Too sick to care about thread titles

Kaisel

Finding Charlie in her place of work is not challenging. She's well known and clearly respected, and everyone eagerly guides him towards her once he asks. He takes his time walking towards the place he's been instructed to, head on a swivel as he glances around at every sweeping archway and carved bit of stone. It's impressive and grand and every footstep echoes impossibly far. It does its job at making him feel rather small and insignificant compared to the goddess this place had been built for. It's a far cry from the Celestine he grew up with, a place wreathed in beauty and balance of all the gods. This place feels...singular and sharp.

Fisting his hands into the front pocket of his burgundy hoodie, an embroidered face of Danta winking back over one upper corner with a feather sticking out from between his teeth and smaller, swooping text beneath simple claiming The Maverick, Kaisel hesitates outside a door. He lifts a hand to knock in short succession, then steps back and leans against the hallway, practicing his apology again. They'd not stayed through her party after all, and he feels rather bad about it. Perhaps making good on his promise to her will help.

Wanted me to fail out of spite, I didn't
All bark but they don't bite, they timid

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

when I walk in a room, I can still make the whole place shimmer

The knock pulls a delighted little "One se-e-e-econd!" from somewhere deep inside the Temple’s inner rooms, the words drifting out with the bright, breathless musicality of someone very, very occupied and absolutely thrilled about it. Fabric rustles, something clinks, someone else makes a noise that is definitely not prayerful, and then the heavy door cracks open just the tiniest sliver.

A single brilliant blue eye blinks up at Kaisel from well below his chin, framed in a sweep of dark lashes and a smudge of black liner she clearly hasn’t had time to fix. Her pupils widen with immediate, sugary delight the moment she realises who’s standing outside the threshold, and the door creaks a little wider as if even the Temple itself is leaning in with curiosity.

Through the gap, Kaisel gets more than a hint of the scene behind her: a naked man on his knees, wrists tied neatly behind his back with silvery cord, shoulders rolled forward in devotional tension as he kneels before a low basin filled with dark, gleaming blood. His breath trembles through the air, ragged and eager, and when his gaze flicks up toward the door he lets out a soft, imploring moan. And Charlie? Charlie is radiant in the way only she can be, in a slinky, revelation of a dress made of white silk that clings and shimmers with every movement, the fabric splashed and streaked with blood like a painter’s wildest flourish, her mouth painted cherry-red and only slightly smudged as if she had been very enthusiastically using it a minute ago. Her tail sways behind her in a lazy figure-eight, downright smug with satisfaction.

When she sees Kaisel, her whole face lights up like someone just turned every chandelier in the Temple to full glow. "Hey Kaisel!" she beams, throwing the door open just wide enough to make the tableau behind her absolutely undeniable, all while she leans forward on her toes as though greeting a dear friend at a party rather than in the middle of…well, this.

Behind her, the bound man moans again—longer this time, needy and worshipful—his entire body straining toward her voice. Charlie doesn’t even glance back; she just wiggles her fingers at Kaisel with delighted innocence, as if this were all the most natural scene in the world for him to walk in on. Her smile brightens, and her tail curls up behind her like a question mark full of mischief. "What's up?"

.

Kaisel

As the door parts he rolls over on his shoulder more to better face the crack. The short, blue eye that greets him is unmistakable, and a smile is already taking shape even before she parts the door further to truly greet him. When she does though, and he's afforded more than just her image to look at, his gaze can't help but travel the scene that takes shape behind her. He had never asked much about her work, and is not well versed on Dygra or the Ancients as a whole aside from surface level information.

The image of the bound, nude man is jarring enough to feel out of place, like something he must have imagined wrong, so his smile only falters faintly. He blinks quickly, trying to clear it as she greets him, drawing his focus wholly back to her, despite the halo of fuckery behind her. "Charlie!" he returns with equal enthusiasm, although it begins to dim into further uncertainty as her attire makes it that much harder to deny the situation unfolding, impolite as it had been to look. He still isn't sure what it is, or is maybe just choosing obstinately not to understand it, but it's clear he's caught her at a bad time.

She doesn't seem to think so, acting as if nothing is amiss, even as his attention flicks back over her shoulder at the long complaint of the yes still very bound and nude man with a basin of what he's positive is not wine. "Wha—uh—well I came to apologize about the party night and see if you wanted to accompany me to see Dygra, like we talked about." One hand hangs off the back of his neck while he chuckles nervously, trying to ignore the work (?) she's doing, but it's not so easy when it's painting her red. "Buuuuut, you're busy right now, so I can come back later," he offers as he starts to take a step back.

Wanted me to fail out of spite, I didn't
All bark but they don't bite, they timid

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

when I walk in a room, I can still make the whole place shimmer

Charlie lights up at the mention of taking him to see Dygra as if he’d just offered her the lead role in a play about glitter, glory, and questionable decision-making. Her whole body goes visibly spark-bright, her tail curling into an excited spiral behind her, and when he stammers about coming back later she shakes her head with the decisive force of someone who has never once believed in delayed gratification.

"No, no, no, I can finish up!" she chirps, already slipping back through the crack of the door with a whirl of golden hair and blood-splashed silk. "One sec!" The door remains open just enough for him to hear everything he absolutely should not hear.

The man inside moans—long, shuddering, and unmistakably doused in pleasure—as Charlie’s voice slips through in a low, coaxing purr, followed by the rustle of her dress and the soft thud of knees shifting on stone. There’s a puff of heat a moment later caused by a whoosh of fire that flares bright enough to push warm air straight through the door and across Kaisel’s chest. The man’s breath climbs, trembles, and then breaks into the unmistakable sounds of orgasm, echoing in a space that was definitely designed for very different types of devotions.

A few seconds pass, then the door swings wider and Charlie fills the frame again. "All done!" she announces with cheerful triumph, absolutely drenched in splattered crimson and radiant about it. She doesn’t even glance back at the absolute carnage inside; she simply beams at Kaisel as though she’d just finished frosting cupcakes.

Before he can respond, she vanishes in a blur and reappears mid-air right in front of him, arms looping around his neck with gleeful gravity, her legs curling briefly as if she might hook them around his waist before she drops to the ground in a shower of soft, delighted laughter. Her smile is incandescent, her tail swishing like it’s trying to stir up its own breeze. "I was looking for you during the Festival! You and your girlfriend disappeared, and I didn’t get to make Flora the guest of honour like I promised." Not even a flicker of disappointment colours her tone; she is pure, unfiltered brightness, already rolling forward with complete enthusiasm. "Did you have a good time?"

.

Kaisel

He really meant it more as a statement, as in he would be coming back later, muuuuch later, but she’s already turning around in a streak of gold determination. ”No, really!” he tries to call out after her, but the door blocks most of it and just her insistent one sec! answers back. He sighs loudly, the hand on his neck sweeping through his hair now as he unintentionally searches for something a bit more grounding. His gaze has since fallen to the ground, trying to decide if he really should wait or just go like he said he would.

He doesn’t have long to wonder in peace before noises start up in earnest, proving rather distracting as his head tilts faintly towards them, cocking an ear to try and understand the fuck she’s up to. He has an idea, several in fact, but they all feel a touch insane. Everything really gets fired up, literally, with the sudden bright and hot flash from within, the wave of which forces his gaze to narrow as he’s placed on the tail end of an action movie explosive stunt, it’d seem. Because yeah, something definitely detonates.

”Oh, gods.” He reels back with disgust from the door at the all too familiar sounds. This is way worse than hearing his parents bang when they thought he was asleep, and that had been plenty scarring enough. It’s enough to make up his mind and he turns to leave, shaking his head like it could clear the memory as well as water from an ear, but then she’s brightly announcing she’s finished behind him and appearing very much in front of him.

”Charlie!” he exclaims, startled by her sudden appearance and the ring of her arms around his neck, dragging him down a touch. His hands whip forward to grab onto her sides as she throws their balance to the wind, legs carefree and wild in the air. She drops them back down just as quickly though, and after only a mild stumble of a step he’s righted himself around her laughter. One hand loops around her shoulder instead, dodging blood, while the other slides into his hoodie pocket. He shakes his head, chuckling despite himself. ”I don’t even wanna know,” he mutters, mostly to himself, about whatever the hell she’d been up to. He’d not be playing the cat today, no thank you.

”Oh, yeah, sorry. We had to leave early because I ended up not feeling well. It also seemed like you wanted to…set her on fire?” He glances sidelong at Charlie with a raised ‘brow. ”Anyway, definitely seemed like a wild party. We had—” he struggles for a moment, his hand sliding out of his pocket to roll around the air in front of him as if gesturing might help the words land right. ”There was good. There was time.” Close enough for government work.

Wanted me to fail out of spite, I didn't
All bark but they don't bite, they timid

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

when I walk in a room, I can still make the whole place shimmer

Charlie doesn’t even blink at the way she drags Kaisel off balance; if anything, the tiny wobble only seems to delight her more, her smile stretching huge and sunshine-warm as she looks up at him like he’s the most wonderfully surprising part of her day. When he mutters that he doesn’t want to know, she tilts her head with an inquisitive little mmm?, lashes fluttering in a way that suggests she absolutely intends to misunderstand him.

Her gaze slides over her shoulder to the half-open door and the blood-slicked scene beyond, then back to him with a bright, fanged grin. "Oh, that?" she croons as if he’d asked about spilled tea or a smudged painting, not whatever was happening in that room. A bubbly shrug lifts her shoulders, her gold curls bouncing with it. "There are so many ways to worship Dygra! And I’m here to help people however they need it." The way she says it suggests an encyclopedia’s worth of “help,” all of it enthusiastic.

She leans into him without hesitation, sliding her arm fully around his waist as though they’ve been walking around like that for years, her cheek brushing his chest with casual fondness. The frown she gives when he mentions feeling sick at the Festival is genuine, her brows knitting with gentle concern. "Oh no!" she gasps, her hand squeezing at his side. "You poor thing, you should have told me! I could have helped!"

At the mention of setting Flora on fire, Charlie shakes her head, then pauses mid-shake, kombucha girl style, as if reconsidering the accuracy of the statement. "Not on fire," she clarifies in a way that absolutely does not clarify anything. "More like—"

She slips away from him with a deft little spin, giving him just enough space that the sudden flare of fire erupting around her doesn’t scorch his hoodie. The flames curl up her body in flickering ribbons, wrapping her limbs and waist and shoulders like living silk, close enough to kiss her skin but not quite touching it, bathing her in orange-gold light that makes the blood streaking her dress look like moving art. "Like this!" she announces proudly, her grin bright through the heat haze. "That's why I asked about her outfit, because of how hot leather gets." Naked, of course, would have been Charlie's suggestion.

Then the flames blink out all at once, leaving her radiating warmth, almost fever-glow warm, as she slips right back into his side like nothing happened, her cheek returning to its spot against his ribs.

"Good!" she chirps, triumphant. Her tail traces up the small of his back in a teasing little spiral, feather-light, the equivalent of a playful hand brushing between his shoulder blades. Her eyes lift to his again, bright enough to rival the fire she just wore. "I’m so excited for you to meet Dygra," she practically sings. "Did you bring an offering?" Her head tilts in curiosity, curls shimmering with movement, then she waves her free hand immediately, almost vibrating with eagerness. "It’s okay if you didn’t! I can show you how."

.

Kaisel

Be careful what you don’t wish for seems to be the saying today. Though blessedly, Charlie doesn’t go into details, not that he needs her to, the blanks are a pretty rudimentary fill-in set. It should not be surprising, he supposes, with everything he does know about Charlie and the general Dygra and Ancient vibes. What he didn’t know he learned plenty about at the party too, based on some of the attire (or lack thereof), along with posted signs and shouted invites. Torchlight’s beaches and the House of Midnight didn’t much hold a candle to this place. Literally, too, there’s hella fire here.

”It’s a good thing you like your job,” is all he can manage for all her helpfulness for worshipping Dygra. Every job has its downsides really, but there’s always someone out there willing to deal with them. ”You know what they say, right? Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Sounds nice on the surface level, just don’t take it too much to heart or passion becomes a productivity metric and you run the risk of a whole generation that grew up hearing it struggling to form boundaries in industries only interested in pushing them to exhaustion. The fifth pizza party of the year can’t cure existential dread, Janice.

Completely at ease with her at his side would be a lie, at least today. She has the smell of her work still clinging to her, fresh and pungent, and it’s also clinging to him now, he’s sure. Not overly bothered by blood in his line of work, and figuring if anything it makes his Danta merch more authentic, his stiffness gradually softens as they walk as he relents to the idea that he’s already doomed. ”No need to trouble you,” he reassures. ”It came on sudden and I slept it off.”

He pauses as she suddenly twirls away in protest of his assumption. The moment fire erupts around her, he crosses his arms, one ‘brow arching. ”How is that not—” he catches himself though, squinting a touch around the heat that rolls off her, noticing then that nothing is actually burning, even the things he would expect to on an Ancient. ”Oh, I see,” he beams back with the faintest smile, positively certain that still would have singed Flora to some degree or another (third degree, potentially). ”You’re full of so many tricks Charlie,” he commends, arms slipping free as she rejoins him and they settle back into as they were.

”An offering?” he repeats carefully, now uncertain, although this is why he’d gone to fetch her. ”I thought my blood was the offering?” He lifts up his free hand and gives it a glance, turning it over and back. ”Should I have brought something more?? Candy??” Sugar highs are pretty chaotic after all.

Wanted me to fail out of spite, I didn't
All bark but they don't bite, they timid

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

when I walk in a room, I can still make the whole place shimmer

Charlie gives zero sign of catching the sarcasm or the existential dread drifting like fog through his commentary on passion and labour; if anything, she perks up like he’s praising the sunshine itself. Her smile widens into something incandescent, her head tilting with delighted interest as though every word he says is a glitter-covered compliment designed specifically to make her glow brighter.

"Oh, I love it," she assures him with breathless enthusiasm, nodding so vigorously her curls bounce in happy waves. "I loved it hundreds and hundreds of years ago, and I love it just as much now!" There is not a shred of hesitation. No dimming. Nothing but wholehearted joy, like she’s announcing her favourite flavour of candy and also the secret to eternal fulfilment.

When he compliments her tricks, her eyebrows rise in a smooth, shimmering arc, blue eyes bright enough to steal the attention from the entire corridor. She leans into him as casually as slipping into warm bathwater, her voice a silken lilt. "You could be full of tricks too, you know," she purrs, as if handing him a secret forbidden privilege. "If you ever wanted to become an Ancient."

Then, with the flourish of someone revealing the finale of a magic act, she adds, "just think! You could do this!" She vanishes into a dart! of pink-gold light, reappearing fifteen feet down the hallway with a giddy, sparkling laugh. "Or this!" Fire rages up her limbs and around her body in a ribboning dance, flames swirling and leaving molten reflections in her eyes, the heat sending a wave of warmth down the stone hall. "Or this!"

Her form melts and reforms, becoming a molten tiger; huge, gorgeous, striped with rivulets of molten gold that sizzle and drip like living metal. Hot light ripples across the pillars and walls, each movement a slow, sensual roll of magma muscle. Then, with a shimmer of heat-haze, she’s Charlie again, curls bouncing, dress clinging, blood shimmering across white silk like gemstone flecks.

She beams up at him and adds sweetly, "Or be a dragon, of course," as if that’s simply the most obvious membership perk. She makes no attempt to demonstrate; one glance at the gothic archways tells anyone with eyes that the Temple absolutely cannot handle that spectacle.

Shoulders lifting in an airy shrug, she slips back into his side, her arm hooking around his waist again as if they were mid-stroll this whole time. "Blood is totally fine!" she chirps, tail flicking in a pleased little arc behind her. "There are lots of other things Dygra likes too, but blood is the easiest and most common." Her tone is casual, breezy, cheerful, as if recommending the simplest topping for a sundae.

.

Kaisel

However weird and uncomfortable seeing her actually at work had been, an image he's more than happy to push out of his mind and scrub from his memory if he can, it never lingers for too long with her. Not with how bright and upbeat she is about everything. He's betting, if she's part of a cupcake, it'd be one of those trick birthday candles. The first thing you see, bright flame dancing with promise of a wish to be fulfilled, but she'd not be one easy to snuff out with only a breath.

"All very impressive," he chuckles, the small laughter like its own round of applause for her show. "No converting today though, I'm afraid. Let's just start with a good ol' fashioned meeting of Dygra first." That she doesn't respond to his offer of candy suggests to him that wouldn't be one, but is relieved to hear blood is acceptable as he thought, even if it is easy mode. If what he saw back in the room is hard mode, then he'll stick with being a basic bitch about all this.

---

Breaks away to Cough cough

Wanted me to fail out of spite, I didn't
All bark but they don't bite, they timid

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

when I walk in a room, I can still make the whole place shimmer

Charlie stays utterly still while Dygra speaks; still in a way she rarely ever is, still in a way that vibrates faintly at the edges, like a spark holding itself motionless on the tip of a fuse. Her eyes stay half-lidded in reverence, her breath slow, her posture folded neatly at the shrine’s feet, blood dripping in irregular little constellations across her lap. For once, she gives no commentary, no bright interjections, no delighted gasps—, only quiet, unwavering devotion.

And then, as the last echo of Dygra’s laughter melts out of the room and the heat lifts enough to breathe normally again, Charlie bursts back into motion with all the pent-up effervescence of a shaken champagne bottle.

She dart!s in a starburst of motion, reappearing directly in front of Kaisel with a delighted squeal of joy, practically slamming her arms around his chest as she hugs the absolute life out of him. Her legs bend in a springy little bounce, her curls brushing his chin as she beams up at him with incandescent pride. "Isn’t she the BEST?" she gushes, voice bright enough to fill every cavernous archway of the Temple. Her whole body vibrates with delighted energy, the firelit rubies on the walls reflecting off her blood-splattered dress in dizzy little shimmers. Her tail loops behind her in sweeping arcs like it’s trying to hug him too, her absolute inability to contain happiness radiating like heat.

She pulls back only enough to look him squarely in the eyes, her hands still fisted in the front of his hoodie, her grin stretching fanged and fond. "And you did so good! I’m so proud of you!" she chirps, practically glowing. "Your offering was perfect, and you talked to her so well, and she absolutely liked you!"

Then, with the kind of bright, earnest generosity that feels like she might drag the sun down from the sky just to give it to him, she adds, "And I can help you with all of your quest, if you want!" She bounces on her toes again, squeezing him tighter before releasing him just enough to look like she might drag him into the next adventure immediately if he gives even the smallest yes. "We could even start right now!"

.

Kaisel

Committing his tasks to memory and wading through the snippets of divine wisdom Dygra had left him with, Kaisel is unnaturally subdued in the wake of her departure. If he'd hoped this would provide him some measure of certainty, whether a yes or a no towards revisiting Dygra, it has only left him with a number of additional questions, and he finds himself with no clearer path as to which god he means to align with.

Charlie's exuberance pulls him from his internal quiet with all the skill of a dog leaping up to distract from the seriousness of life with a bid for pets and play. He can't fully answer her, not with all his air pushed out from the vice of her grip like he's no better than a tube of toothpaste in the hands of a toddler, but he makes a show of wheezing agreement and hugging her back, albeit with less intent to crush.

Hauling in air the moment she steps back enough to allow it, it's soon lost again to some chuckles, overtaken by her passion. "Thanks Charlie," he says with a shy but undeniable pride to her praise, smile lopsided when it settles into place. "I'm so glad you came with me!" he chirps brightly, entirely grateful for the reassurances of her experience and presence in an otherwise very daunting room with a powerful being. "I'm glad you convinced me to meet her. She's definitely given me a lot to consider." Aside from his quest, the warm thoughts she'd offered up will linger.

Easy as it is to get swept away in the tide of Charlie, especially this one where it's in service of her goddess, he resists letting it pull him under entirely. The easy spark of her joy and enthusiasm aren't without their effects, and his laugh fills the spaces where she breathes, arm looping back around her shoulders to tug her back to his side the moment he's released from her full clutches. "Oh, I'm definitely going to enlist your help," he reassures with a squish against her shoulder and a meaningful glance sent her way. "Let me check in with Flora first. I'm not sure when we're planning to leave the Grounds, and I don't want her waiting." Not to mention most of his tasks have to do with blood or fighting, so he'll need to consider his approach to them. "You'll be the first one I come to, once I know."

Wanted me to fail out of spite, I didn't
All bark but they don't bite, they timid

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

when I walk in a room, I can still make the whole place shimmer

Charlie beams up at him like he’s just confirmed all her favourite theories about the universe at once, her enthusiasm practically radiating heat now that the shrine has gone quiet. She nods so emphatically her curls bounce, blue eyes shining with absolute conviction. "She is the best," she insists brightly, as if this is settled fact and not open to debate at all. "Chaos just gets such a bad wrap sometimes, but really it’s about embracing change and going with the flow of things and doing what makes you happy instead of fighting it every step of the way." Her smile turns knowing and delighted.  "And honestly? On pure starpower alone, Dygra is as powerful as Caido, so she’s absolutely worth it."

When Kaisel tugs her snug against his side, she fits there without hesitation, moulding herself into the space like she was always meant to be there. One arm wraps warmly around his back, the other circling his waist, her hands not quite able to meet but clearly determined to try anyway, the affection in the gesture effortless and sincere. She hums happily under her breath, content and glowing. At the mention of checking in with his gIrlFriEnd, Charlie lets out a soft, fizzy sigh of exaggerated disappointment, shoulders drooping just a touch for theatrical effect before she rallies immediately and nods. "Well," she says cheerfully, recovering with ease, "you know where to find me when you're ready!"

Before he can reply, she dart!s upward in a flash of motion and warmth, pressing a quick, bright kiss to his cheek, then she’s already dart!ing away down the hall, blood-splattered silk fluttering and laughter trailing behind her as she disappears back into her priestessly duties.

~FIN

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