asgardeventide | [ 5

... The one who looked like me?

[He pauses, knits his brow a bit. The resemblance is uncanny and he just...needs a moment before he shakes his head.]

Yes. She looks...strikingly similar, when she wants.

I'm sorry. [ She pauses for a moment, looking a little confused, brow knitting together, because she's trying to figure out how to phrase an apology like this. For your loss? It's a loss, even if the girl isn't dead... But she's not dead. So it sounds a little grim. ] That she's gone. That has to be hard, to lose someone twice.

[He watches her think through the apology, nodding when she finishes it, unable to hold back a sort of tired smile.]

I never imagined I would grow accustomed to something like that. Losing someone more than once like this. [Erik shakes his head, though. No real point in...well. No point in dwelling on it. Not when she could return any day, come back without memories of their time here. The things they've done.]

Thank you, though.

I think it's one of the sacrifices we have to make here. It isn't fair, and it isn't right, but for everything else they've given us... Maybe it's the price we pay, for being so comfortable.

It's not as if we have much say in the matter, whether we want these comforts or not.

I'm guessing you don't.

Not in the least.

It must be easier, where you're from.

Easier how?

Easier to live. Where I'm from, it makes living here seem like some paradise. We have more freedom here than anyone ever could have back home.

[Inara replies with video because she quite dislikes how impersonal texts are.]

I am truly sorry to hear that, I quite liked her.

[Truth is, Erik would rather not converse over video, only because he'd prefer to avoid any sort of comments as to how tired he must look. Exhausted, even. But he does reply with video, for courtesy if nothing else, and nods.]

She is - was - of an entirely different breed. Special.

[Inara is entirely too polite to make such comments to people she's only just met. She does notice though, but smiles sympathetically, knowing how hard it is to lose a friend.]

She certainly was. Were you two close?

Close... [ He needs a moment to think about that, his brow furrowing. ] Yes, you could say that. Both back home and here, Raven and I...

Well. We've been through a lot. Though the city did bring us closer, I can't speak for what our relationship will continue to be when I finally return.

[Inara's expression softens as she listens to him.]

Then I am truly sorry for the loss of your friend. Perhaps she'll return and your friendship can continue to grow and blossom.

[ Erik resists the urge to massage his temple, thinking back to when Raven was originally here. Then left. And how different she had been when she returned again. ]

I almost do not wish for her return. [ It's spoken quietly, almost like a confession. ] Our situation is much better there, and it pained her to be the person the gods forced her to be.

I can only imagine. [To her, it wasn't so bad. She had Mal there and at one point she'd had Simon and River there as well. None she had planned on ever seeing again when they'd been in their own world.]

I wish I knew what to say to make this easier for you... But this isn't a situation I'm entirely use to to.

I am sorry for your loss, ser. Mayhaps she will come to this realm again.

Edited 2013-02-23 12:59 (UTC)

Judging by the gods past actions? I wouldn't be surprised.

[And maybe he sounds a little bitter at that. A different bitter from when Charles left. More raw, more angry. Exhausted.]

[ neither would robb if he's being honest. daenery's second departure has left raw and jamie lannisters has been a sharp shot of relief. ]

I'd suggest carding little faith in them. Was she of your world?

[A snort.]

What little faith I might have had in these gods has disappeared long ago.

[If he were being honest, it was after the first time he lost them. Both of them. He woke up one morning and they were gone and then the two of them returned, so different from the last, and he realized how futile it all was.

But then his demeanor changes. Of his world?]

She was. [There's a little something hanging there, a weight to his shoulders. Raven was much more than just of his world.] And she has returned to it, something I'm sure she's quite pleased with.

[ robb's felt the same thing. this is the second instance he's had of arya, and the times have not made it kinder for her. he's witnessed much and even has asgard has worn on him slightly. there is a part of him, that still believes - i would rather be here but it's been far too long since his duties have been left to abandon. ]

They cloak their grievances in small blessings, I think.

[ he doesn't even know erik's name but he asks for curiosity's sake. ]

Do you wish to return?

Their blessings hardly make up for it.

[The more Erik stays, the more he sees travelers who would rather stay. And he finds an odd sort of cruelty, a ironic sort, in watching each of them leave. Especially while he remains as he does.]

I do. [It's a simple answer, really. No use in trying to lengthen it. Explain it. Erik's lips are pressed in a thin line, for really that is all he wants. He could care less about this world, this war. The only people he could have, would have, cared for are both gone (have both come and gone, twice now) and have left him without much of a purpose. Much of a reason to do anything.

Pyro remains, but he is of a life Erik hasn't yet lived. A future of his that may or may not even exist.] Do you not?

Mayhaps, they have granted you little fortunes.

[ Robb would rather stay, at the core of it. He has duties that were sworn to him, but the break is refreshing. It's a time he'd never thought he'd see again. He never stepped into the battlefield with the purposes of glory. ]

They have been kind enough to let me be with my family, here. I have learnt it is not the same for all.

[ a beat. ]

I have duties in my realm, this time I've spent here is welcome.

They do seem to favor certain Travelers.

[It's not said with any malice or bitterness. Erik hardly blames the pawns in all this.]

Have you kept your family for long?

[This much he is indeed interested in. People seem to come and go regularly, though some for long period and others for brief ones. He'd love to know if there's a pattern, or if certain Travelers are just more congruent with what the gods want. What they're looking for.]

They have granted me enough comforts that I've agreed to fight their wars, ser. I have no intention of giving them the loyalties of my house, save for that.

[ he feels it too. with how often people are coming and going. coupled with the disappearance and the re-appearance of the lannisters. ]

Aye. I have two sisters and a brother, here. Have you known others from your realm?

Intentions and realities do not always match.

[ You give the gods anything - your loyalties or your thanks - and they will simply take it as their own. Run with it. Erik refuses to even acknowledge the gods for what they did provide him (a chance to see Charles again, be brothers again, and Raven...) because that would mean thanking them.

And that is just something he cannot do. Will not do. ]

Both of the closest people I have to me have come and gone.

[ Robb on the other hand is content with what they've provided. His mother has always warned him, to be good to the seven - and they'll be just as good at to you. He's had his moment where he's watched his father find solace in the Godswood to turn his worship to the faceless. There are lines he feels like he cannot tread. ]

Then we make it so that our intentions become realities.

[ erik's situation is a difficult one, and robb knows the depths of loss one can feel. ]

Mayhaps, I did not know them. But I wish you more kindness, ser. To have something again only for it to be taken away - --

I cannot find what pain you must feel.

You speak as if you have some influence over the gods' whims. The longer I've remained in the city, the more I realize how futile thoughts like that can be.

[ But he's also just an angry old man, can you really blame him? ]

Even I could not wish my situation on others. [ He's not bitter. Not bitter at all. ] I would suggest you keep your family close, my friend. But even that won't stop the gods if they finally lose their hold on them.

Then what other choice do we have, ser? If we rebel - they will take it as reason to be against us.

[ and robb is an idealistic youth who thinks he can take on the world. ]

They are nothing but close.

[ and later, when he finds that Alayne Stone's name has disappeared from the list on the bracelet - he will comb back and re-read this conversation and think. how could he be so wrong ]

There are always other choices. It's just a matter of finding one that works.

[ They both carry their ideologies in very different ways. You can call yourself invincible for as long as you like, but it's not until you go up against the greater power that you really test it.

Erik quite used to being the only one, butting heads with a monster, biting at the heels of a giant until they finally fall. Because they all do, at some point.

But then he just nods. ]

Then I hope you do not have to undergo what I have, and that they remain so.

And what suits you, ser?

[ he's heard of people be vocal with regards to the opinions against the gods, and he cannot help but wonder if the man he is speaking to is one of them. ]

I should wish so. This realm is better for us, I think.

[ Vocal, maybe, but stupid? Not so much. The gods have eyes and ears everywhere. And he doesn't trust these bracelets in the least bit. ]

What suits me is to not be pulled and pushed around at the pleasure of others.

[ Pawns, soldiers, men; whatever it is you want to call them. He's done. ]

Just do not place to much comfort in the current state of things. Change is what the gods thrive on, after all. Our "emotional responses".

[ neither does robb if he's being a hundred percent honest. he knows a god who shares his face, so that makes him all the more weary. ]

Do you think they should take away those who are dear to us to place more colour in the city?

I wouldn't put it past them, no.

[ can you tell how much respect he has for these "gods"? ]

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