TheStarsAreRight:HenRebNote1
REDLAND JACK
Redland taps lightly on the door of the guest house occupied by Henrik and Rebecca. He figures there's a decent chance they're not in, they're asleep, or otherwise occupied (or just pretending they don't hear him... the fiends), but he decides to give it a shot.
HENRIK
It's the middle of the evening - around nine o'clock - and Henrik answers the door dressed in an undershirt and drawstring pants. He takes in Redland with a nod and say "Oh, hello, Jack. Come in. Rebecca and I were just cleaning our guns."
Coming in, Jack finds that this was not a euphemism, as the kitchen is strewn with gun parts. There's also a board with fruit and cheese off to the side along with skewers. Rebecca is similarly attired, and seated on the floor with gun parts mostly on her right, with the board just within reach on her left. Henrik hands her a skewer with an early wild strawberry as he sits back down on the floor across from her to his rifle. She takes it with an oily hand and smiles as she tries it, and then tosses the skewer with a pile of dirtied ones in the corner. It seems quite cozy.
"Please, have a seat." Henrik says. "Help yourself to the food as long as you're careful to keep it away from the parts. Was there something in particular you wanted to talk about, or is this just a friendly visit?"
REBECCA
Rebecca gives you a warm, if distracted, smile amid the scattered gun parts, oily rags, and other bits and pieces.
It's pretty clear looking at what they're wearing, that she's got on some of Henrik's clothing, it makes them look like a strange set of almost mismatched twins. Though Rebecca fills out the shirt and pants in very different ways than Henrikdoes.
"Jack . . . come in . . . come in." she gazes at a bit of metal in her hand with a puzzled frown. Then looks over at her husband.
"What happens if I have a piece left over?" she asks.
REDLAND JACK
Jack waves. He seems to have a couple of mild cuts on his face, but otherwise looks normal. He appears more comfortable in the guest houses than in the estate proper.
"Hey guys.
Well, can any visit that involves me really be considered 'friendly'?"
Redland takes the proffered seat, though he smilingly waves off the food.
"Er, a couple of days back, I had talked to Carl about possibly making a solo jaunt to New York and then meeting back up with you all on the way to Russia. You know, given the success of my last solo venture there...
"Anyhow, I mentioned I was considering checking in with Pentheus as a possible source to use to locate Donal, but, given my memory problems, I wasn't sure if they'd be happy to see me. To be specific, I wasn't sure if we (as a group) had done something to them that they might take amiss. Carl thought it probably was okay, but he recommended that I ask the two of you, as he apparently missed out on some of the action. He also indicated that you had stayed there a few extra days.
"Well, it's less pressing now, since I obviously decided not to go. On the other hand, my next opportunity to do something stupid is always right around the corner, so I figured I should check now."
As always, Jack is carrying his notebook, though he doesn't appear to be taking any notes at this time. He frequently puts his hand in one of his pockets, and he seems to shy away from something, possibly the gun parts.
HENRIK
Henrik takes the piece that Rebecca was holding up, inspecting it as he absentmindedly replies to Jack, "But of course we're the wrong ones to talk to, since we weren't..." He pauses and looks at Jack, "Oh, I'm sorry - you don't remember."
"Rebecca and I didn't arrive in New York until after you had left. We arrived there only one day before boarding ship, and not spoke to Pentheus. We had been busy with, er, protestants."
"As far as I know, we as a group haven't done anything to make them unhappy - except not helping them much. I can telephone or telegram them. They know that I am close to Carl but don't work for him. If you said or did something to offend them, I can honestly say I didn't know about it. I too would like to contact Donal. We have little time left, and don't seem to be making much progress with the Principles."
He pauses for a minute, then announces "Oh, it's the lever for the safety." and hands the piece back to Rebecca.
"We vould not want to be unsafe, eh, Jack?"
REDLAND JACK
He looks around briefly.
"Ah, yes. I recall that we were talking about the Principles a bit earlier when we were interrupted. In particular ...," he stops abruptly, looking a little distracted.
"Hey, maybe you guys could give me some advice. I've been a little out of sorts, lately, and I'm not really sure if I know what I'm doing anymore. I don't know if I told you this or not, but when I was in Los Angeles, I went ahead and did the whole 'communion' thing. I spent some time with the people, I met a girl there, and I spent the day ... kind of exploring and such, and... well, the upshot, is that I was happy.
"The thing is, I don't really know if that feeling was 'real.' I also don't know if that really matters one way or the other."
He rambles on.
"I'm sure I had (what I thought were) some good reason for leaving, but as time passes, I'm not really clear on what they were now. I mean, I figured I had obligations, but, given what happened subsequently... This whole thing with my memory, maybe it's for the best. Should I really go back to New York? Heck, I don't even really know why I'm going to Russia. I just..."
He looks around, almost pleadingly.
"I don't really know what I'm doing anymore. ... What should I do?"
REBECCA
Rebecca sets aside her work, and gazes at you with a surprising warmth.
"Of course it was real." she says softly. "And it matters. It does." a flickering glance over to Henrik that says much without a single word exchanged. Then her attention refocuses back on you.
"I can't imagine what it's like for you, Jack. We all seem to have our reasons for being here, for doing what we're doing. For me . . it's duty and a responsibility to keep people safe. For Henrik . . . part of it's the Generalship . . . but I know some is just because it's the right thing to do. He'll have to explain any more than that, himself.
"But you . . . you don't seem like you have a reason . . you seem to be drifting. Oh, I know that you've got a huge need to understand things . . . but . . " she shakes her head a bit, trying to find the right words.
"I'm not so good at thinking about things very deeply. That's what we have Carl for." she makes a little, bemused smile. "And you. " She looks down at her oily hands ruefully.
"We need you Jack, you keep us all on track - and you point out flaws in our thinking, and . . you keep us honest." Eyes back up to you.
"I guess you need to first figure out what you want to do, and go from there."
She makes a little gesture towards Henrik, giving over the conversation to him.
REDLAND JACK
Redland shakes his head, embarrassed at his actions. He rallies himself and does what he always does when he gets himself into situations like this: He backpedals and tries to joke his way out of it.
"You're looking to me to keep you honest? Egads, you guys are screwed."
He smiles tremulously, "I'm sorry. You guys were trying to have a nice evening doing ..." he looks around briefly, "er, whatever it is you were doing. You certainly don't need me heaping my idiotic problems at your door. I'll get things squared away, never fear. It's probably just this place ... it's really got me on edge. Maybe it's just that I haven't been sleeping well lately. Or maybe I'm still recovering from my fever. Who knows? Anyway, I'll try to go get some rest, I'm sure things will look up in the morning."
He stands up.
"Umm. Would you mind not saying anything to Carl? I think he'd be disappointed in me."
HENRIK
As Jack spoke, Henrik had gone deeper into thought, seemingly a bit stunned by what he had said. He had sat down on a kitchen chair and was rubbing his temple with an oily hand as Rebecca responded.
When Jack turns to go, though, he jumps up and speaks excitedly, "Nein! Wait!"
"Jack, I am not tell you what... Eh. I am not the one to tell you what to do, but I will tell you what I am thinking. While a grand plan or scheme is fine, most people and many of us get by with just living each day at a time. I have an attachment and a position in the battle now, but those are not the things that guide me. What guide me mostly are trying to do what is right."
"I am very very skeptical of working with Outsiders like the Dark Pharoah, and working with the Fae, too. However, I don't think they are evil. Evil is what we as humans do. I worry because I feel like you may be drawn to evil by them. That is my worry about you, though, not my thinking you are evil. I think you are a good person, and I would like to help you."
Henrik pauses for a moment as he tries to look Jack in the eye.
"Though... I wonder... that is... do you drink blood now?"
REDLAND JACK
Redland sits back down. When Henrik finishes speaking, he looks a bit surprised. The silence drags on for a while (though it probably isn't as long as it seems). When he finally speaks, he sounds, at first, faintly amused.
"Have no fear on the blood drinking front. I'm certainly no expert on the subject, but I don't think the, (I guess they call themselves 'Companions'), have any need (or desire) to drink blood. Well, no more than an ordinary person, I suppose. When I ... let Alanna drink my blood, I was still, for most intents and purposes, an ordinary human. I think Carl would describe it by saying that I still had a normal human connection to the 'Worldsoul'. I believe the reason the Nightsiders have traditionally needed to drink blood, is that they had lost their connection and this somehow helped sustain them on this world. Now that Medea did ... whatever it is that she did, the Fae as a whole, I believe, now have a connection to this world. I don't think they need to drink blood anymore, though they still enjoy it, it is part of their culture, and it has traditionally been the only way to create more Fae.
"Anyhow, the necrophage has long since left my system. I now have, as far as I know, no more 'connection' to the Fae than either of you. And (hopefully) an equal desire to drink blood."
Redland appears weary and his eyes are downcast.
"As to the nature of evil. I guess I half agree with you there. It is, to a certain extent, subjective. It is not just consequences, but intent. I don't know whether or not the Dark Pharaoh or an individual member of the Fae is evil, but the Fae (as currently constituted) certainly seem to possess the requisite intelligence and psyche to be capable of good or evil. With the Dark Pharaoh, it is harder to say, as it is difficult to understand the mind of one so alien. The intelligence is obviously there, but whether that is sufficient to make him capable (as we would think of it) of evil, is harder to ascertain.
"I don't believe he is leading me down the path to evil. He has, in fact, (from what I recall), had little to do with me outside of our first meeting. With an entity as powerful as he is, this is, perhaps not surprising. I would imagine he spends his time influencing major players, trying to achieve whatever outcome it is that he desires (for whatever reason).
"Now, I'm not sure what your issue is with the Fae. What I've observed of them leads me to believe that, in all ways that matter, they seem quite human. The members of the community, both Fae and 'Companion', were playful and friendly.
"I spent more time with Alanna than I did with the rest of them. I may have mentioned earlier that she is the one who infected me with the necrophage. She was very graceful and sweet. I was completely infatuated with her (which may be a result of the infection?). Given that, and my lack of utter lack of experience with women, I have to imagine that I was extremely irritating, but she always treated me kindly. She made sure that I cleared the necrogen from my system so that I would more accurately be able to evaluate the experience. If the Fae are pushing an agenda, it is a pretty soft sell."
Redland continues to speak. His manner is subdued, but he presses forward without pause.
"So I don't think I'm being drawn to evil, though I could mistaken, since it seems likely that I'd be quite susceptible. After all, I'm lonely, my belief structure has been shaken, and I'm confused. Consider: I've known you guys since mid-December, so say five months, of which about 6 weeks of that seem to have disappeared into the aether. Of the remaining three and a half months, about two months have been mostly eradicated from my memory. Yet, here I am, in France, apparently getting ready to go to Russia.
"I'm more concerned about my mental health ... my sanity. I don't really know what is real (or what I believe) anymore. My clearest sign that what you guys say is true, is that I can hear voices in my head. I've lost confidence in my ability to make decisions for myself. With the loss of some of my memories, I live in a state of confusion, almost as if I'm in a dream. It strikes me that I may be delusional. Depressed. What happened to John Elwar? Boris? What happened to me in New York that caused me to lose my memories? Who (or what) is Donal? What's going on? What am I doing? I feel like I've lost the thread. I can't seem to make a coherent narrative of my own life. I'm lost. It doesn't make sense. I don't understand."
Redland finally stops speaking. He hasn't looked up the entire time. At times it seemed as though he forgot that he was communicating with others, as if he was lost in a reverie.
HENRIK
Henrik had stood up and was absent-mindedly wiping his oily hands off on his shirt while Jack was talking. He stops this as Jack trails off, and waits a few seconds before starting suddenly. He grips Jack by the arms as he starts to speak as emphasis of his point.
"Pah. It's not insanity to be confused about what is going on. Insane would be if you thought you knew what was going on... which is why I have my doubts sometimes about Carl. Things in the world are strange and uncertain, and we feel powerless and threatened, but that is the hand that God has dealt us. At the same time, it would also be crazy to go back to your old life and pretend that none of this is happening."
He turns and tries to lead Jack into the kitchen.
"Come on. Stay up a while with us - have a few snacks, and we'll talk things over. It's human contact that keeps us sane."
"One of the few things we do know is that we are headed into a war of sorts. When I first went to war, I was young and scared and confused and I had no idea what was going on, and I had far less experience with women than you have. I thought I was going crazy. The only thing that kept me sane was talking with my fellow soldiers, and the love I had for those people with me."
REDLAND JACK
Redland is unresisting as Henrik leads him to the kitchen. "Thanks ... yeah, some tea would be nice." He waves off the offer of food. "I just haven't been that hungry lately. Well, I could try a little bread."
It seems possible that this is all he has been eating lately. It's starting to appear that he has moved from gaunt to emaciated.
Upon returning to the main room, Jack sits back down and nibbles timidly at his food.
"Do we, uh, do we really know if we're headed towards a war? I mean, I don't really know what's happening anymore. I just know what people are telling me. I'm trying to be as logical and scientific about this as possible. The evidence I have, it just doesn't seem definitive. And even if..."
He abruptly non sequitirs, "War is a terrible thing. It can shape you, scar you, ... break you. I hoped never to see it again. If these Outsiders are coming, well, we should do what we can to avert conflict. Yes, preparing for war is one way of doing this, but I feel like..."
He trails off again, thinking.
"Sorry, I just don't know if I'm really making any sense here."
He gestures at his watch, suddenly. "You know, that's why ... the Dark Pharaoh and all."
He looks to see if you understand.
