[ it's not all doom and gloom, echoes a voice, it's about making you doubt yourself, too. always be open to being wrong—but don't trust someone who just wants you to be insecure. ]
I did.
[ need them. confident, assured. she did, because she wasn't making it stop on her own. she did, because she was too afraid to look for help. she did, because she says she did, and her opinion's the only one that counts in the matter. ]
I'm currently on magebane, [ not confirming or denying julius' involvement, ] whenever I can feel a flare coming on. A stopgap, not a permanent solution, in want of a teacher I can trust, at present.
[ striking isaac's name off the mental list and, later, the physical one.
but here, lest he think her a loyalist-in-training: ]
The system as it stood a decade ago was vile. I don't plan to sit idly by while plans are made for my future without having a say in them myself, and in my future, I plan to see daylight and travel the world and do what magic I wish. I'll do what I must to make that happen—
but you, I think, already have your own ideas on that.
[ some fascination in the way she puffs up. a cringing thing to enter, hackles now lifted clear. ]
I won’t see the inside of another Circle.
[ acknowledgment: yes, he’s his own ideas of the work ahead. it will not go quietly. joselyn is dead, and charlotte is so terribly alive, and there is that which he can no longer stomach to trade. ]
But near fifty, I own a deal less future. [ isaac considers: ] What did you hope of our meeting, Madamoiselle? If not my account or opinions.
Exactly what you offered: the history of the Circles. Facts.
[ ness is not, by and large, stupid. nor is she particularly bad at seeing what is right in front of her, despite all appearances to the contrary. what she isn't, though, is well-versed in dealing with a great deal of subtlety or hidden agendas. she can be subtle when needs be, and often prefers it—but she's not on the lookout for people with ulterior motives. so few people in her life have ever had them.
this first month is really a crash course in not being taken for a fool. she doesn't like it. ]
I was aware you had an agenda. I didn't expect you to pull out every line in the "I'm Radicalized, And So Can You!" handbook. At least you could have waited until our third conversation to start laying it on quite this thick.
I suppose I should thank you, [ standing up, reaching for her notes—gently brushing the caterpillar aside, because he did no wrong and shan't bear his master's crimes— ] Were you not so heavy-handed, I might have been an easier mark.
Here's to not seeing the inside of a Circle we don't willingly set foot into, Enchanter.
[ rifters never last so long. the caterpillar wobbles loose, rolling gently to its side. miniature legs fumble to reorient, a tiny hole chewed into the end of her notes. ]
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no subject
[ it's not all doom and gloom, echoes a voice, it's about making you doubt yourself, too. always be open to being wrong—but don't trust someone who just wants you to be insecure. ]
I did.
[ need them. confident, assured. she did, because she wasn't making it stop on her own. she did, because she was too afraid to look for help. she did, because she says she did, and her opinion's the only one that counts in the matter. ]
I'm currently on magebane, [ not confirming or denying julius' involvement, ] whenever I can feel a flare coming on. A stopgap, not a permanent solution, in want of a teacher I can trust, at present.
[ striking isaac's name off the mental list and, later, the physical one.
but here, lest he think her a loyalist-in-training: ]
The system as it stood a decade ago was vile. I don't plan to sit idly by while plans are made for my future without having a say in them myself, and in my future, I plan to see daylight and travel the world and do what magic I wish. I'll do what I must to make that happen—
but you, I think, already have your own ideas on that.
no subject
I won’t see the inside of another Circle.
[ acknowledgment: yes, he’s his own ideas of the work ahead. it will not go quietly. joselyn is dead, and charlotte is so terribly alive, and there is that which he can no longer stomach to trade. ]
But near fifty, I own a deal less future. [ isaac considers: ] What did you hope of our meeting, Madamoiselle? If not my account or opinions.
no subject
Exactly what you offered: the history of the Circles. Facts.
[ ness is not, by and large, stupid. nor is she particularly bad at seeing what is right in front of her, despite all appearances to the contrary. what she isn't, though, is well-versed in dealing with a great deal of subtlety or hidden agendas. she can be subtle when needs be, and often prefers it—but she's not on the lookout for people with ulterior motives. so few people in her life have ever had them.
this first month is really a crash course in not being taken for a fool. she doesn't like it. ]
I was aware you had an agenda. I didn't expect you to pull out every line in the "I'm Radicalized, And So Can You!" handbook. At least you could have waited until our third conversation to start laying it on quite this thick.
I suppose I should thank you, [ standing up, reaching for her notes—gently brushing the caterpillar aside, because he did no wrong and shan't bear his master's crimes— ] Were you not so heavy-handed, I might have been an easier mark.
Here's to not seeing the inside of a Circle we don't willingly set foot into, Enchanter.
no subject
[ rifters never last so long. the caterpillar wobbles loose, rolling gently to its side. miniature legs fumble to reorient, a tiny hole chewed into the end of her notes. ]
Leave the door open when you go.
[ the dip of cigarette-end: cheers. ]