auriphrygiate | { ic | ryslig

Oh, yes. That as well. He'd simply written me a letter not too long ago but I ended up encountering him sooner than expected by chance. I hardly know what to say to anyone in that situation..

[ not if he intends to remain on good terms with someone, anyway. it's perfectly easy to ridicule people. ]

It's possible he feels that way. This place took us away from our lives, took our magic. Now he looks in the mirror and sees a creature instead of the man he's been..

[ traejan had originally been building up to a snide remark, likely the usual dig on eridanus' age but something occurred to him as he'd been speaking. ]

So much of what he's done lately has been rather performative even for him, don't you think? He was already hunting humans not long after we arrived here. On the network he's talked about the superiority of monsters and the acceptance of it all. Even his need to air his grievances about me publicly is suspect. What did I even do to earn that reaction? I'm certain I've done worse and tried harder to get under his skin before. In any case, he behaves like someone in desperate need of an identity and a purpose.

[ it's another thing he's familiar with, but of course he doesn't know eridanus well enough to be sure if any of his conclusions are accurate. ]

Even so, why not choose a real god? At least there are very tangible benefits to doing so. The desire to commiserate with someone else unfathomably ancient must be particularly strong.

[ there it is. ]

[ She swatted his calf in response to his jab. Though it was well within her right to make fun of his age, especially after disparaging her own for being "less accomplished." Her, who had saved their people's children from choking on their own blood. Her, who had broken down lacecap mushrooms to carefully extract that terrible poison-turned-savior. Her, who fought and argued and stood her ground for months to get them to agree to a small amount of the mushroom to avoid the costs of importing. What had he done?

Shout in his sleep.

Cry for the bodies of children long dead.

Failed teacher. Failed magister. Failed archmage. She had been a phoenix, though Anthemis had been lost to her in that same Fall. He was satisfied to be a slave.

But she had woken him from his night terrors, she had been the one to love him and care for him. Even here, where their titles meant less and little. She was used to that. He had no magic here. The more Traejan reasoned, the more she found him to be right.

She hated that her heart and her guts kept twisting in desire to see him. To talk. To rip Lucius's claws out of him. To make him see reason.

To, for once, see her hurt.

Rose took a deep breath through her nose, refusing to let another round of tears fall. She finished the rest of her coffee quickly to avoid it. ]

You're right; it has been.

I'll give it some days and pray he sees reason. Or I shall kill him. One of those two. I'll decide when I've calmed down more. Now, I do believe there's a bourbon in this cabinet, and I should like a lot before I sleep.

[If she slept.]

What about potential option C? Kill Lucius. Make Eridanus watch..

[ yes, he manages to make this suggestion just fine while still petting her hair, sipping the drink he has in his other hand. ]

Maybe he will wake up when he's faced with the reminder that Lucius is just another average monster trying to survive on this peninsula. Besides, you tossed him out but he's essentially a child you've sent to his room as a punishment, where he can entertain himself perfectly well.

Consider taking his toy away instead.

[ Rosefica leaned away for a few moments to garner herself the large bottle of bourbon, pouring herself a dram of it into her coffee cup. It was decidedly common of her, she knew, but she wanted comfort, not culture. She put her head back against his knee, thoughtfully humming. ]

That is also a valid plan. Still, he may also be in the midst of his changes and we don't know what creature he may turn into. I suppose this requires more information into him.

[ She ran her tongue over her fangs as she thought. The venom was potent; it never bothered her, but it made short work of humans. Monsters were considerably tougher, but she could make a concentrate, slather it on a blade and strike him in the night... No, too easy.

Hide arsenic in almond cookies? No, the human probably thought himself too far above "petty" tastes to eat it.

Rosefica drained her glass of bourbon in three large swallows, then poured herself more, ignoring the sharp burn in her gullet for more of the pleasant numbness it would eventually bring her. ]

I should simply ask you to kill him, in that case. I'll get a nice chair and sit in the background. We could poison your blades, after all. I am nothing if not full of venom. Both literally and figuratively, in this case.

Edited 2020-09-13 20:14 (UTC)

Unless he is turning into something completely intangible, does it really matter? Unless we are the same, I'm sure he'll burn, at least.

[ don't ask how it is that he knows that he himself won't burn. ]

Does your venom have particular properties? I haven't yet gotten to the point where I've been able to look into the capability of other phenotypes. Aside from having a common thread of 'spider' you are completely different from the other arachne I've dealt with, although I'm certain you are perfectly potent..

[ Rose hums thoughtfully as she pours herself another glass of bourbon. Heat blooms in her cheeks and chest as she takes another sip. When was the last time she'd eaten? This morning? No matter. ]

Well, I've bitten them and had them follow me to my web, they don't even fight. And before that, I found I could make them be completely unable to lie.

[ No wonder that human man she was essentially bankrupting with literally no promise of sex liked her so much. He has certainly padded her accounts with solars.]

Other than that, it kills them regularly. I just have to think about not murdering them.

[ he reaches over to take the bottle from her once she's finished pouring, not to stop her but to refill his own glass so he doesn't have to get up again. he won't stop anyone drinking their fill if in turn they'll leave him alone just the same. ]

Ah. I imagine that suits you very well. Needing to trap something just sounds tiring. I much prefer to hunt..

[ which is even more entertaining for him now that he can fly. he really hopes he's earning a reputation among the humans for it. ]

Even if it kills other monsters less effectively, steel works just as well, especially if they can't see.

[ because the fog god gave him napalm and he will definitely spit it in your eyes. ]

It... Well, I hate to say it, but it's just as fun as it was at home, Traejan, why wouldn't I enjoy it?

[Rose closed her eyes. She could still feel Eridanus's struggling in her many-limbed grasp as her long legs wrapped him like a hastily bought gift before she threw him out.

Why had she done that? The challenge of him daring to further hurt her heart? Jealousy? Green wasn't her color, she had told him once. It should be simple enough to understand it for him, and yet apparently impossible.]

It does help that now I can just simply walk on the walls and ceilings of places, to be fair.

Well it.. wasn't so literal before. And you might've still preferred not to have to get your hands dirty. I assumed that was the primary reason why you'd send me to do things for you, since that is something I never mind..

[ but if she'd just thought he was exceptionally talented at that sort of thing, he'll accept that as well. ]

I'm glad you feel that way, however. I wondered if you might not take to this whole.. situation.. very well. The better we adapt to all of this the more of an advantage we'll have. People who have been here for years have been trying to seek a way out, so I don't expect this will turn around tomorrow just because we want it to. If this is the game we have to play in the meantime, then we should become very good at it.

I don't prefer to dirty my hands. And your results were always above expectation, Traejan. It pleased me very much to be able to trust you with such things.

[She breathes a long sigh.]

I miss my daughter, Traejan. The idea that I won't see her any time soon weighs very heavily on my heart. No matter how I try to make the most of this place, that is more like a boulder I am also trying to push up the proverbial mountain. I imagine you feel much the same way, so I will not act as though I am the only one struggling to come to terms with that.

I would give my eyeteeth to have some assurance that she was safe, though. What do you suppose I should do about finding a way to adapt past this? You know I've never been one to give over to my passions recklessly.

[ he can't help but look pleased with himself at first, given how much he enjoys praise. it's short-lived though when rosefica mentions her daughter and refers to his own feelings on the matter, which of course he actively tries to literally drown out and not think about too hard. ]

The more power we have, the easier it will be to act. The easiest source of power are the gods..

[ he glances at her as he pauses for a moment. ]

I assume that's what you're referring to? Or something else? For what it's worth, the Fog God asks nothing from you but loyalty. Her only desire is for us to be free in the truest sense of the word. What you do with what you're given is your choice. Obviously I am not saying that is the only solution, but every day I consider that we're here with no magic or wormholes or anything and we can all discuss magical theory forever and none of it will matter because this world doesn't even operate the same way as we're used to. I'm simply confident that even if you have to play someone else's game, you'll find a way to make it benefit you.

{ ic | ryslig | inbox }

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WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, TRAEJAN LIGHTREND. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 011.17.177.13 * BONE_DADDY has joined 011.17.177.13 <BONE_DADDY> They claim this is a place for completely private messages no one else can see. <BONE_DADDY> Unsure if I believe that. <BONE_DADDY>** But.. if you have some pressing message, leave it here.