mental link, v important questions;

[narcissithstic]

(Tell me, have any of you spoken to Cathaway within the last two months.)

[The newer Hosts are the most likely suspects, but perhaps through the link—

Perhaps he feels nothing not because of distance, but because she's chosen to keep him locked out. The possibility is a nagging itch at the base of his skull; he'd rather know for certain.]

Comments

[inflori]

[ He's still talking like she's the greatest thing ever. It still makes something ugly in Petre stir, and the symbiote with it. ]

( Don't you think you'd know if she wanted to be your Master. )

[narcissithstic]

(Yes.)

[He can feel that discomfort level rising, sinking beneath his own skin. For once, he doesn't rise to meet it.]

(For a long time, she did - and once I return she will again.)

[inflori]

[ a pause. Petre's mind almost goes completely quiet, save for the constant buzz of his symbiote, ever at odds with its host. ]

( ... Do you have a God? )

[narcissithstic]

( No. )

[Gods are for children, or adults too naive to know better. Ruled by superstition, in need of an excuse to justify their actions. Their hatred.

He's killed more than a few of the devout and the divine in the name of the First Order.]

[inflori]

( So what makes you think anyone is that forgiving. )

[narcissithstic]

(Because I -deserve- it.)

[inflori]

[ The laughter is kept to himself, but skepticism is all there. He does have a god now, Petre decides, and her name is Cathaway.

Maybe Petre's place isn't by his side. Maybe he was just temporarily blinded by all the hatred inside him, all the promises he made. He isn't going to follow a follower. He's just going to keep looking for a new Diana, a new warrior who takes down other gods. ]

( You deserve it.

What makes you think any of this is about what we deserve. )

[narcissithstic]

( It always is, Petre.

And if I find the Force isn't so kind as to grant it to me, I -take- it. )

[inflori]

[ ... nice save. ]

( Then it's not what you deserve, it's what you want. )

[narcissithstic]

( There is no difference.

The Force is cruel to those who deserve better, and kind to those that deserve less just as often as it's fair. )

[And he's endured it for so, so long...]

[inflori]

( So are gods. They've done nothing but wrong and abandon those who believed in them. ) [ And while Petre doesn't voice it in the mental link, there's the resentment of a boy who was placed through the same. Speaking from experience, though he doesn't remember a single second of it. All he knows is what Diana told him, and yet. ] ( Then something better came along.

Sound familiar? )