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 Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 11:23 am
It wasn't like Harrison didn't remember the quarterlies, because he did.
He knew Edith, too, as presiding over the Mages and being a Big Deal. And he'd prepared long and hard. Done his tactical spell research, and done some community projects. So, in a sense, he was ready.
Here whenever he talked about...basically everything he'd built his life around, everyone looked at him like he was bananas. Human Harrison had a folder, right where he normally kept his folder, but jack if he understood a single word that was in it.
He stole a look at himself in one of the unoccupied mirrors. Brushed his hair back with his hand. Tried to get some of the parts that usually went haywire to behave. Rep and Jordan were preparing for their own reviews. He had mostly tried to keep out of their way. He had no idea what he was doing. Jordan'd said earlier on it was better if he didn't let others know he wasn't...him. But they seemed to know the moment he opened his mouth.
He held the folder to his chest. Then tightened his fists and went over, right into the middle of where Jordan and Rep were.
He cleared his throat.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 11:26 am
Rep looked up because he was forced to do so, to acknowledge the stranger that had sidled in and taken Harrison's place, worse than if he was missing because there was nothing to reasonably grieve and no way to escape it.
He gave him a very feline expectant look which said simply get on with it and get out of my face.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 11:29 am
Jordan looked up, putting his folder down, and tried on a smile for size. Things were strained and getting worse, and he didn't know how to fix it or where to start. But he wasn't going to ignore Harrison, even if this wasn't quite his Harrison. "Hey," he said. "What's up?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 11:36 am
"I uh, studied for this, right. Back home I've got, these spells, I've been working on-"
He set his shoulders.
"Which don't work. What do they want me to say, in there."
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 11:40 am
Rep narrowed his eyes as Harrison spoke and he felt the already tight ball of rage, hurt and resonant pain tighten like the ropes on a torture rack.
He wanted to snarl out, they want you to be a hunter, they want you to say sane things, sensible, sly and deferential things like Ace always ******** said But the knot was too tight and it strangled all sound.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 11:51 am
Jordan breathed slowly, in and out, and then held his hand out. "Let's see what's in your folder. You were working on some projects, before. Do you remember any of that?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 11:56 am
"Yeah. Like I said, my uh, spellwork.."
He looked over at Rep, feeling and ignoring the stretch of space, the similar wrench of pain.
He relinquished the folder, which had a lot of notes on war history and strategy, use of natural environment, positioning, resources.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 11:57 am
Rep finally spoke and it was icy and accusing. "Why are you helping him?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:01 pm
Jordan paged through the project notes, trying to think of a way to explain them, something that might wrap around the disconnect and jog some true memory loose. When Rep spoke, the icy, accusing tone struck right through him, making him flinch, and he turned slowly to look at Rep. "Why aren't you?" he snapped back. "Avoiding him, avoiding the issue, isn't going to help a damn thing!"
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:13 pm
Harrison scowled.
"It's your...whoever he is's human group thing. I'm a mage, alright. I study arcane magic. I don't even want to be on the jacking Defense meathead squad. This...teacher, boss, whatever, Edith, she's important where I come from. She's important here too, right?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:17 pm
"Indulging his ******** delusions won't help s**t either." he snarled angrily before he got to his feet in response to Harrison's comments, edging straight into his space with a snarl. "******** defence meathead squad I should put you through a ******** wall you dumb c**t! You URNAE A ******** MAGE! "
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:25 pm
Jordan gritted his teeth and put the folder aside before his grip could damage it accidentally. Frustration warred with anger and the muted, lonely ache he'd been living with ever since they came back changed. He stalked silently over to take hold of Harrison's shoulder, placing himself halfway between them, and turned to look at Harrison, desperately searching his eyes for the personality he knew.
That wasn't quite right. He knew this one too, but that had been a delusion. "In the Tear," he said, "we were hallucinating. Our memories were warped. I remember it, I know who you - who you think you are. But you woke up from that. Harrison, goddammit," and he broke off, breathing through his frustration but holding eye contact.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:34 pm
Harrison had Bonez summoned in a flash, bristling and standing his ground.
"You try it, you-" Jordan drew him aside, and Harrison was reluctant to take his eyes off Rep, but he didn't have a shed of hesitation when it came to a fight. He just didn't have a lot of fear or respect for a human...half-human, whatever they were, who was barely taller than he was.
"I remember," Harrison growled. "I was there. You were...he was..." he deflated slightly at the correction.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:41 pm
As Harrison summoned B0nez Rep dropped into battle stance, there was no room to call up Tracey in here, but everything about his posture said he gladly would make room. "I'd ******** tan your hide you ******** fraud. Knock some ******** sense right into you."
All the frustration, all the rage and hurt had slowly coalesced into razor sharp and misplaced hatred. It was this Harrison's fault he was hurting so badly, he'd said he'd follow him anywhere, that he'd never hurt him, but he couldn't follow him here and hurting this twisted version would be nothing like when he'd found it hard to harm the Boss. With this version he'd take satisfaction in it, he was all wrong. And he had somehow convinced himself Jordan was siding with him, trying to coax and encourage him, going about it all wrong and keeping him that way.
"I hope you go to the ******** meeting and they put you in a ******** straitjacket before you hurt your ******** self."
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:49 pm
Would a fight actually help? Jordan weighed the idea briefly before dismissing it; Harrison had summoned and fought already, and the slim chance that sparring Rep would jog some memory was too slim compared to the destruction they'd cause fighting indoors and the subsequent s**t they'd all be in over it. "Rep," he said tiredly. "Not helpful."
"I was there," he seized on the lead desperately. "I thought I was a demon, and you were wearing my mark instead of a ring. I do remember it, but it's not real, the false grails warped our memories." If he could get Harrison to talk to him more, maybe he could figure out where the blank was, where the memory had broken off.
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