[ vax stuffs his hands in his pockets. maybe notable, he's not wearing the deathwalkers ward today, instead rocking this sort of fit, though he's got a cloak over his shoulders instead of a leather jacket. he sticks out like a sore thumb in this place, but thats ok.
tilting his head up, up, to the spires, he puts a hand over his eyes as if to peer into the distance. ]
[he still doesn't know he's lacking in height... so it's all scaled to emet's current height, not to like 20 feet. it's still enough to make vax feel pretty small, though, yeah.]
Though to me, it tends to look something more like...
[since this is a simulation, he'll just adjust it, wandering to the door if he needs to--
and currents of sparkling light weave their way through the sky, the air, the land. the people walking the streets glow in soft color, in varied hues, and the sky now glitters with stars and magic both.]
Yeah, yeah. Big guys I know don't exactly know how to build cities like this.
[ goliaths and giants are not exactly the smartest people in the world. vax would know, he bullies grog for this all the time.
anyway, for as much as he's playing that off as lighthearted teasing as usual, when emet adjusts the simulation, it gets a reaction. a gasp, at first, surprised, and something close to awe fills the emotional space between them, as he tilts his head up to stare at the glimmer of magic and starlight overhead. vax has seen a lot of the world, but this is almost unreal. ]
...Shit. [ is his first response, blinking upwards, and then back at the softly glowing city. ]
... Colors're - those are souls, right? Isn't that what you can do?
So it is. This is the world through the lens of aetheric sight-- the currents of the Underworld, the souls of all living beings which possess one. What I should be able to see in those here.
[if they have souls but we're not talking about that part it's fiiiine]
So it is. I am not the only one gifted in the sight, far from it, but to see the color of a soul with such clarity... this is rarer.
[he's looking at vax, though, contemplating something. hmm.]
Hold still a moment longer.
[that lasts a few more moments, before he nods, and snaps his fingers with a little flash of pink-- copying heliotrope, as illusory light blooms at vax's chest.
it isn't blue, that he chooses. it starts that way, marine blue, and then it changes. it warms, passing into purple, tinged with red. further, into blood red and then a rich red-orange shade, warm and crisp like fall leaves, bright but with that tint of darker color to it. red like blood, longevity, but yellow like satisfaction and fond memory, both mixed together to form the appropriate shade.
emet-selch thinks this would suit him.]
Only a guess. But I have seen enough to have some idea.
well. vax's emotions do a little thing, there - surprise, at first, as he looks down at himself, fading into a sort of warmth that's harder to place. he watches, blue to red to this reddish orange, and the sight reminds of him of zephrah in the fall and someone's cloak, and he inhales, surprised, pressing his hand against his chest. ]
...Oh.
[ for maybe a second, he's stunned into silence, which is kind of rare. ]
...hha. 's - [ ... ] 's it weird to say I like it?
[ it's just so warm.
he'd like to be a warm person. sometimes, people like us aren't just meant to be happy.
[there's a particular warmth to fall colors-- not the full warmth of summer, but the kind that comes more from company. from staying warm with them, the chill outside offsetting the bright shades. it's what he thinks of most with that red-orange; he rarely experiences weather alone, after all, mainly when azem drags him out.
that emotional warmth is matched by emet-selch's, less masked this time.
he still has just enough capability left to manage a light in his own palm-- it's purple, a deep and rich shade of violet.]
I do suit crystalline's interpretation here, more than heliotrope, but... it does not match my own soul.
vax leans forward a little to examine it, and then glances at emet. thoughtful, maybe. purple to vax is much more heliotrope-esque - colorful, wild and bright, it's scanlan, his best friend in the whole fucking world, for every bit of dirty and raunchy that he is.
but emet's purple looks a little more... regal, almost. it reminds him of the way light refracts off of his own feathers, streaks of here and there purple among a pitch dark black. something strong and refined.
he glances back up (and up and up) at him, and then grins a little, nudging his hand. ] Don't waste all your power today, huh?
[ ... and then, a little less jokey, a little more serious. ] ...Thanks. For that.
[you can't call me out on gay tags when yours are also gay!!
he dismisses the illusions when his hand is nudged, rolling his eyes, though the adjustment to the simulation remains. the world is still bright, glimmering.]
...as I said, it is simply my interpretation.
[but there's a sense of appreciation, regardless.]
[something else sparks slightly inside that fond feeling, when vax smiles at him like that. he says nothing of it.
instead, he just sets off at a leisurely pace, down the simulated street. ahead, there's a giant blue crystal floating suspended in a plaza.]
The Macarenses Angle, containing Amaurot's aetheryte; one might think of these as anchors for a form of teleportation, in which the traveler uses the aetheric currents of the star to transport themselves to any other aetheryte upon it.
leisurely they go! it's not as leisurely for vax because emet's legs are so fucking long but he's used to keeping up with grog, so. he pushes his hands into his pockets, and looks around, like a good tourist.
maybe less like a good tourist he bounds forward and gets all up in that crystal's business, peering into it. ]
's a lot of words, big guy. [ teasing, though; this makes sense to him. ] So it's like a really fucking big Gatestone. Okay. These things all over the place?
They are placed where we require them. An aetheryte is not required for shorter-range teleportation, but if one wishes to cross the star in but a moment... these anchors serve to assist in travel. The body's composite aether enters the stream, and exits at the destination.
[he sounds very much like a lecturer, here, unsurprisingly. of Course it would be easy for him to just lapse into that.]
Can't you imagine other shit into it, if you want to? I'm just checking.
[ he seems amused when he says this, head poking out from around the other side of the crystal again to look at him. ]
Home, for me, you might see something more like this.
[ he reaches out to touch the crystal again, and thinks, trying to tap into the simulation - and eventually, something sprouts around the crystal - a tree. massive, the crystal blending into the bark for a moment like a gaping, wide portal - it doesn't last for long, before the illusion fades away and leaves the simulation as it was. ]
there's like the very beginning of an emotional tidal wave that starts and vax just
turns around
and starts walking
nope
(this greatly muffles the emotional explosion that would have happened, but emet can probably feel the warmth and melancholy and loss and love and like 40 other things all wrapped up together, just distantly from the other room)
calling out over his shoulder - ] Yeah. Someone fucking amazing. Come on, let's keep looking. [ bye ]
[that's-- it's a complicated mix of emotions to feel, distant as they are, but. he does let vax get his distance, at first. he certainly wouldn't want to be chased down were he muffling his own feelings.
still, it's...
he catches the warmth, the loss, the love, and recalls what vax has told of him of his situation thus far. that when the dead leave others behind in other worlds-- it is not the same as it is, in etheirys. it is a loss.
when emet-selch follows, it's with a mix of uncertainty and a reflection of that same melancholy, more empathetic. it's becoming a little easier to understand, especially with the emotions attached.]
...if you do not wish to speak of them, I will not ask further.
thankfully he's still pretty far away, but as emet starts to come closer, what he'll recognize is that those emotions are intense, and huge, and vax just doesn't have the words to talk about them while his emotions are fucking all over the place. not right now. not when he's still so tender from sunday, from the vines that pulled him and percy apart. ]
...Another time. [ he says, tilting his head back a little, please get it, ] Yeah?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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but he turns his attention to the city, then, with-- a sense of comforting familiarity. home. belonging.]
So it is. Amaurot, the jewel of Etheirys-- our capital.
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tilting his head up, up, to the spires, he puts a hand over his eyes as if to peer into the distance. ]
Place's huge. Kinda makes me feel like an ant.
[ everyone is massive also ] Pretty, though.
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[he still doesn't know he's lacking in height... so it's all scaled to emet's current height, not to like 20 feet. it's still enough to make vax feel pretty small, though, yeah.]
Though to me, it tends to look something more like...
[since this is a simulation, he'll just adjust it, wandering to the door if he needs to--
and currents of sparkling light weave their way through the sky, the air, the land. the people walking the streets glow in soft color, in varied hues, and the sky now glitters with stars and magic both.]
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[ goliaths and giants are not exactly the smartest people in the world. vax would know, he bullies grog for this all the time.
anyway, for as much as he's playing that off as lighthearted teasing as usual, when emet adjusts the simulation, it gets a reaction. a gasp, at first, surprised, and something close to awe fills the emotional space between them, as he tilts his head up to stare at the glimmer of magic and starlight overhead. vax has seen a lot of the world, but this is almost unreal. ]
...Shit. [ is his first response, blinking upwards, and then back at the softly glowing city. ]
... Colors're - those are souls, right? Isn't that what you can do?
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So it is. This is the world through the lens of aetheric sight-- the currents of the Underworld, the souls of all living beings which possess one. What I should be able to see in those here.
[if they have souls but we're not talking about that part it's fiiiine]
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[ like what else do you say. it really is gorgeous. ]
But you can't, here, huh? Sucks. Must be nice, to be able to see things like this all the time.
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[he's looking at vax, though, contemplating something. hmm.]
Hold still a moment longer.
[that lasts a few more moments, before he nods, and snaps his fingers with a little flash of pink-- copying heliotrope, as illusory light blooms at vax's chest.
it isn't blue, that he chooses. it starts that way, marine blue, and then it changes. it warms, passing into purple, tinged with red. further, into blood red and then a rich red-orange shade, warm and crisp like fall leaves, bright but with that tint of darker color to it. red like blood, longevity, but yellow like satisfaction and fond memory, both mixed together to form the appropriate shade.
emet-selch thinks this would suit him.]
Only a guess. But I have seen enough to have some idea.
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well. vax's emotions do a little thing, there - surprise, at first, as he looks down at himself, fading into a sort of warmth that's harder to place. he watches, blue to red to this reddish orange, and the sight reminds of him of zephrah in the fall and someone's cloak, and he inhales, surprised, pressing his hand against his chest. ]
...Oh.
[ for maybe a second, he's stunned into silence, which is kind of rare. ]
...hha. 's - [ ... ] 's it weird to say I like it?
[ it's just so warm.
he'd like to be a warm person. sometimes, people like us aren't just meant to be happy.
his eyes flick to emet, briefly. ]
...What about yours? You know what color it is?
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that emotional warmth is matched by emet-selch's, less masked this time.
he still has just enough capability left to manage a light in his own palm-- it's purple, a deep and rich shade of violet.]
I do suit crystalline's interpretation here, more than heliotrope, but... it does not match my own soul.
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vax leans forward a little to examine it, and then glances at emet. thoughtful, maybe. purple to vax is much more heliotrope-esque - colorful, wild and bright, it's scanlan, his best friend in the whole fucking world, for every bit of dirty and raunchy that he is.
but emet's purple looks a little more... regal, almost. it reminds him of the way light refracts off of his own feathers, streaks of here and there purple among a pitch dark black. something strong and refined.
he glances back up (and up and up) at him, and then grins a little, nudging his hand. ] Don't waste all your power today, huh?
[ ... and then, a little less jokey, a little more serious. ] ...Thanks. For that.
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he dismisses the illusions when his hand is nudged, rolling his eyes, though the adjustment to the simulation remains. the world is still bright, glimmering.]
...as I said, it is simply my interpretation.
[but there's a sense of appreciation, regardless.]
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when he smiles up at him, it's genuine, softer as the sillier grin fades away. ]
's a good one. [ and one that maybe meant a lot, so. ] C'mon. Let's go, I wanna explore.
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[something else sparks slightly inside that fond feeling, when vax smiles at him like that. he says nothing of it.
instead, he just sets off at a leisurely pace, down the simulated street. ahead, there's a giant blue crystal floating suspended in a plaza.]
The Macarenses Angle, containing Amaurot's aetheryte; one might think of these as anchors for a form of teleportation, in which the traveler uses the aetheric currents of the star to transport themselves to any other aetheryte upon it.
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leisurely they go! it's not as leisurely for vax because emet's legs are so fucking long but he's used to keeping up with grog, so. he pushes his hands into his pockets, and looks around, like a good tourist.
maybe less like a good tourist he bounds forward and gets all up in that crystal's business, peering into it. ]
's a lot of words, big guy. [ teasing, though; this makes sense to him. ] So it's like a really fucking big Gatestone. Okay. These things all over the place?
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[he sounds very much like a lecturer, here, unsurprisingly. of Course it would be easy for him to just lapse into that.]
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he's listening
probably ]
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...Vax, this is simply a projection.
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[ he seems amused when he says this, head poking out from around the other side of the crystal again to look at him. ]
Home, for me, you might see something more like this.
[ he reaches out to touch the crystal again, and thinks, trying to tap into the simulation - and eventually, something sprouts around the crystal - a tree. massive, the crystal blending into the bark for a moment like a gaping, wide portal - it doesn't last for long, before the illusion fades away and leaves the simulation as it was. ]
's a tree stride.
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[he watches the tree with interest, studying it.]
Are these trees interconnected as well?
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[ he puts his hand on the tree trunk, and then pushes away from it. there's a faint sense of melancholy, but, vax doesn't address it. ]
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Someone you knew?
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hgjgjk
there's like the very beginning of an emotional tidal wave that starts and vax just
turns around
and starts walking
nope
(this greatly muffles the emotional explosion that would have happened, but emet can probably feel the warmth and melancholy and loss and love and like 40 other things all wrapped up together, just distantly from the other room)
calling out over his shoulder - ] Yeah. Someone fucking amazing. Come on, let's keep looking. [ bye ]
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[that's-- it's a complicated mix of emotions to feel, distant as they are, but. he does let vax get his distance, at first. he certainly wouldn't want to be chased down were he muffling his own feelings.
still, it's...
he catches the warmth, the loss, the love, and recalls what vax has told of him of his situation thus far. that when the dead leave others behind in other worlds-- it is not the same as it is, in etheirys. it is a loss.
when emet-selch follows, it's with a mix of uncertainty and a reflection of that same melancholy, more empathetic. it's becoming a little easier to understand, especially with the emotions attached.]
...if you do not wish to speak of them, I will not ask further.
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thankfully he's still pretty far away, but as emet starts to come closer, what he'll recognize is that those emotions are intense, and huge, and vax just doesn't have the words to talk about them while his emotions are fucking all over the place. not right now. not when he's still so tender from sunday, from the vines that pulled him and percy apart. ]
...Another time. [ he says, tilting his head back a little, please get it, ] Yeah?
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[he agrees, quietly. his own emotions are still unsettled, faced with the weight of vax's, but--
he leaves space between them. a little distance, to make it easier, until vax is more evened out.]