You were pulling punches? The huffing and puffing is really convincing.
[He's an old man. One she'll stay with to the end, if she can help it. Parting is inevitable, but Maelle will spend every moment she can by his side. Besides getting out of this place, this island prison, that's her greatest desire.]
[ He gives her a wry look — Maelle is faster and more precise than him and they both know it, but is she fast enough, is she precise enough — and feels like finding a rock to throw.
It wouldn't help. But it might help him, just a little. ]
We'll see if Lucien or Lune let you beat them so easily.
[As much as she loves to flaunt her skill, she worries. She worries about him. He's so talented with his blade, an excellent marksman, and his fabricated arm is more useful than his flesh and bone one would have ever been, but she hates the thought of him fighting for his life. Losing him here would be bad. Losing him in some strange, unfamiliar place... worse.].
I'll beat them. I'll beat everyone... and then I can tell Emma, see? I told you I'll keep Gustave safe.
[ It sighs out of him as he closes his eyes, then opens them again to look up at the arc of the Shield Done, high above. As if he could possibly find any answers there. ]
You know. The person you're supposed to listen to.
[Once she settled in with him and Emma, she was fairly obedient. Happy, actually, to please--especially Gustave. She quickly realized she hated disappointing him because he simply cared so much, and seeing him frown was worse than a slap. Making him smile or laugh was like finding gold.
But sometimes, she did have to disappoint him. Like now.]
Quite an exception to make. No wonder you've been so suspiciously obedient lately.
[ Except she hadn't been. Of course they've had their rough patches, but overall Maelle is sweet and he and Emma are lenient and... how had this happened? How had he not even suspected it?
(Had he suspected, and convinced himself it was impossible?) ]
[Maelle scoffs. She knows she's sweet, and he and Emma are lenient. They respect one another. They allow her freedom, and she doesn't cause trouble.]
I thought about having breakfast ready for you this morning, but that might have been a little too suspicious. You would have known precisely what I was going to ask you.
[Perhaps not. She does wonder if some part of him expected this, though. Attached as she is to him, something was going to happen the closer and closer his expedition approached.]
[Boyfriend? Independence? Maelle laughs at both suggestions. She doesn't think she would be a good girlfriend, protective of her alone time as she is, and she has very little limitations on what she does as long as it doesn't cause trouble. He's really reaching.]
... this is way more likely than either of those. Point proven, huh?
[ He pinches to bridge of his nose and rubs at his eyes. The headache that had been threatening before is beginning to bloom in his temples, thudding gently. ]
Imagine my surprise, then. Seeing as I never imagined this to be likely at all.
[ When he'd thought about it at all, which is to say: rarely. It isn't as though he'd been all that keen to leave her behind, either, but that's what happens here. With the Gommage. With the expeditions. It's why he's going with the 33rd to begin with. ]
Of course I did! And I would try to get home to you and Emma, but if I couldn't, at least I would know you'd both be safe for a little while longer.
[ Quiet, as he turns to look out toward the Monolith, the gleaming numbers there. They never move, never dim, never change; never except that one day a year. ]
I know. I felt that way too, with my parents. Right up until the last second, it feels like it's impossible that it could ever happen to you. To the people you love.
[He's the first person she's loved. As a baby, maybe she loved her parents, because that must be instinctual on some level. But she remembers feeling her love for Gustave grow over the years, and she loves him as if he's been her parent her entire life.]
If they had been expeditioners, wouldn't you have wanted to go with them? At least a little?
I was already working for Lumiere as an engineer when they Gommaged. I already had my first apprentices.
[ It's not really an answer, but it isn't... not an answer, either. ]
If they had been expeditioners, they would have wanted me to stay here and continue my work, to give Lumiere and the other expeditions a better chance.
[ He looks over at her with a small shake of his head. ]
I might have wanted to go with them, but I wouldn't have.
There's nothing I can do here that would give anyone a better chance. I'm a courier. I'll do much more good with you on an expedition. You have to at least admit that much.
[If she had any sort of real skill, then he could argue that her staying here was for the best. As it is, her remaining years is a terrible argument. They'll lack the person she loves most.]
[ He gives her a helpless glance, hating, as always, that she talks herself down, considers herself anything but useful. He's always forcefully disagreed with the way the various artisans and workers here had elected not to apprentice her. She's smart and willing and stubborn and he knows there's so much more she can offer this world than her life. ]
...I know you'll do well on an expedition.
[ He'd just hoped it would be one much, much later. He sighs, and decides to offer her a small olive branch. ]
And you know I'll be happier having you with me, too.
[He sure doesn't sound like it, but as he said, he can't be happy right now. It's a win and a loss and a great thing and a terrible thing. Maelle gets it. So, she does him a favor and keeps the smile at bay.]
I'll save you when you get into socially awkward situations. I've always been a good excuse. Oh, I'd better check on Maelle. Wait. Was that Maelle calling me? Pardon me.
Ideally, we'll need to camp and sleep at some point. That's plenty of time for awkward conversations.
[Though she imagines he'll be fine. Gustave loves people--he must, to put so much work into the Lumina Converter, to cherish the future so desperately, to want to make this difference even if their expedition fails.]
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[ He can't quite joke with her yet: the words are there, but the easy humor is stilted and subdued.
He'll try, though. ]
I won't be pulling my punches anymore. You'll have to train like a real expeditioner.
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[He's an old man. One she'll stay with to the end, if she can help it. Parting is inevitable, but Maelle will spend every moment she can by his side. Besides getting out of this place, this island prison, that's her greatest desire.]
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It wouldn't help. But it might help him, just a little. ]
We'll see if Lucien or Lune let you beat them so easily.
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I'll beat them. I'll beat everyone... and then I can tell Emma, see? I told you I'll keep Gustave safe.
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I'm pretty sure I'm the one who's supposed to keep you safe, not the other way around. Big brother, and all.
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[She offers him a small
smile. They'll protect one another, she thinks.]
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[ It sighs out of him as he closes his eyes, then opens them again to look up at the arc of the Shield Done, high above. As if he could possibly find any answers there. ]
You know. The person you're supposed to listen to.
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[Once she settled in with him and Emma, she was fairly obedient. Happy, actually, to please--especially Gustave. She quickly realized she hated disappointing him because he simply cared so much, and seeing him frown was worse than a slap. Making him smile or laugh was like finding gold.
But sometimes, she did have to disappoint him. Like now.]
... usually. Today's an exception.
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[ Except she hadn't been. Of course they've had their rough patches, but overall Maelle is sweet and he and Emma are lenient and... how had this happened? How had he not even suspected it?
(Had he suspected, and convinced himself it was impossible?) ]
Lulling me into a false sense of security?
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I thought about having breakfast ready for you this morning, but that might have been a little too suspicious. You would have known precisely what I was going to ask you.
[Perhaps not. She does wonder if some part of him expected this, though. Attached as she is to him, something was going to happen the closer and closer his expedition approached.]
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[ His hands have lifted back into the air, gesturing widely at each option, but now they fall back to his sides. ]
No. I wouldn't have expected this.
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... this is way more likely than either of those. Point proven, huh?
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Imagine my surprise, then. Seeing as I never imagined this to be likely at all.
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Really? You thought that I'd say goodbye to you at the harbor some day, and that would be it?
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[ When he'd thought about it at all, which is to say: rarely. It isn't as though he'd been all that keen to leave her behind, either, but that's what happens here. With the Gommage. With the expeditions. It's why he's going with the 33rd to begin with. ]
Of course I did! And I would try to get home to you and Emma, but if I couldn't, at least I would know you'd both be safe for a little while longer.
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[She says quietly with a lift of her arms before letting them fall against her sides. He doesn't want to hear it, but it's true.]
I could never imagine it. How... that could ever be real. Not the Gommage, but, you know... that it would eventually be your turn. Not really.
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[ Quiet, as he turns to look out toward the Monolith, the gleaming numbers there. They never move, never dim, never change; never except that one day a year. ]
I know. I felt that way too, with my parents. Right up until the last second, it feels like it's impossible that it could ever happen to you. To the people you love.
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If they had been expeditioners, wouldn't you have wanted to go with them? At least a little?
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[ It's not really an answer, but it isn't... not an answer, either. ]
If they had been expeditioners, they would have wanted me to stay here and continue my work, to give Lumiere and the other expeditions a better chance.
[ He looks over at her with a small shake of his head. ]
I might have wanted to go with them, but I wouldn't have.
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[If she had any sort of real skill, then he could argue that her staying here was for the best. As it is, her remaining years is a terrible argument. They'll lack the person she loves most.]
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...I know you'll do well on an expedition.
[ He'd just hoped it would be one much, much later. He sighs, and decides to offer her a small olive branch. ]
And you know I'll be happier having you with me, too.
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I'll save you when you get into socially awkward situations. I've always been a good excuse. Oh, I'd better check on Maelle. Wait. Was that Maelle calling me? Pardon me.
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Do you think there will be a lot of socially awkward situations when we're busy running for our lives from Nevrons?
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[Though she imagines he'll be fine. Gustave loves people--he must, to put so much work into the Lumina Converter, to cherish the future so desperately, to want to make this difference even if their expedition fails.]
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[ He lifts his hands, spreads them apart like a magician creating an illusion. ]
'Gustave, why did you let your teenaged sister come on an extremely dangerous, most likely deadly Expedition?'
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