[ well, if she's going to laugh, it's harder for boothill not to!! so he laughs too. also i guess they are going to keep holding hands. it's cool. he's not going to bring it up. ]
Kind of a long story. You mind if we sit somewhere?
[ looks ]
Maybe not in one a'them coffins, f'that's all right.
[i'm going to be honest she will just hold his hand for as long as he lets her. she is a horrible touch monster, she cannot be stopped.]
Gods, yeah, you know what? Let's get out of here, this place is fucking awful for storytelling.
[she will turn and tug him out of the mortuary? they can go hang out at the pyre, maybe, it's warm and soothing there - or wherever he wants to go, she's not picky.]
they will go and be seen holding hands and walking to the pyre then aaaaa!! boothill does not care at all, just widens his stride so he can keep up with her. he's also still smiling.
once they settle at a bench, he slips off his hat and lays it next to him. ]
Much better. Not like I need ta' sit, but storytellin's always better with atmosphere.
[ his smile sobers. he looks down at the burning logs and contemplates what to say next. ]
My story ain't a pretty one, Miss Karlach. I mean it. I can clean it up for ya' if you want, but if I know you at all after these past few days... I reckon it might be downright upsettin'. Just wanna be fair to you.
[HELP SCANDALOUS... seen walking holding hands to the pyre 😳
she sits down next to him, tail curling close, and she waits, patient. lets him figure out what he's going to say. and once he does, she presses her shoulder to his momentarily before easing back.]
Nah. You don't have to clean it up. I've heard some shit. I've seen some shit. I'll manage.
Tell me whatever you want to tell me. [she'll be sad because it sounds like whatever it is probably hurt him, but that's okay. it's just because she cares.]
his smile widens briefly, warmer than it was before. then he turns away and begins. ]
Out there's a planet called Aeragan-Epharshel, what I called home for twenty-seven years.
[ he looks at the logs in the pyre, but he's gone somewhere else entirely. (I WON'T LIE this first paragraph is lifted from his own text messages in game) ]
My old homestead's grasslands... Not to boast, but lyin' there was heaven on earth. Not even the top-notch steer in camp could match that grass for comfort. And that creek—clean as a whistle, I tell ya. Them little fish in it looked like they were just floatin' in the air, no foolin'. Come nightfall, you'd plop down in the grasslands, find yerself a rock, face the breeze and strum a guitar or wail on a harmonica. That's the slice a' paradise, crisp and sweet.
Anyway. Couple of strangers, Nick and Graey—they found a red-faced baby out there cryin' in the snow. Took him home 'n raised him with all his siblings, a big ole meltin' pot of kids from all over. Never a more perfect family, that.
Lived a good life then. Learned all there was to know 'bout plants 'n animals, fishin' and huntin'. That young man left home a bona-fide cowboy. Fightin' bandits, makin' deals, ridin' till the sun rose like a big, gold coin.
[ he looks at his hat. ]
One day, that young man found a lil one cryin' out there in the snow, same as him all them years ago. Couldn't find no one 'round, so that cowboy brought her home to family, gave her to Graey and Nick.
[she can almost picture it, honestly - somewhere blissfully green, relaxing, a place to call home. very unlike baldur's gate, but. home. that's the important part. a home, with siblings and warmth and the chance to grow up.
she listens, and doesn't interrupt. he'll see it if he looks back at her, hanging on to every word.]
he'll narrate to her about how spaceships suddenly came from the heavens—the moment he found out about life beyond his beautiful planet. members of the interastral peace corporation's marketing development department arrived to drill down into the planet to rob it of its precious, black ore. the young cowboy stole away onto one of the ships and overheard a certain man's conversation with another. the words struggle to come out of boothill's twisted, frustrated mouth, his voice gravely and low: ]
These savage and uncivilized cowboys are unwillin' to cooperate. We got no choice but to assume administration of this world on their behalf. Use military force and bring civilization to this world.
[ when the young cowboy escaped the ship, he found his world in flames. nothing was left—not graey, not nick, and not the little girl who just learned how to walk.
according to the planetary records of aeragan-epharshel, the locals were wiped out by an unknown disaster. to this day, that black ore is still used to create devastating weaponry.
by the end of his story, boothill is bent over his knees, elbows propped on his thighs. his hair hangs in a curtain over his shoulder. he looks at the dirt floor, eye open. ]
there's something about the way his voice gets. it makes her heart ache - she's still glad it can do that much.
it's awful. she can't even imagine what it would be like to crawl out of the hells to see baldur's gate in ashes. home. to lose everything to people who didn't give a shit about how vibrant and loving the world you came from can be, people who are only concerned about what sort of weapons they can harvest. she thinks of the steel watchers, she thinks of gortash, and how it's similar. how the plan was to make the uncivilized kneel. just like this. wiping out love and life and family for power.
he's bent over his knees by the end of it, and carefully, she moves closer. warm, comforting, she wraps an arm around his shoulders, leaning into him.]
... Gods, I'm so sorry. [she says, quietly.] I'm really sorry. There's not words for it.
[ boothill hears her shifting. at some point during his talk, he'd dislodged their joined hands without realizing it. instead of having that warmth squeezed into his hand, he's quietly enveloped in it. he closes his eyes.
he's careful not to press his shoulder into the dim furnace of her chest. he just tilts his head towards hers. ]
Ain't nothin' you did, and ain't nothin' anyone can do 'bout it now. But I do appreciate it.
[ pause, considering his next few words. ]
I done all my grievin' already. I knew the name of the man who started this, and that was enough to keep me goin'. Found the only doctor who could give me what I needed, iff'n I could survive the operation. Figured I had nothin' else left to lose at that point. See how that turned out.
[ he opens his hand in front of him. his body. ]
Where I came from, we called them deadly gunslingers who end up bitin' the dust "Boothills". I figured the name suited me just fine. From then on, was just me out there in the cosmos. A Galaxy Ranger, wrestlin' all kinds a'evils, rackin' up that bounty hangin' over my head, lettin' The Hunt guide this cowpoke where he's meant to go.
[there is absolutely something in her that feels wretched at the idea of him just offering himself over because he had nothing else to lose. it feels achingly similar to the hells - it feels like waking up with an engine in her chest, heart ripped out and thrown to the floor.
he tilts his head towards hers, and she just rests them together, mindful of her horns. her tail wriggles so it's settled around him too, easy.]
Damn good name, honestly. [she says, finally.] But I wish you didn't have to.
[wrenched away from home to be a soldier hits just a little too close.]
[ he lets his head rest on hers. her tail wraps over him and it feels safe. he looks down, finds her free hand, and covers it with his. ]
Sure is. You saw them other words too, didn't ya'? Bounties I collected. Got pickets lined with ill-gotten gains, all necessary evils. My bounty's only gettin' bigger the further I go. Gotta end somewhere, though.
[she huffs, turning her hand and holding onto his.]
You've haven't got to thank me. You deserve kindness. [she thinks, maybe the world would suck a little less if everybody just held out their hands to each other one more time than they had to. it wouldn't be perfect. but it'd be better.] Besides. Not like I've got room to talk. I've been told my own numbers keep popping up.
... It's all going to end, but you know what? We've got a wild fucking ride we can take until then.
[they have a surprising amount in common which is hysterical
she grins when he does!]
You've probably got a bit more variety. Zariel had me hunting demons for ten years. Not all of them did something wrong - they just got on her bad side.
I'm one of her best. Bet she about pissed herself when she realized I was gone. Wish I could've seen the look on her face, the old hag.
Nah. She's like, the Archduke of the Hells or something, really hard to kill. But she can't get her claws in me when I'm out on a different plane. She hasn't got the jurisdiction.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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In this whole body a'mine, only thing left what makes me a flesh 'n blood person is what's right in here.
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Fuck. Really? [that IS a coincidence.] What a fucking funny thing, fate is.
Can I ask how that happened? You weren't always... [y'know. cyborg.]
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Kind of a long story. You mind if we sit somewhere?
[ looks ]
Maybe not in one a'them coffins, f'that's all right.
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Gods, yeah, you know what? Let's get out of here, this place is fucking awful for storytelling.
[she will turn and tug him out of the mortuary? they can go hang out at the pyre, maybe, it's warm and soothing there - or wherever he wants to go, she's not picky.]
no subject
they will go and be seen holding hands and walking to the pyre then aaaaa!! boothill does not care at all, just widens his stride so he can keep up with her. he's also still smiling.
once they settle at a bench, he slips off his hat and lays it next to him. ]
Much better. Not like I need ta' sit, but storytellin's always better with atmosphere.
[ his smile sobers. he looks down at the burning logs and contemplates what to say next. ]
My story ain't a pretty one, Miss Karlach. I mean it. I can clean it up for ya' if you want, but if I know you at all after these past few days... I reckon it might be downright upsettin'. Just wanna be fair to you.
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she sits down next to him, tail curling close, and she waits, patient. lets him figure out what he's going to say. and once he does, she presses her shoulder to his momentarily before easing back.]
Nah. You don't have to clean it up. I've heard some shit. I've seen some shit. I'll manage.
Tell me whatever you want to tell me. [she'll be sad because it sounds like whatever it is probably hurt him, but that's okay. it's just because she cares.]
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his smile widens briefly, warmer than it was before. then he turns away and begins. ]
Out there's a planet called Aeragan-Epharshel, what I called home for twenty-seven years.
[ he looks at the logs in the pyre, but he's gone somewhere else entirely. (I WON'T LIE this first paragraph is lifted from his own text messages in game) ]
My old homestead's grasslands... Not to boast, but lyin' there was heaven on earth. Not even the top-notch steer in camp could match that grass for comfort. And that creek—clean as a whistle, I tell ya. Them little fish in it looked like they were just floatin' in the air, no foolin'. Come nightfall, you'd plop down in the grasslands, find yerself a rock, face the breeze and strum a guitar or wail on a harmonica. That's the slice a' paradise, crisp and sweet.
Anyway. Couple of strangers, Nick and Graey—they found a red-faced baby out there cryin' in the snow. Took him home 'n raised him with all his siblings, a big ole meltin' pot of kids from all over. Never a more perfect family, that.
Lived a good life then. Learned all there was to know 'bout plants 'n animals, fishin' and huntin'. That young man left home a bona-fide cowboy. Fightin' bandits, makin' deals, ridin' till the sun rose like a big, gold coin.
[ he looks at his hat. ]
One day, that young man found a lil one cryin' out there in the snow, same as him all them years ago. Couldn't find no one 'round, so that cowboy brought her home to family, gave her to Graey and Nick.
no subject
she listens, and doesn't interrupt. he'll see it if he looks back at her, hanging on to every word.]
no subject
he'll narrate to her about how spaceships suddenly came from the heavens—the moment he found out about life beyond his beautiful planet. members of the interastral peace corporation's marketing development department arrived to drill down into the planet to rob it of its precious, black ore. the young cowboy stole away onto one of the ships and overheard a certain man's conversation with another. the words struggle to come out of boothill's twisted, frustrated mouth, his voice gravely and low: ]
These savage and uncivilized cowboys are unwillin' to cooperate. We got no choice but to assume administration of this world on their behalf. Use military force and bring civilization to this world.
[ when the young cowboy escaped the ship, he found his world in flames. nothing was left—not graey, not nick, and not the little girl who just learned how to walk.
according to the planetary records of aeragan-epharshel, the locals were wiped out by an unknown disaster. to this day, that black ore is still used to create devastating weaponry.
by the end of his story, boothill is bent over his knees, elbows propped on his thighs. his hair hangs in a curtain over his shoulder. he looks at the dirt floor, eye open. ]
Told you it wadn't anything pretty.
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there's something about the way his voice gets. it makes her heart ache - she's still glad it can do that much.
it's awful. she can't even imagine what it would be like to crawl out of the hells to see baldur's gate in ashes. home. to lose everything to people who didn't give a shit about how vibrant and loving the world you came from can be, people who are only concerned about what sort of weapons they can harvest. she thinks of the steel watchers, she thinks of gortash, and how it's similar. how the plan was to make the uncivilized kneel. just like this. wiping out love and life and family for power.
he's bent over his knees by the end of it, and carefully, she moves closer. warm, comforting, she wraps an arm around his shoulders, leaning into him.]
... Gods, I'm so sorry. [she says, quietly.] I'm really sorry. There's not words for it.
no subject
he's careful not to press his shoulder into the dim furnace of her chest. he just tilts his head towards hers. ]
Ain't nothin' you did, and ain't nothin' anyone can do 'bout it now. But I do appreciate it.
[ pause, considering his next few words. ]
I done all my grievin' already. I knew the name of the man who started this, and that was enough to keep me goin'. Found the only doctor who could give me what I needed, iff'n I could survive the operation. Figured I had nothin' else left to lose at that point. See how that turned out.
[ he opens his hand in front of him. his body. ]
Where I came from, we called them deadly gunslingers who end up bitin' the dust "Boothills". I figured the name suited me just fine. From then on, was just me out there in the cosmos. A Galaxy Ranger, wrestlin' all kinds a'evils, rackin' up that bounty hangin' over my head, lettin' The Hunt guide this cowpoke where he's meant to go.
no subject
he tilts his head towards hers, and she just rests them together, mindful of her horns. her tail wriggles so it's settled around him too, easy.]
Damn good name, honestly. [she says, finally.] But I wish you didn't have to.
[wrenched away from home to be a soldier hits just a little too close.]
That's the numbers, yeah? The bounty.
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Sure is. You saw them other words too, didn't ya'? Bounties I collected. Got pickets lined with ill-gotten gains, all necessary evils. My bounty's only gettin' bigger the further I go. Gotta end somewhere, though.
[ pats her hand. ]
Can't thank you 'nuff for your kindness.
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You've haven't got to thank me. You deserve kindness. [she thinks, maybe the world would suck a little less if everybody just held out their hands to each other one more time than they had to. it wouldn't be perfect. but it'd be better.] Besides. Not like I've got room to talk. I've been told my own numbers keep popping up.
... It's all going to end, but you know what? We've got a wild fucking ride we can take until then.
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Heh. If that ain't the truth. Place feels like hell in a handbasket, but that don't mean we can't have some fun on our way out.
[ he leans away, turning his shoulders just enough to meet her eye. he grins again, a little devilishly. ]
But hot diggity fudge. Ain't known I been speakin' to a fellow outlaw this whole time.
[ wyll was apparently hunting her, but that doesn't mean it was for a bounty. or maybe it does! ]
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she grins when he does!]
You've probably got a bit more variety. Zariel had me hunting demons for ten years. Not all of them did something wrong - they just got on her bad side.
I'm one of her best. Bet she about pissed herself when she realized I was gone. Wish I could've seen the look on her face, the old hag.
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laughs!! he squeezes and shakes her hand a little. ]
Said goodbye to yer ole muddle-fudgin', good-for-nothin' boss? Now that's what I'm forkin' talkin' about!
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Sure did. And I'm never gonna see her again. Gods, that's satisfying, isn't it?
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How's that work? She ain't dead, is she?
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Nah. She's like, the Archduke of the Hells or something, really hard to kill. But she can't get her claws in me when I'm out on a different plane. She hasn't got the jurisdiction.
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Nope. [firmly.] Baldur's Gate is my home.
Hells are nowhere good.
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[ he squeezes her hand a little. ]
So how'd a rough 'n tough lady like you end up workin' somewhere like that?
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What kinda deal we talkin'?
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