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Jun. 29th, 2022 07:27 pmInspired by a story by Coeur Al’Aran.
—
“Look, you don’t have to tell me what you’re going through. But you need to tell someone. You toss and turn all night, and sometimes you whimper. I can’t have you fighting if you’re not at your best.”
“I know. It’s just hard to explain. It’s like … There are things that have happened, and there are things that might happen, and sometimes I lose track of the difference.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand.”
“Remember that thing that looked like it used to be a bear? The whole fight, I was playing out what it might do. Here’s how I’ll react if I manage to lure it towards me. Here’s how I’ll react if it goes towards you. Here’s how I’ll react if it’s smart enough to realize Maria’s the biggest threat. And it’s not like numbers or sketches. I see all those things, side by side, and they all feel real to me. So I saw what it would be like if it clawed Maria’s belly open.”
“Holy shit … But Maria’s faster than she looks. It wouldn’t have caught her.”
“I know that now, but I was still figuring her out back then. I saw the things I could predict, based on what I knew. I still see them in every fight. What if that fire lizard gets off a lucky shot? What if that bat thing swoops past me and I can’t stop it? I’ve watched you die so many different ways, and yet you’re here talking to me.”
“No offense, but what in holy hell are you doing on the battlefield?”
“I saw what might happen if I wasn’t here.”
—
“Look, you don’t have to tell me what you’re going through. But you need to tell someone. You toss and turn all night, and sometimes you whimper. I can’t have you fighting if you’re not at your best.”
“I know. It’s just hard to explain. It’s like … There are things that have happened, and there are things that might happen, and sometimes I lose track of the difference.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand.”
“Remember that thing that looked like it used to be a bear? The whole fight, I was playing out what it might do. Here’s how I’ll react if I manage to lure it towards me. Here’s how I’ll react if it goes towards you. Here’s how I’ll react if it’s smart enough to realize Maria’s the biggest threat. And it’s not like numbers or sketches. I see all those things, side by side, and they all feel real to me. So I saw what it would be like if it clawed Maria’s belly open.”
“Holy shit … But Maria’s faster than she looks. It wouldn’t have caught her.”
“I know that now, but I was still figuring her out back then. I saw the things I could predict, based on what I knew. I still see them in every fight. What if that fire lizard gets off a lucky shot? What if that bat thing swoops past me and I can’t stop it? I’ve watched you die so many different ways, and yet you’re here talking to me.”
“No offense, but what in holy hell are you doing on the battlefield?”
“I saw what might happen if I wasn’t here.”
