holocast | Inbox - Prismatica

[The remaining days of Sanguis had left Sycamore far less calm than he wanted to be, despite all of his attempts to remind himself that Lysandre was fine and coping far better than expected (or, perhaps, exactly as well as expected - with his usual steely determination). Their single interaction had left him....twitchy, for want of a better word, and the worst part was that it was more his own actions that had left him feeling that way, versus those of his friend.

He had every intention of keeping his promise to allow him to visit once Iris commenced, but the more he thought about it, the queasier it made him feel. So it was both a frustration and a relief to see the moon turn blue - Sanguis was over, yes, but Iris was all the more closer.

Well. Regardless of his feelings on the moons and their positions in the sky, Sycamore is quick to send a message as soon as he's confident that Cordis has arrived. He'd been able to resist the temptation to contact Lysandre for the rest of his moonblessing period, but...surely now would be fine?]

Make it through okay?

[That should do it; casual, not probing.]

[Oh. Well, that's... It's not unexpected, bluntly put, though the fact that it arrived so soon is certainly something, isn't it.]

As though there was any doubt that I would...?

I'm fine. It wasn't as horrid as it could have been, at any rate.

I wouldn't dream of implying it would phase you.

[Hopefully you can hear the playful tone in that sentence - he'll spare you the tildes.

...for now.]

Nothing more than just the scales and spontaneous Ember attacks, then?

It was as I thought it would be, in that the scales continued spreading far beyond a few isolated areas. It wasn't horrid, but it was inconvenient. They were fish scales, from what I understand. It was more bearable if they were kept wet.

The fire didn't get any stronger, which I suppose is a small mercy. The agitation continued to be unfortunate, but it was manageable.

I suppose it's quite ironic that the blessing that gives the power of fire would also bequeath a transformation that craves water.

[How very Volcanion....]

Just agitation, then? No other emotional effects? I must say, I was quite surprised to see how calm you were, overall.

Dare I ask what you were expecting..?

The Sanguis time of the month is always a good one to watch the network, if you'd like some free entertainment; many get so worked up that they put possessive posts about their friends or partners on it, to 'warn' others off. There's usually multiple comment threads in which they fight with those who stir them up.

[It is honestly kind of hilarious (but, of course, only if it stays online...).]

Others will just straight-up demand to fight people, or yell and rage about nothing. Compared to them, you barely seemed affected. Not that I'm upset about that, of course - I wouldn't want you to end up like the others I've seen.

Anger doesn't usually manifest like that for me, and thankfully so. You know that violence like that has never been something I'm inclined towards.

I know; that's why I was worried.

[...ugh, wait, can he take that one back, 'worried' was a strong word....oh well, too late now, let's just press on-]

I suppose I shouldn't be all that surprised; I'm hypothesising that the moonblessings emphasise those parts of us that line up with their attributes, rather than give us new ones. Your experience is proof of that.

One experience is hardly proof of anything, is it? If it's consistent, maybe that will be something.

You're hardly going to solve things in five minutes, Augustine, much less something like this.

[Hmm. Best not to mention he was including his own experiences in that hypothesis, particularly after that outburst of his....]

I suppose you're right. But aren't the wild theories based on little evidence an important part of science? We have to think outside the box, Lysandre. You never know when you might stumble upon a worthwhile lead!

Besides, it keeps me busy.

I'm sure it does.

In the meantime, I'm fairly sure we're owed some time with the goats, from what I recall.

Oh, we most certainly are. I'll meet you there.

[Sycamore has already made himself comfortable with a goat or two, by the time Lysandre gets there; he'd been texting whilst in the groves, so it hadn't taken him very long to relocate to the small farm area where their favourite animals are kept. Call it his intuition at work.

The lab coat has been (wisely) left at his apartment; today, he's wearing his usual dark jeans and a similarly dark jumper, stylishly tucked into the front of his belt, Kalosian style. The jumper looks innocent enough, but if you get closer, you might notice that it's covered in sequins.

...look, they're keeping the goats from eating it and he also blends in with the locals. Don't judge!]

I was planning on buying us takeaway coffees and having them ready, but I didn't want to risk upsetting you. I know you like to treat me.

[Have a wink. He's missed you.]

[...He's judging the sequins so hard, Augustine, good fucking lord.]

For the best, really. We did agree that I would be buying.

[You know how he gets...]

[Oh, he knows how you get. He's always been vaguely concerned that if he dared to buy you coffee, you'd buy him a coffee shop just to make a point.]

I believe I conceded that you would be buying, but I suppose the conclusion is the same.

[Come sit with him and his sequins. You might like them up close!]

[He'll come over, but he isn't going to like the sequins. However, he does like the goats.]

A concession is still an agreement, in the end. The circumstances have little bearing on the end result.

[...Business has kind of always been his thing, okay.]

[Yeah, he noticed. You drive a hard deal.

Fortunately, unlike that episode in Lysandre's apartment, Sycamore is amused rather than...

...how he was in the apartment.]

I'm coming to realise that you're extremely hard to win an argument against, you know.

[Brand new information, etc.]

So I've been told. People have always tended to rather like and yet completely dislike doing business with me.

[He shrugs a bit, however.]

Fortunately, I'm not interested in genuine arguments with you.

...I know you aren't.

[He'll fall silent for a moment, focusing rather intently on the goat that currently has his attention (it's got cute spots, alright, can you blame him?). It's not so much that he doesn't know what to say - he knows exactly what he wants to say - it's just the. the words, and putting them in an order that makes sense and feels right.]

It's part of why I wanted to...

[...sigh.]

Part of why I wanted to apologise to you. About the way I behaved during Sanguis and the...things, I said.

...If anything, I'm sure I owe you the apology. It's fine, mon ami.

[It seems...fairly straightforward on his end, honestly?]

...no, you don't.

[Cute goat, cute goat...

...oh hell, he's just going to run his fingers through his hair and get it out.]

I've had a bit of time to think about what happened. You remember that description I gave you earlier of Sanguis? Where it's angry and loud and wild? That's what I came over expecting from you, what I'd prepared myself for. So when you were....not acting like that, I let my guard down, and....

[...said...those things, that he would prefer not to repeat because god, how embarrassing-]

Well, you have the excuse of the moonblessing, but I have nothing. So please, Lysandre...I'm sorry. I'll try to behave a bit better during the triple moon, and the Sanguis cycles that come around again.

You let your guard down and you...what? Said things that I more or less coerced you into saying? Whether I have an excuse or not hardly matters.

Sanguis is an excuse, mon ami. At least, to me.

[Before we get into a debate about this-]

...I don't suppose you've done what I asked, and forgotten what I said?

Of course I haven't. I'm not sure how you could expect me to.

[Great, just what he thought! Then we will never speak of it again. Look at all these goats, Lysandre-]

...I think that one is particularly fond of you.

[GOATS.]

text; 1st day of Cordis

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject