Beach 2} Syiomp and Zydeca
Syiomp walked down the shore. He walked a bit in the water, a bit out. He loved the feeling of water on his legs. He found walking along beaches quite calming, and did it a lot.
Zyd wouldn't say it enjoyed the beaches all that much, which would be a lie. It wasn't around for the views or the pleasant ocean noise, however, it was doing some extra work. Or at least trying to. The "work" included a lot of pausing and staring out at the ocean, as if looking for vessels out on the water. It didn't see any. Beyond that, it was pocketing the occasional seashell, and holding a small device. Obviously a metal detector, to anyone who would know.
Syiomp spotted Zydeca and its metal detector. He tensed up, not expecting anyone else to be here. He just kinda stopped and looked at it.
Zyd continued walking, almost as if it wasn't going to notice Syiomp as it strolled along. Once its metal detector began beeping, though, it took a short look around-- and saw the other troll. A fuschiablood. Was this a private beach, or not? It couldn't remember, and stood stock still-- staring-- while running through possibilities. The metal detector continued to beep.
Syiomp stared back, he felt his face flush as he looked away from it at the ocean. Oh god, was i staring? I hope not. Oh jeez, what if they think i'm weird now.. And many other questions raced through his head as he worried.
Oh man the fuschiablood suddenly looked away. Was that a good sign? A bad sign? Oh, the detector. Zyd poked around in the sand gently, near it, revealing a couple Caegars that appeared to have been lost at some point. It tilted a dial on the metal detector and pocketed the coins, before wondering what to do next. This place sure was empty, and no one would exactly miss it. Besides Thresh, at least, but he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Oh, well, what was there to lose. It began approaching the fuschiablood, accompanied by the noise of jingling coins and shells in its pockets.
His eyes were still glued to the ocean, not wanting to look at Zyd. He was still a bit tensed up, and his ears twitched a bit as he heard it approach him.
Was minor twitch-like movements some sign of highblooded aggression? Maybe. At that point, though, Zyd was willing to chance it.
"HI?"
He turned his head towards it. "He3llo." He said, a bit quietly. "What brings you to the3 oce3an?" He asked, trying not to come off as, well, murderous like some other fuchsiabloods he knows.
That seemed like a simple enough question, but who knows how it was with highbloods. "UH... WOrk." That was definitely too vague, but it wasn't looking for an entire interrogation. All it had heard of fuchsiabloods was from 'business partners,' who were all higher up on the ladder than it. And none of it was particularly good news. It did feel the need to say something else, though, just to round out the conversation a little. "WHy, are you here?" Oh that was awful. It was going to come off as presumptuous. Why did it come out here in the first place.
He smiled a bit. "Oh! I colle3ct se3ashe3lls he smiled 30) "I was also going for a walk. I find it pre3tty calming to walk along the3 wate3r." He continued on about shells and the ocean, before stopping himself. "Sorry, i was rambling again."
This guy sure had a friendly way of talking. It was probably all a facade, Zyd had heard stories of trolls with very, 'hungry' lusii, who tricked others into getting eaten. And that kind of lusus seemed more suited to a highblood than anyone else, never mind the highest caste of them all. It's not like Zyd was going to abandon the conversation, though, not once it had already started it. "YOu weren't rambling to begin with, no need to say 'again.' ANd, I've been picking up seashells too!" Points of relation were good. In a sea of hate and pity, pity was practically always the better option. It had heard of the human term 'sympathy,' and frankly didn't really understand it. All it supposed was that it was a more sophisticated form of, well, pity.
He chuckled at himself a bit "can i se3a th3 she3lls youve3 colle3cte3d?" He asked. "i'll show you mine3 if you'd like3. maybe3 we3 can trade3 she3lls!" He seemed to get more exited, a childish grin forming on his face.
Know what? Sure. Anything to appease this highblood, right now. A few lost Caegars wouldn't be the end of the world. It dug through its pockets, drawing out a few nearly-identical shells. "I'Ve been picking up mostly this kind of shell-- I was going to pass them along to a shop, for selling." It hoped that wasn't just a horrible conversational misstep. It was being careful enough to not give any specifics, at least.
"woah! that's ree33lly cool!" He pulled some shells out of his own pocket, varying in shapes, sizes and colours. He took out one with a pinkish-HUE to it. "This one3 is my favourite3." He said, still smiling.
Zyd kind-of pretended to look over the shells, not too incredibly interested but certainly willing to indulge. "I Guess you like, pink, right?" That was an awful question. This g-- hey, it didn't even know his name yet. "WHat's your name?"
"I'm Syiomp. What's youre3 name3?" He said, putting his shells away. "And ye3ah, i like3 pink a lot.."
"YOu can call me Zyd." Ever careful with its language, Zyd wasn't about to just state its full name. It wouldn't to anyone, really, unless it considered them friends™️. "UH, pink is a very nice, color." It was much worse at trying to be friendly on purpose, than it was at being just about anything else on purpose.
"ye3ah.. do you have3 a favourite3 colour?" He asked. "Oh! You shouldn't be3 scare3d of me3 if you are3, by the3 way. Most p3ople3 are3 scare3d of me cause3 i'm a fuchsiablood, but i wouldn't hurt a fly, as humans say. I promise3." He offered her a friendly smile.
Hardly put at ease, Zyd managed to at least file the information of what exactly Syiomp had said for later. Gesturing to its glasses, in all of their horribly bedazzled glory, it spoke again. "MY favorite color is, probably purple. ANd green. ANd yellow. ALl of them really. " It nodded, thoughtfully. It was choosing not to comment directly on the "don't be scared" statement. It also realized that it hadn't left another thread for the conversation to move along on, which meant it would depend upon the fuschiablood for further subject matter. A rookie mistake, controlling the conversation was always the first step in managing a situation.
"all of the3 colours are3 re3ally pre3tty. i quite3 e3njoy ye3llow, too. and viole3t is pre3tty nice3, but i'm probably biase3d on that cause3 of my mate3sprit.." He trailed off, talking about Daniia, his matesprit
Maybe this wasn't so bad. Surely, if this fuschi-- Syiomp, had ill intentions, he wouldn't talk about other people. "YOur matesprit? I'M lucky enough to have a moirail, but, never been involved in a serious flushed relationship." All true information, practically a first for Zyd.
"ye3ah! i don't re3ally know why she3 lik3s me3. she3s a ree33lly gre3at gill, and i don't know what she3 se3a's in me" 30( "sorry." he fidgeted a bit, internally cursing himself for bein all sad
"OH, come on, there's definitely a reason for her to be your matesprit!" Mission number one was to try and keep the highblood happy, of course. One voice in Zyd's mind was saying, who wouldn't want to be matesprits with a fuschiablood? It would be one of the best moves, objectively. It dismissed the thought, seeing as how it knew next to nothing about Syiomp and his relationships. "SOmetimes I feel the same way about my moirail, I know how it is, a little." Also truthful, though the myriad contextual details separated the two by a wide margin
"hm." He thought for a second. "wanna be3 frie3nds or some3fin?" he asked, still smiling, his head tilting to the side a bit.
What. "I Mean, sure. I Can't see any reason why not." If this was for reals, then that would make 2 friends in higher places. Probably some sort of record, right? It laughed a little. "YOu go around sitting on the beach, waiting for potential friends to show up?"
"I do, actually. I don't re3ally have3 many frie3nds." he scratched the back of his head. "Oh! do you want my trollhandle3?"
"OH. WEll, that explains it, then." It had always assumed the nobility mainly ran around doing important political things or killing each other, so it was already a little thrown off by the apparent genuineness of Syiomp. "SUre, I'll take your handle, if you want mine."
"mines glubbinMistake. I made it when i was like, 6 sweeps old and fake edgy." he nervously chuckled. "What's yours?"
"MIne's dioramicSpectacle. I Just thought it sounded cool, you know how it goes." In all honesty, it was a joke on its psionics. What was even the point in having them, if they were practically useless? "OH man, I remember being 6 sweeps, slothmom had the hardest time dealing with me."
"Te3ll me3 about it. se3ahorse3 mom hate3d how 'e3dgy' i would be3." he laughed at himself yet again.
"I Was hardly ever home-- not that slothmom wasn't taken care of, she has her space all laid out, but I can understand her being concerned for a grub that she'd only get to see a couple hours out of the day." It shook its head, laughing. "YOu have a seahorse lusus? THought those weren't exactly the most common. BUt then, of course."
"ye3ah, my lusus is a se3ahorse3. She3s ree33lly nice3! i'm kinda sad i didn't hang out with he3r more3 whe3n i was younge3r."
"YEah, me too. SHe's around, though, we've caught up a lot. PRobably the sweetest creature ever, if I'm being honest." Look, Zyd really loves slothmom. "WEre you also out a lot, when you were younger?"
"WHere would you even go?"It was getting into slightly testy waters, seeing as how it would have to make up an excuse if asked the same question in turn. What, was it going to tell this fuschiablood of all people about its business? Definitely not... yet.
"mostly he3re3. though, it's not that far from my hive3." He pointed to a hive not that far away from this spot on the beach. "that's it right the3re3, actually."
Zyd looked over. Talk about beachfront. "I Live back in the city, I kind of move around a lot. STaying with my moirail, a few different hiveblocks, all over the place. I'Ve even made some maps! YOu know how the Merge, it kind of slapped a lot of stuff together. I Just, like being able to get around alright." It was somewhat prideful, as if the maps weren't made from pre-existing maps and torn out pages from books.
"That's so cool" 300!!! He gushed over how cool Zyd was. He thought cartography was a very interesting subject, and absolutely loved it.
Zyd, for its part, was pleasantly surprised as to how Syiomp hadn't brought up any of the stickier-to-explain aspects of its life. "I Mean, it's mostly... useful. A Lot of places have regional maps, but when things get smashed together so hard, those aren't very helpful anymore. SO, I repurpose a those, and fill in the rest myself-- I bet other trolls, humans, whatever, are doing it too, and probably better. BUt my maps work well enough for me, so, you know."
"Mm. I don't really leave3 the3 be3ach, my hive3 and Daniia's hive3. Daniia is my mate3sprit by the3 way. ive3 just alwave3s found cartography cool."
Zyd nodded along. "I Can agree with you there-- it's a lot of fun, at least. FInding all the little passages through the city. YOu know, some buildings are melded together? ANd you can just cut through them, into an entirely different spot. IT's amazing."
"That sounds ree33lly cool! i wonde3r why its like3 that.." He thought about it in his head. His face changing a bit as he did so.
"HEy, I don't question it, I just work with it. MEans more abandoned buildings, too, if they get stuck together." Zyd was effectively just comfortable speaking casually to Syiomp now, though still dancing just a little around some information.
"he3h, ye3ah. why ove3rthink some3fin inste3ad of just admiring it." he paused. "do you know what time3 it is?" he asked, glancing over at his hive.
It looked up at the sky, taking a second to try and gauge it. "I Dunno. I Think the sun's setting now?" It tilted the same dial on its metal detector again, at which it noticeably did not beep. Not because it was broken or anything, it just didn't have a reason to beep yet.
"I told my lusus i'd be3 back by around now. i should ge3t going, saury." He offered a sad looking smile to it.
"OH, it's fine! I Still have some combing to do here, anyway. ANd we have each other's handles, now, too!" It managed to sound reassuring, while actually feeling a mix of relief and loneliness. New friends were good! New friends that were about as high up on the hemospectrum as you could get? It would have to see. Getting its business seriously interfered with wouldn't be good, of course.
He gave a happier smile, starting off. He waved goodbye at Zyd. "I'll catch you around, Zyd!"
"See you!" It called back, before turning back to the long stretch of beach it had to cover over the rest of the night.
Scene End
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