of-snakes-and-men

[of-snakes-and-men]

Um

[of-snakes-and-men]

"I need a book and a blanket. I'm done dealing with everyone's problems in this cold."

[of-snakes-and-men]

PRINCE ULDREN SOV in DESTINY 2: FORSAKEN.

Hey, you got a gun I can borrow?

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“Why are you like this?” — (Tosses a wild Echo at you! @mantleoflight )

"Whaat?" Drifter mumbled mid chew, not bothering to close or cover his mouth.

"Let aa man eat 'is dinner."

[of-snakes-and-men]

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 (a collection of general sentences to fit various settings. Feel free to adjust phrasing and gendered terms as necessary)

“Hurry up! We’re going to be late!”

“How can you be so smart but also so very stupid?”

“I’ve been looking forward to seeing you.”

“You’re funny when you’re angry.”

“You’re far too nosy for your own good.”

“Are you sure that you can do this?”

“Let’s just order a pizza.”

“Honestly, I just want to go to bed.”

“You can talk to me, you know.”

“Are you seriously going to wear that?”

“You’re a liar.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve done this before.”

“I haven’t touched it!”

“Looks like we’re in for another long night.”

“Okay, you’ve definitely had enough to drink for one night.”

“Do you ever think about us?”

“What should we do now?”

“Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”

“Oh, have some faith for once!”

“You know we’re going the wrong way, right?”

“Let’s not start the day like this.”

“You know, the Earth revolves around the sun, not around you.”

“You call that music?”

“Sorry, I missed that. Could you repeat what you just said?”

“This development is anything but ideal.”

“You look absolutely stunning.”

“I got this.”

“I swear, one day I’m going to snap.”

“Why are you like this?”

“Is everything ok?”

“What’s your problem?”

“You can’t be here.”

“Thank you for everything.”

“Are you serious?”

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fireteam-silent​:

At his touch, Khalom put her hand over his and sniffled loudly. “Don’t you think I’ve seen my share– died my share– of ugly deaths?” She asked softly, looking at the ground. Sure, Shin wouldn’t come back from his. Ward couldn’t even heal him properly anymore, and Khalom doubted that reviving him would work any better. But still, the thought of just never seeing Shin again, never knowing if he had died or was just suffering…

She tightened her grip on his hand before attempting to sit and tug him to the ground with her. “I’d just… I’d be happier knowing for sure that you’re dead and gone. Rather than always wondering if you’re suffering out here.” With her free hand she rubbed the tears from her eyes. “This fucking sucks.”

Shin doesn’t oppose the tug and sits down next to Khalom, bringing his knees close to his chest, one arm wrapping around them. He doesn’t let go of her hand though and even intertwines their fingers together.

“I didn’t think -- I know you care but --” He takes a breath and wipes the tears from his cheek. “Sometimes, I wish we never met... You shouldn’t go through this. I would never know how it is to --” 

Love?

The Dredgen shakes his head and rests his chin on his knee. “I wouldn’t have anything to fight for, nothing to lose... Would live my life till someone would put a bullet through my head, get cursed themselves... Simple.” 

[of-snakes-and-men]

threads-of-light​:

Cayde’s systems are whirring away, his Solar growing more and more intense as Tevis and him fight. It’s not even over anything to do with Andal, one of them had been jumped during the last mission, and it spirals.

“It’s not my fault that I couldn’t get there in time to help you!” He says, a little louder than intended. “If we’d had someone to watch your back–”

Andal would have sorted all of this out beforehand – everything would’ve been planned out, with a backup plan too just in case things went awry. Cayde couldn’t live up to that, despite how the pack looked to him and to Tevis to lead and organise all of what they needed to be done. As soon as the Nightstalker responds though, his optics dull from hearing the tears Tevis was barely holding back.

Instead of responding, Cayde turns and swiftly walks away, his pace escalating to a run until he reached the little nook that him and Andal used to sneak off to when they wanted some peace and quiet. He buries himself under the blanket there, optics beginning to flicker with his own simulated tears.

Tevis doesn’t go after Cayde, doesn’t even call after him, far too emotional himself to be able to calmly talk it out. He figures they both need a bit of time to sort themselves out but no matter what he does, he can’t stop thinking about the Exo. With Andal gone, he’s more aware of how easily one can lose their closest friends and the idea of losing Cayde gnaws at him. What if their last conversation is this fight? What if something happens to one of them? What if the other Hunter decides to go off alone just to spite him?

No. He can’t allow this to happen. They should be there for each other even if they’re not the best at dealing with emotions.

It’s not hard for Tevis to find Cayde, not only because of the very dense Solar signature, but simply because he knows the other - what better place to hide in a moment like this than a spot he had shared with Andal?

The Nightstalker stands there for a moment, watching the Exo, then comes over and lifts the blanket a little. “Is there space for one more?”

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fireteam-silent​:

For a moment there is a flare of anger in her deep in her gut. “I wasn’t supposed to know?!” She jabbed his chest with a finger. “What, were you just going to go off and die in the wilderness, and I’d spend the rest of my days wondering what happened?!”

Again, she felt her throat squeeze and her eyes threatened to let loose tears. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair! She knew the world wasn’t fair, that bad things happened to good people, and that just because you try doesn’t mean you win. She didn’t believe that meant one shouldn’t try at all, but still, the reality of failure…

“A-and it does matter, you big idiot,” Khalom stammered, face flushing purple as the tears started to come, “because if you’re dying, if there’s really nothing more to do, then I want to be able to say goodbye…!”

Well, with the plan reiterated back to him, it doesn’t sound good at all and Shin takes all the anger in silence. It’s understandable, after all, for Khalom to get emotional over it. He looks up hesitantly, unsure of how to comfort her - he’s used to seeing tears but in much different situations, neither of them simply out of care.

“You did what you could, Khalom...” Shin says quietly, raising his hand to touch her shoulder. “Maybe there is something still to stop it but I’m running out of time and --.” He takes a deep breath to calm himself down a bit.

“I want you to remember me when I’m still... Like this. Alive. Fit... There will be nothing pretty about my death.”

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@threads-of-light

It’s nothing new that Cayde and Tevis can’t agree over something stupid and that it escalates to a full blown argument. What’s new though is that there is no one to tell them to cut it off, no one to turn it into a joke, no one to --

Tevis’ hands tighten into fists as he looks away and down, forcing himself to keep his composure. Tears fill his eyes but he blinks them away before they can really pool and run down his face - no way he’s going to give Cayde another bullet to shoot at him.

“Fuck you, Cayde.” He says far less loud than he wanted to, and far more choked by the tears making his throat tight. Still, he looks at the other and his eyes are steel cold. “Fuck you.” He repeats with more force.

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fireteam-silent​:

Khalom didn’t even hesitate. She marched right up to Shin and planted herself in front of him. She searched his eyes for a moment, saying nothing.

“… You’re dying?” The words were harder to get out than she had anticipated. Her throat closed up and her eyes felt misty.

The question stuns him in its blatancy. How does she -- Damn that Ghost, always sticking his fins where they shouldn't be... He takes a breath to deny but the wind gets knocked out of his sails the longer he stares at Khalom's worried face.

"I --" Shin starts but his throat tightens up. He casts his gaze down, shoulders slumping. It pains him to see her like this, to see the care she has for him, to see all the effort she put into trying to help him and it all being for nothing.

"You weren't supposed to know..." He says quietly, not daring to look up at her. "It doesn't matter..."

[of-snakes-and-men]

threads-of-light​:

He stares down at the other Nightstalker with doubt, analysing him for a few long seconds, but eventually he seems to come to the conclusion that either Tevis isn’t dangerous, or isn’t dangerous enough to be worth hurting – probably the latter. So Crypto stands up, slowly releasing Tevis to ensure that he doesn’t spring up and attack out of nowhere.

“Now will you tell me what you’re doing out here?” Crypto keeps his hands down, one resting less than casually against the pocket of the jacket he’s wearing, and he never takes his eyes off of Tevis.

Tevis gets up slowly, not wanting to aggravate the stranger, but can’t help an annoyed huff. A small part of him wants to punch the other in the face, just for good measure, but he takes a deep breath and straightens out his jacket, and adjusts the strap of his rifle, grimacing - the shoulder he fell on will hurt for a while. “Avoiding people.” He says plainly. “Unsuccessfully, as you can see.” It bothers him that the other saw him when no one else was ever able to and he has so many questions, but first he has to get over his pride. “What are you doing here? Can’t say jumping people like this is a good way to hide, if that’s your goal.”

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fireteam-silent​:

The words were barely out of Ward before Khalom was standing and making for the mouth of the cave. “Shin!” She called, voice tight.

“Khalom, wait…!” Lucid warned, but his Guardian wasn’t listening. He wilted slightly, shell drooping around his central orb. “Oh dear… Ward,” he turned back to the other Ghost, “I’m so sorry. Khalom has been doing some much research, working with Eris Morn, but…”

There just wasn’t a lot on the Curse itself. There was plenty on Hive magics, but this specific curse wasn’t exactly well documented. Even Eris suspected they would need to return to the source if they wanted to make any progress.

“Khalom!” Ward calls after her but doesn’t pursue - what can he do anyway? Instead, he floats closer to Lucid and rests his shell against the other gently.

“I know you two are doing everything you can... but I’m slowly coming to terms with the fact not much can be done.” He nudges Lucid a bit and floats down to one of the comfier blankets. “It hurts to watch Shin like this but I think he accepted it, too.”

Meanwhile, Shin managed to calm down but didn’t really want to go back just yet. It’s a nice evening, the air is fresh, and --

He turns towards the entrance of the cave when he hears Khalom call his name.

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im too sleepy to finish this tonight so wip of this shin im working on

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fireteam-silent​:

Crap. Even when trying not to fuck up with Shin, she fucked up with Shin.

Worst thing was, if he had asked, she would have held him.

Khalom watched him go with her hand half raised as if to stop him, before it flopped back against her lap. “Ah… Shit.” She looked up at Ward. Despite his assurance, she did look guilty. “I didn’t mean… I was just worried. Wasn’t trying to make a big fuss or anything.” She slumped against the crate. “I just care, you know?” Shin… Shin was her friend. He really was.

Lucid compiled back into reality as he sensed Khalom’s distress through her bond. “Has the curse been difficult, lately?” He asked Ward, floating over to the other Ghost. While Khalom worried, and rightly so, for Shin, Lucid felt for his fellow Ghost. First for everything that led to Shin’s corruption and now, when he was finally taking steps to rid him self of the curse, that things might not work out…

He gently bonked against Ward’s shell with his own.

Ward grunts at the bonk but doesn’t make a scene about it like he used to - he’s much closer with Lucid and Khalom now. And he trusts them. “I know you do...” That’s what makes it all so much harder. 

“The curse -- It -- I shouldn’t be telling you that but...” The Ghost shakes his shell with a sigh. It isn’t his place but Shin will never say anything until it’s too late.

“He is dying, Khalom.” He falls silent for a moment before continuing: “Sooner than I expected... It’s like his Light and body are dying off with the curse. His Light was weak before but now I can barely feel it.” Ward expands and retracts his shell uneasily.

“I don’t know what to do...”

[of-snakes-and-men]

fireteam-silent​:

Wow wow wow, wait. Was Shin… Crying?

Khalom sat up, concerned, and scooted over beside him. “Hey…” She said softly, fighting the urge to put an arm around him, “you’re okay. You need a minute…?”

She was never sure how best to comfort Shin. At the beginning it was usually easier and safer to be sassy or at least funny when things got too emotional. Khalom had to be ready to deal with him if the curse got too overwhelming and he made a lunge for her, and keeping things from getting too soft was a way to remind herself that Shin was a very dangerous man, intentionally or not.

But now?

Now Khalom worried her usual rebuttal-style humour would break what precious healing Shin had managed already. But she didn’t want to patronize him, either.

So a concerned look and her bottom lip caught between her gently pointed Awoken fangs, silently willing that Shin understood that she was here for him, would hopefully be enough in the moment.

Shin is not stupid and he can clearly tell she doesn’t want to get too close. He can’t blame her, especially after all the times he tried to hurt her, but it still hurts - there is never going to be anyone who wants to touch him, who isn’t scared to simply give him a hug, curl up with him to sleep, sit in his lap... kiss him. It’s hard to fight for ones humanity when never having the most basic, Human needs fulfilled.

He pinches the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes tightly - his throat aches from held back tears but he doesn’t want to cry. He doesn’t want to be weak...

A shaky breath escapes his lungs and he manages to keep his composure for a moment longer. He sets the guitar against the crate he’s sitting on and gets up. “I, umm... I, will be back in a, moment.”

When Shin disappears in the tunnel leading outside, Ward lowers down from his nook in the ceiling. The Ghost watches as his Lightbearer leaves, then looks at Khalom. Even with such limited expressions it’s clear he’s worried.

“Don’t take it to heart. He’s... going through a lot.”

[of-snakes-and-men]

fireteam-silent​:

Khalom would have said the song was depressing, but kind of sad worked too.

She listened quietly during the entire melancholic tune, her smile quickly replaced with a thoughtful, if otherwise unreadable, look. No jovial swaying to the rhythm, just quiet contemplation.

“… That was beautiful,” she said softly as he finished. “And yeah, pretty sad.” She paused, worrying her bottom lip for a moment. “You… You doing okay? Is there anything I can– I can help with?”

The Curse went unspoken. She has offered him blood before, something to hold him over while they tried to ween him off the need for Light. She still, stubbornly perhaps, hoped that this withdrawal would be something he could survive. People who put the work in to be better shouldn’t have to die for it.

When he’s done, he can barely hold back tears. The song usually sets him in such a mood but sharing this song with Khalom impacted him even more. At least, her voice is something to focus on, and he slowly blinks away the tears to look at her.

Shin picks on one string idly, muting it with a finger of the other hand, thinking. There is not much she can do, no matter how much she wants to - unless they find a way to rid him of the curse completely, there is only one outcome of it all. Well, there is another one, but he doesn’t want to come back to the monstrous.

“I will be okay.” He lowers his eyes to the ground, smiling faintly. “It’s enough that you’re here.”

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threads-of-light​:

Long before Tevis enters his sight, Crypto can feel another presence in the Void. Every time the other Hunter takes a step while cloaked, his veil of safety inexplicibly gives away his exact location, Crypto’s well-tuned and highly strung senses picking up on the reverberations of the Void. The lone Nightstalker also keeps himself cloaked but he remains still, silent as Tevis nears.

His eyes are instantly on Tevis once he recognises the shimmer, but obviously he can glean no useful information on whether the other man is a pursuant, or a threat in another manner. So when the other nears, Crypto pounces from the shadows, pinning the taller but lankier Hunter to the ground with a Void blade against his neck.

“Who are you?” He interrogates, “Why are you here?”

Tevis lets out the most undignified, startled noise when he’s tackled, completely unprepared for this possibility. He lands on the rifle and the pointy bits dig into his shoulder blade with such force he sees starts for a moment.

He blinks furiously, realising his predicament, but doesn't attempt any defence - if the other seen him in the Void, he doesn't want to test the reflexes. It doesn't make him talk any more likeable, though.

"A damn Thrall, looking to explode in some dick's face." Tevis snarks, glaring at the other. "Get off of me and you might get an answer."