oo1 ✦ let’s begin.

[richesse]

[ There’s a whisper through the murmur, more a breath of feeling than a fully formed thought. It’s sweet, and warm, and laughing—though it is not gentle, nor kind.

A voice follows the whisper, chased by darkness and shadows, the very suggestion of a nightmare. ]

Do you think we’re still dreaming? Or is this a living nightmare?

[ a hum, and another brush of teasing laughter, there and gone like a brief burst of memory, the last moment of summer that you can taste on your tongue before it’s irretrievably gone. ]

You’ve changed, haven’t you? We all have. What are you thinking, right now…? Who are you?

What are you?

Comments

[snaggletooth]

[ ¿uǝɥʇ 'lnɟıʇnɐǝq sɐ ǝʌıǝɔɹǝd ǝɥ sǝop ʇɐɥʍ ]

[ Till. ]

Oh, yes. Very loudly.

[richesse]

Describe it to me.

[ it is a command, not a request, no matter how sweetly she frames it.

in the real world—is it the real world?—she ducks into a storefront, small and out of the way on a side street. for safety, for supplies. for something to do. the smell of stale damp permeates everything. ]

[snaggletooth]

[ Obedience comes nearly naturally — it's just that describing it isn't such a simple thing. Before, when the their connection was forged, she heard just the surface of it, the full brunt of the ecosystem's ceaseless calling goes beyond description. He'll have to take large liberties to even have a little hope of conveying it. ]

It's like...

How you can tell whether someone humming seems happy, or sad? Except this humming is hungry, or stalking prey, or wanting to mate.

1/2

[richesse]

[ … ]

[richesse]

The base desires of animals. … I can feel it, too, though not as clearly as you’re describing.

It’s as if…

[ she draws up short, trailing off, not wanting to complete the thought. ]

[snaggletooth]

[ Should he mention that he also had a talk with God...? "God." ]

We'll just have to see what becomes of us.

[richesse]

… I’m not the passive type.

[snaggletooth]

You are asking questions. Is there anything else you plan on doing?

[richesse]

There’s a lot I plan on doing. I’m sure I’ll be busy.

I wouldn’t say no to help. [ it’s both a question and a suggestion, accompanied somehow by a soft, lightly floral, dreamlike perfume. ]

[snaggletooth]

Aw, that's vague. I wonder if what you really have is no idea what you should do at all.

[ Small mystery, but more alluring than any seductive scent. He doesn't need to be controlled. He has no feelings of his own, or at least such a state is what the segyein sought to shape him into. He's just a form of entertainment. ]

[ So it's okay. ]

I'll help you, even if you're lying.

[richesse]

Haha! How cute. It’s the truth, but I understand why you might be doubtful.

Why do you want to help me?

[snaggletooth]

[ Does he even know. ]

We're probably going to have to fight each other over resources soon. Why not be pleasant until then?

[richesse]

[ a smile like the cutting flicker of a knife. predatory and saccharine. luring. a trap. ]

You’re right, of course. Then why not be friends?

[snaggletooth]

I'll introduce myself first — I'm Ivan.

[ Smiling is good manners, so he smiles back. To do that, does he have to physically do so, or simply think of what a smile looks like? He tries both. Unfortunately, a little bit of miscellaneous imagery slips in, of a machine hooked into his lips, pulling them into the correct position. ]

By the way, are you another human? I've only been assuming so far, haha... and, well, I'll be so embarrassed if I'm wrong.

[richesse]

Lortel.

[ boy, that sure is a thing. this guy is kind of demented, huh?

she can work with that! ]

Oh? What an interesting question. Of course I’m human. Well…

[ … ]

Or at least I was.

[snaggletooth]

[ Not a human anymore, but that would mean she's not one of the segyein, either, who it was always very important to say only acceptable things around... — that's a relief! This new form of communication has shaken his confidence somewhat. There's no way to prepare and practice his answers ahead of time.

Thoughts risk being revealed no sooner than they are born. ]

We're very alike, then, I think. Since it seems like you want to know these these things, it's not just my perception that's changing. Something seems to be happening to my body, as well.

[richesse]

[ what a strange question to ask. what other possible answer is there?

what sort of place did he come from?

all in due time. since the statement seems to invite question: ]

How so?

cw: skin gore, he's a bug

[snaggletooth]

[ Hm.

If she wants to know, then she probably wants to see. He can tell so far that she's incredibly curious like that, diligent. Perhaps there's a way to show her, too. He gets a sense of so many other things that aren't just words when he listens to her, after all.

Ivan concentrates on his own field of vision, imagines pushing it out into the impossible distance. He's looking at his arm, what it's become beyond the cuff of torn skin circling his bicep. It still looks like a human arm in silhouette, but the substance it's made of is vastly different, shining black. Deep grooves around points of articulation give it an almost doll-like appearance.

But, the fingers come to sharp points. ]

Disgusted?

[ Ah, that one snuck out. ]

love this for him

[richesse]

[ while her eyebrows fly up—

she reacts with neither true shock or disgust. she’s surprised, surely, but it gives way quickly to an abiding thoughtfulness. there’s an intensity to it, an almost single-minded focus. the feeling that pierces through the murmur is one of examination. ]

My, my. [ soft. ] You’ve been through a lot.

… no, [ she supplies, in answer to his question. ] But I do have more questions.

[snaggletooth]

[ No. No? Now that's hard to believe ~ ]

Ask away! ★ We're friends.

[richesse]

[ about a thousand questions flicker through her mind. where to begin… ]

… are you alright?

[ is it scary? ]

[snaggletooth]

[ A mote of surprise—small, but there. This question is about his own well-being... unexpected, after being lulled into an exchange he thought was purely analytical. ]

It really does look like it should hurt, doesn't it? Interestingly, it hasn't been bothering me at all. If anything, this arm's even stronger than my other one.

[ These are the correct circumstances to assert appreciation. ]

But it's very upstanding of you to worry, Lortel.

[richesse]

[ she’s not heartless.

besides, it’s to her benefit if he’s kindly disposed towards her. ]

Upstanding? I don’t see how. Isn’t it natural to worry in circumstances like this?

[ … ]

You have the most extreme transformation I’ve seen so far. It might keep you safe.

cw: human trafficking

[snaggletooth]

[ Dry heat, the stink of a concrete sluice, peering around the corner at a pair of emaciated humans fighting over something on the ground like dogs. They growl at each other. They don't even use words. Flashes of this find her. ]

Mm, I wouldn't have held it against you if you were only thinking of yourself. I think that's just as natural, sometimes, isn't it?

[ Countless humans have never even been in "circumstances like this," outside of controlled habitats where they're always fed on time, kept clean and comfortable as they're taught to be the best pets for their owners, until the day they're sent to the stage to die.

They live without any idea of what's out here in the world. ]

Hopefully you're also doing alright? Are you safe?

[richesse]

[ her memories respond to his, helplessly. dirty, cold streets. useless rags that are meant to pass for clothes. pervasive hunger.

what wretched, miserable lives. ]

… true. And I’ve done that, certainly. … but we’re meant to be more than our base impulses, hm?

[ she doesn’t want to return to those streets.

his question wins a more sincere smile. ]

I’m safe. I have shelter. Thank you, Ivan.