[Estinien has absolutely none. You've made yourself a very persistent enemy, Steven.
When Steven comes out, Estinien is leaning against one of the pillars in the office, near the desk, Iceheart sitting at his feet. He looks like a ragged escapee from the renaissance fair, with his general fantasy aura and the...incredibly tall walking stick that he's since added to his inventory.
When Steven approaches him, Estinien straightens up and just shrugs, following him behind the desk.]
Did we not first meet when you thanked me for blacking his eye?
I've been avoiding being alone with him, [Steven says, bluntly.] When he came to be an ass at me in Cianwood, that was in public. He just took care to corner me and block off my exits in a crowd--and because it was public, I was able to get past him by asking him to move.
What happened in the stairwell... it wasn't something I planned on. He ran into me on my way back from my break and decided to make an ass of himself by refusing to let me past him. Even when I asked. God only knows what he was headed to the roof for--probably a cigarette break.
I wasn't going to throw hands with him originally. I was just going to-- shove him to the side if I needed to. But then he mentioned Tyler and--
[He sighs.]
Tyler... he's the only other person from my world. And even though we never knew each oher while it was happening or even until we got here... he and I went through the same hell before we came here. So, you know, his safety's important to me. And Solus has been doing the exact same bullshit to him as he's been doing to me--and Tyler didn't even dare to contradict him in conversation, the way I did.
So I just. I snapped. And I lashed out. And yeah, I know I probably screwed up badly by it. I can just hear my boyfriend chiding me for showing him that he can get to me. And I know I made a pretty damn implacable enemy, I've dealt with beings like Solus before. I know how they are.
But I mean. He was going to go after me anyway, just out of wounded ego. I might as well earn his enmity.
Enmity such as his led to a thousand year war of attrition for my homeland, only as of late ended.
[Estinien is content to leave it at that--with a warning, because there's nothing he can do to dissuade Solus from this and he knows it, and he's not inclined to stick around to constantly get between Solus and whatever fights he wants to pick. He agreed to a temporary alliance, not a full-time babysitting job.]
I shall say what I can to dissuade him, but I fear it shall not be much. He has placed some value on our connection via our shared origin, but not that much.
Well. Okay. Yeah. That's-- God, that's about what I'd expect for something like him. Only the beings that he reminds me of don't-- have quite that long of an attention span. For which I am eternally grateful.
[He's quiet for a moment.]
I. Should probably explain some of what I told them at the desk. Basically... that there's an old man [technically he'd phrased it, albeit coded, as 'one the more elderly Grunts'] who hurt himself falling down the stairs and you're the one written down as his next of kin. Ah, not that you're actually his kin but the poor old duffer's quite alone in this world, you know?
[He might have also made a few comments about how Solus has been dying his hair and injecting Tentacruel venom as botox.]
So I'm there to escort you to the stairs where you can collect him and he's supposed to direct you how to get back downstairs. Since he's supposedly here on legitimate business, though I can't see what. [He frowns.] I hope they're not thinking of giving him my old position at the receptions desk.
[Actually, he doubts it, given that it's too entry level for an egotist on Solus' level, though he wouldn't put it past the old bastard to take a position in the Radio Tower just to fuck with him. No, he was probably here on normal Rocket business underneath the tower and had come up for a cigarette break at just the wrong time.]
Ah, he probably just got poor Nour to possess someone to write him a visitor's pass.
Jesus. They sound more and more like the True Fae with every new thing I learn about them.
And-- yeah. I mean, obviously you wouldn't. Who would? But if he's going to use you as a rescue service like this all the time, despite the fact that you owe him nothing, then we might as well have a good story to get you past security.
What I did owe him, this shall repay. At least to my mind.
[Estinien shakes his head--he did, actually, somewhat feel like he owed Solus for what happened at the Ruins. But whether Solus thinks so...]
I've bare scratched the surface with what I've told you, and I know little to begin with. Only what I needed to. I had bare intended to get dragged into that conflict ere it happened.
[Steven sighs and rubs his temple.] God, I really don't know. I don't-- think I regret throwing him down the stairs, because he'd really messed up Tyler with the shenanigans he pulled before and Tyler was screwed up worse than me thanks to our shared hell, but I do realize this is going to make everything more complicated.
I don't know. I suppose I should apologize to putting you through this trouble. Solus deserves it. You don't.
Neither are mine, [Steven says bluntly.] But I don't think anyone deserves to be ordered about by someone who's a True Fae in human skin, no matter what they've done.
[And that's it. That's what soured Steven on trying to help Solus, on being anything resembling genuine with Solus. The unconscious realization, with that warning-threat about the weird weekends, that Solus was the closest thing to a True Fae that he'd seen in half a year. And the much more conscious realization that Solus saw him no differently than his Keeper had. A tool. Not a person.
At the time, he'd focused his revulsion on the unwanted flirtations, because the true reason was too-- It wasn't something he wanted to or needed to acknowledge to himself. Too frightening to. But Tyler had named Solus for what he was and after that--
After that, Steven had to acknowledge it. Those slimy comments-- they made his skin itch. But it was Solus' resemblance to the Gentry that made him his temper really boil.
He'd have enjoyed what he'd done to Solus no matter who'd he'd done it to. He knows this. But to the man whose presence put him mentally back in Arcadia every time he came near--
Aught I've done thus far, he has asked, and I have agreed to. If he tried to command me, I would blacken his other eye for his trouble.
[Estinien shrugs.]
He and his ilk are a threat to me and mine. If I can learn aught of him, it may yet prove useful if and when we do return to our own star. If he becomes more trouble than he's worth, certainly I will leave him to his own devices.
That's sensible, [Steven says, thoughtfully.] I wish I had the stomach for such subterfuge. Usually, I would, but Solus... [He shakes his head.] That man just sticks in my craw.
Tis fair, though he is surprisingly less irksome than some of the nobles I've had the displeasure of dealing with. At least he is fair honest.
[Surprise, the guy who talks like he's from a renaissance fair is from a stratified society with a noble class? Though his archaic speech isn't exactly uncommon in Eorzea at large.]
I do not think of it as subterfuge, I simply prefer to know my enemy.
[Steven makes a sound that's very close to a laugh.]
I should have known.
[The stairs really isn't too far--in fact, the entrance is in sight of the elevator.]
And-- here's where I leave you. Good luck with the old bastard.
[Like a gentleman, he'll hold the stairwell door open for Estinien. And when he does, he'll whistle a short tune, with the hopes that it'll carry to Solus.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fingersandteeth) wrote2022-02-21 05:11 pm
Action
When Steven comes out, Estinien is leaning against one of the pillars in the office, near the desk, Iceheart sitting at his feet. He looks like a ragged escapee from the renaissance fair, with his general fantasy aura and the...incredibly tall walking stick that he's since added to his inventory.
When Steven approaches him, Estinien straightens up and just shrugs, following him behind the desk.]
Did we not first meet when you thanked me for blacking his eye?
[Look, he Gets It.]
Re: Action
But no seriously, that's a smart idea, disguising your weapon as something you legit need to hike with. Steven's impressed.]
Ah, I did a fair bit more than black his eye.
[Let's just-- get on the elevator. It'll take us far enough up, to where we'll need to take the stair up for the rest of it.]
Technically, [he adds, once the elevator door closes,] I threw him down the stairs, then kicked him while he was down.
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Estinien listens for boss music starting when they step in the elevator, and when he doesn't hear any, relaxes.]Hm. I won't presume he did not do something to provoke it.
[Estinien knows him. And knows that in reality he deserves far more than being thrown down a flight of stairs.]
But I fear I must warn you--he will remember it. Avoid being alone with him if you can. His kind are very patient, and have long memories.
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What happened in the stairwell... it wasn't something I planned on. He ran into me on my way back from my break and decided to make an ass of himself by refusing to let me past him. Even when I asked. God only knows what he was headed to the roof for--probably a cigarette break.
I wasn't going to throw hands with him originally. I was just going to-- shove him to the side if I needed to. But then he mentioned Tyler and--
[He sighs.]
Tyler... he's the only other person from my world. And even though we never knew each oher while it was happening or even until we got here... he and I went through the same hell before we came here. So, you know, his safety's important to me. And Solus has been doing the exact same bullshit to him as he's been doing to me--and Tyler didn't even dare to contradict him in conversation, the way I did.
So I just. I snapped. And I lashed out. And yeah, I know I probably screwed up badly by it. I can just hear my boyfriend chiding me for showing him that he can get to me. And I know I made a pretty damn implacable enemy, I've dealt with beings like Solus before. I know how they are.
But I mean. He was going to go after me anyway, just out of wounded ego. I might as well earn his enmity.
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[Estinien is content to leave it at that--with a warning, because there's nothing he can do to dissuade Solus from this and he knows it, and he's not inclined to stick around to constantly get between Solus and whatever fights he wants to pick. He agreed to a temporary alliance, not a full-time babysitting job.]
I shall say what I can to dissuade him, but I fear it shall not be much. He has placed some value on our connection via our shared origin, but not that much.
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Well. Okay. Yeah. That's-- God, that's about what I'd expect for something like him. Only the beings that he reminds me of don't-- have quite that long of an attention span. For which I am eternally grateful.
[He's quiet for a moment.]
I. Should probably explain some of what I told them at the desk. Basically... that there's an old man [technically he'd phrased it, albeit coded, as 'one the more elderly Grunts'] who hurt himself falling down the stairs and you're the one written down as his next of kin. Ah, not that you're actually his kin but the poor old duffer's quite alone in this world, you know?
[He might have also made a few comments about how Solus has been dying his hair and injecting Tentacruel venom as botox.]
So I'm there to escort you to the stairs where you can collect him and he's supposed to direct you how to get back downstairs. Since he's supposedly here on legitimate business, though I can't see what. [He frowns.] I hope they're not thinking of giving him my old position at the receptions desk.
[Actually, he doubts it, given that it's too entry level for an egotist on Solus' level, though he wouldn't put it past the old bastard to take a position in the Radio Tower just to fuck with him. No, he was probably here on normal Rocket business underneath the tower and had come up for a cigarette break at just the wrong time.]
Ah, he probably just got poor Nour to possess someone to write him a visitor's pass.
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[Estinien, having actually met Solus's family, shakes his head and looks vaguely horrified.]
Fury as my witness, I want nothing to do with his get.
[If you met Zenos, you'd understand.]
Tis a specialty of his ilk, getting where they are not welcome. Amongst many things.
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And-- yeah. I mean, obviously you wouldn't. Who would? But if he's going to use you as a rescue service like this all the time, despite the fact that you owe him nothing, then we might as well have a good story to get you past security.
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[Estinien shakes his head--he did, actually, somewhat feel like he owed Solus for what happened at the Ruins. But whether Solus thinks so...]
I've bare scratched the surface with what I've told you, and I know little to begin with. Only what I needed to. I had bare intended to get dragged into that conflict ere it happened.
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[Estinien shrugs. It's like dealing with the worst of the nobles back home times a thousand.]
Perhaps this will finally impress upon him that he has limitations. Though I know not if that realization will make him more insufferable, or less.
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I don't know. I suppose I should apologize to putting you through this trouble. Solus deserves it. You don't.
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[Though, to his mind, it's probably easier for you to avoid Solus than it is him. He doesn't know that you're obstensibly partners in Poké-crime.]
Mayhap not, but my hands are certainly not clean.
[Someone. Carries around a bit of guilt.]
Do not worry about it over-much. If I had a mind to, I could have left him to the consequences of his arrogance.
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[And that's it. That's what soured Steven on trying to help Solus, on being anything resembling genuine with Solus. The unconscious realization, with that warning-threat about the weird weekends, that Solus was the closest thing to a True Fae that he'd seen in half a year. And the much more conscious realization that Solus saw him no differently than his Keeper had. A tool. Not a person.
At the time, he'd focused his revulsion on the unwanted flirtations, because the true reason was too-- It wasn't something he wanted to or needed to acknowledge to himself. Too frightening to. But Tyler had named Solus for what he was and after that--
After that, Steven had to acknowledge it. Those slimy comments-- they made his skin itch. But it was Solus' resemblance to the Gentry that made him his temper really boil.
He'd have enjoyed what he'd done to Solus no matter who'd he'd done it to. He knows this. But to the man whose presence put him mentally back in Arcadia every time he came near--
There was a special satisfaction there.]
At some point, maybe you should leave him.
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[Estinien shrugs.]
He and his ilk are a threat to me and mine. If I can learn aught of him, it may yet prove useful if and when we do return to our own star. If he becomes more trouble than he's worth, certainly I will leave him to his own devices.
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[Surprise, the guy who talks like he's from a renaissance fair is from a stratified society with a noble class? Though his archaic speech isn't exactly uncommon in Eorzea at large.]
I do not think of it as subterfuge, I simply prefer to know my enemy.
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[The elevator comes to a stop--the bell going ding and the door opening.]
Come on. The stairway to the roof isn't so far.
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[He really has no patience for that shit.
He follows Steven out of the elevator and towards the stairs.]
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I should have known.
[The stairs really isn't too far--in fact, the entrance is in sight of the elevator.]
And-- here's where I leave you. Good luck with the old bastard.
[Like a gentleman, he'll hold the stairwell door open for Estinien. And when he does, he'll whistle a short tune, with the hopes that it'll carry to Solus.
Just to remind him how he got there.]