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WHO: Makoto, Howl, and Dionys (?).
WHAT: Two young men investigate rumors of the other veteran Aion in Achamoth.
WHERE: Dionys' brothel, Achamoth.
WHEN: At some point during the Aions' first few weeks in the city.
WARNINGS: Potential NSFW mention as befits the location, though this is more of an information-gathering mission. Will add more if they become relevant!
WHAT: Two young men investigate rumors of the other veteran Aion in Achamoth.
WHERE: Dionys' brothel, Achamoth.
WHEN: At some point during the Aions' first few weeks in the city.
WARNINGS: Potential NSFW mention as befits the location, though this is more of an information-gathering mission. Will add more if they become relevant!
When Makoto had first arrived in Hell, he had found himself surprised at how... normal it seemed. In many places one might even call it "idyllic." The rolling countryside could have been found on the silver screen of any Victorian drama, and J's mansion had been the very picture of a Roccoco palace. Even with this unexpected mundanity, he had learned to never allow himself to be lulled into a false sense of security. Hell was not "hell" on its own justification — it was what it was because of the demons that filled it.
He can't help but wonder what that makes Achamoth, under the same principles. Both architecturally and socially, it seems to be a shoring built to hold aloft a tower created in the glory of their God. Be they the bodies wrought in stone, wood, and steel that form its body or those of flesh and bone that comprise its lifeblood, devotion is all that he can read of this place. So when he finds himself standing in the street a short distance from the address he had been given for Dionys' brothel, he ponders the use of the "devotion" she practices. The lascivious shapes of the figures twining and spouting water from the construction of the many fountains out front speak little to the Regent's message of war, though perhaps he still finds himself rankled by words exchanged days ago that still stick beneath the skin.
Makoto might seethe, but he does so quietly and efficiently. He's made himself a clever engine of spite.
He had dropped by planning on approaching the doors and requesting an audience with the brothel's master, who he'd been told is the only other veteran Aion in the city besides Xishen. A simple plan, and one he wasn't entirely certain of, but it was the summary of all of the advice he had been given about speaking with Dionys. He has been standing his distance away from the building for a short time, and though he's not at risk of giving up just yet, he still finds himself discontented with the outline of a "plan" he has in mind. It was only a matter of time, though. Soon he would tire of inaction and strike forward to see where the evening might go, hinging on improvisation (in his opinion, the far less useful cousin of premeditation).
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[Makoto's explanation of his background does seem to drawn her in a bit, and she sits on the railing, sliding the rest of the way down the stairs. Crossing one leg over the other in a theatrical manner, she poses from her new resting position before beckoning him to continue.]
Well, what is it, then? It must be important, to come this far.
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( and, really, it's the only thing he can really offer.
a small amount of tension eases from his body as howl joins him at the base of the stairs, and dionys soon does as well, elegantly sliding down the banister with perfect and enviable control. he allows himself one steadying breath before nodding and continuing. )
I should think so — it has to do with yourself, or at least in part. I was surprised to learn from those working in other brothels around town that there was another Aion within the city, and not to mention one that ran such an esteemed establishment. You keep up quite the air of mystery among them, even despite that. ( he gestures to howl, then to himself. ) We are newcomers to this city, this war, and this world, as I'm sure you know and understand. We only know what we have been told. So if there's anything about yourself and your history here, about your involvement in the past conflict with the Pleroma, that you would be willing to share, then I humbly ask it of you.
( he could have asked xishen for the same, sure. but he has already gotten a taste of what her overall vibe is, and something in him is wondering if any information that dionys might part with might be a little less... sanitized. )
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Thankfully, his admiration does not wander into gawking, as M's final words draw his attention back to his friend. By the end of it, he sounds almost overly deferential in how he leaves his request for information so open-ended. Perhaps the demon has better instincts on this than Howl does, but something is telling him that a few more pointed topics may be good to start with. ]
Your reputation is certainly wide-spread within this city, and remarkably positive on top of it. I was just exploring and enjoying myself, not trying to familiarize myself with the city like M has been, but a single glance of this — [ Howl holds up his left hand, showing her the mark of the Celebrant engraved into his skin, ] opened the floodgates, so to speak, when it came to you and your establishmemt. Hearing about your existence for the first time, and quickly understanding your particular prominence, I had to wonder who this woman is and why I had not met her at the dinner.
[ Too busy with this place, or... something else? It does strike Howl as very odd for her to not come. Surely it isn't because she wasn't invited. Right? Perhaps she is so firmly in the Regent's good graces that he did not require her to attend? (Let's hope she isn't learning about the dinner for the first time through this conversation.) ]
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[It's said with a groan, as if the topic is tedious to her. All the same, she does seem to benefit from Howl pointing her in a specific direction.]
The real question is why would I be at dinner. You don't even have to tell me: it was a complete drag, right? I'm sure, if you had the option, you'd have preferred to be doing anything else.
[She laughs unrepentantly.]
I'm not on dinner duty because I don't have anything to prove. Besides, I'd already put a lot of time and effort into our Lover's Moon fuck-a-thon, and not even the Regent would make me cancel that.
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Ah, a bang on guess from our beautiful senior. Yes, it was absolutely dreadful, and speaking for myself, I hope I won't be required to go to similar dinners in the future. I'd have much rather come to your party! Maybe the next one.
[ That being said — the rest of what she said is very interesting. Howl shoots a glance at Makoto, wordlessly asking if he caught that interesting morsel about not having anything to prove, and implicitly, a certain other Aion having something to prove. ]
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he is more than happy to allow howl to speak first, lapsing into thoughtful silence as a look of steely reservation steals across his face. when he does have a moment to feasibly contribute on the topic, he does dryly, ) It was certainly on the lower end of dinners that I have attended, yes.
( not without its entertainments, but the scathing chastisement that so many of them were given tends to temper that out, leaving only a sour distaste behind.
his pale gaze does sweep out to intercept the look that howl shoots his way. he takes it out, continuing with a measured placidity, ) I'm certain that time and effort was not wasted; your event for the Lover's Moon has been a popular topic among those I have spoken with. Like my companion, I'd love to attend one and see for myself some day.
( at this point he has little idea what seeds of conversation will fall on fertile or fallow ground, so... might as well incise into the topic already proffered: ) The babysitting detail of attending us newcomers does seem rather unenviable — is there a particular reason it fell to Xishen? ( that, or she took it on herself, though if that were the case he would have to imagine it was done unhappily (just based on what he'd observed of her back in the cavern and also during the dinner itself). )
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Oh, you probably will. Regent dinner time has been a tradition for, well... ever, basically. Like, don't get me wrong, the Regent owns my dick, but...
[It's unsurprising that awkward formal dinners are not to her tastes. On the bright side, she does now seem to be speaking to them in earnest. Maybe it's on account of them having a mutual bitching topic. She scrunches up her nose.]
Honestly, Xishen probably would have gone even if she didn't have to... out of 'solidarity' or some shit. Martyrs are all like that, you know? It's exhausting. But when it comes down to it, Xishen is just a scrub compared to me. She hasn't been at this game nearly as long.
[It seems like there's more she wants to add to that but she ends up holding off, as if thinking it might be saying too much. She bats a hand.]
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( yes, keeping in his mind's eye how alternatingly reserved and withdrawn xishen had been at the Regent's side, the idea of dionys also being thrown into the mix is... certainly an interesting one. an endless parade of formal dinners is something makoto is accustomed to, given the circles he'd run with in hell, but he's known dionys for all of five minutes now and understands why she would want to be anywhere else.
he nods sympathetically — from the martyrs he's met, it's an absolutely fair assumption. his first meeting with ciel had mostly consisted of him telling her to lighten up and find a hobby. it's far more interesting what she reveals next; there's a gleam in his pale eyes. ) You're her senior, then. ( she may be holding back a bit, but he's still going to at least try to ask, ) Exactly how long have you been at this game?
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[ Howl's words are light; picking up on Dionys' cynical attitude, he means to keep the conversation playful and casual in tone. That being said, it's the first question that came to Howl's mind too, and one he's just as interested in. He looks back to Dionys with too much curiosity in his eyes and mind for her to not pick up on it. ]
Although you certainly seem to know your way around Martyrs... How mysterious. [ Howl does not like them either. Stuffy, annoying, naggy. Maybe that's just how Ciel is specifically, but judging from what she said, maybe not. ]