Ready As I'll Ever Be, Tender Hearted

"Ready As I'll Ever Be, Tender Hearted" is a BOTGD 2 Act III thread started on January 6th, 2022 and finished on January 8th, 2022.
==Summary==
Milae assists Juro with getting ready to board and pilot the Construct. Juro is struggling with his emotions, worried about his performance for the upcoming battle, and Milae reassures him. The two share words of affirmation and affection, as well as several hugs.
==Full Text==
Juro Jin: Juro was... quiet.
His eyes were trained down at the goat, blindfold tucked into a pocket of his suit, and watching Milae fuss over him--he was saying something, he was sure, yet it all passed over his head. He couldn't grasp much of the bustle and preparations around him. The grim night was finally upon them, a war they were heading for. The Rebellion that was about to set out isn't ever going to be the same again upon their return. And yet, despite the weeks of physical and mental training that both seidkonur and demon had helped him with, it was plenty surreal.
All the Bookkeeper could do was smile silently.
Yun Milae: A sudden goat hoof appeared and gently pushed his forehead, its owner needing to stand on his absolute tiptoes to do so. The beacon jingled slightly in its harness as he relaxed to his regular height, hazel eyes staring firmly up at the familiar expression above his head.
“Stop that,” Milae ordered, half-joking. Without elaborating on what he meant, he continued to adjust the suit the engineers had been working on around Juro’s wrists, like a mother making sure her son wouldn’t be cold on the walk to school. “Are you comfortable? Did you eat enough? Do you need to do anything else?”
Juro: It was a super human effort that took several tries to crumple the plastered grin into something more genuine, an anxious crease in his brow and lips tight in a straight line as the barrage of questions continued. Juro shook his head, twisting his hands deftly to take Milae's into his own, large palms dwarfing his comfortably where they've come to belong. They tightened once, "I've never... fought for anyone. I don't get involved. I'm just supposed to watch, what if--" What if things go wrong. Again, he couldn't ever dispel his reservations on his ability permanently, the corner of his mouth turning up again almost immediately.
Milae: Once more, Milae looked up at the same time he reached for Juro's face, but it was far slower this time. The thumb of his hoof brushed over the familiar wry grin, and his heart ached at the sight, even if it was probably helping Juro remain stable for the time being.
"What if what, bókari?" he said gently.
Juro: “I just don’t want things to go wrong, then it’ll be my fault,” his hand tightened, gaze sliding up at the construct that loomed above them, before he shook his head, “I’m worrying too much.”
Milae: "The only thing I will ever accuse you of," he said softly, gently twining their fingers together in a mindless fidget, "is trying to do the right thing. Anything beyond that is the powers of evil trying to dissuade us from taking our world back."
Milae then tugged a little, bending Juro closer to his level. Because he could, without consequence, and didn't know if they would ever get the chance to do so again. That scared him more than most anything they were going to face, but it also stoked a fire in him that refused to let him turn back. "We stopped those forces once. We must try everything we can to do it again."
Juro: He obliged easily--one could never keep him far from the goat, not anymore, gently tapping a forehead on his, blond and brown strands of hair mixing for a moment. He gave a shaky laugh that subsequently eased the mask he pulled together, even by a little, “So much for no help, no harm.” He murmured in jest.
“Promise me you’ll... be alright,” he tilted his head to meet his eyes clearly, an uncertain grin on his face, too afraid to elaborate any further and feeling the heavy weight of any what-ifs too drastic, too permanent.
Milae: Milae was not one to lie. He had fully intended not to, always intended to be committed to the self-sacrificing end. He looked up into Juro's eyes, velvet nose bumping against pale skin, but he shut his mouth and instead drew into the Bookkeeper's arms, hugging him tightly around the waist.
"I promise I will be alright," he said roughly, quietly. It didn't matter whether or not he believed it. "Don't worry about me. Focus on your task. The Warden needs you more than I do."
Juro: He returned the embrace, eyes shut tightly and arms wrapped fully around Milae with one hand behind a furry head, and they stayed like that in silence for several heartbeats before loosening their grip.
“That’s easier said than done,” he gave him a wry grin, before summoning a surge of energy. In a twist of white, blue, and gold, his golem fluttered into sight, long feathers draped elegantly around half breed shoulder, “Will you at least let Virion accompany you? In my place?”
Milae: "I don't believe I could refuse if I wanted to." Milae absentmindedly reached up to stroke Virion's neck. "I'll finish writing an entry in the Library. For..." Yun and Jin's names died in his throat. "For everyone. Then...we can update them after the dust settles."
Juro: "They'll never forgive us if we don't," he nodded, lips pressed into a thin line while Virion returned Milae's gesture with a harmless nip on his cheek. The thought of a task to do for afterwards indicated the intent to survive, and he'll cling to that with all his might, "Sounds like a plan."
Juro straightened, but his hands lingered where they've found a home around hooves, loathe to let go. His voice became firm, always certain about this one thing before they went their separate ways.
"大好き. Always."
Milae: "Ég mun alltaf elska þig." Milae barely hesitated to return the sentiment.
Several signal horns began to sound off behind them, and Milae abruptly whipped his head around at the Jaw, and then back at Juro, and there was finally a touch of anxiety and uncertainty in the lines in his face, slightly disfiguring the patchy scar underneath his eye. He stepped back, hovered for a moment, and then rushed in and quickly made several needy grabbing motions towards his friend's neck and shoulders, too short to follow his sudden urge.
Juro: He froze, but it was only for a split second before he broke into a true nervous laugh, worry and fear and pure, unreserved love finally falling on his face as he swept him up in his long arms in one smooth movement. Juro buried himself into his fur, fully wrapping Milae in a comforting hug as best as he could, holding every bit of him close in a shaking embrace that betrayed everything he felt.
“I’ll–” he had to take a deep breath to compose himself, “I’ll see you later, okay?”
Category:Events
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Act III
Category:Jin Juro
Category:Yun Milae