𓆰𓆪

“Whoa, when did you get this?”

“Who did this to you?”

“Hold still— I need to clean it.”

“I’m supposed to believe this was an accident?”

“Damn— I’d hate to see the other guy.”

“Does this hurt when I touch it?”

“What the hell, ___? Another fight?”

“What the hell happened to your face?”

“Why are you so calm about this? You’re really hurt.”

“I think your arm is broken. It’s not supposed to bend like that.”

“Here, let me help you with that.”

“You’re bleeding a lot. Too much. Apply more pressure. I’m calling an ambulance.”

“Did you think I was gonna leave you like this?”

“Instead of helping you, they ran off? What an asshole.”

“You need to be more careful. You keep getting hurt like this and you’ll put yourself out of commission.”

“Let me grab the first-aid kit. Don’t move.”

“So, do you wanna explain to me what the hell happened?”

“You look really pale. Sit down. I don’t need you fainting before I get this stitched-up.”

“I’m not blaming you, I’m just saying this looks awfully suspicious.”

“How many of them were there? This doesn’t look like one man’s doing.”

“Sit still. I need to clean this before it gets infected.”

“Wiggle your fingers. I need to make sure it’s not broken.”

“This is gonna hurt. A lot. But it’ll be quick. I need to pop it back into place.”

“I told you not to act recklessly like that. You might think you’re protecting me, but you’re gonna get yourself killed if you keep jumping in like that.”

` — ❛ 𝐀 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬,  𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐬.

No.  He guesses he doesn’t   —   a blunt way to answer his question with all loose ends neatly tied.  Where he leans languidly yet ever still,  head canting to the side,  the Hunter can’t help but drawl his own response past a crooked quirked grin,  steely sight landing on Miriam’s own with a slowed shrug.

` ❝ Welp. ❞

Pushing from his cozy perch,  he can’t help the cheeky salute he gives Miriam.  It’s all bouncy playfulness,  the entertainment issued from the admitted abuse of an old skill for a temporary laugh something he found well worth it.  For all his collected,  unveiled oddities springing free like an ever changing jack in the box around the Huntress   —   though she’d express surprise at the nuisance he knew he provided,  she also showed a lot of…  acceptance.  Exasperated,  expectedly,  but she never turned him away,  settling on an almost fond scolding.

` ❝ He’s with us in spirit,  I guess. ❞

He finishes with a comfortably dying chuckle.  He still isn’t sure exactly what to make of the entire dynamic.  The affection is a returned one,  something he isn’t used to acknowledging,  hiding it away buried down beneath a veneer of teasing annoyances to upkeep some mirage of distance.  Safety.  Something pierces it regardless of best made attempts,  so he meanders through it all as best he can,  by ignoring it,  rolling with the flowing punches as they came   &&. adapting on the spot even if it meant he was viewed as too lackadaisical in the end.

` ❝ You made a good call,  Roses. ❞

“I’d keep you safe.”

“You’re nothing to me.”

“I wouldn’t advise that…”

“I wish I had your courage.”

“Anger makes you careless.”

“You can do it. Just don’t die.”

“A hero’s work is never done.”

“Do I really mean so little to you?”

“I’m not going to make a deal with you.”

“Everything is an illusion. Trust nothing.”

“You’re not as bad as they say you are.”

“You aren’t the person you think you are.”

“Do you learn nothing from your mistakes?”

“Don’t go rushing in. You’ll end up like them.”

“You have a lot of bite for someone so small.”

“Nothing I do will ever be good enough, will it?”

“Do you think redemption can really be earned?”

“I don’t need your forgiveness. I did nothing wrong.”

“I don’t need you to apologize. I need you to do better.”

“You think you have to prove yourself to me. You don’t.”

“If you don’t come back, I’m going to be very, very upset.”

“How can you possibly sleep with all this on your conscience?”

“You’re not a lost cause. Not enough people have told you that.”

“Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me? Don’t answer that.”

“There’s nothing to be said. Everything I could say, I already have.”

“I’ve been nothing but truthful with you… so, why won’t you trust me?”

“Considering the stories I’ve heard, I was expecting someone scarier.”

“Haven’t I given enough? Haven’t I lost enough? Haven’t I fought enough?”

“You never seem scared. You’re never caught off-guard. How do you do it?”

“I’m not the one for you. I’d only make your life worse, and we both know it.”

“I’m making us tea/coffee/hot cocoa, and then you’re telling me what’s wrong.”

“Can you just… just stop! Stop for a second and think about what you’re doing!”

“Something’s clearly going on. Keeping me in the dark about it won’t help anything.”

“I don’t need to justify myself to them/you. I know what I have to do. And I’m going to do it.”

Leonard Cohen, from Book of Mercy; "I lost my way, I forgot..."

so thrice dante has killed him. first, above temen-ni-gru. then, at mallet island.

Leonard Cohen, from Book of Mercy; "I lost my way, I forgot..."