Calibrations Spill-Over Post

[thespaceopera]

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[birdsbirdsbirds]

Oh.

[...that's... right, that makes sense... Robin lifts himself back up off the floor, looking a little awkward, but absolutely refusing to admit that was weird. he'll go back to the masks. haha, totally wasn't just on the floor.]

[heresyandlace]

...Mhmm.

[right. you do you, man.

and the masks are still there, waiting for him-- ones from different places along the gender spectrum, various monsters and toothy things, an understated one with blue painted around the eyes... and one made with beautiful, severe angles, and a trio of black stripes painted down one side.]

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[minor embarrassment aside, he's really starting to feel a little better about the place. that was silly, and... yeah, there are horrors lying in wait, but he can kind of pretend the place actually likes him now.

he puts the round-eyed mask down carefully in the spot he'd gotten it from. the rest of the masks must do something similar. they're all pretty, in their own ways, but the blue one stands out as being the least flashy of the bunch. and blue isn't really Tek's color at all...

he picks that one up. turning towards the center of the room this time, facing his friend, he slips the new mask over his face...]

[heresyandlace]

[at first, it almost seems like this mask might not work the same as the last one had. Tek still appears more or less the same; there is no big, obvious change.

but, he's maybe laying down more for necessity's sake than just lounging comfortably--slumped on his side, mostly facing away. and aside from how this whole room will always feel saturated with his presence, the aura from the actual figure on the nest of pillows seems to be gone.]

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[that's a strange change. he actually lifts the mask, once, before lowering it again, just to make sure that this change isn't his imagination. he is positioned differently, but what does that mean?

the absence of aura strikes him when he takes a few steps closer. he doesn't say anything, but he walks until he can see what else might be different about him. is this another stage of his life? another age? or something different?]

[heresyandlace]

[there isn't much to see, until this version of Tek finally rolls enough to glance over in Robin's direction. and even then, it's all the things that are lacking that really stand out.

Robin has seen this face once before--on the planet that the dragon eventually died on. he looks perfectly human; it's what his mask should look like, if he ever bothered to include all of the details that he's supposed to.

he's missing absolutely all of the things that normally mark him as a monster, including the effusive aura. the only time Robin had felt him so lacking was when he'd been a half-dead king in another life, and even then it had only been when he'd been lost in torpor.

though, by the sluggish haze to his eyes now, maybe he's not so far off from that.]

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[oh. just when he was starting to think the pangs of panic might be over.

but his caution he shows is a steady one. he walks around and kneels down next to him, reaches forward... doesn't put a hand on him, yet, hesitant to touch him in case that's secretly the worst move he could have made. blue eyes, plain hair. this Tek is... human?]

Hey... [now he touches him, a hand on his shoulder.] Do you recognize me?

[heresyandlace]

[he tracks Robin with his eyes as the other man steps around and kneels, and closes one eye when he's touched-- as if he might really be having trouble focusing on him.

it's probably just because he's tired, though. depleted, but aware. the breeze slithers more insistently through the holes in the back wall, but this variation of Tek sounds almost normal when he finally does answer.]

...Of course.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[he hears it. he's trying to pretend he doesn't. makes him too nervous, like he's up somewhere high and the ground is quietly sinking further and further away from him...

but he's not going to jump. he takes another grounding breath himself, almost a sigh, since at least he doesn't have to re-introduce himself (he hopes).]

Okay. It just gets confusing, sometimes...

[...that's stupid. he has himself a proper seat on the floor, and his hand quickly moves to play through this Tek's hair like he always does. with a small smile:]

You look like you could use some sleep.

[heresyandlace]

[there's too much eagerness in the way that his eyes slip closed. he's not resting, though. that might be something outside of the range of possibilities for him right now.]

Don't say that...

[it's mean to tease him like that.]

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Ah, sorry...

[a small, breathy laugh is on the trails of his words, but he doesn't know if this is cute or... sad. without his distinguishing features or his aura, it's almost like he's empty, or just another boring human.

which is when he glances down and realizes, suddenly, that Tek isn't wearing something very important.]

Your necklace is gone.

[heresyandlace]

I know.

[he drags his eyes open and uncurls, straightening away from Robin, though he doesn't sit up. he only slides back from the edge of the nest, stretching out a little. he's either too uncomfortable to sit still, making room for Robin to join him, or both.

as he moves, his bones hurt. it's similar to what happens to him later--like his marrow is connected to kitestrings that are tugging in the wind somewhere far away.]

You don't need to remind me.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Did something happen?

[the question is too honest, maybe in response to how harmless Tek seems without the venom of his monstrous energy to fuel him. he realizes a second later that he'd rather not have asked anyway, and shakes his head.]

Nevermind. It doesn't really matter.

[so he follows him into the nest. more than that, he lays out next to him and gathers the other up in his arms despite whatever protests he might try to voice. he holds him close and pulls pain from his skin and bones and other places that aren't so physical.]

[heresyandlace]

[he does try to protest, at first. he's surprised and crowded, and it gets claustrophobic fast when he already feels pulled apart over so great a distance. but the ebbing of the pain is such a phenomenal relief, he can't struggle against it with that much conviction.

he's sick. the frayed holes in his being that Robin has always known-- this is where they started.]

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[he doesn't pull away until the pain is lessened, and even then, he doesn't go very far... but he lets the dragon (or not, as the case may be) have a little more space to try and find comfort where he's laying.

he's keeping a hand on him, though. an arm around him, if he can help it.]

I'll help, if I can. [it's quiet, but... a little fond.] You're no fun if you're just lying around all the time.

[heresyandlace]

--Being pitied?

[he finishes Robin's sentence for him, as he shrugs into a comfortable place in the blankets.]

You're right. No fun at all.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[Robin laughs. it's not the right response, but it's immediate. it's a snicker pointed right at himself.]

Please, I haven't pitied anyone in centuries. The pity's for me, if anyone.

[because he has to stop everything in this dream dimension to lie here and make Tekhetsio feel better. he reaches up, pets at his scalp. he must still like that, even in this lesser form, right?]