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[corporeity]

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@WATERDEEP

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[corporeity]

We did. Appearances deceive, indeed.

I believe interrogation is unlikely to be effective, regardless, if they’re prone to hysterics. More flies with honey, as they say.

[bhaalist]

I believe lashing out at them would be unwise, at least for now. I can't say I trust them, but it sometimes pays to be patient. I agree with you.

[ about this, anyway. orin is another story. ]

[corporeity]

Good. I’ll keep you informed of what I learn.

[ a beat. ]

Thank you for asking after me, Tilanus.

[ for caring. ]

[bhaalist]

[ he's wary of pushing too much, assuming too much. especially after talking to astarion. it's strange to be strangers again. ]

You're welcome.

Gale, if there is anything you need, you need only ask.

[corporeity]

An exceedingly kind offer. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, either.

As I said before, I would like to know one who knows so much of me. Or a version of me, at any rate.

[bhaalist]

I know.

It was no lie when I said I recall little of my past. When I woke on the Nautiloid I knew nothing but my name, and I met you not long after.

[ what he had discovered, he had discovered with gale, and the wizard had not turned from him then. would this version feel differently?

it is a strange thing to be concerned about. there are few people whose opinion would matter to him. ]

Would you take a drink with me? I would rather speak of this in person.

[corporeity]

[ already, questions bubble to the surface. because of the tadpole or another reason? ]

Of course. What luck that the manor has a tavern on the premises.

action?

[bhaalist]

I shall meet you there.

[ and he will. he's explored enough of the house to find it with relative ease. wine is his choice, and he'll be able to be found at a table large enough for two, with a bottle of red. he hasn't opened it yet, though there are two glasses waiting for gale's arrival. ]

🏃

[corporeity]

[ gale already has a fondness for the fox and hounds, when it has the same feeling as the dockside taverns in waterdeep. a tad more real than the shimmering finery of the manor itself. before joining tilanus, gale stops by the fire to give the pub’s wolfhound, harry, his requisite scritches — and a treat, magicked out of thin air. the only tell of his injury is how slowly he bends and rises, careful of the stitching. ]

Tilanus. [ a neutral greeting, as he takes his seat. both astarion and orin have shaded in his portrait of tilanus since they last spoke, but much of the details of his true person remain smudgy. gale adjusts the collar of his emerald, knit jumper, and wonders if tilanus prefers a red or if he simply knows that gale does. ]

Tip top shape, as you can see. [ in reference to himself. ] How are you keeping?

[bhaalist]

[ he straightens when gale enters, and smiles. his eyes flick quickly over him, despite already having been assured he was alright. if orin had truly wanted to do him harm, he wouldn't be walking. tilanus knows that. he also thinks there would've been a good deal more spectacle around it, if that was what she wanted.

he'll allow himself to be relieved.

he gestures to the seat across from him. ]

I'm glad to see it. Thank you, for meeting with me. I'm well, I suppose.

[ aside from being frustrated by this unintended break from his actual life. talking to gale makes it all feel a little more normal, even though this one is not truly the friend he'd gotten to know.

he puts his hand on the wine bottle. ]

I got this in the hope you'd feel like sharing, but I'll get you something else if you prefer. They appear to have everything.

[corporeity]

[ there it is, the instinctive ease one feels with the familiar, written in the set of tilanus’ shoulders and mouth. the kind gale shares with astarion alone now, all else foreign to him in this world.

it’s a cruel thing, gale thinks, for the gods to make them strangers. he nods, quick in his assent, and gestures for tilanus to pour. ]

It’s no Waterdhavian red, [ more light teasing than genuine criticism. ] but I’m sure it’ll do. They do like to keep us sated, in this place.

[ lulling them into complacency, he assumes. a wry smile. ]

Wherever do we begin, I wonder.

[bhaalist]

[ he opens the wine to pour for them both. ]

I've had worse, [ he says, thinking of the old bottles scattered around the shadow cursed lands, covered in dust and snatched up to feed the camp in a pinch.

he's still not really sure how this will go. it should be easier, he thinks. it's simpler talking to people who are strangers to him. ]

Well, if we are to start at the beginning, that was not long ago for me. I told you I woke on the Nautiloid remembering nothing but my name. Perhaps I should ask, what would you like to know? If I can tell you, I will.