Gratia (
skeletoncity) wrote in
psychoshenanigans2017-03-17 10:30 pm
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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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Yes. It is. I bet you were adorable.
[and then, before either of them can dwell on just how cute he imagines a young Tonic to be, Tek gasps as another thought occurs to him.]
Oh, gods... flying would absolutely kill you, I think.
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Please. I would kill myself. I'd jump off the fucking ship.
[half his mouth turns down in a grimace, until the other half follows in a slightly lopsided attempt to match. just to show how awful that sounds.]
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I love flying. Especially on a good clear day, when you can really see everything--horizon to horizon.
[it really is a miracle that he hasn't been jabbed with pins yet.]
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Awful. Truly dreadful.
[he reels himself back in, continuing on much the way they had before--with a good-natured tone and a crooked smile. he is almost done with a sleeve hem, so he focuses on that.]
But you can have all the fun you want... I don't think they'd even let me upstairs these days, even if I suddenly lost my senses and decided to go...
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he'll let his friend carry the conversation in a presumably more comfortable direction.]
Oh, no? Not even with an escort?
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And who would be escorting me, you?
[his hem finished, he stiffly crouches down to start bringing around a hem at the bottom. his work on this outfit is almost completed, at least for today.]
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[which are two separate thoughts of his, though he puts them together as if they're related.
he doesn't entirely understand what all is up there, but it's something more than Down Here over and over again--and if there are social feathers to ruffle in the process, that only makes it more appealing. he thinks the idea makes sense, at any rate, if Tonic doesn't have other problems with it.]
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It sounded like you just want to see my suffering in-person...
[but the end of his sentence doesn't sound final. he hasn't said "no" yet. he's just waiting for a better offer while he pins his way around Tek's legs.]
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[he doesn't know if it counts as a "better" offer, because the suffering is still included, but they could at least do whatever they wanted with the rest of their time. what he gathers from Robin's descriptions makes the idea sound appealing, at least.]
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[he knows all about the many establishments that line the cave streets between here and the idyllic world above. the silence that follows that thought is very familiar; it's the intense quiet of a man piecing together everything he knows and weighing his options in order to make the best possible decision. it's a little like their guessing game all over again.
finally, a serious (if not casual) admission:] There are a couple of shops I'd kill to get into, up there. Things I can't easily get down here.
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and even if Tonic doesn't glance up once he finally responds, the smile is there for him in Tek's voice.]
Sounds like good material for a trade, to me.
[they can even treat it like a business transaction. it'll be fun!]
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It does, doesn't it?
[he'd trade a lot for a chance to haggle with a few of the vendors upstairs. that's all he needs to make it worth his time, and then-some. it's quantifiable, it's fair. Tek can have his fun, and Tonic will be paid appropriately.
he stands up again, this time reaching for Tek's arm to help pull himself up onto his wooden leg.]
All right, babe. Let's get you out of this thing.
[if there are no objections, now begins the work of carefully removing a half-assembled mass of fabric away from Tek without accidentally sticking him with pins.]
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in his contentment, he takes another minute to marvel at the coat that has been built around him.]
...Do you always work this fast, or only when pieces of dead men are involved?
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No darling, I always try to keep things as quick as possible. Most of my return customers are the kinds of people who don't have two weeks to wait around for a custom-fitted dress...
[he shrugs his mismatched shoulders as he begins to put things away, sending scraps and yardage back to whatever corner of the tent he thinks they belong in.]
It's the only reason I can claim the prices I do, honestly. There's a lot of competition down here, with access to a lot more materials...
[and the aesthetic he's created here is already appealing to a fairly niche market as it is.]
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It's impressive to watch, in any case. I can only imagine what you would be capable of with more.
[--more time, more resources. he really does find it a shame that such a gem is shut up down in these tunnels. it picks at his meddling instincts. maybe, the next time he's bored, he'll play with figuring out which strings he can start pulling at around here. just for fun.]
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That's the hope, sweetheart... Assuming I don't somehow lose another limb before then.
[ah, a joke at his own expense. that'll do. he can turn back to Tek with half a sly smile, holding out several black shirts in his direction.]
Here, humor me and try these on while you're still half-dressed.
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[and of course he reaches out for the bundle anyway. though, he will at least inspect the first one before obediently putting it on, just to make sure it isn't too ridiculous.]
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it's a stupid joke. a stupid, stupid joke. he looks a little surprised by his own reaction, quickly covering up the lower and smiling half of his face to feign a serious expression.]
Oh, but I keep needing the spare parts...
[...with that said, he gets hit with another wave of giggles and decides to just see himself out, walking towards that mysterious back area of the tent and disappearing behind a tent flap.
he calls out that he'll be out again in just a moment, while something else clinks together in the background. Tek is inexplicably left to himself for a second, with the option of several flattering shirts to keep him company.]
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how stupid.
he's wearing something beautiful and black, admiring himself in the nearest mirror, whenever Tonic finally pulls himself together and returns.]
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this looks like the kind of thing that Robin drinks when he doesn't go out, but Tonic hasn't filled his cup to near the brim like Robin does. it is an appropriate amount for a mid-day, casual drink, assuming he drinks it slowly. it smells faintly of honey, even from across the room.]
Ah, see? I knew that would look good on you.
[he crosses the room, leaning back on the edge of a dresser to settle in and watch Tek move around in his clothes. he sets the drink down next to him, not addressing it, but instead keeping all his attention on his new model.]
Do you have any interest in dresses?
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...Yes and no.
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In that case, should I bother pulling out dresses for you to try on, or would it be better explored another time?
[he doesn't know whether Tek's answer was positive, negative, or completely neutral--but he'll just give him a nice, clear out in case he wants to avoid the situation for any reason.]
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I'll put it this way. I think they would look much better on you than they would on me.
[in his current incarnation, at least. ]
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All right, well. I do want to see you in that longer shirt, still.
[he gestures to one of the other shirts he handed over, something with long sleeves and a swooping neckline. not at all Tek's style, from what Tonic has seen of him, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't look cute in it anyway. this gives him an idea, which gets him to make a noise and set his drink down and glide over to another surface to start picking through some jewelry.]
And a necklace. That's what we'll do...
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though, with the fact that he's putting on a shirt that is specifically meant to show off a necklace, and it having been stated that one is about to head his way, one might expect that he would take off the one he's currently wearing. but, he doesn't.
once changed, he aligns the neckline attractively along his collarbones, leaves his necklace right where it is as if he forgets it's even there, and looks over to see what sorts of jewelry Tonic will be bringing him.]
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