RYSLIG IC INBOX

[sharpiewielder]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, CROSS. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 018.09.124.66 *** CROSS has joined 018.09.124.66 <CROSS>howdy howdy howdy <CROSS>ya boi is afk atm but ill be sure to hit you up when i get this!

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[sharpiewielder]

[He lets his head loll to the side so he can meet offering a crooked, apologetic smile.]

I don't think you're mean. Like, even a little bit. Sure, you're kind of a tease, but like. That's just how you are!

[And then he realizes what he's said.]

I meant-- uh. You like to tease folks, you know? And some people just don't take teasin' real well.

[missleadingquestions]

You sure have a way with words, don't you, Mr. Cross?

[She can't stop herself from, well— teasing. And that makes her shake her head, holding her hands up again as if she wasn't already too late to stop herself...]

Nonononono, I mean— I can Definitely take this seriously!

And you're not mean! You're really nice. I know we just confused Merlin! But—

[She puts her hand to her chin thoughtfully, crossing the other one over her chest.]

I keep thinking about, right before then? Merlin got kind of drunk when he was all dog-butt and ears.

And... he was really upset about the way I talked to him. Before that, some time before you got here... I made my friend Riley feel like I didn't take her seriously, too, and it really hurt her feelings.

And then Trish... She's really a good girl! She's kind of scary, but it's just that mega-cool-girl attitude! Like, you know, a popular girl on TV?

[Why is that the descriptor...?]

She acted like she had no idea she was being mean, you know?

So maybe... I'm missing something.

[sharpiewielder]

Yeah, I uh... I know those types and-- [He shrugs a little, the corners of his mouth tugging downward as if he has a bad taste in his mouth. It's brief, but it was there.]

-- cool people can sometimes come across... cold, y'know? And that looks mean to a lotta folks. But I don't think even think you're cold.

You're just... [He gestures with one hand, as if summoning the word he's looking for from the air.] ...honest! And not even like brutally honest, just. Blunt! There's nothing wrong with that.

And I mean, you're not being blunt for the sake of hurting anybody, right?

[missleadingquestions]

No! Of course not!

It's— I'm— funny! It's fun!

[Adamant, she asks—]

I don't make you feel bad, do I?!

[sharpiewielder]

[Struggling to keep himself from laughing.]

Well, yeah, you're hilarious! But nah, you don't make me feel bad.

[He didn't mean to put that emphasis there, so now he's going to push right past it to another question and hope she doesn't notice.]

For real, some people just... have a different sense of humor, I guess. What, uh. What'd you say to Merlin that got his roots in a knot?

[missleadingquestions]

[She does tilt her head at that first bit, but when he pushes past it she's distracted by the question. Bringing her hand back to her cheek, she looks away from Hanna, deep in thought.]

Well.. that's the thing. I wasn't even trying to tease him.

I asked him about his world, and what he'd been through, right? And I got kind of excited that he knew about witches and stuff, cos I met some too! He wasn't really happy about it though, and... when I asked if something bad had happened to his wife because of a witch, he snapped at me.

..He asked me if I thought it was funny, and... kind of acted like I'm just helping him out to be charitable.

[She does look a little down about it, but it's not just Merlin that's on her mind. Riley, Trish, Giorno— she has no idea what to make of it, nor of what could have happened in their lives to influence how they feel about her.]

I mean, I think he feels better about it now. But... I don't want to make people think I don't like them.

[sharpiewielder]

...is that all?

I mean-- I wasn't there, so I guess I can't really say but... I dunno! Maybe he's just sensitive about his wife right now. Which, is, like... totally fair, considering they got separated like a day after they got married. I get why it's a touchy subject.

[He sighs and scoots down the bed a bit to lay flat on his back, folding his hands behind his head and closing his eyes.]

Merlie's-- He's... eh. He's a specific kinda guy. He doesn't strike me as someone who's used to "charity" being sincere coming from anybody. He's a prince. Royalty doesn't need charity, yanno?

1/2

[missleadingquestions]

[Maya sighs, still in that thoughtful pose, and turns her head even more thoughtfully into it.]

I guess I just don't understand the lives of big-living Royalty...

[That makes sense though, there's so many people that just have different lives...

...]

2/2

[missleadingquestions]

—Wait, Merlin told you about Snow, first??

1/2

[sharpiewielder]

--Huh?

[Oh, fuck. That's right. He didn't have that conversation with them, but he certainly heard it. He can hear everything in the house thanks to his horse ears. Of course he could hear them very well when he was literally in the next room but that's neither here nor there.]

2/2

[sharpiewielder]

[But he can't lie when part of the lie literally lives in the house. Plus, he doesn't really want Merlin to know that he knows! If he wanted Hanna to know, he'd have told him by now. But now he has to figure out how to get him to tell him before Maya tells him he knows!

Shit shit shit.]

Uuuuh, well. Nnnno, actually. But I-- I kinda overheard you two talking about it the other day. Iiiii can pretty much hear... everything. Around here. SorryIdidn'ttellyouearlier...

[Well, it's not a lie.]

1/2

[missleadingquestions]

Oh!

2/2

[missleadingquestions]

Oh! I knew that!!

Kelpies can hear super well!

[How could she forget? Makoto and Sonia were so close to her!

...Disaster avoided, it seems.]

So then, you heard his wife is from a fairy tale!

[sharpiewielder]

[Holy shit it worked.]

Yeah, I did. Wild, right? I guess I never thought about wizards being just from fairy tales. They're a pretty real thing back in my world too, so.

[He chuckles, sitting up on his elbows.]

But she's Snow White, yeah? That's so cool.

[missleadingquestions]

I gotta admit, it's pretty cute.

[And she's not even one for love stories.]

...but it's really sad, too.

Poor guy.

[sharpiewielder]

Yeah, completely adorable. Which does makes it hella sad. Like I said, I get why he's sensitive about it.

Plus he's... super new. And had a dog butt for a little while. And then was suddenly a plant! Things have been rough for him, so I can see why his petals are a bit delicate at the mo', yanno?

[missleadingquestions]

Yeah... Maybe I should just be a little more gentle. Flowers are pretty delicate...

[. . .]

But come to think of it, you were snooping on his conversation with Trish, too, right?

[oh no, where is this going—]

Don't you think it sounded like he was a bit defensive about his name? Just like he was about his reputation when he showed up here!

[sharpiewielder]

Trish? You mean the Insanely Harsh One with the Spice Girls reference as a username?

[missleadingquestions]

[Blink. Blonk.]

The who?

[sharpiewielder]

No, the Spice Girls.

1/2

[missleadingquestions]

Oh! I guess I never realized it was a...

2/2

[missleadingquestions]

...It's a lyric, right?

[And not a word she doesn't know or a name of a band member...]

1/2

[sharpiewielder]

♫What I really, really, really want is zig-a-zig-ahhh~♫

[He does his best attempt at mimicking the way it's said, which is probably a little ridiculous without the context of the rest of the song.]

2/2

[sharpiewielder]

Which, like, I'm not really sure what it means? But it is from a song by a British girl group in the 90's, so it's probably another quirky nonsense phrase like "tally-whacker" or "kerfuffle" or "crumpet" or something.

But uh, can I ask... if you know what kind of monster Trish is?

[missleadingquestions]

[Ohhhh it's British. That seems to make sense to Maya, who nods, definitely operating on her own warped perception of British people from being in Fantasy London. She didn't realize Trish had anything to do with Britain, but that must be it.]

They do say funny words...

Oh, but Trish is a cute pink werebear!

[She mimes some little bear ears by posing her closed hands over her head.]