[ It hits him with a jolt, a few-second stretch of shocked silence. Stephen's never once thought about it in those terms, not here and not any time before, but he's - right.
And still: what else is there to do? He's dangerous. Terrified. And the very real risk of transformation looms ever closer the longer that goes on. ]
... I'll reach out when I'm back.
[ Thank you implicates. Sorry is hollow when he's going to do it anyway. This will have to do. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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And still: what else is there to do? He's dangerous. Terrified. And the very real risk of transformation looms ever closer the longer that goes on. ]
... I'll reach out when I'm back.
[ Thank you implicates. Sorry is hollow when he's going to do it anyway. This will have to do. ]
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[Which is a threat. A promise. It's all he can offer, now, isn't it? Quiet, unhappy acceptance of the reality of it. ]
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[ And he almost leaves it there, but - ]
It'll be a friend who does it. So don't think too hard about it.
[ It's going to be as easy as it can be. Nobody, including himself, is going to be able to turn it into punishment. And then he'll be back. ]
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[Relenting, just a little. ] I'll see you in a few weeks.