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Who: Robin!
Broadcast: Video!
Action: Not unless it gets weird!
When: About a day after his supposed murder.

[the feed crackles on to show Robin, looking very much alive and in a shirt that doesn't have a big hole in it, thank you. he's crouched somewhere on one of those Floot Loop stations, probably. he's got his back to one of those big LED displays, which means... unless you want to check every single bright, animated ad in every station within range, he's going to be kind of tricky to find.

he... waves, though he doesn't look like he's very happy to see you either, to be honest.]

Hello. I'm not dead, since I assume that rumor has spread far and wide by now.

And I would love to have a calm, rational conversation about all of this before someone tries to kill me again. What have I missed? Catch me up.

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[...he sighs, softly.]

I should hope it's not as bad as you've heard, then. For starters, you've likely been told that I'd been killed, which you can see is obviously not the case... It was over a dispute about my having ownership over someone.

I heard that, too. Nel, right? But why? You and he...I never guessed.

[Shirley's voice is subdued, but she's leaning closer in even though they're separated by the distance of space and screens. Who are you, Robin?]

Yeah... That's the part I hope has been overstated.

[he looks down, at first, until he notices that he is being observed--and then he makes a real effort to speak honestly, and look her in the eyes... even with the screen between them.]

He's not my "slave", or whatever's been going around. He and I were previously in a contract that allowed to people to be called "Master and Servant". It gave us a monetary bonus, but neither of us are obligated to do anything for the other.

It's just a title. I don't think the contract even applies, now that we're in a different place.

Edited 2015-02-01 06:18 (UTC)

[That's a relief to see and hear, honestly, and it's visible in the way Shirley relaxes just slightly. That's better than she feared, at least...in some ways.]

And that's it? It's over now?

Edited 2015-02-01 07:22 (UTC)

I think it'll be over very soon. There are some complications.

[he... is trained to smile, at that part, but he can't bring himself to do it.]

We're working on it.

I see. Then, what is it? Is there anything I can do to help?

[It's something of a test as well as a genuine offer - Shirley's liked both Nel and Robin, but this has shown she doesn't know them. So she's offering her hand to Robin to see what he'll do with it.]

[...help? he wasn't expecting that, but he doesn't have to think of what his answer should be.]

Have you met Nel in person, ever?

[That's...a good sign, she's pretty sure. She'll take it.]

I have, down on the land. We talked once, but I never knew you two knew each other until yesterday.

All right. That's fine. Please, if you can keep an eye on him, even just when you see him, especially over the next couple of months... I'm worried he won't take any of this well.

Of course I will. You don't even need to ask, for that.

[Varric's been talking about looking after Nel too, but really Shirley would be worried anyway.]

What ship is he on? I never asked when we last met.

[and this, for Robin, just confirms his suspicion that she is far too good to be friends with someone like him.]

He's on the Three Twins. He has a good crew, for which I am very thankful.

Okay. I'll be on the lookout for them.

[Shirley isn't really that good a person, or if she is it's because she's spent months trying to change herself. But the one good thing that came out of her worst times was a strong sense of empathy, and it's not hard to tell that things are difficult for Nel and Robin right now. It might be tough with the distance between ships, but she does want to find Nel as soon as she can. And as for Robin...]

I don't know everything, but it's clear that you care for Nel. I'll do my best to make sure he's all right.

[he is so grateful. his biggest fear is that the rest would abandon Nel the moment he's set free; that they only care for the moral argument and not the elf at the heart of it. so he looks... relieved when she says that. it's probably the nicest thing anyone's said to him all day.]

Thank you. I am in your debt.

There's no need for that. Just...

[Just what? She doesn't actually know. When her friends are having problems Shirley likes nothing more than to get to the root of things and solve them ASAP, but she doesn't know either Robin or Nel well enough for that.]

Just take care of yourself. If something like this happened again, I don't think Nel would like it.

[That may be a low blow, but it's probably true and it's the best incentive she can think of. Shirley's not averse to low blows if they'll produce results.]

Edited 2015-02-05 04:50 (UTC)

I know.

[which he's said with more... brash apathy, in the past. now he just sounds kind of sad. he's never had anyone care about what happens to him, so he knows that he needs to learn to keep it in mind. so. yeah. he'll do that.]

Good.

[This is usually where she'd try and give some sort of advice, but Shirley doesn't have enough to say anything specific and Robin doesn't seem to want to tell her more - which she figures is fair, given that they've only spoken twice before. Still, she wants to offer something.]

I'm glad you're all right, Robin. I hope things work out for both of you. If you're having trouble...thinking about what's best for you and what's best for Nel is hard, but in the end it will be worth it if you do. Trust me, I know.

I believe you.

[because, yes. she is right. he knows she's right. it hurts now, but, hopefully, it'll be for the best.]

Okay.

[And...that's it, she's about done. Moralizing aside, this talk has helped but Shirley's still a little bit at a loss for what to make of all this.]

I've probably said enough. Whatever happens...I really am glad you're okay.

Thank you. [he sounds a little awkward, but honest.] You're very kind.

I've had some experience. That's all.

[Yeah, not going into that right now.]

I'll talk to you another time.

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