TRP: Amari, Goro, Pride, and Sam (Philosophy)

[SETTING: Day 431. Pride's dream palace.]

Goro woke, as he sometimes did, to the sound of lyre music.

He was on the lounge in Pride's boudoir, where he hadn't been in some time. It was exactly the same, however. The balcony doors were open, and the gauzy curtains fluttered. Outside, he could see Sam bent over his lyre, playing a pretty, melancholy tune, and the larger silhouette of Pride across from him, head bowed, horns curling upwards to the sky.

LINA

Goro climbed off the lounge and wandered over to the balcony. He stuck his head through the curtains. "Hi."

IZZY

Pride lifted his head slowly, as if mindful that Goro might be too near to his horns and careful to not knock into him. He smiled pleasantly and patted the stone floor. Sam only looked up with his eyes, head still down, looking drowsy and content.

LINA

Goro sat down next to Pride. "I got my memories back. Mostly. Think there's still some stuff missing, but."

IZZY

"That's good to hear," Pride said softly, under the music. "I'm glad you're well."

LINA

"Weeeell," Goro said. "That's kinda why I'm here. I was hoping you might be able to... make sure." He grimaced.

IZZY

"Certainly. I can take a look, if you'd like."

Sam stopped playing on a long, wavering note, and stretched out his fingers. He yawned as he set his lyre aside, then beckoned for Goro to come closer to him, between himself and Pride.

LINA

Goro accepted eagerly, scooting over. He sure as shit wasn't looking forward to the whole being looked inside thing, but having Sam close would help.

IZZY

Sam pulled Goro's back to his chest, sighing sleepily and wrapping his arms around Goro's shoulders, then resting his chin on top of his arms. He yawned again, warm and comfortable.

Pride watched fondly. He extended a hand, not touching Goro yet, and asked, "If you're ready?"

LINA

Goro snuggled comfortably against Sam and hugged Sam's arms to himself. He looked at Pride, still wary, but nodded.

IZZY

Pride gently pressed his fingers up against Goro's chin, holding him at the angle, and looked into his eyes.

Goro had that sense, again, not of the world opening up, but of his perception of it widening. The sense of being watched, and of having always been watched, from every light and shadow, from every corner; the sense that there was nowhere that he could go and not be surrounded by the blinding golden eyes boring into his.

And then, again, it faded. As if he was looking through the sheer black curtains fluttering beside them, the world dimmed and became normal. Pride pulled away from him, looking pleased.

"All is well," he said. "You belong to yourself again."

LINA

Goro knew he should just be happy, but the whole experience still left him fucking disturbed, once again. He hid his face against Sam's arm, groaning.

IZZY

Sam murmured sleepily and squeezed Goro. "Aw, hey."

Pride tilted his head. "Surely that's the answer that you hoped for?"

LINA

"Yeah," Goro said hurriedly. "Yeah, it is. Thank you. I -- I really appreciate it. Just... um... y'know, I don't like people seeing me, is all. I asked for it, but."

IZZY

"Ah, of course." Pride inclined his head a bit. "I apologize for the intrusion."

LINA

Goro shook his head, still hiding his face. "Don't apologize. I wanted it. Needed to... know."

IZZY

"That doesn't make it any more pleasant for you to endure," Pride commented. "But I can assure you, at least, that the disease is no longer inside you." Then he tilted his head again. "I don't know if it would make you feel better or worse, but I could tell you ... how you look, now -- cleansed."

LINA

Goro lifted his face, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

IZZY

"Yes." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "It's difficult to describe. There's a darkness. I understand that for most mortals, the darkness is not desirable, but it is a calm sort of dark. Easy. Like a soft, warm blanket. There's a sense of firelight -- small, yet, but burning strong, as if from a distance but steadily growing closer. It's a beacon. It was clouded, before, by the infection, but is bright again." He tilted his head, curious. "Perhaps it lights your way, or perhaps it calls something to you. Perhaps both. It isn't at odds with the dark. They're merely part of one another, neither existing truly without the other's contrast."

LINA

Goro stared intently at Pride, his face half scrunched up.

IZZY

Pride looked back passively.

LINA

"Is that all... normal?"

IZZY

"I've only looked into a few mortals," he said. "I couldn't tell you what is or isn't normal. I presume, with my limited experience, that your souls are all slightly different. But, in the same way that one can look at rotting meat and identify that the maggots aren't native to it, I can tell that you're ..." He searched for the word. "Healthy. Normal, then, if you like."

LINA

Goro leaned to the side a little so he could give Sam a look, like, this fuckin' sound right to you?

IZZY

Sam's eyes were closed. He may or may not have been asleep.

LINA

Goro sighed, resigned, and leaned against him again. He jerked his chin at Pride. "Oh. Hey. My ma wants to meet you."

IZZY

"Who?" Pride asked politely.

LINA

"My ma. Amari Flatflower. The woman who adopted me."

IZZY

"I see." He stared off into space for a moment, not looking absent, but as if he were genuinely looking for something in the empty space behind and to the side of Goro and Sam. "Now?"

LINA

"Uh." Goro hadn't asked her if tonight was alright, but she probably wouldn't mind. "Sure."

IZZY

"I have no wish to force a dream on someone who isn't ready for it," Pride reminded him.

LINA

"Amari's always ready for everything," Goro insisted.

IZZY

He considered. "I'll send you to her first. Is that acceptable?"

LINA

"Oh. Yeah. Sure."

IZZY

"Very well." In a gentle voice, he said, "Sam," and Sam roused a bit. "Hold onto him, please."

Sam gave a sleepy mmhm and squeezed Goro, and when Pride snapped his fingers, Goro found himself in Amari's dream.

LINA

He stood in a garden, sorta -- maybe. More like a wild place that was just a little too perfect to not be cultivated. The ground under his feet was springy with moss and tiny white flowers, and he was surrounded by a wall of trees -- weeping willows, and fruit blossoms, and hemlocks with their drapey, lacey needles.

There was a pool of water with a little burbling stream feeding into it, and Amari sat cross-legged next to the pool, trailing her fingers in the water.

Ah, shit, this was the kind of dreams Amari had? Fucking hell. Was like fucking paradise.

Goro cleared his throat. "Ma."

She looked over her shoulder at him, and her face lit up. "Goro!" She climbed to her feet and came to him, arms outstretched. He accepted the hug.

"Ma. Don't freak out or nothing, but it's really me. I'm in your dream with magic."

"Oh, I know, sweetheart. I could tell right away. You wouldn't have looked so bewildered if I'd dreamed you up myself."

"Alright, well, listen. The demon I was telling you about. Sam's patron. I'm dreaming with him right now, and I told him you wanted to meet him. This a good time?" Goro glanced doubtfully at their surroundings as he said it. He didn't know why anyone in their right mind would choose to leave this place.

"Hm," Amari said. "Yes, I suppose so. No time like the present, after all."

"'Kay." Now Goro was the reluctant one. God, what a nice dream. "Uh. Pride?"

IZZY

The sky darkened a little, to the same crepuscular hue that always lingered around the horizon in Pride's dream palace -- not quite morning, not quite evening -- and the balmy breeze that often filtered through the palace's sheer black curtains drifted through the garden, bringing with it the faintest scent of brimstone.

Pride and Sam emerged from somewhere beyond the garden, holding hands. Sam was barefoot, and still sleepy-eyed, gazing around at the plantlife dreamily and letting Pride gently pull him along. When he finally got around to spotting Amari, his face lit up a little.

Pride bowed his head to her slightly in deference.

LINA

"Oh. Hello," Amari said pleasantly. She took Goro's hand, mirroring Sam and Pride. She smiled. "Hi again, Sam."

IZZY

He waved, almost shyly, with his free hand.

"Mm, you've met before." Pride sounded pleased. "I presume you know who I am. Shall I call you Ms Flatflower, or Amari?"

LINA

"Oh, Amari is just fine. Do you prefer Pride?"

Last Goro'd heard, he preferred the far more fucking disturbing Ba'alchem, but he'd let the guy speak for himself.

IZZY

"Aziz," he requested.

LINA

"Shit," Goro muttered under his breath. He'd been calling him that when talking to Sam about him, since he followed Sam's lead, but... aside from that, he hadn't bothered.

"Aziz," Amari said. She squeezed Goro's hand. "Goro's told me a bit about you. He finds you... intriguing."

Shit, again. Goro should've primed her better beforehand. He hadn't known Sam was gonna be there, and he didn't want Amari to say shit that'd upset Sam.

IZZY

He smiled slightly. "I'll assume he means it in a complimentary way."

LINA

"He is an intensely curious person," was all Amari said to that. Goro grimaced. "I admit, I'm curious about you, as well. What sort of entity are you?" Her tone sounded perfectly harmless. An innocent question. Goro was worried.

IZZY

"A demon, of sorts," he said pleasantly.

Sam tugged at his hand, pulling him down, and he obligingly lowered himself down to fold his legs under him. Sam snuggled against his side.

"A Sin," he went on, "In the form of a demon of dreams."

LINA

Amari took their lead, gently pulling Goro down to sit on the moss with her. "A demon of dreams," she repeated wonderingly. "What does that mean, exactly? Are you in all dreams?"

IZZY

"Not at all."

LINA

"Then?" Amari probed, gently.

IZZY

He smiled, amused. "You may have to clarify your question to get the response you're searching for. I am a demon of dreams in much the way that Dagon is a demon of the deep, Baalzebub is a demon of insects, or Pazuzu a demon of the winds. I have a control over the liminal space between waking and unwaking, of the realms in between." He gestured delicately with the hand not still holding Sam's, wavering back and forth. "I am more powerful than other demons, of course, as I'm not truly one of them."

LINA

"Hm." Amari tilted her head to the side, examining him curiously. "Can you in theory control any dream, even if you aren't in them all?"

IZZY

Sam's eyes flickered open to look at Amari.

"Indeed," Pride agreed. "I have greater power in any creature's dream than it has there itself. Goro observed this when I aided him in a nightmare."

LINA

"That's very interesting," Amari said, in all sincerity. "Who created you?"

IZZY

"I'm afraid I don't know," he said, apologetic. "My kind has always existed, in some form or another. I have seen the birth and death of other Sins, and presume there was a Pride before myself. It's a title, more than an identity. I, myself, have no more memory of my creation than you do of yours."

LINA

"Oh. That's understandable, I suppose. There are so very many mysteries in the world." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Goro told me he's going to help you cross into our realm."

IZZY

He gave a gentle mm of agreement in response to her comment about mysteries, and inclined his head a bit when she mentioned crossing over. "Yes. Such is our arrangement."

LINA

"Will you still have domain over dreams, once that happens?"

IZZY

"Yes," he said pleasantly.

LINA

Goro squinted. "How do you know?"

IZZY

Pride responded simply. "It is my nature."

LINA

"Mm." Amari nodded once in agreement, like it made perfect sense to her. "You want to come to our realm to be with Sam, Goro says?"

IZZY

"I do," he said, and Sam got distracted from watching Amari to gaze up at him dreamily instead.

LINA

Amari squeezed Goro's hand. "What will you do to Goro, once he's finished helping you?"

Shit. She sounded pleasant as ever, and Goro was pretty sure there wasn't hardly anyone but him and Joan who'd be able to tell, but he could hear the claws coming out.

IZZY

Pride tilted his head. "I won't do anything to Goro that he doesn't request of me."

Sam frowned, looking back down at Amari.

LINA

Amari clasped her other hand over Goro's and kept squeezing. "My son has suffered a great deal in his short life. Not unlike your Sam. I worry about him, and I get a bit protective. I'm sure you understand."

IZZY

"Yes, of course." He inclined his head again. Sam kept frowning, though.

LINA

"Ma," Goro muttered toothlessly. Fucking embarrassing.

"When will you cross over?" Amari asked, cheerful as if nothing weird had happened.

IZZY

"Soon, we hope," he said, just as pleasantly. "There is an item we require which is currently in the possession of the Church of Helm. Or Bane, if you prefer. Retrieving it will not be simple or safe. This is what Goro has promised to aid with." He tilted his head, and added, "Sam will keep him safe."

LINA

Amari smiled at Sam. Goro had this depressing thought for a second -- Yeah, he's gotta keep me safe so they get the damn artifact --

But then he remembered how when he had amnesia, Sam had said he'd still wanna be Goro's friend even if Goro couldn't help him. Goro frowned deeply at the sky, and the trees, and the pond, trying to let that sink in.

And then something else occurred to him, like an icy knife in his heart. He looked at Pride. "Is Sam gonna lose his memories when you make him a Sin?"

IZZY

"I won't be making him a Sin," Pride said.

LINA

"You said you'd make him like you," Goro said.

IZZY

"Indeed. But not a Sin -- not like my brother's creations," he said, with open distaste. "I only mean to make him ..." He searched for the word. "Stronger. Immortal, like myself." Then he looked down at Sam, expression soft. "So that I won't lose him again."

LINA

"Is he gonna lose his memories?"

All at once, Goro felt like he was gonna cry. Amari shushed him quietly and placed one hand on the back of his neck.

IZZY

Sam frowned at him, not in a disapproving way, now, but in a concerned way.

Gently, Pride said, "No. If he lost his memories, he would forget me as well. That isn't an option. I am not the butcher that Lust is. He will remain intact. He will be himself."

"I'll be okay," Sam murmured. "It's not like he would hurt me."

LINA

Goro kept looking right at Pride. "You ever done it to someone before? Or's this an experiment?"

Amari frowned at him. "Goro," she said quietly.

IZZY

"I will be careful," he said evenly, looking back at him, dead in the eyes. "Please understand that Sakincha is all that matters to me, Goro. Don't doubt my dedication to keeping him safe."

LINA

Goro was all tight and knotted up. Amari's hand on the back of his neck felt distant and fuzzy. He reached back to swat it off lightly, and she obliged, but patted his shoulder on the way.

He kept staring hard at Pride, then dropped his gaze to the grass, glum.

"He's very afraid of losing people," Amari explained to Pride and Sam in a quiet voice. Goro never could decide if he liked it or not, when she did that. It was good when people could understand him, he guessed, but he hated being a goddamn freak who needed footnotes.

IZZY

Pride made an agreeable mm sound, indicating that he understood. Mildly, he said, "There have been few things with meaning in my long existence. I have no intention of losing Sakincha again."

While he was talking, though, Sam unfolded from his side to crawl over closer to Goro and Amari. Pride watched him idly but let him go -- he was frowning still, concerned, and when he was close enough he reached out to take Goro's wrist and give him a hesitant, but firm little tug, a Come here?

LINA

Goro frowned back, confused, but let Sam pull him closer. Amari let him go, folding her hands in her lap.

IZZY

Sam pulled him into a hug and squeezed him tight.

LINA

Goro squeezed back, his frown easing slightly.

Amari watched them, smiling, but when she glanced at Pride it faded a bit. "Goro is very loyal," she said. "As you've no doubt seen."

IZZY

Pride tilted his head. "Hm. It's an admirable trait."

LINA

"It's a survival strategy," Amari said. "Unfortunately, he's struggled to find people who return his loyalty."

Goro didn't have a fucking clue what she was getting at. Amari never lied, but sometimes she said things so dispassionately, so matter-of-factly, it seemed like she had to be holding something back. He didn't know how it was physically possible to just... not have strong feelings about shit.

IZZY

"If you're concerned that I will not treat your son well, and return his loyalty," Pride said, just as mildly, "I suspect you may have overestimated his loyalty to me. Ours is a business arrangement, and one that I intend to honor."

LINA

"Oh, that's good to hear. You do strike me as someone who keeps his word. It's as though you would find it inelegant to lie, or break promises -- is that right?"

IZZY

He seemed to find this line of questioning intriguing. "Indeed."

LINA

"You prefer order to chaos," Amari guessed.

IZZY

"Certainly."

LINA

Amari looked to Goro and Sam, and watched them for a moment. "Do you love every hair on his head just the way it falls? Or do you fret if it's not neat and tidy?"

IZZY

He expression hardened slightly. "I don't love him for his tidiness."

LINA

"I didn't think so," Amari said. "When we love someone, we take them as they are, an ever-changing state. Love is chaotic."

IZZY

Sam shifted -- still cuddling Goro firmly, but looking over him to Amari.

"I disagree," Pride said easily, his expression smoothing back over. "One may love a chaotic thing, but the love itself is not chaotic."

LINA

"Hm." Amari tilted her head, looking at the trees, and nodded thoughtfully. "Neither is it orderly. You never know from one day to the next exactly what the person you love will look like, or what they will need from you. But you know you will give it. Somehow, there is predictability, and unpredictability, coexisting."

IZZY

"I suppose." His tone was agreeable.

LINA

"What I wonder, Aziz, is how strongly you feel the need to force order onto chaos. My belief is that it's unnatural to do so -- to disrupt the balance of nature by forcing it to be a certain way. Within reason, of course. I do comb my own hair, after all. I plant flowers in rows. Goro admonishes me for being out of touch with reality--" she shot him a smile-- "but I do have a practical streak in me for day-to-day living."

IZZY

He tilted his head. "Is it forcing nature to prune a tree back, so that the weight of its branches don't snap them? Or is it caretaking?"

LINA

"It depends on the tree, I suppose. Fruit trees were cultivated by people. To plant one and not prune it is neglectful. But I wouldn't walk into a forest and prune the firs and cedars. They do best without intervention."

IZZY

"What of the smaller plants choked out and killed by the cedar's roots?"

LINA

"Life in the forest exists in a balance. It isn't the fate of the smaller plants to live for hundreds of years, like it is the cedar's. Smaller plants enrich the soil, and provide food for animals and insects. They grow quickly, die easily, and replenish themselves. A fast cycle. A smaller scale than the great trees, but no less important."

IZZY

"Then their deaths, and the prevention of more lives, are inconsequential to you?" he asked. "You seem to have great faith in some natural order. What evidence is there that this order is just?"

LINA

"I don't have faith in a natural order," Amari clarified. "The natural order exists regardless of how anyone feels about it. Justice is only a construct -- an important one to many people, to be sure. But plants don't care for justice. They don't suffer. My wish for the world is only to diminish suffering."

Damn, Goro thought, listening to her. Lady was fuckin' nuts. He loved her to death.

IZZY

"Mm." Pride considered this. "I have little interest in plants. What natural order, then, is there for mortals, who do suffer?"

LINA

"Oh, mortals are much more complicated." Amari sighed and shifted from her cross-legged position, folding her legs to the side. "The simplest answer is acceptance. Acceptance is the natural order."

IZZY

"Acceptance of what, exactly?"

LINA

"What is," she said simply. "It's easiest to explain with an example. Supposing I... stub my toe. It hurts. That's a fact of life: sometimes we trip, we fall, we hurt ourselves. I can accept the pain, or I can get angry about the fact that I stubbed my toe. The anger doesn't make the pain any better, though. In fact, it usually makes it worse.

"Practicing radical acceptance of all things in life: from the good things, like love and joy, to the bad things, like pain and death, this is the way to avoid suffering. To stop swimming against the current of our reality."

IZZY

"I see," he said, taking a moment as if he were genuinely considering her words. He studied her closely, then said, "I prefer to redirect the current."

LINA

"Oh, yes. I can see that." Amari smiled. "You know, I'm surprised. You immediately own your philosophy. Most people, when I tell them about the way of non-resistance, they try to trick me out of it. Present me with all sorts of scenarios they think will prove me illogical, as though I don't live in the same world they do. Because on the surface, it would appear I do a bit of current redirecting myself. Why feed orphans, they might ask me. Why not let them starve? Wouldn't that be the way of acceptance?" She raised her eyebrows at Pride, then at Sam and Goro. "Do you know what I say?"

Goro did. He was one of the people who'd challenged her on all this shit, after all.

IZZY

"I do not," he said politely. Sam was still just watching, brow furrowed.

LINA

"You're moving someone else's dams," Goro offered. 'Cause there was still that part of him that saw Amari as his teacher, first thing, and it was always a little gratifying to get a right answer.

Amari nodded. "Now, it's an undeniable fact that sometimes, people go hungry at the whims of nature. But all those children starving in Skyport -- that isn't natural. That arose because someone else -- many someones, really -- they're resisting the natural order. They're hoarding things they don't need, refusing to allow their wealth to return to the community. Skyport is a rich city. Food and gold are abundant. The church vault alone contains enough wealth to feed all the city's indigents for a decade."

This was the closest Goro ever heard Amari get to impassioned, and she still managed to sound calm about it. Because she already knew what her course of action was, he guessed.

"I aim to reduce suffering by releasing resistance," she said. "If someone is causing suffering for others by resisting, then I will do my part to make the water flow again."

IZZY

Pride gave another thoughtful mm. He seemed deeply interested. "And how are you so certain that you know this natural order rightly? How do you know that the rich of Skyport, or the long-lived elves of Alabaster, are not cedars and firs, and living on a different scale than those on the streets, who may grow quickly, and die easily?"

LINA

"There is no evidence of such a thing. Trees and underbrush differ clearly in form and function. You can tell from the moment they sprout from the ground. But the wealthiest noble and the most destitute beggar, at the moment they're born, are indistinguishable. Indeed, one may become the other, during their lifetime."

IZZY

"Very true," he agreed. "Are elves and orcs not distinguishable, however? Humans, from half-elves?" he asked, nodding to Sam and Goro. "Tieflings, from goliaths? Their differences are natural."

LINA

"We have more commonalities than differences," Amari said firmly.

IZZY

"Surely the fir and the dandelion have a great many similarities, as well."

LINA

Amari nodded. "I suppose the real difference between them and us is that a fir doesn't need to starve a dandelion to grow old and tall. Maybe some will be shaded out and die, but it's also possible for them to live alongside each other with everything they both need. Not so with the rich man and the beggar."

IZZY

He nodded back, seeming satisfied. "Yes. I agree."

LINA

Ah, this was getting fucking weird. Goro felt like he was about to watch them swear to take down the rich together, or something.

"So, uh," he said, just to try and mix things up a little, before they got carried away.

IZZY

Pride looked his way and politely waited for him to continue.

LINA

Goro swallowed uncomfortably and looked away.

IZZY

Sam attempted to help by lamely offering, "This garden is really ... nice."

LINA

"Oh, thank you." Amari looked around it happily. "Though, I don't know that I can truly take credit. Mysteries of the subconscious, I suppose."

IZZY

"Is it so much of a mystery?" Pride asked, sounding amused and charmed. "One's dreams reflect some aspect of themself, or their life. Yours seems to be quite peaceful and soothing. Surely you can allow yourself credit for that."

LINA

"Hm. I suppose you're right about that. Though... I'd hate to imply that someone plagued by bad dreams simply isn't trying hard enough to cultivate peace. Some try very hard, and still struggle."

Goro scowled. Gosh, Ma, I'm sittin' right here.

IZZY

"Mm, of course. All the same, it seems unhelpful to discredit your own accomplishments." He smiled a bit. "It is a remarkable garden."

LINA

"Unhelpful?" Amari asked. "How so?"

IZZY

"I would presume that a purposeful awareness of your own path to such serenity would be useful in helping others to find peace." He tilted his head. "Is that not the case, in your experience?"

Sam had settled again. He shifted to put his lips closer to Goro's ear, where he could mutter, "What the fuck is this conversation?"

LINA

Goro snorted and muttered back, "Typical, is what it is." A little shiver had gone down his neck at Sam whispering in his ear. He glanced at Sam, grinned crookedly, then gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Oh, certainly," Amari said to Pride. "But my path isn't replicable by everyone. I've taught Goro everything I know, but he doesn't necessarily find it easy. We all have different challenges, different strengths and hurdles."

IZZY

"Mm." Pride nodded, interested. "You've worked with a great many individuals such as Goro?" he asked.

Sam still looked sleepy, but grinned and flushed a little at the kiss -- maybe more so because of it. He planted his warm face against Goro's shoulder.

LINA

Amari nodded. "Not to the extent I have with him, but yes. When I was with the church, it was frequently requested that I work with the convicts and acolytes that other clerics found difficult."

IZZY

"Perhaps I could call on you for counsel, once I've reached your plane," he said thoughtfully. "I aim to move some dams, as you would say." He glanced at Sam and Goro again, expression softening. "To make things better."

LINA

"I'm always happy to provide a listening ear, or a word or two of advice, if it's requested," she said.

Goro scrunched his face up and gave Sam a can you believe this shit? look.

IZZY

He smiled. "It would be appreciated."

Sam shrugged at Goro a little. He seemed pretty okay with this outcome.

"I'm curious," Pride remarked. "Goro said that you wanted to meet with me. Was it only to vet my intentions towards your son?"

LINA

Amari shot Goro a puzzled look. "He told me he wanted my opinion on you. I had no particular desire of my own to meet you, although I don't mind."

IZZY

"I see. I must have misunderstood," Pride said affably.

LINA

"Ma," Goro said, embarrassed. "I thought -- y'know -- you said you were curious, and shit."

"Oh, certainly. I've never gotten to meet someone quite like Aziz, before."

IZZY

"There is no one quite like me," he commented, mildly. "Of course, should Goro uphold his end of the bargain, we'll be able to meet in person before too much longer."

LINA

Amari's gaze lingered on Goro for a moment. He frowned at her. She looked back to Pride.

"What dams are you intending to move, if you don't mind me asking?"

IZZY

"It is my hope that people such as yourself and Goro will be able to help me determine that," he said. "My intention, like yours, is to lessen suffering." Somewhat delicately, he went on, "Sam's life has been not too dissimilar from Goro's, from what I've gleaned. In a past life, he was killed in war, and in another, died in a senseless, violent accident. This is my perspective of your mortal plane. I would prevent such avoidable tragedies from occuring any longer. However, I strongly believe that long-time residents of the plane such as yourself are more qualified than I am to make educated decisions on how, exactly, to prevent them. I would simply be the power that you direct on how to remove the dams."

LINA

Amari frowned sympathetically at the descriptions of Sam's past lives. She nodded along as Pride spoke, and made an intrigued murmur at the last part. "What is the nature of that power? What sorts of things are you capable of?"

IZZY

He seemed to consider this, then said, "A great many things. Pruning is at times necessary, for these systems created by mortals, is it not?"

LINA

"I'd prefer not to speak in metaphor any longer, if that's alright with you," Amari said.

IZZY

He inclined his head in deference again. "Of course. There are diseases in your world, like the one that recently gripped Goro. Those, I would purge -- the insidious, vile things that cannot be reasoned with. Those that can -- those that can be eased into the natural order once again -- I would speak and bargain with." He flickered a smile. "My hope is to have the counsel of people such as you to inform me on which is which."

LINA

"How interesting," Amari said, sincerely. "Sam would counsel you too, I imagine?"

IZZY

Sam had rested his face against Goro's shoulder comfortably again, and it was muffled when he said, "I don't want to."

Pride nodded agreeably. "He's weary of the world," he said, his voice soft. "While I would benefit from his help, I will not force it."

LINA

"Oh, of course," Amari said gently. "I won't ask him for specifics, then. I was merely curious whether he'd encountered any sort of evil that... can't be eased into the natural order, as you put it. The disease that infected, Goro, well, yes. It was an aberration, I believe. But people -- I think all people can be reasoned with. There is hope for everyone to change their ways."

Goro scoffed. "Ain't true, Ma. You think fuckin' Lively Fred is just misguided."

"He is," Amari said.

IZZY

"The head of the Banites in Skyport, correct?" Pride asked.

LINA

Amari nodded.

"He's evil," Goro insisted. "He's evil to his fucking core, and he's gotta die."

IZZY

"Mm. He worships a god who promotes suffering, does he not? Would he need to be coaxed away from his faith, then, to be redeemed?" Pride directed this to Amari.

LINA

"Most certainly," Amari said. "But such a thing isn't impossible. People do change their faith, under the right circumstances."

Goro rolled his eyes.

IZZY

"I see." He nodded. "In such cases, I would, of course, need to hear from multiple advisors before coming to any decision."

LINA

"Ma, you know I'm gonna kill Fred," Goro said. And he decided to leave it at that. He almost made some comment about how Pride wouldn't need Amari as an adviser at all, 'cause Goro knew exactly what she'd say every time, but... he didn't wanna undermine her so completely in front of Pride. That was kinda the opposite of his intention, here.

"I know that you will do exactly what you think should be done, sweetheart," Amari said. To Pride, she added, "He's always been that way, after all."

IZZY

"It's a respectable quality," he allowed.

LINA

"I do often wish he'd pause before going through with things," Amari said.

"Hey, what the fuck."

IZZY

Pride smiled a bit. "Perhaps that's what he has you for."

LINA

Amari made a hesitant mm. "Well, those of us who love him try very hard. It helps a little bit, sometimes."

IZZY

"I'm sure you all do your best," he said, looking amused. "There must always be counterbalances. Impulsivity to thoughtfulness, and vice versa."

LINA

"Oh, of course. I wish he'd be more careful, but I do so appreciate his passion and initiative. He lights up my life." She smiled at him fondly, and he muttered under his breath and hid against Sam.

IZZY

Sam snort-laughed a little and hugged Goro.

Pride continued to look amused and mildly charmed, his gaze drifting over to Sam and Goro for a moment before returning to Amari. "Indeed."

LINA

Amari looked back to Pride. "Do you have anyone special, in addition to Sam?"

IZZY

"No other warlocks," he said. "One sibling, I suppose." He looked a bit disgruntled about it.

LINA

"The snake," Amari said. Goro frowned and bit his thumbnail.

IZZY

"Yes. Anwyll," he said, clearly annoyed, now. "He should no longer pose any threat. I assure you that if he steps out of line, I will correct him."

LINA

She nodded. "Goro told me how you helped him in that awful dream he had. Thank you."

IZZY

"Of course." He inclined his head slightly. "It's unfortunate that I could not aid him when he was attacked in the waking world."

Sam squeezed Goro a bit, protectively or reassuringly.

LINA

"He escaped by himself," Amari said proudly. "He's always been very resourceful. Indeed, calling upon you in a dream is a sort of resource, I suppose."

IZZY

"Mm," Pride agreed. His gaze slipped over to Sam and Goro again. "He has called on Sakincha for aid, as well. Knowing one's limits and when to request help is an important ability to have."

LINA

"Are you guys done yet?" Goro said grouchily, hugging Sam tight.

IZZY

Pride looked to Amari politely.

LINA

"Oh, I'll never be done saying good things about you, sweetheart."

Goro scowled.

IZZY

Sam snickered. "Your mom loves you," he teased quietly.

LINA

"God," Goro said.

IZZY

Pride seemed to find this endearing, but looked back to Amari. When he did, and their attention was diverted from Sam and Goro again, Sam nudged Goro a little, looking more serious, if still not entirely awake. "Hey."

LINA

"Yeah?" Goro looked at him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Amari gesturing to the trees around them, apparently telling Pride about the different varieties.

IZZY

"If ... uh. Listen. If it ... goes wrong, and I do lose my memories, and ... if I forget you, you can ... I mean." He hesitated.

LINA

"What?" Goro winced.

IZZY

"I mean, if you want to," he said. "You can still ... I mean, I guess I won't know who you are, but if you visit, you know, I'm sure I'll still ... like you. We can still ... be friends."

LINA

Goro put his arms around Sam again and squeezed him anew. He rested his chin on Sam's shoulder, frowning. I don't know why you'd like me, he wanted to say, but... he thought it might make Sam upset.

"Just dunno how much you're gonna change," he said. "Like... Morgan's gonna become a vampire, and all, and I don't know if she's gonna care about me anymore, or care about anything, and... I dunno. I dunno if you'll still... be able to care."

IZZY

"He doesn't want to change who I am," Sam said, frowning. "He loves me. He wants me to ... care."

LINA

"I believe you," Goro said. "'M just..." He winced and bit the inside of his cheek. "Scared?"

IZZY

Sam was quiet for a moment. He nodded, and hugged Goro tight. "Okay. I mean ... I mean, I'm not scared, but I'm not ... I don't know what's going to happen either, you know? So. I get that. I just trust him enough."

LINA

Goro nodded, still resting his chin on Sam's shoulder. "I bet the two of you'll love each other no matter what. Hansel told me... uh. In -- in his wedding vows, he said, he thinks any version of him would love any version of me, and then I lost my memories and shit and I just fell for him again anyway, and... bah." Goro knew he was rambling. "I'm just saying, 'cause, you know. Aziz's like your Hansel."

IZZY

"Yeah, but ..." He sounded puzzled. "You're my friend, too. That doesn't mean nothing."

LINA

"I know. I know, just." Goro let out a pathetic little whine and frowned.

IZZY

Sam squeezed him firmly again, and after a beat, hesitantly asked, "Does this really help?"

LINA

"Does what really help?"

IZZY

"The squeezing."

LINA

"Yeah, it super fuckin' does. I dunno why no one else seems to like it as much. You guys are missing out."

IZZY

"Okay, good," he said, satisfied, and squeezed Goro more.

LINA

"Mmm." Goro closed his eyes, content. He let out a little sigh. "Sorry I'm... difficult." Amari had said it earlier, even though she didn't think it herself. The other clerics had found him difficult.

IZZY

He shrugged a little. "That's okay. I'm difficult."

LINA

"That's why it'd be bad if we had to start over!" Goro insisted. "I mean, 'cause... I mean... I still liked you when I couldn't remember you. But the other way around, who knows."

IZZY

"I mean ... would you fucking, like, be a dick to me?"

LINA

"Not on purpose," Goro mumbled.

IZZY

"Then I'll like you," he said firmly. "I think, uh ... you know, when you didn't remember me, I think you just kind of ... I don't know. You weren't that suspicious of me. I think that's probably ... a way we both learned to be, because of dealing with other fucking people, right? Not trusting people for shit is how you stay alive when you're a kid and you're alone in Skyport. But you ... forgot that. So if I do forget, I'll probably forget that too. Does that make sense?" he asked, sounding doubtful.

LINA

"Yeah. It does." Goro closed his eyes, feeling a little more relaxed.

IZZY

"Yeah," he said, more confidently. "So ... I'll probably be ... less difficult. I guess I won't remember the stuff we have in common -- about Skyport, I mean. But I don't like you because of that. I like you because you're ... interesting. I don't know. I just like you."

LINA

"Interesting?" Goro said, cracking an eye.

IZZY

"Yeah." He looked embarrassed. "You're neat."

LINA

Goro scoffed. "You're neat."

IZZY

"Pffft. Okay. We're both neat," he said.

LINA

Amari smiled at them fondly. "It's lovely that they were able to find each other," she said to Pride.

IZZY

"Indeed," Pride said, clearly pleased, watching them with a soft expression.

[end]