You too? I thought they said something about dreams, I wasn't really
Might've been a little out of it at the time
[he lives with an imprint, after all, it's already started coming back to him in bits and pieces-- it's just that he's trying to ignore the nightmares. to write it off as not that real, despite the sudden advancement in his corruption; it's both easier and harder to do when it blends so well with the ones he already had.]
Just based on what I'd heard, I think being out of sorts is extremely reasonable.
[ There's a pause before the next message, because Hugo still isn't totally comfortable with the mechanics and implications that come with imprinting... But he also cares about others too much to just overlook it. ]
I hope this isn't overstepping, but if you need any assistance, you need only ask. The imprints do provide relief of the symptoms of our condition, strange as that may be.
No, it's fine, you really don't have to worry too much about me, it's
I don't know if that'd be safe.
[besides the fact that he's just not sure he wants anyone else to see the new features he's acquired... what's in those dreams is worrying. the last thing he wants is to end up harming anyone.]
[ He reads that, and he feels like he's being haunted by Takasugi's explanations of imprints... He's grateful for the knowledge, but on the other hand, this makes it more embarrassing, almost? ]
I see. I'm afraid when it comes to specifics, I really only know the Spectrals, but... In general, it's better to not be alone.
I don't mean this to be pushy, to be clear, and I in fact find the whole system baffling. But that's ostensibly one benefit of the imprints. It helps keep things like that under control, for lack of a better word.
he could ask dante to stick close, but that's a little embarrassing, and anyway, they've got things to do... he doesn't want to lean on them too much, especially with how on edge they've been about his disappearance. it'd be easier to take hugo up on this-- except it's also harder with someone he's less familiar with, is the thing. he's got no idea how to expect hugo to react. whether he'll be put off by the changes, or look at him strangely, or...
hugo will have to wait several minutes for a response, before greg sends him an address.]
Only if you're up to it. Don't make yourself stay or anything just on my account, Dante ought to be back later.
[just so it's clear that he won't be ditching gregor to be totally alone here if he needs to go, for any reason. giving him an early out.]
I am, don’t worry. I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it, so I’ll be over shortly.
[ It’s also an easy promise to make since it’s well into the evening at this point. Hugo would have come regardless, but if it were during the daytime, he just would have looked even more fitting of his far-too-vampiric name. The sunlight has gotten to the point that it hurts, after all. So, it doesn’t take long at all before there’s a gentle knock at Gregor’s door. ]
As is obvious, I hope, it’s Hugo~.
[ His voice is light and friendly, but he really is concerned about Gregor. That’s why he’d come so quickly. A mention of worsening Corruption will always do that for him now, since it was part of why he’d died. Whatever discomfort he feels over imprinting is far less than the guilt that he’d feel if someone else was subject to what he had been. ]
[there's some shuffling behind the door before it opens to let him in. the apartment gregor and dante share isn't exactly on the nice side, located in a more run down area, and the door creaks loudly on its hinges; at a glance, it's obvious they haven't really done much so far with the interior, left more or less as it was when they moved in. bachelorsville...]
Not exactly an ideal place for hosting, but, uh, lemme know if you need anything?
[he can at least be polite, despite how he's been... and it's immediately obvious just how bad that is. gregor's got a hooded jacket pulled on, hood up, but that doesn't hide his face or the dark circles under his eyes; it also doesn't completely cover the unkempt vines that trail out of it, seemingly replacing his hair, or the thorns that poke through the fabric here and there on both the hood and jacket. the right sleeve, as with all his shirts, is torn off partway down for his arm-- which also looks a little different. the more blunted surface of its back edge is coated in moss, with the sticky filaments of a flypaper plant rooted in it.
he's quick to close the door behind hugo and step further inside.]
[ By comparison, Hugo looks… Exactly the same, actually, but that’s rather strange in Karteria. Even if Hugo hadn’t been kidnapped and had the Corruption pushed along further, it’d still be reasonable to assume that he would look a little different compared to their first meeting. That’s all underneath the glamor though, of course. He has a method to hide the changes he’s subject to, and he absolutely uses it.
Maybe that’s why there’s a brief look of concern as Hugo gives Gregor a quick look over. The changes are much more obvious, and even if it’s to be expected, it still gives him a rather sharp pang of sympathy. However, he plasters over it with an easy smile, and he lifts the gift he’d brought—a bottle of wine. ]
Well, I brought a bit of a house-warming gift, so to speak. Either that, or consider it an apology gift for my being so insistent.
[ He steps in as he’s given the space, and though he does curiously look at the space (and assess it as bachelorsville, yeah,,,), he’s also quick to turn back to Gregor. He’s not sure if he’ll ever get used to imprints, really. On the one hand, it does feel pleasant, like meeting an old friend and all the warmth that comes with, but on the other… He can’t help the rational side of himself where it feels like something forced too. ]
[taking in how hugo (seemingly) hasn't changed sparks a little jealousy that he can't entirely ignore, despite the ease of being near an imprint. he'd been working hard to stifle his own changes, pruning relentlessly, up until the sudden advancement... now they're impossible to hide, and he still doesn't know what he's going to do about it.
the wine, then, is a very welcome distraction.]
Nothing to apologize for, especially if you're bringing booze with you. Think I could probably stand to have a drink or two.
[ Hugo laughs pleasantly, and with a little nod of asking permission, he makes his way towards the kitchen. He’s brought a corkscrew with him, since that’s easy enough to carry, but something to put it in? That’s a bit tougher. He’ll look for glasses, but despite his elegant, put-together appearance as a whole, he’s not above drinking out of mugs in the slightest. ]
I was hoping that might be the case. I almost thought to ask if you drank, but, well. It’s a bit nicer as a surprise, I think… Even if not, then it’s just as easy for me to save it, right~?
[ Regardless of what he finds in the way of vessels, he’ll deftly work on taking the foil off the top and taking out the cork. There’s an ease in his movements that implies that this is familiar in the way that someone that worked at a bar would be familiar. It’s so automatic that he barely pays it any mind, just continuing the conversation as he works. ]
…Though I will ask, just to be sure. Would you like to talk about recent events? Or keep things light? I’ll follow your lead here without a problem, Gregor.
[finding matching glasses is going to be an impossibility, but they probably do have glasses of some kind! just, you know, a little scratched and chipped. who knows where they picked these up.]
...gotta admit, as much as I'd like to say to avoid it, I don't think recent events are something we can actually dodge.
[he says as he watches hugo work, finding space for them to both settle in; the chairs at their small table are as creaky as the door was, but they at least don't feel like they're about to break.]
Au contraire, I am a professional dodger of unpleasant conversations~. I can bullshit with light conversation with the best of them!
[ He’s playful and clearly joking, but it’s also true… It’s a skill that you hone very well when a part of your job tends to include socializing and schmoozing in high society. He really does think he’s a pro when it comes to talking to people about nothing of import, which is why Hugo laughs as he uncorks the bottle and pours the glasses. ]
[ But his expression does soften as he brings the bottle and the glasses over to the table. He sets Gregor’s down elegantly as he takes a seat across the table. ]
…Well, if only things were lighter in general, it would probably work better.
[ It would seem shallow in this case, which is why he doesn’t stick with it. He takes a sip of the wine, then shrugs as he swirls it in his glass idly. ]
I was worried about you. With how these transformations go, it’s possible to lose yourself in it, for lack of a better word. So, I’m glad to see that it’s not that dire.
[ There's no fear of him turning into a mad plant monster, at least. He sets the glass down, and he holds out his hand in offer. He won't reach out to touch without permission in this case. ]
[he agrees with a little sigh, picking up his glass and taking a sip.
...his eyes flick between the glass and hugo's hand a couple of times, then, because it's not that offering is unwelcome, but he's only got the one limb that can both do that and hold a glass reliably, and he's very quickly torn between which to use it for...
right up until hugo mentions his natural soul, anyway, which is a very well timed distraction in the moment.]
Did I never say what-- no, you wouldn't have known then, would you, pruning the vines was still sort of working... well, shoot. I guess it must've seemed like I was... one of the bug types.
[ With the distraction, Hugo withdraws his hand with an easy smile. It would be odd to have it still offered, so he’ll just withdraw until a better time if it comes up. It might have been a rejection in the first place, which he could certainly understand. ]
Well, either that or a Thiren, yes. [ Knowing that the term is unlikely to mean anything to Gregor, he explains without missing a beat. ] Thiren are people with animal features where I’m from. It’s a wide range from fully anthropomorphic types to those with only a feature or two, so.
[ He shrugs as he nods towards Gregor’s arm. ]
It’s not odd to me at all. In fact, any of the Augmented whose presentation goes towards animalistic could be perfectly at home in New Eridu, really.
And here I figured you were just really good at being polite.
[jokingly, before he takes another sip of wine. he definitely needed this.]
That's not really something we have, though, or-- we don't have anything like it naturally. Plenty of ways you can modify yourself if you can fund it, but even then, this thing tends to stand out.
[what would it even be like, to exist somewhere that wouldn't be side-eyed? it's difficult to imagine at this point. being mistaken for just an arthropoda is the closest he's gotten to that, but he still doesn't particularly care for it.]
Well, admittedly I would have asked a little when we first met if it had been more, well… Private, you know?
[ There was plenty he hadn’t asked and plenty he hadn’t personally shared because they were under Patho-Gen’s watchful eyes. He’d already been distrusting of their motives and interest before, but now? He’ll never participate in their whims again, no matter how they pay. ]
But that’s mostly because most Thiren tend to have their features from mammals. Not to say that there aren’t cases of others, but they’re rarer. So, you were at least saved from slightly nosy questions about that, at least.
[ But obviously, Gregor wasn’t born this way, or that’s what his words imply. ]
So, a different slightly nosy question.
[ Hugo nods to his arm lightly, but his expression makes it clear that he won’t be offended if Gregor doesn’t want to answer. He’s curious but not prying. ]
I'm still filing that under polite. Plenty of fellows out there who would've asked anyway, audience or not.
[he picks the glass back up before he continues. just one more drink before getting into this particular subject.]
It's more like it came upon me, but... I've had the thing long enough to have learned to live with it. Like being stuck with a relative you don't care for, you know? Nothing to be done for it but try and coexist.
[ He can’t help but scoff just a little, since when it comes to his relatives… Well. There’s no coexisting about it, but his family situation is also rather brutally unique. In general, though? He thinks he does understand. ]
Of a sort, I do. It’s a bit how I feel about the Soul I’ve been saddled with, actually, though I’m still very much learning on that “coexist” part.
[ Hugo nods to Gregor’s arm, but he smiles lightly as he looks at the patch of moss that’s starting to grow on it. ]
I know it has its own difficulties— [ He’d seen those below Kelesis. ] But yours is rather charming, I think.
[he fumbles, barely missing the glass in front of him; his fingertips knock clumsily against it rather than grabbing it, leaving him to steady it before it tips and spills.
the hood of his jacket slips as the vines making up his hair curl and shift slightly, and when it's pushed back a little, it exposes some of the plant growth among the tendrils: a few stray white baneberries, a strangely textured yellow rose.]
I, uh, don't know about charming, I keep having to pull things off it-- you know it's sort of sticky now? Been sleeping with my arm hanging off the bed so it's not glued to the sheets... trying to sleep, anyway, it's all a little... it's an adjustment.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
@mockingbird (not long after people come back etc)
There's not a good way to broach the subject, I fear... But how are you doing?
@13th
I don't know. I don't remember being anywhere. Feels like I just... lost the last however many days.
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[ Honestly, he'd just found other imprints first and it'd felt too cruel to leave them... But it also feels weird to admit that. ]
But as concerned as I am that Patho-Gen is able to erase their crimes so, I'm relieved that you're well.
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Might've been a little out of it at the time
[he lives with an imprint, after all, it's already started coming back to him in bits and pieces-- it's just that he's trying to ignore the nightmares. to write it off as not that real, despite the sudden advancement in his corruption; it's both easier and harder to do when it blends so well with the ones he already had.]
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[ There's a pause before the next message, because Hugo still isn't totally comfortable with the mechanics and implications that come with imprinting... But he also cares about others too much to just overlook it. ]
I hope this isn't overstepping, but if you need any assistance, you need only ask. The imprints do provide relief of the symptoms of our condition, strange as that may be.
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I don't know if that'd be safe.
[besides the fact that he's just not sure he wants anyone else to see the new features he's acquired... what's in those dreams is worrying. the last thing he wants is to end up harming anyone.]
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(Which is a joke. Mostly.)
Why wouldn't it be safe?
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I see. I'm afraid when it comes to specifics, I really only know the Spectrals, but... In general, it's better to not be alone.
I don't mean this to be pushy, to be clear, and I in fact find the whole system baffling. But that's ostensibly one benefit of the imprints. It helps keep things like that under control, for lack of a better word.
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he could ask dante to stick close, but that's a little embarrassing, and anyway, they've got things to do... he doesn't want to lean on them too much, especially with how on edge they've been about his disappearance. it'd be easier to take hugo up on this-- except it's also harder with someone he's less familiar with, is the thing. he's got no idea how to expect hugo to react. whether he'll be put off by the changes, or look at him strangely, or...
hugo will have to wait several minutes for a response, before greg sends him an address.]
Only if you're up to it. Don't make yourself stay or anything just on my account, Dante ought to be back later.
[just so it's clear that he won't be ditching gregor to be totally alone here if he needs to go, for any reason. giving him an early out.]
→ 🎬
[ It’s also an easy promise to make since it’s well into the evening at this point. Hugo would have come regardless, but if it were during the daytime, he just would have looked even more fitting of his far-too-vampiric name. The sunlight has gotten to the point that it hurts, after all. So, it doesn’t take long at all before there’s a gentle knock at Gregor’s door. ]
As is obvious, I hope, it’s Hugo~.
[ His voice is light and friendly, but he really is concerned about Gregor. That’s why he’d come so quickly. A mention of worsening Corruption will always do that for him now, since it was part of why he’d died. Whatever discomfort he feels over imprinting is far less than the guilt that he’d feel if someone else was subject to what he had been. ]
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[there's some shuffling behind the door before it opens to let him in. the apartment gregor and dante share isn't exactly on the nice side, located in a more run down area, and the door creaks loudly on its hinges; at a glance, it's obvious they haven't really done much so far with the interior, left more or less as it was when they moved in. bachelorsville...]
Not exactly an ideal place for hosting, but, uh, lemme know if you need anything?
[he can at least be polite, despite how he's been... and it's immediately obvious just how bad that is. gregor's got a hooded jacket pulled on, hood up, but that doesn't hide his face or the dark circles under his eyes; it also doesn't completely cover the unkempt vines that trail out of it, seemingly replacing his hair, or the thorns that poke through the fabric here and there on both the hood and jacket. the right sleeve, as with all his shirts, is torn off partway down for his arm-- which also looks a little different. the more blunted surface of its back edge is coated in moss, with the sticky filaments of a flypaper plant rooted in it.
he's quick to close the door behind hugo and step further inside.]
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Maybe that’s why there’s a brief look of concern as Hugo gives Gregor a quick look over. The changes are much more obvious, and even if it’s to be expected, it still gives him a rather sharp pang of sympathy. However, he plasters over it with an easy smile, and he lifts the gift he’d brought—a bottle of wine. ]
Well, I brought a bit of a house-warming gift, so to speak. Either that, or consider it an apology gift for my being so insistent.
[ He steps in as he’s given the space, and though he does curiously look at the space (and assess it as bachelorsville, yeah,,,), he’s also quick to turn back to Gregor. He’s not sure if he’ll ever get used to imprints, really. On the one hand, it does feel pleasant, like meeting an old friend and all the warmth that comes with, but on the other… He can’t help the rational side of himself where it feels like something forced too. ]
We can share a drink, if you’d like.
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the wine, then, is a very welcome distraction.]
Nothing to apologize for, especially if you're bringing booze with you. Think I could probably stand to have a drink or two.
[or, you know, half a bottle of wine? whichever!]
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I was hoping that might be the case. I almost thought to ask if you drank, but, well. It’s a bit nicer as a surprise, I think… Even if not, then it’s just as easy for me to save it, right~?
[ Regardless of what he finds in the way of vessels, he’ll deftly work on taking the foil off the top and taking out the cork. There’s an ease in his movements that implies that this is familiar in the way that someone that worked at a bar would be familiar. It’s so automatic that he barely pays it any mind, just continuing the conversation as he works. ]
…Though I will ask, just to be sure. Would you like to talk about recent events? Or keep things light? I’ll follow your lead here without a problem, Gregor.
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...gotta admit, as much as I'd like to say to avoid it, I don't think recent events are something we can actually dodge.
[he says as he watches hugo work, finding space for them to both settle in; the chairs at their small table are as creaky as the door was, but they at least don't feel like they're about to break.]
Not in full, anyway.
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[ He’s playful and clearly joking, but it’s also true… It’s a skill that you hone very well when a part of your job tends to include socializing and schmoozing in high society. He really does think he’s a pro when it comes to talking to people about nothing of import, which is why Hugo laughs as he uncorks the bottle and pours the glasses. ]
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…Well, if only things were lighter in general, it would probably work better.
[ It would seem shallow in this case, which is why he doesn’t stick with it. He takes a sip of the wine, then shrugs as he swirls it in his glass idly. ]
I was worried about you. With how these transformations go, it’s possible to lose yourself in it, for lack of a better word. So, I’m glad to see that it’s not that dire.
[ There's no fear of him turning into a mad plant monster, at least. He sets the glass down, and he holds out his hand in offer. He won't reach out to touch without permission in this case. ]
So, you're a Terra type.
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[he agrees with a little sigh, picking up his glass and taking a sip.
...his eyes flick between the glass and hugo's hand a couple of times, then, because it's not that offering is unwelcome, but he's only got the one limb that can both do that and hold a glass reliably, and he's very quickly torn between which to use it for...
right up until hugo mentions his natural soul, anyway, which is a very well timed distraction in the moment.]
Did I never say what-- no, you wouldn't have known then, would you, pruning the vines was still sort of working... well, shoot. I guess it must've seemed like I was... one of the bug types.
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Well, either that or a Thiren, yes. [ Knowing that the term is unlikely to mean anything to Gregor, he explains without missing a beat. ] Thiren are people with animal features where I’m from. It’s a wide range from fully anthropomorphic types to those with only a feature or two, so.
[ He shrugs as he nods towards Gregor’s arm. ]
It’s not odd to me at all. In fact, any of the Augmented whose presentation goes towards animalistic could be perfectly at home in New Eridu, really.
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[jokingly, before he takes another sip of wine. he definitely needed this.]
That's not really something we have, though, or-- we don't have anything like it naturally. Plenty of ways you can modify yourself if you can fund it, but even then, this thing tends to stand out.
[what would it even be like, to exist somewhere that wouldn't be side-eyed? it's difficult to imagine at this point. being mistaken for just an arthropoda is the closest he's gotten to that, but he still doesn't particularly care for it.]
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[ There was plenty he hadn’t asked and plenty he hadn’t personally shared because they were under Patho-Gen’s watchful eyes. He’d already been distrusting of their motives and interest before, but now? He’ll never participate in their whims again, no matter how they pay. ]
But that’s mostly because most Thiren tend to have their features from mammals. Not to say that there aren’t cases of others, but they’re rarer. So, you were at least saved from slightly nosy questions about that, at least.
[ But obviously, Gregor wasn’t born this way, or that’s what his words imply. ]
So, a different slightly nosy question.
[ Hugo nods to his arm lightly, but his expression makes it clear that he won’t be offended if Gregor doesn’t want to answer. He’s curious but not prying. ]
How did you come upon this, then?
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[he picks the glass back up before he continues. just one more drink before getting into this particular subject.]
It's more like it came upon me, but... I've had the thing long enough to have learned to live with it. Like being stuck with a relative you don't care for, you know? Nothing to be done for it but try and coexist.
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Of a sort, I do. It’s a bit how I feel about the Soul I’ve been saddled with, actually, though I’m still very much learning on that “coexist” part.
[ Hugo nods to Gregor’s arm, but he smiles lightly as he looks at the patch of moss that’s starting to grow on it. ]
I know it has its own difficulties— [ He’d seen those below Kelesis. ] But yours is rather charming, I think.
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[he fumbles, barely missing the glass in front of him; his fingertips knock clumsily against it rather than grabbing it, leaving him to steady it before it tips and spills.
the hood of his jacket slips as the vines making up his hair curl and shift slightly, and when it's pushed back a little, it exposes some of the plant growth among the tendrils: a few stray white baneberries, a strangely textured yellow rose.]
I, uh, don't know about charming, I keep having to pull things off it-- you know it's sort of sticky now? Been sleeping with my arm hanging off the bed so it's not glued to the sheets... trying to sleep, anyway, it's all a little... it's an adjustment.
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