childeishly | 🐳 imeeji; inbox.

[He hands him a towel he conjures up out of thin air.]

Were they enough of a challenge for you?

[ childe takes the towel and wipes his face. ] feh, Treasure Hoarders? Never. I'm waiting for the day that you knock by the way. [ playfully slaps him with a splash of hydro. ] What brings you here?

[He makes a face as he's splashed. Of course he does.]

We were going to study that ability of yours, were we not? The one that is potentially eating away at your aether.

And how quaint! You seem to be free.

[ his mood seems to tank the instant it's mentioned. he remembers. five brought it up too, said he spoke to zhongli, and asked him to fill in a journal... something he's avoiding doing. ] I guess so. And that's a pretty bold assumption. Maybe I'm *really* busy!

Is it a sore subject?

No. [ absolutely. ]

You became a little ... less vibrant when I mentioned it. And none of us are devoid of parts of our past and present that we shy away from.

Perhaps I could tell you something equally personal to balance out. Or would you like a fight instead?

[ 'i did not' is his knee jerk response... but he manages to avoid just blurting it out, since it's such a blatant lie. he goes back to cleaning himself of the blood, trying to distract himself from the subject at hand. ]

[ emet's proposal does give him pause; however, and though he'd love a fight he's still pretty exhausted from the day before. ] Either or. [ shrugs, ] though we did fight the last time, so maybe you should tell me something personal.

[He conjures another towel, slightly damp, and helps but it is more petting his hair.]

I could conjure you an opponent to fight, but I don't think that would satisfy you. Well, what would you like? Something personal from here, about Five, from home. I am an endless void of memories and secrets.

Edited 2021-09-15 03:14 (UTC)

[ hm. now that's a tough question. he's not interesting in hearing a secret about five. that just feels... wrong. buuuut he does want to know more about emet. ] From your home. [ since that's kind of the page they're on. his own problem stems from a number of things that happened / are happening to him back home. ]

I am almost colorblind. If you started to turn gray, I'd probably not be able to tell. Not that my eyes don't work, I can see catches of color if I truly concentrate. I'm just used to seeing the world a bit more vibrant.

[He taps his chin and then raises his hand to snap.

Above them flows what looks like an aurora borealis that floats like a stream in the sky. From a distant it looks near white, pales, perhaps a hint of green. If he examines closer, however, he'll quickly discover it is made up of uncountable motes of light each a unique color all their own.]

I am blessed with an ability to see souls. Strong enough that I can even pick out the individual colors among them. To this day, it still is jarring. Not knowing what a person's unique color is.

[If Caeli looks down at himself, he'll see the unique hue of his own soul with any oddities it might have picked up along the way. Maybe it is one color, maybe its two from his fall into the abyss. But whatever it is, it is uniquely his.

Emet's soul itself it two toned, the second color being foreign, but it looks so melded into his normal color that they look nigh inseparable.]

At least here, in dreams, I can show it to you.

[ this fun fact isn’t all that fun… especially not when he’s forced to come face to face with just how mangled his soul looks from the fall into the abyss, the strain it’s put under because of his delusion, and the wear and tear from his corruptions. ]

[ time to just ignore it! ] Does your soul look that way because you took over that body?

[ he folds his arms over his chest, as though that’d be enough to hide his soul from view. ] What does sensei’s soul look like?

His room is painted the color of it. The closest I can get to seeing it in the waking world. But it has its own oddities. Strange echos and edges that I can hardly place. I imagine it has to do with his abilities and their source.

And fear not. Your is not the worst I have met. I quite remember my jaw dropping to the floor when I first gazed upon Absinthe's.

[He taps his chest.]

If only that was the case. I wonder if this body even had a soul when the Production placed me in it.

Mine is this way because I am Tempered. Ever will I be a devout follower of His Grace. I respect you quite a lot, Caeli. This is not a secret I share with many.

Did he make it that color on purpose then, so you could see it, ..?

I wasn’t overly concerned about my soul compared to anybody else’s. [ there are very few people ( and their souls ) he legitimately gives a damn about. ]

I can’t imagine they bothered removing the previous owner’s soul, because everything done here seems half assed… but it’s not like it would really matter, right?

What does being tempered mean? I respect and trust you too… I don’t go around tell just anybody about my limited lifetime or what happened to me when I was a kid.

Ours has always been half sentimental, half work. There is a difference between reality and dreams of which is little surprise. Thus you will note the color slightly off. One wall was painted as it is in dreams and the other from his perfect illusion.

[He can’t help but laugh.]

Neither did Five when I showed him his own soul. Care, that is. I do hope you will come to appreciate it.

It means my will is strongly aligned with another. A devout follower of you will. Lord Zodiark is His name and He is quite literally a will given to our star. Not that I wouldn’t agree with Him were that not the case. He is our desires made manifest after all.

[ childe jabs emet right in the cheek. ] How cute. I enjoy seeing how happy the two of you make each other.

I'm not all that surprised... and maybe. Right now all of that isn't something I'm interested in thinking about. [ he's taken a big leap already. baby steps now. ]

...just a strange word for it then. [ because it makes it sound like he's poisoned or something. ] And what are your desires, Emet-Selch? [ he drags that same finger along the curve of his face and to his lips to tap thoughtfully. ] What are you and Lord Zodiark trying to accomplish?

You probably would not be interested in the academic conversation about alignment of aether around it.

[He also can’t think of it as a bad thing so. Oh well!]

Our desires. Only a little less grandiose than your own. Don’t be too disappointed.

I want to go home, that utopian place, and simply bask in the company of my loved ones. His is to be whole.

[He does lean forward to kiss him lightly, fingers raking over his chest and while the physical touch is there, there is definitely some soul petting involved.]

This is beautiful. No need to be ashamed of it.

I don’t mind listening. I’m sure it’s fascinating, but, hm~ maybe some other time.

I’m not disappointed. If our goals were the same, then I’d have to inevitably kick your ass. [ snickers. ] And becoming the strongest isn’t the only thing I’m interested in… but, ah, [ his hand drops to emet’s chest. ] I hope you can fulfill your desires alongside Lord Zodiark.

[ his instantly pales at the strange feeling of emet groping his soul, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints he tries to push him away. ] S- Stop, please… please stop.

[He does immediately pulling back.]

Does it…

What is wrong?

[ he staggers back and tries to cover his chest with his hands, the dream around them immediately plunged into the darkness of the abyss. ] … [ it takes him a couple of moments to get his breathing in order, small lights of soft blues and purples popping up around them to chase a little bit of the darkness away. ] Reminds me… reminds me of when I died for the first time. [ he digs his nails into himself. ]

[He takes a step forward. He's quite shorter than Caeli perhaps by half a foot as in dreams he always lets Five be taller.

He wraps his arms around him, chin on his shoulder.]

My apologies.

[For both the death and his actions.]

[ he's still shaking like a leaf, something he's pissed about, because he hates showing a weakness - dream or not. ] Some stupid girl took control of my body, possessed me, and it felt... similar...

I won't hurt you, Caeli. On that you have my word.

[He rubs his back up and down in a slow rhythmic gesture, kissing his neck softly.]

[ the darkness starts to wane, everything going back to the way it was before he had his mini freak out. childe expels a sigh, turning his head just enough enough to nuzzle into emet's. ]

Unless you ask for it, of course.

[He nips at him before hold him just a little tighter.]

I wouldn't want to bore you, after all.

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