Starring: Emlen Slane and Solaris Slane.
Oh, the city. What an overgrown hive, so many varieties of shameless peons lurching about purposely. Solaris had thrown an old grey duster over his chestplate. It hung off him like a drape, masked the shimmering gold armor, but not completely, and the man's ceremonious boots still clodded sharply as he walked. But despite it all, in this city, a man with an old trench coat thrown over a pious set of armor was really not so queer. He stepped swiftly, caught the buzzing, broken red neon sign that titled the bar and pushed the door below it in. The interior was a stuffy pocket of red miasma; cigarette smoke permeating and rising, fogging the dive, the crowns of the plumage that pushed up on the rafters lined in empty crimson from the shoddy lamps that flashed the names of various drafts and brands. Like a sergeant, Solaris leered over the zombious crowd proudly, disgustedly, a great, pervasive sickness nibbling its way into his body. He steps and his heft boots rattle the floorboards. He steps and rattles, steps and rattles, steps and now the salt shakers upon an empty table leap up then fall on their sides. He finds the bar, leans over it on his elbows but says not a word, a mysterious smile carved into his hard, broad jaw.
The door opened, and as if there was a rod attached to his spine, he walked through the threshold. Arms only swung at his waist as much as he allowed. Blue eyes trailed over the area to find the unmistakable soul, and once he was located, Emlen sucked in a breath and swallowed hard. His fists were in tight balls, bracing himself. He had to try not to get hurt, not that his father was so messy. "Solaris," Emlen greeted. They weren't on those kinds of 'Daddy' terms.
Solaris did not turn upon the address, only smiled secretly with his chin rested atop his bridged fingers. "Emlen," he says in a high and amused voice. In the darkness, those wild red eyes scream out like seven o"clock suns, low, not bright but contained in their radiance. "Just on time. I commend you!" Solaris turns and sizes the boy up, takes both his hands and slaps them into the outer edges of both Emlen's shoulders like he would squeeze the boy like an accordion. "And so how are we" Our meeting in Sama was brief, but fruitful. You agree?" The man broke his eyes away, he swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes, Martyr was....Infected for quite some time." Emlen mumbled with a nod. The beating of his heart changed as the man tried to summon up whatever courage he could. It wasn't in him yet, but picturing both the faces of his sister, and his girlfriend was getting him there.
"Look at you boy. You look paler than usual. Even immured in this vile, poisonous cavern of vice and stale smoke, you radiate like a moon. Tell me. Tell me what is upon you, boy. And sit, for you are bound to shatter like a vase." Solaris whacks Emlen's shoulder with a big and callous grin glowing on his face. He falls into a stool, leans forward and slaps the one adjacent to show Emlen where to sit. Emlen didn't make eye-contact, he only nodded and obeyed. His hands slapped against the counter and flattened out there. "It's....Nothing, Solaris..." Except, it wasn't nothing. Except, he wanted out. He needed to be out....It didn't take much for the tall man to plop down into the stool and sit silently.
"Well, boy," Solaris said while leaning in to enact some coy take on a privacy for his own amusement. "I'll admit that your personal problems mean little-to-nothing to me anyway. I was just thinking that I would play 'dad" a moment. But you ruined that moment, so let us move on to another moment. Let us move on to business so that I may evacuate this filthy city in haste. Lay out what reports you have. Oh, and I would really like to hear about how my blood made our little Caia act. I have been anticipating this story for weeks." There it was, a wince, and an outburst. His hands lifted from the counter only to slam back down. "It ruined her, broke apart her family, and she hated it." The boy's cheeks were inflamed, and his stare was that of a glare as he looked over to the man who could rip away his soul at any given time. "Ruined her. She became you."
Oh, the city. What an overgrown hive, so many varieties of shameless peons lurching about purposely. Solaris had thrown an old grey duster over his chestplate. It hung off him like a drape, masked the shimmering gold armor, but not completely, and the man's ceremonious boots still clodded sharply as he walked. But despite it all, in this city, a man with an old trench coat thrown over a pious set of armor was really not so queer. He stepped swiftly, caught the buzzing, broken red neon sign that titled the bar and pushed the door below it in. The interior was a stuffy pocket of red miasma; cigarette smoke permeating and rising, fogging the dive, the crowns of the plumage that pushed up on the rafters lined in empty crimson from the shoddy lamps that flashed the names of various drafts and brands. Like a sergeant, Solaris leered over the zombious crowd proudly, disgustedly, a great, pervasive sickness nibbling its way into his body. He steps and his heft boots rattle the floorboards. He steps and rattles, steps and rattles, steps and now the salt shakers upon an empty table leap up then fall on their sides. He finds the bar, leans over it on his elbows but says not a word, a mysterious smile carved into his hard, broad jaw.
The door opened, and as if there was a rod attached to his spine, he walked through the threshold. Arms only swung at his waist as much as he allowed. Blue eyes trailed over the area to find the unmistakable soul, and once he was located, Emlen sucked in a breath and swallowed hard. His fists were in tight balls, bracing himself. He had to try not to get hurt, not that his father was so messy. "Solaris," Emlen greeted. They weren't on those kinds of 'Daddy' terms.
Solaris did not turn upon the address, only smiled secretly with his chin rested atop his bridged fingers. "Emlen," he says in a high and amused voice. In the darkness, those wild red eyes scream out like seven o"clock suns, low, not bright but contained in their radiance. "Just on time. I commend you!" Solaris turns and sizes the boy up, takes both his hands and slaps them into the outer edges of both Emlen's shoulders like he would squeeze the boy like an accordion. "And so how are we" Our meeting in Sama was brief, but fruitful. You agree?" The man broke his eyes away, he swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes, Martyr was....Infected for quite some time." Emlen mumbled with a nod. The beating of his heart changed as the man tried to summon up whatever courage he could. It wasn't in him yet, but picturing both the faces of his sister, and his girlfriend was getting him there.
"Look at you boy. You look paler than usual. Even immured in this vile, poisonous cavern of vice and stale smoke, you radiate like a moon. Tell me. Tell me what is upon you, boy. And sit, for you are bound to shatter like a vase." Solaris whacks Emlen's shoulder with a big and callous grin glowing on his face. He falls into a stool, leans forward and slaps the one adjacent to show Emlen where to sit. Emlen didn't make eye-contact, he only nodded and obeyed. His hands slapped against the counter and flattened out there. "It's....Nothing, Solaris..." Except, it wasn't nothing. Except, he wanted out. He needed to be out....It didn't take much for the tall man to plop down into the stool and sit silently.
"Well, boy," Solaris said while leaning in to enact some coy take on a privacy for his own amusement. "I'll admit that your personal problems mean little-to-nothing to me anyway. I was just thinking that I would play 'dad" a moment. But you ruined that moment, so let us move on to another moment. Let us move on to business so that I may evacuate this filthy city in haste. Lay out what reports you have. Oh, and I would really like to hear about how my blood made our little Caia act. I have been anticipating this story for weeks." There it was, a wince, and an outburst. His hands lifted from the counter only to slam back down. "It ruined her, broke apart her family, and she hated it." The boy's cheeks were inflamed, and his stare was that of a glare as he looked over to the man who could rip away his soul at any given time. "Ruined her. She became you."