"The ritual in Leerie. A side effect of the attempted joining was that some of the King's memory was left to me. Nothing so... precise as your suffering." A pause. "I would have told you that." A breath out. "But I remember being something whose very presence can inspire the urge to stab one's ear canal out with a fucking spoon. I know how the King hurts people. I know how..." And he looks to Charlie, "I know."
He leaves it at that.
A glance to Arthur before he says.
"He was trying to make it clear how much we think of you, after that bullshit earlier, and the lack of transparency might have made you question how important to us you actually are. Hamfisted, perhaps, but the attempt wasn't smoke." A dip of his head.
"I'm sorry, Charlie. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you who I was from the get go all those months ago. I'm sorry that we didn't think to tell you about our own experiences. I won't speak on your experience further... but I think you understand that sometimes, you don't share not because of a lack of trust or importance... but because saying the words out loud makes them real in a way, ghosts of the past that one can still very much feel, and we had no interest in bringing that time to life again." He shakes his head. "I'm still sorry."
Re: what lies beneath
John says it wearily. Achingly. Ashamedly.
"The ritual in Leerie. A side effect of the attempted joining was that some of the King's memory was left to me. Nothing so... precise as your suffering." A pause. "I would have told you that." A breath out. "But I remember being something whose very presence can inspire the urge to stab one's ear canal out with a fucking spoon. I know how the King hurts people. I know how..." And he looks to Charlie, "I know."
He leaves it at that.
A glance to Arthur before he says.
"He was trying to make it clear how much we think of you, after that bullshit earlier, and the lack of transparency might have made you question how important to us you actually are. Hamfisted, perhaps, but the attempt wasn't smoke." A dip of his head.
"I'm sorry, Charlie. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you who I was from the get go all those months ago. I'm sorry that we didn't think to tell you about our own experiences. I won't speak on your experience further... but I think you understand that sometimes, you don't share not because of a lack of trust or importance... but because saying the words out loud makes them real in a way, ghosts of the past that one can still very much feel, and we had no interest in bringing that time to life again." He shakes his head. "I'm still sorry."