Come Sail Away IC Inbox

[crushed_pearls]

Erin's voice mail message is in a weary voice: "Erin Peters. If you called in the middle of the night and I didn't answer, I'm dying. If I pick up and someone on your end isn't dying, they will be shortly. Text otherwise."

Comments

[breakaleginhalf]

"Yeah, I know." He eyes off the sushi trundling slowly past. "But still."

He looks down at his hands briefly. Still human enough, compared to the rest of him, but there isn't a single part of him that passably resembles his old self. "Obligate cannibal, sure. But I don't- want to. It's. A personal Rule. 'cos I'm... fuck it, sure, I'm scared. That if I get back on the humanitarian diet I won't know how to stop. The only thing I associate the taste with is There, and I don't want to give that any more of a foothold than it's already got."

[crushed_pearls]

"...Yeah, that's fair." Erin sighs again. "Siffleur will offer anyway, but he won't go Doctor Lecter about it. He's a bit of a soft hedonist, in love with the opportunity the ship affords him to be his genuine self. Say no and that'll be the end of it."

[breakaleginhalf]

He sighs, but even that comes out as a soft rumble.

"I appreciate the thought, babe, seriously," he says. "If this was literally anything else I could use the hand with, I'd be taking it with both. That one's the exception. Besides."

He finally reaches out to take a new plate of sushi. "Two years cold turkey. Hasn't killed me yet, and I prefer the devil I know."

[crushed_pearls]

"God damn dude. Congratulations." Erin resumes her own grazing; it feels to her like something has cleared in the air. "...You talk to the skeleton yet? I don't think he'll turn down someone with practice in magical thinking, and for my money he's probably our best shot at getting out alive."

[breakaleginhalf]

"Unless there's another skeleton than Skulduggery, which, first of all- goddamn it, dude, seriously." He's heard less on-the-nose names from baby Changelings. "But no, uh. I think I might’ve wandered into his memory, but I haven't actually talked to him. How up to date is he on us, if I have to do a deep-dive?"

[crushed_pearls]

"I've hardly given him the deep dive. Dunno if he gets on with Ossie or Giles." A grin creeps up on Erin's face. "I do know his name was Skulduggery back when he had meat on his bones, and I curse you with knowing it now too."

[breakaleginhalf]

That gets a broad, disbelieving grin. "Thanks, I fucking hate it."

He pauses with a seaweed cone thing raised halfway to his mouth.

"...should we, like. Get the others together and have a proper pow-wow or what the fuck ever, see if we can't try and get everyone on the same page? Might be good for the kid to see the adults sorting out the issue."

[crushed_pearls]

"...Okie needs to know first," Erin says softly. "He's the only one who doesn't. And I'm not...I am legitimately not sure if I should tell him myself. He's already terrified of me."

[breakaleginhalf]

He pauses again, but this time he just stares at Erin for a few long seconds.

"...what part doesn't Okie know?" It's a legitimate and suddenly very concerned question.

[crushed_pearls]

"The privateer part. Which would also have to be explained since he's never had a Freehold."

[breakaleginhalf]

He takes a long breath, and lets it out quietly.

"You want me to break the ice on that one for him? I don't. Think he's scared of me. Plus I've got the element spell so his windy shit won't hurt me if he takes it badly."

[crushed_pearls]

"...If you're sure you want to tank that hit, I can approach Ossie and Giles and we can all chat if they're down for it." The sound Erin lets out is frustrated. "...I don't want to scare the kid but it's not like it's an unreasonable response. I'm objectively terrifying. I'm shocked that no one's been on my ass for the shapeshifting even if I mainly use it for comedy.'

[breakaleginhalf]

"Better than him getting the wrong idea and coming after you for it. I can handle elementals, they usually burn out pretty quickly."

Though him defending a known 'traitor' was going to be an interesting conversation regardless.

"I'll leave the lovebirds to you, then. But honestly, like. Best case scenario we've basically got a motley on our hands. Ain't nothing wrong with that, right?"

[crushed_pearls]

Erin makes a noncommittal noise. "Depends on how much everyone likes each other's friends I suppose. I've been the friend nobody likes already, dragged into a Motley's business. Now I've got friends that nobody likes. Ain't simple without a siege to live under, you know?"

[breakaleginhalf]

"I mean, I like you right now," he comments dryly. "And I don't not like Daisy, I just got freaked the fuck out 'cos she broke into my room at five a.m. in the middle of my government assigned panic attack hours and threatened to steal my lunch money. And given how I killed her memory-girlfriend I think we're pretty square."

[crushed_pearls]

"...You not mind her enough to be the bigger man and try to mend things with her?"

Listen.

Daisy needs people who get it.

[breakaleginhalf]

"Not today."

Which he thinks is a reasonable enough ask. It's been a rough fucking day, and that's a pretty soft line.

"You're lucky I like you that much," he comments, but there's no bite to it as he chomps on more sushi.

[crushed_pearls]

"Yeah. I am." Erin flashes a wan half smile. "That's still a new one on me too but I've got your back. I'm not about to leave someone behind if I could have helped."