It wasn't the path that Louie walked that was changing, as it had always been laid out for him. Merely it was his own sense of self that was being molded to better fit the cast. That was what he believed, he believed that through change he could realize what he was supposed to be. Happiness had always eluded him when he was stuck on the fence, caught in the grey of the black and white. Yin and Yang. Curled up on the top platform, the one where the most significant chapters of his life had unfolded, Louie was tracing the ground with a paw as he tried to visualize this empire.

Still that thin thread was present, pink in colour and hanging limply as he allowed the connection to go stale. Frowning, he tugged sharply on it, causing the left side of his face to wince involuntarily as he did so. Despite their lacking connection, he had to let Penelope why he had really forged this link so long ago. After the fear that he had brewed in her, he doubted that she would be so willing to listen to her captor. The fox wasn't sure what he would do if he couldn't get her to see where he was coming from. Of course there would be details omitted. Others needed to be made aware of what he intended to do before he went through with it, as they were the driving force.

Perhaps he could play her obsessive fear over the plague bird to his advantage?

"Peasant come to me." It was an order. No longer would he pander to the level of the commoners with pleasantries. Not that he ever went out of his way to do so, but he had grown soft in his time with his children and various members of the Merry Men. This was a pyramid and he was the rich pharaoh who looked out on his subjects with constant contempt rather than admiration for whatever successes they may achieve. Head raising, his eyes were glazed over as he tried to visualize the location of his ungulate.

"DO NOT FORGET WHO I AM"
"DO NOT FORGET I AM IN YOUR HEAD"

table by lisa

@Penelope

How long had it been since she'd last laid her blind eyes onto Louie? When did she last smell the sickeningly sweet stench of his fur? Penelope didn't care, nor did she dwell on such thoughts. Her innocence was long gone, even if her sweet nature remained deep in her core, protected by the hardened, scarred skin and thick bones and pure mass. If the truth of her being ever rose to the surface again, she assumed it would be her death. There would be no telling if she'd ever open up again, never able to trust what she couldn't see... and she saw nothing.

Peasant, come to me.

The words pierced her mind and it stung. The bitterness filled her mouth as she squinted into her own darkness, trying to decide if she should humor him or not. There was nothing likeable about him. She'd tried, but failed over and over to get in good graces and to appreciate the protection, but frankly, what was she being protected from, now? Penelope heard a scoff, not realizing it was her own voice at first.

With no amount of urgency, the large herbivore lumbered toward Louie, following the line that connected them through the sense of feeling. In a way, she felt like she could really see it. A thread that looked delicate and frail, but held her by the throat with no mercy. Such made her shake her body, trying to rid herself of the feeling. No success.

In quicker time than anticipated, Penelope made it to Louie, knowing he was there by the all-too-familiar scent. A look of resentment had long become her resting face, this moment being no exception. However, it seemed to harden as she shot her blind eyes toward him, nose scrunching up. To say she hated him would be quite wrong. At this point, she could only loathe him. The resentment that built over their time together nearly compelled her to flop onto him more than once while he slept. Moments like this made her wish she'd just done it.

"What do you want, asshole?" she grumbled. Her tail swatted from side to side in frustration. "You're no king."

---

"Speech"
Thoughts.
Louie's Bullshit.
@Louie

Glancing moments of her journey were seen, but his eyes regained focus as she neared. Surprised by the speed in which she arrived, the fox rose to his feet to maintain his advantage as he stared down the unseeing female. It was curious how most of those he encountered were blind, a curse that he should be surrounded by defective creatures. In honesty, he should've broken down at her feet, he was weak despite what he had tried to convince himself of. But he matched her own gaze of resentment with one of boredom. Not that she would be able to see his expressions for herself. "I agree I'm not king just yet, but the time is coming my dear. Prince of all gembounds now that the others have fallen." A smirk.

"All it takes is one war and then I shall be happily be taking my place at the foot of the Spire no longer as a pariah but as an emperor. Unity will bring prosper to the caves and those who do not obey will be punished. Everyone needs a purpose and should they not fulfill this then they are just wasted oxygen." Tail sweeping behind him, he began to walk around her to the cliff edge, wary that she could track his movements through their connection. He was no fool, so he made sure to keep his distance between himself and the drop off as he gazed out over Monoceros.

There was a dip in his demeanor, "Did I ever explain why I wanted you? Why I chose to lasso you with my connection when surely there are others who are more powerful and capable with the gift of sight?" Lips pursing together, the troubled soul shook his head, "You told me what you were. The gifts that you had... Ones that I can never realize as you have been chosen for the Arcane magic." Perhaps among the most powerful of all elements that can be bestowed.

Snorting, "I'm sure you've gathered that I struggle to maintain healthy relationships with those who do not share my world view." Memories of his conversations with the numbat surfaced but it just made bile rise up in the back of his throat. "So when I found you, it was perfect. I need someone who can." God damn he was finally going to be admitting it and his cheeks burned hard. Only reason he was doing this was because he had to, not because he wanted to.

"Someone to help me keep my mind straight and true. Who can be there to relinquish the pain and suffering." Voice broken, despite his seniority and age, he sounded like a kicked puppy and he flattened his ears as he continued to flush hard, "I can try help you with whatever shit you're going through, I can knock that bird out of the sky should she ever come close the faker. But this is mainly something beneficial for me as I'm sure you can understand."

"Symbiosis isn't my forte but I'll try."

"DO NOT FORGET WHO I AM"
"DO NOT FORGET I AM IN YOUR HEAD"

table by lisa

@Penelope

His eyes were like hot lasers, glued to her hide in such that it made her feel disgusting inside. His speech about being emperor made her roll her eyes in the most obvious way, scoffing purposely this time. He was so full of himself. It was such a contrast to who Penelope was to the core. Even as he transitioned into "why" he chose her, the ability to be impressed continued to wane drastically.

Then, Louie made a proposal. Before the Tapir could even think it over, she spun her mass around to face him with a snarl on her face. Pissed didn't quite cover it. He had the actual audacity to make requests of her? To think he could bargain for her help that he never once made any effort to earn?

You had your chance to prove you could protect me and you failed as miserably at that as I have at existing. Besides, what good could you do me when you're a walking, rotting corpse, yourself?"

Her words were loud and hot with anger. Tail swung faster, back feet stamping the ground as she considered stampeding him, but thought better of it. In the end, he had experience and strength on his side. A prokaryotic beast like that damned white monster. She turned a little, sneering and bubbling with an anger that had been building since the day he'd found her. Tears burned her eyes as the emotion overwhelmed her with no outlet. No way to make it all just... go away.

"There's no reason for me to help you. None at all. Have you ever felt a presence leering over your in your sleep Louie? Have you felt a shadow loom with contemplation over your life while your eyes are closed? I hope so," she paused and looked toward him again, brows furrowed tightly together. "Because it's always been me, trying to remind myself who I really was meant to be."

---

"Speech"
Thoughts.
Louie's Bullshit.
@Louie

MATURE TAG
Graphic Descriptions of Disgusting Content

Should he have expected anything less? It did sting, only because he had allowed himself the opportunity to let words hurt him. It's just that he wasn't surprised when it did. Louie saw the snarl on his face and matched it with his own. Even among the hurt he was bitterly angry, namely at himself for his failures but he didn't mind exerting the pressure on others. "I have my own problems don't flatter yourself. Why you got into such an argument with a skilled mage I'm not entirely sure. That feud wasn't my problem until I met you and frankly I didn't even know that the fucking bird existed. What enraged me more was the audacity that the ball of feathers had to think that she was even capable of matching a true prokaryotic master."

Rotting corpse he was, in fact he almost allowed a smile as he let the magic work but instead it was replaced with a grimace at the pain. Parasitic worms lay dormant within his being, willed upon the gemstone as the unmistakable glow of elemental usage began to radiate off the key points of his body. The skin around his face began to crawl before he vomited violently, screw-worm fly larvae coming up in a cascade of blood and bile. Louie's whole body was shaking violently now and the disgust was apparent on his face as he looked at the pile of maggots he had created within himself. All this was why he was so fucked up as that was who he was. Why he was born to be the first prokaryote in Origin.

No longer flushed, as the skin beneath his fur had become a sickly grey, he could still feel them digging within his flesh. Though they sought not to harm him as they went about their the way happy to have a place to call sanctuary. Louie had not chosen Penelope as the target, instead he had hoped to scare her as he wished no harm at this moment. It was hard to talk, and he thought that if he did it would bring on another bout of nausea. "Do not underestimate me. Remember who is the one who enslaved who in this relationship." Slumping down into a sitting position, he began to pant as he kept his eyes away from what he had created.

"The only eyes of contemplation that have been watching me are my own. Never have I been able to match the image I had sought out to be, the one true character that was my destiny." Wiping a paw along his muzzle, he continued. "I've loved and lost more times than your pretty little head can count. I've murdered and been murdered in turn. I lost everything over a selfish act, but I owned up to it because I thought it would mean something. There were moments where I thought I could change, where I could go off and live happily in Eridanus with my fucking boyfriend but that was never what it was supposed to be."

"All I am is a bunch of cells like the ones I command. One day I will succumb to the diseases in which I harbour and I accept that. But I will be better for it." Head shaking he wasn't about to start on a ramble, "Despite how I treat you, I thought at least you'd understand why I am the way I am. Bitter. Resentful. As I can imagine you are towards Dianysma."

"I'm just bitter and resentful towards life and everyone in it who believes that all souls have a kernel of good and that being dark and horrible is a choice. If I had a choice, I wouldn't be the way I am but I can't change that." The larvae were crawling off in all different directions but with only a request they shriveled and died.

"DO NOT FORGET WHO I AM"
"DO NOT FORGET I AM IN YOUR HEAD"

table by lisa

@Penelope

There it was - the final straw that broke the camel's back. What started as tears became a full-body shiver, her muscles twitching as fury reared it's ugly head. His words started to become dull, her mind having trouble registering the end of his words. As she spun back toward him, taking steps forth in the process, something inside snapped and it showed in her eyes and body language... and the way she lifted a rock and threw it, narrowly missing Louie. It breezed past him, colliding with a wall and shattering.

A roar echoed off the cave walls.

With heavy breaths, she stared him down, almost convincing herself she really could see. Her magicka sparked off the gem on her head, the purple hue shining off the paleness of her eyes. Penelope closed the gap between them, slamming a foot right in the middle of the maggot-bile without a care in the world about what might happen. The smell hit her nostrils, but it wasn't why the trunk crunched up.

"It's funny how fucking entitled you are. Do you not even realize that, thanks to you and your stupid connection and "ownership" of me, I will never get to know what it's like to have my heart broken? Maybe it would be the worst thing to experience, but it was be just that - an experience. At least you had the opportunity to try, you worthless bastard. If you can call what you did trying."

Penelope's face was hot, the tears streaking down her cheeks. She pushed passed him, wishing she had it in her to just crush him on the spot. Her gut bubbled and nausea crept upon her, the stress of it all pushing her well beyond her own threshold. She wasn't sure how she could continue on like this. Depression took it's hold, the anger there, but transforming into something worse. Her drive to live was nearly dead.

Dead.

The way she was starting to desperately crave herself to be.

---

"Speech"
Thoughts.
Louie's Bullshit.
@Louie

Right now he didn't have the strength to fight, that was his trump card and perhaps if he had been taking better care of himself he might have a chance. But she was a piece of shit for trying and as the rock came sailing towards him, he yelped and jumped aside even though her aim was off. Again the heavy lurch brought another wave of the sickness he had supposedly infected himself with but he managed to keep himself from hurling as he glared down Penelope with sunken eyes.

As she stomped over and slammed her hoof into the gunk his own nose wrinkled. God damn she was pissed and he was beginning to wonder if he could get all his little microbiotic friends to actually lift off a quarter tonne lump of meat. Even in his frosty outer coating, he had yet to extinguish that kernel he was referring to and he swallowed deeply. Would he go back and change what had happened? Maybe... Whether for better or worse he had appreciated the time he had had. Feeling loved by others, having friendships. A paw once again was drawn to his face, tracing over his newest eye and the scars that ran so deeply around it. Signs of the torment that he had suffered through, the heartbreak and the lessons. In gaining it back, he had thought that it meant that he had found himself again but he was wrong. Being beaten down so brutally had only pushed him harder to cut off everything he had. They were holding him back. How they had to be holding him back.

"I have no interest in what you do outside of this connection to me. Merely that you serve the purpose I got you for... You can go out, love and be loved. I will not interfere whether that is through direct meddling or merely prying into your private life." God damn he was being honourable again and he breathed a shaky sigh, "Despite being a commoner, I respect your craft and I have no interest in causing harm to you. Physically or emotionally and if that has happened already then all I can ask for is your pardon. I need you to help me." Almost a detection of pleading as he kept on the suave of strength and nobility.

"You may place conditions on this agreement, I am open to suggestions but I will decide where the line is drawn." Unaware of her battle with her own inner demons, he waited for her response. Should she decide to throw it out the window he would cut ties, he didn't need a mental anchor.

"DO NOT FORGET WHO I AM"
"DO NOT FORGET I AM IN YOUR HEAD"

table by lisa

@Penelope

...you can go out, love and be loved...

The large herbivore stopped dead in her tracks and tilted her head over her shoulder at him, ears pinned as he carried on in her head.

I will not interfere.

Another scoffing noise shoved itself from her throat. Did he really believe he was so free of blame? Did he think he was able to just tell her she could be anything despite feeling everything through this tie he'd forced upon her? You've interfered in my life since this connection formed. I'll never be free to do anything again. Between the two of you... Dia and Louie. I am so broken inside.

Penelope's head dropped as his words flowed in her mind, taking up her being like a cancer. There, that's what he was; a cancer to her soul. Even as he stated he'd be open to... limitations. Of course, only if he actually agreed to them. He was so, so full of himself and it just angered her so. Regardless, it wouldn't matter how far she went, he'd still be there. She contemplated.

"A pardon is not an apology, Louie. Don't act like you don't know what you've done to me. Don't pretend you're on some level of innocence when we both know you're just a corrupt soul who gave up ages ago," she said, head lifting and body turning a little. She didn't look to him, though. Instead, she stared ahead to the same wall her rock slammed into. Damp fur on her face felt uncomfortable, but it was the least of her problems, at this point.

"The condition is to stop putting me down. If you want my help, you'll act like it, instead of calling me weak, common... whatever your cowardice brain can conjure up. In the end, all I have to do is roll on you while you sleep. You are neither here nor there, to me. So... that's it. Give me a reason to hate you a little less, Louie." There was a sharp inhale in the pause that followed. "And never forget that I missed you on purpose. Blind as I am, you've made it possible for me to know where you are. Always."

---

"Speech"
Thoughts.
Louie's Bullshit.
@Louie

This was taxing and as she mulled over his words he felt his head bobbing out of exhaustion. Of course a pardon wasn't an apology, he had only apologized to one man and even then it had been hard. Spewed forth in a moment of desperation as he figuratively died, encapsulated once again by the stone he had been birthed from. Again she spoke about innocence and how he had given up, Louie just snorted to that and nodded in agreement. Innocence. How nice it would be to go back to the days in which he had helped a bear and a fisher as they had tumbled down from the top of the Spire.

She mentioned how they were connected on every level, how he was the only point of light in a world where she was kept in the dark, and his lips pursed. Truly this sensorial link could be used as a gift rather than a curse, but he had opted to enslave those with a power most likely used to form a bond. There was no bond only mental chains. As they both were, facing the walls opposite them, he sighed. "Fine. I will show you respect, I do appreciate the fact you haven't killed me thus far. Trust me, I am very aware that you could just stomp on my back and well, no more Louie." The fox snorted again, "I'm not sure what you are proposing though. Is respect all you ask of me? Do you not wish for me to eliminate those who may cause you harm? Protection is still and always has been on the table. I will not let harm come to someone so important." Perhaps a warped compliment from him.

Wishing to regain his strength, he called upon the newest additions to the pile of sludge beneath her feet. As the bacteria began to feast away, his energy being lifted and he wheezed out. Even though the aging process had ceased, the shit that he had suffered through up until this point had almost provided the effects of such. With the anger and vigor mostly out of the systems of both of them, he lay on his side. Exposing his soft innards to the herbivore in what he hoped could be seen as a "gesture" of faith. "Both from entirely different walks of life, if I hadn't come across you where would either of us be?" A shrug of his shoulders where he lay and his tail swept across the ground. "Wouldn't think Dia would allow you to live much longer. Us prokaryotic types get bored of torture." 'or we realize that all along what we were doing is wrong.'

"DO NOT FORGET WHO I AM"
"DO NOT FORGET I AM IN YOUR HEAD"

table by lisa

@Penelope

Penelope had to laugh. It wasn't of joy, though. It was a hallow laugh, expressing her false amusement at his mention of eliminating her tormentor. She shook her head, feeling the long-healed hole in her hide as she bent her neck. It caused her to shudder, the feeling triggering the memory of being unable to move. She wished she could make Louie feel what she felt, that day.

"Sure, protect me... if you can. Considering you had your chance to kill her, but didn't, I don't actually have any faith that you'll do everything you can to keep me safe. I figure asking to be treated better is as good as I'm going to get it with you."

With hesitation in her step, Penelope wandered closer to Louie before collapsing her legs under her body, laying straight. She searched the connection they shared, faintly picking up his position. For someone who had a rock chucked at him moments before, he sure was relaxed. It was shrugged from her mind, though. There was too much to dwell on as it was, there was no reason to add onto it.

"I wish I knew, but I was never given a chance. Perhaps I'd be dead, but..." she sighed. Finishing that thought would only solidify how suicidal she was to herself, so she chose to remain in some level of denial. Penelope rested her head down to the ground.

"You and Dia aren't the same, just because you share an element. If she wanted me dead, she'd of done more than simply blind me. She would of done more than paralyze me and dig into my... my skin. Would you have put that effort into a stranger, Louie?"

A genuine question. Would he? Somehow, she seriously doubted it, but also didn't deny it was possible he was as twisted. However, he spoke of trying, of love... of experiences. Did Dianysma have any of that, or was torture and sadism all she lived for? Penelope squeezed her eyes shut, only to regret it. Images of that bird from her seeing days invaded her mind, making her eyes snap back open. Blind pupils were dilated as the fear pumped through her body in a moment of anxiety, breathing giving away her panicked state before the feeling started to subside.

Of all the horrors that you are, please don't be like Dianysma.

---

"Speech"
Thoughts.
Louie's Bullshit.
@Louie