in_theworks | inbox_a bastard son and a rebel

Those that care for us catch sight of us from a different vantage point, for better and worse.

( the people that care for them are able to see things they might not see in themselves.

Wrench's question gives her pause, as she'd been ruminating on that very subject. )

No. Not anymore. Fauna, perhaps, but ( the corners of her mouth lift ) her sense of humor might be dirtier than yours.

[he gasps comically, one hand coming up to rest over his heart as the mask jumps from (!_!) to (<3_<3)]

Someone with a dirtier sense of humor than me? Be still my heart!

[he holds there just long enough, just for effect, then drops his hands into his lap]

Seriously, though. Tell me about her?

( A small laugh.

She is trying to picture Fauna and Wrench in the same room, and it does make her smile. She misses her friend. Emilia doesn't have too many of those. She never has, at first because she was a witch in hiding, and now... why ever would she invite someone to join her on the road she's going down? )

Fauna is what you would describe, I believe, as a little hard core. She fastens little animal skulls in her hair. She likes arboriculture but also being scandalous. There's not a weapon she wouldn't arm herself with, I don't think.

( She's also... not human. But they'll get to that. )

Okay, but seriously. [he puts both hands over his heart] I think I'm in love.

[a beat]

You think she'd be into monster trucks?

[it's hard to tell if he's honestly asking, or just giving her more of an opportunity to talk about her friend. it could go either way. it could go both ways]

( Her laughter subsides following that beat, and she tilts her head to the side. Tries to envision these monster trucks he has spoken about. They were very much not a Thing in her world and her time period, but Wrench does have a way of painting a vivid picture. )

You know, I think so.

( She lightly nudges his shoulder. Or tries to. These suits are murder. )

I think she'd like you and Marcus, too.

( Emilia doesn't want to forget to acknowledge this person, this person who is important to him, and that he trusted her with that, too. )

[he nudges back, best he can]

Pfft, like that's hard. Everyone loves Marcus.

[Marcus is just -- he's a good man. (^_^) he might have kind of crushed on him, if he didn't know Marcus wasn't entirely straight. best friend he can make dick jokes with works just as well, though. he wouldn't trade their relationship for the world]

But yeah, maybe one day, you can introduce us.

[because that'll totally happen. he wants to pretend it's plausible, right now, though]

( A genuine smile tugs on her face. )

Perhaps one day I can, Wrench.

( That it is not probable doesn't mean it isn't possible, especially with these beacons in play. She wouldn't want Fauna here any more than Wrench would Marcus, but it could happen. There's very little Emilia rules out, preferring instead to be ready for most anything.

Silence settles between them, for a bit, and she lets it. It's the comfortable sort.

She's aware she risks ruining that by what she says next. ) May I ask you something? It's about that day in the tower.

[she doesn't ruin it, per se, but there's a definite shift in his mood. he figures he knows what she's going to ask, and -- well, at least it's her. despite their rocky start, she's probably the person she trusts the most, here]

As long as I can, like, reserve the right not to answer or whatever.

[but he probably will answer. probably]

I would like to think that goes with anything we ask each other.

( In a strange turn of events, that they are both mistrusting allows them a measure of trust with each other in turn, if only for this unspoken understanding. She respects there are parts of himself he is not willing to give. Especially in worlds like this one, where they must be on guard. )

I suppose it's not a question, really. At least, not entirely. We just never spoke of it. There was never time. It felt odd to not acknowledge that I saw you. ( That she knows why he wears the mask that he does. )

Cool.

[and then she makes her statement, and sighs, deflating a little. he knew where this was going, he knew she was going to ask about that, but it will forever be a sore spot]

People -- [he starts, stops. no, that's not what he wants to say. he's not sure what he does want to say. it's a long time before he decides on something]

Marcus didn't even know what I looked like, under the mask, until pretty recently. [a beat] I got arrested and they took it from me, trying to torture me into giving him up. [and another] I didn't. [and yet another] When Marcus came to break me out ...

( Emilia does not rush him. Patience is a talent she has not fully mastered, but she is much better than she once was. Biding her time, and not just with her schemes. This is difficult for him to say, and she is not without consideration for it. He doesn't finish, but he doesn't need to.

She gets the picture. )

It wasn't your choice.

( Not with Marcus, and not with her. With them, at the tower. She sounds regretful, though she is aware she is not at fault. Not with this. )

It should have been.

[Wrench shrugs]

Story of my life.

Like, I've got these other friends, back home -- Sitara and Josh. [Sitara's kind of the group mom. Josh is very much a little brother to him] Me and Sitara were out drinking, and these guys who are kind of dicks -- kind of our rivals -- showed up, and started riding my ass. And there was this barfight, and they broke the mask, and ...

[and Sitara'd had to get it off him, because it was sparking. and she'd helped him home and he'd started trying to fix it, and Josh had been there, and he hadn't realized it, and]

[yeah, he's never actually willingly shown someone his face. he might have gotten there with Marcus, with Sitara and Josh, but the choice has always been taken from him]

( So there have been more incidents like the one in the Tower.

... Well. Not exactly like the one in the Tower, nothing has ever been like it, but. )

That would be infuriating. It is not the same, of course. The wounds I've wished to conceal are not the physical sort. But and I understand the importance of a secret. ( If she hadn't withheld the fact she was a witch in Palermo, she would have burned to death.

She doesn't think Wrench needs to hide his scars and would see him no differently, but it doesn't matter, because Wrench does. )

It worked out? [Sitara and Josh didn't judge him like his real family, his blood family always had -- like most strangers always had. neither did Marcus] But yeah, it's -- yeah.

I don't know.

Still a sore spot or whatever, I guess.

I understand. I don't mean to ask again.

( Especially knowing this is still something of an open wound for him. Knowledge of such a thing can make them so vulnerable to each other. It allows them understanding, but at what cost? She thought she could trust Antonio. She thought she could trust her family.

She thought a lot of things. )

inbox_a bastard son and a rebel

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