[ Riz jumps off Gorgug's shoulder easily enough, landing in a slight crouch on the ground below as Gorgug rattles off everything he'd managed to do in their absence and leans slightly away from him, eyeing the well-populated lab behind him. ]
Damn, you were hard at work. [ It was probably easier for him to work without him and Fabian around to distract him, Riz thinks. Riz works better when nobody's around to distract him too. But that's fine for a few days, or even a week at a time... after a month, he thinks he'd get kind of miserable. Still, he can't fault his productivity. ] I'm pretty sure you accomplished more than Fabian and I. We got to see one of those dying worlds, but we didn't really find out that much.
[ They'd been distracted by the prospect of staying alive. Fabian especially. His eyes dart over to Fabian, knowing how close he'd come to death, the thought of which still nags away at him, but it worked out! It was fine! It's okay! He did a good job! So instead of saying any of that, he just gives Gorgug a thumbs-up. ]
But neither of us died! So hey, success on that front!
[ He didn't want Fabian to die, obviously. That would be awful. He also didn't want to have to be the one to tell Gorgug that Fabian died on his watch, though, and he's deeply relieved that he doesn't have to. ]
[ As Fabian slowly pulls out of the hug now Riz has jumped down, he's definitely staring right back at Riz while Riz is looking at him - and Fabian knows what the other is thinking. He's pretty sure it's the exact same thing he's thinking about, with all the emphasis here on not having died.
Which, technically, he didn't. But Fabian also knows he sure did get closer than he ever had before in this place. Does that mean he should tell Gorgug? Or shouldn't? He doesn't want to put his friends into a weird or bad mood, but he also doesn't want this to turn into a Thing if it ever comes out later and it turns out Gorgug cares..
Ugh. Uggggh. He just came back from that dumb mission, he doesn't immediately want to have to contemplate all of this! Why make him!
It's why Fabian looks like a kid getting dragged to the dentist against their will as he admits, not directly looking at either of the other two at first: ] Well, I almost died, I suppose. But The Ball made sure it did not actually happen.
[ Once more, internally: Ughhhhhhhhh.
He sucks in a breath, trying to act all Cool and Casual and Nonchalant as he fully turns back towards his friends. ]
[ Being apart from them for a month--or, really, any form of social interaction--has mucked with Gorgug's brain chemicals in a way where, maybe, the sight of the two of them isn't quite connecting right. Are they the odd thing out, or is he? Even after a hug that was very real, and Gorgug's listening to Riz now, who only cements how very much the pair didn't die.
He doesn't notice the subtle intricacies of Fabian's state of mind that might be reflected in his posture, until the other speaks up--and then, it's only surface level. That pouting face of his before he huffs it away. And Fabian's really trying to make it a point that nothing actually happened.
...they do nearly die all the time, so this is--one of those times when he should trust what Fabian says, right? There isn't anything deeper to this, and Gorgug stares at Fabian for a few seconds as he stays in a buffering state.
... ]
Okay, [ he finally says, reasoning, ] Almost dying isn't dying.
[ Riz is visibly surprised that Fabian relented and told Gorgug the truth; he's got a shit poker face when he's not actively trying to have one, and his wide eyes and open mouth tell the tale there. He was leaving it to Fabian to talk about it himself, really, but Fabian never wanted to talk about any sort of perceived weakness, even if it was some dude poisoning him. He lets his mouth snap shut again, instead nodding to back Fabian up.
Besides, Gorgug's next question is confronting something that Riz didn't exactly tell Fabian about. It just didn't seem important. He thinks that it's possible that Fabian caught on, if he wasn't too busy just recovering from the whole ordeal, but he never said it out loud. Instead, he had simply slipped out of their shared apartment, telling Fabian he had to go pick up a few things (he did come back with a couple of sandwiches, to be fair), and then returned with all of that nervous energy he couldn't quite get rid of finally having left his body. It didn't seem important to address, not if it would upset Fabian more when his body was still frail from his near-death experience, but it's not like he's going to lie.
So instead, he turns to look Gorgug in the eye -- not satisfied, necessarily, but sure of himself. ]
Yeah, [ he says bluntly. ] I shot him in the head.
[ He had given him a chance to do better. Hand over the points Riz himself had lost gambling for his life, or meet the wrong end of his gun. Giving away his points would have killed him eventually, granted, but Riz likes to think he dealt with it well enough. ]
[ Look, guys, it's fine. It's fine. They don't have to get into the details of Fabian's state back there. Fabian knows that Riz knows, obviously. The other saw him nearly dead like that. But Gorgug didn't see it, and Fabian knows it's very likely that Riz won't bring up any details that Fabian doesn't, so it's fine! It was absolutely not a big deal, and the more Fabian repeats that to himself, the more he will be able to believe it.
Riz's confession about what happened after is indeed not all that surprising. Fabian didn't know for sure it happened, but even though his recovery had been relatively slow without the aid of magical healing that they usually have, he had been able to pick up on some signs.
Especially when Riz's signs are really, really obvious when it comes to this.
Then again, Fabian also doesn't know how to deal with concepts like your best friend murdering someone for trying to murder you, so. You know. Another thing to play off real casually. Really not a big deal. ]
See? [ He says, waving a hand like they are talking about the most normal and casual topic ever brought up. This is so normal, you two!! ] It has all been resolved very neatly. The way we always do it!
[ Riz answers him, no fuss or trimmings, and Gorgug gives him a short nod. That answers that, the expected response, because that's who Riz is and that's who they are. Just as it's like Fabian to want to brush it away, and Gorgug doesn't need to make much more about it. But... ]
Thank you, [ he says to Riz; which might seem unnecessary to the other, but doesn't a guy deserve it for saving their neutral friend? But he turns his attention to the both of them proper, suggesting, ] Should we go to the boat? We should-- we can talk more there. There's food. Are you hungry?
[ It was meant to be a mission about surviving, which they did very well, but also: does it mean they got to stay fed well? ]
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Damn, you were hard at work. [ It was probably easier for him to work without him and Fabian around to distract him, Riz thinks. Riz works better when nobody's around to distract him too. But that's fine for a few days, or even a week at a time... after a month, he thinks he'd get kind of miserable. Still, he can't fault his productivity. ] I'm pretty sure you accomplished more than Fabian and I. We got to see one of those dying worlds, but we didn't really find out that much.
[ They'd been distracted by the prospect of staying alive. Fabian especially. His eyes dart over to Fabian, knowing how close he'd come to death, the thought of which still nags away at him, but it worked out! It was fine! It's okay! He did a good job! So instead of saying any of that, he just gives Gorgug a thumbs-up. ]
But neither of us died! So hey, success on that front!
[ He didn't want Fabian to die, obviously. That would be awful. He also didn't want to have to be the one to tell Gorgug that Fabian died on his watch, though, and he's deeply relieved that he doesn't have to. ]
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Which, technically, he didn't. But Fabian also knows he sure did get closer than he ever had before in this place. Does that mean he should tell Gorgug? Or shouldn't? He doesn't want to put his friends into a weird or bad mood, but he also doesn't want this to turn into a Thing if it ever comes out later and it turns out Gorgug cares..
Ugh. Uggggh. He just came back from that dumb mission, he doesn't immediately want to have to contemplate all of this! Why make him!
It's why Fabian looks like a kid getting dragged to the dentist against their will as he admits, not directly looking at either of the other two at first: ] Well, I almost died, I suppose. But The Ball made sure it did not actually happen.
[ Once more, internally: Ughhhhhhhhh.
He sucks in a breath, trying to act all Cool and Casual and Nonchalant as he fully turns back towards his friends. ]
So, really, nothing important happened!
[ Nailed it. ]
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He doesn't notice the subtle intricacies of Fabian's state of mind that might be reflected in his posture, until the other speaks up--and then, it's only surface level. That pouting face of his before he huffs it away. And Fabian's really trying to make it a point that nothing actually happened.
...they do nearly die all the time, so this is--one of those times when he should trust what Fabian says, right? There isn't anything deeper to this, and Gorgug stares at Fabian for a few seconds as he stays in a buffering state.
... ]
Okay, [ he finally says, reasoning, ] Almost dying isn't dying.
[ ...
He turns to Riz. ]
Did you kill the thing that almost killed Fabian?
[ That goes without saying, right? ]
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Besides, Gorgug's next question is confronting something that Riz didn't exactly tell Fabian about. It just didn't seem important. He thinks that it's possible that Fabian caught on, if he wasn't too busy just recovering from the whole ordeal, but he never said it out loud. Instead, he had simply slipped out of their shared apartment, telling Fabian he had to go pick up a few things (he did come back with a couple of sandwiches, to be fair), and then returned with all of that nervous energy he couldn't quite get rid of finally having left his body. It didn't seem important to address, not if it would upset Fabian more when his body was still frail from his near-death experience, but it's not like he's going to lie.
So instead, he turns to look Gorgug in the eye -- not satisfied, necessarily, but sure of himself. ]
Yeah, [ he says bluntly. ] I shot him in the head.
[ He had given him a chance to do better. Hand over the points Riz himself had lost gambling for his life, or meet the wrong end of his gun. Giving away his points would have killed him eventually, granted, but Riz likes to think he dealt with it well enough. ]
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Riz's confession about what happened after is indeed not all that surprising. Fabian didn't know for sure it happened, but even though his recovery had been relatively slow without the aid of magical healing that they usually have, he had been able to pick up on some signs.
Especially when Riz's signs are really, really obvious when it comes to this.
Then again, Fabian also doesn't know how to deal with concepts like your best friend murdering someone for trying to murder you, so. You know. Another thing to play off real casually. Really not a big deal. ]
See? [ He says, waving a hand like they are talking about the most normal and casual topic ever brought up. This is so normal, you two!! ] It has all been resolved very neatly. The way we always do it!
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Thank you, [ he says to Riz; which might seem unnecessary to the other, but doesn't a guy deserve it for saving their neutral friend? But he turns his attention to the both of them proper, suggesting, ] Should we go to the boat? We should-- we can talk more there. There's food. Are you hungry?
[ It was meant to be a mission about surviving, which they did very well, but also: does it mean they got to stay fed well? ]