[ closed. ]

[kimaris]

Who: Gaelio Bauduin & Mackey the butt (McGillis Fareed)
Where: Out and about the temple
When: Post El Minha
Rating: PG13 at most
What: TERRIBLE DREAMS.

[ That world, taken care of. Or so it seemed. And lost alongside it, the end of the bard's song. Something poetic, no doubt, which is fitting. Poetic doesn't seem apt here this weekend, or what Gaelio assumes is a weekend, though.

On the day that should have been a Friday, he woke up after dreaming about McGillis; a dream considerably tamer than what he's gotten used to over the past two years. Drinking tea, or something similar. Normal.

Saturday's dream was of exploration, or that's what he assumed McGillis may have been doing. Until the bath house loomed into view and Gaelio absolutely forced himself to wake up.

Sunday was almost a respite, until tacked onto the end of the dream was a helpful update of McGillis taking care of his laundry.

It's all so normal.

It's all so familiar, even. As if he's handling being a traitor, being alive, and being in a world beyond what was thought possible--as if he's handling that load perfectly fine, from the angles Gaelio can see in his dreams.

It's pissing him off. His cold anger hasn't gone away, but he finds himself grinding his teeth when he wakes up on Monday from a fourth dream, this time featuring himself.

A dream about running into McGillis, literally. He'd walk down between the homes they were loaned and would walk directly into McGillis' side, supposedly in the late evening. Gaelio spends awhile wondering if he could pettily stay in his own area to avoid the dream, but he's curious.

He hasn't exactly confirmed that his dreams are real after all.

And maybe it is fate.

So, he leaves and finishes up what he'd had planned. He doesn't take any steps to avoid or accept the dream, and yet, here he is, absolutely walking into McGillis accidentally on the way back without even realising it.

He stepped on his foot pretty hard sorry, jerk. ]

Comments

[mcskittles]

[Normally, something like this wouldn't even be a big deal. Accident or not, McGillis would do as he always did, feigning politeness before excusing himself and continuing on his way. This time, however, he doesn't even manage to get the obligatory apology out of his mouth before he realizes that his assailant is— not just anyone.

In a weird sort of way, it's a small blessing. This was not someone who required false pleasantries, and encounters like that were few and far between.

(And it's ironic, too, that the one person he didn't have to wear a mask around was the one who wouldn't take off his.)

McGillis rights himself, ignoring the pain in his foot. Lovely.]

How careless of me.

[Admittedly, maybe he hadn't been paying the most attention, either... But it also wasn't completely his fault, and also, he doesn't like this guy, so he's not getting an apology!!]

[kimaris]

[ Wow, what's not to like?? His mask is hot and sweaty. Probably smells great. ]

Ah, no. I should have seen this coming. [ is it cryptic or is it a bad joke... ] You've been acclimating well.

[ He's aware that sounds weird. How would Gaelio know? His deduction powers aren't exactly out of this world. It's pretty weird.

He just doesn't care.

...he's spent like two years playing stalker cat and mouse, it's bad. ]

[mcskittles]

[Cryptic and creepy. But that's okay—he'd already revealed somewhat stalker-y tendencies the last time they met, so McGillis isn't terribly surprised. He takes his weird comments in stride.]

You flatter me. You could have just asked how I was doing, though.

[You know, as opposed to apparently stalking him??]

[kimaris]

[ He could have. Someone who is trying to hide their identity should probably not reveal things like prophetic dreams and/or familiar tendencies. Even if he didn't (angrily) dream about it every night, he'd have known these things.

He's spent a lifetime trying to understand him flawlessly, it was just from a different angle for the past two years. ]

Maybe. [ But then he'd be seen differently. Probably better, but he doesn't actually care about that. ] But you should know how the delicate power of phrasing works, shouldn't you?

[mcskittles]

Oh, most certainly. But then the question is what you mean to convey by it.

[There would be more effective ways to threaten him, so he kind of doubts it's that. But if he wanted him to know who he was, why keep bothering with the mask?]

Delicate phrasing was never one of your strong suits.

[Delicate anything, really.]

[kimaris]

[ Well that's the truth, but he doesn't have to like it. The mask helps him contain his annoyance, so he's just tilting his head at him. ]

You shouldn't be so sure of that. [ A quiet noise, maybe a laugh. Who knows. ] We don't really know each other.

[ "—anymore." Gaelio knows a lot, but the death part is still escaping him; his dreams haven't been helping in that regard. ]

[mcskittles]

Is that so? [He sounds skeptical, but still annoyingly pleasant, as always.] It's funny you say that, because I'm pretty sure there's no one else here that knows me as well as you do.

[He knew things that only one person could know. Even if it was hard to believe... Even if it would be much better if he was wrong, that just— wasn't terribly likely. Because even if Gaelio didn't know him as well as he thought, he was the only one he'd ever let get to know him at all.

When he continues, his tone is much more serious:]

What are you trying to accomplish with this?

[Just— all of this. The mask, the cryptic words, "confronting" him like this.

He doesn't say the name that he thinks. Even remembering it leaves him with a lump in his throat.

Of course, whether he was right or wrong, it was still a complicated situation to deal with. If it wasn't him, it would be a problem for someone to know that much about him... But if it was, what was he supposed to do with that, exactly?]

[kimaris]

[ Maybe it's not on purpose, but maybe it is. He always knows just how to get under his skin; that's probably not a low bar, and yet it was his lifelong goal--to know him.

So he's silent for a long moment, regarding him. He's not going to answer his question, at least not yet, and only eventually does he drop a hand onto his hip and looks away. ]

I wonder. But before that, I think we both have the same question to ask each other.

[ Then he'll maybe consider taking it off. He died right in his hand! This situation calls for detached, chilly crypticness!

--It doesnt, not really. In the end, he's just not sure how to handle him being alive again. He has to keep some sort of distance, a barrier up. ]

[mcskittles]

[There is one other question, but he isn't sure that it's the same, and regardless, he's not sure that the answer really matters, anyway.]

Then why don't you ask first? You don't seem very interested in answering my questions, so please, feel free.

[A little passive-aggressive, but he's not actually really bothered by this. The only question that mattered to him was whether or not this was who he thought it was, and that wasn't even much of a question anymore, so if he was going to insist on this little game, then fine. He could play along, for now.]

[kimaris]

[ Maybe. Maybe it doesn't matter, in the grand scheme of things; it's a personal thing, where he has to know how he's here. It was resolved. He could have finally moved on.

Or that had been the plan. His plans really stuttered at the end.

The pleasantry is so bothersome, even when it's faked. The mask, or what he perceives as a mask, only has him very briefly twitching his fingers. ]

Mm. [ Taking a very small step forwards. He looks him over once more, searching for something--not something on the surface, and after a couple of seconds he's not finding it. ] How are you alive?

[ Take that as you will, McGilly...my phone autocorrected it and I'm keeping it. ]

[mcskittles]

[MCGILLY

So, it was the same. A normal person would probably be alarmed by the implications here, but McGillis is... none of those things, really. This was already more telling, more revealing than any of his own attempts to question him so far.

He smirks a little.]

Is there a reason I shouldn't be?

[He can only give a smart answer, because there's not really anything else he can say about it. There was no elaborate plan to cheat death or anything—the last time he checked, he wasn't in danger of dying at all. Not that it isn't always a possibility, of course (and that's why he's not surprised), it just wasn't at the time.]

[kimaris]

You don't remember?

[ Countering. Not wonderfully, but good enough. A hand is outstretched, his fingertip hovering just an inch in front of McGillis's chest in the shape of a gun.

A specific spot. One he remembers vividly. McGillis tried to shoot him in the head. He successfully got him in the chest. ]

Nothing?

omg what a nerd, i love him

[mcskittles]

[It feels like it's meant to be a meaningful gesture, but for him, it isn't.]

If you're referencing something specifically, then no, I'm afraid I don't. [There's implications, of course, but they're just that—implications.] As far as I know, the only one who should be dead is you.

[It's sort of— an odd feeling. He doesn't doubt that there's a reason Gaelio thinks this should be the case, but he legitimately doesn't know what he could be talking about. And then there's the fact that Gaelio is also alive... And not just alive because he's here, but alive long enough to remember an attempt on McGillis's life that he doesn't even remember. Was it someone else, or was it him? Neither is particularly surprising, but it's an idle musing, another situation where the details weren't especially important right now.]

Re: omg what a nerd, i love him

[kimaris]

[ It'd be fascinating if it wasn't so weird.

And painful. It's sharp, like a little knife, pricking against the inside of his chest. Just oh so gently mentioning his betrayal. It hurts.

But... he doesn't remember. And to be frank, Gaelio isn't sure if that's a bad thing. No, it's bad. It has to be.

Behind his mask he's grinding his teeth, but it doesn't pass the filter in the helmet. ]

I died, once. But I remember every moment of it as vividly as the day it happened.

[ drama queen... that said, he does believe that he doesn't remember, strangely enough. ]

I needed to know if you were hiding it, is all.

[mcskittles]

What would it matter if I was? [He isn't, of course—he wouldn't lie about something like that, and especially not to him.] Regardless of whether or not we should be, nothing changes the fact that we're both here, and alive. So the better question is what you intend to do about it, isn't it?

Are you planning to "remind" me?

[For that part, his tone is half-teasing, but still sharp. It's what he's been asking himself, too... Needless to say, they're in an awkward position, but he had no real interest in fighting with him. There was simply no need.]

[kimaris]

[ A...reminder. He considers it. He's considered it since he got here; maybe it's the right thing to do, but it doesn't feel like it.

After an especially tired moment, he's shaking his head. ]

I've already punished you for it. Even if you don't remember... I do.

[ Or maybe he just doesn't want to kill him again. Maybe he didn't really want to in the first place--of course that's a given. This person was his best friend. Not that the sentiment was returned as equally, seeing as McGillis is pretty Okay(tm) with killing off best friends, but whatever. ]

But has that explained myself to you? Your death shouldn't have led you here, so I had to be sure of some things.

[mcskittles]

[Oh, Gaelio. He's been casually taunting him this whole time, but he's still so... soft-hearted. Granted, it's probably better this way—in this situation, they'd only be wasting each other's time if they spent it at each other's throat. It's good that he doesn't have to convince him of the pointlessness of fighting here.

But... the reminder that Gaelio had always been that way, too soft-hearted and warm and kind, it stings, and he wishes for a moment that Gaelio were a bit more like him—more hateful, more spiteful, just enough to never have to remember that he was like this at all. (And that this is what he'd always liked so much about him.) Not like he'd ever really been able to forget...

He pushes the feelings, the memories aside, just like always, but it's difficult. The more they talk, the less he can deny him—even if he can't see his face.]

I know what I need to know. [That this is definitely Gaelio, that he had not actually died (and that could only be his own fault), and that he would seek revenge (entirely fair, tbh). He's a bit frustrated with himself, but there's nothing he could do about any of that now.] I suppose it's only fitting that it would be you.

[He doesn't seem bothered by that, though. Not that he's glad, either, but it's— complicated.]

[kimaris]

[ In... someone's defence, Gaelio tried very hard to stay as nasty as possible. It just didn't stick, because he's a giant sentimental baby. ]

It'll always be me, McGillis.

[ A hand drifts up to the front of his faceplate, but pauses. He drops it. Next time. McGillis' flawless, casual demeanor is annoying him too much, and he certainly can't trust his own face not to betray him. ]

I'll ask you again: what is the last thing you remember?

[ WORK HIS ASS. ]

[mcskittles]

[That had always been a fear of his, that Gaelio would be the cause of his undoing. ...maybe he hadn't quite expected that it would turn out like this, that Gaelio would be the one trying to kill him, but the point still stands. But again, perhaps this is fitting. He didn't accept that it was inevitable, but regardless... fitting.

As for his question... He's a little annoyed by it, to be honest, but his tone remains patient, just as it always has. It's only natural that Gaelio would have doubts, he supposes. He understands that much.]

I don't have anything to hide from you, Gaelio. [In other words, what he said before was true. He wasn't lying (this time).] If you're trying to figure out "when" I'm from, it's been two years since you died. I was promoted recently. I imagine that should give you a vague idea of the state of things before I arrived here.

["I'm not lying, but also, I'm not making things easy for you." What a good friend.]