[ The smile that stretches across Bastien's face is closed-lip, asymmetrical, friendly but also acknowledging and restrained. ]
No, I don't want it back.
[ He steps back and turns aside, long enough to have a quick conversation with the guards, to tell them it's fine and they can take fifteen–look, here, he has a deck of cards, go sit down and play a few hands—so he can steal the stool one of them was sitting on. He drags it closer with his ankle to sit on in front of the door.
It isn't that he's changed his mind and decided Tav was behaving sensibly and helpfully and no one should have told him to quiet down for the time being. It's— ]
You are in a new world. You haven't been here very long or seen very much of it. And you clearly have a lot going on—and so do we. All of us. But I should have been kinder.
[The guards already know, Bastien saw it first hand and yet Tav finds it difficult to bring up his condition.]
I broke out of my ropes after telling him they would hold me. He took first shift and had to listen to the same amount of hateful words that you did. And now I’m even more useless in a conversation if I’m yelling at f…
[Friends is the word he’s about to say, but if he’s honest, he’s not sure if Bastien should forgive him, or if they even qualified as friends in the first place.
It’s a horribly lonely life behind bars.
Tav clears his throat and shakes his head.]
Thank you for coming. There’s no apology needed. Visiting is a kind enough gesture.
[ As Tav explains, Bastien nods. Hums once. No sign in any of that that Rowntree hates anyone, of course, but plenty of sign that Tav hates himself—which is fair, honestly. If Bastien couldn't help murdering people who didn't deserve it, he wouldn't be overly fond of himself either. ]
Yes, well,
[ is his only answer to the second part, a polite semi-agreement for the sake of not wasting time discussing when apologies are or are not needed.
He waits until he's successfully found and lit a cigarette to say anything else. ]
No one hates you, Tav. Not that I know of. Certainly not for what happens when you are not yourself. When people seem frustrated, it is...
[ Inhale, exhale, in anticipation of a mouthful. ]
We are at war, you know? We all work a lot. We have a lot to worry about. And in the meantime we are home to all kinds of people who are not easily accepted in Thedas—rifters like you among them—and we have spent years and money and sweat and blood convincing the world that they can trust us to do our work and to keep people safe, insofar as that is ever up to us.
So what is happening with you, it is very inconvenient. It is not only that we can't let you kill someone. Of course we can't. But we also can't let people outside of this fortress know that it was ever a risk.
And in the meantime we have the war, we have dozens of other problems we cannot set aside to worry about you. We thought our people were dead, you know? Benedict had been replaced by a demon. We thought he was dead. We were realizing he was not the only one. I should not have been short with you that way, and I am sorry, but if people are brusque with you, it is not because you hurt anyone's feelings threatening to kill them. People threaten us all the time.
[Inconvenient is a word for his condition, but with war going on around them? How much has Tav complained to Strange, to Lazar? Been downright hostile when he feels ignored in his impromptu incarceration?
When Rowan explains it all, Tav returns to the two plants to hand them back through the bars.]
[ Bastien doesn't stand up from his place on the stool to accept the plants back. He shakes his head, flicks his free hand to say no. ]
I'm no good with plants. They would be dead in a week.
[ Hyperbole. But he doesn't want them back. ]
And you haven't been an ass. You've been, [ with no insult intended, only a throwback to his prior joke about Tav's limited memories, ] a baby, in a new world where you do not know the score.
A baby that murders others at random and then complains about his jailing conditions while demons run amok.
[Tav leaves the plants to balance on the window, disappearing again back toward his bunk. Maybe he should shatter his crystal to stop him from interfering with any further Riftwatch actions. And just when he thought he’d done good, using his healing magic. Seal the hatch on his door, allow himself to be truly jailed, rather than this sort of in between going on.
If he called the guards to shoo Bastien away, would he ever come back?
Tav lays down on his bunk, springs squeaking. Perhaps it would be better to set the guards to disallow visitors after Bastien leaves.]
[ He's not going to argue. And he knows a silent dismissal when he sees one. But in this case he chooses to ignore it, settled and comfortable on his stool, smoking. ]
[There's a grumbling sound from Tav on his cot, might as well be a shining beacon of leave me alone. For once, the no filter conversationalist is out of words.]
[ Bastien says, already several feet away and not stopping. The guards will be back at their post as soon as he's convinced them to give him his playing cards. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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No, I don't want it back.
[ He steps back and turns aside, long enough to have a quick conversation with the guards, to tell them it's fine and they can take fifteen–look, here, he has a deck of cards, go sit down and play a few hands—so he can steal the stool one of them was sitting on. He drags it closer with his ankle to sit on in front of the door.
It isn't that he's changed his mind and decided Tav was behaving sensibly and helpfully and no one should have told him to quiet down for the time being. It's— ]
You are in a new world. You haven't been here very long or seen very much of it. And you clearly have a lot going on—and so do we. All of us. But I should have been kinder.
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[Which is almost just as frustrating.
Tav leans against the door to look at Bastien through the bars as they talk.]
I didn’t expect you to come looking for me.
[No filter Tav is back again.]
I’m not wildly popular these days. Makes sense. I think even the Captain hates me now, so I assumed you would be in the same boat.
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Bastien crosses one leg over the other and tilts his head, considering. ]
What makes you think Captain Rowntree hates you?
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[The guards already know, Bastien saw it first hand and yet Tav finds it difficult to bring up his condition.]
I broke out of my ropes after telling him they would hold me. He took first shift and had to listen to the same amount of hateful words that you did. And now I’m even more useless in a conversation if I’m yelling at f…
[Friends is the word he’s about to say, but if he’s honest, he’s not sure if Bastien should forgive him, or if they even qualified as friends in the first place.
It’s a horribly lonely life behind bars.
Tav clears his throat and shakes his head.]
Thank you for coming. There’s no apology needed. Visiting is a kind enough gesture.
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Yes, well,
[ is his only answer to the second part, a polite semi-agreement for the sake of not wasting time discussing when apologies are or are not needed.
He waits until he's successfully found and lit a cigarette to say anything else. ]
No one hates you, Tav. Not that I know of. Certainly not for what happens when you are not yourself. When people seem frustrated, it is...
[ Inhale, exhale, in anticipation of a mouthful. ]
We are at war, you know? We all work a lot. We have a lot to worry about. And in the meantime we are home to all kinds of people who are not easily accepted in Thedas—rifters like you among them—and we have spent years and money and sweat and blood convincing the world that they can trust us to do our work and to keep people safe, insofar as that is ever up to us.
So what is happening with you, it is very inconvenient. It is not only that we can't let you kill someone. Of course we can't. But we also can't let people outside of this fortress know that it was ever a risk.
And in the meantime we have the war, we have dozens of other problems we cannot set aside to worry about you. We thought our people were dead, you know? Benedict had been replaced by a demon. We thought he was dead. We were realizing he was not the only one. I should not have been short with you that way, and I am sorry, but if people are brusque with you, it is not because you hurt anyone's feelings threatening to kill them. People threaten us all the time.
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When Rowan explains it all, Tav returns to the two plants to hand them back through the bars.]
I’ve been an enormous ass.
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I'm no good with plants. They would be dead in a week.
[ Hyperbole. But he doesn't want them back. ]
And you haven't been an ass. You've been, [ with no insult intended, only a throwback to his prior joke about Tav's limited memories, ] a baby, in a new world where you do not know the score.
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[Tav leaves the plants to balance on the window, disappearing again back toward his bunk. Maybe he should shatter his crystal to stop him from interfering with any further Riftwatch actions. And just when he thought he’d done good, using his healing magic. Seal the hatch on his door, allow himself to be truly jailed, rather than this sort of in between going on.
If he called the guards to shoo Bastien away, would he ever come back?
Tav lays down on his bunk, springs squeaking. Perhaps it would be better to set the guards to disallow visitors after Bastien leaves.]
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[ He's not going to argue. And he knows a silent dismissal when he sees one. But in this case he chooses to ignore it, settled and comfortable on his stool, smoking. ]
Want to play a game?
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Right.
[ He stands up after all, adjusts his clothes, and scoots the stool back to its place to the side of the door. ]
Have a good evening, then. Send me a message if you get bored enough.
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[ Bastien says, already several feet away and not stopping. The guards will be back at their post as soon as he's convinced them to give him his playing cards. ]
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Bastien.
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I told you, with me they will die,
[ and resumes it without missing any additional beats.
He's not coming back; once he's scooped up his cards, he heads down the hall and down the stairs. ]