[ dog to dog communication. he is delighted by this.
after a second though, he digs around in his pockets, and holds out... his bestiary, flipping to the very back. there are some blank pages, and more importantly, there's a page with something copied very carefully in rondo's nice handwriting. ]
...We... got something today, and after talking with Miss Kate - we wanted to try and make sure that at least one person from every household got to see it. And... I think maybe you should see this, first.
[ the note says: ]
—ter what happened today, I don't think you could call this place safe by any stretch of the imagination. We've seen it react now in nearly a hostile way to our presence, and I don't know how long we can stay. Even so, the fact that it exists at all is beyond my expectation.
I suspect some of them want to reach out and make contact with the others, to ease their grief. I understand. But on the other hand, the cult realizing that this place exists—that there might be any space, no matter how small, that they cannot observe—would be catastrophic. What little safety and advantage we do have would be forfeit, and the cult is likely to wipe the slate clean and start over. And in truth, I have no proof that there's a way back.
So, is it worth hoping that they can keep a secret? Perhaps it is cruel, but I want to err on the side of caution.
Well... we can't confirm anything, but... we all thought it might mean a connection to the heavens. Or, that those who have left us may be... still out of reach, but maybe less out of reach than they might be normally. I was wondering if maybe the original note might be in Mr. Nehan's handwriting, since it was written out - this is just my copy.
[ he looks up at her, brows knit, expression sincere and a little searching, before it settles. ]
...It brought me a lot of hope. So... I thought it might bring you some, too.
[ uweh. finally, he smiles - it's a little one, a tiny light. ]
Something to grab onto. [ so he agrees. no guarantee, but... it's a chance, and sometimes a chance is what you need. ] And at least something we can start trying to look into, too. We'll never know if we don't.
It sounds like... if that it is what it is. To me, it sounds like they're trying to find a way back to us.
Oh, just - the wishes can't... affect the thing we're in. You know? The wishes you get from partners. I can't wish to get us out of here or bring the dead back to life.
... I... forgot about those. [ rondo has not spent a damn second looking for his partner. he rubs at his chest, absentminded, thoughtful. ] That just means that we have to keep looking for the solution to both. And... this is a step in the right direction.
Gods forbid that this thing inside of me is summoned, and I harm someone. I'd want to be killed immediately - and I could not bear the thought of bringing someone else down with me. Let alone if I could not defend myself against someone else's onslaught.
[ .. ]
I've thought more recently about it, with the changes in rules, but... it still doesn't sit right with me. I don't know.
[yeah, she's with him there. she absently rubs at her engine.]
I was so against it for the same reason. But I'd talked to Famine about it over and over, and Gale and Astarion. Almost everybody who saw my memories last week asked me to try. And if it isn't immediately the end...
[a beat.]
I found mine. Still not very sure I regret it or not.
...It feels a little odd to say congratulations. [ because - yeah. it sits kind of weird and bad and wrong. ]
Well... there's... the failsafe in place - I know at least one person who is unpartnered, for sure, so... if something goes wrong. [ but. yeah. it's scary. he bites his lip, eyes flicking to her engine heart. ] I do think... if anyone ought to be able to utilize a wish like that, it should be you, Karlach.
Mr. Gale's...one of the reasons that I've been thinking about it a little more. His reason for wanting the wish - it feels cruel to have possibly kept him from it. It's.. a lot to weigh.
... I've not asked for any hints or anything for mine, so I don't... I don't have any idea who it could even be. I just know it's someone who is still alive.
[ what if he's the barrier keeping gale from getting his wish? but what if something happens - god, what if he dies? what if he gets possessed? what if they are partners, and he can't protect gale, and it's all for naught? there are so, so many questions with this kind of thing, but it feels - somehow, it just feels selfish to hold onto it in the face of such an important wish as gale's.
he looks down at scratch and away from karlach, trying to find the answers in petting a dog. ]
You can tell me whatever you want. But it's not your fault if you don't want to, Rondo. Also not your responsibility. [she doesn't want him to think that it'd be his fault if he couldn't bring himself to risk this sort of thing. it's not just one person's life - it's two people's lives. it's rondo's, too.
But - [ his voice immediately gets emotional, brows knitting together as he takes her hand and squeezes it] if I was his match, then - he could get his wish! [ and a little quieter: ] ...And then you could get yours.
[ and the idea of preventing two people he cares about very much from - from living, that's terrifying, too. this could all be nothing - they could not be a match, at all. but the idea of connecting gale to his own life. terrifying. what if he failed? is he confident enough for that? is he good enough to protect someone else like that? ]
[she takes his face in her other hand, tapping his cheek with her claw gently.]
It isn't your responsibility. Your entire - everything, yeah? Your soul, your mind, your body, all that, it belongs to you and just you. If it'd hurt you to do it, neither me or Gale would want you to. You might not match at all, and it wouldn't even matter, but the point is, sweetheart, you haven't got to hurt yourself to save someone else.
[hypocritical behavior, but.]
It isn't only on your shoulders. It's a horrible fucking choice to make, that's why this place hurts to be in so bad. But at the end of it, only you get to decide what you do with your life, because it's yours.
[ he will let her do this - in fact, his cheek presses a little into the touch, always seeking it, brows knit together, expression searching and upset. he's listening, of course, taking in every word, but... ]
...you're giving up yours to help Mr. Gale.
[ ...but in the end, he and karlach are the same for so many reasons, and perhaps none more than their values, so tightly held even in this awful place. ]
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karlach glances up from where she's - idk, she's probably practicing whittling again, and grins a bit. she is slightly. hungover. it's fine.]
Hey, holy roller. What's up?
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after a second though, he digs around in his pockets, and holds out... his bestiary, flipping to the very back. there are some blank pages, and more importantly, there's a page with something copied very carefully in rondo's nice handwriting. ]
...We... got something today, and after talking with Miss Kate - we wanted to try and make sure that at least one person from every household got to see it. And... I think maybe you should see this, first.
[ the note says: ]
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Wait - is this.
[...]
What does this mean?
[she has a little hope, but she's trying to temper it.]
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[ he looks up at her, brows knit, expression sincere and a little searching, before it settles. ]
...It brought me a lot of hope. So... I thought it might bring you some, too.
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... Needed a little bit of that. [she says, faintly.] Fuck.
[she's a little scared to get her hopes up too much, because this feels like. equally as devastating.]
There's no promises here, but it's something.
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Something to grab onto. [ so he agrees. no guarantee, but... it's a chance, and sometimes a chance is what you need. ] And at least something we can start trying to look into, too. We'll never know if we don't.
It sounds like... if that it is what it is. To me, it sounds like they're trying to find a way back to us.
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But we can't talk about this much, yeah? The hills have got eyes or whatever the rulebook says.
[i am so paranoid after crau 2 i'm sorry]
... Still. It's good to know. Especially since the wishes won't affect anything here.
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...Right. [ and then. wait. ] - Wait, what?
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Oh, just - the wishes can't... affect the thing we're in. You know? The wishes you get from partners. I can't wish to get us out of here or bring the dead back to life.
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[ right... ]
... I... forgot about those. [ rondo has not spent a damn second looking for his partner. he rubs at his chest, absentminded, thoughtful. ] That just means that we have to keep looking for the solution to both. And... this is a step in the right direction.
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Haven't been looking for your partner at all, huh.
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Gods forbid that this thing inside of me is summoned, and I harm someone. I'd want to be killed immediately - and I could not bear the thought of bringing someone else down with me. Let alone if I could not defend myself against someone else's onslaught.
[ .. ]
I've thought more recently about it, with the changes in rules, but... it still doesn't sit right with me. I don't know.
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I was so against it for the same reason. But I'd talked to Famine about it over and over, and Gale and Astarion. Almost everybody who saw my memories last week asked me to try. And if it isn't immediately the end...
[a beat.]
I found mine. Still not very sure I regret it or not.
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...It feels a little odd to say congratulations. [ because - yeah. it sits kind of weird and bad and wrong. ]
Well... there's... the failsafe in place - I know at least one person who is unpartnered, for sure, so... if something goes wrong. [ but. yeah. it's scary. he bites his lip, eyes flicking to her engine heart. ] I do think... if anyone ought to be able to utilize a wish like that, it should be you, Karlach.
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[a beat.]
... Yeah, well. I'm not using it on me.
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... thinks about it...]
...Mr. Gale, right?
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Yeah. Haven't finalized it, but - I won't let it be the end for him.
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[ he looks down at his hands. ]
...Do you know what his is?
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His what, monster? Yeah.
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[ what if he's the barrier keeping gale from getting his wish? but what if something happens - god, what if he dies? what if he gets possessed? what if they are partners, and he can't protect gale, and it's all for naught? there are so, so many questions with this kind of thing, but it feels - somehow, it just feels selfish to hold onto it in the face of such an important wish as gale's.
he looks down at scratch and away from karlach, trying to find the answers in petting a dog. ]
I could... tell you mine.
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You can tell me whatever you want. But it's not your fault if you don't want to, Rondo. Also not your responsibility. [she doesn't want him to think that it'd be his fault if he couldn't bring himself to risk this sort of thing. it's not just one person's life - it's two people's lives. it's rondo's, too.
scratch whines quietly, crowding in close.]
Up to you.
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[ and the idea of preventing two people he cares about very much from - from living, that's terrifying, too. this could all be nothing - they could not be a match, at all. but the idea of connecting gale to his own life. terrifying. what if he failed? is he confident enough for that? is he good enough to protect someone else like that? ]
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[she takes his face in her other hand, tapping his cheek with her claw gently.]
It isn't your responsibility. Your entire - everything, yeah? Your soul, your mind, your body, all that, it belongs to you and just you. If it'd hurt you to do it, neither me or Gale would want you to. You might not match at all, and it wouldn't even matter, but the point is, sweetheart, you haven't got to hurt yourself to save someone else.
[hypocritical behavior, but.]
It isn't only on your shoulders. It's a horrible fucking choice to make, that's why this place hurts to be in so bad. But at the end of it, only you get to decide what you do with your life, because it's yours.
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...you're giving up yours to help Mr. Gale.
[ ...but in the end, he and karlach are the same for so many reasons, and perhaps none more than their values, so tightly held even in this awful place. ]
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But what I'm telling you is that you don't have to. Because it's your life, and your control.
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