[ cool because the SECOND he sees her he rushes over and just
immediately hugs her. even if it's awkward because she's curled in the corner, it doesn't matter, he just absolutely flings himself across the room to give her a hug. ]
she is a little jumpscared by this - but he hugs her, and she doesn't really hesitate. she wraps one arm around him, the other curled close because of whatever she's holding.]
Hey - hey, you alright? [don't mind that her voice cracks.]
[ well he'll just say that? it's fine. rondo isn't seven feet tall, but for a normal human, he gives damn good hugs, so he squeezes her tight and shakes his head, burying it in her shoulder. ]
[she shifts so that she can hold onto him a little better. silence, and then:]
I'm alright, Rondo. [it doesn't feel right to be sad in front of people, sometimes. not when everybody is upset. so she tries for upbeat, tries for easy and casual.]
he shakes his head- stubbornly, almost, holding on a little tighter. ]
You’re lying. [ girl you were curled up on the floor of the mortuary. and also, your heart is as big and soft and as baby as his. The first response is stubborn - and then quieter, a little plaintive: ] … can’t we be not alright together?
[ it helps rondo, to be able to help others, but more than that - it's a chance to share in sorrow. though he draws no attention to it, his inky text after the trial simply says it happening again. it's crazy, how you look up to someone, and you watch them fall apart in front of your eyes. a lesser person might stop, but he's not that kind of person. and in the end, rondo can do the right thing, and vote for the person who needs to be stopped, like they'd put down ceraphina when she transformed into something monstrous, twisted by the ring. he can kill sazantos if he has to, even if it breaks his heart into a thousand pieces. he's resilient. and - he knows, even though they've just met, even though it's new, he knows karlach is made of the same stuff he is. he knows she's resilient, too.
but at the same time, what they can do is this - he can hurt. he can grieve. in the way that he and rinyuu grieved together in the quiet moments away from the rest of the guardians, he can lean on karlach, and karlach can lean on him, and maybe together they can be alright.
he squeezes her tightly, burying his face against one of those vented spots again, and sucks in a breath, and tries not to cry himself, either. ]
she's seen people transform - nobody close to her has, which she supposes she can count her blessings for, but she's watched strangers turn to mind flayers. she's watched them get stripped of whatever made them human. and she's empathetic enough to think about what that means, that the person just lost everything. their family, their home, their soul, the things that make life worth living. husks.
she'd never experienced it with someone she cared about dearly until now. she's thinking about what the monster has taken from him. she's thinking about the boothill that she has come to know, and how they promised they'd take care of people here. how he looked at her, brokenhearted, when he'd realized...]
He's... [her voice is husky and wet.] He's in there. Fighting it. I talked to him.
[she holds the little figurine in her hand tightly. finality. it doesn't matter if he is. he'd said it to her - he'd rather die than hurt someone who didn't deserve it again.]
[ that phrase makes rondo's heart swoop - he thinks about his conversation with boothill last night, and he swallows, nodding a little against her shoulder. it's...
(selfishly, it's a little comforting, in a sense. to know that boothill didn't want to do that. to know that he didn't choose to do it. to know that he has something to fight off, instead of just being the way that way all along.)
he looks down, finally, over at the little figurine. ]
...Me too. [ about wanting more time. ] There was so much I thought I could learn from him.
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she's curled up in the corner holding something.]
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[ cool because the SECOND he sees her he rushes over and just
immediately hugs her. even if it's awkward because she's curled in the corner, it doesn't matter, he just absolutely flings himself across the room to give her a hug. ]
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she is a little jumpscared by this - but he hugs her, and she doesn't really hesitate. she wraps one arm around him, the other curled close because of whatever she's holding.]
Hey - hey, you alright? [don't mind that her voice cracks.]
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[ well he'll just say that? it's fine. rondo isn't seven feet tall, but for a normal human, he gives damn good hugs, so he squeezes her tight and shakes his head, burying it in her shoulder. ]
No, and - and neither are you.
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I'm alright, Rondo. [it doesn't feel right to be sad in front of people, sometimes. not when everybody is upset. so she tries for upbeat, tries for easy and casual.]
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he shakes his head- stubbornly, almost, holding on a little tighter. ]
You’re lying. [ girl you were curled up on the floor of the mortuary. and also, your heart is as big and soft and as baby as his. The first response is stubborn - and then quieter, a little plaintive: ] … can’t we be not alright together?
[ there’s an unvoiced please? ]
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she swallows really hard. and then:]
... Okay. [she brings her free hand up to rub at her face.] Yeah, alright.
[no dramatics, no nothing, she just doesn't bother hiding the quiet tears.]
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but at the same time, what they can do is this - he can hurt. he can grieve. in the way that he and rinyuu grieved together in the quiet moments away from the rest of the guardians, he can lean on karlach, and karlach can lean on him, and maybe together they can be alright.
he squeezes her tightly, burying his face against one of those vented spots again, and sucks in a breath, and tries not to cry himself, either. ]
I'm sorry. [ his voice wobbles a little. ]
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she's seen people transform - nobody close to her has, which she supposes she can count her blessings for, but she's watched strangers turn to mind flayers. she's watched them get stripped of whatever made them human. and she's empathetic enough to think about what that means, that the person just lost everything. their family, their home, their soul, the things that make life worth living. husks.
she'd never experienced it with someone she cared about dearly until now. she's thinking about what the monster has taken from him. she's thinking about the boothill that she has come to know, and how they promised they'd take care of people here. how he looked at her, brokenhearted, when he'd realized...]
He's... [her voice is husky and wet.] He's in there. Fighting it. I talked to him.
[she holds the little figurine in her hand tightly. finality. it doesn't matter if he is. he'd said it to her - he'd rather die than hurt someone who didn't deserve it again.]
I just... wanted more time.
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(selfishly, it's a little comforting, in a sense. to know that boothill didn't want to do that. to know that he didn't choose to do it. to know that he has something to fight off, instead of just being the way that way all along.)
he looks down, finally, over at the little figurine. ]
...Me too. [ about wanting more time. ] There was so much I thought I could learn from him.
[ there was so much to emulate. so much good. ]
... Did he make that?
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Yeah. He gave it to me Thursday. He was fucking embarrassed, the sap.
[the figurine looks like her, by the way, i'm too lazy to parent up to see if i said that already. it's a very good rendition of karlach.]