Tried to come up with an artistic way to say, they don't know you, and neither do I

[carnagecarnival]

 Who| Initiate, Psii, and Sam
What| Post-amputation drinking and leftover valentine food. Making smores.
Where| Just outside an ice-cave, nearby to the lake and forests.
When| a little bit after the amputation.
WARNINGS| language, drinking

He wakes to stinging, prickling cold on one side, and intense heat upon the other. Neither sensation is quite strong enough to overpower the pain in his leg. It makes him sputter, shudder, and cringe. But, he realises, he's free. He can see stars above. Was it a few minutes, hours, days? He's not proper sure. Morphling and injury like such had disoriented him in the past, though not to the degree of their combination. 

It has him all unsure, when he looks over, if what he's seeing is really real. Not only is Sam sitting by, still there-- when he had no reason to be-- but the Psiioniic's there too. The Psiioniic who had even less reason. He blinks and squints like he can cast away the illusion, but it's all truth up before him. Motherfucker's is still being there. There's a grip on his heart and a nervous churn in his guts. 

You stayed. 

The words get caught up on his teeth and fall back inside. 

He turns his head from them, to the backpack laying close. First comes hauling himself up to sitting. He feels the lack up of his other foot, but he tries not to focus on it. Instead, he reaches for that pack to dig up inside it, not saying a word. At least not until he's hauled out the leftovers of his capitol gifted date-meal from days ago, and two bottles of vodka. Two more than he ever wanted.  He rolls one over to Sam, and the other to the Psiioniic. 

"Ain't need them," He says. "IF YOU GOT FANCY UP FOR IT, THEY'S YOURS. Got some food bits herelike too."

Not 'Evening', or 'Sorry', or 'Thanks'. Simply, 'Do you want food?'

Comments

[carnagecarnival]

It's not fair. It's not fair how much he likes this brother or the way things is going with the Psiioniic, or even the fact that Signless is out of reach. It's not fair that he would stick by all three and happily so.

Sam's a human. Humans don't feel this sort of things like trolls do. The Psiioniic can't and wouldn't and motherfucking shouldn't. The Signless deserves so much better-- no matter how he pities the whole world, it doesn't seem right doing the same. It already doesn't feel right because he killed him. He just wants to not think about it. He just wants the comfort Sam gives easy and to pretend it's just as easy back.

Sam starts speaking and he just closes his eyes, just lets the tale be told. It makes him smile a little more. He almost feels like he can know the brother, through things like this. Get a little proper picture of how he'd be kicking back in shangri-la. He imagines him with shades and one of them big fuzzy nut drinks with the umbrella straws as was like on Capitol messaging pictorials.

"BET MINE ARE COLDER," He says, knowing full damn well they will be. Especially compared to him. Brightbloods, all humans, bright as his Signless. Warm enough he sometimes wonder at how they ain't burn. Right now he just saps the heat off Sam and he ain't even sorry.

"Never went out to the deserts so much. TOO MANY DEAD GETTING THEIR WALK ON. Shores was cold sometimes but never like this. ONLY SAW THIS THING AS YOU CALL SNOW HERE. So beautiful." He shivers despite himself and laughs a little for it. "CAN DRAW ON THE WINDOWS, YOU KNOW? Pictures stay on even later. TILL THE AVOXES COME. And then in the morning it sparkles like a billion bitty little crystals." He asks, "YOU EVER HAVE SNOW AND ICE WHERE AT YOU WAS FROM?"

[sizeofyourbaggage]

Maybe humans don’t feel exactly what it is that trolls do there, but Sam knows they can do something close. He’s purposefully stopped asking Kurloz questions about it now, because he doesn’t want to know. He doesn’t want to pinpoint exactly what the whole moirail thing is, not when what Kurloz has told him about it sounds like something he might want, like something he could do. It’s easier if Sam just assumes that he doesn’t completely understand it, so he doesn't have to go there.

So he can just sit here with his arm around Kurloz's shoulders and talk, the way he used to do with Riley, telling him stories of Sam's siblings back when they were stuck with nothing to do but kill time. The way he'd started to do back home, now that talking about Riley doesn't hurt so much, now that it helps keep him alive.

He chuckles Kurloz's bet. "He'd take that as a challenge, you know. Least you're not shoving them under my shirt like a jackass."

Then he falls quiet, listening to Kurloz talk. This is familiar, too, trading stories that don't have much to do with where they are now, just a way to get their minds of things. Then he grins at the question. "Hell yeah, man. Anyone teach you about snowball fights?"

[carnagecarnival]

"Naw. TEREZI AND I WAS ALL WORKED AT UNCOVERING SUCH MYSTERIES. Worked it out we up and motherfucking did, me and she." And Albert had come in around then, making like he had shit serious to tell only to wish them on well at each other. The fucker. "SNOW COATED WE WAS. And then I got my ass some hot chocolate as like my best girl, Nameless, used to do."

It'd been a nice moment. Kind of like this is.

He raises his brows at Sam. "HOPE YOU AIN'T CALLING DARE OF ME. Would warn not to dare, brother. I'LL MOTHERFUCKING DO IT. All sapped up will you be and I'll be the warmest highblood as ever fucking was." By all right and logic, it probably ain't a wise choice right now.

"HATE TO PREACH IT. Your homie Riley wouldn't stand no chance against me, yo. VICTORIES AIN'T TO BE DENIED WHAT'S MINE," He teases.

[sizeofyourbaggage]

"Covered in snow and hot chocolate, hell yeah. Sounds like you two unlocked the secret all on your own." He gives Kurloz's shoulder a squeeze. "It ever snows again, you and me are gonna have a hell of a snowball fight. Maybe build snow forts and organize a capture the flag."

All things that Sam had done as a kid - and honestly, well into his teenage years and even more recently.

Despite everything, Sam's eyebrows raise right on up back at Kurloz when he tells him not to dare him. "Yeah? You can try, Makara, if you're actually thinking you got a shot. I promise not to gloat too much over your disappointment."

This is probably a terrible idea, but Sam goads him on anyway. It's what he's used to - he and Riley'd always done it to each other, it's so damn nice to fall back onto it.

[carnagecarnival]

Snow forts and capture the flag. Neither was things he'd ever done as a kid. He's about to ask about it, the details of this capture the flag and what things would be of motherfucking requirance to it, and if it was anything at all like what came of Signless's crowning last or if he's got his human things all mixed up as happens sometimes.

But then Sam says what he up and says and he's already reaching his hands under snow to get them even colder than their corpse-cold normalcy. He's one shot away from a seadweller. Ice ain't hardly melt in his hands. Sam is a motherfucking dead human.

The dare is on. The Initiate grins wickedly, made all the worst by his rows of fangs. He spins into a position that will better allow movement and dives for Sam, grasping on to drag him close.