towerofanimus | just this once, everybody lives!

I will sit on him if it comes to that. Or tell him you will break his arm if he leaves. Sound good?

[Diarmuid laughs.]

And if you find him down there, make sure he does rest and isn't ignoring any injuries. You know my brother.

Just don't injure him further if he's hurt. That's mostly my job.

[A slight wrinkling of her nose.]

I swear if he passed out before letting us know he was ok, I'll punch him for the both of us.

That is a job I entrust to your tender hands. Do it well if that is the case.

[Diarmuid pauses for a moment, a serious look entering his eyes.]

Make sure you talk to him about what you want to do when this is all done. He's invited to come with me and Waver, which means you are invited as well if you want to come...

[And by invited, he means dragged along by their ears, but...details.]

I'll do what I can.

[If the sudden change catches her off-guard, what follows keeps her off-kilter, eyes widening marginally and hand immediately moving to her mouth, teeth setting against her fingernail in a slightly nervous gesture.]

...wait, what? I don't... [A pause, and then-] I mean, I assumed if I left here, I'd be dead. I am at home, but...

[Her gaze falls, brows drawing down.]

I hadn't considered going anywhere but there.

[Diarmuid's expression softens, though mentally he is wondering why his brother hasn't gotten around to mentioning this option to her before now. He just might have to smack Cu Chulainn himself when he sees him next.]

Why go back to a place where your path has ended when there are those who want you to join them on one that is just beginning? You deserve the chance to live your life as you want it and on your terms.

[He then laughs softly.]

Besides, who else is going to help me keep my brother out of trouble?

[If nothing else, she recovers- somewhat- relatively quickly, trying to brush things off. But it won't stop bothering her, and part of her mind races over the situation as best it can without her full attention.]

Tell you what- I'll think about it but... unless I can be sure I won't die the second I leave here, I can't...

[She can't do that to him.]

I dunno, I'm sure the professor could help- he seems pretty good at keeping people in line.

[A serious expression fills Diarmuid's eyes.]

You forget that I am dead on my world as well. If all of us who were pulled here after death die the moment we leave no matter where we go...

[Yeah, he's not going to think about that.]

It's not an acceptable end. Being brought here changed us somehow, marked us as the last survivors of our worlds. Ruana implied as much when she threatened us after we shorted the Tower out. Even if we are returned to real bodies on restored worlds, I don't know if we will ever be the same again.

Yeah. Not a great option, right?

[But she looks, for once, somewhat apologetic to have broached the subject.]

Not actually too concerned about being changed- my old body was kind of a pain anyway.

[She says it lightly, but she worries, just a bit, that a 'new' body won't be as good as she's used to. As strong, as smart, as capable- it's a little terrifying.]

Like I said. I'll think about it

Yeah...

[Diarmuid nods in agreement, his expression growing gentle again.]

Just so long as you do. Time is short and this kind of thing really shouldn't be decided on the spur of the moment. It can be, but...I don't believe it should be.

[Regrets happen that way and a decision like this can't be changed once set into motion.]

For what it is worth, I would really like you to come with us.

[She opens her mouth, ready to respond-- but the last bit halts her entirely and her mouth shuts, lips pressed tightly together.

It's still something of a foreign concept to have people genuinely care about what happens to her, one way or another. After a moment she closes her eyes and sighs, sarcastic smile firmly back in place as her shoulders rise in an idle shrug.]

...well, I don't really want to go back to being dead. It was kind of a drag.

It is pretty much a drag, isn't it?

[Diarmuid smiles, willing to let things to at that. He doesn't want to make her too uncomfortable and it's obvious that his point has been made.]

There is so much more trouble to get into when you are alive. Try not to find too much of it when you find my brother, okay?

God it's so boring. You'd think with all the crap about the afterlife, someone would at least get to experience an interesting one, you know?

[She loosens up a bit at that, shrugging her shoulders again, smile becoming a smirk with ease.]

Well, that I make no promises on. Your brother is an idiot who knows the best and worst ways to rile me up.

I reserve the right to punch him all the way down the tower if I catch him flirting though.

Does it count if my father brought me back to life for a short amounts of time to chat with him every so often? I guess that is better than nothing...

[Diarmuid's not sure if it was his father's power waning or the Grail claiming him completely that ended those visits, but they did make death less dull for a short time...]

You have my permission to punch him up and down the Tower all you want if you catch him doing that. Doubly so if it is my ex-wife he is flirting with.

...man. I forgot about that.

[She squints her eyes at him a little, obviously amused.]

Your dad is a weird one.

[Not as weird as hers, but still.]

Yeah, if that happens, you may have to stop me from removing limbs honestly. Tried to warn him the first time.

[Diarmuid shrugs. What can he do? Gods of love tend to be a little weird even amongst other gods.]

And he didn't listen? Really, you are too good to him sometimes, I think.

[He understands having a laid back and open personality, but it does bother him that his brother just doesn't think sometimes when it comes to these things. What good is having fun if someone is being hurt in the process?]

I've had a lot of experience with both the stupid and the stubborn. I've got a lot more patience for it than it might seem.

[Still, she can't lie and say that Cu Chulainn's flirting ever puts her in a good mood.]

At the very least if there's one thing I know about your brother it's that when he does something that hurts someone's feelings, it's not usually on purpose.

[She kind of really digs that about him, honestly. ]

One can have patience and still be in a bad mood because of another's actions.

[Believe him, he's been there a lot.]

This might sound...odd considering who we are talking about, but my brother has a certain innocence about him that I hope never completely fades. He doesn't do things to purposely hurt others like that. It's just that he doesn't realize how his actions come across sometimes.

[Pot meets kettle, only in a different vein. Diarmuid has issues seeing how his actions come across sometimes too, only he likes to think he is getting better about it...]

Oh, I never said I wasn't annoyed- trust me, it's not like I don't let him hear about it when I need to.

[She's just also not the type who actually gets worked up all that easily- with Asagi, her temper is more of a slow-burn until she boils over than an out-and-out explosion.]

It's not that odd- I kinda know what you mean. It's cute, how much he wants to believe in the good things in the world, sometimes.

[She won't remark on how Diarmuid is much the same in some regards, mostly because she doesn't want to overstep, for once.]

[She doesn't have to say it. Diarmuid is very aware of the fact he believes the same way. That is why he smiles somewhat sheepishly.]

Perhaps it is part of coming from the world and time we did? We just see things differently and when the modern world tries to show us we are wrong, our heads are too thick to allow us to change easily.

Unfortunately, those thick heads tend to get us into trouble more often than not...

[Oh, well that's something of a relief. Still, she nods slightly, hands settling on her hips.]

It might be, honestly. Adaptation is difficult sometimes, no matter how hard you try at it. Unfamiliar concepts are... well. Accepting things that run counter to the way you've always thought about things takes some doing.

[Another shrug.]

Not like you guys are deliberately thickheaded.

...most of the time, at least.

[Diarmuid's smile becomes more real and he laughs.]

I think you intended that as a compliment so I am going to take it as one. Thank you.

[He takes a moment to look around the room to see if his brother has happened to show up while they were talking, but still doesn't see him.]

I suppose I better let you get to checking just in case he is back at the room bleeding all over the bed...

You know me, can't be straightforward about a damn thing.

[She laughs quietly, tilting her head at him slightly. She takes the chance she's given though, and nods, looking out over the room, cloneblades briefly gleaming.]

I shouldn't be too long.

[She raises her hand in a wave and then wanders into the crowd, her small frame soon lost amid the crowd of others.]

just this once, everybody lives!

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