isleofavalon | [open] somnus & YOU

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[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! ]

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[ 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?!

[ Perhaps Ardyn ought to be glad that he manages to get past Somnus's defenses so easily, but he, too, is not in the state to think about it. Though he does not quite realize it, does not let himself realize, but Somnus's words... hurt. 'Where is he'? He's gone. He's long gone, and somehow Ardyn doesn't want to think about it, even if in other circumstances he'd admit it freely. But right now... it hurts, and Ardyn doesn't know how to be hurt. But he knows how to be angry - and, furious, he lashes out to grab Somnus by the front of his clothes (if not his throat), his voice rising almost to a scream of rage. ]

You dare ask me that?! Where is he, Somnus? Where is the man you did everything to destroy?!

[ "--the man you did everything to destroy?!"

Then he knows it, he must know it, that man that he once was, that was there, and perhaps still is, because he can't be gone, or so the infuriated, frustrated, and frantic state of Somnus' mind attempts to argue. Because his brother is stronger than this, his brother was always stronger than this, stronger than Somnus who had so quickly succumbed to the blight while Ardyn lasted millennia, stronger than Somnus who could not heal, stronger than others who would deceive and use others' good nature for their own purposes-- because his brother was strong enough to show mercy, to stay his hand, to reach for others' hands in their most terrified moments. Because Ardyn is angered, he too is hurt, so it must mean, it must, that he is there, somewhere, that Somnus didn't manage to kill him (he did, he did), but not entirely, somehow, a part of him must have survived--

That would be Ardyn's hand at the front of his robes, hoisting him up and towards him. Somnus feet drag on the ground as his hands whip out from beneath his cloak, placing them on either side of his brother's forearm. A sound of struggle breaks between his clenched teeth, nostrils flaring with the twist anger and of desperation for air.

And then he attempts to hook punch Ardyn beneath his jaw. ]

[ Ardyn staggers back as the hit connects, hissing between his teeth, and it's perhaps another sign of how emotionally shaken he is right now that he even lets it connect. Kinetic magic, or even simple agility would normally let him dodge, and yet he's not thinking of using any of that. Though he has to let go of Somnus to regain his balance, he quickly puts his freed hands to work, similarly throwing a punch at Somnus with a growl. It will be blocked, he's sure, but right now his goal is to knock his brother off his feet - or at least throw off his balance, leg sweep, get him on the ground and just punch and punch until the rage goes away. Of course, in reality it would be highly unlikely to go like that, but with the red mist in front of his eyes Ardyn doesn't quite care. ]

[ While he manages to deflect another punch, sending back one fist of his own, he’s grabbed and thrown to the floor, knocking back a vendor’s stand in the process. Somnus, with the wind knocked from him, reels in disorientation before another fist knocks him back to his senses. His head snaps forward an instant afterward, and with a growl he gathers strength to retaliate with equal amount of ferocity and speed.

What results is a scuffle with fists and blows and dirt, messy, bloody, and damaging to both themselves and the goods around them. The fae may seem content to watch two otherworlders fight for sport, and even a few of them that gather around the brothers exchange gold between their hands. But when their shops are damaged, that is when the more shrewd of them decide enough is enough.

He feels himself dragged back by beneath his arms by two other horned fae. Not all of the blood on him is his own, and his knuckles are raw and bruised Somnus’ chest heaves for air, but each breath comes short and aching (when had he been struck in the chest? doesn’t matter), and his upper lip bleeds to his chin. Somnus scoffs, spitting to the ground as he wrestles his arms free from the bystanders, glaring at his brother who has been dragged a few meters back as well.

He should walk away, but he dares not turn his back to him so soon. There is no winner, and although he had defended himself, he… doesn’t at all feel better or satisfied. His sins stain the ground before them, and a gross injustice prevails so long as Somnus lives— and lives with the contentment that he had prevented his brother from ever having.

Where is he, the brother that once was? Somnus killed him. ]

Ardyn.

[ Ardyn is no less battered than Somnus, having fought with obliviousness to the pain in the moment. He will regret it soon enough, of course, or at the very least once he is far away enough from Somnus. Bruises and black eyes and bleeding and what feels like some cracked ribs... the healing magic will have to take care of it all. For now, Ardyn glares at Somnus, similarly trying to recover from the fight. ]

Shut up.

[ He growls the words out, but anger is starting to give way to disgust. He has no desire to be here, to even look at his so-called brother, and he's... yes, he's got more dignity than continuing to look like he's a regular lowly brawler with more teeth than braincells. He sucks in a deeper breath, wincing at the ache in his chest, and stands up straighter, trying to free his arms from the hold of the fae, but in the calm way of someone getting a grip on himself. Giving Somnus one last look of disdain, he turns away to the guards, one of whom puts a restraining hand on his shoulder in case he tries to run away. ]

Write out your fine or whatever it is. I have places to be.

[ Places that are anywhere away from Somnus. ]

[ Having no energy to pursue or to continue, Somnus turns his head to the side, and the glare he gives the fae is enough to cause them to allow him to leave. ]

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[open] somnus & YOU

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