Probably Forever Homeless But....

[a_gods_gift]

I don't understand, Mundane. If you don't intend to send me somewhere, why go through the trouble of creating all of these icons? I realize I have been a soft voice for the past year, however it wasn't necessary to do all of this. There is plenty that I have left unfinished (and the thanks go entirely to him, of course). And I don't believe I would be a good fit in any of the other places your Voices reside in.

...Also I am not certain what you mean by "combo breaker".

Comments

Elika <3

[altera]

Enjoy it while it happens. Not that often that soft voices get appreciation like that.

[verethragna]

Trust me, Princess, I know the feeling.

[ Forever homeless bros, fancy seeing you here. ]

And by the way, that thing with Ahriman? Totally not my fault. I had the world's best interest at heart, honest!

[a_gods_gift]

[Oh. It's you.]

'The world's best interest' being 'your best interest'.

[Yep, she's still a little pissed over that endgame choice thing. Most might say it's hard to be mad about being alive again, but, well, this is Elika.]

...You never told me why.

[verethragna]

They rarely coincide, but this was one of those times.

[ Admit it, who else would you want to see after your second 'coming back to life'? ]

Well, isn't it obvious?

[ Yeah, he's baiting. ]

[a_gods_gift]

No, it wasn't. What you wanted and what needed to happen were completely different things. [She crosses her arms. Elika's only got one thing on her mind, and it isn't his attempts to flirt.]

You still believe I can destroy Ahriman? You haven't realized that with only the two of us, attempting to defeat him would be like a blade of grass attempting to overcome the sun.

[verethragna]

Aw, come on, Princess. Cut me some slack. [ How can you be so mean to this charming face, Elika? ]

Ahriman was gonna get out anyway, and you're the only thing standing in his way. You don't really think Ormazd would give you all this power just so you could slip the lid back on a broken waterskin, do you?

[a_gods_gift]

It doesn't matter! [Which is the thing she says when he points out an obvious flaw in her own reasoning. Before she thought that Ormazd had given her his power so she could seal Ahriman again. But why would he let her keep it after this prince had destroyed all of their efforts? Why?]

You could have been safe from him, it would have taken him years to break free if he could. You could have gone back to your money and your carpets and your donkey. You only had to walk away, leave things as they were.

[verethragna]

Well, yeah, I could have. [ He also could have tried for the kiss of life on Elika, but you don't see him doing it. ]

But say I did. Years from now I'd be old and wrinkled (I know, hard to believe,) and not nearly as gracefully acrobatic and flexible as I am now. [ He can't resist tossing in some innuendo in there, even if it's not nearly as obvious as he could've been. ] Who'd stop Ahriman then? I happen to like my world not covered in darkness and Corruption, thanks.

[a_gods_gift]

[That gets a small, rarely seen (especially recently) smile. Perhaps because Elika can't imagine him standing still and so she sees him with white flowing hair running along walls. It's a ridiculous image.]

Maybe some other tomb robber would have come along. And then I would do everything over again.

[...though maybe it wouldn't mean as much as this time had.]

[verethragna]

[ If he even lives that long. Which he probably wouldn't. ]

Well, yeah, but you wouldn't. 'cause you'd be dead. See the problem? [ Ugh but that's morbid, can't let that knock his ever-present smirk off. ]

I mean, let's be honest here, Princess. I'm expendable-- you are a once in a lifetime deal. Ahriman knows that.

[a_gods_gift]

It doesn't seem to stick very well to me. [See, she can make morbid comments as well! Not that it's terribly amusing, and Elika frowns after saying it. It's disconcerting to think that she might never die, but instead be constantly brought back to life to fight a war against Ahriman. And perhaps that was why she still had her powers: because she was yet again a resurrected pawn.]

You're not expendable! [That... wasn't supposed to come out so emphatic. She takes a moment to gather herself.] Not everyone would stay with me and face all we faced together.

[verethragna]

Yeah, but I still don't think you should push your luck. [ That's his way of saying he doesn't like the thought of you dying, Princess. ] And hey! If Ormazd wanted you alive, then you're really just proving me right, you know that?

[ Hehe, that little outburst isn't lost on him. ] Oh yeah? What happened to finding yourself another tomb robber? Mind you, there's no way he could be as dashingly charming as me, but...

[a_gods_gift]

And I should take that advice from someone who jumped off of a tower, hoping I would catch him? [She smiles softly and puts a hand on one of her hips.] I don't think you're one to talk about pushing luck, whether or not I'm 'proving you right'.

[She'd hoped he would just let it go, but he has an annoying persistence habit, doesn't he?] Oh yes, you do have a special sort of 'charm' that is very rare. [She rolls her eyes, but his humor in the face of widespread corruption always made Elika feel like things weren't so hopeless.]

[verethragna]

What can I say? I take risks and they work out. I'm a lucky guy. [ And why not, you've earned some veiled honesty... ] Couldn't have survived this far without you twirling me around, of course. Maybe we're both lucky.

You know it, Princess. [ He smirks, tossing his head back into a laugh. Your attempt at sarcasm has been found and denied. ] I'm as charming as they come.

[a_gods_gift]

[And there are plenty of things Elika could say to throw water on his little bonfire of self-confidence. Luck wasn't forever, and Elika didn't consider herself to be extremely lucky. Cursed maybe. Unnatural. She hadn't been afraid to die a second time because that was the state she should have been in. Ahriman had brought her back to confusion and panic and the realization that she was only alive because of a terrible bargain between man and god. One that had left her without a father and with a binding responsibility. It wasn't luck.]

[But he liked luck, clearly. Elika believed there were reasons and fate moving everything, but he liked 'luck'. No use trying to fight that battle again.] I'm not sure I would call being dragged into a war between gods 'lucky'. Though I did tell you to leave, so I suppose that was a choice and not luck.

[Elika rolls her eyes again, still smiling slightly. Oh she knows you know what she meant.] I don't think that's true. I've met a few boys and men who didn't make me do nearly as much heavy lifting as you do.

[verethragna]

Sure was. My choice. Not fate, not some god's; mine. Luck's just gotten me this far without a sword through my chest. And a donkey packed full of gold, if you'll remember. [ And that's good enough for him. Though meeting Elika is up there, too, but he'd never admit that. ]

Hey, now. I'm just respecting your freedom as an 'independent woman.' [ Though whether that's a compliment or not is hard to tell... ] You wouldn't want me carrying you around anyway, and you know it. Plus I'd screw up my back...