[Ashley McGowen]
Days have passed since the incident on the Mile. Days where her home has been, more or less, consistently invaded - first by Alice and Nathan, then by Jarod, then by Nathan again, showing up and waking her after midnight, drunk and looking for someone to saddle with babysitting him - and how do you tell someone that you don't want them or those responsibilities?
Firm but not cruel. Harsh if necessary. That's the way these things have to be done in order to ensure that other people stand on their own.
So between those things and Friday night, it's not in the best of moods that she calls Wharil, but she makes an effort to hide the fact, at least. Asking if he'll head over, if he has the time to stop by for a few hours. Polite, at least, verging on friendly.
[Wharil Choc]
Wharil's response, at first at least, is illusive at best. He doesn't seem to want to talk at first. And when he finally does, he doesn't seem to want to meet. it would be fine, and perhaps understandable. If only he could just say it outright. Instead he does a poor job making up excuses, until he finally winds up babbling and hangs up.
A half hour later there's another call. From Wharil. Who waiting downstairs.
[Ashley McGowen]
The babbling and excuses haven't done much for Ashley, who answers the call rather hesitantly. "Hey," she says. "Do you need me to buzz you up?" It's unusual, really - usually her neighbors will let just about anyone in to the apartment.
And, assuming he says yes, this is what happens: the buzz hums for a few seconds, and the door unlatches. Noisy, antiquated. And he can make his way up to the apartment, which appears much as it always does. Other than the strong smell of cleaning products. Given her own state and Alice's when they left on Friday, it's easy to guess why the smell is that strong.
[Wharil Choc]
Three quick knocks on her door mark Wharil's arrival. If she looked through the peephole she'd see him there, in a plaid jacket and a wool cap. T-shirt and Jeans. He hasn't been working like he said he was. He hasn't been busy chasing down leads and catching up with unfinished pieces.
He pulls his hands out of his jacket pockets slowly when she answers the door. The smile on his face comes out twisted from worry. He sees...jittery.
"Hey, Ash. Mind if I come in?"
[Ashley McGowen]
"...I did invite you over," she tells him, stepping aside so she can let him into the apartment and casting a quick eye over his clothing. Generally when she's seen him, he's been in his work clothing, dress shirts and slacks, and she knows that he typically doesn't do his work in anything else. She herself is in jeans and a T-shirt, bare feet despite the winter outside.
Ash grimaces for a second, rubbing the back of her neck and making a gesture toward the couches and chairs. "You can have a seat, if you want. I just...thought it would be a good idea to talk. Sorry if I interrupted something." The apology seems genuine, at least: Ashley's not one to make one at all if they're just going to be empty things.
[Wharil Choc]
"Mm. Yeah. I uh...figured you would, actually."
He steps in, heading over to the chairs she indicated. Wharil sits stiffly, back held straight and feet flat on the ground, as if he was prepared to get up and leave at any moment.
"Listen...Uh...You...you and Gregor weren't supposed to...I mean, we didn't know you'd be there. That day."
[Ashley McGowen]
Ashley takes the chair adjacent to his, sinking into it with a sigh. She still has a hand cupped across the back of her neck, glances at him sidelong. She listens to what he says, takes a moment to think about it.
"...That's only sort of it." Hesitation. She lowers her hand and drops it into her lap, clasping her hands together for a few seconds and glancing down at them before looking at him. Considering her phrasing very, very carefully; tact is not an easy thing for her, it seems. "I'm more concerned about...a lack of trust here. You not trusting me, that is. That you didn't tell me what your plans were."
And here, she tugs at her lower lip. "And, I mean, I get that. Rene and Ashton are your Tradition mates. I'd just thought...I mean, didn't you think I could handle it? Well, Gregor and I, I mean?"
[Wharil Choc]
"Uh...Well...No."
He wasn't looking at Ashley when he said it. Perhaps he couldn't quite stand to. Truth was painful. Sometimes, even to the truth-teller.
"I did tell you both our plan, actually. I made it clear that we were going to...handle it the way we did. I didn't want Gregor involved in that because...I wasn't sure he'd have the nerve for it. And you...would enjoy it too much. Well--Okay, maybe not enjoy but...."
Wharil takes in a quick, ragged breath. His feet jitter underneath him, bouncing against the floor and making a rapid thumping sound.
"That night? In Chinatown? Can you tell me it didn't...excite you?"
[Ashley McGowen]
Ashley's mouth forms a thin line, and then she's not looking at him either. Somewhere else, like the books on the coffee table or Zane, finds her gaze instead, and she studies it intently. "More than I think I would have before, but I thought it was just...you know, adrenaline and...I mean, I've always enjoyed just doing magic, in general. I always feel..."
He doesn't find out what she always feels, because something seems to have occurred to her, and she trails off. And looks over at him. "You were fine bringing Rene, though. And Ashton. Or are they just so far gone you don't care? Or do you feel better about it because it's supposed to be their job?" Her voice isn't angry. There's something there, though, something a little raw and tense.
[Wharil Choc]
"It is their job. The garrote, the gun, the knife, the magic, its all just a tool. They--"
His feet stop jittering. For a moment, at least. He leans forward thinking about his next words.
"They're just as fucked up as anyone would be. But they know the consequences. Its their duty. Rene...more than either of us. She's...oathbound."
[Ashley McGowen]
"Oathbound?" Her eyebrows quirk at him, curious, as she finally looks back at him. Leaning slightly forward as well, elbows on knees, both engaged and intent. Making an effort at understanding.
"...Either way. If you can't trust me, I'm sort of worried about how a cabal would end up working out. Or...anything, really." A pause. "And I'm not even saying that's your fault, because after doing some reflecting I'm not sure it is, but, well..."
[Wharil Choc]
His eyes squeeze shut at that, accompanied by a sigh that said the thing he was afraid of had just dropped into the conversation.
"Now--Now just...lets just hold on here. Listen, you guys had...parts to play in this. And you'd already risked yourself enough in my opinion. We spoke about this. And furthermore...if you're worried that I don't trust you, or if you're worried that you don't trust you...well...how do you expect to get over that without...uh...without a little help."
Wharil sighs now, and he looks to Ashley earnestly. Concerned.
"This cabal is as much a support group as it is sharing resources."
[Ashley McGowen]
"I know that. And I think the one thing I've probably taken from the Dylan thing is that none of us are okay on our own. It's dangerous, and if we'd thought more about it then, Marla and Jackson might not have had a chance to torture him until he broke. They were planning to have each of us Fall that way."
Ashley's mouth thins again, and she presses her fingertips together, the small bones in her hands cording as the muscles bunch with tension. Then they relax. "But...look, trusting someone and putting myself forward and...you know, actively caring is pretty embarrassing if it's not returned."
[Wharil Choc]
For a long while he's silent as he lets that thought settle in. Wharil lets the sound of his breathing take the place of an 'I see' or 'I understand'.
"Rene tells me you're going to help her with her...block."
He says the last word the way some people might say they're getting help with pink elephants.
"Did you offer or did she?"
[Ashley McGowen]
Ashley, too, lets silence fill that space. Watching the coffee table, the muscles in her jaw getting tighter and tighter. Then he talks about something she'd meant to bring up anyway, and she lets him change the topic, almost grateful that he has.
"She told me it was there and said that I could help with the Ars Mentis. So I offered to see if I could remove it."
[Wharil Choc]
"Has she let you try yet?"
[Ashley McGowen]
"No. She asked me Friday afternoon, and then she said she had an appointment." A glance sidelong toward him. "I didn't realize 'an appointment' meant 'I have to go and shoot Dylan Willis in the back' in this particular case. Turned out she had places to be, though, so we agreed to meet up later."
[Wharil Choc]
"She didn't shoot him in the back." He says, a slight smirk betrays the humor there. One that he swallows quickly.
"Rene's...complicated. There are things that she's not comfortable sharing and I'm pretty sure that those things are at the core of her block. She could get...well, lets just say she's very sensitive about it."
Yes. Rene. Sensitive. Believe it.
"I'd like to be there when you guys give it a shot. If that's alright."
[Ashley McGowen]
"Sure," Ashley says, with a single nod to back up her assent. Her fingertips are back together, tense and lightly springing back and forth.
"I'll be careful. I'm actually sort of good with this stuff, believe it or not. As long as she's willing to work with me."
[Wharil Choc]
"Great."
And again there's silence. It was a sure sign that the conversation would be swinging once again.
"I owe you an apology. I should have been completely truthful with you. If I'd let you know instead of leave you out trying to keep you away then..."
Another sigh, and that leg starts up again.
"I could have shot you, y'know? You and Gregor both. If I'd been off by...by just a little...."
[Ashley McGowen]
"Yeah, well. Bad things happen." She leans back in her chair now, settling her shoulders against the back of the seat (her head does not reach over the top) and letting her chin rest against the ball of her thumb. She's staring off, back toward the hallway.
But after a few seconds her eyes flick in his direction again. "I appreciate the apology, though. Thanks."
[Wharil Choc]
"I was thinking that night...Or maybe it was the next morning. I don't know, it was still dark. But I woke up and I thought...this is camoutha. A turning point. Nothing would be the same after this.
"I don't suppose we will be either. But...are we at least...alright?"
[Ashley McGowen]
He asks if they're all right, and the look she shoots him is a little difficult to read. Not quite blank, but, perhaps, shifting too rapidly to follow. Too brief. "Yeah," she says at last. "We're all right. I'd just doubted, I guess. Feel like I make you nervous, in a bad way you know, and then all of that just sort of..."
She shrugs, glancing sidelong at him again. Seeking understanding, or perhaps just questioning as it often is.
[Wharil Choc]
A slow smile spreads over Wharil's face.
"Ashley...everything makes me nervous. That's my job too."
And then he makes that face again. That concerned, nervous face. That 'I'm about to say something i shouldn't' face.
"I was sent here. To Chicago. Sent by superiors. Only, I wasn't told what I was supposed to do after I got here. Just that someone would be in touch. So far no one has. But...I was sent here. There's a reason behind it, even if I don't know what it is.
"I tell you this to say...there are gonna be some things that I just can't tell you. And most of the things I do tell you can't be repeated. I told you Rene is oathbound. No one else is supposed to know that, but you know it. Now. And hopefully it'll help you understand her a bit better.
"So you see I do trust you, Ashley. Where it counts. I guess we just disagree on what counts and what doesn't."
[Ashley McGowen]
"I understand," she tells him, and she does, after a brief moment where her eyebrows furrow together and her palms tense against each other. "There are going to be things I can't tell you either. Suppose it's just the way things go, between Traditions. I'm just not...used to dealing with it, that's all. I don't like it when I can't be up front about things."
Another sidelong look in his direction. Gauging, weighing, measuring. "So I'm going to be...well. I was...hoping to get more out of this than the cabal, though I'm glad to have it. Things are just complicated, especially with two Traditions, and that's even if..." She waves a hand, glancing away momentarily and pressing her jaw into the ball of her thumb. Then a second glance. "I just don't like it being there unaddressed."
[Wharil Choc]
"That's fine. No. That's...excellent. A good policy to have."
For a moment he looked like he was leaning forward, ready to take his leave. Then he rolls back again.
"Um...What about Gregor? What do you think he'll...what do you think he'll think about all this?"
[Ashley McGowen]
"I have no idea. We should talk to him, though," Ashley says, letting out a sigh and giving him another long sidelong glance. Still trying to gauge, looking for words. "I think he'd get a lot out of it if we both talked with him about what happened. I mean...I know he's competent and I'm willing to work with him, but I don't actually know him very well."
[Wharil Choc]
"Right." He says, standing finally.
"Right. Well, I gotta get back. Umm...Thanks for calling. Sorry I was...weird."
[Ashley McGowen]
"It's all right," she tells him, getting back to her feet so she can see him to the door. She stands in front of him for a second or two, glances toward the door, and then up at him. "I'm glad we had a chance to talk about this."
Then, after a second, "Wharil, look. Are you and Rene...?"
[Wharil Choc]
"Are we..."
He had some idea of where she was actually headed with that one, but preferred to hear it from her.
[Ashley McGowen]
She pauses here, looking for words. Ashley, once upon a time, was a musician - perhaps it's why she finds herself occasionally robbed of a means to communicate appropriately. "Are you seeing each other. Just between...the way you're trying to get me to understand her and the fact that she was worried about distressing you with the mental block...I'd wondered."
[Wharil Choc]
"She was...she was worried about me?"
He sounds honestly surprised by this, and it sets his wheels turning. And the corners of his mouth turning slightly upward.
"Uhm...We're...She can be misunderstood. Really easily actually. But she's been through a lot. Its easy to dismiss her as psychopathic if you didn't consider that she's actually just...traumatized. Sort of."
His lips purse together and he glances to the floor. To his shoes. To Ashley's bare feet.
"But that's sort of skirting the question, isn't it. The truth is, I honestly don't know what our relationship is. But we're close."
[Ashley McGowen]
"Well." Her mouth quirks into a smirk as she thinks back on what Rene actually said, the tone it was said in. "I'm not sure 'worried' is the right word. But I asked if she had anything helpful to tell me and she said that it made learning the Ars Mentis difficult, and that it 'distressed' you. Her words."
He says they're close, and she looks at him for a few seconds, turning this over. "All right," is what she says at last. Silence. Then, "When do you want to get a hold of Gregor? Tomorrow?"
[Wharil Choc]
"Tomorrow's fine. The sooner the better. And once we're decided on what we're doing...we need to gather everyone. Everyone we can."
[Ashley McGowen]
"I'll call you tomorrow then. And...I've been getting a lot of numbers lately. Between us we should be able to get just about everyone in the city for that."
[Wharil Choc]
"Good to know. I'll see you tomorrow then. Thanks again, Ashley. And take care."
Days have passed since the incident on the Mile. Days where her home has been, more or less, consistently invaded - first by Alice and Nathan, then by Jarod, then by Nathan again, showing up and waking her after midnight, drunk and looking for someone to saddle with babysitting him - and how do you tell someone that you don't want them or those responsibilities?
Firm but not cruel. Harsh if necessary. That's the way these things have to be done in order to ensure that other people stand on their own.
So between those things and Friday night, it's not in the best of moods that she calls Wharil, but she makes an effort to hide the fact, at least. Asking if he'll head over, if he has the time to stop by for a few hours. Polite, at least, verging on friendly.
[Wharil Choc]
Wharil's response, at first at least, is illusive at best. He doesn't seem to want to talk at first. And when he finally does, he doesn't seem to want to meet. it would be fine, and perhaps understandable. If only he could just say it outright. Instead he does a poor job making up excuses, until he finally winds up babbling and hangs up.
A half hour later there's another call. From Wharil. Who waiting downstairs.
[Ashley McGowen]
The babbling and excuses haven't done much for Ashley, who answers the call rather hesitantly. "Hey," she says. "Do you need me to buzz you up?" It's unusual, really - usually her neighbors will let just about anyone in to the apartment.
And, assuming he says yes, this is what happens: the buzz hums for a few seconds, and the door unlatches. Noisy, antiquated. And he can make his way up to the apartment, which appears much as it always does. Other than the strong smell of cleaning products. Given her own state and Alice's when they left on Friday, it's easy to guess why the smell is that strong.
[Wharil Choc]
Three quick knocks on her door mark Wharil's arrival. If she looked through the peephole she'd see him there, in a plaid jacket and a wool cap. T-shirt and Jeans. He hasn't been working like he said he was. He hasn't been busy chasing down leads and catching up with unfinished pieces.
He pulls his hands out of his jacket pockets slowly when she answers the door. The smile on his face comes out twisted from worry. He sees...jittery.
"Hey, Ash. Mind if I come in?"
[Ashley McGowen]
"...I did invite you over," she tells him, stepping aside so she can let him into the apartment and casting a quick eye over his clothing. Generally when she's seen him, he's been in his work clothing, dress shirts and slacks, and she knows that he typically doesn't do his work in anything else. She herself is in jeans and a T-shirt, bare feet despite the winter outside.
Ash grimaces for a second, rubbing the back of her neck and making a gesture toward the couches and chairs. "You can have a seat, if you want. I just...thought it would be a good idea to talk. Sorry if I interrupted something." The apology seems genuine, at least: Ashley's not one to make one at all if they're just going to be empty things.
[Wharil Choc]
"Mm. Yeah. I uh...figured you would, actually."
He steps in, heading over to the chairs she indicated. Wharil sits stiffly, back held straight and feet flat on the ground, as if he was prepared to get up and leave at any moment.
"Listen...Uh...You...you and Gregor weren't supposed to...I mean, we didn't know you'd be there. That day."
[Ashley McGowen]
Ashley takes the chair adjacent to his, sinking into it with a sigh. She still has a hand cupped across the back of her neck, glances at him sidelong. She listens to what he says, takes a moment to think about it.
"...That's only sort of it." Hesitation. She lowers her hand and drops it into her lap, clasping her hands together for a few seconds and glancing down at them before looking at him. Considering her phrasing very, very carefully; tact is not an easy thing for her, it seems. "I'm more concerned about...a lack of trust here. You not trusting me, that is. That you didn't tell me what your plans were."
And here, she tugs at her lower lip. "And, I mean, I get that. Rene and Ashton are your Tradition mates. I'd just thought...I mean, didn't you think I could handle it? Well, Gregor and I, I mean?"
[Wharil Choc]
"Uh...Well...No."
He wasn't looking at Ashley when he said it. Perhaps he couldn't quite stand to. Truth was painful. Sometimes, even to the truth-teller.
"I did tell you both our plan, actually. I made it clear that we were going to...handle it the way we did. I didn't want Gregor involved in that because...I wasn't sure he'd have the nerve for it. And you...would enjoy it too much. Well--Okay, maybe not enjoy but...."
Wharil takes in a quick, ragged breath. His feet jitter underneath him, bouncing against the floor and making a rapid thumping sound.
"That night? In Chinatown? Can you tell me it didn't...excite you?"
[Ashley McGowen]
Ashley's mouth forms a thin line, and then she's not looking at him either. Somewhere else, like the books on the coffee table or Zane, finds her gaze instead, and she studies it intently. "More than I think I would have before, but I thought it was just...you know, adrenaline and...I mean, I've always enjoyed just doing magic, in general. I always feel..."
He doesn't find out what she always feels, because something seems to have occurred to her, and she trails off. And looks over at him. "You were fine bringing Rene, though. And Ashton. Or are they just so far gone you don't care? Or do you feel better about it because it's supposed to be their job?" Her voice isn't angry. There's something there, though, something a little raw and tense.
[Wharil Choc]
"It is their job. The garrote, the gun, the knife, the magic, its all just a tool. They--"
His feet stop jittering. For a moment, at least. He leans forward thinking about his next words.
"They're just as fucked up as anyone would be. But they know the consequences. Its their duty. Rene...more than either of us. She's...oathbound."
[Ashley McGowen]
"Oathbound?" Her eyebrows quirk at him, curious, as she finally looks back at him. Leaning slightly forward as well, elbows on knees, both engaged and intent. Making an effort at understanding.
"...Either way. If you can't trust me, I'm sort of worried about how a cabal would end up working out. Or...anything, really." A pause. "And I'm not even saying that's your fault, because after doing some reflecting I'm not sure it is, but, well..."
[Wharil Choc]
His eyes squeeze shut at that, accompanied by a sigh that said the thing he was afraid of had just dropped into the conversation.
"Now--Now just...lets just hold on here. Listen, you guys had...parts to play in this. And you'd already risked yourself enough in my opinion. We spoke about this. And furthermore...if you're worried that I don't trust you, or if you're worried that you don't trust you...well...how do you expect to get over that without...uh...without a little help."
Wharil sighs now, and he looks to Ashley earnestly. Concerned.
"This cabal is as much a support group as it is sharing resources."
[Ashley McGowen]
"I know that. And I think the one thing I've probably taken from the Dylan thing is that none of us are okay on our own. It's dangerous, and if we'd thought more about it then, Marla and Jackson might not have had a chance to torture him until he broke. They were planning to have each of us Fall that way."
Ashley's mouth thins again, and she presses her fingertips together, the small bones in her hands cording as the muscles bunch with tension. Then they relax. "But...look, trusting someone and putting myself forward and...you know, actively caring is pretty embarrassing if it's not returned."
[Wharil Choc]
For a long while he's silent as he lets that thought settle in. Wharil lets the sound of his breathing take the place of an 'I see' or 'I understand'.
"Rene tells me you're going to help her with her...block."
He says the last word the way some people might say they're getting help with pink elephants.
"Did you offer or did she?"
[Ashley McGowen]
Ashley, too, lets silence fill that space. Watching the coffee table, the muscles in her jaw getting tighter and tighter. Then he talks about something she'd meant to bring up anyway, and she lets him change the topic, almost grateful that he has.
"She told me it was there and said that I could help with the Ars Mentis. So I offered to see if I could remove it."
[Wharil Choc]
"Has she let you try yet?"
[Ashley McGowen]
"No. She asked me Friday afternoon, and then she said she had an appointment." A glance sidelong toward him. "I didn't realize 'an appointment' meant 'I have to go and shoot Dylan Willis in the back' in this particular case. Turned out she had places to be, though, so we agreed to meet up later."
[Wharil Choc]
"She didn't shoot him in the back." He says, a slight smirk betrays the humor there. One that he swallows quickly.
"Rene's...complicated. There are things that she's not comfortable sharing and I'm pretty sure that those things are at the core of her block. She could get...well, lets just say she's very sensitive about it."
Yes. Rene. Sensitive. Believe it.
"I'd like to be there when you guys give it a shot. If that's alright."
[Ashley McGowen]
"Sure," Ashley says, with a single nod to back up her assent. Her fingertips are back together, tense and lightly springing back and forth.
"I'll be careful. I'm actually sort of good with this stuff, believe it or not. As long as she's willing to work with me."
[Wharil Choc]
"Great."
And again there's silence. It was a sure sign that the conversation would be swinging once again.
"I owe you an apology. I should have been completely truthful with you. If I'd let you know instead of leave you out trying to keep you away then..."
Another sigh, and that leg starts up again.
"I could have shot you, y'know? You and Gregor both. If I'd been off by...by just a little...."
[Ashley McGowen]
"Yeah, well. Bad things happen." She leans back in her chair now, settling her shoulders against the back of the seat (her head does not reach over the top) and letting her chin rest against the ball of her thumb. She's staring off, back toward the hallway.
But after a few seconds her eyes flick in his direction again. "I appreciate the apology, though. Thanks."
[Wharil Choc]
"I was thinking that night...Or maybe it was the next morning. I don't know, it was still dark. But I woke up and I thought...this is camoutha. A turning point. Nothing would be the same after this.
"I don't suppose we will be either. But...are we at least...alright?"
[Ashley McGowen]
He asks if they're all right, and the look she shoots him is a little difficult to read. Not quite blank, but, perhaps, shifting too rapidly to follow. Too brief. "Yeah," she says at last. "We're all right. I'd just doubted, I guess. Feel like I make you nervous, in a bad way you know, and then all of that just sort of..."
She shrugs, glancing sidelong at him again. Seeking understanding, or perhaps just questioning as it often is.
[Wharil Choc]
A slow smile spreads over Wharil's face.
"Ashley...everything makes me nervous. That's my job too."
And then he makes that face again. That concerned, nervous face. That 'I'm about to say something i shouldn't' face.
"I was sent here. To Chicago. Sent by superiors. Only, I wasn't told what I was supposed to do after I got here. Just that someone would be in touch. So far no one has. But...I was sent here. There's a reason behind it, even if I don't know what it is.
"I tell you this to say...there are gonna be some things that I just can't tell you. And most of the things I do tell you can't be repeated. I told you Rene is oathbound. No one else is supposed to know that, but you know it. Now. And hopefully it'll help you understand her a bit better.
"So you see I do trust you, Ashley. Where it counts. I guess we just disagree on what counts and what doesn't."
[Ashley McGowen]
"I understand," she tells him, and she does, after a brief moment where her eyebrows furrow together and her palms tense against each other. "There are going to be things I can't tell you either. Suppose it's just the way things go, between Traditions. I'm just not...used to dealing with it, that's all. I don't like it when I can't be up front about things."
Another sidelong look in his direction. Gauging, weighing, measuring. "So I'm going to be...well. I was...hoping to get more out of this than the cabal, though I'm glad to have it. Things are just complicated, especially with two Traditions, and that's even if..." She waves a hand, glancing away momentarily and pressing her jaw into the ball of her thumb. Then a second glance. "I just don't like it being there unaddressed."
[Wharil Choc]
"That's fine. No. That's...excellent. A good policy to have."
For a moment he looked like he was leaning forward, ready to take his leave. Then he rolls back again.
"Um...What about Gregor? What do you think he'll...what do you think he'll think about all this?"
[Ashley McGowen]
"I have no idea. We should talk to him, though," Ashley says, letting out a sigh and giving him another long sidelong glance. Still trying to gauge, looking for words. "I think he'd get a lot out of it if we both talked with him about what happened. I mean...I know he's competent and I'm willing to work with him, but I don't actually know him very well."
[Wharil Choc]
"Right." He says, standing finally.
"Right. Well, I gotta get back. Umm...Thanks for calling. Sorry I was...weird."
[Ashley McGowen]
"It's all right," she tells him, getting back to her feet so she can see him to the door. She stands in front of him for a second or two, glances toward the door, and then up at him. "I'm glad we had a chance to talk about this."
Then, after a second, "Wharil, look. Are you and Rene...?"
[Wharil Choc]
"Are we..."
He had some idea of where she was actually headed with that one, but preferred to hear it from her.
[Ashley McGowen]
She pauses here, looking for words. Ashley, once upon a time, was a musician - perhaps it's why she finds herself occasionally robbed of a means to communicate appropriately. "Are you seeing each other. Just between...the way you're trying to get me to understand her and the fact that she was worried about distressing you with the mental block...I'd wondered."
[Wharil Choc]
"She was...she was worried about me?"
He sounds honestly surprised by this, and it sets his wheels turning. And the corners of his mouth turning slightly upward.
"Uhm...We're...She can be misunderstood. Really easily actually. But she's been through a lot. Its easy to dismiss her as psychopathic if you didn't consider that she's actually just...traumatized. Sort of."
His lips purse together and he glances to the floor. To his shoes. To Ashley's bare feet.
"But that's sort of skirting the question, isn't it. The truth is, I honestly don't know what our relationship is. But we're close."
[Ashley McGowen]
"Well." Her mouth quirks into a smirk as she thinks back on what Rene actually said, the tone it was said in. "I'm not sure 'worried' is the right word. But I asked if she had anything helpful to tell me and she said that it made learning the Ars Mentis difficult, and that it 'distressed' you. Her words."
He says they're close, and she looks at him for a few seconds, turning this over. "All right," is what she says at last. Silence. Then, "When do you want to get a hold of Gregor? Tomorrow?"
[Wharil Choc]
"Tomorrow's fine. The sooner the better. And once we're decided on what we're doing...we need to gather everyone. Everyone we can."
[Ashley McGowen]
"I'll call you tomorrow then. And...I've been getting a lot of numbers lately. Between us we should be able to get just about everyone in the city for that."
[Wharil Choc]
"Good to know. I'll see you tomorrow then. Thanks again, Ashley. And take care."
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