Inanna looks confused before he looks down at his hands in surprise. The nails, claws, are sharp and manicured—flawless. Beautiful he would say even under other circumstances.
"No, that happened on its own." A pause. "I'm fond of that hand."
Inanna sighs, more serious again.
"I only mean I've had binary choices laid out time and again, but the answer, the best answer, wasn't either of them. Laying out the decision as preserving your humanity or saving someone else—that's binary. You're a scientist, a Myth. You can think of other options."
He slowly mosies them over to the sofa. It's not far. Before they sit, he taps at Viktor's stone hand.
"So you're hungry."
Inanna's terrified, yes, but it's a familiar terror in so many ways. Something like godhood, if it were external and only killed your soul instead of all of you. Folkmore's supposed to be after all that, but here's the same old terror in another form. Only, they can't simply stop telling a story to make it go away. He gulps.
He was glad that Inanna wasn't intending to amputate his hand at least. Viktor also sat on the couch with a sigh.
"That's just it. From what I understand you have a finite amount of aether from the moment you're born. What's happening to me...well it's a first."
Unfortunately, Viktor could actually think of a choice that didn't mean a binary one. But the idea of essentially sacrificing someone's aether, and therefore them, was just as horrifying to him.
If Viktor were from his world, he'd definitely be gifted. Probably chosen for a Pantheon if the timing were right (by which Inanna means horribly wrong). Finite amount of energy being used up, eaten, consumed. He still remembers the imagery of the burned out husk of a god, one of the first.
"It might be, but you're in Folkmore now. There's more than aether here."
He's kept mum about Baphomet, stressful as it is. He doubts an answer that comes with 'and you die back home' is much help. However, Inanna has his own theories of what's possible, so much so he's a fool if he's wrong, as consumed as Baphomet will be.
Viktor held it up in front of him and then looked at his gloved hand with a definite frown of distaste.
"No, I don't. I didn't even know it was doing anything to me at all until Hythlodaeus looked. He was able to see what he called aether but I took it to mean life force of some kind."
Viktor shrugged a little.
"Apparently whenever I use the magic that I thought Folkmore gave to me, whatever is consuming my 'aether' is able to consume either more or do it faster. I was told that even if I never used the magic again, it was still being consumed, even if it was imperceptibly slow."
Inanna's ego is not so large to assume he has the solution to Viktor's problems—certainly not a grand one. Neither does he fall into a sense of powerlessness. So long as he's himself, he can take action that matters. His past actions prove that.
"It's good we know. Do you want ideas, to let it out, or something else? I'm here for whatever you need."
He knows how precious time can be but also emotional needs can be as important. Inanna rubs Viktor's wrist, above the gloved hand.
His wrist will also feel strange since the more he's used the magic, the more the strange metallic stone has grown to encompass more of his arm. Right now Viktor just keeps the frown though now it's become something much harder to determine than just distaste. Sadness or maybe just concern mixed with a definite feeling of personal conflict. Whatever it is it stays even when Viktor turned to face Inanna and hugged him.
"None of the above. I just wanted to see you, to hold you."
Some of the desperation from earlier is gone but Viktor is still hugging Inanna as he speaks.
"I've never been loved before and didn't know how it should feel until you showed me."
None of the above. Not binary choices. Inanna hugs Viktor back and leans his head against Viktor's. Some of his soft hair brushes Inanna's face, and for all the horror revealed, Inanna still feels some kind of safe and sound together.
"You have me. I love you no matter what happens. No matter—"
whether Viktor loses the ability to love him back. Inanna closes his eyes, tiny tears clinging to his lashes.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
"...um. I do hope you're not suggesting removing the hand."
Inanna didn't strike him as that bloodthirsty, but he wasn't honestly sure.
no subject
"No, that happened on its own." A pause. "I'm fond of that hand."
Inanna sighs, more serious again.
"I only mean I've had binary choices laid out time and again, but the answer, the best answer, wasn't either of them. Laying out the decision as preserving your humanity or saving someone else—that's binary. You're a scientist, a Myth. You can think of other options."
He slowly mosies them over to the sofa. It's not far. Before they sit, he taps at Viktor's stone hand.
"So you're hungry."
Inanna's terrified, yes, but it's a familiar terror in so many ways. Something like godhood, if it were external and only killed your soul instead of all of you. Folkmore's supposed to be after all that, but here's the same old terror in another form. Only, they can't simply stop telling a story to make it go away. He gulps.
no subject
"That's just it. From what I understand you have a finite amount of aether from the moment you're born. What's happening to me...well it's a first."
Unfortunately, Viktor could actually think of a choice that didn't mean a binary one. But the idea of essentially sacrificing someone's aether, and therefore them, was just as horrifying to him.
no subject
"It might be, but you're in Folkmore now. There's more than aether here."
He's kept mum about Baphomet, stressful as it is. He doubts an answer that comes with 'and you die back home' is much help. However, Inanna has his own theories of what's possible, so much so he's a fool if he's wrong, as consumed as Baphomet will be.
"Do you have a way to tell when it... eats?"
no subject
"No, I don't. I didn't even know it was doing anything to me at all until Hythlodaeus looked. He was able to see what he called aether but I took it to mean life force of some kind."
Viktor shrugged a little.
"Apparently whenever I use the magic that I thought Folkmore gave to me, whatever is consuming my 'aether' is able to consume either more or do it faster. I was told that even if I never used the magic again, it was still being consumed, even if it was imperceptibly slow."
no subject
"It's good we know. Do you want ideas, to let it out, or something else? I'm here for whatever you need."
He knows how precious time can be but also emotional needs can be as important. Inanna rubs Viktor's wrist, above the gloved hand.
no subject
"None of the above. I just wanted to see you, to hold you."
Some of the desperation from earlier is gone but Viktor is still hugging Inanna as he speaks.
"I've never been loved before and didn't know how it should feel until you showed me."
no subject
"You have me. I love you no matter what happens. No matter—"
whether Viktor loses the ability to love him back. Inanna closes his eyes, tiny tears clinging to his lashes.