He giggles softly at the kisses to his knuckles, more than happy now. He liked the praise, he liked the love and attention he was receiving. He looks over at Astral and tilts his head a little. The god seemed upset, no… More annoyed if anything and he tilts his head to the side slightly when the god spoke again and he visibly tensed at the mention of being "used". At that point the drug couldn't contain the overwhelming feeling of dread. He remembered that day, that horrible horrible day and he curled in on himself, hiding away. The drug still tried to influence his mind but that memory was still there, haunting him. Instead of responding positively to the kisses, this time Luca tensed, slightly pulling away from the gods kisses.
Derlik took a moment to glare at Astral.
"Look what you've done," he said, before turning to Luca. He gently cupped the other's cheeks, tilting his head up to look at the god. "I'm not going to use you, Luca," he said softly, addressing the man by name. "I'm not going to force myself on you like that, okay? You're my precious little doll, I won't hurt you that way." The god had stopped his kisses, offering his arms to Luca for a hug.
Luca had small tears running down his cheeks when the god addressed him. He trembled still, his eyes looking up at his god fearfully before he slowly began to ease again, listening to his god speak. Luca inhaled shakily before nodding slowly. He could believe his god, right? Maybe they had just been joking. And his god said he wasn't going to hurt him like that. Luca eased again, his body leaning into Derlik's again and accepting the hug. He would be okay. He would be fine. He just didn't have to worry about it too much. He wouldn't be hurt like that. And with that the drugs took over his system again, making him pliant and relaxed.
They hadn't, but even then Derlik had made it clear he wouldn't be doing that to Luca before he had reacted this way. He genuinely meant it, when he said he wasn't going to force himself upon Luca. Derlik wiped the tears gently from Luca's cheek, kissing the top of his head and holding him close in the hug.
"I've got ya…" Derlik hummed some, moving to stand. "I think we'll be going." The god glared at Astral a moment, then turned, carrying Luca away. The world twisted, and soon they were back at the clearing. He pressed a couple more gentle kisses to Luca's head, cooing softly.
"You really are so pretty," the god hummed, setting Luca down on the boulder and looking down at him.
Luca curled into his grasps, his eyes shutting tightly as he allowed his god to hold him and comfort him. Yes… he would be okay. He would be fine. He leaned into the hug and the kisses, just needing to calm down and relax. He was glad to leave, glad not to have to look at the other god for a little while. He curled up closer to Derlik, his eyes shutting tightly as he relaxed into his god's arms. He didn't even notice the world shifting, hiding his face in his gods shoulder. He eased into the compliments, smiling a little bit as he looked up at his god. Luca yawned softly, curling up a little on the rock. "Can… can I have my normal body back?" He asks softly.As much as he liked being fawned over… today had been a little too much.
Derlik moved to sit down with Luca, pulling his head to be resting in the god's lap. He hummed some, running his fingers gently through Luca's hair.
"Okay," He said softly. He couldn't push too much for this to work. "We'll try again tomorrow." Derlik kissed Luca's head as his body lost the joints, still playing with his hair to help him calm down.
Luca leaned into the gentle touches, a content sigh leaving his lips. He liked how gentle the god was with him. He flexed his fingers as he watched the extra joints disappear before curling up a bit. "I'm sorry." He murmured quietly, sounding guilty now. He had cut the visit short. The drug still flowed through his systems, but he still felt a bit panicked. Like he had insulted his god.
"Shh, it's okay, Luca." Derlik hummed softly, still playing with Luca's hair. "You didn't do anything wrong. He shouldn't have brought up those bad memories of yours." Derlik bent down to kiss the man's head, hand moving to gently rub his back as well.
"I'm not mad at you."
Luca felt himself ease again. So the god wasn't mad at him… That was good at least. That made him relieved. He shut his eyes and shook his head. "It's okay… It just… Scared me." He murmured softly. He leaned into the touches and kisses, relaxing. He was safe. He was okay. He didn't have to worry anymore. His god loved him and was taking care of him.
Derlik moved his hands to gently cup Luca's cheeks, having the man look up at him.
"I'm not going to let anyone try to do that to you," he said softly, pressing a kiss to Luca's cheek. There was something dark in his eyes, though.
"And I'm going to make those who already did pay." Derlik was a vengeful god, after all. The councilwoman was proof.
Luca paused at that. People already had… He shook his head, trying to force the memories back. Let the drugs take over again. He didn't want to think about it. He nods slowly, shutting his eyes and pressing closer to his god. "Thank you." He whispers softly. He wasn't sure what the god was going to do, but at this point he didn't care. He just wanted to sleep and forget the past again. Get lost in the comfort of his god. He'd be fine. Hopefully.
Derlik finally moved to lay down with Luca, kissing his head once more.
"Let's get some sleep, hm? You've had a long day, I want my precious doll to get his rest." The god tucked Luca's head under his chin, still rubbing the other's back. He had… plenty in mind for what he was going to do to those that had hurt Luca when he found them. Dead or alive, they would pay.
There would be three people to find if Derlik was so intent on finding the people that had hurt Luca. Two were still alive, the third was dead. Luca curled up into his gods arms, slowly dozing off to sleep. He liked being held by the god in front of him. He would out like a lightbulb, snoozing peacefully now that he was sure that his god wasn't angry with him. He wrapped his arms around Derlik in his sleep, cuddling closer.
Derlik stayed awake, though. He had something- someone, he wanted to look into. He kept Luca in his arms, hand going to his head. The god closed his eyes, focusing. He needed names, faces, places- all the information he needed to track down those who had hurt his doll. He kept his searching separate from Luca, so he wouldn't be able to tell a thing. Derlik didn't want him having nightmares.
Three people appeared in his memories, their faces hazed for the most part, but there was a peculiar symbol on each of their hands. Two of them were men, the other a woman. She more stood to the side while the men did the work. Her face was a bit more clear. No names were said, but their appearances were good enough, especially with the mark on their hands. Luca didn't seem to react to Derlik reaching into his mind, he was sound asleep as the god worked.
Derlik watched, making note. He could work with this. He could find them with this. He committed the symbol to memory, and their faces, before moving on. He let out a hum, looking for a place now. Anything, really, he could use to find a place to start. He gently ran his fingers through Luca's hair as he worked, keeping him calm and asleep.
It was the village closest to his home, the one that took about three days to get to. He had walked there, it seemed, since he carried the bag on his back and had nothing to ride to get him home. It was a small house that he had been dragged into, on the outskirts of the town. Luca flinched slightly, but other than that there didn't seem to be anything else that might be useful.
That was it. That was all he needed. Derlik pulled out of Luca's mind, kissing his head gently as he opened his eyes. He held the man close, humming softly.
"I'm going to make them pay," he said, to himself. He hummed again, hand to Luca's cheek. He shrunk the man, carefully putting him in his pocket. He made sure not to wake Luca up, striking some. He'd take care of this himself.
He stood, the world twisting around him and spitting him out in front of the house. Who knew if they knew of the god or not- they would soon.
Luca hummed softly when the god pulled out of his mind and kissed his forehead, a small smile on his lips. He cuddled closer to the god and relaxed again. Luca didn't even seem to move when he was shrunken down into a smaller size, just curling up contentedly as his god placed him in his pocket. When the god arrived, the house looked different from Luca's memories. It was much neater now, with flowers growing along the windowsill, laughter could be heard within the house. It was no longer in shambles, rather it was rebuilt and clean. A woman, different from the one in Luca's memories exited the house carrying a water bucket, talking to the people over her shoulder before startling a bit when she noticed Derlik. "Hello, sir. It's… rather late to be wandering out like this." She offered a small smile. "Is everything alright? Are you lost?"
Derlik took a moment to think. He had to know what had become of the people from Luca's memories, where they had went. Perhaps they were inside now, but the god wasn't so sure.
"Ah, yes, I am," Derlik said, lying expertly through his teeth. "I'm not quite sure where I am, and it's already getting late. I'm sorry for intruding."
She smiled softly and shook her head. "No, no. It's alright. Mama!" She called over her shoulder. "There's a traveler out here." She called happily. She glances at Derlik. "I'm sure we can offer a place to sleep. Are you looking for someone?"She tilts her head. "Most of us know each other around here. Or… at least in the outskirts." She smiled a bit. "Let me go get some water and then I'm sure we can figure something out." She chuckles before hopping off to a nearby well. Another woman exits the house, she looked much older. Too old to be the woman in Luca's memories. She smiles, "Please, come in."
"Thank you, then," Derlik said, offering a smile. He needed to get the information out of them, after all, and if anyone recognized him? He'd drop the act in a heartbeat.
"Thank you, ma'am." Derlik was on the lookout for any trace of the people he had seen, as well as the symbol. He moved to step to the home, quiet. He'd find them, somehow. Soon. He glanced at Luca, then away. His sweet little doll…
Luca was still sleeping peacefully in his pocket, his hair had fallen into his face, and he was holding onto Derlik's shirt, but he was still stuck in a blissful sleep. It was obvious that the house had been renovated. But there was almost a shrine like thing in the living room. It was filled with candles and incense as well as various jewelry and small items. In the center of it all, was a beautiful young woman. The woman from Luca's memories.
"Please, have a seat. I'll go get some food and Tanya will be back any moment with water." The old woman smiled kindly.
"Thank you," Derlik said once again. So, she was dead. That was good- Derlik would have no problem finding her. He just had to find out how long ago she died, and they would be set to collect her and learn what happened to the other two. If they were dead, perfect! If not, he'd make the woman's soul help him track them down.
Derlik took the seat offered, eyes on the shrine for a moment more before looking away. Perhaps he should just drop the act now, force them to tell him. He didn't feel like taking their souls, though, which was a rarity. If they knew, they should have felt relief and honored by it.
She noticed him looking at the shrine. "Ah… my eldest daughter, Navinne." She murmured sadly. "I worried for her… She often hung out with the wrong kinds of people. Especially those two nasty boys…" She sighed deeply and shook her head. "Something… something tore at her heart terribly. I remember her crying to me the night before she…" The old woman closed her eyes and inhaled softly. "She made mistakes. She was a wonderful girl, she just hung around the wrong people." Her eyes narrowed slightly before she set some food down. "Please, help yourself."
Tanya entered with more water and shut the door with her hip. "I have water!" She calls proudly. She hums as she walks over to the kitchen area.
