isleofavalon | [open] somnus & YOU

Entry tags:

[open] somnus & YOU

WHO: somnus and OPEN
️ WHAT: he be shopping for the gf, but he needs help/suggesting buying stuff to spoil her
WHEN: early july
WHERE: around town
WARNINGS: nothing

A for Armani

[ Any merchant might say that shopping should not be a strained situation, but here among the stalls is none other than Somnus Lucis Caelum, standing with all of his stony gloom as he looks upon the wares. Indeed, he appears less stoic and more serious as he hovers over a set of silks laid out before him, brow lowered and frown prominent upon his expression. His shadow casts a bleak grey on the fabric, veiling its finer, gossamer features. As an added effect, his disgruntled expression, unfortunately, scares off the vendor herself, leaving him with no assistance in choosing a product.

Any other time in the market wouldn't be so... stressful, but this day, it is different. He is not shopping for himself, but for someone else. One thing remains clear above the torrent of choices and second-guessing and backtracking: this gift must be absolutely perfect. ]

Tell me, which of these colors would suit a maiden of blue hair?

[ Step one to buying a dress means first purchasing the fabric. The more difficult parts to it-- determining the cut and style-- come later. For that, too, he will be helpless. ]

B for Balenciaga

[ For better or worse, it seems that Somnus can not come to a definite conclusion on exactly which color, fit, or item to buy-- so he buys all of it. All the things.

Yes, that's right: all of the gifts he's happened to purchase are currently being packed neatly into a medium-sized wagon. In addition to the variety of silks, furs, hats, and books. There are, of course, more than a dozen bouquets of flowers, none of which he knows their meaning, for included are arrays of daffodils, roses, orchids, lilies, birds of paradise, an actual fowl of paradise in a birdcage, and a few flowering cacti. Perhaps someone should tell him that less is more? Or just to not try so hard... or that one of the cacti is actually a carnivorous plant, currently snapping at the hem of whatever cloak, skirt, or sleeve you are wearing. ]

C for Chanel

[ Having sent off a variety of gifts, he is now free to spend more time browsing some of the stalls. However, for those who think he may now be penniless: rest assured, he is not. In fact, it appears he has more gold to spare, seeing as how he just so happens to be stalled at the edge of a jewelry vendor.

One can also be assured that Somnus knows next to nothing of women's jewelry and fashion, and so when he peers curiously at one of the displays showcasing bracelets and rings, he may happen to be looking at the most hideous of arrangements. ] Does this stone symbolize anything?

[ Moreover, does it matter? Do women pay attention to what a stone might mean? And would the woman he is currently planning a gift for care for a particular meaning? Oh no, would she like it, maybe he should just buy the whole lot just in case-- ]

Wildcard

[ Have an idea? PM this account, drinksteapots, or Jade294#6977! Find Somnus in the market, run into him, try to steal one of the gifts from him, etc. Feel free to incorporate any of the quests/TDM prompts, too! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ In the end, peace is always fleeting. How foolish he had been.

Somnus' head snaps up at the familiar voice, and in the same moment, all comes to a sudden stillness as a ripple of kinetic power whips throughout the immediate area. It passes, but now Somnus is turned, facing Ardyn with an expression gone slack.

It is good that Ardyn has returned. It is one more chance for him to experience respite, another chance for him to find his own way in a world away from his own before the inevitable. There is hope. ] Brother...

[ He hadn't forgotten his duty, his family, nor even Ardyn himself. However, he had also been content, and it seems that contentedness has made him soft, unprepared, and vulnerable. Along with those three things, something else now corrupts that contentedness, something he hasn't felt in a long time, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to raise- and it is not for himself, either. Wariness is always for others. And if he says her name now--

"Sir, my apologies, I have the samples of silk you requested earlier for the Lady Rinea--" A lanky, nervous attendant returns to the counter behind the stall, a pile of blue, navy, and silver rolls of cloth in his arms. ]

Leave us.

[ His voice, frost on steel, prompts the attendant to immediately turn around to leave the two men, and Somnus' expression hardens as his gaze locks on Ardyn's. ]

[ Maiden of blue hair. Lady Rinea. Ardyn's eyes narrow slightly, and perhaps if he were a more cartoonish manner of villain (which he is not, thank you) he would cackle outright. So he's even met the girlfriend... But Somnus does not need to know that.

Instead he shrugs, assuming an air of injured-innocence-but-willing-to-be-forgiving. Why such a cold reception? What has he done to deserve this, apart from swearing to make Somnus's life misery on more than one occasion? But he does not voice that either, letting the sentiment seep into his body language. Surely, his brother does not even need to hear the words to know what he would say.

A brief thought flashes by that doesn't that mean he knows you well, but Ardyn quickly squashes it. No time for that, not when he's stepping closer to (try to) pat Somnus's cheek with an almost-not-malicious grin. ]

Aww, little Somnus has fallen in love. Brother is so proud of you.

[ In Eos, it would be a simple matter to phase out of reach. In Avalon, the ability doesn’t quite seamlessly translate into kinetic magic. Moreover, he’s been caught unawares. All together, this translate as an awkward flinch before he can correct his expression, and a lift of his hand to block his brother from making contact.

He does note, however, that Ardyn’s touch on the back of Somnus’ doesn’t feel cold— unlike how the Scourge would have kept his body back in their world. This is further proof that he is alive like any other… and, perhaps, that the blight may not have as deep a hold on him.

Somnus had been foolish in these past months— in love, as Ardyn has so easily read him (they are brothers, after all)— but he will not allow himself to be so foolish as to believe Ardyn speaks genuinely. This is a threat, and Somnus will not suffer dancing around the subject. He will make himself clear. ]

You will not harm her.

[ Ardyn smirks at having his touch blocked, but lowers his hand. It's had the desired effect, anyway, and now he can enjoy watching Somnus squirm. And there are, really, many things that Ardyn can say or do right now, but only one in particular comes to the front of his mind. ]

I, harm her? Perish the thought! But you will.

[ Somnus’ eyes narrow sharply. He replies dryly, defensively: ]

A prophet, are you?

I was to be wedded to one, if you recall. Perhaps I have picked up some things from her?

[ It should be fairly obvious that Ardyn is enjoying this, messing with his brother - and as part of it, he doesn't yet voice what it is he meant by that line. ]

[ Somnus steels himself, a sure sign that his Ardyn’s words have their effect, if not their intended one. As if he could forget— he was the one that killed her. ]

You know how it is to love.

[ This time it's Ardyn's expression that hardens. How it is to love? No, he no longer knows that. He can't even recall how he truly felt towards Aera anymore (or, at the very least, he doesn't let himself recall; there are many defenses in Ardyn's mind still). At best, Somnus's words are wishful thinking. At worst, a calculated insult. ]

Do I, now? But I know how it is to lose someone.

[ …And no one could deny Ardyn had lost someone in the most tragic of ways, slaughtered before his very eyes. Somnus presumes that if he recalls the this loss, he must by some measure recall the reason why it hurt.

…Does that not mean some humanity remains intact?

At this thought, Somnus raises his head, looking at Ardyn with a more open expression. ]

You recall the pain of loss.

[ Again there is a certain blankness to Ardyn's expression. The pain of loss - perhaps he does remember that, some deep part of him that was the original Ardyn Lucis Caelum. But Ardyn Izunia had merely honed that pain into hatred over the years, and now the thought of being hurt rather than furious is a strange one. ]

Do you, I wonder? Did you care so little for your queen that you've decided to choose another now?

[ He’s well aware enough of his brother’s games to know he means to provoke him, and perhaps months ago that would not have worked. But much in the way that he has grown to shed some of his steel, so too has he been made more susceptible to such tactics.

To even Somnus’ surprise, his response is quick, biting. ]

I honored my queen. [ And he had watched her death from the Ring. It is not quite the same as what Ardyn experienced with his betrothed, but it was cruel in its own way, perhaps deserving to the one who had taken the life of his brother’s lover. At the very least, it’s only solidified to Somnus that what he did to Ardyn is unforgivable, for witnessing the death of a loved one is the equivalent to knives dragging down one’s back.

It is why, he fears, Ardyn will pay the deed forward, much in the same way he made the Chosen be the sole audience to the Oracle’s murder. ]

And she bore me a son. Do not speak ill of her memory.

'Speak ill of her memory'? No, I don't believe I did. You honored her, and she bore you a son... Did she pass before you, perchance? I'm afraid I was not in the position to know.

[ He hadn’t insulted her, it’s true, another clue to the tension Somnus feels regarding the subject.

His voice is low, his jaw tight as he answers. ] …No. I had watched her death from the Ring.

[ And it’s terrible all around, because of course Ardyn wouldn’t know— Somnus had exiled and imprisoned him. Which fate is worse? Ardyn’s, naturally, and Somnus knows this. He deserves no sympathy. ]

[ Perhaps a few months prior Ardyn would have taken the chance to gloat about that, to mock Somnus's past losses - but now the subject seems more... tiresome than anything. Perhaps it is because he's never met Somnus's wife, and where is the fun in insulting someone he knows nothing about? Not to mention that Somnus himself presents a much better target. ]

Hmm. Then I imagine you know whether she stayed faithful to you after your passing.

[ He knows Ardyn means to draw blood without striking, but he’s never doubted the fidelity of his late wife. Moreover, they are both… dead. Even if he was technically present as a phantom within the Ring. ]

Enough of this— [ He dismisses, but his tone is sharp. ] Her life after my passing was hers to choose to be with another, if she wished.

[ Surely Ardyn does not expect a widow or widower to remain alone if they do not choose… ]

[ Somnus's annoyance is more than a little satisfying for Ardyn. He does, indeed, seek to hurt his brother without doing so physically, and in that his new relationship with Rinea is nearly a gift to him. ]

Hers to choose, hm? And here I thought you would have sought to make sure your bloodline stays pure. But she must have been subservient to you either way. I doubt you would have chosen a different kind of woman...

[ ... And unfortunately for the both of them, those words send Ardyn's mind down a different path. He narrows his eyes. ]

... Was that why you killed her, I wonder? Aera could be quite... wilful. I imagine she would not have made the most obedient wife.

[ At the question, the brief flash of shock cools just as quickly to insult on his expression. If he had expected Ardyn to say anything in response, it certainly wasn't that accusation. How is he to respond to it? It is easy to imagine any answer he gives will be twisted, no matter how he attempts to defend. ]

She perished, protecting you. None had foreseen her death that day.

[ ...If there is something to defend. Somnus is culpable of her death, but he hadn't expected it. The ripples of the first Oracle's death would be felt throughout the land, and it is true, it would have been better if she lived. He regrets it to this day. But if she had...

Although the situation Ardyn raises is hypothetical, it would have been a reasonable political arrangement to wed Aera himself. This, he cannot deny. ]

[ Somnus is unfortunately quite right about Ardyn twisting his words no matter what he says; though there have been... some changes in their relationship, Ardyn is still used to thinking negatively of people - and of his brother most of all, especially when it comes to his obsession with their past. ]

You did not foresee it, hmm? But you must have planned to take her for a wife after I was out of the picture. The perfect way to cement your new, god-sent authority. No need to deny it - it's not as though I am offended!

[ It's useless to talk in hypotheticals. Aera died-- by his hand-- and whether unintentional or not, Somnus shoulders the blame for not being more careful enough to prevent it, causing not one, but two innocent lives to fall in that throne room. To this day, there is a part of it that questions if her death had been part of the prophecy all along as well (but if, if it had been a mistake, that would be questioning divine authority--)

What an unpleasant feeling. He shouldn't answer, and no one is forcing him to, but Ardyn is touching on something that's visceral in nature to them both, prompting Somnus to answer with more charge in his voice, confronting the matter directly. ]

You want me to acknowledge it? Very well-- yes, brother, I would have.

[ For the very reasons Ardyn suggests, ugly but perfect for the founding of a kingdom. What a miserable union it would have been. ] Is that the answer you seek? You have it, but she is dead. It did not come to pass.

[ By all logic, Ardyn should be happy about having forced the answer out of his brother, an answer that clearly upsets Somnus. And yet... there is so little satisfaction in it, and even that is drowned out by sudden anger. The thought of Aera no longer being his - even though she'd betrayed him, he knows, he knows that, - is one that makes bile rise in his stomach. And more than that - though he does not quite realize it, in all these years he'd never come to terms with the thought that she is dead. Stuck in the past as he is, to hear someone else say it feels like a deliberate insult. Aera is his, and whether she lived or died should have been for him to decide.

Ardyn lowers his voice too, the mocking smirk gone from his face as he keeps his eyes fixed solely on Somnus. ]

Did you both plan for it, I wonder? How long had you been coveting what is mine, Somnus?

[ The market, the gifts, and the task for which he had initially come here are all but forgotten. Ardyn’s words, spoken in a low, venomous tone, strike Somnus with yet another accusation. Coveting is a word that carries extra connotations, but it would be a lie to say Somnus wasn’t envious— envious of his brother’s talent, his strength, the praise he received from their subjects, the genuine love Aera had for him and the tender time they spent together, and perhaps what set it all off, how blessed he was, chosen by the gods to have an innate ability to heal others by miracle, whereas Somnus could not.

But it is those words that reveal something that has been amiss regarding their pasts, something Somnus had suspected ever since he had seen the illusion of Aera’s corpse on the altar in Ardyn’s dream upon the Isle. The twisted hatred he has for her is misplaced— or perhaps twisted by the blight. What insults he hurls should only be meant for the one before him. Hackles raised, and unable to withstand more, he knows he should simply leave. Instead, pressed, he stays. ]

Ardyn— [ He calls his name sharply, as if he can grasp all the barbed lashes thrown at him at once. ] Hear me: Aera is blameless.

[ Lunafreya is blameless. Noctis is blameless. Rinea is blameless. Any and every one against whom Ardyn may enact his rage deserves none of it.

Somnus gestures with his hand in a sweeping motion. ] It was me. [ A deliberate, desperate silence follows, one in which he shatters not a moment later with iron in his tone. ]

I had used her.

I had used her goodness. [ He continues, jaw clenched. ] I had used her knowing she would trust me, knowing she would cause you to return.

I had killed her, and if she hadn’t perished, I would have used her for the kingdom.

[ Confession after confession, he stops only to attempt to collect himself with a breath, only to fall completely short of masking his frustrated expression. He is every bit aware of how despicable he sounds, and he has known, for quite some time, all of his sins and every way in which he would or would not have committed or justified them. ]

Your quarrel lies with me, and only me. [ His voice settles, simmering. ] You dare use her memory against me, and I will continue to remind you that she was loyal and loved you, to the very end, no matter how the Scourge corrupts otherwise.

[ Much like his brother, Ardyn is losing his cool too - which is pathetic, perhaps, given that he was the one to bring it up. His breath grows shorter and his fingers twitch as though he has to hold himself back from trying to strike Somnus. And that is indeed what he wants to do after seeing his brother stand there and... admit to his sins so openly, so brazenly. Ardyn had started to accept that perhaps he needn't hate his brother so much - or, at least, that it was getting too exhausting, - but that grim acceptance is washed away now by the renewed fury. It was all Somnus's fault. And perhaps if he could just kill Somnus for good, it would all be undone--

But there is more. There is the tangle that his feelings towards Aera are; he knows she betrayed him, no matter what Somnus says. She betrayed him, and she'd never truly loved him, or perhaps she was simply foolish and blind in her devotion to the gods - any excuse that his mind can come up with to avoid facing the reality of it. To never have to relive losing her again.

And, unknowingly, Somnus gives him the perfect excuse to focus on something else, yet another subject that is sore for him. Ardyn's lips twist in distaste; he lowers his head slightly, hunching up like an animal about to attack. ]

No matter how the Scourge corrupts. You think me a demented fool in addition to it all, do you?

[ They both have seen the way the Scourge turns humans into beasts, monsters incapable of determining friend from foe, and serving only one purpose: to spread their plague, to cover the world in darkness. Few daemons are capable of speech, and even less are able to articulate echoes of their past grievances. That Ardyn has retained his form is no short of a miracle, perhaps for the sole reason his soul remains within the Crystal’s Beyond, untouchable and immortal until the Draconian’s prophecy comes to fruition. How this works, the details matter little, for it is apparent that the blight corrupts his brother, but only to a certain point: the kindness Ardyn had once shown is not there; however, the pain he must feel makes itself known by anger and wrath.

Negative as these emotions are, perhaps they are not born of the scourge entirely, but simply exacerbated. Perhaps that means not all is lost.

...But Somnus, riled by Ardyn's previous insults and accusations, cannot entertain these thoughts for more than the moment they appear. He's always known how to provoke him. ]

Ardyn. [ As Ardyn hunches forward, Somnus straightens. ]

If you believe it does not have a hold on you, then answer me: when was the last you had healed another?

[ Unfortunately, this only serves to confirm what Ardyn believes to be true: that his brother does not actually care for him, does not see him as a person, merely a vessel for the Scourge. Only to be expected, of course, and it makes Somnus's previous proclamations - gestures, even - of some kind of caring seem like mere duplicity. ]

And that is all it takes for me to be me? If I go and heal someone, will Your Majesty grant me some personhood?

[ He would have responded the same way if he still had been held by the Scourge, and it had robbed him of everything, even his ability to determine ally from foe, striking at the Chosen King and his Crownsguards.

Ten years entrapped by its darkness is nothing compared to what Ardyn endured. How much further would Somnus’ soul have fallen from himself, if he were corrupted longer than a decade?

Ardyn’s question is disingenuous— he assumes he understands the point— and so Somnus doesn’t answer—- ooops no he totally takes the bait.

Somnus snaps at him, frustration causing his words to be spoken faster towards the end. ]

Then where is he? Where is the man you used to be?!

[open] somnus & YOU

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