[Olivier, meanwhile, no worse for the wear besides dented pride courtesy of an embarrassing fictional rivalry brought to life, strolls right out of the war room, making for the kitchen. Her box has already been opened--containing scars that only someone of great scrutiny would notice--and she's only mildly annoyed.
She sees Zevran standing stock-still, less observant than usual, and this is far more unsettling to her.]
[It actually takes him a moment to look up, but when he does he gives her a quick smile - too quick, a smile of kneejerk reaction. He's clearly distracted, and just as clearly not cheerful so much as using his usual cheerfulness to conceal something else.] Oh, Olivier. You actually slept last night, then?
Show me what's in your hand, and I'll show you. [HINT: They're under her clothes, except for the one over her left eye.] Just some standard injuries. Broken ribs, broken arm...
[Zevran chuckles.] Jewelry, I'm afraid. Nothing which would even begin to interest you, yes? Though you need not show me yours, since I have nothing of interest to offer in return.
[...that was perhaps the worst slip-up Zevran has ever made. He just volunteered to pass up on partial Olivier nudity. His cheerful facade is cracked badly.]
[She rolls one long sleeve up, showing a strangely-shaped scar on her arm.] What if I want to show you? [She sighs near-silently, a puff of air through her nose.]
Something is wrong. If you don't want to talk about it, I understand, but... Well.
[Zevran hesitates for a long moment, then sighs. Thinking about it...why is he actually holding back? He's not really any less close to Olivier now than he was to Elissa when he told her the truth.] I...suppose there is no reason not to. Certainly I trust you - and perhaps it is time to finally justify your disdain of me? [He laughs, a bit awkwardly, and lets it die after a moment or two.
Then he just sighs.] My last mission for the Crows before I was sent to kill the woman you so remind me of - the woman who spared my life - ended badly. Everything that happened afterward was due to that, in fact...and I suspect it is why I am here at all, for a number of reasons. I will tell you of it, if you wish...though it is a long story.
...I can sit down. I don't want to see one of my men like this, and I won't be able to deal with you walking on eggshells around me.
[She raises an eyebrow and gestures toward the couch. Olivier has no idea what's gone on, or what could be going on, but for it to upset someone as free-spirited as Zevran, it's probably... far worse than she can imagine.] Better you talk to me than bottle things up. We don't have time for distractions.
Well, I haven't spoken of it as long as I have known you, so it cannot be said to have affected my performance much, yes? But I suppose the false memories of the past few days have brought it back to me.
[Zevran moves to the couch, but doesn't actually sit on it properly, instead sort of half-perching on the arm.] You must understand that...before I left Antiva, I was quite arrogant. The best the Crows had to offer, in death and in bed - or so I thought - and I made no secret of it. One of the Crow masters felt I deserved a lesson in humility, so he saw to it that my bid for an exceedingly difficult job was accepted. A wealthy merchant, surrounded by an entire contingent of guards, and on the strict condition that no alarm could be raised in the killing. So challenging a job was it that three of us were sent - myself, my friend Taliesen, and an elven girl named Rinna
( ... )
[She tries to sit quietly, impassive, through the entire story to this point. How should she react? This doesn't seem to be going anywhere good. Hearing Zevran speak so highly of a woman is only slightly uncomfortable...
[Zevran shrugs, his tone rather matter-of-fact.] Well, the Crows discourage love, of course. It is a weakness, a distraction in a business that can afford no such thing. But Rinna...she made me feel things I never had before. To be honest, it was more frightening than exhilarating...being so vulnerable, having been told all my life how dangerous such things are
( ... )
[He doesn't have to say it explicitly, but Olivier gets it. He loved this woman, this Rinna, in a way he'd never loved before.
From the sound of this, he'd be fortunate to never love again.
However, there's a truth hidden very poorly in his words. It's almost at the surface; she can put it together. The world is full of harsh things like this--things she won't let him run away from even now. With all the harshness she reserved for people like her adjutant, she simply outs it:] She didn't do it, did she.
No. [Zevran sighs again.] We found our target eventually, Taliesen and I, as well as the source of his information. Not Rinna, of course. Fairly predictable, in retrospect...even you saw it coming, yes?
Of course, what we had done...there was no taking it back. The least I felt we could do was tell the Crows, clear her name and accept any punishment they might offer...but Taliesen convinced me not to. Said it would be a waste, solving nothing. Not that it mattered, of course; the Crows knew. I expect they tracked our every movement - perhaps the master that hated me was even the merchant's source of warning, in some attempt to be rid of me, or at least teach me a lesson.
All I know is that he summoned me afterward, and told me he knew what we had done. And, more than that - that he didn't care. Rinna was nothing; I was nothing. And that someday, I would die as she had, and my death would mean as little as hers did. And I knew that it was true
( ... )
She sees Zevran standing stock-still, less observant than usual, and this is far more unsettling to her.]
Good morning.
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What's bothering you? [Once she has it poured, she'll grab another mug, for him.]
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[Thank you for that convenient subject change, Olivier!]
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[...that was perhaps the worst slip-up Zevran has ever made. He just volunteered to pass up on partial Olivier nudity. His cheerful facade is cracked badly.]
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Something is wrong. If you don't want to talk about it, I understand, but... Well.
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Then he just sighs.] My last mission for the Crows before I was sent to kill the woman you so remind me of - the woman who spared my life - ended badly. Everything that happened afterward was due to that, in fact...and I suspect it is why I am here at all, for a number of reasons. I will tell you of it, if you wish...though it is a long story.
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[She raises an eyebrow and gestures toward the couch. Olivier has no idea what's gone on, or what could be going on, but for it to upset someone as free-spirited as Zevran, it's probably... far worse than she can imagine.] Better you talk to me than bottle things up. We don't have time for distractions.
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[Zevran moves to the couch, but doesn't actually sit on it properly, instead sort of half-perching on the arm.] You must understand that...before I left Antiva, I was quite arrogant. The best the Crows had to offer, in death and in bed - or so I thought - and I made no secret of it. One of the Crow masters felt I deserved a lesson in humility, so he saw to it that my bid for an exceedingly difficult job was accepted. A wealthy merchant, surrounded by an entire contingent of guards, and on the strict condition that no alarm could be raised in the killing. So challenging a job was it that three of us were sent - myself, my friend Taliesen, and an elven girl named Rinna ( ... )
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But she nods, urging him on.] So?
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From the sound of this, he'd be fortunate to never love again.
However, there's a truth hidden very poorly in his words. It's almost at the surface; she can put it together. The world is full of harsh things like this--things she won't let him run away from even now. With all the harshness she reserved for people like her adjutant, she simply outs it:] She didn't do it, did she.
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Of course, what we had done...there was no taking it back. The least I felt we could do was tell the Crows, clear her name and accept any punishment they might offer...but Taliesen convinced me not to. Said it would be a waste, solving nothing. Not that it mattered, of course; the Crows knew. I expect they tracked our every movement - perhaps the master that hated me was even the merchant's source of warning, in some attempt to be rid of me, or at least teach me a lesson.
All I know is that he summoned me afterward, and told me he knew what we had done. And, more than that - that he didn't care. Rinna was nothing; I was nothing. And that someday, I would die as she had, and my death would mean as little as hers did. And I knew that it was true ( ... )
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