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Entry tags:
- !event,
- #xishen,
- abel nightroad: martyr,
- amos burton: lover,
- caitlyn kiramman: champion,
- cid garlond: artisan,
- ciel: martyr,
- eleven: martyr,
- emet-selch: champion,
- ernesto salas: lover,
- estinien wyrmblood: firebrand,
- eustace: firebrand,
- father paul hill: martyr,
- gabranth: champion,
- hiccup horrendous haddock iii: visionary,
- himeka sui: wanderer,
- howl: celebrant,
- hubert von vestra: champion,
- jake jensen: champion,
- jayce talis: visionary,
- jinx: firebrand,
- kim dokja: martyr,
- kim kitsuragi: martyr,
- koriel xii (dextera): lover,
- lumine (the traveler): wanderer,
- luo binghe: firebrand,
- majorita: firebrand,
- makoto ("m"): firebrand,
- matt jamison: visionary,
- meteion: innocent,
- minegishi gen: lover,
- misa amane: lover,
- moiraine damodred: champion,
- nam seonho: firebrand,
- sayaka maizono: lover,
- silco: visionary,
- spock: seeker,
- tartaglia (childe): firebrand,
- vi: firebrand,
- vicious: wanderer,
- yoo joonghyuk: champion,
- yuya sakaki: lover
EVENT #1: THE EMPTY THRONE
The Empty Throne
DESCENT
Nearly two weeks after being dragged from shrine caverns, you hear along the grapevine that the "the throne room is complete." It doesn't take long to figure out what that means; the ritual grounds that you have been hearing mention of are finally prepared, and it's only a short while before you are once again being gathered together for travel. As a small mercy, at least this time the journey is short. Through a passage that has been blocked by a gathering of soldiers for the entire length of your stay, a stairway is revealed to you. It leads deep into the ruins, through unfamiliar structures and into the bowels of the earth. Though your feel your are mostly going downward, the walk is still long on account of how many stairs their are, and the soldiers escorting you are restless. They are now being led by the stray, mask wearing Achamites that have been accompanying the group till now, silently observing. Whatever place this is, it seems that they now hold court.
Funneled into the chambers below, you are greeted by a massive, domed enclosure of stone. Positioned around its circular radius are twelve thrones in various states of disrepair, sized as if meant to seat giants. The backs of these thrones all differ slightly in design, though most have great cleaves of stone broken loose from their architecture, as if subjected to some great cataclysm. Each is engraved with a sigil, though some have been obscured by the destruction wrought. The throne closest to the entrance has been almost entirely demolished, making it impossible to glean much about.
The dome's ceiling appears to be hundreds of feet tall at its apex, its smooth surface disrupted by stalactites that puncture through its form like teeth. As a result, many chunks of the original structure seem to have cracked and collapsed in to the floor below. When examined closely, these fragments of the domed ceiling seem to be made of a material strangely reflective in quality, though caked in many years of dirt and grime. If large enough sections are cleaned, patterns may emerge, revealing designs that look almost like star maps. The floor beneath your feet as a similar, but subtly different quality, covered in wreckage and ruin but can be cleaned to reveal complex patterns of intersecting lines.
A careful eye will indicate that these lines all lead towards the center of the room - the one space that has been cleared and scrubbed prior to your arrival. Here, the lines converge, with carefully preserved marking in the stone that bely increasing levels of runic complexity the closer you look. This is where the ritual will be held, you are told.
THE RITUAL
There is not much time to regain your bearings before you are being shuffled forth towards the ritual space; no, all the waiting has already been done. Under the command of the smaller group of Achamites, the Hylicians will make heavy use of the whips in leading everyone to their places along the rune-inscribed circle. Before that, however, small cuts will be made to each prisoner with an athame, either on their hand or arm. With a sharp, burning sensation in the afflicted skin, these cuts will spread into wounds reflecting the image of one of the eleven sigils displayed on the thrones encircling the group, and matching the shrine they were originally pulled from.
With this accomplished, they can finally be taken into the circle. With a design comprised of four triangles overlapping, the design of an open eye carved at its center, all prisoners will be led to separates points on its design where the lines cross. Seemingly arranged by their shrine sigil to be closest to whatever throne represents them, they will be brought to their designated positions one by one. Any attempts to flee or disrupt the process will be dealt with swiftly and harshly, exacerbated by the increasing levels of paranoia and fear in the soldiers themselves. Whatever is being done here, they don't seem happy to involved with it either.
When everyone is in place, the seeming master of ceremonies will finally emerge. A dark haired woman will appear from the shadows, motes of golden light fluttering about her otherwise darkness-clad visage. Moving towards the center of the circle, she will stand over the marking of the eye and begin working her magicks. As if on cue, the soldiers will withdraw any remaining whips and scurry to the outside of the circle, only for new bonds of ethereal energy to lash out of the ritual circle itself, binding each and every prisoner and dragging them down to their knees. Among the soldiers, you can hear mutterings identifying this woman as "the Aion."
"Come," she says to the coterie of robed Achamites, who will approach the circle with an assortment of vials collected into cases. There is enough for each prisoner to be given a drink, and so they will; a vial of abyssal liquid will be forced into each one of your throats, no matter how uncomfortably it must be done. While no less ruthless, the Achamites have a different way about them as they work, forcing themselves upon you with a strange familiarity that feels more akin to a mother forcing their child to take medicine than the suspicious hostility of the soldiers. As the foul liquid touches your tongue, it takes on a consistency almost like a living thing, crawling down your throat even if you refuse to swallow, all while the Achamites stroke your hair and make saccharine assurances.
Once all the prisoners have been fed their vial, the Achamamites too will retreat from the circle - all except for one. Joining 'the Aion' at the center, the two of them will begin enacting a planned ceremony of sorts, that culminates in the following scene:
The Achamite kneels before the Aion, lifting their masked face to meet their dark gaze. They speak, in practiced tones.
"To the Kenoma my body, to the Kenoma my soul."
In response, the Aion holds the Achamite's face between their hands in almost a loving gesture. She speaks softly:
"By the blood of the Martyr, I accept your sacrifice."
From the Aion's hands a darkness spreads across the Achamite's body, as if they are melting and dissolving on a cellular level. She kneels along with them, cradling them as their body breaks down, pooling in a void-black liquid around their knees. It drains into the lines of the ritual circle, surging out towards the prisoners.
Within moments, the ritual is complete.
With this accomplished, they can finally be taken into the circle. With a design comprised of four triangles overlapping, the design of an open eye carved at its center, all prisoners will be led to separates points on its design where the lines cross. Seemingly arranged by their shrine sigil to be closest to whatever throne represents them, they will be brought to their designated positions one by one. Any attempts to flee or disrupt the process will be dealt with swiftly and harshly, exacerbated by the increasing levels of paranoia and fear in the soldiers themselves. Whatever is being done here, they don't seem happy to involved with it either.
When everyone is in place, the seeming master of ceremonies will finally emerge. A dark haired woman will appear from the shadows, motes of golden light fluttering about her otherwise darkness-clad visage. Moving towards the center of the circle, she will stand over the marking of the eye and begin working her magicks. As if on cue, the soldiers will withdraw any remaining whips and scurry to the outside of the circle, only for new bonds of ethereal energy to lash out of the ritual circle itself, binding each and every prisoner and dragging them down to their knees. Among the soldiers, you can hear mutterings identifying this woman as "the Aion."
"Come," she says to the coterie of robed Achamites, who will approach the circle with an assortment of vials collected into cases. There is enough for each prisoner to be given a drink, and so they will; a vial of abyssal liquid will be forced into each one of your throats, no matter how uncomfortably it must be done. While no less ruthless, the Achamites have a different way about them as they work, forcing themselves upon you with a strange familiarity that feels more akin to a mother forcing their child to take medicine than the suspicious hostility of the soldiers. As the foul liquid touches your tongue, it takes on a consistency almost like a living thing, crawling down your throat even if you refuse to swallow, all while the Achamites stroke your hair and make saccharine assurances.
Once all the prisoners have been fed their vial, the Achamamites too will retreat from the circle - all except for one. Joining 'the Aion' at the center, the two of them will begin enacting a planned ceremony of sorts, that culminates in the following scene:
The Achamite kneels before the Aion, lifting their masked face to meet their dark gaze. They speak, in practiced tones.
"To the Kenoma my body, to the Kenoma my soul."
In response, the Aion holds the Achamite's face between their hands in almost a loving gesture. She speaks softly:
"By the blood of the Martyr, I accept your sacrifice."
From the Aion's hands a darkness spreads across the Achamite's body, as if they are melting and dissolving on a cellular level. She kneels along with them, cradling them as their body breaks down, pooling in a void-black liquid around their knees. It drains into the lines of the ritual circle, surging out towards the prisoners.
Within moments, the ritual is complete.
KENOMA SICKNESS
As this dark power surges throughout the ritual circle, you will find yourself almost consumed by the tide. Whatever foul creation you were forced to swallow wakes within your chest, and you can feel it move within your veins, inside you lungs, behind your eyes. As quickly as it begins, the flood of darkness washes over you, but not without leaving you stained. Something has changed in its wake. As you return to your senses, you will notice the magical bonds of the circle have fallen away, leaving you free to move; for once, the soldiers will not move to lead or restrain you. Instead, the Hylicians warily back away from the ritual space, retreating towards the only path upwards, where they form a defensive line. The Achamites that linger make a series of ritual gestures, praying in voices too soft to hear. The Aion woman stands in the center, her hands blackened with residue from the person you just watched fall to pieces in her arms.
"You will be given time to find your truth," she says. "Use it well."
As you recover from the experience enough to stand, she and her Achamite entourage are already retreating to join the Hylician guard. Gradually, your situation will become clear: they intend to keep your trapped down here. However, it will not be the same as when you waited before. Instead, the soldiers simply intend to block your only exit out, and otherwise leave you free to roam the full diameter of the throne room, seemingly free to do whatever you want as long as it isn't trying to break free of the cavern's confines. Each day, they will offer to their prisoners a limit supply of food, water, and firewood, but nothing more. Beyond that, you only have your increasingly dirty white robes and the same bedrolls as before.
❖ COMMUNION
The first change you will experience is an itching darkness in your mind, like a psychic wound that is becoming infected. The sort of thoughts you would normally try to force down become increasingly hard to resist; despair, hatred, and fear will plague you, and requiring great feats of will to silence even temporarily. Phantoms of the things you'd rather forget will become a constant companion, all while a presence seems to whisper: when you accept your fate, the pain will stop.
Worse than this, the darkness of your mind may not remain private. As if awakened by the ritual, your empathetic sense has become impossibly strong, to the point that you feel the broadcasted emotions and thoughts of others, and in turn, your darkest thoughts will be psychically projected to others with a volume proportional to the intensity with which you feel them. This effect is most potent between those sharing Legacy, with the capacity for their identities to become momentarily confused. In all cases, this connection may bleed into your dreams, or manifest as hallucinations.
❖ TRANSFORMATION
Yet, your mind is not the only thing that ails. In proportion to the strength of your emotions, your body may begin changing to match your state of mind. Physical transformations akin to those mentioned here will begin to manifest, themed to your inner suffering and the most negative aspects of your self conception. These alterations may shift from moment to moment, depending on the turbulence of your emotional state. They may or may not be painful.
❖ AFFLICTION
Along with the above effects, characters may also experience various more mundane ailments; essentially anything traditionally associated with illness could fit. Weakness, nausea, body aches, and chills are all common options. Along with this, void-black ooze may start to trickle from virtually any orifice. While it may stain clothing and skin, the material itself will dissipate after a few minutes in a manner reminiscent of ectoplasm. This effect may also appear around your Shard, as if the stone itself has begun to bleed.
RESISTANCE
Even as the Kenoma threatens to overwhelm you, you still have the power to fight. Though it may be a grueling war of attrition, you can force back its advances with sufficient will to survive and resist the darkness. Of course, your captors are not going to make this easy for you. Those that fight hard enough to expel the Kenoma from their bodies and spirits will take at least a week to do so, and for that duration they will be trapped within this chilly cavern, haunted by their worst thoughts and emotions.
The bedrolls barely strand up against the cold, your clothing doesn't at all, and to be comfortable you'll require fire. Yet, there is a limited amount provided to you, along with food and water, and the soldiers do not seem to be making any effort to distribute it evenly. Achieving basic warmth and sustenance may become a battle against your fellow inmates, all while you struggle against the enemy infecting your body. Cracks in the dome of the cavern lead into some smaller caverns and crevasses in the stone that can offer some privacy or protection, but the more splintered the group becomes the less the supplies will hold up. Fortunately for you, neither the cold nor starvation will kill you, but it will make you suffer.
Yet, you may still persevere. As you fight back the Kenoma, something else will be cultivated in its place. Bit by bit, a comforting and warm presence will grow within you, gradually disrupting the maladies afflicting your body and mind. Your faith and perseverance has been rewarded with an attunement to the Pleroma, the Kenoma's cosmological opposite; given enough time, the Kenoma will be forced from your being entirely, in the form of void-black sludge. Only then will your power begin to shine through, the abilities of your past life slowly returning.
You must keep your guard. With or without otherworldly power, escape will be a struggle.
The bedrolls barely strand up against the cold, your clothing doesn't at all, and to be comfortable you'll require fire. Yet, there is a limited amount provided to you, along with food and water, and the soldiers do not seem to be making any effort to distribute it evenly. Achieving basic warmth and sustenance may become a battle against your fellow inmates, all while you struggle against the enemy infecting your body. Cracks in the dome of the cavern lead into some smaller caverns and crevasses in the stone that can offer some privacy or protection, but the more splintered the group becomes the less the supplies will hold up. Fortunately for you, neither the cold nor starvation will kill you, but it will make you suffer.
Yet, you may still persevere. As you fight back the Kenoma, something else will be cultivated in its place. Bit by bit, a comforting and warm presence will grow within you, gradually disrupting the maladies afflicting your body and mind. Your faith and perseverance has been rewarded with an attunement to the Pleroma, the Kenoma's cosmological opposite; given enough time, the Kenoma will be forced from your being entirely, in the form of void-black sludge. Only then will your power begin to shine through, the abilities of your past life slowly returning.
You must keep your guard. With or without otherworldly power, escape will be a struggle.
ACCEPTANCE
Or, you may choose the easy option. Maybe the Kenoma resonates with your history and emotions in a way that makes it seem like it isn't the enemy. Maybe the depths of your despair are too deep to escape. Maybe your simply lack the strength to fight. Whatever the reason, sooner or later, the Kenoma claims you. The more you let it in, the less it feels like a poison and the more it feels like strength. The darkness settles comfortably into the cracks and holes of your spirit, and you awaken to its power. You feel the change viscerally. This world is not good enough, a voice seems to speak through the Kenoma. This suffering you feel, the cruelty that has birthed this darkness in you... it is simply the rot that is consuming this existence. A better universe awaits, one forged by your own hand, and all you need do is first bring about this broken reality's end.
Whatever effects you were suffering from the Kenoma's presence will fade away, and in its place, you will feel your endurance bolstered. The clarity is stark in comparison to the mire you were trapped in before. As the other prisoners suffer around you, the Aion woman from before and an accompaniment of a couple Hylician soldiers will approach you among the ruins, as if summoned straight to your location. She looks you over, her dark eyes impassive, and then asks:
"Did you feel it?"
She doesn't actually wait for an answer, your expression alone enough to assure her. She'll tell the soldiers that you are free to go, and that you are to be given a share of their food and a change of clothes. She'll escort you out of cavern and towards the upper ruins, where the soldiers and Achamites have set up camp. This feels natural to you, somehow, like you and her are on the same wavelength in a way that is hard to comprehend. She is like you, you sense. That dark power is within her as well.
She doesn't linger with you for long, but she will see that you are on your way before heading back to the caverns. She'll say that the voice you heard, that promise, was the Regent, the ruler of this land. They spoke of a power that could birth a new, better universe, and they weren't misleading you. It's within their reach, closer than ever, and if you help them achieve it you will be rewarded lavishly. For now, you are free to regain your strength while the others make their choices. She only asks that you stay in the area and be ready to join the Regent in Achamoth when all is prepared.
If you're prone to boredom, though, she will mention that you'd really be doing the prisoners a favor by convincing them to accept the Kenoma like you did. You could convince them with words, or by making their situations so unbearable they won't have a choice but to break. However you'd like. It won't be worse than what's coming for them if they carry on this way.
When she parts ways with you, you are left to your own devices. Somehow, you feel inclined to cooperate. After all, the Regent did have a point.
QUESTIONS
Are the involuntary transformations during the Kenoma sickness period temporary afflictions or permanent ones?
By default they are temporary, but characters can also keep a couple keepsake changes if you'd like! An Aion's physical appearance is something that is generally in flux, and so even if you keep something from this event, you can always alter it later.
What kind of supplies are going to be distributed to those who accept Kenoma and leave the caverns?
They'll be given food, water, and clothing. They'll be given more/better rations than they were as prisoners, but it's still the sort of food that is limited by the fact that they are out here on a mission. The soldiers will have some fresh meat from prey they've been hunting in the forest, and will generally be having a lot of stew-based food going. There are actual spices in it, though, so that's cool. This is all set up where the Hylicians are camping.
As for clothes, they will get a fresh set (including boots or shoes) and some soap to clean themselves up in the nearby creeks and ponds. Hylici has an aesthetic that leans towards ancient Greek/Roman, so while they won't have anything fancy with them, you are free to assume they are able to acquire anything in that general ballpark. They do also have pants, though. While it is now spring and Horos has a generally temperate climate, it can be chilly at night.
Will Pleroma attuned be able to escape once they've regained their powers?
Yes, they will be allowed to escape at that point, and a second log will be going up to cover that part of the event. This log should generally cover up until shortly after Pleroma start ejecting the Kenoma's influence. Characters are permitted to escape by their own power if they somehow devise a plan to do so, but as we know the Pleromas are at a significant disadvantage in this situation, some characters who have fought against the Kenoma particularly valiantly will be given some magical assistance to help the survivors escape.
Will the Kenomas be able to try to stop them?
Yes! The second log will be set up to contain some PVP, though given the Pleromas do need to escape, we ask that you play nice. There will be a battle, but it will be structured in the context of the Pleromas having to hold off the Kenomas long enough to escape, so it will be relatively brief.
Can we speak to "the Aion"?
Yes, she will be around for the full length of the event. All characters will have the chance to find her watching over the group whether they are Kenomas or soon to be Pleromas. She will not be that talkative, though, so anyone tagging her will have to lead the conversation. She will not make small talk. Martyrs will recognize her as one of them.
By default they are temporary, but characters can also keep a couple keepsake changes if you'd like! An Aion's physical appearance is something that is generally in flux, and so even if you keep something from this event, you can always alter it later.
What kind of supplies are going to be distributed to those who accept Kenoma and leave the caverns?
They'll be given food, water, and clothing. They'll be given more/better rations than they were as prisoners, but it's still the sort of food that is limited by the fact that they are out here on a mission. The soldiers will have some fresh meat from prey they've been hunting in the forest, and will generally be having a lot of stew-based food going. There are actual spices in it, though, so that's cool. This is all set up where the Hylicians are camping.
As for clothes, they will get a fresh set (including boots or shoes) and some soap to clean themselves up in the nearby creeks and ponds. Hylici has an aesthetic that leans towards ancient Greek/Roman, so while they won't have anything fancy with them, you are free to assume they are able to acquire anything in that general ballpark. They do also have pants, though. While it is now spring and Horos has a generally temperate climate, it can be chilly at night.
Will Pleroma attuned be able to escape once they've regained their powers?
Yes, they will be allowed to escape at that point, and a second log will be going up to cover that part of the event. This log should generally cover up until shortly after Pleroma start ejecting the Kenoma's influence. Characters are permitted to escape by their own power if they somehow devise a plan to do so, but as we know the Pleromas are at a significant disadvantage in this situation, some characters who have fought against the Kenoma particularly valiantly will be given some magical assistance to help the survivors escape.
Will the Kenomas be able to try to stop them?
Yes! The second log will be set up to contain some PVP, though given the Pleromas do need to escape, we ask that you play nice. There will be a battle, but it will be structured in the context of the Pleromas having to hold off the Kenomas long enough to escape, so it will be relatively brief.
Can we speak to "the Aion"?
Yes, she will be around for the full length of the event. All characters will have the chance to find her watching over the group whether they are Kenomas or soon to be Pleromas. She will not be that talkative, though, so anyone tagging her will have to lead the conversation. She will not make small talk. Martyrs will recognize her as one of them.
no subject
...
there is a long, pregnant silence-- before Abel heaves a sigh of his own, fidgeting with the cloak's fabric between his hands. ]
To be completely honest with you, I-- I'm not really sure, actually.
[ though it is said with a measure of coyness, it wouldn't be a stretch to get the impression that Abel isn't particularly embarrassed as much as he is mildly uncertain about this. something in him is definitely insisting he not let her go, isn't it...? he can't deny it, but... even he isn't sure what to do with someone who couldn't want any less to do with him if she tried. ]
...Maybe it's a gut feeling? Does that sound silly?
no subject
You've been silly long before you woke up, so no, not particularly. [Maybe even earlier tbh, she's starting to not just suspect but be quite sure of, for some reason,] Are you sure you're not just still sleepy?
no subject
why does it feel like a barb somehow coming from her...... hm, ]
Sleepy? [ sleepy, she says? SLEEPY. ] Ah-- well, maybe? But-- I mean... being sleepy isn't why I'm-- [ 'harassing you' is that what he is really going to say-- ] --S-simply trying to... that is-- what's really ha... happening here, is...
[ ............ ]
This conversation, is... extremely taxing, somehow. Did you know that? A-are you working some kind of weird witchcraft on me--? I feel like my brain is melting from my ears, Miss... ah-- is it melting? Do you see it?!
[ he is sticking a fingy...... in his ear, now, ]
no subject
The only thing leaking out of you was drool, and if there's other things too, is that really the sort of thing you want to talk about to a woman you just met? Do you know what they normally call this?
[It's two words and ends with HARASSMENT, she continues flatly and may as well be speaking like an android,]
no subject
instead he feels like he is approximately .5 seconds away from GRIEVOUS MORTAL PERIL at any given moment. that is sooo strange? really weird that he would be getting that sort of impression right about now considering how unsubstantiated it is, honestly,
...in fact, he has gone painfully still all the sudden for no reason at all with his finger... still lodged..... in his ear, ]
A... ha?
[ ha. sh-she's
joking, right? that was a joke? haha. a funny haha joke. a joke. she's got an excellent poker face, doesn't she? but she's totally joking, hahaha, wow, this kidder, ]
...Can we-- start over? Is it too late to-- I was drooling...? --Is it too late to start over?
no subject
...Guess that explains why he had a towel in his facehole when he came to. One mystery solved!!]
...
no subject
[ he's palming his face, now, scrubbing at it with a quietly muffled groan..... into her cloak that he still has in his grubby paws, ]
I get it, alright...? I-- I get it. I've made the worst possible impression, okay?! You don't need to rub it in, you th... think I'm some kind of reprobate, right?! Pond scum would be an improvement on me, is that it...?! Alright, already!! I surrender...! P-please have mercy on me, miss...
no subject
Closes her eyes,]
Have you done anything to prove you're not some overly talkative degenerate?
[These are clearly Godless lands they stand upon, nothing could have mercy on such a pitiful and miserable existence...]
no subject
[ aghast, Abel pulls the cloak abruptly down and away from his face, flustering in indignation and incredulity, but--
h-hey. ah, suddenly he's realizing getting so Animated and Haughty isn't the smartest thing he's ever done in his life, and before he can finish whatever doubtlessly moronic deluge of nonsense that was about to make its way out of him... he's giving a little uneven sort of sway, a bit lightheaded. it's been a little too long since anyone down here has been well, so... suppose he really should've been a little more self-aware, huh?
uh......
...are there two of her? w-wow, does Miss Elesia have a sister? equally cute, and equally grumpy sister? um, ]
no subject
[She trails off watching him, doing them both the immense favor of ignoring whatever vapid nonsense he was about to give voice to next in order to focus on... Well.
It's not quite enough to get her to retrace her steps, but she is absolutely watching with a sharper eye and (unfortunately) growing concern. Is this lanky beanpole really, after the show and a half he's been putting out--?]
no subject
[ oh, geez. he's making a concentrated effort to shake it off, because that is clearly what one does when not feeling well?? in the words of one Taylor Swift, you just, like, shake it off bro, ]
Um, s-sorry, I think I-- [ ... ] ah, did you-- what were you saying again? W-wait, maybe I-- don't want to know, on second thought.
[ ??? this situation just keeps getting more ??? doesn't it. is he inviting her to reinvigorate the Insult Machine???? smh, ]
no subject
[The towel (ft. his facegrime) is put aside as she crosses her arms over her chest once more, and it may be observable to a discerning eye that she seems somewhat torn despite still just standing there looking aloof. Good thing he's probably too out of it to notice, maybe?! The number of screws loose this guy has......]
no subject
[ well he isn't... wrong...?? is he? she probably has like, at least five billion better things to do than deal with this, tbh... ]
no subject
[Totally not because she cares or anything, she's just setting the record straight okay, that's ALL this is,]
no subject
...well, Abel seems to get the message-- because he's taking a little step backward toward his spot against the cavern wall he'd been calling 'home,' for now. not exactly a, um, comfortable nor welcoming abode if there ever was one, but you know what? one makes due down here, and it's his. ]
N-no, no, of course not! ...Though I'm, admittedly, a little morbidly curious at the image of you dragging my sorry butt anywhere to be honest with you, ah...
[ how much do you want to bet he back-steps right into that cup of water, spills it, wipes out, whacks his head on the wall and somehow manages to take her down with him despite a few feet between them
it is entirely possible, ]
I'm really alright, though-- so please don't worry, okay? I don't want to take up any more of your time and I really do feel pretty awful about... earlier, so...
[ the name fiasco, mostly...... he is not particularly apologetic about the drool, ]
no subject
[Still looking Quite Stern, she'll be the one to catch up to him this time, making her way over with no hesitation in her stride. The distance between them is easily bridged the same way it was made, and she's expectantly glancing at him to follow along like a GOOD BOY for a change once she's actually surpassed him, taking the lead in guiding him back to where they came from in his sorry and desolate little corner of the Despair Cave.]
You need to sit down and stay hydrated. I didn't come down here to make your situation worse.
[She's not even trying to foolproof anything, but if she takes the lead, then she can make sure he doesn't trip over the spot where she left that cup of water. Things sometimes work out not terribly, just a coincidence, okay,]
no subject
his blue-haired friend here is brushing past him with an expectant look that he would recognize anywhere; he's seen it levied his way far too many times to count. suppose he's just adding one more to the pile... it incites a little tug that thankfully doesn't require any conscious decision-making to occur, because part of his brain is still making dial-up noises. sh-she's...
...why, is she--
Abel finds himself shuffling back toward his Home Away From Home, made his by the sad, rumpled bedroll that smells like stale sweat and loneliness, not necessarily in that order-- but instead of obediently coming to Sit, he is...... standing there, hovering as he looks at her as if he's genuinely Lost. bewildered. and, perhaps, vaguely flustered, ]
Y-you...
[ .....
thotsthoughts are happening. slowly. will they make it properly out of his mouth...?? who knows, but one can certainly hope....?? ]no subject
stands there,
And decides to give her a ??? look instead. Hello, what IS wrong with this beanpole who's acting for all intents and purposes like a lost child? It has her pull a hand up at her hip, giving him a vaguely admonishing look one is more likely to find on a kindergarten teacher on the verge of scolding a little one who SHOULD be partaking in naptime, but isn't.]
Sit down before you keel over.
[She doesn't need to hear whatever drivel he's got lined up next tbh, just SIT BOY, ok??]
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and culminate in the world's most Petulant and Unwell Child's retort of a mature and under-his-breath mumbled: ]
Am not gonna keel over.
[ wow MOM he is a BIG BOY and he can STAND on his BIG BOY FEET like an ADULT, okay, he doesn't need you to BABY him--
--except all parties here already know the kindergarten teacher has the right of it, considering he is leaning a hand against the cavern wall and a little wobbly in his descent to plop his butt where he's been directed. wow, who knew...?? apparently he does know SIT, BOY after all!!! ]
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grandpaboomer baby let's get you to bed,Her chest heaves slightly at his "retort", and for better or worse, manages to quell the faint temptation of rolling her eyes. (She knows better than to argue with a clearly unwell person over their own sorry state.) Once he's seated, she follows along to get on her knees at his side (even though with how tall this silly overgrown child is, she probably doesn't even need to to stay closer at his eye level, hm). ...Huh, seems like they're back in place exactly like how they were before, when she first stumbled upon his sorry drooling butt to begin with! What an amazing coincidence,]
...Here.
[Gingerly held in both hands, she's picked up the wooden bowl of water she came down here with, and is offering it to him now while watching him with an expression that somehow seems to reject any potential for refusal. He's way too talkative for his own good AND is feeling lightheaded. A bit of water is the least he ought to get down, okay...?]
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Esther, would... ah. he wonders... he wonders if she's alright. if any of them are alright. their worlds, they can't really be...
...Abel seems to have spaced out for a second, a quiet pang of something melancholy and yearning evaporating as he looks up to find that his visions of a red-haired woman have dissolved into a blue-haired one, instead. but there is something comforting in the way not!Elesia holds that wooden bowl as if she won't take no for an answer. despite everything-- despite all their misunderstandings, despite the uncomfortable connection that had seen them share far too much and too little all at once--
she's... ]
...Don't you ever smile?
[ the fingers of one hand stretch, but... not to accept the bowl. --not in any refusal to take it; he actually deeply appreciates the gesture, it's just...
w-well, his grubby paw is certainly looking like it's aiming to poke at her cheek near the corner of her mouth, isn't it? yes... ]
It's okay. I won't tell anyone if you do, alright? --Our little secret.
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He's weak, miserable, smells more than a little of stale sweat, and his head is elsewhere: he's worried about somewhere else, someone else.
She really doesn't enjoy being right, as the next thing out of his stupid mouth just goes further in proving that.
...
Her eyes narrow, almost as if daring him to do what his hand is threatening to.]
You haven't given me any reason to.
[It's more rhetorical than factual, may sound just slightly more exasperate than she intended, but it's the truth. That 'uncomfortable connection', followed by a misunderstanding she's made clear will be unforgivable on a third offense, to not even get into how they clearly chose differently... Only an idiot would smile under these circumstances, honestly.
Figures it's why he's been smiling, doesn't it?]
It's just water, drink up. I'd prefer to not make you if it can be helped, but.
[The "threat" hangs without being spelled out. Is he that eager to have a liquid forced down his throat again, for the second time in recent days? Sounds like she'd certainly make good on her word, from the serious frown on her face that's only worsened thanks to his quip.]
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--First of all, [ ok nvm she's still getting the tirade, it seems. funny though, isn't it-- his hand is hovering just short of poking her as if he Senses Danger, ] --that is not very nice of you to say~! I-I think smiling in the presence of a new friend is absolutely the norm, s... so, don't go telling me that you have no occasion to smile, miss!! Can't you see I'm in a very fragile state to say nothing of my naturally weak constitution?!
[ his voice is borderlining on a whiny screech, and he's slowly... s l o w l y leaning further in as he emphatically continues, ]
To say NOTHING of how outrageous it is for you to suggest you'd-- you would... make me do anything!! Please~!! You would not, a-and... and that would be the icing on top of the rude cake if you did, you know that?! Are you in the habit of serving rude cake, miss?!
[ she should've just left the towel in his piehole, honestly. seems he hasn't learned his lesson about the whole Getting Excited thing, either, but whatever okay that's neither here nor there-- ]
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it's back on his facehole while she just Glances Aside with a quiet exhale, like someone vaguely dismayed at finding out that it's raining outside when they have somewhere to be. The bowl is still hovering in front of him, she's just had to take back a hand in order to pick back up the towel and make him SHOVE IT,
...Though there wasn't any significant force behind the action, definitely not done with any intention to hurt.]
...
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[ oh my god he's been silenced....... or, well, he's still making sound but. it's muffled behind the unceremonious addition of a gag to his mouth,
...
now. now, if one were to use his meager and pitiable intelligence... he could surely just reach up and pull the damned thing out and resume his endless spewing of idiocy. it's a pretty simple thing to do, right? just remove it...? but whether that hasn't occurred to him (...) or she has, yet again, managed to dumbfound him in some inexplicable way, he is just--
frozen? utterly frozen, staring at her like someone had pressed the "PAUSE" button..........
before there is a very soft, muffled noise, one that maybe could've been a word and yet, sadly, will never be. ]
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