exsilium | oo2 ♚ video

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oo2 ♚ video

I preferred the old books better. [This thing is being folded every which way, because they just had to make this thing harder to use.] At least you knew where you stood with them. The old books never changed; they might never have been easy to use, but they you knew what you were supposed to do with them.

[Is he talking about the book, still? Maybe, maybe not.] With all this talk of the Initiative and the United Earth issues, there's been something that's come up several times. Something I would be worried about, and so should others.

Traitors. Those who turned away from the goal right when their colleagues needed them most. Or the ones who never came to help in the first place, though they said they would. Traitors also includes liars. Yes. Liars. The ones who never tell the truth, especially when the truth could be the information you needed the most.

[He's getting exasperated with this new book.] I wonder, how did everyone else treat liars back home? In Ferelden, we had several ways of punishing those that had committed crimes against the crown, or those who'd lied and were caught. Some of them seemed rather harsh, but if someone who steals loses a finger, why not have the liar lose something as well? Something they value, something close to them, so that they can be hurt as much as they have hurt those around them.

So, how should we treat those liars, here? If we find traitors, what do we do with them? A mock execution, whipping, leaving them bound and gagged in a small room? Killing them would just be too merciful for what they've done, wouldn't it? [He pauses.]

Andraste's foul breath, this new book is more difficult then the other! [Okay, he's done with this book thing. With a yell, he throws it across the room.]

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Good.

[she strides past him towards where she assumes the living room is, taking a seat on the couch.

she's wasting no time, honestly, her nerves are shot.]

Though they probably heard everything they needed to hear over the network.

They did, I wouldn't want to hide from them what they might need to know.

[Sarcastic Cailan is Sarcastic, and he shuts the door, sitting down in a chair across from her. So different then the first time, hm?]

More then I could have ever hoped for.

[her eyes narrow.

welp. time to cut to the chase.]

She had no right to tell you.

You're right. You should have told me right at the beginning. [His eyes narrow in return.]

Accept responsibility for your mistakes. That's what a queen would do.

And I wonder how that would have went.

[she crosses her arms, her posture remaining straight. she's prideful, she won't admit her mistakes...not yet.

there's a bit of her father in her, after all.]

I was trying to approach the topic as delicately as possible, Cailan. Had I not been attacked, I would have told you upon your arrival once you had been settled.

I'm sure it would have went fine.

[God, he's just so angry! He stands up and begins pacing. He can't sit with all this energy.]

There was time, Anora. When we were down in those... those tunnels, for so many days. You could have told me! Instead, you forbade people from bringing it up. Now you shift the blame onto someone who was only acting loyal to me...

[He gives a little rage sound, knocking a lamp off of the side table.] You betrayed me!

[she jumps up from the couch when he knocks the lamp over, hands balled into fists at her side. they've had their fights, they've had their arguments in the five years of their marriage, and she knows how he can let his emotions take over.

he was always the fire, while she was the ice.]

How on earth could I betray a man who is dead where I am from?

[she motions to the fallen lamp, voice sharp as ever.]

This is why I didn't tell you, Cailan. This is what I feared would happen if I told you, that you would let your emotions cloud what little sense you have in that golden...glory-seeking head of yours.

I did not betray you. I would never betray you.

Just that! What you said! [He knocks over the chair as well, stomping down and breaking one of the legs.]

If I'm dead back home, then what does any of this matter, isn't that right? You don't need to tell me anything, since you have that husband of yours, and he'll be there to keep you company. To be the one you whisper to at night, which I am sure has already happened!

[The anger is turning down, a little, moving into more emotional.] You've betrayed me, Anora! You let me think... I had a purpose, here, to bring back all I had learned home with me.

[He goes into the little side kitchen, slumping onto the ground.]

...I've lost everything. I picture you and... Alistair.. laughing at me.

[she doesn't flinch when he breaks the leg off one of the chairs, but she's keeping her distance nevertheless, heart beating wildly in her chest.

her cheeks flush in what is likely to be anger.]

Nothing has happened between us Cailan.

[as he goes to slump on the kitchen floor, she follows him, still allowing there to be a good few feet between the two of them. her frown grows soft with a sort of despair as his anger gives way, and her heart aches.

there's a longing to smooth his hair in an attempt to calm him, but she knew that this situation was beyond that point.]

We aren't laughing at you, Cailan. No one's laughing.

[had she been raised to be the touchy feely sort, this is where she would approach him, kneel at his level and place a hand on his shoulder.

unfortunately, she does no such thing. still looking down at him, still looking sad, and still seeing him as the child she had grown up with.]

I don't believe it. You were married... it's been years, hasn't it? Married for years, and living together in the same place... [How could he have been so blind?]

You were both living in the same place, without even telling me! How could you not tell me that piece of information?!

[He's glad not to be wearing his armor right now. It makes it easier to act like a child, pulling his legs up and looking forlornly at the ground.]

No, you're right. [He concedes this point.] No one is laughing. But you've made me a laughing stock. You've turned me into someone to be pitied, someone who is treated like a child.

[He's not crying. He's a man. But he wishes he could cry.]

You betrayed me. You of all people. You. [He looks up.] I love you, Anora. I may not have been the best husband, but I love you! Does that count for nothing?

It had hardly been a day, Cailan. We were brought here shortly after the ceremony.

[as though that would help. as of now he seemed more upset about this marriage as opposed to his death.

what he says next sends a dagger through her heart, and a hand grips the fabric of her dress between her fist once again to keep composure. she had always been able to keep her composure, always able to keep her voice strong and steady even as despair gripped her.

her composure broke into desperation only once before, when her father was ready to die for his deeds at the blade of the warden, and she was not quite ready to give up on him. and she can feel her composure breaking once again.

she loved him...loves him too in her own way. as a friend, as a brother, as a husband. his cheating had hurt in the beginning, but became routine in the end, and the look on her face as she continues to hold his gaze is not unlike the one she had when she heard of his death.

she wishes she could cry too, but years of practice prevent her from doing so until she's behind closed doors.]

The only person to betray you was my father. [it hurt to say, but it was the truth.] Mine and Alistair's marriage is of convenience, it was the only way for me to keep my claim to the throne.

[she's wringing her hands.]

What would you have done, if I had been the one who died at the command of your father. Had you remarried for the sake of your country, only to witness my return from the grave some months later? This was not anything I could have ever anticipated.

[He didn't cheat to hurt her. He didn't cheat to make her upset; in most cases, she had never been thought about at all, until it was over and done with. That was the truly terrible thing about it; he should have been thinking about her. he should have been thinking about her all the time.

He was a hypocrite. The worse of the ones out there. Maybe, like the man he had talked to before, karma was a very true thing. He looks up at her again. She had a point. Several points. If Loghain ever showed up here, he would kill him on the spot, no matter the cost.]

Did you ever think of me, Anora? During that time, between my death and your marriage of convenience... [He can't help but say it in disgust.]

Did you miss me? Did you stop loving me, because I was gone, and it was all for your taking? [He looks down, now. He can't bear it.] Do you love me, even now? Did you lie because you love me, or because it was easier for you?

[he's throwing so many questions at her at once, each one with their own blow, that she doesn't have time to wrap her head around an answer. as he looks down and away from her, Anora tentatively approaches, smoothing out her skirt as she finally gets down to his level, resting on her knees, leaving inches between them to satiate whatever bubble he may put up.

she's glad it's only the two of them. in anyone else's presence she wouldn't have dared to even kneel. but they knew each other as children and right now it isn't a king and a queen talking, it's two childhood friends who never had a choice.]

Of course I thought of you. [she's still not the touchy feely sort, but her hand does reach out to brush a strand of hair away from his face. any sign of him flinching would have her drawing back, of course. she's not good at this 'love' talk, she never was. what is it with Theirins and their feelings?] Of course I missed you...I...

[she's usually so well-versed, it's painful that she finds her voice catching. her hands are at her knees and blue eyes trace the familiar profile of his face.]

...suppose it had been for both those reasons.

[Theirins were traditionally emotional. Even half Theirins, if Alistair is any indication. But he throws the questions at her as fast as they come to mind. He'd been thinking about them for awhile, ever since he'd found out, and even more when he'd made those comments on the network.

Now he really did feel like when he was younger and he had stubbed his toe. It hurt really badly, for the first few minutes, but eventually it went away. Right now he was still going through the "badly hurting" phase of it all.

But. Sometimes Anora could be almost kind. Not in a patronizing way, either. When she brushed away a strand of hair, he looked up.]

...What does this mean, now? [He frowns.] I'm dead. I am a dead man, and so I am without any rights. Isn't that how it goes? I have nothing, and you and... Alistair [He can't say that name without disgust.] now has everything I should.

I...honestly do not know what this means.

[it's been something she's been wondering ever since Cailan showed up.]

Our titles mean little here. What good is a king or queen of a country that does not even exist here?

And what of man and wife? Does that mean nothing, as well?

I am still your wife.

[She rises, looking away towards the door.]

Though I don't know what that means here, either.

I believe it is illegal to be married to two men at the same time, my dear.

[When she moves away, his anger comes back. His tone was sarcastic, scathing. Not happy about any of this, and especially not happy at her.]

Looking for an exit? I've heard running from your problems works for a time.

That is no fault of mine dear husband.

[How quickly this escalated again, and she's masking her hurt at his sudden change in disposition with her own brand of bitterness.]

I am not running from a problem, you know me better than that Cailan. I am giving you your space because clearly you need more time alone to sort this all out.

[She turns, not looking back as she leaves.]

As do I.

Don't come back. [Calls out just before she leaves. It's something he'll regret, later on. But for now, he means it.

Maybe he should have added in "for now". Or "until later".]

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oo2 ♚ video

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