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[massrez]

☙INBOX text ♔ audio ♙ video ♔ action Kindly leave your missives and they will be responded to with utmost haste. May you walk in the Light.

Done this day by my hand, King Anduin Llane Wrynn

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[deathstiny]

[That coaxes a smile from him. It was rare enough that Anduin took his lessons to heart -- at least this one came without greater cost. Wrathion uncrosses his arms, allowing one hand to rest upon each knee. The name was familiar to him, though he'd only spoken to the man once.]

That is the best course of action, I think.

[He reaches for his tea.]

I confess, I am surprised you did not ask Gilia first.

[Sip.]

[massrez]

[ Ah. There. The mask slips for a moment, Anduin's brow pinched tight as he distracts himself with the tea.

A long drink, and he clears his throat. ]

I might have.

But it appears she's quite happy with her current arrangement. I couldn't be happier for them.

[deathstiny]

[Wrathion tilts his head as he observes Anduin's reaction. It might have been truth -- but there was disappointment there, he was sure.

He debates on how he wants to comment. Point out his hesitation -- whether in regards to asking, or answering. Or...]

Ask her in three months, when her contract expires.

[Offer a bit of hope.]

Or -- perhaps a bit ahead of that.

[massrez]

[ It's telling how distracted the subject has him that he seems to have forgotten that it's his turn. The advice offered is perhaps the last thing he'd have expected from the dragon.

A lecture on why he should have listened to him, perhaps. Or mocking his attachment to sentiment.

This...actually surprises him. ]

...she's happy with him, Wrathion. She's found what I wanted for myself, in my own contract. I wouldn't deny her that.

[deathstiny]

[Something on Wrathion's expression tells enough of the story as he lowers his cup. So Anduin did not, perhaps, learn as well as he thought he had.]

What you want in a contract is not possible to achieve. Certainly not in such a short amount of a time. I would have thought you learned that already.

[Whether Gilia realizes that or not yet...well. That was another conversation. Whatever was going on there would not last.

Perhaps easy enough for a long-lived being to say and observe academically. It does not matter very much to him, after all. All of these were temporary arrangements and small flirtations at most, in Wrathion's eyes.]

As you like, of course. [He gestures to the board.] It is your move.

[massrez]

Ah. So it is.

[ And he shifts another piece closer to the edge, frowning thoughtfully at the state of the board. Or so it seems.

Thought of Gilia, of hope for anything regarding her, can wait until later. When Wrathion isn't studying him quite so intently.

Speaking of which-- ]

How goes your search?

[deathstiny]

[So Ramir hadn't told him? Interesting. He advances a piece toward the center with a poignant click.

He could lie. Or he could playfully obfuscate. But then it would make it seem as if he cared more about the contract than he did.]

You've already met her.

[massrez]

Not for a Submissive.

[ And one of his pieces, which seemed to be moving towards the edge, swept back in to take Wrathion's piece from the side. ]

For him.

[deathstiny]

[Ah. Clever.

He frowns, leaning forward to consult the move. One claw taps against his cup, and his reply is full of confused innocence.]

You are going to have to be more specific.

[massrez]

Now who's being coy.

[ Anduin's brow arches lightly. ]

Hellboy. Either you're looking for him currently, or you intend to.

[deathstiny]

[Wrathion shrugs both of his shoulders, moving his center piece away from the confrontation forming at the middle of the board.]

I don't suspect I would have much trouble, if I was. He rather stands out, don't you think?

[The smile that follows is not genuine.]

[massrez]

[ Anduin slides his piece in the center forward, taking the opening presented. ]

He does, yes.

[ Half-human, Jacob had said. Likely someone who'd grown up in the world of men, and Light only knew how he'd been treated by those he met. Who saw only the appearance of a monster. ]

I've already had to ask at least two people not to pursue him on my account. Khadgar was somewhat more understanding.

[ Tim Stoker, less so. But the man had his reasons. ]

[deathstiny]

Is that so? Popular, aren't we.

[Obviously, Wrathion understands what Anduin is getting at here. But he is not about to change his mind. Aside from the fact that Anduin was far too valuable to him for many reasons, Hellboy was clearly someone who needed tabs kept on him.

City magical interference or not.

Another piece, far off in the corner, is moved forward.]

How many visitors did you have, I wonder?

[massrez]

I wasn't exactly keeping count as they came in.

[ Anduin huffs, pressing up another piece to join the foremost advance down the center. Quietly, he recalls what he can from the moment Wrathion left. ]

Anders and Khadgar offered some potions to help me recover, as I said. Ramir and Gilia brought food, Jacob helped me get cleaned up. There may have been a few others besides.

[ Hm. When he says it out loud... ]

...More than I expected.

[deathstiny]

[The piece on the left turns to shift its path. A careful dance with the one at the other end of the board.]

Precisely the amount I might have expected.

[It is both a genuine response and a deflection at the same time. After all, Anduin being likable was not necessarily new information to anyone. But it's the easiest way to affirm that he's not about to be talked out of whatever he is doing.

He eyeballs his empty cup and sets it down in favor of folding his arms again.]

As I said -- the last time I saw you in such a state, it was considered a miracle that you had managed to recover. It is only natural for others to desire some sort of action in response.

[massrez]

Having lived through both, I can tell you definitively which was worse.

[ One piece near the end shifts course, preparing for whatever clever maneuver Wrathion thinks he's about to pull, before Anduin leans closer. ]

It's not the same. Not remotely.

[deathstiny]

[Some part of him can guess, even without the visual cues from the king. After all, while he hadn't been in Anduin's shoes before ... he had certainly been in Hellboy's. That is a sobering thought on its own.

Thinking about it makes his spine crawl uncomfortably. Enough that he goes quiet to focus on staring at the board rather than making a move.]

Perhaps not.

[The difference was that he'd tried to make amends with Ramir after the fact -- to some small degree. But he quickly finds that he needs another distraction, and instead stands with the intent of going to pour more tea for himself, effectively pausing the game.]

[massrez]

[ He debates leaving it there for now. Then something in his jaw sets. He rises to his feet, trailing just behind and standing at the threshold of the kitchen while Wrathion retrieves the teapot. ]

Do you know how long it took before I could move on my own, after the bell?

[ It doesn't require an answer. The implication is enough. ]

Physically, what it took to recover after that night was a drop in the bucket, compared to the bell. I was pain, yes, but it wasn't anything I couldn't survive, and hadn't before.

[deathstiny]

You don't need to convince me. I was there.

[His tone is even, perhaps a bit too detached from the whole affair. This is messy. Engaging with this is messy. Technically, he'd only been there for one of those recoveries.

Pouring his tea gives him something to do, but it does not stop his mind from ticking. That is really the crux of it all, isn't it? The concern (if it could be called that, as Wrathion was still struggling to grapple with his own emotions at the same time) was no longer for Anduin's ability to physically withstand the challenges in front of him.

But the rest...]

[massrez]

Then what?

[ A hand goes to the counter as he watches the tea pour, before his eyes lift to Wrathion's face in profile, as unreadable as ever. ]

What are you so afraid of?

[deathstiny]

[The teapot settles back down and Wrathion turns to Anduin, looking less amused now that he's come for him so directly. But they're in the thick of this now, which means he continues to carefully school his expression.]

That is an interesting question to be asking me. How did you settle on 'fear', exactly?

[massrez]

I asked myself what's the thing you'd try the most to hide.

[ A weakness. Anduin sighs, before pressing in just a step closer. No further. No need to make him feel more cornered than he already likely does. ]

Not that you aren't forever trying to hide whatever it is you're actually feeling, and it's not as if I don't understand why. I do. But I'm not going to use this against you, or try hurt you with it. I just want to understand. Help me understand.

[deathstiny]

[Wrathion sips his tea in consideration, but does not withdraw from the conversation just yet. The gears are obviously turning. He hadn't prepared for such a direct conversion about his fears surrounding Anduin's relentless pursuit of self-destruction.

Maybe like, somethin adjacent to that. But not this.]

And what if I don't think you are ready to understand?

[As soon as it is out of his mouth, he sighs in disgust with himself. It isn't that he wants to talk about it -- but trying to avoid it this way just makes him sound like.

Well. A cultist.]

Nevermind. Just sit, and I will...attempt to explain.

[massrez]

[ His brow furrows in confusion at first, before it seems like Wrathion might finally relent. That's more than he'd hoped for, really.

So, he hops up onto the counter, hands folded between his knees as he watches the dragon hopefully, waiting for whatever came next.

Regardless of what it is? He's listening. ]

[deathstiny]

[He had thought he might go back to the board and give him a bit of space -- but somehow, it is just like Anduin to immediately act at the slightest hint of acquiescence. So he shakes his head and creates the distance himself, retreating to the opposite wall in order to lean upon it.

Where does he begin, here? It has all become a complicated web stemming from one source -- so perhaps it is best to start with that.]

You are right. It is time we discussed what I have been doing for the past while. Before my time here.

[This is Anduin's last chance to opt out of that conversation while he is in recovery -- or for him to relocate.]