[ there is always more to do... isn't there? you think you have done enough, that everything is ending, but then it suddenly doesn't, and you are left with the finality of that which you've promised yourself — and ending.
in any case, nodd is paying a visit back to the eudora, and while it might take a while to find him, artemy is here as well. he looks... tired i think is the best way to describe it. he looks fucking exhausted. these bags? designer. my life? a living hell. but there's a sort of satisfied look in his eyes as he can be found just kind of standing in the middle of the observation deck/lounge with his arms folded just. gazing out at the stars.
of course when he does hear someone wandering around, he'll glance back, and probably head over to meet him halfway. what's the point in running or avoiding, right? he's gotten attached. ]
[ he wasn't but he would agree to them if he had been there for them alas things that never were. he just smiles, a little more easily now. there's a weight that's gone, but at the same time, something lingers. job's not done just yet. ]
Mmm, having the earth beneath my feet, the real earth - that's something I'd missed.
[ a slight laugh at the last bit. ]
You're bound to find whoever it is your looking for at some point or another. I believe I've seen a few come through? If you're looking for someone in particular...
I already found the person I was looking for. [ a wry twist to his lips and eyebrows lifted. artemy has that exhausted, i'll-ruin-you-if-you-get-too-close tragedy about him (as always), but nodd's... different. knowing he survives. that there is anything for him to survive for. it makes that fear less intrusive. ]
Have you not returned to your homeworld?
[ that's probably a question better left unsaid for the first few minutes of their reunion, but when has nodd followed rules of decorum? ]
Don't tell me you've been here the whole time and didn't message me.
[ refuses to think about timeline difference magic. nodd, not sae. sae will think about it. ]
[ there's never enough time, so he always needs to move quickly to begin with. he'll just shift to move through the threshold where nodd's leaning now and just. place a big hand on his shoulder. ]
I had a plague to cure. Bull to feed. Kids to care for... But time... it's funny here on the Eudora. I think things move a little faster where I am from. Don't ask me how it works.
[ because he knows about as little as nodd does, he just has heard talk of time dilations here and there because shiro is a fucking space nerd. ]
[ ignore the bg3 model maker, nodd has shoulders that exist. he's a monk. but he's also almost a half foot shorter than artemy so the hand is big, sure. and warm when nodd veers cooler if he hasn't been running. ]
So you did it? You 'slayed the dragon?'
[ he remembers the memshare, seeing and feeling artemy's desperate need to return home. to save what was left to save. ]
[ there are so many other things that live in the concourse so let's find out :o!
but he does laugh a little. the name, doesn't sting so much now that he remembers precisely how he got it - how the intention was never to forget. he doesn't seem to mind, though. i think if he had a tail it'd be apparent how happy he is at the swap. but he doesn't. so that's irrelevant, my noodles are done.
just walking them towards it, but humming - ]
I have a few abilities, but nothing very offensive. [ he just... punch. :v he does pause a moment to try and figure out a way to phrase it. ] I am able to read these things called "Lines" in others - linked to their breathing, their blood, their nerves... things like that. Helps diagnose disease... injury.
[ he looks at him with a little bit of surprise in his eyes when nodd says that. because it pretty much hits the nail on the head, to put it simply. he doesn't seem to pursue, which is fine actually it's. a lot of weird metaphysical stuff he only knows how to utilize... he's not a scientist... ]
Yeah. If I focused in on it - I don't utilize it all of the time, though I tried to towards the end. Makes me a good surgeon.
Nothing that scary. I'm curious. We don't have a cleric or anything in the party. I wouldn't hate knowing there was somewhere I could go for a tune-up sometimes.
[ for fun and no profit this feels like a big fat lie. but he just gives him a nod, brows lifted a little bit. ]
By all means. I'm not here all the time, but... we can arrange something like that.
[ especially if it's going to help him in the longrun...? why not? he doesn't see a reason not to, and he'd rather see nodd in one, whole piece if he can help it. did you know we're going to the hot springs? we're going to the hot springs. that's where this particular direction leads. ]
Why do you say that? Is there something you'd like me to have a look at?
[ his voice is always tempered and easy, but maybe there's a little bit of mischief in there. just for him. ]
[ well, nodd would pay artemy for his services if it were requested, but since the pent doesn't have much value in space, he'd surely have to find alternate pay methods. some sort of credit system. or, you know. the laundry room's still there, isn't it? ]
Ah. [ that's in reaction to seeing which corridor they turn down. it begins as that, anyway, a surprised sound. then, an explanation. that also works in answer to the question. ]
When I first came here, I was pretty shy about going topless. Didn't know what was... typical. Feels so silly now.
[ inflation has ruined money in his world, don't worry about it........ cries........... but also. the laundry room. hm. (no he is not letting you pay him in blowjobs.) ]
That so? [ genuine, no real surprise there, rather, he's just trying to remain a fairly relaxed presence. sometimes that's for the best here, but yeah surprise it's time to just get hot, wet, and naked :v in tiny shorts. it's a good day. ]
Hardly silly if there's something you prefer to play close to the chest.
[ money is the devil (not sexy) in every universe. nodd believes this. fuck money. you steal it so you can spend it. duh. ]
Maybe I was trying to be a little--well, not so much anymore.
[ did that babble make sense? probably not. but here they are near the changing rooms since someone doesn't want to have fun in the laundry area. time to be real. time to not be nervous and to simply strip off his top. it's liberating.
behold. cute fantasy top surgery star-scars and that broken moon tat. ]
What about you? Any leftover 'secrets?' Other than the Lines.
[ money is so unsexy and should only be used for good. the babble, in any case, seems to make sense to him. he just smiles a little bit, raising a brow before turning to take go ahead and strip off his own shirt as well. scars meet scars, but instead of focused, they're just. everywhere actually. some of them overlapping, some of them jagged, some of them clean, some of them long, sprawling burns, others focused in spots where vital organs might be resting. some of them look like maybe they've just. been stabbed into over and over again. the scar tissue in some areas is Bananas.
this man i don't think has ever seen him shirtless anyways, so nodd can see that he's like. absolutely full country, he has muscle - probably healthier than it used to be thanks to multiple months trapped on the eudora with adequate food (though the rest left much to be desired.) here is an excuse to show u an art i love cw for like. a non-realistic fantasy surgery.
but man. he will behold the cute fantasy top surgery scars :holding_back_tears_face: but in the clinical way physicians do, but then with a kind of admiring ending to it. like huh. those are nice actually. there's a little tilt to the head as he tosses nodd a towel playfully. ]
[ for the first time, sae has to truly consider how the fuck nodd even got his tits off and i now realize probably para helped him and there was some weird magic-surgery involved. wow. so fun. there are other scars, since nodd has always lived a life, but nothing so eye-drawing or intense as what artemy bares.
nodd looks with a fierceness that straddles that line between respectful and sort of perverse. he lingers too long on the mangled tissue. he visually traces the swirls and stabs of old pains. ]
You've lived a life.
[ it's sad, nodd has never been able to pack on muscle. he was small as a child and reached an incredibly modest height as an adult. train as he like, he remains built for speed and momentum-based takedowns. boo.
he's jealous and he wants to touch. both. ]
We could start there. Trade some scar stories while we soak.
he figures that he owes nodd as much of a look as he's given him. me like are they ditching the pants, are they going in with towels, do you want tiny shorts? it's our psl oyster nobody's gonna know and i'm A Pervert.
regardless, he just huffs. ]
... Sounds like a good trade. We deal in many of those where I'm from.
[ tiny shorts is good. or towels. handtowels. little towels. nodd is going to pop open some locker door to change behind. you can see some ass curve during the process but that's about it, buddy. everything else will need to be in the springs.
let us also pray that the eudora keeps those filtered and clean between any and all uses. ]
Not-dead buddies! Did you get revived by a goddess? A curse?
[ there are so many dead and then not dead people here and i think it's hilarious!!! anyways thanks for the ass, he's polite though and just changes without Staring. and also yeah, these get sterilized after every use ok. also like. proprietary biowaste eating something something i don't know just know it stays clean. ]
Curse, I guess? There was a funny little man in a theatre for a time, driving me insane, but I've... taken care of that too.
[ he didn't do shit except walk away, but that's precisely what he had to do. ]
Do you want to expand on that or am I supposed to just imagine? Because in my imagination the funny little man has a top hat.
[ steps out with skimpy towel which works for him. put on your speedo, boy, or whatever is appropriate for a space swim. he wishes to become one with the water. ]
[ snorts a little with his little towel around his waist. he doesn't even know what a speedo is go away. come on let's go let's go let's go. seems like he needs a minute to think of how to explain it as they get in. ]
He... directs the show. I play my part. If I get that part wrong... or if I die... he brings me back, worse off than before. Takes a little part of me each time. Though I think perhaps he's gone with the plague now that it's been eradicated.
[ sometimes he feels like he still needs to look over his shoulder. ]
[ man maybe if mark immortell had all those things it would have been so much more bearable than it has been...
just lets him self soothe because, yes, to the springs. nodd gets a brief glance, the like kind of flick of a once over with a faint uptick of the corner of his mouth. hi. ]
More rat than anything. And... I hope so. Maybe. We'll see.
[ maybe he's a mass hallucination that will never go away. he's not gonna be shy about it in terms of getting into the water, he is just going to slink right in, eyes closing immediately. ]
Come on. In. It's the perfect temperature for forgetting bullshit.
[ while nodd never visited the hot springs during his initial trip aboard the eudora, he understands the concept. there was an area of similar heated pools around the Spires by in the opposite direction of the mushroom forest. they were good for an irregular visit. ]
Why is it always rats?
[ did artemy subtly summon to them to the graveyard?? was that all his fault???
nodd attempts to be unshy as well, although there's a moment of hesitation before he dunks himself into the spring. head underwater, even, for a second, before reemerges next to artemy, settling into a seat beside. ]
Oh. That is nice. Should have come here more. Will come here more.
[ nodd settles in beside him and he leans back, just fine with the proximity. a gentle nudge of the shoulders together and he laughs. also wow he did not, i can't believe this keeps happening. ]
We'll just have to make some kind of "standing appointment" or whatever they call it? Eugh that sounds stiff.
[ he takes a moment to dunk his own head underneath briefly before leaning back and letting out a long sigh. thank you based no-longer fleshy eudora. ]
[ nodd snorts, amused, and then he sinks dooown until his lower lip touches the water's surface. leaving the eudora, he was revived by the hearth mother but then not a moment to himself. right away, they spread para's ashes. right away, they had to escape the city.
nice, now, to become one with the spring. to watch artemy with eyes that faintly glow. ]
Hmmm. Then someone would have to use the I.R.I.S. to coordinate.
[ 'someone' could be either of these ye olde-ish idiots. ]
[ he blurts it out. i'm casting blame mostly on nodd bc artemy had a whole month to learn before things happened but also they have been fucking busy as hell. so really. both ways.
when he looks at him, it's with gray blue eyes that catch the shimmer off of the water from reflective lights. maybe he inches a little closer. curiosity?
he lifts a hand and taps nodd in the forehead with a pair of fingers. ]
[ true to his nature, nodd can't be irritated, whether or not he agrees on where the blame should lie. that artemy cares enough to cast blame--that's of much greater interest.
he means to say something when he's tapped. drops of water rain onto the bridge of his nose, one finds his upper lip. ]
You're a tough read for me.
[ because nodd has been so, so good at figuring out the wants and needs of his crewmates. ]
[ throws nodd into the trash where i keep all of my precious things. but also he huffs as this man really just takes it (it's mostly a joke. artemy does not expect correspondence when there is more chaos than time to breathe. he knows well enough how that goes.) all the time. ]
I'm not a particularly good book.
[ i'm a poor read. a faint smile at that, his hand falling back into the water as he gives his head a small tilt. he doesn't pull away though, hovering within a mutual space that's close enough for the heat off of their skin to share itself between them. very quietly: ]
[ what makes for a good book anymore? is it a story that tugs on the heartstrings or the satisfaction of a clear-cut ending? ]
Is that so?
[ if artemy is actually watching and not simply teasing, he'll see nodd's pulse spike.
nodd's time on the eudora taught him to be more patient, less impulsive. to hold is tongue. that he remains turbulent, despite his training. that he feels less himself with his elven blood cut off. so he should enjoy that the water is warm and he has artemy's attention. not push.
he's so much better at pushing. ]
What is it telling you? [ so close. really, really close. his hand, creeping to brush artemy's knee underwater. ]
[ there's the briefest twitch, but not away from his touch. artemy watches that pulse jump and closes his eyes. it feels good... to have survived, to be alive, to have somehow avoided an unraveling of himself.
he lets his hand trail downwards, brushing the tips of his fingers along nodd's throat. he takes a breath and a moment. ]
It says enough.
[ tapping softly against the pulse. a little lift of the brow. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
i am here Forever
in any case, nodd is paying a visit back to the eudora, and while it might take a while to find him, artemy is here as well. he looks... tired i think is the best way to describe it. he looks fucking exhausted. these bags? designer. my life? a living hell. but there's a sort of satisfied look in his eyes as he can be found just kind of standing in the middle of the observation deck/lounge with his arms folded just. gazing out at the stars.
of course when he does hear someone wandering around, he'll glance back, and probably head over to meet him halfway. what's the point in running or avoiding, right? he's gotten attached. ]
Sight for sore eyes, Trouble's back.
[ also i think this can go on the post ]
no subject
Guess what?
[ leaning into the nearest doorway because that's the sort of shit he is. crosses one ankle behind the other. ]
I lived.
[ the energy he has right now is insane. the confidence.
avatar of the gods.]no subject
[ nodd really brings the energy of big man in here when he is in fact not so big. artemy just leans in the doorway back, opposite side of the frame. ]
Seems survival is a trend. Let's hope it keeps, yeah?
You miss the ship that much you had to come back?
no subject
[ was artemy there for any of those? nooo? well. that's fine. don't fret. ]
--but I prefer ground under my feet. I'm here to check on the people I can't see otherwise.
[ like you, man he told to 'shut up' ]
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Mmm, having the earth beneath my feet, the real earth - that's something I'd missed.
[ a slight laugh at the last bit. ]
You're bound to find whoever it is your looking for at some point or another. I believe I've seen a few come through? If you're looking for someone in particular...
[ he's a moron (is he?) ]
I can say I've missed your face.
[ he is not. ]
no subject
Have you not returned to your homeworld?
[ that's probably a question better left unsaid for the first few minutes of their reunion, but when has nodd followed rules of decorum? ]
Don't tell me you've been here the whole time and didn't message me.
[ refuses to think about timeline difference magic. nodd, not sae. sae will think about it. ]
no subject
[ there's never enough time, so he always needs to move quickly to begin with. he'll just shift to move through the threshold where nodd's leaning now and just. place a big hand on his shoulder. ]
I had a plague to cure. Bull to feed. Kids to care for... But time... it's funny here on the Eudora. I think things move a little faster where I am from. Don't ask me how it works.
[ because he knows about as little as nodd does, he just has heard talk of time dilations here and there because shiro is a fucking space nerd. ]
no subject
So you did it? You 'slayed the dragon?'
[ he remembers the memshare, seeing and feeling artemy's desperate need to return home. to save what was left to save. ]
stabs notifs
So to speak... yes. Though there's much damage to repair...
[ a soft laugh ]
I may have just swung by to steal a moment for myself. But I don't mind sharing that.
threatens to draw notemy (i had to really work at the name mashup) next
You know me. I'll go if I'm told, but if you let me stick around...
[ nodd gets stuck, not on fly traps, but on people. ]
Anything I can help with?
[ pretty sure he'd be no good against what artemy has going on back on his homeworld, but he remembers enough about the eudora! ]
ok but that benefits Me so.................
I mean, I've got no... serious business here.
[ nodding in the direction of /throws dart the concourse. ]
You're not looking for more work are you? Here I was about to invite you to come with me...
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Nooo. Just more Io--sorry. Old habit. Artemy time.
[ rubs jaw. nodd started calling artemy by his true name without ever asking permission. sort of rude. probably ought to have checked. ]
You didn't have any 'powers' ever, did you?
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but he does laugh a little. the name, doesn't sting so much now that he remembers precisely how he got it - how the intention was never to forget. he doesn't seem to mind, though. i think if he had a tail it'd be apparent how happy he is at the swap. but he doesn't. so that's irrelevant, my noodles are done.
just walking them towards it, but humming - ]
I have a few abilities, but nothing very offensive. [ he just... punch. :v he does pause a moment to try and figure out a way to phrase it. ] I am able to read these things called "Lines" in others - linked to their breathing, their blood, their nerves... things like that. Helps diagnose disease... injury.
no subject
[ nodd believes the statement in a broader sense than simply within one's body, but no need to push philosophy into regular chatter. ]
And is that back--the Lines? Could you see if I were hurt or sick?
[ a physical version of roboji who reads people's feelings. all these intuitive fucks--the robots, the sexy doctors. ]
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Yeah. If I focused in on it - I don't utilize it all of the time, though I tried to towards the end. Makes me a good surgeon.
Why... something up?
[ Are You Hurt, Dude. ]
no subject
[ for fun and no profit ]
But if you wanted to take a look...
[ tacit permission. teehee. ]
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By all means. I'm not here all the time, but... we can arrange something like that.
[ especially if it's going to help him in the longrun...? why not? he doesn't see a reason not to, and he'd rather see nodd in one, whole piece if he can help it. did you know we're going to the hot springs? we're going to the hot springs. that's where this particular direction leads. ]
Why do you say that? Is there something you'd like me to have a look at?
[ his voice is always tempered and easy, but maybe there's a little bit of mischief in there. just for him. ]
no subject
Ah. [ that's in reaction to seeing which corridor they turn down. it begins as that, anyway, a surprised sound. then, an explanation. that also works in answer to the question. ]
When I first came here, I was pretty shy about going topless. Didn't know what was... typical. Feels so silly now.
no subject
That so? [ genuine, no real surprise there, rather, he's just trying to remain a fairly relaxed presence. sometimes that's for the best here, but yeah surprise it's time to just get hot, wet, and naked :v in tiny shorts. it's a good day. ]
Hardly silly if there's something you prefer to play close to the chest.
[ haha ]
no subject
Maybe I was trying to be a little--well, not so much anymore.
[ did that babble make sense? probably not. but here they are near the changing rooms since someone doesn't want to have fun in the laundry area. time to be real. time to not be nervous and to simply strip off his top. it's liberating.
behold. cute fantasy top surgery star-scars and that broken moon tat. ]
What about you? Any leftover 'secrets?' Other than the Lines.
no subject
this man i don't think has ever seen him shirtless anyways, so nodd can see that he's like. absolutely full country, he has muscle - probably healthier than it used to be thanks to multiple months trapped on the eudora with adequate food (though the rest left much to be desired.) here is an excuse to show u an art i love cw for like. a non-realistic fantasy surgery.
but man. he will behold the cute fantasy top surgery scars :holding_back_tears_face: but in the clinical way physicians do, but then with a kind of admiring ending to it. like huh. those are nice actually. there's a little tilt to the head as he tosses nodd a towel playfully. ]
I don't know what else you'd consider a secret.
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nodd looks with a fierceness that straddles that line between respectful and sort of perverse. he lingers too long on the mangled tissue. he visually traces the swirls and stabs of old pains. ]
You've lived a life.
[ it's sad, nodd has never been able to pack on muscle. he was small as a child and reached an incredibly modest height as an adult. train as he like, he remains built for speed and momentum-based takedowns. boo.
he's jealous and he wants to touch. both. ]
We could start there. Trade some scar stories while we soak.
[ gaze rests on titty area. lower. hum. ]
no subject
[ (meme voice) both is good.
he figures that he owes nodd as much of a look as he's given him. me like are they ditching the pants, are they going in with towels, do you want tiny shorts? it's our psl oyster nobody's gonna know and i'm A Pervert.
regardless, he just huffs. ]
... Sounds like a good trade. We deal in many of those where I'm from.
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let us also pray that the eudora keeps those filtered and clean between any and all uses. ]
Not-dead buddies! Did you get revived by a goddess? A curse?
no subject
Curse, I guess? There was a funny little man in a theatre for a time, driving me insane, but I've... taken care of that too.
[ he didn't do shit except walk away, but that's precisely what he had to do. ]
no subject
Do you want to expand on that or am I supposed to just imagine? Because in my imagination the funny little man has a top hat.
[ steps out with skimpy towel which works for him. put on your speedo, boy, or whatever is appropriate for a space swim. he wishes to become one with the water. ]
no subject
[ snorts a little with his little towel around his waist. he doesn't even know what a speedo is go away. come on let's go let's go let's go. seems like he needs a minute to think of how to explain it as they get in. ]
He... directs the show. I play my part. If I get that part wrong... or if I die... he brings me back, worse off than before. Takes a little part of me each time. Though I think perhaps he's gone with the plague now that it's been eradicated.
[ sometimes he feels like he still needs to look over his shoulder. ]
no subject
self-soothes by eying artemy's small towel. ]
Sounds like an asshole. Or a god. Both, probably, that is how those things go. Let's hope you're rid of him for good.
[ to the springs? ]
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just lets him self soothe because, yes, to the springs. nodd gets a brief glance, the like kind of flick of a once over with a faint uptick of the corner of his mouth. hi. ]
More rat than anything. And... I hope so. Maybe. We'll see.
[ maybe he's a mass hallucination that will never go away. he's not gonna be shy about it in terms of getting into the water, he is just going to slink right in, eyes closing immediately. ]
Come on. In. It's the perfect temperature for forgetting bullshit.
no subject
Why is it always rats?
[ did artemy subtly summon to them to the graveyard?? was that all his fault???
nodd attempts to be unshy as well, although there's a moment of hesitation before he dunks himself into the spring. head underwater, even, for a second, before reemerges next to artemy, settling into a seat beside. ]
Oh. That is nice. Should have come here more. Will come here more.
no subject
We'll just have to make some kind of "standing appointment" or whatever they call it? Eugh that sounds stiff.
[ he takes a moment to dunk his own head underneath briefly before leaning back and letting out a long sigh. thank you based no-longer fleshy eudora. ]
no subject
nice, now, to become one with the spring. to watch artemy with eyes that faintly glow. ]
Hmmm. Then someone would have to use the I.R.I.S. to coordinate.
[ 'someone' could be either of these ye olde-ish idiots. ]
no subject
[ he blurts it out. i'm casting blame mostly on nodd bc artemy had a whole month to learn before things happened but also they have been fucking busy as hell. so really. both ways.
when he looks at him, it's with gray blue eyes that catch the shimmer off of the water from reflective lights. maybe he inches a little closer. curiosity?
he lifts a hand and taps nodd in the forehead with a pair of fingers. ]
no subject
he means to say something when he's tapped. drops of water rain onto the bridge of his nose, one finds his upper lip. ]
You're a tough read for me.
[ because nodd has been so, so good at figuring out the wants and needs of his crewmates. ]
no subject
I'm not a particularly good book.
[ i'm a poor read. a faint smile at that, his hand falling back into the water as he gives his head a small tilt. he doesn't pull away though, hovering within a mutual space that's close enough for the heat off of their skin to share itself between them. very quietly: ]
I can see the pulse in your throat.
no subject
Is that so?
[ if artemy is actually watching and not simply teasing, he'll see nodd's pulse spike.
nodd's time on the eudora taught him to be more patient, less impulsive. to hold is tongue. that he remains turbulent, despite his training. that he feels less himself with his elven blood cut off. so he should enjoy that the water is warm and he has artemy's attention. not push.
he's so much better at pushing. ]
What is it telling you? [ so close. really, really close. his hand, creeping to brush artemy's knee underwater. ]
no subject
he lets his hand trail downwards, brushing the tips of his fingers along nodd's throat. he takes a breath and a moment. ]
It says enough.
[ tapping softly against the pulse. a little lift of the brow. ]
There's something you want.