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[major_rawne]

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[major_rawne]

"I'm... not hurt." He uncurls a little. "Coffee would be nice."

Also, once he's alone, he may just dump the whole thing on Quentin. He's not sure if he can lie to him, now. But he wants to not be here.

[magician_king]

"Yeah. Come on."

Offering him an arm to help him to his feet.

"Whatshisname messaged the warden network. New guy."

[major_rawne]

"Edward." He takes Quentin's arm and pulls himself up. "He's not bad."

[magician_king]

"Good."

Says Quentin, and takes the unusual step of moving in, tucking his arm around Rawne's shoulders.

"I won't grill you until we get you home. Please know in advance that as I do, once we get there, it's because I'm very worried for you, try to bear up patiently under the outpouring of emotion you're about to be walloped with."

[major_rawne]

"Great." Rawne leans on him, keeping his face down. He's really not sure what he's going to do, once they get to Quentin's room. He's been in a haze ever since Franky showed up and he realized he failed to avenge Norton's death. Anything could happen.

[magician_king]

He gets him there, and through the door, and then back to the cozy little kitchen where they've sat together a hundred times now. He pushes him gently down into a chair, and goes to put coffee on, leaving him a second of quiet to process.

[major_rawne]

The moment he hits the chair, he flops like his strings have been cut. He stares at the table without really seeing it. Useless, useless, useless rings in his head.

[magician_king]

"Okay."

Says Quentin, after a moment, setting a plate of cookies down on the table, and moving to sit in the chair opposite.

"Better start from the beginning."

[major_rawne]

He's quiet for a long moment. He's not sure what, exactly, counts as the beginning.

Finally, he speaks. "For one, I'm not trusting Pagan to plan our way out of a paper bag. Larry was right, the whole thing was fethed."

[magician_king]

Quentin leans his elbows on the table, biting his bottom lip in sympathy.

"What was Pagan planning?"

[major_rawne]

"Revenge. For Quill killing Norton."

[magician_king]

"What?"

Says Quentin- who knows that story, and hadn't thought it was super-revenge requiring.

"Why?"

[major_rawne]

Why do people keep asking him that?

"She killed him. I'm supposed to kill her back. In revenge. That's how it works." Also Norton wanted him to and Norton can be very... persuasive.

[magician_king]

"That's definitely not how it works."

Says Quentin, gently.

"I mean maybe in one specific heuristic, but that's such a weird thing to take for granted."

[major_rawne]

"What, you wouldn't avenge someone you loved?"

[magician_king]

"On the barge? No fucking way. An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind."

That had been a rough port.

[major_rawne]

"But why is it different here?" That's probably the part he's not getting the most.

[magician_king]

"Well, for one thing, Norton isn't dead?"

He may notice.

[major_rawne]

"Right. Does that mean revenge isn't as helpful?"

[magician_king]

"It means it's now doubly as unhelpful. She was confused when she got here because she'd come from a place where she was being attacked by reality warpers. She lashed out, then figured out where she was, then stopped. Now because you guys have decided to take vengeance on an honest mistake that was previously over, it's not over any more. She goes for Pagan, you go for her again, she comes for you- your endgame is what?"

[major_rawne]

He shrugs, uneasy. "It was to warn her away, as well as retaliation, but I don't think there's a point in trying again."

[magician_king]

As opposed to what a killer plan it was to begin with?

He bites hard on his tongue and doesn't say it.

"So what was the plan?"

[major_rawne]

"Pagan was supposed to lure her to someone's cabin and then we'd kill her there. I guess she was jumpier than we thought." Maybe she expected retaliation?

[magician_king]

"Just two on one, gang up on a woman and murder her out of nowhere?"

His tone is shifting rapidly away from worried on Rawne's behalf.

[major_rawne]

"Uh." He's picking up on the tone shift. "Yeah."