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[altusimperius]

tell him how pretty he is

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[keenly]

"Well." Colin thinks for a moment. "You went to Byerly and asked for a better job. That's brave."

[altusimperius]

"Maybe." Spoken into the pillow.

"But I mean really brave. Life and death brave."

[keenly]

"The sort of thing where you're risking your life for something bigger than yourself?"

[altusimperius]

A pause. Then, "yeah."

[keenly]

Colin bobs his head in sympathy. "Yeah. That's...I mean, I ran far as I could from the war with the Templars because I didn't think I could do that. Then I was put basically on the front line at the Battle of Ghislain a couple of years ago, and it was...not my choice. I was terrified at first. Then all your primal instincts kick in and you just wreak as much havoc as possible. That's sort of the trick. The only way not to be scared is to decide you’re going to be the scariest thing on the battlefield. Or elsewhere.”

[altusimperius]

A little smirk into the pillow, and Bene's face resurfaces, his chin resting atop it.

"I was scared the entire time at Ghislain. And then I got stabbed. And almost died in a fire."

Sometimes one's instincts are right.

"...at least I was there, I guess."

[keenly]

"Wait, why were you there? Weren't you in Diplomacy at the time?"

Perhaps Colin can be forgiven for forgetting this detail, given the shape everyone was in while returning home.

[altusimperius]

"They needed all the hands they could get."

He frowns.

"I was in a unit of mages who were supplementing the infantry with magic. Doing hexes and all that. We got overrun."

At this moment, he realizes this is the first time he's actually spoken to anyone about what happened that day; several people know he was stabbed, but no one knows the details.

"...I fucked up my barrier, the swordsman was too close. He ran me through." After thinking on it a moment, he rolls over to tug up the hem of his tunic, revealing the scar over his belly.

"A white-haired elf saved me. Dragged me off the field. ...I forget her name."

Feels bad.

[keenly]

It takes Colin a moment, because his mind is racing to why that sounds familiar, and then he, too, feels bad that it took him this long.

"Was it Inessa?"

[altusimperius]

With a start of recognition, Bene nods at him.

"She had the mabari with her."

[keenly]

"Garahel." Colin gives a wistful smile. "Inessa and I were apprentices together. She was always like that, wanting to save everyone. It made sense when she got recruited into the Wardens."

[altusimperius]

"That's good. I think."

With the anxiety passed, Benedict picks up the hose again and takes a pull from it, remembering its presence and purpose.

"...anyway, I'm better at conjuring barriers again. I couldn't for a while, after that. It was like my body forgot how."