MOVED

The startle was alright– Arthur got startled easily all the time. It didn’t bother him– he was more concerned over Eden and the muzzle constricting his jaw.

Arthur brought his hand up to meet Eden’s. “It’s okay, Eden.” He chuckled weakly. “You know I get surprised easily. It’s no biggie.”

He waited for Eden to finish writing (his penmanship looks beautiful) before bringing his hand up to rub affectionate, apologetic circles into Eden’s hands.

How he wished he could break through that damn muzzle… a contraption like that shouldn’t have been so difficult, but thanks to gray-face magic… Oh, he hated gray-faces so much sometimes.

Arthur murmured softly, “Maybe I can find a way to fit a straw through this… there are some holes and gaps that I could work around… do you want me to try and give you water before a-a nap? I-I think I have straws in the kitchen…”

                  eden nodded silently. that sounded good. he'd rather be napping and cuddling first, but he knew water was more important than anything. he pushed himself up from where he'd been sitting on the ground and offered a hand down to help up arthur up.

                  the naga just hoped one of the gaps of the muzzle were big enough to work a straw into them in a way he could drink. if not, he was pretty screwed.

The ship is a wreck The skies have opened and delivered a mess What do we do when It’s out of control?

okay, but Chace Crawford tho 👅💦🔥 y'all can have chuck tbh

Arthur yelped slightly when Eden suddenly sat up and swatted Arthur’s hands away. He had been so focused on the locks and buckles that the naga’s movement ended up startling him more than it should’ve.

Then Arthur heard the other’s sigh, and his expression softened sadly.

“…hey… um…” He paused, before reaching into his toolbox for his sketchpad and pen. He always had a small sketchpad in his toolbox, just so he could have a place to put his ideas, blueprints, and sketches in. There were also some spare papers sitting all the way at the bottom of the thing, too.

“H-here.” He handed the other the pen and pad, which was flipped to a fresh clean page. “A-are you hungry? Thirsty? Does anything hurt?”

                  Eden's expression softened when he realized just how badly he had startled Arthur, and the naga made a quiet apologetic sound. He really hadn't meant to be harsh like that. He was just frustrated that they couldn't get the muzzle off. It was causing him to become irritated. The naga briefly reached out and brushed his thumb against Arthur's cheek to apologize again.

                  He took the little sketchpad and pen when Arthur pulled it out of his toolbox and handed it to him. He waited few moments for Arthur to finish his questions before he began to write in neat, beautiful handwriting:

                  ' I'm very thirsty, but it seems it's impossible to drink with this muzzle. My head is hurting from this fucking stupid situation. This is ridiculous and I want this to be over with. Cuddles and maybe a nap would be nice also. '

                  He laid the pen down and held the sketchpad up to show the mechanic his reply.

There was a little pout now.

“..Aww, you changed back.. I liked the bottom half..” He said in a low tone.

“..And yeah–I can see that. It looks well cared for.”

                  " Oh...? You like me more as a naga? " Eden titled his head in a confused manner as his bottom half switched for a snake again. Lewis was certainly one of the strangest humans Eden had met. " No one has ever wanted me to be a naga. "

Arthur wordlessly took out what he needed from his toolbox and went to work. He looked at the simple mechanism that kept the muzzle locked over Eden’s head. It looked simple, but…

At first, he tried undoing the lock, but that didn’t work. Then, he tried picking the lock. For some frustrating reason, that didn’t work either. He tried clipping it, being as careful as he can since he was working on the naga’s head, but that didn’t work either.

Then he went to loosening it, saddened that he couldn’t get the cursed thing off of his boyfriend’s face. 

Please, please work– there has to be something I can do–

                  Eden simply lay still as Arthur worked to get the muzzle off him. He closed his eyes and thought about how much of an awful predicament this was. He was stuck in a muzzle like an animal. He had no way to speak. Or drink water, now that he thought about it. No water for seven days. He'd dehydrate in one day. He couldn't die from dehydration, but he would terribly sick and too weak to move. Arthur would have to help him do everything.

                  The thought of it all was pissing him off very quickly. So much that when Arthur gave up on the lock and began trying to loosen the nuzzle, Eden swatted his hands away from his head and sat up with a muffled, but still loud growling sigh. This was just fucking great. What were they going to do now?

“yeah but tell me more about you”

Shit, Eden couldn’t even talk–

Arthur felt an irritation creep up on him again, but it wasn’t aimed at Eden– it was at those gray faces. How could they? How could they just slap a muzzle on Eden like this?

He was glad his irritation smoothed over once he took a deep breath.

“I-I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try… h-here, c-can you rest your head down on my lap? O-or sit up? E-either or will work.”

He wanted Eden to be as comfortable as he could.

                  Eden nodded, opting to lay his head on Arthur's lap to be more relaxed while Arthur worked on the muzzle. He moved his tail and coiled it up around the two of them in loose circles as he settled his head down on Arthur's warm lap.

                  Eden knew Arthur couldn't do anything to get the muzzle off, but it did make him feel better to know that he cared enough to at least attempt to help.

Arthur felt his heart drop slightly at Eden’s muffled, defeated whines.

“…can I at least try?” He asked softly, running his hand through Eden’s hair gently. “At least make it looser? C-can you talk…?”

If Eden didn’t want him to, he wouldn’t do it, but… oh god, did he want to do something…

                  Eden raised his head to stare at Arthur. The slow shakes of it were the only answers he could give. The nuzzle was secure on his chin, making it impossible to open his mouth and speak.

                  He would let Arthur try if he wanted to, but he doubted he could even loosen it.