[the last voyages] ic inbox

[onlyhearmusic]

[a lyrical hum cuts in, almost as if someone didn't know what they were doing]

"Leave yer message."

[oh. no, he knew. he just didn't care. the beep comes after another brief humming stops.]

Comments

[onlyhearmusic]

I wasn't referrin' to tha little weasel. [He said with a deliberate stare at Zichen.] He's just an animal.

[zichen]

So you are still concerned about my situation. [He lets out a small exhale.] I killed him, as I told you. I am Daoist. I believe in relinquishing my hatred once justice has been seen to.

[onlyhearmusic]

Well he should remain dead fer it ta mean anything! What's worse, ya've taken a shine ta him as if that's natural. Yer such a fuckin' idiot. It ain't natural at all!

[He'd seen it in the war first, prisoners forming unhealthy bonds with their captors. Then he'd learned to perfect it himself, using it as an art to torture his prey then make them fond of him for stopping as if he had taken pity on them. He told them some fake sob story to gain empathy. Worked like a charm. If they wouldn't speak from the torture, they would when a sympathetic bond was formed. He got what he needed from them, and then killed them, disposing of them like the broken trash that they were.]

It ain't natural. Just a lie bein' acted out.

[zichen]

That wasn't his fate. [Nor was it his. Zichen has no control of such things, so why pretend otherwise?] I allowed him a chance for redemption. He is the one who worked on transforming himself. He is the one who graduated.

[Their grief over Xiao Xingchen had brought them together, true, but their bond has grown over the passing months. Zichen has always been clear: if Xue Yang kills again (and it has nothing to do with defense) he will kill him.]

He knows the punishment for lying.

[onlyhearmusic]

[He chuckled darkly.] And it doesn't bother you that some bastard with unnatural powers gets ta decide--arbitrarily I might add--when a person "finds redemption" here? As if a scorpion can change it's nature.

That's not his purview!

[zichen]

I knew he was ready for graduation long before it happened. [So he actually agreed with the Admiral on that one.] Nothing is perfect, but Xue Yang is not the man he was when he first arrived. I don't believe he will hurt anyone.

[onlyhearmusic]

[There was something hurt and scared shining in the Butcher's eyes for the briefest of moments. Blink and you miss it.

That was not what he wanted, and he feared this place would have it's way with him despite his stubborn set. After all, he knew the affects of torture best of all.]

Keep lyin' to yerself, lad, and one day you'll believe it.

[zichen]

I do thank you for offering me advice. [There is a certain kindness in that; kindness that Zichen wants to encourage.] I know how bad he can be. Forgiveness isn't possible for the worst of his deeds, but.

We are moving on.

[onlyhearmusic]

[He damn well didn't want that either! Collins scowled at the, in his opinion, stupidity of that gratitude.]

That wasn't advice, fool. Yer too stupid a waste fer that.

[zichen]

[Is it stupid, though. Is it.

Zichen barely holds back a smile.]

Whether you think I'm stupid or not, you did think about me.

[onlyhearmusic]

[It very much is to him. After all, you don't thank someone for calling you an idiot.]

Tha more I think about ya, tha more I hate ya.

[Grumble, grumble.]

[zichen]

I can hardly help that. [Baby steps. He is proud Collins is thinking about someone else and their situation.]

[onlyhearmusic]

[He sighed and rolled his eyes as he closed them. Shook his head.]

Suppose not. Fools can't help but ta be fools.

[zichen]

Something about my relationship unsettles you. What is it? [His tone is soft, but serious.]

[onlyhearmusic]

[His eyes flew open and he glared at Zichen.]

As if it's not obvious?

[zichen]

Put it into words. [If it's not that he's worried about Zichen then it must have to do with Xue Yang.]

[onlyhearmusic]

[He ground his teeth together, but eventually the words came out.]

You think that monster can love you, but yer wrong. Nothin's changed. Yer just foolin' yerself, and he's foolin' you and everyone else here ta get somethin' he don't deserve.

And you- yer such a fuckin' idiot. I can't even begin ta start with you.

[It makes him angry just thinking about Zichen and his stupid kindness. How utterly foolish it is. There's not even much thought to it, it just is.]

[zichen]

[He should feel frustrated that Dennis thinks so little of him, but they are...different. Too different, maybe. So instead Zichen admires the fact that the other man is warning him - in his own way.]

When will he betray me, do you think? When we return to our world, perhaps? He has had many opportunities to slit my throat or poison me. Would it shock you to know he has taken blows and pain meant for me?

[onlyhearmusic]

[The twitch in his jaw was the only indication of his surprise, concealed behind the glare he continued to bestow upon Zichen.]

Aye, it would. Perhaps he plays a good game ta get where he wants, but even if he's convinced himself of tha lie it'll just come back ta bite off of ya in tha arse. Scorpion don't change his nature. In tha end, it will come back.

[zichen]

[He has considered that outcome and after everything, he knows he is the type of fool that has to try.]

If that happens, he and I will venture to the afterlife together.

[onlyhearmusic]

That's fuckin' foolish. What a waste.

[He wanted to throw something. He almost reached for something on the desk behind him to do so--but he refrains with a noticeable attempt donated on his face and a discreet pinch of skin upon his arm. It didn't make him feel any calmer but he managed to stand still.]

[zichen]

I have to try. If I can't help him, if I can't save him, what he could do to others must be prevented. He knows that.

[And Zichen doesn't have much of a taste for life - especially if his last bit of happiness is swiped away too.]

[onlyhearmusic]

[His eyes snapped to Zichen.]

That's why tha bastard should just be dead.

[zichen]

Death, for him, doesn't stick. [And he doesn't want it to stick, frankly.]

[onlyhearmusic]

Everything dies. You just have ta get out of this place and figure out what does stick. Make it permanent. As it should be.