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[weaponwithoutpurpose]

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[weaponwithoutpurpose]

"It matters to me, Alexei," he says softly, staring at the screen.

[reargunner]

"And what difference does that make?"

A brief glance sideways.

"This place actually got me fooled. Like a fucking idiot. And now there's just too many ways to stick another knife in."

[handleyourshit]

"Yours, and you can tell me to sit down and shut up if you want," she informs him, knowing that even though she means it - she would sit down and shut up - he won't.

She sets instead to unplugging lights as asked, and then comes back over to drop down beside Jacob on the deck.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

He chuckles because she's right - both in her words and her thoughts. The last thing he wants is for her to sit down and shut up.

The lights go out and Jacob stays where he is, watching the shadows from the faint light of the moon and stars. There are fish attracted to the bait that they set out; Jacob can hear them under the surface. He tenses a little in anticipation and grins at Rosita in the darkness.

"Do that spark again," he tells Astarion softly. "Or flame. It might be just enough light to catch a glimpse of what's down there."

[sixfeetofdirt]

Astarion nods, crouches down and casts the spell, a ball of flame appearing over the palm of his hand in preparation to be thrown. He just lets it hover, the light not bright enough to spook the fish but enough to make clearer some of the shapes moving around beneath the water's surface.

Despite himself, he finds himself sharing in Jacob's anticipation of action to come.

After Astarion's graduation/disappearance

[madaboutit]

Hey

Saw that your man popped off for a bit.

You doing ok?

Text

[handleyourshit]

[Immediately after she sees this post.]

Anduin says Astarion graduated and is gone. I'm making him search with me, top down.

Take Mae and go bottom up?

[She'll accept this possibility when she's ruled out just plain fuckery of the Admiral and the other Barge passengers.]

Re: Text

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Fuck.

On it.

His door still there?

Re: After Astarion's graduation/disappearance

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Ro has me scouring the ship.

Least it's something to do.

I'm alright, just trying to keep her from doing something Stupid.

Re: Text

[handleyourshit]

It is. There's a shower.

I just don't trust the people on this ship, Jacob.

Re: Text

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

I know honey.

I'm already on level 8. I'll meet you in the middle.

Re: Text

[handleyourshit]

Got it.

We can talk next steps once we know he's gone.

Re: Text

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Send me updates on each level and I'll do the same.

That way we can track progress.

Re: Text

[handleyourshit]

[She does. And level by level it becomes more obvious: Astarion isn't here.

Her last text she sends from the same level as Jacob, just fore to his aft.]

Fuck.

Re: Text

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

[He doesn't respond. He just crosses the corridor and reaches out to take her into his arms.]

Hey.

~~~> Spam ]

[handleyourshit]

She's tense and unhappy and coiled like a spring ready to let loose. Not so long ago in Barge time, she would have shredded him - or anyone - for touching her.

She's still all of those things but she leans into him, instead. She lets him collect her close as she stares down the hall.

"Did he say anything to you?" she asks, her voice even, her dark eyes troubled.

Re: ~~~> Spam ]

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

He holds her against him. He would have let her shred him because he knows this feeling all too well. He knows the depth of the grief and the worry and the pain and the sickness of it all. He knows and he hates it.

His fingers tremble slightly, the only indication of his stress.

"Not about this," he says softly. "But neither did you."

[ Spam ]

[handleyourshit]

She flinches.

"I didn't have a choice." It's not blame she places at Astarion's feet for this - indeed, she's proud he managed to find his way - but she needs to cover bases, needs to check boxes so she knows what to do next.

"He didn't talk much to me about his home. Where was he at last you knew?"

Re: [ Spam ]

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

He just pulls back and looks down at her, shaking his head. It had been Cazador that killed him. Cazador that was his demise.

Fucking Cazador.

"Don't- " he warns her gently.

Re: [ Spam ]

[handleyourshit]

"We can't just leave him to it," she counters, immediately.

She's still terrified of Cazador, but she can finally say his name. She can shoot him in the fucking face.

"If he - if he forgets us. We can't just let that asshole have him."

Re: [ Spam ]

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

"I'm not saying that," he says firmly. They're both wardens. They can go if they want. "But we don't know nearly enough to be effective in his world. We've got Gale here, we can talk to him if he's gone for a while. Maybe you can learn some more spells. Something to not get your ass handed to you as soon as you get there."

Re: [ Spam ]

[handleyourshit]

"Jacob, every power tripping punk I've ever met in my life has thought they could hand my ass to me, but I'm still here. You think I can't figure it out faster than I could figure out magic?"

She knows he's right. She knows that this driving need to go find him right now is tied to her own world, not his. But she can't just turn it off either.

"I just got him back, Jacob. I just -"

Re: [ Spam ]

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

"You think I want to lose him?" he responds, voice low but firm. "You think I want to lose you? Just - think a minute on it, alright? You don't know where he is or what you're going into. You don't know what that place looks like. What if you get there and you get turned around? Honey, I know what you're thinking, but don't start having half-assed ideas yet. You want to go and get him, fine. But we're going to do it together and we're going to be smart about it."

Re: [ Spam ]

[handleyourshit]

She's stubborn and more than that she's learned how capable she really is over the years - she'd go, right now, if it were just her. But it's not just her, is it? Jacob is here, asking her to stop. And she's not living just for herself now in more than one way.

A muscle in her jaw jumps, unhappy. No, furious. But he's asking her to think on it and she owes him that much.

"What am I thinking, then?"

Re: [ Spam ]

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

"Going after him," he says firmly and cups her cheek. "But we are gonna go talk to Gale. We are gonna bring up something in the Enclosure. We are gonna be smart about this because if we go there and he loses you or he loses me..."

He shakes his head.