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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[Tek lets him slip away without a fight, turning around to lean comfortably back against the table to also work on removing the rest of his clothing.]

...Does that mean it was personal, then?

[he's not excited about the fact that someone was trying to kill Tonic... but he is excited to hear the reason why.]

[Tonic shrugs as he pulls himself out of his sleeves.]

Personal, political, nearly the same thing when it comes to these people...

[he glances back at Tek while the both of them are undressing... partly because he just likes to watch the man undress, and partly to take his mind off of the self-consciousness he feels undressing in front of people. it's a relatively small discomfort, and it's not like Tek hasn't already seen pretty much everything; it just feels different when they aren't laying on top of each other while it's happening.

he also has to weigh a decision in his mind, and looking Tek up and down might have something to do with that. when he finally speaks, it's with a small tilt of his head and a straightforward tone.]

I assume that Robin already told you a long time ago that I've worked as a spy?

[by this point, Tek has a heel propped up on the edge of the table so he can work on the buckles of his boots, but he pauses long enough to make a so-so gesture with one hand.]

He didn't say much, and I'd already had guesses of my own on the matter... so yes, it's not exactly a surprise.

[and he doesn't want to give the subject or the speaker an undue amount of attention while things are still a little hesitant, so he doesn't linger on either. instead, he pauses between removing one boot and beginning to work on the other to peer over at the collection of fluffy towels and linens. he's looking for something specific, and he hums triumphantly after a few moments of searching.]

Aha... perfect.

[he has found the bathrobes! after tucking one under his arm for himself, he holds up another up for Tonic to see.]

[Tek's answer is, likewise, not surprising, though now he has to think of what comes next. the man's distraction is welcome, since it gives him time to think... though, what his friend holds up for him is even more welcome.

it's like he read his mind.] Ah--thank you, darling.

[he'll come over, take one, and put it on immediately. in addition to being extremely soft (it's hard not to nestle in it out of instinct), it goes a long way towards making him feel a little less vulnerable about everything. now he can peel off his own shoes in relative psychological peace.

so he continues.]

Well, I worked with him a long time ago. And, frankly, I was much better at it than he was... Then I disappeared, he probably got promoted up to Surface work--and my guess is that he spotted me out of nowhere several years later and either panicked, or had gotten cocky enough to think he can take out two people on an open street with a bunch of windows.

[the good side of his face frowns, the bad side stays eerily still.]

I think we might have been a couple for a while, but honestly... I was kind of a mess back then, I can't remember how serious he thought it was... or if it'd be enough to murder someone over...

[with his companion now more at ease with everything, Tek can go back to undressing and enjoying the story unfolding before him. both boots removed now, he gives a short laugh at the last (very informative) bit of explanation, and works on the final bit of undressing he has yet to do.]

...It sounds extremely petty.

[and that's coming from him.]

I don't disagree with you.

[he holds up one of his fingers before moving over to unlace his other boot.]

But in that line of work, it's a lot easier to fixate on other people than it is to look at yourself. It wouldn't surprise me if it was true anyway...

[after a moment, he shrugs... and gives Tek a crooked smirk.]

But he's dead and I stole his shit, so... Doesn't matter much now, does it?

[with all of his clothes finally dealt with and arranged in a neat pile, Tek slips into his own bathrobe with a flourish. and then, chuckling at Tonic's final word on the matter, he finally steps over a little closer to casually lean and wait for his partner to finish with his own complicated outfit.]

What touching last words for a fallen friend.

Hah. I hope he rots before they find him.

[and that seems to be Tonic's last thought on the matter. he focuses on getting his other boot off, peeling off his stockings, and then slowly undoing the complicated mechanisms surrounding his prosthetic leg.]

[Tek seems perfectly content waiting for Tonic to finish dismantling himself. leaning there, he busies himself with finally getting to pick over the dead man's belongings himself. daintily unrolling the tiny scroll of paper, he holds it up to the light to peer at the mysterious hidden markings.]

...How long do you think it would it take a clever person to learn this language?

[he seems much more comfortable, as always, when he gets his leg off. uncoupling the rest will take a little more time and he has to sit to do it, so he doesn't mind that Tek is keeping himself busy while he carefully peels things away from what's left of his thigh.

Tek's question gets him to look up... not because it's particularly surprising, but because it isn't something he's really had to consider before.]

A clever person? Probably about a week for the basics, maybe a month if you want to be able to go about it with any nuance. And the particulars will change from neighborhood to neighborhood, so there's that.

[he goes back to his leg. he pulls off the last of the things bolted into his leg with a small wince, setting them carefully down next to his other things.]

Why? [he shoots Tek another sidelong glance, off his bad side.] Are you not getting into enough trouble on your own, babe?

[he's so nonchalant about it, it's almost as if he hadn't been considering this very conversation for weeks. he chuckles a little and doesn't return the glance, just moving from inspecting one interesting little trinket to another.]

--Oh, mostly so I can read the notes they leave me myself, instead of having to get them translated every time.

[that's all. no big deal.]

[Tonic's reaction is normal, at least to a normal person.

but to Tek, there's no mistaking the sudden tenseness that emanates from him and the sound of a very careful, deep breath in, and a very quiet, long sigh out.

if Tek deigns to look back at him, he'll be pinching the bridge of his nose.]

Of course you are, darling. Why did I even ask.

[he does not seem to be panicking, and his anxiety evens out once the initial waves of it pass over him... but still, this isn't an ideal thing to hear. he looks dead-on at the bath in front of him.]

How long has that been happening?

[Tek slides him only the shallowest glance--just to verify the body language that he'd been imagining. other than that, he just shrugs a little bit.]

Well, the first one I'd noticed had been a few weeks ago, in the library. [whether or not Tonic has caught wind of that particular story or not.] So, at least that long?

[he makes some sound of acknowledgement and, of course, has to start thinking about it. weighing the danger, the statistical likelihoods, the options. after several long moments of staring morosely at nothing, he finally sits up, pulling back the sleeve of his robe to undo some of the mechanical parts in his arm.]

Well, I wish I could say that I'm surprised by any of this...

[he keeps his eyes on his work for a moment, clearly still thinking.]

And now that we're having this discussion, I hope you haven't assumed that I have anything to do with it.

[it's while Tonic is busy thinking and weighing that Tek gives him anything more than a sideways glance. he watches his expression, catches glimpses of his thoughts through his body language, does some guessing and calculating of his own.

but when it's his turn to speak again, he's right back to shrugging the whole thing off.]

Oh, I give you much more credit than that. I figured if you did have anything to do with it, it was probably in an incidental way.

[Tonic is probably thinking about the usual things. how to not be stabbed. whether or not someone will come for him sooner or later. wondering if he's going to be called into further question about his new friend.

but he does let a little tension sink away when he's essentially given a compliment.]

Glad to hear it. I'm trying very hard to stay out of their game.

[he finally looks back up at Tek, a serious expression on both sides of his face.]

Can't say I recommend it, sweetheart... But I also can't smash someone into a wall hard enough to break their skull in.

Edited 2019-06-07 03:26 (UTC)

[he shouldn't smile. he knows that this is a serious topic to someone who he is still trying to befriend. he knows that he should really avoid looking more like a monster than he already has. he's sure that this is one of those instances where a little discretion would go a long way.

but he grins anyway.]

The warning has been received. [Tonic can guess if it's going to be heeded or not.]

[oh, Tonic can guess. unfortunately, he is also a monster, so he feels it only natural to mirror that awful grin on the better half of his face.]

Speaking of that...

[he unplugs the last parts of his arm that he deems necessary, dropping some of his other clothes on top of the parts to keep them away from prying eyes. their attendants won't tell, assuming that the legends about this place are as true as everyone seems to think they are--but he won't go out of his way to test that particular theory.]

I doubted you were human before, but now it's a little hard to keep pretending.

[he says this lightly, casually, and without instinctively bracing for his life. in fact, he finally starts to move towards the bath, incidentally turning his back to Tek so that he can sit down and dip his one foot in the water.]

[if Tek was going to wonder how Tonic was taking this revelation, the fact that the other man turns his back on him is very telling. the grin too--it all plays into whatever he's going to do with it from there.

he doesn't hurry in replacing the dead man's things on the table, taking a moment to arrange them neatly, before he finally steps over to join Tonic at the edge of the bath.]

Don't tell me you're going to want to stop pretending. That's half of what we do.

[he says it with a light teasing tone. it's a joke, but it's also undoubtedly only the first step in a much longer thought process.]

Oh, no, no, no.

[Tonic dismisses the idea firmly and immediately, shaking his head and waving the matter away with his less-flexible hand.]

I would never stop, darling, that would be dreadful. And if they really are trying to contact you, the less I acknowledge it, the better off I'll be.

[he glances over at Tek, and winds up smiling crookedly despite himself... and for a moment says nothing, chewing on the inside of his lip as he thinks of the right way to voice his feelings.]

I think I just... Wanted to reiterate that you are an unbelievably dangerous person. It's impressive, really.

[Tek had been sitting with his legs daintily swishing in the water while Tonic worked his way through his thoughts, and it's only when the other man seems to be arriving at some kind of conclusion that Tek gets moving again. drawing in a thoughtful breath, he straightens up and unwinds the belt from around the waist of his robe.]

Well, if it doesn't change anything... then you just wanted to hear it said out loud?

[it's a little teasing, a little challenging. and with that, the dragon lets the robe slip off of his shoulders and onto the edge of the pool, finally stepping forward to lower himself gratefully into the water.]

[he was prepared for the question, having already thought through it himself.]

Maybe I just wanted to hear someone tell me I was right.

[Tonic does not immediately follow him into the pool... in part because he is a little wary of large pools of water in general, but mostly because he's busy gazing lustfully at the single most beautiful person he's ever seen. he leans enough to prop his chin up on his hand.]

Pointless and petty, but not a lie.

[maybe it will make Tonic feel a little better about Tek's beauty to have this secret solidly confirmed. no normal, human person could ever be that perfect.

and Tek only shows it off for a moment or two before he slinks as far down into the water as he can. this may not be a real pool (and is just about as far from a natural body of water as you can get) but Tek still can't fight his instincts. he has to lurk at least a little bit.

he settles down until the water is high up on his shoulders, and glances up at his friend with a wicked, teasing little look before he dips his head down to scoop water into his hair.]

Fine, then... You're right.

[Tonic watches all of this very attentively, watching the way water moves around the other with a sort of captivated curiosity... but hearing those words, however belittling they're meant to sound, makes the better side of his mouth quirk up in a little smile.]

Hm. Yes, that is nice.

[so, looking very self-satisfied, he also undoes his robe to expose his many, many scars and lower his broken body into the pool. almost immediately, he has to take a deep breath against the steam and the hot water--cave dwelling creature that he is.]

Phew... It's warm...

[however broken Tonic's body might be, it is also getting a good up-and-down glance before Tek's view is obscured by water and steam. and then he chuckles as he runs his hands back to press the excess water from his hair and off of his face.]

That is the point, you know.

[then, as Tonic is coincidentally now in closer proximity to him, Tek happens to move over to the shelves along the other side of the bath, where all the pretty little bottles of oils and tinctures are waiting to be inspected.]

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