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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[he chuckles at that.] Aw, but you've been faking it so well!

[he points, back towards where they came up out of the Underground to begin with.]

Someone told me that it's the left path out of the way up, only a couple of streets down from there. I'll probably recognize the front of the building if I see it. And if not, I... Ugh.

[Tonic shivers against his will as a cool breeze hits them; but he recovers quickly, almost fed up enough with his own intolerance to the outside to push past it on his own.] If not, I'll owe you a little something for the time.

[Tek has to cover his mouth to stifle a giggle when Tonic shivers, but he's listening. and the deal sounds more than adequate for him. instead of pivoting them around and walking back exactly the way they came, he steers them toward a cute little roundabout (that of course has flowers and greenery growing in the middle of it) so they'll back down a different, picturesque block.]

...Though, with a promise like that, I'm now almost hoping that it isn't where you remember...

Well... [now Tonic has to chuckle.] If we're being honest, I'm just going off of what I've been told. So "recognize" is... the wrong word, perhaps.

[oh, that roundabout! of course he eyes the greenery in the middle, steering them subtly closer before quickly leaning over and snatching a handful of flowers right out of the garden as easily as if he was grabbing something off the shelf in his own kitchen.

he stuffs them into his bag, looking straight-forward as he does.]

But you can't blame a guy for trying, babe.

[he tries to play off Tonic's casual thievery just as smoothly, but he's grinning brightly to himself. he almost chuckles. he finds the whole thing far too charming not to react at least a little.]

I'm sure you'll find something you like, in either case. [--whether it be in a tea shop full of herbs, or out of some poor civilian's front garden.]

That is the hope, isn't it?

[he knows it's foolish; those flowers will wilt before he even has a chance to do anything with them. but it makes him feel better about the whole thing, and he'd kick himself later if he didn't at least try...

luckily for Tonic, he does recognize the storefront that was shown to him, between descriptions and his own brand of magic. he points it out after a moment of staring, and confirms that it's the right place after getting a peek in their large windows.

he heads right in, pulling Tek along by the hand... and the shopkeeper is surprised to see them, as this looks like the kind of place that only old ladies and cruncy, earthier types would frequent. Tonic immediately begins eyeing the shelves behind the counter, though, staring at jars and boxes (all neatly arranged, uniform, organized) and paying no mind to whatever samples are brewing on the front windowsill or what special arrangements are on sale on a display window nearby.

there's a polite exchange between him and clerk, of course. Tonic isn't so rude as to ignore them completely. but once he finds what he's looking for, he hones in and goes for the kill.

he asks for large quantities of several herbs, one at a time, in between arguments as to why the prices are too high. he knows that one isn't nearly as expensive as what he's charging. another is just a weed. a third won't keep longer than a month, so he should be given a discount for taking it off his hands. the clerk tries, but it almost seems like overkill by the time the man caves and offers Tonic a large, all-around discount.

Tonic pays with the standard coin currency (who knows where he got them), and walks back out of the store very pleased with himself and carrying four satchels of dried plant matter in his arm.]

Too easy...! [he laughs, opening one of his bundles to take a fistful of dried leaves and shove them in his mouth with a happy, crunching hum of satisfaction.] What an idiot. He had no idea how much this is worth.

[for all of Tek's many, many years of haggling and debating, this is a lovely little work of art. by the time they leave the building, he is terribly impressed with his companion, and it shows all over his expression.]

Beautiful work; I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Maybe I should send you in to haggle our next meal...

[and that look of fondness only grows when Tonic starts happily chewing on a handful of dead leaves. after a moment, he nods toward the bundle in his arms, very much amused.]

...Any good?

Mm, I'd do it. I'm not afraid to throw a fit.

[still chewing, he reaches his hand in and offers another leaf or two to Tek, an easy half-smirk on his face.]

Good for an upset stomach. They'll make your lips go a little numb, though.

[he's quite touched that Tonic would offer him even a few leaves from his newly-acquired hoard. he accepts them graciously.]

You know, I thought I was the only one who sampled directly from tea tins like this--unless this is some sort of common habit among you cave dwellers that I've yet to discover.

[he leads them aimlessly toward the center of town again, despite not knowing where they're going next.]

I ended up owing one friend quite a bit of money once she noticed the evidence of my "sampling."

[and he is delighted to hear that someone else will eat these things straight out of a bag. he folds up his bag carefully after sampling, tucking them nicely under his worse arm. he can't cuddle up as closely to Tek that way, but it doesn't stop him from walking in his personal space anyway.]

Well, I'll admit it's not a very popular style...

[but you lose out on so much, not eating the leaves! and sometimes he doesn't have time to brew a whole pot of the stuff... so, here he is. he seems amused to hear that Tek's got a history of this kind of thing, though.]

As someone who just stole flowers out of a public garden, I can't judge you too harshly.

If "public" is in the name, I don't think it counts as stealing.

[no, it's definitely stealing. and he knows it.

and they'll get to the end of the block before he thinks to ask--]

Mm, any opinions on what we should do next? We have a world of options before us.

Ah, well...

[Tonic, foolishly, makes the mistake of looking up at the sky in thought... which makes him sway a little before he even realizes it. he bumps into Tek as he levels his gaze again, but with everything they've already been through, it's hardly a matter worth bringing up.]

--Sorry, darling. I did have one idea, but I don't think it's a particularly good one. It's another shop, but I don't even know what it looks like.

[Tek doesn't bother commenting on Tonic's unsteadiness, but he does helpfully tuck an arm around Tonic's lower back... and leave it there.

and he doesn't seem bothered by the impossibility of this idea in the least. this man, so known for loving chaos and danger... just shrugs comfortably, content to stroll along with his friend.

he hopes that Robin somehow knows how pleasant a time he's having right now.]

Do you have anything to go on? It would give us an excuse to explore, at the very least.

[oh, if Robin knew, he would be clawing his own face off in jealousy.

Tonic, meanwhile, clears his throat of leftover leaf debris before continuing.]

The last I heard, it's some kind of a carpenter's shop... But I'm more interested in the man who works there. He made my extra parts, you see.

[he gestures to his leg, in particular, with his free hand, getting a thoughtful look on his face.]

Never met him. I suppose I've mostly just wondered what he looks like.

[but it's in that musing that something shifts. there are a lot of bodies roaming around the streets, even in smaller side-streets like the one they've turned down. it's easy to miss people. especially people who look like they're just resting out on their front stoops.

an otherwise uninteresting young man, dressed in simple clothes, dark-haired, freckled, suddenly gets up to follow them, and heads for Tonic with a lot more hurry than coincidence would allow. it also doesn't help that they have a knife all but concealed in their left hand.

this kind of speed isn't normal, nor is the way the attacker makes practiced, precise aim right at the level of Tonic's throat.]

Edited 2019-06-01 05:03 (UTC)

[even if Tek had been both blind and deaf, the feel of a stray human presence sweeping up behind them would be enough to catch him. as it is, it's just barely in time--the dragon hadn't exactly been expecting danger to suddenly spring from the shadows on such a nice day.

his guard is down. but, thankfully, centuries of paranoia is hard to shake from his core.

in the middle of their pleasant conversation together, there is a moment where Tek abruptly disappears from it. the smile and the warm, human expression evaporates as something distracts him. it's a slight, but sudden and cold hesitation.

his gut knows that it's danger, and if it had been something threatening himself, it would have been a different reaction entirely. but in that moment, all that registers is that something is lunging forward to take his precious thing away from him, and he instantly snaps.

he hardly has time to catch the motion out of the corner of his eye--just enough to be able to aim when he suddenly lunges backward from Tonic's side with a murderous snarl. the arm that was striking for Tonic's throat gets pawed out of the air, and Tek catches the attacker's face with his other hand.

bodily tackling the man to the side hardly slows his momentum. in the next moment, the dragon is slamming the side of the attacker's head into the nearby corner pillar of someone's house without a moment to think.]

[the dragon's sudden change of demeanor hardly goes unnoticed, but Tonic doesn't exactly have time to make any conscious decisions about his reaction before the whole thing is very dramatically swept out from behind him; he finds himself turning a split-second too late, and freezing when he sees that Tek has smashed someone's face into the side of a building.

he's also got a knife out, ready in his good hand (who knows where it came from or how he made it appear so quickly), though it probably wouldn't have helped him a whole lot if Tek hadn't been there to stop whatever was happening anyway. he looks at the scene, eyes wide, holding his breath while he's expecting the attacker to move or struggle or even make some kind of a desperate, burbling sound... but when they don't, it occurs to Tonic just how hard he was smashed into that building.

and then he lets his breath out, while the rest catches up with him.]

[...to be fair, Tek is also expecting the attacker to put up more of a fight. maybe his subconscious had conjured up a more monstrous, immortal enemy to attack them with. whatever the reason, there is a hanging moment where the dragon's face is twisted up in a snarl and he waits, ready for a struggle.

it doesn't happen. and when the particular dead weight of his enemy finally registers, along with the fact that he's effortlessly pinning it to the side of a building with one hand in front of an ignorant human, he's startled out of his focused state.

he eases his weight back and lets go. the separated joints and broken edges of bone in the man's skull make a sound, and the body drops to the ground without resistance.]

Ah...

[the funny thing is that, out of all the things that Tek has done and said over the course of Tonic getting to know him, this is somehow one of the least distressing. it is still very frightening, especially to someone who spends so much of their time worrying about how killable they are... but he at least understands what's happening here pretty quickly.

his knife disappears back into his sleeve, he calmly (his heart is still racing with adrenaline but if he freaked out over every little murder he would be a terrible spy) sets his bags down at the base of the house, and ducks in to pick up the other guy's knife and get a better look at what's left of the rest of his face.]

We'll talk later. [he must recognize him, by the way his eyes go subtly wider.] We should hide this body.

[Tonic recovers more quickly than the dragon does. Tek needs a few seconds to fight the waves of aggressive paranoia that follow his initial outburst. the reptile doesn't look much different on the outside, mostly staring with cold surprise while he recovers, but he is slowly ratcheting down from expecting more things to immediately murder. he's hypersensitive and a little twitchy.

when Tonic moves, Tek's eyes flick to him in a disconcerting way. but, he nods and reaches down to grab the man solidly by the collar and front of his shirt.]

If you have any suggestions, now would be the time.

[otherwise this guy is getting tossed onto someone's roof or stuffed in their recycling bin.]

[oh, Tonic is watching to make sure he doesn't get smashed into the side of a building himself, but he's able to keep his outward concern pretty minimal. he's got more important things to do, getting in close enough to the body to rummage through the man's pockets.

the ex-spy makes quick work of it. he's not a stranger to scavenging from corpses, but he also knows to check for secret pockets in the lining of the man's jacket (he finds some kind of pocket-book and puts it into his bag without even looking at it), and quickly pats down his sleeves and inner thigh for anything he could have been hiding. he also raps on the man's shoes, revealing that his heel slides out and contains a small, flat bundle of cloth that may or may not be hiding something. Tonic pockets that too, before stepping back. all in all, it only took him about ten seconds.]

We need a-- [he straightens up, looking entirely casual as he quickly scans their surroundings. window to a basement? too small. no holes up here to toss the corpse into, either. there's a--] What's that thing? What about that?

[he's pointing to a rain barrel, about four feet tall and three feet wide. he quickly walks over to investigate. twisting the wooden lid off of the top and peering inside. there are only a couple of inches of rainwater in the bottom of it.]

Stuff him in here.

[once the urgency of the situation passes and they all have a chance to catch their breath, Tek will be able to retroactively appreciate Tonic's apparent skill (or at least an amount of comfort that would upset most common folks) in this situation.

in the meantime, he's entirely in work-mode. he doesn't bother putting much thought into Tonic's choice or debating about whether or not there are better places to hide a body around here. he's ready to just ditch this thing and get out of the area.

so, while Tonic is so kindly holding the lid for him, Tek hauls the body up without a problem and takes only a few seconds to fold the guy's legs against his chest... and unceremoniously jam him into some poor villager's rain barrel.]

[seeing Tek easily handle the heavy body is a little more disturbing than the actual violence from earlier, but he says nothing and quickly puts the lid back top of the barrel, glancing around to see if there's anyone around, down the street or peeking out of windows, who could have noticed two shady-looking individuals messing around in front of this particular house.

there is no one, as far as he can tell. he's walking away before he even knows it, legs carrying him as a casual pace that he only hopes Tek is going to match without questions.]

[Tek has a little more insight than Tonic does into exactly how many people are around and how close they actually are to the scene of the crime, but he's only marginally more sure that they've escaped notice.

still, he falls in easy step beside his friend without hesitation. they both know how adept the other is at fabricating masks, so it shouldn't be a surprise that Tek puts on a smile as if it's nothing, regardless of whatever is going on underneath.]

...You should see the work-out regimen that notary scribes are put through, back home. It's really absurd.

[of course he isn't really as flippant as he seems, but he still can't help but make a little bit of a joke.]

[to his own surprise, Tonic laughs.

it's hard to tell whether it's the belated shock of the whole thing that does it, or whether it just happens to strike the heart of his well-established, morbid sense of humor, but his bark of a laugh comes suddenly and a lot louder than he'd intended, and he quickly slaps a hand over his own mouth to keep from doing it again.

but Tek can see his shoulders still shaking as he fights down a wave of giggles, and he sounds like he's grinning despite his own attempts to get his facial expression under control.]

They must take documentation very seriously.

[he bumps into Tek again... this time, entirely on purpose.]

[Tek hadn't been planning on returning to the affectionate, familiar proximity that they'd had going on before he'd violently murdered someone, but then Tonic laughs at his joke and says volumes by bumping into him a little.

that is probably what finally wraps up the whole encounter in his head. a thing of his was threatened, he defeated the problem, and now that thing is his again. it's all okay. he can calm down again.

so, it's a compulsive gesture when he reaches to put his arm around Tonic's waist again. and he doesn't let the moment linger before he nods down the avenue toward the end of the block.]

And we can continue to explore and shop if you'd like... but the thought of soaking somewhere warm and quiet is suddenly very appealing to me. I think I may have pulled a muscle or something...

[as much as Tonic loves to obsessively analyze every facet of every potential danger that could cross his path... he finds it far too easy to slip into the comfort of having the other's arm around his waist and just not worry about it. it may catch up to him later, but for now he feels strangely protected, which is a foreign (but not unappreciated) experience for him.

and at the mention of a bath, well, he doesn't have any objections.]

Gods, tell me about it. I thought I was tense before, but I can feel my shoulders trying to seize up as we speak...

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