redrighthanded | IC; Duplicity Inbox

I imagine so. But I don't intend to be among their number.

[ Slowly, he slides into the booth across from him, that faint hitch in his brow remaining in place. ]

I'm well enough, thank you. And how are you faring?

[ He can't help but wonder. After being stabbed through with Shalamayne, unintentionally injured with holy magic, and then Light knew what else, it wasn't hard to imagine he'd had a significantly worse time of it since that night. ]

[ Hellboy studies him for a moment, then glances away, trying and failing to push aside the memories of the market square that have been beating against the insides of his skull for days. He scratches his stubbly cheek with a stone finger. ]

Fine. I heal fast.

[ He lapses into silence for a moment, his gaze on the rest of the pub, then looks back at Anduin. ]

Look, I don't know.. I can't begin to say how sorry I am. That wasn't.. I don't lose control like that normally. Ever.

[ He lets him start in, lets him pour himself out as much as he's able, before offering a gentle smile in return. ]

Jacob told me as much. He spoke of how gentle you were. How good a man you are. And I trust his sense of judgement.

I believe what happened was the city's influence, and nothing more. Whatever happened, you were done wrong as much as anyone. If you wish my forgiveness, know that there is nothing to forgive.

[ There's no surprise at the use of Jacob's name, though Hellboy drops his eyes to his hands on the tabletop at the praise he doesn't feel he deserves.

Tension hardens the lines of his shoulders as Anduin continues. He rubs his thumb over a faint crack in the side of his stone palm. ]

That's a load of crap. [ He glances up again, a spark of anger in his gaze. ] You shouldn't have to accept what I did to you. That was.. it was wrong.

[ Some might quail under a look that severe, from someone who looks as Hellboy does. Anduin doesn't bat an eye, that gentle insistence remaining in his gaze. ]

I will not hold you at fault for something that you were not to blame for. Neither should you.

[ Hellboy experiences a compulsion to throw something, maybe a bottle or two, or to jump up and turn the table over, sending everything crashing to the floor. To prove to Anduin how wrong he is.

He fights it down with an effort, letting out a pent up breath after a few long moments, his tail coiling unhappily beside him. ]

This is.. [ Another breath, he marshals his control back, looks at Anduin again. ] How many times has this place done this to you?

[ The tension rising in him is easy enough to spot, the rigid set of his shoulders betraying the coil of muscle, the intent to move and do so with force and speed.

He doesn't budge. And when Hellboy finally seems to relent, Anduin nods quietly, feeling a painful twist in his chest for what he can see playing out across the man's face. ]

...I know what it is to be made to hurt people, how difficult it is standing on that side of things. A prisoner inside your own body while it acts in ways you would never...

[ He pauses, before recollecting himself. ]

I remember the guilt. The shame and the horror of it. And if you are angry with me for allowing it to happen as it did, I can understand that.

[ He doesn't expect that angle. His expression goes still and knotted up with a grim kind of sympathy, because he manages to hit the nail pretty much on the head. Except for that last part. Hellboy doesn't wait for Anduin to finish speaking before he interjects, balling his hands on the table. ]

Hey, no -- I'm not angry at you, kid. That wasn't your fault. I just wish it hadn't.. I'd been able to stop before.. [ He falters and clears his throat. ] I'd take it back if I could.

I know. I could sense you fighting against it.

[ He'd seen glimpses, the struggle before the haze took him again. Even before Jacob and Gilia had spoken on his behalf, he'd known he was warring against his nature. But the city had its ways of overwhelming them no matter how strong their will.

Even so. His eyes lower at last. He says he's not angry with him, but. He doesn't know all of it, yet. ]

I could have stopped you, I think. But not without hurting you further. I knew what the price would be to end the madness set upon you, and I thought it would be easier to let it run its course where it could do the least harm.

[ Now, he can decide if he's angry with him. ]

[ He is angry, but not at Anduin. The stone of his hand scrapes against the table as he makes a fist capable of crushing one of the bottles on it into powder. He stops short of doing that, though. ]

You shoulda stopped me. [ Lifting his gaze back up, he fixes his attention on the younger man. ] If there's a next time, I want you to do it. If you say you can. I need you to.

[ He was afraid he might say that. Though his expression is grim, there's steely resolve in his eyes when they lift to meet Hellboy's, and he nods once. ]

I understand. I hope it won't come to that, but I'll do what I can. You have my word.

[ That resolve is reassuring in more ways than one. Seeing it, Hellboy feels a little better about believing Anduin about his wanting to help instead of just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There's a hardness in his gaze that suggests it's not the first time he's had to take the more painful road out of a situation. ]

Good. [ It doesn't feel particularly good, though. Mostly it just makes him feel sick. He sighs and rubs his hand over his face. ] Is that what you wanted to talk about?

One of the things, yes.

[ Relaxing ever so slightly, he nods towards Hellboy's side. ]

I also meant to ask how your wound is progressing. When I tried healing you that night, I feared I might have complicated matters.

[ Hellboy doesn't so much relax as let the weary lines of his shoulders pull him back down. He gives a small shrug. ]

It's all right. Usually I can walk it off. This place has messed with that somehow. [ He tugs a bottle over in front of him, inspects it, then sets it aside. ] What's your magic made from, anyway?

From the Light. It's divine in nature.

[ A faint wrinkle appears in his brow. ]

I didn't want to assume what you were, but...I suspect perhaps something about you runs counter to that.

[ Still looking for a bottle he hasn't emptied, Hellboy gives a wry grunt of amusement, gaze flicking back to Anduin. ]

Yeah, guess that makes sense. My father was a demon. Probably like mixing oil and water. Here, try it again. [ He holds out his left hand, palm up, towards the young king. ]

[ Anduin looks skeptical for a moment, before nodding and extending his own hand. Something in the air stirs, a glimmer dancing around his fingertips, before slipping across Hellboy's palm as delicately as he can manage.

Half-demon or no, he doesn't want to hurt him any further. ]

[ It's a pretty little thing, Anduin's magic, and Hellboy watches with interest as it blooms and reaches for him. When it comes into contact with his palm, however, it feels like a knife slicing across his skin. A thin ribbon of smoke starts up and he hisses, pulling his hand back and shaking it like he's putting out a flame. When he opens it again, there's no injury, and he opens and closes his fingers experimentally, eyebrows raised. ]

Huh. Yeah. Good to know.

I was afraid of that.

[ With a sigh, Anduin draws his hand back, and that strange energy in the air fades. Instead he reaches for something at his side, before drawing out a small bottle and setting it on the table. ]

Herbal ingredients only. This shouldn't have any adverse affect, beyond tasting rather terrible.

[ If the Light can't help, it's hardly the only option he has. ]

[ Hellboy reaches for the little bottle, eyeing it thoughtfully before opening it and giving it a sniff. ]

What kinda herbs? [ He doesn't wait for an answer before tipping it back. If there's a reason why he shouldn't immediately swallow everything given to him, he hasn't found it yet. ]

[ Well that level of trust is reassuring. He thinks. ]

Nothing out of the ordinary. A minor healing potion, the sort I was given to recover.

If the Light managed to hinder your healing in any way, this may help.

[ Either reassuring or stupid. Hellboy sits for a moment to wait and see if it does anything weird, but it mostly just feels warm. Or maybe that's the booze. He looks down at his hand and curls his fingers experimentally. ]

I guess it helps. At least it isn't blowing anything off. I oughta ask you for the recipe.

Oh? Are you an alchemist?

[ His eyes brighten in curiosity, suddenly looking a little less severe than he had moments ago.

After all, he knows little of the man across from him other than what he's learned from Jacob. And the hope is there that out of this mess, something positive might still emerge. ]

[ The expression makes him look younger and isn't unattractive in the least. Hellboy finds himself feeling glad to see it and lifts a shoulder in a shrug as he offers the little bottle back across the table. ]

Call it a professional interest. Though most of the stuff I keep around is because of what it keeps away, not what it heals. Holy relics and things like that. Fought off some guys with just a silver button once, that was pretty interesting.

Really? I knew there were certain creatures that could be kept at bay with silver, but a single button? That's remarkable. Do you suppose it had additional properties that would have enhanced--

[ He trails off after a moment, clearing his throat and straightening slightly where he sits. ]

Ah. I apologize, if I'm asking too many questions.

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