pawnstorm | [Open] It's getting hot in here

[ Yeah, may as well forfeit that bet now. Even while he's pushing him this hard, Gilgamesh can see that's where he's going with this. Or he would be, would have already walked out by now, but now that he's already invested this much wasted time, maybe some part of him really wants a reason to stay. Wasted time and wasted money are a travesty, but not as much as all these heroes that no one can whip into shape. This guy included.

Staying here's not helping that though. It's more like... ugh. Levi's brow furrows. ]

What are you talking about? Should you just be "acclimating", or should you be getting better at saving your own ass next time you almost die?

[ Pleasant or not, that's a last ditch effort. The stuff about almost dying isn't entirely being said in mockery though. Once he's given that reactive snap back, his voice lowers. His hand curls over his fist. ]

I know a lot more than I used to. I know what I have to do. What else is there?

Pleasure.

[The answer comes immediately, as it's the only one Gilgamesh has ever known... or at least the strongest one. The air of amusements fades from his features, leaves only the thin crease of his lip behind. For those of weaker will, it's easy to see how they might find themselves hypnotized by those serpentine eyes. This man had a way of speaking that lured people in before they ever even realized the lions' den they'd stumbled upon.]

What else could there ever be, but pleasure? Have you known it? Have you sought it? Or, perhaps...

[He's drawing close again. Because he wants to, but mostly because he can. He knows the strength behind this form best of all. How far could he push, before it snapped?]

...you are so dedicated to the life of a soldier, you'd scorn it outright. Refuse every notion of it, all for the sake of the world and the mission left behind.

[ Pleasure. So he said it after all. Levi kind of expected that, but he wanted to hear what argument he could possibly present for Enprise itself taking them into the fold. He isn't convinced. Since Gilgamesh knows his strength, it should follow that what he said was true. He isn't weak-willed, nor prone to playing along with his whims. Despite what he knows.

He knows the kind of person Gilgamesh really is. And in that vein, he doesn't really know why he chose to favor him, over all of the people he'd just as easily cut to pieces. But when the other man draws close again, his hands still relax and slip away from each other. Casual, because he's not afraid of that. He just hadn't been quite so restrictive before they went to save the heroes from that brothel, took a job to hunt bandits. ]

None of your business. Aren't you just saying what you want to think about this world?

[ Or is he really saying there's some greater reason for it? That it gives him power? ]

[Gilgamesh won't reach out to touch. He's near enough to, but he doesn't. He just keeps watching Levi, intensely, and were he a proper Servant again his aura could be felt, draping around him like a thick blanket. As it stands, Gilgamesh has only his words and his looks to ensnare him, and he doesn't appear too convinced by either.

Even so, this was a matter of pride for Gilgamesh, and Gilgamesh never gave up on those.]

I say what I know. Pleasure is why all human beings exist. It exists within every heart and soul, even among the most stoic. We fight, to pleasure our urges; we protect, to please others; we live on, to please ourselves. Even you, Levi, understand this fundamental principle.

[And so he says what he thinks, what he suspects in that ever cautious mind of his:]

Pleasure is power. Pleasure is wisdom, temperament, feeling. It defines the human experience. Simply put, to deny pleasure is to deny yourself.

[ What he says may be true. At least in the general sense, Levi can see just as well as he can that people are pleasure-seeking creatures. Often to the point of selfishness, and to the misfortune of others. That said, his words have become increasingly nebulous, and the viewpoint from which they're told seems to assume a strangely disconnected wisdom. ]

Now you're just getting carried away.

[ It's his instinct to dismiss it—but on the other hand, something about that tone piques his interest. As if it might help to explain Gilgamesh to him in some way. He's been struggling to understand him ever since that day leaving Menchik... and it's only because of what they'd experienced together before that he seeks to have it answered.

So he still doesn't leave. ]

What puts you in a position to lecture me, huh? [ And if he's talking about human nature, why does it sound like he's implying he's not human at all? ]

I like the look in your eyes.

[Now he's getting very carried away. But it isn't false, for Levi to believe his logic distant at best, utterly intangible at worst. His was the viewpoint of one who had the blood of both men and gods flowing in his veins, of one who could end his war with a single wave of his hand. Of course he'd see the world differently. The world existed in an entirely different dimension for him, a lonely fact that contributed to his isolation.

If Levi seeks to understand him, he's in for an impossible task. Though, by virtue of staying, and listening, he may come just a bit closer to doing so.]

Sharp, fierce, a hunter in the night. I would not lecture the wolf; the wolf runs wherever it wills. As for what I do, and why I do it, it is a different matter entirely. but I will tell you this: if men are the sheep, then I am the shepherd. I have watched over you for generations, and will continue to do so.

[The tattoos all over his body, as well as his eyes, faintly glow. There can be no mistaking it now. Gilgamesh was truly otherworldly in nature.]

I will guide humanity, until such a time comes you reach the stars, and have no further need of me. That is who I am.

[ That may be the best he can hope for, in most attempts to understand someone, let alone Gilgamesh. Then again, the thought may be less expansive in his mind to begin with, since all he wants is to be able to make a judgment by his own standards. As a private person with no expectation of knowing others' histories, what he comes up with is a person's actions.

In this case, they'd flipped all over the board. The feeling that he was wrong or being misled bothers him. And while it's in no small part due to his general foul mood, he may be particularly prickly because of this. Gilgamesh probably noticed. The general change between them in recent times. Granted, once Levi realizes there might be some reason to explain it, he's become distracted.

Like right about now, when looking over the eerie glow in the man's eyes—and letting his eyes wander over the length of his tattoos—seems considerably more interesting. Investigatory. ]

I have no idea what you're talking about. [ Well, not really. He remembers how when they first met, Gilgamesh said he used to be "stronger." It's only that it all adds up to something strange, something he's still making sense of. ]

Why is it a guy like you still has to play soldier for Blanc? [ That is, if what he's saying is true. To be honest, Levi thinks that it is, in his gut. ]

[Smoothly:]

Do you distrust me, Levi?

[So much for wrangling anything in the way of decent answers from this guy. Gilgamesh just cuts in with a question of his own, and if nothing else, he did seem strangely perceptive when it suited him. Like he's known what's been on Levi's mind the entire time, and only just now chooses to broach the subject.

His smile is pleasant, as are the words that follow. It is easy to see how someone duller than Levi might fall for this.]

What reason have you for it? I am quite pleased to fight alongside you, and I am a bit more selective with my...

[Betrayal.]

...anger. If you have doubts, speak to me. I will address them as fairly as I can.

[ Well, if that is the case, he certainly wouldn't be wrong. That he's kept from pushing Levi just near enough to salvage the interaction is credence to the fact. Hence he knows himself that Gilgamesh isn't as dull around the corners as he may appear. The signs of it have always been present, from his ability to quickly pick up on instructions to even the more egregious ways of making plans.

But he isn't perfect either. Far from it. Levi's discomfort can't be soothed by reassuring words. Particularly not when it was his own life that was ever the subject of his concerns. His eyes fall narrower, a returning annoyance indicative that he doesn't much like being talked up or dumbed down. The first response to it is snappish. ]

Cut the crap. [ If he knows what Levi was really thinking about, then he should know being disingenuous's not gonna work. ]

I'll put it like this: I don't like useless death. I never would have teamed up with you if I thought you'd be saddling me with more than I bargained for. [ As in, he accounts that death will occur... but it went beyond his expectations. ] It's no privilege to me to be given special treatment from you. I won't return it. The next time I see you acting out of line with the civilians, it'll be on the other side of my blade.

You already have returned it.

[Because Gilgamesh won't forget it. That climb up the cliff had been one of the toughest things he's ever done, physically speaking, but they made it together—literally off one another's back. Though he does not mock Levi, nor does he conceal what he feels to be the truth from it. The man certainly deserved that much.]

And I will not hesitate to respond with force if a civilian threatens me, or shows disrespect severe enough to warrant punishment. I regret nothing.

[Gilgamesh frowns. Is that all? Would this be it between them? He shouldn't be surprised, but even so, he makes an effort to understand.]

Have your expectations been betrayed? I wonder what it was you truly wanted all along.

[ He doesn't regret it, and he'd like it if he could be cautiously optimistic, assume Gilgamesh isn't going to act outside of the confines of their orders again. In that case, his threat could stay a string of words. They could go on tolerating each other. But Levi finds he can't sit by if that isn't the way things turn out, and if he's being asked, he wants to be clear about that.

Turning his face, he responds like it should be obvious. ]

I didn't want anything. [ Or more accurately, he only did what he wanted to do at the time—because it felt like the right thing. That his expectations feel betrayed... well, he won't say that's anyone's fault. Unless maybe it's his own, thinking that acting for the same goal meant they shared values in any way. ]

We're both stuck on this Heroes unit. If it's going to succeed, it needs cohesion. It needs Heroes to fill it out. To keep that intact, I'm not about to stick up for outliers.

[ You're welcome, Blanc. But really, all he cares about is getting home. ]

You should want something. For yourself.

[Levi's surge of aggression seems to have calmed to a manageable level, so Gilgamesh dares to approach again. But he's more cautious about it, more calculated, sliding in from the side rather than behind. Maintaining a respectable distance, though close as they once comfortably were with each other. Levi may not have reached Gilgamesh, and it may not be possible for him to do so, but he has gotten him to stop and to listen. And that's significant.]

It cannot always be about the mission, for the mission, everything forgotten save the mission. You will also forget to live, to breathe, and to be.

[A tall order for a man like Levi, but Gilgamesh doesn't expect him to embrace that sort of philosophy. Only to bear it in mind.]

You need not "stick up" for me. But I will watch for you, because you are interesting. Because you are humanity's true ideal.

[ So long as Gilgamesh doesn't question his decision about this, he isn't angry. They can't make up for what's already happened... and while he found it distasteful, he wouldn't normally speak out against giving criminals what they deserve. For now, that means he's doing the same thing. Watching for him. He's not naive enough to believe that he won't ever act out of line again, but it's not like he's chomping at the bit for it either.

By the same lenience, he isn't acting differently now. No more tense to have Gilgamesh drawing close. If anything, this may have dissolved that unanswered question enough for things to become sincerely casual. Levi rolls his eyes, and starts thinking back to his bet that he'd enjoy himself. ]

Did you come up with that on your own? [ There's no way he mentioned that wretched nickname to anyone, no way for it to be coming from that. ]

It'll be about the mission until the mission's done.

[Gilgamesh grins, more than a little wryly.]

I've been watching your people for thousands of years. I know a well-groomed soldier better than anyone.

[And, from this angle, Gilgamesh was quite keen to go on and on about just how handsome a soldier he was despite that wrinkly complexion, but... for once he recognizes this may not be the best time. Actually, never may be the best time, but Gilgamesh just assumes that as a challenge. Just not one to tackle right now.

Still, it's obvious he's staring again. He has little reason not to if Levi's not going to lash out for it.]

Does it bother you? Was that not the image you intended to portray to others?

[Actually, it's become clear that the question he should've been asking, all along, was...]

How should I see you, Levi? Perhaps we will clear up any confusion that way.

[ Thousands of years... hah. Just more evidence to suggest he's some otherworldly being, right? Maybe Levi can breach the topic again some other time. Since he's been brushed off asking about it for now, he doesn't deign it important enough to keep pestering him about. Though on the other hand, maybe it would be a fair reprisal to being called things like "humanity's true ideal."

He imagines that has something to do with why Gilgamesh is looking. While he's not much more or less receptive to it, he accepts the looks for what they are. Probably harmless. (After all, he'd just made it clear what he'd do if he felt he was behaving in any way to the contrary.) At his clarification, Levi begins to half-heartedly sneer. ]

See me however you want to. It's not like I care. [ If he had to choose, he's just Levi. But in practice, ] I'll be whatever I have to be.

Someone to slay me, should I step out of line...?

[Because what else could Gilgamesh ask, but that?]

Naturally.

[ He didn't even have to think about that one. It's what he's been doing for some time, albeit with other individuals. ]

[Oh, an answer like that really gets him going. And if he really wanted to go for broke, if he really didn't care about the man hunting his head forevermore, afterwards, Gilgamesh would push him down and let him know just what he thought about that sort of proposition and just where he could put that sword of his right before showing Levi a sword of his very own.

But because Levi was interesting, more so than he was disposable, Gilgamesh refrains from anything uncouth. Smiles back at the man, undeterred and unprovoked, though his blood was certainly singing in his veins. Perhaps he'd underestimated Levi's appeal; it wasn't in that growly, scowly face, but in his rebellious nature that the world itself would not snuff out.

Yet what a fun little game it would be to try.]

Whatever you have to be... mm, that's more than good enough, I would agree.

[This hot water sure wasn't helping matters... maybe he'd better go slide off now before Levi becomes suspicious.]

[ He can sense that the reaction to his flippant answer is bigger than he expected. There is a small pause between them, a feeling ripe in that air. Of course, it doesn't occur to Levi yet to take it to more... active places. He's not oblivious to their existence, to Gilgamesh's fascination with his body, but the connection between this and putting him in his place is still lacking.

After all, he doesn't mind appreciating each other's bodies—if it's fighting he's going to be doing. Some part of him takes honest satisfaction in curbing pigs stepping out of line. Enacting violence upon those who deserve it is a job he's chosen to do; he feels strongly that he can do it better than anyone else.

Perhaps that's why, even while he remains tinged with disgust at Gilgamesh's inclinations, he doesn't continue to push him away. It's piqued his interest, this thought of personally disciplining him. Watching him closely, he folds his arms over his chest. He tests. ]

You make it sound like you're planning for it to happen...

Oh, I want it to happen. Very much so.

[Levi tests, Gilgamesh responds, and does so with utmost eagerness. He has no need to hide his tastes, his preferences; wears them for all the world to see most of the time. His eyes shine with mirth and his lips curl into a smile smooth as could be, nearly innocuous to anyone who didn't know better. He has no need to hide himself, which means he has no need to feel guilt for much of anything. A truly shameless creature.

Gilgamesh doesn't touch. Not quite yet. He'll wait for this game of theirs to proceed a bit further first.]

Are you the sort of man that can keep someone like me down? Do you delight in knocking kings from their thrones, crushing them beneath your heel?

[Of course you do, he thinks, or we wouldn't be having this conversation.]

[ Hah... so he admits it outright. Levi's expression twists into a grimace. Though he has to wonder whether, when Gilgamesh imagines indulging in this cycle, he is thinking of winning or losing. He can't deny that it provokes him, even while simultaneously, he grasps that it's exactly what the man is hoping to do. The contradiction, not wanting to appease him, fuels his irritation. ]

Oi... you bastard. Who said you could project your filthy desires onto me? [ Clearly there's no obliviousness left in him. Should Gilgamesh too far in this vein, he's conflating him with a real sadist, isn't he? Levi doesn't like it, wants to insist on the distinction. ] I said it myself, didn't I? I'll do whatever I have to. If somebody's determined to make a mess, I'll stoop to any level necessary to clean it up.

[ But he's not instigating the mess in the first place. That's the difference. ]

[Once again, Levi exhibits a hidden appeal: that terseness of his tongue, so vulgar, so sharp. Not even Kirei ever addressed him so boldly, with such violence simmering beneath the surface. He cannot deny it excites him. Perhaps, from anyone else, it would've offended, but from Levi's lips it practically sounds like a siren song. How much further could he be pushed into this merciless nature? And to picture his hands, cutting deep, his boot, slamming down... well, maybe there's something about this that's more than a bit filthy.]

I did, of course. The King makes the rules; the King culls the herd. Don't be so arrogant as to assume my duties, mongrel.

[There's no real fire behind the insult, however. Any fool could see that this was a deliberate ploy, words intentionally chosen to prod at the beast within. Levi may not want him to appease, but the longer he lingers, the more he feeds into it all. The longer he stays, the more Gilgamesh believes he can get exactly what he wants.

He can leave. Gilgamesh almost dares him to try. But how could he abandon the very same mess he swore to clean up?]

I'll believe your resolve once I see it for myself. For now, you're all talk, and nothing more.

[ From his perspective, Gilgamesh isn't special. He'll afford him the same courtesy and the same viable threat for his actions as anyone else. This is what allows his boldness to continue to apply to him. That he seems to like it is, well... an unintended side-effect. He hadn't realized it would happen until just before this moment, and perhaps against his better judgment, he does continue to feed into it by insisting to establish the same expectations of Gilgamesh as every other Hero before and after him.

But consciously or no, there is an undeniable part of that lingering that's less Knightly than the rest. The explicit part of it that keeps him attentive. If he feels that, Levi won't mention it. There's nothing he'd dislike more than to acknowledge the flaw in his thinking, the one thing setting his intentions apart from Gilgamesh's own.

His eyebrows raise, calling him on his bluff. ]

Ah? So are you.

[ Yes, although he's clearly provoked into finding the exchange annoying, the difference that Levi had so exactingly gone out of his way to highlight is what keeps him in check. He won't just shamelessly reach for a fight founded on nothing. He really will leave, if he gets the wrong answer. (In fact, it would be better for his conscience.) ]

"The King" keeps yapping like I should pay him homage when we've already settled our one dispute. Are you really that insistent on being punished?

[Well, it's fair enough that he got his own words thrown back in his face. It's true, he hasn't acted on anything he's said, simply because he wanted to see how far he could drag Levi down before either his temper or his patience gave way. It seems he's teetering towards a decision, but as adept as Gilgamesh was at reading and manipulating others, he has no access to his inner thoughts. He can only guess.

But in his defense, his guesses were usually pretty good.]

Have we?

[Gilgamesh will touch him, now. Sweetly, about the throat, with his hand clasped around. There's no inherent threat in it, given that there's no real strength applied, but the symbolism of grabbing him there cannot be denied. He may be just a Queen, but it didn't take much to snap someone's neck.

He strokes along an artery with his thumb and recalls with fondness the time he could claim a life with but a finger.]

From where I'm standing... it's only just begun.

[ By all accounts, it's a decision he should already know the answer to. Why does he let himself be goaded? He has every ability to see through it, to see that it's wanted... but should it be provoked of him by this standard that what he's doing has meaning, that he's only doing what he can and should to nullify a threat, he can't stop himself. Maybe he was actually trying to justify it.

He feels that he can, feels the answer to that question solidified by the snaky, unwanted touch of Gilgamesh's fingers encircling his throat. Bullheadedly, he doesn't see the contradiction, because it sets him off. It disgusts him, makes him feel unclean.

Regardless, he doesn't need to say anything more. Grabbing the offending arm, he's not nearly so sweet. The force behind it means to free himself, but more importantly, to subdue. He makes to twist the limb behind Gilgamesh's back—and at once, throws a kick to his stomach that cuts powerfully through the water, quickly divesting Levi of his towel. ]

[Open] It's getting hot in here

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