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[dastardly]

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USERNAME: DIJACONISSA

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[dastardly]

[It's hard to recall his initial delighted fascination at these devices when he'd first woken. Like his play at being disturbed and distressed by the things had been a grim prediction of his future, every buzz and trill has been a plague on his senses since his memory returned, a constant reminder of how much he'd been exposed, how many people had witnessed it. At least back at the manor, he'd felt some confidence in being able to safely ignore his phone for hours, if not days at a time. But here, vigilance has proven itself entirely necessary, and his desperate attempt at seclusion is finally beaten.

Of course, he still regrets having looked when he sees who the message is from.]

No.

[An immediate reply that he didn't want to make, a truth he didn't want to give. Dragged from him by the compulsion of the mark on his throat, aware that the resentment, irritation and fear he feels for it is just as visible to Stephen as the word on the screen.]

[rehandle]

[ He can't call it a mistake. It had been very particularly intentional, a necessary evil he can't really regret - though perhaps the mistake was in treating fabricated ties as true ones. It doesn't make any difference now. Josias is stuck with him, for better or worse, and Stephen stuck with the mire of unhappy sentiments flooding across the now very literal blood tie that binds them to one another.

Only one of them had to bleed for it. He knows who's suffering more for his choice. ]

It's not safe to be alone here.

[ Not safe to be alone with Lanfear either, he suspects, though she might offer Josias some comfort. Stephen took the most dangerous cut for himself, shackled her too with the knife across her throat in defence against any of her worse instincts aimed at those he won't see hurt, but the bond isn't the same as omniscience. He can't defend against what he can't see when he isn't there. ]

Were there any more cuts?

[dastardly]

A courtesan, alone, would hardly be serving his purpose, would he?

[It's hard to tell if he's truly taken the implication as insult, or if he's just playing at it. It might be both. The real weight was the demonstration: Stephen had asked, and, as the binding demanded, he'd answered - but only as the question required.]

Not of the binding variety. You'll have to fool more people into believing I'm important to you, then I'll have them queueing up.