lordofthering | IC SUGGESTION BOX

[She sounds like she's biting through a pencil.]

I already know that, Strange, I was watching you.

Well I told him I'd tell you, so I'm filling my end of the bargain. [ he grumbles, a bit under his breath. Strange...just isn't going to mention all those slightly dubious bits of the talk that RM's probably filing away under 'reasons why Strange shouldn't talk to Ignatius' (aka that whole heart business.) ]

If I had to make a guess on why he wants to go, I think he wants the mirror as a bargaining chip for himself.

You mean you expect him to try to take the Mirror for himself during the effort?

I do. If I had to guess, what he wants the most is to reobtain his Heart. I don't know if he can do that with the Mirror, but he could at least offer it up as a trade.

I don't think the Mirror could be used for that. The Heart I took from him is more literal than the hearts described in the tales of the Mirror.

But if you think he'd go as far as to try to steal the Mirror from us, why have you come as far as asking on his behalf?

Because I said I would. And I don't want to go back on my word, even to Ignatius.

[She exhales.]

Yes, but why did you tell him you would?

Because it's simply asking. I made no secret that the decision would lie in your hands and I even told him that I doubted it would happen in the first place. But there's nothing harmful about asking a question.

[ a little pause, before ]

What do you think about all this to begin with?

[She sighs again, ignoring his question.]

But then you went and offered to get his Heart for no reason! I don't understand you, Strange.

[ There's a longer pause than normal like Strange is biting back the urge to yell something and is actually taking Ignatius's advice to take a fuckin chill pill. When he speaks again, his tone is a bit strained. ]

Each time we've been on a world without magic, I've hated it. I've made no secret that I've loathed both the Matrix and the Mainframe and if we stop at another world without magic, I'll probably loathe it as well. But at least I knew that when I returned to the carnival, I'd be able to do my magic again. If I were in his place and I had the essence of my magic removed from me while still being surrounded by magic itself, I doubt I'd be able to take it half as well as Ignatius currently is.

I offered to get his Heart because I let my emotions get the better of me.

[She's quiet for an uncomfortably long break as well, before finally speaking, in a rush:]

Whatever, I think we should do it.

[ okay raise your hands, who saw this coming. hint: not Strange. But who's also kind of okay with this? also Strange ]

It does make sense, [ he admits. ] Ignatius could be a useful ally against Lilith if the situation calls for it. If we suspect that he'll take the Mirror for himself, then we can attempt to correct for that as needed. And besides, what better way to show him that there's something different about us than trusting him a bit?

[ a small paaaause before ] Of course, I can't be completely tactical or impartial about this. After all, he did say he'd undo my contract if taken along.

He'll just have to accept that, if he's going to come along, he'll have to swear a few oaths, as well. Particular in regards to assuring a lack of sabotage.

But I can take care of that part. I'll speak to him myself. Provided we can reach a compromise, I'm sure I can find a place for him.

[ Strange sounds a mixture of pleased and relieved about this entire thing. ]

I understand that you might not want my help, [ what with that whole 'dude why do you adore him' thing ] but if there's any way I can help with negotiating this compromise or in Eden itself, simply tell me.

Oh, I will.

[She leaves on that note. It's a long forty-five minutes until she gets back. She starts off bruskly:]

Alright, so the deal is on. For the rest of this mission, Ignatius is your responsibility.

[ oh christ

Out of all the things Strange was expecting, the answer is NOT THAT. He's not even bothering to hide the fact that he's been caught intensely off guard. ]

Well. I, erm, I shall try my best to keep an eye on him and make certain that things go smoothly in the mission. [ note to self, stay the fuck away from the mirror ]

Thank you for trusting me with this.

[ now he's going to get wasted because one last hurrah before he's got to be a responsible babysitter ]

Ignatius has sworn to me that he will not interfere with our efforts to claim the Mirror, nor will he attempt to claim it for himself while in Eden.

Of course, since he is resigning himself to being primarily a bystander, I've offered him the carnival's protection for the duration, and that we will treat him as our own in regards to his safety.

This is all in exchange for the termination of your contract, of course...

In that case, my priority will be watching over him and keeping him safe should something happen.

[ which ISN'T TERRIFYING IN THE SLIGHTEST except that it kind of is. There's an awkward pause before, ]

Since we will be in Eden and I suspect we'll be animals in order to blend in, do you have any idea what form Ignatius might take?

[ because Strange is realizing his dreams of being a bird might need to shift a little if he's going to be protecting like, a fuckin rhino or something ]

I'm not sure... I mentioned to him that it would be necessary, and asked him if he had any preferences since he'd objected rather violently to his earlier transformations.

I must say, he defied my expectations. He just told me to "surprise him".

Well that's interesting. In that case, can you surprise him with something smaller than a horse? If I take the form of something bigger than he is, I could pick him up in case of an emergency.

[ which is a mental image that's simultaneously adorable and awful ]

I was actually thinking I would go with something quite small, for practicality purposes. Even now, I don't think I could force him to remain in any form he truly despised for long - but if he isn't going to be doing any fighting, then the most important thing is that he be easy to keep a handle on.

I could do the easy thing and just make him a lizard. He's already got the tail and scales. The only issue would be wanting to make sure we could keep track of him.

Edited 2018-07-05 04:10 (UTC)

I can scry on him if he manages to escape my grasp. Also, you could make him a larger yet still small enough lizard. Perhaps that orange and black one? They have it in the Americas, I read about it in a book before.

[ Gila monster. The word that Strange can't think of is gila monster. ]

We can't always rely on scrying, Mr Strange. It's impossible to say what areas may be out of your sight, once in Eden.

Scrying will be the back-up. My first line of protection is simply not leaving him alone.

Very well. I'll leave that to you.

What an odd confluence of events. I'm almost excited.

(no subject)

kingsroads - 2018-07-05 04:27 (UTC) - Expand