ravenswrath | (no subject)

[ Alan's look of surprise is hard to hide even if he wanted to, blue eyes slightly narrowed as he pulls his attention back to Corvo proper. Confusion, too. ]

He's that upset because you found a way to hack the system?

[He frowns, sipping the coffee to test it.]

What does that mean?

Get into everyone's stuff.

[ He should probably be a bit more worried about what Corvo's done. He's a very private person. There's a drawer next to his typewriter containing papers willed with written word and Corvo's flat out said he's snooped because he's bored, but Alan genuinely doesn't think the other's going to sneak around and read it. ]

How did you manage it?

I am the plaything of a god. [He shows him the mark on the back of his hand.]

I can do anything I want. Except escape here, apparently.

[ Alan leans forward. The writer's room isn't nearly as dimly lit as it once was, courtesy of Saga and the rest of the barge. There are so many people helping you. Armies of people. Mr. Door's words echo as he takes stock of the mark, tries his best to memorize it out of curiosity. ]

'The plaything of a God' is one hell of a hook.

[ He lets Corvo decide if he wants to talk about it. Tries to ignore the strange sting of guilt that comes with it, too. ]

You and that woman. Talking about stories and hooks.

[He leans back, hands around his cup.]

I needed help. He needed entertainment.

[ There's that guilt again. The circumstances are different, but the situation seems similar. Probably he shouldn't compare himself to a God. He's not, though. He's a master of many worlds.

That's most likely not very different. ]

Who's 'that woman?'

Edited 2024-07-10 19:01 (UTC)

Saga Anderson.

[He really did not enjoy that conversation.]

[ Alan's face is full of understanding, wince far more empathetic than it's been before. ]

Yeah. We worked together back home, briefly. She has a way of pinning down exactly who you are pretty quickly.

I don't think she likes me much.

[He doesn't know how he feels about that.]

[ There's a very brief pause. ]

I'm not sure she likes me either, sometimes. But Saga doesn't have to like you to help you or try to understand where you're coming from. She's a good person.

[He shakes his head.]

It doesn't matter. [He's not here to talk about her, because that means he'll talk about his own shit.]

Why are you here?

On the barge?

[Corvo nods. He wants to know what brought him here, what drew him here.]

[ There's a brief pause as Alan leans back, lips pulling tight as he visibly tries to wrestle with the weight of it all. A loaded question doesn't begin to describe it, but he glances over at Corvo. Loaded question for loaded question.

Fuck it. He sighs, shrugs in a way that still comes across as entirely too stuff, too uncomfortable. ]

Same as you, I guess. I fucked up.

[ A pause. ]

But I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

[He accepts the answer, drinking his coffee casually, as if they're simply discussing the weather.]

As would I.

We're probably here because of that.

[ It's high on Alan's list of probable reasons. That small ghost of a smile is back. ]

Because we're too stubborn.

Edited 2024-07-15 13:30 (UTC)

Or too stupid.

[He will happily admit that.]

Or too stupid.

[ The smile is replaced by something else, something genuine. Real. He decides he likes Corvo's company. And maybe there's something to say about that--a man trying to play God, a man trapped being God's plaything.

He decides not to examine it. Take another sip. Enjoy someone else's company, for once. ]

You think about staying after you graduate?

Yes.

[It's a relatively new answer for him.]

I have an obligation to someone who died under my watch.

[ Alan's browse raise. ]

Oh?

[He runs his tongue along his teeth, staring at the cup in his hands.]

I was the Empress' bodyguard. She was assassinated.

I need to get her back.

[ Alan's quiet for a second, looking at the typewriter on the desk. ]

Someone going to the ends of the earth for someone else, stopping at nothing, clawing their way out of their own personal journey--learning from it--and in turn teaching others.

[ He glances back over to Corvo. ]

It makes a great story.

Keep talking like that and I'm walking out.

[He's only half joking.]

[ Alan inhales through his nose a little bit, nodding. Half joke or not, message received. ]

I have a hard time turning it off. I don't think I can at this point.