Funerary Rites 26: Owned

[aldersprig]

🔑

Erramun shifted on his knees but didn’t stand.  He didn’t look at her, didn’t move to touch the ink.  He seemed to be staring off into space.

Senga walked around behind him and brushed a feather-light touch over his shoulders.  

He twitched and leaned forward, away from her touch.  She moved her hands and moved back around in front of him.

His hands had come to clasp behind his back.  His eyes looked blank. Senga frowned. “Errmun?”

“Yes, mistress?”  His voice was rough and very quiet.  He looked like he was holding himself forcibly still.

“Senga,” she corrected.  “Erramun, what’s wrong?”

“Everything is fine... mistress.”  His shoulders were tight. She wanted to touch him again, but it seemed like it was hurting him.

read on…

Comments

[kelkyag]

That certainly hints at some backstory ...

[aldersprig]

ooooh yeah.

[sauergeek]

He's trying to reassure her that he's no danger. That is not the direction I expected this to go.

She's sitting with him after the fact, instead of just heading out of the room. That's good.

She's not addressing his fear of confinement, though by his reaction I'm guessing he's considering himself more confined by that marking than any closed door could possibly be. Addressing the door, as a potentially now trivial matter, may provide reassurance?

[aldersprig]

He is, inherently, more scary than she is.

And she’s trying to comfort him - but she’s not quite sure how to do so. And yes - well, at some point, they should address the door.

[clare_dragonfly]

I think it's perfectly reasonable for Senga to have been afraid of him, at least sometimes! Good conversation for them to have.

His answer is intriguing in that it might or might not answer her question--does he mean no, he absolutely cannot find a loophole that would allow him to hurt her, or yes, he can find a loophole but he still can't hurt her?

[aldersprig]

He’s kind of scary, after all. Big, old, assassin…

And yes, it is a very intriguing answer, isn’t it? :-D