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[lingeringhope]

[Hope's voice is clear and clipped.]

If you would like to leave a message, you may do so here. I can't promise to respond. I have many demands on my time, and this sort of thing is far down the list. Still, if you would like to, you may.

Comments

4/1 [action]!

[lingeringhope]

[It does take longer than it might normally for Hope to appear, but when he does he looks completely normal. But of course he would - this isn't his true form, it wouldn't show any of the things he's been through recently. He doesn't look happy, but does Hope ever look happy?]

My apologies for making you wait.

[He does not sound that sorry.]

We've been able to contain Delight - next to that, any of you would be simple. However, my strength isn't in fighting.

[nonscriptum]

[Arms folded and braced on his knees, Nate is about halfway to dozing off for a nap when Hope appears. He starts awake, taking a moment to get his bearings again, looking up at the slim, pale figure wearing a dubious expression.

Right, he came here for- right.]

Gotta be honest, I'm kind of surprised you came.

[In the sense that he wouldn't have blamed Hope if he didn't. Easing himself to his feet, Nate processes the information a little sluggishly, trying to remember what he'd left off with.]

But I don't know that fighting will be necessary. [This, coming from Nathan Drake. Please contain your shock.] She, uh- she was just too powerful. I think she was talked down, but who's to say she won't just turn around and try to gut everybody again, for fun? You could-

[This isn't his wheelhouse and it shows. Trying to articulate magic - real magic - as a purely normal, average human with a love of theatrical illusions is more difficult than he anticipated. Vehicular terms it is, then.]

...drain her battery, a little?

[lingeringhope]

[He thinks it over for a moment.]

I could. Is that what you all want?

[After all, he needs to be sure that this isn't just a request from one angry person. As a rule, the gods try not to get involved in squabbles between residents.]

And who would be affected?

[nonscriptum]

Uh- yeah.

[What is more surprising than Hope's arrival is his apparent magnanimity, given the circumstances. Nate blinks at him for a long moment, impressed that he's gotten this far with so very little - which is about par for his course.]

Yeah, it- I mean, everyone. Everyone would be a lot safer for it.

[nonscriptum]

[It takes him a moment to remember there was a question in there, as well. Rumors pass quickly in this place, which is both a blessing and a curse.]

I think her name is Kay-something. Ka...ren? Shit, no- Caedra.

[lingeringhope]

In general, it falls to me to ensure the safety of those of you who have been brought here. That's why I force the monsters that arrive outside the city, and it's why I supply food and other necessities.

[Of course, that doesn't mean they're ever really safe, especially from the other gods, but... well. It's something.]

If you all believe she is truly a threat to the safety of the city, then I will take care of this as well.

[nonscriptum]

[She is a threat, and the kind of risk that even Nate doesn't mind mitigating. Ten years ago he might have relished the challenges she presents, but since she seems effectively impervious to just about everything...well, this could do a lot of good in the long-term.

Make her think twice about summoning eldritch abominations again, anyway.]

I- yeah, definitely. Thank you. [Nate can hardly believe that this has gone so well, and it shows.] This is really gonna help.

[lingeringhope]

I have a vested interested in keeping all of you alive and well, even if I am not always able to do so.

[He definitely throws hissy fits when the other gods run events that end in lots of deaths. They're used to him, though. They just pretend to be sorry and do it again a couple months later.]

In this case, I believe I can.

[nonscriptum]

Fair enough.

[One of Nate's reasons for not putting too much stock in the gods in the first place is because he isn't entirely convinced that a force so unrepentantly divided will do any of them any good. Disagreements between deities is only fun in theory, when you can crack jokes about Zeus sticking his dick into anyone that stands still long enough.

He rocks on the balls of his feet for a moment, thinking. Better safe than sorry, in this case.]

Just...do me a favor and don't tell anyone I came to you? If it gets out, I'm first on the hit list.

[With his record of accidentally demolishing buildings while running from bad guys, he doesn't think Hope wants to rebuild half the city. Again.]

[lingeringhope]

I won't tell anyone. People do not usually come to me for gossip, in any case.

[Who would he tell? But he'll keep it confidential if requested.]

[nonscriptum]

Maybe they should.

[There is a certain edge of loneliness there, at the tail end of Hope's statement, for which Nate tries to scrounge up a modicum of understanding. It's hard for him to empathize with everything they've done.

He lifts his shoulders in a tired shrug.]

Let me know if there's anything I can do.

[lingeringhope]

Thank you. I will keep you in mind if anything needs to be done.