focusedvoid: (shade of you)
the knight ([personal profile] focusedvoid) wrote in [community profile] boxfullofzeroes2022-10-31 05:57 am

voicetest the voiceless









They're not dead.

Less dead than they'd felt, at least. Their shell doesn't normally take so long to reform.

Then again. Their shell doesn't usually break of their own violation as they ascended in a boiling rage, ate at least one realm, a god, and all the Godseekers.

(That last point is debatable, actually. There's some odd sense, deep under their...shell? Void? Wherever they once stored things like Isma's Tear, much deeper now...that the sea-mind is still there, sluggish and held in a stasis. They're already adjusting enough, and they don't seem to be dying or trying to kill them, so that problem is neatly sorted as 'for later'.)

They push their body to stand. Their horn clangs uncomfortably loudly against the grate they've apparently woken up beneath. They're somewhere in the Royal Waterways. A quick check of the map--or, not so quick, as it takes time to locate where it had been--shows they've risen about halfway through, closer to the City of Tears than the White Palace. They'll go to the Stag Station in the City Storerooms next.

So they think. Complications arise on the way.

The Infection is gone, leaving dead Flukes, Pilflips, and Hwurmps in piles enough it takes time to force their way past. Their body seems too small. No, their body is fine--there's something wrong with perception itself. That will take time to adjust to.

Then, they discover the Monarch Wings now stretch and warp when used, twisting around the nearest pipes after landing before the Knight forcibly calls them back. Shade Wings, they decide to call these.

Once they're high enough to hear the rain above, they realize a noise they'd ascribed to water running in the distance is, in fact, something swirling behind their mask. Many somethings. All the fragments of Siblings with enough self left, staring out from their eyes. It's disconcerting.

By the time they actually get out of the Waterways, they're using their Shade Wings to grip ledges and drag themselves up, with those holding onto things better than their own arms are with the Mantis Claw. 

The Knight faceplants awkwardly onto the floor of the building Lemm's shop is in. If the City is the same as below, there's little left to try killing them in the area.

They'll just take a moment here, thanks.
capitalcurator: (take off the defender's crest)

[personal profile] capitalcurator 2022-11-23 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
There is a cold rush up his arm that has nothing to do with Void. The bump was not rough - it is anything but - but he wasn't expecting a response at all, and the surprise of it snaps his hand away and tight back to the strap of his bag, betraying him.

Lemm nods, short, unceremonious. "Light bounces in a prism. Echoes," he thinks out loud. But this moment is not about the theory. It is about something else.

Still walking at their side, Lemm silently fights off the snapshot memories of things he has seen others do in a situation similar to this. Could pull them to his side by a horn and hold them there by the shoulder as they walk. Could rest a hand on their head, crack some terrible joke. Stop and kneel and put hands on their shoulders and talk. Do any number of things that Relic Seeker Lemm is not suited to and never has been. Is not suited to. Is not allowed.

It is so much harder to take the brakes off when it isn't his last chance to keep them around. But they're grieving, so some things are expected, even if it's barely anything at all.

"No one's fault," he says again, energyless and typical and clinical and... trying, anyway. "Not yours, not hers."

On, then. He hops up and keeps going. They've history to get to.
capitalcurator: (Default)

[personal profile] capitalcurator 2022-11-23 01:23 am (UTC)(link)
Lemm is quick. It's not Nail-wielding behaviour - he skits quickly to one side, one hand already finding a rock and preparing to duck until the Vengefly clearly heads away. His methods of self-preservation aren't the same as the Knight's, but they're sharper than his tact.

He falls in behind the Knight with a light pah, his pace suddenly quicker than it was and much more purposeful, hugging his bag to his side. As they go on, his eyes track the ceiling overhead far more than they track the ground. The dark shape of the empty Temple looms distantly in the caverns.

It is nothing, he's been to worse places than just the upper Crossroads, but - he will admit to himself - there's something about the sight of the Knight jogging ahead with their Nail out that reassures him, regardless. Not much he can offer in return but talk, a bit quieter than usual because the cavern overhead is prepared to puncture him for it.

"The space here wasn't a show from Hallownest," he reports, mostly just to talk. "Hear how I echo?" - and, alert, he ducks to one side as sharp mineral hits the ground where he was standing. "Something much bigger tunnelled here first. Maybe you already know."
capitalcurator: (take off the defender's crest)

[personal profile] capitalcurator 2022-11-23 09:55 am (UTC)(link)
Lemm may not be afraid of the dead, but exploded husk is exploded husk, and it's unpleasant enough. He shows little of his disgust on his face - just a slight narrowing of the eyes. He wasn't quite so familiar with how violently the Infection manifested itself towards the end. He'd been wise enough to stay put.

"Any new settlement uses what it has," he continues. "What Hallownest had was the remains of what came before it. Every bit of this kingdom is a reflection of -"

Thunk.

Lemm stops. And looks at them. Hard.

"...Something bothering you," he deadpans.
capitalcurator: (Default)

[personal profile] capitalcurator 2022-11-23 10:42 am (UTC)(link)
"N..."

Whatever he was going to say dies so quickly he doesn't even get to no, I. Several things. One, he misread their discomfort as annoyance. Two, his first reaction is an unpleasant prickliness, because there was something there that was going to address him and he's got several likely-misguided ideas about that. Three...

Three is that they are uncomfortable here, as he suspected they might be. Lemm casts a glance at the dark shape of the Temple ahead, and considers calling this off. Doing it another time wouldn't improve matters a jot, though, would it? And it'd give a great deal towards the suspicion that he is, as always, incompatible with a travel partner. Lemm quietly shies away from that idea, selfish though that might be.

(Four: they are telling him about their feelings. It is such a clear explanation. No bad air. Lemm is grateful, because that was not his first instinct.)

"...I was talking to myself. Interrupt all you like." Half-true. He scratches his face sheepishly with one finger and turns back to the Knight. Might as well be honest. "Thought you were annoyed," he admits, and waves acknowledgingly at the paper to let them know they don't have to continue. His eyes flick to the broken marker. "At me, I mean. You - hm. I see."

Lemm fidgets with the bag strap for a moment.

"...Carry on."
capitalcurator: (...)

[personal profile] capitalcurator 2022-11-23 11:24 am (UTC)(link)
Lemm's fidgeting stills at that, though not because he feels any more confident - his hands cling tight to the strap as he tries to win over a sudden flutter of nerves.

"I'd -" love to, really "- be fine with it. I thought I was clear enough." It sounds a tiny bit like irritation at having to repeat himself. It is not.

But what should he say? It's different now that he's been given the task by someone else, and hasn't just... stumbled across a sibling by accident. This is a deliberate responsibility! Given to him on purpose. Lemm shifts in place, then clears his throat decisively.

"Anything I shouldn't-? I mean. You'll have rules, probably."
capitalcurator: (this isn't a museum)

[personal profile] capitalcurator 2022-11-23 11:46 am (UTC)(link)
He studies their words with some intensity, clearly prepared to make mental notes. But there's not really much to go on. Mentally he reprimands himself, because of course there isn't - what was he expecting, a manual?

But there is something, and one rule is better than none. Lemm will take what he can get. A sigh. "...Alright." They'd been curious about lumaflies but - he remembers - not curious enough to want to see up close.

He turns to keep walking, but something stops him and he peers down at the Knight with genuine curiosity.

"S'that true of you, as well?"
capitalcurator: (take off the defender's crest)

[personal profile] capitalcurator 2022-11-23 12:31 pm (UTC)(link)
He's gruff, but his response is only a little bit sarcastic. "Right. Well I'll try to keep my vast array of spikes to myself." It's... maybe a little bit a metaphor? Lemm realises it only after it's out, and turns away and starts walking again so he can wince about that without making it their problem.

"I didn't think you were, somehow! But the City's not exactly spotlit. Wouldn't know."

But they're nearing the Temple, he's got precious little time to be curious about all of that. Relic Seeker Lemm has work to do, and he hasn't forgotten. As they approach, Lemm prepares to switch back to Relic Seeker-related topics, but he does have one other thing to say first.

"Some things - agitate you," he points out, "maybe not light, but - obviously. It's not in the job description to..." Lemm gestures up at the Temple, having trouble articulating himself. "If anything's too much, take a walk."
capitalcurator: (Default)

[personal profile] capitalcurator 2022-11-23 02:47 pm (UTC)(link)
He's quick to take to the new subject. This, he's miles more comfortable with.

Lemm is not interested in the simple answer, which is I don't know, but I'll add that to the list of things to ask her. That one's not much fun - and would seem like it was pushing for a visit. He folds his arms and peers up at the arch.

"Could be she was the mind behind the operation, though that'd be assuming very little of the others. Wouldn't put it past the King to think that worth honouring." His head tilts slightly. "Or she had a hand in it herself. You said she had her own type of protection... Could just as easily be she wanted something to point to her specifically. If anything goes wrong with the Dreamers, seek that one. Something like that, maybe. I wouldn't commit, though."

He stares up at the stonework a bit longer, then glances down at the Knight.

"Good eye, by the way." He sounds approving.
capitalcurator: (Default)

[personal profile] capitalcurator 2022-11-23 03:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Lemm rummages in his bag as he approaches the Temple entrance, and draws out a Lumafly bulb. It's the same one he took up before his trip to the Resting Grounds, and it does not have a handle - it's a hanging light, not a lantern, not that this seems to bother him. The existing light is bright enough to see by out here, but...

Lemm absently fiddles with it, turning it in his hands while the lumafly inside hovers unbothered.

"A great many made a pilgrimage here, that I know. Even I did, on my way down - not that I took myself very seriously. The reluctant one up there in Dirtmouth made it seem like the thing to do." He shakes his head and sighs. All that time staring up at the fountain, and you'd already stood right in front of the real thing without realising it. How very unsettling to know that now...

He coughs, lightly, and reminds himself what he's here for. "Well. Let's assess the place properly, then."

He steps under the imprinted Dreamer masks and through the door.
capitalcurator: (...)

[personal profile] capitalcurator 2022-11-23 04:29 pm (UTC)(link)
He's... not reverent, Lemm has never been reverent, but he's oddly peaceful as he makes his way around the centrepiece in a wide circle, eyes fixed on it. Mostly he's just looking. He does not take notes. No need.

Temple of the Black Egg. Arcane, looks like. More details left out to obscure the facts. Which are...?

He comes full circle and halts quietly at the Knight's side, staring into the open doorway.

Lemm already knows the Knight will not react well to him trying to step inside. Last time he tried (and he did, because a Relic Seeker's curiosity is their worst trait) it felt like his whole body was falling asleep like a numb limb. Infuriating, because he'd love to know. To see.

Lemm takes a deep breath. Maybe they know, but it won't be the same.

"What's it like in there?"
capitalcurator: (take off the defender's crest)

[personal profile] capitalcurator 2022-11-23 09:14 pm (UTC)(link)
He goes still as they move in - but of course, of course they're fine. Void in Void. (This understanding doesn't stop his arms from tensing at his sides like he wants to pull them back out of there.)

It did not glow for him, as most things don't. Lemm is no more remarkable than anyone who might have lived in the City of Tears back in its prime, and there are certain words that are not for him, certain places that do not open before his command, certain things that do not recognise the common bug.

Lemm doesn't need to be aware of any of this to know that the Knight is fine, standing where they are.

"Be -" they will be, this is a futile thing to say. He has this thought and forges on anyway. "Be careful. What are you doing?"
capitalcurator: (Default)

[personal profile] capitalcurator 2022-11-23 09:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Primal instinct screams at him not to go. Lemm doesn't have much of it, though. He's modern enough that that stuff is buried pretty deep. He shakes his head.

"I can't go in there..."

He sounds sure about that. But his legs take him forwards anyway, tentatively trudging up to the entrance to the Egg and lingering at the threshold. Lemm eyes their outstretched hand and debates, with a lot of doubt, the wisdom of crossing over.

As varied as they are, all Relic Seekers share a basic sense of curiosity. Lemm also happens to be helped along by a little bit of pride and arrogance, which does not aid in the decision making process. He would be the first academic (?) to step in here. And, for it, all the more capable of putting Hallownest's history to rest. Maybe others wouldn't attempt this - maybe the risk would be too great.

But the Knight seems confident.

...Lemm's hand sweeps forward, passing through the doorway in a wide horizontal arc, like someone passing their hand through a candle flame. It does not fall off, which is encouraging.

Eyes locked on the Knight, he brings his hand forward to place it firmly in theirs, and he holds on tight. He steps inside.
capitalcurator: (...)

[personal profile] capitalcurator 2022-11-23 10:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Normally one might say of a dark, claustrophobic place that the air is clinging. It does not cling here. Nothing does. (And it clings.)

He shudders involuntarily, and he knows the Knight can feel it. He does not let go.

Lemm also does not turn back. There is too much gravity to this, and he has too many questions. For a moment or two he looks around, horns tilting this way and that, but the realisation sinks in quickly that there's no point in looking. There is just the soft glow beneath the Knight's feet, and the Void, and Lemm in the middle of it all. He might as well not be here.

He feels like he isn't. It's terrifying.

The Knight might be agitated to know that the feeling that rises in Lemm's chest is excitement, so maybe it's best they don't.

...He says nothing. But he gives the Knight's hand a small squeeze.

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