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Somewhere in the South Shroud:
"I can't do this." Carter's hands were shaking, and though he could not see it, he could feel beads of sweat forming on his brow. The lake lay before them, if it even deserved to be called such a term. He remembered dark waters under the forest's canopy, could clearly recall the rippled patterns of a light rain when his sweetheart had told him she'd found another. He was only in his eighth cycle at the time, so the sting was, comparatively speaking, minor next to the sight of the fetid marsh in front of him. "I can't," he repeated, clenching his fists. "It's too much."
"You have to." He felt a hand on his shoulder, a squeeze. "You have to. It is the only way." Nico's voice was soft, and he didn't even have the decency to use that softness to conceal an iron certainty behind his plea, a velvet glove that concealed nothing but more velvet.
"It's not." Carter bit down on his lip. "It's not. We could always go. Just leave. There's nothing keeping us here."
"Mayhaps." There was a note in Nico's voice that suggested the idea was not unattractive. "And then, one day, we die. And then what? We're his again. We have to do this." His hand crept down Carter's arm, a little rough against exposed skin, before clasping his hand, entangling fingers together. "This is putting a strain on you. I would do this if I could. At least, I would not make you do it alone."
"You don't know." Carter wrenched his hand away, and he could hear a shift in the grass, a backwards step. He'd caused injury, however unintended. "I'm sorry. I know you mean it. But everytime it happens, every time I step through, it's like . . . it's happening all over again. And I can feel him there. Just . . . just watching. If he lashed out at least it would be something!"
"I know enough to know what it must be like - going back, I mean. Even for a moment." Nico maintained his distance. "That is why we have to do this. Or it will be far longer than a moment for us."
"I know, I know." Carter's lips trembled, before lifting a tattered sleeve to wipe his face. Sweat and tears. With the lake drained, the walk did not seem too far. "How many more?"
"After this? Two, perhaps three, if we want to be sure. But at least two."
"And you'll be at the safehouse?"
"I will. I promise. What you have done will not be undone."
Carter swallowed, and found his throat dry. "I'll be back," he took a step forward, and the feeling of mud pressing against his boots - the knowledge that it was mud at all - forced a shudder. "One leap, at most, if there's no danger. In, out. That's it."
"That is all I could ask. Twelve guide you." Behind him, he heard Nico's footsteps, the crunch of grass as he made his way into the forest.
"Why they'd guide me to here and now is anyone's guess," Carter muttered. He kept his step light and his path soft as he entered the marsh proper, the great tree of Amadpor ahead of him.
"I can't do this." Carter's hands were shaking, and though he could not see it, he could feel beads of sweat forming on his brow. The lake lay before them, if it even deserved to be called such a term. He remembered dark waters under the forest's canopy, could clearly recall the rippled patterns of a light rain when his sweetheart had told him she'd found another. He was only in his eighth cycle at the time, so the sting was, comparatively speaking, minor next to the sight of the fetid marsh in front of him. "I can't," he repeated, clenching his fists. "It's too much."
"You have to." He felt a hand on his shoulder, a squeeze. "You have to. It is the only way." Nico's voice was soft, and he didn't even have the decency to use that softness to conceal an iron certainty behind his plea, a velvet glove that concealed nothing but more velvet.
"It's not." Carter bit down on his lip. "It's not. We could always go. Just leave. There's nothing keeping us here."
"Mayhaps." There was a note in Nico's voice that suggested the idea was not unattractive. "And then, one day, we die. And then what? We're his again. We have to do this." His hand crept down Carter's arm, a little rough against exposed skin, before clasping his hand, entangling fingers together. "This is putting a strain on you. I would do this if I could. At least, I would not make you do it alone."
"You don't know." Carter wrenched his hand away, and he could hear a shift in the grass, a backwards step. He'd caused injury, however unintended. "I'm sorry. I know you mean it. But everytime it happens, every time I step through, it's like . . . it's happening all over again. And I can feel him there. Just . . . just watching. If he lashed out at least it would be something!"
"I know enough to know what it must be like - going back, I mean. Even for a moment." Nico maintained his distance. "That is why we have to do this. Or it will be far longer than a moment for us."
"I know, I know." Carter's lips trembled, before lifting a tattered sleeve to wipe his face. Sweat and tears. With the lake drained, the walk did not seem too far. "How many more?"
"After this? Two, perhaps three, if we want to be sure. But at least two."
"And you'll be at the safehouse?"
"I will. I promise. What you have done will not be undone."
Carter swallowed, and found his throat dry. "I'll be back," he took a step forward, and the feeling of mud pressing against his boots - the knowledge that it was mud at all - forced a shudder. "One leap, at most, if there's no danger. In, out. That's it."
"That is all I could ask. Twelve guide you." Behind him, he heard Nico's footsteps, the crunch of grass as he made his way into the forest.
"Why they'd guide me to here and now is anyone's guess," Carter muttered. He kept his step light and his path soft as he entered the marsh proper, the great tree of Amadpor ahead of him.
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Current Fate-14 Storyline:Â Merchant, Marine
Current Fate-14 Storyline:Â Merchant, Marine