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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Well... the sun is one, obviously. Then the earth, the stony shell that formed around the heart of the world. The fourth is the blanket of living things that wrapped herself around that. And the final one is pure chaos.
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Is this the common understanding, where you're from? [With a small laugh, he plucks up one of the petals to taste.] --Because you won't hear anything like that around here, that's for sure.
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[He doesn't care of it doesn't mesh perfectly with the greater story at large here. He knows he's right, and that kind of confidence transcends time and space.
It's still meant to be light conversation, however, so he tilts his head toward the flower petals.]
...Any good?
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[Without missing a beat, he holds out the basket to Tek to offer some, either as a snack or as the more traditional sort of decor option. He also shoots his friend a lopsided smile.]
I like it, darling, I just wouldn't go saying that sort of thing too loudly around the Priesthood. They get touchy.
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So I've heard. Though, I imagine there are many reasons I should steer clear of them, hmm?
[Like the fact of him being an abomination and whatnot.]
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[He takes a big fistful of petals in his good hand, slowly letting them slip between his fingers. Crushing the last few tightly between his thumb and forefinger.]
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It has always been funny to me how people supposedly so tapped into the divine workings of the world... can miss the point so badly.
[Just a little more religious complaining and he'll probably get it out of his system.]
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Right? Such a waste...
[Tek is inevitably more fun than the basket of petals, so Tonic pops a couple more in his mouth before turning to face the other again--admiring his own arms and trying to get a glimpse of his shoulders on the way.]
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I've found that it's always the people you least expect who see things the most clearly... don't you think?
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Of course. They have room to look every once in a while...
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What sorts of things do you think they see?
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Well, are we still talking about Gods, babe? Or is this something else?
[He knows what Tek might be hinting at, but he'd like to hear it out-loud before he resigns himself to talking about it.]
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He even grins to show sharp teeth and a little bit of forked tongue, if Tonic needs a reminder that he's not the strangest, most outlawed creature here.]
You're an insightful man; what do you think?
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I suppose it was foolish of me to hope I might get away with it, hm?
[He knows the scales are tipped in Tek's favor. He could squirm his way out of it--but not without offending the other, something he doubts he can actually afford to do. Not while he's still Upstairs (and certainly not while he's still in his lap).
So he looks back down at his host, meeting his eyes in a moment of calculated honesty.]
I've never told anyone about it, you know.
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Yes. He knows.]
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When they pull away, Tonic can't look right at him--avoiding his gaze as his last-ditch attempt to retain some sort of dignity. He's obviously aroused, a sickly-looking color starting to tinge his cheeks, but part of him has to try all the same.]
It's... I can see the answers to questions, sometimes.
[Something he's thought a thousand times, but never actually said out-loud.]
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At some point, a hand slips from Tonic's lower back to his remaining leg, settling on his upper thigh.]
What did you ask this time?
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I wasn't thinking very clearly, just... Wondering how I could make this day a little longer.
[He manages a laugh. Or maybe the laugh escapes him despite everything--and he manages to glance in the other man's direction, to gauge his reaction.]
Can you really blame me, darling?
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And you saw stars in smoke? That is awfully poetic...
[When he leans forward to kiss Tonic this time, it's more slow and affectionate, drawing it out in a way that makes them both dwell here in the moment for a little bit.]
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He starts running his hands over his the other's sides, his hips, over his shoulders--inevitably getting more of that gold everywhere, if it hasn't drifted off into the water already.]