caughtinanetwork | 1 ♐ Voice ♐ A brief check up

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1 ♐ Voice ♐ A brief check up

[Wow, Darkleer is actually communicating with the network on a whole for once instead of being a miserable hermit. Must be a special occasion. Does anyone know his wiggling day?]

Now then. Have we all cleansed ourselves of the mess and done whatever strange death rituals foreign species feel the need to do?

[Okay, maybe it is just Darkleer being a coldhearted dick. Eh.]

I believe we should focus on the more important matter here. I have seen discussions scattered throughout the network, but it would be best to have all our thoughts and speculations focused in one place on both the destruction of those so-called faeries and on the recent appearance of that Carol individual.

For those of you who are oblivious and prone to missing the obvious, things are changing in this place. It would be best to be prepared.

[Don't be fooled, he's not doing this to be nice. He's doing what any troll knows to do: looking out for himself and the few he cares about. If that means even faintly working with others, well, he'll learn to deal.]

[Also, that's all the network is getting from him. Click goes the camera!]

[Filtered to Summoner]

[Darkleer hesitates before sending this one out, although his voice is just as stoic and stern as ever.]

Since your children in particular seem to be taking this badly, perhaps it would benefit you to know that those things which followed us were nothing more than mere robots. The technology may have been organic in nature, but it was still nothing truly living. No pain, no loss of life.

That's all.

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[There's a pause in the conversation, and Darkleer just keeps moving. It's only when the camp is in sight does he answer.]

I don't know.

[And that is the honest truth.]

[He ushers him to sit down at one of the benches so that he can get a better look at his face and utterly wretched physical condition.]

[He feels ...so young right now. Just the way Darkleer is treating him, inspecting him, like he's one of the kids here. It frustrating. Part of him is starting to relax a little though. Was this pity something like what the other felt for those younger trolls? Something lusus like instead of anything else? Thinking of it like that made this a bit easier to mentally deal with.]

W-w... What?

[His wings shrink behind him, back curling forward and torso crumpling into itself as well. He does his beck to glare but it's really too weak to portray his agitation.]

What do you think?

[Sighing, Darkleer sits back on his haunches.]

Have you been eating better than you've been sleeping? Or are they both just as abysmally bad?

[This whole exchange is starting to feel a bit more comfortable to Darkleer as well. Without the emotions in the way, the basics of this remind him of times he's had to deal with other Archeradicators who've had some of the same problems, or at least similar ones.]

[Shrug.]

[Keep acting like a kid.]

[Make this weird, and not a, I kind of acknowledge the fact that I romantically pity this person by accident and don't want to act on it, kind of weird, but a, this is like, my lusus, and I wouldn't do my lusus weird.]

...Really.

[Darkleer reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose.]

This is really how we are going to do this. The silent treatment.

[He grabs the edge of the bench on either side of him, teetering back a back and closing his eyes.]

[Yep, really.]

[Fine. Fine! Two can play this game.]

[Reaching into his sylladex, he pulls out a small bar made from trail mix and berries. Well, small by his standards, anyway, and considering how big his hands are... Anyway.]

[Leaning close, he blows into Summoner's ear. The plan? Startle the Cavalreaper so his mouth opens, then shove food inside.]

[Not exactly elegant, but when the idiot is like this, well.]

[He doesn't necessarily get startled shock wise, instead he just slouches, eyes getting wide, his ears flickering. And slowly he turns his head to stare at Darkleer, lips slightly cracked.]

Did you... y-you just...

[Talking? Well, it means the mouth is open, so that's good enough for him.]

[No answer. Just a granola bar attempting to be shoved into your face hole, Summoner.]

[The granola bar is shoved against his teeth which are opening enough to allow some of it to get through into his mouth. A slight flailing on his part and a few sounds of disapproval before his eyes glare and he tries snatching the bar out of Darkleer's hand. Summoner chews and swallows the bit already in his mouth and then decides to just glare at Darkleer while trying to get the bar from him.]

[Darkleer just smirks at him and allows the bar to be taken from his hand. It's really the only thing he can give the other troll, considering he wasn't expecting him to be in this bad of a state. Darkleer may be prepared for quite a few things, but this is one thing that he missed.]

[Maybe he'll change that, considering the sort of things he has run into since being in Vatheon.]

Tell me if you need more. I doubt you will, but I feel something of an obligation to say so anyway.

[A frown, biting the granola bar and yes, talking while chewing.]

Why?

[...Wow.]

[RUDE]

Finish chewing. It's impolite and disgusting to talk with your mouth full.

[Time to purposely act more like a kid! And by that I mean stick his tongue out while it's covered in chewed up granola bar.]

[...]

[that is so disgusting]

[Darkleer doesn't even know]

[Excuse him while he just presses his hand against your mouth in an attempt to get that grotesque thing back where it belongs, the bridge of his nose wrinkled in disgust all the while.]

[Okay, maybe that gesture gets a small laugh from him as he pulls his tongue back in and swallows. Lysunder soon turns his head to stare at his feet, then the granola bar in his hands. A frown.]

Granola?

[He says with a quirk of a brow, looking over to Darkleer now.]

Is there something wrong with it?

[With that done with, Darkleer lets his expression smooth out into neutrality again and wipes his hand against the ground. Only the quirk of his eyebrow is any indication of his thoughts.]

No, nothing. Just unexpected. [He takes another bite, actually quite enjoying it over all. This time he chews and swallows before speaking again.]

I'm used to eat this sort of thing, so, I, I guess it is in some way a pleasant surprise.

...It keeps well.

[Darkleer shrugs and looks away, a hand beneath his chin.]

I know most prefer dried and salted meat to keep on hand, but it isn't within my... tastes.

Mmmmnnyeah, not my thing either. [He leans back, eating more of the granola bar.]

I've made dried meat a lot because it preserves w- well but I won't touch the stuff.

Because of your relations to animals, I presume?

[That is the most obvious answer, of course, and it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. Of course it would be awkward- to say the least- the partake in eating with something you could have spoken with at some point.]

Pretty much. [He paused, staring off into nothing for a moment.]

When I was, was young I used to openly commune a lot. And since the distance I can commune over is pretty limitless, i would kind of, latch onto any random creature.

[He pauses again before shoving the rest of the bar into his mouth, chews, and swallows.]

And I accidently started a mental connection with a hoofbeast being slaughtered for food. I haven't eaten meat since. [A shrug, eyes closing.] Fish are different though, and insects, mostly.

Yes... That would be enough to turn anyone away from it.

[His hand twitches, but Darkleer keeps it where it is. This isn't like when they were both quite heavily intoxicated and ideas that involved touching didn't quite seem like bad ideas. Trying to comfort the other like that would just be leading to bad news.]

My reasons aren't nearly as deep. [He nods to Summoner's empty hands.] Are you still hungry?

[He pulls his legs up, turns, and is now sitting cross legged on the bench facing Darkleer's side, hands in his lap.]

Yes.

[There's a small, approving nod and then Darkleer retrieves another bar to hand to him. They're back on more or less honest terms now. It's a... relief.]

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