wotanon | Dreamers After Dark (VII)

[The answering stream of almost-consciousness is a mixture of curiousity, innocent enjoyment of a game, and the definite lack of seeing the corpse as... well, anyone really. To the bird's mind, there isn't really a difference between the body and the surrounding sofas. This one is just more fun to play with than the sofas, though it can be satisfying to tear those up, too. But the body has a lot more colours and fun squishy bits!

It's why it's sharing with Absinthe, too. Absinthe, too, is a more fun thing than the rest of surroundings, and the bird is curious about him, and how he seems to have a different enjoyment of the meal - his reactions and way of acting is interesting. In fact...

Those thoughts shift and flow together, and the bird turns to Absinthe, focused on him now, reaches out to try and grab his hand in its beak. Give?]

[ his eyebrows raise -- he switches his grip of the severed arm from one hand to another, freeing his hand so he can offer it to the bird. there's no hesitation or lack of certainty in it. even if it ended up being a poor choice -- well, considering it's a dream he's not overly concerned. ]

I do warn I'm not nearly as pleasant to taste. Or smell in general, really.

[have you tried taking a shower

It's fine, though! The bird doesn't have anything to recognize scents as pleasant or unpleasant. It's molecules, man. It inspects the offered hand for a few moments, seemingly deciding what it wants to do, and then quickly half-severs off the thumb, mainly to expose the meatier part of it. It's curious about the squishy thing!

Nearly at the same time, though, there's a new voice in... not the air, but more in the dream itself, and by extension in Absinthe's mind.

"Not nearly as pleasant"... in comparison to what? Oh, he probably means me. Does it actually taste good? Though he did say that's part of the corruption. Maybe I ought to ask next time.

The voice is Levity's, and clear enough that it's almost as though he's standing right next to Absinthe. The bird seems to be completely unaware of the voice, continuing to peck at his hand.]

[ don't @ him

he doesn't even blink when the thumb is half-severed, wigging the digit as best as he's able considering his condition. ]

Now now, don't play too rough. I still intend to enjoy my meal.

[ as if he can't hear the voice offering commentary. he'll still keep his hand held out for the bird, though, and in the meantime he lifts Levity's severed arm up to his own mouth, taking a sizeable chunk out of the raw end of it with his teeth -- at this point ignoring the mess that makes over his mouth and chin. ]

[There's no input from Levity this time, though who knows why. The bird, meanwhile, stops for a bit to give Absinthe a Look. You can eat with one hand, you know? It goes back to worrying at his thumb, seemingly trying to pick it apart, with no attempt to eat it. Is there drippy zombie goo instead of blood? Inquiring minds want to know.]

[ there is, in fact, a thick, oozing black ichor instead of blood! though otherwise the insides of his flesh look quite normal, and falls apart at being picked like a normal human's would.

it does taste terrible, wrong, unnatural -- but a robot probably wouldn't notice all that! ]

[A robot certainly wouldn't! It does turn out to have a metallic tongue of sorts, though, and mlems at the ichor - out of curiousity. Can it do anything to metal?

Levity, or whichever part of his psyche it is that's offering invisible commentary, does notice it, however.

The Starscourge...]

[ it doesn't harm the metal, no -- and right now its nature is more of a symptom of his corruption than the Starscourge in and of itself.

he smiles, though, hearing Levity's thought; and as the bird pecks the wound starts to heal, automatically binding itself back together even as the bird tongues at it. mainly to see how the bird'll react, at that, if it'll try to re-open the wound. ]

[The bird is offended!! It makes an indignant roboty beep that in its pattern sounds almost like swearing and pecks at the hand again - and then, apparently deciding that it's Absinthe himself who made the fun stop, jabs its neck quickly to grab Absinthe's hat and jump away, shaking it in its beak angrily.

There's a laugh from unseen Levity, but his musings continue.

Oh, I should try that next time. But... it does heal on its own, then? And it's not transferable... Then, back in Heaven - oh, he just kept it off me out of courtesy rather than necessity, then. He does know how to be sweet. But...

There is a brief pause, but one seemingly heavy with unarticulated thought. When the voice resumes, it's in more concentrated, thoughtful tones of someone remembering something, and it doesn't quite sound like Levity's voice - more like how he would sound if he tried to speak like someone else.

"I think he pulled them. I almost pulled one myself. Each flower seems to have a different significance, so who knows what he thought he was doing to himself."

I wonder if he lied to me about only doing it to see what happened. Or is he really that self-destructive?]

-- I was fine with a little pecks here and there, but there's no need to be rude.

[ his tone is more faux-offended than anything, though, since he could just as easily conjure another hat in his hand. he'll step after the bird, trying to reach to grab the hat back, still with Levity's arm in his other hand.

it'd almost be a comical sight, really, and he's trying not to focus on Levity's train of thought at the home. Emet-Selch warned him Levity would be the sort to pry, but he's really trying not to encourage that! he's just wants to charm him superficially how dare Levity care about him!! ]

[Absinthe is the rude one, so he's not getting the hat back. The bird backs away, yanking its head back once Absinthe reaches close enough. Though it's apparently angry, it's also still trying to play.

Unfortunately for Absinthe, though, Levity's inner monologue isn't stopping there, although there is a touch of amusement at the scene playing out. Who knows how his consciousness is layered right now, but likely he's just thinking while dreaming.

I suppose that's why everyone keeps trying to tell me to be more careful around him. Though, true trust, true trust... It would help if Alexander didn't need to be so vague all the time. "Even if he comes to value you, he might end up hurting you". On accident or purpose? That's... sad, really. Breaking things and people you like on purpose, just to hurt yourself? To have something to be angry about? Or simply out of lack of control over everything else? I cannot even ask him...

The thought trails off into less well-defined streams of emotion moreso than anything - a manner of sadness at not being trusted, knowledge that he hasn't yet earned that trust (because not even Levity is that naive), desire to become closer and a not inconsiderable amount of affection and admiration and worry for the amnesiac Ardyn he'd met. Have fun Absinthe, Levity sure does like your good person self more.]

That is a possession of mine, you silly creature, not a toy.

[ he!! dislikes this!! it's not like Alexander warning Levity of as much was a surprise, though, considering what he's done to Alexander before -- altogether it's a rather mild-mannered warning. but Absinthe doesn't like the tone of this at all. it's straying vaguely too close to pitying him, feeling sorry for him ...

he feels he's been bared, in a sense, having Levity see him without memories. to get a hint he was not always this way. he doesn't like it, and he tries to push past the thoughts he's hearing. if he can't grab the bird, he'll sigh, giving up on their "game" to step back towards Levity's displayed corpse.

unceremoniously he'll dig his hand into the abdomen, with enough force to try and reach up through to his heart. ]

[Well, if his intent was to upset Levity himself with that, Absinthe's aim is unfortunately off! That is to say, the more conscious part of Levity seems unaffected - and, indeed, as the thoughts continue to flow they do come to wondering about what could have happened to Absinthe, niggling at the differences in his behaviour as Ardyn and as Absinthe, putting together all the vague warnings Levity has been receiving from others and trying to correlate them to what he knows of the man so far. Rather sincere and open as an amnesiac, horrified by his condition - but very nonchalant about it as Absinthe, as though it doesn't matter, all easy smiles and played up charm. A distraction of sorts, a defense mechanism?

The bird, meanwhile, seems to be a bit disappointed by the fact Absinthe doesn't want to play anymore - but it does startle when he tries to reach in to grab the heart. It drops the hat, hops closer to stand across the corpse from Absinthe, jabs its beak down to grab at his hand - though this seems to be more a warning than an attack.

Earn.

As in, you gotta work for the heart, buddy! Who's the rude one now, walking into a guy's psyche and then trying to steal his heart, geez.]

[ what, so it's fine when rowdy teenagers do it but not a nasty zombie cannibal? Absinthe is being oppressed!

he sighs, as he's nipped, taking his his hand back. if he's able to he'll try to give the bird a bop on the head, as if admonishing. ]

And here I thought you had no need for him! What is the harm if I do a little exploration?

[To be fair, Absinthe is a rowdy teenager by ancient standards!

There's a complicated mental moment as the bird gathers all of its vague perceptions and instincts in regards to the corpse. There's a certain amount of guarded fear, verging on defensiveness, annoyance directed at the corpse, somehow, but a hint of affection, too. Bird brains sure are weird!

The conclusion that Absinthe can draw from the tangle is thus: if you take the heart, prove that you won't hurt bird. If you plan on hurting bird, it will try to destroy the corpse.]

You're rather complicated for a beast, hmm?

[ it's almost like he's dealing with a ... metaphor!! he doesn't think it over too much right now, much like he's trying not think about Levity's dwellings from earlier, and his touch is gentler when he tries to stroke the top of the bird's head. Absinthe can play nice!! ]

[Wow, metaphors, in dreams??? Who'd have thought!!! The bird is pretty receptive to the petting, though, and seems to relax under it, making a pleased robotic beep and shuffling its feet. The earlier wariness is gone, once again to be replaced with contentment. Absinthe is friend?]

[ Absinthe friend! he puts down the arm for a second, keeping up stroking the bird while his freed hand goes and sinks back into Levity's abdomen. he doesn't go straight for the heart this time, but he does watch for the bird's reaction to see if he'll be interrupted. ]

[Well, now that it's established(?) that Absinthe = friend, the bird doesn't seem bothered by him going back to his organ looting! It tilts its head into the stroking, although it probably becomes a little hard to do because once again the robofeathers on its head rise in appreciation, much like they would on a real bird. There is a touch of curiousity as it watches Absinthe's hand, though, and the slightest hint of anxiety. But for the most part, it trusts him!]

There we are. I'll even forgive your stealing my hat.

[ Absinthe murmurs, soft, soothing as his hand pries its way through tissue and tears viscera on the way back up to Levity's heart. if this weren't a dream it'd take more strength than he had to do so; thankfully, they don't need realism here!

so he can take a hold of Levity's heart and squeeze it, firmly. ]

[iyaaan absinthe senpai be gentle!!

The bird gives a sound that's... as close to a chuckle as a robot bird can get. It's not ashamed of the hat stealing at all, and it thought it was very fun and funny. It doesn't seem to react to the heart gripping, meanwhile.

The rest of Levity's background psyche does, though; not the more conscious part of him that could speak - that seems to have disappeared somewhere, really, - but the part of him that's... well, responsible for dreaming overall. The atmosphere shifts; it's almost as though he's... embarrassed?]

[ Absinthe's lips split wide in a smile -- it's probably not at all subtle that he enjoys getting a rise out of others, in a positive or negative sense, so even though he can't directly hear Levity's reaction to that ... well, it's enough for him!

he squeezes again, as if he could mimic the pulse of his heartbeat while dead, before with a harsh wrench of his elbow he'll rip it down and out of the cavity of his chest entirely. ]

[Listen, Levity has been reading poetry and hanging out with Vergil, he can really appreciate the symbolism here. The bird, pacified, hunkers down, watching Absinthe curiously. It's glad he's having fun!

The overall flustered feeling dies down somewhat, though not entirely, and instead a kind of anticipation replaces it, as though Levity, too, is curious to see where this will go next. Somewhere at the back of his mind is the awareness that this is a dream, and he's interested to see how his subconscious perceives Absinthe.]

[ part of him wonders how Levity's subconscious will react to him doing as he please in his heart. ah well, it's not like he's going to face consequences for his actions anyway!

he lets the bird be to focus on the organ in his hand, giving it another testing squeeze -- the blood dribbles from severed aorta in a way that's almost satisfying -- before bringing it to his other and taking a bite out of it, full-teethed. ]

[Never any consequences for the garbageman, ever! Absinthe is possibly fortunate that Levity isn't aware that he's, well, actually himself, strolling around dreams, not a figment of Levity's dreaming mind.

And the reaction from Levity's mind is essentially--well, that's just about what he'd expected, honestly, but there's still a tinge of embarrassment. It's one thing to just be aware of it and another to actually dream about a cannibal guy you like symbolically eating your heart.

Does it taste good, I wonder.]

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