15 . JOHNUARY

[necrolord]

Who: John Gaius and company.
What: All around him, John's friends and loved ones begin to shed their skins. Also: Riteoir.
When: January
Where: Gaze and the new city.

Content Warnings: Tagged in headers as needed. Note all the usual warnings of this character.

Comments

[necrolord]

Of course it is, [ says John, very slowly. He really has to savor these, sometimes. And they say he's the one doing crimes against humanity. ] Turns out I have a fourth helpful tip.

[ He drops his hand from his eyes and looks at her dead-on, the burning halos of his eyes lit up in the church's bad red flicker. ]

This town has a sense of humor, but only ever at your expense.

[ He spreads his hands like ta-da, like the delivery of a punchline. ]

I hear they're just calling me the big evil wizard, these days.

[wingstosee]

[ look. hecate isn't sure what she's expecting, other than something bad. and each word of buildup just makes it worse! this sucks. this buildup sucks. no matter how bad it is, she is confident it's not worth all this anxious buildup.

at least, she's confident right up until he says the whole "big evil wizard" part. which makes her squint for a moment as she tries to remember just who that is - not her proudest moment, she'll admit - before her eyes go saucer-wide. ]

Oh, no fucking way.

[ look. there's no simply other way to put it. she is absolutely, categorically, theologically fucked right now. her stance just... slumps, any remote attempt at keeping herself prepared flying out the window. after a moment, she looks up and into his eyes, offering the earnest smile of a woman who has decided to challenge the grim reaper to a game despite knowing full well she's already dead. ]

Well. I feel like. We might be past the point of explaining things away? So instead I would just like to say that I've met several of your Holy Saints in the past week, and they've been very lovely, and I feel like the fact that they decided not to murder me means that maybe you might appreciate me alive too?

[necrolord]

[ It is, admittedly, pretty satisfying. All the local kids have lost their holy awe of him, and sometimes a guy needs a little boost to the ego, right? Especially after so many rough weeks and lost fights. It's a relief to be God again for a minute.

He's always liked the chance to be a kindly God. ]

No, this is interesting stuff. No one's ever willing to give me the gossip.

[ Except for the information he gets from people tied to chairs, but they don't have to acknowledge that particular elephant. It's frankly embarrassing. His fight isn't with her; it's one thing for his Lyctors to throw betrayal in his face, knowing what they know about the shape of things. It's another to watch kids flounder in a fight they don't understand. He's too tired to make a thing of it, and too far from home.

He steps forward, all the same. Whether she hits her knees or stands her ground, he has a piece to say. ]

You said it yourself... you were acting as a cavalier. That's loyalty, if you'd follow your necromancer to an unfriendly planet with shitty showers.

[ He quirks a smile at her, kind of awkward, kind of wry. It's the same guy he'd been a minute ago, joking about his no-murder streak-- which, to be fair, he might have oversold-- except that he looks somehow steadier and more tired, now. ]

I do appreciate you alive, Hecate Triphosphera, Cavalier Primary to the Third. For as long as you consider that your name, I'll consider you one of mine.

[ Even if he has no clue who she is. ]

[wingstosee]

[ from the moment she was old enough to hold a rapier, princess hecate triphosphera has trained for that exact purpose. it isn't that she particularly enjoys fighting; in fact, truth be told, she finds it utterly distasteful except for those rare cases where she gets to humiliate a challenger. but endless hours of practice have molded her, and countless drills have been beaten and berated into her until they were woven into the very cells of her body, and what is left is less a human being and more a finely tuned machine. her rapier is an extension of her body, as a cavalier's must be. and she, in turn, is an extension of her necromancer, as a cavalier should be. she must always be ready; she must stand unflinching, an eternal sentinel at her charge's side. one flesh, one end.

and all of this is the only thing that keeps her from falling prostrate - keeps her upright when her knees begin to shake, when she finds her breath forced out of her lungs - before his celestial kindliness, the first reborn, the necrolord prime, as he approaches her. ]

That's! Wow! [ oh, god. is she hyperventilating? how incredibly embarrassing. she tries to regulate her breath, as best as she can while she's, you know. face to face with a living deity. ] I'm glad! You think so!

[ against all odds, she manages to keep that awkward smile on her face - even as tears start to form and fall from the corners of her eyes. sorry, god! involuntary response! totes embarrassing! she finally manages a full sentence, after a moment and a particularly sharp breath, and it even sounds like she's mostly talking normally: ]

God, you wouldn't believe how garbage the food is.

[necrolord]

[ She quails, but doesn't crumple, which is nice. Very steady of her, and also less awkward. It feels like an absurdly long time since he's been in this position, since anything has been so reassuringly simple as a kid scared shitless to meet God.

And so maybe they're calling her by old lyrics they've never known the tune to, and it's embarrassing all around. He can let that slide. It's never been so easy to simply not give a damn.

He touches a hand to her shoulder, and gives it a steadying squeeze. ]

I absolutely believe how garbage the food is.

[ He releases her, and exhales a slow sigh as though considering the situation before them. ]

Well, that's some context, I guess. Hell. Now that I've led with John, it feels a little silly to take a my Lord. If you want a title, call me Teacher.

[ It feels like decades since he's said that to anyone. It doesn't come as easy as it used to. ]