tampered | Log: Ongoing

Current Mood: excited
Current Location: Hot Springs

Log: Ongoing

When; Jan 22, Night
Rating; PG-13? No telling how things end up, with alcohol.
Characters; Greed

tasteofgrief
Summary; Greed takes Illyria to the springs to show her the wondrous, magical world of alcoholic incoherence.
Log;

After leading her to the temple and escorting her through the many winding halls and training areas, he finally opened the sliding door which led to the springs. Steam obscured most of the far details, but what could be seen were massive pools of naturally heated water, some still releasing bubbles from underground vents.

"There's not a whole lot of people at this hour," he said, setting out some towels, "I'll be right back."

He scrambled to the kitchen and pulled out a large cart, putting on multitudes of different types of alcohol. A few moments later, he was back in the spring, bringing the cart with him.

"Okay, first things first. You're gonna' need to change into the towel and out of your current clothes."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Illyria viewed the towels and then her host with a certain amount of skepticism. However, she wished to better understand the human fascination with alcohol, and it seemed that entering the hot springs was required for this experience. She turned her back on Greed and took one of the towels, finding it was quite large enough to preserve what humans called "modesty".

As a demon not native to the human form, Illyria cared little for modesty. She allowed her armor to disappear, and swiftly wrapped the towel around herself before Greed had much opportunity to note the blue-grey pallor of her skin. She turned back to him and fixed her emotionless stare on his features.

"What is the next step in this procedure?"

"Time for drinks!"

Greed slipped into his own towel and pointed her toward the spring.

"Get in the water and sit in the spot that makes you the most comfortable. I'll bring you some samples."

And by samples, he meant big friggin' shots.

Not entirely certain what the value of the hot water was supposed to be, Illyria nevertheless slipped into the spring and found a place to seat herself. The towel quickly soaked through, and her long hair was already becoming limp from the steam.

"You will name the alcohol for me," Illyria directed. "I wish to know what it is I am consuming.

"First up, two kinds of sake. One is rice wine, the other is plum wine."

He pulled over a floating tray and waded out to her with it, showing her two shots.

"Give it a go!"

Without hesitation, Illyria downed one serving after the other in a single swallow. She did not even wince as the alcohol ran over her tongue and down her throat.

"Interesting," she noted. "Is this enough to inebriate a human, or is more required?"

"A lot more, I'm just showing you the differences."

He lined up shots of whiskey, bourbon, rum, vodka, wine, champagne, draft beer, and several other types of alcohol in rapid succession.

"Take all of those in and even I'll be impressed!"

"Very well."

And Illyria did. By the time she finished the champagne, she began to feel something of what Wesley must have sought in his liquor. There was a loosening of tension, a sense that the world could end tonight and she would not care. Illyria tilted her head, causing her hair to soak up more water. "Curious."

"Have ya' found one you particularly like?"

He took the shots and filled them with a few more types of alcohol.

"And try not to pass out in the water, please."

She held up the shot glass that had contained the rum. "I found this most pleasant." As she set it down, she gave Greed a steady look, one that was far too composed for someone who had just imbibed as much alcohol as she had. "I will not 'pass out' from this simple poison."

"Ya' say that now, but you haven't had enough, yet."

He pulled out the rum bottle and poured her a few more shots of it, then settled in next to her to get a few, himself.

"This is the life, eh? Nice drinks, hot water, and nothin' to worry about! Pure relaxation! What about you, babe? You always seem kinda' stiff."

"And when will I have had enough? When I can no longer control the function of my limbs or the words that come from my mouth?"

Illyria indulged in several more mouthfuls of rum as she allowed Greed to sit beside her.

"You say that I am 'stiff'. You wish me to relax in your presence?"

"Certainly. You speak very formally. Very little inflection. Don't ya' feel, like everybody else?"

"Would it make you more comfortable if I assumed the Burkle persona? She was human. Perhaps you would find her reactions to be more normal."

"I prefer people to be themselves, really."

He downed another glass and repoured for them both.

"So what are ya', anyway? I'm a homunculus, myself. Artificial people made with alchemy. Constructs."

He wished her to "relax", but to be herself? Illyria found this contradictory, but with the aid of the alcohol, shrugged off the concern.

"I am a demon of the ancient world, bound to a human shell. I have heard tales of your kind, but you are not like the creatures the alchemists of my time created."

"I've heard of those. We're way better. We never age, we regenerate all damage, we don't need food, water, sleep, respiration, or stamina renewal, and we're near immune to pain. The increased physical strength is nice too!"

He laughed and smashed a stone to the left of himself, then made an armored claw.

"I also have this special second skin. Hard as diamond and as pliable as flesh."

With a slight rustling of grass, Greed's arm snaked over the ground, slowly moving around her shoulders.

"So how'd ya' reach this city?"

"Impressive," Illyria allowed at his display of strength and the second skin. She had never known a creature quite like him.

Why she allowed his arm to wrap around her shoulders, she did not quite know. She was not, by any means, attracted to him ... but he was not unpleasant to look at, nor was his touch unpleasant against her skin.

"I was brought here in the midst of a battle against creatures who aspire to the glory my kind once held. They attempted to control me, to humiliate me, and they killed the man who was my guide in a strange world. This city has denied me my vengeance."

"Eh, well, it'll do that. It's a blessing to some and a curse to others. It was a rescue, for me. I was bein' chased down by my enemy. One of my kind, but worse than me."

He gently settle the hand on one shoulder and poured himself another drink.

"So why the interest in alcohol, babe?"

"Because I wish to know why humans find it so attractive in spite of its harmful effects on them." She finished another serving of rum and set the glass aside. "My guide made copious use of it, particularly in the days immediately following my resurrection and the death of his lover."

[Apparently, my ability to type what I actually mean is now dead. Sorry about the repost. e.e]

"Well, humans tend to want to forget when they grieve. Alcohol overload causes people to forget temporarily. I think the angst a bit too much for my tastes. Death is just part of existence. Nothin' lasts forever. And drinkin' won't actually make the time pass any faster."

His hand moved farther over, gently squeezing the muscles between her neck and shoulder.

"Some people also drink for special events and traditions, too."

[It's no problem!]

There was a time when Illyria would have snapped Greed's arm in two and thrown the rest of him into the wall for daring to touch her in such a familiar fashion. "Some things are forever," she murmured, almost to herself. "Change is constant." She had said as much to Angel.

Illyria lifted the empty glass she had just put aside, and examined the drops of rum that had pooled at its bottom. "Do you consider this a special event, Greed?" she inquired.

Of course,the snapping and throwing of homunculi is seldom a simple task.

"I consider you pretty special. It's not everyday I get to meet someone who can keep up with me in terms of alcohol, babe. Your species must be made of really tough stuff."

"My kind ruled the ancient world. We traveled the dimensions as we pleased. Mortal poison is nothing to me." Illyria doubted she would have been affected at all if not for the parts of the shell that remained human even after her invasion of its tissues. She lowered the glass again and pushed it away, fixing her gaze on Greed's features.

"Tell me. What are your intentions?"

"Eh? I-intentions? That...kinda' depends on what ya mean. Do you mean my intentions in life, or just my intentions for tonight? That could cover a very broad spectrum, babe."

He turned more fully toward her and reached up to place a hand on her other shoulder.

"Of course, I can safely say one of them is to offer you a soothing back rub."

"Why?" The question ran further than 'why a soothing back rub'. Illyria meant for it to encompass the entire situation. Why his interest in her? Why his desire for physical contact? Why did some creatures find comfort in these things.

As ancient as she was, there were still many things of which Illyria was almost comically ignorant.

"Why? Why not? You're a beautiful woman and I happen to like beautiful women very much. I'm just tryin' to help you enjoy yourself."

He pressed a bit harder against her muscles, beginning to lightly knead the tissues above her shoulder blades.

Was she beautiful? Illyria had never put much thought into such matters. In her native form, she had been terrible, glorious, worthy of reverence. That was not the same as beauty in the context Greed spoke of it.

Perhaps it was the alcohol that caused Illyria to allow this intimacy. Perhaps it was simply curiosity. "You wish to lie with me. Is that not true?"

"Very much so. As a matter of fact, I can guarantee it will be very...pleasant."

At the risk of painful evisceration, he took a chance to lean forward and press his lips to hers, putting his arms around her.

"If you'd like to accompany me to my room, I could show you some very interesting things."

When he pulled back, Illyria regarded him with the same keen interest she had demonstrated in Spike when she had informed Angel she wished to keep the blonde vampire as a pet. Then, without a word, she rose from the springs and allowed Greed to show her to his room. The experience promised to be ... enlightening.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Log: Ongoing

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject