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i guess? tahi-shei is basically doing that thing where you get sad so you listen to sad music to make yourself more sad and it's working lmao


Sometimes, when Tahi-shei was in a particularly foul mood, loitering near the entrance of Canis with the cold, soul-sucking misery of Tunnel K made him feel a little less alone in the world. If there was someplace just as wretched and miserable as he, perhaps it was where he belonged. Even if the mist was absolutely horrible.

His visit with Pride to the Collector had been definitive. Tahi-shei needed a body that had not yet decayed. He needed flesh, something for fungus to take root in and capture. But the guilt of knowing what he would eventually do overwhelmed him, just a little bit, and so Tahi-shei had come here.

Well, he'd actually been on his way back to Orion -- when did Orion stop being home? -- after a session with Giggle, when he'd been struck by his melancholy after noticing a shadow in the bones. It probably wasn't the Collector, but it still made his skin crawl and guilt gnaw at him with its spiny teeth in his shoulder, so he'd lingered here in this miserable tunnel.

He hated this place, but sometimes, it felt like the only place he belonged.

@aran

Aran had never been to this specific part of the caves before. Dark, scary. Especially because of the giant looming carving that was looking over everything. It made his skin crawl with distaste, wishing that he could remove it. Even if he could, he was sure one of the giant gembound would come for him. There was no way someone could do something like that.

As he made his way through, Aran spotted a familiar form through the darkness. Tahi-Shei, he remembered. The other deer looked stressed, and Aran offered a grunt before approaching to hopefully not startle the other.

"You okay over There?" he called out.

@Tahi-Shei

Tahi sighed. He didn't want company, not really, but he also wasn't going to be a jerk about it and turn Aran away. Besides... it was kind, to ask what was wrong. They'd spoken before, he recalled -- near the throne in Orion, two cycles ago or so. It's just that Tahi-shei, for once in his life, was not feeling very friendly.

He rested his chin on the floor. "I'm feeling sorry for myself," he explained flatly, staring down into the shadowy darkness that went on for an unreasonable length of time. "I made a dark bargain I can't get out of. I need to find a Greater corpse that hasn't turned to Oil and bring it to a guy in Canis. The problem is, I'm a pacifist, and even if I weren't I really suck at fighting. I don't want to have to hurt anyone. There's no time limit or anything, but I still don't like knowing that I have to do it at some point."

Probably not what Aran had been expecting to hear, but it was the truth.

@aran

I can't really use much of coding but tw for this post for death ideation almost?

Aran was caught off guard from the words the other deer spat out of his mouth. Taking on a dangerous quest... reminded him of the time that greenish creature almost lead him, and a few others to their deaths. Aran still wondered if he wished he had died from it. He didn't die, but if he had would things have turned out better for himself? He wouldn't be around to suffer the consequences from it. Hundreds of tiny scars all over his body from those damn things. He was just grateful most of them could not be seen.

"Perhaps you will run into one sometime." he said back. It would be uncommon, but sometimes corpses could be found. "I am a collector of information, traveling a lot. Perhaps you could come with me and we could search. Unless you needed someone to do the killing for you. I must admit, it is a tempting idea." he added.

Maybe showing someone else the pain he dealt with would make him feel better.

@Tahi-Shei

Tahi-shei teetered perilously on the brink of a decision, and then fell into the pit below. "I will not have anyone do needless murder on my behalf," he said firmly, but something in his tone implied that he wasn't finished. "... but, traveling together couldn't be a bad idea. And... I'm not very good at defending myself," he admitted, "but if someone became aggressive, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a partner." He couldn't do anything offensive, really.

So maybe Aran could end up being helpful.



@aran

Murder was mostly something that Aran thought of when he thought about his own demise, or that one time he wanted to kill that rat with his magic but failed, only causing it serious pain. That one child that yelled at him, he wondered if she would have had the same fate if he had cast it upon her.

Though he payed no mind to those thoughts, only instead listening to the other deer that was near. Mentioning something about feeling bad, but having a partner would be good. Aran could not say no to that, he wanted information and this one wanted help. At least if it came to needing help.

"I can do that." he nodded.

@Tahi-Shei

Tahi-shei nodded, and with that, it felt like a second deal had been forged. He cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose we ought to hang around Canis, then. Unless you have a way to transport a body through this super-long tunnel without it turning to Oil, that is." Assuming Aran wouldn't (he'd heard of Giggle knowing a spell for it, but it wasn't as though he knew it), Tahi-shei stood up and shook himself out.

This cold feeling would go away eventually. For now... he needed to buck up (pun intended).


/exit tahi-shei, unless stopped
@aran

It looked like the two of them had come to an agreement, though Aran wondered how long it would take them to come across any body like that. If at all. Tahi might just have to do it himself, and it didn't look like the other deer wanted to do that. Aran couldn't blame him though, he was just a kid. Even if he was an adult with age, it wasn't actually the same.

"i will be there" he replied with a nod.

Taking to finding his own exit.

exit aran

@tahi-shei for visibility