TRP: Bee and Mishka (Excommunicated)

COYOTE

[SETTING: Day 429. Mishka asks Bee to meet him at Queen Edith's Fountain in the Goldcourt Pavilion in the rich district of Skyport. Mishka wants to ask Bee if Bee would like to be part of Pride's interview process once Pride enters the Mortal Realm.]

Mishka arrived at the fountain early because he liked the fountain and wanted to see it. There was no particular reason he had selected this place; he was just tired of meeting in dark and noisy bars. It felt good to sit on the fountain's edge and bask in the sun. He would have a mild sunburn later, but the sun would also bring out his freckles for Hansel to coo over, so it would be worth it.

IZZY

After a few minutes, Mishka spotted Bee -- a distinctive small shape wearing dark clothes, and holding a parasol as the dawdled around the pavilion and admired the architecture. It took them a moment to notice him by the fountain itself, and they still didn't seem to be in any hurry to wind their way over.

When they got closer, he could see that they looked a bit unwell. A little older than their previous, almost fey-seeming youthfulness. Possibly they were just tired.

But they smiled from the shade of the parasol, and raised a hand in greeting.

COYOTE

"Bee," Mishka said, and stood up to reach too clasp their hands..

IZZY

They seemed a little taken aback, but smiled a bit more and allowed it. "It's good to see you."

COYOTE

"You, too." Mishka sat down again. "Are you unwell? You look pale."

IZZY

"It's a personal matter," they said, almost apologetically. "Thank you for the concern, though."

COYOTE

"Well, now I'm deeply curious." He wondered, briefly, if Bee had lost favor with their god and lost their powers or something, then dismissed that idea. Seemed like a leap. "I can respect not wanting to talk about it, though."

IZZY

They smiled again, somewhat weakly, and sat with him. "Later, maybe. Did you want to meet for a reason, or is this just ... a social call?" they asked, curious.

COYOTE

"It can be both," Mishka said. "I'll cut to the chase. I hate to keep you out when you're unwell. I spoke with Pride, and, ah... well, this is going to sound very foolish when I say it aloud. But-- you know that some of us are helping him crossover? I thought that... perhaps when he's here, ah..."

It sounded too foolish to say out loud, now. Once we've helped the immeasurably powerful demon cross over, we're going to interview him to make sure he's good enough to cross over. It won't matter if he's lying, though, at that point, because if he is evil, he could just instantly kill us.

IZZY

"Yes, I'm unfortunately aware of your intentions," they said wearily, with an air of acceptance.

COYOTE

"I know you're pretty fucking tired of this," Mishka said. "And I know you're going to say this is a bad idea. But I genuinely don't think Pride is any danger, Bee. And once he's over here, I thought perhaps-- we could show you that. A zone of truth spell. An interview. To prove he's telling the truth, and he's not abusing Sam. To put your mind at ease."

IZZY

"Mm." They considered this, but didn't look hopeful. "I'm not sure if there's any point. The demon will be here, then. My mission will have failed."

COYOTE

"Aye. I know. I know it's hardly going to calm you or convince you to come to our side," Mishka said. "I know you're still going to try to stop us. Or... whatever you're doing. And that's fine. I just wanted to offer you this olive branch, should we succeed."

IZZY

"You're going to succeed," they said. "I won't try to stop you."

COYOTE

"You-- what?" Mishka stared at Bee in surprise.

IZZY

They offered the faint, tired smile again. "I was in Glimmerton," they said. "A few weeks ago. Sam was here briefly, as I expected he would be, and when he left, I followed. I saw that he called his friend Irah to him, and when Irah met with him, he was with ... well, you, and others. Quite a large group. Your friends Goro, and Raef, and people I didn't even recognize. And you all seemed ... He seemed very comfortable with you. He seemed pleased." They glanced down for a moment, then back up, the smile turning sad. "Are you the one that washed his hair for him? I know he didn't do it himself."

COYOTE

"Yes." Mishka hesitated for a long time, then thought about how Bee had come here alone, and Mishka had never seen Bee with a companion before. And the way Bee was so intent on getting Sam back-- Sam, the only person Mishka had heard Bee describe as a friend.

"You miss him," Mishka said.

IZZY

"I do," they agreed. "I do. But that isn't the point. Sam is with you -- he's with your friends. He isn't alone anymore."

They tapped their fingers against the pearl handle of their parasol.

"It was always a cornerstone of my distrust in Pride that the demon isolated Sam. I believed it killed his friends, and possibly his mother. I believed it led him into danger, where he would be isolated. I believed it kept him from forming bonds with anyone else in this world, so that he would be desperate for its company. But he has those bonds," they said quietly. "He has ... so many of them. Doesn't he?"

COYOTE

"You doubt, then. You think perhaps you were wrong?"

IZZY

"I have many doubts. Perhaps I was always wrong; perhaps Pride has changed." They paused. "Sam changed me. Maybe he changed his demon."

COYOTE

"Sam changed you," Mishka said. "How?"

IZZY

They shrugged, a little. "It's difficult to define."

COYOTE

"Fair enough." Mishka watched Bee's face closely. "How does Lathander feel about your choice to stand by and let Pride enter the Mortal Plane?"

IZZY

They offered that weak smile again. "You can probably guess."

COYOTE

"Are you-- okay? D'you still have magic? Can you... defend yourself?"

IZZY

"I have a bit. I'll be all right. But it's kind of you to ask." They drummed their fingers on the parasol handle again. "When Sam came to my abbey, I received a direct order Lathander. It's uncommon, even for the strongest paladins. The voice of one's god is painful -- it isn't meant for mortal ears. It's safe to assume that such communiques are only for the most urgent messages.

"Lathander spoke to me, and said, You must stop Sam Obsidia." They were quiet for a beat. "And I didn't. I haven't. My convictions have turned weak." They smiled. "I don't know if I should stop him. I don't follow my god blindly, you know. But he hasn't spoken to me again, to rescind the order, and it seems safe to assume that he, at least, hasn't changed his mind."

COYOTE

There was a beat of silence as Mishka considered this. Then he said, "You seem like someone who... doesn't automatically believe everything they are told. Your god might not be the same way. He may simply see Sam Obsidia trying to bring a powerful demon into this world, and think that demons are bad, and this one is very strong, and thus they must be stopped. But--" He lapsed into silence. "But you are not a god. You are no unchangeable force of nature. You are a person, one who can make their own judgment calls."

He clasped Bee's hand again. "And so that is what I am asking you to do, Bee. I'm asking you to make your own judgment call. Come with me once we have Pride on the Mortal Plane. Ask him what questions you want. If you still oppose him, let it be because you heard the evidence and made a judgment call and were convinced that Pride is evil, not because your god sent you on some quest. If your god is truly good... he will understand this. You are no blind follower."

IZZY

"I've made the call," they said, firmly, regarding Mishka as thought they were charmed. "Inaction against a known evil is a choice. If I were the Morninglord I'm supposed to be, I would never have let it get this far, you see? It's only because I'm particularly favored by my god that my inaction been allowed to go on so long. I'm lucky, really."

COYOTE

"Must you be perfect? No one can do good every time they see what they believe is evil. Perhaps your god stays his hand because he sees the complexity of the situation."

IZZY

They looked at him for a moment, still smiling faintly. "I'll come with you," they said, finally. "I ... I appreciate your effort, and your support. I don't think it will make any difference, but I'm willing to try."

COYOTE

Mishka was marginally afraid that, if Bee did come to help interview Pride, then Pride make take the opportunity to kill Bee. But he decided-- right then and there-- that if that happened, Mishka would grab Bee and crack Bee away. He could understand why Pride hated Bee. But... it wasn't Bee's fucking fault. Bee was just doing the best they could.

"Will you be safe when he crosses over?" Mishka said. "Will you have somewhere to go if you can't defend yourself with your magic? Your abbey, perhaps?"

IZZY

"Doubtful. I'll be an excommunicate then, if I'm not already," they said, wryly. "And I imagine the demon won't be happy with me. But I'll find some place to hide, I suppose."

COYOTE

Mishka's gut clenched. He wanted to say, Surely Pride would not kill you. I'll convince him not to. Sam will convince him not to. He wanted to say, If Pride were really being manipulative, he'd leave you alive so you can serve as a problem. An enemy to chase, occasionally. Someone to blame if anything went awry further down the road, some distant evil entity doubtless influencing events to hurt Sam.

"You must really love Sam to face excommunication for him," Mishka said.

IZZY

"Yes," they said simply.

COYOTE

"What if I convince Pride you were no threat? You could be friends with him again. It's not all over. He misses you," Mishka said.

IZZY

"Soon, I won't be any threat," they said thoughtfully. "I doubt that will matter to Pride, though. I ..." They paused, and closed their eyes, pinching the bridge of their nose for a moment. "Well, obviously I could be wrong. I assume that the demon is more motivated by the fact that I held something -- he considers his, rather than that I was a threat. But if he's allowing Sam to be close to other people now ..." They shrugged it off. "Regardless. I ... don't think that Sam misses me."

COYOTE

"He does. He told me so," Mishka said.

IZZY

They looked doubtful.

COYOTE

"You don't think so?"

IZZY

"I don't know why he would. He's not alone anymore."

COYOTE

Mishka raised his eyebrows.

IZZY

Bee looked a little puzzled. "I don't see why he would forgive me. He has ... options. Better options, clearly."

COYOTE

"He does, though. He's angry at you, but-- eh, shit happens, right? He told me he misses you. D'you figure he's lying?"

IZZY

They frowned and blinked a couple times. "I ... No. I don't imagine so."

COYOTE

"Then d'you figure he misses you?"

IZZY

"Or he's been manipulated by Pride into saying that, in hopes that I would still come find him when I no longer have Lathander at my back," they said, without much conviction.

COYOTE

"Y'know what your problem is, Bee? Y'don't see things as, like, both. It's always gotta be one or the other with you. Maybe he's been manipulated by Pride into saying that in hopes you'd come find him when you no longer have Lathander at your back and also he genuinely misses you."

IZZY

They smiled a bit, weakly. "The problem I'm facing, there, is that if he's genuine, he might vouch for me, and if he's not, he or Pride will certainly kill me. There isn't much middle ground."

COYOTE

"I'll vouch for you," Mishka said. "And Sam will listen to me. And then Sam will vouch for you."

He wanted to say, And if Pride doesn't listen to Sam, or doesn't listen to me, I'll just grab you and crack you out of there. You don't deserve for them to kill you. But... Pride might be watching. Right now. And that seemed like-- the wrong thing to say, for some reason. But he met Bee's eyes, and he hoped Bee understood, even though he couldn't say it. He wished Bee could read minds.

IZZY

Bee looked back wearily. "Maybe," they said after a moment. "I hope so."

COYOTE

Mishka didn't know what else to say. He wanted to help, but there was no way to help, not really. He could not take both sides.

Distantly, he was aware his skin was beginning to burn in the sun. He'd enjoyed the acrid heat at first-- felt warm and comfortable-- but now it was beginning to sting, and he knew if he stayed too long, he'd boil like a frog in a pot of water, slowly heating inch by inch without the frog ever noticing or realizing.

IZZY

"I appreciate you trying," Bee said, after a moment. They studied him from under their parasol, and started to reach out as if to touch his arm, then paused and asked, "Do you mind?"

COYOTE

Mishka offered his arm, uncertain of what Bee would do with it.

IZZY

They touched him lightly, and a cooling balm washed over his skin. Then they shifted a bit closer to him and switched their parasol from one shoulder to the other, to offer him shade, as well.

"You were looking rather pink," they explained.

COYOTE

Mishka ducked under the shade. "I don't mind getting burnt," he said. "It reminds me of when I was little and I'd sneak out to the garden to sit in the sun for a while. Sometimes my sister would find me there and we'd have a picnic for lunch. I remember-- I was so fair from being inside, I'd burn even in the shade, if left long enough. I always wanted to stay with her as long as I could, though, so I'd insist on staying out." He smiled faintly.

IZZY

They smiled, a little, too. "Were you not allowed out into the garden?"

COYOTE

Mishka ducked his head, embarrassed. "Well, I was, normally. But... ah, it's embarrassing. I'd catch animals and keep them as pets. Field mice, usually, or rabbits, or... a stray cat, one time. Well, I kept the mice in a cage I made, and I gave them fresh bedding and food and such, and they did what mice do, which is-- well-- make more mice. And then they somehow chewed their way through the wire and infested the entire manor. That's when my mother found out I was keeping pets. She was so angry." He started to laugh. "She grounded me from the garden for ages. It didn't matter, though, because I just kept feeding the mice I found in the castle. I was... not a well-behaved child."

IZZY

Bee laughed, very quietly, smiling more. "You behaved well towards the mice."

COYOTE

"That is true. The mice liked this arrangement a lot," Mishka said. He rested companionably against Bee's shoulder. "I tried to catch birds, too, but they were too quick for me, and Asenka said they were happy where they were and told me to leave them alone. So I let them be. Did you have... parents? How did you join your abbey?"

IZZY

"I was born nearby," they said simply. "The Lathanderites made my village a safe place to live. I idolized the Morninglord at the time. My parents encouraged me to join the abbey, and so I did, when I was young."

COYOTE

"That sounds... nice." Peaceful. Clean.

IZZY

"It was." They twirled their parasol in their fingers a little. "I took to being a paladin, because of my aasimar blood. Morninglord is the highest rank a Lathanderite can hold, and I've been one for ..." They paused, having to think. "Twenty-five years, or so? They'll have to find a replacement for me at the abbey," they mused.

COYOTE

Mishka blinked. "Twenty-five... good gods. How old are you?" He took a closer look at Bee.

IZZY

"Mm, a hundred and twenty?" they said. "Give or take."

COYOTE

"Oh. Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I thought-- good gods, I thought you were much younger than me."

IZZY

They smiled faintly. "Don't worry about it. The most favored of Lathander's followers tend to retain their youth. I became favored when I was still quite young. It's a common mistake."

COYOTE

"I'm sorry if this is forward, but... are you parents... still...?"

IZZY

"Oh, no. Both humans. They passed away quite a long time ago."

COYOTE

"Oh. I'm sorry," Mishka said.

IZZY

"Yours?"

COYOTE

"Ah. I don't know who my father is," Mishka said. "Presumably he was a full-blooded high elf with some draconic ancestry, but I don't know anything beyond that. I've never looked for him. Apparently I take after him, though. And my mother... well. We don't get along." Mishka felt his face pinch. "She wouldn't like my husband."

He wisely did not mention the whole thing about murdering his sister and his mother loathing him as a result.

IZZY

They made a sympathetic sound. "Alabaster?"

COYOTE

"Mm. Mhm."

IZZY

"That's unfortunate. I'm sorry to hear that."

COYOTE

"Ah. It's fine." Mishka was a big believer in karma, and he figured he deserved whatever fucking shitty things happened to him in his life. But he also kind've held out the hope that maybe one day maybe it'd stop.

Thinking about too much felt like looking down into a chasm of sharp rocks; it made his stomach drop. So he tried to stop. He fidgeted, wanting to tell a joke, or change the subject, or show Bee a neat trick, but he couldn't think of any.

"I don't need your sympathy," Mishka said. "I have Hansel now, and... I'm good."

IZZY

"You have it regardless," they said, "but I'm glad. You shouldn't be punished for wanting to help small, defenseless things. You should be ... good."

COYOTE

“Have you considered another god?” Mishka said. “I know it’s... probably insensitive of me to suggest. I know that it’s a— very personal thing, serving a god as a paladin. But... perhaps you are at a new stage of your life. You could find someone else to turn to.”

IZZY

"I wouldn't know who to turn to," they admitted. "Lathander has been my life for as long as I can remember. I don't know if I have it in me to follow another god." They stretched their legs out, and a little wryly, said, "Something to think about if Pride doesn't kill me soon."

COYOTE

“You know, it’s the damndest thing,” Mishka said. “Whenever I’m around Pride, I feel like... he’s telling the truth, and he’s in a hard situation, and he’s doing the best he can, and he has good judgment, and he loves Sam and wants what’s best for him. And when I’m around you, I think— all those same things about you, y’know. And it seems like... it seems like those things should be mutually exclusive. It seems like one of you should be lying or mistaken.”

IZZY

"Mm." They twirled their parasol. "Well. Situations are complex like that, sometimes, aren't they? I never believed that just because Pride is evil and I opposed him, then I must be righteous. We can both be in error. We can both be in the right."

COYOTE

“I suppose that’s true. For what it’s worth,” Mishka said, “I won’t let him kill you if it is at all within my power. I know he’s angry, but— it’s not right. I know that might be... meaningless, though.”

There were some places Pride could not see. He knew Anwyll’s current lair was one of them— and maybe his old lair in the Underdark. He wondered if Bee knew. He wondered if there were a way to tell Bee that without making it look like he was conspiring against Pride.

IZZY

"It's meaningful," they said simply. "Intent is always meaningful."

COYOTE

“Well,” Mishka said. “There’s nothing to be done with it now. D’you drink? Does your god allow that?”

IZZY

"At this point it wouldn't matter if he didn't," they remarked. "What would he do, revoke my powers?"

COYOTE

"Then let's go," Mishka said. "C'mon. I'll tell you about this huge fucking snake that ate Goro. Unless you've got something better to do."

IZZY

"I don't believe I do," they said mildly, and slipped off the edge of the fountain, keeping Mishka in the shade of their parasol.

COYOTE

[end]

COYOTE

TRP: Bee and Mishka (Excommunicated)

Summary: Bee reveals they've decided not to stop Pride, and, as a result, they've lost favor with their god. Bee fears Pride will kill them once they reach the Mortal Plane. Mishka promises to help mediate and help protect Bee from Pride.

[copied]