black licorice

// standing, stomping in the damage and the ruins of a slip of tongue //

“Now, unfortunately, I’ve found there’s very little, if anything, about us here.” He says with a wrinkle of his nose, glancing over toward the short blonde priestess with a sigh. He knows that heading toward the Atheneum had been cold, but he’s dressed up in a multitude of layers that he’s sure (just based on their previous commentary) Charlie hates, Astaroth certainly intends to look good while warding off the cold.

Tilting his head toward her though as they step in and a raging fire warms the area, he’s content to let her peruse. “I was contemplating changing that and you, my dear, have quite valuable and wonderful information regarding the times before even I joined the fun.” Namely, the sacrifices that Astaroth was all too interested in. That and the literal bloodbaths, which gods he’s been missing ever since returning to this new and not so improved Caido.

Astaroth

// with tragic consequences, i think that we've all made our gravest mistakes //

charlie

From the back, anyone watching the pair of ancients wander through the Atheneum might have thought them father and daughter, but only if they weren't looking terribly hard. Upon any sort of inspection, it was not only clear that Asta was as tall as Charlie was petite, but that no child had curves the way Charlie did, nor did they look up at their fathers with the sort of hungry appreciation the blonde showed for her counterpart. Or, they shouldn't, anyway.

For her part, Charlie had created an inferno around them as they walked; not close enough to singe their clothes, but enough to ward off the worst of the chill given she hadn't found anything warm enough on its own that was to her liking yet.

Tutting under her breath in agreement, Charlie flicked her tail idly as they strolled through the vast aisles of books. "Do you know why so much of our history has been written out, or lost? Or were you asleep, too?" Looking up (and up) into Asta's face, Charlie softly raised her eyebrows in the hope that the butcher might shed some light on why their goddess had faded into obscurity.

"Well, I'm always happy to help!" And gods if she doesn't just mean every word.

"How long were you asleep for?"

Walked in and dream came trued it for ya
Soft skin and I perfumed it for ya

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// standing, stomping in the damage and the ruins of a slip of tongue //

She’s truly a delight, Astaroth decides once again, as the heat is offered from the flame she’d conjured to get here, relieved when they step inside the Atheneum where the snow can’t reach them anymore. As such, he drifts toward the back with her, chatting idly about their history, before finding a space all to themselves amongst a few dusty rows as he sheds his outer coat, leaving him in a fine dark red vest.

“I was asleep too, unfortunately.” He hums with a sad twist to his sharp toothed smile, shrugging a shoulder as if to say it is what it is, but it’s also partially why he’s trying to figure it out now. And she’s more than willing to help, which has his smile broadening a little, a low chuckle leaving him as he inclines his head toward her. “You are wonderful, darling.”

As for how long he’d been asleep for, he clicks his tongue as he tries to pinpoint just what time he’d fallen into his slumber. “Mm, it was before the cataclysm, though I am unsure how long before that. At least over three hundred years.” He doesn’t know how long the years had gone on in his slumber before the cataclysm hit, but he does know it’s 317 at the present moment.

Astaroth

// with tragic consequences, i think that we've all made our gravest mistakes //

charlie

"You have the best fashion sense of everyone I've met so far." Charlie gushes, her gaze roving over the subtle sophistication of Asta's garments. The world had seemingly lost some of its magnificence and refinement since she'd last seen it, and though certainly there were fancy things like flying ships and Balls to attend, the blonde thought that something very precious had been lost in service of these advancements.

Not one to linger on the past, Charlie nods her head sagely in response to Asta's it-is-what-it-is effect. Change was inevitable, and hey! at least they got to wake up again. "No you." She beams up at him, crinkling her nose affectionately. Walking her fingertips across the spines of a few books, Charlie glances over her shoulder with the sort of frown that was somehow still a smile. "Cataclysm sounds so dramatic." She decides with a flick of her tail. "What even happened?"

Walked in and dream came trued it for ya
Soft skin and I perfumed it for ya

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// standing, stomping in the damage and the ruins of a slip of tongue //

“Finally, someone appreciates it.” He says with a sigh of relief, flashing her a brighter sharp toothed grin. “I have been trying for weeks to get Danta to participate and it’s like trying to give a feline a bath.” He lets his dramatic woes fill the air between them briefly, before more important manners are spoken of. Namely, how long he had been asleep and compliments. One that has her uno reverse card earning that same too sharp grin of appreciation.

As for what occurred, though, he sinks against the table a little, gaze drifting from her to the rows of books as he figures out where to start. “From what I have gleaned, it sounds as though an Acquired tried to rival Mort, Rae, and Vi when Caido and Dygra stepped away. So, if I recall correctly, they had a war that encased her in a barrier here in the Hollowed Grounds for three hundred years before she broke out. She made her own race, too, apparently. Cold, unfeeling things.” His nose wrinkles at the thought – only going off of things he’d read and Maea’s own recounts, he shrugs his shoulder surprisingly casually. “They had another war a few years ago between her and the old gods and their chosen. That is when Dygra woke.”

But enough of his story time, as he flashes her an easy grin. "How long had you been asleep before we found you?"

Astaroth

// with tragic consequences, i think that we've all made our gravest mistakes //

charlie

Rolling her eyes theatrically, Charlie nods in complete agreement despite her utter lack of context. "But with his bone structure? He could really pull off some looks." She agrees, and if ever there is a time when Asta needs help in trying to bathe this particular sour puss, Charlie will absolutely lend a hand.

For the most part, Charlie listened with rapt attention, though she did recoil visibly as Asta mentioned how the newly minted race was cold and unfeeling. "That sounds horrific. No wonder they wanted them all locked away." She mutters under her breath, looking properly horrified.

"So...do you know why Dygra went to sleep in the first place?" It sounded almost unbelievable to Charlie, though of course, she had no reason to think that Asta would mislead her so obviously. Obviously, she would go and see Dygra, and perhaps if she hadn't found an answer by then, she'd ask. Then again, perhaps not. Dygra was to be worshipped, not squeezed as a font of information.

"Ohh...well..." Twirling a strand of hair around her finger, Charlie puckered her lips as she tried to think. "When I lived, Caido was all still one continent. There was no such thing as Halo, or if there was, it wasn't anywhere near the Climb. I'd never even seen ice or snow before coming here." She explained, twitching her lips before her gaze refocused on Asta. "I think a really long time though, given how much everything has changed."

Walked in and dream came trued it for ya
Soft skin and I perfumed it for ya

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// standing, stomping in the damage and the ruins of a slip of tongue //

“Precisely!” Astaroth agrees with a surprising amount of gusto to hear her think the same regarding their beloved Theocrat. As it stands, though, talk of wars and unfeeling races that are more akin to robots (if he knew what those were), battling one another time and time again. His nose wrinkles in agreement before shrugging lightly. “Alas, Dygra gave some of the survivors of that race an ability to become Ancient like us. In fact, the two women that join Danta on his council came from such events.” It’s casual small talk, but to be noted all the same.

Whether he knows where she went to sleep, Astaroth shakes his head and stands, moving to take a seat at the dusty table, wiping it off before he procures a little journal and a pencil kept on his person. “I’m not sure. I think it has to do with Caido drifting away, too. Perhaps they had assumed that the main trio could handle it.” In Astaroth’s opinion, they thought wrong, given what all had occurred.

But he’s not here to talk about that. because she begins to mention how she’d come from a time where everything was together and not split up, and intrigue is immediately found in his face as he nods and jots down a little note about that particular information. “Ah, you aren’t missing much by having never seen snow before, my dear.” He drawls with a light little chuckle. “Halo existed when I was around, but it was far different than it is now. I come from an old village from there.” He shrugs a little and sets the pen down to look at her curiously. “Were you born Ancient or did you make the change?”

Astaroth

// with tragic consequences, i think that we've all made our gravest mistakes //

charlie

"Very gracious of her." With a sage nod, Charlie closes her eyes solemnly for a moment. "The other gods were always so fickle, but never Dygra. I honestly can't see why anyone wouldn't want to join her, especially after so many wars. I mean, why fight when you could just live within the things that bring you pleasure?"

Following along, Charlie plops herself down at the ancient's side and peers over his arm at the journal. Tutting under her breath at that, the blonde curled her tail around her legs where the heart-shaped tip flicked idly back and forth. "Born and raised!" She answered proudly, before quickly qualifying once she realized that, based on having lived in Halo, Asta couldn't have been born as one. "But, I mean, I'm jealous of those who get to choose to become one of us."

Running her fingers over the leathery edge of her tail, Charlie looked from the notebook back to Asta before leaning back into the chair. "What was it like?" She wrinkles her nose. "Did you change because of the snow?"

Walked in and dream came trued it for ya
Soft skin and I perfumed it for ya

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// standing, stomping in the damage and the ruins of a slip of tongue //

“That is entirely what I have been asking this entire time.” To those that wish to have other gods to speak to within the confines of the Grounds – namely Talyson, but there was a conversation with Maea about the same. They didn’t care, so why should the Ancients make room for them when they have Dygra here, all loving in her brilliant chaos?

Either way, content to have her sit beside him and read what he scribbles down – it isn’t much, but it does cover the information regarding what it was like beforehand, tidbits from what she’d shared with him. But it pauses when his question is aired and he looks over to her with a glimmer of amusement in his near-black eyes, humming a little laugh at her retraction as if realizing that he may take offense. He doesn’t.

In fact, if he were born Ancient, he may not have suffered in the ways that he had. “It was cold and snowy, but managed it better than if I were Ancient. It is not why I changed, though.” He starts to say, before remembering himself and the chiding received from Danta over not explaining his secrets all out in the open. But something tells him Charlie would approve, and as such he inclines his head toward her like it’s a secret they’re to share. “I was raised in a tribe of cannibals who had suddenly found a lack in dinner plans, so I left. As it turns out, the rest of Caido was not too welcoming of my preferences. I hadn’t known better, unfortunately, so it is of no surprise that I was captured and left to rot in the Climb to be eaten alive.” He unbuttons his top two buttons of his shirt, revealing a portion of the crisscrossed scars there, before he starts to button it up again. “Two Ancients found me out there and brought me to Dygra who welcomed me with open arms and remade me.” And he was all to grateful for it, the second chance at life.

“It has been the best thing I have ever done.” The grin sharpens, each sharpened tooth besides the fang on display for her to see just how grateful he was for their goddess.

Astaroth

// with tragic consequences, i think that we've all made our gravest mistakes //

charlie

Indeed, as if just hearing the scandalous ending of a tv show before it aired, Charlie's mouth dropped open and her eyes sparkled with rapt interest. "Very smart of you." Cannibals, she had no qualms with. Being eaten? Well, of course, that was rather nuanced, but even Charlie, with all her sunshine and sparkle, wouldn't let someone kill her just to save themselves. As he mentions being tied up and left in the Climb, the blonde can only press her lips together and nod, until suddenly her blue eyes sparkle anew—and almost with tears—at the mention of his being welcomed and saved by Dygra.

"That's the best. And just think of how strong all that stuff before made you??" She gushes, reaching around to curl her arms around his bicep to give him a little side-hug. "Honestly, that's pretty much better than being born into it, because it was your choice and you really know what the other side is like."

Releasing him, the blonde sits up, glancing around to ensure that their secluded bit of the library was still just as empty. "Danta mentioned how...y'know, people doing approve of cannibalism, which I get, but that other ancients have a problem with it as well?" Her dark eyebrows raise. "I just...I mean, it isn't cannibalism though. Ancients aren't like the other races. Sort of like how wolves aren't dogs, even if they look alike. It isn't cannibalism if a wolf eats a dog, it's just ... well, natural."

Walked in and dream came trued it for ya
Soft skin and I perfumed it for ya

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// standing, stomping in the damage and the ruins of a slip of tongue //

It’s a good thing he doesn’t like to eat Ancients, at least. Still, her reaction is even better than he was expecting as he offers his little tidbits, his sharp grin widening a little as she begins to gush about it. He isn’t expecting the touch, though, and tension flares for all but a second before Astaroth finds it comfortable, leaning in a little toward her as a soft laugh rumbles from his chest. “I had become quite a force back then.” He admits, humming a note under his breath before he continues. “Much of it has faded away in the slumber, though. It is slowly regaining.” He shrugs the opposite shoulder from her as casually as he can.

As for the mention of the acceptance, Astaroth ruefully shakes his head. “Unfortunately.” He drawls in a flat tone, as if bored by the notion that other Ancients didn’t understand it or wish to be a part of it. “My assumption is that they get too caught up on the feelings and the emotions of it. Even though, as you said, the wolf cares little for the dog’s feelings when they’re hunting.” His dark gaze drops to look at her with a raised brow, enjoying the metaphor for more than one reason, given the fyrhund shift in his blood.

“So, I have promised Danta not to make a scene.” It’s said with full dramatics, before he tuts his tongue a little. “And I have found ways to go about it in the meantime.” The clinics were frequented quite often by the butcher, but never for any impalements or pain.

Astaroth

// with tragic consequences, i think that we've all made our gravest mistakes //

charlie

"Could have fooled me." Charlie hums, giving his arm another little squeeze. From anyone else, the gesture might have seemed flirtatious, but given that the ancient was prone to turning every moment into an opportunity to bestow praise on those around her, Asta could easily assume she wasn't hitting on him.

Not that she wouldn't happily climb him like a tree should the opportunity ever provide itself.

"The wrong feelings and emotions, you mean." Charlie corrects with her own little huff. "They just need to embrace the chaos of it so that they can enjoy themselves. Do you know I heard someone say recently that they try and curve their bloodlust??" It's said blasphemously, which Charlie obviously thinks it is. "To think of it as just...as just eating. It's like they've forgotten how to take pleasure in the things they do."

Grinning darkly in agreement, the little ancient playfully snaps her teeth. "We used to lock some of our more unruly kin in whatever their most predatory shifts were, for weeks on end when they got too in their heads about things. All it took was getting back in touch with who and what they really were to set things straight."

With a little huff, Charlie rolled her eyes affectionately as she lifted one hand. "Can't dress himself, won't let you make a scene.." She puts down a finger each time, before waggling her eyebrows. "He certainly must make up for it somehow." And indeed, based on her tour of the Dusklight, she could already imagine the ways in which Danta did.

"Well if you ever need anyone to cover your tracks, I'm your girl."

Walked in and dream came trued it for ya
Soft skin and I perfumed it for ya

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// standing, stomping in the damage and the ruins of a slip of tongue //

Flashing her another grin, he leans a little into Charlie’s touch. “That’s the goal, darling.” And yes, to anyone that would watch it would come off as flirtatious, but there was genuine happiness in being in the petite woman’s presence and her bubbly personality that even Astaroth melts around – not that he’d wish for many to find out. He suddenly thinks that if she told him to jump, he would. And isn’t that a somewhat frightening thought for the butcher?

Her correction and huff are responded to with a hum of acknowledgement, Astaroth chuckling shortly after even as his nose wrinkles at the idea. “Terrible, I know.” He sighs woefully. “I think they tend to envision themselves as monsters should they give in.” Which they weren’t. Predators, of course, but monsters? No. Even if he jested recently about being a monster in the night. That’s beside the point.

Raising his brows as she offers her own tidbit, Astaroth whistles out a little impressed note, though he can’t imagine having ever been put into that situation. He wouldn’t, though, given that he’d never taken issue with satisfying himself with the bloodlust. In fact, he looked forward to it. “I had no idea one could lock another into their shift.” The glittering thoughts in his dark gaze seem to be quite open to the idea, though, the potential of it.

Not that he’d get any use out of it around here. And it seems like everyone and their mother had gore crow shifts and he wasn’t about to try and maneuver that.

“He does, in his own way.” Astaroth sighs, snorting a little agreement over Dantalion’s ability to dress himself. He’s pleased someone else has caught on. So much so that he reaches up with his other hand to squeeze her own that’s on his arm with an easy grin. “You will be the first call, Charlie. Though, something tells me you’d likely enjoy being there in the first place. Which I certainly can arrange.”

Astaroth

// with tragic consequences, i think that we've all made our gravest mistakes //

charlie

Adoring the Butcher for knowing when and what assets to hide and reveal as he saw fit, Charlie all but radiated her approval as she beamed up at him.

"And who decides what a monster is?" Charlie wonders, rolling her eyes. "The people who write fairy tales, that's who." Monsters weren't real; predators were, and many should absolutely be feared. The blonde was quite certain she was seated next to just such a one, but monsters?

"Mmhmm! We had collars that Dygra made." Charlie answered, about to suggest that she could show them all to Asta before swiftly recalling that everything about her past life had long since been crushed by stone or melted into the lava of the Climb. "It was a good way to defend against the Attuned, too. Some of the collars even had these switches on them, and you could flick through every shift that someone had, and then leave it set to whatever their least troublesome one was."  It ended up being some sort of bird shift, usually, and though eagles and ravens had claws that could remove an eye, it wasn't hard to chuck them into cages or burlap bags.

Her hand is infinitely smaller than his, and so there's little she can do but adoringly wiggle her fingers beneath his. Despite the charming little moment that might appear is taking place between them to anyone walking by, it's with a dark spark of feral hunger and mischief in her blue eyes that Charlie nods. "I would love that."

Walked in and dream came trued it for ya
Soft skin and I perfumed it for ya

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!