[He hadn't meant to cause a scene, but neither had he expected to walk in on a crowd, either. His rather dramatic exit had just been the best plan of action he could see in the moment.
-- Of course, he's also concussed and so dizzy that by the time he reaches the middling part of the woods, he all but collapses now that he's out of the public eye. It's... been a while since he's felt the heavy weight of mortality.
Ah well. His only reassurance is that this isn't enough to kill him, thank the gods for that, he still has plenty left to do here. So it's fine if he rests a moment, right? The ground is soft enough, and perhaps the rest of the children will be so focused on tending to each other that few will look for him.
Forcing himself to lean against a tree trunk instead of falling over on his side, Chiron lays down his bow (ignores the throbbing in his shoulder because now would be a foolish time to rip the arrow out), and then closes his eyes. Five minutes should be sufficient enough...
... As he then proceeds to pass out for a half hour]
[the children might be busy, but a bitch is not. he's been suffering the compulsion with no way to seek chiron out, and then he shows up like this and runs away?
absolutely not.
emet-selch has probably already attempted to wake him by the time he opens his eyes-- and when he does, it'll be to the company of one very exasperated man.]
Well, it's about time. Just what were you thinking, running off in such a state-- running off at all to wherever you went, to get so injured? I expected this of the others, but you...
[a huff of a sigh, a shake of his head.]
We will return to that later. Take stock of your injuries.
[Spoken. bluntly. That head injury is stealing some of his eloquence, and he blinks at Emet again. Why does it feel as if he's being judged right now--]
Ah, right. You want a list.
[Fine, well. Pushing himself off the tree, if only so he's forced to balance in place while sitting. The world shifts and he makes a vaguely displeased noise before starting:]
My right wrist and flank are lightly injured. I was also stabbed in the chest -- [Pointing to his bloody, bandaged side] -- and Soo-Won is responsible for the arrow in my shoulder.
[What]
The concussion and bruises were given to me by Xie Lian, though unfortunately for him, I killed him before he could deliver a more definitive blow.
If it was, the punishments were unfortunately real.
[Mouth thinning a little now that he's settling into the memory of... all of that. Absentmindedly, he reaches up and snaps some of the arrow shaft free, only barely wincing]
Soo-Won and Xie-Lian were killed -- twice. Once by some means I did not witness, and then again after Ochako and I tried to revive them, only to have them turn on us.
[A pause]
... Of course, they were brought back to us in the end. What a pointless exercise.
All four of us were... suddenly stolen into space, though we could breathe. As you said, it might have been a simulation.
Regardless, we did not prompt our capture -- or at least I have yet to discover how.
[So likely? Pure happenstance. The bullshit hand of fate]
We were soon separated after that. I do not what happened to Soo-Won and Xie Lian, but Ochako and I were forced to fight on a rocky planet where two monstrous creatures attacked us.
[Chiron is king of the d20 specifically to spite me and that's why he's alive]
Yes. Ochako and I found a facility where Soo-Won and Xie Lian were, dead. Whatever trials they had gone through, they hadn't succeeded.
[...]
According to both, they had been faced with extreme emotional burden, watching past phantoms and memories haunt them.
[and while he doesn't say it, chiron assumes this is why they had failed. Killing a monster is easy; facing your worst fears, not so much]
There were two revival serums within the facility, but they could only be used while we were inside. I gave Ochako permission to try... [a sigh]
Strictly speaking, they did their job, but they'd gone mad with blood lust. I had to kill Xie Lian before he attacked the girl. Soo-Won was accidentally killed by her hand before I could get to him.
...the weight of such things is often difficult to bear.
[few could be faulted for handling such a thing poorly, he thinks-- but he exhales a sigh as chiron continues.]
I hope she has learned, then, what comes of using such things; a difficult lure to resist, to be certain, but it seems it was designed to harm you for attempting to help them.
Chiron does not blink at this. While the method was certainly roundabout, he still follows the conversation easily.]
Ah, sons. No wonder.
[Smiling faintly, and now he pushes off the tree to stand on his own. They can talk while he walks for the river, to begin the process of washing/stitching himself back up]
I had but one -- my last child. Though I suppose given the heroes I raised, I technically had many sons to my name.
[And he was absolutely hellish to them, so (okay that's not true, everyone loved sensei but whoo he put them through the ringer). He gets it.]
A father of sorts to them, were you... I do not find it surprising, given your nature.
[another one of their key differences, honestly; emet is not given to treat anyone in that way.]
But yes, I did-- on occasion. It became necessary to use such vessels whenever a guiding hand was needed, or a ruling one. One cannot well build an empire when none may perceive you.
True... otherwise the empire might move in a direction that did not serve your interests.
[That is an assumption on his part. While there are Gods who would have taken up human forms for the pleasure of it all, Emet-Selch does not strike him as one.]
Or it may not form properly at all. At times it is also necessary to encourage their advancement using relics of past empires, in which cases it helps to have one who knows where they may be found.
Nothing since her fall has matched the might and advancement of Allag-- even now, various nations pore over the relics and technologies left behind from her prime. Garlemald is among them, but despite tireless research into magitek, she yet pales in comparison.
[there's maybe something very faintly nostalgic, there.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
w1 (IT'S STILL WEEK 1), thursday
-- Of course, he's also concussed and so dizzy that by the time he reaches the middling part of the woods, he all but collapses now that he's out of the public eye. It's... been a while since he's felt the heavy weight of mortality.
Ah well. His only reassurance is that this isn't enough to kill him, thank the gods for that, he still has plenty left to do here. So it's fine if he rests a moment, right? The ground is soft enough, and perhaps the rest of the children will be so focused on tending to each other that few will look for him.
Forcing himself to lean against a tree trunk instead of falling over on his side, Chiron lays down his bow (ignores the throbbing in his shoulder because now would be a foolish time to rip the arrow out), and then closes his eyes. Five minutes should be sufficient enough...
... As he then proceeds to pass out for a half hour]
no subject
absolutely not.
emet-selch has probably already attempted to wake him by the time he opens his eyes-- and when he does, it'll be to the company of one very exasperated man.]
Well, it's about time. Just what were you thinking, running off in such a state-- running off at all to wherever you went, to get so injured? I expected this of the others, but you...
[a huff of a sigh, a shake of his head.]
We will return to that later. Take stock of your injuries.
no subject
Ah. Good afternoon. You look displeased.
[While he is clearly fine!! ignore the blood]
There is nothing fatal. I've already gathered strips of cut cloth for bandages in case of emergencies.
[Blinking sleepily, but apparently even when glassy-eyed and concussed he's efficient before he's a nuisance]
The arrow will the greatest annoyance. I'd rather not yank it out and damage the muscle, but if there is no other way...
no subject
[just watching him with a frown, arms folded, taking in the look of him and the glassiness of his eyes.]
A head injury as well, at the least... the arrow may have to remain for the time being. I cannot say I have had need to remove one, personally.
no subject
[Spoken. bluntly. That head injury is stealing some of his eloquence, and he blinks at Emet again. Why does it feel as if he's being judged right now--]
Ah, right. You want a list.
[Fine, well. Pushing himself off the tree, if only so he's forced to balance in place while sitting. The world shifts and he makes a vaguely displeased noise before starting:]
My right wrist and flank are lightly injured. I was also stabbed in the chest -- [Pointing to his bloody, bandaged side] -- and Soo-Won is responsible for the arrow in my shoulder.
[What]
The concussion and bruises were given to me by Xie Lian, though unfortunately for him, I killed him before he could deliver a more definitive blow.
[Whaaaat]
no subject
[he just stares for a moment, then reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose and slowly breathe.]
Was this another simulation.
no subject
[Mouth thinning a little now that he's settling into the memory of... all of that. Absentmindedly, he reaches up and snaps some of the arrow shaft free, only barely wincing]
Soo-Won and Xie-Lian were killed -- twice. Once by some means I did not witness, and then again after Ochako and I tried to revive them, only to have them turn on us.
[A pause]
... Of course, they were brought back to us in the end. What a pointless exercise.
no subject
[what in the hell were all of you doing for this to happen!]
no subject
Regardless, we did not prompt our capture -- or at least I have yet to discover how.
[So likely? Pure happenstance. The bullshit hand of fate]
We were soon separated after that. I do not what happened to Soo-Won and Xie Lian, but Ochako and I were forced to fight on a rocky planet where two monstrous creatures attacked us.
no subject
[if they were just brought in suddenly, that seems the clearest answer.]
Were the creatures how you received the stab wound, then?
no subject
[he takes a breath, bracing himself before forcing himself on his hooves, leaning against the tree for balance]
I suspect the creature meant to pierce my heart, but it couldn't reach.
[he had a great time]
no subject
[it's a very good thing chiron is so tall... it would have been an extreme annoyance if this place had killed him like that.]
no subject
Yes. Ochako and I found a facility where Soo-Won and Xie Lian were, dead. Whatever trials they had gone through, they hadn't succeeded.
[...]
According to both, they had been faced with extreme emotional burden, watching past phantoms and memories haunt them.
[and while he doesn't say it, chiron assumes this is why they had failed. Killing a monster is easy; facing your worst fears, not so much]
There were two revival serums within the facility, but they could only be used while we were inside. I gave Ochako permission to try... [a sigh]
Strictly speaking, they did their job, but they'd gone mad with blood lust. I had to kill Xie Lian before he attacked the girl. Soo-Won was accidentally killed by her hand before I could get to him.
no subject
[few could be faulted for handling such a thing poorly, he thinks-- but he exhales a sigh as chiron continues.]
I hope she has learned, then, what comes of using such things; a difficult lure to resist, to be certain, but it seems it was designed to harm you for attempting to help them.
no subject
[His voice comes out much softer now. He is always a little... softer, especially with the younger girls of their group]
The fault is mine, in truth. She wished for a chance to save them, so I granted her a minute.
[That's the reason why he was so badly wounded. In hoping to spare her some pain, he pushed the boundaries of his own endurance.]
no subject
[an exasperated little huff, there, as he shakes his head.]
Attempting to spare them does them no favors, you do realize. They will learn one way or another.
no subject
[He does know it. As a teacher, he should probably be scolded for trying to interfere with the learning process, cruel as it was]
I had daughters, once. Perhaps that is why I cannot stop myself from meddling on occasion.
no subject
[he should have anticipated as much. not that he can relate to the same degree, but-]
I suppose even in this, we differ somewhat. The children I sired in my last mortal guise all were sons.
[-it would probably have been easier to simply refer to them as his own sons, but.]
no subject
Chiron does not blink at this. While the method was certainly roundabout, he still follows the conversation easily.]
Ah, sons. No wonder.
[Smiling faintly, and now he pushes off the tree to stand on his own. They can talk while he walks for the river, to begin the process of washing/stitching himself back up]
I had but one -- my last child. Though I suppose given the heroes I raised, I technically had many sons to my name.
[And he was absolutely hellish to them, so (okay that's not true, everyone loved sensei but whoo he put them through the ringer). He gets it.]
Did you often take mortal guises?
no subject
[another one of their key differences, honestly; emet is not given to treat anyone in that way.]
But yes, I did-- on occasion. It became necessary to use such vessels whenever a guiding hand was needed, or a ruling one. One cannot well build an empire when none may perceive you.
no subject
[That is an assumption on his part. While there are Gods who would have taken up human forms for the pleasure of it all, Emet-Selch does not strike him as one.]
no subject
no subject
[Sounding vaguely impressed. Literally building the empire from the ground up in the way he sees fit. Even the Greek Gods were not the thorough]
Was your empire as advanced as the previous, in that case...? Or perhaps more so.
no subject
[there's maybe something very faintly nostalgic, there.]
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)