[ predictably, rondo is at the pyre again after the posters appear. he's got a wet cloth pressed his cheek, and is pretty much just staring into the blue fire, mouth pulled into a tight line, shoulders stiff, though his expression is like - clearly, obviously upset, his brows knit together.
he just immediately leans into her when she sits, and after a moment, wraps his arm around her from where he's sitting. it's a low hug, arm slung more around her middle, but he squeezes tight, anyway. ]
[ the fire wouldn't hurt normally!!! IN A NORMAL WORLD WHERE THIS WASNT MG!!!!! alas. at the moment, he just curls up into the hug a little further, and nods. ]
... me either. [ the darkness of the day feels heavy, even heavier than last week. from two bodies to three - an ominous warning for what could continue to multiply in the days to come. he doesn't have words, either. there's nothing really to say. ]
[ he nods, and leans into her a little further, squeezing tight. ]
... we talked a lot about why he acted the way he did on Saturday, and... he was just a teenage boy.
[ young, and stupid, and stubborn, with big dreams. rondo swallows. ] I tried... I told him to try and be careful, that it was risky to say and do things that way, but...
[she says, quietly. he was a teenager, sure, but only just barely, and besides, anybody under twenty really is just a kid to karlach. he was a goblin. but.]
Little shit. But you don't - that's not how you deal with little shits, you don't slaughter them and shove them in a barrel, you work with them. You don't kill him because he was annoying. You don't kill him before he's got the chance to try.
...It pains me to think anyone could have the capacity to do such a thing. [ rondo liked talking to karma, after last week. it felt like they were starting to understand each other, and he stares down at his hands. ] And... that there were so many, I... I cannot help but worry that this was not just the work of a monstrous urge, either.
... People will do great and terrible things for their greatest desires.
[ gods know that rondo has seen it enough. he bites his lip, staring into the blue flame, heavy with the memory of francesca and herminia, of tytos, of -
he shakes his head. ] And not consider the cost. It's... selfish.
[guess who has strong opinions on this it's karlach]
Selfish. Not a single fucking person here deserves to die for something else. Doesn't matter if it's world peace or gold or the chance to live yourself, you don't trade someone's life for that. I don't care how worthless you think it might be.
[ his answer is a little quiet, but no less steady. ]
To me, that's... there's something far more evil in that, than in someone who has been forced to act against their will. [ it is the duty of the flame to vanquish all evil. not to wipe all humanity, because all humanity is not capable, but - to snuff out what is. to find a way to keep people safe. ]
[ but. here they are. he could say maybe it wasn't that. maybe it was something else - maybe the cult possesses more than one person, but that doesn't account for three.
[ weh. he squeezes his arm around her, immediately, empathetic. it was awful, but... some part of him prefers sunday, though it would have been so much better if they could have just stopped it as a group, the night before. if karlach hadn't been forced to be the one to do so, like it was some kind of show. ]
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week 1, friday
it's fine. everything is fine! nothing is fine. ]
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she sits down, and doesn't say anything.]
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he just immediately leans into her when she sits, and after a moment, wraps his arm around her from where he's sitting. it's a low hug, arm slung more around her middle, but he squeezes tight, anyway. ]
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Haven't got words. [she says finally, voice ragged and low. like she's been shouting.]
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... me either. [ the darkness of the day feels heavy, even heavier than last week. from two bodies to three - an ominous warning for what could continue to multiply in the days to come. he doesn't have words, either. there's nothing really to say. ]
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... Karma was a better kid than people thought.
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... we talked a lot about why he acted the way he did on Saturday, and... he was just a teenage boy.
[ young, and stupid, and stubborn, with big dreams. rondo swallows. ] I tried... I told him to try and be careful, that it was risky to say and do things that way, but...
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[she says, quietly. he was a teenager, sure, but only just barely, and besides, anybody under twenty really is just a kid to karlach. he was a goblin. but.]
Little shit. But you don't - that's not how you deal with little shits, you don't slaughter them and shove them in a barrel, you work with them. You don't kill him because he was annoying. You don't kill him before he's got the chance to try.
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...It pains me to think anyone could have the capacity to do such a thing. [ rondo liked talking to karma, after last week. it felt like they were starting to understand each other, and he stares down at his hands. ] And... that there were so many, I... I cannot help but worry that this was not just the work of a monstrous urge, either.
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[there's a bit of fury in her when she spits that out.]
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... People will do great and terrible things for their greatest desires.
[ gods know that rondo has seen it enough. he bites his lip, staring into the blue flame, heavy with the memory of francesca and herminia, of tytos, of -
he shakes his head. ] And not consider the cost. It's... selfish.
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Selfish. Not a single fucking person here deserves to die for something else. Doesn't matter if it's world peace or gold or the chance to live yourself, you don't trade someone's life for that. I don't care how worthless you think it might be.
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... I agree.
[ his answer is a little quiet, but no less steady. ]
To me, that's... there's something far more evil in that, than in someone who has been forced to act against their will. [ it is the duty of the flame to vanquish all evil. not to wipe all humanity, because all humanity is not capable, but - to snuff out what is. to find a way to keep people safe. ]
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[same page same hat]
Just... I didn't think we had people like that here.
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[ but. here they are. he could say maybe it wasn't that. maybe it was something else - maybe the cult possesses more than one person, but that doesn't account for three.
he swallows. ]
We... will have to be very vigilant, tomorrow.
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Don't know what's worse. The death now or the death later.
[i mean very clearly last week the death later was worse for her but she's not saying that]
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...mm. [ ... ] All of it is nightmarish.
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Anyway.
Yeah. We'll have to be fucking vigilant.
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he tilts his head a little to bonk it against her side, not quite insistent but trying to bolster, to be supportive. ]
...We'll get through it, together.
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We will. I believe in that.