[SE] since the flowers stopped smelling

Aurelia

It's somewhere between all the in's and out's, and Aurelia feels like she's dangling on the end of a rope. Maybe what's below isn't so bad. Maybe it's a soft bed of feathers. Or something buoyant, letting her lift off into something better.

At least, these are the discorded thoughts that roam through her mind as she walks through the Sanctuary's streets. She tries to remind herself that this isn't like her home. It's open, it's freer. There's choice here, after all, and it may be the only place left with it. But that only makes her feel bitter.

Bitter enough to take up smoking again. She'd stopped, given that she was lost out in the Wilds - can't really get a steady supply of cigarettes out there. And after, she'd refrained from picking them up again with the thought that maybe she was better off without all these habits.

She lights the smoke with her own incantations easily enough. It's the drag that catches, lodging in her throat until she's entered a fit of unceremonious coughing, ruining whatever ambience the setting sun has set upon the streets. "Agh-" she spits onto the cobbled stone, proclaiming: "-fucked!"

looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
with the warning to help me see myself clearer

LOCKE

Driving faster in my car
Falling farther from just what we are

He's exploring, mostly, checking out shops, drinking in whatever he can of the Grounds. Electric nerves spark through his skin and he's somewhere be high and nervous on it. Maybe a little excited. Gears twisting and turning in his brain, trying to figure out what steps to take next. Who he should talk to and who he shouldn't.

A familiar face catches his attention and he's about to call out to her when she doubles over, coughing. Hazel eyes widen and he picks up his pace, hand hovering just shy of her back. "Aurelia? What are you doing? Are you okay?" He gives up pretenses and just gives her a firm, hearty whack, to help cough up the whatever.

"You're.. Alive? I think. Are you alive? You sound like you're dying."

Smoke a cigarette and lie some more
These conversations kill

Aurelia

She's having quite a hard time when Locke of all people approaches her. "Luh-L-Lo-cke?" The name is butchered as she coughs toward the ground, nearly keeled over from just a puff of smoke. Thankfully, he has the gall to hit her on the back hard enough to put her out of her misery. Well, almost.

Sucking in a breath of air desperately, it takes her a moment to wipe the tears that have built up on the corners of her eyes and stand fully upright. "Good grief- here, you take this," and she hoists the lit cigarette in his direction, "'ll have to give that another go later."

As for his questions, well now she can actually answer them. "I'm just... uh.. sight-seeing..." the lie feels terrible and, upon glancing up at his eyes, she loses her resolve, "I had a message for the Ascended. It was urgent. And it's probably good that I left Torchline for a few days, considering the pot I stirred there." She shrugs, as if that would be enough. But she suddenly snaps to more attention and gives him a little friendly punch in the shoulder, exclaiming, "Hey- of course I'm still alive, dickhead! And causing more trouble than ever, mind you."

looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
with the warning to help me see myself clearer

LOCKE

Driving faster in my car
Falling farther from just what we are

Hey, he's just as surprised as she is to see her here. But the world has felt a lot smaller recently and he's just gotta learn to be good with that. She hands him the cigarette and he practically purrs with excitement. He's been smoking and drinking less lately, what with Edmund being around and all. He takes a long drag off it, exhaling with a sigh. "S'been awhile." What exactly he means is a mystery.

His face twists in confusion at her lie and then truth. "I.. Alright." He's at a loss for words, just kind of staring at her before taking another long drag. "You okay? Didn't think you'd be the type to go warning them about anything. Ain't you a Safrin bitch?" Something about Aurelia just.. Brings out this gruff side of him.

Especially when she punches him. He returns the favor, growling softly as his nose scrunches up. "Aren't you always causing trouble? Almost made me look like the good kid." Locke shakes his head, huffing again. "Come back to my place and we can talk?" By place he means the little inn he's staying at.

Smoke a cigarette and lie some more
These conversations kill

Aurelia

She's grateful that he takes the cigarette but gods damn it- he makes it look like it's a fuckin' dessert. Whether Aurelia picks up on what Locke means or she's entirely wrong, she responds nonetheless, saying, "Yes, it has."

A Safrin bitch. It probably isn't the first time she's been called that, and certainly not the first time she's been called a bitch. Well-deserved every time, though, so she takes little offense. Instead she looks away and rolls her shoulders, trying to push away the tension she feels about that subject, "Well yeah but ah- there's also things you don't know about me. I ran into Wessex before, she sorta saved my life twice in a row, in fact." Killing the molten tiger and then getting her transported out of Planet Lava (aka the Climb), not that she expects Locke - or anyone else - to know anything about that.

"She sent me a letter asking my help. I refused her already once before, so this time I felt like.. I don't know. I owed it to her, sure, but.. the situation is also fucked up. I couldn't really stand by while knowing." It's a lot of context at once, so she pauses to give him a chance to catch up.

He invites her to his place and she tilts her head with an inquisitive cock of one brow, "You live here now? Damn, things really ended that bad between you and Maeve?" But she's fine with finding somewhere more private to sit and talk, so she gestures for him to lead the way.

looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
with the warning to help me see myself clearer

LOCKE

Driving faster in my car
Falling farther from just what we are

He hums softly, another drag off the cigarette. It sooths the prickly excitement in his skin and he's glad for it. She looks away from him and he raises an eyebrow in response. Strange. But then, she explains. Looks like he's not the only one being wishy-washy, huh? "Twice huh. I've only met her once." Unconsciously or not, he touches the bite scar she'd given him. It's fresher than most although still very much scarred over.

"She asked you for help?" A deeper frown. Not that he has a problem with that. Just that she needed Aurelia's help at all. Especially for something fucked up? At her next question, he shakes his head as he holds his arm out to her.

"Nah. We're good. I'm just up here for a few days and didn't want to sleep out in the woods or something so I'm staying at a little inn." As far as he knows, things are still good with Maeve. They might not be when he gets home but hopefully the queen will understand why he's doing what he's doing.

He leads Aurelia to the inn and then up to his room, finishing the cigarette on the way. Boots come off and then his shirt because it's Longheat and who wears clothes they don't need to. She might notice his new wound, she might not. "So what'd Wessex need help with? Do I need to help?"

Smoke a cigarette and lie some more
These conversations kill

Aurelia

Her gaze lifts to spot the way he touches a mark on his neck, squinting upon realizing what it is. But he holds his hand out to her and, at first, she doesn't really know what he's doing it for. It's few and far between that someone offers her such a friendly physical gesture so, though her hesitation is palpable, she takes it. And she feels awkward about it the whole time. "I guess I was the only person she could think of in Torchline that might..." she says thoughtfully, though in truth she isn't sure. Was it Wessex's last ditch effort at seeing if Aurelia could be swayed? Or was it truly a desperate plea from someone with no other options left?

He clarifies that he's just here for a bit and his 'place' is actually a room at an inn. "Makes sense," she remarks as they begin walking in step with each other. When they enter the building, she lets go of his arm and peers around at the place. It's homey and simple, with candles lit here and there to mark the way to his room. Still, it feels empty, aside from the innkeeper - who is reading a book at their desk.

Locke sheds his unnecessary layers but Aurelia isn't here to stay, and she certainly isn't here to gawk at his undressed torso. So his wound goes unnoticed, at first, and her outer layers remain on. She merely finds a seat beside a small table and, using her magics, ignites the lamp set upon it to give them some better lighting.

"Got any rum in here? Or are we supposed to talk about this sober?" She asks, ignoring his question for a few moments. Once the air seems to have stilled, she explains, "I guess she found out that the Priest from Stormbreak kidnapped and murdered some of her family. She described them as children. I'm not really sure what that means considering they're Ascended... but I trust her perspective," considering Ascended could remain youthful but continue aging, "I think she's tangled up in trying to help them, which is why she couldn't get word out herself, and asked me," she sighs, "that's why I'm here. To tell Isla." But not before she stirred some shit in Torchline beforehand... thaaat's the part she needs rum to talk about.

looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
with the warning to help me see myself clearer

LOCKE

Driving faster in my car
Falling farther from just what we are

It's his arm that he holds out to her but she takes his hand instead. He doesn't question it though, not with how she's behaving. Plus, he's a little touch starved for someone who might be warm instead of cold. "I'm sure she had her reasons." He doesn't know Aurelia well enough to comment further but Wessex didn't seem like the kind to make willy-nilly judgement calls.

Their walk is mostly quiet but he enjoys it anyway. He's always liked her. Maybe because he hasn't seen the nasty parts but it likely goes both ways. At least in that she hasn't seen his nasty sides. Except whatever Maeve may have told her. The room is dimly lit and he watches her light the candles curiously. "Edmund is an Abandoned too." It's spoken softly, like he's scared. Because, to an extent, he is.

She asks for rum and he tries to deliver. "Haven't been drinking much lately but I got this." It's a nicer bottle than he'd likely have. Acquired from a local shop. He's pretty sure it's from Torchline originally but it's fine. He goes about pouring her a drink as she talks.

He pauses, turning to look at her over his shoulder. "What." There's a beat where his jaw flexes as he thinks. Locke has very few moral codes he follows. Number one though? Never hurt kids. "Have you found Isla?" It sounds in progress but all he wants to know is if the kid is alright. (She's not but alas)

"I saw her recently. At the shrine."

Smoke a cigarette and lie some more
These conversations kill

Aurelia

"I know..." she says about Edmund, voice softening, "I met him, he was very excited to meet someone like him. Y'know, with fire and all that." She smiles humorously for a moment, but it fades quickly. "I know what you're thinking. Once the Ascended are gone, the Abandoned must be next, right?" She's thought about that too, it haunts her just as much. And not just because she's one of them. "Where will it end?" She murmurs quietly, staring at the glass as he pours the dark liquor into it.

She takes a hefty swig, enough that it almost makes her puke right on the spot. A ragged breath pours out of her nostrils in her body's attempt to recompose, and a few coughs part the way for her lungs thereafter. Clearing her throat, she answers, "Yes! Fuck... I'm havin' a rough go of it tonight."

Allowing herself a minute or two to relax, she swipes a cigarette from the pouch in her pocket and begins to light it. Maybe this time will be better, now that she's a bit numbed by the alcohol. "Yeah, I got word to Isla. And all of Torchline, too. ...What shrine did you go to that you saw Isla--?" And just as she asks the question with disbelief, it clicks, and he might be able to see the dots connect in her eyes as they widen at him. "You went to the Voice!?"

looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
with the warning to help me see myself clearer

LOCKE

Driving faster in my car
Falling farther from just what we are

He hums softly, both glad that she knows and annoyed that his son seems to be getting into so much trouble. Or maybe Maeve introduced them. He and Aurelia fell off the planet at about the same time so who knows. He does know his jaw hurts from being clenched. "It's not even next. The Abandoned have always been treated like shit. People hate what they fear and they fear what they don't understand. I hate knowing that people are going to judge him before ever knowing him." He's all for crime at the right price but the right price is never hatred.

Locke watches her with some measure of concern, scarred eyebrow raised as she chokes. "Starting to think you've lost your edge." He pours his own glass, sinking down onto the bed. It burns but he tries to hide the way his face twists with the sting. It does help though, soothing the rough edges of what he's learned a bit.

"Yeah. Remember when everything was on fire? She, uh, put the fire out. I was in the Wren Society when it happened. Probably wouldn't have died but I thought I'd pay my respects. Isla had asked me to come visit. Kinda wanted to see the sex room but with all the Maeve stuff.." He waves his hand dismissively. Sure, he could sleep around if he wanted but it didn't feel like the time and he honestly didn't feel like doing it anymore. "But then the Voice appeared."

The alcohol is distracting enough as he takes another drink. He debates on how much he wants to tell her. There's some danger in letting her know, especially because he's unsure of how much he wants to tell Maeve and he knows they're close. "She wants me to go to Stormbreak, talk to that priest." He says it softly, shaking his head.

"But you told Maeve what he did? What'd she say? Are they going to do something?" Surely she wouldn't stand for a child being hurt.. Right?

Smoke a cigarette and lie some more
These conversations kill

Aurelia

Aurelia scoffs in agreement. "Yeah, I was like that too, once.." she mutters, crossing one leg over the other, "but I've since figured out I was being a piece of shit. Not a lot of people can say the same." She doesn't know if she's trying to brag about her own self-growth, or make a point that people hardly ever change and maybe it's hopeless, or what. So she doesn't say much else on that matter. It doesn't need to be said; the war is only the start of the end.

He accuses her of losing her edge and {using her magic} she sends a hefty sprinkle of embers his way just out of sheer, mischievous spite. "Burn," she retorts before puffing off of her cigarette. As if to prove a point, she blows out the cloud smoothly, no hiccups this time.

She listens to him as he shares his view of the Voice, and it's something that goads at a strange feeling she's always had. Her own gratitude directed at the newer goddess, something that she'd never had the gall to express. She looks thoughtful about that for a few moments. "Mighty brave of you, bein' Attuned and all," she comments, a round-about-way of asking what the Voice thought of that.

At the mention of Maeve, Aurelia falls back against the chair with an exasperated sigh. "I mean, she found out about it. I only tacked a whole big paper on the notice board, calling him out for his crimes. But she sent me a letter saying I was making people scared," she tsk's, flicking ash off the cigarette into a nearby tray, "I think she was sort of accusing me of trying to take charge, go over her head or something. But people deserve to know the truth. I didn't think she'd be so against it, but... things with her and I haven't been the same since I got back." If it wasn't obvious.

looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
with the warning to help me see myself clearer

LOCKE

Driving faster in my car
Falling farther from just what we are

"Think I'll always be a piece of shit. But at least I'm not.." He scoffs, waving his hand, "Starting a war because I'm scared of someone or whatever the fuck this war is even about. Aren't we getting along just fine? Right now?" He doesn't have beef with anyone and as far as he knows, no one has beef with him. Why go to war?

The little sprinkles of ember are met with a growl and he swats them away, almost spilling his drink. "What is with everyone trying to set me on fire lately?" Why does being nice keep resulting in him being burned? Not that the embers really hurt but good gods.

He shrugs, "I don't think I'm doin' the whole attuned thing right. I haven't been back to Frey's shrine since before Edmund was born. Not like they made me pledge to be their little bitch or anything." No one has ever asked for his loyalty, for him to be their's so as far as he's concerned, he's still a free man. "The Voice didn't seem to care though." Sure, she'd said nice things about him but so does anyone who wants anything. "I offered to help and she told me to talk to Gideon and to let Ascended bite me. The latter half has been fun so far."

"There's a war about to start. Everyone's already scared. People do dodgy shit when they're scared too. Fuckin' caged animals." A war none of them want but are being forced into by the gods that promise to protect them. The rum is doing little to combat his annoyance at this point. "I'll talk to her when I get home." As if Maeve would ever listen to what he has to say about this kind of thing.

"Did you want things to be the same? What even was.." He trails off, shaking his head. No. He doesn't need to know.

Smoke a cigarette and lie some more
These conversations kill

Aurelia

I'll always be a piece of shit he says, and Aurelia lifts her glass with a smile that's best described as shattered, "Cheers to that." And she'll tilt her glass a little in an air-clink, since they are too far away to properly cheers. With a light swig, she nods at his assumption. "Far as I knew, things were actually peaceful," she shrugs, "but the Oracle foretold the war. And so it will be. We've got what..." setting her glass down, she counts on her fingers, "four? Four more seasons. Then, who knows what will happen. Maybe the volcanoes will erupt and the ocean will swallow the coast and the winds will topple mountains - and the gods will come down and play us all like chess, hmm?" If the last part wasn't already true, anyway.

Locke's reaction to the embers thrown his way draws a dark chuckle from Aurelia's throat, and she picks up her glass again to sip it with a light-hearted ease she hasn't felt in quite some time. "Hey-" she eyes him with a playful warning, "if I really wanted to set you on fire, I wouldn't have to try."

But she grows more serious as he explains his side of things, how he feels about being Attuned and the Gods and all of that good shit. She smirks at his mention of bites. "Hm, yeah, the first and only time I've been bit, I punched Nate right in the nose. Don't think I like it very much but.. to each their own," she muses, taking a slow drag from her cigarette and this time being able to relish it. More seriously, she leans forward in her seat so that her elbow rests against her knee and she advises, "Be careful with Gideon. He's... incredibly racist, which you'd think means stupid but - not really," she squints her eyes and scoffs with disdain, "he doesn't even consider the Ascended actual people. Did you know he had something to do with the Voice's shrine being destroyed in Torchline? And you know what happens if the Ascended can't reach their... mother, I guess." Or whatever they considered her. "It doesn't surprise me the least bit that he's out there killing 'em outright, either. A man of action, that one." And she doubted that, if Wessex couldn't take him out in whatever little mission she was on, he wouldn't continue his violence. Thus, the importance of naming and shaming him publicly.

She can only hum her agreement about fear making people act in stupid ways. She could understand that personally, but people being afraid wasn't something she ever considered being able to avoid - not about the war, anyway. "They should be scared," she says quietly, a more sinister tone in her voice now, "if they aren't, it's because they've got little schemes of their own." She wiggles her fingers in a vague gesture at the mention of 'schemes'.

For some reason, Aurelia also doesn't think that Maeve would listen to Locke, so she doesn't say much on the topic of him speaking with her. It likely wouldn't matter, but she does give him an appreciative look. Which fades into some mixed emotions when he half-asks what their relationship even was. "I still don't really know what was between us," she admits, "I care about her. A lot. At first, it was about being there for her. Since you'd run off, you know..." she eyes him carefully, "but then we became queens together and now... well, now I just don't even think she really sees me anymore. You know what she said when I got back? She asked me 'what happened to the person I lost?' Nevermind everything I lost. Milo can barely even look at me now, most people thought I died... So.. no, it's not the same. And the fact she doesn't even trust me about Gideon?" She waves her hands in a dismissive gesture, over it, done with it.

looking in the mirror, drop of rum on my tongue
with the warning to help me see myself clearer

LOCKE

Driving faster in my car
Falling farther from just what we are

Locke holds his glass up with a scoff, "Cheers to bein' assholes." The rest of the glass is knocked back with a hiss before being set down. This time he just goes for the bottle, dropping whatever stupid decorum he thought he needed to have with her. He takes a swig, letting it seep into his bones. "Who is this fuckin' Oracle anyway.." He had been there but he hadn't seen anything, only heard. The chess bit makes him laugh, full bellied before he shakes his head. "Gods already playin' us like chess. Fuck, Safrin even got herself two queens. S'gotta be illegal or somethin'."

"Hey, he was the first to bite me too. Can't say I punched him though.." Quite the contrary honestly. It's almost embarrassing to think about now. "Gotta say I fuckin' love it. If I wasn't tied down, I'd probably just stay here and I dunno. Whore myself out for it." He should probably evaluate this budding addiction but he'd rather not. "Told you I was a masochist though." He gives her a little wink, despite how serious their conversation is. A long time ago, he'd told her the same thing. He wonders if she remembers.

Locke listens to what she says despite the growing fuzz in his brain. "I don't plan on taking any of this lightly." He may be prone to playing around, flirtation, all of that but this was serious and he could be serious. Probably. "I jus' gotta talk to him about what he plans to do with the Ascended. Should be easy enough. Sure he wants everyone to know. Plus, m'sure Maeve can write me up some kinda.. Letter or something. Make it official Torchline business. Plus, she might be interested to know about the shrine bein' destroyed. 'Specially if you witnessed it." He's mostly thinking outload right now. Politics have never been his forte and he plans to keep it that way.

"Fear fucks people up so much more than what they're afraid of, usually." He holds his hand out to her, wiggling his fingers in mimicry of her's. "Gimme one of your cigs. I'm out." And he needs a cig for this talk. The booze helps but not enough.

She talks of Maeve, ignoring his attempt at ignoring that line of thought. He frowns, turning away from her to look at the wall across from him. But he listens, even if it appears as though he doesn't. "Seems like I kept leaving pretty big voids in her life. You, Sunjata, Jack." His words are disjointed, thoughts not expressed as quickly as he's thinking them. "I think she's just scared. Like everyone. Especially after what happened with Sunjata. Maybe. I haven't seen her since I found out."

Locke's head rolls to one side, facing her again as he searches her face. He finds her gaze and attempts to hold it, "Well, you didn't lose me. Know it's not much of a consolation prize but.." He shrugs, turning back to the wall. "Joined the Ark too."

Smoke a cigarette and lie some more
These conversations kill