vatheon | 2 ♐ In which there is a morning after

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2 ♐ In which there is a morning after

Characters Expatriate Darkleer and the Psiioniic
Location The library, because who goes into there, honestly
Time Mid-morning throughout the day
Status Closed

[Sometime in the morning, the Psiioniic will get a private text.]

D --> I would appreciate your company as soon as is possible
D --> Preferably in a remote location where no one else would meddle
D --> Or such
D --> Possibly the library?
D --> Response please

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Thank you, thir. I--

[ There's a pause, the Helmsman bowing his head down lower as he wraps his arms around himself. He rattles off a quiet series of sentences involving classified data from a campaign spearheaded by the Empress, but then his mind snaps back and he sits up slightly.

That was unpleasant. ]

Forgive me. I wath... thaying that two find the error, further detail ith required.

[There's no use denying it- he hears that classified information, and the second one of those sentences is completed, he knows it's not meant for his ears. There's a brief moment of indecision of what to do before he decides to simply pretend it never happened.]

[What he does do is hold up a hand as he gets up to his feet, wincing slightly as his head throbs once again and the world swims slightly. Not one of his worst hangovers, however. ]

Pause for a moment.

[He strides away and returns five minutes later, carrying two saucers in his hand, steaming mugs of tea in both of them. As gently as he can, he sets them down on the table.]

I don't want you to be attempting to push yourself if your system can't handle it, Helmsman. That isn't something we should risk while in this place. Is there a problem?

[ The Helmsman knows the slip he made was a terrible one, the disciplinary programming in his mind is reinforcing that quite strongly, but the curse left him vulnerable to such fits. He's not entirely sure why Darkleer leaves and returns with tea, but he is somewhat calmed by the sudden segue back into routine between them despite his glitch. ]

I apologithe. There ith no problem beyond known ithueth.

[ His hands tremble slightly when he reaches for the mug, but all in all it's definitely not one of the worst little glitches the Helmsman has experienced. It doesn't even count as particularly bad. ]

Of course. If it gets to be too bad for you, inform me.

[There is a very faint part of Darkleer that is almost certain he should be doing something else in this moment, but he can't for the life of him figure out what it could be. So he waits for the Helmsman to take a sip of his tea before speaking again.]

As you were stating before, more information is undoubtedly needed. Is there something in particular you wished to inquire about?

[ He nods and holds the mug close, a little shiver running through him before he feels a bit more sure that the next thing he says won't come out filled with classified data. ]

The event that occurred pretheding the admithion of emothional attachment.

Very well.

[Saving his head the agony- even if painkillers and tea are helping soothe the pain- Darkleer pulls out his SFC and flips through the encrypted conversation he and Summoner had.]

We were discussing his recent post to the network. Considering most of his interactions with others, it should be of no surprise that he attempted to engage in his usual flirtatious behavior with me. I refused, of course. [Another pause before he forces himself to admit-] With the words that I had no interest in shallow and brief sexual encounters.

[Quietly, he turns over the SFC in his hands.]

That is what preceded it.

[ Scanning over the conversation, he makes note of the fact that their banter is probably of the enjoyable sort. Well, he guesses, mostly for the fact that it's stated explicitly. ]

That ith utheful. Thank you.

[ He goes quiet again, a more contemplative sort of silence rather than anything that could be construed as a system error. He is not good at this. For some reason, he still wants to attempt to reach the root of the problem so that it would stop causing the engineer such serious discomfort.

For a moment, he's jealous of the Signless for his intuitive understanding of relationships between people.]

He ith not the wortht candidate for an emothional bond, but the conthept bringth both of you dithcomfort. Do you agree?

[There's a moment where he considers admitting that the Cavalreaper has outright stated that he isn't interested in filling his quadrants but then Darkleer decides that there's no reason. This isn't a... quadrant problem. Just general relationships between people.]

[Right?]

[...No, not really. For the moment, he holds that information in.]

Correct.

Conthiderable dithcomfort ith not alwayth a thign of a negative.

[ A pause. He's really struggling with this, but it's just a matter of organizing the facts. ]

Could it... altho not come from a lack of preparedneth?

[Darkleer tenses up once more in his shoulders, but he does his best to keep the reaction restricted, less harsh than before.]

I... imagine it could. Yes. I have of course never remotely considered the Cavalreaper admitting such thing consider the gap between our blood-

And he has also stated to not be interested in filling his quadrants at all, so I assumed he would never consider it towards anyone.

[Wait. Well. That's out of the bag then.]

[ The Helmsman's frame of reference for redrom is not exactly the most reasonable, but he's pretty sure he can make some sense. He curls himself forward just a little, talking more into the mug than to the blueblood.]

From the data you provide, you two have compatible feelingth on the matter. There ith no conflict.

[ A pause. ]

Unleth you have a want for an alternate arrangement.

...I would appreciate an alternate arrangement.

[Reaching up, his fingers nudge his glasses up slightly so he can pinch the bridge of his nose.]

The Cavalreaper is ridiculously stubborn when it comes to admission of his feelings in the first place. He is in a black romance with another and has made it almost painfully clear on the network. However, when prompted, he will go into heated denial. If it were not for this curse, he no doubt would have never admitted to caring about my well being in such a way.

Besides, I have never said I returned such feelings. When all is said and done, he is one of the few adult individuals from Alternia that I can bear to speak with.

I wath not thuggethting--

[ A pause, readjusting. Darkleer was very good at making his feelings known sometimes, apparently, because he seemed to be dreadfully transparent right now. ]

Can you not thimply purthue the bond you dethire? I do not believe he would fight againtht your lead.

[It is half the curse and half simply time wearing him down. It's already come to a head twice since yesterday. First he spilled more than he ever meant to say to Gamzee about his insecurities, and then that... thing happened between him and Summoner. ]

[He's having a bad week, honestly.]

Tch. Of course not. [A heavy sigh.] For one thing, you heavily underestimate his stubbornness. As for another... It would not be proper by the standards I'm held to to pursue someone of that low a blood color.

[The confessions are going to come out no matter what, aren't they?]

I... do not underthtand. Ith it not the right of a highblood to take what he chootheth?

[ A pause, he sips at his tea and seems to duck his head. There was no question where he'd gotten those kinds of ideas. He was a slave and, though he could only remember his existence as a Helmsman with any sort of certainty, highbloods always got exactly what they wanted from anyone subordinate to them. ]

It is.

[Darkleer shakes his head. Of course he knows. It is the privilege his blood has granted him for sweeps and sweeps. It is a privilege that he has used more than once. Why wouldn't he? The resources were there for highbloods, so it didn't make sense not to use them.]

[But this...]

But there is a difference in something being taken and something being given.

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2 ♐ In which there is a morning after

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