[PRP] Acheron (Cerpin & Mahmud)

[penemueIntuition]

In which a troll crosses the threshold to the Underworld, and seeks audience with its king

 

[penemueIntuition]

Footsteps echoed in the empty streets of Chittentown, as Mahmud raced the morning light to get back to safety. Usually by this point, he would have fallen flat on his face during his escape. And yet there was a force, divine or instinctual, that drove his steps to land correctly, for him to fly as fast as he could down sparse streets. A deep gut feeling kept telling him to stop, to look backwards, yet he knew if he did... if he did he'd never start running again. Maybe being burned up by the sun would feel better than whatever this emotion was right now. Or maybe he was better off getting eaten by some daywalkers. Whatever. At this point, he'd take whatever he could get.

What that was, apparently, was a nightclub on another side of town, back the way he had come from before. Strange, how everything looked in the literal cold light of day. Had he the mind to think of some fancy metaphor, Mahmud would have. At this point though, what Underworld looked most like at this moment was a safe haven. And thats what mattered.

Now that he had stopped somewhere, anywhere, he could feel his whole body's violent shaking. Exhaustion slammed him like a ton of bricks, as all the adrenaline in his system started wearing off. Even the act of trying to grab his keys out of his pocket was a monumental task, his trembling hand doing little more than jingling its contents. The first things he grabbed though were the hairclips. Those hairclips. The same ones he just tore someone's face apart with. Giving a little yelp, Mahmud jumped in place, yanking the offending hand out. Immediately, he looked at it. No new blood just... just the slowly darkening teal from before. Gog, he had been out long enough for it to start drying. Caking into his skin, staining it... Shutting his eyes tightly, Mahmud made one more desperate grab into his pockets and yanked out the keys. It took a few tries, given how badly he was trembling, but finally they went into the door and opened it.

Now that he was here... Mahmud really had no idea what to do. <********> he muttered quietly, taking a deep breath and gripping his hair. All he had known to do was get to Underworld; it was the safest place to be. Cerpin was here though... maybe... he had company again. Maybe he could slip into the ablution block and get clean before he'd notice... lord knows if 'company' was over, he wouldn't even notice he was here.

yamashii

Is this enough to go off of dear? biggrin If you need me to do more/less let me know and I can provide!

 

[Yamashii]

It had been a profitable night. Underworld had closed up for the night with very few guests staying the day in the back rooms. Cerpin stretched his tired limbs and looked over the empty floor around him. It was always kind of amazing to see the difference between prime time and closing time. He could really pack an amazing amount of bodies in this space, all grinding and giggling to the music.

Somehow the cleaning crew had missed a glass of something on the counter and he moseyed over to pick it up. It looked like it hadn't been touched. What a waste it would be to toss it- The sound of the entrance doors closing paused him from throwing the drink back and he put it down with a frown.

"Oi, we're closed for the night. What the ******** are y-" Cerpin walked towards the doors to see just who had the gall to come crashing in this late. The sun was already rising after all! Was it some robber trying to make a quick buck? Or a lowblood desperate for shelter? To his surprise, it was someone that he recognized.

"Mahmud? What happened to you?" His eyes widened in shock at the large streaks of teal coloring the brownblood's front. He had not taken the other boy for a violent troll. Judging by the way Mahmud almost appeared to be trembling, something incredibly bad had just happened. He grabbed the boy by the wrist and sat him down on a bar stool. He looked exhausted. Cerpin wasn't sure if the brownblood was in some kind of state of paralyzed shock or not.

"Hey, look at me. It's going to be okay, I've got you. You can stay here for now. But you need to talk."

Skyli Peep

 

[penemueIntuition]

Welp. That answered that question.

Being moved to the barstool had been an honest-to-gog blur for him, right down to whether or not he actually did a small curse word under his breath or just imagined it. There had been a thought about just how often Cerpin lead him by the arm places, but Mahmud knew for sure that was all brain talk. He was just so... tired. Upset, and tired, and it felt like the greatest effort to even wiggle into the stool provided for him.

"Sorry..."

s**t, that was stupid. Of all the things to open with, that was the least cool... kinda. Crying would have probably been the lamest, but given how his voice cracked even saying that was a sign of just how far gone he was at that moment. With the back of his other hand, he wiped at his face a bit and gave a shaky sigh.

"I um..."

Head tilted down, his eyes were the only thing that moved to look at Cerpin. He looked worried. Ah ********, if Cerpin was worried it was really bad wasn't it? Of course it was bad! He just killed someone why wouldn't it be bad? Stupid, Mahmud. Stupid, useless Mahmud...

Limply he held his wrist with the prisoner's bracer on it and said in the flattest tone he could muster. "I... I ran into, you see, the guy who got me in this situation... I ran into him." Forget about the details. Cerpin wouldn't be interested in that. "I..." Aw s**t he was starting to cry. Pathetically biting his lower lip, Mahmud blinked and looked away in order to do some sort of weird "I have an itch near my eye" wiping move. His eyes drifted to the glass on the counter. Alcohol? Probably. Alcohol helped people talk better, right?

Without a further word, and a few brown streaks running down his face, Mahmud grabbed the drink on the counter and tried a sip of it... then choked, and looked startled. Again, without further word, he pushed the barely touched liquor back towards Cerpin and shook his head.

It took a little while longer before Mahmud blurted out "I think I killed the guy!" and cover his face with a hand. Better than seeing whatever look Cerpin would give him.

yamashii

Even when he's ******** falling to pieces, he remains comical to me. Never change I guess, Mahmud...

 

[Yamashii]

"You killed someone?" Cerpin raised his eyebrows, looking over Mahmud's troubled and tired form. The blood splattered across him was very obviously not the brownblood's own but he hadn't expected such a meek and fragile guy to be able to stomach killing another troll. He took a seat next to him and scooted the stool closer. Sitting side by side always made him feel a little less alone. He also made a point to down the rest of the drink so Mahmud couldn't. The last thing they needed right now was Mahmud to get smashed.

"I guess we all skirt the law a little bit. I never pegged you for that type but it's not bad. Kill if you have to kill." Cerpin shrugged. Violence was something he struggled with himself at times but he tried to hold back unless he needed to. But if you needed to, it was best to go all out. Better to be sorry than dead, in his opinion. He could tell the architect was still shaken up about the whole thing though. Not every one was as okay with the bloody culture of Alternia he supposed, especially those towards the bottom rungs of society.

"My offer still stands. You can stay here a while til you get yourself put back together. I'm not throwing out a friend." Especially after the sun had just come up. "You want to talk about what happened? Or is it too-"

He glanced at the streaks of teal staining that gray skin.

"Fresh...?"

Skyli Peep

 

[penemueIntuition]

Surreal. Something about this whole experience was... surreal. From Cerpin's level tone to his offer for shelter, Mahmud couldn't believe his luck. Was it luck? He did kinda just kill the guy that used to be... whatever he really was.

Did he want to talk about it? More than anything Mahmud just felt tired and sad, oh so very tired and sad. But one thing wouldn't stop playing in his mind, and he hiccuped a laugh as he fought back a sob. Interesting, how two different reactions could become tied up like that.

"You barely know me, Cerpin."

At first he lifted his wrist to wipe the tears coming down, but upon realizing that there was still blood on it, instead chose to untie his headband with trembling fingers and use that.

" 've worked with you for sweeps now, you offer me shelter after killing someone... and other than that I build things, I bet you can't tell me one thing you know about me."

There wasn't any hostility, no anger to his tone, just a prattling off of facts. "But that's my fault, I guess. I'm sorry for... not opening. To be honest, I don't know if I know much about you, either." Mahmud was quiet for a little while longer, and then murmured "I had a crush on the guy... when I was younger." Was that opening up enough for this conversation? "We kinda robbed a train together." He gave a weak smile, soaked in tears, and waved his hand a little at the guy next to him. ”Your turn.”

yamashii

 

[Yamashii]

"I mean, it's not that I don't want to know more about you." Mahmud's disbelief and breakdown was not surprising. But even if he expected it, it still tugged at his heart a bit. It was never fun watching something crumble into itself. He reached and squeezed the other boy's shoulder, giving him a half hug at the mention of a crush turned criminal and then fatal. That was something that would take a long time to recover from.

"First a murder, now theft. You sound more and more like my type of troll, Mahmud." He said with a warm tone, oddly not joking at all. "There's not much to know about me that's different from the typical highblood stereotypes." The rockstar laughed, his eyes twinkling a bit as he leaned forward towards his friend.

"Other than I guess the fact that I'm a rebel. Now we're equally scary, yeah?" He would've produced the silver pin with the Phoenix Initiative's branding on it had he known where it was. It was probably misplaced in his room somewhere to be found sweeps later though.

Skyli Peep

 

[penemueIntuition]

To be honest, Mahmud couldn’t remember the last time someone other than Ommy embraced him, though not because the other times were insignificant. No, it was hard to think right now when he was feeling as down as he was. It wasn’t exactly a good time to think up feelings about other trolls. But he appreciated the embrace here and now, when all he felt like doing was shaking and falling to pieces. This kept him together. Even when Cerpin listed his crimes, where they should have blown through like bullets, Mahmud felt a little warmer instead… Almost like he was returning to his body that he had tried so hard to abandon.

His smile was genuine, and though small, was no longer weak. Mahmud wrapped an arm in return around Cerpin’s body, unsure if it was even okay.

And then he dropped that bombshell, and sputtered. ”W-What?!” For a second he was blinking, and then he was giving a nervous, tittery laugh. ”Dude if you’re trying to root out rebels, y’all are doing a terrible job at a terrible time.” Despite his disbelief, he laid his head on Cerpin’s shoulder and thought about it for a moment. ”Though… it would explain a lot.” For one, the fact that he was willing to do all this for him, a lowblood. Second that he would even create a hemoanon nightclub in the first place…

”Oh my gog you’re a rebel. he flatly remarked, the disbelief being replaced by a deep realization. ”Oh my gog Cerpin!” Quick as could be, he had let go of his friend and instead was shaking him by the shoulders. ”CERPIN.” This… was so much in one night turned day. ”Cerpin!” he whined, while shaking Cerpin by the shoulders even more. ”WHY. DIDN’T. YOU. TELL. ME—No wait, don’t answer that.” Duh, Mahmud. Of course he wouldn’t have told him.

He stared for a few more seconds, shook his shoulders one last time, and then hung his head and glumly stated ”I guess this means we’re both criminals WAIT.” Whipping his head up, a bewildered look took over his face. ”Tevini too?! Polair?! Who else, oh man…” Clearly, this was all too much to think about, given that this came out of a murder.

”I won’t tell if you don’t tell, right? We can agree to that? Okay.” He had to hand it to Cerp, although this news was a world shaker… it did make him feel immensely better. He wasn’t so alone in this… so why was he crying again? Laughing and apologizing with little sorrys, Mahmud started wiping his tears with his hairband again. ”Sorry its… a lot in one night. How long, Cerpin?”

xxxxxxxx

 

[Yamashii]

"I can't tell you who the others are. But Pol's not one of em." Yet, Cerpin mentally tacked on to the end of that sentence. It was still a work in progress, determining if she would want to join the rebellion or if the presence of a seadweller would cause an uproar in the community. Cerpin was leaving that thread alone for a while until he could discuss the matter with Byakko herself.

"And it's a deal. I won't tell and you won't." The purpleblood nodded at the proposal and smiled. He didn't think Mahmud would screw him over. The brownblood was dependable and loyal. A little naive and sensitive but not the kind of guy to spill secrets. A nonchalant hand waved away the other boy's apologies. He had nothing to be sorry for! They were in this together.

"I joined before I met you. Back when the Royalists chased the Rebellion out of the tunnels here." He motioned back towards the doors that Mahmud had stumbled in through. Cerpin and Tevini had chosen the location because of the abundance of space now that the tunnels had been evacuated but also to keep an eye out on anyone trying to sniff around. Passage through to the swamp had been blocked off but that didn't mean there weren't enemies who might still try something.

"It's a dangerous path. But you're welcome to join if you believe in the cause. It's not required though, you can still live here anyways." He laughed, pouring himself another drink. Now that Mahmud's mood had been boosted a little, he was feeling better as well. It was good to see that normally anxious face full of wonder and curiosity rather than tears and self hatred.

Skyli Peep

 

[penemueIntuition]

All the while Cerpin talked, Mahmud remained silent. If it hadn’t been for his head and eyes following Cerpin’s motions, it would have been a mystery whether or not he’d even been listening. But in truth Mahmud was listening very well, all too well. Continuing to dab at his eyes, Mahmud said nothing as an offer was made to him. Join the rebels. Just like apparently so many people in his life had done. Poe, Cerpin, Tevini… not Polair but… who else? How many others? A chance to be part of a community, one that admittedly shared a lot of his ideals, was tempting… so tempting…

But…

”I…” That wonder and curiosity Cerpin had thought on before faded into a sorrowful gaze, and then a pointed look-away. ”I don’t know if… I can.” There was dejection to his voice, the sound a child who was told he had to give up his 12 perigee’s eve gift, as opposed to disgust or anger at the suggestion.

”Last time I tried to do what I thought was right, I had the s**t kicked out of me.” Mahmud looked down at his arms, full of nicks and scars from both work and that fateful night two sweeps ago. Then there was that bracer. Flecks of teal were a reminder of exactly what transpired that hazy dawn. That’s right. This wasn’t some grubbling’s tale of a happily ever after. This was reality. ”I… I trust you, I trust my friends who are rebels, but I don’t… know if I trust the rebels themselves.” Mahmud then gazed back up to Cerpin, brows furrowed.

”Does that… make sense? I don’t know them. They don’t care about me.” The more he spoke, the more panic and emotion bubbled out of him. ”I could be left behind and they wouldn’t feel a thing! They have a mission, and I don’t even know what all the mission is. Do you know what their whole story is?” No, getting his hopes up was a stupid thing to do. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Not after what just happened. Not after he just…

Again he fell silent, gears turning in his thinkpan, before finally saying ”If it helps you, if it helps Tevini, if it helps my other friends… I will help you. But I’m not… not ready to say I’m a rebel yet.”

yamashii