He takes the blanket off his bed and wraps it around Emporio's shoulders, then goes to the sink and lets the water run so it can heat up.
"Good to meet you." He thinks fast on his feet, trying to figure out a way to guide him through the grounding exercise he's used on people before without alarming him with it. "Hey, is it just me or are our rooms a little different? You notice anything?"
The idea is, of course, to ground him in facts so that he won't panic quite so much. Once his brain stops sending out all that adrenaline and the other hormones, his body will start to regulate a little too, and maybe it'll be a little easier for the poor kid to cope.
Coping would, assuredly, be ideal. There's a slight humming grunt, a short 'mnm' in reply for now, but at least he accepts the blanket and holds it more tightly around him. It's a little foreign to have, actually.
He didn't have a blanket in his piano.
The question does its job- with a slow blink, he looks up to frown. "....I haven't seen any other rooms..."
"That's okay," he says, with a little tilt of his head. Taking a washcloth from near the sink, he soaks it in the warm water and brings it over. "Would you be okay with me cleaning you up a little? That way you don't have to let go of the blanket, you can stay warm."
Ooof, that shock sank in hard. Emporio doesn't give an immediate answer, but after a second or so he does nod. Alright- yeah, he can...getting clean seems fine. That seems...
"...who are you?"
Getting answers is finally a thing that's occurring as a thing to do.
Horatio blinks, momentarily confused as he sits next to Emporio to start daubing at his face gently. Then he realizes that he's not being asked to introduce himself a second time: that the boy means it in a broader sense.
"I help run an organization called The Lighthouse, which helps people who've just arrived in Ryslig to get settled. That's the name of the peninsula we're on, right now. Only ... it's a little more complicated to explain than usual. And we're not at the Lighthouse. As far as I can tell, this is an underground cave system under the city of Felfri. I've only ever been to Felfri once before, and it was ... very different from how it is right now."
hazel u are too good at saving me from my own exhausted brain pfhfjkgh
He probably would've done better with 'why are you doing this', it's true. Sometimes, brains spit out words in...a bit of a mess, though.
He catches the gist. Normally he would wake in a place called Ryslig (or at least that's how Horatio sees it?? ...Is this somehow NOT the result of his own actions??), instead they're in Felfri, which is....
"Well, for one, there weren't any underground secret bunkers - at least, not that I know of." He gestures to their surroundings with his free hand, even as he continues working.
"Normally there's not any particular person in charge of things - everyone kind of keeps to their own. There are two gods left in this world - the Fog, and the Fourth. The other two - Night and Day - died a long time ago, and the ones that are left have been fighting each other for power for a while, but it was always a ... well, more of a game of tug-of-war than an all out actual war. Here in Felfri, though ... the Fourth God is in charge of everything, and the technology is a lot more advanced than it usually is. For starters."
"It probably did, since this is the Fog God's stronghold." He agrees with a solemn nod. But at Emporio's next question, he frowns thoughtfully.
"It depends on who you ask. Some people think 'god' is just a term for a creature or a being with more power than everyone else, but ... the Fog, at the very least, actually is. She doesn't have a body that anyone's seen ... maybe she really is the literal fog. But she answers anyone who tries to talk to her, even if she doesn't stick around more than a few minutes. She has enough power to cause our changes, and sometimes to make other things happen. The Fourth God, Elias, is actually a boy. His father was a human scientist who found a way to steal some power from the Fog and attach it to his kid ... really, really screwed up stuff. But it's all powered by technology, which is why Felfri is the way it is."
A mute nod. Truthfully, he suspects some bias- even if someone were literal fog, could they be called a 'God'? The powers displayed by those with Stands, even while their users were hidden away, could be described in the same way after all.
Listening to the description of Elias, Emporio pauses. "...So is 'Elias' the one making decisions then, or is it his father..?"
If Emporio had voiced that thought aloud, Horatio would have definitely had some food for thought. Vanya, after all, had enough power in her little finger to be considered a God if you tilted your head and squinted. For that matter, so did he - ancient civilizations could have thought of him as a god of time, Klaus as a god of death... and so on. But since they're on the subject of Elias, his answer is pretty straightforward.
"No, he is. His father's ... well, he's not dead, but he might as well be. It's... a pretty gross story, honestly. Elias didn't like how it all turned out, so ... he made his father a living battery. I know someone who's seen what's left of him."
Usually, in this exact situation, Horatio would give the kid a care package, get him to the Crowe Clinic, cleaned up, changed into warmer clothes, find him a place to live - maybe Hestia's or the orphanage that Riley works for. Usually, he'd have better answers. Reassuring actions to take.
Right now, he just has clean, warm water, and a cave. Thanks, Elias, he hates it.
"Well, I'm still trying to figure out what the best thing to do here is, myself. But if you tell most people you're new here, they'll be pretty decent about helping you out with anything you need, as much as they can. A lot of us look out for each other."
Pretty shaken! (But perhaps not stirred...) There's no hiding the caution and skepticism in his face though. This isn't someone who would normally have let Horatio in, clearly. No, this isn't even someone used to asking for help. At least not...
"...even in war? ...without anything in return..?"
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He can keep his eyes on Horatio then.
Seeing how...he has that name...
"...E...Emporio," he answers with a swallow, fruitlessly rubbing at shivering arms. It's cold in here, why is it so cold....
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"Good to meet you." He thinks fast on his feet, trying to figure out a way to guide him through the grounding exercise he's used on people before without alarming him with it. "Hey, is it just me or are our rooms a little different? You notice anything?"
The idea is, of course, to ground him in facts so that he won't panic quite so much. Once his brain stops sending out all that adrenaline and the other hormones, his body will start to regulate a little too, and maybe it'll be a little easier for the poor kid to cope.
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He didn't have a blanket in his piano.
The question does its job- with a slow blink, he looks up to frown. "....I haven't seen any other rooms..."
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Ooof, that shock sank in hard. Emporio doesn't give an immediate answer, but after a second or so he does nod. Alright- yeah, he can...getting clean seems fine. That seems...
"...who are you?"
Getting answers is finally a thing that's occurring as a thing to do.
no subject
"I help run an organization called The Lighthouse, which helps people who've just arrived in Ryslig to get settled. That's the name of the peninsula we're on, right now. Only ... it's a little more complicated to explain than usual. And we're not at the Lighthouse. As far as I can tell, this is an underground cave system under the city of Felfri. I've only ever been to Felfri once before, and it was ... very different from how it is right now."
hazel u are too good at saving me from my own exhausted brain pfhfjkgh
He catches the gist. Normally he would wake in a place called Ryslig (or at least that's how Horatio sees it?? ...Is this somehow NOT the result of his own actions??), instead they're in Felfri, which is....
Wait-
"...what was it like before..?"
just paying it forward from others,pffft
"Normally there's not any particular person in charge of things - everyone kind of keeps to their own. There are two gods left in this world - the Fog, and the Fourth. The other two - Night and Day - died a long time ago, and the ones that are left have been fighting each other for power for a while, but it was always a ... well, more of a game of tug-of-war than an all out actual war. Here in Felfri, though ... the Fourth God is in charge of everything, and the technology is a lot more advanced than it usually is. For starters."
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"...right. ...the warning on the phone, which...seemed to mean 'us'," he adds, looking somewhat discomfitted.
"...Two of four died? ...No, a better question I guess is, what does 'god' mean here?"
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"It depends on who you ask. Some people think 'god' is just a term for a creature or a being with more power than everyone else, but ... the Fog, at the very least, actually is. She doesn't have a body that anyone's seen ... maybe she really is the literal fog. But she answers anyone who tries to talk to her, even if she doesn't stick around more than a few minutes. She has enough power to cause our changes, and sometimes to make other things happen. The Fourth God, Elias, is actually a boy. His father was a human scientist who found a way to steal some power from the Fog and attach it to his kid ... really, really screwed up stuff. But it's all powered by technology, which is why Felfri is the way it is."
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Listening to the description of Elias, Emporio pauses. "...So is 'Elias' the one making decisions then, or is it his father..?"
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"No, he is. His father's ... well, he's not dead, but he might as well be. It's... a pretty gross story, honestly. Elias didn't like how it all turned out, so ... he made his father a living battery. I know someone who's seen what's left of him."
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He doesn't press for that then- a slight grimace as he looks away says he can pain a pretty little picture in his head on the matter fine enough.
He can move on then. With a sniff, a nod, and a moment to swallow some fear. He can...
"....what happens now?"
He has plenty for a general picture. For a general idea, of what is, and isn't. But now, this? In this moment?
...
He's lost.
"...What do I...do, now..."
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Right now, he just has clean, warm water, and a cave. Thanks, Elias, he hates it.
"Well, I'm still trying to figure out what the best thing to do here is, myself. But if you tell most people you're new here, they'll be pretty decent about helping you out with anything you need, as much as they can. A lot of us look out for each other."
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Pretty shaken! (But perhaps not stirred...) There's no hiding the caution and skepticism in his face though. This isn't someone who would normally have let Horatio in, clearly. No, this isn't even someone used to asking for help. At least not...
"...even in war? ...without anything in return..?"
...Not when he knows what most would 'charge'.