taxonomites | 052 [text | location: around the island] on the shore just long enough to leave our clothes there

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052 [text | location: around the island] on the shore just long enough to leave our clothes there

Glitch is so very happy to be back on land where he's 100% less useless. Sure it's not the city (or home) but it's better than being on that miserable boat.

In the jungle (the mighty jungle) there is a large hamster idol carved from limestone. It sits up on its haunches and smiles a benevolent hamster smile, and atop its head is a floral headdress. More interestingly: its right paw is definitely a hatch touchpad, and it holds in its left paw the traditional hatch replicator box thing.

Glitch stares at it dubiously, then slaps his hand down and thinks desperately of toothpaste. The box produces a bottle of rum, which gets tucked into the satchel he's fashioned from the sleeves of his giant white pirate shirt. He tries again, this time thinking of ball-peen (...wait, who even came up with that name?) hammer and some nails. The hatch responds with directions for making a shelter with palm fronds and vines.

After some trial and error (and another bottle of rum and some paper umbrellas), the hatch does produce useful things like a length of insulated copper wire, a Hawaiian print shirt and some Bermuda shorts, a pair of pliers, and sunscreen.

"...well, it's a start," Glitch mutters, then hauls everything back to the shady spot he's claimed a little ways from the beach. There he lays the pliers and wire down beside the metal-containing ship debris that had washed up, and set about composing a text to everyone.

NOTES:
- Found a hatch, marked approx. location on map. Temperamental but will give useful stuff (!SUNSCREEN!) plus random items.
- The temple: have not explored, not sure if safe, be careful if you check it out. Do not go alone.
- Swear I heard drumming last night. Might be delusional.
TO DO:
- Work w/tablets. Have more tools & materials now. Power boost? Antenna? Help appreciated.
- Go back to ship for supplies: sailcloth, rope, anything useful. Build raft for this? Volunteers? (~~Not it!~~)
- Build hammock.

That done, he heads back into the jungle for his daily swim. The island is fortunately riddled with cenotes to provide drinking water and places to cool off without getting saltwater sticky. Glitch has found a favorite with a good mix of shade and sun, water crystal clear and deep enough for diving, and just secluded enough that he can get away with skinny dipping.

That last bit is likely inaccurate.

OOC: Oh hey it's another huge note! WELCOME TO THE ISLAND enjoy your naked headcase. He will be out there every day, so go bug him or join in and fret not about continuity. Or bump into him anywhere, godmoding of that nature is go. TABLET FOLKS: there is going to be so much handwaving with this plot I can't even tell you. To the point of "let's congratulate ourselves on how awesome our geniuses and electric lady are" and moving on with end results.

This post can also be used as a log post for non-Glitch related hijinks like setting up shelters, building rafts, and other mingling.
DETAILS ON THE TEMPLE: Think Temple of Doom meets Legends of the Hidden Temple meets The Mummy. There are 100% godmodey deathtraps, the nature and degree of dangerousness is totally up to you. There are also treasures...also godmodey, but a chest stuffed with toiletries is definitely in there somewhere.

DID GLITCH HEAR DRUMMING: Yes. Yes he did, and your folks may have too. ~Details to come~.

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That touch was perhaps what was helping Josef to stay calm and think about it. Not just what Bagoas was saying but the emotions there between them. He wasn't sure how they had gone from those first angry moments to this. Just as he was not quite sure when he'd opened his heart again. All he knew was that he was glad both had happened.

"They were a way for the church to control people," he said, remembering those times when it began. "Now it's culture and most won't go against the system. In the last times I allowed myself something like this, just spending time alone with Sarah was pushing propriety."

Shifting, he leaned closer to Bagoas. "I feel the same. About it all. I am trying again, though I admit I'm nervous a lot about things. I'm not a good person with social situations. Or conversations. Or shutting up sometimes," he said, trying to smile but it seemed to fade.

"I feel the same. I don't own you," he said, remembering that talk. Nor would he want to. "I just want to know I have time in your life."

He smiles to himself, head bowed against Josef's shoulder, because he doesn't know what a church is. He can guess, but he'd rather not. It's inconsequential: he's never heard of such a thing in Taxon. The culture evolving from its reign, however, that's a different matter altogether.

He sits up better, though he doesn't move away but rather sidles in closer yet to Josef's side right into his arms, graceful despite the hour. "I shall always have time for you, Josef. Always."

Leaning in, heavy-lidded eyes and the hint of a smoulder in their depths, he brushes his lips over Josef's unbelievable pout.

"Some day soon, I'll have you."

Josef doesn't hold him tight as Bagoas moves and then, a moment later, he was there in Josef's arms and that was more than enough in that moment. He was glad to have Bagoas there and always would be happy for moments between them.

The vow eased the tightness in his shoulders, though the kiss made his arms tighten as he pulled Bagoas a bit closer. "That's all I could ask..."

And yet there was a kiss and those words.

"Put some thought into this, have you," he asked in a low voice. "Soon, is it?"

Sliding his arms around Josef's neck, eyes moving between his eyes and his mouth in a non-verbal tease, he thinks he's in the clear. He can feel Josef relax, and that in itself takes away his own nervous tension. He understands. By Mithra, he understands.

"The days of leading pretty young men to a secluded spot are far behind me, my friend. I'll have you somewhere proper, away from the eyes of others, with all the comforts of civilization.

"...unless you would rather write to me in painstaking detail the many ways you'd have me?" He quirks a teasing eyebrow.

The cruise, the fighting, the damn island. Suddenly all of it was worth it for this. No. He'd give up this for Bagoas never to have hit the water and nearly died but beyond that, he could find a life anywhere with Bagoas and the others he was beginning to count as friends, or had been his friend when no one else had.

"I'm a pretty young man, am I," he asked, chuckling at that. "You can have me any way you want," he said, only dropping his gaze a moment. It wasn't a new concept to him, but it had been more than a lifetime for him.

"Would you like that? All those words in my shaky Greek lettering telling you how beautiful you are, how often I think of kissing you, of holding you close to me through the night in a proper bed?" Not the freezer. Not on a ship. Yet he wondered of what he'd write. He suspected it would be more poetry than pornography.

"You certainly look the part," Bagoas notes with blatant amusement while the fingers of his right hand find the nape of Josef's neck for a bit of a fondle of soft hair and skin.

That it was only ever one pretty youth and one tumble in a secluded area is inconsequential.

"I think...words like that are better spent whispered into someone's ear than written down. Face to face, eye to eye. With the promise of a proper bed a valid one, rather than merely wishful thinking."

"Someone is a delightful flatterer, especially considering how nervous I was about talking with you," he pointed out, eyes closing at that gentle touch, savouring it for a long moment.

"Then likely not something we should try now," he said, not sounding upset at all. "Though I'm probably poor at that as well but for you I would try," he admitted, fingers brushing along the curve of Bagoas' spine with a small sound of appreciation.

Oh, but finger-ends along his spine is not entirely unlike cheating; Bagoas' long eyelashes flutter and he lets out a soft sigh.

"Selling yourself short won't work with me, Josef Kostan," he purrs. "I know your worth, and we are not bartering over a trade.

"Like I say: soon. As soon as we get off this island, beautiful though it may be, as soon as we are both ready and willing."

If he's going to make that face, Josef can't be held responsible if he does it more often. There's just something about that face he won't be able to resist.

"When you say it like that, who am I to argue," he asked, leaning in and brushing the softest of kisses to the corner of Bagoas' mouth.

"I keep missing the beauty because it's either dark or I'm hiding," he teased. "As for the rest, we have time and I like things like this with you." Closeness, physical and emotional, was practically new to him.

"We have a saying, where I come from; I can't recall whether I've told you before, that beauty is best viewed in moonlight. The sun has its merits, but we hold the moon in higher regard. So you see, your argument falls on deaf ears whether you speak it or not."

He tries not to grin, but it's a losing battle when kissed so sweetly. "We have time, and we'll make the most of it."

"I suppose it's a good thing you feel that way given so much of the time you can see me will be under moonlight." He was quiet a moment, thinking about that. "Which does make me realize that eventually, whether we get back to Taxon or not, I should take you on a date," he said, ducking his head a bit shyly.

Josef could threaten and kill and run a business with a soft voice and a deadly look but this was new ground for him.

"All in the name of making the most of the time we have," he noted.

Again that word, so familiar yet so strangely used: a marking of time? No. A fruit? No.

Whether he fully understands the meaning or not, it's a significant term. As such, there can be no manner of misunderstanding between them.

"And what, my sweet, perplexing friend, constitutes a 'date'?"

"Sweet and perplexing. Nicer than what most call me," he said with a smile, fingers brushing along the back of Bagoas' neck. "Thank you for that. As for a date... In my world it was what people courting did. A night out together, doing something together. In part just to spend time together, and in part to get to know one another better. Kind of like this, but usually with a shower and my time preparing looks," he said, chuckling because they had little choice with those things here. "Though I am getting used to that brace bath every morning."

"As you well know, I am not most people," Bagoas teases, closing his eyes to rest his head on his friend's shoulder. Just a little while, he tells himself, then I'll get on with my duties.

"It doesn't sound so different from the customs of my world, though a man would hardly court a eunuch in a formal manner. We are...personal diversions; living embodiments of amusement and companionship and camaraderie. However, before I bring a dark cloud over your head, of course we are much more besides."

"That is an understatement," he pointed out, wrapping his arm around Bagoas's shoulder and keeping him close. "You are the most unique person I've ever met." A beautiful treasure that he cherished more for his sharp mind than his delightful body.

Even as he said the words, Josef tensed. Slight but there. At least until Bagoas assured him it was different. "Good. I wouldn't want you thinking I was only here for the physical diversion of your body. I've seen your body from the beginning, and comely as it is," he said, hand moving to cup Bagoas' cheek.

"It was your mind and personality that I saw through our letters that has truly captured my heart and mind," he said, speaking openly, his voice only slightly caring the tiniest hint of an accent from the youth.

The first statement earns Josef a soft hum, the touch to his face a slight but tangible nuzzle; the second statement, a warm chuckle full of amusement.

"Forgive my amusement and perhaps ill-placed candour," he murmurs, fingers flexing gently over Josef's chest. "But were you only interested in what earthly pleasures I could bring, you would have made that clear from the start. You are a businessman, as you call it, a merchant of many years' experience... You know I cannot be bought. Therefore, this is obviously not a matter of services rendered."

Turning his head slightly, he presses a soft kiss to the palm of Josef's hand. "You are sweet for wanting to reassure me, but I swear there is no need. Your letters have told me more than enough."

“I think, from the start, I made clear I was an ass,” he said, not worried about being honest about that moment. If he could talk about their next meeting, then he could certainly talk about that. “I just make a better third and fourth impression,” he allowed, loving the feel of Bagoas’ touch along his chest, just having the man close.

“The truth is, I don’t tend to spend time seeking out earthly pleasures. At least not of that kind. The one I have sought over the years, you willingly offered.” And even now he thought he could still taste him on his lips as if it had just been a moment before.

Josef shivers at the kiss, eyes closing for a moment. “Maybe I like assuring you just how special you are to me. I haven’t had many chances for that.” And he would always regret not telling it to Sarah enough. He wouldn’t take that chance again.

"If memory serves me correctly, and in this case I do believe so, I was the one yelling at you. It was a misunderstanding, I think, on both our parts. What is done is done."

What's more, he is becoming increasingly remiss of his duties, in finding it more and more difficult to keep his eyes open and on the fire. Slowly, his breathing evens out, and his voice becomes less articulate despite his diction.

"I've grown...very fond of you, Josef. You're very special in my eyes as well. I suppose it's only proper that it's mutual. I'd be terribly disappointed if it were not."

"You most certainly did," he noted, smiling fondly now about that memory from only a few months ago.

Josef says not a word about him falling asleep. He would stay and watch. With Azkadellia there with him, he will pay attention and watch and ensure that Bagoas' duty is done.

"Then don't be disappointed at all. You're the first one to open my heart in nearly a million years. Must say something about how amazing you are," he murmured, head dipping to kiss his temple.

"A million?" His lashes flutter in a futile attempt of keeping his eyes open, which the soft, warm press of lips does not help.

"Let us call it an age, lest I be forced to call you a liar, in which case we'll both be disappointed. No," he sighs, hand stilling over Josef's heart.

"That simply would not do. The wise man sits on the hole in his carpet, Josef."

"Not a liar," he corrected with a chuckle and a light stroke of one finger along the curve of Bagoas' neck. "Merely exaggerating. Would saying it sometimes felt that long be closer to the truth?"

Some days four hundred years felt like a lifetime, others it was merely a blink of the eyes.

He frowned a bit at that, not sure if Bagoas had just insulted himself or not. "What exactly does that mean?"

Bagoas hums agreement, closing his eyes to better see the flames dance through his eyelids.

"It means that one will make a better impression on others by hiding one's shortcomings. If one has not the means to change, one may still employ a bit of cunning.

"In this case," he says softly, breaths coming deep and measured and slow. "It means I'm...prone to listening too keenly to what is said. I watch too closely, and when I see or hear something that sits ill with my perception of matters, I immediately begin suspecting sinister plots."

One finger taps softly over Josef's breastbone. "I may not have the means to buy a new carpet; change my disposition or habits; but I may hide it from my guests. Do you see?"

Edited 2012-07-16 10:31 (UTC)

Josef’s finger continued to caress soft lines along the side of Bagoas’ neck as he listened to the explanation of the saying. The tip of his finger trailed lightly up beneath his ear, being light and delicate to just savour that simple ability to touch and be touched.

“I am a man known for his sinister plots and a deft hand at hiding his shortcomings,” he admitted. “So I can understand why you would be wary of what I say, how I say it and what I mean,” he allowed, speaking slowly enough to choose his words carefully.

“But what I know most of all is that you never need to hide your shortcomings from me for my sake,” he said, accepting that Bagoas might wish to for his own sake.

“I want to know you. All you’ll allow me to know. Even if you think it’s a shortcoming. As for my own…” He turned his head, lightly kissing against Bagoas’ hairline. “All of my possible sinister dealings will most certainly never be cast your way. If I were to have any here in Taxon to begin with.”

"It is not just your words I tally, Josef," Bagoas murmurs in soft response; half torn between leaning into the tempting little touches, and sinking deeper into the embrace. "It is something I do, whether you or anyone else has done anything to merit such scrutiny. You have not.

"Such acceptance is almost enough to make me giddy, were I not so damnably tired. I trust you, dear friend."

"Well then," he said, shifting to draw Bagoas close to him, offering as much comfort for rest as he might. "I will have to do my best to ensure all my actions are true then, won't I," he murmured, meaning it despite the turn of the conversation or how another might construe it. "You do what you do, Bagoas. I'll live with what you see and how we handle it."

He had never lived his life less than that, he wouldn't start now.

"And I you," he murmured, lips brushing his skin once more. "And I accept you because you've done the same with me. How could I give you anything less," he asked.

[Jungle/Beach at dusk]

thepersianyouth - 2012-07-18 17:33 (UTC) - Expand

[Jungle/Beach at dusk]

loveawkward - 2012-07-18 23:06 (UTC) - Expand

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052 [text | location: around the island] on the shore just long enough to leave our clothes there

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