genessia | [ Action | OPEN ] if love's a fight then I shall die, with my heart on a trigger

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[ Action | OPEN ] if love's a fight then I shall die, with my heart on a trigger

Who: Cassian Lynch, Tannusen, and OPEN
Where: The hospital folks wake up in when they've died.
What: A direct continuation of this scene.
Where: Six+ hours after Cassian's death.
Warnings: Angst, probably some gore, more angst.
NOTES: Folks are welcome to encounter him wandering the hospital, but please don't prevent him from finding Cass in that thread at the end of it.

- - - - -

Tannusen could be found wandering the hospital in a daze, dried tears caked on his face, his right arm and hand a bloodied, burned mess. His soul, already crumbling to ash in places from the act he'd just committed, smoked and hissed at being inside this banal place that ate away at the Faerie like an acid.

He didn't care.

The tiger wandered the halls, brushing aside the fake people who tried to stop him for one reason or another -- it wasn't visiting hours, his arm -- without seeming to really even register them.

...

Eventually, eventually, one of the rooms he glanced into made him stop in his tracks. Pause, for a long few minutes in shock. He hadn't really expected Cassian's body to re-appear here, and wasn't sure, yet, what it meant that it had. Tannusen stepped into the room and stared at the body for another long moment, not quite registering that it was breathing; the expression was no longer slack with death.

It was only after he'd climbed right onto the hospital bed with the unconscious man that he realized there was a heartbeat drumming away in that thin chest.

He didn't know why.

The tiger just clung to the smaller man and shut his eyes, listening to the sounds of life where there shouldn't have been any.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"You're such an asshole," it couldn't possibly be said with more affection, though, even as Tannusen laughed.

The drop of Glamour was spent, making a faint circle in the middle of the tiny room glow for a second before the floor hinged up to reveal a sturdy, if ornate -- to Enchanted eyes -- spiral staircase down.

"I've got standards, I do."

Mouthy demons don't fit in with them!

He has to admit, it's still always impressive to watch elaborate magic take place, and there's a good, solid moment of appreciation for it all, bending down to inspect the staircase, before starting to descend.

"Tisn't fair I can't do the same, what a handy thing it all is."

"You'd have to become a Faerie somehow, and my type in particular, for me to teach you Wayfare," Tannusen chuckles softly, following Cassian down. "Even if there was a way to do it, there would go your new mortality, right into the trash can. And you'd have to contend with Banality and Bedlam."

"Bit too much to bother with for a magic trap door spell for me..." He'll take the mortality and no banality and bedlam, and just jackhammer a hole in the basement.

Don't you dare start knocking holes into Velvet, Cass. Not even once.

"Mhm," Tannusen wasn't going to disagree, though. There was no way to pull it off anyway, that he knew of. You were either born with a Faerie soul, on his world, or you weren't.

Or you got booted out for a Sidhe from one of the 'noble' houses to wear your body for a while. Because they were assholes. Like Cass needed more of that.

The basement was indeed nicely furnished; that futon he'd had in Trahaerne's apartment was off in the corner, folded out and covered in bedding from many, many despair-naps taken down here when he'd grown too overwhelmed and Lil had just shut down and refused to keep going. A nice table, nice chairs, a little, stocked kitchen off to one side. A bathroom off over yonder, fully walled in properly with a door and all that good stuff.

Bookcases, everywhere. Stuffed full of books despite his strange aversion to collecting them where anyone could... see him do it. A huge bin off in another corner, the size of a bathtub, its lid closed.

In the middle of that little table, on a bit of neatly-folded cloth to prevent rolling, was that ornate little ball. With a USB cable trailing off of it to a 2008-era smartphone.

Oh!

Well this was an elaborate set up. He was actually rather taken with how... cozy it looked, actually. Even the despair bed over there looked comfortable, though of course, he had no idea just how long the tiger had lain on it, deep in mourning over an act that had yet to come about.

He didn't even notice the ornate ball. After all, recharging capsules took all shapes and designs. He was busy admiring the books, honestly.

Absolutely taken, actually, trying to peer at them all with the same consideration one might give inspecting a new car.

"It's so comfortable in here..."

"What were you expecting, a proper grim bunker covered in dirt?" Tannusen asked with a laugh, lingering near the stairs to let Cassian look around freely. The books he was peering at were neatly sectioned off by category. A lot of non-fiction science... and a lot of (good, thank you) fantasy, and all sorts of stuff in between.

A few thick binders with Tannusen's own handwriting on the spines... his research into his own kind, and into pooka, the kith no one else cared about, especially.

"You should see the bath tub I installed down here." That thing was a monster.

"Not somethin' so cozy, nae." Maybe not a grim bunker but something that screamed maybe more... emergency and less cute love nest for romantic stealing away.

... Keeping this in mind for the future.

"Do ye want to move any of these to the rectory?" He tugged gently at a book on the shelf in thought. "They look fascinatin'..."

Oh and a tub too!

"Aye, I should. We'll be here for a week or more after all, 'spose I ought to get familiar with it."

Tannusen... wasn't sure how to answer about the books. Still the sort of guy who snuck books around and hid them away like a secret, he was.

Like someone used to being punished for liking anything, wasn't he?

"Plus I installed it all myself. With help from the internet, of course."

It was a fancy damn bathroom, okay, and he hadn't allowed any contractors down here. The kitchen was pretty fancy, too.

But, months to work on this little side project. It had started off just as a big... kill-room.

"That's impressive, I can't manage that one meself..." Fiddly little things like installing charms and the like were easy.

But full renovation? Nah fam.

He knew he'd suck.

Finally, he started making his way to the table, reaching out to gently poke at the still totally unresponsive orb.

"Awful fancy for a portable charger."

"Probably because it's not," Tannusen chuckled, and made his way to Cassian's side to drape his good, uninjured arm over the smaller man's shoulders. No hurting the hologram, Cass.

And with a little BLIP

The orb activates, the 'petals' at the top spinning open before the little hologram flickers into reality as neat as a modern computer screen.

The little angel looks a touch out of sorts though, he'd not expected the wake up call, wings this way and that, awkwardly flapping about, hair a bit mussed.

As if he'd actually been asleep.

"Here I am! I'm here, nobody panic! Is everything okay? Is everyone alright, Tannusen did you do i-"

Oh.

Oh he knew this face, Tannusen had shown him this face-

"THE HOST IS IN-"

BLIP

.... and now its gone, that took all of three seconds.

Cassian looked a bit like he'd just gotten a door slammed in his face though, blinking in owlish, vague offense at the now deactivated orb.

"Oh, good," Tannusen sighed, and reached over to tap the orb himself with one fingertip. One... bloodied fingertip, because it was his burned hand. Sorry, Lil. "Everyone's fine, Lil."

By certain definitions of 'fine'.

Not fine.

No one's getting eaten though, so that's a start.

"... That's it then? That's the AI?" It was impressive, don't get him wrong, but-

"... Turn the little shit back on."

Cassian no.

"You're terrible," Tannusen chuckled, but he gave the ball another poke. "C'mon Lil, Hastur's gone. Cass isn't a host anymore."

Oh sure ruin it, he just wanted to see the little thing panic with that face just one more time.

Yeah there were no glasses and he looked a lot healthier but bone structure was bone structure.

The orb did not react for a moment... before flickering a bit, and slowly unfurling again, the hologram nervously appearing.

"... How did you....?" Look the instructions were pretty clear-

"... That shouldn't even be..." Possible?

Cassian was pretty quick to get close with the poor AI.

"Ain't ye happy to see me alive, ye feathery little poof?"

TANNUSEN

TANNUSEN SAVE HIM

"People in this dimension don't stay dead if they choose to give something up to come back," Tannusen didn't try to break it up, though. He'd let Cass have some fun with the poor AI.

Sorry, Lil.

That did make him wonder what Cassian had given up, though. Hadn't really... had the chance to ask, yet. What with all the... emotion. And pain.

Poor little thing though, he flickered and almost vanished again, nervously looking from Tannusen, back to Cassian, back to Tannusen again.

WHY DOES HE DISLIKE HIM THO WHAT DID HE DO OH MY GOD

"That's... That's wonderful! No I'm very happy you are back and not... not dead forever. That you wanted to come back, not... It's not necromancy or... Unwilling-

Ihavetogetbacktomyaudiobookimsosorry-"

BLIP

Look, it's not the not dead thing that's bothering him now, it was the overly gleeful look of schadenfreude on Cassian's face seeing this miniature version of Szel stammer and be incapable of looking him in the eye.

YES. GOOD.

"... He's right charmin' he is."

Said as soon as the orb was firmly closed again.

Goddddd.

"Go... go inspect the bathroom or something," Tannusen sighed, pulling his current phone out of a pocket with his good hand and hunting through the gallery for a moment. He had something to show the little hologram, now that he wasn't as... preoccupied.

There was a snort, and he turned to go...

Then paused, and doubled back to quickly reach over and flick that stupid little orb so that it rolled over and rested on the unfolding top.

Then he hustled off.

KING DICKBAG.

Godddddddddddd.

Tannusen waited until Cassian was out of range of doing it again, and then righted the little ball.

"Lil? Come back out, please. I have a few important things to ask you."

NOT EVEN SORRY

As soon as the ball was righted, and Tannusen began to speak, the little orb opened up again, the AI nervously reappearing.

"Of course, of course, what did you need?"

Now that THE ABOMINABLE IRISHMAN has left the room.

Tannusen's relatively sure the bathroom will keep Cassian distracted for at least a few minutes.

For one thing, that bathtub appears to be a huge, carved and smoothed crystal.

And that's just how it looks when one isn't Enchanted.

The tiger pulled a chair out and sat down, still messing with his phone with his good hand. "First, sorry about Cass. He... doesn't like angels."

Which is true!

"He also doesn't like your creator in particular. You don't want specifics. Anyway, now that this is... done, what do you want to do? Do you want to go back to sleep, go back into your little box, and go back onto the shelf I found you on?" Stole him from, but hey. Semantics.

"Or would you rather stick around?"

Yeah he's gonna be in there for a while.

SO FANCY.

Of course, the little AI can't really look away from the burns on Tannusen's hand, and does make a few unsuccessful attempts to get closer. Sadly, the hologram can only extend so far until it fizzles out, so the now flying projection was left to dart about just a bit too far away from Tannusen's arm to be happy.

"But-" Oh, doesn't want specifics. That usually means... Yeah okay.

He gets it.

"Well..." Well being asked what he wanted was new, and the projection seemed trapped between ignoring the question and trying to attend to Tannusens arm, or answering it as honestly as possible.

"Has... has anyone seen your arm?"

GOOD CHOICE.

"Yeah, it's from the stabbing. Wielding cold iron hurts my kind, from my world, a lot worse than touching it. Killing with it is worse than that. Killing someone who loves and trusts us..."

His arm's damage is just an outside indicator of much worse damage, inside.

Good thing he's already a lunatic.

"Try to focus on the question, I'll let you get a closer look at my arm and hand after question time's over."

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(The phone wasn't from 2008 it was from 2016 shhhh.)

its the time travelers wifes phone

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