middaeg | open catch-all + closed prompts for August

Well, of course not.

[More because of a desire to vacate his room in case some other patient needs it than a real desire to spend any time in the Coven, though. The Coven . . . weirds him out.]

[He glances at the window, thinking about what would happen if he opened the curtains. The effects of the sun are less through glass, but not that much less. Even if he stays indoors, he'll have to stay far away from windows.]

. . . There's a library around here somewhere, isn't there? [There has to be, right. If there isn't a library he can skulk in until nightfall he will literally die.]

[Ozymandias shrugs, genuinely not knowing one way or another if there is a library or not. Prior to his illness, he applied himself to his studies -- practicing in class at every given opportunity even with the risk of a spell going awry and studying more independently (with some guidance from Zelda) -- but he didn't exactly linger about the Coven all that often himself.]

[But it seems reasonable that a place that establishes itself as a place of learning would house books within itself for others to read. Even if some were off-limits to students.]

There are others like you here, you know. With the same sensitivity. You might ask one of them where might be a suitable place to pass the time.

[Because even if there is a library here, Ozymandias isn't sure its contents would be of much use or interest to Giorno.]

[The look he gives Ozymandias is . . . well, the best way to describe it is carefully blank. Deliberately dull. It's a perfectly sensible suggestion and one he's got absolutely no intention of taking, but he really doesn't want to get into an argument over it. Especially not in the heart of the Coven. He doesn't even really want to be here.]

I'm sure you're right. There are plenty of resources for vampires out there.

[Ah. Well, that didn't quite work out, did it. That one word in a completely neutral sentence drips with disdain. Glancing down and away, he wipes some imaginary dust off the side table before meeting Ozymandias's eyes again with a faint smile.]

I can figure it out. I'll ask someone. [He absolutely won't.]

[It's a small slip all things considered, but a slip is a slip. It's enough to undermine his credibility in saying that he will ask someone, especially when coupled with Giorno's other attempts at isolation.]

[It's not that Ozymandias lacks empathy for Giorno's feelings. He has yet to meet anyone here who is satisfied with the changes the magic of this world has brought about, and Monsters suffer the brunt of it with their physical changes. But there is being upset with these changes and not welcoming them, and being a fool about them. Unlike Giorno, Ozymandias does not mask his thoughts or disapproval with a carefully tempered non-verbals. Instead, his expression cools from his bright smile and his posture shifts, back a little straighter as he folds his arms across his chest.]

Do you wish to try that again? I assume it wasn't your intention to insult me with such a poorly executed lie. [He cants his head slightly.] Or perhaps I misunderstood and you meant that you will go ask someone right now.

I'll ask whoever I care to ask when I care to do it.

[His expression doesn't change between the moment he tells the lie and the moment he tells the truth. There's no venom in his tone, even if there is in the meaning and simmering underneath his skin. In the end, what this man thinks of him doesn't matter. Not in the least.]

[That's what he tells himself.]

Do you have some kind of investment in me socializing with vampires? I'm eating. I'm not feral. I'm not going to savage anyone. I'm not sure what else you want from me.

[His expression doesn't appear to change, nor does his tone, but the degree of defensiveness speaks loud and clear through Giorno's facade. Ozymandias isn't sure how much of that alone is intentional or not as it seems equally likely that it is not something Giorno has control over or that he intends for Ozymandias to sense it.]

[It's...interesting how this boy carries himself. He seems far too intelligent to close himself off so completely, and yet he appears keen on it with every turn. Is it a matter of control? Independence? Both?]

Whether your confidence in managing these changes you're experiencing is well-deserved or not is beside the point. I said nothing about that and did not accuse you of incompetence. I merely would not have assumed your pride so fragile that you would throw away an opportunity to potentially gather more information. Even if that information is simply knowing where you might seek safety within this building, should you ever find yourself in need.

[He waves a hand dismissively.]

But if that is the case and you wish to ignore the advice of Pharaoh, so be it.

I didn't ask for your advice.

[Never mind that the advice is good. Never mind that on some level he knows that Ozymandias is right. If anything, that makes him bristle more — that and the statement about his pride. It's not a matter of pride, it's a matter of principle. There ought to be a way to articulate it, but no matter how he reaches for it now he's not able to find the words.]

[He's right. He is right—]

I can gather information on my own. I don't need anyone's help. Especially not a vampire's.

[Principle and paranoia, then. But in fairness to him, he's never had a particularly good vampire role model.]

You--

[You are a vampire is what he wants to say, but the words die.]

[Ozymandias turns his gaze aside for a moment, jaw tense. While certainly feeling better, Ozymandias is still not 100%. The thought of going around and around with Giorno on this is an unpleasant one and not exactly how he would prefer to expend his energy. Certainly not with such a long walk back home awaiting him.]

A pharaoh is nothing without the love of his people. I believe this to be true, however, for everyone. I'm sure you are capable of surviving on your own. If that is what you want to do, then that is what you shall do. Not even I could change that.

[He looks at Giorno again.]

But I do not think it such a terrible thing to want more. Not any more terrible than believing you to be capable of more than that.

[Instinct says to reject this. To distrust it, to push it away until Ozymandias gets sick of him and leaves. He can tell the moment is close: the look on his face, the tension in his jaw, the aversion of his gaze. Annoyance, distaste, irritation. Feelings which, no matter how long it's been, are familiar to receive.]

[Beyond that, he doesn't want to want more. He wanted more, he got it, and now it's gone. Why search for it again? From anyone, let alone a group of people like his father, a group that he's now forced to be a part of? By his understanding, his father made a choice. He never did. And he's supposed to take some sort of kinship despite all of that?]

[He lets out a sharp breath through his nose.]

I don't trust anyone here. [And that's the truth.] Whether I want to be alone or not is immaterial.

[Ozymandias doesn't doubt Giorno's words when he says he extends not a single iota of trust to those around him. With as prickly as his demeanor so often is, there are only so many explanations for it. Sometimes it is a matter of personality as there are truly unpleasant people in any world, but with the way he speaks of others? No, it's survival for Giorno. Every action is a matter of survival.]

[Ozymandias' gaze softens, but he does not look at this child before him with pity. It is a sad thing to see so much mistrust even if he's well beyond the age of blind trust in others, but Ozymandias does not pity. That mistrust does not fester as deeply as it does without reason, but Ozymandias does not pry.]

[He doesn't believe Giorno would tell him the truth if he were to ask or demand it of him anyway.]

Just as a plant might wilt and die without the sun and rains, or too much of one or the other, people diminish into lesser versions of themselves. [In some small way, Ozymandias is grateful that looming exhaustion caused him to hold his tongue. While it's undeniable that this world has made him into a vampire...] People are not meant to be alone, Giorno.

[...He is a child first. One that does not act as one because of whatever wounds he might carry about with him, who would likely take offense at the very notion of being called a child, but a child nonetheless.]

I am not suggesting that you ought to put blind faith into anyone. You and I both know that would be a folly of another kind, [he says with a slight shake of his head.] But I would have you grow into the man with the courage and strength you are meant to possess and not allow isolation or these circumstances to take from you what is yours.

[The extent or limit to what Giorno could be is unknown to Ozymandias. He recognizes that it could fall incredibly short of the ideal. Old wounds have that power from time to time, unfortunately, and it may be the case here. But he would so much rather that Giorno be even one step closer or to have at least attempted to take that step than to not have tried at all.]

Building something for yourself, even if it is a small thing and you find yourself ultimately unattached to it, is better than the alternative. That is what I am advising.

Nothing more, nothing less.

open catch-all + closed prompts for August

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