Do you think anyone would be so vengeful, especially anyone in this fucking city guard? [ but there's something to her voice that tells her that she didn't put that into consideration. she's always considered the guard to be made up of idealistic do-gooders, but now... ]
There is no greater motivator than revenge. I think that people will surprise you with their capacity for shittiness if you allow yourself to be surprised by it.
[So ... yes.]
People who are drawn to positions of authority, even self-appointed ones, are drawn to them for a reason, and it has nothing to do with altruism.
She swallows stiffly, throat suddenly uncomfortably tight. Maketh, and the rest of the guard have seemed... reasonable, and Kate hasn't made any mention of them being forceful, or cruel, but Mello has given her something new to fear. ]
I don't think they'll go to extremes, and even if they do, so what? In a couple of weeks, one of the gods will do something, and what I've done will be in the past. [ She hopes, oh god, she hopes. No one can hurt the gods, though, but they can hurt her. ]
Yeah ... you're not wrong about that. Something else will happen, you can say that with almost one hundred percent certainty.
[It's a strange thing, all factors considered - because of those factors, even - but Mello finds that the idea of someone on the guard taking drastic action against Sharon doesn't sit well with him. Yes, he shot and killed her; this is a true thing that happened. But somewhere in the space after that, with Sorrow's influence and the conversation spurred on by it, Mello felt something. A sense of understanding, maybe, an ember of compassion - something he thought he'd long ago stamped out of himself forever.]
I won't tell them anything, you know. Any of what you've told me. I'm good at keeping secrets.
[ That's not what she'd expected to hear, and her teeth click together as she shuts her mouth, suddenly uncertain what to say, or how to respond. He asked her to keep his secrets, she didn't ask the same thing of him, so for him to say that—something about it is incredibly touching to her, or maybe that just says a lot about the life she's been forced to live. ]
You don't... [ have to. She didn't expect anything of him when she told him those things—wanted understanding, perhaps, but didn't expect it of him. The fact that he has, or that he's tried, is meaningful in a way she doesn't quite know how to process. ] ...Thank you, Mello.
[Mello hasn't often been on the receiving end of gratitude. It was never a priority at the House, and it was more or less absent in the life he built in the years after he left, so it isn't something he's ever missed having for the lack of it. But being given this measure of thanks now feels like a rare gift, something he possibly doesn't deserve, and it leaves him momentarily breathless, disoriented, in search of solid ground again. He's a little uncomfortable for the foreignness of it, but he finds that it's not an entirely unpleasant feeling.]
[ Sharon lets a silence fall, finding that anything else she could say would likely tarnish this moment, but then. Her jaw tightens. ]
...Do you want me to talk to the guard? [ A careful, hesitant whisper. She's the reason he's hiding, after all. It's the least she can do for getting him into all of this. ]
No, [he says, firmly, definitively.] Absolutely not. I took the possible consequences of my actions into consideration.
[It was a gamble, but one he thought would ultimately pay off.]
Don't give them any opportunity to come after you. I don't care if they come after me - I've been on the run from bigger threats than they could ever dream of posing, and I was never caught. Besides, it's like you said - something else will come up soon enough and this won't be their priority anymore. I can wait it out.
[Strangely enough, he does care, and he doesn't want them going after her. It's why he said not to give them an opening. He understands brutally well what it's like to make a miscalculation and have to live with the consequences that come after as a result. And in all honesty, if circumstances were different - if Near weren't here - Mello may have rallied to her side instead of opposing her efforts. He doesn't appreciate this extended incarceration either, and there are highly important things he's been prevented from doing by being kept here.]
If it's been this long and none of them have made a move yet, I don't think it's likely they will. I'll just lay low for a while longer to be sure.
[He knows how disastrously bad it could turn out for him if he's wrong. But he's fairly confident in his calculations.
It's strange, hearing that kind of hopefulness directed at him. Mello's not used to having anyone express concern about what happens to him; he's been actually on his own since he was fifteen, and functionally so for much longer. The House was only concerned with results, not the individuals who reached for them, beyond a certain basic standard of care. It's strange, because he's not used to it, but it's not unpleasant.]
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permaprivatevoice.
[And revenge is an incredibly powerful motivator. Mello would know.]
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[So ... yes.]
People who are drawn to positions of authority, even self-appointed ones, are drawn to them for a reason, and it has nothing to do with altruism.
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She swallows stiffly, throat suddenly uncomfortably tight. Maketh, and the rest of the guard have seemed... reasonable, and Kate hasn't made any mention of them being forceful, or cruel, but Mello has given her something new to fear. ]
I don't think they'll go to extremes, and even if they do, so what? In a couple of weeks, one of the gods will do something, and what I've done will be in the past. [ She hopes, oh god, she hopes. No one can hurt the gods, though, but they can hurt her. ]
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Yeah ... you're not wrong about that. Something else will happen, you can say that with almost one hundred percent certainty.
[It's a strange thing, all factors considered - because of those factors, even - but Mello finds that the idea of someone on the guard taking drastic action against Sharon doesn't sit well with him. Yes, he shot and killed her; this is a true thing that happened. But somewhere in the space after that, with Sorrow's influence and the conversation spurred on by it, Mello felt something. A sense of understanding, maybe, an ember of compassion - something he thought he'd long ago stamped out of himself forever.]
I won't tell them anything, you know. Any of what you've told me. I'm good at keeping secrets.
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You don't... [ have to. She didn't expect anything of him when she told him those things—wanted understanding, perhaps, but didn't expect it of him. The fact that he has, or that he's tried, is meaningful in a way she doesn't quite know how to process. ] ...Thank you, Mello.
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It's the least I can do, Sharon.
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...Do you want me to talk to the guard? [ A careful, hesitant whisper. She's the reason he's hiding, after all. It's the least she can do for getting him into all of this. ]
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[It was a gamble, but one he thought would ultimately pay off.]
Don't give them any opportunity to come after you. I don't care if they come after me - I've been on the run from bigger threats than they could ever dream of posing, and I was never caught. Besides, it's like you said - something else will come up soon enough and this won't be their priority anymore. I can wait it out.
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Fine. [ She says it as if she's conceding, but it appears to come with a stipulation. ] You better not get caught, then.
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If it's been this long and none of them have made a move yet, I don't think it's likely they will. I'll just lay low for a while longer to be sure.
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It's strange, hearing that kind of hopefulness directed at him. Mello's not used to having anyone express concern about what happens to him; he's been actually on his own since he was fifteen, and functionally so for much longer. The House was only concerned with results, not the individuals who reached for them, beyond a certain basic standard of care. It's strange, because he's not used to it, but it's not unpleasant.]
... Thanks, Sharon.
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All right. My lips are sealed.
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She hangs up. ]