[ for his own part, Gilgamesh returns the embrace, stroking their hair softly. ]
It is as I have said before: I am always by your side.
[ he lowers one hand, stroking one of their cheeks. beneath the rosiness of their expression, their skin is suffused with warmth that Gilgamesh feels against his fingertips. ]
Tell me, how long has it seemed to you? [ the passage of time between worlds is not always linear when one accounts for the disrepancy between Geardagas and the summonings of SE.RA.PH, to which Gilgamesh slipped within the interim. ] I must naturally hear of whatever adventures you have undertaken in my absence.
That mongrel of mine, Hakuno, is she still here as well?
[ he can begin with this question, though Gilgamesh thinks there is considerable catching up to do between the two of them. ]
[That is an understatement. They've missed him fiercely and there's still a part of them not entirely believing that he's truly here. When he strokes their cheek they sigh deeply and lean into his touch. His hand feels warm and, oh so real.]
Hmm...you know I am not good with time... [A week could be a month for him.] ...but at least for the biggest part of the summer. [Too long, really. His question make them wonder about the adventures they should have versus the ones they really had. And the only conclusion they could make is that they really had no interesting story to tell him.]
Hakuno is doing well. [They still have their arms wrapped around him and they still aren't moving.] We are bonded to one another. She has been ill for quite a while.
[ Gilgamesh is certain that his friend has despaired of his absence, but even so, they do seem more... immediately happy than when last they encountered one another here. at that time, Enkidu had spoken with great despair about the depredations of the Rathmores.
truly, he hopes that this newer, more unburdened joy means that Enkidu has been faring better, even in spite of their friend's absence. stories and adventures or not, Enkidu's happiness is what truly matters. ]
-- oh? [ he quirks an eyebrow, pulling back just enough to look them in the eye. ] You did Bond, then?
[ though Gilgamesh supposes that is to be expected, were he to have considered it. so she is still here as well... ]
What illness has that Master of mine been stricken with, hm?
[ it must not be the Cwyld, or else Gilgamesh expects Enkidu would have said something more immediately. it must be some more mundane illness, perhaps...? but she is better now? ]
[And for a moment the words are right on the tip of their tongue. They're soft and intimate and they also realize they cannot say this to him. This is not how their bond is...or maybe it is, but it is better left unspoken. So the smile grows wider at his words and they take hold of his hand so they can press a kiss on the back of it.
Enkidu loves him. They love him above everything and everyone.]
I would like you to stay this time. I would like you to wake up at my side every morning and I would like to be at your side as we travel through the Wilde. [Their hold grows a little tighter.] When I returned to Chaldea I finally spoke of you when we rayshifted back to the Cedar Forest, where I heard of Kingu... I never wanted to speak your name. I lived as if my story with you had ended. And even when I had the chance to see you, I did not do it. And now I have returned all I realize is how foolish I have been. Please understand that I will never ask of you to take me as a bride, but please stay a bit longer this time.
[Oh yes, Enkidu did bond.]
I did. I am bonded to Hakuno and to Lio Fotia. And I have a bond based on potions with a man called Red Wine. A temporarily one. [They know very well that Gil won't be too happy with such news and they probably have to speak to Lio at some point.]
Hmm...she has been sick from not bonding and other complications. She has been in the infirmary for quite a while... I didn't visit her... [Enkidu struggled with missing him.] ...so I offered a bond in order to make sure she would not grow feral.
[ Gilgamesh smiles softly at those words, spoken in the tone of a precious secret between two beings from distant times. ]
It is my desire to remain at your side forever.
[ though as they both know, there are dreams which are beyond even his abilities, and forever is a promise neither of them has ever been able to make. mortality comes to all, and dread Ereshkigal's realm. Enkidu knew that all too well.
yet to dwell on such matters in the present is the height of foolishness, for they are here now. ]
No city within the cosmos needs the King of Heroes as much as does this one.
Yet my wanderings have been known to take me from city to city in ways which even I may not always predict. In one moment, I was entering that Underground. In another, I found myself returned to the golden city from whence I came. I walked, and I walked, thinking at the end, I would return to you. I knew now that I could find you somewhere beyond the horizon, waiting, so my heart was gladdened in my journeys.
[ he looks down at the hand Enkidu kisses, expression somber. ]
I shall not rebuke you for Bonding with others. Normally, I should test their mettle, yet it was I who undertook wanderings that parted me from my role as the arbiter of our household.
Well, we may speak upon that later. Essentially, since I absented myself to begin with, I shall permit your relations with these others.
[ and it goes without saying that for Enkidu to tend to Gilgamesh's Master is fitting. who else would be so equipped to the task?
so there is a symmetry to all that Enkidu says. yes, Gilgamesh is a jealous man, and it would be accurate to say that his internal reaction upon hearing news of his friend Bonding with others is... not entirely positive, yet his gaze is distant enough to apprehend what shall bring this beautiful friend the most joy, and that would be for relations with others to blossom like the flowers in the Wilde in the spring. Enkidu is no flower that may be tucked away in the dark, never to bloom, but must have the joy of relations with others. perhaps some glint of an acceptance, however, reluctant, may be found within the relative lack of argument that the King of Heroes presently offers. ]
For now, let us put the matter aside. We may move on.
[ which is the cue for his expression to become somewhat more mischievous. ]
Tell me, my friend, is it not true that you have your own exquisite creation within the Wilde? I heard something of you making a home of flowers... yes, you spoke of it to me before, yet I never had occasion to see. I left too soon. But I will stay longer now. Forgive me that. Come, take this hand. [ the hand they kiss. ] Show me your home in the Wilde, in the spring. It shall be as before, as our journey to the Cedar Forest.
[Oh, Enkidu knows that. There are no forevers for them. Mortality does not allow such things. Yet, when Gil smiles at them like that they think about what they once said to Diarmuid. Yes, it is true that they are a creature belonging to nature, wilful and weird, something ancient, a product of old gods. But something inside of them, something small and very human, would want to live alongside Gil the way other Bonded lived. As couples, as lovers, as beings waking up next to one another in the most basic human way.]
Then let us start our new life. Here. We will live in a small room, sleep in a small bed and we will be witches. [They lean in a little, their lips brushing his cheek briefly.] Friends but also lovers. [A pause.] Would you like to be my lover, Gil?
[When they said that they stay silent to listen to him and the only conclusion they can make is that he might have been able to hear them through the mirror. That they managed to remember him that they were here, that Hakuno was here. That he is needed here.]
When I finally rid my body of this illness the first thing I noticed was that my body was empty. That it lacked the connection it had with you. It has been a rather difficult time...but perhaps it is that that makes our second reunion even more important. Because now we know how happy we can truly be. Without gods even...without Grails and Moon Cells.
[When they see that mischievous smile on his face they chuckle softly and take his hand.]
Should I take you there? [When they speak it is obvious that there's some enthusiasm there.] Should we go now? [And then they nod slowly.] A new chapter, a new story.
A small room and a small bed, you say? Ha, that is not very ambitious of you.
[ not when Gilgamesh once laid claim to glorious ziggurats... exquisite palaces. ]
Even without my Golden Rule -- I, the King, should have no difficulty acquiring cunes. Thus I shall procure for us one of the finest mansions... [ he casts a glance at Enkidu as they move nearer] and you need only sleep in a small bed, in a small room, if that is the destiny you choose.
[ though Gilgamesh's voice is calm, suggesting that the change of pace, even if it is temporary, would not be unbearable.
when in the Moon Cell, he and Hakuno were forced to make due with a pauper's existence, but so long as there was grand adventure to be had and he was not bored, Gilgamesh had managed to find pleasure in that. so it will be here. Enkidu, with their quaint preferences, might even appreciate one of those peasants' quarters, so if that is what they mean in making such a suggestion, then the King will humor them.
no, more than humor them... he will indeed see to it that they have a small house, or as many small houses as they wish. ]
But, what questions you ask! What gravity you bring. [ Gilgamesh laughs again. ] Your lover? Enkidu, have I not always been that?
[ it is thousands of years late to ask such a question, isn't it? ]
Ah... [ his expression turns somewhat more distant. gazing out beyond the windswept leaves, Gilgamesh thinks of the treehouse. ] perhaps -- let us visit your home amid the trees, and we can speak more at that time. I shall have a grand address for you -- an answer for all your questions.
[ and the levity that shall accompany the change of scenery will also be welcome: all the better to laugh in the spring air and sunshine and pollen of the Wilde, rather than the grey hues of the Coven. it seems that the two of them have much to talk about.
Gil, you know very well that I do not care for such things. But what I do know is that adventures are the best when traveling in a pair. Preferably a best friend. But if you wish to gift me mansions and lush beds I will definitely accept them.
[Especially when he comes with said bed.]
Hmm...is a very complicated matter... [The smile on their face is warm when they say that.] I will explain it to you when I can explain it to myself. [And that day might never really come. After all, Gil is right, they are lovers and friends and everything in between. They have been like that for over 4000 years. Once again they feel foolish for questioning their bond like this. Hasn't it always been something beyond human comprehension? Isn't it foolish to look at it as something human to begin with? To want to be human about it?] But you are right, we have always been one another's lover.
[Enkidu tugs his hand briefly before they start to walk a little faster, obviously excited.]
Ah...let us go then. We can stay there for a couple of days. I would like to share a bed with you and drink some whiskey with water. [Scathach has introduced that to them and despite it's strength they've grown to like it.] And we can hunt for food while fighting off the Shades. [And they probably need to discuss bonding as well.]
[ the manner in which Gilgamesh looks at Enkidu, it is as a friend, yes -- as a warmest, dearest, most beloved companion.
but the manner in which Gilgamesh looks at Enkidu might also fit the description of what the moderns term a partner in crime.
there is an acute vulpine quality to the red gaze and the corresponding lazy slice of a grin on the face of the King of Heroes. he easily falls into a lightly swinging step beside his friend.
above, the pale blue of winter sky has shaded to murky grey tinged with rotten brown, the grey of gargoyles upon stone cathedrals -- the grey of another era of grand battles, familiar to a heroic spirit. there is no promise of rain or snow, only the darkening to precede an early and long night.
yet, Gilgamesh knows, in the Wilde, the land is green with spring. the small fingers lightly curling around his own, the hand encasing him, is gently leading him to a land of beauty and promise, a place where flowers still bloom. with each step he takes, he begins to believe that he apprehends the scent of those phantom flowers, though in reality he knows they must still have a ways to go. so drunk is he in the joy of placing one foot beside another, beside Enkidu, however, that time seems to move with the consistency of a slow butter spread. they walk towards dogwoods and pear trees and willows and spreading pink and white pinwheel flowers. ]
How foolish. [ the King laughs. ] You are right, my friend.
Whether we sleep in a small house or in the grandest ziggurat that I, the King, may have set the designs for -- should all the citizens of Uruk build it for me -- the greatest and most important outcome is the excellence of the King's journey... for all the treasures of the world shall amount to little if there is no pleasure in having them, in finding them, in traveling through the lands and rejoicing.
[ that is what their friendship means: Gilgamesh and Enkidu, the original Sumerians.
ultimately, they have no need of mansions or lush beds. Gilgamesh would rather lie his head in such a place. his vanity he does not even feel a need to defend himself against: let them say it of him. yet what truly satisfies his heart is to walk amid the waterfalls and the rough rocks of the mountains and to feel the thrill and the terror of that deep roar from the darkness of the Cedar Forest.
that is why, walking with Enkidu, there's that leap to his footsteps. it is as though they were traveling to the past together. it is fitting, a sort of promised afterlife as Servants, or something new besides. and now his friend is happier and though they still approach human concepts, it is with less tragic urgency. not so much of the hot, desperate, entangled need as before -- no, calmer now, steady, assured. ]
Hm. Well, I shall hear your supplications.
[ shall listen to those honey words. shall see the sights of the gardens. yes, let Enkidu bathe the King's eyes with the beauty of the flowers. is that not what they desire in the name of being lovers? a moment like that, yes?
(... though, whiskey, Enkidu, plz. rly? PLZ. just literally not even touching that.)
... highly unlikely. but that thought goes unspoken.
but Gilgamesh shall sample any drink as a matter of course. after the courage Hakuno had shown in food testing, how could the powerful and grand Servant do less than the crude and hapless Master?
hunting is more on Gilgamesh's mind than drinking. he allows himself to be led along, thinking absently of game. Bonding is a matter of course. naturally they shall Bond. but can Enkidu wait until they return to the Coven, or will this little Wilde sojourn need to be cut short? for now, Gilgamesh seems to await his friend's verdict, allowing them to lead the way.
[It is positive to say that Enkidu is beaming at this point. The tired look on their face has vanished completely and they're holding on to Gil's hand firmly as they lead him out of this city and towards the Wilde.
It is soothing to hear his voice, to hear him voice his opinion, his plans, his sentiments. To them this was a new life. In a way they were more what they used to be and yet they weren't. But whatever they were in this setting, they have stopped being Servants.]
Hmmm...I want to discover this world further with you, Gil. Travel to the end of it and find our way back. [Around them it is obviously getting warmer and more and the further they go, the more flowers appear.] Maybe even beyond that.
[The path to the treehouse is a bit winding and long but familiar to them. Most rune-based guard spells are still active and they take their time to check if none of them is broken or compromised.]
I think it is correct to say that it is somewhat strange that I have never showed you this place. [They hop over a small river before they reach out to him again.] It is also strange that I have not properly kissed you yet. [Enkidu smiles broadly. A Sunny and open smile only meant for their one true friend.]
[ it is not a terribly long journey from the city to the Wilde, certainly not so long as the journeys the King of Heroes has undertaken in the past.
there is no descent into the Underworld, no road to the Deep, no rising again to travel all the way to Uruk once more -- long, long years did Gilgamesh once spend as he trekked to find that herb, and then as he trekked all the way back to his kingdom, to build the walls and prepare for the twilight and the sunset of his reign, knowing another king would follow him, knowing there would be many kings, many heroes, to pass through the Throne, to make the contract.
but he was the first, and his was the first of kingdoms.
at the sight of the treehouse, Gilgamesh smiles warmly. ]
We may journey so far as the stars themselves, just as my mongrel and I did.
[ he still must show his friend more of that journey, must he not? in time -- and through the dreams.
the King of Heroes has always known that, eventually, he would go beyond his garden -- ]
-- yet, for the present, it is from those stars that I return, and for now, perhaps...
[ Gilgamesh reaches out, running the tips of his fingers along the wooden panels of the treehouse, and along the flowery, hanging branches that drape like a curtain above and around the edifice.
they stand amid a primeval landscape of boughs, like a sacred grove, a bower of dappled shade and the bright hues of the blooms that crawl amid the leafy branches. ]
... the King may, at long last, take a rest... a brief reprieve from all his wanderings.
[ his expression and open body language signal that Enkidu may approach, may take their wish from his lips if that is their desire, but then, such permission was always already granted from before their proposal had ever been formed: it was always their special right and their special privilege, reserved for them from the time of the beginning of the world.
no, it goes without saying, and no, his smile says: he shall not call Enkidu a fool now, not even in the spirit of jest.
for this, after all, is correct. all is correct, and true. the King and his friend may for now merely enjoy this sojourn, may think of nothing but the bright moment of the present, with all the manifold pleasures to come, whatever they may be.
for now, together, come what may, they are, once again, home. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
action it is, then!
Date: 2020-10-31 11:39 am (UTC)It is as I have said before: I am always by your side.
[ he lowers one hand, stroking one of their cheeks. beneath the rosiness of their expression, their skin is suffused with warmth that Gilgamesh feels against his fingertips. ]
Tell me, how long has it seemed to you? [ the passage of time between worlds is not always linear when one accounts for the disrepancy between Geardagas and the summonings of SE.RA.PH, to which Gilgamesh slipped within the interim. ] I must naturally hear of whatever adventures you have undertaken in my absence.
That mongrel of mine, Hakuno, is she still here as well?
[ he can begin with this question, though Gilgamesh thinks there is considerable catching up to do between the two of them. ]
indeed
Date: 2020-10-31 07:19 pm (UTC)[That is an understatement. They've missed him fiercely and there's still a part of them not entirely believing that he's truly here. When he strokes their cheek they sigh deeply and lean into his touch. His hand feels warm and, oh so real.]
Hmm...you know I am not good with time... [A week could be a month for him.] ...but at least for the biggest part of the summer. [Too long, really. His question make them wonder about the adventures they should have versus the ones they really had. And the only conclusion they could make is that they really had no interesting story to tell him.]
Hakuno is doing well. [They still have their arms wrapped around him and they still aren't moving.] We are bonded to one another. She has been ill for quite a while.
action;
Date: 2020-10-31 10:47 pm (UTC)[ Gilgamesh is certain that his friend has despaired of his absence, but even so, they do seem more... immediately happy than when last they encountered one another here. at that time, Enkidu had spoken with great despair about the depredations of the Rathmores.
truly, he hopes that this newer, more unburdened joy means that Enkidu has been faring better, even in spite of their friend's absence. stories and adventures or not, Enkidu's happiness is what truly matters. ]
-- oh? [ he quirks an eyebrow, pulling back just enough to look them in the eye. ] You did Bond, then?
[ though Gilgamesh supposes that is to be expected, were he to have considered it. so she is still here as well... ]
What illness has that Master of mine been stricken with, hm?
[ it must not be the Cwyld, or else Gilgamesh expects Enkidu would have said something more immediately. it must be some more mundane illness, perhaps...? but she is better now? ]
action
Date: 2020-11-01 07:59 pm (UTC)Enkidu loves him. They love him above everything and everyone.]
I would like you to stay this time. I would like you to wake up at my side every morning and I would like to be at your side as we travel through the Wilde. [Their hold grows a little tighter.] When I returned to Chaldea I finally spoke of you when we rayshifted back to the Cedar Forest, where I heard of Kingu... I never wanted to speak your name. I lived as if my story with you had ended. And even when I had the chance to see you, I did not do it. And now I have returned all I realize is how foolish I have been. Please understand that I will never ask of you to take me as a bride, but please stay a bit longer this time.
[Oh yes, Enkidu did bond.]
I did. I am bonded to Hakuno and to Lio Fotia. And I have a bond based on potions with a man called Red Wine. A temporarily one. [They know very well that Gil won't be too happy with such news and they probably have to speak to Lio at some point.]
Hmm...she has been sick from not bonding and other complications. She has been in the infirmary for quite a while... I didn't visit her... [Enkidu struggled with missing him.] ...so I offered a bond in order to make sure she would not grow feral.
action
Date: 2020-11-04 06:37 am (UTC)It is my desire to remain at your side forever.
[ though as they both know, there are dreams which are beyond even his abilities, and forever is a promise neither of them has ever been able to make. mortality comes to all, and dread Ereshkigal's realm. Enkidu knew that all too well.
yet to dwell on such matters in the present is the height of foolishness, for they are here now. ]
No city within the cosmos needs the King of Heroes as much as does this one.
Yet my wanderings have been known to take me from city to city in ways which even I may not always predict. In one moment, I was entering that Underground. In another, I found myself returned to the golden city from whence I came. I walked, and I walked, thinking at the end, I would return to you. I knew now that I could find you somewhere beyond the horizon, waiting, so my heart was gladdened in my journeys.
[ he looks down at the hand Enkidu kisses, expression somber. ]
I shall not rebuke you for Bonding with others. Normally, I should test their mettle, yet it was I who undertook wanderings that parted me from my role as the arbiter of our household.
Well, we may speak upon that later. Essentially, since I absented myself to begin with, I shall permit your relations with these others.
[ and it goes without saying that for Enkidu to tend to Gilgamesh's Master is fitting. who else would be so equipped to the task?
so there is a symmetry to all that Enkidu says. yes, Gilgamesh is a jealous man, and it would be accurate to say that his internal reaction upon hearing news of his friend Bonding with others is... not entirely positive, yet his gaze is distant enough to apprehend what shall bring this beautiful friend the most joy, and that would be for relations with others to blossom like the flowers in the Wilde in the spring. Enkidu is no flower that may be tucked away in the dark, never to bloom, but must have the joy of relations with others. perhaps some glint of an acceptance, however, reluctant, may be found within the relative lack of argument that the King of Heroes presently offers. ]
For now, let us put the matter aside. We may move on.
[ which is the cue for his expression to become somewhat more mischievous. ]
Tell me, my friend, is it not true that you have your own exquisite creation within the Wilde? I heard something of you making a home of flowers... yes, you spoke of it to me before, yet I never had occasion to see. I left too soon. But I will stay longer now. Forgive me that. Come, take this hand. [ the hand they kiss. ] Show me your home in the Wilde, in the spring. It shall be as before, as our journey to the Cedar Forest.
Do not mourn, for our legend continues now.
action
Date: 2020-11-08 07:02 pm (UTC)Then let us start our new life. Here. We will live in a small room, sleep in a small bed and we will be witches. [They lean in a little, their lips brushing his cheek briefly.] Friends but also lovers. [A pause.] Would you like to be my lover, Gil?
[When they said that they stay silent to listen to him and the only conclusion they can make is that he might have been able to hear them through the mirror. That they managed to remember him that they were here, that Hakuno was here. That he is needed here.]
When I finally rid my body of this illness the first thing I noticed was that my body was empty. That it lacked the connection it had with you. It has been a rather difficult time...but perhaps it is that that makes our second reunion even more important. Because now we know how happy we can truly be. Without gods even...without Grails and Moon Cells.
[When they see that mischievous smile on his face they chuckle softly and take his hand.]
Should I take you there? [When they speak it is obvious that there's some enthusiasm there.] Should we go now? [And then they nod slowly.] A new chapter, a new story.
action
Date: 2020-11-12 09:42 pm (UTC)[ not when Gilgamesh once laid claim to glorious ziggurats... exquisite palaces. ]
Even without my Golden Rule -- I, the King, should have no difficulty acquiring cunes. Thus I shall procure for us one of the finest mansions... [ he casts a glance at Enkidu as they move nearer] and you need only sleep in a small bed, in a small room, if that is the destiny you choose.
[ though Gilgamesh's voice is calm, suggesting that the change of pace, even if it is temporary, would not be unbearable.
when in the Moon Cell, he and Hakuno were forced to make due with a pauper's existence, but so long as there was grand adventure to be had and he was not bored, Gilgamesh had managed to find pleasure in that. so it will be here. Enkidu, with their quaint preferences, might even appreciate one of those peasants' quarters, so if that is what they mean in making such a suggestion, then the King will humor them.
no, more than humor them... he will indeed see to it that they have a small house, or as many small houses as they wish. ]
But, what questions you ask! What gravity you bring. [ Gilgamesh laughs again. ] Your lover? Enkidu, have I not always been that?
[ it is thousands of years late to ask such a question, isn't it? ]
Ah... [ his expression turns somewhat more distant. gazing out beyond the windswept leaves, Gilgamesh thinks of the treehouse. ] perhaps -- let us visit your home amid the trees, and we can speak more at that time. I shall have a grand address for you -- an answer for all your questions.
[ and the levity that shall accompany the change of scenery will also be welcome: all the better to laugh in the spring air and sunshine and pollen of the Wilde, rather than the grey hues of the Coven. it seems that the two of them have much to talk about.
no Grails, no gods, no Moon Cells...
-- well, perhaps a Master, eventually. ]
You may lead me along. I grant you permission.
action (sorry, this isn't the best tag... headache game real high :C )
Date: 2020-11-19 08:22 pm (UTC)Gil, you know very well that I do not care for such things. But what I do know is that adventures are the best when traveling in a pair. Preferably a best friend. But if you wish to gift me mansions and lush beds I will definitely accept them.
[Especially when he comes with said bed.]
Hmm...is a very complicated matter... [The smile on their face is warm when they say that.] I will explain it to you when I can explain it to myself. [And that day might never really come. After all, Gil is right, they are lovers and friends and everything in between. They have been like that for over 4000 years. Once again they feel foolish for questioning their bond like this. Hasn't it always been something beyond human comprehension? Isn't it foolish to look at it as something human to begin with? To want to be human about it?] But you are right, we have always been one another's lover.
[Enkidu tugs his hand briefly before they start to walk a little faster, obviously excited.]
Ah...let us go then. We can stay there for a couple of days. I would like to share a bed with you and drink some whiskey with water. [Scathach has introduced that to them and despite it's strength they've grown to like it.] And we can hunt for food while fighting off the Shades. [And they probably need to discuss bonding as well.]
i need more icons of them
Date: 2020-11-27 09:01 pm (UTC)but the manner in which Gilgamesh looks at Enkidu might also fit the description of what the moderns term a partner in crime.
there is an acute vulpine quality to the red gaze and the corresponding lazy slice of a grin on the face of the King of Heroes. he easily falls into a lightly swinging step beside his friend.
above, the pale blue of winter sky has shaded to murky grey tinged with rotten brown, the grey of gargoyles upon stone cathedrals -- the grey of another era of grand battles, familiar to a heroic spirit. there is no promise of rain or snow, only the darkening to precede an early and long night.
yet, Gilgamesh knows, in the Wilde, the land is green with spring. the small fingers lightly curling around his own, the hand encasing him, is gently leading him to a land of beauty and promise, a place where flowers still bloom. with each step he takes, he begins to believe that he apprehends the scent of those phantom flowers, though in reality he knows they must still have a ways to go. so drunk is he in the joy of placing one foot beside another, beside Enkidu, however, that time seems to move with the consistency of a slow butter spread. they walk towards dogwoods and pear trees and willows and spreading pink and white pinwheel flowers. ]
How foolish. [ the King laughs. ] You are right, my friend.
Whether we sleep in a small house or in the grandest ziggurat that I, the King, may have set the designs for -- should all the citizens of Uruk build it for me -- the greatest and most important outcome is the excellence of the King's journey... for all the treasures of the world shall amount to little if there is no pleasure in having them, in finding them, in traveling through the lands and rejoicing.
[ that is what their friendship means: Gilgamesh and Enkidu, the original Sumerians.
ultimately, they have no need of mansions or lush beds. Gilgamesh would rather lie his head in such a place. his vanity he does not even feel a need to defend himself against: let them say it of him. yet what truly satisfies his heart is to walk amid the waterfalls and the rough rocks of the mountains and to feel the thrill and the terror of that deep roar from the darkness of the Cedar Forest.
that is why, walking with Enkidu, there's that leap to his footsteps. it is as though they were traveling to the past together. it is fitting, a sort of promised afterlife as Servants, or something new besides. and now his friend is happier and though they still approach human concepts, it is with less tragic urgency. not so much of the hot, desperate, entangled need as before -- no, calmer now, steady, assured. ]
Hm. Well, I shall hear your supplications.
[ shall listen to those honey words. shall see the sights of the gardens. yes, let Enkidu bathe the King's eyes with the beauty of the flowers. is that not what they desire in the name of being lovers? a moment like that, yes?
(... though, whiskey, Enkidu, plz. rly? PLZ. just literally not even touching that.)
... highly unlikely. but that thought goes unspoken.
but Gilgamesh shall sample any drink as a matter of course. after the courage Hakuno had shown in food testing, how could the powerful and grand Servant do less than the crude and hapless Master?
hunting is more on Gilgamesh's mind than drinking. he allows himself to be led along, thinking absently of game. Bonding is a matter of course. naturally they shall Bond. but can Enkidu wait until they return to the Coven, or will this little Wilde sojourn need to be cut short? for now, Gilgamesh seems to await his friend's verdict, allowing them to lead the way.
see, he can be a generous King... ]
no subject
Date: 2020-12-02 03:41 pm (UTC)It is soothing to hear his voice, to hear him voice his opinion, his plans, his sentiments. To them this was a new life. In a way they were more what they used to be and yet they weren't. But whatever they were in this setting, they have stopped being Servants.]
Hmmm...I want to discover this world further with you, Gil. Travel to the end of it and find our way back. [Around them it is obviously getting warmer and more and the further they go, the more flowers appear.] Maybe even beyond that.
[The path to the treehouse is a bit winding and long but familiar to them. Most rune-based guard spells are still active and they take their time to check if none of them is broken or compromised.]
I think it is correct to say that it is somewhat strange that I have never showed you this place. [They hop over a small river before they reach out to him again.] It is also strange that I have not properly kissed you yet. [Enkidu smiles broadly. A Sunny and open smile only meant for their one true friend.]
Feel free to call me a fool, Gil.
A MILLION YEARS LATER... boops a tag to close this out
Date: 2021-01-20 06:52 pm (UTC)there is no descent into the Underworld, no road to the Deep, no rising again to travel all the way to Uruk once more -- long, long years did Gilgamesh once spend as he trekked to find that herb, and then as he trekked all the way back to his kingdom, to build the walls and prepare for the twilight and the sunset of his reign, knowing another king would follow him, knowing there would be many kings, many heroes, to pass through the Throne, to make the contract.
but he was the first, and his was the first of kingdoms.
at the sight of the treehouse, Gilgamesh smiles warmly. ]
We may journey so far as the stars themselves, just as my mongrel and I did.
[ he still must show his friend more of that journey, must he not? in time -- and through the dreams.
the King of Heroes has always known that, eventually, he would go beyond his garden -- ]
-- yet, for the present, it is from those stars that I return, and for now, perhaps...
[ Gilgamesh reaches out, running the tips of his fingers along the wooden panels of the treehouse, and along the flowery, hanging branches that drape like a curtain above and around the edifice.
they stand amid a primeval landscape of boughs, like a sacred grove, a bower of dappled shade and the bright hues of the blooms that crawl amid the leafy branches. ]
... the King may, at long last, take a rest... a brief reprieve from all his wanderings.
[ his expression and open body language signal that Enkidu may approach, may take their wish from his lips if that is their desire, but then, such permission was always already granted from before their proposal had ever been formed: it was always their special right and their special privilege, reserved for them from the time of the beginning of the world.
no, it goes without saying, and no, his smile says: he shall not call Enkidu a fool now, not even in the spirit of jest.
for this, after all, is correct. all is correct, and true. the King and his friend may for now merely enjoy this sojourn, may think of nothing but the bright moment of the present, with all the manifold pleasures to come, whatever they may be.
for now, together, come what may, they are, once again, home. ]