Ink and Octane get trail mix

Characters in this scene: Justin, Condor

Location: Sanctuary

Immediately follows The Inaugural Brawl of Cosmic Bob

As soon as the elevator doors close and it begins to move, Justin turns to face Condor with a shocked expression. "Were we wrong to even propose they test it out? I... I mean, I didn't have a *high* opinion of Zachary, but... I thought he was all right."

Condor slumps against the closed elevator doors, looking at the ceiling, murmuring, "Didn't see that coming. Really *should* have seen that coming. Fuck. Of all the edge cases..."

They look back down at Justin. "Was... was *all* this a mistake?"

He takes a deep breath, runs a hand through his hair, leans against the wall of the elevator and finally speaks. "Isn't this just what comes of keeping Others bound and in service? ... They hate you and try to work against you, so you tighten the leash, so they hate you more?"

"It was different with Yubi and for us with Erectus, and I thought it would be different for Bob too. And seeing how it works... it *is* useful. *He* is useful. But I think we have to tighten the leash now."

"And Levi and Zachary... maybe that was a mistake, too. But it was okay until the end."

"It... it *looked* okay until the-" Condor has to catch themself as the elevator doors open behind them. "Until the end. I'm not sure it was." They turn and head towards the kitchens, looking upset.

"I just... ugh! I don't *like* this dynamic. I mean, theirs too, but also like, the whole... leash... thing. It's not how I work. Not how I think."

Justin follows a step or two behind Condor. "I know - it's not what I wanted. I thought we had a deal that worked for everyone. Maybe we still do, but..." He shakes his head. "I would have wanted him to pull them out as soon as she yielded. Or earlier, as soon as she was even *wounded*."

He thinks for a moment and then laughs a little to himself, but there isn't much humor in it.

Condor pushes open the kitchen door, planning on digging through cabinets for trail mix ingredients, then sees a simple wooden bowl full of assorted nuts and raisins and chocolate chips waiting for them on the table. The kettle is already close to boiling. *Damn. Brownies are fast. Maybe a little too fast.* Condor elects to pace instead of picking up the bowl and heading back.

"Yeah, I mean, of course, and it's easy enough to *change* the contract with Bob, to fix those things, but... I dunno. Maybe I'm weird. Maybe that's what you have to be to be a Practitioner. Constantly looking for loopholes in everything." They sigh. "I kind of thought I had like, sidestepped that a little? Like if you're a shaman you're not doing many negative bindings, you're like, making friends with the spirits, basically. It's not like there's no gaming the system or careful wording there, but like, at the end of the day, the spirits do shit because they get along with you and trust you, not because you're like... threatening them. I'm kind of afraid that this happened because, on some level, I was hoping that Bob would work that way, and I was too trusting."

Condor goes back to being more visibly upset, eyes watering a little. "But I don't want that to be the answer! I don't want to stop trusting!" They quiet again. "Sorry, I'm... I'm tired. I'm rambling."

Justin doesn't say anything while Condor speaks, just leans against a counter and listens. "No, it's fair to want to trust. I do, too. I don't know what we should do. Almost want it to be only their fault, so that it's not something *we* inadvertently did to them. But I think it isn't."

He pours two cups of tea and passes one to Condor.

"Maybe he does work that way and just needs... needs to understand boundaries better. Maybe if we talk to him we can work it all out. It has worked before, with other Others." He frowns a little as he stares at his cup of tea, too hot to drink. "But I was warned that relying on that might get me killed, and... I'm rambling too, aren't I?"

Condor accepts the tea and blows on it pensively, staring into the cup as they listen. They suppress a yawn, afraid that they'll seem uninterested if they show it. When Justin finishes, they shake their head. "No, please go on. Um, no pressure, I mean. But I'm curious. You've talked about being... conflicted, to say the least, about binding, and I'm guessing it has a lot to do with your family, after what I've seen."

"Yeah. They're... binders. *Good* at it. I think that's part of why I keep getting binding jobs," he says with an uncomfortable smile. "I kept my name, after all, and they were binders back in China and are binders here. I think my sister still counts as a binder, too."

He takes a sip from the tea. It's still too hot to drink.

"It was like that growing up - having lots of Others around. I think at least some of the staff were human, but my mother handled it all, and we didn't ask her. I think we could always sort of tell that they didn't *like* us. It was... a concern for me *here*, at first. We met Tiyo first, and...."

Justin sighs, lowers his forehead for a moment, then turns back. "Condor - you know you're my friend. Can we talk about this later? Maybe tomorrow? I swear I'm not trying to put this off so I won't have to talk to you about it. I just want to be in my right mind, not approach this right after we've worked together to bind someone who I'm afraid is a person."

Condor nods quickly. "Yeah! Yeah of course, of course. You don't have to tell me about anything before you're ready, or uh, at all, but I hope you will, but also no pressure. Um."

They look at a nonspecific patch of floor off to the side. "...yeah, geez, listen to me. I'm in no state to have this conversation either. And I think I've got some stuff of my own to work through after today. Let's, uh. Finally get some sleep, maybe?"

"I'll tell you," he promises. "Just not tonight. I'm afraid I'll say something I don't mean."