-24-

[inhumandog]

[Lots of inkblots here- half formed words that he just smeared ink over, rather than trying to scratch them out.]

Never again. Never. Again.

I do hope he enjoyed his stay. But he is dead. Truly dead. And he will always be dead because he did it to himself.

Comments

Private

[impure_tale]

First, put the letter away out of sight.

Think of something unrelated to him. An old verse you know. Whatever. Recite it. Think about what it means, what it's connected to.

I'll be along shortly.

Re: Private

[inhumandog]

I was. Someone else was talking to me and...I was tolerating it. But now it has changed again.

I will not move from here, though.

Private - Spam or Log

[impure_tale]

No further conversations for now, Iago. If you're in a state you do not need to open yourself to further vexations. I am on my way.

Re: Private - Spam's great

[inhumandog]

[Iago merely shut his journal then, knowing the Marquis' words to be true. Even Judas' entry went unreplied. Instead, he sat on his bed, his head buried in his hands and hummed a soft song to himself. It would have been easier to fuel the anger in his gut, to do something drastic, but he was trying what the Marquis said. Giving him a chance]

SPAM

[impure_tale]

[The Marquis soon appeared. He was armed, though not visibly so. He knew how to defend himself, and knew better than to take the risk. However, he felt mostly confident he could either calm his Inmate or knock him out. He knocked.]

Iago?

[He entered guardedly.]

Re: SPAM

[inhumandog]

[Iago didn't even look up. He knew that it was the Marquis, judging by his voice, and so he didn't think it necessary to break his concentration. He simply stared at the ground, ceasing his humming, and spoke.]

He wrote a letter. I would rather him have confessed to still hating me. That would have been better. But what he said...he is full of lies.

SPAM

[impure_tale]

[The Marquis pulled a chair over to sit across from him.] What did he say?

SPAM

[inhumandog]

Too much. He told me that I had done wrong. He read my journals, my private journals, and told me that what I did to the boy was wrong. He told me that I was not worthy of that anymore. That I should think about what I did to others.

And then he told me that he now understood me more...that we had never been friends before. That I had lied to him about own friendship. And, because we were never friends and because I never betrayed him as a friend, he forgave me.

[Iago's voice tensed as the words spilled from his lips. He had not meant to say so much, but when he started, he couldn't stop. But it was very clear that the letter had angered him. Quite a bit.]

SPAM

[impure_tale]

If you'll allow me to be frank, Iago, were this to have come from anyone else, would it really anger you so to hear it?

Re: SPAM

[inhumandog]

[Iago's hands tightened into fists and he finally glared over to the Marquis. His voice was low, obviously angry. Normally, he would have been calm, collected. Laughing. Joking. But he was stressed out, under a lot of pressure, and he didn't know when or if it would ever end. He was a good liar, skilled manipulator- but he was still very much human.]

I do not know. But does it matter?

SPAM

[impure_tale]

I just think that you might be allowing your anger toward a single individual to affect your ability to consider any merit in what has been said.

Re: SPAM

[inhumandog]

[Angrily, Iago reached over and threw his journal towards the Marquis.]

Merit?! You think he is right?!

SPAM

[impure_tale]

[The Marquis did his best to deflect the journal with his arm. He drew in a breath to calm himself.]

Which part do you disagree with?

Re: SPAM

[inhumandog]

I never lied to him about our friendship. I loved him. He was the betrayer, not me.

SPAM

[impure_tale]

Neither of you are going to agree with one another on that point. Move on.

SPAM

[inhumandog]

[As Iago had nothing else to throw at him, he just looked down, glaring holes in the floor.]

Fine.

But you implied that what he said was right. Do you agree with him...or me?