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[scholiast]

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Hi, Lucretia speaking. I'm busy at the moment, but if you'd like to leave a message, I'll get back to you ASAP.
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[scholiast]

... Okay.

(This is weird.) Could... could you maybe not look at it? (It feels like an invasion of privacy some how.)

Or is it involuntary?

[aeturnus]

[ He reaches up with his free hand and taps her on the tip of her nose. ]

It's like trying not to see your nose when looking at your face.

[scholiast]

I see.

(So Cain knows when she will die. That's... fine.)

I don't know what the situation is with Enforcers here; as in whether they are able to get through the portal or not. But in any case, I don't want to know. About when I will die, I mean.

[aeturnus]

[ Part of him wants to laugh, because there's just no way Cain will ever tell anyone their time. He can't, for his own sake. If he told someone after not telling Remus, then that's a betrayal of the deepest sort. It's also why he can't abide by others going around and abusing the power. ]

No, don't worry about it. I won't say a word.

[scholiast]

Okay, good. No spoilers.

(She chuckles, but only to distract from how uncomfortable the whole thing makes her feel.)

How did you come about this power anyway?

[aeturnus]

Oh, it's something you're born with. Just genetics.

[ Yeah, as if something like that could ever be boiled down to just genetics. ]

[scholiast]

Of course it is. (She has to write this down. Where's her journal; she sits up and away from him so she can find her bag.)

How come you never mentioned it up until now?

[aeturnus]

[ He lets her go, leans back into his own chair and watches her. ]

Generally, it's just the way of the world where I'm from. Some people just have it. Same for the research, it's like mentioning having really good hearing when people are looking at... different kinds of taste?

[ Cain shakes his head, shrugs lightly. ]

It's not in the same category for me. Not magic.

[scholiast]

(She's rifling through her bag while he talks, and eventually straightens up, frustrated.)

I forgot it. (It makes sense. She'd left the house quickly, still stressed. Whoops, Cain is still talking.)

It's– wait, not magic? (That doesn't make any sense.) What is it, then?

[aeturnus]

We can talk about it later, I'll remind you to write it down then.

[ It isn't much of a mystery what she was looking for, after all. ]

No, it's just... sight. Genetic fluke, special sensitivity, whatever you want to call it.

[scholiast]

Oh, thanks. (She looks a little surprised at this, but slowly puts her bag back down again.)

That's... strange. Um, sorry. But how do you feel about having it?

[aeturnus]

It's life.

[ Funny thing to say about seeing death, but true. ]

There's nothing special about it when it's all you've known, but knowing there's something so fragile you have access to is... a burden, if you think about it certain ways. Thankfully, you also learn better eventually.

[scholiast]

Sure, I can understand that.

(Yes, certainly, it must weigh heavily on him to always have access to such information. Especially if he truly doesn't let anybody know– though, he hadn't said that in so many words exactly, had he?)

Have you ever told anybody?

[aeturnus]

Nah.

[ Easy enough. Even if there's been temptation, it always sits sour and acidic in his gut. After Remus... well, it's never been a real consideration anyway. ]

Doing that would just lead other people to die if the first one tries escaping death. Just this big, cascading problem.

[scholiast]

Oh, I can only imagine.

(Perhaps she should be a little more anxious about the idea of her impending death, but Lucretia has been dying and coming back for thirty odd years in a row, so death has started to feel quite trivial to her.)

What do you do with this... uh, 'gift' exactly, if you can't tell anybody what you know?

[aeturnus]

[ He leans back in his chair, still close to Lucretia but letting her have the space she wants if hug time is truly over. Shame, but whatever. He did it to himself. ]

Live with it? I don't know that it's especially a gift so much as just... what it is. I see ghosts, too, and that's more of a bother.

aw, cain <3

[scholiast]

(For now, she's content just to be close.)

That sounds awful.

(Actually, screw that– she takes one of his hands in hers, and just kinda holds it for both his and her own comfort.)

Is it... scary? Seeing ghosts.

he's a secret cutie. and not-so-secret.

[aeturnus]

[ That motion makes him smile, and he shifts to make a better hold for them both. ]

Not really. They don't have shadows and their clocks are different, but they generally just look like you or me.

please he's a big obvious cutie

[scholiast]

(She's blatantly stealing his own friendship moves and using them against him but appreciates his cooperation all the same.)

Strange. Have you ever mistaken a ghost for somebody who is alive?

[aeturnus]

[ That's okay. She's a quick learning, he's not surprised at all. He just considers that. ]

Maybe from behind, once or twice.

[scholiast]

(She surprises herself by laughing at that, but it just seems so silly.)

That must have been awkward.

[aeturnus]

[ He laughs back at that reaction. ]

Yeah, you could call it that. You learn to play it off eventually.

[scholiast]

Good grief.

If you ever accidentally mistake me for a ghost some day, that will be the day I'll know I haven't been getting enough sleep.

[aeturnus]

Oh, don't worry. You're much more lively than a ghost.

[ ... depending on the ghost. ]

[scholiast]

Thank you, that's good to know.

(She gives him a friendly nudge with her elbow, then sighs and reaches up underneath her glasses with her fingertips to scrub at her eyes.)

Especially since I haven't been sleeping well at all for a while now.