Recording #002 | June Log

[the_archive]

WHO | Jon and OTA.
WHAT | DITL mostly, with a few starts in the comments. Feel free to run into Jon anywhere mentioned. He's flexing his Knowing, so if you're interested in dropping some knowledge, that'd be lovely.
WHERE | The Castle, Thorne, the Library, the Dungeon
WHEN | Post-Festival through the rest of June

Realizing that his connection to the Eye is whole again rather soured the end of the Festival for Jon. He spent a day behind the curtains in his room, enduring a headache, but now that's settled down to a mute throb, he's walking off the rest of it while he wrestles with himself.

It's not a surprise, this reconnection. Ambrose told him the respite would only be for a few days. And it's not explicitly unwanted. There are a lot of questions to which he needs answers, and he knows he can seek out those answers, but not without some cost. He knows he'll do it, since the information isn't only for himself. He has to work up the courage.

And he hasn't read a statement in over two weeks now, which is... troublesome. Despite taking full advantage of the dining hall daily (okay, nearly daily), he's aware of a constant vague hunger.

So the walking is as much distraction as exploration. He's going to wear out his sandals pacing the corridors of the castle and the aisles of the library, walking out into the town. He mostly confines his town visits to mid-day, when folk are often too busy to waylay an "honoured guest."

Comments

[not_caroline]

She raises an eyebrow at that reaction. "Well, which would you prefer? Looking like yourself and knowing you're all fucked up inside, or looking like what happened to you but no-one else can see it?"

[the_archive]

He acknowledges the point with a nod. "I know it's a privilege, to still wear my own face." Even if he doesn't always feel like he recognizes it, anymore. "Do you want me to see if I can close my eyes to this? Just see the Mask?"

[not_caroline]

She just shrugs, looking away. "You already know what I look like and I know it, so. Do whatever you want, I guess."

It's not like he can take back knowing it now, and that's really the crux of it: that she didn't get a say in him doing so.

[the_archive]

He pushes himself off his branch, dusting dry bark off his clothes and scowling at a bit of sap on the hem of his tunic.

"I'm sorry," he says, again. "And I'll do my best to keep it from happening again. Which is about a 75-percent guarantee," he admitted.

[not_caroline]

Coraline also has a few patches of sticky sap on her, some bark and needles stuck in the folds, but she doesn't seem bothered by them at all.

She gives him a look, staring with an unnerving intensity - but then she shrugs.

"I could hold you to that, you know. You shouldn't make promises you can't a hundred percent keep around me."

[the_archive]

"I can keep the promise to do my best," he assures her, with gentle emphasis. "I can't promise anything for the Eye."

[not_caroline]

"And if it's as much a part of you as my magic's in me, it won't differentiate," she retorts evenly. "It's like... fuck, what's that word Hunter used," she mutters, drumming her fingers in a quick rush along her arm a few times. "Geas, that's it. You'd have to do what you promised or you'll get punished."

[the_archive]

"The Eye is not-" He stops, breathes out, looks away. No, he knows better.

"All right, I understand. No promises, then."

[not_caroline]

She almost rolls her eyes. Actually you know what, she will roll her eyes, and when she looks back at Jon there'll be an odd reversal of sensation, where all the staring his Eyeness gives off is suddenly redirected back at him in dizzying magnitude.

But the sensation passes in just a few seconds, and - well, Jon's certainly aware of the power of Statements. Something just notarised his.

[the_archive]

Oh, he doesn't like that. The sudden sensation- almost a mirroring- makes the hair on the back of his arms stand up, makes the scars Nikola left him seem to twinge, and for a second, he looks away from her. He knows, intellectually, that it was her, but he still has to look around just in case. No. It's just the two of them.

"That's... very interesting."

[not_caroline]

Coraline may take a little bit of private glee in his discomfort. It's hard being not-really-fourteen and not being taken truly seriously by anyone; at the very least doing shit like that makes her feel a little more in-control.

"Changelings are like that," she replies easily, shrugging as she turns casually away. "A lot of what we do isn't anything like how they talk about magic in stories."

[the_archive]

"So I've promised not to make promises," he says, tone neutral and careful. He's also careful not to make it a question, but his expression makes it plain - he wants an answer.

[not_caroline]

"Maybe." Though the smug little look she shoots briefly back at him makes it an obvious 'yes'.

But the pleased look falls away quickly so she can give him a more neutral shrug. "It's not gonna kill you if you break it, I don't have that kind of power even if I did have all my Glamour. It's just... inconvenient for a little while."

As much as she's petty and annoyed she doesn't want to actually hurt Jon, as a regular thing.

[the_archive]

"A little more explanation would be very helpful, Coraline," he says, still in that neutral tone.

[not_caroline]

She just gives a dramatic sigh, but it's mostly to cover up the squirm of anxiety in her stomach at that very carefully neutral tone, and she folds her arms again so she can grip her sleeves tightly as she faces him again.

"Changelings and like, other things like us-- promises mean things. They're important, they're literally how we get our magic. Our spells are Contracts." She shrugs one shoulder. "So, when someone makes a promise around us, or a threat or something - basically we can use the Wyrd to hold people accountable, to exactly what they said. And if they break that, or they can't keep it up, they'll know right away - so will I - and the Wyrd punishes them for lying."

[the_archive]

"And something as vague as what I said counts as a promise."

[not_caroline]

"It's not intent, it's wording. You could've said, like, 'I'm gonna beat the shit out of someone'-- fuck, I dunno, Homelander- and if I'd sealed that you'd be punished for not attacking him when you got the chance. Or fighting him and losing."

[the_archive]

He narrows his eyes at her, considering. "Punished how?" he asks, a rare direct question. But not one with force behind it.

[not_caroline]

She shrugs, forced casual. "Depends on how hard I seal it. I only did a little one, so like. It's just annoying. Like, maybe your milk always curdles for a couple of days, or you feel all achey, or you just- have a lot of trouble with something small and stupid, like tying your laces. I don't really get to decide it." Which is... partially true? She can certainly choose to, but she's not so good that she can make horribly specific punishments. "It's karma, basically. If I'd really sealed it, you'd feel properly hurt, or there'd be a really intense magic effect, or like- one of my Contracts would activate on you."

[the_archive]

"So, if I break this promise, by making a promise, the penalty is unspecified bad luck for a few days?" Could be worse. Could be better too. He can't risk it just now, considering his plans.

[not_caroline]

"Up to a few days," she clarifies.

But also, maybe she feels a little bit bad now. Jon got her out of jail and has been encouraging her towards being a shithead. Or maybe she just feels back because explaining it is making her realise that she likes Jon too much to want to curse him.

She rolls her eyes again and lifts both hands to wave in a dismissive gesture; this time there's no fancy effect on Jon's end, but at the very least the sealing is undone. "But if you're gonna be such a baby about it, fine. It's gone."

[the_archive]

He's still for a moment - no special effect this time? But then his shoulders relax. Despite the insult.

"That sounds like it could be an incredibly useful weapon. How many promises do we make a day, without realizing it?"

[not_caroline]

Oh good, Jon's not mad. That give Coraline a moment's reprieve to feel good about herself again, and she allows herself to feel a little smug.

"You have no idea. It always pays to say what you actually mean, you never know what's listening."

[the_archive]

To the contrary, he smiles. "A little jealous. I may usually know when someone's promise is a lie, but not always." He flexes the burnt hand a little - he probably wouldn't fall for that today, at least.

[not_caroline]

"I guess maybe when someone says something they think is true, that'd probably throw you off, huh." She's acutely aware of the difference between objective and subjective facts.