[ it's a confession, in and of its own. these are the sort of conversations temenos is used to happening - the kind where someone pours their heart out into his cupped hands as he holds the pieces together, and carefully reforms the back into place. the cleric, at his best.
so he listens, letting nodd talk through his emotions, as raw and real as they are, guiding him carefully towards the bathroom area. i miss having nothing, wanting nothing. ]
...You don't need to deprive yourself of all things, or allow yourself to take them all in, either. [ it feels like they've had this conversation before, and temenos can see the threads of it here, too, the sort of core being that makes up the kind of person that nodd is. it's...
it's a little heartbreaking, really, though he keeps that thought to himself. ] What you need is moderation, though that is not easy to learn.
[ nodd has never had a cleric in his party. nor guidance, being by far the eldest. before that, the monastery offered the structure of having nothing he could yearn for. sparring became another form of meditation. tending the mushroom forest was a necessity. repairing the buildings granted him a skill.
as long as he was separated from everyone or anything that could destabilize him, nodd could live. and that felt like it should be enough. could be. ]
Para told me to leave the Spires before she died.
[ his first response might make it seem as if nodd didn't hear temenos' words. but he did. ]
She must've noticed I wasn't learning to moderate. Maybe she thought I'd find it somewhere else.
[ no malice to para for depriving him of a place to return to. much love to the old bat. ]
[ prana's a unfamiliar name, but he can put two and two together, he thinks. as they round the corner, careful, he hums his understanding, looking at him out of the corner of his eye. ]
[ yeah gonna have to work off of context clues if you don't outright ask the drunkard for clarity.
he stops when they near the door to the showers. ]
...I know we aren't here for anything fun.
[ if he had cat ears instead of long, they'd be flattening. ]
It was, uh. Few months ago? I stuck around until she passed so I could take her ashes to the northern sea. Really nice of me. She should've let me stay.
[ he smiles a little, there. voice a little lower, that enigmatic, almost mischievous little smile on his face, foxlike. one might even call it a little flirtatious. ]
[ but this does get nodd to enter the room without holding his arms and feet against the frame like an actual beastie. he spares a glance toward temenos' legs. glances elsewhere. the sinks. ]
[ the unfortunate thing about the return of their powers (in part) is the return of nodd's incredible tolerance (in part). he's already in danger of shifting from wasted to tipsy after their drinkless walk.
he takes a silent moment to meet the priest's gaze. then, ]
If you want me to.
[ speaking soft so his jaw needn't move too much. ]
I can look.
[ hands slipping behind him to meet at his lower back. nodd will look with his eyes, see? ]
[ that's about what he's expecting. he removes the hand from his chin - the look on his face barely changes, just a slight eyebrow raise. a nonverbal keep your eyes on me with the way his fingertips linger.
and once he's assured of that, he sets a finger in the center of his chest, and starts to walk nodd backwards. back towards the showers. eyes on me. ]
Very good. [ almost a hum, low and soft. back one step. two, three. ]
[ like a lamb to the slaughter, nodd's eyes are on temenos'. all sense of self-preservation evaporates with this dreadfully individual attention. he walks backwards with surprising grace for a drunk. the stumbling from earlier scared out of him by being told he's very good. ]
Inquisitor...?
[ he knows. they had that moment in the arcade and temenos made his position crystal (rat) clear. so, nodd knows. but what is that saying about ignorance being bliss? why start critically thinking this late in the game? ]
[ he says in that same low, approving tone. leans forward...
and then without mercy, hits the button to turn on the shower spray and steps deftly out of the way so he doesn't get caught in it, then continues to step back, and it is not the one with the hot water, either.
with the sweetest smile on his face in the world: ]
temenos smiles. it is the smile of a villain. he then chirps: ] Thank you!
[ like that was a compliment, which it was almost certainly not, but hey. sometimes you have to use all the tools in your arsenal when dealing with a stubborn lamb. task completed, he will at least fetch a towel and hang it over the top of the stall for him, stepping out of the way and brushing himself off. he'll grab that bottle from wherever nodd dropped it, too, cradling it under his arm. ]
It's for your own good. [ lmao ] You need to take better care of yourself.
[ how? why? go to every hell. nodd sulks and strips out of his drenched shirt. somehow, someday, he will have his revenge.
after a few beats withstanding the frigid temperature, he slaps the button/panel to turn the spray off. shakes himself in the stall like a dog, droplets flying everywhere before he grabs the towel. starts ruffling it over his hair as he leaves the stall. ]
Can I sleep in your room? I can stay on the floor--for your virtue.
[ for my own sanity i've decided mizuki is not there this evening. he thinks about it, and then waves a hand from where he's settled, bottle loosely hanging between two fingers, leaning against a sink. ]
Very well; though you ought to fetch a change of clothes first.
[ HE IS WET BECAUSE OF YOU ] I don't really care if you sleep in the bed, but if you insist on sleeping on the floor, I won't stop you.
I don't want to wake Rodya up. Let me borrow something of yours. I'll launder it and everything first thing tomorrow.
[ when nodd wakes up at noon.
at present, he's cold and damp. and he notes that temenos has the booze so that's no longer an option. nodd rubs his knuckles into his eyes and sighs. ]
[ this is fine. temenos also likes to sleep in and frankly that means he's less likely to disrupt what might be a hangover for poor nodd. he hums his acceptance, and once he comes out, hands him a second towel. ]
Very well then.
[ i forget that he's so much shorter than tem every time so yes he can borrow clothes. ] Dry yourself off, and we can head back. Let's stop and get some water, first.
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so he listens, letting nodd talk through his emotions, as raw and real as they are, guiding him carefully towards the bathroom area. i miss having nothing, wanting nothing. ]
...You don't need to deprive yourself of all things, or allow yourself to take them all in, either. [ it feels like they've had this conversation before, and temenos can see the threads of it here, too, the sort of core being that makes up the kind of person that nodd is. it's...
it's a little heartbreaking, really, though he keeps that thought to himself. ] What you need is moderation, though that is not easy to learn.
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as long as he was separated from everyone or anything that could destabilize him, nodd could live. and that felt like it should be enough. could be. ]
Para told me to leave the Spires before she died.
[ his first response might make it seem as if nodd didn't hear temenos' words. but he did. ]
She must've noticed I wasn't learning to moderate. Maybe she thought I'd find it somewhere else.
[ no malice to para for depriving him of a place to return to. much love to the old bat. ]
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[ prana's a unfamiliar name, but he can put two and two together, he thinks. as they round the corner, careful, he hums his understanding, looking at him out of the corner of his eye. ]
And how long ago was that?
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he stops when they near the door to the showers. ]
...I know we aren't here for anything fun.
[ if he had cat ears instead of long, they'd be flattening. ]
It was, uh. Few months ago? I stuck around until she passed so I could take her ashes to the northern sea. Really nice of me. She should've let me stay.
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[ he smiles a little, there. voice a little lower, that enigmatic, almost mischievous little smile on his face, foxlike. one might even call it a little flirtatious. ]
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Cheater.
[ but this does get nodd to enter the room without holding his arms and feet against the frame like an actual beastie. he spares a glance toward temenos' legs. glances elsewhere. the sinks. ]
How's walking?
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he lifts his hand, catches his chin, and pulls his face back over so he's looking at temenos, instead. ]
Perhaps you'd take a look at it for me.
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he takes a silent moment to meet the priest's gaze. then, ]
If you want me to.
[ speaking soft so his jaw needn't move too much. ]
I can look.
[ hands slipping behind him to meet at his lower back. nodd will look with his eyes, see? ]
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and once he's assured of that, he sets a finger in the center of his chest, and starts to walk nodd backwards. back towards the showers. eyes on me. ]
Very good. [ almost a hum, low and soft. back one step. two, three. ]
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Inquisitor...?
[ he knows. they had that moment in the arcade and temenos made his position crystal (rat) clear. so, nodd knows. but what is that saying about ignorance being bliss? why start critically thinking this late in the game? ]
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You may call me by my name.
[ little lamb.
another step back. two. three. they're nearing the back wall, now. ]
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Temenos.
[ his hands held behind him touch the back wall first. then his shoulders. this is absolutely a trap and yet it's such a dazzling one.
a pink-red petal caught in the corner of his mouth before he sucks it back in with a sharp inhale. ]
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[ he says in that same low, approving tone. leans forward...
and then without mercy, hits the button to turn on the shower spray and steps deftly out of the way so he doesn't get caught in it, then continues to step back, and it is not the one with the hot water, either.
with the sweetest smile on his face in the world: ]
Sober up, now.
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THERE IS NO JUSTICE. THERE ARE NO GODS. ]
You are a monster.
[ he is the wettest rat that has ever been and there are so many rats that were on this ship ]
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temenos smiles. it is the smile of a villain. he then chirps: ] Thank you!
[ like that was a compliment, which it was almost certainly not, but hey. sometimes you have to use all the tools in your arsenal when dealing with a stubborn lamb. task completed, he will at least fetch a towel and hang it over the top of the stall for him, stepping out of the way and brushing himself off. he'll grab that bottle from wherever nodd dropped it, too, cradling it under his arm. ]
It's for your own good. [ lmao ] You need to take better care of yourself.
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after a few beats withstanding the frigid temperature, he slaps the button/panel to turn the spray off. shakes himself in the stall like a dog, droplets flying everywhere before he grabs the towel. starts ruffling it over his hair as he leaves the stall. ]
Can I sleep in your room? I can stay on the floor--for your virtue.
[ this is what self-care looks like to nodd. ]
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Very well; though you ought to fetch a change of clothes first.
[ HE IS WET BECAUSE OF YOU ] I don't really care if you sleep in the bed, but if you insist on sleeping on the floor, I won't stop you.
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[ when nodd wakes up at noon.
at present, he's cold and damp. and he notes that temenos has the booze so that's no longer an option. nodd rubs his knuckles into his eyes and sighs. ]
I don't insist on the floor.
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Very well then.
[ i forget that he's so much shorter than tem every time so yes he can borrow clothes. ] Dry yourself off, and we can head back. Let's stop and get some water, first.
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Whatever you say.
[ he does plan on exhibiting good behavior. will drink water. will not be too snuggly. ]