driftfleet | second; text

[ Sasuke nearly allows the word 'impressive' to slip out before realizing that Remus is talking about consequences and how not to use magic. Right. Of course. ]

We also have rules about emotions -- [ which already sounds somewhat severe, just by the slight change in wording ] -- so I can understand to some extent.

... are you able to conjure that fire now?

Yes.

[Easily, with his wand-- but he wants to try it without. Loki has been teaching him, these past few months; there's an awful lot of knotted string looped around his left wrist, thin and testament to that. Remus raises his right hand, opening his palm-- he has to murmur a word, he can't do nonverbal magic, not without a wand-- and ah, there's a fire, small and sitting in the palm of his hand. Not so impressive, except of course it's far more than he could conjure a month before.]

[ It's still enough to earn Sasuke's attention as he actually steps closer, clearly unintimidated or at the very least familiar with working around fire as he even leans in, sharingan activated again to size it up. ]

... hm. [ He straightens back up again after the noncommittal noise, giving him a curt nod. ]

Are you limiting yourself because we're indoors or is that the extent of what you can do?

The former. I don't want to risk something too big when I'm unpracticed at wandless magic.

[He doesn't extinguish the flame; rather, he murmurs another word, and the flame turns an electric blue.]

In that case if we land on a relatively uninhabited planet in the future I'll have to see your full capabilities.

[ Because knowing that there's more that he isn't allowed access to is as frustrating as learning that he can't fight Moony.

Which is high up there, okay. ]

If you'd like. I'd certainly be keen to show off, god knows.

[He closes his fingers, lets the flame disappear-- ooh, magic, and he's totally showing off a little right now, even if it's only to himself.]

[ yeah but can you summon a freakish derpy panda, I THINK NOT ]

... you're cocky but that's preferable to how you were earlier, self-conscious and reluctant. Stay in this mindset instead.

. . . I'll endeavor to do so. My god, you're blunt, has anyone ever told you?

[ ... ]

If you mean has anyone ever told me that I'm a dick, then yes.

They have.

That's not the word I would have used. Is there a reason you don't censor your thoughts?

[ There are a lot of reasons, and not all of them are ones that he actually realizes. ]

... I don't like lies. Besides, I never learned to fake that kind of kindness for anyone. For instance, even if you say it's not the word you would've used then that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't more or less what you meant.

I'm not offended. I know what I am.

[Interesting. Perhaps the exact opposite of him, frankly, and he doesn't agree with it, but still fascinating to consider.]

Don't you worry about losing people you care about?

[ He actually just stares at him for a moment. ]

I don't understand.

What isn't there to understand? I mean-- if you speak bluntly, you're bound to annoy people, and if you annoy them too much, they won't-- they'll eventually stop wanting to be near you.

Hm.

You're more selfish than I expected you to be. [ There it is again, that bluntness. ] No, that isn't something that concerns me. I wouldn't get attached to someone faster than they would realize what my personality is like. If it scares them away then I'll just remain on my own.

[Remus has many flaws, and he's aware of some of them-- but selfishness isn't something anyone has ever accused him of before. Self-pity, of course, and being a stupid martyr, but never selfishness. He's caught between indignance and honest confusion, because it isn't insulting if it's not true.]

Selfish?

You didn't ask me if I was afraid of hurting people important to me, you immediately jumped to how I would feel about it and how it would affect me.

Are you kind to other people for their sakes or because you want them to like you so that you aren't alone?

[Well, both, frankly, and with that comes both a rush of embarrassment and irritation. Selfish . . . is it selfish, to be so self-aware of his friends, of what makes them happy and when to keep silent when he has something to say that won't go well?]

I suppose both.

[He'd lie, except he thinks Sasuke would call him out on it and he'd feel all the worse.]

Mostly the former, I believe. And I'm kind to my friends because I love them. But I won't say I never bite my tongue to make them happy.

[ That severe exterior is working as an effective bluff, then, because he is pretty terrible at telling when someone is lying straight to his face. ]

Strange. I don't hold my tongue around either of the people that matter to me. [ Either. Meaning there are only two. Perhaps he could include Kakashi on that list, or the other members of Taka, but those bonds still aren't comparable to growing up with Naruto and Sakura... Naruto especially. ]

They're both idiots; I have no desire to let them forget that. Neither of them are here, however -- [ as of this post ] -- and that can't be helped.

I don't know. I suppose different friends call for different reactions.

[Sirius has his faults, but he's no idiot. Still, Remus is glad to latch on to the other topic of conversation:]

I'm sorry, by the by. It can't be easy, to be on your own. I know I'm glad for James and Lily.

I don't have much experience with that. [ With having friends in general, honestly, and it's genuinely just an honest statement rather than anything self-pitying. It's not like he's doing any work to cultivate friendships so you get out of it what you put into it. ]

Your apology isn't necessary; I'm accustomed to how things are. Who are James and Lily?

James is one of my closest friends from home. He'd come before I did. He was the first to figure out what I was, all those years ago-- I've known him since we were eleven. Lily is also from our school, a very nice woman I know a . . . little less well.

[He knows his Lily, twenty-one and brash, mother of one, but this is not her. This is a far younger version, safe and protected and a little suspicious of James.]

I see. So they're your comrades. [ Old classmates, people he grew up with... It's a familiar story, anyway, and gives Sasuke better perspective. ]

You're lucky to have them, especially since I assume they're also dragged into your war in your world.

[He nods.]

They're both incredible in the field. Or they will be, anyway. They're both far younger than I am.

[Three to four years, and it feels like an eternity.]

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WHAT THE FUCK NARUTO

oh he can do weirder things even, dw 1/2

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