logs | (catchall / open)

[ He does take a little peek around, trying not to stare at any one spot for long. As far as living quarters go, it's threadbare and secondhand, but Dimitri doesn't mind that; he's never been one for owning more than the essentials, even if he grew up in a castle.

But it's also threadbare, and a little—well. Lonely-looking.

He quickly turns his eyes back on Bruno, though it doesn't take him long to put together a response. Considering everything, he'd rather be as upfront as possible. ]

Because they consider me a fugitive. [ Maybe he is one. ] I do not know how much you've heard from out here, but many of us fled the gallows recently.

[ A pause. More quietly, ]

I hadn't realized I'd come seeking sanctuary in a chapel. [ He only recognizes it in this state now that the light's on. ] You've chosen an interesting place to take roost, stranger.

[ Ah, that would explain it. That also meant people had managed to get away from... from all of that. It can't have been pleasant and it makes Bruno feel even less like he'd want to turn this person back out into the Barrens. Here, at least, it was safe, even if one could not actually claim any real sanctuary in this old chapel.

He doubts the Stygian guards would care enough to respect that. ]

It reminded me of the one back home a little, so, y'know... [ Why not? But he'll look worried nonetheless, as thinking of all those people who got dragged off is like to do. ] I saw them arresting people in the city. I didn't stick around but it. It seemed crazy, right? Just grabbing anyone at all? Are you alright?

[ Ah, seeking out something familiar. He can understand that much, and he offers Bruno a slightly sympathetic look; if it meant feeling closer to home, he might hole up in a run-down church too. Though while it's removed from the arrests, he wonders how safe it really is out here. ]

I'm all right. But your kindness is better saved for someone else—there were many that deserved to be there less than I did. It did seem to me as though some were guilty of nothing at all.

[ Which is aggravating; the disdain is clear in his voice, though he makes a half-hearted attempt to temper it. ]

But from what I saw, many did manage an escape. I may not be the last to come running by your doors in search of shelter. [ ... ] Frankly, I thought you might've been in the same situation, being so far out here alone.

[ Just someone trying to skitter out into the outskirts away from the eye of the sentries. ]

[ It isn't safe at all and yet, here he remains. It does, at least, not have people seeking to drag him out and arrest him for no clear reason whatsoever. ]

Well, I guess it does have the perk of being far out of sight and out of, uh, mind? [ Who would even look here? He keeps a low profile out of habit. ] 'cause it's not like I haven't done some... like... one or two, um, criminal... ish... things. J-just not violent things or. Or anything.

[ Ha ha, yeah, maybe he shouldn't admit to theft or breaking and entering or things like that, yet here we are. ]

[ His expression turns slightly dubious. He can see why this man might hide out in the middle of nowhere when there's mass incarcerations going on; he's clearly nervous, and also apparently admits to his wrongdoings without even being prompted. Poor fellow. ]

What makes something... "criminalish?"

[ He really doubts it's anything serious, particularly because Bruno just out and admitted to it, but he's curious all the same. ]

Uh, I may have borrowed some tongs from a smithy? With... without asking but I did put them back again, after!

[ That. That makes something "criminalish", apparently. Borrowing without asking but actually returning the borrowed thing. Bruno offers a somewhat awkward smile over that, like, haha, very funny, right? ]

[ Oh. That is criminalish indeed. But no real bandit would be made so nervous over a petty pilfering. Nor would they return what they stole. ]

A set of... briefly sticky fingers is devious indeed.

[ His voice is gently chiding, in a way that suggests it's not entirely serious. ]

...One of my finest knights was a thief in his youth, driven to steal out of desperation. If you acted similarly, then perhaps you're quite new here too?

[ Ah, he isn't taking it seriously, is he? Then again, it isn't really something to take seriously, seeing as the tongs were inevitably returned. Some tension drains from Bruno's shoulders and he takes a seat on a pew nearby with a sigh. ]

Pretty obvious, right? I think it's been just over a month now? Or maybe not. I don't know, not really. Days just kind of all blend together here...

[ Unless Bruno is out here stealing from the poor or stabbing them, he won't take it too seriously. Though Dimitri's expression makes the subtle switch back to something somber in no time at all. ]

That they do. I'm still not used to the phases of the moon here...

[ How do they even really mark the passage of time here? It's disorienting. ]

Though that's exacerbated by being somewhere like this, I think. Time flows differently in isolation. [ Being holed up inside, away from others in a place like this—it must be hard to keep the days straight. ] I hope you have someone bringing you supplies here, at least...? I suspect it will be winter soon.

[ So hopefully he's squirrelling away food and whatnot. A beaten old building like this is a difficult place to survive a winter. ]

[ Winter? Supplies? The blank look Dimitri receives initially should be enough to tell him that, no, he hasn't thought of that at all, not any of it. In this, he's beginning to realize he's outside of any experience of his own and he looks down at the floor — at his own very not-winter-ready sandals, in fact — rather than at Dimitri. If he's going to be judged, he'd rather not see it happening... ]

It's not like I never go into the city to get stuff, y'know... [ Although there's a limit to what one small guy like him can carry in one trip to and back again. ] But I don't really know a whole lot about winter. It's warm every season where I'm from, uh, except for when Pepa was in a bad mood, I guess, but that... varied, usually? Like, that didn't always end up as snow.

[ Was this "Pepa" a goddess of the seasons? Interesting. He can't help but envy that she would grant them mostly warm weather, then. ]

I see... well. In a harsh winter, there are nearly no plants to forage. The air turns dry and cold. You can lose your fingers and toes if you aren't careful—they'll practically turn to ice and won't turn back.

[ Which might be an extreme way of putting it, but it's been drilled in him since he was a child not to underestimate winter: the cold does not discriminate between king and peasant, ready to claim either overnight, and this isn't even half the dangers of it. Bruno seems to be a man of summer though, and Dimitri tries to keep his words as a gentle warning rather than an admonishment. ]

If winter comes, the journey to the city will become more demanding. [ Or he could get snowed in completely. ] So if you continue to stay here, you ought to prepare yourself now, just to be safe.

[ He'd be shocked to discover the presumed "goddess of the seasons" was his sister but, uh, anyway, Bruno seems more and more worried the longer that Dimitri goes on about the dangers of a real winter. He doesn't like the sound of it, any of it, and it shows plainly on his face. ]

S-so, basically, winter's gonna kill me. Is. Is that right?

[ Because that's what he got out of it, no matter how gentle a warning he'd tried to offer. ]

Edited 2022-12-01 06:11 (UTC)

[ WELL, that's a conclusion he was hoping to dodge, though also he tends to err on the side of honesty, even if it's a little brutal. So. ]

It's... a possible outcome? [ quickly: ] But completely preventable.

[ It's totally fine and okay and cool. Probably. ]

Just—looking around, it's something I would keep in mind.

[ One more thing to worry about. Bruno breathes out a long, quiet sort of sigh. ]

I guess I couldn't keep on being a weird hermit forever, huh?

[ Moving into the city. What a nerve-wracking thought but there's no way the chapel is going to be anything but freezing cold during a real winter. After that, Bruno's silent for a time, lost in thought, still staring down at the floor, but then he gives a start, as though suddenly remembering, yeah, he has company? Yes. He has company.

His head darts up and he looks at Dimitri again and, following one last awkward pause, he latches onto the first thought that comes to mind. ]

Do you... want something to drink while you wait? Uh, like. I think I have some tea left I could make?

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