extent | duplicitynet

... yes?

[ having flashbacks to having agreed to getting high with nick. ]

( obviously nick remembers exactly the same promise. )

Great. Want to practice?

Why not? Maybe I'll hate Quantum Physics less. I assume you're fine with me setting up some temporary wards to keep the smoke in.

Yeah. I don't smoke inside so like, go for it.

( he waves a hand vaguely at the door, more concerned with flopping his head off of the edge of his bed and reaching under to fish a box out. there's a lot of weed in there – really, a lot, but in fairness he really can just about grow this in his sleep. )

Do you have a stupid high tolerance? Like I'm down but I want to know if we're in it for the long haul.

I imagine I'll have normal tolerance, I haven't smoked in years and I've always been a light weight when it comes to intoxication.

[ he's setting up wards. his hand movements are very precise and a little alien to watch because of the extra finger joints. ]

( it's distracting actually, but only because nick is growing more interested in the areas of magic that he doesn't practice. he pauses for a moment, watching ragnor's fingers, looking at his own hands, and then shakes his head.

studying is for later, he has priorities. )

Oh so we'll probably balance out, that's cool. ( back to the box, where he digs through until he finds a ziploc with a handful of joints already rolled. he holds them for a moment, just to confirm, and then tosses the whole thing in ragnor's general direction. ) You won't like some of this stuff I'm guessing, but that one's good. Basically regular weed, real mellow.

[ he catches them, opens the bag and just takes one out. ]

...

Are you waiting for me to be high?

[ to ask questions. nick might be easily distracted, but ragnor knows he's extremely focused when interested. ]

No.

( yes.

he fusses with tucking things away, and then finally just rolls his eyes as he sits upright on the bed. )

Do I think that you're more likely to be chatty in a way that doesn't make me feel like I'm taking advantage of you? Maybe.

It is not nearly as interesting or as fun as whatever you're picturing.

[ he lights the joint with a finger snap and takes a long drag. ]

Maybe. ( he leans over so that he can snag the bag back, fish out a joint for himself. no finger snap tricks here, just a lighter that more or less permanently lives in his pocket, but once it's lit he flops back onto his back. )

But you don't want to talk about it— ( which would be a great reason to let it go, and yet: ) so I'm interested. Is it embarrassing, is that it?

No, it's just private.

[ ragnor has pretty much already given up on keeping it a secret from nick. honestly, he's managed to avoid the topic longer than he expected. ]

Are you this curious because you know him?

[ maybe nick thinks ragnor is seeing nate. he should clear that up if that's the case. ]

( really, there's no justification for his need to know beyond the fact that ragnor was just vague enough to catch nick's interest and hold it indefinitely. still, even if he knows he's being invasively nosy, that doesn't stop him from pushing forward. )

A little. Do you not want to tell me more because I know him?

[ the weed hasn't even hit yet, he's just getting it out of the way so nick doesn't feel like he took advantage later. ]

Cy is helping me get desensitized to a trigger.

[ he takes another drag, lets out the smoke slowly, makes the smoke take the shape of a dragon. ]

That's cute.

( the dragon, not the trigger. that takes a more considered response, coming after a long exhale and no fancy smoke tricks of his own. just another deep drag, held until he rolls his head to the side to look at ragnor. )

Okay. I...obviously have questions, but– ( he gestures vaguely, exhales again. the answer is somewhere along the spectrum of what he'd been guessing, after the truth serum conversation, but he's still surprised enough to proceed carefully. ) you can tell me to fuck off, if you really don't want to talk about it.

[ it's not like ragnor hasn't had time to prepare for this conversation, he's fine. he sits on nick's bed, still playing with the smoke, he makes tiny smoke crusaders fight each other. ]

Having my wrists bound. I hadn't given it any thought until you ended up handcuffed after the purity ball, so I suppose I owe you.

[ one little crusader stabs the other, and they fade into normal smoke. ]

I met Cy over the network, he seemed informed so I thought I'd ask. He had me text someone as a reassurance more than anything else. Any other questions?

( it's nothing so complex as ragnor's dancing figures, but nick watches his own cloud of smoke until it pulls back tighter, swirling much slower into a pattern. eventually it pulls tight enough to take the form of stars that drift slowly across the room, and nick smiles faintly as he tucks the joint back between his lips.

he has hundreds of questions, and he has none. there's probably only one that actually matters though. )

Is it helping?

Good job.

[ he says it gesturing at nick's stars with his joint. ]

And yes. I expected it to be harder than it's turning out to be, Cy is very good at keeping me from disconnecting.

He's good at what he does.

( it's a careful statement, as neutral a one as he can manage. the last thing he wants is to sour this for ragnor by association. he reaches up to pull his finger through one of the stars, and shortly after they all start to disperse back into the air. )

That's...you said you were captured. Is that why?

[ he knows about cy's anon post and he also knows nick is a risk-seeker, but it's fine. ragnor trusts cy as much as he can trust anyone. ]

Partly. You've noticed I need my hands to cast.

[ wrists and fingers, even the smallest spells require ragnor's hands to be free. ]

So if your wrists are bound, you can't do anything.

( he would vastly prefer to be a lot more high than this before any kind of serious conversation, but beyond a few quick drags as either of them speak, he's not actively trying to get blazed just yet. some things just demand more care than a very high nick is able to give.

that's something like growth, right? )

Has someone done that to you before, stopped you using magic like that?

Yes. That's how you capture a warlock.

[ he really isn't bothered yet, as far as he's concerned he's past the difficult part of the conversation. ]

It hasn't been an event every time, or even most of the times. This is a combination of a stint in captivity and the realization that this place could put me in handcuffs any time for any reason.

Like making out at the stupid ball.

( it's smart, really. anticipating your problem areas before the city forces you to deal with them in a much more unpleasant way. )

Is that why you think this city can't fuck with you, because you're already dealing with your triggers?

Ask me that one once the weed hits.

[ maybe he'll have an answer that's not depressing in ten minutes. ]

Smoke faster. It's not like we're going to run out.

( and it would be rude not to join him, so nick takes his own advice. it's probably the longest he's ever stayed quiet, barring that whole unfortunate incident with the gag, waiting until there's several lungs full of smoke drifting around the room before he pipes up again. )

Do you think it's better to just deal with these things head on, then?

Not always. I would rather avoid the problem altogether when possible.

[ he's feeling the effects now, lying back on the bed and playing with smoke figures as they fly up. ]

Here avoiding it isn't an option. And I don't want my problems to become Magnus' problems.

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