Roleplaying Page for Pg. 190!

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Roleplaying Page for Pg. 190!

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Mz.Hyde

Mz.Hyde

@disqus_NnFUI30kih 3 months ago

So this weekend I went to my local annual Scottish games!

How do they throw logs like that? It's all in the calfs.

Did you continue the search for more information on your family's Scottish roots? Yes, I may have some leads.

Did you get sunburned? Yes, yes I did.

Hope that all of my fellow Americans have a great Memorial day and I hope everyone across the world has a great week!

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A Passerby • 3 months ago

[Greetings, all. It has unfortunately been quite some time since I've last shown my face here, though hopefully I'll be able to remedy my lack of attendance soon. In the meanwhile, I heard prior of a chat of sorts for all those who partake in the creation of stories here but found myself unable to join due to a technical error--I have since remedied what I thought to be the issue and would like to attempt to join once more, if that will be permitted.]

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Tairais • 3 months ago

Fun fact yall may or may not know about the throwing logs: they're called cabers!

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Tairais • 3 months ago

COOOLLLL! :D

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 3 months ago

Nothin' like a good caber toss! ^_^

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Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago • edited

The morning two days after Valentine's Day found Lewis arriving in timely fashion at the Society for Arcane Sciences. He'd managed to get a full night's sleep, and was feeling much more rested.

He also had certain concerns on his mind he knew he needed to discuss with Val, and so decided to seek her out that afternoon, as her managerial shift always began at three o' clock--to coincide with Hela's scheduled time.

He was just opening the door to leave his office when he encountered Mz. Hyde.

((Mz.Hyde ))

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

* Mz. Hyde was right outside his door with a clipboard and pen. She had her hand up to knock but put it down when he opened the door. *

Afternoon, Bugaboo! Maintenance check! Is everything working right?

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago • edited

"Ah, Val--what excellent timing!" he replied with a smile.

"When you've finished your rounds, would you mind popping back here? There are matters we ought to discuss, but I've no wish to throw off your schedule," he explained.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

Of course I can! If nothing's on fire or anything, I'll be back in about 45 minutes.

* She pokes her head through the doorway and glances around.*

Room 156: Clear!

* She checks it off on the clipboard.*

See you later then!

* She waves and proceeds to do her job.*

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

He returned the wave, closed--but didn't lock--the door, and went back to reading over his notes.

When he'd finished with that, he picked out the salient points and, in a second book, rewrote them in a more organized fashion.

He completed the last task and put away the books in question.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

* A few minutes later Mz. Hyde knocks on the door and then enters Lewis' office.*

Well I'm happy to report that we are going on our fifth fire-free day!

* She knocks on the wooden part of a nearby chair.*

So, what were you wanting to talk to me about?

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

"That's excellent," agreed Lewis with a smile.

Perhaps Sinnett finally got that new contraption working properly after all.

Weir, too, knocked on wood--his desk.

"Oh, different matters that have come to my attention recently," he answered as he rose from his chair. His tone was both casual and friendly, though with a soft undercurrent of concern.

He came around to the same side of the desk as Mz. Hyde and leaned against it with an air of nonchalance.

"How've you been, by the by?" he asked with an easy smile, though his eyebrows rose to meet in the middle--another sign he had worries on his mind.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago • edited

I've been great! I had a lot of fun the other day with you! Is...there something wrong?

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

"I'm glad," he returned, smile brightening as the worry lines--for a moment--disappeared. "Likewise."

He considered her question.

"Not necessarily. Not if we have good communication now, I think," he answered honestly.

"So...you know I'm a bit of an empath, yes? Unless I'm making a conscious, sustained effort not to sense emotions, I just sort of...pick up on them without even thinking about it," he said with a hint of sheepish self-consciousness. It wasn't exactly an ability he liked to draw attention to, after all.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

Yes...I think I remember you mentioning that you were one...but holy CRAP I didnt know it was THAT kind of empathy! I...I guess that makes my gift really useless huh?

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

"On the contrary, it's still beautiful, and lets me know your heart even when we're apart," he assured her. "My mere flowers pale by comparison."

He refocused his mind on the subject he meant to bring up.

"What I need to say as relates to...well...sensing things without meaning to, though, is in regard to something I felt from you in the garden yesterday. I do hope you'll not think less of me for it--I don't mean to pry, naturally--but I couldn't help but pick up on...well...a bit of jealousy, if I'm honest. It happened when you saw Helen, I do believe."

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

* She takes a moment, scanning her brain for said moment in the garden. Then it hits her!*

Oh!

* Then she became both embarrassed and nervous at the same time.*

That...well...um...that's kind of a long story. For one I was wanting to spend more time with you, so I got a little jealous at Helen. Or, well, not Helen. Helen is one of my best friends! It's Hela, actually, who I worry about.

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

"Really?" said Lewis as he quirked his head, a look of both surprise and confusion on his face.

"How so?"

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

I dont know if you know this, but Hela and I have...a really bad history together.

* She sighs and crosses her arms.*

Do you remember when you first came to the Society and Catt was in the infirmary recovering from brain surgery?

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

"I do," he affirmed with a nod.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago • edited

Hela did that. Catt was the only person in the entire Society that trusted her and believed in her...and she shot her in the head. I had met Hela briefly before then and I told her that I would leave her alone, but if she ever harmed anyone in the Society ONCE, then she would have to answer to ME.

I thought my best friend was dead. I thought we were all in danger of Hela. I remembered that Helen told me that she would be okay with dying for science and to stop Hela. And I was ready to do that. I had my needle drawn, ready to turn her into an obsidian statue.

And then Catt stopped me.

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago • edited

"I was informed that it was Hela who'd shot Catt," he confirmed. "The rest, no one at the time told me." He shook his head.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

And then what I don't understand is that Catt was never even MAD at her for doing that! After I got catt out if the room I froze the door and when it thawed off that was when we kept Helen's room under watch. We had a meeting and we went from there.

* She turns back to him.*

But while Catt may not have been mad at her, I NEVER forgot what she did. And I know that I'm not a saint in this story either, I haven't trusted her since then. Which...also makes it hard to completely trust Helen when she's around.

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

"Hela and Helen both have been under my care ever since I got approval from Lanyon. In point of fact, not only have they not started fights nor set any fires here in well over a year--perhaps two by now, actually--they're far better behaved than some others who currently reside at the Society. Helen and Hela, in my expert opinion, are the least of your worries."

He paused, brow furrowed in concern as certain facts didn't seem to add up.

"I still don't see how a lack of trust results in jealousy," he admitted. "Suspicion, fear, and jealousy are all distinct emotions. I wouldn't mistake any one of them for either of the others."

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

Well if a woman I dont like is hanging out with my boyfriend, I'm supposed to get jealous! Or at least, that's what all my research on human relationships has shown.

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

"I fail to see how a session is 'hanging out'," Lewis said with a look of skepticism. "And, even if I did spend some time with Helen outside my office, that wouldn't be unusual--we do work in the same place, and she sometimes seeks my advice."

He seemed as if he'd been going to say or ask something further but stopped short as Val's latter words registered.

"What do you mean, your 'research on human relationships'?" he echoed, expression befuddled and tone quizzical.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

Glad that you reminded me! It's almost 4! If you come up to my room I'll show you!

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago • edited

"Just tell me, if you don't mind," said Lewis, not at all keen on potentially getting distracted from the weighty yet necessary matters at hand. It was hard enough on him to even bring them up; he had no wish to prolong the experience.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

I have been watching these things on TV called 'soap operas'! They star real people, so they must be based on reality right? I've also been reading some romance novels, and though they are really boring, the sex scenes and the often terrible writing make up for it. There was one book I was reading in which the lady said ""I'm all deer/headlights, moth/flame, bird/snake - and he knows exactly what he's doing to me." Yes, someone did write that. EXACTLY like that. And it was published. And made millions.

* She pauses for a moment.*

But anyways, all my research tells me that when a girl is with your boyfriend in ANY CAPACITY, then they are trying to steal him from you. And since Hela and I are rivals, chances go up by 99.99 percent.

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago • edited

"Val," said Lewis as he touched a hand to his brow and closed his eyes. "Dearie. Soap operas are not reality. Actors and actresses play roles. The shows are made to be overly dramatic to the point of ridiculousness."

He took a breath in. Held it. Let it out.

Calm, he instructed himself silently.

"Romance novels, by the by, are completely unrealistic. They're made to entertain bored housewives whose husbands are unattractive and disappointing. They're sheer fantasy."

He opened his eyes to meet Mz. Hyde's gaze as he lowered his hand to his side.

"The point being, I would never use either as a model for appropriate human behavior.

"As to Hela being your rival, that takes two participants, and I know for a fact she has no interest in it. She'd rather avoid you, frankly.

"As for jealousy..."

A sigh.

"I hesitate to bring this up, because I don't wish for any ill feelings, but...it strikes me as a real a red flag, based on my past relationship experience. Jealous partners have a tendency to be... Well."

An exhale of breath he hadn't realized he'd held.

"Unpleasant, to say the least," he managed, though there was a brief hitch in his voice on the first word.

"I'd not repeat the experience," he finished with a look that spoke volumes.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

Really? I thought that was something I was supposed to feel. I'm sorry.

* She looks at the floor.*

I-I understand if you dont want me anymore...

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago • edited

"Now, Val," said Lewis, "I never said I didn't want you. I am, at this point, concerned, which is why I bring up the matter. If I cared nothing for you, this wouldn't be so difficult a subject for me to broach."

A weary sigh emanated from him as wrangling his own emotions sapped much of his energy.

"I am, as I said, concerned," he continued after a moment. "Soap operas and dime-store novels aside, it's not lost on me that emotions don't spring from a vacuum. Perhaps you could examine your feelings--if you've not done so already--and discern why you feel jealous of Helen and/or Hela. Perhaps we could then address the underlying cause, with open communication and a mature, rational response. We could see where we go from there. What do you say?"

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

Ok, but how do we do that?

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago • edited

"You examine your feelings. You let yourself feel them and you pay attention to which thoughts or other feelings are associated with them. For example, jealousy is often based in fear or insecurity or even a need for control. What is it you fear will happen if I'm in Helen or Hela's company? What is it about them or you or your past or me that might make you insecure, if indeed insecurity is the root feeling? If there's a need for control, why is it there? What do you think will happen if you don't control the situation?

"Again, these are all possible underlying reasons. But you won't know which--and it might be more than one--until you take the time to actually feel your feelings, pleasant or unpleasant.

"Close your eyes and try to remember how you felt when you first spied Helen in the greenhouse yesterday. Let the emotion wash over you. Notice which thoughts or other emotions may come along with it."

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

Ok. But..I think I will need to lie down first. Is that ok?

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago • edited

I sincerely hope this is merely a personal quirk and not a stalling tactic, he thought but decided better than to say, doing his level best not to let baggage from past relationships weigh him down now.

"Of course," he said kindly, with a dip of his head.

With open palms, he gestured to the floor.

"'Tis perfectly clean. Just move your chair out of the way, and you'll have enough room to lie down."

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

* She moves the chair and lies down on the floor.*

So...how do I get my brain to calm down?

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

"You don't actually need to calm your mind--I should think jealousy is anything but calm," he replied.

"All you need do is focus on the feeling. That's really all there is to it."

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

I...I understand that. It's just that I'm not very good at doing that.

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

"So...you won't do the exercise?" he asked with trepidation, as if upon her answer hung the fate of their relationship.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

No no! I want to do it! But I'm not really sure how! When you live with someone who beats you into a bloody pulp for even THINKING or FEELING something, things get shoved in the back. I know you're mad at me for being scared but I dont want you to get hurt by anything!

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

"I'm not angry, Val--I'm worried," he confessed.

He paused, a look of confusion blossoming upon his face.

"What would I possibly 'get hurt by'?"

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

* First, anxiety.*

Well for one, how do you know we can really trust Hela? I know that she hasn't done anything in a while and that she's been working with you...but unless you can read thoughts too, how can you be sure that she won't turn on you when its beneficial for her?

* Then fear.*

W-what if she goes on a murderous rampage and kills everyone?! T-then everyone will be dead and it...

* Then sorrow.*

It...would be my fault...again. Because I didnt stop it.

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

"It would be nothing of the kind. Firstly, Hela's the least likely to kill anyone here--Hell, I'd worry more about...well. Certain others."

He cleared his throat as he put his own feelings aside.

"Secondly, let's not have killing of any kind here. Even if Hela or someone else should slip up, lethal retribution would not go over well with our co-founders, to say the least. Two wrongs oughtn't make a right here. On that note, lodgers ought to feel safe enough to walk about without fear of attack. This is not something Hela currently enjoys, by the by. Nor Helen, for that matter."

He considered Val's concerns further.

"Thirdly, even if worse did come to worse, it wouldn't be your fault. We are each of us responsible for our own actions," he said with a reassuring smile.

"Fourthly, I'm perfectly capable of defending myself, so have no fear," he assured her with a gracious dip of his head.

"Now, let's put all thought of me getting hurt aside and get back to the matter at hand--namely, the feeling of jealousy and why it arises."

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

That wasn't it?

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

He blinked in surprise at the very idea.

"No, not hardly. Jealousy and fearing for someone's life are entirely different emotions. The latter would be more akin to worry or protectiveness, not possessiveness."

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

* She stares at the ceiling for a few moments. She then looks back at Lewis and spits this out.*

ThenisitbecauseIlackafeelingof overallcontrolinmylifeandmysense ofworthhasbeenreducedtonothing andsoIneedpeopleinmy lifetovalidatemebutthentheydie duetocircumstancesthatIknow willeventuallyhappenwhichin turnmakesmefeelmoreworthless thanbeforethuscontinuingan endlesscycleofabuseandtrauma?

* She blinks.*

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago • edited

The rapid pace of her speech meant Lewis had to take a moment to process it, but he did wrap his mind around it and, in turn, reflect upon it.

"If your sense of worth had been reduced to nothing," he revealed, "you'd not be able to feel jealousy. You'd feel so unworthy of the object of your affections that possessiveness would be an emotion foreign to you. Yet jealousy is exactly what I felt from you in the garden. So, while you may not have control over some things and may hate losing people--we all do--that likely isn't it, either.

"I do think you've hit upon a key thing in 'people to validate' you, though," he said with chagrin.

It wasn't lost on him that she had yet to actually try to feel the feeling again, counter to what he'd requested. Nor had it escaped his notice that she'd redirected his questions and concerns nearly every time to try to make him feel pity for her.

That, to his mind, bespoke not a sense of worthlessness, but of entitlement. Of narcissism. Of manipulation, whether it was conscious or no. All of which would explain jealousy quite well.

A need for control indeed, though not for the reasons she says.

He let out a long breath, laced with regret and chagrin and self-criticism at his own lack of perceptiveness and perennial naïveté.

"I confess, I've occasionally called myself a bit of a narcissist," he said at last with a shake of his head. His voice cracked with sorrow and hurt as he struggled to get out the rest, "But at least I know what I am."

Self-deception is the only true sin, came the thought, unbidden, as he turned his gaze away.

Idiot. Fool, he silently chastised himself as he fought back the moisture gathering in his eyes. Why do you always pick the ones who use you?

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

But I dont know what I am Lewis.

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

He laughed--a rueful, broken, half-mad sound.

"You are, too. You just don't know it," he managed despite his trembling jaw as he blinked back his tears.

I will not fall apart in front of her. I won't, he tried to command himself, even as his upper lip began to quiver.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

Ok, if you say I am a narcissist than I AM one. How do I fix that?

* She notices his face and she falls silent.*

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

He shook his head as he looked at the floor, feeling helpless.

"Years of therapy I don't know how to give," the words escaped before he could stop them. "Better self-awareness. Responsibility. Discipline. Bitter experience. Hard-won wisdom. And even then it's not easy." From his tone, he might've been talking to her, or about himself--perhaps both.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago • edited

So...I can't fix it.

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago • edited

"You can, but only if you try your damnedest. And want to. And make the effort again and again and again." As I struggle to. Every. Single. Day. "It...takes some doing, I won't lie." And a damn long time.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

Of COURSE I want to! Why would you think I dont want to be a better person?

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago • edited

"Because it's hard, and you didn't even let yourself feel your jealousy," he said, the statement full of practicality and grief without a wisp of anger.

He wiped at his eyes and briefly sniffled to make sure his nose didn't run before meeting her gaze again--he might've felt like an utter wreck, but he didn't want to look it.

"It takes time. And so, so, so much work. I struggle with it to this day. And I only know what works for me. I'm no psychologist--only you can find what works for you. And that takes introspection. Along with trial and error."

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

But just because it's very hard doesn't mean I can't try...right?

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago

He considered that a long moment.

"Do you think you're trying now?" he asked at last, voice quiet, tone and expression devoid of judgment yet serious as a funeral.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

If talking about things and letting me know what I'm doing wrong and agreeing that I have a problem is a part of trying, then yes, I think I'm trying.

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago • edited

"Alright. Very well. On that subject, when I stated earlier that you can fix it and listed some prerequisites for that, I notice you immediately followed it up by asking 'Why would you think I don't want to be a better person'. Realize that that question--which you seized on out of all the things I listed--shifts the blame to me, as if I weren't giving you enough credit. That, in itself, is an example of manipulation. I never said you didn't want to make yourself a better person--most people do. I do give you the benefit of the doubt, just I'm now giving you the benefit of the doubt that you may be defaulting to manipulation without consciously realizing it. Perhaps manipulation has been a survival strategy for you in times past.

"Be that as it may, I have difficulty trusting someone I know to have tried to manipulate me.

"Will I still be your friend? Certainly, if you wish it--in fact, I truly hope so. I think well of you, and want only the best for you.

"But do I know myself well enough to know that until you've more self-awareness, I'll be more a detriment to the relationship and danger to you and myself than an asset or true partner? Yes. Yes, I do. And I wouldn't wish that on either of us. Believe me." His gaze conveyed a mix of pity, sympathy, and lingering fondness for her even as he tried to mask his own pain. He would spare her further trouble. He'd spare both of them as much harm as he could.

Be in all things a gentleman, came the silent echo of his father's voice from long ago.

In his treatment of Val, at least, he would've done his old man proud.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

I never wanted to manipulate you on purpose.

I'm sorry that I did that.

Does...does this mean we're done?

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago • edited

"I know," he said in reply to her first two statements. He had, after all, stated he was giving her the benefit of the doubt, and he'd meant it. She hadn't struck him as a mean soul, after all.

"Romantically speaking? For now...yes, I'm afraid," he confirmed, as to her question.

"In future, though?" he followed immediately, brow raised with a bit of hope. "That depends. Perhaps, in time, you will indeed achieve that hard-won wisdom. If so, you'll be better off for it. When that happens--if you'll have me, if you can even stand the sight of me after this, as I know it must hurt you as it hurts me, and I'm sorry for that, deeply sorry--as I said, when that happens--not 'if'--come find me, assuming you still want to," he spoke from the heart, baring his soul for her.

"I can't verbalize the degree to which I care for you. Yet I must, in this moment, do the hard thing--the right thing--what's best for us both. 'Tis the lesser of two evils," believe me. He shook his head. "I would not wish the greater on either of us. I would spare us that."

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago • edited

* He finishes. She inhales. She exhales.*

I was hoping I could find that wisdom with you there beside me, but I guess not.

I told you on that first date Lewis, I am damaged goods.

And people don't like damaged goods.

Something in my brain always warned me that this wouldn't last. That I would f*ck up everything somehow. Which was way I always wanted to spend as much time with you as possible before it was over.

And now it is.

* She goes over to the door, but before she leaves she turns back, tears falling.*

I guess Bernadette was right when she said there was noone on this planet that could love me forever.

I act wrong.

I think wrong.

I will always be wrong.

* She turns back to the door.*

I'll...I'll see you around, Dr. Weir.

* And with that, she exits.*

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago • edited

He found himself blindsided by her words.

I never claimed I didn't like you! I just said I still wanted to be friends--more than that, that I care for you more than I can say! It isn't that I--

Damn it all, I'm trying to spare you--to save you! From me.

By the time he found his voice, she'd already left.

Trembling from the toll their discussion had taken, he forced himself from his place against the desk and over to the door. This was made more difficult by the fact the back of his left thigh had fallen asleep--Weir'd been so caught up in their conversation he hadn't noticed it till now, and stumbled. He caught himself from falling, but it was with unsteady hand that he shut and locked the door, his emotions threatening to overwhelm him.

He sank to the floor as they finally caught up with him.

With muffled, racking sobs, he cried once more. Val had done nothing to comfort him when he was fighting back tears earlier--was it any wonder they flowed so freely now? He had hoped...he had hoped for so much, seen such possibility, at the beginning. Yet it had come, at the last, to this...the messy, painful lesser of the evils.

He shook and wept as he hadn't in a long, long time--like a woman or a lost soul.

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago • edited

* And as Lewis sobbed, Mz. Hyde headed up to her room. There were so many emotions flowing through her:

She was sobbing because of Lewis, but she was angry at herself for being completely stupid. Everything she's ever done has been born out of stupidity.

She knew that Lewis was too good for her, completely out of her league. I mean, a seven year old with the body of a 20 something year old that has spent most of her concious life in either the darkest part of a subconscious or in an eternal cesspool of torture.

And SHE thought she could build a lasting relationship with an near-immortal man, pretty much a GOD that can travel across dimensions and planes of existence, with two degrees, his own home, and many successful businesses.

Oh yeah, she's SUCH a keeper!*

"Now what did I always tell you, Dolly?"

* In her sobbing, she had failed to notice her other half reclining on her bed. Now the sorrow and the fear took away her ability to speak. Bernadette sighs in annoyance as she gets up and walks over to her. She puts her hands on both sides of Mz. Hyde's face.*

"Outside people might LIKE you, but they will never LOVE you. Because you. Are. UNLOVEABLE."

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Mz.Hyde Mod  Guest • 3 months ago

(Ah, but that was only part one my dear. And now PART TWO!)

D-do it.

* Bernie pauses.*

"Excuse me?"

I know you're here to kill me and everyone else now. It's the same old story over and over again. Just kill me already.

* Bernie takes this in a moment.

Then she smiles.*

"Oh my silly little doll. I can't kill you or your friends now."

* She lets go of Mz. Hyde's head.*

"I will have to remember to send a thank you note to Dr. Weir later for breaking up with you. This...is a new kind of pain radiating from you....

And I want more of it.

So I'm not going to kill anyone. Not today, because I want you to suffer like this. From knowing he doesn't love you anymore."

He never said he didn't love me anymore.

He only said he didn't want to be in that kind of relationship with me right now.

* And its here that Bernadette smirks.*

"We'll see about that. Time heals all wounds, even those of the heart. I'm sure he'll find someone that fits him like a glove in due time."

* With a grand leap, Bernadette exits out of the skylight window that she had left open when she came in. She looks back down at her counterpart.*

"I'm sorry to say, but I must cut my visit short."

"Remember, my little doll: you don't need to have anyone else in your life, because you'll always have me."

"Farewell for now."

* She turns and she is gone. Mz. Hyde is left there, sitting on the floor with her back to the door.

Not knowing what to do, she simply hugs her knees and softly weeps.*

(And that, is the end.)

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Jekyll1886  Mz.Hyde • 3 months ago • edited

Through Weir's grief over the loss of the relationship came self-doubt--had he just ruined everything by trying to set boundaries? Mz. Hyde had put words in his mouth, as if he'd rejected her in total for being inherently flawed. He knew he, himself, had his own issues--but that was why the request he'd made of Val had been necessary. He still cared for her. Hell, he'd done it because he cared.

It's as if we each had to jump out of an aeroplane and I had two parachutes, came the realization. All I did was ask her to put hers on herself.

Instead, she's crashed the plane--with both of us still aboard.

He shook his head even as, through the hurt, a wave of anger threatened.

That, he knew better than to give into.

Not the time. Nor the place.

Unbidden, a sudden mental image welled up into consciousness: Himself, in the guise of "Edward", using the middle finger and thumb of his left hand to reach in past Val's eyes and break the shallow bone at the back of her orbits with a satisfying crack.

He winced.

Shook his head as if to clear it.

Blinked.

Right. That's why I had to set boundaries, he reminded himself fiercely. God forbid I should ever do such a thing to her.

Well did he know his own capacity to react irrationally--and excessively--whenever he'd been hurt or felt used.

He vowed, however, not to be like Hawley.

I shan't sh*t where I eat.

Nor lay a hand on those I love.

It took quite a while before he could collect himself well enough emotionally to stand and make his way back to his desk. By the time he had, his day at the Society was nearly at an end.

All that was left was to gather up his things and head home.

He decided the best course of action would be to change at his flat, then find someone--preferably in the rougher parts of London--spoiling for a fight, and take out the aggression stemming from his wounded heart and pride on them.

With any luck, it would be several someones.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

His contacts within the Courts much preferred his capabilities as a tracker than those of an interrogator and torturer. Even the Winter Court, who’d taken a shine to him only after the whole Blizgulis affair (and after he’d pointed out they’d violated several of their treaties with the Night Court and how those violations could POTENTIALLY persuade the other Courts to turn on what was POTENTIALLY a renegade one) and all their breathtakingly stark cruelty did their work in a matter that wasn’t nearly so… personal as his.

Naturally, that meant if someone wanted a particularly nasty message sent, or had no care for the pain their prey would go through, he became in high demand quite quickly. After all, many of the Courts preferred a less hands-on approach, the prissy bastards.

And, well, if their prey had yet to be caught and they wanted him to track it down as a favor? More’s the better for him. He wore their debts to him like a crown and cloak nowadays, which made the poor fool from the Autumn court--the very same business he’d been speaking of before everything fell apart in Lewis’s office-- a spectacularly damned sort of individual.

He paused with a foot between rooftops, tilting his head thoughtfully.

He’d interrupted Glasgow, but he could share a hunt of his own, couldn’t he? That’d probably be a lovely gift.

He fell with a mind between rooftops, a course charted on impulse more than anything.

A knock came on Lewis’ office door, all too cheerful for the work his taloned hands were about to undertake.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 3 months ago

“Come in,” said Lewis.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

Charricthran walked in with a chipper smile grinning teeth into the fading daylight.

“Heya, Weirmrith. Quick question, on a scale o’ one ta ten, how busy are ya nowabouts?”

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 3 months ago

“Not terribly,” answered Weir as he rose to greet Charricthran. “In point of fact, I was just about to go home. Why do you ask?” He tilted his head, curious.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

“Gotta… ‘job’ from a lad in the Autumn Court, an’ by job, I mean a request ta bump someone off, an’ by lad, I mean the King an’ Queen o’ it. Fancy a hunt?”

He tilted his head with a mischievous sort of glint in his eyes, the light there cut only by a small amount of uncertainty present in how he held his weight in the balls of his feet.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 3 months ago • edited

“Charricthran…” said Lewis with a dip of his head and a surprised smile that quickly turned conspiratorial, “are you asking me on a faerie hunt?”

Because I could sure as Hell use the outlet right about now, he thought as he gave a rumbling chuckle.

“Who’s the target?” he asked with a sly look in his eyes.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

His answering grin split onto his cheekbones a wee bit, an unsettling sight for anyone not used to his facial expressions.

“Naturally! Kid calls himself Hese, an’ he’s one o’ the f*ckers tha’ defected from the Autumn Court ta play nice with Blizgulis, so I’ve been given leave ta do as I like with him, provided I bring back some proof o’ his bein’ dead that’ll suitably shock the Courts inta playin’ nice. Which, given their lot is uncomfortably prissy at the best o’ times, ain’t gonna be hard, so--” he clapped his hands together, smile creeping ever-upward.

“Whaddaya say?”

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 3 months ago

Weir broke into a nasty grin, eyes alight with predatory anticipation.

“I would like nothing better.

“Just...let me go home and change.”

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

A low chuckle rumbled from his chest like some slumbering beast shifting sand as it turned.

“Wonderful! Give me a shout through your shadow or sommat when you're set--I'll see about figurin’ out what area the blighter's in so's we can have some proper fun without all the tedious meanderin’ through the whole o’ England. Logically speakin’, he's probably hoofin’ it to the countryside ta get away from his compatriots.”

An’ I'll bloody well grab the gun jus’ in case, given the positively charmin' fella prob'ly knows where Irsluna ended up.

With that, he pivoted on his foot, slinking into the wall with a casual sort of grace that was more often seen on Richard than it was him.

(They had, after all, learned from each other how to look both harmless and untouchable at the same time.)

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 3 months ago

A short time later, Lewis, clad in black from head to toe to fingertip, spoke into his shadow to let Charricthran know he was ready to go. Weir clutched his solid-iron walking stick tightly as he contemplated the task before them.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

As soon as he was given word, Charricthran led Lewis through The Other and onto a hilltop overlooking a small plot of forest in the Russian countryside. At the furthest edge of those rolling hills, a small, familiar stone cottage could be seen with a finger of smoke curling into the sunset, as if beckoning the two hunters closer.

They answered the call with gladness.

The chase was on.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

His answering grin split onto his cheekbones a wee bit, an unsettling sight for anyone not used to his facial expressions.

“Naturally! Kid calls himself Hese, an’ he’s one o’ the fuckers tha’ defected from the Autumn Court ta play nice with Blizgulis, so I’ve been given leave ta do as I like with him, provided I bring back some proof o’ his bein’ dead that’ll suitably shock the Courts inta playin’ nice. Which, given their lot is uncomfortably prissy at the best o’ times, ain’t gonna be hard, so--” he clapped his hands together, smile creeping ever-upward.

“Whaddaya say?”

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Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago • edited

((MillieGriffin ))

MillieGriffin Jekyll1886

"Thank you." Griffin said as Weir put the cat out for him.

As Weir spoke further Griffin quietly drank his drink.

"Mm, right. Well which ever I pick I assure you I intend to keep our partnership intake. As said before amist the dumbstock common sense is so hard to come by."

Jekyll1886 MillieGriffin

"'Tis a good thing you and I are quite uncommon," remarked Lewis with a nod as he raised his glass briefly, then took a swig.

"I'd be happy to supply my product through legal or illegal channels, whichever you decide, by the by. It makes little difference to me--I'm a relative nobody. And it's not as if I can publish my findings about the 'Jekyll-and-Hyde phenomenon' without turning all of London against one of our very co-founders."

He shook his head.

"Still," he mused, "perhaps I might be able to get away with a short piece about astral travel or the near-death state. Just a wee little paper. It shouldn't be too far a stretch, considering some people these days are perfectly willing to go to seances and charlatans. At least this would have the weight of experience and observation behind it."

MillieGriffin Jekyll1886 • 2 months ago

Griffin took a hearty swig of his drink as he listened to Weir.

"If that's what you want to publish then all luck to you." He took another sip, "though it's still beond me as to why anyone would be interested enough to study those J-H combos."

Jekyll1886

"Well," said Lewis, "the study of the human soul is, for the most part, currently confined to theology, which--alas--is a matter of belief or conjecture rather than science. As my particular area of expertise within transcendental metaphysics is the soul or spirit--call it what you will--the Jekyll-and-Hyde phenomenon presents an unparalleled opportunity to study one of the soul's component parts, undiluted by the rest. I'm certain there are others, but I'll take what I can get--and the Society's a veritable gold mine in that respect."

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Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

((MillieGriffin ))

MillieGriffin Mz.Hyde • a month ago

Millie shrinked a little at Mz. Hyde's touch.

"I-I can't...! S-so many— th-there's so m-many...! Her hands to moved over hear ears as her head sank, "so many voices! talking and chatting and sc-screaming, so many, th-their too loud! They hurt! They won't stop! They hurt! It won't stop! It— I— it— I can't stop! I can't stop hurting— h-hurting you—!"

Her eyes closed tight as she shrunk further into herself.

"I can't stop hurting you! I can't stop hurting you!"

Mz.Hyde Mod MillieGriffin • a month ago

But Millie, you never harmed me!

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Jekyll1886 • 3 months ago

((MillieGriffin ))

MillieGriffin Pyrogue • a month ago

"This kind of light hasn't been invited here yet." She tried to explain as she rubbed the back of her neck, "it's sort... of from the future, kind of... Actually a lot of stuff in there is sort of, kind of from the future. Well it's from a different world set in the future to be spasific but yeah."

Pyrogue MillieGriffin • a month ago

“Huh.” He should have suspected as much at the Society, but it still made him wonder.

“Anything else...?”

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Pyrogue • 3 months ago

((Anyone up for an RP? I’m finished my exam block here finally. Maybe a longer running story if anyone has ideas))

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MillieGriffin  Pyrogue • 3 months ago

((Hey, sorry I suddenly dropped off the face of the earth for a while, I just hired and had to focus on that for a while but now I got some time off I'm back.))

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Tairais  Pyrogue • 3 months ago

(( I'd be down, though I've just picked up an internship I'm starting on Wednesday (er, tomorrow ish) that will probably make me spotty some. That said, not being able to write on several projects has been driving me mad, so...

Charricthran's not really available for shennanigans, but I've Richard for you! Not much in the way of stories though, unless you want me to roll something up on my random encounters table? Your call! We can always just kinda improv too, if you've a particular aspect of your characters that you want to explore. ))

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Pyrogue  Tairais • 3 months ago

((Hm, I guess we might as well have a random encounter? Ezekiel's back so maybe they can have a chat.))

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Tairais  Pyrogue • 3 months ago

(( Fun times in testing experimental equipment ahead, then! ))

Sometimes, if a client was privy to the right sorts of rumors (or if they were particularly wealthy and could buy the right sorts of rumors), they asked Richard to... "customize" whatever limb he was replacing.

Case in point: the rather eccentric American William H. Merideth fancied himself a mountaineer. Despite losing his arm to frostbite and a boulder (William himself did not know which, nor had he been in the state of mind to make educated guessed at the time), both of which were the result of improperly tied belaying knots that trapped him in a cold crevice of 'some tall mountain range, you Italians know the one'.

Richard assumed he meant the Alps under all the stereotyping. His family was from Sicily, and he himself had spent more time in Venice and Firenze than anywhere close to those mountains, but he digressed.

The main point of this consideration of his life choices boiled down to this: eccentric American asks him to replace his arm with one that has a retractable grappling hook so that he "doesn't lose the other one". Rather than ask someone else to test his work and risk breaking them or it, he'd put on the most recent iteration of his high-stress shock absorption supports and started testing the grappling hook in the main hall.

That was all well and good until he'd misfired the mechanism trying to adjust the trigger sensitivity. He'd watched the hook and its cable bounce off the ribs of the Leviathan and tangle itself up into a right mess, then sighed as he was promptly jerked to dangle over the Great Hall's floor.

With the distant but very loud sound of several Lodgers working on projects of their own, he ruled out being able to call for help and settled in for the long haul with one arm wrenched to uselessness above his head, and the rest of him dangling like a particularly useless set of windchimes.

Not, Richard thought, the way he'd intended to start the day.

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Pyrogue  Tairais • 3 months ago

Ezekiel had been about to cross through the hall and go for some morning air, when he caught sight of what looked very much like a person being suspended in midair by a cable.

He did a double take. "Uh... Doctor Prince?"

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Tairais  Pyrogue • 3 months ago

The man himself waved his free hand with a cheerful smile.

"Good... day of an indeterminate variety, Signor Ezekiel. I do not suppose you know where there might be a ladder about, do you? I'm fairly certain there must be one this tall--the skeleton did not have the strength of mind to put itself up there alone, after all."

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Pyrogue  Tairais • 3 months ago

“I, er...” He thought for a moment. “I think there might be one near the greenhouse? I’ll go and get it. Are... are you okay up there?”

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Tairais  Pyrogue • 3 months ago

"Aside from no small small amount of stiffness in my shoulder that will no doubt turn into soreness come the morrow, I am as right as rain."

Richard gave a positively ecstatic grin that was no small amount of relieved.

"I greatly appreciate your assistance!"

(( Heya, sorry for the late response. Power went out at home, found out my hard drive with all my digital art from the last 5 years went kaput in the middle of some other repairs on my computer, ya know how it goes. May be spotty for the next few days as I sort things out. Just so you know!

Also, I love Ez's reaction of just "what the heck and why the heck". Priceless to read! ))

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Pyrogue  Tairais • 3 months ago

((Eheh, it’s fine. I was at school too so I wouldn’t have been able to respond. Sorry about the art though...))

“I’ll be back in a moment then...” He hurried off down one of the corridors for a few minutes, then returned carrying a folded compact ladder. He unfolded it (with some difficulty) and leaned it against a wall so one at the top would be within reach of where Richard was.

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Tairais  Pyrogue • 3 months ago

Richard very carefully began to shift his weight onto the ladder. Distantly, he was somewhat grateful he didn't have to worry about his legs falling asleep; having been up there so long, he almost definitely would have struggled with finding footing.

Still, relieving the pressure on his shoulder was nothing short of delightful.

All that left was the matter of trying to untangle the hook and cable, the former of which was far enough away from him that he stood no hope of doing so from any one position. As much as he was loathe to suggest it.

"Are you familiar with wire cutters, Signor Ezekiel? I am rather afraid I still have to cut my arm loose, else we will find ourselves back at square one."

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Pyrogue  Tairais • 3 months ago

“Yes, I’ve used them once or twice,” he replied as he steadied the base of the ladder. “Do you have any I could go and get?”

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Tairais  Pyrogue • 3 months ago

"You will likely find some in the library, as I had fled the particularly loud sounds of someone else's scientific progress by way of what sounded like a large hammer and a great deal of swearing. If not there, then I imagine someone else will have a pair you can borrow- we have a great deal of people who might use them, here."

He chuckled and smiled again, shaking his head slightly.

"Words cannot express how grateful I am to you for your assistance, my friend. Thank you."

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Pyrogue  Tairais • 3 months ago

Ez nodded.

“It’s not a problem, really. I couldn’t exactly leave you there.”

He left again in search of wire cutters, and having found some in the library as Richard had said, returned.

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Tairais  Pyrogue • 3 months ago

Richard had allowed his thoughts to wander, only to gather them again once he heard Ezekiel return, prompting another grin on his face.

"Wonderful! I do not suppose you would be willing to climb up here and pass the cutters off to me? I am not quite trusting myself to catch them without falling if you aim to throw them up."

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Pyrogue  Tairais • 3 months ago

"Alright." He made his way up the ladder again, ignoring his slightly sweaty palms -- he had never liked heights -- and held up the cutters for Richard to take.

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