[ Wits of a rotten cabbage and a comforting pet from the person whose opinion matters more than anyone's, and it is as if the horrible thing never happened. Bastien smiles at the ceiling. It fades, though, for— ]
I don't know. It was.
[ A huff that's probably easier to feel than to hear. ]
It was the right thing to do. To teach them. If I'm—
[ Another pause, before he acknowledges for the first time that he has given any thought at all to Byerly's suggestion that he stay out of danger. ]
—if I'm not going to be there myself when bards are likely to show up. It would be awful if something happened to one of them and I could have prevented it that easily. So I offered, you know, but—
[ He is not used to doing things he doesn't particularly want to do or sacrificing things he doesn't particularly want to sacrifice because it's right. ]
—now they all know. And I am old and everything is harder, [ with his hearing, ] and I know there are other uses for me, you don't need to tell me that. I just—
[ That's all the self-examination he can manage for the moment. He falls silent rather than scrounging up a completion for that thought. ]
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timeasmymeasure
>)
Date: 2023-01-26 08:25 pm (UTC)I don't know. It was.
[ A huff that's probably easier to feel than to hear. ]
It was the right thing to do. To teach them. If I'm—
[ Another pause, before he acknowledges for the first time that he has given any thought at all to Byerly's suggestion that he stay out of danger. ]
—if I'm not going to be there myself when bards are likely to show up. It would be awful if something happened to one of them and I could have prevented it that easily. So I offered, you know, but—
[ He is not used to doing things he doesn't particularly want to do or sacrificing things he doesn't particularly want to sacrifice because it's right. ]
—now they all know. And I am old and everything is harder, [ with his hearing, ] and I know there are other uses for me, you don't need to tell me that. I just—
[ That's all the self-examination he can manage for the moment. He falls silent rather than scrounging up a completion for that thought. ]