stardiving | IC Inbox (Victory Road)

[WHAT ABOUT NO DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND.

Despite yourself you seem to find a lot of things about him endearing...]

They are the same thing.

[Well, maybe not, but semantics.

He shakes his head.]

Fine.

[You miss every shot you don't take!!

Look. Shut up.]

Oh, then you are more partial to doing it yourself? I will bear this in mind next time. If you desire to spoon me, know I will not stop you.

[Solus, fucking...stop you asshole. But hey Estinien agreed! So Solus gestures at the chair he had sat in before, as he gingerly gets himself into his wheelchair, not bothering to get more clothed than his tights, after all he's going to shower after this.]

Rest assured, it will not take long, and then you will be free to go on your little adventure.

Edited 2020-06-01 21:47 (UTC)

[He is gonna smack you upside the head with his stick.

Estinien sighs and just goes over to the chair--he's keeping his shirt on though, we're not gonna have a repeat of yesterday.

Nope.]

And you will be free to languish here, accordingly.

I will not languish for long.

[He offers as he gets himself settled in his chair, and scoots his way over, taking up the comb and scissors he had left on the table. Glancing at Estinien's bangs, he squints a moment, before making his way to the sink to get a small glass of water. Returning, he places the glass on the table, dipping the comb in to wet it, before he sets to tame his wild bangs.]

Hmm... There is a charm to your fringe, though it needs not be in your eyes, so...

[Sorry buddy, but Solus is scrutinizing your face and hair a little intensely here, before taking the scissors into his hands. Such trust, allowing him to have those blades right by his face!]

[The intensity of the stare is what gets him, really--again he starts to feel uncomfortable before he takes a deep breath and closes his eyes against it.

(He's had dragon's fire in his face before, a pair of scissors is hardly the most threat he's ever experienced. But he's still not doing this again.)]

...shall you never cease talking?

[We'll see about whether or not they do this again. Solus has his ways.]

Shall you ever truly start?

[He quips back as he sets to work, trimming it so that the bangs are just above the eyebrow, but not too short. Certainly won't get into his eyes now. Bringing a hand up to Estinien's hairline, he tucks some of that hair to the side, creating an off center part as he plays with the look of it.

As he speaks, he sounds a little wistful.]

You could do much and more with this hair of yours, if you had the care to, you know.

Should I have a need to, mayhap.

[It hasn't come up so far. Also, he had like, a long conversation with you yesterday. Said a lot of words. Used up his words for the week, in fact!]

And I do not.

[Have the care to, that is.]

Mm, perhaps you need to lower your lofty standards for such.

[He does appreciate the long talk, don't misunderstand. That's actually why he'd like to chat with Estinien more. He's got a good mind, and when he does talk, it's interesting. After a little more fussing with his bangs, he settles on letting it hang in that shaggy and charming way. After all, Estinien will likely ruin whatever he does anyway.]

A pity...anyroad, all done.

[He says while lightly brushing some of the stray hairs off of Estinien's clothes.]

You fill the silence quite comprehensively without my input.

[He can't spoil you with too much talking, what in the world would happen then?

And you're right, he totally will.

Now, he's fairly stumped on the social protocol here--what does one do when your erstwhile enemy turned something of an ally cuts your hair (which you didn't really want or care for, but didn't care enough not to fight it) after you gather him off the stairs and take him to seek medical attention? Not to mention the whole Awkward Cuddling Incident Of Which He Shall Not Speak. Is there a Hallmark card for this?

Settles for, gruffly:]

Thank you.

Well, one must make up for the void you leave.

[Yes, that's why. Not because he just talks to talk.

Settling back in his seat, he watches as Estinien deliberates on what to say next. How to proceed from here. He cannot deny there is a feeling of awkward tension, though that radiates more from Estinien than himself. When he does speak, gruffly offering his thanks, Solus looks somewhat surprised.

But that wide-eyed expression melts away into that smug smile he often wears.]

'Tis but my pleasure, dragoon. One I would be glad to repeat, should you find yourself in need.

We all have our strengths.

[Prolonged conversation and debate are not his. Sure, he has thoughts, but he keeps them to himself.

Shocker, when you spend 20 years bloody-mindedly dedicated to a revenge quest only to actually mostly accomplish it without dying in the process (the latter part also fairly shocking,) you don't exactly learn good social graces.

The smug smile gets him annoyed though.]

I shall be taking my leave again today. I intend to return to Violet first, the first gym being there.

[If he's going to be here, he might as well follow the path laid out before him, see where it leads.]

[He shrugs with a nod. That much is true, but not all weaknesses need to remain such!

Well, there's no time like the present, huh!!

Though, he's surprised again when Estinien says that much, figuring he'd gather his things and likely leave without a word. His expression doesn't show it, however.]

Undergoing that little challenge, are you? I had heard a rumor that once you complete it, there's a chance to go home.

[He says this with a storied tone, as if revealing some strange fable, but he ends it with a tut.]

But none can confirm such a claim. Mayhap because any confirmation has indeed ended in such, rendering any who could confirm it incapable.

[Despite your obvious fondness for it, Estinien doesn't really care to make conversation, okay.

Look, that would just be awkward.]

If there's truth to that rumor, I would find it--as you are doing...whatever you are.

[He'd rather not encourage you to come with him so this is fine.]

I trust not such rumors, but if you plan to take this challenge without such as your initial impetus, I see not the harm in testing the proof of such claims, even if by mere coincidence.

[He settles back a bit more in his seat, before stretching his arms gingerly over his head, slowly twisting to one side, then the other—though twisting towards the side with a broken rib earns a small pained sound.]

As for what I am doing...I'm testing the bounds of this world's limits. I am not wholly convinced that this world is, well, real.

[The fuck does that even mean?? Lowering his arms, he settles back down, letting out a slow puff of air before he continues.]

If aught is the case, then there is likely some way to break free of this reality by bending what limits it attempts to put on us. If I can force an error, some measure of contradiction in the laws of this faux-reality...

Just so.

[Look, he has to do something that isn't just answering to your beck and call, that's not the kind of life he likes to live, thanks.]

Real enough that you're battered and bruised.

[The fuck, indeed. And then the rest of that just goes straight over his pretty head. While you were being a giant nerd, he studied the blade, so while he knows enough to function, talking about errors and faux-reality is just. Forcing an error in him.]

Yes, yes. But say for a moment that this reality is not a true one, say that we are merely in a simulation of a reality. By all respects it would be like that which we know—we would feel pain, pleasure, and so forth. Yet, there are some great number of flaws in this reality we are sharing—for example, did you not wake up in some boy's bed, with a mother whom promptly forced you out while claiming to be yours?

Is it not queer that like you, others have experienced the exact same thing? That is not normal. Likewise, there are other oddities that strain logic—which seems more a flaw in the design of something fake, than aught that would be true to reality.

Does this make sense to you?

[Yeah, about him being a nerd...]

[He honestly tuned you out like 2 minutes ago. But then you asked him directly for his input, ugh.]

Not in the least.

[He does admit, the mother and the queer music playing at all hours of the day and night is a bit much, but...]

How even would such a farce be created, or maintained? Much less for the length of time it has.

[Solus stares at him for a long, flat second, before hanging his head, resting his forearms on his thighs as he sighs quite dramatically.]

Quite simply, believe it or not. While my magics have been stolen from me, I could feasibly create a far more believable simulation—for one skilled in creation magics such as I, one such as you would not be able to determine reality from fiction.

[He lifts his head, smiling tiredly.]

Though, admittedly, I lack the ability to pull others from different worlds—though as we both are well aware, such abilities do exist within our own reality, and not just this one.

[What did you expect? Just because you're constantly shocked by the fact that he has a brain between his pointy ears doesn't mean he wants to listen to you prattle on all the bloody time.]

Or, more simply--tis real, despite your misgivings.

[He knows what he's going with. Seems to be working out fairly well for him so far, he's not getting tossed down the stairs and refusing medical treatment to test the limits of a possibly non-existent simulation.

He sighs and shakes his head.]

Would not one with power enough to drag one such as you across worlds and keep you here, have enough to keep you from breaking what shackles it's placed on you? Or I, for that matter.

...You do know what real means, yes? A convincing lie is still a lie, it does not make it real, even if you cannot know it for the lie it is.

[He shakes his head, with another sigh. Come now, he knows you're smarter than this, Estinien!]

Oh, they are powerful, do not misunderstand me. But so are they sloppy. All I must needs do is find the thread to unravel this fictious world, and then that will be that. Or, if that strange weekend comes about...

But even a lie might be made real, should enough people believe in it.

[He has a very complicated relationship with lies and truth, as an Ishgardian living through the end of the Dragonsong War...

Just shaking their heads and sighing at each other, are they...]

And if it does, and still you find yourself here after, unable to find that thread? What then?

Mayhap you will be able to break free, but I shall be tempering my expectations.

This does not make the lie itself truly real. Misapprehensions will never replace actual reality, regardless of what fools think otherwise.

[After all, so many misunderstand the Ascians. So many think they labor for no reason beyond the sake of destruction and chaos. This does not make it true, even if it's true to some individuals--the factual reality is quite the opposite.

But he knows well how history can be written, how his kind are seen and believed. But that's merely a matter of expunging such falsehoods from history's weave...]

Well, we will cross that bridge when it comes. But with my powers, I can transcend the rift between worlds, I cannot imagine I will find much difficulty in doing so from this star.

[Arrogance, or confidence?]

But worry not, I will yet find a way that you shall not be left behind. We are in this together, yes?

[You can believe that, but as far as he's concerned it's far less complicated to assume that this place is real as they come. Strange, to be sure, but real. Perhaps he shouldn't take that for granted, but what harm is it doing?]

...so it would seem.

[He still doesn't quite get why Solus is willing to bring him back to their shared world. He might not be as big a wrench in his plans as the Scions, even so he'd assisted in destroying Black Rose, and the man knew it. Wouldn't it be more prudent for him to just leave Estinien here, unable to return? It'd remove one variable, at least.]

[The way he sees it, what Estinien did with Black Rose is nothing but a minor setback. Something that can be fixed, and ultimately those who oppose him and his will eventually die out anyway. Unless, of course, they find the means to work alongside the scions like he's hoping they might...then who knows what that might mean for Estinien in the grand scheme of things, but he's not about to leave out a possible important factor merely because he might seem like an inconvenience at the moment.]

...Yes, well, you should be on your way, shouldn't you? I would hate to delay you much further than I have already. Do be careful, I'd hate to hear something awful befell you in your travels.

Edited 2020-06-16 19:39 (UTC)

[Well, he's not much good for puzzling things out, despite his perception. He's more of the sort that you point at an obstacle and tell to 'hit that until it stops being a problem.' So, if you have something that needs a good stabbing with a lance, he's your Elezen, but otherwise...

Estinien just looks at him with narrowed eyes--that sounds a little suspect, Solus--but then shakes his head.]

Tis passing unlikely.

[He knows how to survive in the wilderness and this world has offered very little challenge so far.

But he does get up and move towards where his pack, boots, and walking stick are placed beside the door. Iceheart jumps to her feet and runs to the bathroom, coming back with his bathing kit, which he places back in the bag, then he starts putting on his boots.

...they lace up so it's gonna take a minute.]

IC Inbox (Victory Road)

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