TP - LOVECRAFT

[impacter]

Comments

[ohrlyeh]

Yes. I like the water.

[He moves to the side of the pool, draping his arms over the side so he can peer up at the man, and...oh! His prize.]

You heeded your promise. [There is a rare smile on his face.] But disagreements...was it him. Fandaniel?

[impacter]

I don't like to owe favors for things I've requested, so it was the least I could do. [He'll hold it up for a better look. It's shaped like a cake slice! It probably has a smiley face on it too, who knows, but it sure is cute. Solomon will make sure it stays nice and dry for now.

At the guess, he just raises a hand as though to halt the question, before shaking his head.]

Who it was can stay between them and myself. I can lick my wounds without getting anyone else involved. Besides, it was a bit of a personal matter, and I don't want to drag the Troupe through it.

[ohrlyeh]

[It really is cute...little cake guy.]

[Still, the plush doesn't keep the curiousity he has out of his features. Could a personal matter really cause this much fallout?]

I noticed...Nishi was. Mad at you, too. You shouldn't...make enemies. Solomon.

[impacter]

[A weak laugh.] I have a knack for it, I'm afraid. Even here.

I can't control how others will perceive me. The most I can do is just stay true to what I believe is important, even if how I need to get there is a little... unconventional at times.

Have you ever had an enemy, Lovecraft? Someone who was against you, but that you still had to stand up to, because it was important to you?

[ohrlyeh]

...

[He thinks for a long moment.]

There's really nothing...important to me. So no.

[impacter]

Oh, I have a hard time believing that. You have things you fear, things you like... even your own comfort of mind can be something important to you.

Why did you choose to swim fully clothed, for example?

[ohrlyeh]

...

[He shrugs.]

I didn't feel like I...wanted to waste effort.

[Sometimes...you are lazy.]

[impacter]

And why is it that you want to go home?

[ohrlyeh]

[A little sigh, closing his eyes.]

Nobody will bother me. It's quiet. And I can sleep...as much as I want.

[impacter]

Then I would say you are important to yourself, if that is the first thing on your mind.

Would you be upset, if someone said you could not have those things?

[ohrlyeh]

Of course.

[He says, like its fact.]

I'm already upset.

[impacter]

And what would you think you would do, if someone decided you were not important anymore - not deserving of anything anymore - and couldn't have the things you wanted? You wouldn't want to just sit and take it, correct?

[ohrlyeh]

...

[...]

[The questions sit in his stomach, churning. They make him feel strange, like brushing up against a wound he didn't realize he had.]

...I suppose not. But sometimes...my contract...asks for this in return for payment.

[impacter]

Your contract?

[Hello?]

What contract is that?

[ohrlyeh]

For work? You know.

[Everyone has a contract when they work for someone, of course?]

[impacter]

Ahhh, I guess that makes more sense. [than what] Do you mean what you do with your Ability, or something else?

[ohrlyeh]

Yes. I am an ability user and...Fitzgerald...hires them to be part of the...Guild.

[It's like a whole club!]

[That totally do nice things!]

[impacter]

Oh! A little like the Sorcerer's Society, then. [Except actually completely different but who's asking.]

Why would you accept a contract if you don't care for the terms of it?

[ohrlyeh]

There's a society like that...?

[The question makes him look a little troubled, casting his gaze down at the edge of the pool.]

I'm not sure. It is...as if I am...compelled, sometimes.

[impacter]

In my world, at least, there is. It's where all sorcerers need to be licensed.

[Ah. This, at least, is diving into territory he is a little more familiar with, weird framing or not.]

...Compelled? In what way?

[ohrlyeh]

Licensed. Like a car?

[beep beep?]

[He is squeezing his eyes shut, trying to...remember, but he can't. It feels so out of reach.]

I don't...know. Like a leash.

[impacter]

Ahaha -- something like that! It's all gotten pretty bureaucratic, though.

[Joking tone aside, he does fall quiet and thoughful as Lovecraft struggles to place his words.]

Mm. I wonder if your contracts work a little more like mine, then. Getting something you need, but having to pledge obedience to a task or use of yourself in return. [Sometimes indefinitely, if you're lucky!]

[ohrlyeh]

[He nods a few times - yes! Yes. That's exactly what it sounds like.]

That's it. You also...have to work like that?

[impacter]

[He nods, carefully leaning his hands against his knees (dont worry plushie you're not gonna go in the pool) and extending one of his arms out. The costume change for the pool area has left him more bare than he'd like, so in addition to all the wounds from the trial and the new ones on his face and neck, all of the seals that line his body are in full display.]

Willingly, at least. [His fingers trace one of the circles against his forearm, labelled ASMODEUS in its outer ring.] You could consider each of these an agreement I made with someone.

A pact.

[ohrlyeh]

[A pact.]

[Something in Lovecraft's usually dour face turns somewhat pensive as he looks over the winding tattoos, the name emblazoned on his forearm.]

...I assume. Not with humans.