Don&#39;t believe in no-win scenarios

It's an effort to avoid pointing out that they should both stop being mean to each other. One that involves biting her lip. But the effort is made and successful, hurrah!

The rest of Jim's points are good, and she'll consider them for a while before speaking up again. "If you want to know what's happening, I think we should call Viatorus. He's the expert."

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"Thank you." It's nice to have his judgment trusted, even if a few moments ago Jim was leery of Schön's calling Verity. That they seem to be getting somewhere (even if it includes a referral to another expert) is vindication enough, and he restrains himself from gloating. This isn't the time.

"Shall I see about getting us something to take the edge off? I know a place that delivers, if we prefer to call the young dreamwalker to us."

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That was more about timing and circumstances than it was distrust. Schön is a friend, and as such is (unfortunately) privy to Acts of Kirk. Welcome to the club, buddy! Both Schön and Verity seem fine with calling in this Viatorus, who is nearly a stranger to Jim.

He's pretty sure they spoke once, and it was all the incentive Jim needed to never seek the kid out again. Oh, he's personable enough and friendly, but he's able to see into people's heads and that is a huge helping of Do Not Want for Jim Kirk. Usually.

Tonight, however? Seems to be just what the doctor ordered.

"Yeah. O...okay. Thanks. Both of you." He'll apologize for waking the pair of them up later. For now he's just glad someone seems to know what they're doing.

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"You're welcome, sweetie." Does she know what she's doing? Not really. But she's willing to fake it for his peace of mind. "I probably shouldn't ask for coffee, but coffee, please. If I'm up, I need to be up."

While Schön's working out their order, she'll get out her phone and send a carefully-worded text.
Jim is having Naugus' dreams. Did you ever finish those drawings?

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"Quite welcome, I assure you, Captain. And thank you for coming to me." Stepping to the doorway, he gets out his phone again, enacting the ritual which summons coffee and Chinese take-out. This could take a while, after all.

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Even with all the chaos, Viatorus had managed to grab his phone to text Isidor reassurances that everything was normal. The last thing he expected was to get a text from Verity. He spends a minute hesitating before he reads the message itself.

I did. Has anyone told Naugus? He considers for a moment before adding, Would you like me to talk to Jim?

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Not yet. Yes please? He's very upset. He told Schon. Sounds like we're getting Chinese, you want anything?

Following are directions to the place in the Sphinx. Gotta love Nexus landmarks.

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No thank you. Harrowheart doesn't eat. That last part is mostly put as a reminder that he won't be in his own body when he shows up.

He has to grab a few things, but with a leather satchel slung over one shoulder, he follow the directions he's given. The more he does, the less certain he becomes about being in the right place. Nevertheless, he knocks on the door that he's pretty sure is correct.

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The door opens on a thin man in a well-tailored suit, who looks Viatorus over briefly. "Well, those duck dumplings are running late. Mr. Durant, I presume? Please come in." Stepping aside, he gestures to invite Harrowheart's undead bulk inside.

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"Oh! Hey uh..." Jim that's not Harrowheart. Harrow was in some kid's body. Remember? The one in the obnoxious green coat with fist gloves. "Shit, you too huh?" Jim gives Viatorus a sympathetic look.

"Sorry if you got woken up over this too..." The apology really extends to everyone here, Jim's just been too unnerved and nervous to really say much.

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Verity glances up when V arrives, watching him out of the corner of her eye. Her hair's a mess and she's in her pajamas with a sweater pulled over them and she can't sink any further into this chair, she's tried.

"It's okay, sweetie, you didn't choose for this to happen. Viatorus can explain what happened much better than I can." With that absolutely no pressure what are you talking about pronouncement, she abandons the warm chair by the fire so V can sit down. She'll drift over to sit by Schön instead.

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For a second after the door opens, Viatorus still isn't sure he's at the right place. He's heard Schön mentioned plenty of times by different people, but never did get around to making introductions. Hearing his name is a relief and he nods before stepping inside with a, "Thank you. I'm... usually in a different body..."

He's in for another small surprise when he sees Naugus... but it doesn't take much to put two and two together. Jim in Naugus' body... gets Naugus' dreams... After a moment to consider, he nods thoughtfully. That answers a question or two. Quickly he nods at Jim as he returns his thoughts to the present. "It's alright. Harrowheart doesn't sleep. This... just gives me something to do. I was planning on spending the night reading anyway."

Verity gets a glance and, awkwardly, a nod of a greeting, but won't move to take a seat. Fiddling with the strap of his satchel, he looks around. Schön, Verity, Jim... He decides to start with the basics. "What can I do to help?"

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"If I may suggest," the thin man offers, "it is much less difficult to be at ease with a situation when one understands it. Perhaps you could explain to the Captain what he experienced, and his options for dealing with it?"

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"I have ghosts imprisoned in my head begging for help." Jim points to his noggin with his big ol' hulking claw to further drive this point home. He's less panicked than he was before, mostly because the whole possession thing will be sorted out thanks to Schon. And as for the whole Naugus killing Jim's body?

Well, Jim's going to try to stay enough on the magi's good side for that not to become a concern. It's not a great solution, but it's the only one he's got for the moment.

"They're stuck in my head and I know no one signed up for this whole body swap fiasco but I am not getting haunted by the first ghosts I have ever met because of Naugus. Can we help them somehow?"

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"You see why I thought we could use your expert opinion," Verity adds quietly from where she's flopped down next to Schön. "As if it weren't complicated enough before."

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Though his attention is mostly focused on Naugus, he glances to the other two when they talk. Hands tighten and relax around his bag strap while he thinks.

After a moment, he regards everyone in the room before settling on how to start. "Perhaps if I could speak to Jim alone... I-I don't mean to be rude, but... When I saw what I saw, Naugus was letting me into something very personal. I don't want to betray his confidence any more than I need to."

With a small sigh his gaze rests on Jim. "Everyone's privacy has been invaded enough already as it is with this bodyswap."

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"Of course." Schön rises with an air of dignity from where he had perched, gliding toward another room. "In any event, I have a scathing review to compose on the subject of absent dumplings."

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"W-we'll just be a minute okay? Sorry guys." Naugus' privacy isn't something Jim gives a whit about in light of how the mage has been treating his body, but it does give some huge points to the 'not pissing off Naugus to the point of killing Jim's body out of spite' plan.

Once Schon and Verity have left, Jim scrubs his face with Naug's good hand.

"Thank you for checking this out for me, I didn't believe in ghosts until I woke up and holy shit I don't think I can handle this..." He sighs, not even able to keep up the pretense of being calm anymore. "I hate this..."

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"No sorries, sweetie. It's fine. Call if you need us." They both get a thin smile from her before she follows Schön to the mysterious elsewhere of the other room. She really hopes those dumplings are in the other room because she has been promised duck dumplings and she's hungry now.

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He offer the two of them a small smile of gratitude as they leave. It's easier than words, mostly because he doesn't know what to say to Verity right now, and he doesn't know Schön at all except by reputation.

Once he's alone with Jim, he moves to take a seat. One on one, discussing dreams... Viatorus calms a bit as he slips into a more familiar role. There's a confidence and calm that comes with his discussing dreams. "It's alright. It's always scary the first time, even if they're nice spirits. Try not to worry, the dead don't have much power over the living. You're safe. Now, just... take a deep breath, and tell me what happened. Everything you can remember. Even the little details, even how you felt."

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"They don't, huh..." Jim's not so sure he believes that but he does his best to do as he's told, none the less. Like Viatorus instructs, Jim takes a deep breath and shuts his eyes. It's easier for him to focus without the constant visual distractions of Naugus' body. God, Jim hates this. "I wish I could show you." He murmurs, licking at his lower lip with nerves. "Okay..."

I remember having my own voice. It was too dark to see anything. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. They sensed me, first. Asked me who I was and brought light. I was in my own body and they were anything but human. A crustacean with a calming voice, a batlike creature who was very twitchy and nervous looking, and a large rhino looking dude.

They asked me why I was in their realm. They thought I had been imprisoned as they were. I explained the body swapping circumstances and they warned me that Ixis has the power to possess other people and has before. That he had stolen their three powers in order to add to his own.

It seemed like a lot to swallow, but I was unnerved. Naugus had already told me that he had no qualms about killing my body out of spite and just getting another. I thought he was bluffing until I spoke to the spirits. They said they'd begged over and over to be released, but Naugus never remembers them when he wakes up. They wanted me to help. I didn't know what to do, what to say. I don't want to end up like them. But they're all Ixis too. Ixis Suguna, Ixis Nusgau, Ixis Agunus.

I started panicking. How could I not? Why did Maugus keep a ghosts imprisoned in his head? Were they telling the truth? There's just no way I want to end up like that. Trapped inside someone else's mind. No body of my own....

"...And that's about when I woke up shaking and decided I needed to talk to Schon. He called Verity over, and she referred us to you."

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While Jim explains, Viatorus takes out a notepad to jot down a few of the details. During a brief pause, he takes out a leather folder and then returns his attention to the description. There's a lot to take in, a lot of gaps being filled. This is going to make talking to Naugus about it much easier.

"Thank you for telling me. I know that must not have been nice to recall," he says straight off. Opening the folder, he takes out a few thick sheets of paper where watercolours and sketches have depicted the creatures that haunt Naugus' dreams. "Are these the beings you saw?" A little more hopefully he asks, "Can you put their names to their image?"

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"...Yeah. That's them, mostly. The lobster thing is Suguna. The bat is Nusgau, and the big guy is Agunus." Jim leans back away from the sketches initially, but points to each in turn with his claw and names them.

"When I asked how I could help, they told me to tell Naugus their names. I don't know how it's supposed to help, but they wouldn't give me much in the way of details. I don't know if they were bound by magic to not say, or what." Jim shrugs. He doesn't understand any of it. Ghosts, magic. It's all foreign to him.

"They seemed genuinely concerned about my well being, at least."

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Pencil in hand, Viatorus is quick to jot down the names of each under their respective images. He's so focused on taking down the information with hands that are much too large that he barely hears himself natter on. "Names are invaluable. The power they hold is... almost beyond measure, to the right person."

Names noted, he lifts a hand to rub the back of his neck, turning his mind to the matter of explaining this. "When we dream... we are free from so many distractions, even our own consciousness is quietened. That's how you were able to meet these beings. Unless you know what to look for, and how to, they are very difficult to meet in the waking world. As far as I've observed, they can't affect Naugus much at all except by emphasising certain emotions. Not when he's awake."

Viatorus lets his hand fall and leans forward to reassure Jim. "You mustn't worry, they can't harm you. Whatever Naugus has done keeps them where they are. They might give you some nightmares, but I have remedies for that."

"But..." A frown crosses his features then and his voice takes on a warning tone. "You mustn't trust them either. Beings like that... They'll trick you. They will do anything they can to get what they want. Sometimes they just want fear, sometimes they want a body. You are stronger than them, but you must remember that, and not to allow them anything. I have tea that will give you dreamless sleep. I'm going to ask you to ignore them. After I'm returned to my own body I'll talk to Naugus about it. But until then, please don't tell him, and please don't listen to them."

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