So, um. There was this woman who showed up at the Speakeasy tonight talking about how she could probably... tell me certain things about myself, but only without the presence of the gods. I suggested that maybe she might be able to remove whatever limitations they hold on her if she were to distance herself from them and the city-- [because heeeell if we're going to start down that road again] --but. I just thought that you should know. Since I wouldn't do anything crazy like that without letting you know. And, well, it sounded pretty shady to start...
[Not that he'd know because he went and talked her down or anything. Now that Hope is restraining her powers, he's betting that trick won't work a second time.]
There's a good chance she's bluffing just to get you out there.
[Rey doesn't know the full extent of what happened, having been bedridden and then high on magical tea shortly after, and she hasn't really asked for a follow-up. Given the way things ended and the city isn't blown to shit, she just figured that someone handled it.]
Ah, probably. Like I said, it sounded shady, so it's not like I was going to jump into this without thinking. I'm not that desperate -- or stupid. Most of the time.
[Or so Rey would like to think. She's just stubborn as hell.]
[Most of the time. Nick is grateful she called him first this time around, as her being out in the middle of nowhere with a murderous demon is just asking for trouble.]
[There's a sigh on his end. Yes, going out into the desert with Caedra is a stupid idea, but wanting to find out just what IV was hoping to get her hands on isn't. He asked the lady herself when she was in town; he had to know what the stakes were if Rey got sent home, needed to understand just what it was he was fighting for when it came to keeping Hadriel safe. He needed more proof on why it was important they find the Door and figure out how to use it themselves rather than risk the damn thing sending them back to their own worlds and times. To some people, there was nothing left; to others, it was a fate worse than death.]
[That's what IV wanted. The phrase speaks for itself.
[Rey falls quiet at the next part Nick tells her. While she sort of knows these things, they don't give her the concrete answers she's looking for -- whether or not there is concrete evidence of a soul, and if a synthetic being such as Rey would be capable of one.]
Didn't know she got that chatty before you snuffed her. Not surprised, though. That bitch doesn't shut the hell up.
[Nick falls silent again, save for an indistinct, noncommittal grunt. He's not particularly proud of what he had to do, even if it was to protect Rey. The fact that flashes in his memory of that day sometimes get mixed in with those of Jenny and Undine doesn't help.]
Look. Whatever it is she wanted, it doesn't matter. You're not going back there.
[All he says is one word, but his tone says far more: he doesn't want to even consider that possibility, as he already knows what she'll face if she gets sent back to her world. It hurts enough thinking about his friends being sent back, returning to worlds where they've died or have nothing left; Rey isn't just a friend, though. She's more, and she's been more for so long that it's hard for him to imagine things without her.
Maybe it wouldn't matter in the end, either. Who's to say that if Rey vanished, he wouldn't just forget her eventually, his processor overwriting memories of her as new ones were made?
He continues after several seconds, avoiding the topic entirely for now. He'll have to talk with her about it eventually.]
Keep an eye on Caedra, but I wouldn't go anywhere with her alone.
[Harsh, but the truth so often is. It's not like Rey to commit to permanence, and if what she still remembers and feels about Maketh has taught her anything, it's that they don't have a say in who gets to leave. If they did, that damned woman would have stayed long enough for Rey to give her a piece of her own mind. Or a fist.
[But such things are too little, too late. Like so many other things. The best she can do is make the most of the present, and Rey has no intention of expediting the inevitable by throwing herself into situations that would leave Nick alone again. She just can't do that to him.]
[He means that, too. Rey can be stubborn, and she wouldn't be the first person to ignore his advice and do whatever she wanted anyway... but he knows why she doesn't, and he appreciates it.]
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[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 12:04 am (UTC)So, um. There was this woman who showed up at the Speakeasy tonight talking about how she could probably... tell me certain things about myself, but only without the presence of the gods. I suggested that maybe she might be able to remove whatever limitations they hold on her if she were to distance herself from them and the city-- [because heeeell if we're going to start down that road again] --but. I just thought that you should know. Since I wouldn't do anything crazy like that without letting you know. And, well, it sounded pretty shady to start...
[Just FYI.]
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 12:06 am (UTC)She have solid black eyes?
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 12:13 am (UTC)That'd be the one. You know her?
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 12:23 am (UTC)[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 12:30 am (UTC)[Snort. Nick, u so old fashioned.
[But no. Trying to be sincere here.]
Okay, sorry. Really. You serious?
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 12:42 am (UTC)Yeah. That's her.
[Not that he'd know because he went and talked her down or anything. Now that Hope is restraining her powers, he's betting that trick won't work a second time.]
There's a good chance she's bluffing just to get you out there.
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 01:56 am (UTC)Ah, probably. Like I said, it sounded shady, so it's not like I was going to jump into this without thinking. I'm not that desperate -- or stupid. Most of the time.
[Or so Rey would like to think. She's just stubborn as hell.]
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 01:59 am (UTC)What were you hoping to find out?
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 02:59 am (UTC)...
The reason IV wants to dissect me like a frog.
[It could have been a much more worrying answer.]
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 03:01 am (UTC)[Because if that's the answer, that is a terrible idea.]
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 03:53 am (UTC)No, nothing like that. It's...
[Huff.] Look, it doesn't matter. It was a stupid idea, anyway.
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 04:09 am (UTC)She said she wanted your heart.
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 04:30 am (UTC)[Not an intentional jab at Nick's memory problems (which Rey at present knows nothing about) at all. Just unfortunate wording.]
To be more specific, she was rambling on about some crazy shit concerning an "artificial soul".
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 04:44 am (UTC)[Playing Dr. Frankenstein, as she'd put it. The comparison was appropriate. His voice darkens just a hair.]
As for what she was going to do with you once she had that heart, she said she'd either keep killing you, or continue your 'creator's' work.
[And as they both know, Nick wasn't about to let either of those happen.]
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 04:59 am (UTC)[That's what IV wanted. The phrase speaks for itself.
[Rey falls quiet at the next part Nick tells her. While she sort of knows these things, they don't give her the concrete answers she's looking for -- whether or not there is concrete evidence of a soul, and if a synthetic being such as Rey would be capable of one.]
Didn't know she got that chatty before you snuffed her. Not surprised, though. That bitch doesn't shut the hell up.
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 05:04 am (UTC)Look. Whatever it is she wanted, it doesn't matter. You're not going back there.
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 05:16 am (UTC)[Rey hates to admit it, but it's better to be real than to live expecting that she's an exception to the many numbers that have come and gone.]
Just want to be sure I know what I'm coming back to, if that ever happens.
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 05:24 am (UTC)[All he says is one word, but his tone says far more: he doesn't want to even consider that possibility, as he already knows what she'll face if she gets sent back to her world. It hurts enough thinking about his friends being sent back, returning to worlds where they've died or have nothing left; Rey isn't just a friend, though. She's more, and she's been more for so long that it's hard for him to imagine things without her.
Maybe it wouldn't matter in the end, either. Who's to say that if Rey vanished, he wouldn't just forget her eventually, his processor overwriting memories of her as new ones were made?
He continues after several seconds, avoiding the topic entirely for now. He'll have to talk with her about it eventually.]
Keep an eye on Caedra, but I wouldn't go anywhere with her alone.
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 07:05 am (UTC)[But such things are too little, too late. Like so many other things. The best she can do is make the most of the present, and Rey has no intention of expediting the inevitable by throwing herself into situations that would leave Nick alone again. She just can't do that to him.]
Understood. It won't be a problem.
And... thanks for letting me know, about her.
[She means that.]
[audio]
Date: 2018-04-25 07:19 am (UTC)[He means that, too. Rey can be stubborn, and she wouldn't be the first person to ignore his advice and do whatever she wanted anyway... but he knows why she doesn't, and he appreciates it.]
I'll see you at home.