Work Text:
“Excuse me there, do you have a moment?”
You glance over your shoulder as heavy footsteps approach rapidly from behind. You rest your hand on the grip of your revolver cautiously, but realized your caution was probably misplaced as you instantly recognized the man as belonging to the knights of beauty. In all your travels you hadn’t encountered another bunch who wore such ornate armor. The man was broad shouldered and had a shock of wavy red hair that went past his shoulders.
He stops in front of you, a warm smile working its way onto his face that was oddly filled with sincerity. It was unusual for anybody in Penacony to say the least. Then again for him to accost you like this, there had to be something he wanted from you. “Well met fellow dreamer. I hope I have not disturbed you too greatly.”
“’Course not, I was just enjoying the sights of golden hour is all.”
The man relaxes slightly, his icy blue eyes occasionally darting to other parts of your body while he spoke. “Then please, allow me to formally introduce myself. Even if our meeting may be brief it is important to know with whom you are speaking with, would you not agree?” He didn’t wait for an answer and promptly bowed with his hand over his heart. The white streak in his hair shifts to slightly cover one of his eyes. “My name is Argenti. I am a member of the Knights of Beauty, and a humble follower of the Goddess Idrila.” He straightens, taking a moment to smooth his hair back.
You had seen a lot of things in your time, but you didn’t think you’d ever had anybody bow at you before. It made you vaguely uncomfortable, but at lead nobody seemed to be paying either of you any mind. Not that a couple o’ guys on the street were worth making note of when you were in the Dreamscape. Even a guy as handsome as him wasn’t likely to stand out as much as you’d expect when anyone could be whatever they wanted.
“I do hope you won’t find me too forward in saying this, but I shall try to elaborate the best I can, so do please bear with me.”
You wave him on, folding your arms over your chest. His eyes lingered a little too long on your arm for comfort. Did they have some weird hangups about cyborgs? Was he about to preach about you being ‘unnatural’. It wasn’t like you really had a say in the matter if that was the case.
“I must confess that in a place as whimsical as this, I found myself a little overwhelmed with the bizarre things that are common place. I was struggling to find something, or in your case someone, that perfectly encapsulated the things Idrila wished to teach us. Now, there’s always something to be said about the many mechanical wonders across the cosmos, especially when one uses their hands to make something in their own image. And I must say that I find your body quite exquisite.” He steps closer to you, lingering a little too far in your personal space for your comfort as his attention lingered on your neck. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a perfect blending of machine and flesh before. I find it captivating…” He takes one of your hands in his, pressing a metal token emblazed with a rose into it. “Please, take this as a token of this momentous occasion. And, should you decide to change paths, we would be more than happy to welcome you into our ranks with open arms.”
The aggressive eye contact mixed with his hand lingering on yours sent a twinge of anxiety piercing into you. You might as well have been the only other person in this place. Adoration dripped from his words and it only served to intensify the shaking of your composure. Nobody had ever spoken to you like that. A guy could almost get used to it.
You weren’t deluded enough to not know you weren’t a looker by any means, however someone coming up to you and professing that to you in such a way was jarring. It felt more like he was coming onto you more than you cared to admit. Though the fact that he might not have even given you a second glance if you hadn’t gone through all you had.
For an instant you were back in the hospital trying to adapt yo your new body and struggling to do even basic tasks and calibrate the neural links to something operable. The process was long and arduous and one of the hardest things you had ever done.
The next moment you were in the present moment, acutely aware of how even if you could still technically feel his hands on yours, it couldn’t compared to skin to skin contact. You still weren’t sure which would be more cruel, this cheap imitation that you were left with, or not being able to feel anything at all.
When you sifted through the sheer strangeness of this interaction, all that was left was you wondering why the hell that IPC dog was so pressed about the Knights of Beauty not putting themselves in his back pocket. If all of them were even half as unusual as Argenti, they couldn’t possibly do anything useful for the ongoing power struggle.
Argenti abruptly releases you, taking a step back. He bows again, letting out a nervous chuckle. “I beg your pardon. I hope you might forgive me if I have done something to offend. Try as I might I never did have much of a way with words.”
You scoff, fighting the urge to roll your eyes. It was baffling how someone could spout off all that flowery bullshit then claim it wasn’t enough. At least he was earnest beneath all of this, you could give him that. Though if he was quick to talk to anyone the same way he spoke to you, you could see why he might think he was doing something wrong. Not every person in the cosmos would be willing to listen, or embrace, the virtual nonsense he was spouting off. “If all that jawin’ was just for show then what do you actually do? Don’t tell me you’re a man of action.”
Argenti’s face lights up, the hint of insecurity evaporating as he enthusiastically nods. “ One could say that! I prefer the art of the duel. One can learn a lot about another person by engaging in combat with them. Since you are armed I assume you must be able to hold your own, I think challenging you would be a most splendid endeavor.” He heaves a dramatic sigh, touching his hand to his forehead, “but alas, there really isn’t a place for such things around here. Not to mention it would be quite a shame if we were to throw our bodies at one another and push ourselves to our limit if we cannot feel the strain we place upon ourselves.” He locks eyes with you. You weren’t sure if he was carrying on with his odd manor of speech or if that was supposed to be a euphemism. You weren’t sure you hated the idea of it being the latter.
You couldn’t say you knew too much about the Knights of Beauty other than they were more missionaries than mercenaries. Surely they had to be able to hold their own if they went around the cosmos sticking their nose where it didn’t belong. Argenti was at least built like he was strong enough to throw a punch that would hurt. You were more than a little intrigued a the idea of seeing just what he was capable of. “Then we’ll just have to find each other outside the Dreamscape won’t we?”
Argenti claps his hands together, beaming. “That’s a marvelous idea! Oh! I know! We should exchange contact information. Day or night please do not hesitate to contact me, even if it is not about our upcoming match. I shall happily provide you council.”
You could already imagine the walls of text Argenti would send you and you decided you weren’t going to take him up on that offer. Argenti taps his phone against his, a small genuine smile plastered across his face. “I have forgotten my manners, I did not allow you to return the introduction! I hope you can forgive me sir,” he glances a the screen, “Boothill.”
You wave him off. “You worry too much partner, I wasn’t about to stop you in your tracks for something as trivial as that. It don’t matter much to me whether you know my name or not.”
Argenti’s brow furrows, but he’s accosted before he could form any sort of rebuttal. “Argenti, there you are!”
A slender man with slicked back black hair and glasses storms up to him, literally dragging a much taller man with long, blond hair behind him. “Honestly, what is the point in me going through the trouble of making an itinerary, if neither of you are going to offer me the courtesy of following it? We were supposed to be in the town square five minutes ago, how do you expect us to have a good view of anything if we aren’t early to arrive, you both know very well how many people are gathered here for the festival. Can’t you pretend to take this seriously?”
The blond man crams a few ice cream covered fries in his mouth, his eyes darting between Argenti and the black haired man. He seemed more concerned with his food than being lectured. You couldn’t say you blamed him, you weren’t sure you’d be able to handle being under the thumb of such a tightass. Though you supposed every group needed somebody to keep the airheads in line and the way blondie was eyeing a food cart nearby said all you needed to know. “Will you do know how deeply I appreciate you handling all the scheduling, especially when it’s all color coded and very easy to read, however I assure you-”
Blondie snaps back into the conversation, thrusting the basket of fries towards Argenti without a care in the world. “Gen, you have to try these, they’re sinful.”
Will exhales sharply, checking his watch. Argenti fishes a fry out of the basket, cocking his head to the side as he thought a little too hard about the conflicting flavor profiles he was being accosted with. Blondie offered you one too and shrugged dismissively when you declined. “I find… mint a rather… unique choice. Perhaps vanilla might be more… preferential.” Argenti was clearly struggling to say something nice.
Blondie scoffs. “That’s boring, Gen. You wouldn’t know culinary ingenuity if it spit in your mouth.” He then turns his attention to you, giving you a once over. “Say cowboy, you aren’t from around here are you? You stick out like a sore thumb. I like it, don’t stop being you.” His passing interest evaporated as he crammed the rest of his soggy fries into his mouth. You weren’t sure if it was an insult or not, but at least he was earnest.
Will straightens. “Pomaine! Such language is unbecoming, how many times do we need to have this conversation. Do. Not. Respond with your mouth full. Come now, you are in your third year, you cannot possibly continue to claim ignorance to proper decorum.”
Pomaine swallows hard. “That’s boring. Don’t you get tired talking all the time? Why write a paragraph when a sticker gets the point across just as well y’know?”
Argenti glances at you out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge your reaction to the situation before giving his two cents. You flash him a not so subtle thumbs up. “Pomaine does have some very interesting stickers. I have a whole folder of them. There is one for virtually every situation.”
Pomaine smirks, draping his arm around Argenti’s shoulder. “Brother Gen, you really are a gift from the Goddess herself. I aspire to have your level of-”
Will’s watch beeps. He shifts behind both of them, shoving them forward a few steps. “That’s quite enough time spent on your nonsense. At least walk while you are going to take Her name in vain.”
Pomaine gasps dramatically, planting his feet on the sidewalk. Argenti ducks under Will’s arm, taking a moment to turn back to you while the other continue to bicker. “I do hope you do not mind Pomaine being so frank. He is quite spirited. If you feel a proper apology is in order we shall have to do it another time. I must admit I have inconvenienced you more than I intended.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve heard worse from people with worse intentions. You’re buddy over there’s gonna blow a gasket if you keep standing here.”
Argenti flashes you one last smile, traces of sadness lingering in his eyes. “True, I have unfortunately been neglecting my duties in place of my own trivial pursuits. I shall take my leave then. Ah… pleasant dreams is it?” He bows, turning sharply to rejoin the others. He slips in-between Will and Pomaine, swiftly breaking up their argument and leading the way down the street.
You turn, picking your way down a side street while idly turning the coin over in your fingers. Pleasant dreams indeed.