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[major_rawne]

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[major_rawne]

Easy for you. You weren't here for all those dinners.

[He likes all of them, he liked those dinners, but the blatant affection was a little much at times.]

[deuceoftears]

[He makes a weird noise, something that starts as a short and ends in a rueful, involuntary laugh.]

Yeah, okay, fair.

Is it ever...I don't know. Weird? That kind of domesticity next to...oh, someone set the library on fire or killed half a dozen people again? Well, time for soup.

[major_rawne]

Oh, it's fething weird. The way this place deals with murder is fething weird. But having friends and all that... it helps keep me sane. I need people around, like that.

[It took him a while to admit that.]

[deuceoftears]

It's...I didn't have very many friends, before I got here.

[He stares into his drink rather than meet Rawne's eyes as he admits this.]

It's - I'm so grateful but it's awful, too. I must have been here two weeks and my first friend was murdered, just like that. And he's an inmate - he didn't have any way to defend himself.

[major_rawne]

That's lousy.

[He was lucky enough to get here between murder sprees.]

Who's your friend?

[deuceoftears]

Fitz.

But, I mean. It could be anybody, you know? How are the inmates supposed to believe us about anything if they can die any time and we just...keep going?

[major_rawne]

It takes a lot of trust. But some of the wardens try to keep people alive. It's just. It's just hard.

[deuceoftears]

Yeah. But we can't be everywhere.

If your inmate asked you for weapons, for self-defense - how would you decide?

[major_rawne]

If I trusted them, I'd give them one. I gave Norton a gun. It'd be hypocritical if I denied another inmate the same thing.

[deuceoftears]

You trust Norton?

[He raises an eyebrow, although he's smiling. He likes Norton, and he's rather glad someone did arm him, but that's not quite the same as trusting him.]

[major_rawne]

I trust him to be himself. He's not the type to go around killing people for no reason.

[deuceoftears]

He did just plant a bomb in a public area.

[Jedao points out, though not sharply. He's not, personally, very mad about it, but it does seem relevant.]

Not saying you're wrong about him. Just...not all reasons are great reasons, even if you have them.

[major_rawne]

Right. That.

[He'd forgotten, for a moment.]

I'm not happy he did that either. I thought... if someone tried to pressure him like that, he'd come to me.

[deuceoftears]

I'd have hoped he'd fight back. In some ways it shows restraint that he didn't.

What convinced you? About him.

[major_rawne]

A while back, my commanding officer showed up. He wasn't very nice and Norton tried to kill him, for me. That meant something. That he'd try that, just for me.

[It's not a traditional romantic gesture, but it affected Rawne deeply.]

[deuceoftears]

[Jedao smiles into his drink, thinking of Gonou's reaction to finding out about Kujen.]

I know the feeling.

[major_rawne]

[Good. It's not just him that gets like that, then.]

Do you like it here, mostly?

[deuceoftears]

I do.

[The small, warm smile stays.]

You?

[major_rawne]

[Oh no. That smile looks good on him.]

Yes. I've got a life here. Friends. Boyfriends.

[deuceoftears]

Big step up, is it?

[major_rawne]

Giant. I come from a place that's... like where you come from, from what I've been told. Very violent. Full of war.

[deuceoftears]

Then I'm glad you're here.

[major_rawne]

Me, too.

I'm glad you're here, too. No one deserves to live in a place like that.

[deuceoftears]

It's getting better.

I mean, we're still at war, but...the worst excesses are over.

[He wonders how much Jedao One told Rawne about those.]

[major_rawne]

Like the human sacrifices?