"not here right now.
leave a message. will get back to you soon.
probably."
TEXT
CALL
VIDEO
NOTE: As of 12/2016, Rey has adopted the alias "Fiona Stransky" when working with the Guard. Something to keep in mind, as Rey maintains a low profile with her involvement in the group. Other than what is mentioned in the Guard records, there is no trace of a "Fiona" identified on the network.
[Rey has no idea, either. She remembers him saying something about not knowing who to trust. What did that have to do with this?]
Me, neither. But... whatever. [She decides not to drag Carlisle into this. If Atem's got something going on, she'll deal with it herself.] Going to assume the charm it has something to do with the "crew" who'll be on board the same ship as me.
That's right. [Rey's voice is low, clearly showing no affection for that woman.] Her "influence", though? What, does he think she can mind control me? [Snort.] Because you'd know how that works out.
[Again, she doesn't mean it in a derisive way towards Carlisle. For this, she sure as hell hopes that no one can take control of her at all, magical or otherwise.]
[She means no offense in that remark, but Carlisle seems to shrink anyway, if only for a moment. His arms cross, his gaze locking on her.]
I would, but demonic energy is quite different. It can taint you from within, a poison of the very soul. A demon does not need to control your body to ruin you.
You are ever the puzzle, Miss Rey. If nothing else, as you said, extra precautions can do no harm.
[He turns from her and opens up the chest at the end of the bed on the far wall of the cabin, pulling out several jars of tea for her and lining them up on the table. He's clearly been busy, as each bottle has a label: about half of them are marked with "weaker," and the other are "stronger."
And then there is one jar of "strongest," the coloration a bit darker than the rest.]
I have made you an assortment, varying degrees of effectiveness for however your head is feeling. I will warn you that the concentrated one here should pack quite a punch, even for someone as peculiar as you.
[Before she can make a comment on Carlisle "puzzling" over her, she stops and at the collection that Carlisle presents her. That's a lot of magic tea, bro.]
Wait, you mean all of these are for... Don't you need this stuff, too? [For whatever his deal is. Seriously, man, you look like shit.]
Oh. Ah, I... wasn't aware it was pertinent information to you. Not that I- that I couldn't be spirited away at any moment, of course. Not all of us, um. Stay here for years. Or want to stay here, or don't want to go home. Or, um.
[He straightens up, picking at that bandage on his arm. Not many know the full extent of what is happening to him -- Glacius, Ravine, Kate, Lance, perhaps -- but Miss Rey, for all she has done for him, deserves that closure.]
I am on an inevitable road toward my end, Miss Rey. Exhaustion comes and goes, but it lingers more than it ever has. Unless I am spirited back to my home soon, and it was as if I never left years ago, I will not leave this place.
[Oddly enough, she does not at all sound surprised. It's not like she hasn't noticed his poor health, how he can't even heal without it taking a physical toll on his body. Rey has seen many people die from deadly and terminal sicknesses before, and so this news doesn't come as harrowing or shocking as it would for some.]
Sounds like a lose-lose situation, no matter where you end up. Is there no treatment for it? [She can tell that he's changed in some ways, but for all she knows that's just part of the illness.]
[His tone remains even -- he's long accepted his death, and has begun to accept how sudden it is. Ravine's revelation gave him a shock, but also provided him with some sense of time -- and therefore direction, as he measures what days he has left like grains of sand in an hourglass.]
Not back home. The twice-cursed are damned to their fates... and worse, apparently. Perhaps here, I might be able to mitigate the effects, but it would only be delaying what is to come.
[Rey has died a lot, herself. She's accepted the death process of her own self and the loss of others as a fact of life. But she knows that it's not the same as the inevitablity that Carlisle has resigned himself to. She can't even compare.]
Is that why you keep to yourself so much? Because you've known that this would happen?
[When people are sick, they often push away people more than try and build connections they know they will hurt eventually. It makes sense in the worst way.]
[There is a hint of undeniable shame that colors him; it tugs at the corners of his mouth, his glowing eyes lodging themselves on the jars of tea.]
I keep to myself for a myriad of reasons, Miss Rey. Curses spread misfortune to those around the afflicted. Even if not, I have still damned those around me to watch me die. You, and Glacius, and Kate, and- and everyone I have come to care for. I have damned all of you to this!
[He hisses that last part through his teeth before pushing a sigh out of him, trying to settle his nerves.] I knew this was my end the moment my condition manifested years ago. I had hoped it would not be so soon, but I suppose all I have been through has exacerbated it in some way.
[Although his eyes are on the jars, Rey gives him a dubious look.]
For fuck's sake, you haven't "damned" anyone. Dying is shitty for the people around you, but being part of their lives isn't a goddamned curse in itself. You've done a lot of good during your time here. My guts would have spilled out more than once, if not for you.
[And she's going to keep reminding him of that every time he acts like his very existence brings misfortune to everyone he so much as breathes air at.
[His last comment catches her off guard, though.] What do you mean, all you've been through has exacerbated it? What've you been doing?
[She reminds him, his partner reminds him, his family would remind him were they still alive and present, but Carlisle cannot help how guilty he feels when they are gone, when Glacius will be so hurt by his absence. Even now, as grateful as he is to have been of use, he wonders who Rey will get to heal her, who would be as indebted as he is.
They are friends of a sort though, he reminds himself. One more to lose.]
These schemes of the gods, what they put us through. I nearly died to my own double, and it left me in agony, drained of my own energies as I struggled to keep myself alive. The demonic possession they thrust upon us tore more from me. Each place we are taken to riles my nerves, agitating my aural channels. Even the weight of merely existing is killing me as I am slowly, and terribly, emptied of all that I am.
[Everyone will be gone, someday. When you've been around for as long as Rey, doing what she does, living through so many different lives, you start to see people as impermanent flickers in life. Things that can and will be gone in a blink, just like that. It's nothing new to her, but she isn't surprised by those who feel different. Who haven't had the misfortune of seeing so many faces come and go over the course of several decades like she has. So she tries not to dismiss Carlisle's grief the same way she would treat her own passing. It still sucks.]
Mn...
[Rey thinks twice about introducing the concept of those who die are returned by Hope in the same state they were when they arrived. Not only does Carlisle see them as "false gods", death is hardly what she would consider a solution to literally having your soul leak out of you.
[Wait.]
Does the healing aggravate it in any way as well?
[Was she making it worse every time she called on him whenever she was in a pinch?]
[Despite the grim conversation, the corner of his mouth turns up sheepishly.]
Only a little, unless there is a considerable amount of mending to do. I would be far more aggravated were I to leave someone in need wounded.
[Well, depending on who it is. His goddess would favor those who help others, as it means less for her to deal with; however, some people are painfully deserving of what befalls them.
He picks at the bandage on his arm -- there is clearly more on his mind that he has yet to say, but he isn't sure if he should say it at all. If something were to happen to him, would Ravine handle it? Or would she only do so much, and leave his partner to deal with what remains of him -- of all twice-cursed?]
[It's clear that there's more to it. He's definitely been holding onto this for a long time and Rey is not the only one he's had this conversation with. Must be exhausting, having to tell people you know that you're going to die horribly every time. Giving away a handy pamphlet would almost be easier.]
But... that is why you puke that black shit whenever you try to heal something, right? That's not supposed to be normal?
[Sorry, Carlisle. She's still calling it "black shit" instead of "bile".]
[She'll always call it that, and he'll always correct her. If he doesn't, that's when she should worry.]
It is a sign of my curse, taint expelled from the point of affliction. Or so they say. [His brow knits.] There is much that goes unsaid with those cursed as I am, more than I ever imagined until recently.
[By now she expects the correction. It's a harmless song and dance between them.]
Guess that makes sense...
[What else is there for her to say? Rey isn't her father. She doesn't have the ability to heal and alter with blood the same way he does, or that she's aware of. Even if Lucas were here, would there even be anything he could do against some magical curse?
[She gives a thoughtful pause, before she realizes something:] What sort of unsaid things, exactly? What's supposed to happen?
[Since this isn't just some normal disease, Rey can't imagine that Carlisle will just keel over when his time is up.]
[He hesitates, his nails curling against the fibers of the bandage.]
The nature of the twice-cursed -- there is much that is known, and... an amount that isn't. It was only here I discovered that the wound is an aural tear, something I am not entirely should I could have ever known back home. The bodies are usually burned, reduced to nothing more than ash, but—
[Another pause as he attempts to figure out how to explain himself.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[His confusion -- and her gesture -- seem to placate him.]
I see no reason for him to be vague when one of them is for you.
[If this was supposed to be a surprise, no one informed him.]
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Me, neither. But... whatever. [She decides not to drag Carlisle into this. If Atem's got something going on, she'll deal with it herself.] Going to assume the charm it has something to do with the "crew" who'll be on board the same ship as me.
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[And so was Carlisle, or he wouldn't have jumped into agreeing to do this the second Atem mentioned Rey.]
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[Again, she doesn't mean it in a derisive way towards Carlisle. For this, she sure as hell hopes that no one can take control of her at all, magical or otherwise.]
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I would, but demonic energy is quite different. It can taint you from within, a poison of the very soul. A demon does not need to control your body to ruin you.
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[She doesn't sound too enthused by that, but it is what it is.]
Doesn't hurt to have some backup, though.
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[He turns from her and opens up the chest at the end of the bed on the far wall of the cabin, pulling out several jars of tea for her and lining them up on the table. He's clearly been busy, as each bottle has a label: about half of them are marked with "weaker," and the other are "stronger."
And then there is one jar of "strongest," the coloration a bit darker than the rest.]
I have made you an assortment, varying degrees of effectiveness for however your head is feeling. I will warn you that the concentrated one here should pack quite a punch, even for someone as peculiar as you.
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[Before she can make a comment on Carlisle "puzzling" over her, she stops and at the collection that Carlisle presents her. That's a lot of magic tea, bro.]
Wait, you mean all of these are for... Don't you need this stuff, too? [For whatever his deal is. Seriously, man, you look like shit.]
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Ahah, no, of course not. I mean, I do, but I made these for you. Believe me, I have more in my apartment than I could possibly use in my time here.
[How unfortunate that he's being very literal about that.]
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[Looks like it's also time to address that elephant in the room.]
What, you think you have a checkout date you didn't bring up before or something?
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Oh. Ah, I... wasn't aware it was pertinent information to you. Not that I- that I couldn't be spirited away at any moment, of course. Not all of us, um. Stay here for years. Or want to stay here, or don't want to go home. Or, um.
[Yeah, good save, Carlisle.]
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True, but that doesn't mean there's any guarantee if or when someone will be sent home.
And you look pretty fucked up as it is, more so than usual. You sick?
[It's hard not to notice, and even harder not to point that out now, because she has a sinking feeling that it might be related.]
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I am on an inevitable road toward my end, Miss Rey. Exhaustion comes and goes, but it lingers more than it ever has. Unless I am spirited back to my home soon, and it was as if I never left years ago, I will not leave this place.
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[Oddly enough, she does not at all sound surprised. It's not like she hasn't noticed his poor health, how he can't even heal without it taking a physical toll on his body. Rey has seen many people die from deadly and terminal sicknesses before, and so this news doesn't come as harrowing or shocking as it would for some.]
Sounds like a lose-lose situation, no matter where you end up. Is there no treatment for it? [She can tell that he's changed in some ways, but for all she knows that's just part of the illness.]
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Not back home. The twice-cursed are damned to their fates... and worse, apparently. Perhaps here, I might be able to mitigate the effects, but it would only be delaying what is to come.
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Is that why you keep to yourself so much? Because you've known that this would happen?
[When people are sick, they often push away people more than try and build connections they know they will hurt eventually. It makes sense in the worst way.]
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I keep to myself for a myriad of reasons, Miss Rey. Curses spread misfortune to those around the afflicted. Even if not, I have still damned those around me to watch me die. You, and Glacius, and Kate, and- and everyone I have come to care for. I have damned all of you to this!
[He hisses that last part through his teeth before pushing a sigh out of him, trying to settle his nerves.] I knew this was my end the moment my condition manifested years ago. I had hoped it would not be so soon, but I suppose all I have been through has exacerbated it in some way.
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For fuck's sake, you haven't "damned" anyone. Dying is shitty for the people around you, but being part of their lives isn't a goddamned curse in itself. You've done a lot of good during your time here. My guts would have spilled out more than once, if not for you.
[And she's going to keep reminding him of that every time he acts like his very existence brings misfortune to everyone he so much as breathes air at.
[His last comment catches her off guard, though.] What do you mean, all you've been through has exacerbated it? What've you been doing?
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They are friends of a sort though, he reminds himself. One more to lose.]
These schemes of the gods, what they put us through. I nearly died to my own double, and it left me in agony, drained of my own energies as I struggled to keep myself alive. The demonic possession they thrust upon us tore more from me. Each place we are taken to riles my nerves, agitating my aural channels. Even the weight of merely existing is killing me as I am slowly, and terribly, emptied of all that I am.
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Mn...
[Rey thinks twice about introducing the concept of those who die are returned by Hope in the same state they were when they arrived. Not only does Carlisle see them as "false gods", death is hardly what she would consider a solution to literally having your soul leak out of you.
[Wait.]
Does the healing aggravate it in any way as well?
[Was she making it worse every time she called on him whenever she was in a pinch?]
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Only a little, unless there is a considerable amount of mending to do. I would be far more aggravated were I to leave someone in need wounded.
[Well, depending on who it is. His goddess would favor those who help others, as it means less for her to deal with; however, some people are painfully deserving of what befalls them.
He picks at the bandage on his arm -- there is clearly more on his mind that he has yet to say, but he isn't sure if he should say it at all. If something were to happen to him, would Ravine handle it? Or would she only do so much, and leave his partner to deal with what remains of him -- of all twice-cursed?]
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But... that is why you puke that black shit whenever you try to heal something, right? That's not supposed to be normal?
[Sorry, Carlisle. She's still calling it "black shit" instead of "bile".]
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[She'll always call it that, and he'll always correct her. If he doesn't, that's when she should worry.]
It is a sign of my curse, taint expelled from the point of affliction. Or so they say. [His brow knits.] There is much that goes unsaid with those cursed as I am, more than I ever imagined until recently.
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Guess that makes sense...
[What else is there for her to say? Rey isn't her father. She doesn't have the ability to heal and alter with blood the same way he does, or that she's aware of. Even if Lucas were here, would there even be anything he could do against some magical curse?
[She gives a thoughtful pause, before she realizes something:] What sort of unsaid things, exactly? What's supposed to happen?
[Since this isn't just some normal disease, Rey can't imagine that Carlisle will just keel over when his time is up.]
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The nature of the twice-cursed -- there is much that is known, and... an amount that isn't. It was only here I discovered that the wound is an aural tear, something I am not entirely should I could have ever known back home. The bodies are usually burned, reduced to nothing more than ash, but—
[Another pause as he attempts to figure out how to explain himself.]
Have you Revenants where you come from, Miss Rey?
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