techalaniani. [cw: dr...ugs...]

[fursuit]

[ It’s about two weeks after the chaos that’s hit Highstorm and Springstar both. The dust has had time to settle and people have started to pick themselves back up. And in that busy time, the Shard-Bearers of Kenos are touched by someone new. It’s a mind that gives the impression of vastness in the way that other gods and similarly supernatural creatures have. There’s dark, fragrant smoke of copal, and the humid heat of a rainforest. It probably feels faintly familiar to some, since there’s just a hint of that warmth that feels similar to a certain sun god(dess)…

But as it focuses, that warmth seems to be coming from a campfire, perhaps oddly. The logs around it offer you a “seat”, whether proverbial or not, and it’s only if you take one that the speak themselves will come into more focus. But the introduction that comes with it is much cooler (in both senses of the word) than the bubbly Quetzalcoatl. ]

Yo.

[ …Is that how the newest god is greeting the masses? Yep. Apparently so. ]

I talked to enough people when Kenos was jerking me around [ no, that was me, the player, ] that Communion is just more efficient. So, for those I’ve met and for those I haven’t, consider this a more formal greeting. You’ve removed my brother Quetzalcoatl and allowed me to descend in his stead.

[ And even though he’s identified Quetzalcoatl as his brother… The smirk in that statement is unmistakable. He’s pleased that Quetzalcoatl is dead. For those that know the mythology of the Aztec pantheon even faintly, this wouldn’t be a surprise at all, since Quetzalcoatl only has one enemy that would be glad to see the feathered serpent fall. ]

Name’s Tezcatlipoca. Tloque nahuaque. [ The Nahuatl is spoken with a sense of power that’s subtle, but still raw, even though there’s no one that would understand it. Still, it conveys the idea well enough—this is no minor god of that pantheon. ] If you know me, great, and if you don’t, well. Met your god Set one of the times I was stoppin’ by, and our whole deal is similar enough. I am conflict, so in the spirit of fairness, I’ve thrown my lot in with Zenith. Can’t have two gods that oversee war and conflict on the same side, yeah?

[ There’s humor in his tone that makes it seem like it’s a joke, but… No. It’s not. That’s a pretty significant part of his rationale for picking Zenith. Thanks Set!/Don’t worry about. ]

Anyways. All that formal shit aside, easy one to follow it all up. Ain’t often that I got a human body to enjoy getting fucked up. So, if you’ve got a preference for weed, hit me up. Workin’ on somethin’ artisanal there, but I wanna know the poisons of preference for the locals. Let me know what you get fucked up on, and I might even make it worth your while.

[ …So. You know. That’s one way to introduce yourself. ]

Comments

[fursuit]

Huh. Wild.

[ It’s the most casual way to put it, and it’s treated with curiosity that’s clear through Communion, but it’s also not something he seems to take quite as seriously as Quetzalcoatl did. Or at the very least, there’s not the same, immediate affection that she’d had. They’re two gods with fundamentally different views of the culture that they’d watched over. ]

…May be a weird question. But, how’re your people doin’? Like, civilization-wise, I mean.

[ It is a weird question, but he won’t be specific about why he’s asking until after hearing the answer. ]

[kinaesthesia]

[There’s some of that same sort of distant curiosity on her end when he follows up with that question, along with a little blip of confusion because that sure isn’t a follow up she’d been expecting. There’s a thoughtful hum as she thinks back on home, and it brings with it the barest impression of humid jungle heat.]

…Uh, fine, I guess? We were real closed off when I was growing up. Kept to ourselves and our inter-tribe bickering for the most part. Life was hard, but it was good enough for us.

[Kind of the explanation she’d always given to curious coworkers who wondered about what kind of upbringing would produce someone like her.]

Didn’t realize how simple we kept things ‘til I left. Way better tech out there to be found, but there’d started to be more of an influx of that and other cultures before I ended up here.

[Sargon’s Padishahs and Lords Ameer were always a looming threat that tended to turn a blind eye, but the influx of the Durins from Zeruertza made things a lot more complicated…]

What makes you ask?

[fursuit]

[ …Ha.

That humid jungle and the way she describes her hope (at least in the first part), pulls something even he doesn’t fully expect. Nostalgia. It’s brief, but it’s soft and just a little bit sad. He doesn’t hold the deep sorrow that Quetzalcoatl does, but they also hadn’t been his people. Not in the true flesh and blood (mostly blood) sense that they were for Quetzalcoatl. Still, though.

…He wonders what the world might have been like if the people of Cemanahuac had set out to discover faraway lands instead of being discovered. There’s no world that’s perfect. But in this respect, hers sounds like it’s got a happier story. ]

‘Cause the Aztecs are gone. Long gone.

[ Not in a cosmic sense, of course. By that measure of time, it’s practically yesterday. But five hundred years may as well be an infinitely long time ago to a mortal. ]

So, consider it professional curiosity. The Aztecs weren’t the only people that spoke Nahuatl, ‘course, but hardly any of them really made it through the Conquistadors either. Just a nice surprise to hear of a place that's doin' well.

[kinaesthesia]

[Huh. A touch of nostalgia is something that’s not entirely unfamiliar to her, at least in recent years, but… that little bit of sadness dwelling with it sure isn’t. She’s already half-realized what that probably means when he goes right ahead and confirms it.]

Oh. [A bit of surprise, not unlike discovering she’s gone and stepped on a rake.] That’s a shame. I’m sorry.

[A sincere sentiment, if not delivered a little awkwardly. Earnestness in this sort of regard isn’t exactly her strong suit. It casts some interesting light on that last conversation she’d had with Quetzalcoatl, who seemed certain things weren’t quite through in that last incarnation of her world. And this was even with their people being gone? Or is there another piece of the puzzle missing here?

In the end, Gavial supposes it doesn’t matter.]

But yeah, I guess I’m glad there could be some good news in one corner of the universe, at least. [A beat.] Or, well. I guess that’s kinda relative, huh? Considering that the whole reason we’re all here is that everything back in our homes is kinda… gone.

[She’d been not fully convinced of it for a long time, sure, but with as long as she’s been here now, it sorta starts taking on a different light.]

[fursuit]

[ That awkwardness is met only with a feeling of a shrug, a don't worry about it without needing to say it directly. He's clearly more distant from the prospect than Quetzalcoatl presumably was, since his tone hardly changes. ]

Eh, don't worry about it. Is what it is.

[ The Aztecs? Their worlds? Who knows which he means at the moment. ]

That's the cycle for ya. If anything, Zenith provides a wild opportunity. Least by our reckoning, there wasn't gonna be anything after the world ended, so! By comparison to that, things ain't that bad. Just gotta win.

[kinaesthesia]

[It is what it is, huh? Well, she can’t argue with that.]

Yeah. Just gotta win if we want to make it count.

[Complete agreement, as if it’s just as simple as deciding on it. Which, well, is the first part of seizing victory as far as she’s concerned. There's a whole lot of steps to get to after, especially if they want to make something worthwhile in the end, but that's a problem for later.]

Do think we might have our work cut out for us, with the way things are now. [With the oracle balance? The war breaking out between the cities? Both?] Guess you’ll have to show us what a god of conflict is made of, huh?

[Mm, okay she can’t help being a little cheeky still, though.]

[fursuit]

Oh, yeah. I’m assumin’ with how everything’s kinda gone to shit at the moment, that’s why I popped up when I did. This World’s been trying to nab me, so third time and a shitload of problems is the charm, apparently.

[ Definitely not just the player chomping at the bit to bring your happy ass here, tezca, don’t worry about it! He snickers, and there’s an easygoing atmosphere in Communion as he continues. It’s like a cat leisurely stretching and extending their claws all at once. ]

So, throwin’ my weight into Zenith’s cause is the plan, yeah. I ain’t a show-off kinda guy, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that I’m a big “get” for this side. But heard an Oracle’s probably comin’ up soon, so might get a chance sooner rather than later to use my skill.

[kinaesthesia]

[Ah, so he’s just a whole lot of trouble, huh? A thought which she almost vocalizes, but instead opts to leave the further ribbing unsaid—even if the brush of amusement is recognizable even with as chill as she likewise is at the moment.]

What’s the point of strength if you can’t show it off a little? But I guess we’ll see what the Oracle wants from us, because you’re right. I think we’re probably due for another one sometime soon… and considering the two sides are probably on the least friendly terms I’ve seen since getting here, I betcha it’s gonna be a doozy.

[Ugh, she can’t help but be excited at the prospect, even if she’s not exactly glad of the circumstances contributing to it.]

[fursuit]

Don’t get me wrong. I’ll use my strength when it’s needed, and then? Yeah, I go kinda crazy.

[ He laughs, good-natured and relaxed, but there’s a sense in that casual statement that he’s really not joking. It’s why he was a Berserker, so far as Servants go, at least when he dons his armor. But at a baseline, he’s maybe got a panache for dramatics, but he’s not a show-off. It’s something of a blessing to see his black armor, after all. ]

It’s why I’m lookin’ forward to seein’ what these Oracles are all about! Was kinda pissed that I showed up after all the fun you’ve had recently. Assassination, murder, a huge superweapon… I missed out, big time.

[kinaesthesia]

[‘I go kinda crazy.’ Damn, you can’t just say things like to Gavial without getting her all riled up about wanting to see it in action, particularly when there’s that seriousness underlying all the chill vibes he’s got. She’d seen what Quetzalcoatl was like in action at the coliseum, so of course she’s got high hopes for her sibling here.

Though of course, being true to his self-described aspect of conflict, he has to go and temper that a bit when he continues. She sighs a little, and it comes with the impression of a shrug.]

If that’s your idea of a good time, then yeah, I guess you did. I don’t think more of that stuff’s gonna do us any good, but there’s not really any undoing the path it put us on.

[So congrats Tezcatlipoca, there will surely be more “fun” on the horizon.]

[fursuit]

Well, of course. Doesn’t matter if it does good or bad. It’s my job to embrace it all.

[ And feed into it, but he’s at least not getting started on that. Yet. He wants to get the lay of the land first, so to speak. He wants to see where there are gaps or imbalances that need more of his special “touch”, since that’s simply what he’s meant to do. He calls it a job, but it goes deeper than that. ]

From what I heard, the assassination was our side’s idea. You ain’t a fan?

[kinaesthesia]

That sorta thing isn’t really my style, but I’d been on board when I thought we were just going after the boss man himself.

[There’s a faint echo of the mixture of feelings she’d had when Amos first came to her asking for help with his plan—confusion and a little incredulity, resignation and the staunch desire to help out her friend with their shared cause. She’d much prefer an open challenge over the scheming inherent to assassination, and she’d said as much to Amos at the time, but this isn’t Acahualla where that sort of thing is standard and expected practice. So she’d figured the sneaky nonsense was the way to go, which was the problem; sneaky is far from the right description for what actually happened.]

Stakes were bound to change as this whole thing progresses, so… yeah. Part I wasn’t a fan of was wrecking their whole damn city in the process.