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

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[Open] It's getting hot in here

Who: Caren and anyone visiting the hot springs!
When: Post dungeon, could be right after fail/success, could be days after
Where: Hot Springs of course
What: There's a hot springs, so now there's a hot springs episode.
Rating: Could be a p-13 and beyond because some people are only wearing towels in this place.

[Win or fail, everyone needed a reason and a way to relax. With the fall of the towers, there was all sorts of good things to come from it. Some would say it was the birds; and others would say it was the hot springs.

The large, large pools of heated water. Sure, they could be used as a way to get all steamed up (or even steam punk) but after all that hard work, everyone deserves a break!

Bring your swimsuits, your towels, your drinks and snacks-who knows, you should be able to find them in the bazaars, or even on Airy. It's time to soak in the heat!]

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[ 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. ]

[Gilgamesh knows exactly what he's doing. He can't and won't make excuses for it. This sort of insolence would've invoked rage from Kirei, and so it invokes the same from Levi. How predictable, that all his partners should fall into such a pitfall. Humanity's ideal could not outsmart the one who oversaw them all. Though, unfortunately, Gilgamesh doesn't have very long to gloat over his supposed victory.

The phrase be careful what you ask for, because you might just get it leaps to mind here. Gilgamesh not only gets shoved back, but indeed, subdued. His arm bends without much of a fight and that kick comes before he can do much of anything about it. It's harder than he expects, and it's only now that he's reminded of their differences in strength. A Queen simply could not stand up to a Knight, at least in any physical capacity.

Still, he struggles. He growls. He glances past his shoulder at Levi, and his eyes are a furious and searing red. It would not be a mistake to see him as a monster he's so accustomed to cutting down in this moment. He certainly behaves no better than a beast, pushing back, trying to knock him over once he's recovered his breath. He may be a Queen, but he's feisty. Levi would need to work to put this one down, if it could be done at all.]

[ Indeed, this is the response that he directly provoked. If he'd known it before from types like him, because they spent no short amount of time talking it over, there's no excuse that would absolve Gilgamesh to obliviousness. And even if he knows he's taking it too far, Levi counts on that. Anyone who felt it was in good humor to keep pushing their limits should expect to see the same end. Despite the unfitting location, the motivations involving his looks he felt Gilgamesh striving towards, there's nothing about attraction to it. Not yet.

On the contrary, you could say it's a good, old-fashioned beat down. Meant to scare him away from being so presumptively daring again. In his mind's eye, Levi would like to end it there—but he's not planning ahead. The moment he's touched betrays all assurance of that, one way or another.

Merciless, for as much as Gilgamesh fights back, Levi comes at him twofold. Releasing his grip on his arm, the downward momentum of doing so forcibly, happens side by side with another kick. This one is launched distinctly to step down onto him rather than to bat against him; it all adds up to using gravity on his side to bring the man to lose his footing. And whether or not he succeeds, he'll immediately follow it up, disallow Gilgamesh any time to recover. Punches, faster than his legs above water, harder hitting, come in a barrage. He's not one to be underestimated. ]

(( Come watch me and Aki be sick fucks over here! It'll be great! ))

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[Open] It's getting hot in here

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