anothercontinuity | (no subject)

[ There's good brandy, but water first isn't a bad idea. Tony's been without food or water the entirety of the day, likely as not. It's also why he's sticking close to his side, in case his legs decide to give.

But they're managing fine so far. Better than he might have expected. The guest house is a familiar sight by now, and Lucanis nudges the door open before nodding down the hall, towards the dining area. ]

Take your ease a few moments. I'll be back.

[ when tony attempts following through the doorway to the kitchen for some water, lucanis bars his way and shoos him off. go, sit, he's told; lucanis is getting the water. tony frowns and watches him go.

he doesn't sit. while he's alone, he leaves and retrieves a pair of long-nose pliers and a jewelers hammer. it must take no longer than a couple minutes, half of which he spends selecting different tools until he decides on those two (is there some...special way he'll need to destroy the vial?), but when he returns to the dining room, lucanis is already there. all right, so...tony also stopped by a bathroom sink on the way and drank some water from his cupped hands, and his track record with time isn't the most stellar. it might've been more like a handful of minutes.

that's one stern frown from an assassin. ] What? I was being proactive. [ taking the seat beside lucanis, he sets the tools down, swaps the vial to his left hand, and grabs the provided cup of water. ]

Edited 2024-11-23 16:22 (UTC)

I need you to be sitting.

[ Firmly, as he gestures for him to take the chair nearest to him. There's more than the glass of water there: bandages, a basket with various vials of potions and herbs, even thread and needle if needed. A small bowl of clean water and a towel is where they'll start, as he beckons for Tony to present one arm so he can begin carefully unwrapping it.

The elfroot balm is tacky, smeared through with red, but at least the wound doesn't appear infected in any way. Now, to begin carefully cleaning, making sure nothing's there that shouldn't be.

One hand steadies his forearm from beneath, in a warm firm grip. The other carefully dips into the clean water before dabbing at the edges with methodical precision, dark eyes focused solely on their task. ]

I doubt she would have used poison. Not if she was planning to put you to work. But safer to check and be certain.

[ "i am sitting," tony mumbles into the glass once seated, eyeing the other items on the table. they're taking care of the cuts first. okay. washing up was on the list of priorities after drinking water, anyway.

he presents the left arm first, his right hand occupied with the glass, from which he takes measured gulps. in his periphery below, with his left side closest to the table, he sees lucanis's hands unwrapping the bandages; glimpses an impression of red blood on olive skin, of darker slashes in a semi-circle. a subtle shift in his face and posture, tony tenses. he grips the vial tighter.

eyes trained on the vials on the table, he hums, ] Mmhm, [ and tips the glass back to fill his mouth with water, which he swishes slowly between his cheeks, alternatively puffing them out. ]

[ As Tony tenses, the cords in his forearm stand out further, and Lucanis hums quietly. ]

Deep breath. Try to loosen your shoulders, if you can. That strain is not going to help matters.

[ One of the vials is swiftly taken and uncorked. There's almost a minty smell, sweet and soothing, carefully applied with a fresh hand towel over the open wounds. ]

That should assist with healing. It will itch, but that's just the skin knitting itself together again. Let it do so, and the scarring will be less noticeable.

[ aside from a flick to the uncorked vial, tony resolutely holds his attention on the table. only when the itching begins, and the cuts are covered by the towel, does he stop swishing and look down at his own arm.

he's seen vials like these in the markets. potions, the merchant called them, and tony brushed them off as snake oil or homemade tonics. herbal medicine, at the very best. not worth his time. ]

[ Fresh bandages come next, and Lucanis's eyes suddenly narrow. ]

Mierda. Not now.

[ It's more under his breath than anything, clearly not directed at Tony. Hard to say who he might be addressing. The room seems empty, beyond the two of them, as Lucanis starts to rewrap Tony's forearm.

Not too tightly, now, they needed the bloodflow to help him heal quicker. ]

[ without taking his eyes off lucanis wrapping his arm back up, tony swallows the water in two gulps, clears his throat, and then says, ] You're doing that thing again.

Edited 2024-11-24 02:00 (UTC)

What thing?

[ He hasn't paused, only motions for the other arm, though now with a vague sense of irritation that hadn't been there previously. ]

[ tony sets the cup down to offer his right arm. this one he keeps more out of his line of sight. he relaxes again, a little. ] Acting like you hear voices.

Edited 2024-11-24 02:30 (UTC)

...ah.

[ He goes still a moment, calculating. Clearly weighing how much he wants to say.

Then, he goes back to unwrapping the initial set of bandages, now stained through, in order to clean and rewrap them as well. Practical, simple task. Something to focus on. ]

The Venatori can do worse than bind you. Given how many of them I've killed, they decided my punishment had to be...creative.

Wasn't I the lucky one.

[ it's grumbled. tony can't imagine much worse than his body turning against him and his mind being taken over, but if tonight's taught him anything, it's to expand his horizons. he sighs. ]

What'd they do?

Edited 2024-11-24 04:48 (UTC)

Torture, of course.

[ It's almost matter-of-fact, the way he says it. Lucanis keeps his eyes on the wounds, reaching for the hand towel to start cleaning once again. ]

But that wasn't enough for them. So, they forced a demon into my body, and bound us both.

[ there that word is again. that guard called lucanis a demon (or was it the demon?) and lucanis mentioned demons when he explained the venatori, didn't he? memory's a bit fuzzy. lot on his mind then.

tony thinks of that horror movie, but lucanis's head isn't doing a three sixty or projectile vomiting, so probably not the case. ] Yeah, I don't...really have context for what that means here.

Nothing good.

[ Lucanis pauses, a mild furrow of curiosity appearing against his brow. Again, he's struck by that reminder that 'common' knowledge can't be something he assumes Tony will know. ]

Here, a demon is...a spirit. Non-corporeal creatures who dwell in the Fade, who watch our world and shape themselves according to what they observe in us, through the Veil. Echos of our mortal passions.

[ Gently, he takes some of that fresh elfroot potion to salve over the jagged cuts. ]

Compassion, envy, justice, pride, wisdom, desire... They become the embodiment of whatever it is they have chosen to reflect, and they will do anything to fulfill that new purpose.

[ tony can feel a gentle pull on the wounds from lucanis tending to them, but the ache is numbed, distant still, easily overridden by listening to lucanis talk—same with the intermittent itching on his left. not for the first time, tony thinks of him, could've made a different kind of killing in voice work, which leads to thinking about home. back home he could've hooked lucanis up, gotten his foot into so many doors, showered him with gifts and wealth and prestige from people the world over, but here, in thedas?

focus. listen. ] What's your specific tag-along's hard-on for? [ whatever it is, however it may manifest, lucanis seems to have a tight lid on it. after tonight, tony...trusts him. ]

Edited 2024-11-24 17:59 (UTC)

He was a spirit of Determination. Until the Venatori drew him to this side of the Veil, against his will. Tortured him, twisted him against his purpose.

[ His jaw works briefly in sudden tension, but his touch remains careful. After examining the cuts, he sets to work rebinding them in clean bandages, fingers pressing to hold it taut as he wound the linen strips. ]

There were others, in that prison. All had demons forced inside of them and usually, within a week, the demon would manifest. Tearing out of them like some fleshy cocoon, to be blood-bound as you were and sent off to wherever they could do the most damage.

I heard them screaming as they transformed, in the other cells. One week passed. Then two. A month. A year. The Venatori could not understand why the demon had not manifested. They did everything they could to provoke it, to weaken my resolve, to force it to appear.

[ His lips quirk up slightly in bitter amusement. ]

They did not know Spite and I had already struck a bargain.

Edited 2024-11-24 18:12 (UTC)

[ tony guesses that can be seen as "worse than," a demon ripping you apart from the inside versus mindless, forced servitude. the latter you can come back from. (a kernel of truth, a thought deep down: he'd rather be torn apart.) still, he got lucky. none of that happened. lucanis freed him. tony only had to endure one night. not a whole year. ]

Bargain that's still in effect? [ it makes sense, if the demon embodies spite: a giant "fuck you" to their captors to not manifest as they wanted. what's stopping it—him now? ]

It is. But he can be...noisy, at times.

[ With the other arm wrapped, Lucanis gives Tony a once-over before letting out a quiet 'ah'.

The towel is reached for yet again. ]

Lift your chin for me, please.

[ tony obeys without question or hesitation. doesn't even think about it. ]

Sounds annoying.

[ A soft, rumbling chuckle. ]

At times? Very.

[ The towel dabs itself gingerly against that cut on his throat, where the Venatori witch had pressed her blade. Luckily it didn't go too deeply, only enough to draw blood in the first place. No bandage needed here, just the salve. ]

He's stronger when I sleep, so...I try to stay awake, as much as possible.

[ the corner of tony's mouth twitches faintly upwards. there's little trace left of tension anywhere in him, even with lucanis's hand working around his throat. ]

Should I worry?

Edited 2024-11-24 20:48 (UTC)

About sharing a house with an abomination?

[ His lips quirk a little higher, thumb slowly applying the minty-smelling balm over the cut before letting his eyes drift upwards.

There, one more cut, along his cheek. It requires leaning in, ever so slightly, to get a better look in the dim light. ]

I've taken precautions. And we agreed that you were not to come to harm, for what the word of a demon may be worth to you.

[ head easily moved or tilted by a word, gesture, or touch (being nudged around by make-up artists and stylists is old hat), tony watches lucanis unabashedly. ]

It's worth enough.

[ Again, his thumb runs along the edge of the cut, a little deeper than the one on his throat. Still, it should heal without even scarring, which should please Tony. He's aware the man prizes his looks, and for good reason.

For a moment his gaze shifts towards Tony's, locking in place. It's an odd thing, knowing that someone finally sees you. Usually its a look reserved for the last moments of a target who never saw him coming. This is...not quite that. ]

Good to know.

[ Quietly, before moving his hand away. ]

So. Food, or sleep?