scawwy ✦ karlach cliffgate

[recession]

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[ablazement]

[a beat.]

Oh. He's really nice, actually.

[she looks at daan again.]

You really can't... he's huge. He's got a hat! And just talked to me, you didn't hear any of that?

[recession]

Oh, mercy. She's basically done psilocybin...

Alright Karlach, let's come this way and just sit down for a while, yeah?

[ Away from the tree and maybe in a nice open safe spot in the woods until she's better. ]

[ablazement]

[she looks like, vaguely concerned at all of this, but. she doesn't argue, just looks at, presumably, where the turtle is.]

Never seen a hat like that before. Sort of pointy.

[she does not have the word for pope but here we are.]

... Alright, though, we can go. The fuck is psilocybin?

[recession]

Is it a turtle with a wizard cone hat.

[ Please. ]

Mushrooms.

[ C'mon buddy. Is the turtle coming with? Let's go to some semi-open clearing with some nice animals that are definitely real. ]

[ablazement]

Yeah. He -- sorry, he keeps talking to me.

[reaches absently for daan as she follows him, eyes on... the turtle, but like, empty space.]

Hang on, not a wizard hat, like... it's got the crosses on it. He's nice, though, he's just talking about bonds.

[recession]

[ Like... financial ones...? ]

...Okay...

[ They have the Vatican City but I don't. Think they have a pope. I don't know, it's a world where Christianity is more like default Satanism. ]

Don't let me interrupt your riveting conversation.

[ Because he's just going to be here to make sure she doesn't fuck off and get lost in the woods forever because of this imaginary turtle. Holds out the rest of his water jar to her for her to drink? ]

[ablazement]

[no like friendship bonds!!! though it's objectively funnier if the eldin ring turtle pope was lecturing her about financial security. all she knows about christianity is that it murdered aerith so they're both doing bad, here.

the water is welcome - she finally tears her eyes away from the turtle so she can drink.]

You're not interrupting. [...] Alright, so maybe you were right about not putting strange blood in my mouth.

[recession]

It could've been a lot worse... this is somewhat okay in comparison.

[ Turtle pope... he won't lie that he's not a little bit curious but not enough to go drink some treeblood of his own. ]

But curiosity sated, agree to not try it or something similar again?

[ablazement]

[it's like, a nice hallucination, but also... she scoots over to daan and puts her hand on his arm just for some sort of grounding.]

Yeah, alright, agreed. [...] Thanks.

[recession]

Any good life advice you want to pass on from your new imaginary friend?

[ablazement]

[squints at the empty air, and then:]

Some take to anger, others sorrow... Bonds are fragile things, wont to break under strain. And once they're broken, everything is lost, with naught to gain.

Oh, it rhymes.

[... frowns]

[recession]

[


Gives her a short polite clap. ]

Poetic.

[ablazement]

It's all just like that. Kind of soothing but also sad.

[recession]

Bet you didn't have philosophical lectures from an illusory turtle in a hat on your Monday bingo?

[ablazement]

[WHAT A SENTENCE]

... No. I don't think anybody ever in time has had that on their bingo.

[recession]

That's what I thought.

[ Distraction? ]

You feeling alright otherwise? Just wanted to move us to a quieter place in case it came with other side effects... sensory overload, that kind of thing.

[ablazement]

[a little nod...]

Yeah. I'm alright otherwise, I think, it's nice here. [it was probably a good call to move her away from the hallucination dance tree, tbh.]

I've just got to deal with the turtle until it wears off. [a beat.] Oh - I wanted to tell you something.

[recession]

I feel like you always have something to tell me suddenly.

[ It has happened at least twice. ]

What is it?

[ablazement]

[it's because her brain works like a speeding train that only has time to grab onto a couple of thoughts at a time and she has to get them out as soon as she thinks them or she forgets]

Sorry. [she is not] I found my partner. Thought you should know that.

[recession]

Oh... congratulations?

[ Maybe. If she's happy with that conclusion then that's great for her, although it's concerning otherwise. ]

You got your wish set then?

[ablazement]

Thanks, I think. [she looks a little conflicted, but not like... upset. she's, as always, not very worried about herself, necessarily.]

Not yet. Still trying to decide what I want to do with it.

[recession]

Do you at least have a bit of a ballpark?

[ablazement]

Yeah. I mean - well, I guess how much do you know about Gale?

[recession]

...Depends on how you mean. I know he was in a relationship with his goddess, but not anymore. That he's a massive booknerd. That he has a horrible little beholder worm in his skull just like you. Learned he's read some books he probably shouldn't have.

Any of those touching on what's on your mind?

[ablazement]

[snorts at the horrible little beholder worm phrase, but.]

Not exactly, but I'm just going to tell you what I'm thinking about, because it's been... we've been fighting about it since the start. [sigh.] He's dead, where he came from. It didn't happen in my... timeline, but in his, he died and there's no coming back from it.

And I won't let him just be dead. I won't. At least I've got some time, when I go back. If I go back. He doesn't.