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 takes the bottle back, but immediately switches it out for the next one he'd been inspecting. just going to continue including Tonic in this activity.]

I did. It was originally from this remote river village at the edge of a swamp that I was particularly fond of. There is this flower that grows there--over everything, really. Everyone who lived there hated it. Considered it a weed. But, it does happen to smell amazing, and so it became a lucrative export for tourists...

[he opens the final bottle then, but wrinkles his nose a little when he sniffs it. maybe he's not as in love with it as he had been a few minutes before. either that, or the expression is solely because of where his thoughts drift to next.]

...I think Robin stole it from me, actually.

[Tonic had something to say about that, about how common it is for pesky weeds to hold a hidden value... it's a subject he knows a lot about, both metaphorically and literally. however, the bit about Robin throws that whole train of thought off its rails.

he'd been investigating the second bottle diligently, but he looks up and tilts his head at the comment.]

...Sounds like him...

[Tek scoffs under his breath, still looking at the bottle in his hand as if it has anything to do with what he's thinking about.]

It was one of our first interactions. I hadn't even invited him to use it...

[he also hadn't meant to start talking about Robin. but here they are.]

I bet he thinks it's endearing...

[Tonic has no shortage of sympathy when it comes to having to put up with Robin... though he watches the distant look on Tek's face with interest, wondering exactly where the other man could be going with those thoughts.]

And endel flowers, probably. For the second one.

[wherever Tek had been going, he comes right back with the second tincture named. he probably hadn't even noticed that he'd been caught in his thoughts. with a blink, his attention returns to the bottle in his hand (the first one, not the questionable third one, which he now sets aside) and opens it up.

there are towels and soft cloths in neat little piles all around the edge of the bath, and he finds a nice one to dip into the water and begin washing with. the scent of flowers and spice will suit him nicely, and though he's already a clean creature to begin with, the idea of washing away some of the preceding hours is very appealing.

he settles comfortably nearby, but with enough space between them to be polite, lazy and lounging low in the water.]

I hope this is everything you'd hoped for... oh, and where are those candles?

[he sounds curious. the way Tonic had asked for them, he expects they might be a little more interesting--or at least egregiously more expensive--than the average sort.]

[Tonic observes before putting his own bottle back on the edge of the bath, settling down into a comfortable seating position and slowly going back to enjoying not doing anything. he isn't in a hurry to wash, he's having more fun idly glancing at the other or thinking over the strange day he's had.

any answers about his hopes for the day get delayed by the other question... to which he perks up from where he'd been resting, looking right where he saw them last.]

That's right, they're over here...

[since Tek is busy, he'll go and get them himself--slinking low through the water a lot like the dragon did, just for different reasons. he rebalances himself on the other side, where he reaches for and picks up a few of the candles, trying to find a couple to bring over.]

These are famously expensive. It's the only reason I knew about them. They leave jewels behind as they melt, or something...

[while he bathes, he giggles with delight at the idea of jewel-laden candles.]

How silly!

[he's delighted by the idea. it's exactly his brand of stupid frivolity.]

Are they at least pretty? Do they smell nice?

[Tonic can't help but laugh as Tek's delight--these candles are a waste of money, but it's not his money, so what does he care?]

We'll have to see, won't we? Here.

[he wades back with a few of them in his arms, occasionally wobbling against a wall to keep himself standing on his single leg.]

This one... [he sets one in particular in front of Tek. it's red, smells strongly of pomegranate. has a little twine-tied tag on it that says something about seductive sensations.] Is it too much to hope for rubies?

[thankfully, they came with a small book of matches, so Tonic will busy himself with lighting them as well.]

Apparently not.

[rubies from a candle--if that thought alone isn't enough make him laugh, the tag definitely will be. he runs a cloth with clean water over his shoulders and down his arms to rinse off enough for properly playing with ridiculous candles, and sidles over.]

At least they have a sense of humor, right? [he picks up the red candle and holds it up to the light, even though the coloring makes it too opaque to see through.] The person who invented this must be laughing.

Laughing all the way into early retirement, friend.

[Tonic lights a couple of other candles just for fun. he tried to pick scents that wouldn't clash with each other, but who knows if how strong they'll be.]

This is an absurd thing to buy. I'm so pleased...

[Tek replaces the red candle beside the others so it can join in on the fun, grinning as he imagines the bill that Robin will be receiving later.]

It's very romantic. [thinking about the demigod's distress always puts him in an affectionate mood.] Are there any other luxuries you'd like to indulge in while you're at it? There's a shelf of every kind of oil you can think of, at least one of which seemed to have gold flakes suspended in it...

[Tonic looks surprised, and then cackles at the description of that particular bottle of oils.]

Oh, please, babe... There is no one alive more suited to be rubbed down with gold flakes than yours truly.

[he means it to be silly, not actually intending to ask his friend to do anything... but... well, he wouldn't mind it if he did it anyway.]

[Tek isn't often one for something like cackling, but he can't help it in this case. it's still more like a wicked giggle, but it's as close as he'll ever get to matching Tonic.

and he immediately floats away, right toward the shelf of oils.]

I've met an uncountable number of elegant, refined people from all manner of exotic lands... and I honestly cannot refute that statement.

[it will only take him a moment to retrieve the pretty bottle that he'd mentally bookmarked earlier. it's a silly little thing--perfumed oil that lacks any curative properties beyond the ability to feel slippery, smell nice, and make the water glittery when the gold flakes inevitably wash right off.]

[and Tonic laughs again at Tek's agreement, glad that if nothing else, he has left the correct impression on his strange friend. he finally dips his head back in the water to get his hair wet, and finds something nearby to wipe away at his makeup with.]

Oh, hang on--

[before they do anything else, Tek gets to watch as Tonic casually peels off half of his lips, the synthetic material he'd used coming off in a single layer. he peels something off of his cheek, too, that he'd used to make the two halves of his face seem a little more uniform.]

That would have been a disaster, ugh... [he flicks his makeup pieces away. it's kind of gross.]

[it is gross. Tek pauses in his tracks to watch this with an absolutely disgusted grin on his face. it's one of the best things he's ever seen.]

...Please tell me you do that in front of unwanted guests to hint that it's time for them to leave.

[and if not, could you start?]

[he had a feeling that Tek would be into watching him pull things off of his face. he cackles again, taking a moment to wipe at at his skin with a cloth.]

Oh, yeah. If popping off my leg won't do it, darling, peeling off parts of my face is a great Plan B.

[he seems just so pleased, as he resumes his task of bringing over the bottle of gold oil. if Tonic hadn't already earned a little extra pampering, he certainly has now.]

I hope they'd worry what would be left of you if they continued to hang around. Who knows what you would rip off of your body next.

My skin. Like a pair of pajamas.

[he says this as if it was the obvious next answer, finally setting this things aside and settling somewhere for whatever oil-based fun is about to happen.]

Mm, and what if I gave you a massage next? I know there are professionals around, but I think I may owe you for something...

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.]

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