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[monsterstoyou]

This is Father Vincent. Leave a message. I'll get back to you. I promise. Thanks so much.

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[ukan]

A friend since childhood, when Vincent had been conditioned to be wary of having friends at all. "I know she killed you. I know she was a fanatic and it led her to betray you after you had worked together."

[monsterstoyou]

Nod, nod, nod, good, good, good.

"And what do you think of her?"

[ukan]

He considers a moment. "I'm angry she killed you. As far as I can tell, you have done nothing to deserve betrayal. And I'm wary, as a rule, of zealots. But I don't have a clear opinion of her beyond that."

[monsterstoyou]

"I was in the way of her plans and I put Alessa, or 'Heather' if you will," and he clearly Does Not have any good will for 'Heather' either, less than Claudia in fact, "in position to kill her to prevent the rebirth of our God. Of course, I wouldn't have done any of it if she'd listened to me, but she was trying to bring Paradise. Why would she listen to a mortal man with her desires so close to fruition?"

[ukan]

"'Paradise'," he echoes with a skeptical grunt. He doesn't like where this is going. "What happened recently that brought all this back onto you?"

[monsterstoyou]

Yeah, the look in Vincent's eyes says he feels just about as confident about 'paradise' as Lark does. He doesn't divert, even if it sounds like he is.

"Why do you think I'm here, Lark?"

He turns a hand.

"Honestly. I want your honest opinion, please. Don't be 'kind', don't be 'understanding', don't be complimentary. Why am I here, in your estimation? Given your great and longstanding experience on the Barge? Why?"

[ukan]

That's a hard question. In general he tries not to guess at the Admiral's mind. But he has seen enough to have suspicions.

"Because you were trapped unfairly by your God, you were railroaded into it from birth, and the Admiral wants to give you a shot at freedom. It pains me to say anything complimentary about him, but I've seen cases similar to yours play out before. I've seen that sometimes the only way out is a death and then a rebirth through graduation. I think he's honestly trying to give you a shot at a life out of your God's way."

[monsterstoyou]

Not... what he meant. Or what he expected. He glances over at Lark, clearly thrown, before he shakes that off and heaves a dramatic sigh.

"Rather funny, don't you think? A warden who hates the Admiral, assigned to a priest who... while dutiful, of course, certainly has disagreements with his God."

He breathes out.

"And if that was the case, wouldn't he have asked me if I wished to be a warden? There's quite a bit more freedom in, well... freedom."

[ukan]

"You've been through a lot. Through hell. You've lived in a version of it. I think, Vincent, that he wants you to heal a little before he offers you a deal as a warden. It's not always about punishment or retribution."

[monsterstoyou]

He nods easily enough.

"Right. Yes. Healing."

[ukan]

"You're skeptical?" He raises an eyebrow.

[monsterstoyou]

A snort.

"Of course I'm skeptical. How could I be anything but skeptial?" He shakes his head. "I am not one of the histrionic infants on board calling this place a 'cult' as if any of them actually know what that is, but I do know to be skeptical. 'Rewards' you have to wait for, that require inexact work, inexact criteria, undefined requirements? Are a trap."

He would know. He's laid it.

[ukan]

He shrugs. He's laid that trap countless times, himself. "Usually I'd agree with you. But I'm telling you what I've seen, over and over and over again. It's not punishment it's healing something that can't be healed in your normal environment."

[monsterstoyou]

"Oh yes," he says with a roll of his eyes, "'That definitely makes sense, Vincent, but this time, it's different.'

"How many times have you done this again?"

[ukan]

"More than you, and I've seen it happen more times than I can count." He's certain about this.

[monsterstoyou]

"Which translates to 'just trust me, I know better'."

[ukan]

"Or more accurately, here is the evidence I've gathered over fourteen years, dismiss it at your peril."

[monsterstoyou]

"Evidence requires evidence, Mr. Tennant. 'Exhibit A', 'Exhibit B'. Right now, you are 'presenting' absolutely nothing. I'm not dismissing anything because you've offered nothing but empty promises."

[ukan]

"You have no evidence, likewise, that it's an empty promise."

[monsterstoyou]

And Lark will watch some of the liveliness shut down.

"That's not how evidence works, Mr. Tennant. As well you know. And that is a well-known tactic of manipulation. Try something else."

[ukan]

He scoffs. "What do you think I'm manipulating you into? Self-care?"

[monsterstoyou]

He reaches up and rubs at the bridge of his nose.

"I assure you that I attend to myself first and foremost."

If there is one thing he'll always take care of, it's his self.

[ukan]

"You didn't answer the question."

[monsterstoyou]

And his eyes focus on Lark again.

"I don't know. Because you've kept everything exceptionally vague." He quote marks in the air. "'Healing' is something I've been told I need before, Lark. 'Healing' can leave marks by the right hand."

[ukan]

A slight nod. "Tell me more about that? When has healing hurt you?"