[ RL with Apollo; I got to take myself a permanent vacation~ ]

[toxiccrown]

 How long had it been since he had last been to Haina? Fifteen years? Twenty? It was amazingly refreshing to be back. The pull of contamination could be felt everywhere, lead having soaked into a little bit of everything over the years. The water, the earth, the air....Lima and Aswan combined had nothing on the town.

They had dropped their

Comments

[sine_sole_sileo]

It shocked Apollo how at ease he felt in Haina; he would have thought that having lived in ecologically sound paradises like Hawaii would have purged him more or less of the deep-seated ache he felt for decay and death. Ironically enough, being in the Caribbean Chernobyl was like a breath of fresh air -- he felt free, uninhibited by any responsibility aside from enjoying himself and Pollution alike.

He easily consented to the dragging, laughing as Pollution (whom he'd come to refer to "Polly" in his head, but he daren't say such things out loud) tugged at his arm like an excited child let loose in an amusement park. Apollo was completely unperturbed by the toxicity seeping into his bare skin -- shockingly, it was something of a comforting feeling, like a long-forgotten caress.

"Where do you want to go?" Apollo asked, sure he had an idea already, why else would he be so eager to go out and about? "We could explore the battery recycling center -- it was closed, rather recently, due to lead pollution."

[toxiccrown]

That's right, it had closed down, hadn't it? The horseman's demeanor faltered for half a beat at that realization. Dammit, he had forgotten all about that. And he had been so looking forward to taking Apollo to see the place at work, too....

Well. Not a problem. "Heh, am I really that easy to figure out?" There was another tug on the god's arm as Pollution pulled off the surprisingly crowded main road, taking the two of them into a more densely populated suburban area. It was very much like being lead along by a string, the way he allowed the feel of the pollution to pull him right back to the source.

"It's a shame they closed it. It was really fun to go and watch them work. Sometimes I'd even throw on a uniform and join them." He grinned brightly at the memory. No one had ever taken notice of the young boy working alongside them, even though he always seemed to be right in the middle of every accident the plant had experienced. "I could show you around, if you want! There's bound to be something in there that still works."

[sine_sole_sileo]

"You are," Apollo teased fondly, feeling far too jovial for what their destitute surroundings should have allowed. Listening to White talk, he noticed the echoing cadence of ramshackle doors, no more than sheets of corrugated plastic, slamming shut at their approach. Perhaps the locals were able to sense the unearthly nature of their guests, having known both the pollution of lead and the plague that followed so very intimately over the years.

"I would love a tour," he replied, coming back to the conversation and smiled, seeing the factory ahead, guarded by shoddy chain link gates and signs of condemnation. "Somehow, I am unsurprised that you worked here. It suits you."

[toxiccrown]

"I like getting involved," he chirped, eying the old factory with an almost calculating expression. "It's not enough to just sit back and watch things take course on their own." That may work all well and good for the other three, but he needed to dabble. Pick things apart and see how they worked. He could get the maximum potential out of anything, if he just knew how to manipulate it properly.

Pollution slipped away once they neared the gates, pale grey eyes sliding along the fencing. It had been too much to hope that there would be any ready made ways inside the compound. He chewed his lip thoughtfully, then turned to wander around to the front gate. The clinking of chains falling to the ground sounded a few moments later, the metal eaten away by what looked to be years of heavy rusting. Something that certainly hadn't been there just a minuet before. "A tour it is, then!"

[sine_sole_sileo]

It made sense, and deep down, Apollo knew he was exactly the same -- having been given so much power as one of the Olympian Twelve, and being so dualistic besides, he had long involved himself in the corporeal world of Man and lying judgment on their actions, whether deserved or no. He liked to deny it, but right now, with Pollution, he found himself thinking that it wasn't so terrible, that perhaps... it was merely his duty, what he was meant for.

He let him go, fascinated by the sway of his pale hair and the fluidity of his movements; one would not have imagined the personification of pollution to be so... beautiful. Apollo frowned only slightly at this realization, mentally rebuking himself for it; had he not only recently been forgiven for his unfaithfulness by Hyacinthus? But, he supposed, there was no harm in just looking"Wonderful," And, as though the frown wasn't even there, his smile was back again, eager, giddy. Breaking into an abandoned lead factory like a pair of rambunctious children -- it couldn't be said that Apollo

[toxiccrown]

With a grin the horseman pushed the gate open, wincing only slightly at the sharp screech of metal on metal as he rolled it aside. Then he was back at Apollo's side, grabbing his hand and tugging him inside with a very excited "Come on!"

The factory entrance suffered a similar fate to the outside gates, Pollution proving to be disturbingly well practiced in getting past locks of any sort, and it wasn't long before the two were inside, footsteps echoing almost eerily in the empty halls. The place was in horrible shape, offices covered in a thick layer of grime and dust, though other rooms seemed to have been covered in plastic sheets in a vain attempt to keep the filth away.

"The storage room is this way," he mentioned off handedly, peering into the old locker room with vague curiosity as they passed. Was any of his own stuff still sitting in there? Probably not. "Likely empty, of course, but past there is the rest of the plant. The processing room, the blast furnaces, smelting pots, the refinery....all the fun stuff."

[sine_sole_sileo]

His excitement was contagious and Apollo found himself happily following his lead, another excited little chill running through him when Pollution grasped his hand -- or maybe that was just another dose of poison pulsing into him, but it didn't matter, not really.

Their footsteps left behind prints through the grime, though White's were considerably filthier than the floor was, drawing a meandering line through the factory, towards what Pollution called 'the fun stuff'.

[toxiccrown]

Th storage room was, as expected, empty, save for a few stray crates sitting at one end of the room. He seemed almost disappointed at that, though it was quickly shrugged off.

"Over here." This was it. The next room was decidedly larger, housing several rows of various furnaces and conveyor belts, taps and cooling stations. A fine layer of lead dust had settled over much of the equipment, and Pollution was pleased to see that very little had been done in the way of actually cleaning up the place since it's closure. Though there was no denying the sadness in his voice when he spoke again. "Still exactly the same. This place was probably one of my better accomplishments."

[sine_sole_sileo]

Needless to say, Apollo was impressed -- rarely had he frequented factories like this, even during the Industrial Revolution; he was too busy trying to perfect newly developed plagues like emphysema or black lung. One had to keep up with the times, after all. He squeezed the hand still in his own, smiling gently.

"You did an amazing job of it, White. I've never seen anything like it."

[toxiccrown]

"....you think so?" He flushed with pride at that, and as if noticing their hands for the first time he awkwardly slipped away. A resigned sort of smile crossed his face as he walked further into the room.

"I could've poisoned the majority of the island from here. I've been slacking off."

[sine_sole_sileo]

"I do," he smiled, though slightly put off by White's pulling away -- perhaps he wasn't as used to affection as the God was? Apollo remained where he stood, watching Pollution as he went deeper into the grime of the room, his melancholy at having left it for so long tangible in the dirty air.

"We cannot do everything at once, dear heart."

[toxiccrown]

Pollution only 'hmmed' quietly in response, dragging a hand over the rims of ingot molds as he passed. He remembered they were somewhere around....ah-ha!

"Maybe not. But I can finish what I started." After wiping his lead covered hand rather carelessly on his pants he disappeared around a line of smelting pots, grinning when he came across the old gas tanks. "Not right now, of course, but before we leave."

[sine_sole_sileo]

Apollo followed briskly, curious to see what he was looking for -- gingerly, the Sun God rounded the smelting pots, avoiding them unlike White had. Placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, he looked over him at the tanks and laughed, breath warm on his ear, "And what do you propose to do with those?"

[toxiccrown]

A slightly startled glance was sent over the horseman's shoulder, and he shifted in an almost uncomfortable manner. But rather than pull away again, he leaned awkwardly back against the god; he was really warm.... "Just....you know. Once they go, the rest of the place follows." There was a short, hesitant pause before he quickly finished. "I've gotten really damn good at making things look accidental."

[sine_sole_sileo]

"Mmm, do it." He murmured impulsively, unable to catch himself before it spilled out, fascinated by the level of destruction Pollution was able to wreck; it appealed to a carefully hidden facet of him that had been struggling to shine through ever since arriving on this beautiful, desolate place. It frightened him -- but, so too was it liberating.

[toxiccrown]

Of all the responses he had been expecting, that one obviously hadn't been one of them. Pale eyes stared blankly up at the god, but not half a beat later his face split into a grin.

"We need a leak." It was less of a statement and more of an order, Pollution suddenly pulling Apollo toward the tanks. "Humans are stupid. Everything in here is still connected."