[ his eyes remain closed and he looks remarkably at peace for what he's about to say. more notable is the lack of inflection in his voice, not quite monotone or flat, but hollow and empty. ]
I was her tactician in that campaign, the one who advised her on her next moves and had her implicit trust. And I was the one who sabotaged her chance, on purpose.
And before you ask, I don't feel any guilt or remorse for it at all.
[He can kind of tell from that tone of voice that Khun feels no guilt about it. But the question is why; there must be a reason behind it. Killing his own family... but then, Khun's family is very different from anything Malice has ever heard of before, so there's certainly more to the story here.]
[ there's a lot of things he could say here that might make the context seem better, more sympathetic, more human.
but he's not going to say to them.
because as valid as those reasons might be, they're not the reason he acted the way he did. he wasn't pushed to the brink, and though his training was inhumane and cruel, he grew up bearing it and never knew anything else. at the heart of it, the reason he made the choice to betray his blood sister and his mother is— ]
There was something I wanted to see happen, so I made it into reality. It wasn't for the greater good or anything like that, but an entirely personal reason.
[ he opens his eyes then and sits up, deep blue pupils focused on the other wizard. ]
That's the kind of person I am, Malice. Who will do anything to achieve what he wants, no matter what that is, with no regard for who gets hurt in the process even if they die because of it. And that's why I know a thing or two about being a bad person and why you shouldn't trust me.
[It occurs to him that Khun doesn't need to warn him. It's not like Rosalie or Lotisse warned him before betraying him. (Though he really should have known better than to trust either of them...) And it brings back memories of telling Cody the same thing. You can't trust a vampire. You can't trust me.]
I appreciate the warnin'. But your goals... can you carry them out here? Or are you just workin' to get home, back to 'em?
[It's not judgmental. He does agree that what Khun did was terrible and that he sounds like a pretty bad person, but the most important thing is how it affects Malice. He'll keep the warning in mind, certainly, but if Khun has no interest in pursuing his goals here, then that likely means that he'll be willing to work alongside them.]
[ he smiles now, some of his usual energy seeping back into his voice. it's not a mask really, he certainly wouldn't have told malice any of this if it was, but more like a layer. sometimes it might be hard to see what he's like underneath, but he never really fully disguises it either. ]
I can't. But I think I can use what I'll learn here to achieve them back in my world.
Fair enough. I ain't got any issues with you as long as you ain't betrayin' me. But like I said, I do appreciate the warnin'.
[And just like that, it seems like everything's fine again on his end.]
I've got some unfinished business back home too, an' I'm lookin' forward to seein' what I can learn here that'll make that easier. 'Course, if I can take the magic back with me, that'd be great.
[ he leans back on the bed with both of his hands. ]
In light of all of that, I don't think I need to explain to you why I won't be offering my blood to you or anyone else. Even if I wanted to, I don't think it would be a good idea.
[ his blood is special given who his father is and for all he knows that would transfer and we probably do not need suped up vamps? ]
But I imagine you probably have a list of volunteers already.
If you start to climb the Tower but give up midway, you can live to 500 years old or so. And if you become an actual regular and don't use your wish on immortality, one thousand years old isn't unheard of.
Of course this assumes you don't get killed in combat, which is pretty common.
Depends on a lotta factors. If the human's playin' nice with the vampires in the region an' they don't piss 'em off, then I think the oldest live to be around... seventy? Maybe? I've never met an older human, so I can't say for sure. Most of 'em die younger, either 'cause the vampires ain't careful with 'em, or 'cause they're tryin' to rebel against the vampires.
[ he rolls himself off malice's bed in one smooth motion. ]
I'll research it and get back to you. [ ...it's going to bug the hell out of him otherwise and it's extremely weird to think about. because yeah, people die early in the tower all the time but that's because it's a kill or be killed world, not because of old age or disease. ]
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no subject
Well, I kinda have'ta, don't I? We're workin' together toward a common goal, after all.
[Is that a good enough answer?]
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Do you remember what I told you about my sister, and her endeavor to become a Princess?
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Yeah, I do. What happened?
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I was her tactician in that campaign, the one who advised her on her next moves and had her implicit trust. And I was the one who sabotaged her chance, on purpose.
And before you ask, I don't feel any guilt or remorse for it at all.
no subject
Why'd you do that?
no subject
but he's not going to say to them.
because as valid as those reasons might be, they're not the reason he acted the way he did. he wasn't pushed to the brink, and though his training was inhumane and cruel, he grew up bearing it and never knew anything else. at the heart of it, the reason he made the choice to betray his blood sister and his mother is— ]
There was something I wanted to see happen, so I made it into reality. It wasn't for the greater good or anything like that, but an entirely personal reason.
[ he opens his eyes then and sits up, deep blue pupils focused on the other wizard. ]
That's the kind of person I am, Malice. Who will do anything to achieve what he wants, no matter what that is, with no regard for who gets hurt in the process even if they die because of it. And that's why I know a thing or two about being a bad person and why you shouldn't trust me.
no subject
[It occurs to him that Khun doesn't need to warn him. It's not like Rosalie or Lotisse warned him before betraying him. (Though he really should have known better than to trust either of them...) And it brings back memories of telling Cody the same thing. You can't trust a vampire. You can't trust me.]
I appreciate the warnin'. But your goals... can you carry them out here? Or are you just workin' to get home, back to 'em?
[It's not judgmental. He does agree that what Khun did was terrible and that he sounds like a pretty bad person, but the most important thing is how it affects Malice. He'll keep the warning in mind, certainly, but if Khun has no interest in pursuing his goals here, then that likely means that he'll be willing to work alongside them.]
no subject
I can't. But I think I can use what I'll learn here to achieve them back in my world.
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Fair enough. I ain't got any issues with you as long as you ain't betrayin' me. But like I said, I do appreciate the warnin'.
[And just like that, it seems like everything's fine again on his end.]
I've got some unfinished business back home too, an' I'm lookin' forward to seein' what I can learn here that'll make that easier. 'Course, if I can take the magic back with me, that'd be great.
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[ so it's less of a warning and more equal footing? malice has earned that at least. ]
Taking magic back would make this more than worth it, but even without it, I'm sure I'll have a few souvenirs to take back with me.
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Hah, be sure to get your hands on some good ones, then!
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[ he leans back on the bed with both of his hands. ]
In light of all of that, I don't think I need to explain to you why I won't be offering my blood to you or anyone else. Even if I wanted to, I don't think it would be a good idea.
[ his blood is special given who his father is and for all he knows that would transfer and we probably do not need suped up vamps? ]
But I imagine you probably have a list of volunteers already.
no subject
I sure do. It's kinda crazy how many people volunteered? So yeah, I'll be just fine. Thanks for lettin' me know, though.
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There's more kindhearted people here than I'm used to dealing with. We have our share of them in the Tower, but they're stuck in the Outer Tower.
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[Well. They didn't last very long.]
The Outer Tower?
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[ ...he may not know people do not normally live that "young". ]
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[...]
So how old do people get if they do leave?
/2
[ way shorter...
??????? ]
no subject
Of course this assumes you don't get killed in combat, which is pretty common.
no subject
[And they'd probably kill for immortality.]
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You said human lifespans are much shorter. How short is that?
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[Humans try so hard...]
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[ this is the most shocking thing he's learned since arriving here. ]
no subject
[What if his world is the weird one. Oh god.]
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I'll research it and get back to you. [ ...it's going to bug the hell out of him otherwise and it's extremely weird to think about. because yeah, people die early in the tower all the time but that's because it's a kill or be killed world, not because of old age or disease. ]
(no subject)