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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I wouldn't want to make you work on your relaxing day out. [...But he trails off in a way that says he also wouldn't say no if Tonic really wanted to put himself out like that. Then, he uncaps the little bottle of oil and pours out a small, experimental amount into his hand. Of course, he has to smell it before anything else can happen.]

Mmm... honey and something else good.

Mm... [He makes a low, interested sound in response as he turns away from Tek, probably in response to the idea of honey in anything... Though it leads seamlessly into his next thought, while he reaches to fiddle idly with one of their burning candles.]

The pleasure would be mine, sweetheart. Not to worry.

[Following that with a pleased sigh, he tips the candle this-way-and-that, trying to tell potential treasure apart from whatever fragrant twig bits are mixed in with the wax. It's barely had time to burn, so he doesn't get far--but that doesn't really matter. He's relaxing and enjoying the trivial motions of being alive.]

You know, the only regrettable part of this outing is that no one I know will believe that any of it actually happened.

[Normally, he would warm up the oil on his hands before smoothing it over his partner's skin, but he's worried that some of the gold will stick to his hands and it will ruin the full, lavish experience for his friend. Besides, cool oil might be a wonderful contrast with all of the warmth from the water.

So, with a little oil on each hand, he starts at Tonic's shoulders and slides his fingers down along his arms, so his friend can see some of the shimmery gold on his skin right away.]

...Bringing home a candle full of rubies won't be enough to convince them?

[He shivers involuntarily against the sudden cold, but Tek feels it turn to laughter seconds later. Tonic sets the candle down again in favor of stretching his arms out against the tile in front of him, where he can absolutely admire the way his marred-up skin is now catching the light as if he himself was a piece of jewelry.]

How kind of you to assume I spend time with anyone who'd know what a real ruby looks like...

[Tonic's shoulders can sparkle too, and up the back of his neck, as Tek just enjoys touching his friend and covering him in gold.]

...I've run into many sad facts about your little cave world, but that one is depressing.

[He might have taken some offense if he wasn't preoccupied with trying not to melt under the touch of fingers sliding up his neck...]

Mm... Though I'd have just as hard a time selling the handsome, mysterious, definitely real friend who took me there in the first place...

[Chuckling a little to himself, he gazes up past the candles and bottles, towards one of the beautiful, subtle mosaics that cover the walls of the room. Relaxed, doted on, and deeply happy, he wonders if there's some way, any way, he could keep it from ending.

His mistake. Tek feels something subtly shift, the air between them changing as some small, wispy threads of magic float up alongside tendrils of steam. Smoke from a sputtering candle starts to curl in wrong directions while Tonic, who has stopped mid-settling, stares right up at it.]

Oh.

[He doesn't seem nervous, which is probably good, but his attention is completely absorbed. Tek has felt the beginnings of this before, once, when they were messing around in the back of the potion-maker's shop. Now that its had a chance to manifest completely, he might recognize it as divination.]

[Now there is a flavor of magic that he hasn't picked up in some time. He doesn't mean to pause in what he's doing, but he can't help the way his curiosity is immediately captured by the whispers of energy and twisting smoke.]

Oh...

[At least he sounds more intrigued than anything dangerous like alarmed or confused. Tek had figured that he'd eventually discover some of the the things that Robin had hinted around about Tonic, but he somehow hadn't expected it to show up so unexpectedly.]

[A few seconds later, the smoke almost forms a pattern... Twisting rivulets running up and down, curling every so often into tight, darker circles before continuing and eventually disappearing into the air above. Almost as suddenly as it started, Tonic finally blinks and reaches forward, waving a hand through the hanging smoke and breaking whatever spell had come over him.

The feeling of magic settles again, receding gently like a tide out to sea. Tonic settles back down, though it's partly an extension of the sinking feeling he gets as he realizes that his already unbelievable day may have just become more complicated.]

I'm sorry, what were we...?

[Maybe if he just ignores it, they can all pretend it didn't happen...? Maybe it just looked like he had spaced out for a minute... He goes to run a hand through his hair, but is again distracted when he catches the glint of gold flake out of the corner of his eye.

He pauses, falters. Hesitates. But the truth is, Tek has done a commendable job of making a paranoid wreck of a human feel safe and assured through all manner of very frightening things. Several weeks ago, this would be buried if it was the last thing he did, but after today...

He glances back at Tek, unsure of his vision, but finding a strange confidence that the other might actually be able to help.]

Do you know what would be... Dark, but with small pinpricks of light in it...? So far you couldn't grab them.

Edited 2020-02-25 05:51 (UTC)

[Tek feels the draw of two different instincts while he watches his friend during this mysterious little display, but they luckily play very well together. One is the tug of utter fondness, finding the whole moment and the person in the center of it strangely quiet and beautiful. The other is the draw of a new, open vulnerability waiting there before him, and he can't bring himself to stay away from it.

So, when he slinks forward in the water, moving around a little to the side so Tonic doesn't have to turn so far, it's both a gesture of closeness and reassurance, as well as softly closing in on his prey.

Either way, he has a wonderful look on his face--subtly both intent and adoring.]

You mean like stars?

[Ugh. It causes an uncomfortable tangle of primal wariness, but the defensive, almost shy shrug of his shoulders is unwound as he tilts his head to stare back up at the monster beside him.

The more human part of him is relieved, maybe even a little excited--which comes through in his crooked smile. He can see the answer to his question very clearly now.]

...Maybe, yes? I've never seen real ones.

You haven't?

[He can't help but be surprised, even though it makes sense once he thinks about it. And once he does think about it, his smile suddenly widens as whole new world of how to continue forever ruining his friend's experience of the world dawns on him.]

So, the moon then...

[It's his turn to look surprised when Tek asks--because that hadn't even occurred to him as an option.]

No, never. Only in pictures.

[Paintings, iconography, but never hanging in the night sky. He leans forward again, stretching like a cat to get the last of any unintended tension out of his body, and encourage the man to keep talking.]

What's it like?

[For now, Tek will let him have this. He can ask him about the smoke later--when he needs another card to play--but, for the moment, he is more than happy to lavish his companion with more drama and mystery.

Looking sly and eager about it, he slinks closer until he's nearly sidled up beside him in the water.]

Well... that depends on when you look.

Ah, I've read about that...

[He can't help glancing over more of Tek as he comes closer, even though he's quickly trying to correct the utterly useless thing he just said.]

I mean--that makes me sound terribly boring--but I have studied it. I know it goes through phases, sometimes appears during the day, that kind of thing.

[It seems like a good time to lean over and bump shoulders with his friend, leaving a small scattering of gold behind where they've touched.]

[He laughs a little because it does make Tonic sound like some sheltered scholar, but he finds it a little bit precious. And he can't wait to show him the real thing. In the meantime, he'll regale him with stories and pamper him with gold and oil--which he pours a little more of into his hand.]

And then you have weather on top of that, and the time of the year. In the autumn, sometimes you can find the moon looming down near the earth, enormous and red, looking like the world is about to come to an end.

[Tonic is excited to go back to being pampered. He glances briefly over at their various baskets and bottles again, as if he was about to consider what to play with next... But stops mid-thought to turn his head again and fix Tek with half a surprised look.]

Wait, that's real?

[Because that is a bet he would have lost.]

[Oh, how he loves to delight (or alarm) an audience. He adds to the drama of the whole thing by picking up where he left off in gently rubbing gold into the other's skin while he explains.]

Oh, it very much is. As are the times when it looks like a thin smile, or when it grows a glowing halo, or the rare times when darkness moves across its face as if being slowly eaten.

[Tek can tell that Tonic is taking him seriously. He pauses to give it a moment of deep thought.

These things sound fake, but they're being spoken about so effortlessly that they must be real. It's not as if Tonic has any way to refute them, considering that the moon is more of a symbol to him than a celestial body. The last one, though. Sounds menacing.

Not that the statement is in any way off-brand for Tek. He flattens out his shoulders again, a smirk sliding back into place the more he's given physical attention.]

It sounds even more mysterious than I would have thought. Do you like it? Or... Have any particular thoughts about it?

[Tek fails to fight off a little laugh at that. Such an alien question for something that is not only universal, but literally rules the existence of so many creatures that he knows. It's a surreal question to have to answer.]

Well... I basically owe her everything, so I can't help but have quite a lot of thoughts about her. You would have to be much more specific about it.

[...With the change of phrasing, he knows full well that the other man is leading him on like a fish on a line. Tonic will miss out if he pretends to ignore it, but if he follows, he'll be eating right out of his hand.

Lucky for both of them, this seems like a fairly low-risk conversation to have, and he is curious. It's not like he's got a whole lot of subtle dignity left to maintain anyway, after today.

So Tonic shifts just enough to rest the good side of his face on a loose fist and look ready to be educated (or at least entertained) by an answer:] Her?

[The game isn't only for Tek's benefit; it's something they can both enjoy playing. Especially for a topic as enormous and mysterious as the moon, it would feel wrong to just dump information without a little intrigue.]

Yes, of course... unless the moon has somehow been misguidedly labeled as 'him' in your pantheon?

[What a tragedy that would be.]

[Tonic fails to hold back what is something between a snicker and a cringe.]

Oh, we don't... [He shakes his head against his hand. He has the good sense to look like he knows he's going to be scolded for what he's about to say, at least.] Most wouldn't consider the moon to be a thing you could worship. It's just--an object in the story.

[Tek's eyebrows raise in an expertly unimpressed expression before he scoffs in derisive disbelief.]

...Well, no wonder this world has fallen to shit.

[Well, he can't take offense to that. Having it called a "world" is just poetic enough that it flies harmlessly under his radar, and Tek is rewarded with a nasty little laugh from the other man.]

Well, that and a couple of other things. [half his mouth splits into a wide grin, tugging a little at the other half.] Perhaps you could give me the basics, dear? Explain it as you would to a child.

The basics are that she is one of five prime gods, the most important beings in the universe but too far removed from the mortal realm to communicate with it any longer, and they birthed all of the many gods directly worshiped by mankind.

[He loves talking about this sort of thing, but it's the reactions he receives that he's really in it for. Just what does Tonic think of discussing the affairs of gods while being rubbed down in gold and surrounded in opulence?]

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