hadriel_logs | everybody's got their limits

Entry tags:

everybody's got their limits

Who: Adam Parrish (

unknowable) and Maketh Tua (

mismanagement)
What: Blackmailing the person who tried to kill you into teaching you how to shoot: the Adam Parrish story
Where: Spire 1, 101 - Maketh's place
When: The night after this thread
Warnings: Possibly nothing, maybe talking about death & violence

[When it comes down to this, Adam is not totally certain it's a great idea. It's true that she was under the influence of the gods when she tried to kill him, but she did still try to kill him, and that's not something he should - or will - forget. But she's skilled in ways that he isn't, and those are the things it would be useful to know.

Not that he wants to fight. Violence toward others isn't an area he wants to get comfortable with, and if he can leave it to people he trusts, he probably will. But he doesn't want to leave his protection in the hands of other people, and while his magic can do far more than even he understands sometimes, he doesn't want to depend on it.

Something like this will help. And maybe he wants to understand Maketh better - to know who the person who injured him is. Maybe.

He knocks quietly on her door late at night, not sure she'll even be there, though she was the one who told him to come.]

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[Truthfully, Maketh had been hoping the solution to this whole mess would be keeping her head down and pretending it hadn't happened in the first place. That tactic had seemed to work with Nick - whom Maketh hasn't spoken with since and doesn't intend to - but not, apparently, with Adam.

She knows his name now. It doesn't change much. Perhaps it ought to.

Maketh opens the door without hesitation, though she's relunctant to see this through. Reluctant, but ultimately committed.Despite the hour, she's still in uniform.] I--hello. Please come in.

[Maker, it's different seeing him up close.]

Thank you.

[It's different seeing her in person, too, but Adam is reflexively polite.

She isn't the sort of person that he would be frightened of, normally. Adam has keen instincts for that sort of thing - he's wary, cautious. He's been hurt often enough that there is an automatic level of distrust toward everyone. But most of his distrust, most of his fear, is reserved for men like his father, which Maketh is certainly not. With the uniform, he would have been more inclined to trust her.

It's sort of hard to immediately trust someone who's tried to kill you, though.]

I hope I'm not keeping you up.

[He does come inside then, looking around a little.]

[Maketh keeps her back straight, hands loose at her sides. Present yourself for inspection, do everything just right, and it will be fine.] You're not. Have a seat? I'd like to talk with you first.

[There's not much to tell about the apartment. Amos and Maketh keep wildly different hours and don't leave their things about. Anything of value - anything of Maketh's - has been shut carefully away in her room.

She hesitates.] Do you want coffee, or something?

I'm all right, thank you.

[He doesn't know who else lives here - not at first glance, anyway, though it's fairly clear that Maketh doesn't live alone. That's probably not any of his business, though.

Adam finds a chair and sits down. He's a little on edge, though logically he knows he doesn't have to be. Maketh has done nothing to make him think she has any ill will towards him now that the gods have stopped meddling.]

I'd like to talk to you, too.

All right. [Coffee would have been better, Maketh thinks. She would have had something to focus on, steps to follow. Instead she takes her seat, folding her hands in her lap. Back perfectly straight. Adam is owed this. She will treat him with all courtesy.] What did you want to know?

[He's not sure where to start. Honestly, he just wants to know more about her - know enough to be sure about whether to classify her as a threat or not. Trust has never come easily to Adam, but at least he can known whether to be worried about getting hurt again.]

Where are you from? What is your world like?

[That's unexpected. Maketh leans back in her chair, considering.] I was raised on a place called Lothal. A desert. Later, I was stationed there. I was an officer of the Imperial Court.

[All factually true, though perhaps not what he wants to know.]

[It's the first step to understanding someone, here. They all come from such vastly different places - how can he hope to get a handle on who she is if he doesn't even know what kind of world she's from?

It's not quite the kind of thing he was looking for, but it's a start.]

I knew you were military of some kind, but what does 'Imperial Court' mean? Is that royalty, or justice?

[There's too many options. Clearly she's from a place with technology, at least, though.]

It's...everything, I suppose. The Emperor controls the government and the military. And whatever else can be taken. [She looks down.] I believed it was just for a long time. It was easier that way. But I suppose you know what tyrants do to their people.

Yes. There's plenty of history on my world that attests to that.

[But he doesn't have personal experience of it. While his life might not have been a peaceful thing, the place he lives was. It sounds like there was more tension where Maketh is from.]

But you changed your mind? Why?

Nothing noble. [Maketh rubs her face briefly. It's something she's since made peace with, though she's not proud of it.] I didn't want to die. Failure must be punished, after all.

[She smiles sadly.]

Two of the men under my command had already been executed. I knew I'd be following them soon. So I tried to leave. Of course I didn't get very far.

You were trying to save yourself.

[Survival is a natural impulse, Adam knows that as well as anyone - better than some. He doesn't think less of her because of that, but it does raise more questions.]

Were you executed?

[He knows that some people here were dead in their own worlds. One of his friends was.]

Yes.

[As many had before her. Maketh nods just once.] And I was. I can't remember all of it. Perhaps that's for the best.

Probably. I don't think death is pleasant for anyone.

[And an execution certainly wouldn't be.]

Thank you. That answers some of my questions. Did you want to know anything?

[There are a hundred different things she could ask. Maketh exhales slowly.] Why would you come to me? Of all the people here. Why me?

Because I know that you know how to.

[It's a simple, practical explanation.]

And you don't seem to want to kill me anymore. I thought the most direct way of learning how to protect myself would be to go to the one who hurt me.

[Practical to the extreme. Even brutal. Maketh nods just once.] All right. Stand up. And tell me what you know already.

[He stands, easy but still just a little bit wary.]

Not much. I've held a handgun before, I know how they work. I've shot one a couple times, but I've never been taught - or practiced, or anything.

[Then she doesn't have to teach him how to shoot. That's good. Maketh nods just once.] All right. I'll show you how to take a gun from someone who means to hurt you, how to knock them down so you can get away. But--understand now, there's very little you can do against what I--attempted. A ranged weapon is difficult to defend against. What you did in that situation was correct.

[He nods. That's more or less what he figured - it isn't as if you can fight someone who's sniping you from a distance, not without a weapon of your own or something else.]

I have difficulty fighting up close. I freeze up.

[Adam doesn't see a reason to explain more than that - surely that's a normal reaction for a lot of people.]

But I do have some... um, other skills.

Not uncommon. It can be trained out of you. [Though it will take more time than Maketh is perhaps willing to give. Certainly more than a single night. She stands perfectly straight, eyes ahead, hands loose at her sides.] Your powers, I imagine? Can you tell me about those? I...served with someone once, who could do such things. Different than yours, but perhaps the principal would be the same.

[He nods. He knows it would take some time to train that instinctive fear out of him - he's faced it before. It wouldn't be easy. Better to focus on things he can do, in his opinion.]

My magic is... complicated.

[Adam hesitates for a moment, but what would it hurt to tell her the truth? He's naturally secretive, that's all. There's no real reason for it.]

I sacrificed myself to a forest that sits on a ley line back home. In exchange for that, it gives me some ability to sense and use magic, and it protects me. I think you saw that part.

[Another world where magic can be taught, instead of presenting as an innate gift. Interesting. Maketh frowns, considering this.] I see. I assume we don't have these ley lines here, so proximity isn't as important. And that protection felt instinctive rather than planned. Am I correct in this?

Yes. The power is with me all the time, since the forest is part of me now.

[He usually doesn't talk about this. It feels a little uncomfortable to do so - his connection to Cabeswater is often his only form of protection. Telling someone about it makes him vulnerable.]

I can choose to do things, but when I'm in danger it'll often act on its own.

[Maketh considers this. It's not all that different from an instinctive response, then. She can follow the logic even if she can't quite grasp the power herself.] I think that is the place to start, then. In the Academy, we're trained to respond to threats a certain way, until it becomes reflex - because our instincts are not always correct, you see? But if we could get your power to act on reflex the correct way, then you would have a distinct advantage. Does that make sense?

[He nods.]

That makes sense. I've been learning how to use it better, and how to ask for help when I need it, but it's still not easy. It's not a reflex.

[But it makes sense, and Adam appreciates that she's so practical about it. That's generally the way he approaches problems, too.]

Anything new takes time to master. [Maketh hesitates.] If I were to strike you now, what would your magic do? It would help me to know what---it? your? first reaction would be.

[It takes him a moment, thinking about it.]

In the past, it's kept someone from touching me when I didn't want them to by embedding a thorn in their hand. Something like that, probably - protecting by striking out, in a way.

[Predictable. Maketh frowns, thinking.] All right. I have an idea, but knowing so little about your own power, I am not sure it would work. But I would like to run it by you. Is that all right?

Yeah. I mean, that's kind of what I came here for.

[Better ways to protect himself are what he's looking for, in the end. Whether that involves a gun or something else doesn't matter.]

What's your idea?

It's not always enough to strike someone. [Maketh hesitates, wondering how well her idea will translate.] Some people will react adversely and you will be in even worse trouble. I think in your case, it would be best to avoid getting into a close-quarter fight. I wonder, if your magic could do something like a nerve pinch? If you send someone to the ground, that would give you time to either run or strike again.

[He thinks about that for a moment.]

I freeze up in close-quarter fights anyway. It's a good idea, and I think it would work, but I'll have to practice. And - talk to Cabeswater, see if it would understand that kind of thing.

It--is that your power? It has a name?

[That is entirely unexpected. Maketh has come to understand that this sort of thing usually has a mind of its own, but that's not often taken literally.]

It's the name of the forest I sacrificed myself to. It has a consciousness of its own, it's just... not anything like a human.

[It's hard to explain, but he thinks it's not so hard to understand. A moment's thought is enough to make sense of it, because there's no way a forest could ever think in the way a human being might.]

Oh. [It's certainly different from what little she understands of the Force.] Well--if it wants you to survive, then perhaps it can adapt? As I've said, the first instinct isn't always correct. But there are ways to survive a fight without getting tangled in it.

It wants that, yes. It doesn't necessarily understand the best way to go about it, though.

[Not that it puts Adam in danger - not most of the time. But he's sure there are better ways to do things, Maketh is right.]

I'd prefer to avoid fights if at all possible. That kind of thing isn't really my area.

[Maketh nods.] And if you know something, then it understands as well? If I taught you a trick to protect yourself, then it would know the same?

It doesn't always understand, but I can communicate with it. I can get it to understand.

[It's taken him a lot of effort to even get that far, but he can do it, now.]

And it wants to protect me. If there's a better way to do that, I think it would.

[That's good. Maketh can work with that.]

All right. We'll start small, I suppose.

[She straightens her back.]

The first thing one needs to know is when someone is about to hit you. Before you can think of blocking or dodging, you need to see it coming. Understand?

That much I'm good at.

[He knows it too well. The set of an angry jaw, the way someone's shoulders move when they're about to swing. He doesn't really like talking about it, especially to strangers.]

I used to get hit a lot at home.

[Maketh just nods. That explains a few things.] The trick is not to freeze when you see it coming - but to react decisively. Preferably before the blow lands. If you can get your power to react in a certain way when you recognize the signs that it's needed, then you will likely survive.

[He nods. It makes sense, but freezing - covering his face, protecting himself - is always his first reaction. He learned too well not to fight back.]

It tends to act on its own when I'm scared of something. I guess I can try to... talk to it, convince it to do something else instead of just lashing out.

That would help. [Maketh hesitates.] Do you wish to continue, or think on what I've said?

We can probably stop there for now. It's enough to get started on, anyway.

[And it takes time for him to communicate with Cabeswater in a way the forest can understand.]

But thank you.

All right. [Maketh hesitates, not sure what to say to that. Not long ago she tried to kill this boy--Adam. She knows his name now. He can't possibly trust her, and yet he wants to know how to fight. How to protect himself.

How strange and sad that she's the one he asked.] You...are welcome, I suppose.

[He wouldn't know who else to ask. It's not that he trusts her, exactly, it's more that he thinks he knows what to expect from her. If nothing else, she seems intelligent and practical, and that suits Adam. He's the same.]

If there's anything I can do for you in return, let me know.

[Maketh nods, though she's not sure she would. Not unless there was no other choice. Part of her still wants to bolt from the room and pretend the thing that prompted this never happened in the first place. But she will not be weak. She will stand in line and do what must be done.] Of course.

[He stands, and nods at her in thanks. It's not that he's put it behind him, really, but rather that he's now getting something in exchange for what happened. That's not usually how it works. How could he stay mad?]

Then I'll see you around.

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everybody's got their limits

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