Entry tags:
( visiting Hadassah )
There's a long moment, entering Hadassah's apartment, when everything looks disarmingly normal. Richly furnished, yes—dark walls accented in gold and painted with murals that depict flowers and fruit (pomegranates, split figs, branches of olives) entwined with serpents; chaise lounges and deep-cushioned chairs upholstered in wine red velvet; a mantle over a vast fireplace, hung with actual branches of olives; the fireplace itself, in which sticks of incense are slowly burning, filling the room with the gentle haze of spiced smoke—but all of it is within the bounds of the real. From somewhere in another room comes the slightly staticky sound of an Édith Piaf record playing.
Step inside further, though, and there's a feeling of vertigo. The walls and ceiling seem to stretch away impossibly far—as though sinking down to a cavern at the center of the earth, gazing up at the too-too distant stars, vast and claustrophobic all at once—
Then the feeling ends, and the apartment is its original incense-and-velvet self once again.

day ???
[ the smell of oleander fills the air as she drops to her knees, closing her eyes and taking in the intoxicating scent as she doesn't bother to remove the knife from her chest. nah. she leaves the it sticking out of herself, because, as always, she's got to be dramatic; putting on a good show for her gracious host. ]
Hadassah, [ she takes a shuddering breath. ] Hadassah, can you hear me?
Re: day ???
Hadassah makes her wait for it, blood tracing a ripe rivulet between her breasts and pooling on the moss at her feet while the smoke from the burning oleander forms lazy spirals in the fading light of dusk.
Time slows and stills, and then at last the smoke is condensing into heavy white coils that wrap around her body before finally resolving into Hadassah's human form. D.va is sitting on a bronze tripod again. ]
Hello again, χρησμαγόρης.
Re: day ???
[ gosh, it's like no one here can appreciate the things she does... but she puts all of those other people out of her head, at least for right now, and instead just concentrates on just. one.
persondemon. ][ she swallows thickly as time ticks on and on and on, until it eventually slows to a stop. opening her eyes as she feels her wrap around her she smiles, almost lazily, as she sits up a bit straighter. ]
[ focus, d.va, focus. ]
Hello, and thank you for joining me. [ she removes the blade and lets it fall to the wayside. ] I've missed you.
Re: day ???
[ The languid tilt of her head makes the question seem almost rhetorical, but the soft, low tone of her voice suggests otherwise.
Hadassah crosses her legs, taking a seat on some hidden chair—or perhaps she's just settling her weight on her own hidden coils. ]
Re: day ???
If I didn't think it'd be a bother I'd certainly call more often. [ her lips lift into a smirk as she sets a hand to a chest. ] But I do have something important I'd like to discuss with you. A little something that's... close to my heart, as it were. [ an airy chuckle follows. ]
Re: day ???
[ but she pauses, considering D.va a moment... and then actually blinks a few times, surprised. ]
...But so you do. [ she leans in, chin propped on one hand ]
What sort of deal did you have in mind, darling?
Re: day ???
I seek power, and I know this is something that would come at a high price, but I'm prepared to pay it by offering you something special... something unique...
Myself, in a way. [ her fingers curl into her palm as she presses it against her chest, looking down at the bloodied wound. ] I'm sure you're aware of all our Heart Soldier's unit abilities, so...
[ she's thought about this for some time and all of the horrible things her friends and loved ones have gone through just keeps on compounding and it's driving her crazy. she hates it. she wants to be able to do something! but whether or not this will help is another story. it... doesn't matter though, and she's made up her mind. it's. worth. a shot. ]
I'd like to give you my soul for a fraction of your power. A boon of some kind. S- Something.
Re: day ???
[ Hadassah leans in even closer, tongue darting briefly between her lips as she considers D.va with gathering intensity. ]
Hungry little thing, aren't you.
[ a pause, and her voice goes oddly soft—distant, almost ] A soul is a choice, you know. Agency. Do you still wish for such an exchange?
Re: day ???
[ she can't afford to remain this powerless! ]
[ snorts, huffing a warm breath through her nose as she smiles. ]
Mm, they say dream big, ne, and I intend to make my dream a reality.
[ ... ]
[ nods. ] I've given this plenty of thought, and there are only so many people I'd feel comfortable entrusting my soul to.
Re: day ???
Then I suppose I'll have to support that ambition, won't I? What sort of Heaven would we have without it, after all~✧
And a truly full-time Oracle is a very...delicious notion.
Re: day ???
I knew I could count on you, Hadassah.
And what sort of Oracle would I be if I didn't completely commit~?
[ she chuckles, reaching to gingerly take her wrist with one hand, removing it from her chin, so she can drop a kiss on her shimmering scales. ]
I even brought a special something to hold it. [ her other hand dives deep into her pockets to retrieve a ring. ]
Re: day ???
Well look at that... [ from the soft, wondering tone of her voice, she seems for once genuinely surprised ]
You really thought of everything, didn't you. I'll be the talk of the town. [ a wink ]
Did you have something special in mind for giving it to me as well? [ besides. you know. the knife in her chest. that does count for something. ]
Re: day ???
What sort of host would I be if I wasn't prepared to mark the occasion? [ she's glad to have surprised her. now that truly is something to be proud of (♡´౪`♡) ]
Fantasssstic. [ chuckles, gliding the ring onto her ring finger, because of course! ]
[ is she interested in keeping the knife,
because, honestly, it's a nice knife. ]
I like to think it brings a little closer too~ or, IDK, maybe a lot.
Re: day ???
Quite a bit closer indeed.
[ Hadassah raises her newly en-ringed hand to eye level, considering it fondly as she tilts her palm slightly, making the miniature snake's gem scales glint in the light. ]
Are you ready, then?
Re: day ???
but, ok, she'll stop pushing her luck. ]For you, Hadassah, always.
Re: day ???
[ A curved little smile, and she puts her finger to her lips; presses it inwards.
And then, casually sensual, she draws it slowly back out again through her still-smiling lips. When it returns, her finger is unadorned.
Hadassah winks—and swallows.
That's when D.Va will feel as though she is burning. ]
Re: day ???
[ what's going on?
why does she feel like this? ]
H- Hadassah?
[ she swallows, taking several shallow breathes as she futilely tries to regulate her temperate, but she's heating up from the inside out, so that's a no go. ]
I'm so... it's hot as hell in here. [ h- ha. ]