SS Pathstone Mingle

[heresyandlace]

Who: Crew and visitors of the SS Passive Aggressive Pathstone
Broadcast: Probably not
Action: Aboard the ship
When: All February!

[with how good everyone on this ship is at settling differences, getting along, acting rationally, and sharing their things, this month will go by without any ripples.

the audience will be so bored. there isn't ever any drama on this ship. at all. it's great.]

Comments

[killedwithlove]

It'll be more practical.

[Cole speaks from directly behind her, as is his want, rocking back and forth on his feet.]

And you can make new memories for it easier, without having to fight the old ones.

[thetigress]

[She turns at the sound of his voice, her eyes widening briefly.]

Infinitely more practical. [After another moment of consideration, she folds the jumpsuit over her arm and turns back to the locker to close it.] I have been accused of acting like a man; why should I not dress the part?

[But when she turns back to Cole, her expression is different, more guarded.] Why do you speak of memories?

[killedwithlove]

How do you act like a man? You're a woman. That just... is.

[He looks somewhere else, rocking on his feet again.]

The dress. It has bad memories. It hurts. The jumpsuit is better.

[thetigress]

[It's odd; Caterina knows very well why some behaviors are more masculine than others, but putting succinctly into words is surprisingly difficult. It's not just that she sometimes wears armor and bears arms, though that's part of it. It's something more.]

I am a woman with ambitions and I make no apologies for it. My fate is my own hands. That is enough for some.

[But that last statement- how could he know? Her face? Her expression was not a pleasant one, she knew, but to link it to the dress specifically... ]

What do you know of my memories? How do you know?

[killedwithlove]

[Cole takes a half step back, slightly wary. People have lashed out at him before when he tells them things.]

It hurts you, so I know it. I know people's hurts.

I'm Cole, but I was Compassion before I was Cole.

[thetigress]

[Actually, that phrasing is somewhat reassuring. It's easier for her to deal with than the idea of him actively rooting through her mind. And her hurts- well, there are worse things he could know. The idea still makes her uneasy and Cole still merits watching, but the situation is what it is; she's not going to make a fuss.]

I am Caterina Sforza- or do you know that already? [A thin smile] I trust I may rely on your discretion in this?

[killedwithlove]

I'm not as good with names. Unless the names hurt. Or hide the hurts.

[He nods, not looking at her, looking at something in the corner.]

I'm good at keeping people's secrets. I was in a cell too. But I didn't leave it.

[thetigress]

You certainly seem to have left.

[killedwithlove]

I did. But not Cole. Cole who is me left.

[thetigress]

[Well, that's clear as mud. She turns her head slightly, as if by doing so, she might literally get a better angle on things.]

You have lost me.

[killedwithlove]

[He nods.]

That happens a lot. I don't mean to, but it happens.

[thetigress]

It happens to the best of us, on occasion. [More often, likely, to those who are something more than normal. A consequence of knowing more than he is meant to, perhaps?]

[killedwithlove]

I can try to explain, but it might upset you, so it's probably better if I don't.

[thetigress]

You needn't spare me. I hide from nothing, not even grief.

[killedwithlove]

Cole was a mage. He died in a cell, he was scared and alone, so I came to comfort him.

And then he died, and I thought I was him. I know I'm not him, now, but I still remember being him.

[thetigress]

[That does shock her. It doesn't upset her, not in the conventional way, at least. More than anything, it adds to the growing sense of what Cole is not and how poorly whatever he must be fits into her preconceptions of how the world works. It's unsettling, more than upsetting.]

You are not quite human, are you>

[killedwithlove]

No.

I look like a human. But I'm Compassion who is now Cole. I'm more human than any spirit should be.

[thetigress]

Spirit made flesh... What terrible troubles you would give the Church.

[A little pause] I assume that I am not the first you have told this. Have any reacted poorly?

[killedwithlove]

What church?

The Chantry don't really have a stance on me, because they don't know what to make of me.

[He cants his head. He doesn't see why he would hide it.] Yes. Madam de Fer wanted to kill me on the spot. I don't think I could stop her. Cullen thought I should be executed, but he started changing his mind over time.

[thetigress]

The Catholic Church. If you don't know of it already, I'm afraid it would require a great deal of explanation. Where I am from, the head of the church has as much power as kings, if not more. I don't think the Church would know what to make of you any more than your Chantry, and that may be a dangerous position to find yourself in.

[Now, see, that's more the sort of thing she would expect.] But not one that is new to you, apparently. You don't aren't afraid of receiving similar reactions here?

[killedwithlove]

I don't know it, but that's okay.

[He's getting impressions from her, the fear, the awe, all those strong emotions.]

No. If people react negatively, I just avoid them. Like Fenris. I've avoided him since the day we first met.