Of all the forms that Akivili can take, the one they like the most — the one he likes the most, anyway, when he's pretending to be a perfectly ordinary mortal human with perfectly ordinary mortal human needs — is that of a handsome young man with gray hair and gold eyes. He's nearly indistinguishable from a normal human in this form, save for the soft golden glow that seems to emanate from him whenever he is in one's peripherals (the aura seems to melt away once he's in direct focus), but sometimes, when he's angered, the light of the stars will bleed out from the outline of his body, revealing the ethereal core within.
At the moment, at least, he has no reason to be outright angry. But he is somewhat angered. Peeved, maybe, is the correct word. Miffed. Annoyed. After all, did Aha really think that Akivili wouldn't be able to see right through their tricks? What business does the Elation have, infiltrating the Express disguised as one of the new Nameless?
This is a different era for the Express, a more prosperous one. There are hundreds of Nameless on the Express, and all of them are here to do good. All of them, that is, except one burly, blue-haired man with green eyes and a simpering demeanor.
Akivili has seen right through him. He corners the "rookie Nameless" in an unused storeroom of the train, pulls him roughly by one shoulder, pins him to the wall. Looks right into that deceptively ordinary green gaze, golden eyes smouldering into them with an intoxicating mixture of fury and suspicion.
"Nice face on this vessel of yours," he murmurs coldly. "Nice body, too. What, you got tired of the tall lady with big tits? Or are you trying to appeal to my tastes?"
Akivili's grip on the man's shoulder tightens, burning with stardust and comet haze.
"Did you really think I would be fooled by this, Aha?"
Aha wouldn't call what they're doing infiltrating-- that implies that they're being subtle and quiet, and they're just enjoying themself! The Express is such an interesting place, so full of people and life, so filled with the joy of exploration. And where there is joy, how could there not also be the Elation?
They wanted to see what all the fuss was about! And now that they're here, they can see that it's all good fuss. They just want to have a little fun alongside all of these funny little Nameless, tag along on their cosmic adventures as they explore the universe. Joy going along with the joyful, bearing witness to their successes and their failures, laughing all the while. Like Akivili, Aha prefers to exist close to mortals, to take their forms and walk beside them. They aren't aloof and distant, like other Aeons, they're just... your friendly neighborhood Joyseeker.
When they're ultimately cornered in a storeroom of the Express by Akivili, they can't say that they're surprised by it, though. Of course Akivili would figure it out eventually! They could only stay on the down-low amongst the Nameless for so long before the little traces of their Aeonhood were sniffed out. They-- he, perhaps, because the body that they've chosen is very definitely male this time around-- lets it happen, doesn't resist when his shoulder is pinned to the wall by a deceptively strong grip.
Aha laughs, delighted, and meets Akivili's gold stardust gaze. "Do you think Aha is handsome, Akivili? I made this form just to join the Nameless, I haven't used it anywhere else!"
Brughel Poisson is a more universal, go-to disguise than this one, because there seems to be almost no end to the things that a beautiful, tall lady with big tits could get away with. Not everyone falls for the appeal of broad shoulders and big hands, but it's very interesting that Akivili mentions the physical form of his vessel at all.
Akivili scowls, because of course Aha would get hung up on a single throwaway comment; it's what they always do when they want to rile their fellow Aeon up. Firmly, he places one hand on the back of Aha's neck, too, further pinning them to the wall; the other hand moves towards clasping their wrists behind their back, just in case they get any funny ideas about escaping.
"I prefer you when your head is made of masks," Akivili lies. It's not quite the best description of Aha's "true form," but it's close enough. The truth is that Akivili doesn't actually care all that much for the Aeonic figure in the shadows — this "human" face is much nicer — but he's trying not to get distracted from the current situation. He has his own "true form," too.
He tries not to think about how deliciously strong and firm Aha's body feels underneath his hands.
"What do you want?" the Cloudstrider asks bluntly. "You're not here to follow the path of the Trailblaze, clearly. So what are you up to?"
Akivili shoves their face a little more against the wall with that hand on their neck, gets their wrists twisted behind their back. It makes a kind of weird feeling zip through the meat of their mortal body-- how interesting! What fun, Aha always loves learning new things.
Aha laughs, because they know lies when they hear them. Akivili likes their face, the face that they crafted themself. They spent a lot of time on it, shaping out just the right slope for the jaw and the nose, finding the prettiest colors for the hair and eyes. Putting every little piece together until it formed a lovely whole, and then going out and making the rest of the body from stardust and laughter and rose petals and spilled liquor scraped up from tavern bar tops, a million little joys coalesced into a human shape.
"Mean! And after Aha put so much work into making this mask, you like the others better!"
After all, just because this one is made out of flesh doesn't mean that it isn't a mask, too. But Akivili clearly isn't in much of a mood for idle banter, getting right to the point with that flinty, annoyed voice.
"Ah, you're so forceful. Aha is following their own path, of course! The Nameless are having so much fun, how could Aha resist dropping in and seeing what it's all about?"
The Joyseeker is doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing-- seeking Joy. And if the Elation just so happens to intersect with the Trailblaze, isn't that just happy coincidence?
Akivili does a very stupid thing, then: he wavers.
He wavers because, unlike many of the Aeons, he and perhaps he alone still possesses a foolish mortal heart. THEY are capable of ascending to THEIR proper seat in Aeonic godhood when the opportunity strikes them — but most of the time, Akivili doesn't like to forget his roots, and he only flourishes as an embodiment of the Trailblaze when his hand is hard-pressed. Besides, as a matter of philosophy, Aha does have him beat: the nature of the Trailblaze is that it should welcome the birth of new possibilities. His own Path dictates that he doesn't have grounds to dismiss Aha from the Astral Express right now.
...And it's tempting. That handsome face with the nice big body. Akivili can sense it, beneath his palms: it's made of lovely things like laughter and liquor and roses. His own body is betraying its interest: it's made of stardust and milky galaxies, and its essence wants to tangle with Aha's. Distractedly, Akivili wonders if the Elation is aware that their new body is capable of lust; sex is a type of Elation too, after all.
The Elation might have noticed this. The Elation might have realized this.
Growling low in frustration, Akivili resolves to put some distance between himself and his fellow god.
"The Elation that you embody isn't funny to anyone but you sometimes," Akvili says, begrudgingly, but after a moment, he lets Aha go. Releases those twisted wrists. He scowls, spins Aha around. Leans in, so that they're face-to-face.
"I'll let you play at being one of the Nameless if that's what you want. We do have a lot of fun here. But if your pranks interfere with the Trailblaze at any point — I will end you. Are we clear?"
The Elation watches Akivili out of the corner of one brilliantly green eye, observing them— watching them waver, watching them second-guess themself. Watching them react to the particular way that they made this form, complementary to the tenants of the Trailblaze.
Really, they are complementary Paths. The Trailblaze welcomes new possibilities— one might say they find joy in discovering the unknown— and the Elation is nothing if not Joy in all its forms. Shouldn’t they get along? Put aside those pesky little details and enjoy the time that they have together, the fun that they can have?
They could have more fun, if Akivili would just go with the attraction they feel instead of fighting it. Sex is one of many ways to reach Elation, and Aha knows quite a few things about it. Quite a few of their Pathstriders have had their first true tastes of Elation via physical ecstasy! Maybe Akivili could reach Elation that way, too. Is that not a new thing for them to discover, an unknown path to explore?
When Akivili releases them and turns them, Aha is smiling. It’s ingratiating, the tone of their voice and the way they clap their hands in front of them, as though pleading.
“Aha wouldn’t dream of interfering with another Path!” Technically not a lie— Aeons don’t really dream. “You won’t even notice that I’m here! Just another one of your little Nameless.”
The smile becomes a little less ingratiating. Akivili really has gotten in quite close, isn’t that something? Why the lack of personal space, Trailblazer?
“Maybe your favorite Nameless, if I’m very good?” They reach out and press a finger to Akivili’s nose, like booping a cat, and there’s a pop! and a festive little burst of confetti. “Wouldn’t that be funny?”
Edited (why do i have such a hard time spelling akivili) 2024-07-25 14:01 (UTC)
Boop! A pop, and then Akivili's got confetti caught in the loose cowl of his shirt. He scowls and tries to brush it out of his clothes, but he's also rather obviously trying to hide a smile; he looks a bit like a child that's only pretending to be angry, now, and he has to rub at his cheeks to make the smile go away. Look, Aha, you've won this battle! You've brought Elation to a joyless heart.
The thing is — Aha's just really cute, sometimes. It's not about the form they're currently in, though Akivili does like it; it's also that they're cute when they're acting as the embodiment of joy and not the embodiment of senseless pranks and destruction. Yes, he thoroughly understands that finding joy in all things is the endpoint of true Elation, but even so — Akivili's heart is too human to laugh at a dropped baby, at the end of the day.
"Stop that," he grumbles, picking out one last star-shaped piece of confetti out of his shirt. "Why do you think you'd be my favorite anything?"
Still. For the moment, at least. He can tolerate his fellow Aeon, especially when that Aeon is treating him like a harmless kitten that can be teased. If only it were always like this, with Aha. But Akvili knows full well that Akivili's good moods are just that — moods. At the end of the day, their mercurial nature means that you can't ever really trust them.
"If you really want to be a Nameless, I've got a job for you to work on," Akivili says, finally putting some distance between their bodies. He beckons over his shoulder, indicating for Aha to follow him out the door. "You'd better not complain about it."
Ah, well. The inherent humor in a dropped baby is perhaps an acquired taste, and one that Akivili doesn't have the taste for yet. That's fine! Aha's in a very playful kind of mood right now, and that means less gallows humor and more just being a silly little guy. He's just a little guy, Akivili!
His moods are capricious, though. There's no saying how long this playful streak will last, or what way his mood will turn when it ends. Best not to worry about it, really, the same way that you don't worry every day about when the next earthquake will hit. Just another force of nature, unpredictable and inscrutable.
Aha waits while Akivili divests himself of the confetti-- or what he can see of it, anyway, there's probably going to be a piece or two lurking somewhere in his shirt for later-- and smiles. "Aha is at least your favorite Aeon, right? Who do you like better? Qlipoth is a stick in the mud, Lan is a grump, Nous is a bore! And none of them would bother to come aboard your train!"
But it's time to put silly little guys to work, apparently. Well! Maybe it'll be something interesting, or, barring that, something that Aha can make interesting.
"Work already!" Said with a sigh and a dramatic flop of the hands. "Well, I guess I've got to earn my keep somehow. What kind of job do you have for me?"
"Yaoshi and I fuck sometimes," Akivili replies, on impulse. Why he said it is one of those things better left unexamined. Is it true? Do Akivili and Yaoshi, as they say, fuck sometimes? It's probably a lie — the Abundance and the Trailblaze have little in common, for while both have a tendency to put others before themselves and help those in need, the Plagues Author's idea of help is often not one that Akivili agrees with — but then, stranger things have happened, and Yaoshi certainly is pretty, in the way that Akivili likes pretty, mortal-shaped bodies.
But also, the Trailblaze just says things sometimes. Go boldly forth into the unknown, or something like that.
(Or — but what if?)
Regardless, Akivili leads Aha down the hall and into another train car. He keeps looking distrustfully over his shoulder to make sure Aha is following him, like he'd dash after the Joyseeker if the god in mortal form suddenly made a break for it. But, of course, no such thing happens — the god of smiles is on his best behavior for now, it seems — and they pass into the new train car without incident.
The cabin in the cart is stacked wall-to-wall full of boxes and baubles and trinkets.
Akivili makes a vague, unimpressed gesture at them and sighs.
"The Nameless are very good at acquiring treasure throughout the cosmos, and not very good at figuring out what to do with it," he explains, grimacing slightly. "I've already let them take a crack at organizing things, but these are the items that no one else wants, so..."
He turns back to Aha, his gaze now more inquisitive. "Weren't you weirdly good at selling little doodads like these? I seem to recall that you disguised yourself as a pig merchant sometime last Amber Era..."
"Yaoshi and a lot of people fuck sometimes," Aha says, a loaded sentence for a loaded sentence, and one that he won't be explaining further.
Aha follows along like a good little Aeon to the part of the train that, apparently, stashes all of the stuff that the Nameless find that they don't know what to do with. The businessman in him is already calculating how much the lot of it is worth before Akivili even gets around to his proposal, and even if most of what's in here isn't terribly valuable, the sheer amount of it...
Well! They're sitting on a pretty penny. With the right man and the right buyer, they could get a nice little nest egg for it all, and clear up some space while they're at it.
"Oh, probably," Aha says, because, really, who expects him to remember every kind of person that he's disguised himself as? "Ah, but don't worry! Your ol' pal won't have any trouble clearing this out for you."
He pops open the lid to one of the boxes, peeking inside at the trinkets within. How fun! Some of it really is mostly worthless by conventional standards, but nothing is really worthless so long as you can convince somebody that it has value.
"Eighteen percent of the take and I'll handle everything."
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trailblazers2024-04-26 03:23 pm
no subject
At the moment, at least, he has no reason to be outright angry. But he is somewhat angered. Peeved, maybe, is the correct word. Miffed. Annoyed. After all, did Aha really think that Akivili wouldn't be able to see right through their tricks? What business does the Elation have, infiltrating the Express disguised as one of the new Nameless?
This is a different era for the Express, a more prosperous one. There are hundreds of Nameless on the Express, and all of them are here to do good. All of them, that is, except one burly, blue-haired man with green eyes and a simpering demeanor.
Akivili has seen right through him. He corners the "rookie Nameless" in an unused storeroom of the train, pulls him roughly by one shoulder, pins him to the wall. Looks right into that deceptively ordinary green gaze, golden eyes smouldering into them with an intoxicating mixture of fury and suspicion.
"Nice face on this vessel of yours," he murmurs coldly. "Nice body, too. What, you got tired of the tall lady with big tits? Or are you trying to appeal to my tastes?"
Akivili's grip on the man's shoulder tightens, burning with stardust and comet haze.
"Did you really think I would be fooled by this, Aha?"
no subject
They wanted to see what all the fuss was about! And now that they're here, they can see that it's all good fuss. They just want to have a little fun alongside all of these funny little Nameless, tag along on their cosmic adventures as they explore the universe. Joy going along with the joyful, bearing witness to their successes and their failures, laughing all the while. Like Akivili, Aha prefers to exist close to mortals, to take their forms and walk beside them. They aren't aloof and distant, like other Aeons, they're just... your friendly neighborhood Joyseeker.
When they're ultimately cornered in a storeroom of the Express by Akivili, they can't say that they're surprised by it, though. Of course Akivili would figure it out eventually! They could only stay on the down-low amongst the Nameless for so long before the little traces of their Aeonhood were sniffed out. They-- he, perhaps, because the body that they've chosen is very definitely male this time around-- lets it happen, doesn't resist when his shoulder is pinned to the wall by a deceptively strong grip.
Aha laughs, delighted, and meets Akivili's gold stardust gaze. "Do you think Aha is handsome, Akivili? I made this form just to join the Nameless, I haven't used it anywhere else!"
Brughel Poisson is a more universal, go-to disguise than this one, because there seems to be almost no end to the things that a beautiful, tall lady with big tits could get away with. Not everyone falls for the appeal of broad shoulders and big hands, but it's very interesting that Akivili mentions the physical form of his vessel at all.
no subject
"I prefer you when your head is made of masks," Akivili lies. It's not quite the best description of Aha's "true form," but it's close enough. The truth is that Akivili doesn't actually care all that much for the Aeonic figure in the shadows — this "human" face is much nicer — but he's trying not to get distracted from the current situation. He has his own "true form," too.
He tries not to think about how deliciously strong and firm Aha's body feels underneath his hands.
"What do you want?" the Cloudstrider asks bluntly. "You're not here to follow the path of the Trailblaze, clearly. So what are you up to?"
no subject
Aha laughs, because they know lies when they hear them. Akivili likes their face, the face that they crafted themself. They spent a lot of time on it, shaping out just the right slope for the jaw and the nose, finding the prettiest colors for the hair and eyes. Putting every little piece together until it formed a lovely whole, and then going out and making the rest of the body from stardust and laughter and rose petals and spilled liquor scraped up from tavern bar tops, a million little joys coalesced into a human shape.
"Mean! And after Aha put so much work into making this mask, you like the others better!"
After all, just because this one is made out of flesh doesn't mean that it isn't a mask, too. But Akivili clearly isn't in much of a mood for idle banter, getting right to the point with that flinty, annoyed voice.
"Ah, you're so forceful. Aha is following their own path, of course! The Nameless are having so much fun, how could Aha resist dropping in and seeing what it's all about?"
The Joyseeker is doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing-- seeking Joy. And if the Elation just so happens to intersect with the Trailblaze, isn't that just happy coincidence?
no subject
He wavers because, unlike many of the Aeons, he and perhaps he alone still possesses a foolish mortal heart. THEY are capable of ascending to THEIR proper seat in Aeonic godhood when the opportunity strikes them — but most of the time, Akivili doesn't like to forget his roots, and he only flourishes as an embodiment of the Trailblaze when his hand is hard-pressed. Besides, as a matter of philosophy, Aha does have him beat: the nature of the Trailblaze is that it should welcome the birth of new possibilities. His own Path dictates that he doesn't have grounds to dismiss Aha from the Astral Express right now.
...And it's tempting. That handsome face with the nice big body. Akivili can sense it, beneath his palms: it's made of lovely things like laughter and liquor and roses. His own body is betraying its interest: it's made of stardust and milky galaxies, and its essence wants to tangle with Aha's. Distractedly, Akivili wonders if the Elation is aware that their new body is capable of lust; sex is a type of Elation too, after all.
The Elation might have noticed this. The Elation might have realized this.
Growling low in frustration, Akivili resolves to put some distance between himself and his fellow god.
"The Elation that you embody isn't funny to anyone but you sometimes," Akvili says, begrudgingly, but after a moment, he lets Aha go. Releases those twisted wrists. He scowls, spins Aha around. Leans in, so that they're face-to-face.
"I'll let you play at being one of the Nameless if that's what you want. We do have a lot of fun here. But if your pranks interfere with the Trailblaze at any point — I will end you. Are we clear?"
no subject
Really, they are complementary Paths. The Trailblaze welcomes new possibilities— one might say they find joy in discovering the unknown— and the Elation is nothing if not Joy in all its forms. Shouldn’t they get along? Put aside those pesky little details and enjoy the time that they have together, the fun that they can have?
They could have more fun, if Akivili would just go with the attraction they feel instead of fighting it. Sex is one of many ways to reach Elation, and Aha knows quite a few things about it. Quite a few of their Pathstriders have had their first true tastes of Elation via physical ecstasy! Maybe Akivili could reach Elation that way, too. Is that not a new thing for them to discover, an unknown path to explore?
When Akivili releases them and turns them, Aha is smiling. It’s ingratiating, the tone of their voice and the way they clap their hands in front of them, as though pleading.
“Aha wouldn’t dream of interfering with another Path!” Technically not a lie— Aeons don’t really dream. “You won’t even notice that I’m here! Just another one of your little Nameless.”
The smile becomes a little less ingratiating. Akivili really has gotten in quite close, isn’t that something? Why the lack of personal space, Trailblazer?
“Maybe your favorite Nameless, if I’m very good?” They reach out and press a finger to Akivili’s nose, like booping a cat, and there’s a pop! and a festive little burst of confetti. “Wouldn’t that be funny?”
no subject
The thing is — Aha's just really cute, sometimes. It's not about the form they're currently in, though Akivili does like it; it's also that they're cute when they're acting as the embodiment of joy and not the embodiment of senseless pranks and destruction. Yes, he thoroughly understands that finding joy in all things is the endpoint of true Elation, but even so — Akivili's heart is too human to laugh at a dropped baby, at the end of the day.
"Stop that," he grumbles, picking out one last star-shaped piece of confetti out of his shirt. "Why do you think you'd be my favorite anything?"
Still. For the moment, at least. He can tolerate his fellow Aeon, especially when that Aeon is treating him like a harmless kitten that can be teased. If only it were always like this, with Aha. But Akvili knows full well that Akivili's good moods are just that — moods. At the end of the day, their mercurial nature means that you can't ever really trust them.
"If you really want to be a Nameless, I've got a job for you to work on," Akivili says, finally putting some distance between their bodies. He beckons over his shoulder, indicating for Aha to follow him out the door. "You'd better not complain about it."
no subject
His moods are capricious, though. There's no saying how long this playful streak will last, or what way his mood will turn when it ends. Best not to worry about it, really, the same way that you don't worry every day about when the next earthquake will hit. Just another force of nature, unpredictable and inscrutable.
Aha waits while Akivili divests himself of the confetti-- or what he can see of it, anyway, there's probably going to be a piece or two lurking somewhere in his shirt for later-- and smiles. "Aha is at least your favorite Aeon, right? Who do you like better? Qlipoth is a stick in the mud, Lan is a grump, Nous is a bore! And none of them would bother to come aboard your train!"
But it's time to put silly little guys to work, apparently. Well! Maybe it'll be something interesting, or, barring that, something that Aha can make interesting.
"Work already!" Said with a sigh and a dramatic flop of the hands. "Well, I guess I've got to earn my keep somehow. What kind of job do you have for me?"
no subject
But also, the Trailblaze just says things sometimes. Go boldly forth into the unknown, or something like that.
(Or — but what if?)
Regardless, Akivili leads Aha down the hall and into another train car. He keeps looking distrustfully over his shoulder to make sure Aha is following him, like he'd dash after the Joyseeker if the god in mortal form suddenly made a break for it. But, of course, no such thing happens — the god of smiles is on his best behavior for now, it seems — and they pass into the new train car without incident.
The cabin in the cart is stacked wall-to-wall full of boxes and baubles and trinkets.
Akivili makes a vague, unimpressed gesture at them and sighs.
"The Nameless are very good at acquiring treasure throughout the cosmos, and not very good at figuring out what to do with it," he explains, grimacing slightly. "I've already let them take a crack at organizing things, but these are the items that no one else wants, so..."
He turns back to Aha, his gaze now more inquisitive. "Weren't you weirdly good at selling little doodads like these? I seem to recall that you disguised yourself as a pig merchant sometime last Amber Era..."
no subject
Aha follows along like a good little Aeon to the part of the train that, apparently, stashes all of the stuff that the Nameless find that they don't know what to do with. The businessman in him is already calculating how much the lot of it is worth before Akivili even gets around to his proposal, and even if most of what's in here isn't terribly valuable, the sheer amount of it...
Well! They're sitting on a pretty penny. With the right man and the right buyer, they could get a nice little nest egg for it all, and clear up some space while they're at it.
"Oh, probably," Aha says, because, really, who expects him to remember every kind of person that he's disguised himself as? "Ah, but don't worry! Your ol' pal won't have any trouble clearing this out for you."
He pops open the lid to one of the boxes, peeking inside at the trinkets within. How fun! Some of it really is mostly worthless by conventional standards, but nothing is really worthless so long as you can convince somebody that it has value.
"Eighteen percent of the take and I'll handle everything."