monsterstoyou | TLV Inbox

So you don't think you deserve a chance to speak for yourself? Interesting.

[ That just earns him a laugh that does reach his eyes. ]

An interesting supposition.

[ Get better bait, Warden. ]

I'm echoing back what I'm hearing.

Are you? How remarkable, sir.

So? Are you interested in the Admiral's take on you or not?

Currently, I am interested in why you stopped midway.

[He frowns. It takes a moment, even for Lark, to put it into words.]

It felt like a violation.

None of my wardens ever read my file. I manipulated and fought and argued and begged them all out of it.

So... you got cold feet, then? It was a matter of your comfort. Fair enough, I suppose.

[ A quick smile. ]

Should I walk the rest of the way in, incidentally, sir? Or shall we continue to chat at the entryway?

Edited 2024-08-24 01:49 (UTC)

[It's his turn to laugh]

Oh no, it's not a matter of my comfort. It's my attempt at empathy. I struggle with that.

But please. Come sit down.

Edited 2024-08-24 01:51 (UTC)

[ Ah, Claudia. I wonder if his childhood was as sweet as you once guessed. ]

I see. So if it were up to you, your own desires, you would have finished reading it.

If I was going to let myself be the nosy asshole I am naturally? Yes.

And who am I to make a warden, one who has accomplished that which I have not, deny his own desires?

Someone who still owns his own story.

Do I?

[ His eyes flicker to the folder. ]

I would respectfully disagree, sir.

This is the Admiral's take on who you are.

Right.

Continue your point, sir. I'm curious where you're going.

It's possible that there are things in here that indicate why the Admiral chose to take you on as an inmate.

You have a right to know what those things are.

No, I don't.

[ And here, he will hold up a finger. ]

It is a privilege you have decided to afford me. By all evidence, it is not a right.

Is it a privilege you want?

That depends: why are you offering it?

Empathy?

[Another of those pauses. He's searching himself for motives; he always has so many angles he's assessing things from. It's chaotic sometimes. ...Most of the time. He's trying, for once, for the sake of his inmate, to just be straightforward. It's hard.]

Yes. Empathy. I wouldn't want someone to read my file. I don't want to read yours without permission.

And yet, you did.

[ It's not an accusation. It's a part of the equation. ]

What changed between then and now?

...How much time do you have? How deep do you want me to dig? Because there are a few layers to the answer and I could give you the shallow one or I could give you the longer version.

Which one do you want to give?

[A soft laugh. Even that's a difficult question.]

I would rather have you understand me than not. So I suppose I want to give you the longer answer.

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