zauneyete | KENOS IC CONTACT

KENOS IC CONTACT

SILCO

CONTACT

WRITTEN ◦ ACTION ◦ COMMUNION

[ Communion with Silco is like being doused in cold, polluted water. It feels like taking a breath is difficult, like there's fingers around your throat, pain all over. The water is too-slick like it's almost more pollutants than water, and the water crashes against you, inescapable, even if you were to somehow find the ability to breathe, there is still no escape from the sickening undertow. Somewhere, perhaps deeper in the water, or something else, is a simmering, vile hatred, resentment, and it feels like it should be hot enough to make the water around you boil, even if it's almost too-placid, and too cold. Like all of this hatred is buried deep. Then again, the fact that it feels so close means it must burn so hot. ]

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[ Any negative reaction Silco had had to his friendly little shoulder clap had either gone unacknowledged or ignored; he's probably gonna do it again whenever the moment strikes him. Just a fun part of knowing Amos,

But at least he has a real excuse for not catching any of Silco's recreation to his airflow being cut off — too focused on getting it back, Silco out of sight and out of mind until things went back to normal.

Or maybe this was just his new normal now. Either way. Whatever.

Amos meets Silco's eyes, their movements met with something solid and ultimately unaffected. Annoyed, if anything, but he can be cordial enough in answering. ]

Nah. Strangled a guy to death back when that tree was fucking with us though. [ He says it with the same cadence as one looking over a city map, since that's kinda where his mindset is already shifting to. Sometimes a tree tells you to make a sacrifice and you kill someone with your bare hands; these things happen. ] I guess it wasn't happy with that, even though it said we could kill someone. [ And then, petulantly, ] Not like anybody even died for real, anyway.

[ Not like Silco has died for real; not like Amos has, either. They're both still here, right? It's no big thing. He just has to deal with getting choked out every now and then by some kind of tree spirit; doesn't change the fact that he's absolutely ready to murder that dryad. ]

[ Silco had often thought of Amos as a... similar individual to someone from his past. Not quite as large, but... the demeanor, the thirst for violence, it always brought back a tinge of haunted memory to the man. Like there was a ghost of someone else there. Except that ghost was real, and that ghost had just choked him out in the markets. That ghost was present, and real, and that made what Amos said put Silco even more on edge.

Ironic, that the two of them had both so recently strangled someone to death. Silco could still feel it -- imagined it -- and the chill of his shard was enough to give him pause, and make him tremble with the reminder of it. Of the anger and hate that bubbled up, and his hand throbbed in time with the rest of it -- because he would have his revenge, it was certain at this point. As long as he had time.

It does little to soothe the feeling of apprehension he felt, the hatred. It hadn't been him that had been choked by Amos, but it's too close, too soon. ]

Under the tree with the dryad? [ He asked. ]

Hm. It is an...unpleasant way to go, I hear. Whether it isn't real or it is. As I'm sure you can imagine, now.

[ He knows, intimately, what it is like. What it feels like to have ones brain go blank, for the air to leave, to lose all semblance of control, sight, smell, each sense dying off in succession.

He knows, and it is... something he would never wish to have happen to him again. ]

[ ... Something's up with Silco.

What, Amos has no clue; he knew the man had died recently, but didn't know how, or by whose hands. Either way, that's probably why he seems on edge, but the way he seems... more on edge? Just talking to him? It's completely different from the way their conversation in the library had gone, when Amos had been trying to suss Silco out and the man had remained unflappable.

Weird. ]

Yeah, the tree. [ He knows there's a difference between the dryad and the actual tree itself — he's just gonna keep calling it a tree anyway because like. It was in a tree. So,

Amos cocks his head, looking at Silco with an unflinching gaze. These are all things he'd have never expected from the man — it's almost like a sense of empathy, talking about how bad being strangled is. Huh.

And then he breaks the moment, letting out a small sigh as he dips his head, brings a hand up to rub almost sheepishly at the back of his neck. ]

Unpleasant, huh? Shit, and I was trying to make the guy's death painless. [ Welp, might've fucked that one up. Sorry Dextera. ] I mean, I lived in space. Sometimes you lose air. Part that pisses me off here is I can't do anything about it. Airflow runs out, you swap in a new tank. Someone's choking you, you fight them off. Here I got some kind of ghost with tree hands choking me, and I just gotta stand here and take it.

[ He almost scoffs; really, though, he's still more annoyed than anything else. Not stressed out; certainly not now that the moment has passed. He's just... irritated. ]

I'm gonna kill that fucking thing.

[ And that's that, as far as he's concerned. ]

[ Isn't it terrible, when you can't fight them off? Silco appraised Amos for a long moment, wondered if he knew what he was saying? Wondered if he understood what precisely he was getting at? After Vander had choked him out in a way he could not fight off, he knew what it was, to not be able to stop it. No stabbing, no fighting, none of it had worked.

His eyes drifted, away from Amos for a moment.

Similar to when he'd been young, the obsession with it, the disdain from it -- he had felt hated when Vander deigned to strangle him on the street, like he needed to be quashed and removed -- like a dirty little thing that should be tossed away.

He forced himself to focus back on the other man. Forced himself to smile, his fake, placid smile. The one he used for enforcers and the council's investigators. No, Amos was nothing like Vander, he decided. He had thought to be doing a kindness to someone, not... wicking them from the map. ]

I agree. I have found... my own side-effects from our encounter with the dryad.

[ It had, in fact, kept him from being able to deal with Vander in the way he knew how. Used his shimmer to slip his fingers to skin and make a beast to deal with the hound. ]

I do hope we're given the opportunity to Burn that thing to the ground.

[ His tone turned violent. Just as much as Vander had hindered his time here, so had the Dryad. ]

[ Amos remains blissfully clueless as to the intricacies of Silco's past few days. All he can do is speak for himself. If you can't physically fight someone off, it means you're dead. And yet he's made it this far — they both have, despite Silco's five-day interruption — so, yeah, you know. You fight the other guy off.

It does not click in his head that Silco being unable to fight the other guy off would have been responsible for said five-day interruption. He's so far removed from the incident itself, from the concept of death being anything meaningful that he's just patiently humming along, waiting for Silco to come back to him.

And when he does — when he offers that fake smile to him — Amos reciprocates it with an empty one of his own. Something had happened there, something Amos wasn't privy to, but the way Silco has forced his composure back, he can't help but think, I see you.

He's not unflappable, after all. That's good to know, to keep in his back pocket — especially since they're both intent on spending more time in a place like this.

But that's for the future, and this is now. Now, where they have a common enemy again. They can work well together. They'll probably just have to find a new way. ]

Yup. Think we'll get it. [ The opportunity. Amos' voice turns chipper as that violence slides into Silco's; more than anything else, this feels like home. Doesn't matter where they are, but the promise of violence is always where he feels the most comfortable, and they're going there now. ] Yima'll help us, and then we won't have to deal with that shit again.

[ And really, that's good enough for him. You kill something, and it's over with; that's how it works. It's rarely anything more than that. ]

[ Silco's eyes flicked to his face, two black pools that appraised the man curiously. He had, after all, not thought of Yima as someone to be so involved, but here was Amos, devout as ever to whoever was in charge. He shouldn't be surprised, he supposed, that he'd latched onto Yima in a similar way that he had the last leader, but at least this one wouldn't quite squander his loyalty.

Silco's lip curled into a ghost of a smile. ]

Oh yes, but I have a few things up my sleeves to help us, regardless.

[ Jinx had promised a burning woodchipper, and he very much intended for his daughter to get to use it on the dryad. ]

We intend to kill it, and that's all that matters, isn't it? [ He tipped his head, in the direction of the exit. ] You might need to find something that packs a punch, if we intend to deal with it.

[ Oh, but that look, those words have Amos' attention right back, reminding him of the dichotomy between them. Could he kill Silco here and now? Sure, but that wouldn't get him anything — especially when Silco's more of an ideas man than he is.

He cocks his head. ]

You got something in mind? [ Because it sure sounds like he does. ] 'cause I'm kind of in wait and see mode there. Couldn't tear it apart; kinda doubt that a gun would do a whole lot against it, even if I could get a good one in time. I keep going back to some kind of axe, but honestly, not like I've been around trees and wood and whatever a whole lot. Something's gotta be able to cut that fucker down, though.

[ Ah, now this is where Silco had plans, of course. Well, they weren't his plans, actually. They were Jinx's. He had no doubts that they would find a way, because between Silco and his shimmer, Jinx's brains, and Amos's strength?

How could that thing hold up against them? ]

I do. If you think your guns won't do much, I have...alternative plans. [ A beat. ] Maybe a woodchipper.

[ Another pause. ] Maybe it'll light it on fire.

[ Hey, he wasn't the genius inventor, that was his daughter. ]

[ what ]

You've got a woodchipper that also lights things on fire?

[ At first, he's ready to point out that that kind of seems like overkill, but... maybe it isn't, actually? Considering how they really do need to make sure that thing is dead, and that seems. Pretty thorough, actually, so Amos' initial baffled expression turns thoughtful turns into a nod. ]

Probably wanna light it on fire away from the actual tree though, right? Since I'm pretty sure we don't want to burn the whole thing down.

[ It's kinda important; surely Silco knows that better than most.

Though that just brings up a whole other question... ]

That thing sure seemed like it was part of the tree. What's the plan for extracting it and putting it in the woodchipper?

[ He's just going with this now; the woodchipper totally exists and will definitely be available for them. It'd be real weird of Silco to mention it otherwise. ]

[ Look. Jinx had promised a flaming woodchipper. Silco will look real foolish if Jinx doesn't deliver, won't he?

It's probably a testament to how much he trusts his daughter, that he says it like it's fact -- because normally, when she puts her mind to something, she simply does it. ]

It's in progress, but I don't doubt it will be ready, but yes, we'll keep it away from damaging the tree.

[ Did he care about the tree? Only as far as it brought him back to life. Other than that? Not really, but he understood the logic in it. ]

As for how to get it from the tree... [ His face twitched, slightly. That was the question, wasn't it? ] Without further experimentation, we'll all be doing this on the fly -- unless Yima offers us more information.

[ Silco will absolutely look foolish if it turns out there's no flaming woodchipper. Either there is one and Amos carries on like normal, or there isn't one and he's gonna be shooting him a lot of what the fuck looks until he gets an explanation.

Or think Silco's a little insane, and not the fun kind. That might be on the table too. ]

Looking forward to it. [ No point in assuming anything other than it being real at this time!

At the idea of Yima giving them more to work with, though, Amos smiles. It's light but fond. Confident. ]

'course she will. Otherwise what's she getting out of this? If she wanted us to be cannon fodder for a tree we would be already. Doesn't make any sense to leave us twisting in the wind, so she won't.

[ Look, he may be loyal to a fault, but there's a logic he operates by. Yima won't send them in blind because she's a better person than that — but also because it makes no sense to risk your people over something so avoidable. And she cares about her people, so it's fine. It'll all work out like it's supposed to. ]

[ This, at least, Silco can appreciate.

Amos is correct, in his logic, he thinks. Shard bearers are not common here, and the amount of power and ability that they can amass is beyond normal, even for the unusual beings here. It is something to be kept safe, and he remembered the way she had spoken about Silco being dissipated.

She had not been happy -- perhaps even some of that displeasure was with him.

He did not foresee that she would squander them. ]

Correct. There would be no use in that. However, I do hope that the beast isn't... given the opportunity to skitter away.

You know how some of those among us can...struggle. With doing what needs to be done. [ A beat, a moment of weight in his tone. ]

Not like you and I, of course. We have no qualms with such things.

[ Amos hums, lone and toneless, as he takes a second to gaze at their surroundings with blackened eyes. They've only just begun to exist in this space — or at least, he's pretty sure Kowloon is relatively new for Silco too — but there is something to the way the both of them immediately fit in, something to the way that they're both likely to spend a fair bit of time here worming their way into their respective corners, and something to the way that not everybody of their ilk will be able to say the same.

Eyes back on Silco's. ]

Yeah. I wouldn't worry about it though. What're the chances any of them get to it, and someone like us doesn't? That thing isn't getting away; one way or another, it's gonna die.

[ A beat, a tilt of his head. ]

You anticipating trouble?

[ Because if his tone is anything to go by, Amos certainly isn't. ]

Hm.

[ He said, and it's the sort of tone that said 'yes', but that was vague enough that it gave Silco time to think of the right words.

Of course he was expecting trouble, because he had been a man recently murdered on the streets. Of course, just like with the Thing from Horos, he expected no end to the danger here too, but he'd thought himself wiser, more cautious, and more adept at dealing with the odd, supernatural, and overpowered that they had to deal with here.

And all it had taken, of course, was an arm around his neck for long enough, and he'd died in the street, like something disgusting, to be thrown out with the trash. ]

There are plenty about that could get into our way. They may even try to beat us.

I suggest we are cautious, when we go for it. Let's just say I have experience, with some of our newer arrivals, and they may get in the way.

[ Vague enough that it would leave him guessing, perhaps, but Silco certainly had been on edge. ]

[ Amos remains oblivious to Silco's obvious trauma when it comes to being murdered in the middle of the street. He came back to life, didn't he? What's the problem? Just kill the guy who killed you and move on.

... Though come to think of it, Silco personally killing anyone might be a little tough, just because. Look at him. Amos is pretty sure he could literally snap him in half if he wanted to. (And despite them being in a street and Amos being of similar build to a certain someone, he does not want to.)

He quirks an eyebrow, not really sure what the problem is here. ]

Someone gets in our way, then we kill them too. The tree needs to be kept safe; it can't be as long as that thing's running around in it. Someone doesn't understand that, then they can die with the dryad. [ A beat. ] The kind of person who'd want to protect that thing probably has a problem with killing anyway, so shouldn't be too hard to get rid of them while we're at it.

[ C'mon man, this is easy stuff. They've got nothing to worry about. ]

[ Amos. He Did kill him. That's the whole problem here. Revenge works two ways.

Silco looked him up and down, and shook his head, one eye closed for a brief moment -- the other always moving, always watching -- as if Amos's simplistic view of it was the way to go.

Perhaps it was, too.

After all, if anyone else was going to be involved, and they were going to get in their way... well, Silco certainly wasn't going to hesitate. He would slit someone's throat if they tried to hold him back again, and there was a high possibility they would encounter someone who didn't want to deal with the creature.

Amos and he, though, were used to these beasts by now. They needed to be culled. ]

I suppose it can be that simple, can't it? [ His eyes flicked to Amos, now. ] Just keep one eye opened, and make sure you anticipate anyone trying to hold us back, hm? No need to be overconfident.

[ Kill him better next time?? Though if he knew the full story, he'd say maybe everyone should get over it, since clearly they're even now. But Amos isn't close to knowing even the half of it, so,

He inclines his chin at Silco's look, waiting. Wouldn't be surprised if he was missing something here, but murder really is an efficient way at solving a lot of problems. If he's missing something — doesn't matter. He's already got his plan of attack, loosely speaking.

Except Silco's relatively easy agreement throws him, a look of surprise flitting across Amos' face before he lowers his chin, looks back at Silco properly again. They're on even ground. In some ways, they're one and the same.

Well alright then. Amos' smile is easy, empty. ]

Sure thing. Don't need any dead weight dragging us down. I can handle it.

[ It's a balancing act — his faith in Yima, his remembering what the dryad is capable of. They will kill it, and everything'll be fine afterwards, but it's the actual event itself that remains to be seen, and that's the bridge they gotta actually cross still. That, and everything that'll come along with it. ]

Let me know if you got any ideas to deal with things, too. [ Since there are apparently things Silco is anticipating that Amos isn't. ] You know, beyond the flaming woodchipper.

Oh, I'm sure I'll have a few, once we have a timetable. I've been doing some reading, taking some notes...

[ These days it's impossible to stay too far from Highstorm for long. There is a point at which it aches, and he can do nothing but scamper back toward the city, tail between his legs, the draw in his shard, and the ever-increasing cold irritating to the point that he must return.

He wants to stay down here, in this city, where the streets are packed, and there's a thrumming energy that Silco can't help but want to lay his fingers on the pulse of. It's so similar to the undercity that he can feel it, the draw, but the pathways here take too long, and the discord continues to hold him back. He will have to achieve a solution, although Yima had done him the favor of staving off the worst of it. That only does so much, when he wants to stay here, in this thriving undercity, filled with every debauchery known to man. ]

Don't worry, it won't just be the woodchipper. That's not my invention, but I have every faith in the builder.

[ It will not be there. It's too big to teleport with them, apparently. ]

[ He cocks his head, genuinely curious. ]

You'll have to let me know when you got something, then.

[ Will Silco? Hell if Amos knows; he'd consider the odds about 50/50. There's no doubt in his mind that Silco's going to want to hold onto some trade secrets, but then again, he's smart enough to know not to withhold everything from a potential ally — and as long as they're both Zenites, that's what they are in his eyes.

Amos wants to spend more time here, too. He wants to be here throughout the days; he needs the time to work his ins, to find that pawn shop, to establish himself. It's a completely different world here — he isn't a little boy on the streets of Baltimore, nor is he a teenaged grunt. For the first time, there's potential for him to have his own agency in a place like this — somewhere that he recognizes is comfortable, because now in addition to knowing the rules, he has the size and the strength to back himself up. He can make his place here, he can use it as it's meant to be used, and it can be all for him.

So he powers through the discord until he recognizes he's too on edge, until he recognizes his irritability and discomfort is going to make him say the wrong thing to the wrong person, and then he retreats. He's testing his limits every day because he has no other choice; because he's been through worse.

He reaches up to give Silco another friendly little pat on the shoulder; time for him to get exploring again. ]

Well, as long as you got faith. I should probably meet 'em one day.

[ Surely not having the woodchipper there is literally the most distrustful and dishonest thing Silco will ever do in his life. ]

[ He snorted. Little did he know, of course, that Amos had already had an encounter with Silco's genius daughter. ]

Right. I'm sure it will happen. Now, I'm sure you have plenty of places that you have to search out, just like I do.

[ His lip curled, and he looked over the crowd. As much as he was nervous -- perhaps even afraid - of finding others from topside down here, he too had plenty of connections to make. Plenty of strings to pull, and people to talk to. Similar to Amos, Silco had not been down here his entire life, he didn't know the faces of every major player, and every person who he could manipulate. He would have plenty of opportunities, but he wanted to beat any other players down here.

He had the wits, he would soon find the product, but he wanted top be established well and before he saw too many down here. ]

By the way, I'd recommend being ... cautious about who you bring down here, hm? Make sure you vet them, properly before we start sharing Kathova's secrets. I don't know about you, but I don't want this place getting...pushed toward some of our fellow new arrivals in Meridian.

[ Not that he thought Amos's resolve was lacking, but perhaps those he would choose to share with. ]

[ Amos does have his places to sort out, his ins to make, his good — relatively speaking — company to find. The sooner he did that, the easier things would eventually be. It's all good.

He gives Silco a blank sort of smile, had been just about to take his leave when he'd added that addendum. ]

You run into trouble with the Meri's already? That who killed you? [ It's rhetorical; he knows better than to expect a real answer to that question. ] Shit, you don't got anything to worry about with me. I got a reputation of my own to formulate here, I'm not gonna get that all fucked up for myself by bringing down anyone who don't belong here.

[ Although they are in Springstar, so who knows. There'll probably be some of the newer members of Meridian finding their way down here at some point. He doesn't think he's met too many of them, but there'd bound to be some that'd fit right in down here.

Maybe that Vander guy. Maybe it's just because they share an aspect and seemed to reach an understanding and mutual respect that much quicker than most, but he seems pretty cool. ]

Anything's game as long as it doesn't draw anyone's attention above, right? 's all gonna be good down here.

[ Amos, if you bring Vander down here you will literally cause so many problems. So uh. Don't do that. ]

I should hope so, and yet... you know that eventually we will have to fight them, yes? The Meridian-aligned will look for any advantage they will find, and what better advantage than finding some of Zenith's more loyal types down here?

Put us in Ryad, and just... let nature work it out, hm? There are plenty of ways that this could go badly, and I have too many irons in the fire to worry about them. It only takes one that won't play by the rules.

[ Well, Silco's thinking of two Meridian-aligned individuals in particular. It shouldn't be surprising that he's focused on that, given that he does think Amos wouldn't bring down a troublemaker, but he still feels the need to make it clear. Vet them, carefully. He'd already brought Jinx and Kaeya down, obviously, and then there would be Sebastian, but there were no others that he would trust -- and honestly, he doesn't trust Sebastian -- he doesn't want to take the chance.

He doesn't need to deal with being killed down here, where his shard will be stomped on quicker than it could be picked up, and he cannot put Jinx through that again. His relationship with his daughter, as much as Silco talks about her in vague terms -- albeit affectionately -- is tenuous enough after his death as it is. ]

Just be certain, is all I would advise. Think of it as one concerned Zenite to another, hm?

[ A couple of weeks after this run-in, Silco might feel a chill in the air, even if he doesn't understand why.

But a small frown makes its way onto Amos' face at the mention of Ryad — contemplative, the very beginnings of an idea starting to form there, but that's all they are — beginnings. There's no urgency on his end; not when everything's going well, not when he's got himself firmly under control, not when there's any hint of that being disrupted. Yes, they'll likely come to blows against the Meridian at some point, but that's not now.

He's more interested in the part where Silco plays the loyalty card, and that makes Amos' smile that little bit wider, that little bit more real. ]

That's why we get ourselves established here first. I know shit's gonna go down at some point, but we got the head start. I haven't seen anyone else I know down here, and I don't know of anyone else who'd instinctually know how this place works. You probably know how to make yourself invaluable, right? You do that, won't matter what any Meri tries with you. Just make sure you trust your bodyguards.

[ ... It's said with the air of a joke, because it is one to Amos, even though he knows Silco won't get it. Just, you know. Sometimes you manage to get audience with the head of a criminal organization and then you kill him with your bare hands. Doesn't matter how invaluable you are if the right (or wrong) person gets to you first.

Except he also. Might be volunteering, on the whole bodyguard thing. The whole loyal Zenite thing is an easy way to get him, after all. ]

Me, I know I'm disposable — [ he grew up on the streets and was never destined for leadership. Of course he is, Silco should understand that — ] but I figure I got a better shot at surviving Ryad than you do.

[ No boasting, just facts. He does. Silco should understand that, too. ]

[ "Make sure you trust your bodyguards", he says, to a man who trusts literally nobody.

Silco's lips flickered into a smile, almost sarcastic at the statement, a flicker of recognition that what Amos said was funny, but more than that, it was true. Not that he'd trust his bodyguard, but he had something better, didn't he? His left hand flexed, the glove covered up the mark on the back of his hand -- but it was there -- his guarantee. Silco didn't want to let that cat (or demon) out of the bag, though. Not yet.

Not without dire need.

No, he would have to put other things together. He'd already spoken to Sebaatian about one of his plans, and the more he was down here, the more he would be reaching out, to make sure that everything fell into place. Don't mind the chill at the back of his spine in a few weeks -- it should be noth ing. ]

Probably. I'll know who to look for, when we end up there because some fool let a dangerous Meri in, hm? Wouldn't be us, though. I'm sure.

[ He's said his piece, of course. That he warned him was a self-serving courtesy. Silco couldn't help but worry that someone was going to let the other Zaunites about down here, and while Jinx would fit right in... The rest...

Eh. ]

Just...food for thought. To make sure we're on the same page.

[ That flexing of his hand doesn't go unnoticed, Amos' eyes flicking down to it curiously. Maybe a little suspiciously, but Silco's hand is gloved; he can't do anything. Though if that glove comes off at any point...

They'd cross that point if it happened. While trusting nobody seems like a bad judgment call (thought the Exalt in meta), there's something to be said for who you trusted and who you didn't — and there's that degree of power Silco can hold over him. Which, they aren't there. Silco had said as much earlier, and he's not an idiot, and he's absolutely not going to start shit on one of Kowloon's main streets, so they're fine.

Back to Silco's face, then. Back to that blank little smile of Amos', an expression that doesn't exactly convey that he's heard Silco loud and clear, even though he has. ]

You don't got anything to worry about, Shimmy. We're both from a place like this, yeah? We know the rules. 'course we're on the same page.

[ Maybe not in goals, but in understanding (or at least Amos thinks, and has no reason to think otherwise). But speaking of goals, Amos gives him one last nod; time for him to see about his. ]

I'll see you around.

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KENOS IC CONTACT

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