Ness takes in all this information quickly—Gwenaëlle is Fond of Stephen, capital F, Julius is a "beloved blonde" (one of how many??) to the Commander of Forces, Templars not as universally cool as she had hoped—none of it is a surprise, necessarily, especially not that last part. It is the first time she's had opportunity to ask about a lot of it, though, and the urge to chase after answers like a dog after a bone is strong indeed. Still, being strategic and keeping herself safe does come first.
Julius, then.
"I actually think, if memory serves," (it does,) "that I did tell him I was afraid of that when I first met him. The circumstances were about as stellar is this, though a little less dire, and I said I'd read about what was done to mages who couldn't control their magic."
That feels like a lifetime ago, though it was only a few weeks. Ness still hasn't shaken the fear, truth be told, though the magebane has abated it somewhat. The random bursts of telepathy do their damnedest to bring it right back.
"It just seems like such a risk to take, trusting a native with this specifically. It's not real, you know," blood magic, "but it's similar. It'd be close enough for someone who didn't care about the differences." Her mind makes the connection before Gwenaëlle can do it for her—"Better to make the choice, though, than to have it happen on accident, like now."
no subject
Oh, wow, there's a lot to unpack here.
Ness takes in all this information quickly—Gwenaëlle is Fond of Stephen, capital F, Julius is a "beloved blonde" (one of how many??) to the Commander of Forces, Templars not as universally cool as she had hoped—none of it is a surprise, necessarily, especially not that last part. It is the first time she's had opportunity to ask about a lot of it, though, and the urge to chase after answers like a dog after a bone is strong indeed. Still, being strategic and keeping herself safe does come first.
Julius, then.
"I actually think, if memory serves," (it does,) "that I did tell him I was afraid of that when I first met him. The circumstances were about as stellar is this, though a little less dire, and I said I'd read about what was done to mages who couldn't control their magic."
That feels like a lifetime ago, though it was only a few weeks. Ness still hasn't shaken the fear, truth be told, though the magebane has abated it somewhat. The random bursts of telepathy do their damnedest to bring it right back.
"It just seems like such a risk to take, trusting a native with this specifically. It's not real, you know," blood magic, "but it's similar. It'd be close enough for someone who didn't care about the differences." Her mind makes the connection before Gwenaëlle can do it for her—"Better to make the choice, though, than to have it happen on accident, like now."