"Oh... Yeah, it was so everybody would just be happy with Vaeros being in charge, even if normally they don't like him." Kalim shrugs. "It was really peaceful. But I got kind of freaked out after, ha ha! It's way weirder remembering a whole bunch of stuff you wouldn't normally do than it just waking up with no idea what happened..."
He pauses, tilting his head slightly to peer at Jamil.
"Say, where did you end up, when all that happened?"
That's... not too bad, maybe. It sounds more like general suggestion than direct control, like Jamil does, so perhaps the effects really were superficial. Kalim's question then waylays that entire train of thought.
Jamil freezes, minutely. The problem is he can't really give Kalim any details; not because he doesn't want to, but because his memory of the experience is just a blur of anxiety. He has impressions of the circumstances--entering the Labyrinth, finding Lilia, searching for shards--but mostly he remembers the all-encompassing, mounting fear of where is Kalim I need to find Kalim he could be dead. And the relief he'd felt when everyone reunited safely had overwhelmed him to the point he had never thought to ask what Kalim had actually been doing the whole time. Obviously, since they're only now having this conversation.
The thing is, all of that would be so embarrassing to say out loud.
Wow it's purely safety concerns what are you implying!!!
"No, actually, there wasn't anyone else there. Lilia was the only person I encountered the entire time, aside from the witch." Something about the place had been deeply unsettling, but in retrospect Jamil can't see that they'd been in danger in any way.
"Oh, wow... There was no one there at all? That kind of sounds worse than all my stuff. And I hated that, hahaha!" He looks genuinely sympathetic, unfortunately. "Well, I'm glad you guys didn't get hurt."
"What are you talking about? I'm not the one who got brainwashed." He can't think of anything he'd hate more, to be honest, and he doesn't understand how Kalim can be so cavalier about it. But he's had that thought about Kalim more times then he can count.
"And about that. If everyone was supposed to be so happy there, why did w... I mean, what made them separate? That doesn't make any sense."
"I don't know. They didn't tell me a whole lot about it." He's thought about this a lot, though. Both the future Kalim and the future Jamil kind of acted like it was bound to happen, just an inevitable fact of life – something they both grew out of – but he doesn't want to say that out loud because it upsets him too much. "Vaeros made everyone feel really happy and safe no matter what, though. I think maybe that's why? If they both really, really felt like everything was safe, then the older you wouldn't have to worry about anything happening to the older me, right? So he could leave and not feel bad."
Jamil frowns. Kalim's speculation makes logical sense, but something about it just doesn't sit right with him. Like the thought of leaving Kalim behind in the Scalding Sands to go traveling--it feels like a somehow impossible idea. Not that he wouldn't want it, obviously, but it just isn't something that can happen. There's always reasons.
"There had to be something else. If they really just drifted apart, then why did the other me visit you in prison?" And not do anything about that?
"Curious," Jamil echoes. It... doesn't sound unlike him, truthfully. But the thought of any version of him leaving Kalim to rot still bothers him. If they'd truly lived in that other universe for years then Jamil could believe the older him might have sense his sense of duty but... but. Still.
"Did... he truly seem happy? Apart from the effects of the spell."
"...I don't know," Kalim says. "Everyone was happy. I couldn't exactly just... look past the spell, you know? And I can never tell what's going on with you anyway, haha."
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He pauses, tilting his head slightly to peer at Jamil.
"Say, where did you end up, when all that happened?"
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Jamil freezes, minutely. The problem is he can't really give Kalim any details; not because he doesn't want to, but because his memory of the experience is just a blur of anxiety. He has impressions of the circumstances--entering the Labyrinth, finding Lilia, searching for shards--but mostly he remembers the all-encompassing, mounting fear of where is Kalim I need to find Kalim he could be dead. And the relief he'd felt when everyone reunited safely had overwhelmed him to the point he had never thought to ask what Kalim had actually been doing the whole time. Obviously, since they're only now having this conversation.
The thing is, all of that would be so embarrassing to say out loud.
"I... was in the Labyrinth. With Lilia."
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"Whoah, really?" Kalim leans forward a little. "Was it dangerous?"
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"No, actually, there wasn't anyone else there. Lilia was the only person I encountered the entire time, aside from the witch." Something about the place had been deeply unsettling, but in retrospect Jamil can't see that they'd been in danger in any way.
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"And about that. If everyone was supposed to be so happy there, why did w... I mean, what made them separate? That doesn't make any sense."
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"I don't know. They didn't tell me a whole lot about it." He's thought about this a lot, though. Both the future Kalim and the future Jamil kind of acted like it was bound to happen, just an inevitable fact of life – something they both grew out of – but he doesn't want to say that out loud because it upsets him too much. "Vaeros made everyone feel really happy and safe no matter what, though. I think maybe that's why? If they both really, really felt like everything was safe, then the older you wouldn't have to worry about anything happening to the older me, right? So he could leave and not feel bad."
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"There had to be something else. If they really just drifted apart, then why did the other me visit you in prison?" And not do anything about that?
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"Did... he truly seem happy? Apart from the effects of the spell."
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