photophobic | [IC CONTACT]

Other gods? No.

[ And here comes the dawning realisation. He recalled his time as Óðr- faded, of course, but the outline would always remain- and he vaguely remembered hearing about... ]

You are of the pantheon. Of course.

Give the man a prize.

[ She steps up closer to him, heels clicking sharply on bare stone. But rather than get up in his face, she seems to be circling, inspecting.

She should be worried by him. Just being able to get in here without her permission means he's trouble enough. There's a buzz about him too. Divinity? No, not quite, but something close. But it's true as well that if he found this place, it's because he belongs here. Belongs with her.

So who is he? ]

Persephone, Destroyer of the Light, Betrothed to Death, Sweet as Honey, Gift-Bearer, Most Fearsome, and Half of the Mystery. I've got more if you want me to keep going.

[ She is far from the first person to inspect him like this- and his reaction is always the same. He feels no threat. He stands still- his tall, broad frame a cage barely containing the chaos and power raging within.
He's not afraid of judgement. He knows what he is.

And now, he knows who she is- a thrill runs through him at some of those titles. Yes, he is supposed to be here. ]

Kylo Ren. Master of the Knights of Ren. The Jedi-killer. I don't have many more than that.

Kylo Ren, Kylo Ren . . .

[ The name sounds familiar, but also that is a really well-tailored pair of slacks. Like god damn.

Then she pauses, about 300 degrees into her circle. ]

Oh, the over-powered prick?

Edited 2018-01-24 02:58 (UTC)

[ He laughs. Perhaps he should be offended- but it isn't the word prick that settles onto him, but powered.
Over-powered. ]

You've heard of me.

Uh huh. You're a big bad world-ender.

[ The thought churns her gut. An entire planet, blotted out. Will that be her someday? ]

Edited 2018-01-25 00:59 (UTC)

Starkiller? No. I doubt General Hux would enjoy me taking credit for his achievements.
Mine is a more personal touch.

Quality over quantity, huh?

[ Her head tips. It still makes Laura queasy, but Persephone doesn't let it show. ]

[ It doesn't quite sit as comfortably with Kylo as it once had, either- but similarly, he wasn't about to let that show. ]

I prefer a sharp focus to a broad gesture. Most of the time.

[ Assuming the inspection over, he fixes his eyes carefully on her face- savouring the unfamiliar power seeping out into the air around her. Yes. This is what a God should be like. ]

Hmm.

[ A noncommittal noise, and she fishes a pack of cigarettes out of a pocket. Well, she's on break now anyway, right? ]

You smoke, Kylo Ren?

[ He doesn't. In fact, somehow he's never actually been in a position to accept or decline an offer of one before, and it shows. There is a very obvious curiosity in the way his eyes track the packet in her hand. ]

I haven't.

What, never?

[ She takes one out of the pack, puts it in her mouth. With a click of her fingers and a little sizzle of magenta power, the tip lights up. ]

Well, it's expensive, addictive, and will absolutely kill you if you do it long enough.

[ and she offers the pack back to him. ]

[ The less said about things he had never done at an embarrassingly late stage in life the better. ]

Anything will kill you if you do it long enough.

[ Was there ever a chance he was going to say no? Unlikely. And after that hard sell, there's no way he's backing down. He plucks one of the curiously light paper sticks from the packet and examines it, rolling it between his fingers. Of course, he can't flick fire from his hands, so he locks eyes with her and slips the coloured end between his lips as she had done. ]

Touche.

[ Another snap, and this time the power sits just above the palm of her hand. Stationary, it looks a bit like a perpetually reblooming flower made of light (though certainly not Light). She holds it up for him. ]

Inhale, as slow as you can.

[ The level of concentration on his face is mildly comical as he follows her instruction. It takes a moment, but when he finally pulls that first, slow drag on the cigarette he's fortunate enough not to have accidentally overdone it.
Potentially embarrassing cough and splutter avoided, he draws the smoke into his mouth rather than anything deeper, mostly- it's strange as it rolls over his tongue- a rich flavour he can't quite pin down. ]

There you go. Feel the buzz yet?

[ He exhales slowly, feeling the smoke slip out past his lips, the flavour lingering- it's strange, having that visual reminder of breath. That alone, he decides, he likes. It has an almost meditative quality.
Nothing he feels resembles a buzz though, certainly nothing beyond the low-level hum of Persephone's presence, the otherworldly tug of the Force bending around her cathedral. It's possible any effects are simply being drowned out by his already heightened state of, for lack of a better word, arousal.

He examines the cigarette between his fingers, watching the end of it burn to ashes for a moment, and looks back at her face. ]

No. Am I supposed to?

Might, might not. It's kind of subtle.

[ She lets her own smoke billow out her nose, feeling it burn as it passes through her skull. With the septum piercing and all, the smoke gives her a sort of snorting-beast charm. ]

I feel like I should give you something in return.

[ He lifts the cigarette to his lips again, drawing the smoke in deeper this time- contemplating- there's a sharper edge to the experience this time. Much more than that, and he'd definitely be coughing. ]

But I didn't bring anything with me.

Yeah, you should.

[ There's a long, slow drag as she thinks about this. She tilts her head up and back lazily, and the smoke comes out her mouth as a thorned and twisting bramble. ]

Tell me how you found me. Tell me why you can find me.

[ A generous goddess: will let him pay tribute with his own story. ]

Are you hiding?

[ He watched her craft the smoke, curious. Impressed, actually- it wasn't that he had no taste for power beyond destruction. Destruction simply came more easily to him. ]

I thought you had invited me. There was a door - the potential. For a door. I sensed it.

[ He takes another drag. Yes, he can feel... something. Something clearer. ]

Through the Force, the underlying energy in all things. I possess the ability to sense and manipulate it. But to find you... I allowed myself to be shaped.

Hmm. You're certainly invited now.

[ "I allowed myself to be shaped." She tries to hide how much she likes the sound of that, but she can't help the satisfied thrill it sends through her. ]

Mine is a mystery cult. No one can reach my temple except by the path I dictate.

[ Which is to say she's certainly not not hiding. ]

But I guess there's no accounting for someone already knowing the way.

Edited 2018-02-01 00:39 (UTC)

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this tag sponsored by lucky strike or some shit

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