[CLOSED/OPEN] No words can heal a broken heart

[chronomancer]

Characters: [AU1] Eridan Ampora & [AU1] Equius Zahhak; Eridan Ampora and YOU.
Setting: Meadow floor (closed/backdated to the January event), Floor 64 (open/current)
Format: Starting with action but I'll match you.
Summary: Two logs for the price of one, lmao so I don't flood the comm: closing up aged up shenanigans, Equius is displeased and Eridan is about to learn just how much. Also back in real time, Eridan finds a deliciously tempting slice of home.
Warnings: Violence and swearing for the Equius log. Eridan being actually honest and pathetic and stupid, for the open one.

[Closed: Meadow floor.]

[He wasn't tired so much as he was trying to hibernate. He wasn't entirely sure trolls, undead or otherwise, actually did the whole hibernation shtick, but he could at least try. Save up his energy. Make his last feeding last. He was pretty sure things didn't really work that way but he was lazy and this was a good enough excuse. So there he is, as long as he is, lying on his back and sunbathing in the meadow without a care in the world.

Not that he didn't have cares. He had a lot of them, actually. But if he started thinking about all of them he'd probably implode. Or go on a rampage. Or both. Really, it was for the best of everyone involved, if he just laid there, soaking up sunlight and carefully thinking of nothing in particular.]

[Open: Desert floor.]

[It's so familiar it hurts, really. The heat, the sand, the occasional blast of wind. It's probably a bad idea to head out, and given the last few terrible ideas he's indulged lately, mostly as a result of the experiment last month, Eridan resists the urge to go.

But he wants to, dear god, he wants to so bad.

He's curled up on the sandy floor, barely two steps off the staircase, staring aimlessly at the distance and quietly drowning in nostalgia. He's never really stopped to sit down and miss life before the Game... but now he does and the wave of homesickness is almost entirely too much to handle.]

Comments

Desert floor!

[fiesta_de_los_muertos]

[She's just passing through, taking a quick look at all the new floors without exploring any of the just yet, when she nearly walks into someone sitting next to the staircase. But then she spots the familiar set of horns.]

Eridan?

[chronomancer]

[Eridan looks up and decides today is not his day. Not that any day in the tower is ever his day, unless his quadrants are involved, but even then... because the tower. But he really didn't need to see Aradia on top of everything else he's already feeling. It's like a one way feelings train and no one's letting him get down. Absently, he wishes he had his sunglasses on him. It's easier to keep a neutral expression with them.

And with his luck, she's just like Kanaya and didn't remember him. Because that sucks and it hurts and it's no one's fault, really, so it's the perfect thing to not complain about. He could really just go out into the sand and hide under a dune about now. Nonetheless, he's still far too mellow from the results of the last experiment to snap at her. So he tilts his head back and offers her a small, thin lipped smile. He hopes it looks polite.]

...hey, Ar.

[fiesta_de_los_muertos]

[With his head tilted back she notices the streak of green hair between his horns. She is pretty sure the Eridan she met earlier had a streak of purple instead, matching his blood color.

But then she remembers the Equius from an alternate timeline. She figures it's not entirely impossible to have others from different timelines and universes walking around either.

She answers his smile with one of her own, showing her good intentions.]

Do you mind if I sit down with you?

[chronomancer]

Nah.

[He shrugged.]

Go for it.

[His smile turned wry.]

Though I'm not sure I make for all that great company these days, sorry.

[fiesta_de_los_muertos]

That's fine by me, it's nice to find a quiet floor.

[She smooths down her skirts before sinking down on the sand next to him. The sand is hot to touch, like desert sand would be, and she lifts some of it up to let it fall back down between her fingers.]

What brings you to this floor?

[ghostytrainer]

[John doesn't notice the lump of a troll on the floor until he almost trips on him, nearly giving himself a heart attack in the process. Once he calms down a little though, and realizes exactly who this is, he becomes a bit concerned.]

[As much as he hates the heat and would rather just pass this floor by entirely, he can't ignore someone who is very clearly Not Okay. Even if it's somebody he's not particularly close to. He leans over, giving the jade-blood's shoulder a few shakes.]

Hey. Come on, this probably isn't the best place to lie down. You run the serious risk of bursting into flames. [He is completely and utterly serious about this. Deserts are dangerous like that.] Do you need water or something?

[chronomancer]

[Eridan looked up at John a bit blankly, not quite sure what the guy was talking about. He blinked a little, unfolding back to his feet, though, and not looking bothered in the least by the heat or the sand or you know, the general desert-ness of the floor.]

...what?

[ghostytrainer]

You know, because it's so hot? You might...catch fire?

[...he thought it was funny.]

[chronomancer]

[Eridan chuckles a little.]

Your desert humor needs work, Egbert, it's kinda dry.

[See? This is how you do it.]

[geometry]

[Oh. Oh, Eridan. Oh.]

[He's been looking for you all day, hon. Why are you sitting up in the meadow like this when you could be down on one of the smaller floors? That would make Equius' life so much easier. And really, you want to make his life easier right now. From the way he's walking, the way his shadow falls onto the grass, there seems to be nothing wrong with Equius; he moves as he usually does, straight-backed and somewhat nonexpressive. Even his voice sounds perfectly normal.]

Eridan.

[chronomancer]

[But he doesn't sleep as soundly in other floors as he does here... he's always found this floor soothing, for all the shit that's always happened here. Eridan looks up at Equius at the sound of his name, taking a moment to stretch a little.]

Hey, Eq.

[geometry]

I had a visitor the other day, Eridan.

[Oh, how saintly he sounds. Equius walks closer and bends down in front of his face, indifferent as usual... and in the next moment Eridan's toes are four feet from the ground and there's a death grip on the back of his shirt and overcoat.]

Tavros had some fascinating things to say.

[chronomancer]

[Eridan made a sound in the back of his throat as he found himself so roughly off the ground, startled enough that he started glowing on reflex. The glowing helped hide how Equius words made him go from pale to pallid to transparent. He flinched a little, in Equius' hold.]

...oh fuck.

[He squirmed a little.]

...I can explain?

[papshooshing]

[ Karkat finds Eridan like that and rubs at his neck. this is a little awkward, especially considering... Gamzee. Karkat had been pretty "upset" during the whole age changing thing. most of those frustrations all circle around this Eridan and Gamzee - the shit that they tend to get into with each other. "friends" in pretty much the enemy way and enjoying it.

he knows it's not really blackrom-ish, but god if it doesn't FEEL that way from time to time.

but that awkwardness kind of dies when he sees the way that Eridan is sitting. kind of looks... well Karkat doesn't really want to assume or read too much into the situation, but there is definitely a lack of that prickish, arrogant air that Eridan usually carries about him.

which is why Karkat takes a seat right next to that loser. ]

Wonder what the point of this floor is.

[ yeap. great way to break the ice. ]

[chronomancer]

Do you want the realistic answer or the Eridan-is-a-self-important-douchewaffle one?

[Eridan nudges a little sand with his heel, not quite looking at Karkat in the eye. Because yeah. Awkward. There isn't anyone really that he can consistently look at in the eye without wanting to die, these days, thanks to the experiment last month.]

[papshooshing]

I could take either or, I guess.

[ Karkat hmms thoughtfully. the awkward feelings are going to choke him and then offer his corpse as a sacrifice. can't have that.

his fingers trace some little crappy doodle in the sand before he gets an idea. it's a stupid idea and he knows it. but it might make the self loathing stop for a few seconds.

in the next instant, Karkat snatches a handful of sand. yanks back the collar of Eridan's shirt...

and pours the collected grains down the guy's back. ]

[chronomancer]

Well, truth is--

[And that's as far as Eridan gets, before his shirt is getting yanked. He tenses all over, barely resisting the urge to snap back at Karkat, before he squeaks like a grub at the feeling of hot sand sliding down his back.]

Grubfuckin' hell!

[Once Karkat releases him, Eridan ends up rolling around to face him, squirming as the sand sticks to his skin in places and slides down in others.]

Vantas!

[The hell was that for, man!]

[caliginous]

[Karkat and sand didn't mix well, no doubt thanks to his usual prim nature. Sand got everywhere and stuck to everything, so it wasn't the cerulean's ideal location of leisure. Its difficult to resist walking on the floor once he spots Eridan there, though.

So he squares his shoulders and approaches. In reality, he's been starting to care less and less for his state of dress. A year and a half in the Tower would do that to a person.

On a normal day, he might sit around and wait to be noticed. Karkat isn't entirely sure if its a product of the gathering emotions in the Tower, a product of Eridan's homesickness, or Karkat's own jaded attitude that makes him speak up like a normal and reasonable indivudal.]

Hey nookbreath.

[--well. Almost. The antagonistic bite is absent from his tone, at least.]

[chronomancer]

[Eridan startles a little at that greeting, before chuckling a bit wryly when it properly registers. He's not quite sure what tone he should take, when talking with Karkat, but he decides to keep it neutral, at least for the time being. He's too tired, right now, to really let himself get worked up in another disdain fit for the cerulean. Plus there's all that awkwardness still standing between them, and the fact Karkat is either making an effort or equally too tired to make an effort. The end result is kind of the same.]

'ello.

[He tilts his head back, to look at Karkat with a very wry, very wary smile just barely tugging at his lips.]

[caliginous]

[The cerulean's lower lip curls over his fangs briefly in awkward acknowledgement before he decides to close the distance. He's careful (sort of) with how he walks -- no reason to scuff those nice red saddle shoes if he doesn't have to.

The sand stuck between his laces will at least give him something to do later. ]

So are you gonna dig a hole here and stake out a meager existance or what?

[chronomancer]

It sounds incredibly tempting, actually.

[Eridan chuckles softly, fingering the sand and quietly loving the way it stuck under his claws.]

But that'd be kind of a dickmove at this point. I guess it'll be just plan B in the foreseeable future.

[hystericull]

[Gamzee had never really been in a climate this sizzling. Back home was more moderate, if he could put a term to it, he guessed. At night it got real cold, and it made him feel like a rusted out machine, locking up and staying still. The days were warmer, but he spent most of that time indoors sleeping anyway.]

[Here is was just. Warm. Hot, really. He rather liked it. His body was kept cool by the blood that usually worked against him in relation to comfort. The sand was warm, too, a little hot under his bare feet (because who in their right mind keeps their shoes on when walking on sand? Gotta feel them grainies in your toesies.)]

[He'd really come here to work some shit out in his head. Hearing the buzz about the new floors, he thought it a good opportunity to check some of them out and scope for a prime pondering spot.]

[Of course, nothing ever went his way, and as soon as he put his feet in the sand, it seemed, he was trampling over some stupid sack of shit who decided to park themselves right by the fucking staircase.]

[What fucking idiot would--]

[Ah, Christ.]

...I'd ask on if your ass all were fuckin' dead or what, but a motherfucker think if you were, there'd be some hungry little scavengersquawkbeasts getting their peck on at your nads right the fuck now.

[chronomancer]

...hello, Gamzee.

[Eridan looks up at the highblood with his usual lack of emotion, one eyebrow arched. He's not sure he wants to deal with him right now, especially not after what happened during last month's mess... but on the other hand, it's always so easy to deal with Gamzee. It's almost reassuring. He arched an eyebrow.]

I'm pretty sure scavengersquawkbeasts have better taste than to try and eat me. I don't make for an appetizing carcass.

[hystericull]

[Gamzee nodded in consideration, lifting a hand to his chin.]

Yeah, you fuckin' got me there, dog.

[He crouched down to Eridan's level, taking a moment to wiggle his toes further into the sand.]

You taste much motherfuckin' better with grubsauce.

[chronomancer]

That's just asking for a brother to go on a ramble about what you taste like, Gam.

[Eridan arches an eyebrow at the highblood, expression wry.]