The Universe's Mixer

Who: Atsuko Chiba + Nigihayami Kohaku Nishi
What: A meeting and a great adventure to boot!
When: Backdated to after Valentine's Day-ish.
Where: Bookstore then library.
Rating/status: ~PG/finished.

( Are you actually alive? )

It was cold. And wet, but that was something of a comfort for a river spirit. Haku lay still, content for the moment just to be outside - and he was; everything around him, from the lonely blades of grass tickling at his belly to the distant caw of crows told him so.

He was vaguely aware that he had smashed quite a few things inside while his body fought the curse when his mind couldn't. Even though he hadn't done it consciously, he took a small measure of pride from that. Dragons did tend to be hard creatures to completely subdue. Even when he'd been under Yubaba's control, he'd been able to defy her in small ways. It seemed that once again, it'd been enough to earn him his freedom, albeit in a much different way.

Still, if being destructive had helped he was - luckily - naturally gifted in the heavy, flaily limb department.

The ground was getting colder, bordering on uncomfortable, and Haku reluctantly dragged himself up to his claws. He'd been released, for whatever reason, but it probably wasn't a good idea to stick around where they'd left him. He took him a minute to get his bearings. The institution he'd been in was close by, but they'd managed to lug him across a channel of water to get him onto the opposite bank. It was a promising sign that they (whoever 'they' had been) wouldn't want him back. He'd be only too glad to put even more distance between them and him.

But he was still weak from whatever spell they had cast and dizziness hit him like a hammer when he took off. Desperation carried him down unfamiliar streets, over and past strange buildings he'd never seen before, until they all blended together and the dragon tumbled to an awkward landing in a blessedly open patch of green grass, demolishing a small bush and some flowers in the process.

It was Haku the boy who stumbled out of the ruined greenery, brushing petals and dirt from his hair. He could always fall back on the dragon if he needed it, but for now, being able to ask questions and fit easily through doorways was of more importance.

The world spun and refused to stop.

Haku didn't know what had happened exactly, but he instinctively recognized the symptoms of a curse. He struggled to focus his thoughts, but his mind refused. He struggled to stand, to shake his head, to snap at that annoying pressure wrapped tight around his jaw like a - oh, it was a muzzle, he blearily realized, made of bits of metal and fabric that could be easily torn if he could just -

But his muscles wouldn't obey. His eyes rolled wildly, taking in his impersonal surroundings. Claws scratched weakly at a smooth floor, finding no purchase. Even if he could get his feet to listen properly, there were other restraints to deal with, though they seemed unneccessary. He couldn't even stand, let alone run or fly.

There were voices, too, but they sounded far away and Haku didn't bother to try and hear what they were saying. They were likely the cause of this curse, so they'd have to be dealt with eventually, but he knew better than to try and fight them while they had control over him. The first step - the first step was - was -

Something was pricking him under his scales.

Haku wanted to snap at it. His jaw twitched and the muscles in his neck clenched with the effort of twisting, but he barely moved. Even his tail, normally barely under his conscious control and much more prone to reacting violently than the rest of him, couldn't deter the sharp little pokes in his flank. Part of his mind could tell that something foreign was inside of him, as damaging a pollutant as oil in the Kohaku River. He couldn't figure out what it was, though, and it became impossible to try as it wrapped around his thoughts and drew them under.

And then it didn't matter what was happening because the world spun the other way, and Haku tumbled into the darkness like a pebble cast into the sea.