#thiefdivine

𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘴. | accepting!

@feybled​ sent:  “ you have no idea how glad i am to see you. ” / from tyween of course :33

She had changed. Her once-flamboyant and boastful regalia minimized to simplistic yet fashionable garb; her hair undyed and grown out to vibrant, glorious curls; her demeanor somehow more amicable and softened by time---but it was still her. The moment he had captured the sight of the soft slope of her face, that endearing scar upon her nose (clearly he recalled how he’d told her it was cute, and she’d slapped him with the nearest pillow), the mischievous, cutting glimmer in her diamond eyes---so wonderfully, unapologetically her.

Xigbar had always been an unwaveringly confident fellow, bold and loud and often distasteful in his demeanor, and yet he’s entirely incapable of preventing how sheepishly his voice escapes him, “After the way we parted, I’m… sorta surprised.”

It hadn’t been a tearful goodbye---but it hadn’t been a comfortable one either. Words left unspoken, sentences left unfinished---like two awkward but bad-tempered teenagers breaking up in the middle of a promenade ruined by their own bickering. The dissolution of their union had left a hole in Xigbar he’d not wanted to admit was there---yet seeing her again---

AGGRESSION   //   SEXUAL  TENSION . | Accepting!

@feybled​ sent:  🚨 from tyreeeeeeeeeeeen 😊

He’d known the ramshackle bandit camp was located somewhere over the nearby dusty hill---he just hadn’t expected them to actually open fire from this distance.

Oh well, so much for a casual stroll with the lovely god queen herself.

However, no matter how swift and calculating Xigbar tended to be, at times, even his seemingly impeccable precognition could fail him---and before he could draw either of his weapons and return a single shot, after the third resounding bang rang out from afar, a form collided abruptly with his own, knocking him to the ground, hat sailing off into the dirt nearby.

It took him naught but a moment to gain cognition of exactly what had happened---and only another to grin upwards, golden eye slit in amusement. Even though the telltale whooping and stomping of vagabonds was steadily drawing closer, guns rattling with wasted ammunition, he rested a palm on the thigh of his savior, his voice a mischievous purr as he addressed her:

“Well howdy there, ‘Reeny---” and he reached over to his fallen hat, still within arms’ reach, then placed it, due to this position, rather awkwardly onto his head, with an equally awkward tip of the brim upwards towards her, “fancy seein’ you here all of a sudden.”

[[ continued from ( x ) ]]

There was that spark of a moment where Xigbar realized that, perhaps, withdrawing the image from its resting place might have been a bad idea---that discovering something possibly so personal could maybe trigger a retaliation beyond untold proportions---

Yet here she was, her placement at his side gentle, her response thoughtful, no trace of overt displeasure in her tone or posture. Which was, of course, a thorough relief---for he’d certainly not want a scolding that didn’t involve the use of a proper safe word.

But what truly struck him was her barefaced honesty with him---a facet of her that, when it peeked up from the crevasses of her confident and queenly exterior, had always intrigued him, yet that he was tentative about touching on to boldly. Waiting for those opportunities to present themselves of her own volition. And to her this brilliantly artistic rendition might be just a passing fancy within the realm of her dreams---but to Xigbar, this was a monumental happenstance.

For what could carry to her these stark visions of a planet so very, very far away? Something supernatural, connected to her otherworldly Sirenic abilities?

...Or, perhaps, there were even more pieces to this puzzle than Xigbar could readily see.

And thus, he resolved to dig deeper. To take those chances. Take advantage of this scene of quiet truthfulness between the two of them to uncover what he imagined to be certainly monumental secrets.

𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐃  &  𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐅𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 |  ACCEPTING!

@seekjoy​​ said:  ❛   door . / tyreen welcomes u to the house of horrors (her bedroom)

Despite the desolation and squalor of Pandora, Xigbar was impressed to observe that there was no shortage of opulence when it came to Tyreen’s personal abode. Well---impressed, true, but not exactly surprised. The Calypsos certainly had their work cut out for them when it came to coaxing the masses out of spilling what little was in their sand-laden pockets, donation after donation in exchange for a long-distance affection that touched that very human yearning for acceptance and approval---and, perhaps, a promised paradise that would sweep them from this hellish landscape in exchange for just enough of their devotion.

But that was neither here nor there; for here right now was the bedroom of Queen ‘Reeny herself, the sight of which was punctuated by a meandering gait and a resounding whistle of admiration, and there was the curtained, four-post bed upon which he shamelessly threw his weight, unheeding of any sort of overt invitation to do so. The door had been opened for him, after all, so he took that as his cue to make himself comfortable. And how could he not? Fineries such as a soft, pliable mattress and clean linen were hard to come by---not to mention furniture that wasn’t disheveled and musty and stacked with gross-stained goon-porn and---

Something rather unexpected caught his ever-observant eye, amidst the manmade elements---something crinkled haphazardly, yet still sticking out from the bottom shelf of the nightstand, the distinct texture of paper splashed with various shades of watercolor. Something about the specific combination of colors, dark yet ethereal, had him reaching---yet again, rudely lacking in the inquiry for permission---until he had, with proper care, slipped the page in question from its poorly-sought hiding place and brought into sight.

There depicted was a triangular structure of dark charcoal grey, highlighted in streaks of burning red, and towering high and menacing against the backdrop of a cloud-riddled, storm-bleak sky. Tendrils of crimson twisted along the bottom and sides of the portrait, accompanied by bulbs and dots of textured gold. It was simplistic, minimalist, but there was no mistaking the image as his vision lingered and his chest swelled with a strange emotion at this stark discovery: Nekrotafeyo.

𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐘 𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐒 | Accepting!

@seekjoy​ said:  ❛ seeing yourself for who you really are would be great if you knew where to start looking. ❜ / from ty? :(((

It was the sort of conversation that Xigbar was not ready for---or even worse still, was not even meant for. The sort of conversation he had been able to, thus far, avoid broaching when in her presence, their relationship nothing more than what he perceived to be a tumultuous storm of undulating infatuation and malicious intentions, culminating to… this. Floating in space in his ship just outside of Pandora’s orbit, with her having been rested upon his mattress, freshly awoken from an utterly comatose state induced by the exhaustion of expelling a good majority of her energy trying to fling an ancient, eldritch abomination to the borders of atmosphere. And, sure, she had done a decent job of catching it off-guard and putting a decent dent in its stamina, but the Vault Hunters had nonetheless had to finish the job by chasing it back into its craggy crevasse---at least, until the next Incident was Fated to occur, as it was always Fated to occur.

But for the time being, there were other things to focus on, aside from the nonsense that was the Destroyer constantly popping up when most inconvenient. Like Tyreen, awakening in his very much alien spacecraft, wandering awkwardly into his very much alien cockpit, taking a seat beside him in his very much alien passenger’s seat---well, perhaps, during the course of their meandering conversation, she still hadn’t noticed how alien this entire situation was turning out to be.

…Which was, admittedly, highly unlikely. Even partially delirious, Tyreen would never be that oblivious.

Yet, despite his seemingly collected mentality concerning the majority of this whole situation---this situation that had, ultimately, evolved into one that went against every single tenant his Master had lain out for him in grueling detail---Xigbar nevertheless felt her statement deeply---deeply enough to merit from him a thoughtful silence that extended for an unexpected amount of time, gloved hands nervously gripping the steerage---letting go---abruptly reapplying his grasp. Then, a deep sigh, which seemed louder than he had meant it to be---before he finally mustered a reply:

more prompts for your feels | not accepting

@seekjoy​ said:  "what do you see when you look into my eyes?" from ty !

Her.

That was what he saw, when he looked into those eyes.

Leda.

The same shade---the same shape. Even below the intensity of Tyreen’s jagged wickedness and the ever-present, vicious sneer behind her stare, he could still almost see the softness of her---hiding within, haunting him.

But then, just as he would glimpse it---just as he believed he could once again grasp her ghost from beyond the grave, somehow, some way---the sight of it would vanish, and there would be nothing left there but Tyreen---and the mirage of her mother, left as nothing more than a distant memory.

Yet he knew that that wasn’t what she wanted to hear---a tyrant queen upon her cushy throne, his sharp jaw held tightly within her hand and his golden eye tracing the outline of her face. No---once the afterimage had disappeared and Xigbar came to his senses---abandoned his woeful nostalgia---he knew very well she was not Leda, nor would she ever be.

And, perhaps, he could convince himself that it was for the best.