retrospec

That sounds rough.

And I guess neither of us know enough to know what it all means.

No we don't. I just wish I knew.

But I get the feeling it's nothing good on my end.

Probably not.

It seems like we keep getting bad news from our world, doesn't it?

Actually, this is somewhat related, but have you remembered anything about malak culture?

A little bit. Just now. Well, less culture, and more about our domains...

Domains?

Malakhim have domains that bless people. People pray to them and in return they get that Malak's blessing.

But there are a select few that instead of giving blessings, they give misfortune.

Those are Reapers, apparently.

What the hell? That sounds horrible.

The more I hear about our world, the more I think maybe we're all better off here.

[BUT MAYBE THIS MEANS HE CAN AVOID TALKING ABOUT MALAK CULTURE]

It'd be nice if this misfortune crap didn't decide it wants to come here.

[Now that he seems to pinpoint what's going on now.

But since Zaveid brought culture up...]

Did you learn anything about culture?

[Dammit.]

Oh, I uh, learned a few things about true names.

Mikleo told me about a couple of them, but I remembered one of them.

Our true names? What significance is there about them other than they're.... true names?

Apparently we can form pacts with humans using them? A lot of what he said went over my head.

But anyway, I remembered something specific about our culture, which I think Mikleo must not know about.

[If you think he's trying to avoid the subject, you're imagining things.]

...and what you remembered is?

[He is honing in on this topic that Zaveid brought up and obviously avoiding.]

[And he really doesn't want other people seeing this conversation, so this is when Zaveid switches to DMs.]

When two malakhim exchange their true names, it's a declaration of love. Possibly more than that?

You and I did that, in our past lives.

[And this life too, uh.]

[Isaac doesn't respond for a bit. Maybe it would be natural that there would be a bit of a lag from him because, well, this is a little embarrassing and he knows Zaveid wouldn't lie.

But Zaveid probably knows he'd bite back with something crude. But no. There's silence.

There's no response. For five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes.

Maybe he's with a customer. You know, that's pretty normal. But even then he's the type to respond with "helping someone, brb". Even if it were just a ruse to get everything together.

And it's become clear... he can't do this through DMs. This... needs to be talked about in person and with a lot of alcohol. He's confused. He's mad. He hurts.

He feels like he's lost all hope.]

Are you free tonight? I just remembered something in connection with what you told me... And it's not pretty.

['Consider it revenge for Theodora. I'll be the one who finally puts you out of your misery. But I'll only kill you once you stopped being yourself... Only then.'

'You sure?'

'Yeah. I swear by my true name, Fylk Zahdeya... Zaveid, the Oathkeeper'.]

[There's so much going through his head, he doesn't even mind how long it's taking Isaac to respond.]

Yeah, I'm free.

I figure we're both going to need a lot of booze.

Yeah, we will. You can come to my place or I can come to yours. I might end up closing up shop early because I can't concentrate.

[He can actually barely breathe right now and it's amazing he's not typoing. It feels like he just got hit with a truck.]

I'll stop by your place.

The cats might sense something's wrong otherwise, you know how they can be.

Yeah. Just come over whenever.
/
i'm closing up shop noow.

[Yeah, you know it's bad if he doesn't even care to double check his message to fix typos.]

Be right there.

[Because wow is that a bad sign. It's a good thing he can get to Isaac's quickly, because it's not long before he's knocking on the door.]

[He's there pretty quickly and he pulls out all the alcohol he has. Whiskey and rums are his favorites based on his collection he has, from cheap brands to high named brands he only pulls out on special occasions.

This is a 'special' occasion, alright...

He hasn't even bothered to get glasses out and is drinking straight from the bottle.

Also the door to his place is ajar.

Yeah, this is a bad sign.

A really bad sign.

His shirt is slightly unbuttoned and he already looks a little disheveled.

Zaveid has three guesses as to what Isaac remembered and the first two don't count.]

[Oh, he knows. He can tell just from how Isaac looks, as he shuts the door behind him. It's not a good look, but Zaveid doesn't know what-- if anything-- he can say.

He doesn't smile, he can't bring himself to even bothering to fake it, but he does watch Isaac for a long moment.]

Hey.

[His shoulders rise and then relax as he takes a deep breath before looking towards Zaveid. He sees him there, but there are no words to express what he feels right now.

Guilt.

Sadness.

Fear.

Uncertainty.

Just where does he start?

When Zaveid greets him his mouth opens and then shuts as he thinks to say some sort of greeting and instead nothing comes out as he looks back down at the table.]

I killed her. You're going to kill me.

[He takes a shaky breath.]

I'm going to become a dragon... aren't I?

[He doesn't know what to say, so he doesn't say anything. He bows his head, reaching out to grab for the bottle in Isaac's hand. He doesn't want to cry, he can't let himself.

It was so much easier when he was just some guy working at a pawn shop best friends with someone who owns a different pawn shop.]

.....Yeah.

[He doesn't know what to say. He feels so hollow, so dead inside.]

She became a dragon. You turn into a dragon. There's nothing I can do to save the people I care about.

[The grip on the bottle is loose, so it's not difficult for Zaveid to grab the bottle out of Isaac's hand. He feels so empty right now as these truths just suddenly came to him. The Eizen in his visions and the Zaveid were so calm.

How?

All he can feel is panic.

What if that happened here? What would happen if he lost his mind and became a dragon here?

That terrifies him.

It terrifies him more than dying.]

There may have been nothing you could have done.

[He takes a big drink from the bottle before pulling it away. They should be careful, or else they're going to end up even worse off. Not that Zaveid can think of ways that for this to get worse.]

No. Probably not.

[He brings a hand to his forehead, rubbing at his temple.]

The more I remember, the more I wish I didn't know anything at all.

[What does he do now? What can he do?]

If something happened to you here, I... I don't know what I'd do.

Isaac McKinstry March 5 near Pawn Promotion
So, question for everyone. If you’re a magical being of some sort that supposedly blesses people, but you’re also known as a Reaper, what do you think that exactly means?

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private;

private;

private;

private;

private;

private;

private -> action;

action;

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