IC RADIO CONTACT

[starseedling]

✆CHANNEL FREQUENCY: 123.78383
DESCRIPTION: Steven will be fairly quick to answer, on average, but it's also entirely possible that he'll forget his radio or get distracted from answering.

✉MAIL BOX LOCATION: Mailbox on Door
DESCRIPTION: It's wooden and a little crooked but Steven is gradually covering it in sequins and jewels.

Comments

[starseedling]

Well... she couldn't keep me...

[He trails off.]

[whattaprick]

That's true. All the roses around Portland -- was that her looking for you?

[starseedling]

I think so... it started right after I left.

When the roses got into the Sanctuary they almost caught me. The only reason I escaped again is because my dad found me and pulled me out before it was too late.

[whattaprick]

Sounds like you caught a lucky break.

You can't think of anything else? She never mentioned any reason she thought someone would specifically go after her?

[starseedling]

...No?

[He's starting to sound more unsure.]

Why are you asking about this?

[whattaprick]

[ Well, if nobody's told Steven, he will. His voice is frank and straightforward. ]

Childermass got a message from the fae he made a deal with to hide you and Strange from the Rose Queen. It made it sound like there was a connection between her and the Blue Rose ... but she didn't say what.

[ Because that would be too easy. ]

We're trying to figure out what it is so we aren't caught off guard this time.

[starseedling]

[Steven grips his radio nervously. It's a few moments before he musters a reply.]

...Is it because it's a rose?

[whattaprick]

I don't know. The Rose isn't really a rose. It's just magic made to look like one.

'These flowers are alike in more than Name.' That's all we know. That's why I thought maybe ... if something was after the Rose Queen, maybe it's after the Blue Rose too.

[starseedling]

It's not?

[Okay now he's confused. As far as he knew, it was like a magic rose? Isn't that the same thing?]

[whattaprick]

[ Reflexively, he scowls, though he manages not to sound like he's scowling. ]

I'm just saying I don't think it's just because it's a rose, literal or shaped like one.

Assuming all fae roses are related to one fae is kind of speciest, isn't it? [ Then again, Steven might know better. ] Maybe she's not the only one who can make roses. Maybe there's a Rose King. A Rose Prince ... ss. [ He trails off. ]

[starseedling]

[Steven has no idea where he stands on that idea.]

I dunno... but... isn't that just kind of guessing, too?

[whattaprick]

We wouldn't have to guess if anyone could give us a straight warning, but apparently that's too much to ask for.

'Consider the rose, and consider a time when you have tasted its thorns before. These flowers are alike in more than Name.' That's the whole thing. As far as I remember, the only time I saw him scratched up was just before we went into the Rose Queen's place, but maybe it's just a fancy way of saying while he was her servant.

[starseedling]

[Steven freezes for a moment, his heart pounding. Scratched up before they went into the Rose Queen's place...]

Th-That... was because of me...

[He sounds ashamed and a bit scared.]

When he was scratched up... Childermass came to find me, and I was scared, so I... I grabbed him with my thorns, even though I knew it was hurting him...

[whattaprick]

[ Lambert digests that for a moment. Does that mean Steven is connected to the Rose, somehow? Or is that just a fancy way of saying 'the Rose Queen wants the Blue Rose AND Steven'? Fuck if he knows.

He realizes he's maybe paused a bit too long. ]

Well, he obviously didn't hold it against you.

[ Yeah that's stating the obvious, but it's true! ]

[starseedling]

[It doesn't stick out so much, because Steven has fallen quiet, too.]

Lambert... do you think...

[He swallows his words and tries again.]

Do you think regular Childermass would have done the same things he did in Portland?

[whattaprick]

[ There's a pause. Even for Lambert, Steven's tone of voice tells him the 'things Childermass did in Portland' that each of them remembers is wildly different. ]

Would you have? [ He counters, instead, to stall for time. ] Childermass did a lot of things in Portland. We all did. What are you really asking me?

[starseedling]

[It's so hard to find the words, to feel like he isn't being unfair.]

He... really hurt me.

[He knows he needs to qualify that. He's not being fair. This isn't kind of him.]

And I want to stop being scared. But I don't know how.

[whattaprick]

[ And suddenly, Lambert wonders if the spell that Childermass paid for wasn't an act of generosity, but an attempt to apologize. And he's annoyed at Childermass all over again, because he realizes the damn magician probably didn't explain jack shit to Steven, or at least not enough. And he's content to let his reputation lie in tatters, but Lambert isn't. ]

He gave up one of the only things he cares about to protect you. Doesn't that say enough? [ Is there anything worse than being in the position of defending the honor of someone you're still kind of mad at? Nonetheless, the bristly defensiveness can't help but assert itself-- ]

If you're looking for him to say sorry or tell you everything's all right and he'll never do it again, give it up. But he's not a bad man. Hell, he's probably a better one than I am. So stop worrying about it.

[starseedling]

[Childermass had never really explained the circumstances behind making the deal with Starlight, and Steven had basically assumed it was a package deal that included Childermass himself. Not that it made including him any less appreciated - he just maybe hadn't understood how targeted it was, and how much of a personal sacrifice.

He nods to himself, pointlessly, taking in that idea. He's willing to believe, or at least he wants to. He wants to move on more than anything, fear plaguing him despite his will instead of because of it. He takes a little while to speak, working over all of this in his head.]

Are you... still in a relationship?

[It's said tenderly, and with the amount of hush that suggests that Steven knows it probably isn't something meant to be public. ]

[whattaprick]

[ Lambert briefly, vividly fantasizes about how much easier life would be if he could knock himself out for the rest of his contract and not have to answer stupid questions. ]

No. [ He says tersely, and then realizes there probably needs to be some clarification in case Steven gets the wrong idea and says something to Childermass and then Childermass comes around to yell at him for giving Steven the wrong idea (unfair, in Lambert's opinion, since he's clearly capable of coming up with the wrong idea on his own. ] We never were.

[starseedling]

Oh.

[This feels really familiar to a similar situation he's dealt with... and while he had gone as far as outright telling Lars he was wrong about there not being anything going on between him and Sadie, he's just not feeling it right now. Not when both men involved kind of intimidate him.]

I'm sorry.

[For making the wrong assumption, or for the fact that it never panned out into anything? Not totally clear.]

[whattaprick]

Don't be.

[ Its said a little stiffly. And it's clearly a subject Lambert wants to leave behind, because he goes on: ]

Anyway, if you remember anything else, or if you see anything out of place... let one of us know. Even if it doesn't seem important. Think you can handle that?

[starseedling]

[Steven is immune to awkwardness at the moment, all he feels is vague melancholy.]

Yeah, I think so.

[He pauses again.]

...Do you think the Ringmaster would let me see the Blue Rose for a minute?

[whattaprick]

[ Lambert pauses, thinking. ]

She might. Maybe not alone, though. Did you want to?

[starseedling]

I still have my powers from Portland... so...

[He shrugs his shoulders helplessly on his side of the radio.]

If I could interact with it, then she could too, right?