[005: Text & Commentlog//OPEN]
Varric. When you've got a moment, let me know. Same place as usual?
Xanth, the same goes for you. We need to talk.
[Later on, Riku can be found outside, near the outer walls of the keep. First he'll be checking out the area where Toph has taken a chunk out of the stone, then he'll be on top of the walls, walking the walkways up there and just ( Read more... )
Xanth, the same goes for you. We need to talk.
[Later on, Riku can be found outside, near the outer walls of the keep. First he'll be checking out the area where Toph has taken a chunk out of the stone, then he'll be on top of the walls, walking the walkways up there and just ( Read more... )
But Riku is calling him out again. Xanth has learned that these call-outs never bring anything good, absolutely never, and so he's already steeling himself.]
Wh-- where should I-- m-meet you?
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How about the carpentry house?
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[Xanth sees that seal, but he can't seal his own reply, and so he makes it vague. Without waiting for confirmation, Xanth closes his journal and sets off to leave. Before he does, though, he tucks Riku's blindfold in his pocket. Now is as good a time to return it as any.
In less then ten minutes, though not much less, he's found his way to the carpentry house. He expects to find Riku waiting for him.]
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Thanks for coming.
[Augh, this is awkward. For a moment, Riku doesn't know what to say. He gestures toward a bench.]
Do you want to sit down?
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I-- I-I'll stand.
[His stance narrow, Xanth shuffles his feet. This is awkward. What does he say to the boy he killed? Surely nothing so trite as "how have you been". So, at a loss for words, Xanth says nothing - and he stays like that for a good few minutes.
But then he catches sight of Riku's gold-embroidered blindfold. It seems Riku has found a replacement, Xanth thinks, and then digs into his pocket. He brought the original for a reason.]
Y-You should-- [have this back, he tries for, and fails.]
I-- [kept it safe, he wants to say, but he can't.]
H-Here.
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It's not that big a change, going from one darkness to another, but at least the material isn't scratchy. Riku tucks the hose-blindfold into his pocket, then looks at Xanth.]
Thanks.
[He doesn't mean just for bringing his blindfold back to him.]
I owe you, for everything.
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But does Riku know what it did to him?
Surely not, Xanth reasons, and it should stay that way. Besides, he's alright now.
Again, he shrugs, but the motion is anything but nonchalant.]
It... y-you know, it, i-it had to... be done.
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[He could have done it himself, portaled out and gone into the lake, gone into the forest; hell, if nothing else, he could have used the knife against himself. Or Ironhide, the Autobot would have been more than willing to end him.
He'd been selfish to ask Xanth to do it. Xanth had just been the one person he'd felt he could maybe trust, with Varric gone.]
I'm sorry.
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It had to be Xanth, and so it was.
Then, Riku apologizes, and Xanth's eyes widen. He knows this Riku doesn't begrudge him - in fact, he's sure this Riku knows next to nothing of their previous feud - but those two words are something he'd never expected to hear. Not for any reason at all.
He spends a moment still with surprise, but then Xanth half-smiles, casting his gaze at the ground.]
Th... th-thanks.
[The, the smile slips away, and he bites his lip. Again, he fidgets, bringing one hand up to claps his other elbow.]
We, w-we kept her-- safe.
[We, he says, because he couldn't have done it without Ironhide.]
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Yeah. You did.
[They hadn't been able to stop her from hurting. But Kairi had made it through the zombies, and she hadn't been injured or infected. That's the most important part.]
I'm glad.
[But...]
What about you?
[Killing someone isn't easy. It stays with you.]
How have you been?
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[He trails off. He wasn't okay then, but he is now. He still dreams about it, still avoids picking up a blade if he can, but he's alright. He's eating again, he's sleeping much more. (His hair, however, remains uncut.)
He shrugs yet again. It seems to have become his second language.]
I-I've been-- d-dealing. It's, j-just, you-- y-you know.
[Does Riku know? Xanth hasn't a clue. These are filler words, now.]
It's-- y-you know, it's...
[He trails off again. It's hard as hell.]
B-But, I'm, I-I'm o-- okay.
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