XI.

[takeyouapart]

So much unrest. This flood-or-not-flood, it barely matters, it has shaken up so much.

Inmates. You poor lost souls. Don't you know better by now? I would be the first to agree that most of you are simple at best, but have you no capacity to learn? Any move you make against us will be crushed, any pleas for clemency will go unheard, and by

Comments

Channelling wishverse Giles here...

[stayandgloat]

The impression I received was that you preferred me to keep my peace, Emrys.

[takeyouapart]

I would prefer you to do many things that you still refuse.

Perhaps I should pay a visit. Are you still much injured since I last wasted my time on you?

[stayandgloat]

There is little I could do to influence your coming and going, now is there. I am mostly mended, still a little stiff, I suppose, but other than that, you did a fair job of keeping the damage temporary!

[Spam]

[takeyouapart]

Merlin felt a little ridiculous as he walked the corridors, dressed in the clothes he'd found in his flood-affected cabin. More reminiscent of Cornelius Sigan than Nimueh - too much black, too much leather. It was all wildly uncomfortable, but he knew he'd attract attention for wearing the clothes he'd been in when everything had changed.

He was aware, immediately, of old magic on Ethan's door - magic he had cast. Not just locks, but curses - spells that would hurt him, cripple him if he tried to escape. He closed his eyes for a moment, then knocked.

"Rayne, come to the door," he said, keeping his voice cold and level.

[Spam]

[stayandgloat]

It took Ethan longer than it really should have done to open the door. He looked older, and a little more worn than he had done on the barge, but he opened the door all the same, stepping back silently to let Merlin in.

"Emrys. Is there any particular reason you saw fit to grace me with your presence, or is this merely a routine visit?"

He winced slightly as he asked, fully aware of exactly what a routine visit from his warden consisted of.

[Spam]

[takeyouapart]

Merlin saw all of it; the picture painted by the changes in Ethan's face and body language made him coil up inside as he moved into the room. He had read a few of his own precise, dispassionate notes on the means he'd used to try dragging Ethan down but eventually he'd just given up.

He let go of the rigid façade, his shoulders slumping and his expression tight with guilt.

"Are you in any pain?"

[Spam]

[stayandgloat]

Ethan frowned, regarding Merlin quizzically for a moment, as though he was searching for the trap in the other mans words. Finally, he settled on a safe answer, "I am in some pain. Not enough to object too."

[Spam]

[takeyouapart]

Merlin adjusted that in his head for the extent to which his other self was complete scum, frowned and dug in his pocket. He'd asked around their makeshift infirmary and been granted a couple of white pills, which he held out to Ethan.

"Here. Take these. I was told they'd help, if anything hurts."

[Spam]

[stayandgloat]

Ethan eyed the pills suspiciously, but he knew better than to refuse something that his warden wanted to do to him. Reaching out, he accepted the pills and quickly knocked them back, swallowing them in one quick motion, before closing his eyes and waiting for the effect of them to hit him. He didn't know exactly what the effect would be, but he knew he should brace for it.

[Spam]

[takeyouapart]

Merlin sat down, not saying anything for a moment. He knew he should probably cut his losses and go - it wasn't as if he'd come up here with a plan - but now he'd seen the state Ethan was in he couldn't, not yet.

"Have you heard about the flood?"

[Spam]

[stayandgloat]

Ethan opened his eyes again, looking at Merlin with a sudden sharpness in his eyes. Of course he'd heard of the flood. He'd been following the debate about it with some interest, but still, the wardens stances on it didn't exactly encourage him to be completely honest about this fact. So instead, he gave Merlin his most innocent expression, "Flood?" Small frown, "Hmm, No, I'm not sure I have heard anything about a flood, lately."

[Spam]

[takeyouapart]

"Really? So...nothing about another Barge that doesn't serve this purpose - one that's intended for healing and redemption? You've heard nothing about some of the people of that Barge, ending up here?"