Pleroma | Voice;

[bearshermark]

[There comes a faint hesitance and nervousness as a prelude to the voice that follows]

Has anyone discovered.. changes to themselves since coming here?

[A beat of held breath, considers leaving it at that, then gives in on a sigh]

There are leaves—like ivy—around my shard. Somehow, they seem to have grown from my skin.

[That's pretty weird and not-normal, right?]

Comments

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[passio]

Something happened to me during the ritual, but since we escaped, nothing has changed.

Does it hurt?

[bearshermark]

Only if I pull on them.

[Which makes dressing a careful thing now]

By ritual, do you mean the one in the cave..?

[passio]

Please don’t pull on them.

And yes, I do. The sickness reminded me of something from my home.

[bearshermark]

That's awful. Was there any cure?

[They might not be the same thing, but if there's anything they can do to help even a little..]

[passio]

No. It leads to death.

I think it’s different here, but it can’t be good for us anyway.

[bearshermark]

[Oh]

I'd hope there would be some way to purify it.

[passio]

[ the mention of purification gets his attention. that word specifically. ]

Have you tried?

[bearshermark]

I wouldn't know how to. I wonder if there might be some sort of purification ritual to counteract the one we were subjected to. Or some sort of holy water for the Kenoma liquid at least..

[passio]

[ it’s not something dextera had considered. the kenoma had been forcibly induced, but who’s to say the pleroma couldn’t be in kind? ]

I don’t know. There isn’t anything like that where I’m from, but maybe there’s one here. Maybe we could create it.

[bearshermark]

Tehri said it's possible to change, so there must be a way.

[passio]

The woman in Greentruth? I haven’t spent much time there.

[ he feels… out of place, maybe, around people with so much conviction. ]

[bearshermark]

Yes. She seems rather wise.

How is Godsblood? I haven't been yet.

[passio]

Confusing. Stressful. I think I would be happier in Greentruth.

[ and yet… ]

Voice

[regretsor]

My teeth changed and now my extremities are clawed and blackened. I also grew appendages similar to that of wolves. It seems like that not only can our minds be affected, but our physical appearances too.

[He had grown accustomed to them at this point. He also doesn't seem too bothered about the idea of physical changes, since it was a common sight at home during the scenarios too.]

[bearshermark]

That's... are you all right?

[he is Concerned]

[regretsor]

The worst part was the initial changes. [Feeling things grow was an uncomfortable moment. It hurt, but his pain tolerance was ridiculously high that it was just left him aching for a little bit.] Other than that, I'm not particularly bothered by it other than some of my actions are unconscious.

[The accursed tail wagging...]

It's nothing to be concerned about. You just learn to acclimate with these things.

[bearshermark]

I suppose so, but that seems like a great deal to adjust to.

[He just has some leaves sprouting from his chest and he’d been concerned about that, let alone anything more transformative]

I wonder why it’s happening.

[regretsor]

If I don't adjust to it then I risk failing and dying. It's more bothersome than anything else. [He has a pretty high tolerance to bullshit at this point, so he isn't going to let it bother him so much. The only annoying thing he really finds about it is that his body language gives him away more than he'd like it to.]

I think growing a few bothersome appendages is the least of our worries right now. Why it's happening equally so. You might be able to ask around, but I'd be careful. We don't know if it's common, so you'd want to ask people more trustworthy who can give you an answer as to why it's happening.

[bearshermark]

[Well, it's a bit late for that sort of caution now, but maybe he can ask Tehri sometime]

Do you feel all right, though? The changes aren't paining you or worsening?

[regretsor]

It's hardly a problem. You're worried over something unnecessary. Do you think a pair of ears and a tail were even remotely awful in comparison to reliving whatever hell in your mind?

[It hurt, but it was nothing compared to what ailed his mind. The brittleness of his mind made it difficult to endure the affects of the sludge they were fed.]

An ache or two is fine.

[bearshermark]

[Oh. A tail. For some reason he hadn't thought of that]

..As long as you're all right.

[He hesitates a moment, then-]

I think it's important to take care of each other.

[regretsor]

[The tail is the worst part. Sometimes it betrays him and wags. He is cold and mean. He does not tail wag damn it.]

You should worry about yourself more. I can take care of myself.

[He's a rather prickly bastard. He isn't quite used to the worry of strangers and he doesn't quite trust it. Even if he knows that the circumstances here are very different to what he had been living through before.] Take care of yourself or care for someone who might actually need it.

[There's that very tiny sliver of implication that he might just be a littleeee concerned for the other so he wants them to focus on themselves instead. Or others who might be struggling more with the situation.]