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Post by mintedstar/fur on Feb 26, 2021 2:07:07 GMT -5
There was a slight stiffness to Myrnin’s back as Nico said the word that he’d tried to ask in the room. The translator was clearly working again, otherwise he wouldn’t have understood that. But even still, it seemed to take an age to answer, or even turn around. When he finally did, he looked over his shoulder and there was a thin, almost pained smile on his face.
“Uh. Yes. Yes it was. In both cases.”
And what did Nico think of that? He didn’t even remember Myrnin, not really. It was like remembering a painting of Myrnin. And Myrnin was seeing a Nico who was happy and free of a bit less pressure and a bit less weight on his shoulders, but he hadn’t realized he was going to be losing one of his few friends when he’d been doing that.
He’d been trying to forge so many connections recently. People who he could be close to. Friends and smiling and laughter.
Had he known that something like this, where he’d start to lose himself, was coming? He couldn’t see why else he would have latched on so hard to anyone.
He coughed, clearing his throat and the thoughts from his head.
“Apologies. I know that there’s been a bit of a … frayed connection.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 26, 2021 23:08:29 GMT -5
“Right,” Nico murmured, shifting awkwardly on his heels. He had questions, but they weren’t really the type he could just… ask. He wanted to know what he was missing, because he was very clearly missing something. Otherwise he would probably have at least understood why Myrnin felt the way he did about him.
Friendship was… odd. Nico knew that too many of the people at Camp were afraid of him, afraid of what he could do. What he had done. He wasn’t known as the most loyal person in the world. And even after he’d done as much as he could to help… friends were still hard to come by. That’s why he had come to rely so much on the House. In the House, there were people who saw him outside of his accomplishments, outside of his failures. They saw him as a person, which was all Nico could have asked for.
What did Myrnin see, when he looked at him? Why was there that tension in his body, that intensity that Nico didn’t understand when he met his eyes? He wanted to understand, and the only way he could think to do that was to just… try to be Myrnin’s friend. Try his best to be what Myrnin wanted him to be.
“Frayed connection,” he echoed, biting his lower lip nervously. “Do you mean… between…?” He wished he knew what he was asking. He wished he had the right words. But he didn’t, so… he would have to make do with the shattered connection between them.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Mar 3, 2021 23:38:55 GMT -5
It was hard to say what Myrnin meant. His face grew blank and he looked down at his hands.
“I know you’re struggling to be my friend, Nico. I don’t want to force you to feel something you don’t. So I’m hoping that you’ll find something about me to care about.”
Before it was too late to care.
He twirled a strand of hair between his fingers for a while, not looking at much. He could still feel it, at the back of his mind.
How easy it would be to slip.
He pushed the thought away and waved it off.
“It’s just some other things,” he said. Tried to be dismissive. “We’ve met a lot, shared a lot of rooms. I’d like to see where that goes.”
It was already very clear that Nico was … no longer his friend. That they were missing that.
He wanted it back.
Badly.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Mar 4, 2021 4:40:49 GMT -5
“I don’t have a lot of friends,” Nico replied as honestly as he could. “If you know me at all, you have to know that… it’s just that I take friendship seriously. I won’t pretend I’m your friend if I’m not your friend. But…” he trailed off for a long moment, searching Myrnin’s expression. “That doesn’t mean I’m not going to try to be your friend. I just… can’t promise I’ll be very successful at it.” There. At least the disclaimers were out of the way.
The way Myrnin explained it made sense. They had seen an awful lot of each other, even if there were very few specific conversations that came to mind. He remembered telling Myrnin about Bianca. He couldn’t fathom why he would have done that unless there was at least the possibility of being friends. And Myrnin had been understanding… he’d shown him the pictures of Arthur and Lady Grey… yes, there was definitely something Nico was missing.
“Well...” he considered, rocking back and forth on his heels, “If the House doesn’t want to blink us out we could stay here. Or we could try another room, if you wanted. Maybe one where we’ll actually understand each other.” He cracked a forced smile, then let the expression soften a bit. “I still want to learn Welsh. But… maybe when you can actually teach me instead of hoping I get it somehow.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Mar 6, 2021 23:33:56 GMT -5
This idea seemed to surprise Myrnin.
He glanced away.
He didn't want Nico to *pretend* to be his friend. That seemed to be what he was implying right now. He'd rather things happened naturally. But he also knew nothing was natural right now. He'd meddled. Hopefully things would unmeddle as Nico was able to handle things, but Myrnin didn't know.
He just knew that Nico's smile was fake and that this was going to be hard.
He sat on the edge of one of the seats and leaned back a little.
"I'd like to wait here," he admitted. He didn't feel up for another room just yet. It didn't seem right. It felt ... awkward. It felt hard.
He did glance around though. "I'll try and bring books on Welsh," he said after a bit. "It would probably help you learn."
He found himself smiling a bit and glanced back at Nico.
"Is there anything you'd like to talk about now that we can understand each other?"
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Mar 7, 2021 4:48:48 GMT -5
Nico wasn’t really offering to pretend. He wasn’t sure he was capable of pretending, for one. He didn’t know very well how to have friends for real, he almost certainly didn’t know how to fake being friends. The best he could do was try to become real friends with Myrnin, try to figure out why part of him seemed to remember that he should be friends with him. He was going to try to be open to the idea, in spite of the fact that being open to friendship was unusual for him, most of the time. If he ended up with friends, it was out of sheer dumb luck rather than an openness towards trying to be friends with a specific person.
“Waiting is fine,” he said after a moment, shifting a little bit uncomfortably. He understood why Myrnin had requested that, but it was still… awkward. At least in rooms there was a distraction of some sort. Right now it was just the two of them. Right now, he didn’t even really know how to talk to Myrnin. But he felt he might owe it to him to try.
“That would be nice,” he added, forcing another small smile. It was forced, but not really fake. He really was grateful this time. “I’d like to read one. Then maybe a no translator room wouldn’t bother us.” That was wishful thinking. If the House didn’t want them to understand each other, they wouldn’t. But in this case, Nico couldn’t help but think it had already proven its point. They weren’t understanding each other because Myrnin seemed to know things Nico didn’t, and the House had decided to make that very literal. It had a tendency to do that, to create metaphor. It was only interesting in hindsight.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Mar 12, 2021 22:04:10 GMT -5
Myrnin wasn't so sure that the House wouldn't just translate any books he brought in, but he was willing to give anything a shot once.
"Alright," he said.
He studied Nico's face some more. The one perk to just being in the living room is he had a better grasp on his own mind. Whatever that meant in this moment.
Finally, he raised a finger and said, "Ever play 20 questions?"
It was the thing he could think up.
"Well. My version. I have no idea if people play it differently, but Claire says they do. Claire is wrong. You ask the other person questions about themselves in turns until you reach twenty. You have to answer honestly. I think it's fun. Do you want to play?"
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Mar 14, 2021 3:24:20 GMT -5
That was most decidedly not the twenty questions Nico had played before, but… in the absence of anything better to do, he figured it was worth a shot. Myrnin probably knew more about him than he knew about Myrnin, but it was hard to tell. He didn’t know for sure what he did and didn’t know. There was a part of his mind that said he knew Myrnin better than he thought he did, but that part of his mind was almost impossible to focus on. He pushed it aside. If he wanted to get to know Myrnin better, this seemed like a good place to start.
“Do we get to pass on a question we don’t feel comfortable answering?” he asked after a long moment, searching Myrnin’s gaze. He had learned from experience, you didn’t always know what was going to upset another person. If they had to answer a question about that topic anyway… Nico shrugged. It just felt both safer and kinder to give them both an out, even if Nico didn’t really plan on using it.
“Sure,” he said after a moment, pulling his hands back out of his pocket. “Do you… want to start? I don’t really know what kinds of things to ask.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Mar 20, 2021 1:08:01 GMT -5
Yes, well, the version that Nico was aware of probably wouldn't serve the purpose that Myrnin was looking for. He tapped his fingers together and considered what he was about to say.
"Sure thing," he said.
He had to think about it, but eventually he smiled a little and asked, "But yes, that's how it can work. If you don't want to answer."
He tilted his head back. He wasn't actually thinking about ... serious questions. Not for now.
"What sort of music do you like? Is there some that you like to listen to?"
Teens liked music, right? Or maybe he'd heard some on the House if he hadn't actually heard a lot of it other places. It was at least a question Myrnin was willing to give a shot on, because it was simply and hopefully not as personal as getting into a bad subject.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Mar 20, 2021 20:19:24 GMT -5
Nico relaxed a little bit as Myrnin allowed for passing on questions. There were some things he didn’t want to talk about to anyone, and other things that he didn’t know Myrnin well enough to really talk about yet. Maybe one day. He hoped one day, if only because Myrnin was being nice, and although he was a little bit frightened by the gold-eyed version of the vampire, he seemed to be trying to be a good friend. Even if Nico was missing something.
“Music,” he echoed, considering that for a long moment. It wasn’t something he listened to on a daily basis, but… “Hard rock. But also Disney music, if that counts.” A small smile worked its way onto his face, unbidden. “I’m not really picky about music, but I think if I ever got like… a CD player or something I’d like to have some rock and classic Disney.”
Nico sat back, glancing at Myrnin as he tried to think of a question. He was a vampire, which… could potentially change the nature of the question. Finally, he looked up. “What’s been your favorite technological advancement in your lifetime?”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Mar 23, 2021 23:22:37 GMT -5
The answer to Myrnin's question clearly made him brighten up. The fact that Nico had answer at all, that was. It made him smile just to know that Nico was willing to play such a game.
He stood up, not because he had to go somewhere, but the fact that he felt like he needed to move around, to work out what he was doing with his own limbs.
"Oooo! Wonderful answer. I have not heard nearly enough from Disney. Claire has yet to walk me through all of the details. I believe the last one I saw was a really interesting one with the girl with red hair. It was quite nice."
He clapped his hands excitedly together.
Dancing from foot to foot and around the seat had been situated in, he thought about Nico's return question as well. It was a bit more in depth than what he had asked the demigod.
Finally, he answered, "Does the whole of modern medicine count? It it quit impressive what humans have jumped to. Seems like only yesterday it was leeches, leeches, leeches!"
He paused, then added, "Or the internet. The internet is fascinating."
He circled back to sit in the chair again, at least for now.
"Hum. What's your favorite thing to do when it snows?"
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Mar 25, 2021 0:22:18 GMT -5
Nico blinked, then gave a small nod. He hadn’t really expected Myrnin to know very much about Disney. After all, he was a vampire, and Nico found he had a hard time imagining a vampire sitting down to watch animated film. But… maybe he was wrong about that. Maybe some vampires really liked animation. Or maybe he was making generalizations, because he did know other vampires beyond Myrnin. He knew Sam, for example. But he didn’t know if Sam liked animated films, just that he liked video games.
“The Little Mermaid?” he asked after a moment, tilting his head. “I like that one. The music is catchy.”
“I agree about the Internet,” he murmured softly, shaking his head a bit. “I can’t… use it, but… the fact that it exists is cool.” He figured since Myrnin had given his two cents about Nico’s answer, it was probably on Nico to give his about Myrnin’s. That and it gave him time to think about his response to the next question.
“I… think I like snowball fights,” he said, the hint of a smile touching his lips. He couldn’t say exactly why he felt that way, but… it was fun. And not nearly as stressful as real, actual fights were.
Which meant it was his turn to ask a question. He considered for a moment, pulling his knees closer to his chest.
“Do… you have a favorite animal?”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Mar 28, 2021 0:57:02 GMT -5
"Nah, nah," said Myrnin, though he still brightened a bit and seemed to recognize what Nico was talking about. "I think the one I'm thinking of it called 'Brave,' but it was not the name of the girl in the movie. It had bears and limited water."
He didn't particularly like the water anyway, so a movie that was mostly in the ocean wasn't that appealing.
He nodded knowledgeably about snowball fights. To his memory, despite having gone into rooms with snow before, he and Nico had never actually had a snowball fight. Instead it mostly just seemed like existential crises were more common.
He pressed both his hands together, then pointed his index fingers as Nico. "Do spiders count as animals in this question? I have a spider called Bob. But otherwise ... rabbits are cool. I like rabbits."
Not at all vampire-y. Imagining a blood sucking vampire liking fluffy bunnies seemed very out of the ordinary.
His question then.
"If you could time travel, where would you go?" His eyebrows wiggled when he said it and he grinned. Maybe remembering the fact he had done time travel, of sorts, before.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Mar 28, 2021 1:25:24 GMT -5
Oh. Nico’s brow furrowed a little bit at that. If there had been a Disney movie about a red-haired girl that involved bears… wouldn’t he have heard of it? He knew most of the Disney movies that were out…
“Oh,” He said, crossing his arms. “You’re from the future, aren’t you?” he asked, gaze lifting up to meet Myrnin’s. “Or… I guess I’m from your past? Something like that. It’s 2011.” He vaguely remembered Myrnin being a little bit further ahead than him, but… he couldn’t remember why he thought that. Maybe it was just because most people were a little bit ahead of him, unless they were way behind. Oh well.
“But yeah, spiders count. Spiders are cool. Especially jumping spiders, they… they look friendly.” Nico managed a small smile, opening up just a little bit more. “What sort of spider is Bob?” He didn’t comment on the rabbits. Not because he didn’t care, but just… because he didn’t really have an opinion on rabbits.
The next question was difficult. And maybe a little more personal, but not in a way that Nico objected to answering. It was just… hard.
“The past is so different,” he admitted softly, twisting the chain on his wrist around and around. “I don’t know where I’d go… somewhere… maybe… somewhere peaceful. A couple of calm years in Ancient Greece where nobody was thinking about war or quests or anything like that.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Apr 5, 2021 2:16:01 GMT -5
"Ooooh!" said Myrnin brightly. Then frowned. "I just spoiled Disney. How sad."
He did indeed sound a bit disappointed about that. There didn't seem to be a lot he could do about it though. Pity. Hopefully he hadn't said to much.
He brightened even further about the question about Bob.
"Wolf spider," he said happily. It wasn't really an unusual one. But it was cool looking!
He nodded several times in agreement about Ancient Greece. There was a small look of understanding, maybe, before he looked away and tried to think.
Then he realized, after a second, that Nico hadn't really asked a question back. He wondered if the last question had really been so personal.
"Did you want to ask a question in return?" he asked quietly.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Apr 15, 2021 23:53:38 GMT -5
Myrnin tilted his head back. Another language other than the one he currently knew?
"The ones you speak!" he finally said brightly, his leg moving up and down as he said it, seeming very excited about the whole ordeal that had been the room they were in. "They are cool languages and I suppose something that I need to learn should the House dump us in those rooms."
He tapped his fingers together, moving around a bit as he tried to think more about what it was that he wanted to ask. There were a lot of different options.
Eventually though, he asked, "What is your favorite flower?"
Then he smiled a bit, looking quite bright about the situation. He liked this game.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Apr 17, 2021 2:23:15 GMT -5
“Oh…” Nico let himself blush a little bit, pleasantly surprised by the answer. It was a little bit odd to him, that Myrnin wanted to be his friend. He wasn’t the type people usually just… tried to befriend, but here was Myrnin, trying. If it was as easy for Nico as just agreeing and saying ‘yes, let’s be friends…’ well, then he would have said it. But friendship was more complicated than that for Nico, even if sometimes he wished it was a little bit simpler. Even if he felt like he was going to disappoint Myrnin here.
“Flower,” he mused for a moment, thinking it over. It was hard to choose… there were a lot that were related to myths he either liked or hated, but he didn’t think his favorite flower should be influenced by myth. Sometimes he could like something just because he liked something.
“I like a lot of wildflowers,” he said after a moment, meeting Myrnin’s gaze. “Ones that people don’t look at much, but that make meadows and hills and everything just that much more beautiful. I wish I knew their names…”
Nico trailed off, then turned his attention back to Myrnin. “What’s… your favorite season?”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Apr 24, 2021 19:03:07 GMT -5
"I know a lot of flower names," Myrnin said cheerfully. "I could tell you some of their names, if you like or I knew a bit about them."
He seemed to consider for a while before tapping his finger tips together. Then he admitted, "I like dandelions."
Then he considered even further about Nico's question.
"Spring," he finally said happy. "You can get snow and sun at the same time. Only I haven't seen snow in a while. In Texas it's nice because there starts to actually be plants."
Then there was another long pause as Myrnin again considered nice questions. He was pretty sure he had a nice range of questions, but eventually decided on, "Tea or coffee? Or neither?"
Then a small, pleased expression. Because.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Apr 26, 2021 1:35:27 GMT -5
“I like a lot of the delicate looking flowers. The small ones that grow in bunches – they’re usually either white or blue – that don’t look like they should be able to survive where they are, but they do because they’re stronger than people give them credit for. If I run across any… I’ll try to show you which ones I mean.” Nico left it at that, face turning red as he realized he had been rambling. “I… like spring, too,” he said after a moment, trying to connect his rambling to Myrnin’s response. “It’s nice when plans come back.”
Nico let some of the awkwardness in his tone bleed out as he considered the next question.
“Tea,” he replied after a moment, giving a sharp nod. “Usually Earl Grey if I have a choice. But coffee’s not bad either, especially when I need the caffeine. Which… isn’t as often as you’d think, probably.”
It was easier, Nico realized, answering the questions than it was to come up with them. He frowned for a long moment, then lifted his gaze back towards Myrnin. “Do you have a favorite constellation?”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on May 2, 2021 19:38:21 GMT -5
Myrnin didn't know off the top of his head what flowers Nico was talking about, but he smiled encouragingly. He'd have to look later, when things weren't so ... complicated. But he also liked that Nico seemed to find answering the questions easy(ish) and he didn't mind thinking up more. It was cool to see what they each thought was important enough to include in a question.
"Favorite?" he wondered, thinking about it. "Hum. That is a very interesting question. Cassiopeia, perhaps? Though I also wouldn't be able to place why. There is also one which is geese, I believe? I like that one as well. Or maybe I just like geese. What about you?"
He didn't want to leave it with just turning the question around. He wanted to ask another as well. But he did ponder over it for a little as he thought about what he could ask.
"If the next room in the House could be anything - and you and me both know that's exactly what it can be - what would you want the room to be?"
That seemed like a good question and also practically related to their location.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 3, 2021 16:18:44 GMT -5
Nico considered that, then gave a small nod. He understood why Myrnin might like Cassiopeia. It was distinctive and you could see it almost year-round. The story behind it was interesting, too. “Geese?” he asked, something akin to amusement touching his features. “I can’t say I’m a fan, but I’m glad you like them.” He wasn’t sure he knew about a constellation with geese. Perhaps it was one that hadn’t come from Greek mythos. Or perhaps he just hadn’t heard of it. He couldn’t boast to knowing all of the constellations, just… most of them. The ones that interested him the most, at least, though he figured he might as well do some research about the goose one when he had a chance.
“I like Canis Major,” Nico answered after a long moment, considering. “I mean… I like a lot of them, but right now my favorite would be Canis Major. He’s just… a really good dog.”
It took Nico a few seconds to think about Myrnin’s question. It was a little bit more personal than the other had been, but he could also see why Myrnin had asked it.
“Something peaceful,” Nico said after a moment, catching Myrnin’s gaze. “That we both like. I don’t know… maybe a library? You could pick out alchemy books and I could pick out language books, and… maybe we could share them.” He shrugged. He wasn’t always the best at reading, but… he liked learning. And a library seemed a good place to do that. “What about you?”
“And… what’s the best room you’ve been in?”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on May 13, 2021 3:32:33 GMT -5
Myrnin looked like he was about to answer, but a blankness passed over his face so quickly that for a second, it was hard to tell whether he had just forgotten what he was going to say or whether he actually was ...
Well ...
It turned out to be the latter after not too long.
The latter being his eyes, at least very briefly, shifting to a muted gold.
His body remained perfectly still and he looked at Nico. Knew exactly what Nico was thinking and didn't care. Not one bit. Not at all.
Then the moment was gone and Myrnin's shoulders slumped, eyes back to their normal green. He blinked several times at Nico, knowing exactly what had happened, and found himself curling inward on himself a bit.
This.
This was not good. It did not feel right. Not in the least. And he felt sick just thinking about everything that was going on.
He didn't want to answer anymore questions and after a second he stood from his seat, hurrying for the hallway. Hoping Nico wouldn't follow. Praying he wouldn't.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 14, 2021 2:15:03 GMT -5
Something about Myrnin changed, and suddenly the game felt incredibly inconsequential. Nico felt a shudder move down his spine at the way Myrnin was looking at him. Those gold eyes, the expression that said he didn’t care… yes, that was exactly why he was afraid of Myrnin. Exactly why he had been nervous to let him get close. He figured that expression would hurt a lot more if he had actually been friends with Myrnin. Did the vampire know what was happening? Did he feel it coming or did it take him by surprise? Nico didn’t moved, pinned to the spot by a golden gaze that could kill him in seconds, if it wanted to.
And then Myrnin was back, his expression even more disconcerting now. Nico couldn’t tell if he looked scared or just disturbed, but… if Myrnin was scared by whatever was happening? Then Nico wanted no part in it. But Myrnin had spent this entire blink trying to be his friend… he watched as the vampire stood up, heading towards the hallway.
It wasn’t a conscious decision. Nico didn’t think it through. He just stood up and followed, making sure to keep a few paces behind in case Myrnin decided to attack. In case the gold eyes returned.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on May 20, 2021 2:59:52 GMT -5
Briefly, Myrnin closed his eyes. It was difficult thinking about the fact that he was now listening to the footsteps of Nico behind him. He wasn't sure if he wanted to look behind himself either, even to acknowledge someone he called a friend.
He was worried of hurting him. So worried. He couldn't do it.
He tried not to let his hands shake. He tried not to let himself think about what he was doing as he continued walking down the hall. There was so many doors passing beside him that he wasn't able to think about what he was doing anymore.
Not anymore.
He let his hand ram into a random door, turning to meet it. Turning to meet it and breathing in and out. Then his hand moved to the door handle, pushing it open with his shoulder more than he did his hand. He was still letting his head white-out its own thoughts.
Or maybe that was the gold eyes.
He tumbled into the room.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 21, 2021 2:37:14 GMT -5
Nico hoped desperately that Myrnin didn’t decide to go into a room. He could give him some space when they were wandering through the hall, but the lesson he had learned over and over and over again was that no matter what, you don’t do a room alone. Nico had tried a few times himself. He had learned very quickly that there was a reason people said not to do it. There was a reason people did rooms together, because some of the tasks were impossible to do alone. You had nobody to back you up, nobody to help you when the danger came out… the House was a death trap when you went into rooms alone. Not always, but enough of the time that Nico’s skin crawled as he watched Myrnin enter the room by himself. He may have been terrified of the way Myrnin’s eyes turned gold and what, exactly, it meant for the vampire, but he wouldn’t wish some of the rooms he’d seen on his worst enemy, let alone someone who was very nearly a friend. It didn’t matter if the gold eyed Myrnin was a friend or a foe, because this Myrnin had green eyes. And Nico wasn’t going to let him get away that easily.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on May 26, 2021 22:45:05 GMT -5
The place that this particular door spit them out was nothing like Myrnin had ever seen. Even he had to pull to a stop, pausing a looking up.
"Wow," he murmured, momentarily shocked out of his little attempt to escape direct attention.
He was on the edge of a massive stone bridge, carefully picked out pillars to either side of it. Across the bridge and to the side was a giant statue of a woman, the size of a ten story building at least. She seemed to be made of the same substance as the rest of the buildings and constructions around. Only older. She held a sword out like an offering toward the sky, a knee bent. Myrnin looked around with an intensity that wasn't a reflection of the inside of his head. While he could look around, it was very hard not to let his mind wonder into nothingness again.
The city, which was what it seemed to be, was deserted. The only sound was the distant river below the bridge. For all intent and purposes, it didn't look like there was much to this room other than the impressive architecture just yet.
Myrnin slowly turned, looking back at Nico ... then started to stride across the bridge ...
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 28, 2021 3:04:24 GMT -5
Nico wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Rooms were rooms. The very point of them, at times, was to defy expectations. He had sort of thought that the House might try to force him to talk to Myrnin, though. This… was decidedly not something that was going to induce conversation. The bridge was large enough that they could walk out of earshot of each other, and the city was much, much larger. Nico had a bad feeling about it, though. Anything that seemed that abandoned had a bad habit of not being abandoned at all, especially in the House. A chill ran through him and he followed a few feet behind Myrnin, careful to stick near the shadows in case the gold eyes came out again and Nico needed to flee, quickly. Shadow travel wasn’t ideal, but it was possible. It was a good way to avoid things that were extraordinarily fast.
It was pretty magnificent, Nico had to admit. If circumstances were different he might have been exploring as much as he could, trying to learn what he could about the history of the place he found himself in. As it was, he lingered a few steps behind, trying to gauge what Myrnin was doing and where he was going. He decided not to say a word to him. He wasn’t entirely sure that conversation would be welcome. That, and he had absolutely no idea what to talk about.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 3, 2021 22:40:29 GMT -5
The city seemed uneventful. Maybe the House was trying to get them to talk to each other. It seemed like that was a possibility, if nothing turned up.
Myrnin continued walking. Past the giant statue and through an overgrown garden.
He paused. There were birds.
He watched as a couple picked at the ground, removing a worm, before they were disturbed by the passing of the humans. Then they scattered skyward.
Myrnin blinked. Green eyes watched the birds drift upward and then disappear beyond even his keen sight.
"I wonder where they go," he eventually said. Softly. Very softly, particularly in this small space. "I wonder where they come from."
Finally - finally - he looked at Nico.
"Are they blinkers like us? Created by the House? Something else?"
It was a safer topic than the one which had brought them here.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jun 4, 2021 12:13:06 GMT -5
Nico followed Myrnin, equally unsure what to say. Unsure if Myrnin wanted to talk, if Myrnin wanted him here, if Myrnin was going to turn around and attack him, if he would mean it when he did… it was making what would otherwise be a very relaxing room not very relaxing at all. He was just… worrying. Sometimes he wished he could just shake all of it off. Doing that here, though… it was dangerous to let his guard down. Especially since he didn’t know if Myrnin’s blank, dazed golden eyes were a choice, or something he was forced to go through.
“Blinkers?” he asked, pleasantly surprised by the diverting topic. “I’ve never thought about the fact that some blinkers may not be sentient,” he murmured, looking up at the birds.
“I mean… Victoria is a blinker, obviously, but she doesn’t speak in her world. She just seems like a smart immortal dog. Here, though… well, she can talk. Don’t you think something similar would happen to the birds if they were to blink in like Victoria does?”
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