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[altusimperius]

tell him how pretty he is

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[altusimperius]

Benedict does so, using his fingers to light it as he always did before the magebane-- it's liberating, and never doesn't give him a flicker of joy when he's able to conjure in this way.

Once everything is set up, and the smoke coming smoothly through the hose, Benedict finishes testing it and offers it over to Colin, resting back on his elbows to watch him with an expression of concern.

[keenly]

Smoke inhaled, and soon Colin is lying back against the cushions and feeling a bit more himself. He even offers a little smile when he finally notices Bene's nervousness.

"Sorry," he says quietly. "Sometimes happens when I get upset."

He raises a hand to his face to feel for the tracks his nails left and see if anything needs healing.

[altusimperius]

"So it would seem." Maker's breath, Colin.

"You're really angry with him, then."

[keenly]

He nods a bit.

"And scared. I've already..."

The stifling feeling starts trying to come back, so he takes another pull of smoke.

"Already lost everyone I can afford to lose."

[altusimperius]

Bene arches his eyebrows.

"For all the shit he talks, I think he knows what he could expect to lose by killing anyone," he reasons, gesturing lightly as he makes his point, "I don't think he'll kill anyone. Not on purpose, at least. He's a rude bastard, but he's not a total idiot."

It takes one to know one, after all.

[keenly]

“He doesn’t have to intend to kill someone. If she’s broken her neck instead of her arm, it wouldn’t matter what he intended.”

[altusimperius]

"I know."

Bene falls silent for a moment, reaching for the hose as he contemplates the situation. He doesn't want to allow Leander any leeway, not after the run-ins they've had; but he doesn't want Colin to be upset, either.

"...but she didn't," he admits, "and people know about it now. I don't think he'll be allowed a chance to push someone else."

[keenly]

Colin releases the hose as Bene takes it.

"I know. I just, um."

He doesn't continue. He has no idea how to vocalize his feelings right now, and at the moment, he really doesn't want to hassle with the self-scrutiny for it. It all feels too close.

"I wanted you to know. He's got a way of making you think you're the one unfairly judging him, but he's dangerous."

[altusimperius]

Taking a pull, Benedict watches Colin quietly. Then, breathing out with a wince, he hands it back.

"I know." His lips purse as he reflects on the interactions he's had with Leander.

"I've tried to just... make myself stop caring what he thinks, or does. I have too much at stake to worry about pleasing him."

[keenly]

That's a familiar sentiment. Colin tries to piece it together again.

"You don't want to please him, you want to pacify him. So you're safe."

[altusimperius]

"Yeah." He purses his lips, tapping the nozzle against them.

"...I want him to leave me alone. ...I want him to leave all of us alone."

[keenly]

"You can't do that by pleasing him." He adjusts himself so one shoulder can press against Bene's. "Though the good news is I don't think he finds us especially interesting, nor is it in his best interests to just be violent now that he's known to have attacked two people unprovoked. One of whom is a division head."

[altusimperius]

"He attacked a division head? When?"

This must have been in the Dungeon Times.

[keenly]

"I'm not entirely clear on when, but I think it was long enough ago that Byerly wasn't a division head yet."

[altusimperius]

"Byerly?"

That's going to be a conversation, whether anyone likes it or not.

[keenly]

A nod, though Colin doesn't feel qualified to impart any more information about it.

"Just be careful. But don't be scared, either. I don't really think he'd admit to this if he was planning to keep pushing people down the stairs."

[altusimperius]

"I know." Puff.

"I'm not scared. And I try to be careful."


He hands the hose back, settling in with his fingers clasped over his chest.

"Just..." He chews his lower lip. "Makes you think. That's all."

[keenly]

Colin takes the hose but doesn't puff right away, staring up at the ceiling and weighing how high he already is.

He's scared. But he's always scared. He has come to realize that he truly can't tell the difference between a real threat and an imagined one, but that hasn't eliminated the need to try. So he tries to work it out by looking at the facts. It's not the most reliable system--he'd told himself all sorts of things so he could ignore the warning signs with Lutair. He finally pops the hose in his mouth and inhales deeply.

"Makes me think too much," he admits with a sigh of smoke. "You know how when you were a kid, you knew there were dangers in the world, but you reckoned the world as a whole wasn't out to get you?"

[altusimperius]

The analogy might strike a nerve with most people, but for someone whose early life was very insulated from anything even close to uncomfortable, Benedict finds it coming up a bit short.
He glances toward Colin, not necessarily agreeing, but still listening.

[keenly]

Colin meets his eyes and realizes he's missed his mark.

"Never mind. Let's talk about something else."

[altusimperius]

"No, it's--"

Colin was clearly trying to make a point, and this won't be the first time Benedict's overall obliviousness has interfered.

"--go on."

[keenly]

There's a pause as he switches to another tack.

"When I was a kid, my sisters and I were taught not to wander off with any strangers because we lived in a port city and they might be slavers. Just as an example. But we believed if we followed that rule and looked out for each other, we'd be safe."

[altusimperius]

Bene's eyes dart away, then back to Colin. Then he nods. No need to dwell on the differences there.

[keenly]

"Then you get older, follow all the rules, and they're not keeping you safe. Worse, sometimes you find it's a choice between being kind to someone who might need it while risking your safety, or being safe but cruel. Wanting to give someone like Leander a chance, inviting him into your home, acknowledging you'd jumped to conclusions. Thinking instead of fear, you could have peace and possibly a new friend."

[altusimperius]

Seeing where this is starting to go, Bene rolls over and folds his arms, resting the lower half of his face in them as he silently watches Colin.

It's not terrible reasoning. One might say Colin did the same thing with him, after all.