GRATIA // PSL

[skeletoncity]

The first thing he feels is the cold.

It permeates everything down here on the lower levels. What little warmth humans have made for themselves is greedily gobbled up by the stone walls that surround them on all sides. Despite the stirring of people in the streets, in their homes, and around corners, this place feels like a grave. A similar sense seems to loom over the heads of most who make their way through this deep, dark part of the world, hovering around them like a cloud of inevitability. No one has been outright sentenced to death, but they may as well be.

Upon waking, Tek will have found himself in a dark, wet alleyway. Attempts to orient himself reveal that he has been brought, somehow, to an impressively large network of tunnels that all lead, more or less, to three or four larger chambers. There is far more vibrant life above him somewhere, far, far above the layer of caves he's in now, and there is also a very deep, sluggish form of life somewhere far below his feet.

No one is coming to get him. No one follows him in his immediate vicinity--the few stragglers hanging around doorsteps and windows don't give him a second glance, or even a first one. The place is crowded, but not busy. Everyone keeps their heads down. The people are all dressed poorly, in rags and robes and bundles that suggest a certain level of consistent poverty all throughout the level. The buildings in these tunnels look man-made, either built from scrap or carved straight out of the rock of the cave, but the majority of the actual roads and cave walls seem to have been formed with very little help from human hands.

The place is lit with lanterns and dirty-looking florescents suspended high above in the cave ceiling. The air is thick and stuffy, the smell of mold and mud prevalent over even the smell of human stagnation. It would not be hard to drag someone off, and he gets the immediate feeling that if he did, it's unlikely that anyone would come looking for them.

What does he do?

Comments

[heresyandlace]

[when Tek's arms loop around Robin's shoulders in return, it's initially a sort of containing action--following that same urge to ground the unpredictable demigod. but once it's clear that Robin is hooked onto him pretty securely, he doesn't let them drop again.

part of it is not knowing what else to do with himself, really. he can't remember the last time that someone had latched onto him with so much affection. and the rest of it... well, he can't find much reason to remove himself from this when he's so starved for a sense of safety. there's nothing to look over his shoulder for, here.

and who is there to see him? he is so very far from any prying eyes that he could care about; even the gods themselves might be gone. he doesn't have to play by old rules, at least not right now. he'll make a plan and rebuild walls and traps later. for now, he can stay right where he is and not care.]

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[and while the months have not been kind to him, he remembers very well what a rarity it is for Tek to show any sort of affection in return. he soaks up the touch just a few seconds longer than he would normally dare, just to savor it--just to be sure that this Tek is real, and not some vision of a dream come to haunt him in his waking hours.

when he finally pulls away, he still reaches up to brush his fingers along the edges of Tek's face. his cheeks are a little wet, still, but with a reintroduction like this... he can make a quick recovery.]

Tek, it's been terrible. [he says this with a huge grin, of course, and then dives right into something else as he switches gears:] Are you all right? I started looking as soon as I felt you show up, but you vanished so fast... I didn't even realize it was you until I saw you...