tongueamok: (➣ down from the gallows)
Carlisle Longinmouth ([personal profile] tongueamok) wrote in [community profile] hadriel_logs2018-09-01 02:38 am

Everything Fades

Who: Carlisle Longinmouth ([personal profile] tongueamok), Glacius ([personal profile] glacius), & [open]!
What: Deserted Event Nearly Kills Local Cleric. You Won't Believe What He Looks Like Now!
Where: Memorial Garden, North Island
When: August 31st - September 8thish
Warnings: Just a general catch-all for Carlisle for the early month! Probably going to be some sad topics like impending death, terminal illness, and suicidal ideation, so PG-13ish. Will update!


Shops, Western Island [closed to Glacius]

In good news, people are showing up again -- people, not monsters. The bad news is that Carlisle is still a complete wreck. He's alive, yes, and moving, both improvements over... well, all the alternatives: alive but not moving, dead and not moving, moving regardless of how dead he is. Yes, alive and moving is certainly the most preferable combination of those two words, no matter how utterly exhausted he feels.

The first of his current problems (or at least the problems that move themselves to the forefront of his mind, as he'd rather focus on what he can control over what he cannot) is his appearance: his hands are trembling, his legs doing the same as they struggle to hold him up. His glasses are cracked, his clothing torn, and though he hasn't yet seen his reflection, he's positive his hair is a complete and utter disaster. Worst is that there's ink all over him, traces clinging to the crevices of his skin, blotches soaked all the through the fabric of his jacket, his pants, and his tabard. That last one is particularly grievous, the dark mark spreading all the way across the emblem of his order, marking what wounds lie beneath.

He can still feel ink seeping from them, the old scars having been torn asunder by the incredible duress his body had been through only a day prior. He may have stopped coughing, and the ink might have finally ceased trailing from his eye, but he can still feel that tear eating him from the inside. He's sure of it.

And that brings him to his second problem: he cannot possibly get home on his own. He'd been in fair health when rowing himself to the western island from the northern one, but now? With his hands shaking as they are, his head thundering, and his heart feeling as though it might pound its way out of his ribcage?

He puts a hand to his chest, leaning against the wall of the darkened, empty store he's tucked himself away in for the time being. It is pounding, isn't it? But there's a familiar energy behind it, something he hasn't felt in days. Fear strikes as suddenly as a knife, apprehension abound -- what will Glacius think when he finds out? There will be guilt, certainly. Carlisle knows his partner well enough to know that much. Anger, perhaps. Frustration at their circumstances... and desperation to change them. All things Carlisle himself has felt in spades.

As badly as he wants to spare Glacius the heartache of this revelation, Carlisle knows he cannot hide this from him -- more importantly, he doesn't want to hide this from him, nor does he want to bear this alone. Burying his head in his hands, the throbbing behind his eyes nearly drowns out the sob that rattles from the back of his throat as his hopelessness finally catches up to him. The distance between them feels endless, but he reaches out regardless through the Mote.

Glacius?



Memorial Garden, Northern Isle [open]

Those who haven't been to the Memorial Garden lately might notice a change in it. First is the decor: with the trees gone, it's more obvious that the shrubs and bushes in the area have been properly pruned over the past few weeks, the foliage trimmed into tight shapes -- mostly orbs, but one is more of a pyramid. The markers themselves haven't moved, but around several of them are soft patches of soil, ones containing clippings from a shrubby plant with flowers as clear as glass. One marker in particular has the start of a curvy stalk buried next to it, the single, thorny leaf attached to it curling against itself.

And in addition to the new landscaping is its latest regular gardener, Carlisle Longinmouth. The garden has changed, and for those who know him, so has Carlisle. His already pale skin is nearly white now, sharply contrasted only by the dark marks under his eyes; what brown there was in his hair has now faded entirely, leaving behind only dull, grey locks. The only features that have any real color at all are his eyes, and what color there is -- they glow vibrantly now, the blue light behind them bright even bhind his glasses, so strong that it nearly drowns out his pupils.

Even his attire has seen some changes for the time being. Gone are his usual vestments, the blue pants and jacket replaced with a sweater and slacks. His tabard remains, now marred by a black stain that runs horizontally across it at his abdomen. At some angles, the head of a penguin can be seen hiding behind his ruined tabard. Given he looks as though he's been put through the wringer several times, he hopes no one notices, or at least has the courtesy to not ask about it.

Being on the same island as his personal garden, it wasn't hard for him to transplant some of the more stable plants over the past weeks, just something to spruce the place up... and to, perhaps, better commemorate those they've lost over the years. He looks almost lost himself as he wanders among the names, stopping beside one in particular and contemplating just how long it may be before his name ends up there.

Despite the penguin sweater, most people wouldn't describe him as a cheery fellow, even on his good days. Perhaps the caretaker of a place of sobering remembrance suits him more than he'll ever admit.
vocarrah: (there's something beautiful)

[personal profile] vocarrah 2018-09-09 01:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Though he's concerned, that puts a tender little smile on his face. And of course, he acts just as Carlisle may have expected...though there's genuine care there.

"Even the most careful, least risky plans aren't immune to variables, ah? One can't predict everything."

He raises his eyebrows a little. "Should you be in the Clinic?"
vocarrah: (clean breaks are make believe)

[personal profile] vocarrah 2018-09-10 10:55 am (UTC)(link)
"Were you alone? During the ordeal."

Ianchus tilts his head, sidling a little closer, arms folded. They don't know each other that well, of course, but seeing the other man so subdued is...strange. That's the only way he can describe it.
vocarrah: (a heart that can beat through anything)

[personal profile] vocarrah 2018-09-11 11:43 am (UTC)(link)
Ianchus would certainly understand that sentiment--he subscribes to much the same rules. His concern for Carlisle, though, is somewhat similar to camaraderie. Between both nature and nurture, it's easy for Ianchus to feel connected to someone--even someone who he's mostly traded insults with.

"Ah, I see." He grimaces at the thought. "Did anyone else get hurt?"
vocarrah: (clever clap of lightning)

[personal profile] vocarrah 2018-09-15 10:09 am (UTC)(link)
Expended a piece. Ianchus' eyes flicker as he works that wording around his head. Ah, so something else inhuman. It's...a little tiring. He's prided himself on managing to somewhat learn how humans work, on taking the time to learn how to stitch a wound and set a bone and comfort during a fever, and now, now...so many different variables.

"Is...she alright, then?" But in the end, what matters is--no matter how many different ways there are to be in distress, someone is in distress. Carlisle, maybe his friend.
vocarrah: (lit the fuse and missed the candle)

[personal profile] vocarrah 2018-09-16 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
Of course Carlisle may ask him a personal question--Ianchus is an open book. But ah, that question--

He smiles wryly, shrugging and responding with an airy tone.

"I have. Is there something I could perhaps clarify for you?"
Edited 2018-09-16 01:22 (UTC)
vocarrah: (when the colors fade i'll go)

[personal profile] vocarrah 2018-09-18 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
"Hurt?"
Ianchus blinks, considering the words. Did it hurt?

"Not really, no. The altar is cold--ah, maybe if you're more bony getting up may hurt, but more than that, it's..."

Waking up after being reborn reminded him after the morning after a long party where he'd wake up, his body sore and his mind muddled with the dregs of sex and substance. Time seemed to have no meaning at those moments, and the light always seemed so strange. The glow after the afterglow. Just him and pillows with indentations of bodies and bruises all over his body. And while he woke up in a pristine condition on the altar, that feeling was still there...

"...Lonely, I suppose. Incredibly lonely."
vocarrah: (clean breaks are make believe)

[personal profile] vocarrah 2018-10-24 12:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Ianchus looks at Carlisle then, a sad little expression on his face as he scrutinizes him closely. An outside observer would certainly think they'd never gotten on well, but Ianchus finds it all too easy to care about people--and, hell, his previous interactions with Carlisle have (likely inverse to what the other had expected) endeared him to him more. So the concern is present in his voice when he speaks.

"Do you think you're going to die?" He asks, softly, carefully.
vocarrah: (rude awakening)

[personal profile] vocarrah 2018-11-14 12:36 pm (UTC)(link)
He says it so bluntly, though Ianchus supposes that there wouldn't be a reason a man resigned to his fate wouldn't say it that way. Still, he looks to the side, pressing his lips together, before taking a step towards Carlisle.

"...Is there anything I can do for you, then? Now? At all?"
vocarrah: (there's something beautiful)

[personal profile] vocarrah 2018-11-21 02:30 am (UTC)(link)
Ianchus sees that stiffening, and he leans back a little, as if to express that he's aborted that particular movement. He's incredibly physical, of course, but he'd never begrudge someone for their personal space. Only utter cads do that.

But he can't help but smile kindly at the words, the way Carlisle says it.
"What are you talking about? You've been an utter darling." Perhaps there's a bit of teasing there, but it's sincere, as well.

True, Carlisle is prickly. But he'd never begrudge him for that, either. And he's never been cruel, and that's what, to Ianchus, is most important.