#iiksiiks tag ;; time and again boys are raised to be men

[thvndersnow]

IIKSIIKS, THE JUST ;;

name ; iiksiiks, the just (pronounced "eek-seeks") species ; eliksni pronouns ; he/him gender ; captain sexuality ; not applicable by human standards rank/house ; captain of house winter

phys. description ; 8' even. iiksiiks is of average height and build for an eliksni captain, tall and thin with a narrow waist. he has a white mane of hair that starts at the front of his skullplate and moves along his neck, shoulders, back, and mid-chest, as well as small kellhorn-like spikes on his shoulders, elbows, and knees. his skin is cream white, his chitin is a pale blue-grey (similar to this crab), and his eyes are a typical ether blue.

personality ; iiksiiks is a very reserved, thoughtful captain, preferring to wait and watch how things unfold rather than acting rashly. he has a soft heart for dregs and those he sees as being like them, and strives to help the dregs of his crew rise up and regain the usage of their secondary arms. as his given title suggests, iiksiiks is known for his sense of justice and fairness. iiksiiks can have a temper, driven by the cruelty of his former house, but he does his best to keep a tight hold on it. he is ashamed of who he can be when the wrong buttons are pushed.

brief history ; a former dreg of house devils, iiksiiks was the preferred punching bag and whipping boy of his captain. after a particularly bad episode from his captain which left him close to death, his mate, another dreg named misriiks, docked their captain in defense of him and dragged him out of their ketch in a bid to find safety. what they found was voltryks, baron of house winter, who took the both of them into his ketch and helped nurse iiksiiks back to health. under voltryks, iiksiiks climbed quickly, making the rank of captain only a few short years after earning back his arms. as a captain, iiksiiks takes freshly docked dregs from other crews, striving to find them a space where they can thrive. as such, his crew has more dregs than your average crew, and his dregs trend more loyal to him than your average dreg. his mates, misriiks and bran, belong to @fiirecracker. while i will ship him with other people, those two will always be his mates regardless of who he is interacting with.

tags ; gen tag | hc tag | aesthetics tag | ic tag | gen ship tag

[thvndersnow]

it really is like having a rabbit pinned down beneath him. he has heard the way they squeal, felt the kick of their legs right before he snapped their necks to take their meat. this is no risen, iiksiik thinks, and sickens at the thought — this person is barely able to run from him, let alone fight. if it weren't for the subtle static he can feel rising from her skin, the kind of electric hum in the air he'd only ever heard from risen, he may have even been convinced that this was true, and that she was, truly, just another human.

mercy is a double edged sword. it would be so easy to kill someone in this state, and he can hear his mate whispering in his ear to strike the final blow: one more dead thing returned to the mud and mire that spat them out, one less monster hunting down their bretheren, one less ghoul taunting them with the sort of power they should wield. but why snap a rabbit's neck, if one does not need its meat? why kill a person who looks him in the eyes and begs mercy?

"…keep it." the captain's voice is a bare rasp. he swings his leg back over her, pushes himself up, stands. the knife is stowed safely at his belt. "leave."

his shoulders sag.

"i will not give you another chance."

if iiksiiks is rage and violence, bran is the rabbit caught in his terrible jaws.

she squeals and cries as he scrambles atop her. broken nails scrape across packed dirt. her body twists, jerks, flails, kicks. her heart thuds in her ears, her throat. she cannot breathe around its frantic dance. he is a predator, and his movements reflect that. the way no inch gained is wasted, the way she is effectively trapped beneath him. her cries become squeaks. she is desperate for the clarity air brings.

and when his weight settles on her back, when all she can taste is wet dirt and the salt from her own fear, the little rabbit freezes. his teeth upon her neck, her body so tense any movement could trigger the fatal crunch.

she does not want to die.

and so she does not move. her eyes stare, wide and afraid into the middle distance. her lips remain parted, sucking in quick, sharp, shallow breaths. somewhere in the back of her mind, bran is thankful for every one he allows her to take. it is a solid moment before she realizes he has spoken to her.

"i don't want to fight," repeats the hunter, almost out of instinct. she does not move, except to speak; a breathless, almost whispered, plea. an attempt at appeasement. she does not want to die. "please. please, just let me go. i— i have some glimmer stashed. a few cans of ether i picked off of some dead devils. it isn't much, but—"

she hiccups. her eyes sting.

"—but you can have it. i'll show you where it is. just please, let me go."

[thvndersnow]

❛  stay? i just ... don't want to be alone right now.  ❜ // bran @ iiksiiks

iiksiiks settles down next to bran in the nest that had been provided for her, half-turning to fix some of the blankets and rags along the edges. it has been a few weeks since the lightbearer was brought aboard, and both the captain and his crew are beginning to warm up to her. bran is not the sort of person that causes trouble – much more likely to fawn than ever attempt to bow up to anyone else. this has been both boon and bain. but regardless of any shortcomings it might have, iiksiiks was… fond. and he was always ready to show her gentleness.

“i am here, bran,” he murmurs, offering out a hand. “i won’t leave.”

[thvndersnow]

❛  your optimism might be starting to rub off on me.  ❜ // misriiks @ iiksiiks @fiirecracker

the captain glances down towards his second, an amused chuff escaping him. it is not often he hears misriiks express sentiment like that – the marauder usually calls him too soft, too tender-hearted, tells him he makes the sort of calls that are going to get them all killed. perhaps misriiks is finally beginning to see that their track-record speaks a different story.

“is that so?” iiksiiks trills, mandibles clicking. “what makes you say that?”

[thvndersnow]

TAG DUMP 2 ;;

eliksni time

ETYKRAKS TAGS:

etykraks tag ;; the cracks of my skin can prove as the years will testify

etykraks hc ;; as I breathe into our silence there's a voice that comforts me

etykraks aes ;; there's a beautiful sadness that runs through him

etykraks ic ;; all of us; some of us; love you

--

IIKSIIKS TAGS:

iiksiiks tag ;; time and again boys are raised to be men

iiksiiks hc ;; we'll press and press 'til you can't take it anymore

iiksiiks aes ;; may your ashes feed the river in the morning rays

iiksiiks ic ;; you must fix your heart

--

MIILAK TAGS:

miilak tag ;; sycophants on velvet sofas; lavish mansions; vintage wine

miilak hc ;; all of your flaws are aligned with this mood of mine

miilak aes ;; if it feels good tastes good it must be mine

miilak ic ;; this old world is a new world and a bold world for met

[thvndersnow]

he knows that look in her eyes -- he has had it himself, on more than one occasion. something in the pit of iiksiiks's stomach tightens to think he is the one that caused her to make that face, and he shakes his head, picking up a morsel of rabbit in his claws.

"this," he says, gesturing to his plate with his free hand, "is my share. everything you have been given is yours."

he offers out to her the cut, holds it up for her to take.

"here. i'm sure you will find this much more filling than bread."

it is a strange experience, to have someone consider necessities what she has long deemed luxuries. food, water, blankets— these were things she'd been forced to earn back with her original group. (she was never able to earn that much. blankets were a once in a decade gift, whenever jace finally earned a new one.)

but here, they are simply… given. they are not earned or asked for. they are offered, with no hidden knives waiting to bury themselves in her back. she does not know how to handle it. she can never go back.

“i'm glad to know that i can… that i can provide you even a fraction of the favor you've done for me.” her face softens, and she takes another bite of the bread. it's soft, still good. she hungrily takes another. “it is the least i can do, after everything.”

at his question, though, she hesitates. her brows furrow, and she glances down at their plates. something heavy settles in the pit of her stomach. she tastes iron.

“i… i was just trying to give you your share.” it sounds dumb as soon as it leaves her mouth. she looks away, hunches in on herself. “i wasn't… jaxon tithed. hid and rationed food like eliksni houses do ether. i wasn't sure if…”

[thvndersnow]

iiksiiks watches her fingers gingerly pick up a morsel — watches them place them on his plate. he cannot frown, not with his physiology, but as he looks down at the meat she has given him, there is a twitch of his mandibles as he does not meet her gaze, only visible now as his rebreather has been removed so he can eat. she speaks before he can comment on it, and he listens, nodding along.

"as i said, to deny you these amenities would be cruelty. we would not let you starve, bran." the captain's voice is gentle as he regards her, mandibles flexing inwards to cover his teeth and signal his lack of intent to harm. "and your presence on our ketch is, well… it is as much a boon for us as it is for you. other houses are much less likely to attack, now that we harbor you."

he points down at the meat she has placed on his plate, voice taking on a hint of concern. "is this not to your liking? do you not want it?"

she almost done dividing the plate when iiksiiks returns, with his own in tow. bran pauses at the sight, lips pursing slightly. blue eyes fall to the plate in her hands, then over at iiksiiks'. a test, then? or... or does he get all that and hers? better to be cautious, she thinks. he is a captain. he probably needs more than jaxon ever did.

and so the hunter acquiesces. first, by picking up the small cup of pills iiksiiks gestures to— and then immediately putting them down. nope, she doesn't know what to do with that. chew? swallow all of them in one go? better to deal with his food first.

gingerly, she picks up a piece of meat and moves it over to his plate. a second soon follows.

"a lightbearer," supplies bran, glancing up at him. "a risen, i guess. um, not really a guardian, since i don't... work for the city. i didn't even know there was a city! but... but that's all. it's very kind of you, to treat me like this, despite it all."

[thvndersnow]

iiksiiks watches the methodical sorting of her food with some curiosity. part of him wonders if this is normal human custom -- he has seen ashe eat her food one item at a time, so he supposes it is plausible. the captain turns to take his own plate from his desk, then moves to the nest to settle beside her, taking in his claws some of his meat and vegetables and eating them together.

"do not forget your vitamins." iiksiiks gestures to the little cup at the corner of her plate, at the pills that sit within it. he knows ashe had said things about malnutrition, about deficiencies; it had all sounded very concerning, the state they'd brought her back in, and the warlock had been adament in making sure she was properly cared for. "i think that he may be cross with me, if you did."

he tips his head. "since you are what?"

it is incomprehensible, the amount of food house winter offers.

living with her band had been bare rations and nothing more. jaxon hoarded food like it was finite, and divvied it up like he was some kell. she and jace received very little. bread and jerky once a day; a small fruit, if they did particularly well. so when iiksiiks offers her the tray, she does not hesitate.

she begins to divide it, too. pushing the meat and vegetables to one side, pulling the bread and scraps of... something (lettuce?) to another. her captain deserves the lion share, after all.

"to offer food at all is a kindness," says the tiny hunter. she lifts one of the pieces of bread and nibbles on the crust. "especially... especially since i'm—"

she motions to herself with her free hand.