video (un: falcogrice)

[grice]

CONTENT WARNING: psychological changes, hoarding, and obsessive behavior related to lavish desires

[ this video opens up with the blink of two eyes and a disgruntled chitter. perle is filming falco and focusing on . . . quite a mess of books in various assortments, stacked upon each other until they were in danger of tilting. among the open spines on the floors pinned with bookmarks were scrolls of paintings, sketches, statues, sepia photography— anything resembling a loving relationship, falco has seemed to have snatched it and keeps it all hostage in his little cabin home's attic like a greedy little dragon buried in precious, hoarded gold. he's pacing left, right, and has been caught mid-explanation as he works a red thread between his fingers. ]

—ee this, Perle? What I read, [ he paces some ways to the right to splay his hands on oh dear god what mad science project is this— so many pieces of paper glued to each other until it forms one massive canvas taking up the entirety of the attic wall. he's written words, names, and has a wild amount of different colored threads connecting to the various names. ] there're different types of love in a relationship, but that goes for any relationship, so it doesn't have to be romantic so— See Paul, right here?

Yes, boy, I can see. I wish I could close my eyes, and unsee. Would you listen just a moment to me—

[ she seems very close to her limit to listening to all of this for hours— but she relents. falco points to the names written on the slips next to his. ]

There's Eros, like the story, for two people, [ he pins the red thread from paul to both, and as he does so, with his back turned, ] and that's really hard to pull off because it's easy for anyone that loves someone to feel jealous, and Brother already said he feels that way sometimes like there'll be nothing left, do you think there's some Mania in there too? I'm not sure if it's Pragma, that takes time to evolve— Erwin and Levi are definitely Pragma.

Boy—

But these started as Philia and that's what this green is going to be for, and this gold is supposed to be Storge because we're all from the same House so that counts as familial like these here, it's really different from, like, Ymir and Historia, or Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth in Persuasion—

I've had it!

Wh—

You heard me! This is too much! It's been days! Cease! Go play outside! Make bread, brew tea for your fathers! Read your books and not the ones you stole! Is everyone seeing this, hm?! Good! [ it's clear she's talking to the sleepers, now, hopping onto an entire stack of books. ] Is this yours? Or this? Come get it! And this? [ she flutters onto a statue, then someone's flowery gift to a loved one, an elaborate painting of a couple in the hues of a purple sunset, then pecking at a little box with . . . were those— rings? ] These! Those! Also stolen! You haven't even apologized to Jun! And before you start, I am indeed shaming you! You've never stolen! You've never been obsessive or nosy or combative or— [ she puffs up big and nasty for a falcon no larger than a human palm. ] This! It is worse than hormonal! I do not like it! [ peck!! peck!! peck!! ] Shame! Shame on you!

What's with you—?!

And what's with you?! I hope they talk some sense into that smitten little head!

[ falco's face changes so many shades then, going from lime, to slime, to a deep castelon green from the tips of his ears to his collar bones. he's hushing angrily: ]

No one was supposed to see, they'll want to have it! Just like Jun!

You are dreadfully mistaken! A problem must be seen!

[ the worst (or best) of it is his sputtering voice that just gives way to the harshest, cracked shriek in teenage rebellion: ]

This is beautiful!!

Comments

[possessum]

( There was a time when he couldn't speak at all. And sometimes, it's still a struggle — as he gets lost in translation, in how to work a human body and its chords and sounds to form speech through it. But he's emboldened, strengthened by Falco's display. There's a confidence in the demon as he tilts his head back, careful with his strange crown made of something's skin. )

It is correct. Passion.... We are bound by passion.

( That's... not at all creepy! But he'd seen what Falco described for her above, what pink means. And "passion" feels like a good word for it all... for the strength of the connection between a demon and a witch. He's thrilled by this. )

You understand us. Others do not. They think we are... strange.

( He really doesn't mind much, and neither does Luna — but he still doesn't enjoy others treating her oddly for her relationship with him. She's been mistreated by others in her homeworld; he'd seen it for himself in a memory.... He'd hissed at Hogwarts bullies.... )

But your chart... will show them. That we are pink, and that it is good.

[grice]

[ a smile spreads across his lips, contained, in the face of a being that sheds his confidence like royalty. this makes it all the more exuberant, despite how small it is kept. ]

I was right . . . [ from network observation! he got it right! he's so proud of himself—! ] That type of love isn't strange at all. And it's devotional, isn't it? Like, there's commitment tied to each other's passion.

[possessum]

( Devotional. Commitment. The boy uses more words that feel right, for his relationship with the witch. Feel important. He continues to be quietly awed by how well Falco does understand, leaning even closer to his screen, as though he means to reach right through it. )

It is.... There is... Devotional. Commitment. That is how it is. Exact.

( It isn't... romantic love; he isn't capable of that, but it's something deep; an ancient tether between witch and demon. The boy grasps this. But of course, he'd also linked Paimon to something else, and the demon wants to know more of his insight. )

Wise child. What does... the blue thread mean? The bright one.

private ∞!

[grice]

[ wise. oh, man— that's another level of compliment that gets his chest to bubble up. duty had said something similar. emotional maturity. he can't let that stunt his growth. if he's good, he wants to get better. surely, he doesn't know everything— right? falco accepts the wording with a short bow of his head in thanks, but his cheeks are humbly flushing (green).

he knows what paimon is talking about, and switches this conversation to private. it was a mistake in the first place, for the "thing to not be named" to be there for public eyes to see. at least, if there's no name, they can't think of it, can they? it leaves his heart at a bit more ease to talk about further. ]

"Interest", but . . . It's different. I can't tell what it is, yet. Almost like "respect", but not exactly— I don't think it respects anyone. [ he knows he can't quite escape the silence's presence, but he still speaks as if he's trying to keep it only between them. softspoken. ] It's interested in you.

[possessum]

( He's communicated with it a few times, his own interest piqued by the entity within the boy. It's reached out to him with questions, lost and strange and frustrated. He's tried to guide it some, though he can't be certain if the being was able to grasp such things.

There's a quiet, thoughtful hum at Falco's words. He understands what the boy means; he'd told the being he was a king and it hadn't reacted. It isn't like his kind; titles and hierarchy seem to mean nothing to the entity. Perhaps it can't see those things at all, cannot respect. It means to consume, something so hungry. )

Yes. It has made contact with me. I am keeping watch of it.

( Though it's been some time since then. The demon's bird-tilt of his head moves to the other side, slowly. )

Has it been.... easier to you? More gentle.

[grice]

It’s . . . Quiet?

[ that’s the best way to describe the interactions these days. either because falco has managed to keep his corruption levels to a minimum ever since the accident, or it really did seem to be easing off. ]

Miss Ange talked to it directly a little while back. She wants to find a way to feed it.

[ and for what it’s worth— it seems to be waiting. behind falco’s eyes, the silence lurks in a drowsy stupor. it sees, it’s there. it does not have the strength to do as paimon does, though.

you may say it is “behaving” under the witch’s part of the deal. but it does say a faraway hello to paimon from the eldritch beyond. ]

[possessum]

The Golden Witch. ( Paimon nods solemnly in recognition; the title is held in great esteem. He knows Ange's power, and it's good that Falco's made connection with her. But... a way to feed it? The demon is silent for a long moment, considering this. )

It told me that it feeds on.... dark energy. ( That's how he'd describe it anyway — things like pain, fear, ache. It's a strange concept for him; though those types of things had been used to prepare Peter to be a viable vessel for him, Paimon doesn't... require sustenance from them. The being within Falco is parasitic. )

There is much of that, here. Perhaps it could... be kept fed. ( He does look deeply into the boy's eyes, purposeful. Oh yes, he knows you're in there, Mister. A being without guidance, potentially very dangerous... King Paimon is certainly up to the task! He's Demon Adopting some slime. )

I will assist you.

[grice]

[ the stare is truly powerful, deep, so prevailing and probing within him that falco has to fight the growing urge to avert his eyes. what he says next brings surprise so blatant on his face that his cheeks warm green.

he'd remembered the messages— but didn't want to impose any more on a certain amount of "privacy", no matter how important it was for pinning relationships. even if he did read them many nights ago, and showed them to ange. but to get help directly—? ]

W-would you help us find a way—?

[possessum]

( It's what he's meant for. Certainly Falco's been on his radar for a while now, but after this... he feels that his connection with the boy has grown deeper, more important. They've exchanged something important.

And he will help him. It's something that perhaps he and Ange can work together on; he's quite close with her, and his brand of demon is meant to work right alongside witches. Perhaps they can help this boy and the being within him. )

I will. I shall. I am here to assist. ( Though he remembers so little about himself, he knows this is his role. It's one he's proud of, warm to. )

...I can also... perhaps, try to calm it sometime. I can do things. Make people.... calmer. ( He can cause visions, hallucinations, he can make a mental state stable or unstable.... In the short-term, if Falco's having a rough time of it.... maybe the demon king could help with that. An offer for the future. )

If it ever is hurting you again, perhaps I could ease it.

[grice]

[ how would hardly matter is paimon was up to the task. gradually, his eldritch slime support group grows, and he feels more at ease when considering it just there with no way out. ]

Thank you, Paimon. [ ange paimon powerhouse team! ] What do you . . . Think of it? The thing.

[ the thing that shall not be named, but the thing in this context is enough to get it to stir a little more and listen in rather than absently hanging around. Its interest in things come and go, waning when it isn't strong, or what it considers itself when healthy.

it's a shriveled-up, slimy little imp. ]

Have you seen anything like it?

[possessum]

( The demon falls silent, thinking deeply. There's so much he still doesn't remember about the Truths he's meant to know. Even his context of himself, and his version of Hell, and what a demon even is.... he's having to re-learn, try to understand again.

But if he reaches deeply into his own spirit... there are things he Knows, even if he can't remember Knowing. Paimon is quiet for a long while, and then when he does speak again, it's from his own spirit. Words that he lets come, trusting them. )

Such things do not exist where I am from. What plagues you... is unique.

( "Plagues", because the entity within Falco... seems almost like a virus or sickness. Something alien and wet, that has a purely negative effect on its host. Even lesser demons in Paimon's universe don't function this way. )

I think it is very lost. Aimless. Its… functioning is only that much.

...Do you know why it was put into you? Was there a Purpose for that?

[grice]

. . . I don’t think so.

[ falco tries to recall the conversations he’s had with the priests as well as admin and miss zolta. they were the only ones who knew more about it, but they were careful about what was disclosed. the silence was at its prime, there— one wrong move and it could infect the entire population.

that brings up something else: aimless. it had such purpose in south sister despite being completely negative. it has nowhere to go, now. nowhere else to spread. it really is lost. ]

What I was told was that . . . My titan vessel attracted it, and it chose to come in when the barriers were weak.

[possessum]

( His titan vessel...? Did it want to utilise such a thing? Pilot it? Is that why it inhabits the boy now, waiting for him to transform into that state? Paimon remembers when it had begun seeping out of the eyes and mouth of the bird when its jaws had been clamped around Luna, out in the woods. It was there, it was waiting.

There are pieces to this puzzle, things to be understood. The demon king will work deliberately from here on. )

Like myself.... it will have to adjust. To functioning here, instead of in its old world. Perhaps a Purpose could be found here.

( Already, he's forming ideas. It had reacted to certain things, it's clearly capable of learning. ) I could speak to it again, sometime.

[grice]

[ who knows, perhaps, in time, the silence will reach out again. or, in a nearing future, it won't have to reach out. it will come out. until then, there was some time to think and plan. for the most part, falco is grateful to have more help than he ever really bargained for. ]

I'd be grateful for that. [ he's sure to bow his head for this one: ] —Thank you, Paimon.