willdereol

OOC: A conversation over a sleeping Helios. ... Possibly the longest session of insults I've ever delivered in character.
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<Vangelis> Even with the comfortable warmth and darkness of being underground, the priest still had plenty of trouble getting to sleep. He tried to count sheep, but the sheep refused to jump the fence. Listening to himself breathe was hard, because his breaths weren't all that calm, what with his constantly racing heart. Vangelis even tried watching his student as he slept, studying his position, counting<c>
<Vangelis> how many times his chest rose and fell, imagining what he could possibly be dreaming about until he bored himself enough to doze off himself... But to no avail. It left the man sitting on the floor against a tunnel wall, head in his hands, a sigh of annoyance or frustration leaving his nose every so often. This was his fourth sleepless night, something Helios was used to witnessing - And <c>
<Vangelis> something he thought he had gotten over a while back. Guess not.
<Will> The morsel's back just happened to have been pressed against that of another, a shape that did not glow, but seemed to suck in any remnants of radiance present in the sealed-off portion of the tunnel. This particular night, the velare, too, has had some difficulty falling asleep. Part of that was due to the habitual alertness towards a possible pursuit, and yet another- a longer, and somewhat more grave matter of hellfire. Or the <c>
<Will> lack thereof. Older priest's sleeplessness was noted, but not commented on, and after a while, Vangelis might become aware of two cyan coals, studying him intently from the nook that served as a sleeping space for both the boy and his infernal 'pet'.
<Vangelis> His eyes were closed at first, squeezed shut, in fact. As if he were blocking something out of his view, or possibly trying not to sneeze. And, when he quickly reached into his pocket to tug out a small, blue handkerchief, slapping it over his nose and mouth and muffling a quiet "achoo!", it became obvious that it was the latter. The priest folded the cloth then, to wipe his eyes with a <c>
<Vangelis> dry portion. Another huff, and he sat up straight to turn and watch Helios again - Just to make sure he didn't wake him. Surely enough he was still asleep, and Van nodded in confirmation to himself, almost missing the pair of eyes glaring his way, but not quite. The priest seemed not to mind it, acknowledging the other awake one with a wave of greeting. "This is a usual occurence for me..."
<Vangelis> [ Sorry I was a bit slow. x.o ]
<Will> The slits of blue widened a bit at the sneeze, before narrowing once again at the casual greeting. Tufted tail flicked back and forth, swatting the dust of the passage floor with a weak, but inherently rhythmical sound. The worm was not one of the most talkative breed, but as the silence stretched, there seemed to be little else to do. Equine body uncurled from the strangely cat-like position. Stretched, using a considerable <c>
<Will> portion of the available surface space. And leaned over to tuck a stray edge of the cloak around the sleeping boy. The word came a minute later, an affirmation of the fact that Vangelis's greeting was, indeed, heard. "So it seems."
<Vangelis> Vangelis shrugged to himself - It didn't look like he'd be getting much conversation from anyone at the moment, based on the way the velare responded. Assuming it wasn't his business to be speaking to the other, he simply returned to facing forward and pulling his knees to his chest, miserable as ever. For somebody who wanted to beat the daylights out of Will only hours earlier, the priest <c>
<Vangelis> was behaving in a fairly submissive way all of a sudden...
<Will> Silence stretched. The velare was rather fond of silence as a whole, considering that it was the basis of his relationship with the morsel... but the morsel in question was asleep, the other was not, and if he was a judge of anything, they'd have a rather long walk ahead of them in the following day. "Not something that your gods can cure?" There was no obvious mockery in the intonation of the question.
<Vangelis> Another soft shrug, and while he usually would have found something like that offensive, it wasn't at the moment. The priest shook his head. "If you want my honesty... I'm slowly losing my faith in any Gods." Vangelis closed his eyes. "Gods should be protective. Not... cruel."
<Will> "Cruel?" A soft snort, as the larger body rolled over, wrapping around the tiny one in a motion that was nothing, if not habitual. "They are simply indifferent. And not for the likes of you to blame."
<Vangelis> "Of course not..." His frown couldn't possibly have been more sad. "I am but an undeserving nobody. Why would any God want to change that?" He looked up for just a moment, helplessly staring at Will, then at Helios. His eyes found a ring on his left hand then, which he flicked at lightly. "They've done nothing but take away from me."
<Will> "Self-pity will get you nowhere." Those piercing blue slits, untouched as of yet by weariness or any mortal concern, seemed to hang a foot or two above the bleached head of the sleeping one. "Pick a path, and walk it. Just keep in mind that a God will not notice, if you spit on It, but you might drown in its own spittle."
<Vangelis> "I don't even know what to do anymore," he mumbled, before once again making eye contact with the velare. "I'm dying as it is. It's become evident that I am, and I can't do anything to change it. I just don't want to hurt..." He trailed off, his gaze flickering towards the sleeping boy. "...But my heart won't allow that."
<Will> "If you can't do anything about it, ask someone who can." The demon yawned, flashing canines in the dilluted glow of his charge. Looks like this one wasn't much into the mutual sharing of miseries. "Ask morsel."
<Vangelis> Again, he shook his head. "I may just be better off not doing that. I would rather end my pain than continue to hurt. Besides, surely I could be replaced." If Will knew anything about Vangelis, at least from what Helios had told him... his behavior would have appeared extremely out-of-character. But that was what happened when one became depressed, right?
<Vangelis> [ Momento, switching computers. ]
Will> "Sure. Take an easy way out." Propping the bearded chin onto a palm, Will looked off into the darkness. Dealing with imbalances in mortal brains was not a part of his job description, but a patient infernal was patient, and with no better alternative to pass time... at least, this beat making paper cranes out of wanted posters. "A wheel does not stop rolling just because a spoke wants to get off, o fool. Life's Gift is quite fond of <c>
<Will> Vangelis> Again, he shook his head. "I may just be better off not doing that. I would rather end my pain than continue to hurt. Besides, surely I could be replaced." If Will knew anything about Vangelis, at least from what Helios had told him... his behavior would have appeared extremely out-of-character. But that was what happened when one became depressed, right?
<Will> <Will> "Sure. Take an easy way out." Propping the bearded chin onto a palm, Will looked off into the darkness. Dealing with imbalances in mortal brains was not a part of his job description, but a patient infernal was patient, and with no better alternative to pass time... at least, this beat making paper cranes out of wanted posters. "A wheel does not stop rolling just because a spoke wants to get off, o fool. Life's Gift is quite fond of <c>
<Will> your persona, and what He wants alive, He will keep alive. Suicide is against His faith, last I checked."
<Will> ((Rejoin Plotz?))
<Vangelis> "...I don't wish to end my own life..." Vangelis trailed off again, adjusting his glasses which rested upon the bridge of his nose. Tears were beginning to well up in his eyes, but he kept them shut to attempt to hide it. "...When I was younger, I had always promised myself I would never, never fall in love. I loved the Mother, and She was my only love. Helios came into my life when I was <c>
<Vangelis> young, and I raised him myself... I taught him to love Her like I did. And yet, I allowed myself to love another person behind his back. I didn't want him to know at first because I was so ashamed of myself... But I was happy. And I remained happy with this other person for a long, long time..." He cut himself off suddenly, to cover his eyes with one palm. "I never should have done it, damn it!"
<Will> "Life is not supposed to be painless. Or simple. " He murmured, absent-mindedly twirling a lock of white around the index finger of the free hand. As the older priest burst out, the other kept silent, suspecting that if Vangelis had something to get off his chest, he would do so in his own sweet time, and without Will's prompting.
<Vangelis> For the moment, Vangelis was a mess of sobs, tears streaking his face and dripping from his chin to gradually soak the fabric covering his knees. He said nothing for the moment, just cried. Poor man.
<Will> Or simple. So this was where the morsel got this nonsense about having a single object of love before his heart, and a single one only.. The thoughtful gaze of the velare lingered on the curve of porcelain cheek, on the button of a nose, for almost a full minute, before rising to the still-crying ex-Pronteran. "You're quite pathetic." He observed without rancor.
<Vangelis> Still no response. At the moment, Van would have agreed, but he didn't quite hear the velare. "Why... why why why... I'm such a failure..."
<Will> "Well, let us see... Lack of priorities, bouts of depression and self-pity, followed up with the lack of initiative in acquiring proper medical care, sinning in the face of your Goddess, lack of concern for a mentee that depends on you for emotional support.. Need I continue?" It seemed that the infernal was actually -enjoying- this.
<Vangelis> "Please do, all I need is to have my lack of EVERYTHING rubbed in my damn face." Van calmed down somewhat, panting softly, refusing to look Will's way. "None of that would be so... Not if I were helped for once instead of mocked. I can't function anymore, but if it were up to me to change that, nothing would come of it."
<Will> "Nah. That would be too easy on you." Another yawn. "And how do you expect to be helped? How do you expect to be extracted from your ocean of inadequacies? It isn't as though anyone but yourself has the answer."
<Vangelis> Vangelis went silent. He figured he'll just tell Helios he had somewhere to be, and find a nice cliff to leap off of. "Mph.." The priest attempted to make himself comfortable on the floor of the open space, wordlessly lying upon one side with his back to the others. His mind was apparently made up... But he'd feel better later, probably.
<Will> "Giving up already?" The low, throaty purr of the velare seemed to echo through the small space: likely a property of his earthmelding powers as much as a trick of the ear. "Going to sink into your barrel of miseries, and, preferably, drown?~ How silly. How very, -very- silly." A pause, and a rustle of cloth. Likely the larger body, readjusting the coverings around itself and the smaller one.  "And here I was, thinking that <c>
<Will> a teacher of His actually had some common sense.. some -strength of character-...~~"
<Vangelis> "Shut up." Van growled a little.
<Will> "Or even some will. At least, enough to make some decisions concerning the future, and let go of the past." The growl was ignored completely. "But no, a measly mortal would rather wet itself, sniffling for some obscure sight or sound of a long-dead figment. He would rather ruin the lives of the still-living with his selfish antics..~"'
<Vangelis> "Shut.. UP!" This time, he turned to face the velare, though he remained in place. "You know nothing of me! You know nothing of what I've lived through, and you most certainly know nothing of what goes through my mind!"
<Will> "Ah, but I have lived a few dozen times your lifespan, and should know at least some of the trash that one can encounter on life's trail..~" The delight in that rough baritone was almost palpable. "Self-centered curs such as yourself are not exactly fit to continue on with the rest of the society, unless they make some serious changes in their attitude.. and stop hiding their tails between their legs."
<Vangelis> "...What do you take me for, some kind of coward?" There couldn't be an insult that got to Vangelis more than that one. He was ready to pounce the velare at this point, his heart pounding against his ribs painfully - But he ignored that. He was losing it.
<Will> "Let me think about it.. Hmm.. mmm... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...." He adjusted the fur trim of the cloak, so it framed the pristine white face of the innocent sleeper, and cocked his head to the side, enjoying the contrast of textures. "Yes."
<Vangelis> Vangelis felt his patience snap like a frail little twig. His teeth gritted, his eyes were bloodshot, he was panting like he had just run a few laps around the perimeter of the town... And then he grinned, brightly at that. Snickering to himself, then bursting into full laughter, making sure to cover his mouth. "Ahaha.. HAHAHA! Fantastic!"
<Will> "Isn't it, though?" The concept of 'mercy' or 'humility' was regarded by Will an urban legend. "Just think about it.. You are a worthless waste of space, who cannot even manage your own problems. A coward in the face of life itself. The -ultimate- wimp...~"
<Will> <c>
<Will> Behind the beard, a corner of a mouth twitched at the priests' sudden outpour of mirth. Insults really -did- solve the world's problems..
<Vangelis> That only served to make the priest laugh harder. Tears once again rolled down his cheeks, though these were from his hysterical cackling. It continued for a few more seconds, until Vangelis took a deep breath and let it out in a relieved kind of sigh. "You are the first person who has ever had the nerve to say such things to my face!" The priest wiped an eye clean of tears, and offered Will a <c>
<Vangelis> bright grin - A genuinely happy one too. "You made my night, sir. Truly, you did. I was starting to think I would be miserable for the rest of the evening. Thank you so much~" Snicker..
<Will> "You're welcome." The shards of broken sky above the radiants' head faded for a follow-up of yet another yawn. At least the priest was no longer sobbing his brains out. The wall of the nook on the priestling's side gave way, scooting outwards a foot or three. Prodded by the insomniac mind of an earth mage.
<Will> <c>
<Will> The larger body shifted down, lowering itself from a long gone-to-sleep arm, and adding, in a much lower tone. "As for the heart condition... Make use of His proximity, while you still can."
<Vangelis> Vangelis cocked his head to the side, slightly confused at first. But he was quick to shrug it off, inching his way closer to the other two carefully, so as not to make too much noise. Forget that Helios slept through the entire conversation. "Mph, thank you," he whispered to the velare, then reached to cup the younger priest's chin in his palm, and.. leaned forward to place a light kiss upon <c>
<Vangelis> that pale forehead - Something he hadn't done in a while. Then, after smiling up at Will, he made his second attempt to fall asleep, head rested on his own arm while the other curled around Helios, like some kind of security blanket. Awww.
<MolotSlumbers> The glow narrowed to the tiniest of slits at the kiss, disappearing altogether as the velare once again took into the account the humans' relationship and his own role in the affair. The trio would fall into slumber in this manner, two of the larger figures- preserving the crumbles of body heat around the frail treasure of the smallest.