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Jul. 19th, 2012 10:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blue_ajahShe wakes early enough that it is still full dark outside, although the first stirrings of birds hint at the dawn to come.
Some few minutes later, Moiraine is seated at the small table in her kitchen, a cup of tea steaming untouched near to hand as she looks out the window, watching the trees and waiting for enough time to pass that she can make a phone call without waking the person she wishes to reach... and without disturbing his morning meditation session.
Some few minutes later, Moiraine is seated at the small table in her kitchen, a cup of tea steaming untouched near to hand as she looks out the window, watching the trees and waiting for enough time to pass that she can make a phone call without waking the person she wishes to reach... and without disturbing his morning meditation session.
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Date: 2012-07-21 10:50 pm (UTC)Other than that, she remains as still as before, as if she were in truth the delicate porcelain doll she has been called over the years.
"Is that what you think of me? That I could be so cruel as to use you so?"
Try though she might, she cannot keep the slight shiver from her words.
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Date: 2012-07-21 10:58 pm (UTC)Either way, he has his answer ready. "No," Cooper says. "Not at all. And I don't think it's cruel, either. Simply... convenient." Beat. "Moiraine, we've gone this long without talking about any kind of non-platonic feeling between us, and we both seem to have strong feelings about your ex-husband. That you said something only this morning..." Cooper's shaking his head a little. "The timing is... strange. And I don't think it's cruel. If that's why you said something... I'm fine with that. I just want to know."
It hasn't escaped Cooper that Moiraine hasn't denied it.
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Date: 2012-07-21 11:20 pm (UTC)Dimly, in a far corner of her memory, she can almost see the words that she had once written in a letter.
I have put this off because I knew that I must, and now there is little time...
A slight sigh escapes her.
"I suppose that I should not be surprised, that you have perceived it so. Indeed, I can see how you would. And I suppose that I have done crueler things, as it happens, when there was need enough. I have always been as hard as I have had to be."
She smooths her hand along the lines of her skirt, and shifts slightly, prepared to stand.
"But no. I did not speak out of convenience, nor to seek such advantage. Light blind and burn me, if I were to have done such a thing in this instance."
For all their sakes.
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Date: 2012-07-21 11:26 pm (UTC)A pause.
"Can I ask why you believed you should put it off?"
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Date: 2012-07-21 11:32 pm (UTC)"Because you did not seem interested, when I sought to hint at it, and I did not wish to place you in any sort of uncomfortable position, when I was a guest in your town and your world."
The Aes Sedai lets that hang between them for a brief beat, then asks,
"Why did you not speak, Dale?"
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Date: 2012-07-21 11:58 pm (UTC)They're not pulling any punches.
"There are two reasons," Cooper says. "The first is Dream of the Endless. The second is not only that were you a guest in Twin Peaks, but also that for the first eight months of your time here, you were either my guest, or in a tenuous position in terms of your employment, which was dependent on the good will of my best friend -- both facts that escaped neither of us. Under those circumstances, I thought it would be unethical to say something, since you may well have felt pressured to respond in a way that you thought would be in accordance with my desires rather than your own."
Cooper is shaking his head slowly. "I didn't want that, Moiraine."
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Date: 2012-07-22 12:10 am (UTC)Her soft voice is much gentler now than it had been the last time she said those two words.
"And now?"
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Date: 2012-07-22 12:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-22 12:19 am (UTC)"It is not given to mortals to love the Endless." Very gently. "Whatever else I may be, I am mortal, Dale, and both Dream and I have accepted that. Not without mourning, perhaps, but the passage of time has done much to heal such matters on both sides. What was between us in the past will remain so, and neither of us seeks to change that."
A slight smile appears.
"And I also know that it is not the first time that he has loved a mortal, come to that. Nor, I suspect, will it be the last."
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Date: 2012-07-22 12:25 am (UTC)But the problem isn't Moiraine and Dream. The problem is what Dream will do to Cooper, if Dream finds out. The problem is Dream and Cooper.
"Unfortunate for the woman," Cooper says, quite calmly.
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Date: 2012-07-22 01:02 am (UTC)But the Aes Sedai is bound to speak no word that is not true, and as she thinks of the sentence Dream had given a long-ago woman named Nada, and what had happened to another named Killalla, at first she says nothing.
Finally,
"I understand why you believe it so."
She raises her hand and touches her fingers lightly to the small scar on her chin, then to the places in her hair where napthalot had once appeared before his eyes, all the while holding his gaze.
"In truth, I know very well."
She lowers her hand once more, and links her fingers together in her lap.
"But I also know the tale of a woman named Thessaly, and so I shall hope for the best. I do not believe that there is anything else I can do."
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Date: 2012-07-22 01:08 am (UTC)He looks down for a moment, still leaning forward, elbows on knees, hands clasped.
"He didn't know about the Last Battle." Without looking up. "Which means... he wasn't monitoring your movements."
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Date: 2012-07-22 01:13 am (UTC)"No. His surprise appeared genuine."
Moiraine pauses for an instant, then adds,
"It is hard to explain, in a sense, but there is no reason that he should know such details. There are so many, many Mirrors to the Wheel; can you or I know the exact shading of one thread in our clothing, or the touch of one single strand of hair amid many thousands?"
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Date: 2012-07-22 01:17 am (UTC)Cooper lifts his head.
"Moiraine, when I say that Dream of the Endless is a reason -- I'm worried about him exacting revenge on either of us. You know that."
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Date: 2012-07-22 01:23 am (UTC)Still, her voice softens, as does her demeanor.
"I do not believe there is reason to worry, Dale. If I did, I should never have spoken; I would never wish to put you at such risk."
There is no hint of judgement in either her tone or her glance as she continues,
"But I do know the reason for your worry, you are right about that, and I do understand. I will not say that you should set your concerns aside. Only you can decide that. And I shall not press you to make such a decision."
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Date: 2012-07-22 01:48 am (UTC)In for a penny.
"I may have made it."
He's speaking cautiously.
"If he has to look deliberately to see, and he hasn't for some time. And if the two of you have reached an understanding, that there's no expectation on either end about resuming your relationship. It's not going to get better than that, is it." Questioning. "It can't."
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Date: 2012-07-22 01:55 am (UTC)She does not say anything at all, but sits very still, watching him.
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Date: 2012-07-22 02:03 am (UTC)Quiet: "Moiraine, would you do me the honor of having dinner with me this Friday night at the Great Northern?"
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Date: 2012-07-22 02:05 am (UTC)--and then the Aes Sedai smiles.
"I shall be delighted to do so."
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Date: 2012-07-22 02:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-22 02:14 am (UTC)