tlv inbox

[a_titanum]

"Leave your message, if you care to."

Comments

Re: While Archer's Away

[monsterjohann]

"That's just a poor excuse for continuing to be false about it. If we both know, then you don't have to pretend."

He reaches over for his hand.

Re: While Archer's Away

[a_titanum]

The urge to pull away, to strike, to snap is strong in him, but just as strong as the urge to accept the gift of the breakfast, to not ruin this hobby that clear seems to be working in some way or another for Johann.

The greater prize must always be considered over the temporary advantage... and a part of him is sick that his strategy is now employed with Johann where it never was, where it's never had a place. He hates that flood more and more, as much for what it had done as for the cracks its aftermath caused. Johann wonders why he hasn't said he loves him nearly so much and it has nothing to do with a lack of love.

Everything to do with a need for distance. Distance he'd never thought he'd need before.

He can feel his heartrate flicker up in his throat.





He takes Johann's hand, fingers soft.

"I am hardly the one who pretends most often. And I have never believed your apathy. Not since the beginning, even. So I could ask the same."

Re: While Archer's Away

[monsterjohann]

He shakes his head a little, clearing the strands from his face. "I've been working on it," he grumbles under his breath.

Then, because he owes him something better than that as far as an explanation, he continues. "Ever since we met properly, you've never been without me. Do you realize that? I have. I was without you at home and then I came here and I was without you. Apathy was the only defense I had."

[a_titanum]

"You had me and then you lost me and you... responded as thus?" he posits gently enough. His fingers entwine with Johann's.

[monsterjohann]

"I had you and lost you and had to pretend that nothing affected me because I was originally told I needed to - sever you completely."

He feels himself relax. "That's the origin of the apathy here."

[a_titanum]

"Something which I have not yet forgiven Dorian for," he admits quietly. This is a place of wonders, of deals, and that particular decision is one that he has some very distinct feelings about.

[monsterjohann]

He would normally interject and defend Dorian here, but he's too tired to do so. He's too tired of the arguing and the bickering. He is not a creature of subtlety and politics.

"I know," he admits, leaning forward to start to clear the tray. He picks up another piece of toast in the process.

"So tell me about Archer."

[a_titanum]

Florian didn't want an argument. They're talking and he's being honest. He tries his best to keep his feelings about Johann's friends, the ones who tried to cut him off and away from him, to himself.

"What is there to tell? He is my teacher and I his pupil. I was not lying to you, Johann, when I said I hardly knew what to say on the matter."

[monsterjohann]

"You've never had a teacher before. Not like this, at least. If he goes, you're fucked." He's not trying to be cruel, but there is an undercurrent of fear there. Johann fears for Florian, for him getting something he wanted so much, only to have it taken.

[a_titanum]

He rolls his eyes, just a little, and breathes in deep.

"I have a few contingencies in place. Xie Lian has promised to teach me the magic of his world, some of the scripts and scrolls he uses. And Herr Tepes, the young man in the infirmary, not the older one, apparently teaches the magic of his world, a system of sigils and glyphs. There's also any number of books that I've found referenced in those he gave me that I can find in the library. The resources are significantly better than they were back in Elendhaven."

[monsterjohann]

That actually assuages a lot of his worries and he pauses only briefly in his cleaning to acknowledge it with a nod.

"Good. Then I don't have any reason to worry about it?"

[a_titanum]

"No," he repeats, confirms, "you have no reason to worry about it."

He wasn't so foolish as to pin everything on another person. He's learned how quickly, how decisively, that can fall apart.

[monsterjohann]

"Then, will you play teacher and show me how to heat the kettle without melting it?"

He doesn't consider the matter closed, but there isn't much more he can do.

[a_titanum]

"Not with the kettle you like," he says plainly. "But certainly. Can you fetch another one?"

[monsterjohann]

He does, but not before he leans over and presses a kiss against his cheek. "This one makes the water taste funny."

He tosses it into the air and catches it before placing it on the table.

[a_titanum]

And Florian, who's been rather reserved most of this, will at least lean into the kiss. He's... feeling rather exhausted by so much of the last few days.

He rolls his eyes at the theatrics with the kettle, however.

"We'll want it filled with water." He gestures to their sink. "If you would?"

[monsterjohann]

"I have to do everything around here," he complains, even though he volunteers and often takes on more responsibilities than even Florian asks for. Despite his outward nature, Johann does automatically default to helpful.

He fills up the kettle and it, again, is placed on the table with a thunk.

[a_titanum]

Florian does not roll his eyes, but he thinks it loudly enough that Johann can no doubt 'see' it regardless but he'll wait until the kettle is full before he reaches over and lifts it up.

"Unless you'd like to scorch the table cloth as well, best to lift it up. Now, observe-"

And he'll turn his hand towards the bottom of the pot, no visual sign that anything has changed until there's a soft rushing sound from the kettle that slowly transforms into the kettle whistling. He feeds the power into the top surface of the bottom of the kettle, the water that touches it, and carefully controls it to just that spot until all of the water is hot enough to bubble.

[monsterjohann]

"It's not my tablecloth," he mutters, but does as he says. The kettle whistles and Johann glances between Florian and the noise. "You didn't do anything."

He doesn't mean it to come out in a huff, but he's already frustrated.

[a_titanum]

That gets a snort.

"You think kettles just heat themselves? Of course I did something, Johann. Stop looking with your eyes and start looking with that other sense."

He'll pull the heat from the kettle and expend it into the air before he heats the kettle again.

[monsterjohann]

He grumbles something annoyed under his breath, but actually tries to focus. "Alright, alright. Do it again."

[a_titanum]

He'd been doing just that but he'll do it more slowly, just for Johann.

"You can't see it but you can feel it while you're touching it. Having a handle on it with one sense, at least, is very helpful."

[monsterjohann]

He doesn't see it, but he does - know it. It's Florian's power that runs through him, after all, and he's able to determine it easier than he thought.

He slides his fingers along the kettle to the origin of the power, not caring if it burns him. He'll heal right away anyway. That's less important.

"Oh. Oh alright."

[a_titanum]

"You feed a little in with your touch," he says quietly, "and it gives you a sense of the shape of the thing. Then it's easier to focus where it needs to go."

[monsterjohann]

"Alright, then let me try." He sits back in a chair and holds the kettle up, finding it easier to transfer the magic, the energy, when he has it tangibly in his hand. Much like the candle, sending it any distance requires a little more effort.

The water doesn't boil quite yet, but he can feel it heating.