Oh. Good. [Would he be lucky enough to be in the same house? Please?
Probably not.] Not really. [Which was for the best--about ninety percent of the noises he'd heard over the past few nights had been horrible. But if he turns his head--] I've got a view out to the sky. I think--the window's facing north-west? I can see one of the towers. Looks to be about a kilometer away.
[ There's a little whine to her voice, the product of exhaustion and helplessness. If she were more able to appraise the situation, she would loathe hearing it in herself, but Lily was tired, and she hurt all over. ]
Do you remember anything? I remember that thing they stuck me in, and just, pain. Lots of it.
Ah. Yeah. I got that kind of response back before we left Taravast. [Not everybody was fond of that.]
Risk assessments aren't a normal thing for most of them. Especially when there's no convenient solution. What kind of stuff are we talking about here, or does it not matter?
The triggering event was the use of the door within the tower. I had assessed that it appeared to do no permanent damage to most who went within and might provide useful information so used it. It rendered me incoherent for an hour but did me no physical harm. I believe seeing the impact on me was frightening.
[ To put it mildly. ]
I was asked to advise this person of future plans so they could help, but I did not agree as I did not believe I could keep my word on something so broad. They would naturally dissuade me from anything risky, despite the risk being less to me than it is to them.
Oh, that thing. Yeah, I get it. I haven't messed about with it, just since I haven't figured out what to do with it. [Best course of action when you can't think of a tactically advantageous use for something is to just not fuck with it. But what Wrathion did? That doesn't sound that bad.]
That just sounds like it magically knocked you on the head. As long as you haven't had any other episodes since then, it's probably fine. Just watch for headaches, slurring, short-term memory loss or uncoordinated movement. [Head trauma was common enough in the army that every soldier knew what it looked like.]
It was an emotionally generated incoherence brought about by an artificially induced sensation of fear. I asked to understand what happened within the tower and the door chose to interpret my words on an emotional level. It left no long term symptoms, but some mildly interesting thoughts based on its behaviour.
[ Just to clear up that point. He didn't have concussion, he spent an hour having a panic attack. ]
I hadn't any interest in using it again, the future plan was hypothetical -- anything else I chose to do that might carry a risk.
Well that's... not great, but better than I figured. [No traumatic brain injury, just trauma.]
Every action's got risk. Especially when we keep wandering into warzones and whatever the hells this place is. [It really needed a sign somewhere. 'Caution: Mermaids, Mirrors, and Making locals mad at you'.]
I don't think you're wrong to make plans. Even if they get scrapped, testing out the idea's worth it. It's just being prepared.
I agree. Risk is inherent in everything we do. The sticking point appeared to be my unwillingness to give my word I would advise him beforehand for any future action. He left quite upset.
[ We've forgotten the neutrality and gone straight for 'he' now. ]
I even accepted that perhaps I had not considered possible damage to me would impact my ability to assist and protect, but that appeared to cause more upset.
This isn't the army. We've got no command structure here, or people to report to. You're free to do what you want. [Sometimes he wished this was an army. A proper one, that didn't do slavery.
Still.] Only thing I agree with him on so far is that it's good practice to give somebody a signal when you're going to do something risky. Particularly somebody who's going to be staying in contact with the rest of the group. It doesn't have to be your guy, though. [He's got a suspicion who they're talking about now.]
... Apart from the fact that he did admit there is one person who is here from his world and that if he needed to he would absolutely drop everything in Taravast to go to their side and get them out before anyone else okay yes. That might be a valid reason to have suspicions. ]
I agree. Which is why it confused me that admitting I should have considered the wider impact appeared to upset him more. It appears there is a personal aspect to the mentality.
Danger can make people act strange, even if it doesn't affect them directly. Sounds like he had some leftover energy to burn about it. [They'd gotten a whole unit in their training on battlefield psychology, so he's not entirely talking out of his ass about that. Someone else's ass, maybe--he's not sure he trusts any of those lessons anymore.]
[ An immediate follow-up, no judgement or questions. He doesn't know what plenty of things are, he cannot throw stones.
Still, he's waiting on the edge of the field, gives Slick a nod as soon as he draws close and turns to begin walking out along the edge.
Fields are wide and open, allowing them a decent view so they aren't snuck up on too easy, but do have little hidey places they can tuck themselves into along the edges. He walks a little before beginning a quiet, but very leading inquiry: ]
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