milliways_bar | (no subject)

"One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. Ramon Salazar; terrorist and murderer, the temperature in Ottawa is 16 degrees in the shade, Roy; another victim of AIDS and abusive relationships, and all the lyrics to the latest Dixie Chix hit."

He shrugs.

"Weird things, on and off, like remembering a dream. If I'm not looking to know."

He smiles a little. 'I'm not much of a terrorist Random. Can't help what my business associates do when they're not dealing with me. I'm just running the family business, that's all.' He doesn't mention the arms dealing, or the fact that he knows a fair amount of his weapons end up in the hands of child soldiers in war-torn African countries, or sometimes Asia. Doesn't mention the people his men teach to build bombs or the money he takes for hiding certain people sometimes.

He thiks he probably doesn't have to. Besides, he really is sorry for it at the moment. He drinks some more. About eleven hours left...

'So, you met Roy did you? And I thought he knew better than to talk to people about me.' His tone is dry. He doesn't like thinking about Roy at the moment.

Mentioning it would be a waste of energy.

"I didn't give him much of a choice, I think."

He nods.

"Silly thing. But rather sweet. You have my word that your name came up in our conversation only in my instructions to him to tell you everything I'd said, should you ask."

He arches an eyebrow.

"And should you find that insufficient, I can always wipe his mind after we speak. Then you won't even know that about it."

'And I thought Roy had enough problems with people forcing themselves on him.'

He looks at Random levelly. 'So you went to find him - and now, saying this, you know that I'll go and talk to him.' But not until I'm free again. 'Aren't you worried that you're going to get him hurt even worse?'

He picks up the bottle and drinks straight from it. 'You don't need to wipe his mind. If you told him to tell me, he will.'

"I like him. And a small geiss to not think of me while he is in your presence will do him less harm than it does you. I merely make this offer because I would rather not have our meetings be clandestine."

He shrugs, and his eyes flash.

"Nor would I have my actions cause him any more pain. You've done enough of that for the both of us, it seems."

He snorts. 'You can talk to him whenever you want. It's not like I can stop him talking to everyone in the bar. And I don't care who he talks to anyway - he knows nothing about me and I don't ask him to get any information.' He pulls a one-shoulder shrug. 'As for pain - he likes it.'

...but he doesn't like the humilitation...doesn't like that you don't give him a choice... He swallows at the knowledge, and takes a deep breath, trying to drown out Roy's suffering at his hands.

Random rolls his eyes at that.

"Something tells me you're already feeling my only answer to that rediculuos claim yourself."

He cocks his head at Ramon, lips twisting in amusement.

"And you haven't long to wait. I was beginning to doubt your sanity would survive this lesson intact, however it seems you will pull through after all."

Well, he cant deny that so he just gives a resigned smile. 'I thought we were talking about physical pain.' He shrugs.

'Of course I'll pull through Random - you don't know me that well if you think this would drive me mad. I admit that it hurts, its worse than physical torture...but you have to be a strong person to do the things that are now causing me this pain. It would be more strange if it turned out I wasn't strong enough to face my actions, wouldn't it?' He pulls a face. 'Of course, dealing with everything all at once is...interesting, to say the least.'

It's strange to be able to talk about it, but he's kind of glad that Random knows already. There's no pain involved with him.

"I've caused pain and felt pain. I've tortured before and been tortured for years at a time."

He stares levelly at Ramon.

"I know that there's a kind of personality who's perfectly willing to strike a man with a whip when he's tied to a bed, but should that man be on his feet, he'd be surrendering his weapon before you could say 'Fucking Coward.'"

And the snort is really derisive this time, even though he's trying not to get angry.

'You should never make the mistake of thinking me a coward Random. That would be stupid of you. Beyond stupid. You think I haven't been on the other side of the table when it comes to pain?' He taps his head to indicate his surrent state. 'You think I would have asked for this if I was scared?' He glares into the green eyes. 'I think you need to get a new set of cards. If that's what your current set told you, they must be faulty.'

A smirk crosses his face.

"Interesting that I display a garment, and you assume it's cut to your fit."

His expression sobers.

"Though I said nothing to indicate I thought such a thing of you, Ramon. I do not like you, nor do I respect you. But I'm not blind. No coward would have kept his sanity thus far."

He was talking about Roy? He may be cursed with empathy at the moment, but that didn't stop him being self-centred. Still, he stares. 'Well, obviously Roy's a coward Random.'

He's not surprised that Random doesn't like or respect him and it doesn't bother him any more than it would have a couple of days ago. But he's glad that he's thought weak all the same.

"Not Roy."

He shakes his head.

"He's considerably braver, in the human sense of the word, than you are."

It's not clear what he thinks of this particular fact. Perhaps most evident is a wry amusement.

[OOC: Soory for delay, got visited by mother, ick!]

'I dont understand what you're getting at Random. He's braver than me because you think he's more human?'

And then...well OK, he could sort of understand. Because now he knew, in a way he hadn't before, that there were some emotions he didn't feel - and he was still glad of it.

"Bravery is to feel fear and comfront it."

He nods, mostly to himself.

"It's your choice what you think of him, I suppose. But I like him."

An arched eyebrow.

"And respect him."

'Well, I know he's afraid of me. I don't know that he's ever confronted me.' He had though, the last time they saw each other. And I beat the crap out of him for it eventually...

He toys with his glass a little. 'He's alright I suppose. Inoffensive most of the time. I don't see what there is about him to be respected but then, I can't read minds. Or the future.'

"I don't need to read either, with you two."

He snorts.

"You're easy. If I'd been that open when I was your age, I'd have been knocked off just to keep me out of succession for the throne."

His eyes narrow instantly, and he has to remind himself what Arithon told him about anger. And it also comes to mind that anger is stupid, because...well, Random is clearly not human. He has advantages, and age on his side. But still.

'Open to you maybe, but you're not like me. People I deal with don't find me as easy. And if you want to respect Roy for no reason, thats your business.' Keeping calm is killing him and he's more desperate than ever for this to be over.

He raises an eyebrow? 'Throne?'

"Prince Random danOberon."

He cocks his head.

"And you're right. I'm not like you."

A prince. So he's not a God then...thats interesting.

'No, you seem to think you're better than me. But its all just a matter of perspective Random.' He frowns. 'DanOberon? Almost like the Fairy King.' He smirks and says dryly, 'How apt.'

"Unless perhaps it is the fairy king?"

He gives Ramon a look that tells him he's being an idiot.

"What? The strange little man with pointed ears and magic tricks a relative of Oberon? With the Celtic word for 'son' (being 'dan') tacked onto the front of his name? Good Lord. What a coincidence."

Not quite a God.

'I'm not Celtic Random, in case you hadn't noticed,' is the dry response. He's intruiged though, because he's only heard of Oberon through the Shakespeare play, and didn't know he had any sons.

'Son of the Fairy King then. Well, I suppose it explains the cards and the age.' He wonders whether fairies are immortal or not. Simply not dying is not the same as being immune to death. And wasn't there something about iron...?

'Is your father here too?'

"Would I tell you if he was?"

He mutters something along the lines of 'Is cuirfidh siad ruaig ar Ghallaibh. A bhuÃ le RÃ na bhFeart go bhfeiceann.'

And smirks.

"And it explains more than that, if you look closer than the fairytale of 'This weak and idle theme, no more yeilding than a dream.'"

Not if you're going to get him to protect your little friends...

'Well, I'm afraid it's been about forty years since I came across the fairytale Random, and I certainly didn't care to look any further into it. So why don't you just enlighten me?'

He simply ignores the Gaelic. As far as he's aware, not even Celtic people speak it much anymore, so he doesn't feel bad for not understanding.

"I think that'd be making things a little too easy."

He folds his arms across his chest, and raises an eyebrow.

"Go enlighten yourself."

It's amazing how dirty he manages to make that sound.