Escordvi Inbox

[weenwoon]

Hythlodaeus

crew: RotLA

tonake | inbox | app

Hello, hello!~ If I do not respond, I am likely far from this device, or deceased! Leave a message in the meantime.

Comments

[emet_sulk]

Hythlodaeus is being unusually quiet. He cracks open his eyes and sees his friend leaning forward on the table, smiling that insufferable smile of his.

"...What?" he asks warily.

[weenwoon]

Looks like that wariness is the reaction Hythlodaeus was looking for; his smile widens into a grin.

"You want to spend time with me~"

[emet_sulk]

He reddens and sits up abruptly.

"S-So what if I do?" he retorts. "Is there something odd about that?"

[weenwoon]

Ah-ha, there it is. Hythlodaeus had a hunch Hades might want to do a bit more than spend time together as friends, and now he's pretty certain about it.

"I never said there's anything odd about it~"

He still looks awfully smug, however.

"You know I like having your attention."

[emet_sulk]

He drops his gaze and glowers at the table. He is spared from immediately answering when their waiter returns with their drinks.

"Crab Rave for you, sir. And a glass of white wine for you. Please enjoy."

They tactfully withdraw. Hades lets out a slow breath as he gently pulls his wineglass closer.

"Seeing all the younglings having their little romances and trysts reminds me of our younger days," he mutters. "I had my share of partners after the Sundering as well. But as mortals do, they passed in the blink of an eye."

[weenwoon]

Hythlodaeus didn't expect such a candid answer: he would have thought his friend to hide some more behind his blustering. But, he reminds himself, Hades has gone through much. Perhaps there simply isn't a need for hiding his thoughts and feelings anymore.

He remembers Hades crying for his mortal children he's had to watch go. Losing others he loved must have been no less painful. He... really has been alone for a very, very long time.

"Hades."

Hythlodaeus reaches out with a smile to brush his fingers against his friend's hand.

"What do you want to do?"

[emet_sulk]

Don't look at me like that, he thinks desperately. Don't look at me like you know what I want or what I'm thinking.

His fingers twitch. He curls them in and pulls his hand away.

"It isn't fair to ask it of you."

[weenwoon]

"Mm? You think I will refuse?"

He sounds amused - not at Hades's reluctance itself, but at the idea that there is anything his friend could (or would) ask that would make Hythlodaeus uncomfortable.

He stretches his arm out further to simply poke at Hades's curled fingers. Nowhere is safe!

"You have been away from me too long."

[emet_sulk]

"'Tis still a selfish request."

He shoves his hand in his lap this time and hides his face by taking a sip of wine. Maybe if he's a little drunk, this will go more easily.

"Today has been enough. Truly."

[weenwoon]

Unfortunately for Hades, that sly look is absolutely not leaving Hythlodaeus's face. He knows enough to interpret those words as an admission that he wants something more than taking some pictures and having a meal together.

"Hmmm? But I was promised that you still have some... private plans for later."

[emet_sulk]

Ah. Hades' gaze becomes evasive as he mumbles into his glass.

"I thought I could...play some music for you for once. Or something to that effect. I tried my hand at strings and the piano."

[weenwoon]

--Oh. That's not what Hythlodaeus expected, and it catches him off guard. It's a sweet thought, and very characteristic of his friend.

Hythlodaeus looks down for a moment, feeling his cheeks grow a little pinker.

"I... would really like to hear that, in truth."

[emet_sulk]

He relaxes slightly and lowers his wine now that Hythlodaeus is not fixated on teasing him.

"Mm. I purchased a violin recently... I know some pieces from various eras of our star. I can play some for you."

[weenwoon]

The atmosphere a little more relaxed now, Hythlodaeus takes a sip of his own Crab Rave, a smile rising to his lips.

"I would be happy to compare them to the ones I know. 'Tis a bit of a pity the rifts never brought another bard from our star here."

(He doesn't know about the Exarch.)

[emet_sulk]

"Ah... They did. That red-haired miqo'te you may have seen about. Although he is more of a scholar than a bard, in my estimation."

At this point, their food arrives as well. Hades waits until the waiter has set their dishes down and backed away before resuming.

"He has a fair singing voice, I suppose. But we have a complicated relationship."

[weenwoon]

Hythlodaeus looks surprised at that, almost forgetting his drink. That man is an inhabitant of their star? And a bard?

But before he asks about the rest, he has an important question.

"You don't like his singing better than mine, do you?"

[emet_sulk]

He chokes a little on the first bite of his food. After his coughing fit is done, he says, "Between you and him, I definitely prefer yours."

[weenwoon]

Hythlodaeus can't help chuckling at the reaction. It wasn't that strange a question, was it?

"Good. I would have been quite hurt otherwise!" He quips, moving his plates closer. Hmm, what to start with... Maybe the pasta while it's still hot.

"Where do the complications come from, then?"

[emet_sulk]

"He..." Hades hesitates. To say that it's an awkward situation is an understatement - although the Exarch does seem content to extend an olive branch of sorts to him these days.

"He, ah... Had a part in my death."

[weenwoon]

Ah, and now it's Hythlodaeus's turn to choke on his mouthful. (What a pair they make.)

"W-Well," he wheezes once he can breathe again, "that's certainly complicated..."

Calming down a little, he sighs, poking at his food.

"Goodness, he seemed a rather nice person, too. Now I am uncertain how to view him."

[emet_sulk]

"...He is a nice person. We simply happened to have conflicting views on what was best for the star."

The Exarch would probably enjoy his friend's company. They had similar interests and personalities, but not so similar that it would be grating.

"I think you and he would have been fast friends in another lifetime. You still could be in this one."

[weenwoon]

Hythlodaeus tips his head to the side thoughtfully. He would not be averse to it, really, but it's still a little strange to think of befriending someone who contributed to Hades's demise.

(At the same time, after those millennia of suffering, would death not be a relief?..)

"... You seem to hold him in some regard."

Despite everything, none of Hades's words about the Exarch bore any signs of enmity. Perhaps that is what he meant by 'complicated'?

[emet_sulk]

Hades sighs, picking at his food.

"He and his cohort somehow managed to create time and intershard travel. Had he deigned to share it, we might have avoided further unnecessary bloodshed and done away with the catastrophic Rejoinings entirely. But...of course, he did not trust me then. Even now he hasn't divulged the secret. I'm sure he knows I would use the knowledge to return to that moment in the ancient past before our demise."

[weenwoon]

Hythlodaeus looks down as well. The mood has certainly turned somber, but it is a conversation they need to have at one point, even if they both have been concentrating on their daily lives instead. For Hythlodaeus himself, he still cannot bring himself to believe that such calamity would befall their people.

"I... would do the same. I want to save our people."

[emet_sulk]

"Indeed. Who wouldn't?"

Venat and her cohort. She can dress it up how she likes, but she erased their people, history, culture - everything - in favour of the star.

He says more softly, "I wish you hadn't given your life back then."