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[lastgunslinger]

It's a little hard to figure out time in the Dreaming. In some cases, that's the point.

Kind of like this one.

Eventually, a little ways down the beach, a chair becomes visible. A tall lifeguard's chair.

Somebody's sitting in it.

Comments

[lastgunslinger]

There's the crackling of joints -- and of wood -- as Roland stands behind her.

"I left him first."

Pause.

"Twice."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly blinks, but doesn't turn around.

"Twice?"

[lastgunslinger]

"Second time was in Milliways."

He steps forward to stand beside her, arms folded across his chest. "Did he ever tell you how he died?"

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly tilts her head, still not quite looking at him.

"Just said in battle. It didn't seem like so much of a good topic, even for a death story, so... we never really had a lengthy conversation about it."

[lastgunslinger]

"You want to know?"

Roland is dead, and Alain is gone; the knowledge can't hurt anybody any more.

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly looks at him now, eyebrow raised.

"Do I?"

Because she can't really think how this is going to help, but if Roland thinks so, then...

[lastgunslinger]

"I can't tell you that."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly sighs.

"Fine. Yes, I want to know."

[lastgunslinger]

"Cuthbert and I shot him."

Entirely matter-of-fact.

"Accidentally."

[awesome_lilly]

Silence.

"... you what?"

[lastgunslinger]

Roland looks down at her. "We shot him. Accidentally."

Normally Roland doesn't like repeating himself. His tone is mild.

[awesome_lilly]

"Oh."

Lilly's quiet, for a long time. But... friendly fire's not exactly unheard of in her world, and there was a time when her own brother was under suspicion of accidentally murdering her, so.

"He still left, though. Bert too. Didn't kinda everyone leave you?"

[lastgunslinger]

"They died, if that's what you mean."

His hands are on his hips now. The fire crackles behind him.

"Except for Susannah. She left me first. And then..." A half-shrug. "I never found out what was through her door."

[awesome_lilly]

"Eddie. Or... a version of him, from another world. But then she came back, to our Eddie."

Another silence.

"Alain's not coming back. And... I'm not going anywhere for a while."

She smiles, humorlessly.

"You know why?"

[lastgunslinger]

"I'd hear, if you'd tell." Almost gently.

[awesome_lilly]

"Remember all that good advice you gave me about the price of defying ka? Yeah, I didn't listen."

She sighs.

"A busful of people I knew at Neptune went over a cliff. I got Veronica off, but... realized too late they were in danger too. They died. I came back, Meg got shot and killed in the greenhouse. Then... I had dreams, about River and Mal, and none of the crew'd been in the bar, so I was worried."

A shrug.

"Not worried enough. I didn't do anything till the next day, when Raven said he could take me there. We got to the ship. It had crashed, and been abandoned, except... Wash was still there. Because he was dead."

She trails off, remembering the shock of that sight.

[lastgunslinger]

Roland takes the chair beside hers, and sits, leaned over, elbows resting on his knees.

Fingertwirl.

[awesome_lilly]

"So. Raven's, he's a lot more powerful than you'd think if you only knew about the cookies and the glitter. I asked if he could do anything, and he said yes, but there'd be a price and I said okay."

Lilly looks down at her hands twisted together in her lap.

"I didn't ask what it was. It turns out... I traded my trip to Death's realm for Wash's trip back."

[lastgunslinger]

"Do you regret it?"

From somewhere he's gotten a cigarette.

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly is very, very still.

"Not... not really. Not yet."

She tries for a smile that never quite makes it.

"Ask me again in a hundred years."

[lastgunslinger]

Roland tilts his head back slowly and exhales, also slowly. It's an action that looks like it feels good.

"Why a hundred years?"

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly shrugs.

"It's a nice round number. I don't actually have any idea how long I have to wait now. Raven basically said a while, and, well, he's been alive for about a zillion years. But he's also a trickster and a bastard, so really it could be any time."

Long enough to matter, I think.

"Just... probably not any time that I think of as soon."

[lastgunslinger]

He nods, slowly.

"If I were to give you advice again, it would be the same thing I told Jake, a long time ago."

More smoke.

"It happened. Make do."

[awesome_lilly]

"Working on it."

Lilly glances around.

"I made this, after all."

[lastgunslinger]

"You're doing well, then."

There's a stick resting on the sand at his feet; Roland picks it up and pokes at the fire. "Almost ready."