{"id":14564,"date":"2020-07-08T00:09:50","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T05:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emifail.com\/ocs\/?p=14564"},"modified":"2021-12-27T00:23:24","modified_gmt":"2021-12-27T06:23:24","slug":"talmage-ares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emifail.com\/ocs\/cascade\/talmage-ares","title":{"rendered":"TALMAGE &#038; ARES"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">closed (unless someone wakes up) lunar resorts, room #105 (we won&#8217;t leave the suite) &#8211; friday night @ 2 am<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">talmage spends most of his evening in the communal area, picking through his dinner buffet snack hoard &amp; finally going through whatever the *fuck* garbage was in his backpack. one by one, his companions bid each other a good night &amp; filed off to bed &#8211; eventually leaving talmage alone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">after a few moments of silence, he makes the regular motions to get ready for bed himself. talmage gathers his things, turns off the lights, waits. listens for any movement from his companions. &amp; then heads for the front door, grabbing the ice bucket along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ares&#8230;unpacks. Which isn\u2019t a lot of anything, and then he takes a very hot bath and pouts at the Nothing in the mirror. Maybe while he\u2019s here he can find some time to&#8230;get his eyebrows done or something.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s late. Very late. And he doesn\u2019t sleep, and has no reason to be meditating, he has&#8230;.no one to talk to. So he paces. Quietly, practiced a bit of wall-walking, and then it\u2019s barely 2 and he\u2019s bored. He creeps out into the common area, peeking out the doorway to see who he might have to contend with and sees Talmage&#8230;.sneaking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">talmage pauses at the door. why is he &#8230; uneasy? is it the literal murder mystery they were wrapped up in? no &#8230; it&#8217;s not that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">he presses a hand against the door, listening for anyone outside. nothing. but the pit in his stomach doesn&#8217;t go away.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ares squints as Talmage makes his way to the door. The fuck is he doing? Buddy system, dumb-dumb. He slides as silently as he can up behind Talmage and puts his hand on the door, over his head, presses it shut as he tries to open it. &#8220;Where d&#8217;you think you&#8217;re going?&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the millisecond in which the door is apparently *fighting against him*, talmage is both shocked &amp; offended. the moment his brain catches up with him, however, he&#8217;s scrambling as far away from the voice as quickly as he can.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">he thumps against a chair, swearing quietly, &amp; winds up plastered against the opposing wall. he looks back at ares in anger &amp; *fear*, gripping the ice bucket tightly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of all the reactions he wasn&#8217;t really expecting that one, but in all the Everything over the past few days, Ares forgot what happened when they were fighting the Kraken. He winces horribly and grits his teeth, holds his hands up, palms out. &#8220;Fuck, fuck, sorry, uh&#8211;&#8220;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oops.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">talmage *knows* ares is his friend. unfortunately, talmage doesn\u2019t know what ares is planning on doing at this exact moment. the bucket remains in defensive mode.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cdon\u2019t\u2014 *fucking* do that. why are you awake.\u201d not moving, talmage scans ares up &amp; down, searching for any signs of his unique forms of hostility.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Talmage, I don&#8217;t. Sleep.&#8221; He squints a bit, assumed that was fucking obvious. &#8220;I never have. Why are <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> awake?&#8221; He puts hands on his hips, cocks his head to the side, trying to appear nonthreatening.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;i don&#8217;t either,&#8221; he deadpans. talmage&#8217;s eyes dart between the three closed bedroom doors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ares stone cold bitchfaces at him and drops his arms, rolls his eyes. &#8220;Excuse me.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;i was just going&#8211; *out*. you *don&#8217;t* need to follow me,&#8221; talmage snaps.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Buddy system, Talmage. You shouldn&#8217;t go anywhere alone. Especially not at night in&#8211;&#8221; He cuts himself off at the risk of sounding like an asshole, but, Talmage is a tiefling at a Vale-riddled Spa Resort. He frowns and crosses his arms, pouts a bit. &#8220;You know.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;i can handle things on my own,&#8221; talmage pushes. he relaxes his stance a bit, lowering the bucket. &#8220;i&#8217;m not an *idiot*.&#8221; not like *some* people in their group.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ares gasps with exasperation, more of a scoff, and huffs. He runs a hand through his hair, sputters over words because, duh, but also, they talked about this! &#8220;No, I know, you&#8217;re not stupid, it&#8217;s just dangerous. Duh.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;*i&#8217;ll be fine.*&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">talmage needs this conversation to end, asap. he doesn&#8217;t even give a shit about exploring anymore, he just wants ares to stop fucking *looking* at him. so he heads back towards the door; stride confident, but avoiding eye contact.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What in the fuck. He can&#8217;t just expect to walk past Ares, right out the door, right? Right?? He slaps a hand over the door and frowns. &#8220;I&#8217;m not gonna let you go off alone.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ares<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,&#8221; he says in a way he hopes sounds threatening. talmage still doesn&#8217;t look at him &amp; goes for the door handle. his heart is pounding. please, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">please<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, just fucking move.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His hand darts out for Talmage&#8217;s wrist. He&#8217;s never felt threatened by him, and maybe that&#8217;s not a good thing, but he doesn&#8217;t feel like Talmage could&#8230;really hurt him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">talmage wrenches his wrist from ares&#8217; grasp as if the touch <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">burns<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fine&#8211; okay&#8211; i&#8217;m sorry&#8211;<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8221; he babbles before retreating again. talmage&#8217;s beady eyes are blown wide. he looks like a small animal ready to bolt.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;don&#8217;t&#8211;&#8221; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">don&#8217;t fucking touch me, don&#8217;t ever touch me again<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oh, yeah, that&#8217;s about as bad as Ares could&#8217;ve imagined it being. He tenses up to match, his shoulders stiff and a line creasing his forehead. Bad.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He hates the feeling of his stomach falling, the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">guilt<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> involved, which is a different kind than he&#8217;s used to feeling and makes his skin itch. &#8220;Uh. Sorry.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;sorry?&#8221; talmage mocks, fear never quite trumping his ability to be an asshole. &#8220;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sorry??<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8221; a short, bitter laugh.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;you fucking <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">stabbed<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> me, okay&#8211;&#8221; he says through gritted teeth. he quickly realizes his face is twisting in a way he can&#8217;t control. *god, not now, fuck. *&#8221;just&#8211; don&#8217;t.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He feels his back hit the door and realizes he&#8217;s backed up to get as much distance between them as he can. He suddenly has no idea what to do with his hands, frantically folding his arms across his chest. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t&#8211; I didn&#8217;t <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mean<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to, you know I wouldn&#8217;t do that on purpose.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;you still fucking <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">did<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it,&#8221; talmage bites back. he&#8217;s trying, desperately, to stop the scene from playing in his head, over &amp; over &amp; over. angry tears threaten the corners of his eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;how am i supposed to know you&#8217;re not just going to&#8211; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">do it again?<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Flashbacks suck. And Ares is having one, back to when he was small and the opposite happened; supposed to use a great and powerful magic, completely incapable. Now he can, and he wishes he couldn&#8217;t. &#8220;I don&#8217;t. I can&#8217;t promise that until this sword is gone.&#8221; He curls his fingers into fists. Words pour out of his mouth without a filter, finally alone enough to say them. &#8220;I don&#8217;t have <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">my<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> sword anymore, this one&#8217;s all I have, and I can&#8217;t just put it down, otherwise one of you might die. Again.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;well, just&#8211; keep it away from me!&#8221; he snaps, annoyed that ares&#8217; logic is sound &#8211; though talmage does find himself comforted by how <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">uncomfortable<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the vampire looks. his guilt is obvious.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">good. whatever. he deserves it.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ares laughs and there&#8217;s pain in it. He swallows uncomfortably and rubs the back of his neck, exhasperated. &#8220;Talmage&#8211; it took control of me when I passed out. I don&#8217;t get a choice. I didn&#8217;t get a choice.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">talmage pouts. &#8220;then&#8211;&#8221; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">then we should have been protecting you better.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> his eyes cloud &amp; he swears. the taste of metal pricks at his tongue as he realizes he&#8217;s been gnawing at his own lower lip.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">he stares at the floor, no longer able to put his frustration into words.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It feels worse when Talmage isn&#8217;t yelling at him, or talking nonstop, for some reason. Ares takes a step forward and clears his throat. Which might be a mistake, but, let it never be said he made the smartest decisions. &#8220;I&#8217;m&#8211; working on it. With the Jerry thing. I don&#8217;t want this anymore. Not like I used to.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">talmage is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">very<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> aware when ares step closer. his eyes snap up &amp; his body twitches, as if considering its options. it decides to stay planted where it is.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;yeah, well,&#8221; he starts, expecting a witty comment to magically follow. it doesn&#8217;t. instead, he stops to think.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;the sword, right, or&#8211;&#8220;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ares feels exhasperated and almost snaps his response, but for once. Looking at Talmage, his friend, actually be afraid of him? He bites his tongue. &#8220;Yes. The sword.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;you have a lot of shit going on, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">okay<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,&#8221; talmage snaps, feeling a little stupid. &#8220;i wasn&#8217;t sure which one was finally starting to bother you.&#8221; he crosses his arms &amp; rolls his eyes away from ares.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sound that comes out of his mouth is halfway between a bark and a laugh. &#8220;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to? Fuck you, come <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&#8221; He crosses his arms, petulant as always.]<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">he <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tch&#8217;s<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, thoroughly frustrated at the conversation &#8211; &amp; a little bit at himself. even in all his anger, talmage can tell he was dangerously close to commenting on the whole <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vampire<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> thing, &amp; that isn&#8217;t&#8211; that isn&#8217;t fair, he knows that. even if it was on talmage&#8217;s mind just about as much as the sword was.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ares adjusts his hair, combs it back with his fingers. &#8220;Yes, obviously, it&#8217;s bothering me. I know I fucked up, but I&#8217;m not about to whine about it when we have bigger problems. I. Guess.&#8221; He winces because that sounds like such a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nice<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> thing, but really, he knows he&#8217;s just pathetic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">his teeth clench. talmage can&#8217;t tell if that was a dig at him or not. is he just being defensive? god, why does <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">everything<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> piss him off.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;i wouldn&#8217;t call it <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">whining<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,\u201d he says, bitter, \u201cbut that&#8217;s just me.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ares opens his mouth and shuts it. He was about to say something, but his brain shorts out at that. He&#8217;s&#8230;pretty sure they&#8217;re angry at the same thing. He groans, rubs his face with both hands, and paces for a moment. &#8220;I will <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">not<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> be useless, not <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">again<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cyou don\u2019t need freaky demon shit to be useful,\u201d he scoffs, as if it\u2019s the most obvious thing in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cEasy for you to say when you made up your own kind of magic.\u201d Ares pouts, crossing his arms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;yeah, it <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">!\u201d he says, exasperated &#8211; because yeah, he <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">did<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> do that. \u201cand it\u2019s still kind of shit! and doesn\u2019t really do me a lot of good! but you don\u2019t see <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">me\u2014<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> fucking\u2014\u201c talmage runs a hand down his face &amp; groans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cno\u2014 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">god<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. whatever.\u201d he points a finger at ares. \u201cyou\u2014 i don\u2019t know who told you you were shit all your life, but fuck it, okay? go talk to hot topic &amp; find your new religion.\u201d he pauses. \u201cstop stabbing people.\u201d another pause. \u201cunless we hate them.\u201d (edited)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sheer <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">exhasperation<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> he feels makes Ares want to throw Talmage as far as he can physically manage, why does everyone just *say * things and expect people to just. Deal with it and do it? He scoffs, then scoffs again, makes several indignant noises and throws his hands up. &#8220;I&#8217;m not shit! I know I&#8217;m not shit! Fuck you!&#8221; His voice raises octaves as he snips. &#8220;I&#8217;m fine! I&#8217;m not <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fine<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I&#8217;m not going to stand around<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and do nothing, when. I could be! Augh, this is impossible.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He stomps a foot and crosses his arms. &#8220;What the fuck is a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hot topic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cthen don\u2019t be all <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">poor-fuckin\u2019-me<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about it and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">do<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> something before you <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hurt more people<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,\u201d talmage hisses, intentionally hushed so ares gets the hint that he&#8217;s being too loud. \u201calso she\u2019s a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fashion designer<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it\u2019s a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">joke<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, never <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mind<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Very few things have been laid out that bluntly to him before, and Ares sputters a little. &#8220;Uh.&#8221; He blinks at Talmage like a fucking moron and then sits down. &#8220;What. Do you suggest.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> what? advice? ares was supposed to keep yelling at him or one of them was supposed to storm away from the conversation. this isn\u2019t how these talks go. talmage doesn\u2019t give <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">advice<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cuh,\u201d he also says. he sits down as well, though still a safe distance away. \u201cso. um. maybe we find someone else to hold onto the evil sword trying to mind control you?\u201d he laughs suddenly, like someone just told him a funny joke. \u201chell, give it to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">me<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, i\u2019m the weakest fucking one here &amp; i probably can\u2019t even use it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">then his brows furrow &amp; talmage sits up straight. \u201chold up, would it still try to eat me if <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">i<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was the one holding it? while i\u2019m <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">marked?<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> fuck.\u201d uh oh, there he goes. he\u2019s thinking now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Uhhhh,&#8221; another resoundingly stupid sound. It&#8217;s strange for him to feel so comfortable being himself, through and through, in front of Talmage. A little bit dumb, sometimes. To admit he&#8217;s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">wrong<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> sometimes. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know! I don&#8217;t know.&#8221; He blinks a little owlishly. &#8220;It&#8217;s bound to me. Whoever takes it has to&#8211; really <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">take<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it, Kairos was holding it but it came right back when I tried to draw my other sword&#8211; It liked Bishop more, though. I think because he&#8217;s&#8211; well. Strong.&#8221; He gestures. Now <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ares<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is thinking, mulling over all the implications of this. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know, it&#8217;s not very nice to talk to. No personality. It&#8217;s just hungry.&#8221; (edited)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cok, so \u2026 let someone else <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">take<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it, someone who\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">better<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at telling it to chill the fuck out, or figure out how to\u2014 how to do it yourself?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0talmage stumbles when he remembers that ares had only out-right attacked him after he\u2019d gotten hurt badly enough. that\u2019s kind of hard to avoid. that also wasn\u2019t entirely the sword, right? why is this dude so fucking complicated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cmaybe we can do something to it. or\u2014 to you, or give you something, to make it harder? for it to influence you? i don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cUh, yeah, happily. But then I\u2014\u201c he sighs, and covers his face with both hands. \u201cChill the fuck out, right.\u201d He looks up at Talmage and for once there\u2019s real vulnerability there, like something\u2019s been carved out of his chest. \u201cWhat if I can\u2019t do any magic without a bond to one of her swords? That that\u2019s. The only reason I\u2019ve ever been able to do it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">talmage opens his mouth, but doesn&#8217;t really have a good answer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">i&#8211; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">man<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, i don&#8217;t know,&#8221; he admits, exasperated. &#8220;that&#8217;s stupid. i don&#8217;t see why you couldn&#8217;t just&#8211; get it some other way. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">yeah<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you might have to start over, but&#8211; that&#8217;s just how shit is sometimes.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ares rubs his hands over his face, frustrated. \u201cFine, yeah, fine\u2014 I know. Sometimes shit just\u2014 sucks. If there\u2019s one thing I\u2019ve learned from staying with you people it\u2019s that.\u201d He flops back onto a couch, sprawls his arms out. \u201cI\u2019ll ask everyone tomorrow\u2014 when we\u2019ve got some time. If they have any suggestions. Before we have to fight some fuck off huge demon monster again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">seeing ares like this, confused and conflicted, is &#8230; nice; in a fucked-up, validating kind of way. the guy is always so confident and performative. knowing people like that have just as much insecurities as <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">he<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> does &#8230; well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;yup. shit sucks. seriously, though. that time guy was really into the idea of you and&#8211; what, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">literal<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> death? hooking up? they can probably &#8230; arrange &#8230; something. probably.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">then talmage glances at ares &#8211; powerful warlock vampire, the guy who tried to eat him and run him through with a sword all in the same day, sprawled out across a couch and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">moping<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; and he laughs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Not <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hooking up<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, forming a warlock pact, it&#8217;s very specific&#8211; what?&#8221; As Talmage starts to snicker at him. Like something about this is funny. &#8220;What? What are you laughing about.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201csorry,\u201d talmage says between cackles, \u201ci was just picturing you with a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">scythe<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ares blinks like a moron all over again and finally finds the mental capacity to close his mouth and reply. &#8220;Talmage. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I want a fucking scythe.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>closed (unless someone wakes up) lunar resorts, room #105 (we won&#8217;t leave the suite) &#8211; friday night @ 2 am<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[244,242,107,174,209],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-14564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cascade","tag-roleplay","tag-ellie","tag-emily","tag-talmage","tag-ares","blog-left-layout","blog-style-postblock","","blog-alt-odd"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emifail.com\/ocs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emifail.com\/ocs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emifail.com\/ocs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emifail.com\/ocs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emifail.com\/ocs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/emifail.com\/ocs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14564\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emifail.com\/ocs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emifail.com\/ocs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emifail.com\/ocs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14564"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emifail.com\/ocs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=14564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}