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Entry tags:
eastbound } { ic inbox | @taken for granite
Allison Hargreeves
missives | encounters
Allison Hargreeves
missives | encounters
( Wrath cannot keep the sigh from escaping him following this statement. He appreciates her coming to him with this, but they have been through so much - Five has nearly gotten himself killed multiple times and would have hurt anyone else he had been with in Hell due to the damned curse. And he feels he needs someone there to make certain he goes through with this?
He takes a sip from his cup. )
What does that mean... exactly?
He takes a sip from his cup. )
What does that mean... exactly?
It isn't that he doesn't trust you. It's that he doesn't trust himself not to blip out when things get hard. So he wants me to make sure that he doesn't.
[Which she knows dances the line of the free will of it all.]
I wouldn't do it if he hadn't asked, but I agree with him that this thing needs to go, so ... I wanted to know more about the ritual. If there's a way around taking the brute force approach, or ... how you would like to go about this?
[Which she knows dances the line of the free will of it all.]
I wouldn't do it if he hadn't asked, but I agree with him that this thing needs to go, so ... I wanted to know more about the ritual. If there's a way around taking the brute force approach, or ... how you would like to go about this?
( The ritual is necessary - Hell alone had proven that, but there were so many examples before Hell, before Five nearly got himself trapped in Hell for eternity and before he could try to hurt Emilia. Whether Five has chosen to be compelled or not, Wrath will do the ritual, because it is necessary, because Five is a liability to himself and to the entire group so long as that shard remains inside of him.
But Five should have known better. This would have come better from him. This would have meant something else coming from him. Five is one of the few that is privy to any additional information about Wrath, one of the few that Wrath has opened up to. He is angry. Did any of these questions about the ritual come up from Five before he went to ask? It will be an uncomfortable process, but he does not imagine it to be something to run from - certainly not after having the visual of his brother chained, killed, and turned into a demon, not after mistaking a tentacled beast on a roof for that very same brother.
This is a betrayal, a deep one.
He rests his hand against the cup - does not let his anger show though he does take a long sip from the tea. )
What makes you believe brute force is involved?
But Five should have known better. This would have come better from him. This would have meant something else coming from him. Five is one of the few that is privy to any additional information about Wrath, one of the few that Wrath has opened up to. He is angry. Did any of these questions about the ritual come up from Five before he went to ask? It will be an uncomfortable process, but he does not imagine it to be something to run from - certainly not after having the visual of his brother chained, killed, and turned into a demon, not after mistaking a tentacled beast on a roof for that very same brother.
This is a betrayal, a deep one.
He rests his hand against the cup - does not let his anger show though he does take a long sip from the tea. )
What makes you believe brute force is involved?
[She pauses, before resting her hand on her chest:]
My brute force.
[She feels the need to clarify, because she wasn't very specific. She doesn't want to feel like he's forcing him into something where he may suffer. And she doesn't catch the betrayal that Wrath feels this is, because as far as she's concerned, Five is covering his bases.
But no, these questions come from Allison. She knows that if she doesn't place her rumors carefully, there's a chance she could make things worse and she doesn't want to do that.]
Five is only asking me so that he knows that there's someone to catch him if he tries to run. Because sometimes it's easier to trust yourself if you're actually trusting someone else, and Five ... well, he's Five. He always makes things far more complicated than they need to be.
But if it comes to a point that I need to, I don't want to fuck up what you're going to be doing. Which is why I'm asking in advance.
My brute force.
[She feels the need to clarify, because she wasn't very specific. She doesn't want to feel like he's forcing him into something where he may suffer. And she doesn't catch the betrayal that Wrath feels this is, because as far as she's concerned, Five is covering his bases.
But no, these questions come from Allison. She knows that if she doesn't place her rumors carefully, there's a chance she could make things worse and she doesn't want to do that.]
Five is only asking me so that he knows that there's someone to catch him if he tries to run. Because sometimes it's easier to trust yourself if you're actually trusting someone else, and Five ... well, he's Five. He always makes things far more complicated than they need to be.
But if it comes to a point that I need to, I don't want to fuck up what you're going to be doing. Which is why I'm asking in advance.
I do not believe any brute force should be necessary regardless of whose it is. It will not be a pleasant ritual, but it should not be terrible either.
( Wrath takes another sip from the tea in front of him, allowing the heat to linger on his tongue. This is an offer he made back in Taravast so it has been over a year while watching all of these incidents stack up one by one, and he would prefer to simply be done with it as soon as possible before anything else were to happen. Inevitably, it will. )
However, if it does end up being necessary, and I will ask you to make that call, it should not affect the ritual. Our powers work differently, and mine will be targeted on the mirror.
( Wrath takes another sip from the tea in front of him, allowing the heat to linger on his tongue. This is an offer he made back in Taravast so it has been over a year while watching all of these incidents stack up one by one, and he would prefer to simply be done with it as soon as possible before anything else were to happen. Inevitably, it will. )
However, if it does end up being necessary, and I will ask you to make that call, it should not affect the ritual. Our powers work differently, and mine will be targeted on the mirror.
[Kamala's eyes light up with empathy. She cares deeply for Kamran, but he isn't family. She can't imagine having to fight her family.] It counts for a lot. It's not easy being a sister, but I'm lucky. My parents totally treat us differently, but he has my back no matter what. He actually showed up to help with Damage Control and followed my lead. I couldn't imagine having to do that with him so it's awesome you could.
Okay. Good.
[She pauses as she takes a sip of her tea, weighing their options. In her opinion, the safest bet would be before anything starts, so that nothing interrupts anything, but part of her knows that it's better to get her brother's opinion on the matter.]
I'll talk to Five and see how he feels about it. We'll come up with a plan.
[She pauses as she takes a sip of her tea, weighing their options. In her opinion, the safest bet would be before anything starts, so that nothing interrupts anything, but part of her knows that it's better to get her brother's opinion on the matter.]
I'll talk to Five and see how he feels about it. We'll come up with a plan.
Yeah, I feel kind of bad for Aamir that he spent so much time as an only child. Good thing I arrived to grace him with my presence. [She makes a v with her fingers and winks. After a beat, Kamala hates somberly.]
Thanks for hearing me out. I know we have bigger problems, but I miss my family so much. I hate having stuff from home thrown in my face when I can't even make it better.
Thanks for hearing me out. I know we have bigger problems, but I miss my family so much. I hate having stuff from home thrown in my face when I can't even make it better.
Hey, there may be bigger problems happening, but that doesn't mean the little ones go away.
[And that doesn't mean they matter any less. She also ... doesn't think that this place punching them in the face with their issues is going to stop anytime soon.]
We'll figure it out.
[And that doesn't mean they matter any less. She also ... doesn't think that this place punching them in the face with their issues is going to stop anytime soon.]
We'll figure it out.
We will. We're a team. [Kamala says aloud. It's a comfort to her to have Allison. Suddenly she recalls this problem may not be exclusive to her. She grabs Allison's arm.]
Have you been okay? I didn't mean to come here and make it all about me. You're just the first person I think of when I'm freaking out.
Have you been okay? I didn't mean to come here and make it all about me. You're just the first person I think of when I'm freaking out.
And I am happy to help. But yeah, I'm ...
[She's about to say she's good, but the sun starts to set and there's footsteps on the wood of the boat, both of them turning to find a handsome man in the doorway.
"A bad time?"]
No, it's okay. Kamala, this is my husband, Ray. Though ... not exactly.
[She's about to say she's good, but the sun starts to set and there's footsteps on the wood of the boat, both of them turning to find a handsome man in the doorway.
"A bad time?"]
No, it's okay. Kamala, this is my husband, Ray. Though ... not exactly.
Oh my God! [Kamala absolutely beams at the extremely beautiful man in the doorway.] This is a great time! I'm so honored to meet you. I'm Kamala. I'm Allison's friend-slash-ward, but not in a tragic superhero way. My parents are totally still alive.
[She chuckles at her very funny joke before the record scratches in her brain. Kamala turns her head to Allison.] What do you mean by not exactly?
[She chuckles at her very funny joke before the record scratches in her brain. Kamala turns her head to Allison.] What do you mean by not exactly?
Oh cool! That makes sense since you're married and that's probably very romantic when you're not a Muslim couple.
[Kamala responds warring between being awkward, sincere, and nervous. She drops to a whisper.] Is this a friendly ghost? Are we okay right now?
[Kamala responds warring between being awkward, sincere, and nervous. She drops to a whisper.] Is this a friendly ghost? Are we okay right now?
Yeah, we're okay. He doesn't stay long.
[Just five minutes at the end of the day. It's both not enough and more than she ever thought she would have again.
"I've never been a big drinker, regardless. But it's nice to have a little night cap at the end of the day."]
[Just five minutes at the end of the day. It's both not enough and more than she ever thought she would have again.
"I've never been a big drinker, regardless. But it's nice to have a little night cap at the end of the day."]
[Kamala nods, mulling it over in her head. She's never had a boyfriend: just a series of almost. She thinks she would want to be alone in Allison's shoes. She smiles chiperly.] I can't really nightcap with you guys so I'll leave you to it. Call me later? I promise to cry like ninety-five percent less.
[ Five was in the middle of figuring out how to handle Matthias (and the piece of Matthias he carries) when he received a message from a place he briefly visited shortly after their arrival. At first he ignored it, but he hasn't been willing to throw it away.
Coming to Allison ends up being his second choice after Ben. He'd like to get Wrath's take, but he has a feeling he already knows what he'll say and it'll only worsen his opinion for asking. He's still deciding how he'll approach it with his sister when he appears, in a flash of light and an unfortunate splash in a puddle.
(Ignore that part, Five's learned to.) ]
There you are. [ He looks her over briefly, scrutinizing over her the way she must be used to by now, before nodding like he's psyching himself up. ] We've got a situation. Might want to take a seat.
Coming to Allison ends up being his second choice after Ben. He'd like to get Wrath's take, but he has a feeling he already knows what he'll say and it'll only worsen his opinion for asking. He's still deciding how he'll approach it with his sister when he appears, in a flash of light and an unfortunate splash in a puddle.
(Ignore that part, Five's learned to.) ]
There you are. [ He looks her over briefly, scrutinizing over her the way she must be used to by now, before nodding like he's psyching himself up. ] We've got a situation. Might want to take a seat.
[Allison wants to say something about the flash of light and the puddle, but he immediately distracts her by having a reason to be here, so she'll just file it away to come back to later.]
Is something wrong?
[She asks, because when isn't anything wrong.]
Is something wrong?
[She asks, because when isn't anything wrong.]
[ That question shouldn't make him laugh, but he can't help it. There's so many things wrong that he barely has the time to list them all. ]
I just came back from filling Ben in. There's been some developments. [ He has a feeling this will go differently with Allison. She might rip the paper up as soon as he hands it to her, but he pulls it from his pocket and holds it out anyway. He can fill her in after she reads it. ]
I found that this morning. [ And before she can assume: ] They're wrong. I didn't request anything from anyone, they just... picked up on it.
I just came back from filling Ben in. There's been some developments. [ He has a feeling this will go differently with Allison. She might rip the paper up as soon as he hands it to her, but he pulls it from his pocket and holds it out anyway. He can fill her in after she reads it. ]
I found that this morning. [ And before she can assume: ] They're wrong. I didn't request anything from anyone, they just... picked up on it.
[Allison takes it and reads it over twice - the first time to learn the information and the second time to actually process it. The wording is so careful, and they're so clear about what they're asking, that it doesn't seem like there's any room for wiggle room about this.]
About Viktor, I'm assuming?
About Viktor, I'm assuming?
[ He nods, then frowns that she has to ask. ]
I haven't forgotten anyone else since then. [ In case she's concerned he's screwed up more behind her back. That was a one-time regret, but he knows his track record hasn't been stellar. If the fact that he's asking advice is any indicator, he's learned something since he's been here. There's just not many he can turn to anymore outside of family.
He studies her, trying to assess what she thinks before she says it. ]
You think it's a bad idea.
I haven't forgotten anyone else since then. [ In case she's concerned he's screwed up more behind her back. That was a one-time regret, but he knows his track record hasn't been stellar. If the fact that he's asking advice is any indicator, he's learned something since he's been here. There's just not many he can turn to anymore outside of family.
He studies her, trying to assess what she thinks before she says it. ]
You think it's a bad idea.
[Well.
The problem is, Viktor is tied to so much of the major events in his life that Five not remembering him is a problem. Viktor causes the first apocalypse, Viktor makes things worse in the sixties - and more to the point, she knows that they were close. There are likely important memories in there that he deserves to have.
But is it worth losing another sibling? No. Allison wouldn't say so.
She pauses, before passing the note back.]
I don't know what Ben said, but if you're going to do it, I would choose option two.
The problem is, Viktor is tied to so much of the major events in his life that Five not remembering him is a problem. Viktor causes the first apocalypse, Viktor makes things worse in the sixties - and more to the point, she knows that they were close. There are likely important memories in there that he deserves to have.
But is it worth losing another sibling? No. Allison wouldn't say so.
She pauses, before passing the note back.]
I don't know what Ben said, but if you're going to do it, I would choose option two.
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