Posts by NATSUKASHII;

Rentarou pauses as he hears Jace's heavy foot falls pause just feet away from him, the smell of the Ruins washing over him next and, finally, the elder's curt voice beckoning him for a talk. It's hard to not feel anxious when he hears those words, the muscles in his slim shoulders tensing slightly as he shifts and looks over his shoulders. His sightless stare would settle in Jace's general direction, a soft smile twitching onto his features. He seems resigned to his fate, whatever it might be, although the other's reason for approaching him were far from what he thought they were. "Talk about what?" He asks, pushing the basket aside. Talking between enemies was... something Rentarou has not seen before, not a peaceful talk anyways. It almost always went sour when talks between Exilers and Ruiners specifically and he couldn't help but wonder whether or not it would be easy for Jace to close his jaws around his weak throat? "You shouldn't be talking to me, Jace... What if people start talking?" The King doesn't need that. He doesn't need to associate himself with a traitor as they'd called him. He is still selfless, thinking of others rather than himself. He was a fool.

Rentarou had fears deep down inside that something like this would happen. As a ghoul, he was always being hunted down. He was an abomination to society, deceiving people with his physical appearance and human-like mimicry in order to blend in among them to feed himself. He was being hunted down for a different reason now, albeit it wasn't for simply existing. He had learned from a young age, presumably, that if he wanted to run away from someplace that he needed to do so as discreetly as possible, to simply disappear. He couldn't afford such a luxury now considering how he'd left the Ruins. As graceful as he attempted to make it, it was simply not so. A part of him expected for his life to be tried by those whose feelings he hurt with his betrayal, but he wished that he could be left alone to live happily with Corrupttimelines.

The door opens and that is perhaps the first thing he hears that should have made him aware of the danger he was in. But he ignores it, assuming stupidly that Cory had finally made it back home to him. A mistake he's made as he will soon learn. Eyes flutter open when the harsh growl of the Regent meets his ears, his form going rigid as he words fall over him. For once does his normally empty expression shift and change, surprise and fear marring his freckled features. She takes one step forward, her aura flickering, and he shifts backwards, closer and closer to the opposite wall.

The news that Cory had killed someone for him makes his sightless gaze widen in shock. The insinuation that he wouldn't care makes his stomach twist with discomfort and bafflement. "Of course I feel bad!" He returns quickly, aghast. "I- I don't want anyone to be murdered in my honor. Sleepy didn't deserve it, I'm sure, but you provoked him!" She steps forward again and his back presses firmly against the cold wall. The sound of a sword leaving its sheathe makes him whine.

"This is what I was always talking about! Y- You're just feeding into this v- vicious cycle of hatred by doing this. Arya, please don't do this. Cory'll never forgive you!" He pleads and Red God above, he hopes she hears him over the drums of vengeance pounding in her skull. His heart twists painfully in his chest, frost expelling itself quickly from his mouth with each panicked breath he sucked in.

"Y- You think I told him to grab me up like that? I hadn't s- seen him since until that day!" Rentarou sputtered, feeling himself flinch with every venomous word that was spat out of her mouth and her harsh, barking laughter. Corrupttimelines might've been acting impulsively in that raid, he could understand that since he meant so much to the wyvern. Would Arya not do the same thing for someone she cared for that deeply? He bites down on his underlip. He knows how this is going to go - it has happened to him twice before now. He was guilty by mere association and there was no amount of reasoning or begging he could do to make Arya reconsider what she was trying to do. Barghest hadn't cared that he hadn't been anywhere near the Ruins for Tinypaw's torture. Feliks hadn't cared that he had only healed a child that Deathstroke had practically ripped apart. Arya won't care that he hadn't done or said anything that hinted towards him wanting to strike back at the Sanguine Ruins but, like always, he swallowed everything down. It embitters him.

He tries to scramble back when she launches at him, her claws tear and rend his flesh, and blood is tugged free of their confines. He yelps as he pulls back as far as he can, trapped between her and the wall pushing back on him. Pain blossoms across the new infliction where her claws and teeth met his skin and tore through, and the former Physician cries out as he flails his leg. His claws catch her face without meaning to and the pause in her assault and the smell of her blood in the air makes him realize his mistake. "There we go you fucking traitor. Protect yourself - Red God knows Cory can't." She hisses to him, and he shakes his head quickly. "I didn't mean it! I don't want to h- hurt you," He tries to proclaim before a sharp cry leaves him when her claws drag down the side of his face. This goes much deeper than Arya's previous attacks; he can feel old scars reopening, her claws tracing them, ripping them open, allowing hazy memories to flow through his head again.

Before he can register anything else, one of his paws is smashed into the ground. The awkward angle and force put behind it makes it break, his glass bones shattering with ease. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt so much. Arya's cruel and mocking words ring clear even as he sobs before her, holding his broken paw close to himself. And yet his body does not quake with hatred or the same murderous malice as hers do. Rentarou could kill the Tormenta-Million in a second if he wanted to, if he gave into the monster he knew he was, but he didn't. He couldn't. He is refusing to turn to that even as she beats him, opening up gashes on his sides and even busting his lip. He winces at her words but says nothing, merely lowering his head in submission. "Go on," He encourages, softly, meekly. He only raises his head to smile at her, pausing in his sobbing long enough to manage his next few words. "Do it. I deserve it, don't I?" He is not mocking her. He is blind but when looking upon her, his expression is nothing but gentleness. A gentle encouragement, a gentle resignation to his presumed "fate." She would kill him and he had no qualms about it.

Rentarou is waiting for it to happen. He is waiting for that sword's cruel blade to meet his exposed neck but it doesn't come. He wonders if this is a way to further make him question what he has done, to make him think over his decisions and make him regret ever double-crossing the Ruins despite it never truly being his intention to. The final blow does not come, however. He realizes it when he hears the sword slip back into its sheathe, clicking into place, and Rentarou lets out a stuttering noise similar to that of a sigh of relief but it sounded more confused than anything else.

She says she will spare him just this once. One time. What made her decide that she wouldn't kill him? She'd gotten so far, went through much trouble just to slip into his room and beat him into submitting. He wants to ask her why she wanted to leave him alive but he decides that it's probably much better to keep his mouth shut. She slips out and away from the Exiles, leaving the doors wide open. Exhausted, Rentarou slips onto his stomach and trembled pathetically with shock.

- this is open now!! for injuries, Rentarou has a couple of nondescript bruises and gashes on his side and a busted lip. His left front paw is broken, and has an particularly nasty wound that trails from his temple and winds all the way down his collarbone. His old facial scar has reopened as well <3

"Isn't that ironic?" Rentarou would murmur in the direction of the old king, his ears flickering back delicately against his head. Figuring that he is not in any immediate danger, Rentarou lowers himself into a seat and tilted his head towards the man. He wonders how the two men felt about each other considering they were family. It was no secret that they had blood relations, that Jace was Cory's uncle and that they've swore to never harm each other and yet their two clans were actively warring against each other. Rentarou couldn't bear to think of the exhaustion that wore on their hearts to constantly fight and be at odds with each other just because the clans they led didn't like each other.

"Cory and I share similar ideals." Rentarou begins, "We both think that this war between the Ruins and the Exiles is stupid and has gone on for far too long. What do they call something like this... a 'pyrrhic' war?" The mutt shakes his head sadly, a quiet sigh falling from his lips. "Either side can win but at what cost? Will it have been worthwhile?" There might have been attempts to stop it before, but people's hatred for another was far stronger than the will and want to forgive and move past everything in order to live happier lives.

"Corrupttimelines is not a bad person at all. Deep down, he's good... I- I know he is. I've seen it, and I feel it. Have you even spoke to him about why he does these 'stupid' things instead of trying to figure it out yourself, Jace?" An honest question is inquired, and Ren frowns in contemplative thought himself. They were family and yet they were so estranged, much like himself from his siblings. Their circumstances don't necessarily make it better either. "What did Ace do to make him pick no other clan but the Exiles to live in?" What drove such a good man to end up in an evil place like the Exiles?

Soon enough there is someone here, as he expected, and Rentarou huffs slightly as his half-lidded gaze shifts to Jimin. Rentarou is tired and so, so very exhausted, but the shock of it all is what is keeping him so blissfully aware of his surroundings. He winces and whimpers in pain as cobwebs are applied to his wound, Rentarou lifting his unbroken paw to assist in applying pressure so that Jimin may work on other things if he so desired. "I know, I know..." The mottled dog mumbled, eyes misty with tears. He knows Corrupttimelines won't let Arya get away with hurting him like this, but he didn't want anyone else to suffer for his sake. He never wanted that. He would never ask that of someone...

"It doesn't matter," Ren responds quietly, wincing as he hears the wyvern's distressed cry. "Don't... Don't you go and hurt an- anyone else because of me, Corrupttimelines. I m- mean it." He says as firmly as his trembling voice is able to muster, his teeth gritting with pain. "I know you're thinking it but p- please. I don't want anyone to die because of m- me." He's pleading, goodness he's pleading. He doesn't want to feel anymore guilty than he was for leaving the Sanguine Ruins. Sleepy, someone he assumed was innocent, had died for no reason. He doesn't want that, he doesn't want it.

Rentarou cannot see that bitterness and hatred that engulfs the Warden but he can sure as hell feel it. It nearly suffocates the man as he sits there in a puddle of his own blood with a shattered paw and open gashes in his side. He's probably giving Jimin a bad time struggling as much as he was and he would apologize for his behavior later but he had to get through to Corrupttimelines. He had to. He feels that more blood would be splattered, that the war would just go on, and on, and on...

"Cory. Cory, listen to me!" His jaws snap together in a desperate cry but the wyvern's already leaving. He's moving on, ignoring his pleas, and terror envelops him whole. The man might as well have killed him, Arya's promise bouncing about in his head. A string of curses leave the former Physician as his body gives up, sinking further onto the ground in defeat.

He sucks in deep breathes, in and out, in and out, in an attempt to calm himself down. He was getting worked up to the point where he was likely making his own injuries that much worse. He was making everything so hard on Jimin, who was only trying to do his job as a medic. There was so much going on and he was clearly frustrated with it; why would no one listen to him?

He breathes in ragged breathes as Kukiko arrives and, for one reason or another, he expected for her to berate him on being stupid or something along those lines. The woman seemed to not like those who were weak and pathetic like himself, and yet here she was talking to him, wondering why he still cared but not in that same tone she took up with so many other people.

Rentarou shakes his head. "I don't know." Her words were true, though. They want to kill him, Arya tried to kill him and yet for some reason she hadn't. His kindness would be taken for granted despite what he's done for them. Why did he care even though they disregarded him completely? Why did he beam at them still despite them throwing away their friendship like it never meant anything, like them bonding never meant anything? He didn't know and he doesn't think he ever will. "I'm sure it's because of something stupid."

- retro to injuries!

Rentarou couldn't participate in raids for very obvious reasons, with one of the most important being that he just couldn't fight with his disability and he didn't necessarily feel like ousting himself with his ghoulism. However, he waited for the raid party to return with a fretful frown upon his face, staring into the distance as the smell of heavy gore and blood reached his nose. Goodness, it was powerful. It made his stomach do flips but he was worried. Worried for Corrupttimelines, who he is sure was bent on vengeance ( for when is the man not ).

The mottled dog appears when Kukiko makes her calls, but he is not sure if his expertise was needed since he wasn't the most trusted individual at the moment, being a Ruiner defector. "Who got killed?" The former Physician would murmur, sightless blue eyes flicking across the wide area. He can tell that there were many who were injured. The whole medic team here would have their work cut out for them. "I'll help if you'll let me." Rentarou offers. He couldn't do any presently since he was without his satchel, but he'll only help if the Surgeons wouldn't mind. He did not want to step on anyone's paws.

Rentarou had woken up to a empty cell with Corrupttimelines nowhere in sight. Feeling the slightest ill at ease, the mottled mutt had risen to his paws and exited his cell to go and look for the Warden. He was still unused to the layout of the prison and so, of course, it took him a while to come across everyone else, but when he did all he could smell was Cory's distress and the tell-tale smell that someone was pregnant. It was fairly easy for something like him to sniff out, but the feeling caused his stomach to twist uncomfortably. At this moment Debiru brushes past him, quickly making his exit, and Ren stood still for a moment as he listened to the other quickly make his getaway. Something was wrong with that boy, but maybe he could ask him about it later.

He pokes his head inside of the infirmary only to smell so many other scents of different people crowding Corrupttimelines and who he assumed to be the head medic. He frowns slightly from his place at the entrance, fictive brows furrowing against his head. "Hey, maybe you all should give Cory some space?" The dog suggests tentatively, "He's already overwhelmed as it is." He feels bad in a way. Maybe this was his fault? No, of course it was his fault. The mutt's ears flick flat against his head, sightless blue eyes pointed towards the sterile floor. Many thoughts whirled around in his head, most of them blaming himself for putting Corrupttimelines into such a tough position. An ashamed blush flourished across his face, his paws shuffling against the floors.

- hiii, welcome back! i'm another site oldie from waaaay back then, it's so nice to see someone returning. welcome to the exiles <3

Rentarou had no family. He had given up long ago on the possibility that any family of his were alive, if only to make the bitter pill easier to swallow when he will be confronted in the inevitable truth that he was truly alone. He's learned that hope was a dangerous thing. It can give anyone as much strength and courage they needed to carry forth with their plans, but it can also destroy a person better than a dagger to the heart could. It was so much worse than that - and he knew it.

He comes from Earth though his memories of his time there were foggy at best. Three years of his life almost fully erased, blocked off by radio static. Buzzing, whizzing, making no sense. Memories are hazy, murky like swamp water. Nothing ever seems to want to pull itself together for his sake. He was fine with it, indubitably. He tilts his head at a loud voice that catches him off guard, causing his idle humming to pause and his ears to angle forth suddenly with newfound wariness.

The ghoul draws closer, his black splotched paws carrying him to Liberty's voice. When he arrives, he senses her aura. She was old, not from here. His blind stare is unwavering, his milky blue gaze piercing and yet so gentle and kind. "Liberty Praelium..." He echoes to himself, tail swishing low behind his tall and lithe frame. The canine offers a small, friendly smile in her general direction. "I'm Rentarou Ikurusaba, but you can call me Ren. Welcome to the Exiles. Would you like a tour?" It must be odd, a blind man offering ( who he assumed to be ) an sighted creature a tour. He was plenty capable of guiding himself around without assistance clearly, however. In the end, it would be up to her to take him up on his offer. He wouldn't be offended if she refused.

Could've sworn I responded to this a while ago but apparently not.

Ren can't help but be a supportive good boye even to the nastiest of creatures, so Kukiko will be having lots of that. If you're okay with it, could you make their thread, Keda? uwu

Pyrr sizing Rentarou up while he's blind and can't see him doing it is a funny image in my head lmao. I'm down for it! Maybe he can ask him about why he left SR and everything? Rentarou wouldn't be afraid to answer any question Pyrr launches at him because he's an honest man and has nothing to hide most of the time

Also yes, them meeting is imperative Sei-Chan! How do you think they should meet? :0c

Ooh, the first one can work!! Rentarou also has this thing about reading auras and if you want, he can read Debiru's aura in depth and figure out he's feeling really upset and attempt to comfort him in any way he can? In general just caring for him, checking in on him frequently afterwards, etc. <3

It was not often that Rentarou would step out of the room, especially as of late following Arya's assault on him that left him with a broken paw and several nasty looking wounds. Of course, that didn't stop him from going out when he felt like he was going crazy sitting in his cell. Even something like him needed some fresh air every once in a while. So it was with caution that he carefully limped around the prison, the soft lull of various conversations swimming through his ears. At some point he stops by the cafeteria, his stomach conveniently complaining of hunger the moment the scent of blood from raw meat entered his nose. The ghoul huffs quietly, knowing it must have been a while and then some since he had last had any sort of good meal. He tells himself he can go on for a little longer, a little while longer and he would be able to hunt for himself again and he would not have to scarf down food that didn't belong in his stomach.

With a little bit of hesitance, Rentarou moves on but not without accidentally bumping into an Exiler. Surprise flickers across his face as he takes a couple of quick steps back, "O- Oh! I'm so sorry." The mottled canine would say, a sheepish smile creeping over his features. "Why don't you watch where you're going?" The Exiler he assumed he had bumped into retorted snappily. She was clearly in a bad mood, telling from how hotly she replied - no sane person was naturally that angry, right? Rentarou swallowed nervously. "Well, you see, I can't -" He's abruptly cut off as a barking laugh sounds from somewhere in front of him. It didn't have the same voice and tone as the hot-headed femme from earlier. "You're fuckin' blind, dude?" The hyena-like Exiler tittered, nudging his shoulder with a paw. Rentarou whipped his head to the side, unsure of where the touch came from, an uncomfortable whine leaving him.

"Yeah, yeah, look at him! Look at those eyes he has." Another, a girl with an snobby voice, interjected, whispering scornfully.

"Yeah, they're so creepy looking... Looks like he can stare straight into your soul!" The hot-headed femme snickers.

"That's so freaky," The hyena-like Exiler says loudly, disgust clear in his voice. "He's gonna make everyone uncomfortable with his weird staring."

Rentarou steps back warily, his chest getting tighter and tighter with each hurtful remark they shot at him. They say them with no regard, scorning, sneering. His delicate ears twist to flatten against his cranium, his head lowering as he redirects his gaze to the ground. Was that... how everyone felt about him? Did he creep people out with his unintentional staring? Was he uncomfortable to be around? He didn't mean it... His throat tightens with sadness at their cruelness, but they were right, weren't they? "I- I'm... sorry for making you feel that way." He says, his voice cracking mid sob. The snobby girl scoffs down at him.

"If you wanna make everyone feel better, maybe you should tie a blindfold around your eyes. You can't use 'em, so you might as well save everyone the grief and hide 'em away." She says, and the rest of her crew makes sounds of agreement, mostly consisting of "yeah's" and "it'd definitely make me feel better!" He feels hot tears welling up in the corner of his eyes, feeling the first few begin to roll over and stream down his cheeks. He hastily tries to wipe them away, hoping that they wouldn't see him cry, but they seemed way too busy giggling to themselves to even notice anything he was doing.

Poor baby,, Rentarou will try his best to be his shoulder to cry on if he needs it. He's very fluffy and he works well as a tissue c:

If you don't mind making it, that'd be swell!! <3

It seems in time, they finally realize he was crying. It only made their boisterous laughter increase to an irritating, grating volume that haunted the mutt. He couldn't even say anything to rebuke their claims because... they were probably right. Their words, although scornful and harmful, were likely true and he believed it. He doesn't hear the approaching Hito until his voice announces his presence, a drawling voice that quickly criticized the three that had focused their cruel attention onto him. They huffed and scoffed indignantly at his words. He could tell that they weren't happy about their fun being intruded upon by a bystander as they flippantly disregarded him with a sneer.

At Hito's final words, the one that seemed to be the least affected by the other's projection of anxiety, the loud and hyena-like Exiler, snarled loudly at the threat. "You can't do jack shit to me!" Who knew if he was saying it out of fear or if he just refused to be intimidated, but it was rather abundantly clear that he wasn't going to allow Hito to talk to him with such disrespect.

Rentarou flinched at the unbridled aggressiveness of the other as another Exiler shows up, one he was vaguely familiar with by smell and aura alone, swallowing thickly as she spoke. More and more showed up to defend him, to aid him, and Rentarou began to slowly back away with each Exiler that arrived on scene, ultimately unresponsive as he quickly began to feel overwhelmed with guilt. "Tch! Whatever, we were just trying to pass time. What total buzzkills." The hot-headed girl mutters with annoyance clear in her voice. He hears three sets of paws begin to leave and still, even with their presence erased from the scene, Rentarou felt himself unable to breathe.

"I'm sorry..." He apologizes, forces the words out of his mouth in a soft whine. His form quakes with shaken nerves. "I ruined everyone's day." No one should feel the need to protect him. He should be able to defend himself but, like always, his distinct weakness made others want to come to his rescue. He feels bad that they had to do anything. They shouldn't have to. He breathes out shakily as he uses his paw to hastily wipe away any residual tears, forcing a wobbly smile to his face. "You guys wasted your breath over me... They're right anyways." He murmurs softly, sadly. He tries not to level them with his empty stare, instead turning his head to the side as if to look elsewhere. "It's okay."

"Ro?"

The nickname for the former falls off of his tongue easily, soft and breathless. He recognizes her. He recognizes her voice and his heart flutters with happiness. He had sorely missed his friend, often having found himself thinking of her sometimes whenever he was alone with tumultuous thoughts. They were the unlikeliest of friends, her brash and loud attitude contradicting quite heavily with his soft and nurturing kind - but did they not say that opposites attract?

And suddenly he is very aware of how he looks. He sports injuries that his former clanmate had given him, his broken paw still in its splint and his body was swaddled with stark white bandages. He hates that he looks a mess before her. Red God above, he wishes he could see her. A gentle smile, although wobbly, carves itself onto his freckled features. "I missed you, Ro." He slips forward from his position beside Corrupttimelines, brushing against his boyfriend briefly. His friend wouldn't hurt him, he knew she wouldn't. They'd grown far too close that merely leaving one place to another would hardly make a difference in their relationship and he needed that after Arya had turned so quickly on him despite their own bonding.

Now standing much closer to the border, a soft smile alight on his face, he tilts his head to the side. "Why're you here, though? You aren't with the Sanguine Ruins anymore?" He asks curiously and unlike the others who feared for his safety, Rentarou was just curious. Did she need him specifically for something? Was she here just to make sure that he was still breathing?

Rentarou had never been a fan of torture. It was inhumane, and a horrible thing to put people through. Being someone who had been through it himself, he cannot help but feel sick to his stomach knowing that someone would be forced into the same, brutal situation as he had been once upon a time. Seeing it now filled him with the same disgusting emotion that made his stomach twist and do quadruple flips, inciting nausea to take over his frail and feeble frame. What made it worse was that it was a Ruiner of all people that Nyria had dragged in, that Liberty was helping to treat so wrongfully. No one was helping the victim, not even the kindhearted Jimin.

"T- That's enough!" His jaws snap together, teeth grinding as even he winced as the sudden raise of volume within his usually quiet and toneless voice. It swam with thick emotion, of hurt, of fear - he was clearly reliving his trauma, his body shaking like a dying leaf in the final moments of autumn. The blood, the fear scent that wafted off of Ace reminded him of the position he had been in... forced to endure, forced to hurt for something that wasn't even his fault. What had Ace done apart from just being a Ruiner? Nothing. Ace was an old man, an old man who had problems and Rentarou had once upon a time saved him from himself.

"I- I told her that we weren't going to mess with them anymore..." The former physician muttered, his head lowered slightly as his blind stare aimed itself at the ground. He thinks back to the moment where Arya had threatened his life. She'd broken his bones and flayed his skin. The new scar upon his face showed that she was serious. Liberty and Nyria might as well had killed him doing this to Ace. "You two... Y- You two are going to get me killed." His voice was not scornful, but he was very clearly afraid. Would they even care, he wondered? What was one person to a whole group of serial killers, kidnappers, and other brands of criminals? He didn't want to die. That wasn't so selfish, was it?

Regardless of what they said to the blind mutt, he would slip closer to Ace. He'd use his paws, ice cold to the touch, to soothe his burns the best he could. Without his medical supplies, he couldn't even do anything directly about the burns. Ren frowns gently, regret mixing into his features. "I'll take you back ho - to the Ruins." That place is not your home. It never was. Never...

- just so y'all know, Charlie gave me permission for Ren to interrupt the torture and have him take Ace back to the Ruins!

The words exchanged to him that day lingered in the back of his mind. Although the other Exilers had implored that those people who'd told him he would be better off wearing a blindfold than terrifying those with his empty stare and odd words speaking of auras and things he shouldn't know had been wrong, the more he thought about it... it started to seem like they might have been right the whole time. After all, why would they say such things if everyone didn't believe it? It must be true to some extent. He freaked people out with his murmuring, of his knowing, but he didn't mean it. If he didn't "see" at all, falling back into a world of true nothingness, everything would be fine, wouldn't it?

Squared shoulders push against him as he limbs through the hall and, with a wince, he's shoved aside and into the hallway's wall. A low mutter is uttered his way, disgusted, sneering low close to his ear. "Freak." A solemn reminder, it was, of how weird he was. He agreed, frankly. As a ghoul, as something that lurked within society's safe walls pretending to be something he wasn't, this was only the icing on top of the cake. It was just another thing to put aside, to try to fix. Tears burned at the corner of his eyes whilst he stood statuesque in the halls, his black tipped ears falling flat against his head. With a sniff, he slowly picked up one paw after the other to return to his cell.

Slipping into it, a shaky sigh leaves him as he ponders just staying in his room until he could stand to go out once more. He finds that there is something at his paws when he walks further into it for he accidentally kicked it forward and heard it slide a few inches. It made a dull thwump sound, indicating that there was something similar to a container in his room. However, from how light it sounded, he couldn't help but assume it was rather small in size. A small frown flickers across freckled features, as his paws eventually finds the container and brings it closer to himself. He feels around the side, inspecting it the best he could with his remaining senses. Eventually, he figures out there is a top to it after a few minutes, and removes it gingerly as to not disturb whatever was in it. It was a present, he thought. For me?

His heart drops when he finds it not quite empty. Rather, it withheld a rather cruel item within its containment. It was smooth to the touch, like silk - no, he was almost positive it was a silken cloth - but it wasn't attached to anything. It sat by itself, its implication heavy. "Oh..." The quiet sound leaves him without him meaning it to. All wrapped up within it was a solemn realization of its intention. Hide it, his thoughts murmur to him - or were they really his own? You'll be doing them a favor.

- as a note, you don't have to respond to this but if you want to, it's assumed that rentarou tied the silk blindfold around his eyes. it's going to be a pale blue in color!

Gardening was something he hadn't been able to do in the Sanguine Ruins, not by much anyways. The group lived in an odd desert and its conditions were not prime for planting herbs and the like. He didn't think he had a black thumb or anything of that sort... he always took care of the herbs they had in storage when he had been their physician, but the desert's harsh climate did not make growing things unused to it any easier.

The Exiles' territory was different, however. It had forests, beaches, and other areas that were prime spots to make a garden and Rentarou was quite determined to pick up gardening not only as a hobby but as a way to contribute when he couldn't fight as well. Frankly, he was excited to take care of the plants. Unlike people, plants couldn't hurt him unless he decided to grow careless. Although he couldn't see their beauty any longer due to his blindness, just the act of taking care of them made him feel boundless joy and satisfaction.

Humming to himself, Rentarou ventured a bit from the prison's safe walls. He was still very much in view of the guards and other warriors who came from and to the prison, but he decided to tuck his garden a little out of the way of the hustle and bustle of the clan. Somewhere quieter, where no one could disturb his plants as they grew. Clamped gingerly between his jaws, he carries a basket he had a friendlier NPC weave for him to carry his supplies in. Within it was a watering can, some tools for tilling the dirt, soil enhancers and, most importantly, packets of seeds. He wasn't sure what packet was what, but he had been told that all of them would grow wonderfully in the springtime and be ready to pick during the following summer and autumn months.

After finding a secluded enough spot, Rentarou would lower the basket and sniff around the area. He would pull weeds as he went, pulling up dirt and coating his paws and legs in it. He doesn't mind the filth much, he thought. After ridding the area he wanted to use of weeds, Rentarou would go through the strenuous activity of tilling the soil with a small handheld tool. It was unsurprisingly difficult and likely took longer than pulling up the weeds, but the ghoul had managed finely thus far despite not being able to see what he was doing. He knew it was not going to be perfect, but all that mattered to him was the happiness that came from doing it. The former Ruins physician hums a quiet song to himself, his tail wagging gently to the nameless tune.

Even after all of this time, Rentarou was still not used to performing in front of large crowds. Like Cicero, he had some concerns about how the show was going to go. Were they going to like his performance? How big of a crowd was actually sitting out there, waiting for them to dazzle them with their mystique? He wasn't necessarily afraid of messing up, but the thought did linger. Perhaps he should be more worried since his part of the show lacked a safety net and involved absurd heights that would make one dizzy if they could see. Ren supposed he just didn't have any qualms with dying doing something he personally loved.

Holding his hoops under his arms, listening the crowd cheer on the current act in total shock and awe, the pale haired dancer would turn his head when he hears Cicero's panic. Nyria was making an attempt to comfort him, though he isn't sure if she was doing much with the lack of advice she was giving him. He moves closer to the duo, his gentle gaze, although unseeing, settled on the jester. "Cicero, just take several deep breathes." He says softly, "Breathe in and count to ten, then breathe out. You'll do fantastic; I know you will. It'll be over before you know it." A smile envelops his freckled features, as he reached forward to hold the other's hands in his own in a gesture of comfort.