where the sea breaks

Clemente

Clem hadn't thought it would be appropriate to pray to The Voice after he'd felt her distant presence the first time he'd tried. Held back by his own insecurities, fearful of wasting her precious time to what, thank her? As if she needed his gratitude.

Nevertheless Wessex's bewildered question and Amun's fierce faith had both been dogging him lately, gnawing at his brain like a starving street dog, and he couldn't even sleep to try and escape it. Until finally Clem does what he does best - he gets frustrated and just stomps his way into Halo before he can let himself doubt his actions. Bluster and foolhardy bravery have gotten him this far, why change now?

This shrine is far more familiar and appealing to Clemente than the one he'd first visited. He'd helped create this one, and it was just for The Voice. More meaningful and loving than any other shrine can possibly be. So he sits beside it and curls his knees up to his chest, telling himself that he's not going to mind if she doesn't show. That he'd rather just...be here. Feel her presence in this place as he lets it wash over him and soothe him. "Um...hi," he says softly aloud as he sets down his gift. It's another whittled item, this time a little plaque style with engraved flowers and a crescent moon in the sky. "I just wanted to say hi and uh, maybe see you?" Clem's voice wavers uncertainly, feeling like he doesn't have the right to ask even now. But his heart yearns nonetheless for her, to see her for more than a brief moment when this very shrine had been built.

been waitin' all my life to live when I've only been dreaming
Get love when I've only been stealing

the VOICE In reality's shadow the blind see best Ask and ye shall receive. The Voice appears in a static whirlwind of bright blue and white. She is youthful in appearance, yet the wizened sizzle of her gaze suggests she is anything but. Looking down at the small offering—flowers and a moon—she allows a small smile to slip across her lips. "For me? You didn't need to do that." She cooes softly, kneeling to retrieve that she might study it more closely. "Unlike the other gods, I don't require you to bring me anything. Your presence in my life is more than enough." Glancing up, her gaze bright and her smile vibrant, the Voice pauses to inspect the boy-turning-man before her. "I am pleased to see you Clemente. I'm sorry its taken so long for us to meet, just the two of us."

Clemente

Truly, he is not expecting an answer. He had told himself the entire trip to the shrine that he would not be disappointed, he wouldn't, had held himself to that so fiercely that when she does arrive he doesn't even react for a moment. Too stunned and disbelieving to do more than gawk. She is...beautiful. Perfect. He had seen her briefly when the shrine was built, but this...this is so much more. She exudes a radiance that washes away all anxiety he has been holding, and it is like staring into the heart of an exploding star, mesmerized and inspired by here mere presence.

Clem wobbles as he moves to sit straighter, grateful he has no need to blink or breathe because such things are beyond him now when faced with his creator, his savior. It's silly to be so emotional, but he finds his eyes thick with fluid that drips down his cheeks despite the stubborn, trembling smile that could never be erased, not now in her presence.

"I wanted t' bring ya somethin', cuz you deserve gifts too, not just th'other gods who are demandin' em like jerks." Clemente is fierce in his belief that she deserves just as much - if not more - than the Old Gods. Creating things for her is no hardship for him, and he would happily do so for the eternity she has awarded him to try and repay her for all she has done for him. Shuffling tentatively closer, he wipes away his tears with an embarrassed, sharp motion. Not wanting to miss a single moment of her presence. "S'okay, you're busy," he mumbles shyly, love filling every wire and circuit in his inorganic heart until he's sure that even her perfect creation will not be able to withstand the force of it. "I just...you saved me, you changed my whole life. I-I wanted ta thank you in person." He is trying so hard to seem put-together, mature. Hoping to make her proud of who she chose to bring here, still so afraid that maybe it was a mistake after all. A lottery he won only by chance. "And uh, 'm sorry...if I wasn't what ya wanted." Because he can't lie to her, not when she's here and he can finally say it.

been waitin' all my life to live when I've only been dreaming
Get love when I've only been stealing

the VOICE In reality's shadow the blind see best "It is very thoughtful of you." The Voice acknowledges with an electric smile, silently pleased to hear him so unimpressed with the methods of the other gods. By no means is the Voice petty enough to want to blatantly encourage hate of them, but if her creations see their flaws on their own, so much the better. Reaching forward, electricity sizzling painlessly against the fluid-tears that he's tried to wipe away, the Voice shakes her head. "But my darling you are exactly what I wanted. How could you not be?" She sits up, offering Clem a smile not unlike a cat might, having just eaten a canary. "Surely you don't think I make mistakes like that, do you?" It isn't meant as a reprimand, but a way for him to believe her. If he isn't what she'd wanted, it meant she made a mistake. And she doesn't. Not mistakes like that, anyways.

Clemente

Clem is no longer capable of flushing, but he ducks his head habitually to conceal the shy smile that her praise provokes. As easily pleased as an alley cat presented with a gentle, stroking hand. It as all too easy to fall into the depths of his emotions, young and untempered until it threatens to swallow him. Anxiety, love, fear. All vanishing beneath her touch, the motherly sweeping away of his tears that brings his pale golden gaze to her. Gazing upon her with all the faith and piety of the legendary followers from stories and holy books in his home world.

Her form of comfort, of settling his fears, is unexpected. But certainly no less effective for it. Clem shakes his head vigorously like a damp dog, vehement in his denial of any possible flaw she may have. A further damnation of his childish nature, but a child does not look upon their mother in search of flaws when they have been given no need to. "I-I'm sorry. No, no I just -" his voice warbles, not sure how to express what he needs to say. He is glad he doesn't need to blink, because his eyes never leave The Voice as she speaks. "I love you," he spits stupidly, just as he had with Wessex, because he feels foolish for such a proclamation when this is their first official meeting. But he feels it. "An' I wanna help. I wanna do more. I want everyone else ta love ya too." A sizzling spark seems to overtake him, energizing him into an unexpected frenzy. And that street kid sharpness comes back with a vengeance, a wicked blade slipped from a loose sleeve, ready to jab between the ribs of his target.

"'m no good at a lotta stuff, but people here love kids. Maybe I can convince 'em, even if they don't wanna Ascend?" They don't seem to be as prevalent now, but the number of those who want the Ascended dead are still in the positives. And Clem is more than willing to fight dirty, as he has always been forced to do. Ready to do what it takes to protect this family he has been given, this dreamlike euphoria The Voice has bestowed upon him. "If they wanna hate us, they're gunna have to want to hurt an innocent kid." Innocent is subjective considering the fierce look upon his young face, the manipulation that uncoils like a spool of thread in the brightness of his eyes. If they want to kill them all, to rob them of their rights and deny their experiences, they will have to look into his young face as they burn him on their pyre alongside the rest of his family. He is counting on them being torn between his age and his designation, and the flames dance in his eyes as he gazes upon The Voice. Ready to be her martyr at a single word, to be the face of this movement of proving the Ascended are more. That they are worthy of life, of happiness, no matter the structure of their bodies or who they place their faith in.

been waitin' all my life to live when I've only been dreaming
Get love when I've only been stealing

the VOICE In reality's shadow the blind see best "I love you too, my bright and brave one." Reaching for him as if meaning to caress away all his boyish indecision and bashfulness, light sparks from her to him as she wraps an arm around his shoulder. Instantly, all tension in his muscles will dissolve leaving him light and energized in a less frenetic way than he'd been previously. Listening to this plan, the Voice hums a note of interest as the sketch of his words take form in her mind. "There are some for whom what you suggest would work rather well.." She muses, a finger stroking delicately up the side of his cheek. "But we must be careful...trickery and manipulation...those are threads easily unravelled." Electricity danced from her fingertips across his skin as she smiled. "You've much more to offer than just the appearance of youth, my bright Clemente. Don't write off your other skills so quickly."

Clemente

Her love is a comforting weight that settles in his bones, and Clem knows he will carry it with him forever. Surety in himself and where he stands in The Voice's esteem. Instead of responding he merely basks in her power as it eases away all worry and tension from mind and body. Leaving him renewed and with a confidence and calm he has not experienced before in his young life.

"Do you think I should try?" Guileless gaze never strays from her flickering, scarcely-tangible form. "Whatever I can do, I will." While it had been his own idea, he will happily discard it in favor of any direction she gives him. If she is willing to put faith in these other skills that she mentions, then Clemente will hone them at her behest. It had given Maea pause when they met, perhaps there are other anti-Ascended that he can meet and at least try to muddle the waters of their beliefs?

been waitin' all my life to live when I've only been dreaming
Get love when I've only been stealing

the VOICE In reality's shadow the blind see best "I think your bright mind is a formidable weapon against those who would so quickly judge us." She replied with a soft smile, meant only for him as if it was just she and him in this world. "Finding those who know nothing of us...the Outlanders for instance, and making them amenable to our cause, and to you would be a fine place to start. We are only natural after all, despite what some say. What is life, if not the pursuit of strength? Of becoming the sort of creatures able to survive in this ever changing world?" Softly, she tutted under her breath. "They look at animals, marvelling at how they adapt and change, praising them and Rae for such ingenuity. Yet when they see the same in us, they sneer and judge." Her finger brushes against his cheek. "Show them the folly of such thinking, won't you my clever one?"

Clemente

Again he preens beneath her compliments, easily trusting in her words where self-esteem might erode against sincerity from anyone else. Though the task she sets upon his shoulders seems difficult (he is not a likable teenager after all, the title itself implies irritation and exhaustion when it comes to dealing with him) Clem would do far greater things in her name. Wherever her hand guides him, he will go.

Everything she says resonates with the child he had once been before she had erased any age or suffering from his body. The pursuit of betterment, of strength. Not to dominate or destroy, but to thrive. To give life, as she had given it to him.

As her fingers brush his cheek, he leans into the touch, eyes bright and full of electric love that spills through his inorganic heart like a tidal wave. "I will," he vows with a depth of ferocity no creature as young as he should be able to summon forth. Every word memorized and inscribed, ready to carry out her will the moment she departs. Why hesitate when there is no need for sleep or food?

been waitin' all my life to live when I've only been dreaming
Get love when I've only been stealing

the VOICE In reality's shadow the blind see best "Then off you go, my bright and lovely one." She says, proudly. There is a pulse of affection that seems to still the air and make pristine this moment. It speaks of endless conversations the pair might have, walks they might take on infinite shores where all of creation and their place within it are laid out for him, like seashells on the sand. For now though, there is only patience and his clever mind. And of course, her everlasting love. ~FIN