TRP: Gavi, Goro, and Hansel (Fingers)

**Lina:** at 9:11 PM

[SETTING: Morningstar Keep, Evening 176.]

When Goro felt the need for a little Hansel-time, the first
place he checked was the war room. And lo and fuckin' behold, there was Hansel,
poring over his maps again.

Goro came up beside him and ducked underneath his arm,
linking his own arms around Hansel's waist. He took a peek at the maps, while
he was at it. Goro wasn't much of a map-reader to begin with, but he had no
idea what he was looking at. Taking in the names of the villages and hills and
rivers, though, he was pretty sure it wasn't a map of their area, or any place
close to Skyport.

"Uh. You going somewhere?"

**Izzy:** at 9:17 PM

Hansel jumped. "Don't fuckin' sneak up on me and shit,
Eldath."

He'd been zoning out a bit. He had a pretty good idea what
where he was headed, now, but he kept checking and rechecking. It was just so
much procrastination at this fucking point. He was telling himself it was
because he didn't want to make it all that way and not actually be able to
fucking find Shepherd Hills, but he was decently sure he was just fucking
putting it off. Maybe he didn't really want to fucking find it anyway.

"Yeah, maybe." Still fuckin' hedging. "I
mean, yeah."

**Lina:** at 9:18 PM

"Where?"

**Izzy:** at 9:21 PM

"Ehh. Home, I guess." Seemed weird to call it
that, if he was being honest. "Where I grew up, anyway."

**Lina:** at 9:28 PM

"Oh." Holy shit. Goro swallowed down his immediate
can I come can I come can I come can I come urge. He could be relaxed about
this. Shouldn't ask questions you might not like the answers to, and all. If Hansel
wanted him to come, he'd invite him. Simple.

**Izzy:** at 9:32 PM

Fucking unbelievable that Goro didn't blurt out more than
that, honestly. He was learning to not pry, Hansel guessed. It was sweet. He
was probably fuckin' dying over it, though.

"I was, uh. Gonna ask if you wanted to come with,"
he offered. He had no idea if Goro would want to. Didn't want to phrase it like
Hansel needed him to, like he should feel obligated, or anything. Tried to keep
his voice casual.

**Lina:** at 9:34 PM

Yeah. Nice and relaxed. No losing his shit from a
combination of relief and excitement. Not him.

He did grin like an idiot, though. He tightened his arms
around Hansel. "I'd fucking love to."

**Izzy:** at 9:36 PM

Suspicious. But also kind of a relief. Why would he fucking
love to? Kinda seemed like he didn't have much of a high opinion of Hansel's
parents, which was ... y'know, fair, but still.

He let himself just be relieved that he wouldn't have to go
alone. Still hadn't asked Mishka; hadn't had the opportunity. "All right.
Great. I'll let you know when."

**Lina:** at 9:42 PM

Goro glanced over the maps again, then up at Hansel. Eyes
shadowed and bloodshot. Yeesh, how long had he been at this?

"You know it's like fuckin' midnight, right?"
Wasn't actually, but it was the spirit of the thing. "C'mon. Come back to
this tomorrow." That may or may not work, so Goro threw in some other
bullshit. "I need someone to help me with something in the library. This
thing I'm researching."

**Izzy:** at 9:45 PM

Hansel gave him a look. Right. He needed ... Hansel to help
him research something. In the library. Right.

"Sure," he said, hoping his tone conveyed the fact
that he didn't buy it but was going along with it anyway.

**Lina:** at 9:49 PM

Well, mission accomplished, at least. Goro took Hansel's
hand and tugged him toward the library, trying to figure out what exactly he'd
say when they got there. The thing I'm researching is kissing. Yeah. Fucking
stupid, but Hansel would probably eat it up, that sucker.

When they came around the corner, though, Goro tossed that
plan out the window. There was Gavi, sitting at the table with a book in front
of her. Half asleep, from the looks of it. "Oh," he said.
"Uh."

**Muse:** at 9:53 PM

The sound of footsteps pierced through Gavi's hazy doze and
she looked up, blinking. "Oh hey, uh, Goro, was it?" she said,
rubbing her eyes and yawning. And there was... someone else with him to. Big,
tough looking half-orc. Nice. Gavi sat up a little straighter, grinning.
"And who'd you be?" she asked.

**Izzy:** at 10:01 PM

Hansel raised a hand. Must be the extra stray they'd picked
up and brought home. Good to know they didn't just do that when he was around.
"Hansel. 'Sup."

**Muse:** at 10:04 PM

"Gavi," she returned. "Good to meet
you," she continued, in Orcish. Visibly checking him out.

**Lina:** at 10:06 PM

Huh. Well, who could blame her? Hansel was a fuckin' babe.
Goro grinned. "He's my boyfriend."

**Izzy:** at 10:07 PM

Hansel couldn't help a quiet snort. "Yep. Sure am. Good
to meet you, too."

**Muse:** at 10:13 PM

Huh. Gavi looked between the two of 'em. Unusual pair, but
Gavi wasn't gonna judge. "So then, Hansel. Y'still like women or is it
just the male kind that gets ya going?" she asked, still in orcish,
propping her chin on her hands.

**Izzy:** at 10:16 PM

Kind of a forward fuckin' question to ask someone you'd just
met, but he answered. Why not. He didn't have shit to hide. "Nah. Women
too." Then he angled his head at Goro, adding in Orcish, "Being kinda
fuckin' rude, don't you think?" No reason to let on that Goro did actually
speak Orcish, too.

**Muse:** at 10:19 PM

Gavi held her hands up, leaning back and grinning.
"Aright, have it your way," she said, switching back to Common.

**Lina:** at 10:21 PM

"So, uh. Anyway." Goro tried to pretend like he
hadn't understood, but god, that was fucking hilarious. Gavi hitting on Hansel.
Goro scooched even closer to him and smiled at her. "How's the castle
working out for you? You fuckin' live here, now, or what?"

**Muse:** at 10:24 PM

"Just try and kick me out," she said. "Y'know
my nephews living here too? Griffin. Of all the places to run into him."
She smiled, a softer, more familial type of smile. "It's been ages. Missed
that kid."

**Izzy:** at 10:26 PM

Huh. Strange odds. "Yeah, seems like a good kid,"
Hansel commented. Raef was crazy about him, Hansel knew that much, and that was
enough for him.

**Muse:** at 10:33 PM

"The best," Gavi said. "He was still pretty
young when he ran off, y'know? Glad to see he's made a life for himself.
Apparently got engaged to that elf- Raef." Her expression flickered a bit
at that, her values and her love warring for a moment. She put it out of her
mind quickly. The important thing was she and Griffin were both here. That was
good enough.

**Lina:** at 10:34 PM

Hm. Well, that was a little awkward, if unsurprising. Goro
didn't say anything.

**Izzy:** at 10:36 PM

"Oh, yeah, Raef's fuckin' great." Had it out for
orcs and shit, but Hansel could get behind that, too, frankly. "Can't wait
for those fuckers to get married, already." He dropped his arm around
Goro's shoulders and kissed the top of his head idly.

**Muse:** at 10:37 PM

"Yeah," Gavi said. "When is that
anyway?" Close enough for her to be able to make it?

**Lina:** at 10:38 PM

Goro shrugged. "Don't have a fucking clue, and I'm the
one officiating, apparently."

**Muse:** at 10:41 PM

"I'll talk to him," Gavi said. "Light a fire
under him. That boy always did need pushin' to get going on anything."

**Izzy:** at 10:57 PM

Hansel nodded. "Y'ought to. I would but I don't fuckin'
know the kid that well. Have to do that kinda thing with my kids something,
though." Ah, fuck, he'd need to explain that. "I mean -- I don't have
fuckin' ... biological kids, that live with me and shit. These siblings I kinda
adopted -- one of'em's grown but he's kind of a fuckin' dumbass, needs a lot of
help." Talking about Jonn was just going to make him fucking sad, though.
"Younger one, though, fucking driven as all hell. Never had to do a
goddamn thing for her. And -- Roddy, I dunno if you met him, but he's kinda
mine, now, too. Big turtle with a lute? Fuckin' love that kid. Great kid. Just
needs a little hand now and then."

**Muse:** at 11:04 PM

"Big turtle? Don't think I've seen that one yet."
This group was sounding more and more interesting. Gavi pulled out one of the
chairs next to her, gesturing to Hansel to sit. "Y'know I got a kid too.
Biological. Timur. He's a real good kid, shaping up to be a good warrior,"
she grinned, remembering a training session that had ended with her son's
opponent facedown in the mud. "He's a worthy addition to our tribe."

**Izzy:** at 11:10 PM

The whole ... 'good warrior, worthy addition' thing set
Hansel on edge, a bit. He'd tried to keep his kids out of danger. He knew that
wasn't how orcs worked, most of the time, though, so he tried to just leave it
alone. Couldn't help a bit of a narrowing in his eyes, though.

He took the seat, pulling Goro along and automatically
dragging Goro down into his lap before realizing that probably wasn't something
normal fuckin' people just did. Well, too goddamn late now. He doubled down and
curled his arms around Goro's waist, too.

**Lina:** at 11:24 PM

Goro leaned into Hansel, putting his arms around him
absent-mindedly. It was always interesting to him, listening to people talk
about their kids. The barely-restrained pride in their voice, the way you could
tell they thought their children were the greatest thing in the world, but they
knew no one else would feel the same way, so they managed to hold back. He even
heard it when he listened to Amari talk about him, and he'd always wondered
what it would be like to love someone that much.

"Man," he said. "I want a kid. I mean--I
mean, shit. I know that's something, coming from someone like me." He
snorted. "I never fucking thought I would, right? But I kind of thought
I'd be good at it. Because..." Shit, that was so laughable, he had to fill
it in fast. "I always saw other people doing such a bad job, I figured,
y'know, I could fucking do it better."

He couldn't stop thinking about that little boy who'd come
to the castle the other day. The one whose grandmother had shoved him into the
bushes and run. Goro was sure she'd had her reasons, a plan in place maybe, but
it still rubbed him wrong. He kept picturing it every time he closed his eyes
at night.

**Muse:** at 11:33 PM

Y'know that was cute. Seeing them all cuddled up like that.
Gavi leaned back and just watched them for a second. Talking about kids, seeing
them together- it sent a pang of homesickness through her gut. "Something
tells me you ain't gonna have much luck with Hansel there," she said
lightly. "Less you adopt a couple of the other ones he's apparently got
running around."

**Izzy:** at 11:37 PM

Hansel snorted at the idea of Goro adopting Roddy or Jonn.
Or Luci, for that matter. Shit, Luci didn't need anyone to adopt her, anyway.
She'd probably resort to using her staff if anyone tried.

God, that was fucking charming, though. He didn't know Goro
wanted kids. Seemed like a heavy topic to talk about too much, right now,
though. "Eh, well," he said breezily. "I can't seem to fuckin'
stop finding kids to pick up." He thought of that weird fuckin' elf kid
he'd run into in Skyport. "Sure it'll work out."

January 31, 2019

**Lina:** at 9:35 AM

Ah, well, yeah. That was a thing a lot of couples did, raise
kids together. Pretty normal, actually. Goro hadn't meant to make it sound like
he was gunning for that, though--seemed a tad fucking presumptuous for him to
start announcing his intentions to raise a family with someone after having
been with them for a month. (Or two, depending on how you counted his time in
Calimport. Still.)

God, though. Now he wasn't going to be able to stop
picturing it. Shit. He stuffed down the unbearably fluttery feeling in his
chest and searched for a way to change the subject.

Well, there was that one fucking thing he was dying to know.
Seemed like as good a time as any to bring it up.

"So, uh." He nodded at Gavi. "Seems you're a
clergy member, like myself. Paladin?"(edited)

**Muse:** at 2:52 PM

Gavi's good mood immediately turned to wariness. "I
am," she said, nodding. She was a crap liar, and he'd seen her use magic
earlier today. Wouldn't be worth lying over, she'd just have to hope the folks
around here were a bit more accepting.

**Lina:** at 2:58 PM

"Which deity do you follow? You know, in Skyport, we
only get one choice. In public, that is." Goro grinned in a
you-get-my-drift kinda way. "So I'm always interested to hear from clerics
and paladins from outside the area."

**Muse:** at 3:03 PM

Gavi snorted, smiling a little despite herself. Eh why not,
she was dying anyway. "Gruumsh," she said.

**Izzy:** at 3:18 PM

Hansel eyed her. Well that was fuckin' interesting. Not too
surprising, he guessed -- main orc god and all. A paladin would pretty much
have to follow either him or Ilneval. Still, though. He glanced Goro's way. Bet
the little motherfucker was going to have questions, and they'd be smarter than
anything Hansel could think of.

"Huh. Partial to Ilneval, myself," he commented.
Which wasn't a lie. He didn't really follow any of'em -- Valkur, a bit, maybe,
when he'd been a sailor, and he'd sworn to Selune and Eldath and Silvanus, but
if he absolutely fucking had to pick an orcish deity, he guessed he'd go with
Ilneval.

**Lina:** at 3:58 PM

Oh, hell yes. Now Goro couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

"I was hoping you'd say that," he said. "I'm
real curious about the Orcish pantheon, and I've been hitting all kinds of dead
ends with what we've got here." He waved a hand at the bookshelves
surrounding them. "And my guy here was raised by humans, so he's not much
help." Goro paused to give him a kiss on the cheek. "So I've actually
been hoping to run into a member of the Orcish clergy. Wasn't sure it was the
safest idea to go running off in search of one, so I can hardly believe my damn
luck."

**Muse:** at 4:11 PM

Well looked like Griffin'd just been a little worrywart. It
was fine. Gavi grinned, leaning forwards, more into Hansel's space- and the
half-elf's too, since they were all wrapped up together. "Ilneval's a good
choice too," she said, "my ma followed him. One of her parents was
human too." She reached out, squeezing Hansel's bicep. "Didn't water
you down none though, did it?" she said with a smirk.

**Izzy:** at 4:18 PM

Hansel squinted. That was ... pretty fuckin' forward, too.
Mishka was always telling Hansel that people were hitting on him when they
weren't. This was probably one of those times -- she was just making
conversation. Orcs were into bloodlines and shit, he was pretty sure.

He shrugged, and a bit pointedly, said, "I take after
my mom. The human one." His loyalties weren't with humans, specifically,
but they sure the fuck weren't with orcs, either.

**Lina:** at 4:24 PM

Damn, Gavi was going after him hard. It was slightly less
hilarious, though, now that Goro got the sense Hansel didn't really know what
was going on.

Whatever, it'd be fine. Goro would tell him to be on his
guard later, when they were alone, or something. But in the meantime, he'd be a
fool to pass up this opportunity.

"You gotta help us both out," Goro said to Gavi.
"Teach us some more about the Orcish gods. Why Gruumsh, anyway? What's he
about? Where's he come from?"

**Muse:** at 4:30 PM

"Well then I'd hate to meet your mother in a dark alley
sometime, chemdati," Gavi said, making no effort to remove her hand.

**Izzy:** at 4:32 PM

The fuck? All right, well, fine, Mishka was right sometimes.
Hansel shrugged her hand away roughly, jaw tightening. "You hear Goro
fuckin' talkin' to you, right?"

**Lina:** at 4:41 PM

Hansel getting all defensive of him like that was fucking
thrilling, but Goro was going to have to sacrifice it this one time. "Hey,
hey, my love, settle down." Goro put a hand on Hansel's chest, and hoped
Hansel could hear the bullshit dripping from his voice. "Give the lady a
break. Who can blame her, really, you looking the way you do?" He took
Hansel's chin to make Hansel look him the eye, and he winked at him--a
flirtatious wink, as far as Gavi was concerned, but for Hansel it doubled as a
play along kind of signal. Well, he hoped it did, anyway.

He turned his attention back to Gavi. "He's right,
though. I am fuckin' talkin' to you. Not every day I meet a paladin of
Gruumsh."

**Muse:** at 4:52 PM

Gavi held her hands up, scooting back a little.
"Aright, aright." Seems she'd have to pay a more attention to Goro to
get in Hansel's good graces. Really liked that little half-elf of his, didn't
he? "Lesse, I follow Gruumsh cause he called to me, he protects us orcs
from the other races," she said, ticking off on her fingers. "As for
where he comes from, I dunno, myth says he was there at the beginning."

**Izzy:** at 4:57 PM

Hansel scoffed -- both at Goro's reaction and Gavi's answer.
"Protects orcs," he muttered. Goro was acting shady, like Hansel was
supposed to back him up -- he'd done that kind of thing with Mishka before, but
usually he knew what his role was. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do,
here. Fuckin' play nice, he guessed. Kind of already ruined that one.

**Lina:** at 5:05 PM

"There at the beginning," Goro repeated. "So
he's not one of those types who started out mortal? Hey, wait. What do you mean
he called to you?"

**Muse:** at 5:13 PM

Gavi shot Hansel a narrow-eyed look. Even being raised by
humans wasn't a good excuse to bad-mouth their god. But she didn't want to pick
a fight so she let it slide for now and instead focused on answering Goro's
questions.

"Nope," she said. "And exactly what I said.
He called to me. Y'know the thunder, lightning, hearing the storm speak to you
thing? That."

**Izzy:** at 5:21 PM

If he was supposed to be keeping his cool, he didn't think
he was gonna do a very good fucking job of it. He felt himself going tense, but
he managed to keep his voice low. "Yeah, I sure fuckin' do."

Goddammit, he had questions, now, like how long has he
spoken to you and what does he say and is it as fucking terrifying to you as it
is to me. He wondered if she heard it louder because she seemed to be more orc
than he was. He didn't know if any of those were helpful, though. Goro would
have better questions. He didn't say anything else.

**Lina:** at 5:23 PM

Goro leaned toward Gavi a little, brow furrowing, acting
like he was fucking fascinated. "What'd he say? Ah, sorry. I know I'm
being nosy. My own god's never spoken to me, per se. I just want to know what
it's like."

**Muse:** at 5:25 PM

Gavi shifted slightly. The story wasn't a happy one for her.
"He told me to fight," she said softly, staring off in the distance.

**Lina:** at 5:31 PM

Goro watched her, thinking. He shifted closer to Hansel,
settling against his chest and tightening his arms around him. "There's a
story there, it sounds like."

**Muse:** at 5:35 PM

Gavi pulled out of her revere, staring at Goro for a second.
"There sure is," she said flatly.

**Lina:** at 5:38 PM

Goro waited a beat before prompting. "And? Care to
share?" He raised his eyebrows. "Who'd he tell you to fight?"

**Muse:** at 5:44 PM

"Myself," she said. Which probably raised more
questions. She let out a long sigh, resting her arms on the table.
"Listen. Remember I told you about Timur, my son? He wasn't my firstborn.
My first... she didn't live long enough to get named," Gavi said softly.
"Wasn't- born right. I was a wreck. Took off in the desert- think I might
have been trying to die, I dunno," she shrugged. "This- storm blew
up. I got lost- real lost. Eventually I collapsed and was just- crying. That's
when I heard him. Told me to fight. So I did. Fought to my feet, fought to keep
walking- and eventually the storm cleared and I was back within sight of the
camp."

She bared her teeth at Goro. "So does that answer your
questions or you wanna hear about the funeral too?"

**Izzy:** at 6:02 PM

Hansel grit his teeth and tried to keep just not saying
anything. Settle down. Fuckin' hit him wrong, though. He wanted to feel bad for
the woman, losing a kid -- had to be about the worst thing there was. He could
say something ... careful. Something kind and companionable about how much he
worried about losing his first, too. How he kind of thought he had, already,
but he knew it couldn't compare to her pain.

But on the other hand, fuck her pain. Her kid was a good warrior,
she said, a worthy addition to the tribe. Nothing about actually caring about
him. Just about how useful he was. And she wasn't with him, now, was she?

"S'too fuckin' bad," he said, before he could
think any further. "You'd've thought you'd fuckin' learn your lesson,
losing one, and not goddamn abandon the second, huh."

**Muse:** at 6:06 PM

Gavi pushed back her chair and stood, slamming her hands on
the table. "I'd suggest you keep quiet, unless you want to lose your
tongue," she said lowly, sliding back into orcish.

**Izzy:** at 6:10 PM

Hansel didn't move, and kept his voice low. "I'd suggest
you get the fuck outta my castle if you think threats are gonna get you goddamn
anywhere."

**Lina:** at 6:28 PM

"Hey, uh, maybe the two of you just... chill,
huh?" Well, Hansel didn't seem like he was about to lose his shit, but
Goro didn't know about Gavi. He considered feeling indignant over her
threatening Hansel, but honestly, it was kind of laughable. She was fucking
outnumbered, for one, and even toe-to-toe she probably wouldn't be able to take
him.

Goro spoke out of the corner of his mouth, in Elvish.
"Hey, maybe don't fuckin' say shit about people's dead kids, or something,
I don't..." He cleared his throat and switched back to Common, pointing
his thumb at Hansel. "Sorry about him, he's uh... well, he's got a bit of
a temper. That's a Gruumsh thing, ain't it?" He looked Gavi up and down.

**Muse:** at 6:34 PM

Gavi stared Hansel down for a second, not giving any
indication that she'd heard Goro. Then abruptly, she reached over and tried to
pull him away from Hansel. Seemed like there might be a fight, and the half-elf
was just getting in the way.

**Izzy:** at 6:41 PM

This had been entirely avoidable until the moment she'd
decided to put her goddamn hands on Goro.

Hansel reacted without thinking, one arm going tighter
around Goro's waist as he stood, twisting to move Goro to one side -- a step
closer to being behind him, and being safe -- and in the same motion throwing
his fist directly into Gavi's face.

As soon as he'd done it, he realized that actually, this
part had been avoidable too.

**Muse:** at 6:48 PM

Hansel's fist smashed into her face, busting her nose and
sending blood gushing everywhere. "That all you got?" she taunted,
and sent her fist flying at his stomach.

**Lina:** at 6:58 PM

Goro tried to step away from Hansel and regain his own
balance, but Gavi's fist knocking into Hansel's gut threw him off. He stumbled,
grabbed the table to try and catch himself, but still fell on his ass.

"Hey--fuckin'--wait a second!" He wasn't sure
either of them heard him. Ah, for fuck's sake, why'd they have to be doing this
in the library?

**Izzy:** at 7:08 PM

She knocked the wind out of him, but it came out as a
wheezing laugh. Fucking hilarious. Really? He tells her to get out of his
fucking castle -- his fucking castle -- and she thinks the smart fucking thing
to do is to try to grab his boyfriend and taunt him and punch him? Goddamn
riot.

He swung at her twice more, not even fucking thinking about
it, colliding with her jaw on both hits. Would've kept going if Goro hadn't
yelled, made him pause. She wasn't looking too fuckin' great, for a young orc
woman. He was -- he was in control. He was sure of it. No electricity sizzling
through him. He wanted to tell Goro he was fine, but that might actually not be
what Goro was getting at.

**Muse:** at 7:12 PM

Gavi could feel the punches reverberating through her. Sharp
points of pain against a constant burning ache. As much as she wanted to laugh
it off, say she could do this all day, she couldn't. Not anymore. Time to play
dirty.

Gavi abruptly stepped back, throwing her hand up and
shouting "Hold!" She felt the magic take hold, gripping Hansel in
place. Before he could fight it off, she grabbed one of the library chairs and
smashed it over his head. That oughta do something.

**Lina:** at 7:33 PM

Goro dragged himself to his feet, thinking of throwing
himself between Hansel and Gavi to get Hansel to stop--

Oh, no. Oh, no, she fucking didn't.

Real fuckin' cute, using a kiddie spell like that when there
was an actual cleric watching. Gavi had no way of knowing how much Hansel hated
being spelled, so Goro might have taken pity on her, but nah. Too fucking
pissed.

He threw his own hand up. "Hold." Showing her how
it was really done. She wanted to fight dirty, they'd fight dirty. When she collapsed,
Goro pointed his finger, and a flash of light streaked toward her. It hit her
square in the chest and lit her body up like a fucking tree on Candlenight.

**Izzy:** at 7:44 PM

Hansel felt the magic grab onto him and almost slip off, but
not quite -- held him in place. That pissed him off much fucking more than the
chair crashing into him. He was a fucking pirate. He'd had more chairs broken
over his head than he could count. As soon as he could move again he was going
to fucking --

But Goro called out hold behind him, freezing her in turn,
and then lit her up with magic, and he didn't really have anything else left to
do. She hit the ground, smoldering, unconscious. Probably not dead.

He should probably fucking check and be sure, but he wasn't
in the mood to play medic. He spun on Goro instead, instinctively making sure
he was all right even though he knew Gavi hadn't gotten past him to reach Goro.
Then he looked back to her. Ah. Shit. She'd said Griffin was her nephew. She wasn't
just some random fuckin' person whose body he could haul out and bury in the
field. This might be a problem.

He grunted at Goro. "Probably oughta make sure she's
not fuckin' dead, I guess," he said, making no move to do it himself. His
fists were still clenched.

**Lina:** at 7:56 PM

Goro glanced over Hansel first, but he was... fine, really.
Barely scratched. Gavi had some fuckin' balls on her, that was for sure.

Goro knelt beside her and checked her over. Pulse was
steady; pupils dilated when he tugged her eyelids open. "She'll be
alright," he said, although... he frowned, checking her eyes again, then
opened her mouth and peered in there. He picked up one of her hands and
examined her fingernails. "She's sick," he said. "I don't know
with what." Nothing obvious, just general signs of her body not quite
being up to the challenge of maintaining itself. "Did seem like she went
down easy, didn't it? Fucking idiot."

He sat back on his heels and looked up at Hansel. "When
I wake her up, she might come out swinging again. Care to restrain her this
time, instead of knocking her out?" Ignoring the fact that he'd been the
one to make the final blow. Whatever.

**Izzy:** at 8:03 PM

Hansel looked down at him blankly for a moment. He got the
feeling that I can just knock her out again probably wasn't the correct
response. It was true, and all, but he reminded himself again that this was
Griffin's aunt. She was Raef's family, then. This wasn't the type of problem he
was good at solving by himself.

He scowled. "Yeah, fine."

He knelt down, unlooping some rope from his belt and
shearing it off against the exposed blade of one of his axes, hefting her into
position and tying her hands behind her back. Sick, eh. Ought to know better
than to fuckin' pick fight with people bigger than her, then.

All right, well, he'd picked the fight. Rubbed him to wrong
goddamn way, this woman wandering off from her kid -- having some fuckin'
transformative experience where Gruumsh told her to fucking fight to live, then
wasting it by abandoning her son. And he got the fucking compulsion to murder
his friends and family. No goddamn second chances from orc gods for him.

He was still gritting his teeth. Once she was tied, he
pushed back up and went to pace across the library, coming back because he
didn't want Goro to wake her up over there by himself, just needing to move for
a moment.

**Lina:** at 8:18 PM

Goro took out his wand and used a charge to wake Gavi
up--could have done it a second time, but, eh. Maybe she'd be more docile if
she felt like death.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," he said when her
eyelids fluttered open.

**Muse:** at 8:22 PM

Gavi jerked, attempting to push herself up but caught on the
ropes around her wrists and thudded back down against the floor. Ouch.
"You two like to play rough," she wheezed, glancing up at Goro with a
pained, but friendly grin.

**Lina:** at 8:24 PM

Goro grinned back, but it was decidedly unfriendly.
"Don't cast spells on my boyfriend."

**Muse:** at 8:26 PM

"No casting spells on the boyfriend," Gavi agreed.
They were so protective of each other. It was adorable.

**Lina:** at 8:33 PM

Huh. Well, that was easier than he'd expected. "Anyway,
I'm out of magic for the day. But I can fix you up more tomorrow. Provided you
don't have another temper tantrum and need to be put down."

**Muse:** at 8:34 PM

"You're making me sound like some sorta rabid
animal," Gavi said, more amused than anything. "I'll behave."

**Lina:** at 8:37 PM

Goro nodded. "Good." He looked to Hansel.
"What about you?"

**Izzy:** at 8:37 PM

Hansel grunted.

**Lina:** at 8:39 PM

"Hansel."

**Izzy:** at 8:39 PM

"No fuckin' promises."

**Muse:** at 8:41 PM

"Hey I don't mind getting a little rough," Gavi
chipped in, still on the floor. "If you know what I mean."

**Lina:** at 8:42 PM

Goro blinked at Gavi, then stared into space for a moment.
Good god. What was he supposed to do with these two?

He triggered the springblade on his arm and cut the rope
around Gavi's wrists.(edited)

**Izzy:** at 8:50 PM

His jaw tightened again, but, listen, all right -- he was
going to keep his cool this time. He would fuckin' ... use his words instead of
his fists, which he reminded himself of by digging his fingers into his biceps.
Calm.

This bitch, though. "Fuckin' unfortunate," he said
flatly. "'Cause doesn't seem like I'm into women anymore."

Seemed like she was telling the truth about not causing any
more trouble, though, so he turned on his heel and paced to the other end of
the library, leaving Goro alone with her. He'd probably have more luck with
whatever he was trying to get done with her if Hansel wasn't there.

**Muse:** at 8:56 PM

That was unfortunate. Gavi pushed herself upright and rubbed
her wrists a little. Not like they were any more sore than the rest of her.
Thought about calling after Hansel, but maybe she should give him a bit more
time to cool off.

"How long was I out for?" she asked. Didn't feel
like it had been too long.

**Lina:** at 9:02 PM

"Couple minutes," Goro said. "I'm out of
spells for the day, but I can fix you up more tomorrow. Maybe even fix...
whatever else is wrong with you. You know you're sick?"

**Muse:** at 9:06 PM

"Yeah," Gavi said. "It's kind of you to offer
but won't do any good. I've already tried. It's the rot, in my bones." She
let out a slow sigh, a small wry smile flickering on her face. "Kinda
figures, huh. Spend my life fighting only for my own body to betray me."

**Lina:** at 9:20 PM

"Rot in your bones?" Goro cocked his head.
"The hell's that mean?"

**Muse:** at 9:21 PM

"I'm dying," Gavi said simply. "Probably not
gonna make it through the year."

**Lina:** at 9:24 PM

"'Cause your... bones are rotting." Goro squinted
at her. "Never heard of such a thing. Let me cast Lesser Restoration on
you tomorrow. Should fix you right up."

**Muse:** at 9:26 PM

"It's not gonna work," Gavi said. "I've had
other clerics cast it on me. But if you insist, you can give it a try
too."

**Lina:** at 9:32 PM

"Remove Curse, then. I can do that one too."

**Muse:** at 9:45 PM

"Tried that too. And Protection from Poison, and Death
Ward, Greater Restoration, even Dispel Magic! None of it worked!" Gavi
slammed her fist into the table leg. It cracked under her fist.

**Izzy:** at 9:46 PM

At the sound of her raising her voice, Hansel doubled back.
Just fuckin' yelling about healing spells, but still. He planted himself next
to Goro in case she decided she wanted to hit something else.

**Lina:** at 10:01 PM

"Ah. Well... huh." Goro rubbed the back of his
head. If even Greater Restoration didn't do the trick, there went all his
ideas. They usually ended at ask Amari. "I'm... sorry about that, then.
Hey, maybe you could find someone to kill you, and then revive you. Maybe
that'd do the trick."

**Muse:** at 10:10 PM

Gavi slumped for a second, remembering the emotions she'd
felt when she'd first realized she was sick. Anger, denial, desperation- they
were still there. Just blunted. Like an old dog who's teeth had fallen out.
Didn't do anyone any good to set them loose.

She sat up a little straighter, giving a crooked grin.
"You're sure set on trying to help me, huh?" she said, amused.
"Only problem with that plan is finding someone to revive you. You know
how rare resurrection magic is?"

**Lina:** at 10:17 PM

"Yeah. I sure do." He looked away for a moment,
rubbing at his jaw. He shifted his seat so he was leaning against Hansel's leg.
"So, less than a year, huh? Gotta... gotta make the most of it, I
guess."

**Muse:** at 10:20 PM

"Yeah," Gavi agreed quietly, recalling how she'd
just-so-happened to bump into Griffin. "This seems about as good a place
as any. From what I hear ya'll get into fights a good deal."

**Lina:** at 10:20 PM

"Your goal is to... what, fight as many things as possible
on your way out?"

**Muse:** at 10:22 PM

"My goal's to live as much life as I can till I die
fighting," Gavi declared. "Ain't gonna let no rot be what takes me
out!"

**Lina:** at 10:24 PM

"Ahh. I get ya. You want something else to kill you
before the sickness does." Goro looked up at Hansel. "Maybe we
should've kept going."

**Izzy:** at 10:24 PM

Hansel grunted.

**Muse:** at 10:32 PM

Gavi laughed. She liked this guy. "Y'know, I can make
it worth your while that you didn't," she offered, leaning forwards a
little. Started checking Goro out a little more thoroughly.

**Izzy:** at 10:34 PM

Hansel narrowed his eyes. He was wise to this shit, now.
Fucker. He glanced down to check Goro's reaction.

**Lina:** at 10:35 PM

Goro grinned and raised one eyebrow. "Yeah? Yeah, you
sure can. By answering some more goddamn questions for me."

**Muse:** at 10:39 PM

Gavi burst out laughing. Oh Gruumsh he'd got her good.
"Y've," she chuckled again, shaking her head. "You've got a one
track mind, chamud," she said. "All right I'll bite, ask your
questions."

**Lina:** at 10:42 PM

"Marvelous." Hmm, where to pick up, now that the
conversation was back on topic again. Goro shifted so he wasn't leaning against
Hansel's leg anymore, in case Hansel wanted an escape from this subject matter.
"So, I'm curious. Would you do anything Gruumsh asked you to do?"(edited)

**Muse:** at 10:43 PM

Well that was a weird question. "Yeah, wouldn't
you?"

**Lina:** at 10:45 PM

"Uh... well... no, Gavi. I don't actually give a shit
about Gruumsh, personally. I'm just wondering what it's like for you. What if
he asked you to murder your family, or something?"

**Muse:** at 10:48 PM

Gavi straitened up, a stony hardness in her eyes. "He
wouldn't ask that of me," Gavi said. She knew this. Knew this with the
unshakeable faith of the devoted. Her family were good orcs that followed
Gruumsh's will- there was no way he'd ask her to kill them.

**Izzy:** at 10:50 PM

Hansel snorted. "Oh, that's real fuckin' funny, yeah,
Goro?" He glared at Gavi. "'Cause your fuckin' god told me to kill my
goddamn family twice."

**Muse:** at 10:53 PM

"And how many of your family is your own kind?"
Gavi said back. She reached out, grabbing Goro's ear. "This don't exactly
say 'orc' does it?" she asked.

**Izzy:** at 11:04 PM

For fucksake --

Hansel managed to think before he reacted this time, just
about. If he hadn't thought, he would've cracked a boot into her chin and
snapped her neck back -- as it was, he just kicked her hard in the chest,
knocking her away from Goro, putting himself half between them again.

And before he said if you fucking touch him again, I'll
fucking kill you, he thought and considered the fact that Goro probably
wouldn't want that. "Y'know, turns out I ain't got much goddamn use for my
own fuckin' kind. Guess your piece of shit deity just thinks it's real funny to
fuck with me for it. That check out to you? That the kinda god you're wasting
what's left of your fuckin' life on?"

Hm. Maybe could've thought better of that one, too.

February 1, 2019

**Lina:** at 9:02 AM

Goro wished he could've said he was surprised, but really, from
the moment Gavi reached for his ear he knew it wasn't going to end well for
her. She wasn't the fastest learner, was she? Or maybe she really did... er...
like it rough.

"Ha--" Goro started to tell Hansel off, not for
the kicking but for not playing along with Goro's slow attempts to massage
information out of her, but--wait. On second thought. Everything Goro was
asking was leading to this same spot, wasn't it? He'd wanted to ask about
Gruumsh possessing Hansel, he just hadn't wanted to tackle it directly,
figuring Hansel would object. But apparently not. Apparently Hansel wanted to
get right to it.

That worked.

Goro shut his mouth and waited to see what Gavi would say.

**Muse:** at 9:12 AM

Gavi ended up flat on her back, wheezing a little. Didn't
think anything was broken- amd with her bones the way they were that was lucky.
Baring her teeth, she tried to lunge upright, but she was weak, and hurting,
and had to use the table as support to get to her knees, and was stuck there.

"Got it in one, pal," she snarled. "You ain't
been around, so maybe I'll cut you some slack. You don't know what they do to
us. I've lots count of how many times I've found bodies, brutalized, skinned,
burned- my friends, my family, my people." Grief and anger made her voice
raw. "So yeah. Gruumsh has taken up for us from day on. He protects us. So
maybe you should stop fighting and live up to your calling!"

**Izzy:** at 9:23 AM

Hansel's tusk was cutting into his gums. He had two options:
he walked away, or he fucking killed this woman. The latter seemed like it'd be
easier. Not too fucking sporting, but then he wouldn't have to fucking listen
to her bullshit anymore.

Raef's family, he reminded himself. Couldn't kill Raef's
family. (Maybe they'd have a talk about it.)

He offered a hand down to Goro and kept his voice very
level. "She's fucking useless. Let's go before I do something you won't be
able to fuckin' fix."

**Lina:** at 9:32 AM

Goro took his hand, but let go once he was on his feet. He
tried to give Hansel a kiss, but Hansel was so tense it was like kissing a
rock. "You go," he said in Elvish. "I'm not writing her off as
useless just yet. I'm gonna keep talking to her."

**Izzy:** at 9:36 AM

"Hm." He took Goro's hand again briefly to squeeze
it, and in Elvish said, "Won't be far. Yell if you need me," before
breaking away, giving Gavi a lingering glare as he left, passing the stairs to
go back to the war room.

**Muse:** at 9:42 AM

Gavi bared her teeth as he passed by but held her tongue.
Already got beat into unconsciousness once today. Instead she murmured a quiet
prayer, pressing her hand to her chest. She had a little healing of her own,
might as well use it. With the aches and pains reduced she pulled herself to
her feet, giving Goro a very flat and even look. "So guess it's just us
now."

**Lina:** at 9:44 AM

"He's a bit touchy about this topic, as you might
imagine," Goro said. He took a seat in one of the chairs again and
gestured for Gavi to do the same. "You think Gruumsh makes him murder his
loved ones just because they're not orcs? That really it?"

**Muse:** at 9:54 AM

Gavi sank down in the chair, leaning back and crossing her
arms. "Look, I don't mind your kind so much. Y'know elves, they get snitty
when the bloodline's diluted." She snorted, shaking her head. Elves.
"But we're meant to live amongst our own kind. Can't really trust other
races to have our backs, y'know?"

**Lina:** at 9:59 AM

"You're not answering the goddamn question. I don't
care about your personal opinion of my kind. I want to know why Gruumsh made
Hansel smash my fucking face in during a storm. He took it that personally,
huh? Hansel hanging out with a half-elf?"

That, and he's scared of me. Goro fought off a smile. Wasn't
relevant; Goro hadn't been the only one Hansel was forced to attack.

**Muse:** at 10:07 AM

Huh what now? Gavi was getting the feeling they were having
two different conversations. "Gruumsh doesn't 'make' us do anything,"
she said slowly. "He speaks and we listen. If he told your boyfriend to
smash your face in- well." She shrugged. "Guess I shouldn't be
surprised he's still keeping you around." Hansel wasn't that great at
listening to their gods it seemed.

**Lina:** at 11:16 AM

Goro snorted. "Alright. I hoped you'd be more helpful,
but sounds like you're in the dark about this. Gruumsh does so make people do
shit. He compelled Hansel--as in, took control of his body like a murder
puppet. Not unlike that cute little spell you did earlier, only with much more
violent results. I'm trying to figure out why, so I can stop it. You got any
clues, or you gonna keep living in denial?"

**Muse:** at 12:17 PM

Gavi leaned forward, baring her teeth at Goro. "Or
maybe," she said lowly. "You're an annoying little boytoy that needs
to get his snot kicked in every now and then, and he just blames Gruumsh so
you'll keep coming back for more."

**Lina:** at 4:16 PM

Goro leaned away from her and rolled his eyes. "Oh,
goodie. Denial it is. That or it's your death wish talking again, but you're
gonna have to say it a little louder for Hansel to hear. You really mean to
tell me you don't believe Gruumsh ever compels people to do things? Ever?"

**Muse:** at 4:38 PM

"No," Gavi said stonily. Only time Gruumsh did
more than talk was the Scion and that was voluntary- or- she frowned a little,
doubt creeping in. Imesh- Griffin- he hadn't wanted it. He'd been resisting it.
But he was resisting well enough to fight it off completely- if Gruumsh was
picking Hansel instead- then-

-Gavi was starting to get an idea what Goro was talking
about. (Imesh- what have you done.)

**Lina:** at 4:41 PM

Goro watched her for a moment, then smiled.
"Liar."

**Muse:** at 4:45 PM

Gavi pushed her chair back and stood, grabbing the front of
Goro's robes. "Listen up punk," she hissed. "Maybe you oughta
stop asking questions before somebody gets it in their head to rip out that
tongue of yours. Namely me."

**Lina:** at 4:47 PM

Goro stuck his tongue out and wagged it at her.

**Muse:** at 4:51 PM

Gavi stared for a second. Did he just- he did. She let out a
snort. And then laughed, letting go of his robes. "You are a punk,"
she said affectionately, ruffling his hair. "It's adorable."

**Lina:** at 4:54 PM

"Thanks." Goro ran a hand through his hair once
she was done with it. Hey, whatever worked and kept her talking. "So now
that we've established you are in fact aware of the possibility that Gruumsh
can control people, you got any tips for how to stop it? Listen, I'm not trying
to fuck with you. I really was hoping to run into someone from your order to
get advice. Honest fucking question, here, how do we get Gruumsh to leave
Hansel alone?"

**Muse:** at 5:11 PM

Gavi crossed her arms, looking off to the side. She might
have an idea Imesh would hate it. He'd run away to escape it. And she'd
promised, they were leaving that at the camp. Now how much of this should she
tell Goro?

"I know you wanna help your boyfriend- can't blame
you," she said, looking back to him. "But I ain't sure how much I can
say."

**Lina:** at 5:15 PM

"Ah. Yeah, I get that. Every religion's got its secrets
you don't share with outsiders." Goro traced an invisible pattern on the
tabletop, thinking. "Gruumsh's scion wouldn't happen to be one of those
secrets, would it?"

**Muse:** at 5:16 PM

Gavi stiffened. "What do you know about the
Scion?" she asked, low and dangerous.

**Lina:** at 5:21 PM

"Well, don't know how accurate any of this is. But what
I heard is, in every generation there's a half-orc who's called the Scion of
Gruumsh. And they're supposed to be Gruumsh's avatar, or some shit. But it
seems he's having trouble, this round, finding his Scion, so he's fuckin'
around with Hansel instead. So, I don't know--maybe that's part of your job,
hunting down the Scion. I'd help you with it, if it came to that."

**Muse:** at 5:30 PM

He didn't know. Thank Gruumsh. "Listen," she said
lowly. Not angry this time. Not flying off the handle, enraged. Just a warning.
"I'd suggest you'd forget about the Scion, if you know what's good for
you."

**Lina:** at 5:31 PM

"I don't know what's good for me. 'S'one of my
flaws."

**Muse:** at 5:33 PM

Gavi gripped the back Goro's neck. Not tight enough to hurt,
not soft enough to be friendly. "Well then. Consider this me telling you.
Back off the Scion, or else," she warned. Squeezed for a second and then
let go.

**Lina:** at 5:36 PM

Back off the Scion. Very interesting wording. Goro hadn't
said he planned to do anything to the Scion, after all. Just help track him
down.

But it sounded like Gavi already knew where he was.

"Somebody important to you?" he guessed.

**Muse:** at 5:39 PM

Gavi grit her teeth. Crap. She was blowing this. "You
sure you wanna keep asking me questions?" she asked flatly.

**Lina:** at 5:42 PM

This was getting fucking dangerous, yeah. Goro wasn't an
idiot. But Hansel was still close by, and it made him bold.

He tried not to smile. The corner of his mouth twitched.
"You sure you wanna leave this conversation with me thinking I ought to go
track down your son?"

**Muse:** at 5:44 PM

Gavi's mind went blank for a second. Timur? He was so off.
If it had been anyone else (other than Griffin) she might even be amused. But
not Timur. "You sure you wanna threaten my kid to my face?" she asked
sharply.

**Lina:** at 5:45 PM

He raised one eyebrow. "So... that's a yes?"

**Muse:** at 5:47 PM

"It's a 'leave my kid alone'," Gavi said sharply.

**Lina:** at 5:49 PM

"Oh. Yeah. Sure. Will do." Goro patted the top of
the table and stood up.

**Muse:** at 5:56 PM

Gavi's hand shot out and she grabbed Goro's arm. "I
said," she said, shoving him towards the wall. He struggled a bit, but
Gavi easily kept hold. "Leave. My son. Alone." She shoved one hand
against his chest, pushing him into the wall.

**Lina:** at 6:00 PM

Goro tested, pushing against her hand. She had him pinned
pretty good, but he had the feeling he could weasel away if he really wanted
to. Why spare the effort, though? "Y'know, I could shout for Hansel right
now, and you'd be dead before your body hit the floor. You really think this is
wise?"

**Muse:** at 6:04 PM

"No one ever accused me of being wise," Gavi said.
"And if you did yell bet I could snap your neck before he got here. I
might be dead but you won't be able to threaten my son. I'd call that a fair
trade."

**Lina:** at 6:06 PM

"So, what? Are you gonna hold me here until I promise
not to go after your boy?"

**Muse:** at 6:08 PM

Gavi paused. She hadn't thought this through. "I didn't
think about this part," she admitted.

**Lina:** at 6:08 PM

Goro scoffed. "Fuckin' let me go, then."

**Muse:** at 6:11 PM

Gavi pushed a little harder. "Not yet." She gave
an exasperated sigh, running her free hand through her hair. This was a mess.
"Look- it's not Timur all right? Yeah- I know who it is. But it's not my
son. Is that enough for you?" If he guessed it was Griffin... Gavi hoped her
nephew could forgive her.

**Lina:** at 6:16 PM

He believed her. Who else would get such a rabidly defensive
reaction, though? He wondered if she had another kids. She could have dozens of
family members, for that matter.

He let out half a laugh. "Who is it, fucking
Griffin?"

**Muse:** at 6:16 PM

Gavi tensed again, her jaw setting.

**Lina:** at 6:17 PM

"Wait. Wait, it's fucking Griffin?" Goro gaped at
her in disbelief, snorted, and started laughing for real.

**Muse:** at 6:21 PM

"Hey!" Gavi snapped. She grabbed his hand,
gripping two of his fingers and bending them slightly. A silent threat.
"And what are you gonna do about it then?" she snarled.(edited)

**Lina:** at 6:31 PM

That killed his laughter, at least. He blew out a breath.
"Ah, wow. That's... that's one crazy fucking coincidence. No shit?
Griffin?" Honestly, that was... bad fucking news. Goro didn't know Griffin
well, but he seemed like a nice kid. And him and Raef... hell. "I don't
know."

**Muse:** at 6:42 PM

"That's not an answer." She bent his fingers back
a little further.

**Lina:** at 6:43 PM

Goro hissed through his teeth. "Ah, fuck, fuckin' let
me go."

**Muse:** at 6:48 PM

This wasn't working. Gavi's eyes flitted to the side- where
Hansel'd left and was likely still lurking, just out of sight. One good yell,
and he'd be right back in here.

Gavi'd just have to keep things quiet. She jerked her hand
up, off Goro's chest and up and over his mouth. Gave twist and felt the bones
snap under her fingers. "That's not an answer either."

**Lina:** at 6:57 PM

Something that was trying to be a scream came out of Goro's
throat, mostly muffled by her hand. His eyes watered and he slumped weakly
against the wall before making a feeble attempt to squirm away from her. Didn't
do much except wrench his fingers against her grip again, so that was out. Ah,
well, fuck.

**Izzy:** at 7:04 PM

Hansel thought he heard a quiet, deeply familiar sound -- a
pop. He hadn't really been paying attention to the maps anyway, couldn't
fucking focus on them. Might've been his imagination but he started moving
anyway, pulling his trident off his back. He was fucking done with this. Nah.
Fucking nope. He'd just fucking have to apologize to Raef or some shit, if he
or Griffin were actually fuckin' attached to this woman.

He kept his footsteps light, jaw clenching when he heard the
muffled shout -- she had her fucking hand on his mouth and he was out of magic,
he'd fucking healed her, and told her he was out, and the fucking stupid piece
of shit had the goddamn nerve --

The point of his trident pressed into her throat, right on
the artery.

"Hey." He didn't feel any particular need to raise
his voice. "I'd fuckin' recommend you take your hand off my boyfriend's
mouth so he can tell me not to fuckin' open your neck up."

**Muse:** at 7:18 PM

Seemed the attempts to be quiet hadn't worked. Slowly Gavi
let go, keeping her movements slow and steady. Didn't bother to say anything,
even trying would probably make the situation worse.

**Lina:** at 7:29 PM

When she let him go, Goro remained slumped against the wall,
pressing his good hand against it for support. "Hansel," he said
between breaths. "You'll get blood all over Ombre's fort."

**Izzy:** at 7:34 PM

Hansel stepped in front of Goro, keeping his trident trained
on Gavi's neck.

"You're right," he said calmly. "We should
take this outside." If it was in defense of Goro, though -- he didn't
really think Ombre'd hold it against him for long.

**Lina:** at 7:47 PM

"Hansel." Goro grabbed at Hansel's sleeve with his
good hand. He clenched his jaw tight. Those two fingers hurt like a
motherfucker, but he didn't want to let on how much. Hansel would probably push
his trident in a few inches if Goro so much as groaned. "Just... let her
go. I was being an asshole. And she's fucking stupid."

He leaned to the side to see past Hansel, and gave her a
look. Like, honestly. What did she expect?

**Muse:** at 7:48 PM

Gavi gave a little grin and a slight shrug. Yeah he had a
point.

**Izzy:** at 7:57 PM

Hansel grit his teeth. "Not too fuckin' compelling,
shemeshi." He got the point, though. Lowered his trident but kept it in
his hand, staring Gavi down. "Just say the fucking word."

**Lina:** at 8:01 PM

"The word is I need to get my fucking kit so I can
splint my hand, and I need someone to get me some fuckin' whiskey or something
to get me through the night while I wait for my wand to get a charge
back."

Then he snapped at Gavi. "Are you gonna fucking run, or
keep standing there while Hansel looks at you like the world's most tempting
pin cushion?"

**Muse:** at 8:02 PM

Gavi warily took a couple steps back, watching to see if
Hansel made a move to stop her.

**Izzy:** at 8:05 PM

He didn't.

"You need to get out of my sight and outta my fuckin'
castle," he said evenly. "And if you see a blond elf, you better
fuckin' avoid him too."

**Muse:** at 8:07 PM

Gavi nodded slightly to acknowledge it, and then turned and
bolted. It was a big castle- she'd have five minutes to warn Griffin. And then
yeah, get out of the castle and stay out.

**Lina:** at 8:15 PM

Goro stepped forward, switching from pinching Hansel's
sleeve to hugging his arm. Again, like hugging a fucking rock. Goro jostled him
a little, trying to get him to loosen up. "So how about that whiskey? I'm
gonna head up to my room and take care of this." He held his broken hand
up, took in how alarmingly red and swollen his fingers were, and quickly moved
it behind his back.(edited)

**Izzy:** at 8:21 PM

Hansel growled back in his throat. He hoped she fucking
appreciated that Goro was the only reason she was fuckin' alive, twice over
now. Mishka wouldn't have any problem with Hansel snapping her in goddamn half
-- he'd do it himself -- but Goro fuckin' worked different. Hansel didn't
fucking understand it, but he supposed he could abide by it.

"I'm going with you," he said shortly, and pulled
his shield onto his arm before slipping that arm around Goro to keep him close
and protected.

**Lina:** at 8:24 PM

"Ah. Well. Fuckin'... alright, I guess. Kitchen first,
then. Unless you're willing to part with what's in your flask."

**Izzy:** at 8:25 PM

"Yup." He started towards Goro's quarters.

**Lina:** at 8:41 PM

"Oh--okay." Goro allowed himself to be whisked
along. Hansel's protectiveness was fucking charming, absolutely, but somewhat
bemusing. Gavi just didn't seem like that much of a threat, as compared to
someone like fucking Asenka.

Hansel had let Goro run off alone right after Asenka
attacked him, in fact.

But he wasn't going to think about that right now. Or ever
again, if he could help it.

When they reached his room, he went straight for his
traveling pack, not even bothering to lock the door. Hansel would do it. Hansel
would probably liquefy anyone who tried to get through, really. That was nice.
Goro pulled out his medicine kit and rummaged through one-handed for a splint
and bandage. He examined the broken fingers, pinching them, and determined they
didn't need resetting, thank god. He wrapped them up and tied the bandage off
tight with his good hand and his teeth.

His fingers throbbed inside the constraints of the bandage,
and the gauze felt like sandpaper against his skin. This was gonna be a long
fucking night. He climbed to his feet and went to Hansel, already reaching out.
"Booze. Please."

**Izzy:** at 8:43 PM

Hansel locked the door up and paced back and forth in front
of it while Goro worked. He'd help, normally -- he was a medic, just not a healer,
and that was all Goro could be right now -- but that took a little more thought
and concentration than he had available to him at this particular fucking
moment.

He passed Goro his flask without saying anything, and kept
pacing.

**Lina:** at 8:47 PM

Goro eyed the cap of the flask for a moment, then opened it
with his teeth. He spat the cap into the palm of his bandaged hand and took a
swig. As long as he could manage, which wasn't very long. He took a break for
air, cringing and shuddering, then did it again.

He watched Hansel pacing. "You, uh. You wanna sit down,
or?"

**Izzy:** at 8:48 PM

"Nope." He kept moving, flexing his grip around
his trident.

**Lina:** at 8:48 PM

"You want a drink?" Goro held the flask out.

**Izzy:** at 8:49 PM

"Nope." What I wanna do is fuckin' --

He stopped and stared Goro down. "Any particular reason
you didn't want me to put that bitch down?"

**Lina:** at 8:52 PM

"Uh." Goro took another drink, wincing and
shuddering some more. That was probably going to be enough. His head already
felt warm. "I dunno. It was a split-second decision, but I didn't think
she deserved it. I just pissed her off because I was... kind of threatening her
son and nephew. Or implying that I would, anyway. She was just defending
them."

**Izzy:** at 8:57 PM

"Oh, yeah? Defending people who weren't fuckin' there
by breaking your goddamn fingers?" he retorted. He needed to fucking hit
something, settled for slamming the end of his trident against the floor.
"She knew you were fuckin' out of magic. She knew you fucking healed her already.
She knew if I turned up I'd fuckin' gut her so she fucking put her hand over
your mouth. What if I hadn't fucking been there, huh?" Slammed the trident
into the floor again. "Fucking defending the kid she abandoned? Goddamn
rich."

**Lina:** at 8:58 PM

"If you hadn't been there, I wouldn't have been pushing
her." Didn't feel good to admit, almost like he'd used Hansel without
asking him first. But, well, he hadn't thought much of anything through. Just
wanted information. "I learned something interesting, at least."

**Izzy:** at 8:59 PM

Hansel growled again and turned away, back to pacing.
"Great. Fucking great. Tell me the goddamn plan next time, maybe you won't
get your fucking fingers broken."

**Lina:** at 9:00 PM

"You sure you don't want a drink?" Goro held the
flask out again. He was half offering because he didn't think he could get the
cap back on, but he didn't want to ask for help.

**Izzy:** at 9:03 PM

"No, I don't want a fucking drink." Hansel swiped
the flask away from him anyway, holding it in his teeth to grab the cap and
popping it back on one-handed. "I wanna fucking go down there and kill
that motherfucker." And you won't let me, was the thought, like Goro could
stop him. But Goro could do worse things than hurt him physically.

**Lina:** at 9:07 PM

"Look, it's no big deal, alright? In the morning, my
wand'll have another charge, and I'll make short work of this." He waved
his bandaged hand around. He was getting dizzy from the whiskey, so he sat on
the couch. "Hey. Come sit down."

**Izzy:** at 9:10 PM

He tapped the trident against the floor as he paced, shaking
his head.

**Lina:** at 9:16 PM

Goro sighed and rested his head on the back of the couch.
The protective thing was sexy, yeah, but it didn't quite have the staying power
of good old fashioned cuddling. He could probably get Hansel to come over if he
pleaded for it, said he needed it, but honestly the thought of snuggling up
with something halfway between stone statue and rampaging bear wasn't too
appealing.

"It was worth it," he said. "I found out who
the scion is. The Scion of Gruumsh."

**Izzy:** at 9:19 PM

"Oh, fuckin' great. Definitely goddamn worth it,
then." Fuck, actually maybe it was kind of worth it. At least they knew
now -- knew early -- that Gavi was a fucking threat. It was taken care of. That
almost settled him a bit, and he paused, but then the idea of Gavi having still
been skulking around the castle after he'd left came to him, and he was back to
pacing, grinding his teeth.

**Lina:** at 9:22 PM

"It's Griffin."

**Izzy:** at 9:22 PM

Hansel stopped abruptly and looked at Goro. "Fucking
Griffin? Raef's Griffin?"

**Lina:** at 9:23 PM

"Yup."

**Izzy:** at 9:25 PM

He sighed through his teeth. That knocked his feet out from
under him enough that it calmed him down a bit. "Right. All right.
Well." He was quiet for a second, and slowly put his shield away on his
back, but kept the trident in his hand. "Fuck. All right. We'll fuckin'
... think of something else, then."

**Lina:** at 9:26 PM

"What d'you mean, think of something else?"

**Izzy:** at 9:27 PM

"I mean ..." He gave Goro a puzzled look.
"Did she fuckin' hit you in the head? I mean we're not gonna fuck with
Griffin."

**Lina:** at 9:28 PM

Goro frowned. "Hey, fuck you. My head's working fine.
Listen, I don't know much about how this Scion shit works, but I sure as hell
am gonna talk to Griffin about it, for a start."

**Izzy:** at 9:30 PM

"Yeah, fine." Hansel waved it off and went back to
pacing, slower this time, thoughtful. "Talk to'im. Maybe he knows some
shit about Gruumsh."

**Lina:** at 9:31 PM

"Maybe he's ready to take a fucking hit for the team,
if you get what I'm saying."

**Izzy:** at 9:32 PM

Hansel glanced his way and stopped again. "What? No.
Fuckin' ... no. Luci's plan about making the Scion step up -- no. Not if it's
fuckin' Griffin."

**Lina:** at 9:32 PM

"Why the hell not? It's his fucking job."

**Izzy:** at 9:33 PM

"It's no one's fuckin' job," Hansel snapped.
"And I'm not goddamn doing that to Raef."

**Lina:** at 9:36 PM

"Were you not fucking listening?" Goro sat up
straight, moving to the edge of the couch. "Luci said the Scion's fucking
designed to take Gruumsh into his body, or whatever. He can handle it without
it killing him. Not you. You're gonna fucking die if we don't put a stop to
this. Griffin can take it. You can't."

**Izzy:** at 9:39 PM

"He'll be as good as fucking dead." Hansel waved
his free hand in front of his face. "What, did you fuckin' see me in here
when I was caving your goddamn face in? No more fuckin' Griffin. Ever. Gruumsh
fucks off and leaves me alone, but there ain't gonna be any fucking getting
Griffin back."

**Lina:** at 9:40 PM

Goro flopped back again. "So I have to choose between
you, and Griffin, is what you're saying. Well, guess fucking what."

**Izzy:** at 9:41 PM

"I said we'll find another goddamn way." Hansel
waved it off again. "Ain't your fuckin' choice, anyway."

**Lina:** at 9:43 PM

"No? Well, I sure as hell am gonna have a goddamn say.
Fine, fine, we'll call Griffin 'Plan B.'"

**Izzy:** at 9:43 PM

"No. Off the fucking table."

**Lina:** at 9:43 PM

Goro snorted. "'Kay."

**Izzy:** at 9:45 PM

"'Kay?" Hansel stepped closer to him. "The
fuck is that supposed to mean?"

**Lina:** at 9:46 PM

Goro held his hands up and looked away. "Nothing,
nothing."

**Izzy:** at 9:48 PM

"Goro." He felt his grip tightening around his
trident. Forced his knuckles to relax and made himself slip in onto his back.
"I'm not fucking around."

**Lina:** at 9:49 PM

"Good, neither am I."

**Izzy:** at 9:50 PM

"Are you on my fucking side or not?" Hansel
growled through grit teeth.

**Lina:** at 9:51 PM

"Yes, idiot. My number one fucking goal is keeping you
alive. And unpossessed."

**Izzy:** at 9:52 PM

"Yeah? How about you make your number one fucking goal
giving a shit about what I want?"

**Lina:** at 9:55 PM

"Nah. Nah, sorry. See, you're gonna wind up doing that
self-sacrificial shit--believe me, I've got experience, and I can see it coming
a mile away. Problem is, as I've had to have explained to me a million times
whenever I bring up using the Leech, nobody actually appreciates it when you
sacrifice yourself because then they're stuck in this crapsack world without you.
I'll give a shit about what you want, Hansel, when you start caring about your
own goddamn lifespan."

**Izzy:** at 10:01 PM

"Yeah." Hansel stepped closer again. "I am
gonna do that self-sacrificial shit. You fucking got me, Goro. 'Cause I'm not
gonna fucking go outta my goddamn way to kill my crewmate's fiance. Gruumsh
wants me, he can fuckin' have me. I'm not gonna fucking deflect the blow onto
someone else. You can't deal with that, too fucking bad."

He pulled away and started towards the door.

"I'll fuckin' handle it myself, then."

**Lina:** at 10:07 PM

"Hey. Hey! Fuckin' get back here." Goro surged to
his feet, staggering a little from the whiskey. "You don't kill your
crewmate's fiance, that means you're killing your... boyfriend's boyfriend, you
know that?" Stunning fucking argument, there. It had made sense in his
head. Goddamn alcohol.

**Izzy:** at 10:11 PM

Hansel snorted, undoing the locks. Fucking tedious process.
"Or my fuckin' boyfriend could help me find a way for neither of us to
die, but sure. Guess I am."

He finished with the locks and stepped out.

**Lina:** at 10:12 PM

"Hey, get back here, you jackass!" Goro chased
after him and grabbed his arm.

**Izzy:** at 10:13 PM

Hansel shook him off but turned back, jaw set.

**Lina:** at 10:15 PM

Goro hadn't thought he would actually stop, and now he
wasn't sure what to say. "Where do you think you're going, huh?"
Well, probably to Mishka. Which gave Goro another idea. "You think
Mishka's gonna agree with you? Pfff. Good fucking luck. He'll hold Griffin down
while I... do whatever." Whatever you did to turn someone into Gruumsh's
avatar.

**Izzy:** at 10:16 PM

"Yeah. I know he fucking will." Hansel started
walking again.

**Lina:** at 10:17 PM

"Then where are you going," Goro yelled after him.
Louder than he'd meant to, really.

**Izzy:** at 10:18 PM

"Out."

**Lina:** at 10:20 PM

"Out where, dipshit?" Goro followed him.

**Izzy:** at 10:22 PM

Hansel headed up the stairs, towards his quarters. He'd need
his coat. It was gonna be a long fuckin' walk. "Don't fuckin' worry, I
won't get killed or possessed on the way there, so you don't have to give a
shit."

**Lina:** at 10:25 PM

"Oh, you fucker." Goro rushed forward and dove for
him, trying to get both arms around his waist so he could hang off him. Kinda
only got one arm around, though, and had to keep scrambling his feet to keep
up. "Stop."

**Izzy:** at 10:28 PM

"Get the fuck off me." Hansel shoved him off,
making a fist in his robe for a second to keep him from tripping over himself.
He was a fucking lightweight. Hansel hauled him up the last couple stairs and
set him on his feet before moving on, not pausing.

**Lina:** at 10:30 PM

Goro stayed where he was for a moment, too surprised to do
anything else. Too surprised, and hurt. Get the fuck off me. That was... not
the kind of argument he thought they were having.

"Why?" he called after him. "Why? Hansel."

**Izzy:** at 10:36 PM

Hansel grit his teeth and closed his eyes and kept walking,
heading down the hall to his quarters. He couldn't fucking ... stop. If he
stopped, and talked, then he would just fucking end up apologizing. He couldn't
let himself listen to how hurt Goro sounded, because then he'd just fucking
feel too bad to leave.

And he needed to leave. Seemed like it was the only option.

**Lina:** at 10:39 PM

"Hansel!" He didn't stop. Goro chased after him.
"Fucking wait!"

**Izzy:** at 10:41 PM

"Why? You gonna change your fuckin' mind?" Hansel
opened the door. Mishka was elsewhere, thank fuckin' god, because Hansel didn't
think he could handle the both of them. He grabbed his bag off the floor -- the
one that was always packed -- and his coat off the hook by the fireplace.

**Lina:** at 10:42 PM

Goro stopped in the doorway, eyes on Hansel's bag.
"Where you going?"

**Izzy:** at 10:44 PM

Hansel paused. This was familiar. Fucking uncomfortable. He
rolled his knuckles around the bag's strap. "Are you going to fucking do
what I ask, or not?"

**Lina:** at 10:49 PM

"Why don't you answer my fucking question before asking
your own, huh?"

**Izzy:** at 10:50 PM

Hansel took a deep breath. "Yeah. Y'know what, you're
right. You already fucking answered it."

He slung the bag on to his shoulder and pushed Goro out of
the doorway to start off.

**Lina:** at 11:16 PM

Goro stared after Hansel, watching him walk down the hall.
His head was screaming at him to run after, but he felt frozen. Couldn't even
get words out.

"Wh--" he managed finally. "What'd I
do?"

**Izzy:** at 11:37 PM

Hansel wished this still felt like a fight. It'd make
walking a lot fucking easier. But the sound of Goro's voice made him stop and
close his eyes grind his teeth together again. His shoulders dropped.

He couldn't -- do it. He couldn't be Mishka, and just break
things, and try to make Goro not fucking care. It'd be better if Goro didn't
fucking care, because then no one would be in danger but Hansel -- and Hansel
was used to being danger, and he was fine with it, but the idea of Goro
throwing Griffin under the bus and taking him away from Raef on Hansel's behalf
-- nah. Didn't work for him. Too much collateral damage. Hansel was keenly
fucking aware of the pain that'd put Raef through, and he knew Raef had already
been through it once. Hansel wasn't fucking worth that.

But he couldn't just fucking walk away and let Goro think
this was his fault. Another deep breath. He turned and closed the distance
between them again, pulling Goro against him with one arm and kissing the top
of his head. "Nothing. I love you." He sniffled and kissed Goro's
head again. "I'm sorry. I love you, so fucking much, and I need you to
have my back." He shook his head. "I need you to fucking stand down
when I ask you to. But I get it. I really fucking do, Goro."

One more kiss, and he squeezed his eyes closed, and breathed
in the sweet incense, and breathed out.

"I'm sorry." He untangled himself and turned away
again. "I love you."

February 2, 2019

**Lina:** at 12:06 AM

What... the hell did that mean?

What did any of that mean?

Goro stepped backward until he was standing in the doorway
to Hansel's room, and he leaned against the doorframe to keep himself upright.
He watched Hansel's retreating back disappear onto the stairs.

I'm sorry, he'd said.

That... that meant...

Goro felt numb and panicked at the same time, clouded from
too much whiskey. He squeezed his broken fingers desperately, wanting to bring
reality back into focus. He gasped from the pain, sucking in air, and then he
couldn't stop, just kept breathing in more and more on top of what he already
had. He sank to the floor, dizzy and weak-kneed. His eyes blurred with tears
and he let out a few hiccupping cries, still squeezing his fingers.

"Why?" he said to the empty hall. "Why?"

Hansel'd tried to tell him, but... it had scattered
everywhere, like Hansel had dropped his words on the floor and Goro was
crawling around trying to gather them all up.

Goro dragged himself to his feet after a while, broken hand
clutched to his chest. He walked through the hall and down the stairs, staying
close to the wall so he could lean against it when he stumbled every now and
then. He made it to the ground floor and pushed open the front doors, stepping
outside.

There was nobody out there. The wind blew in his face, nipping
at his nose and ears. He stood for a long time, staring into the darkness at
nothing.

[end]

February 3, 2019

**Lina:** at 11:18 AM

Title: Fingers. Summary: Hansel and Goro talk with Gavi
about Gruumsh. Goro manages to sniff out who the Scion is; Gavi turns violently
protective of her nephew, and Hansel turns violently protective of his
boyfriend. Gavi flees the castle. Goro and Hansel argue about what to do with
the information about Griffin, and Hansel leaves to go to his parents alone.