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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 25, 2021 0:58:44 GMT -5
Kelsier and Mare | Switcharoom | strider Kessler didn’t know what Nico was thinking. He wasn’t there to read his body language, even if he did know him well enough by now that doing it would have been possible. When they talked, Kelsier had the advantage of knowing what he’d said to trigger any reactions Nico had. He could go over his words, try and figure out what had sparked it, and then he could figure out whether he wanted to address it. Of course, he did trust Nico to tell him if there was something he needed fo know, but…they were both guilty of trying to carry too much, in order to spare the other. They both knew how much weight they were each under already. And whether he liked it or not, he couldn’t make the things Nico had to go through better simply by knowing about them. And it never hurt to be reminded that you were loved in the sort of way that meant someone would be there to catch you when you fell, whether you thought you were worth enough to ask for that or not. But he had no way of knowing now. He was distracted as it was, headed for what he hoped was shelter, trying to keep up with the conversation without being forced to interrupt it. He couldn’t hear what Mare had said, and he couldn’t see Nico’s expression, so he had no hope of predicting where his thoughts had taken him. But if he had…he might have had a couple things to say about it. Nico was right, of course. Destiny had tried very hard to make him dead. Hades - Kelsier still wished he’d killed that man, both to spare Nico from having to and for the pleasure of watching him realize he was going to die at the hands of a mere mortal - had hammered the message home at the worst possible time. When the world wanted you dead that badly, it was very easy to wonder who the hell you were to argue. If Nico had wondered that at the wrong moment, in the middle of a fight, where his desire to stay alive a little bit longer was his most important weapon… Kelsier might have never met Nico di Angelo at all. That was its own problem. He didn’t think Nico was wrong there, even if he hated it. But to imagine for even a second that it hadn’t been Nico’s own merit that had gotten him out of Tartarus…to think that it had been luck, that he was alive purely because he had been worth more to his enemies that way… Of course that was false. Of course Kelsier would never believe that. Did he think not giving up was easy? Did he imagine that Kelsier could have fought back, if the Lord Ruler hadn’t chosen to dispose of him when he’d been caught? He hadn’t Snapped, then. Even as he was now, he knew the eleventh metal was his only real chance at making it to the other side of this plan in one piece. A simple powerless halfbreed thief wouldn’t have stood a chance. If Nico was alive based on dumb luck, so was Kelsier. There was no getting around that. But their enemies had both made mistakes. And, as anyone used to pulling off heists knew, the best strategy wasn’t to make no mistakes. It was to take advantage of the ones your enemies made. He didn’t know the thoughts that had passed through Nico’s head, of course, or he might have said it out loud. But he’d thought it enough times. He believed it, with the same sort of conviction he held the rest of his beliefs with. Nico was every bit as much of a survivor as Kelsier was. Mare hesitated, not quite looking away as Nico replied. She had about as much hope of knowing what he was thinking as Kelsier did, at the moment. She didn’t have contest, and she didn’t know the kid. She did know that either he had been very like Kel from the start, or Kel had rubbed off on him, as he tended to do. The other thief was either inspirational or manipulative, depending on the day, and occasionally, he ended up being both at once. She thought she probably wouldn’t have liked him as much if she hadn’t been good at not getting sucked into his tendency to appear as amazing as he could…she loved him, but she loved him more as Kelsier, not the infamous thief even the high nobility locked their doors at night against. It wasn’t always easy to tell the two apart, but it was an art she’d gotten pretty good at, over time. Did Nico know that, too? Did he see the different layers to the man he thought of as a father? She hoped so. As broken as things were, she thought Kelsier deserved someone who could see him, even when he made it difficult. She didn’t argue. The fact that Nico couldn’t save her would have to hang between them for the moment. She would let him jump into the water with her, not when she could save him, if he just…let this take its course. Of course she didn’t want to die, she’d rather fight with everything she had, but if it was her or Kelsier’s son…well. He’d already grieved her. He hadn’t had to grieve him yet. Besides, she’d probably have done it for any kid, really. She didn’t know how she died, of course. She just knew that Kelsier hadn’t. If a Kelsier had survived, and Nico was in Kelsier’s place, then as long as they did change anything, Nico would survive, too. She shook the thought off. If Nico didn’t see it coming, that would solve itself. If he could…he’d try to save her. She could deal with it then. Instead, she focused on the flower. Which didn’t…look like a flower. Not like hers, at least. She watched, fascinated as it began to come together, unable to quite tear her eyes away from it. “What do the colors mean?” She whispered after a moment, barely daring to break the quiet. If they were caught…she didn’t think anyone would understand what they were doing, but the Lord Ruler had put a lot of effort into erasing this sort of knowledge. Even scratches in the dust could get them both killed under the right circumstances. |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 25, 2021 15:25:47 GMT -5
Nico was grateful that nobody could see he would be more than willing to die if it meant Mare got another few days to live. Kelsier would have stopped him, certainly. Mare herself likely wasn’t too keen on it. It was because he was a kid, mostly. If he were an adult… then he doubted there would be as much of an issue with him putting other people’s lives before his own. In terms of children of the Big Three… well, fourteen was practically elderly. Even if he wasn’t quite fourteen yet. Almost. Close enough that he still technically should have died before then. Mare… well, he didn’t know how long life expectancy was for the Skaa, but he had a feeling it was a lot longer than Mare had gotten to live. Even if she wasn’t real, she was still the person Kelsier had chosen to spend his life with. She was still the person who had made it possible for the Survivor of Hathsin to emerge. In a way, she was the reason the Skaa could have hope. Nico thought this version of her deserved to survive to see that. There was no Kelsier here. Nico wasn’t Mistborn. Probably. Unless Kelsier had some of his demigod powers? It didn’t matter. The point was, Mare could be the Survivor this time. “I don’t know all of them off the top of my head,” Nico admitted, sitting back to look at the roughly scraped out drawing. “I think red usually means romance or passion. Yellow means friendship. I think white might have to do with mourning, but… maybe that’s just because my father keeps white roses in the Underworld because Persephone likes them a lot. There could be no correlation.” Persephone would be ashamed of him, Nico realized. He would need to spend a little bit more time with her. He would need to thank her for saving his life and sit through some of her rambling about flowers. It was… well, he liked to hear about them, even if it wasn’t the kind of knowledge he readily retained. “Sorry,” he mumbled after a moment, looking away from Mare. “I’ve learned a little bit more about plants and flowers since meeting Kelsier, and I know enough to be able to draw a lot of them out, but… I don’t actually know all that much, comparatively. I kind of… kill most of the plants I touch.” It seemed darkly fitting that the two of them were the people Kelsier cared about most in any world. One of them represented flowers. The other… well… flowers didn’t survive around him. Maybe there was no world where the two of them could coexist. Maybe the Kelsier that could care about someone like Nico hadn’t existed yet when he’d loved Mare. |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 26, 2021 16:49:58 GMT -5
Kelsier and Mare | Switcharoom | strider The air was getting hard to breathe again. Kelsier stopped by a river, drinking the flames once again, though he didn’t know how much was safe. He had to be at least somewhat different physically than he had been…the ambrosia hadn’t melted his stomach or whatever it would have done otherwise. He supposed he was grateful for the opportunity to try it himself, since normally he couldn’t, and wouldn’t have used up any of Nico’s precious supply even if he could have. This, he guessed he wouldn’t be able to give to the kid anyway, and it was actively keeping him from whatever grisly death Tartarus so desperately wanted to offer him. Dying here wouldn’t help anyone. It did seem to be some sort of hole that wasn’t the kind the monsters kept crawling out of. Kelsier peered inside for a long moment, allowing himself to miss tin before he steeled himself and stepped inside. It was dark. Other than that…he couldn’t tell much. He felt around, half inclined to see if he could go bring some of the flames over to light the place a little, but that would have been a bad idea. His goal was to hide, not corner himself and lightning a beacon for all monsters. He crouched just inside the place, shifting into a semi comfortable position where he could watch outside the entrance, in case anything wandered close enough to be a problem. Then, he turned his attention to the half of the conversation he could hear. Life expectancy for Skaa happened to be around the time it took them to lose the strength needed to keep working. Mare wasn’t all that close to that point, of course, and for a Skaa she was in as good health as anyone ever was, but…dying at her age wasn’t rare. Dying at any age wasn’t rare, except perhaps old age, because who could hope to stay alive long enough for that? Besides, though Kelsier acted like a teenager at least 75% of the time, they were both in their thirties. All things considered, they were lucky to have lived this long. She watched the rose as Nico finished drawing it. It looked…complicated, more so than her own drawing, and it was just a bit of dust. What would the real thing look like? Not that she would ever see it, but…she could try and picture it, couldn’t she? She hesitated, then began to trace her own rose in the dust beside it, trying to copy the way Nico’s looked. Maybe drawing it would help cement the image in her mind. “Because you’re from the Underworld?” She guessed, glancing up at him as he spoke. She supposed that made sense, though she was surprised his father was able to keep the white roses alive down there if even Nico’s presence could kill them. She didn’t ask why he saw Kelsier as a father when he seemed to already have one in his own world. It wasn’t hard to guess. It wasn’t like she knew of many good parents here, why would his world be different? |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 27, 2021 1:48:57 GMT -5
“Because I’ve never been very good at controlling my powers,” Nico replied, trying to sound like he didn’t care about it. “My father knows what he’s doing. It means that my stepmother can grow as many plants as she wants in the Underworld. I’m just… not allowed near very many of them.” Not that it mattered. He wouldn’t go anywhere near Persephone’s things even if he weren’t forbidden. She hated him, and for good reason. He didn’t want to give her reasons to dislike him beyond his parentage. Beyond the fact that he was proof she had been cheated on. He pushed the thought as far away as he could. There were some things that Mare didn’t need to know. “Your rose looks good,” he said after a moment, dropping his finger bone to the ground as he looked over at Mare’s interpretation. He realized he could have been drawing with his own finger rather than using someone’s bone, but… he didn’t like to think what might happen if dirt got in the scratches from searching for geodes. “Um… this is a carnation,” he added, beginning to move on. “It looks a little bit like how a rose does when it’s in full bloom, but it comes in a lot of color. In my world, if you wore a green carnation on your lapel, it was a way to tell the rest of the world… or maybe just the people who are in on it… that you were a man who loved other men. Which… wasn’t really allowed for a really long time.” |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 27, 2021 3:02:27 GMT -5
Powers…what sort of powers did Nico have? Probably nothing like her Allomancy, though it would have been interesting if it had been similar. She would have to ask him about them, if she got the chance. Her rose was a bit more smudged than Nico’s, and not quite as detailed either. The finger bone had been a good idea, especially if he was trying to teach her. Her own were more an effort to memorize it than to recreate it, though…she reluctantly picked up a bone. It couldn’t hurt to try and make them as similar as possible, even if she didn’t like acknowledging the bones were there when she could help it. Would her bones ever be used for anything, when she was dead? It was a chilling thought. She pushed it away. “Oh…green?” She repeated, a little surprised. “Flowers can be green, too? I thought only the leaves could be green.” A green flower. She had to wonder whether it was a different shade of green than the rest of the plant, or if it just blended in, like it thought it was a leaf. It took her a moment to get what he meant in his next words. The concept of needing to hide who you were attracted to was a foreign one to her, and color coding flowers was even further from her imagination…both together were difficult to picture. Then she got it, and she allowed herself a small, almost bemused sort of laugh. It was far too quiet to attract any attention, but she couldn’t help it. “I might have worn that once, if I’d been in your world,” she mused, shaking her head a little, amusement still clear in her gaze. “What wasn’t allowed?” |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 27, 2021 3:38:28 GMT -5
Nico noted the expression on Mare’s face as she picked up the bone. He knew that other people weren’t as used to using bones for things as he was, though even he had to admit it felt wrong doing it here. But… maybe the person would be pleased to know that they were drawing something beautiful. That even after they had died, they were part of creating something beautiful in a place where nothing beautiful was supposed to exist. Hopefully, they would take comfort in that. Even if it felt uncomfortable to be using the bones of someone who had died a fate they were both likely to suffer if they weren’t careful. Someone who hadn’t consented to their bones being used like that. “I don’t know how your afterlife works,” Nico murmured, looking up at Mare for a long moment. “I know it’s different from mine. But… a body is just a vessel, in my world. The real part of you is your soul. It doesn’t hurt whoever this person was to use their bones like this. In my world, bones don’t usually let me use them unless the person would have consented, but… what nobler cause is there than creating something worth seeing down here? Creating something powerful enough that even the Lord Ruler is afraid of its existence?” Nico sat back, hoping the words were enough to make Mare a little bit less uncomfortable. Even if it didn’t work… he meant every word he said. He wanted her to know that. “It’s… kind of a different shade of green,” he went on, sitting back as he finished drawing the flower. “It’s a little bit paler than the leaves. Some of the green ones look almost white. I… don’t actually know if it’s a color that occurs naturally or not. I know my stepmother grows them, but she can do all sorts of things with plants that don’t actually exist for real in nature. But… yeah.” He blinked, eyes widening as he realized what else Mare had said. It was a huge thing to just say to someone, at least from Nico’s world. “Oh, uh… loving people who aren’t the opposite gender of you. It was illegal for a really long time. People still don’t like it much. And… there are still a lot of laws about identifying as a gender that doesn’t match up with your physical traits.” |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 29, 2021 3:42:46 GMT -5
L blinked into the living room, his still-blond hair damp, but not soaked. He looked more comfortable than he had in quite a few blinks, which could have been because he was no longer wearing shoes, or perhaps because his usual white shirt and baggy jeans had replaced the black hoodie he’d been wearing last time he’d appeared. He looked a bit thinner than usual, now that it was easier to actually see him (the hoodie had effectively obscured him, which hadn’t been accidental) and the shadows under his eyes were deeper than ever against his too pale skin, but he was hunched the way he naturally stood again, and his eyes were closed, his breath steady and his heart finally beating at a normal speed. It felt like it hadn’t slowed from its sprint for far too long, even though he knew that wasn’t entirely true. He had gone through blinks since he had been forced to run, after all, and not all of them had been intense ones. He gave a tiny smile at the thought. The room where he and Orpheus had been able to come out to each other, for example, had been a very good one. He opened his eyes, glancing over his shoulder and sweeping the room with his eyes before he allowed himself to put his hands in his pockets and consider his options. Going in a room alone was too dangerous. Normally, he’d be annoyed at the prospect of staying in the living room by himself with nothing to do, but…he knew by now that it wouldn’t stay that way for long. And even if it did, he didn’t think he’d mind it too much, at the moment. |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 29, 2021 4:50:48 GMT -5
Kelsier appeared, right as he moved to run his hands through his hair, a tired sort of expression on his face. He blinked as he realized his surroundings had changed. Ah…the living room. It hadn’t been long since his last blink, but he didn’t mind that. Things in his own world, though they were certainly not going horribly, we’re getting a little more complicated. He was handling it, like he’d continue to handle it for as long as it took until he succeeded, but that didn’t mean it was going to be easy. He gave a small sigh, pushing the thoughts away and tucking the picture he’d been holding between his fingers back into his pocket. He was wearing his mistcloak, though he rarely did when he wasn’t in the middle of anything, and the feeling of the strips shifting against his skin as he moved chased away what was left of his musings. He stood up, glancing at the hall. Well, House…just you and I, eh? he thought at it, a small, almost dark sort of smile ghosting his features. He had promised Nico he wouldn’t kill the thing, and he knew the House was aware of both that promise and Kelsier’s own thoughts, so there was no hope of making it nervous about that in particular, but… that wasn’t really why he was thinking at it, anyway. Well? he continued, glancing up. He had to wonder why that was his impulse, when trying to talk to it - why would it be in the ceiling any more than anywhere else? - but he didn’t care enough to think about it too hard. Besides, he liked knowing what was above him. Then he started for the hall, hands in his pockets and movements slow and casual. He didn’t know why, but it never seemed to blink him in by himself for long…and it never seemed to let him do rooms alone, either Did it have a reason for not wanting him exploring it on his own? It would know if he was bluffing. He wasn’t bluffing. |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 29, 2021 14:01:14 GMT -5
Orpheus appeared, soaked nearly to the bone. They were dripping water from their clothes and their hair, but fortunately their instrument was nowhere in sight. It had managed to avoid Orpheus’ face. They were cold, but they were doing their best to show it – though appearing in the House certainly didn’t make their state of affairs any better. At least in their world it had been sunny. Here, the fluorescent lights didn’t actually provide any heat. Frustrating. They brightened almost immediately, however, when they realized they weren’t alone. Blinking into the House alone wasn’t a rare phenomenon, but it was one Orpheus still preferred to avoid. They liked having people to make conversation with, especially when those people were people they already knew. The person in question was a welcome sight. A smile spread easily across their lips as they regarded L, clearly not in hiding anymore. The disguise was nearly all gone, which could only mean one thing. “You’re safe,” Orpheus whispered, taking a few steps closer to L. “I mean… as safe as you ever are. But still… you made it through.” There was no small amount of pride in Orpheus’ voice. It had been one thing to find out that the odds were increasingly getting better for L. It had been another thing to find out that he had managed to contact Watari. It was another thing entirely to see him as he was usually, clearly more comfortable (with the exception of the blond hair. That would grow out eventually, though. Surely L had cut it knowing it would take a while to undo). Orpheus was tempted to near their friend, but they didn’t want to end up soaking him, too. “I’m proud of you,” they added softly. “And I’m really happy you’re safe now.” |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 29, 2021 15:22:05 GMT -5
L turned at the voice, eyes widening a little as he took the soaked version of Orpheus in. They looked like they’d fallen overboard…or been pushed overboard? It could have just been raining too. But wouldn’t they have gone below deck in that case? And besides…a storm in the middle of the sea wasn’t really that much safer, was it? They had been standing up when they blinked in, though, not trying to swim. That had to be a good sign. “Oh, yes. At least…I don’t need to stay in hiding,” he replied, giving a small nod. It was true that he was much safer now than he had been before. He regretted the hair of course, and he wondered if there had been a better way to change his appearance, but…he couldn’t complain too much. He was alive, and he didn’t know if the hair had helped make that possible. He managed a small smile at the next words. Orpheus’ being proud of them was an oddly warm sort of feeling…like making Watari proud, almost. He allowed himself to bask in it for a long moment before he breathed out and focused on them again. He moved towards them, ignoring the possibility of getting wet himself so he could inspect his friend. “You’re…very wet,” he observed after a moment, eyes narrowing a little as he got close enough to see just how wet they were. “What happened?” |
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 29, 2021 15:42:51 GMT -5
“Ow,” Nico muttered quietly, staring at a slightly red mark on his hands. He glanced up, ready to throw himself back into the fray when he realized that he was no longer in the middle of the battle. Ah. That made sense, it had been far too quiet to still be a battle. Nico shook his head of the thought, brushing some of the dust off his jeans before looking up to assess where he was. Living room. Right. Alone? He did a quick survey around, gaze catching on the familiar mistcloak. Not alone. Had Kelsier heard him, or had he cut off in time? He’d been quiet, and he didn’t want Kelsier worrying about him (really, it was a minor burn that would easily heal with a little bit of ambrosia), so he figured he was probably in the clear. Kelsier, on the other hand… “Didn’t anybody tell you not to try a room alone?” Nico commented, brows quirking up as he crossed his arms and leaned dramatically against the couch. In that moment, it may have been difficult to tell which of them was the parent and which was the child. Nico wasn’t actually that concerned. If anyone could handle a room alone, it was Kelsier. He was one of the strongest fighters Nico had ever seen, in his world or in the House. Still, the House could get the better of either of them. Nico had been certain he’d be able to kill the Inquisitor again, but he hadn’t been able to. It had surprised him. The House had surprised him. Nico knew he would have died without Kelsier’s intervention. It was lucky he’d been there. It was lucky the House had let him be there. |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 29, 2021 15:58:50 GMT -5
If Kelsier had been burning tin, he would probably have heard the quiet voice that accompanied Nico’s appearance, but he wasn’t. He wasn’t burning anything at the moment, actually. He had metals on him, of course, he always did nowadays, especially since he’d started blinking in, but…it wasn’t like he could keep them in his system constantly. He didn’t want to poison himself, and he didn’t really want to become a savant, either. So, for now…he would need a second to grab a vial if anything happened. Luckily, he was fast. He was confident he could get to it in time. The next words he did hear, and he turned, a bright smile coming over his features as he took in the boy it belonged to. Well…that was interesting, now wasn’t it? Did the House just think one person in a room was too boring? He couldn’t imagine there weren’t plenty of ways it could torture him all by himself. Maybe he’d ask around and get a sense about whether anyone ever did rooms alone. Just because he’d agreed not to kill it didn’t mean he wasn’t going to keep looking for its weaknesses, after all…if it ever pulled a bad room again, he wanted a way to fight back. Nico had been the one to tell him not to do rooms alone, he realized, and his smile deepened at the irony. Nico hadn’t even liked him at the time. “Ah, but I’m not alone,” he pointed out airily, his expression bright with the sort of unapologetic mischief that made him so insufferable. |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 29, 2021 17:00:33 GMT -5
Orpheus couldn’t help but wonder what had exactly happened to put L in the clear. Had they managed to make him disappear somehow? Had the truth been covered up? As long as the world knew who L Lawliet was, L was in danger. Hopefully it had been sorted out. Hopefully that meant that L would be safe for a while. If Orpheus had known that L could take cases without being physically present for them, they would have advocated for that route. The last thing they wanted was for L to be in more danger than he needed to be. Still… it wasn’t a point Orpheus wanted to belabor. L had been through hell for the past several days (weeks? Orpheus wasn’t sure how long it had been), and what he deserved more than anything else was for someone to tell him they were proud of him and to move on to something that didn’t bring him back to what he had just been through. At least… that’s what Orpheus thought would help them. If it wasn’t the same for L, they trusted that L would inform them so they could help in whatever way would actually work. “Oh…” they murmured, glancing down at their soaked clothing. “I am, aren’t I? I… well, we needed to go on shore of an island to help out some people, but there was a fight, and we ended up having to swim back to the ship. I’m alright, don’t worry.” |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 29, 2021 17:11:15 GMT -5
L, to be fair, had done a lot of cases without being physically present for them already, but now that this had happened…it was probably a good idea for him to switch to doing all of them that way. He had been working on several at once and just being present for the biggest one, before. That had backfired. It meant it had been fairly easy to pinpoint where he was likely to be. He had survived it, though. It wasn’t over necessarily, but…he no longer needed to stay on the run. The rest could be handled over time, and he had access to his computers again, so he could keep an eye on things. His chances had evened out. It looked like he was going to be okay after all. Orpheus, however, seemed to have been having difficulties of their own. “Oh…I thought you might have gotten pushed overboard,” he replied, relaxing a little as Orpheus explained. “Swimming back to the ship isn’t ideal, but it’s better than that. Can you get dry clothes soon?” He did feel that the House could have blinked Orpheus in after they’d dried off a little. Still…as long as they were okay, he wouldn’t worry about it too much. |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 29, 2021 17:25:44 GMT -5
Technically, Kelsier wasn’t wrong. He knew what Nico had meant, though. Nico was certain of it. He took a deep breath, then pushed himself away from the couch and towards the hallway. “Who’s to say that I’m gonna do a room with you?” Nico asked, though he didn’t change course, just kept walking towards the hallway. If he were honest with himself, he needed the distraction. He was tired and overworked in his world. He was in a fight he didn’t know if he could win, and the guy who was supposed to be the adult was currently possessed. So… yeah, the House seemed like a good distraction. While coming back to life was never a guarantee in the House, at least something bad happening here wasn’t a definite ‘game over’ for him and his entire world. He shook his head of the thought, trying not to be so negative. He remembered telling Kelsier not to go into rooms alone, but… Kelsier wasn’t the kind to listen to advice, especially not when the advice was about how to preserve his own health and safety. Kelsier didn’t seem to care very much about either of those things, which… Nico supposed he could respect that. He often chose to do things that would put him in danger, too. It did, however, make Kelsier a pain in the ass to deal with at times. “You wanna choose, or should I?” he asked in a quieter voice, gaze lifting up to look down the hallway. It never changed. Sometimes Nico wondered what he would do if it did, one day. |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 29, 2021 17:40:00 GMT -5
Kelsier watched Nico for a moment, his own smile still firmly in place. Nico, he knew, was dealing with his own war. Or more accurately, trying to prevent one. He was struggling to keep fighting, to keep breathing, and Kelsier wished more than anything that he could come and help somehow. He couldn’t, but…well, that didn’t mean he couldn’t do anything at all. If Nico didn’t want to do a room, he certainly didn’t have to. Kelsier wouldn’t do one either, in that case. But he knew he could use the distraction from his own problems, even in the form of a different problem, so hopefully Nico felt the same way. He waited as Nico joined him, then continued towards the hall. He couldn’t help wanting to try going in rooms alone, just to see if he could, but not now. For now…he was willing to set it aside and do his best to be an adequate distraction for Nico. “You can pick. I think I did last time,” he replied, dipping his head to him as they entered the hall. It was odd to know he was still a fairly new blinker, in comparison to plenty of the others. He felt as though he’d always known about this place, deep down. Or maybe it was just that it had become an important part of his life fairly quickly. |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 29, 2021 21:52:31 GMT -5
Orpheus couldn’t quite hide their blush as they heard that. They weren’t sure they had quite given L an accurate idea of what their crew was like. They couldn’t see them throwing them overboard, but… they supposed, if they told them that they didn’t want to be part of the quest anymore… it was a possibility. They wouldn’t actually hurt Orpheus, but they could imagine the crew doing it to scare them into staying long enough to save their lives. So far, Orpheus’ talents had come in handy, but they hadn’t exactly saved lives. Whatever they were destined to do, it was still to come. Frankly, Orpheus wasn’t so certain it was the crew they had to be worried about. If the gods had foretold that Orpheus was going to keep the crew alive, then wouldn’t they be the ones angered if Orpheus decided to do their own thing? But… Orpheus wasn’t going to ditch. Even if they didn’t like some of the crew members much, they didn’t want them to die. “I can probably dry off in the sun easily enough,” Orpheus replied with a small shrug. “I don’t mind it much. Except… it is rather cold, here. I think the House likes it when I’m cold. I can’t imagine why.” |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 29, 2021 22:10:04 GMT -5
L didn’t know exactly what Orpheus’ crew was like, to be fair. He had never met them. He just knew he disliked them, because they lived with Orpheus all the time and he only saw them whenever they happened to blink in together, and yet he’d been the one to notice their fingers were hurt. It wasn’t that him noticing things others missed was unusual, exactly, it was just that he had his suspicions about them, and the things he heard kept confirming them. And Orpheus wasn’t very suspicious naturally. They tended to assume the best. It was admirable, and the last thing L wanted to do was try and convince them to change, but it did worry him to know that not everyone was quite so genuine. He was glad to hear that they hadn’t actually attacked his friend in this case, though. “Mm. It is colder here than it would be in the sun,” he agreed, frowning a little as he tried to think of a way to make either the room or Orpheus warmer. He didn’t have any layers to offer them, unfortunately. He could give them his shirt, but he didn’t know if that would help them, much…perhaps it would be better than the wet one they currently wore, but then, if someone blinked in and L was wearing only a binder, he would be immediately outed no matter who they happened to be. He wasn’t sure he was willing to risk that unless Orpheus was actually in danger. “You could try moving around,” he suggested after a moment. “I think exercise is supposed to make you warmer. It’s too bad there are no blankets here…” |
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 29, 2021 23:37:39 GMT -5
Nico turned just enough to look over his shoulder at Kelsier. He didn’t particularly feel up to smiling, but that was alright. He knew Kelsier knew how he felt. They both knew that he wouldn’t go through any doors if he didn’t actually want to do a room. The only reason he was going into the hallway was because doing a room sounded like a good idea. Something he could control a little bit more than his world. Which was… ironic, given the nature of the House. The House couldn’t be controlled or tamed, but that was the only variable. Kelsier was predictable at this point, and Nico could control his own actions. It was a lot lower stakes than his world was, and therefore a good distraction from everything happening. One day, he thought, the House would be more exciting than his world. He couldn’t wait for that day. “Sounds good,” Nico murmured, going a little bit further down the hall. He usually picked a door close to the living room, but he felt like switching it up a little. He had heard that the hallway looped around eventually, but he wasn’t going far enough out for that to be an issue. He was just interested in finding a good door for them to go through. Eventually, though, he just chose and stepped forward, hand on the doorknob. “See you on the other side.” And then he stepped in. |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 30, 2021 0:05:28 GMT -5
Kelsier | Power Swap Room | striderKelsier fell into step beside Nico, watching the doors slip by. He had no idea if it made any difference, which door you picked, or how far down you went first. Probably someone was trying to figure it out. He wished them the best of luck. It didn’t take too long for Nico to pick a door. It was, naturally, no different than any other door, but you had to settle for an identical one eventually if you wanted to be able to go through. Kelsier had tried seeing if he could sense any metal behind the doors, once. No such luck…they truly did seem to be completely disconnected from whatever was on the other side. He caught the door before it closed, slipping in behind Nico and letting it shut behind him. Inside was… He wasn’t entirely sure he knew what it was, actually. It seemed to be inside…at least, there seemed to be a ceiling somewhere up there, even if it wasn’t very close to them. Unless the sky was made of alternating purple and silver triangles for this room. Which, knowing the House, wasn’t impossible. The floor, which was a pleasant shade of blue, seemed to sink slightly under his feet, almost like he was standing on a firm mattress, only it was everywhere at once. The room wasn’t empty by any means…he could see several things that looked like they’d be fun to climb if they got the chance, and the shadows seemed to alternate with the light in streams that created their own interesting pattern on the floor, but he didn’t recognize many of the other things that were there. He noticed a small dispenser in the corner, though he couldn’t tell what it might contain. If he’d been burning iron or steel, he might have noticed that there were pockets of metal tucked into bits of the wall, floor, and ceiling, not touching each other but not far apart, either. |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 30, 2021 0:13:50 GMT -5
“That’s a good idea,” Orpheus replied, a smile crossing their face. They weren’t really planning on jumping up and down or anything, even if it would have helped them warm up. They did, however, consider that it was probably better to not have on sopping wet clothes. They considered for a moment before peeling their shirt off, setting it off to the side beside them. They wondered distantly if L still had their bandana, but they weren’t going to ask. It wasn’t like it would help them get warmer, it was just a thin strip of fabric. They stood for a moment before moving a little bit closer to L and sitting down on the couch. They weren’t sure why, but they weren’t really keen on the idea of doing a room. Maybe because the memory of the room with Hook and Czeslaw was still fresh in their mind. “Oh,” they murmured after a moment, gaze lifting up to meet L’s. “I was meaning to ask… are you okay? Were you, I mean? After the room with… Hook?” They weren’t sure there was an appropriate way to ask… they just wanted to make sure that their friend was okay. The room had seemed fairly traumatizing for reasons that Orpheus couldn’t understand. It hadn’t just been that L’s life had been danger. It had been the strangulation in particular. Orpheus wasn’t going to flat out ask L if there was a reason behind it, but they wanted him to know that… if he wanted to talk about it… they were there to listen. That was what friends did, right? “I just mean… it was a rough room. And you were dealing with a lot on top of it.” |
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 30, 2021 0:23:10 GMT -5
Nico stepped into the room after Kelsier, eyes widening just a little bit as he looked around. It was a little more… cheery than the House usually went for. There were things that looked almost like they belonged on a child’s playground or a gymnastics practice room or something. Maybe even a gymnasium with the padded walls… he looked around, making sure to take in every inch of the place. He had no idea what this room was supposed to be, but he supposed they were going to find out sooner rather than later. There weren’t any written hints or anything, which was mildly frustrating, but they were clever. They could figure it out. At least it seemed like there wasn’t anything coming out of the woodwork to attack them. Nico couldn’t rely on this room being safe, but so far it didn’t seem too dangerous. Finally, he turned back to look at Kelsier. Ah. No familiar golden aura surrounding him. “Powers are off,” he told Kelsier casually, giving a small shrug and moving further into the room. He wasn’t too bothered by that. The House took his powers away in more rooms than he cared to count. It usually had a reason – and that reason was usually that the room would be too easy with powers. Which didn’t really make sense, considering there was no clear obstacle. Unless they were supposed to climb way up high…? None of Nico’s powers would have helped with that, but Kelsier’s certainly would. Maybe it had taken away both of their powers in the interest of fairness. It had done that before, like in the room where they had both been on top of the cliff. Nico’s powers wouldn’t have been very helpful unless they had managed to create a shadow somehow. “How… do we want to start this?” he asked, turning back to look at Kelsier again. “I mean… maybe the most obvious place to start is climbing those towers over there?” |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 30, 2021 0:31:03 GMT -5
L watched as Orpheus took his wet shirt off, relieved that they were at least not going to have to wear something that was actively leeching warmth from their body. Even if he couldn’t imagine cool air against their already chilled, damp skin could feel very good…he hesitated, considering offering his own shirt again, even though he’d already decided against it. He could put on their wet one, he supposed…it wouldn’t be comfortable, but he was otherwise perfectly warm, so maybe it would balance itself out…? He glanced at the couch, narrowing his eyes a little. Perhaps there was a third option. Some couches were very scratchy and uncomfortable, but he’d always found the ones in the living room to be fairly pleasant to the touch, which was nice, as he crouched on his bare feet when he wanted to sit. He stepped towards them and picked up a cushion on the side Orpheus hadn’t just claimed, then began to turn it, looking for…aha. He realized Orpheus was speaking a moment later and glanced up, processing words he had heard but not been paying attention to. “Oh, that room…” he murmured, memories coming back to him. He hadn’t forgotten it, of course. Not even close. It was just that he’d had so much else on his mind, even the big things were hard to keep track of if they weren’t immediately life threatening. He knew why Orpheus was concerned. He would have been, too, in their place. He found the zipper and began to pull it along the edge. “I…wasn’t. But I am now,” he answered honestly, his voice a bit hesitant. “I’m sorry. I know I wasn’t acting quite rationally.” |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 30, 2021 0:39:03 GMT -5
Taking off the shirt hadn’t immediately helped with the issue of being cold, but Orpheus figured it would probably help in the long run. It would be better to be chilly now while they dried off rather than be cold later because they had been under the illusion that their shirt was going to make them warmer. They didn’t know that L was considering how to help them, but if they were informed… they wouldn’t be surprised. L was without a doubt one of the kindest, most helpful people they had ever met. He had noticed their fingertips when nobody else had either noticed or cared. It was… nice, to have someone worried about them. Perhaps even nicer that it was someone they worried about in return. That was, in a sense, what friendship was. Even if it wasn’t all worrying. It wouldn’t be nearly as pleasant if all they did was worry about each other. When they had first met… Orpheus hadn’t expected to find a friend. They had been surprised that L had even given them the time of day. They knew L had been blinking in for a very long time. It was the job of whoever was there to explain the House to a newbie, but L hadn’t needed to be as accommodating of Orpheus’ curiosity or optimism. Especially now that Orpheus knew their optimism bordering on idealism may as well have been the antithesis of L’s realism bordering on pessimism. They looked over, frowning a little as they watched L do something with the pillow. They weren’t’ entirely sure what their friend was doing, but L had plenty of odd habits that they didn’t tend to question. This was no exception. Unless L wanted to tell them what he was doing with the pillowcase, it wasn’t really any of Orpheus’ business. “You don’t have to be sorry,” Orpheus murmured, shaking their head a little bit. “You don’t have to be rational all the time. I mean… it worries me when you aren’t, of course, but not because I think you always need to be rational. Just because… when you aren’t, I think it’s pretty likely there’s a reason. And that reason didn’t seem like a pleasant sort of reason. I was just… worried, I guess. I’m glad you’re okay now.” |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 30, 2021 0:42:34 GMT -5
Kelsier | Power Swap Room | striderIt was certainly one of the more cheerful rooms Kel had ever been in. He knew there had been quite a few that weren’t bad, perhaps even more than half that he’d enjoyed himself in, but there had been plenty that had been less than nice to him and Nico both. He didn’t know that this room was safe, of course, but if he never had fun while in danger, he would just never have fun at all. The House was such that he couldn’t afford to let it ruin the happy parts just because there was no guarantee they’d stay happy. He was watching the room, trying to see what it might be for, and he didn’t immediately look at Nico. He trusted the kid to watch out for himself, and he was trying to see if he could tell what the dispenser might be for, since he didn’t actually know what a dispenser was in the first place. “Damn,” he replied, though he didn’t sound too out out by the knowledge. So there would be no climbing after all. Unless he did it the old fashioned way, anyway. “May as well,” he agreed, turning back to smile at Nico. “You know, I can never quite get over how bright the colors are in the House. I…” Whatever he had been going to say, however, was lost as he focused on Nico again. He blinked, stiffening just a little bit in surprise, though not alarm just yet. What was…oh. Oh. He grinned, suddenly catching on to what the room was trying to get them to do. “Catch,” he said, and tossed him a vial of all the metals, trusting his reflexes. |
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 30, 2021 0:53:12 GMT -5
Nico looked around a little bit, frowning a little bit as he tried to figure out the purpose of some of the colors. The House was infuriating in that it never seemed to tell them which information was important and which bits of a room were just a design feature. Were the things hanging from the ceiling there just because they looked cool or because they served some sort of purpose? Nico knew his powers wouldn’t actually make a difference, but he found he wanted them anyway. It was more comfortable knowing he would have some way to defend himself if it came to it. Now, all he had was himself and his sword. Which didn’t live up to its full potential when he couldn’t manipulate the shadows it collected. He shook his head of the thought, instead turning back to look at Kelsier. The Mistborn was making an odd expression. Nico had seen him mildly surprised before, but whatever had caught his attention here… Nico turned, trying to see what Kelsier was looking at. He was looking at him. Was there something wrong with his face? Had the House done something to him? And then Kelsier was tossing him the metals and Nico didn’t have time to ponder. His hand shot out to grab them, and it only took a few more moments for Nico to realize what it was Kelsier must have seen. An aura. Which meant that Nico… he lifted his gaze to meet Kelsier’s, then tipped the vial of metals back. His face screwed itself into a disgusted expression as he swallowed, but the taste and the burn didn’t last for very long. He didn’t feel any different. He didn’t know if he was supposed to. How did burning even work?“Pretend I’ve never heard of Allomancy,” Nico said after a moment, arms crossing. “How does it work?” |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 30, 2021 0:58:07 GMT -5
The air didn’t feel cold to L’s skin, but he wasn’t the one who was already chilled. He took a moment to regret the lack of tea and other warm beverages in the living room (would he have been more inclined to trust them in the living room? Something to think about later) and the lack of blankets, and the lack of a heater. He hadn’t gotten chilled many times in recent memory, but… Okay, that was a lie. He had spent most of the past week constantly chilled and unable to do anything about it. The hazards of hiding in an abandoned building. He was grateful it hadn’t been the middle of winter, but he had still been uncomfortable…perhaps that was why it felt as urgent to help Orpheus now as it did. He knew first hand that being cold with nothing to do about it was terrible. “Yes…that makes sense,” he conceded, pausing as he reflected back on the room. His memories of it were more fragmented than he would have liked. He couldn’t be positive he hadn’t said anything strange, and he wasn’t even sure when he had blinked out…or maybe he’d fallen unconscious first? He succeeded in getting the cover off, and finished unzipping it before he responded. It seemed right to do this part first, anyway. Orpheus was trying to help him, but the were the one who was actually cold. He hesitated. Then he glanced at Orpheus. Well…his shirt was probably warmer, as he’d been wearing it. Warm L. Fiery L. He remembered the exact words, still. Even if he hadn’t known any Greek at the time. He pulled off his shirt, careful not to pull the sleeves inside out even accidentally, then wrapped the cover around him instead, making sure to cover his binder completely. That done, he pulled something from his pocket and unfolded it, then handed both it and the shirt to Orpheus, as though it had all been completely planned and agreed on beforehand. As far as he was concerned, it had. Orpheus had been the one to tell him he was meant to give the bandana back when he was safe again. “Yes,” he repeated, giving a quiet sigh as he turned his focus back to the conversation. “I…never did explain what I meant by first arena room…did I?” |
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 30, 2021 1:09:44 GMT -5
Orpheus watched L continue with the pillowcase, though they still had no idea what the purpose of it was. They had to admit, they were intrigued. Whatever purpose it served, L seemed to be quite invested in getting the cover free from the pillow. Orpheus was doing their best to ignore the chills that swept through their body. It wasn’t very nice of the House to be chilly when they had just come out of the very cold ocean. If they had even been allowed to dry off… they pushed their hair back from their face, trying to focus entirely on L. They were here to talk to him. They were interested in hearing what he had to say, if he wanted to talk about it at all. They breathed out, frowning a little bit as L peeled off his own shirt. And then they understood. “Oh,” they whispered, gently taking the shirt and the bandana back. They would have willingly given the bandana to L, but it wasn’t something they had thought L would ever use again (it must have been uncomfortable if L wasn’t used to having something around his neck), and it had made them feel better to say L had to give it back, because that meant there was a future in which L could give it back. It had been more about making L promise that he’d try to live long enough to give it back than it had been about actually getting the bandana back. The bandana wasn’t Orpheus’ primary concern at the moment, though. They took it and tied their hair up in, making sure to catch all of the wet strands. Hopefully, it would stop dripping on them when it was constrained by the bandana. They looked at the shirt for a long moment, then glanced back up at L. “You don’t like other fabrics,” Orpheus said after a moment, eyes wide as they searched L’s. “That was part of why you were uncomfortable, right? You don’t… you don’t have to be uncomfortable for me. I can take the pillow cover, if you want.” They didn’t mean to sound ungrateful, they were just… concerned. They weren’t the one who had just gone through thinking they were going to die nonstop for almost a week. |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Sept 30, 2021 1:11:21 GMT -5
Kelsier | Power Swap Room | striderKelsier watched as Nico swallowed the metals, hoping he had been right. He didn’t think that amount of metals would hurt Nico if he wasn’t, but it wasn’t something he really would have liked risking. Still…he could see the aura. Golden, just like Nico had always told him his was. He had to be right. He couldn’t think of any other reason why he’d be able to see auras in the first place, let alone a golden one around Nico. “It’s a hard thing to describe,” he admitted, but then, it wasn’t the first time he’d done it. He had been self taught, of course, but he had heard Mare talk about it enough times that he’d at least had some idea of how to do it, and then he’d had Gemmel. Who hadn’t been the best teacher, true, but at least he’d been effective. “Okay. It’s going to feel like something inside of you, something you can sort of feel around for,” he began, trying to think of a way to explain it to someone who’d never felt it before. “You didn’t Snap, so it might be a little harder for you to know what you’re looking for, but it should be noticeable. After that, your body should have some idea how to burn. I can’t say I’d recommend starting with anything too big, but you could try Soothing me, if you like. I gave you all the metals, it should be in there. It should be a Push, not a Pull…a Pull will Riot my emotions. Which you could also try, if you wanted to.” |
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Sept 30, 2021 1:20:51 GMT -5
Nico watched Kelsier for a few long moments, listening as intently as he could manage. He took a breath, then gave a sharp nod, letting his eyes drift closed as he tried to picture what Kelsier was talking about. His took a deep breath, trying to feel for something that hadn’t been there before. It took him a few moments, but… there. A thin, uncertain smile touched his lips as he opened his eyes again, searching Kelsier’s gaze. “I… get the sense of which ones are Push and which ones are Pull, but… how do you tell which one does what?” he asked. His body seemed to have a general sense, but the last thing he wanted to do was do something unintended if he were to try to Soothe Kelsier. What were the other Pushes? Iron? Copper, maybe? He had learned a little bit about Allomancy, but it wasn’t as though Kelsier had ever explained it in depth. He let his eyes close for just a moment, then decided to try burning without waiting for Kelsier’s answer. He burned brass, hoping his body’s instinct had chosen the right one. He tried to Soothe away just a little bit of Kelsier’s confidence, picking the largest target he could think of in case he overshot. Kelsier had enough confidence to spare, even if Nico messed up. He extinguished it a moment later, squinting his eyes open to search Kelsier’s expression. Part of him wanted Kelsier’s immediate approval, but the other, larger part of him was searching for any constructive criticism Kelsier had to give. |
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