holocast | Inbox - Prismatica

[Hmm. Best not to mention he was including his own experiences in that hypothesis, particularly after that outburst of his....]

I suppose you're right. But aren't the wild theories based on little evidence an important part of science? We have to think outside the box, Lysandre. You never know when you might stumble upon a worthwhile lead!

Besides, it keeps me busy.

I'm sure it does.

In the meantime, I'm fairly sure we're owed some time with the goats, from what I recall.

Oh, we most certainly are. I'll meet you there.

[Sycamore has already made himself comfortable with a goat or two, by the time Lysandre gets there; he'd been texting whilst in the groves, so it hadn't taken him very long to relocate to the small farm area where their favourite animals are kept. Call it his intuition at work.

The lab coat has been (wisely) left at his apartment; today, he's wearing his usual dark jeans and a similarly dark jumper, stylishly tucked into the front of his belt, Kalosian style. The jumper looks innocent enough, but if you get closer, you might notice that it's covered in sequins.

...look, they're keeping the goats from eating it and he also blends in with the locals. Don't judge!]

I was planning on buying us takeaway coffees and having them ready, but I didn't want to risk upsetting you. I know you like to treat me.

[Have a wink. He's missed you.]

[...He's judging the sequins so hard, Augustine, good fucking lord.]

For the best, really. We did agree that I would be buying.

[You know how he gets...]

[Oh, he knows how you get. He's always been vaguely concerned that if he dared to buy you coffee, you'd buy him a coffee shop just to make a point.]

I believe I conceded that you would be buying, but I suppose the conclusion is the same.

[Come sit with him and his sequins. You might like them up close!]

[He'll come over, but he isn't going to like the sequins. However, he does like the goats.]

A concession is still an agreement, in the end. The circumstances have little bearing on the end result.

[...Business has kind of always been his thing, okay.]

[Yeah, he noticed. You drive a hard deal.

Fortunately, unlike that episode in Lysandre's apartment, Sycamore is amused rather than...

...how he was in the apartment.]

I'm coming to realise that you're extremely hard to win an argument against, you know.

[Brand new information, etc.]

So I've been told. People have always tended to rather like and yet completely dislike doing business with me.

[He shrugs a bit, however.]

Fortunately, I'm not interested in genuine arguments with you.

...I know you aren't.

[He'll fall silent for a moment, focusing rather intently on the goat that currently has his attention (it's got cute spots, alright, can you blame him?). It's not so much that he doesn't know what to say - he knows exactly what he wants to say - it's just the. the words, and putting them in an order that makes sense and feels right.]

It's part of why I wanted to...

[...sigh.]

Part of why I wanted to apologise to you. About the way I behaved during Sanguis and the...things, I said.

...If anything, I'm sure I owe you the apology. It's fine, mon ami.

[It seems...fairly straightforward on his end, honestly?]

...no, you don't.

[Cute goat, cute goat...

...oh hell, he's just going to run his fingers through his hair and get it out.]

I've had a bit of time to think about what happened. You remember that description I gave you earlier of Sanguis? Where it's angry and loud and wild? That's what I came over expecting from you, what I'd prepared myself for. So when you were....not acting like that, I let my guard down, and....

[...said...those things, that he would prefer not to repeat because god, how embarrassing-]

Well, you have the excuse of the moonblessing, but I have nothing. So please, Lysandre...I'm sorry. I'll try to behave a bit better during the triple moon, and the Sanguis cycles that come around again.

You let your guard down and you...what? Said things that I more or less coerced you into saying? Whether I have an excuse or not hardly matters.

Sanguis is an excuse, mon ami. At least, to me.

[Before we get into a debate about this-]

...I don't suppose you've done what I asked, and forgotten what I said?

Of course I haven't. I'm not sure how you could expect me to.

[Great, just what he thought! Then we will never speak of it again. Look at all these goats, Lysandre-]

...I think that one is particularly fond of you.

[GOATS.]

[Yes, yes, he knows, and he'll pat the damn goat, and this is just- ]

...I meant what I said, you know. About not thinking less of you.

[...don't do that, he's never going to look up from the goat at this rate-]

I know, I'm just...I don't...

[......]

...there are some things I would prefer to keep to myself, and Iris drags them to the surface and intensifies them infinitely. That's all. But it's fine, Lysandre, really.

[He knows. But still...]

...I think there are some things we need to discuss. About...what happened, and how you're handling it. I'm not about to criticize how you choose to manage such things, but I know better than to think that it's something you're taking well.

...I'm not taking it well, no.

[Hang on, just let him grab this little goat and put it on his lap, so he has something to keep his hands occupied.]

But I want to make it clear that having you here helps. A lot.

[....oh, wait, hang on, dammit-]

-I'm doing it, aren't I, making you being here all about me - I'm sorry. That's...it's not what I meant.

I understand what you meant.

[It's okay, Augustine, for god's sake. Breathe.]

You know it's important to me to help people. If my presence here helps you, then I won't argue it, though I'm still not sure why it would. Seeking closure would be one thing, but all of this is something else entirely.

[Sycamore is content to pat his goat for a moment, running his fingers down its back. That's...quite a statement, isn't it? But it's a fair one.

....

...this is a lot more than just closure.]

...you mean too much to me for me to just...

[...words. Why are the words always so difficult-]

...to just forget everything, after what happened. Perhaps I'm a fool, I don't know. But I love having you here and I love spending time with you again and...

[...alright, that's enough, time for...more goat pats.]

...I heard all of the messages you left for me.

[It's said evenly, calmly, but unlike during Sanguis, there's no undercurrent of aggression. It simply is.]

It took some time before I could listen to them. But eventually I did.

[...oh. Well. That...was a surprise, and Sycamore will look shocked for a moment, before-]

I honestly can't remember how many I left you.

[Just a statement of fact, nothing more. There were...many, many attempts to get in contact, that day.

...]

...what did you think, after you listened to them?

...I'm not surprised to know that you tried as hard as you did. You said more or less what I would have thought.

[It isn't answering the question, but...]

Nothing that happened was your fault, you know.

[Mhmm, he noticed you avoided answering that one, though he can't say he's too surprised.]

I know, mon ami. You've made that quite clear. Emotions just don't tend to be rational, that's all, despite my best efforts.

[And that's without Iris making everything hellish...]

Can I ask you a question? It's....probably not going to be an easy one, but I want to know if I've got the right answer.

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