[SE] From dust to dust

So much for trying to get his courier station off the ground in Stormbreak on this trip.

The storms had made bringing the Peregrine to dock a nightmare exercise in getting blown up, down, and sideways before he was able to get her lashed down tight enough not to bang herself to pieces against the wharf. Even then, he'd had to battle the wind and rain all the way through town to deliver the packages he'd brought from around Caido to their recipients.

What he wanted was a hot drink and a warm bowl of something fortifying before he carried on, but as he pushed his way out of the Tower and back into the storm he didn't see much of anything nearby that would fit that bill. Boreal grumbled at his side, shoulders hunched and head down against the spray of water in her eyes as they forged into the street and Tal pulled his cloak tighter around his chin.

There was a break in the wind after a few dozen feet, and the courier straightened in relief. He looked up to see an imposing edifice that towered above them, all stained glass and spires, and after a moment's hesitation he shrugged and called out to his companion. "C'mon, girl. It might not be food, but at least it'll be dry for a bit."

Man and dragon made their way into the lee of the arched doorways and then pushed their way inside, dripping all over the nice stone floor as he tried miserably to wring the worst of it from his clothes before he slunk any further into the house of worship.

Boreal, of course, simply shed the water from her scales in a mighty shake that covered her human in fresh spray and left him looking like a particularly bedraggled dock rat, if a resigned one. "... Thanks, girl. Thanks a lot."

Koa

K O A

and they will shake their heads
and wag their bony fingers

The plan had been a fun night off, maybe an impromptu boxing match, but of course the rain had other ideas. Forced to duck inside the church or be washed away off the cliffs, the pair had chosen the former. Koa is hardly what one might consider pious. His work is his religion, the training field his church. But there comes a time in every young man's life when he must shelter from a storm, and where better to find solace in these dark hours of tumult than the house of the Gods?

No, seriously- Trinity Temple is a great place to wait out the rain.

It's quiet, for one.

The young Dragoon and his companion have taken over a pew, their combined lengths extending nearly the full length of the bench. Both are dozing, haven given up on getting to the Houses anytime soon, and it takes Koa a moment to realize someone else has come in. He debates not moving - isn't in the mood to put on a professional face - but then recognition has him blinking, a sly smile slipping over his face.

"It's considered very rude, being loud in a church." Koa rises and twists around toward Tal, arms draped over the back of the pew. "Gods need their beauty sleep, too." His grin is bright and teasing, though his dark mop of tousled hair betrays just who was actually getting that beauty sleep.

in all the wrong directions—
and by daybreak we'll be gone

Tal didn't jump as the admonition rang out behind him. He just... practiced a small bit of levitation. Yeah, that was it. It wasn't very effective since he wasn't an Abandoned, though, and he landed with at least a little bit of grace as he spun on his heel to face whoever had caught him talking to his dragon.

Who was smokily chortling at his discomfort, looking like the cat who'd eaten the canary.

"Sorry, sorry, I was just-- Hey! Koa!" The courier's eyes lit up as his heart did an interesting little flip flop in his chest. He sternly ignored both it and the way Boreal nudged his hip with her shoulder as she slid past him to pad towards the pew that held her noodly little friend.

Tal gave his own shaggy mane one last shake before he followed her, a tentative grin lighting up his face. "Oh yeah? You've gone an' fancied up as a demigod, then?" he asked, making a show of looking around and peering under the pew as he reached it. "Or have y'channeled some company for th'evenin'?"

K O A

and they will shake their heads
and wag their bony fingers

Koa's grin broadens at Tal's pirouette, the younger man thoroughly enjoying his good-natured fun. "Hey Tal. Boreal," he adds as the dragon circles around to the side of their pew, clearly hunting for Pip. The little catsnake lies splayed on her back, forearms outstretched above her head. She yawns sleepily at her friend, slithering and scooting without turning over until she's close enough to peer up at Boreal, claws raised in greeting.

Shaking his head indulgently at the dragons, Koa turns back to Tal. An eyebrow raises at the antics, the boy laughing off the idea that he'd ever even play at divinity. But channeling...? "Yup - prayed to Ludo and here you are!" He gestures broadly at Talyson, as though to say ta da! "Granted, I'd hoped for someone prettier, but I suppose you'll do in a pinch." Another laugh, Koa winking to soften the joke.

Koa scoots, giving Tal room to sit on the bench beside him, should he choose. "So what brings you to our fair city on this miserable evening? Wanted to take in the lovely weather? We've got storms, storms, and hey! More storms."

in all the wrong directions—
and by daybreak we'll be gone

Boreal crooned happily as Pip appeared in all her wriggly glory, and the big dragon sniffed the proffered claws, checking for treats before lowering her broad, blunt muzzle to gently touch her nose to the small, upside-down noodle's.

Tal had popped back up from his 'searching' in time for Koa to declare him the answer to his prayers - kind of - and the courier put on his best wounded look, clutching at his tunic over his chest. "Ouch! Everyone's a fuckin' critic lately," he pouted, pretending to pull an arrow from his heart. "An' here I thought my skin care regimen was perfect!"

Invisible arrows aside, Tal draped his dripping cloak over a nearby pew - shooting slightly guilty glances around to make sure no priests were going to protest - and plopped down beside Koa to run a hand through his shaggy hair, trying to push more water out. "Yeah, thanks for that. It's like y'knew I was comin' or somethin'." He snorted and then winced as a particularly loud crash of thunder shook the glass in the windowpanes. "Had a delivery in th'Tower, an' I was hopin' to poke around for some real estate, but..." He trailed off with a grimace before his expression shifted to one of mild consternation.

"Wait... did y'really pray to Ludo?"

K O A

and they will shake their heads
and wag their bony fingers

The Dragoon's laugh bounces through their section of the cathedral, earning a couple sharp of glances that Koa pays no mind. "Aww, I'm sorry. Need me to kiss it better?" Another chortle, though more subdued, Koa's copper eyes skimming thoughtfully yet thoroughly over the courier as he rounds the bench. "The real problem is your hair. I mean don't get me wrong, it's great, but when's the last time you got a haircut?" Tsking like a mother hen, the Dragoon shakes his head. "At least braid it back or something. You've got amazing eyes - let 'em out, then the girls will come running."

Supremely confident in his grooming advice (which, like, he can be. Look at him), Koa leans back into the bench, arms folded across his chest. He, too, winces as thunder menaces the windows in their sills. The boom is enough to startle Pip into full consciousness. Barking alarm at the unpleasant sound, the little dragon scrambles from prone up to her feet, hurtling herself like a shot toward the shelter of Boreal's wings.

And because his attention is on his dragon, he doesn't catch Talyson's oddly displeased glance. "Sometimes," the young man responds nonchalantly, shrugging as he turns back to his friend. "Safrin too, I guess. And Frey, when the need arises." All it takes is a lift of his eyebrows to confirm just what needs he's had arise.

in all the wrong directions—
and by daybreak we'll be gone

Tal blinked, feeling the tips of his ears turning red and furiously trying to ignore them as Koa's teasing was paired with a look that--

Well. Suffice to say Tal wasn't used to anyone give him that thorough a once-over and he couldn't stop himself from squirming self-consciously as he settled in beside the Dragoon. The next words out of the Breaker's mouth were more what he was used to, except what he thought was going to be an insult about his hair turned into a compliment he wasn't expecting, and the flush spread from his ears to the back of his neck as Koa plunged onward, blithely short-circuiting the courier who had frozen beside him.

"Wait, wh-- I just... a couple months, er, seasons ago, I think? I didn't-- I don't-- It's not... do y'mean it? About my eyes?" Tal had a rather glazed look on his face as too many compliments overloaded his ability to deflect them, but before his stuttered words could descend any further into gibberish the thunder jolted him back into a semblance of self-awareness.

Boreal had just come from the storm, and though she snorted hard in response to the rattling boom she stood her ground, providing ample coverage for Pip's retreat. Sensing her friend's fear the big dragon crooned, a deep bass rumble that vibrated from her chest almost like a purr.

Tal's scrambled brain reached back to latch onto the mention of the most challenging god he prayed to in a desperate bid to change the subject away from himself, and Koa obliged with an answer that had the courier nodding in cautious understanding, even if he had to suppress a laugh by turning it into a cough at the Frey-dian innuendo. "Uh... yeah. Guess I've called on all of 'em, too, one time or another."

Remembering where they were, Tal glanced around and then ducked his head sheepishly, fingers dipping towards the bag tied securely to his belt. "I've actually got somethin' t'do for Ludo. While we're talkin' d'you mind if I...?"

K O A

and they will shake their heads
and wag their bony fingers

Poor Talyson, unwitting victim of Koa's not-so-secret weapons: flirtation, charm, and total oblivion. I mean, sure, he's aware of the effect he can have on people when he's trying to, but sometimes? Sometimes Koa just forgets to turn it off, and that's how we wind up here.

He laughs again at Talyson's glazed stuttering, thoroughly bemused by this reaction. "Sure I do. C'mon, you can't tell me you don't know." A playful kick lodged toward Tal's calf shows what Koa thinks of all this modesty. "Tell ya what, once this rain lets up I'll take you to my barber. By the time he's done you'll be all ready for a night on the town."

But the rain shows no sign of letting up soon, if the thunder outside is to be believed. So the conversation turns to talk of gods, an area where Koa is admittedly not well versed. "I mean, it's what they're there for, right? Though I've not actually seen Frey, and Ludo always makes me feel like I'm about to be turned into a doll and forced to join an eternal tea party." He shudders, grimacing. "At least Safrin seems.... actually, no. She's definitely the most dangerous one." A gorgeous, powerful, seductive woman? Koa knows his weaknesses, and it's that.

Looking back in time to see Talyson's sheepish expression and his hand drifting toward his pants, Koa feels his own ears heating as his eyebrows ascend to astronomical heights. "Uhh, doesn't really seem like the time and place, but if the gods command..." It's his turn to be flustered now, this whole thing having taken a very unexpected turn. Also seems more like a Frey thing, but man. Who is he to judge?

in all the wrong directions—
and by daybreak we'll be gone

Unwitting victim, maybe, but not unwilling. Eventually, when he had time to process all the nice things Koa was saying about him, he'd be on cloud nine to hear that someone liked his hair and eyes. At the moment the Dragoon might have hit him over the head with one of the elegant candelabras nearby and gotten a similar result of a stunned and stuttering courier.

He didn't even try to avoid the kick, though the playful roughhousing helped to ground him a bit. This, he knew and could deal with, and he reached up to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. "A barber, huh? I've never had a professional haircut before." Which was rather obvious in how it looked like he took his own knife to his shaggy mane once a year or so. Mirror optional. "I guess I could give it a try..." Though it might take awhile for the storm to slacken.

Was it what they were there for? Tal's religious education had largely focused on appeasing them when he was younger, but in more recent years there was certainly no lie in Koa's words. "Safrin's nice," he protested. 'Well... mostly. She's done good by me, at least." Though he'd certainly heard the stories from others about what happened when Safrin wasn't feeling so accommodating... "Ludo's been the scariest one. It's always tellin' me t'go get beat up an' shit." He grimaced at the memories, most of them painful to either body or pride. "I gotta fight someone blindfolded this time around. Out of 'em all, I think Frey's my favorite." A slow, cautious opinion, spoken as if he was testing the words to decide whether or not they were true.

Tal could be just as oblivious in his own way, and he missed the look on Koa's face while he was distracted by his pouch. "Yeah, I know, feels a little sacrilegious just pullin' it out in a temple," Tal grimaced, fingers sliding into his Bag and feeling around for a moment before retrieving the bottle of Dreamtdust and a dry rag. "Not really a place for weapons, y'know?" His Dagger was unsheathed next, and he balanced it on his knees as he uncorked the bottle. He poured a thin stream of the Dust onto the blade and then began to rub it into the metal as they spoke. "But I figure, since it's a task from a god, that makes it okay, right?"

K O A

and they will shake their heads
and wag their bony fingers

"I'll take blindfolded fighting any day," Koa counters with a laugh, folding his arms behind his head as he leans back in the pew. "Heck, that's just a normal Tuesday for me." At the idea that Frey would be Tal's favorite, the boy raises a brow. "Oh? Wouldn't have pegged you for Frey worshipper." There's a new amount of speculation in his face as he glances back toward Talyson, though it quickly devolves into understanding as realization strikes. "Wait- or do you mean nature  Frey? Eh. Not my kinds of birds and bees." He shrugs dismissively, though not without a laugh.

Again there's something akin to disappointment as Talyson pulls out not his dick, but a knife. Not that Koa's been particularly keen to get the Messenger undressed, but it certainly would have made for an interesting afternoon. Instead the Dragoon watches in bemusement as Tal pours dust (?) onto the unsheathed blade, then begins to rub it into the metal as though it were polish.

"I get the impression the heralds are pretty weapon friendly." He leans forward to inspect more closely, swiping a bit of dust onto his fingertip. Raising it up to his face, the young man inspects the grime with interest, rubbing the grains between his fingers. "What's this quest for, then? Gonna give your enemies sneezing fits?"

in all the wrong directions—
and by daybreak we'll be gone

"Huh, guess it would be a good part o' soldier trainin'." Tal tilted his head to the side, looking Koa over with more than just his usual fluster over how handsome the younger man was. There was a different glint of consideration in his pale eyes, but as he opened his mouth to ask--

This time the innuendo struck home, and the courier was overcome with a sudden fit of coughing and laughter, both of which he tried to muffle so as not to disturb anyone else in the chapel, and not succeeding terribly well at it.

"Yeah... yeah, Nature Frey," Tal finally managed to wheeze out, ducking his head in embarrassment against the glares of the elderly couple seated at the far front of the room. "I'm guessin' you're more of a sexy-Frey kinda guy, then?"

Given that sex Frey had saved his life once, Tal was a fan of the god in all their aspects, but nature Frey would always hold a special place in his heart.

The dust was scintillating and strange as he worked it into his Dagger, and though Tal wrinkled his nose in annoyance at Koa's handsiness with his loot, it wasn't like he didn't have enough to spare a guy a pinch. "Yeah, that's it," the courier agreed with a soft snort of his own, careful not to send the Dust flying. "Extra painful ones!" He flipped the Dagger over, its hare-foot charm flopping over to the other side of his thigh as he began to coat the other side of the blade. "It's s'posed to give my knife an extra edge. Do a bit more damage'n it already does, y'know?" He flicked a glance over at the Dragoon, curious in spite of himself. "What about you? What's your weapon o' choice?"

Besides that debonair grin and dangerously lethal six-pack.

K O A

and they will shake their heads
and wag their bony fingers

"I mean... let's just say I've had more occasion to make use of their sexy skills." Koa smirks, though there's color darkening the curve of his ears. Again a brow brushes his hair as he tilts his head toward the wheezing Talyson. "Though I have yet to full on channel during sex - not to toot my own horn, but I've been told I have some natural talent. Maybe one of these days." Who knows, could be fun.

Wholly oblivious to Tal's displeasure (or willfully ignoring it). "I find the most painful sneezes are the ones that follow a cracked rib," the Dragoon observes, his wince conveying a level of personal experience. Copper eyes track the knife as it's flipped on Talyson's thigh, open admiration for the blade evident in his face. Koa knows his weaponry, and this is a finely wrought piece of steel. "Ludo's work?" he wonders, jaw jutting toward the blade.

As for his weapons of choice? "I like to be hands on." He extends his arms in front of them, displaying the scars and callouses that litter the back of his hands. "Though I'm actually due to go back to Safrin for something that'll extend my reach. Hard to punch an enemy when he's ten feet away."

in all the wrong directions—
and by daybreak we'll be gone

"Oh yeah?" Which was about the extent of what Tal knew what to say to that particular revelation as his ears burned and only the fact that his hands were busy kept one from rising to scrub furiously at the back of his neck. "Maybe... sure would be somethin', I guess." It sounded impressive, sure, but the risk of being overshadowed in bed by a god seemed a little, well...

Let's just say Tal had enough self-confidence issues without adding that particular level of inadequacy to them.

Talk of weapons and wounds was, weirdly, much safer for the courier and he relaxed a little as Koa made his painful observation. "Cracked or broken," Tal agreed, flicking a glance at the other man's face and trying not to preen at the look of appreciation the Dragoon was directing at his Dagger. "We should trade scar stories sometime. An' th'Dust is, yeah, but the blade itself? All Frey." The revelation was delivered with a hint of a grin as he brushed a caressing knuckle over the blink hare foot charm, the diamond pommel stone, and the crimson veins along its sharp blade.

He paused in his polishing to look over at Koa's weapons, brows rising in appreciation at both the casual flex and the scarring of a real warrior. "Huh. Yeah, I was runnin' into th'same problem with my dagger," the courier agreed, a flicker of a rueful grin kicking up the corner of his lips. "If y'need help with anythin' she sets you for it, just lemme know." A pause as he finished coating the blade, resting it on his thigh as he finally spared a glance towards the front of the church, his voice growing more quiet. "Any idea when Safrin'll be back?"

K O A

and they will shake their heads
and wag their bony fingers

"Frey, huh? Who'd've thunk." Maybe Koa's been sleeping on the duality god, assuming their primary role in his life would be relegated to sex. With the ability to make a blade like that... He hums speculatively, eyeing the knife with new appreciation. "What's it do, anyway? Besides cut real good."

Never one to shy away from admiration, Koa flexes once more for Tal's enjoyment. But talk of combat centers the soldier, quells jokes and grins into studious segments. "Daggers, fists... it's similar vibes. Both take intimacy to wield. Makes it so you have to mean it, when you land a hit." He's looking at those fists as he says it, at the swollen knuckles and littered scars betraying a storied history of said intimacy. For Koa his fists are his livelihood, the things that give him value. Of course he's got a complex about them. Who can blame him, really?

"I need to try a couple odd fighting techniques out, if you wanna get that blindfold on." There's the smile and laugh again, the sunlight never far from his eyes. Though it dims again at Talyson's hush, the young soldiers face taking on a cast of almost childlike uncertainty. "I dunno. The priests... well, they just say to have faith, but that doesn't answer much, does it?" The air quotes and wrinkle of his knows show how much stock he puts in said sermons. "Maybe Ronjn, her demigod, knows more? He's a Dragoon, you know," he adds with pride, copper eyes twinkling and chest slightly puffed.

in all the wrong directions—
and by daybreak we'll be gone