Open Post: A pair of gloves

[sporesprouter]

Tress was an old hand at waiting. She'd waited for Charlie for more than a year once. Having to do it twice was somewhat disheartening at times, but the mansion kind of had more to offer than the Rock had. (Not quite as much as the spore seas, but... nothing ever would.)

The first time she waited, she was the one to go out and fix it herself. (With help.)

This time, though... sometimes waiting apparently works.

There's a flash of red out of the corner of her eye as she passes a lounge. But that's not the important part. She's clearly on her way to the kitchen to cook her heart out. Charlie's here now. Tress is ecstatic.

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[sporesprouter]

Her hand trembles slightly in Claudius's grip, a dread growing creeping up on her. "I don't think lies can really make someone happy," she whispers.

[wickedwit]

A hand isn’t enough. He clasps Tress in his arms, touches her wheat-brown hair. “Tonight,” he says, “we’re going to kill the woman who killed Shen Yuan. I’d rather it didn’t come to this, but it’s a choice I’ve made before. A choice about whether it’s possible to live peaceably with somebody, or whether somebody needs to die. I don’t think it’s possible to make that choice easily. The last time I made it, I killed my own brother. That’s what I’ve lied to you about.” Swallowing, he says, “I think she did this to you. She gave you a memory that wasn’t yours. That wasn’t your Charlie. You would’ve cherished every story he had to tell you, wouldn’t you? Every single world.”

[sporesprouter]

That is... a lot in very short succession. Tress tries to take all of this in, her mind trying to fit everything together like she just got given another handful of pieces to a puzzle she thought she completed. Compounding the difficulty is the false memory clinging to her mind for dear life, a piece to another puzzle entirely slotted into a place it never belonged.

All she can manage is a faint, "What?"

[wickedwit]

“I wish I were wrong. But if I believed, truly believed, that Charlie came back to you, I wouldn’t have said anything. You should know how good I am at not saying things.”

[summerdude]

"Hey, that's my strong suit," says Magnus cheerfully, going to get started on the task.

[sporesprouter]

"Very good, apparently," she says slowly, still trying to make sense of approximately anything.

[sporesprouter]

"Then I chose well!" she replies just as cheerfully, carefully putting the dough into a pie plate.

[wickedwit]

"I know. And I'll keep holding you for as long as you can stand it."

[sporesprouter]

Tress nods, not pulling away, her eyes welling with tears. "I... I believe you, I think, but I'm still trying to think of how to prove you wrong."

[wickedwit]

"I'm so sorry."

[sporesprouter]

Tress swallows with some difficulty. Her voice is somewhat thick. "I don't understand why."

[wickedwit]

Claudius makes his own assumptions about which why she means. "I think she must know we're making moves against her tonight. You're ... well-loved. Many of us want the best for you. What I don't know is whether she counted on someone finding out about her involvement, or whether it's better for her if no one does. She could be getting reckless. She may have stopped caring whether she lives or dies."

[sporesprouter]

He assumed the right why, anyway. "I never did anything to her." It's something she obviously can't know for certain because of Aornis's powers, but she certainly knows it because of her own personality.

[wickedwit]

"Thou'rt right." Tress is often right. But it also aligns with everything he knows of Tress, too, with his trust that Tress knows herself, even with the current aching doubt. "She doesn't care. It's about striking us where we're vulnerable."

[sporesprouter]

"It's... just cruel."

[wickedwit]

"Evil for evil's sake," Claudius agrees. It's not the first time he's held Tress in his arms after a cruel woman hurt her. "Thou didst not deserve this."

[sporesprouter]

"Nobody deserves this." She curls in on herself for an extended moment, nestles in Claudius's arms, before taking a slow breath and straightening a bit. "All right," she says slowly. "One problem at a time." Go find Charlie, tell him about how silly this-- no. "What do you think I should do?"

[wickedwit]

One step at a time, my dear. "Sagramore," he says, evenly despite the rough hint of tears in his voice, "and Laertes are having a celebration tonight. I'm sure you've received an invitation. It's to keep you safe. Out of range, if possible. The woman who did this -- she has power over coincidence. She can control fate, turn the chances of any encounter to her advantage. Over time, those coincidences become deadly. We're not sure how far those coincidences can spread, but we're hoping they're localized, and that she can't use her power in the mansion and in the cabin at the same time. I want you to go there. There are people who love you, who," a bitter laugh, "never lied to you. Spend time with them. They'll remind you what's real, when you find yourself caught in figments."

[sporesprouter]

She knits her eyebrows a bit. "I talked to Sagramore. They're... not going to be expecting me to be there now. I don't want to worry them."

[wickedwit]

"Worry them. Believe me," he laughs, "if I believed worrying them would decrease your chances of survival, I'd dissuade you. If I thought she had some power to infect people through concern, then it would be best to bear this on your own -- or with me. I'd stay with you as long as you needed me. But I think their worry is your strength. We all care about you."

[sporesprouter]

She nods slowly. "All right. We'll-- I'll go to the party."

[summerdude]

"So whatcha making exactly? And is there any chance it needs floor asparagus?"

[sporesprouter]

She laughs. "A pigeon pie. And unfortunately not."

[summerdude]

"Pigeon? Like the bird?"

[sporesprouter]

She nods. "It was what I'd made for him the day I realized I loved him."