TLV: IC Contact

[sixfeetofdirt]

Careful; I bite.

Comments

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

What flavor of harmless woodland critter did you get to be?

[sixfeetofdirt]

Not a single one, darling. I missed the whole thing. Yourself?

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Seems about right.

I was a soldier rabbit.

A fucking rabbit.

[sixfeetofdirt]

They don't.....strike me as a very militant species. But what do I know?

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Yeah, the big floppy ears are real intimidating.

You didn't miss much.

[sixfeetofdirt]

On the contrary. I missed the opportunity to have my body and memories stripped from me again and for that small mercy, I'm extremely grateful.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Huh. Someone actually gets it. I might have a shitty life, but it's mine.

And I don't want to be a goddamn rabbit. The only good thing was being outside.

Want to go for a walk? Promise I won't get your shoes dirty.

[sixfeetofdirt]

[He wrestles with this simple question for longer than he'd like to consider.]

Yes, all right. The Enclosure? You choose the place.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Yeah. I'll see you there in a few.

[sixfeetofdirt]

Astarion is there in 'a few' himself, already kicking himself. He keeps telling himself that this is going to stop, that he's going to end this indulgence in...whatever it is, exactly. But maybe that's the safety he's offering himself? Maybe if they don't put a name to it, it can't become anything he doesn't want it to be.

(Because that worked so fucking well with John, didn't it?)

He gives Jacob a nod as he approaches.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Maybe if they don't think about it, he doesn't have to worry. He props the door open for him and waves him in.

"Hey. How do you feel about snow?"

[sixfeetofdirt]

Astarion shrugs.

"I'd rather not be up to my knees in the stuff, but otherwise it's fine."

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

He puts an affectionate arm around his shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze.

"I promised you I would let your shoes get dirty, didn't I?"

Now that the death toll's resolved itself, he's lighter. A little happier than he had been before.

He opens the door that he's already programmed into a mountanous landscape, the snow light on the ground and a chill in the air. There are big clouds distant in the sky, but it's otherwise a beautiful, sunny day, crisp air with a touch of early morning frost.

He slides on a coat he'd already programmed in. "How's this?"

[sixfeetofdirt]

"Oh. It's..."

He's silent for a few moments, simply taking it all in.

"I've never been anywhere like this before," he says. "Where are we?"

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

"Montana," he tells him, handing over another coat. He might not mind the cold, but it's cozy and fits the aesthetic.

"It's where I've lived for a while. Down through those mountains, there's a valley. That's Hope County."

He didn't want to go there, but the snow capped mountains are breathtaking from here.

[sixfeetofdirt]

Astarion shrugs it on with a nod; he's dead, but he still feels the cold.

"Hope," he echoes. "How...ambitious. Did it ever live up to the name?"

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

"I think so," he mutters. Gave us hope for after the Collapse, I guess."

He starts the walk, no real destination in mind.

[sixfeetofdirt]

"Ah. That's where you set up your..."

People get touchy about the word 'cult', he's aware.

"...operation?"

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

He chuckles. "Cult," he answers. He knows what it is and he doesn't care. "Yeah. John took care of getting the land and the money out there. Joseph set up."

[sixfeetofdirt]

Astarion nods diffidently.

"...we were dealing with a cult at home," he offers. "Its members weren't always happy to hear the word."

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

"I don't like most people using it, but only because then I'm just a cultist to them. And I'm not."

He slides his hands in his pockets.

"What were your sort like?"

[sixfeetofdirt]

"Annoying," Astarion says. "They had organised around what they believed to be a new god, the 'Absolute'. Any one of its adherents would have killed for just a whisper of its favour, and - well."

He smiles sharply.

"A lot of them tried to."

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

He tsks softly. "Fucking shame. Did that favor do anything for them?"

[sixfeetofdirt]

Astarion laughs meanly.

"Absolutely not. Their 'god' was a vast hive mind from another plane, enslaved by three mere mortals."

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

"Then it was for fuck all," he says with a nod.

Makes sense.

"We were just - planners. People didn't understand what our work really was."