[private] let's shake this poet out of the beast

[litotes]

boy what's normal to you? 'cause that sure ain't normal to me.

The hunger sings. Her melodies are low, suspenseful . . . alluring. She beckons with cold, pale fingers: a pianist and a seductress. One may laugh if Litotes ever thought he stood a chance against her darkly mischievous wiles.

He chases her, hunger, all over Beqanna - mouth watering and bloodied by the cutting teeth of his predatory magic. What was once a desperate, listless wandering has turned into a need to feel something other than . . . nothing. The emptiness in his chest is unbidden, but still it looms and consumes and hollows him out like the dying tree he is. Desperation, he still feels it, but now it is angry: a tornado, or perhaps a hurricane, upturning every one of his thoughts. He needs to focus, this he knows, or he will fixate on vicious indulgences and unending vices.

Tephra and her mother - they await the word of Pangea. Or, is Pangea awaiting the word of Tephra? Lie is not so foolish as to convince himself he was a neutral party in the dragon’s war, but he is curious as to why he has yet to hear from the West. He does not expect a “congratulations,” but perhaps at least a casual “fuck you.”

Litotes sits upon the border of Tephra, lion claws digging into the nutrient rich soil. He can feel Leliana’s earth magic pulsing in all of the plants. He finds it mildly endearing that the jungle’s foliage remains springtime vibrant year round.

Once, he might have called out for a leader’s attention, but the cremello has grown into a quiet and maddened man: upon the invisible line he remains, tail shivering just at the tip. Shadows swirl and whip around him, eventually settling like a fine dawn mist upon his shoulders.

and if i fall would you know that to do?
and if i'm caught up would you stay?

Litotes

@[leliana] he's trying to be nice........or normal

[vulgaris]

V u l g a r i S

He hasn’t seen the pale lion since the war, since he took a nosedive into a volcano and tried to spare everyone the burden of his existence. Back then, he knew what hunger felt like and he knew the way it could rip him open and stuff him full all at once. The serpent had been all snapping teeth and frenzied chases. He could crush a windpipe in his jaws and still feel empty inside. It feels so strange, now, to feel so satisfied all the time. Vulgaris almost doesn’t know how to behave or what to do with himself now when night falls. But then his brood come curling to his chest and nodding off, letting him kiss their small faces. The hunt is, at last, finished for him. He has his prizes and wants for little or nothing at all.

Vulgaris doesn’t hesitate when he sees the eastern king perched along the border. He has no venom, no scales to show all that awful ugliness inside, but his eyes are still sage green and wary of anything uncertain. The serpent tilts his head curiously as he draws closer, gray head adorned with a faint smile as he watches quietly. If he means harm, then he’s gone about it all wrong, but he doubts Litotes carries such ill intents within him.

“You seem troubled, Litotes,” he says as he comes to a stop before him, shoulders relaxed and head lowered to make them more eye level. In his past life, Vulgaris would have bared his teeth and warned him to turn tail and go home. The faint twitch of an artery beneath the skin would have made him drool and lick the corners of his lips nervously. But today he is patient and his edges are worn smooth. “I’ve got time if you’ve got a story.”

He shifts his weight and just keeps watching, dark ears turned forward for any scoff or greeting. His eyes roam to the dark mist rolling over the lion’s shoulders but he doesn’t ask about any of that. Maybe he recognizes the ravenous need for something, anything to hush the roaring monster inside or maybe he just feels bad for ripping Litotes from his home so many years ago. There’s nothing in his thoughts or on his curious smile to suggest either one.

In this shook-up, twisted world, I'm gradually growing transparent and vanishing
Don’t look for me; don't look at me

@[litotes]

[litotes]

boy what's normal to you? 'cause that sure ain't normal to me.

In this bubble, he is totally alone. Solitude has sat heavy upon his heart: most days he wanders Pangea entirely by himself - no children to tend to, no wife to visit, no secret lover to occupy his mind. Ghaul is a rowdy creature, and the only distraction the Archon has, but even he does not ease his lonesomeness.

He loves his son, of course he does. Ghaul quickly became the center of his affections, but there is a quiet emptiness Litotes carries.

He is not sure if it is his lack of love for himself or the tearing apart of his relationships.

Vulgaris approaches, as suspected. Word of kingdom leader changes travels through Beqanna quickly, and the recent rumors have the once-snake as the King of Tephra. Lie smiles at the idea: a once war-mongerer leading the land he helped destroy.

Beqanna has quite the character arcs.

“I’m afraid I’ve got too many stories I would like to share with you, Vulgaris,” is his quipped response, tail flicking as he lifts to a stand. This is the man that pushed his snowballing life down the mountain, afterall. Strangely enough, Litotes finds a kinship with the King simply because of their shared past.

“I’ll start with the unfortunate politics, though.” He sighs but a grin quickly follows, and he offers a steady gaze to the gray stallion. “I have spoken with Heartfire of Nerine, and it would appear Castile, Lepis, and Wolfbane are attempting a takeover of the North. Purely to expand Loess’ reach, I think? Though I have a feeling Castile has much less control over Lepis’ actions than he realizes.” Lie’s jaw sets when he pauses, a muscle in his cheek trembling with the force of his teeth. “Truth be told, I offered Lepis my support without the full story, but I trusted her just as I trusted Wolfbane. I cannot support violence for the sake of power, Vulgaris. I have to go back on my word and protect Nerine. Because I am tired, but mostly because I have demons to destroy, and this is not right.”

He sighs. There is too much, sometimes. Just too much. The world can be so loud.

“I need to know where you stand. I plan to visit Loess and make it clear the East will not destroy another kingdom for no reason.”

and if i fall would you know that to do?
and if i'm caught up would you stay?

Litotes

@[vulgaris]

[vulgaris]

V u l g a r i S

His world has fallen apart to its very core more times than he has ever cared to count. He remembers watching Nocturnal slip through his fingers in the early, golden days of his youth and then holding Shiya while she cried over lovers who scorned her. How many nights did he lose sleep because he felt in his heart of hearts that Leliana would leave him for Dovev? And those were just the early days when things were simple. God, he wants to laugh at himself for thinking those were problems at all. But the sun never rose or warmed his face when any of it as happening. Endless night washed over him and he swore he’d let the sea take him if it would only reach.

But here he stands, stripped of everything he initially thought sacred, and stronger than ever. His pale green eyes watch the lion when he offers up his response, clearly weighed down by the troubles of his life. All he has is time, thankfully, so he waits patiently while Litotes explains the dilemma of the other kingdoms.

Loess still has that ravenous sweet tooth for power and domain, it seems. He regrets ever bleeding that awful hunger into its soil. A slow sigh is exhaled from his nose as his gaze wanders to the horizon as though it holds some secret answer. Of course, he wonders what his father would do at a time like this but he remembers the old serpent’s stories. Larva would tear his own sons limb from limb like a heartless god if they defied him. Vulgaris has grown so tired of the fighting and the bloodshed, though.

“A part of me will always love Loess, but I serve the people of Tephra now, and they’ve grown tired of wars. We’re tired of herding our children to sanctuaries and neutral territories. We’re tired of burying our sons and daughters,” he says, remembering seeing people too young for such violence torn open. Only old dogs like him ever deserved that kind of gore. “I’ll come to Loess with you. I think we can find a way to settle things without another tally on the death tolls.”

Naturally, his thoughts go to Adna, living quietly in Taiga. Was she safe beneath a Loessian leader? He swallows hard and grits his teeth at the thought but he doesn’t voice it to Litotes for now.

In this shook-up, twisted world, I'm gradually growing transparent and vanishing
Don’t look for me; don't look at me

@[litotes]