psychoshenanigans | GRATIA // PSL

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GRATIA // PSL

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?

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Ah, you got me.

[but he doesn't seem bothered. he sits up and starts peeling his jacket away, shrugging out of of his sleeves. doing so does not reveal much of anything, because he's wearing a separate set of sleeves underneath his jacket. they tie across his chest and back, over some third piece that forms the majority of his shirt.

he drops his jacket nicely near his feet before settling back again.]

You can always ask me more questions about it, if you really want to know.

[sounding playful about it, he's ready with his question.]

Okay, what is your line of work?

[ah, right. the question that prompted him to remember this game in the first place. the moment when he switches from contemplating his next turn--deciding whether he's going to go after further information about his first question or ask one of the many others he has lined up in his head--to dwelling on the question asked to him is quite clear. whether he's going to tell the truth or lie with his answer, the frown is honest.]

Ah... my family takes their business very seriously, and my siblings and I were all drafted into it by the misfortune of our birth.

[he sighs. the whole thing is such a tragedy.]

Notary scribe, I'm sorry to say. Terribly boring business.

Oh dear...

[he finds this story amusing, whether or not it is true. it's Tonic's turn to glance out the door, thinking of what little he knows about Tek--but not actually taking that long to decide.]

I think you're lying.

[said with a cheery half-smile. notary scribes don't long for the Underground world, let alone the world of Skeleton City.]

[of course he doesn't act like one, when he has been forced into it the way he has. Tek looks offended by that accusation.]

How dare you... questioning that I would go along with my family's noble business, however much I loathe it...

[but he's sitting forward so that he can unbutton and shrug out of his own jacket as he carries on, tossing it beside Tonic's when he's done.]

[that gets Tonic to laugh again. it's a charming subversion of expectation, on top of a little thrill that his instincts turned out right.]

Noble indeed...

[now freed from his jacket, he settles back against the pillows once more, and throws his next question out casually, as soon as he gets comfortable.]

Aside from his stunning personality, why do you hate Robin?

Oh... Hm...

[this may end up being the state of things, back and forth, as the two of them are asked and have to answer questions: Tonic's smile slips from his face as he has to think his way around something unpleasant, trying to decide if it would be safer to tell the truth, or to make up a lie.

he looks right at Tek when he states his final answer.]

He ruined a very important opportunity for me.

[and then there is maybe the most honest look from Tek yet, as he drinks in that eye contact and makes his judgments--looking from one of Tonic's mismatched eyeballs to the the other.

he could see the truth going either way, given what he knows of Tonic and Robin both. it sounds true enough, and it sounds as though his opponent is giving a small concession in exchange for keeping the majority of the secret to himself. and, if that's the case, then Tek has already learned as much as he can from the answer.

the only way he has a chance to glean anything more is if...]

Lying.

[even if he's guessing wrong, there still might be more to see, and he's watching for it.]

[this really is a good game. right or wrong, they're always getting something out of the interaction. in this case, Tonic smiles... and slowly leans to start unlacing one of his heavy boots, the one on his good side.]

Caught me... That was a lucky guess.

[though he is immensely pleased with himself, his little chuckle is all for show. it's to help make the gesture of reaching over and patting his friend's arm seem natural. he's being both conciliatory and good-naturedly patronizing at the same time--as well as curiously reaching for a taste of just how much the alcohol has actually made an impact on his system.]

Don't worry, I'm sure I won't be gloating for long.

[Tonic glances over in the middle of unzipping his shoe just to see what Tek is doing at his arm, but once he confirms that it’s nothing but a cruel-spirited pat (or so he thinks), he huffs and goes back to taking his boot off.

Tek has been around long enough to have a pretty good idea of how much Tonic should feel poisoned, and what he gets doesn’t really fit. it’s not just that Tonic is far more sober than he should be, given the amount he quickly ingested... it’s that the aforementioned poison doesn’t seem to be there much at all. it can’t be that Tonic somehow didn’t drink it; Tek watched him do it, unless the man is secretly a wizard with sleight of hand. but his body can’t have processed it in this short a time, either, because there are almost no signs that Tonic is suffering from the normal hangover that would come from something like that. it almost seems like the alcohol is just... disappearing from his insides, and it isn’t magic.]

Okay. [he puts his boot aside, revealing a black stocking.] My question. What did you do to your eyes?

[Tek is settled back again by the time that Tonic finishes removing his boot, arms folded behind his head, quietly mulling over the information he'd just gleaned directly from the other man's system. he hardly bats an eye when the question is sent his way, almost as if he doesn't realize that it's meant to be part of the game.]

Nothing.

[Tonic was just settling back himself, and he fixes Tek with an odd stare.]

Nothing?

[...whether it was the answer or the quickness with which it was given, that was not what Tonic was expecting to hear out of this round.]

Nothing.

[though, he may be beginning to look a little self-satisfied now.]

Huh.

[Tonic wants to claim that Tek is lying, because he doesn't really know what to think otherwise... but he's also still invested in not losing, so...]

Truth.

[even though Tonic has guessed correctly, Tek still has that little smile on his face, so it may be because he simply likes his own eyes.

at first, he acknowledges Tonic's win by sitting up to begin unbuckling one of his own boots without comment. but, after a moment, he feels he should maybe offer a freebie and give some explanation. nothing in the rules against that, right?]

It's a family trait. Though, I've learned it's easier to just let others assume that it's some kind of fancy cosmetic procedure.

Huh. [Tonic repeats the sound from earlier, stretching out the foot that no longer has a boot in it.] That's interesting...

[his eyes are fixed on Tek's hands, though. watching the other man's fingers work at the buckles as if there was something to be gleaned out of it.]

I suppose it's possible.

[whether or not he necessarily believes it is up in the air, but he gives another half-smile of his own.]

Another question, then. My other foot is getting hot.

[Tek mirrors the expression as he frees himself from his first boot and adds it to the pile. and maybe he really is feeling like he needs to offer some sort of appeasement, because he also goes a little easy with his own question.]

How about you tell me something about yourself instead.

[Tonic can have all the control here.]

Something about myself, hm...?

[that's almost worse than being asked a question. there are a lot of things he could talk about. a lot of tidbits that don't really amount to anything, truth or lies. Tek definitely threw him an easy one. the next one will probably be harder.

he reclines against the pillows in quiet contemplation... until he starts leaning over in Tek's direction, his smile becoming a little mischievous. or, half-so.]

"Tonic" is my actual given name.

[oh no. well, Tek gets his wish. the mood is definitely shifting.

he'd been eyeing Tonic a little warily as he got closer, but the expression changes to one of vague dismay when Tek is finally presented with the puzzle. of all the things that he had been wondering and going back and forth in his head about...]

...You're lying.

[but he absolutely does not sound sure about his decision at all.]

[Tonic draws back, trying valiantly to keep his expression straight... but he can't for long, that composed smile breaking back into a laugh.]

You're right, darling. It's a nickname.

[you caught him again, and he obediently starts unlacing his second boot. once fully unzipped, he has to squirm around a little to get his leg in a position where he can take the boot off.

the foot underneath is in a black stocking just like the other one, but something about the foot is... well, it isn't quite the same shape as his other, normal foot, and it flexes at the ankle and uniformly at the toes, but otherwise doesn't seem to be very mobile as he stretches it out to match his other leg.

Tonic uses this as an excuse to put both arms back on the perimeter pillows, making a small show out of lounging there. he'll even cross one leg over the other, knowing full well that Tek's attention is going to be sticking in that direction.]

All right, I want you to tell me something about yourself now.

[Tek absolutely does not try to hide his sigh of relief when he wins. he also doesn't hide the fact that he is observing Tonic's weird leg when it's (partially) revealed. he won the right to do so, fair and square.

and then it's his turn to think again, and he returns his arms to the folded place behind his head as they'd been before. just two creeps lounging together while they scheme on the best ways to pleasantly pick each other apart.

when Tek finally comes up with an idea, he looks over with a grin. he's got a good one.]

Ah! I'm one in a set of triplets.

...Huh.

[another perplexing statement. Tonic gives Tek a good, long stare with this one, trying to find any hint in his face or his posture or his attitude that might betray whether or not this could possibly be true.

triplets are extremely rare in a world where infant mortality is all too common... but if they're going to be anywhere, they're going to be with some weird rich family up in the Capitol. and that would be such a spectacle, such a family affair... might be enough to bring one of those siblings down here, where mommy and daddy can't track them down.]

...True. [but he doesn't sound fully confident of his guess, either.]

No, that one is a lie.

[and he waits just long enough for that fact to sink in and to be able to observe the beginning of Tonic's reaction to it before he holds up four fingers.]

It was quadruplets, actually. It was an unbearably competitive childhood.

Damn... [at his apparent defeat, Tonic's fist instinct is to wince, even if he's still hanging on for the follow up he knows must be coming. however, he never could have guessed that the number would go up, not down.

so he stops dead in the middle of moving an arm to pick some article of clothing, staring in open surprise.]

You're kidding. That can't be true.

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