“I’ve seen far worse than your mind,” she states, the edge of humor lingering upon the precipice of her tongue as the corner of her mouth twitches to something that might have otherwise grown to a smile. Nothing about Dominic - in this life or the last was enough to make her shirk away and nor would anything to come. Pythia had seen - felt - committed atrocities far worse, to which there was no true end in sight. Instead, where others saw rot and poisoned beings, worthy of nothing more than to be cast to the depths of sanctimonious punishment, she knew resilience and loyalty beyond all else. The light wasn’t the only place that could curl hope around entwined fingers and draw them closer to the sun.
Lips pursed as she dug her toes into the warm sand, pivoting in place as he rose to his feet. To some, Selene Carvalho was a fidgeter, never quite capable of remaining still for too long but the serpent that lay beneath simply knew no rest. “We all do when we’re kept from being what we’re destined to become.” And his chains kept him from so much, “What they wish to do won’t fix you. They want compliance and little more. What you’ve become spits in the face of their docile little community they wish to return to and the Eye knows as much; hence why they did what they did.” Haplessly, her tongue slips out across her lip as she narrows hues in reflection of his own, “I know what they’re out to do. I say let them try.” There was little Pythia wouldn’t face; she’d certainly never backed down from a challenge. “What about you, Dominic? If you were to be.. fixed, as you say. What then? What becomes of your anger and rage for the eye? For the senate? For all they’ve done to you?”
fxllenpythia:
Proof once more, that those among mortals - humans and creatures alike, remained the hypocritical downfall that would lead to their own ruin. Pythia watched from within his mind as the senate conducted such damning practice that they might otherwise condemn another for. Another wretch among many that she believed highlighted their undeserved coven over this realm. It was certainly enough to draw a sliver of rage into the breadth of her chest. “Not yet, and certainly not if I have anything to do with it.” She muttered as she pulled Dominic further into his own mind - a safe haven where chains did not beguile him. It felt like years, since she’d done as much for him. Years a captive of the eye had seen her present more often than not within his thoughts, however; his release had been something she needed to see from the outside. A witness to how far they’d twisted him. Admittedly, she’d missed him. “One would think you’d see that I’m not quite done with you yet.” Was he ready? To be both monster and man? His memories returned to him, Pythia knew the collision of the two would warrant a war all it’s own, and yet - “You still have purpose, Dom. When the time is right, I’ll be the one to point you in the right direction.” In her direction.
-
The cell was quiet, most of the prison perhaps empty after the great jail break during Halloween. But the Aspect themself was powerful; this wasn’t the first time he’d met them. Another body, another life. It seemed like a fever dream, one that Dominic was pulling himself out of slowly. At least the burning hunger went away when he saw Pythia, when he saw their form in front of him. “You make me wish I would’ve cleaned up,” it was an attempt at a joke, his humor a bit rusted and jagged now. He looked down at his hands, clenching them together for a moment.
He felt a warm breeze hit his back, sand beneath where he was kneeled on the ground. An illusion, but still a sense of freedom. Perhaps it would hurt more when he was ripped from this fever dream; when the Pythia would fade away, when her voice would be all that was left. “I feel like a fucking mess,” he admitted, pulling himself up to his feet now. She was there, and Dominic idly wondered how long it would be until he was free from the Senate. Until he could stand in front of her once more. “They’re going to try and fix me.” Take the leech out of him; return him to his Mars bloodline, “It’s all I fucking want. I can’t live like this. It’s not living. The Eye – they’re out to get you. The Asphodel.”
beau-zale:
Under those eyebags was probably a beautiful man who worked at the establishment, but at the moment he looked worse for wear than a lot of the souls he dragged around. Current events had really done a number on these people. Beau had to keep from clicking his tongue at the waste. Humming in thought, black lined eyes still looking around the place, he let out a soft “ah” at the sight of the display cabinet. “That, looking for that.” Flicking a black painted nail in the direction of the case, he strode towards it, immediately leaned down to peer at what it had to offer. “You get shit from all the old ass haunted houses, I imagine?” It wasn’t so much a question as it was just musing out loud as he eyed a few rings cushioned in the velvet tray. Witch’s biting it and leaving behind whole jewelry boxes worth of treasures, that’s what he was in for.
“Mhm.”
Followed by a gentle head nod as he leaned against the shop counter, looking towards the direction of the man and the item he was pointing out, “Or new generations that find the item outdated and don’t understand it’s value.” Though, abandoned or condemned houses were kind of a hot spot for the incubus and the random treasures they could hold. Jewelry was particularly an easy sell, but a difficult find. Fake’s were all over the place and usually took a careful eye, a quality that had taken years for Silas to acquire but it was in the Kyun blood. Each piece within Knick Knack was handpicked, restored, and always of the highest grade. “Spessartine garnet, darkest red and extremely rare. I believe that one came out of a basement in Ostrava? —Kraków maybe? I spent a little time on the border and often forget, but I have the paperwork for authentication purposes,” tone a bit rough, followed by a tired grin as he grabbed for the keys to the cabinet and strode over to get the piece out.
cxnnxrmorgan:
Connor only ever visited the library when he had absolutely no other choice. It definitely had nothing to do with Gabriel (except that it had everything to do with Gabriel). He often snuck in when he felt like the Cubi wasn’t paying attention, and had nearly successfully avoided him on most occasions. Browsing the stacks now, he ran fingers down the spine of a historical biography, chewing his lower lip. He spoke Greek but reading it was still sometimes a struggle. French had always been his forte. Too bad he couldn’t find a translator patient enough to work through it with him. After some struggle, he finally plucked the right book off the shelf and moved to a different section- crafting- looking for a place to settle on the floor to get to work. He stopped as he rounded the corner to find a face that looked familiar but he couldn’t place- perhaps it was a customer that frequented the shop- “Excuse me, but I’m looking for a bit of help.” He raised the book and wiggled it slightly, “I have trouble reading Greek, are you any good?” ( @silaskyun )
What Silas loved about the local library was how large their selection was. Many of the small towns he had found himself in barely had anything at all, not even a government funded one, and there was something about the feeling of a book in his hand that he still couldn’t get over. Their section on woodwork had copies of books that the cubi had never laid eyes on. Such as ‘Tricks of the Trade’ and ‘The House Beautiful’ by Clarence Cook, most of which had been translated into Greek text and was still difficult for him to read. Sure, it gave him the practice he much needed but didn’t exactly help when certain tools didn’t quite fit the translation as he had hoped. Most of the time he would find himself digging out his phone for help from Google to get it into Korean, but it never worked well. Even the English translation came off choppy and tricky to read. So when he heard the man next to him asking for assistance, Silas wasn’t exactly sure he could offer much assistance. He gave the man a meek grimace, but charcoal hues remained kind, “Not sure how much help I would be. Greek is far from my first language, but I could always give it a go.”
kieratandanu:
“Okay.” Her eyes looked down at the blue tinted one once more, and when he posed his question, she realized that he was right. It was the one her aunt would probably never pick for herself, and therefore the perfect gift. “You’re right, she wouldn’t. That’s a great idea. I’ll take the blue one then. Do you possibly have a box it can fit in as well?”
Gentle head nods fell from the cubi as he pulled the mask towards himself. Silas was sure he had the right gift wrap for this particular style, getting out two sleek black boxes. One had a gold tint in the writing, embossed with the words ‘with love’ in the center. The other was similar with silver instead of the gold, but held no words and displayed an abstract geometric pattern. “Take your pick and I’ll hand wrap it for you,” warm words fell from his lips, happy that the mask was going to go into a wonderful home.
safiyebasak:
Most of the time, Safiye procured objects others required. In her time in Corinth Bay, she’d built a network of smugglers and fences and information gatherers–plus one idiot vampire–sand it allowed her to move things in and out of the area with relative ease so long as she knew the channels to get there. This item, however, was a bit more difficult. Most witches didn’t attempt to make them anymore because of the hazard in keeping them stable. It looked to be a simple magnifying glass, but it acted as a focus for spellwork that allowed the caster to amplify their spell without the use of another witch. It was risky and the object itself could potentially backfire, but if used properly and carefully, the results were magnificent. They were rare and expensive, and witches in possession of one were loathe to part with it for obvious reasons. Safiye needed one, which meant she needed to find a witch to relieve of it.
When she saw Silas called, she ignored the voicemail in favor of some bookkeeping, and only later in the evening did she remember to actually check it. Once she heard it, she immediately gathered her purse and a few other items and shot off a few texts to let him know she was on her way. She had to see it to make sure it was real, but Silas was almost never wrong about these things.
The walk to Knick Knack was a quick one, spurred by equal parts of excitement and curiosity. Sure the door was locked considering the early evening hour, Safiye rapped on it and then peered through the window as she tried to catch a glimpse of the man, hoping she hadn’t missed him.
There was always plenty to do at the shop. Custom orders to finish, various research to do, and even items to clean up in the back that would soon find their place on the shelves. That’s why when he hadn’t heard back from the gensai, Silas wasn’t all that concerned. She had work to do just like himself, although he was aware that this item was of extreme importance or it wouldn’t have been such an eager hunt. His hours were never really set in stone given his line of work, so the texts from Safiye were no real surprise. A small light was lit in the front of the store to indicate that someone was still around, but the closed sign remained in place. Once he heard the gentle tapping, feet swiftly moved to the door as he checked to make sure it was the proper client. Unlatching the locks, a heavy security system he had put into place after dealings with unhappy supernatural lead him to a trashed shop, Silas let her in.
“Let’s go to the back,” he stated before the brunette could say anything, locking back up and directing her towards his back room. This was an area that not many actually got to see. Half finished projects littered the room, along with various tools and a cot set up in the corner for when the longer hours left him unable to walk home. He walked up to a desk that was strewn with papers and artists pens, placing his rough hands on the knob of a drawer before sliding it open. The object was wrapped in loose newspaper, removing each layer before handing the magnifying glass to Safiye with a hopeful expression. “Looks to be the real deal. I found a few copy cats, but it was easy to tell by the makers mark that it wasn’t right. What do you think?”
kieratandanu:
“Well,” Kiera said slowly as she put both of the masks back down on the counter to look at them. Folding her arms over her chest, she pursed her lips, trying to find the best words to describe her aunt. “She’s… very warm and loving as a person. She enjoys nature and good weather, and tea. She likes to dance, too. And she’s a horrible cook,” she joked, tilting her head to the side as she looked back down at the masks. “Does that help?”
“I would go with the blue tinted one then,” he replied, an absolution in his voice that wasn’t present before. He liked to pride himself on knowing his clients and having a feeling about what items belonged with whom. It was something that he had practiced over the years, especially when his father had been training him. “It seems as though it might not be something she would normally pick out for herself, what do you think?”