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[zauneyete]

SILCO

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© TESSISAMESS

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[totalize]

Is that so? Or is it that you simply didn’t hear about it? It’s a strange thing to do when you’re talking to a fellow adult is my point.

Or would you rather me apologize for being so disrespectful to my elder?

…On second thought, nevermind.

I really do have something interesting to share. I just wanted to make sure that was clear, since the turn of phrase is uncomfortable, considering. It’s about imprinting, after all. How it’s useful, much to my surprise.

[zauneyete]

I didn't hear about it, because quite frankly, most people know better than to disagree.

[ If Silco calls you a kid you're a kid!! ]

Imprinting? I've not found reason to indulge in the process. Patho-Gen seems determined to make this happen for all of us, after all.

[totalize]

I’m purposefully letting the topic of your nicknames go. I’ve made my opinion clear.

To the point, it’s not as if I disagree. Their interest is clear, and thus I now find it a bit more suspicious… But I don’t think there’s necessarily “indulging” required.

That is, unless there’s something you’d like to tell me about my drowning.

[zauneyete]

And it has been noted.

[ Will it stick? Who knows!

But he stares at that for a minute, before continuing. ]

Such as?

[totalize]

I didn’t think this is something I would have to spell out, honestly. Perhaps I’m more sensitive to the process?

[ And that is a thought he very much dislikes, so. At least taking to Silco is unpleasant enough to keep him focused. ]

We imprinted. I can’t tell you precisely when, since the difference between life, death, and undeath feels like a dream to me now. But I’m certain it happened in that process.

[zauneyete]

I see.

[ Once Hugo gets to know Silco, he'll probably understand something. Silco is an artifice of drive, and rage. Taking the time to self-reflect is an atrophied muscle that he hardly indulges in, except for the very rare occasion. ]

I remember that very early on, the requirement was for sustained, willing contact.

They tried to force me to imprint with someone. [ And oh, how that had gone... poorly. To be fair, trying to force Silco to imprint with Vander had been a losing battle right off the bat. ]

I suppose it must have happened when I started to pull you free from the water.

So, the reason to bring it forward was to... what, precisely? You don't seem the type willing to warn me.

and then. stupid,

[totalize]

Because of the practical benefits that I recently learned of, though they're as irritating as the entire imprinting process itself.

You see, the fellow that gutted me had completely lost control of his Natural Soul. I assume that you're not inclined to become a mindless, raving beast either, so. What soothed it for him was proximity with someone he had imprinted with.

[ he is NOT going to phrase it like takasugi did, though. "getting intimate with a partner" like... no, sorry silco, you're not his type for that. ]

Hence why I wanted to be clear that I'm not a young man anymore, since that would be awkward, to say the least. It's a purely practical consideration.

[zauneyete]

I see.

[ No lbr they have the same type for that clearly ]

Well, consider it clarified.

And have you lost control of it, recently? Or have you started to appease it, now that it has fully come into itself?

[ aka...now that he has died... ]

[totalize]

I haven't lost control, no. But appeasing it is something I'm concerned about.

The raw irony of my name would make me think that fate would be annoyingly ironic. But the idea of consuming blood doesn't seem appetizing in the slightest.

Yet, there is a hunger. That's the best way I can describe the feeling, at least. Do you feel anything similar?

[zauneyete]

What makes it ironic?

[ look, sometimes u are from steampunk world where bram stoker didn't exist and vampires probably do so he doesn't get it. ]

I'm hardly more amenable to it than you are, however, I've had worse to consume in my life. There's little shame in eating what must be eaten to survive, and my soul has made its needs well known.

We have learned to cooperate. The hunger is insatiable. Unending.

Yet I know that the longer I force it to stave it off, the worse the rampage will be when it is unleashed. Is it not better to find a balance between the two?

[totalize]

”Hugo” and “Vlad” are both names that are deeply associated with vampires where I’m from, and based on some of the reactions I’ve gotten in introductions, it’s not just my home. So, consider it a sign of my mother’s love.

[ sarcastic, obviously ]

That aside.

I was unclear, I think. My soul doesn’t crave blood. That’s the irony.

I think I know what it wants, but it’s concerning.

[zauneyete]

It doesn't crave blood? How curious.

[ Well, he'd encountered dante draining the life force from a bunch of people, so perhaps it's less of a surprise, but still shocking. ]

What does it want then, exactly?

[totalize]

[ This is something that he wouldn’t admit to anyone else. He doesn’t think he will admit it to anyone else, because far more than being a thief, far more than the way he detests the upper classes…

This? This is something truly taboo. Only Silco could understand it too. ]

Death.

Killing those that deserve it.

[ But, if he were being truly honest. That caveat of who he wants to kill… that’s more himself than his Soul. ]

[zauneyete]

[ Oh, he does understand.

If anything, his feedings have been focused on certain areas of the city that he normally doesn't frequent. They are as familiar as where he works, for how often he treats them like hunting grounds. ]

Those that deserve it.

And what is your standard, I wonder?

[totalize]

Those whose very existence causes nothing but misery for others.

[ He’s sent it before he even fully thinks about it. About how he would usually hide such passions. He sighs, then follows it up with his more usual, indirect explanation. ]

Unless that question was rhetorical, of course. My death certainly hasn’t changed my distaste for those who wield their status for cruel means.

[zauneyete]

I wondered if there would be a change in that.

I assume you mean the type that profits off the backs of others? The cruel and rewarded for such cruelty, then?

[totalize]

Essentially, yes. Profit doesn’t factor too much into my definition, admittedly, but that’s likely also a matter of semantics.

If my dear friend and parasite craves deaths that are just then I don’t know how much room I would have to argue such a point.

It’s better than going mad and killing very much unjustly.

[zauneyete]

Indeed not, and why would we?

I wonder how much the nature of these things was chosen to suit us. Our... dear passengers seem to match us all, in some way, to bring out our natures.

Or perhaps compliment them.

I cannot say that a just death is unwelcome, after all.

[totalize]

Well, I can only speak for myself, but it does feel as if the match was a fated one, I admit. Whether it was a choice or just chance, I can hardly deny that it suits me. Troubling as that may be.

…You seem much more at ease with it all than I am. I’m a little jealous of that.

[zauneyete]

I don't know if mine was fated, exactly.

But we have come to an understanding, regardless. Perhaps the ease is what you see, but to me, it's hardly a choice at all. After all, I've never seen anything like this where I am from. No powers, no nothing.

How could I reject what this offers me, when the other choice is to wither away with nothing here?

[ When would silco ever say no to power? ]

[totalize]

[ Hm. That's a concerning answer, and it brings that thought to mind of how Silco... clearly isn't a good person. More than that, though, he sees a sliver of the kind of behavior that Hugo (and his soul) are eager to strike down. There's nothing good that ever comes from those hungry for power. It's something to keep in mind. ]

For what it's worth, I haven't either. Or, not without madness following in its wake. It's a very long story, since I haven't heard of anyone else from New Eridu, but in short, any "power" comes with a loss of self.

So, be careful, is perhaps my point.

1/2

[zauneyete]

I am well aware of what one must often sacrifice for even a scrap of it.

[ And well... ]

[zauneyete]

[ After all, he knows what he will not. He'd been given that option, hadn't he? ]

I know where my line is.

[totalize]

So long as you know it, I won’t stress the point. I just wanted to be sure you’d considered it.

[ Does he feel a little bit of care for Silco? Who knows, since he playfully adds: ]

It would be a shame to lose my first imprint! I suppose that makes us partners, in a way~

[zauneyete]

Are you worrying after me, Hugo?

[ A moment of consideration, because... ]

You are mine as well, and I don't want to make a habit of doing so. Let's keep this under wraps, hm? As good partners should.