Scene Archives

catches Aurelius’ wrist when they arrive at the baths and watches as the others disperse. “Would you be willing to take a private bath with me?” She says, even managing not to blush too much when she asks.

: “…I’ll feel a little embarrassed about doing so in the middle of the day… but do it anyway, yeah.”

laughs a little. “Surely there’s other reasons to use a private one other than … okay. That’s generally not even true on Almachadta but.” She flags down an attendant, who leads them to a small room with a steaming pool, a door that locks, and an abundance of fluffy towels.

stops and stares blankly at the water once they’re inside. “So.”

: “I guess …”

nods a bit while setting his clothing aside, before moving to settle into the pool. “So…?”

shucks off her own clothes easily and settles in beside him. Not so close she can’t look into his eyes but close. Though it is a very small pool. “I don’t even know if you have questions. I just. Wanted to be with you. Alone. After that. For a little while.”

: “The most pressing question is probably ‘why that handle, but suppose it was probably for the surprise…”

: “Does that handle have any particular significance? And—you took a nasty hit. Are you feeling okay?”

: “Not to me at least, which is why it caught me off guard. Seye was much easier to identify.” He then rolls a shrug. “I’m fine, the stakes weren’t even about me so it’s not like the wound’ll linger much.”

: “Is that … disorienting?”

: “Hm?”

: “That it wasn’t about you? I had been. Hm. Well you know, the last time we talked in person, I had expressed some concerns about taking up too much space and especially eclipsing you. And you weren’t concerned about it but … it felt like everyone else got to have a big reaction to her except you. I was maybe,” and here her mouth twitches, “worried.”

: “Oh.”

pauses, then laughs before turning to face Salme. “Oh…. no. no. I knew something stupid was going to happen as soon as it looked like we might win - and it was even dumber than expected. So I was just ready to get it done and over with from the start, unlike everyone not from here.”

: “To be fair, it was stupider than I imagined it would be.”

: “Yeah.”

: “It was also kinder, actually. Didn’t expect her to let Wolf keep his knives, really.”

: “Same, honestly. Me and Lucja mentioned that immediately after, even. Feels out of character.”

: “Oh. Right. Sorry I was—“ she shakes her head. “Zaya had mentioned she’d been … depressed? And.” Her mouth twitches. “Our DMs have been. Well. I was shocked to find out she was AG. That I … did not expect.”

: “Yeah, I think that caught everyone off guard.”

: “That was another—Jorule pointed out that my behavior might have read as strange and I wanted to offer context. I actually wanted to say you could read the whole thread if you wanted. I don’t know if you’d be … bothered or worried? But it wasn’t what he made it sound like.”

considers Salme for a second.

: “Not to be too Jorule at you but - ‘my behavior might have read as strange’ does not narrow down what you’re dancing around terribly well.”

snorts. “Yeah, okay, that’s on me. He though I was about to make out with her? Jae, the Scorpion Queen, AG, whoever they—she—is. That what I did was a romantic gesture. And it … wasn’t?”

slides down into the water far enough her mouth is below the surface and she blows some sullen bubbles, waiting for him to. Respond.

: “Aaah.”

: “I mean… I don’t think you’re the sort of person who would waltz up to someone and kiss them the first time you’ve met in person, at least?”

: “…Though I can see how it might’ve looked like that.”

shakes her head and rises back up. “No. I’m really not. I’m. Really, really not.”

: “Well at least that’s the thing he said out of the way. I don’t know if you have any other concerns about. Any of that. If I’d done anything you’d like me to explain, or if you had any feelings you wanted to work through about … anything. Everything.”

: “Hmm.”

: “Well. If you were worried about me having feelings for SQ, I can pretty confidently lay those concerns to rest.”

laughs. “Believe it or not, you seemed vaguely irritated enough about the whole thing that I wasn’t concerned.”

: “How’re you doing with your Zaya emotions, by the way?” She asks, a little more softly. “I know it hasn’t been long at all, but.”

: “I’m asking. You can always say no.”

: “Well…”

sighs a bit while he starts to relax. “…Talking to her certainly didn’t make them go away at least… but now that the initial, uh, pang? has passed, it’s not as… intense? Easier to deal with. Get the impression it probably wasn’t mutual, as well, which… I’m not sure if that’s good or bad? But we let the topic rest. But also, found another problem to keep my mind occupied with too, which is also helping.”

: “She did imply heavily that there was no mutual feeling there as well when I was,” she laughs a little, “encouraging her to get to know you? And I also didn’t know if that would be better or worse. I kept thinking—how heavy all my feelings are, and I know exactly where they come from. Something, especially like love,” she shakes her head. “I’m glad you have something to keep your mind occupied other than trying to sort your emotions.”

: “Yeah. Though, really, what about me isn’t strange in some way…? So par for the course.” One of his hands reaches over to poke Salme in the side, before he loops one of his pinkie’s around one of hers.

squeezes his pinkie back. “You’re a complicated guy.” She swishes her free hand through the water, watching the ripples. “I got stuck in my own head a little. Did a lot of reflecting. My time in the messy bitch mines, as a certain overseer of a certain plane might say and. I did … hm. Apologize isn’t the right word, I don’t think. I don’t think you’d want me to apologize. But I was looking back through our journey thus far, and I realized how many of our misunderstandings, even our little ones, came from … me just circling the same drain over and over again. That you couldn’t actually like me for me, that you didn’t actually like me at all, that there was a role I could play that would. Make you happier. And I’m not saying I’ll never backslide again but,” she makes a couple little waves with her hand. “I think I’m past the worst of it.”

looks at him then. “Thank you for standing with me through it.”

: “Well, it’s not like it was all your fault. Though. I am glad to hear that it seems like you believe it when I say those things now.”

: “Oh sure, you’re great at putting your foot in your mouth now and then, but who doesn’t? Just seeing it all laid out like that … the thing is, I was trying to work through my own story before we even met, but I kept seeing, again and again, you, there. Steady and—messy yourself, sure, sometimes caught in your own head or on an odd hunch but. You. Again and again being exactly who I needed. And me struggling to see it because you weren’t using the words I was expecting. Or, you know, words at all.”

: “I see you now, though. So.”

twists his hand around to lace all his finger’s around Salme’s, rather than just the pinkie. “Mmm.”

has a small hint of a grin on his face.

: “Yeah. You’re cute and you know it.”She’s smiling at him. “I … do have a favor to ask. Of both you and Awa really, but you are more inscrutable generally so you espeically.”

: “Yeah?”

: “Would you tell me … this isn’t about gift-giving, or big gestures, but … I’d like to know more things you like? Food, obviously—but what kids? The Rite, I think. Laughing. Being together with people. Projects. I’ve noticed those things but … are there smaller things? Foods or … I don’t know. So much about our lives are right now are big gestures and high stakes, but. If you’re having a bad day—not a horrible day, just a day where everything is a little wretched, a little to the left—what would make you feel better?”

: “Hmm… I don’t know, that sounds like most everything? Don’t think I’m much for recreational reading, though a play every so often isn’t so bad? The actors and music help a bit. Hmm… Burgers, of course, but also pork buns. Breakfast wraps. Biscuits and gravy. Fried chicken. Chicken skewers. Roasted chicken? Pretty hard to go wrong with chicken, I guess. Donuts - but not the filled kind. Basically any kind of pasta. Fried rice. Lemonade and sarsaparilla, obviously. “

starts smiling with the first thing, and with each subsequent item her smile widens and widens and widens. “Noted. I’m glad ‘food’ was a good guess. We should maybe go to a play sometime? I’m curious what they’re like here. On Almachadta it’s not … particularly immersive.” She squeezes his hand. “Thank you for telling me.”

: “Well, I don’t see why not. We’ll be here for a few days at least, if Archie’s entering the competition himself.”

laughs a little at that. “I was shocked about that, but I think … it’s good. I liked seeing him go for it.”

: “Little guy’s so out of his depth.” Aurelius chuckles. “At least if we’re competing with Shark-Fin soup there shouldn’t be too many people to beat out…”

: “Either way it’ll be fun. I’m also down to help with any of the ingredient acquisition but there’s no way I’m entering that competition myself.”

: “Especially since you told me it gets messy in the judging portion, which I’m not sure I want to know about or if I want to be surprised.”

: “Oh, there’s no way we’re getting the fin without you.”

blinks. “Oh? Why? Is it just because it’ll take all of us?”

: “You’d throw such a fit if we went out and fought a landshark without you.”

splashes water at him with her free hand. “Yeah, yeah. What can I say. I do like watching you fight. And I’m nosy.”

splashes back. “Mmhm.”

: “Which,” she uses a bit of gnosis just to flick some water at his ear, “I was curious if you’d explain your radio project to me. If you want to. I was curious why … you hadn’t been able to figure out before?”

: “Oh. Uh. Well, no one knew why they didn’t work before. But it’s because… something from the deep forge is sending out an overwhelmingly powerful signal that was interfering with the smaller radio waves.”

: “Oh. That’s … hm. Oh, is that what the song was? That’s the literal signal?” She frowns. “I don’t like that. I wonder if it’s that … Mother of Monsters?”

shakes her head. “That’s just a … big guess that can’t be supported at all. But mostly, I was talking about the mechanics. Even if you just want someone to listen while you work things out aloud. Though you’re more of a think-in-your-own-head than think-aloud type.”

: “Yeah, that’s what we were thinking.”

: “Me and Lucja, I mean.”

: “Uhhh well mostly what I was writing down was stuff for the craftmen that were working on the radios to work with. Ways to isolate the overwhelming signal, and then ignore it.”

: “Still that’s amazing. I didn’t want to distract from your actual talking about it in a public thread, but. I can’t believe you figured something like that out. Well. I can. But.”

: “It surprised both of us, as well, for what it’s worth.”

: “The signal or that you were able to figure it out?”

: “Both, really. Figuring out what it was, and that it was a parsable signal at all. Lucja said it’d the song they’ve already been able to hear from the Beast, in the way that I think Wolf hears worlds?”

: “Oh. That’s interesting. That. Actually is strange, because Wolf described the Worldsong as … driving and that’s not how I’d describe that song.” She presses her lips together, and taps them. “I have a guess. No certainty, just … a guess. But. I was thinking of Luĉja’s vision about the Mother of Monsters, and about the moons disappearing, and wondering if they … were … blocking her signal in some way? And as it gets louder the fiends get stranger?” She shakes her head. “That’s really just again, I have nothing to support that theory. Just. A guess.”

: “Hmm…”

shrugs and leans into him. “Not really what I dragged you in to a private bath to talk about, but.”

: “The mind wanders as it does.”

laughs. “That it does.”

adds, more quietly. “I guess one last thing to tell you. I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about it, really, or I have anything … you could help me with, but I realized, recently. That I’m more fucked up from. Being the Sword-Saint than I thought I was? And. I was trying not to ruminate on Samudra but. I’ve been ruminating lately.”

: “This is a much better place for ruminating in general, it’s true.”

: “It hadn’t entirely escaped my notice, either… but I’m here for you in whatever way you might need me.”

nods. “I know.” She squeezes his hand. “Thank you. I’m not sure … what there is to do about it, other than note that I’m,” her mouth twists. “That it did hurt me in an appreciable way that makes certain things difficult to. Be a human.”

gives her hand a squeeze. “We can keep figuring it out as we go.”

nods again. “Yeah.”

: “Is there … anything I can talk about with you? Because otherwise I was going to propose getting cleaned up and getting some fucking food.”

: “Ah, no, I’m starting to get pretty hungry myself so if you’re ready to go, I definitely am as well.”

: “Yeah. I barely got scratched. More attractive targets, I think,” and yeah, she does mean him. She stands, and does take a moment to kiss him, before saying, “So, what do you wanna eat?”

: “We’re definitely hitting the food stalls, before you get a chance to become accustom to the _fancier stuff.”

grins at him. “That sounds amazing.”