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[tavar_of_alera]

It's been a long, long time since Tavi was in the Bar. As it is, his armor's covered in dust as he walks in, fully expecting his command building--and looks around with some surprise.

A slow smile spreads over his face, and then he all but bounds upstairs to go change, because crows he could do with a bath, meal, and an hour of not working on

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[is_a_ghost]

Nearby there is someone humming. It's probably easy to figure out who, given Silas isn't the best at blending in with the dark walls of the bar and the colorful clash of people and other beings; he's starkly white, hair still damp and almost translucent as he keeps brushing it back with his fingers.

He's playing solitaire on his table, and the deck of cards is new and still slick, making the cards slippery to hold onto when he drops one or two. Several of them spill onto the floor at Tavi's feet with a soft clatter, making their new owner need to get up to retrieve them.

[tavar_of_alera]

Tavi notes when the cards spill--he'd already noticed the boy (boy--some of his legionares were that young; Tavi had been that young not so long ago)--and just watches for a moment.

Presently: "Do you need any help with that?"

[is_a_ghost]

Tavi, being observant, may well recognize some of the traits the boy has that he doesn't often display; he searches Tavi's face thoroughly but quickly when the question is posed, and yet his expression doesn't change but for a frission of alertness that passes through him.

"If you'd like." He won't say no to the offer, but he is also picking up the ones he can easily reach already. The injuries are easy to take into account, though it might take more to notice his dominant hand is also the one encased in the brace, his left.

[tavar_of_alera]

Tavi's done much of the same thing, with the observation--and with much of the same subtlety. If it is more difficult to observe, it is probably only age and practice.

Still, Tavi is also trained to, in that observation, pick up as much as he can in movements and the like, and after months of watching soldiers and figuring out how they fight and what to have Marcus tell their centurions to get some improvement in, he notes the injuries.

So, after a moment, the legs of his chair hit the ground and Tavi is kneeling next to him, helping gather the cards. He's got an injury or two himself; the worst are where they're not visible, but there is what looks like a healing, but deep cut unfortunately close to his neck.

[is_a_ghost]

"Thank you," he murmurs, glancing at the cut before looking down again. "That looks like a nasty cut."

[tavar_of_alera]

Tavi shrugs carelessly. "I've had worse."

He'll get even worse than that in the not-too-distant future, too.

[is_a_ghost]

"That doesn't negate that it looks bad."

Silas gathers up his cards and sits back on his heels. "Hello," he murmurs, late in the conversation but better than never.

[tavar_of_alera]

"In my experience, wounds rarely care about looking anything other than bad. Nor," he adds, "do the ones who inflict them."

The captain looks faintly amused.

"Hello."

[is_a_ghost]

"Oh, no. Sometimes people aim to hurt you without leaving a mark," he says. "Perhaps you have yet to meet someone like that. And for that you are lucky."

[tavar_of_alera]

Tavi watches him thoughtfully.

"I suppose that was imprecise; I did mean physical wounds." Mostly because he rarely thinks about the emotional ones; when he lets his emotional control go, it is highly disturbing. "You encounter them too much?"

[is_a_ghost]

"So did I," Silas says, standing back up smoothly. "I have encountered them before, and they do tend to leave an impression in the memory."

[tavar_of_alera]

"They're the ones I like least." Tavi's eyes flash for a moment; he absolutely hates injustice and that kind of treatment of people. "I've seen its effects far too often."

He just doesn't add it has been in himself--partly because it is part of that family secret he keeps locked buried deep in his mind where he can't look too closely, and so he pretends to be unaware of it, usually.

[is_a_ghost]

"I haven't met anyone who does like them," he says openly. Or as openly as he gets.

[tavar_of_alera]

"I'm sure they exist. Life's like that."

He knows they do. He's met them.