vatheon | Landed Fish

Entry tags:

Landed Fish

Who: Orphaner Dualscar, Signless, Expatriate Darkleer
Where: The plaza
When: Now! Dualscar is respawning
Style: Prose if that's OK with you guys?
Status: Closed, though I may do an open one or network post or something with DS later.

Dualscar was pretty disoriented as he arrived in the plaza. He fell to his knees, choking on his gasps, his gills opening with a popping sound and his fins stiff with terror as he scrabbled at his own, unmarked throat.

The last thing he remembered was getting his throat ripped out by the Grand Highblood's teeth. It took a few moments for his body to realize that he actually could breathe, and that he wasn't dying horribly.

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"Making sure you weren't alone when you came back."

Signless remembers how confused and disoriented he was when he came back, and he hadn't been brutally murdered. Well... not yet, anyway. He tucks the blanket around Dualscar's shoulder and then gets out his thermos, pouring a cup of hot tea and offering it to the seadweller.

Okay, now he's feeling a bit uncomfortable simply at how exposed he is. He doesn't understand why Signless is being so weirdly nice. "You wwere wwaiting here, for me?"

Signless is nice to everyone, it's just how he rolls.

"Yes."

He notices Dualscar's discomfort and stands up, offering one hand. "Come on. Let's get out of the Plaza, go somewhere a little less exposed."

Okay, he wants to do that, but he isn't sure what to make of all of this. He pushes himself up, not taking Signless' hand and giving him a wary, distrustful look even as he nods.

"Wwhere do you think wwe should go?" he asked quietly. He doesn't want to go back to his own hive until he knows what is going on with the Grand Highblood, so despite his uncertainty, he is willing to follow the Signless, for now.

"There are some cafes nearby. Why don't we go to one of them, and you can tell me what happened to you."

Signless knows he died, and that the Grand Highblood was probably involved, but he wants to hear it directly from the fish's mouth, as it were. He starts walking away, glancing over his shoulder and gesturing to Dualscar. "Come on."

Dualscar feels more exposed as Signless starts to walk away, and he quickly moves to follow, drawing in close and ducking his head as low as he can to try to hide his identity. Unfortunately, he's a good head taller than the Signless, so it's not like he can hide behind him.

He keeps silent until they reach the cafe and finds a table in a far corner, sliding into a booth and drawing the blanket around himself just a bit.

"Wwhat do you wwant, Signless?"

Fortunately, soaking wet people hanging around the Plaza are pretty common, and the locals don't bat an eye at them.

"Right now, I want a sandwich."

Signless flags down a waitress, and politely orders a sandwich and a cup of soup, then looks at Dualscar.

"Do you want anything? I recommend the onion soup here, it's delicious and would warm you up."

Dualscar is silent for a moment, then nods. "The onion soup, then." He nods to the waitress, then waits for her to go away before looking at Signless again, and squares his shoulders. He's drawing his defenses around himself, desperate not to seem weaker than he already does.

"Wwhat happened wwith the Grand Highblood wwhile I wwas gone?" he asks calmly.

"So it was the Grand Highblood who killed you."

Signless suspected as much. He can see Dualscar trying to retreat, to turn back into a cold, ruthless highblood, and it makes him a little sad. He likes him a lot better when he's not posing in such a way.

"Nothing, yet. We didn't know who killed you, so nothing has been done."

Dualscar's fins tighten again, more expressive than his face, which he's trying to keep even. He lifts a hand, though, and touches his throat, swallowing.

"He killed me," he says. "I hadn't done anything to wwarrant it. He didn't givve me any kind of a chance. And don't you evven try to tell me that I shouldn't fuckin' go after him, after this!"

The last is said far more harshly than is probably warranted. He's definitely not nearly as balanced as he's trying to pretend, and a few people turn to look at him. He looks around, fins flattening again as he withdraws a little deeper into the booth, glaring at Signless.

Signless has spoken enough times with Eridan and Feferi, and with other seadwellers on Alternia, to know to watch the fins rather than the face, and he can tell Dualscar is a little unhinged right now. He admires him for his bravery, but at the same time, knows the value of allowing yourself weakness.

He slips out of his side of the booth and slides in next to Dualscar, putting one hand on his arm and patting it gently.

"I wasn't going to tell you not to do anything, Dualscar."

Pat pat pat.

Woah, wait, hang on a second. Dualscar shrinks away just a touch as Signless suddenly invades his personal space. Suddenly he's got a tiny mutant blood all up in his business, but rather than a confrontation, he's patting his arm lightly, like...

Like...someone patting his arm. He really has no idea what to make of it. But it feels nice, and he's just so confused.

"You wweren't?" he asks quietly. "I nevver sought him out, you knoww. Vvantas and I argued for an hour ovver wwhether I could do anything, and he wwouldn't tell me the plan because I wwant to havve revvenge. But I wwasn't tryin' to fight him. Not then. He just grabbed me, and..." Okay, this is embarrassing, and he falls silent, his eyes cutting away.

"No, I wasn't." Pat pat pat. See, Dualscar, physical affection is nice, it doesn't have to be scary or violent! Signless would like to lean in against the larger troll, but he gets the sense that would be pushing his luck, so he continues with the gentle patting.

"I'm sorry that happened to you. It must have been very frightening."

"I wwasn't scared!" Dualscar snarls, too loudly, and he closes his mouth with a snap. Both of them have to know it was a baldfaced lie, and he growls at himself, looking down at the hand on his arm instead.

"Stop pretendin' that you care," he mutters. "I knoww you're only tryin' to be nice to me because you're hopin' to brainwwash me wwith your disgusting fantasies, or keep me pacified. Givve me a bit a fuckin' respect."

"Hardly."

But Signless takes his hand back, although he doesn't move back to the other side of the booth. Instead, he looks up at Dualscar, his face earnest.

"I'm not trying to brainwash you or pacify you or anything of the like. I'm not pretending to care, either. I'm being nice to you because I choose to be, and no other reason than that."

Oh. He's not doing that patting thing anymore. Dualscar tries not to care, glaring at Signless. Maybe if he--yes. He reaches out and grabs the hand, squeezing firmly. It's not enough to hurt, but maybe Signless won't realize that Dualscar is basically clinging to him. He doesn't know what to do about the Highblood, and doesn't want to be left alone, but fighting is easier than showing how very vulnerable he is right now.

"Wwhy wwould you choose to do somethin' like that if it wweren't to pacify me or convvert me? You havve no reason to be kind to me. I havve tortured your friends, killed people you care about. I'm not a fuckin' fool."

You're not fooling anybody, Dualscar. You're wearing a blanket Signless brought you, sitting next to him in a booth, and now holding his hand. Honestly, Signless figured you would have chased him off long before now, and he's a little impressed at how you're showing any weakness at all.

Signless squeezes Dualscar's hand, and shifts his palm to try and intertwine their fingers. He takes a moment to think about Dualscar's question, and when he responds, his voice is soft and thoughtful.

"Maybe it's because I got a chance to know Eridan, a little bit, before you arrived. He's made mistakes, but he's trying to make up for them and before a better person, and I don't think anyone is beyond redemption."

He tilts his head, looking up into Dualscar's face.

"I'm not going to say you haven't done terrible things, even done them directly to me and those I care about. But I believe in second chances, and it seems like now is the best time to give you yours."

Another squeeze of his hand.

What, are you saying his disguise is not flawless? Impossible! He finds himself staring at their entwined hands and wondering how that happened.

"Eridan is young and impressionable," he says distractedly, then looks into Signless' crimson eyes as the shorter troll looks up at him.

"And I havve done nothing to be ashamed of, or to require your forgivveness." He is growing more and more uncomfortable with this conversation, and yet he doesn't want to push Signless away quite yet, and reveal how difficult he is finding this.

"Okay." Signless knows better than to push the issue, and just smiles at Dualscar benignly. He knows you can't force someone to feel things they don't, and so he drops the subject.

Fortunately, that's when the waitress comes back and drops off their food, and he gently untangles his hand and attacks his sandwich. He really was hungry!

The easy acceptance is a little disappointing. And now they're on the same side of the booth, not holding hands, and eating. But he says nothing and attacks his onion soup, feeling pretty hungry considering his recent experiences.

"...Did Her Imperious Condescension say anything about my absence?" he asks suddenly, frowning a bit. He's not sure what to do about his living situation, at all.

Signless drops his spoon at that sudden question, and picks it up with fingers that only shake a little.

"She announced her presence over the network. But no, she didn't mention you."

So much side-eyeing right now, Dualscar. So much.

"You knew she was here?"

He's so not feeling guilty. "She announced herself before I wwas killed, earlier that same day," he said quietly. "She has been staying at my hivve since her arrivval in the city."

And pailing the fuck out of him. He's looking a bit smug, but only a bit. It seems his question is answered by the fact that Signless didn't already know that Dualscar would have know about the Condesce's presence in the city.

Signless knows he shouldn't be disappointed, but he can't help it. Abruptly, he stands up and moves back to his own side of the booth. If asked, he'll say it's so he can see Dualscar better, but really, it's because he doesn't want to sit next to him right now. However, this is interesting... the Condesce was staying with Dualscar, but it was Zelda who found his body and dealt with it.

"We haven't heard from her since she made that announcement," he says quietly, looking down at his sandwich. "And Zelda didn't mention finding another body in your hive... only yours."

Dualscar looks up, frowning in confusion. He can't decide if he's relieved or disappointed that Signless has moved back to the other side, but he has a feeling he knows why. Apparently Signless can forgive him for things that happened in the past, but this is too fresh, perhaps? Strange, considering how much less serious this is, compared to the other things he's done.

But more important is the question of what's happened to the Empress. "The Grand Highblood wwouldn't havve culled her," he says without complete conviction. Then a thought occurs to him. He pulls out his communicator and frowns at it, but he scrolls up and down without any luck. "Her name...it's gone. Does that mean she's left the city?"

It's tough love, Dualscar. Signless is expressing his disapproval of your behavior.

He starts checking his own SFC, though, when Dualscar tells him he can't find the Condesce's name. Signless can't either, which means...

"She's gone."

There's no hiding the relief in his voice.

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