monolike | IC CONTACT

[Mikleo allows himself to uncurl somewhat in the enclosure within Sorey, comfortable enough to stretch and feel out his surroundings more. The warm flow of Lailah's power, distant but familiar, blends with his own element, and Dezel's, making it surprisingly homey. They've each added their own touch to make it their own- marks that Sorey's soul had allowed, runes and manifestations to ease the weight of their existence on his body and complement the tethers linking them to him and his Prime Lord. In his mind's eye he could see each and every one of them, even Edna and Zavied, despite their absence. It's almost as soothing as Sorey himself, and he lets it nibble away at his lingering tension. He's safe here.]

"No, it was... I went to the Pathstone. I thought I would see Elize. But her crew... there's so much malevolence on that ship, Sorey..."

Is that so? [They'd made a promise not to go around cleansing malevolence willy-nilly, but the idea of leaving a little girl on a ship stuffed full of malevolent beings without so much as checking it out doesn't sit well with him at all. They could at least go take a look, make sure Elize isn't in any danger.

...or maybe later, after Mikleo's feeling more steady. Anything that can chase him out like that has got to be powerful.] I wonder if there's anything we can do without disturbing the crew.

[He's also not looking forward to explaining to Elize why he won't be able to come over whenever he wants to visit.]

"I'm not sure. We'll have to be careful, whatever we do, and not just because of what Allen warned us about. It's powerful. It felt like Rayfalke, when we entered the dragon's domain."

[A ripple of fear shudders from his soul to Sorey's before he can suppress it, and he follows it up with an unspoken regret. He doesn't like Sorey knowing when he's frightened by something. Not when he's trying so hard to be strong and support his friend as a proper sub lord should. His concern isn't something he can fully hide, though.]

"I don't know how we're supposed to deal with power like that without Lailah."

[Holy shit, even with Lailah's power, a dragon is above their paygrade. Maybe. Sorey is not eager to face another one down after being chased down the mountain by Eizen.

Mikleo's fear makes Sorey shudder too, but that pulse of regret gets another comforting press of Sorey's palm to his chest. They're partners. Mikleo doesn't have to be strong all the time; Sorey can pick up the slack.]

We'll figure it out. Our first job will be to assess the danger and make sure Elize and the other passengers aren't in any trouble. [One step at a time, they can handle this together if they just take it one step at a time.]

"...Right."

[He's not eager to go back there any time soon either, but he won't deny that there's a need to confirm the safety of the others. Solas, who technically posed the greater problem malevolence-wise, had seemed decent enough, but Elize herself didn't have a good opinion of Tek. They may have agreed not to go around purifying people willy-nilly, but they never promised not to make sure the situation wouldn't escalate. It would be impossible to force such a promise out of them, anyway- every word would be a lie.]

"When we go, we'll go together."

Absolutely. We should tell Dezel about it too, so he's aware. [If god forbid something happens over there, Dezel should know.

[Time to get out of here and somewhere they can both take it easy and rest. Sorey pushes himself up and heads for Mikleo's quarters, keeping to himself as he passes other crew members with just a nod instead of a conversation.]

Do you think Allen would know anything about this? [Sorey asks under his breath.] We could contact him and see what he has to say.

"He might. It may depend on whether the malevolence comes from what he's able to sense, like Greed, or something else."

[He can't sense souls the way Allen can, so he has no way of knowing if that's what's creating the malevolence in Solas and Tek.]

"Either way, it's definitely worth checking. He might have already met them."

[Making it to Mikleo's quarters is a relief because he doesn't have to pretend like he's not talking to himself. Sorey doesn't ask if Mikleo wants out before sprawling over Mikleo's bed either, tucking his hands under his head.] He probably has. He seemed pretty determined to keep tabs on troublemakers like us. [Grinning. It's kind of fun to be mistaken for a troublemaker when there's no actual trouble being made.]

[Somewhere between Sorey's domain and being back in his own personal space, Mikleo finds enough equilibrium to venture back out again, materializing to sit on the edge of the bed. It's a different kind of safety, being alone and close to Sorey like this. There's still malevolence on the Huntress thanks to the presence of Greed, like always, but it's manageable now. A known danger, rather than one that's new and experienced without the others to support him.

He leans back, one hand reaching back to support his weight, almost but not quite touching Sorey.]

He'll tell us not to try purifying them, I'm sure.

[Sorey shifts his weight, rolls his head to the side until it rests easily against Mikleo's wrist.] Yeah, probably. Seems like he likes to keep a really tight watch on things. I don't suppose I can blame him; from how he spoke, he has a lot of so-called do-gooders coming through and upsetting things. [Sorey's not pleased with the 'leave it lie' approach, but he's learned to at least tolerate it during their travels.]

[Mikleo doesn't move away; quietly, he's glad of it. He knows Sorey's all for little touches, but after dwelling inside for so long when it's not as comfortable for either of them yet, he doesn't want to crowd too much. A stupid sentiment, considering who he's with, but he can't help it.]

As long as they're not attacking or hurting anyone, we don't have a choice. Any further fighting it could cause would be worse than the malevolence, and could end up generating more.

You're right. [Of course. And it does help that Sorey can feel Mikleo's frustration right alongside his own.] There's little we can do about this without getting innocent people wrapped up in it.

...It's too different here.

[Mikleo's quiet for a moment, then his hands clench into fists around the sheets.]

Back home, we knew what we had to do, and we did it.

We had some complications back home, too. [Sorey nudges Mikleo with his shoulder and laces his hands over his stomach.] A lot of the same ones. Nobody knows who we are here yet, so nobody trusts us to help. All that means is that we have to show people we're trustworthy, right?

If everyone comes to know us as people who can help, they'll let us. People in pain don't want to stay that way, so...we just have to work hard to earn their trust.

I never thought I'd miss the hellions.

[It's not quite petulant; he's supposed to be the mature one. Still, there's an air of reluctance that's hard to shake. Sorey's right, and they both know it. Not everyone's going to just let them purify the malevolence the way Nightingale had.

He's just not as good at earning trust as Sorey is. Communication issues aside, the discomfort that comes from being around the malevolence has already caused awkwardness.

With a quiet sigh, he leans to the side until he drops down onto the bed, his back to Sorey's shoulder. He's got no argument, and no desire to think one up.]

...We'll keep trying.

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