Zenos yae Galvus (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
betweentheseconds) wrote2019-10-16 06:26 pm
betweentheseconds) wrote2019-10-16 06:26 pm
Open RP Post
Or: Come here if you, too, want to be destroyed by Zenos, either literally or metaphorically
(Not necessarily NSFW... but potentially. CW: This Guy.)
no subject
Having been assigned here as long as I was, I'd have gone mad if this land had no merit at all.
[Clunk. Clank. Clunk. Is that a twitch of a smile upon his lips? He knows full well what others think of him and his inclinations and impulses. He's not mad, though. Not in his own estimation. He's one of very few sensible people in this dull world. One of the others is just a stone's throw away.
The sashes at his waist are unwrapped, and more armor is stripped away. There are other belts and straps to unbuckle, too, but he does so with absent ease. Once the last of the metal bits have been shed, he's down to padded carbon fiber clothing... which he is quick to strip off, too. First the shirt, up and over his head, with a pause to pass fingers through his long hair to get it back off of his face. And then go the pants, without so much as a hint of self-consciousness.
While his armor does certainly add to how tall and broad he seems to be, it does not add that much. He is an impressively large man, all broad shoulders and sculpted muscle.]
'Do what I want?'
[That unknits his brow. He is inclined, as of late, to do precisely what he wants, and hardly needs to be told to, but...]
Would you expect me to do otherwise?
no subject
[A fair point; Zenos has always been able to damn well do what Zenos wants, which would appear to be part of the problem. As she looks on, his stature comes as no surprise, and yet she has to train herself not to let her eyes linger for too long at any given time, because who knows what kind of message that would send.
(The correct one, probably, but that's another entire can of worms she isn't sure needs to be opened yet.)
Now comes the awkward part, though: does she let them sit in silence, try to make dull conversation, or something else...? Zenos and small talk probably blend like oil and water, and any attempts at silence will inevitably be broken no matter how hard she tries to maintain it. And yet, it would be better to control the flow of things, if possible.
Then...]
Speaking of... there is word from several sources that Garlemald is in a frenzy. That the emperor has been murdered, leaving a power vacuum in his place. [A pause. Varis was no friend of hers, but to kill his own father only emphasizes the kind of wildcard she's dealing with here.] ...You've been busy.
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His eyes slide shut but for a moment, for the Warrior of Light has apparently heard of the recent excitement that he'd set into motion. They open again, and he smiles a self-satisfied smile.]
Once I reclaimed my body, I felt no need to waste time. Had my father persisted in his desire to deploy Black Rose, we'd have not had the chance to meet again.
[And oh, he is already delighted that they've been able to meet again already, even if this is more of an appetizer to the grand feast that he has been looking forward to.
That smile of his turns ever so somewhat predatory.]
Think of it as a gift, if you'd like. A kindness, for a dear friend. Surely a Garlean Empire thrown into chaos is the sort of opportunity you Eorzeans have been waiting for?
no subject
She doesn't say that, but the look on her face says it for her anyway as her eyes close. The city-state leaders would surely still prefer to pursue any alternative that doesn't lead to annihilation; there are still the Garlean citizens to consider, after all. If anything, having a guiding hand in choosing the new emperor would be the best route to take...]
It's funny how you should care little and less about becoming emperor for yourself. A mantle like that would just hold you back; is that not right?
[And then there's the matter of him literally coming back from the grave to assume it if he did choose to, but the truth is sometimes stranger than anything any headcase could make up.
When she looks back up at him, her expression gains a hooded sort of darkness to it, serious and yet poised on the edge of tossing reason to the curb to cross the length of the pool and do... something; she isn't sure whether she'll hit him with a closed fist, try to slit his throat (again), or something altogether different if she tries.]
Perhaps you did save my life. And perhaps I should thank you for it. But if I were to suddenly lose all that power you so admire, you wouldn't care a whit about me anymore, let's not pretend otherwise.
[She glances at her nails like this is casual talk about the weather.]
That said, I suppose this is just fate catching up to us. And since I haven't lost my touch...
[Her eyes slide up again as she grins sharply; her nails curl hard into her palm.]
...I suspect you may want to do something more than just talk.
no subject
[ How much he presumes she understands is true and how much of that are his own fevered and obsessive imaginings has yet to be determined. It may never be determined. He has many, many fevered and obsessive imaginings about her. And that look that she is suddenly giving him will no doubt contribute to many more in the future. ]
Your power is too innately you to be lost so easily. Do you worry about such things?
[ He feigns curiosity, eyes narrowing and a subtle rise in his tone... but he has already decided upon the answer for himself. ]
Do you wish for such things?
[ But he wouldn't mind her own thoughts on the matter. Look, he can hold a conversation! But oh, the sharpness of her smile... he takes a long breath in, then lets it out just as slowly, lingering ever so contentedly in the moment. ]
I would settle for simple talk, but I would enjoy the application of that touch you claim to have not lost.
[ There is something almost... enamored about the way he gazes at her from across the hot spring. He is enjoying this, enjoying her, though they sit several fulms apart. And he is convinced that whatever her next response might be, he will find delight in it. ]
no subject
A moment for consideration, spent drilling cool blue eyes into his, and then she opts for the raw force method over all else, climbing onto his lap fearlessly... and trying for his throat with her hands, intending to push his head hard against the rocks.]
How many people have climbed upon your seat with you with the very same intentions, I wonder?
[And how many of those failed, she would add, except that part's hardly in question. There's a sort of electric effect to her hands, suffused with... some kind of dark energy typically used for shielding and protection.
It's odd; she looks neither enamored nor hateful, but interested in a way that's only mildly personal at best. Zenos is only half a human tops, made that way by sheer nurture, but guilty of a myriad of things even his peculiar brand of sociopathy can't excuse. And yet... she doesn't hate him. Annoyed by his insistence upon that bizarre worldview, at times, certainly, but not enough to not want to try her luck at a perfect opportunity like this one.
He can buck her off. Easily, in fact. Leverage is hardly an issue here. The question is, will he?]
Suffice it to say, I haven't lost it. So for now, I suppose I could give you a good spin...