingertips at the base of her ear.

"How does it feel...?"

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie holds still as Ben starts his examination, her ears quivering slightly as she anticipates the moment Ben's fingers actually touches them. His touch is gentle, she knew it would be, but that still doesn't stop her flinching back in surprise when it happens.

"Sorry! Sorry! It's fine, just sensitive, it feels weird. Please carry on."

Letting Ben continue, she frowns. Her ears were sensitive to the initial touch but now that Ben's been examining them for a bit it's not necessarily bad... It just sends a prickling across her scalp.

"It's not bad... It's like the goosebumps feeling that you get when someone does your hair?" Sadie sighs, "I'm sorry Ben, I didn't ask if you were alright, you got an Echo too didn't you?"

[warped_replica]

Hands opened immediately when she flinched, her apology is met with an understanding smile and a slight shake of his head. There is no reason for her to apologize. Granted permission, he returns carefully to gathering a better understanding of her ear’s structure through a tactile means and providing input towards acclimation.

After rubbing at her ear a little, he lowers his hand down to touch her shoulder where she can know it to be, and listens to her assessment. Then another apology comes. Benjiro answers with a light squeeze to her shoulders and a warm smile, “Yes, I got one, and yes, I’m alright. But we can talk more about it after we make you some custom foam ear plugs, okay?”

Hands sliding from her shoulders, he bends down to open his backpack and pull out a small flashlight, the chunk of dense foam, scissors, and a small pocket knife. Keeping these wrapped in the cloth until he can lay them out on her bed where they won’t clink, he unwraps them to pick up only the flashlight and looks back to Sadie. “I have to look inside your ear to shape it, so would you rather sit?”

[dragoonrouge]

Eyes closing for a moment, Sadie tilts her head to rest on Ben's hand, unintentionally treating Ben to the feeling of the smooth skull where her ears should be, "...Okay...If you're sure."

Nodding, Sadie sits herself down on her desk chair and tries to remain as still as possible and mostly succeeds aside from her ears flicking away slightly as he nears them again with the torch.

"I'm going to have to tell Mum and Dad what's going on." It should wait until her ears are sorted but Sadie feels like her chest is going to burst if she doesn't somehow voice the reality of the situation out loud, "I'll tell them about what's happening to me and then I'll give them Mary's number. She offered to speak to them." Sadie's ears droop despite herself.

[warped_replica]

That feeling of smooth bone is odd only in that it is different than yesterday, as it is expected when he can see her ears elsewhere. Different will become normal tomorrow.

Nodding again to confirm his certainty regarding his own stability, he returns to her side with the light in hand clicked on as he walks back to her. Benjiro crouches next to her to examine the inside of her ear, starting with what he can see without any manipulation then moving to gently opening it wider to peer in deeper. As he estimates the canal volume and shape, he listens when Sadie pours out her thoughts to him. Waiting to reply until he stands straight and gingerly sets the flashlight to her desk, he replies with his hand coming to rest on her shoulder and a slightly nervous smile, “Then they need to know I have a Number as well. I’ll stay and talk to them with you, if that’s okay.”

He leaves her side only to retrieve the other items on her bed, then returns to sit on the floor next to her to start cutting the foam to match what he has observed.

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie basks in the small but constant physical touches, savouring it and the comfort it gives, an excellent shield to the weirdness that is her new ears being moved. She could not have predicted Ben's reaction to the admittance of her plans to become clean.

"Ben!" She whispers louder than it was before, ears upright in shock and eyes wide, slitted pupils locked onto his face.

"I-you! Just because I'm telling my parents about me doesn't mean you have to too. There is no pressure you okay? I love you too much to do that."

[warped_replica]

The level of surprise it incites in Sadie is blunted by the whisper to a degree, but as he moves to sit next to her and sees the intensity of her reaction in full, he registers the unexpected nature of his decision properly. It makes sense given how adamantly he has been against telling his own family aside from Russell. Setting the items in his lap, he reaches up wirh his hand to cup her face as his smile grows, touched by her desire to give him an escape, “I understand, and I am grateful for that choice... But I have thought about this possibility extensively. It’s very important to me that I keep the trust they have in me, and being honest about having a Number I think is necessary. Your mother and father are good people, just like James...and I trust them too. I don’t know what they will want to do or how much time they will need to process however much we tell them, but I have no doubts that we should face this together like everything else.”

Then, with a touch of humor he huffs, “Besides, if I suddenly get taller than your brother, they’re going to figure it out.”

[dragoonrouge]

Stunned. Shocked. And so, so, so grateful. Ben was going to support her, not in the way she had figured by being there for moral support, but by breaking his silence and telling her parents too. Because he trusted them. And what she'd seen and heard about his parents-

Sadie stares at Ben a moment longer before blinking, then blinking again, and again as her eyes start to tear up. Sadie almost throws herself forward as she wraps her arms around him and buries her face against his neck to help muffle the sobs and sniffles.

"I love you. I love you. I love you." Words whispered between the tears are full of relief despite her crying.

[warped_replica]

The sight of the tears welling up into her eyes dampens his smile briefly as Benjiro does not know the cause of them until she has dived down to embrace him. The motion unseats him from his usual kneeling position, enough to slide to one side of his feet, but he stabilizes them both before they topple to the floor or she comes off the chair entirely. Hand brought down to her side, he looks towards her buried face and listens to the whispers between her tears, and he understands. Benjiro smiles warmly as he releases his worry with a heavier exhale, and reciprocates in a whisper, “I love you too, Sadie… So much.”

Not wanting to leave her in such a precarious position or crying without comfort, he pushes up through his legs to tall kneel and scoop both his arms under her legs and hips, and lifts her from the chair to lower down to his lap as he sits back with legs crossed instead. At least in the motion his lap has been cleared, so she is given a warm seat without any sharp objects. Now holding Sadie far closer, he wraps both his arms around her and smooths a hand up and down her back as he lays his cheek to her hair. There are no attempts made to hush her, simply to be there and let her cry it out.

[dragoonrouge]

If anything Ben's whisper makes Sadie cling to him all the more tightly, everything feels so overwhelming in the moment, so much is riding on how her parents handle the news but not Ben. Ben would be there for her even if it went poorly, even if the worst happened and she had to leave Mossgate they had planned and prepared and she wouldn't forget what he meant to her.

Slowly but surely her crying dies down and Sadie sags in Ben's hold, taking a moment to just stay and feel, "Even if I had to leave... I'd still remember and I'd still love you." She whispers, relieved, "We made sure of it."

[warped_replica]

Her exerted strength is matched with an increment of his in turn, giving her a firm squeeze to help ground her for a few seconds in the shared touch. Only as she starts to sink more fully against his front do his arms begin to loosen further and alter his hold of her, coming down around her waist. Slowly, he rocks her side to side over a small arc, and places a kiss to her head.

“We did,” he confirms with confidence. “And I’d follow you at the end of the school year, one way or another.” To London, to anywhere. It had been strange, and yet, each date outside the bubble had allowed him to fall in love for a second time with the same strong woman he keeps in his arms.

Benjiro waits until she looks to him to ask, “Do you want to move under the kotatsu?”

[dragoonrouge]

Being able to game the Mossgate situation was in and of itself immensely satisfying and life-afferming, it made Sadie comfortable in the fact that the affection and love they held for each other was completely true and not just because they were both involved in the Numbers and could no longer be fully honest with those who weren't part of Mossgate's strangeness. At least on her behalf, that small invidious thought of 'But what if...?'. Ben had said that he had liked her before the Numbers came around but Sadie's somewhat purposeful blindness to Ben as a potential partner had had her question why she had felt that way until the trip to London had made it clear as crystal.

"Or I'd come back to you," She gives his arms a squeeze where they loop protectively around her, "Let's finish my ears and then do that. We've still got an hour or two before Mum and Dad will be awake."

[warped_replica]

Reminded that she could return alone should her family decide to relocate as a result of the Numbered situation, Benjiro nods his head as his smile breaks wide enough to show hints of his pointed teeth and gives a little squeeze back at her waist. That she would even consider not only leaving her family to be with him but to come back to the chaos of a Numbered life speaks volumes.

While he could move over and probably work at the kotatsu, it is easier here. Rather than trying to shift her back to the chair to continue however, he simply scoots her to the left side in his lap to free up his right arm, and moves the items to his right side one at a time. Left arm looped around her, he works on cutting the foam carefully held in that same hand. He takes his time at the task, whittling it down with small cuts. Occasionally he has to peer back into an ear to check on his progress for comparison, but within fifteen to twenty minutes he has both cut to mirror.

Satisfied with one last look over the foam for any possible irritating edges, he then hands them to her, “Right one, this side up. Left one, this side up. We can mark them if you want, but go ahead and give them a try. You’ll have to squish them long ways to get in deep enough, but they should rise to fill.”

Been workblocked all day trying to write this

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie feels her cheeks warm as Ben's smile reveals some of his teeth, her own lips mirroring his expression almost without her realising it, a smile that remains as Ben finishes constructing the earplugs. Sadie mainly focuses on listening to Ben breathe and the sound of his heartbeat as he works, the regularity of the noise pulls her attention to the bedroom and away from most of the noises of the rest of the house. Leaning back, Sadie gropes blindly at her desktop before grabbing a sharpie, writing a quick L and R on the earbuds.

"This is going to feel so damn weird..." Squishing the left bud Sadie carefully starts to put it into her ear, her nose wrinkling and ears flicking at the sensation, "Yep, I was right. Weird."

Once they're in Sadie sags against Ben in relief, things are still louder than before her ears changed but the noises of the house have been massively dampened.

"Thank you, Ben." Sadie is content to relax, however... "Do we know what caused the mass Echo?"

/shakes fist at work and fatigue

[warped_replica]

Easing his arm out to allow Sadie to lean further as she retrieves a sharpie from her desk, he keeps the foam plugs in proper orientation for her to mark. He hands each over to her in turn, and watches as she starts with inserting the left side. Subtle as it is, he sympathetically grimaces faintly at the reaction the odd sensation causes as she gets them in place. Regardless, she manages, and the effect is immediate as she slumps against him. The substantial proof comes when she speaks at a level closer to normal voice. Smile returning at her thanks, he nods once while keeping his voice hushed but above a whisper, “I’m happy I could help.”

He secures his tools and tosses them to land next to his backpack, then looks back to Sadie as she mentions the mass Echo. A thoughtful expression sets in as he considers it, “…no. I didn’t see a second aurora while I was driving over. Or anything else odd for that matter. We can check the news and Network and see if anything unusual has been reported.”

With the promise of a warm kotatsu, he shifts to pick Sadie up towards her feet and stands himself to move over to his bag. Benjiro crouches by his backpack to tuck his tools away and retrieve his phone, then walks back to the kotatsu next to her bed. Easing back down, he slides his legs beneath and scoots over before he leans flat to the side of her bed, leaving space for her to sit and then lean against him in turn with his arm around her.

It doesn’t take long looking through his usual haunts to pick up on the disturbance at the waterfront, voice dropping in astonishment, “…this is unreal.” A tsunami, even a small one, is unheard of here.

[dragoonrouge]

Whatever it was that caused the Echo was big enough to catch the Numbered but not visible from where they were... It was as concerning as it was confusing but at least now that her hearing was sorted out she could help figure out the cause with the added benefit of taking her mind off of the impending encounter with her parents.

Giving Ben a peck on the cheek as he helps her stand up, she waits for Ben to get underneath the kotatsu before joining him, tucking herself against Ben and resting her head against his chest. Sadie glances up, her ears twitching at Ben's astonishment.

"What happened?" Sadie takes Ben's hand and gets him to tilt the phone towards her and pales as she sees the news, her ears folding all the way back against her skull, "Oh no!" A tsunami. A tsunami that came up the river. There had been no earthquake..."Oh god"