[ Tezcatlipoca grips his hand confidently, but… Actually pulling him out does take some effort. Physical strength isn’t exactly his forte. But it’s not too bad to help haul him out, since the earth is at least soft, and he’s halfway out already.

As Higgs sits back, Tezcatlipoca does take a look at his hands for a moment just to better look at that tar that strings between his fingers as he pinches them together. There had been the sap of the “seed”, but it wasn’t quite like this. Weird, but it’s just a curiosity. His attention is back on the other man as he starts to talk. ]

That’s how it goes. Might call it survival, but dunno, feels like that should be something more intentional. Sometimes you just get lucky.

[ He reaches down to wipe the dirt and tar off on his jacket idly. It’s dark enough that it all blends in, especially since it’s still got plenty of dirt on it still. He hopes this place has dry cleaning, whatever it’s supposed to be. ]

Now it’s round two. Six, in my case. But that’s nothing you need to worry about.

[ He shrugs, easy and casual, but behind those sunglasses, his gaze is sharp. It’s discerning in turn, because even if the setting is very different, this is still the kind of “role” that he’s meant to play. The conversation is just more interesting this way because it’s not his usual. He’s not guiding the exalted dead to their journey, but it does feel like he’s at least meant to guide these people… Somewhere. ]

Did you wanna lose?