He just... showed up. He tends to do that.

[colecomfort]

They don't understand. Slip into a skin, steal our words. Speak through our voices, pull the strings and make us dance. They don't understand what it means.

They can bind anyone they like. They should take care. That's all.

Comments

[lyriumaddict]

That made an odd amount of sense, actually.

Are you upset? I seem to recall you wanting to be bound.

[well_shit]

Part and parcel of telling a story, kid.

[colecomfort]

I don't know them yet. They're hard to get at. Slippery fish from another stream.

It may be all right.

[colecomfort]

You're not telling your own anymore. Doesn't it sting?

[lyriumaddict]

I certainly hope so. For all our sakes.

[well_shit]

[ Snort. ]

What, the fact that I'm not the one telling it, or that I'm not telling one about me?

Honestly, I've never liked telling stories where I'm the main character. Mostly because I've got a flair for heroes with tragic endings.

[colecomfort]

You've been swimming for a while. Staying above the undertow. Simpler when the chains can't be locked anymore.

[lyna_mahariel]

I'd like to think that they do. At least, mine seems to work well with me. She at lesats asks my thoughts about things she has planned for me.

[colecomfort]

And what sort of story have you been bound in? Sour, or sweet?

[lyriumaddict]

I'm...sorry?

[ And there went the 'making sense' portion of the day, it appears. ]

[well_shit]

Bit of both, like any good story. You've got to have one to appreciate the nuances of the other.

[ Chuckles. ]

Not like we lack for material, here.

[colecomfort]

This one is sparks flying off of flint. Can't say what'll catch.

[lyna_mahariel]

That.. sounds like it could be bad. I only hope that said sparks don't get you burned in the process.

[lyna_mahariel]

Sounds like you perhaps might have told mine, then. Dying whilst slaying the archdemon, doesn't get more tragic than that, does it?

[colecomfort]

But you still hear them rattling.

She's there with you, to guide you through. No longer alone. It's good.

[well_shit]

Warden, everyone tells that story.

[colecomfort]

They... like it in the dark. Damp and sorrow, sticky and sharp.

But it gets heavy there, sometimes. Have to pierce through. The light is sweeter.

[lyna_mahariel]

Everyone?

[Sits back, letting that implication sink in]

I never wanted that. I just had to do what needed to be done.

[colecomfort]

I am the steel. Can't be burned, but may be set aside when no fire lights. I don't know which is better.

[lyna_mahariel]

Perhaps. But get steel hot enough, and it can either bend or break.

Hopefully, neither of those will happen.

[lyriumaddict]

...I hadn't realized that was a concern.

[ Honestly he thinks Cole means well, but half the time he can't tell what in Maker's name he's talking about. ]

Regardless, my mundane is hardly what I'd call good company.

[colecomfort]

They do not fear change. They've broken some of their toys. Others they have mended. Filled in the cracks that threatened to crumble.

But they... care. Hurt when the hurting is of their making. Perhaps I was wrong.

[well_shit]

Sounds about right. Trick is finding the right balance. A good storyteller keeps you hooked into the drama without exhausting you. Too much angst's no fun for anyone.

Unless it's in a broody, pointy-eared package. In which case people can't seem to get enough of that shit.

[lyna_mahariel]

No, I do believe that you are right. At least, for some of them. I can feel the shared anquish of mine as she plots with and old friend of mine that knows me to be dead. To reopen those old wounds...

[well_shit]

Yeah, and see, that attitude right there? That doesn't hurt. A humble hero from unlikely origins, battling impossible odds, nobly sacrificing all for the greater good?

That's not just a story. That's the stuff of legend.