Shenanigans!

[phaselocknroll]

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[phaselocknroll]

[ She puts her hands on his shoulders, pressing their foreheads together. Her tattoos flair to life as she pours magic into their connection- it's something of a strenuous process, and her brow furrows in concentration.

After a few moments she gives one final push, one final surge of power, and then she remembers. The scene plays back in her mind's eye- hiding behind the tree, confused and weak and oddly frightened. And then Peter.

Peter with lines flowing across his skin, Peter with inhuman sounds coming out of his throat. Peter wielding hellfire and dark magic, and killing the bandits quickly, messily, one by one.

Peter staring at her, eyes dark as night and without even a hint of recognition.

She remembers being scared, as he pinned her to the tree and blocked her airway. But mostly she remembers knowing that even if he kills her, that she owes it to him to not let him loose like this. Knowing that if she did, he would never forgive her.

He doesn't kill her, though, and in the moment she doesn't know why. But it gives her the opportunity to slip the silver chain over his head.

That's where it ends, and she pulls away ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ It's weird, to say the least, to watch himself through eyes that aren't his, even weirder to see his own body acting in a way wholly unlike himself.

He keeps thinking, That's not me, as he watches himself kill those men, tearing and charging and destroying them where they stand.

And the memory ends with him nearly killing her, and even if he knows how it ends, he can hear himself thinking, no, please, not her, and it seems to stay his other self's hand.

He's a shade paler when she pulls away, lips slightly parted as he takes deep breaths to steady himself. He didn't know what to expect, but that certainly wasn't it.

After a few seconds, he thinks he should probably say something. So, with more levity than he feels, he says, ]

... So. That was sort of terrifying.

[phaselocknroll]

But at least now you know.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ A nod is the only response he has to that for a little while. But then he asks slowly, ] If it happens again-- you'd stop me, right?

[phaselocknroll]

[ She gives him a very long look in response ]

... Are you asking me to kill you?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He tries for a smile. ] Ideally, no? But if the pendant breaks, or it gets lost, or if it's taken...

[ There are a lot of "ifs" in his head, now, snuggled up alongside that blank patch of memory. There's a lot to think about. ]

[phaselocknroll]

That's a lot of "ifs", Peter. I would prefer we guarded against them.

[nostalgiabomb]

Only defense we have is this-- [ And he holds out the pendant in his palm. ] -- and it's not very much at all.

[phaselocknroll]

So we strengthen it. Fins someone to enchant it make it harder to break, or even find a way to put the spell on you directly, if that's what you want.

[nostalgiabomb]

Dunno if you remember, but we're kind of trying to lay low. It'd be kind of suspicious to go up to an enchanter and ask, "Hey, no big deal or anything, but you got anything that can suppress demon natures?"

[phaselocknroll]

I realize I've made it sound simpler than it is, but they're options to consider.

[nostalgiabomb]

Yeah. Just, you know. Guess I'd feel better if we had a fallback plan.

[phaselocknroll]

I know. [ she sighs. She's not upset, really. The situation is complicated, and they've yet to really scratch the surface.

She does hope, though, that if something should happen, their connection might be enough to keep him grounded until she can get the pendant back in contact with him.

She also hopes that she won't have to find out any time soon. ]

For the moment, though, I think we're fine staying in here until tomorrow, but we never made it to town. Food should probably be a priority soon.

[nostalgiabomb]

Shit. [ He scrubs his face with hand. ] Sorry.

[ His fault again for making them lag behind -- he holds back another nursemaid comment (she didn't seem to appreciate it last time) in favor of chewing on the inside of his cheek. As an afterthought, he slips the pendant back over his head, tucks it under his shirt.

He'll have to be careful with it from now on, but it's definitely never leaving his person if he can help it. ]

Wait for the rain to die down and head back to town tomorrow, then?

[phaselocknroll]

[ She can feel a twinge of guilt from him, and she frowns ] Stop. It's not your fault.

We're quite a ways away, but I suppose we could.

[nostalgiabomb]

Well, it'll be rough going in the mountains if we don't have the supplies for it. We could try to tough it out without it, I suppose.

[phaselocknroll]

We could see if the previous owners of this place left anything around and go from there.

We'd lose a lot of ground doubling back.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He glances around at the room, at the fine layer of dust coating everything, and he can't help a slightly dubious look. ]

Guess it's a good thing only one of us really has to eat.

[phaselocknroll]

You say that as though there's not still game to be found.

[nostalgiabomb]

But that requires work.

[ At least he hasn't completely lost his sense of humor today. ]

[phaselocknroll]

You poor thing. I can carry you up the mountain if you want.

[nostalgiabomb]

Pretty sure you've carried my ass enough lately. Not that I don't appreciate it, but I'm pretty sure these past few days are going to leave a serious dent on my self-worth.

[phaselocknroll]

[ She plants a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth ] You know I'll carry you whenever you need it.

In the literal and the metaphorical sense.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He smiles as she pulls away. This is-- new. Good new. It's weird knowing he has someone he can trust. ]

Yeah, I know. More than happy to let you be the brawn in this relationship. And the brains. And the beauty.

I guess I'll be moral and emotional support or something.

[phaselocknroll]

Goodness me, that's an awful lot of pressure. I hope I can measure up to your expectations.