[ You would think he'd see Agatha more around here... It's not like he (or either of them) probably have gone out of their way to avoid the other. The truthier truth is that William has kind of tried to go out of his way to avoid everyone. After meeting the other Billy. And Wanda. And there's just so many reasons to avoid everything when you were already having a lot of identity issues and now you're in a different world surrounded by people you should have not been able to have contact with. ]
[ ... And sharing a room with a nice lady who while, yes, nice you kind of don't want to bother because it's Weird. ]
[ After his last run-in with the other Billy he's a bit antsy. More than a bit when the dragon comes and he's not able to do much of anything and god does he realize he wants to do something. Which is maybe why he doesn't nose around in her mind or anything but sometime later in the evening - 10pm??? she will feel a presence seeking her out. ]
[ It's not really intrusive. He's not looking to read her mind but the quiet Agatha, Agatha, Agatha probably gets more insistent the longer she takes to act like she doesn't hear him. ]
Edited 2025-03-02 02:32 (UTC)
Re: action - > idk slightly backdated to late february i guess
[ even with her power back, she's never felt so thrown out of orbit. the usual things she might busy herself with are largely out of reach. there's plenty of alcohol, sure, if she goes sniffing around. but moping about and getting drunk isn't nearly as stimulating as finding a coven to con.
and there's also no shortage of people bristling with magic. but she isn't keen on starting that kind of trouble, for once. not when she's so out of her depth.
she spends the bulk of her time in the library, hunting for answers and trying to decipher the strange language the grimoires are written in. usually, she ends up distracted and annoyed, opting for a fairytale -- some of which are familiar. others, not so much.
she's there instead of in her room, tucked into a corner. her eyes burn from the strain. she's been reading for hours, with no sign of stopping any time soon. even as she has to stifle a yawn.
there's a telltale tickle in the back of agatha's mind before she hears him. but, even so, she nearly drops the book in her surprise. she bites the inside of her cheek, determined to ignore him but not quite making the effort to push him out entirely. ]
Shut up. Some of us are trying to sleep.
[ she lies. like a liar. there's a pause as she tries to find the line of text she'd been previously reading. and then she exhales, closing the book. ]
[ He knows this isn't the appreciated form of communication and it's one of the first times he's tried to actively do it - from any sort of distance - but it's kind of what he has going for him. He knows that she can hear him long before she answers, which is probably why this is the equivalent of a child pulling at their babysitter's hand (see! i made the joke). ]
Not sure why you'd lie about that when we both know I can tell that's not the truth but okay.
[ Yes, he's calling her out on that while he patiently(?) waits and there's the mental version of rolling his eyes when she responds. ]
Why would you jump to thinking something is wrong with me?
[ hELLO??? ]
You know what, nevermind. I wanted to talk to you. Not like this.
[ she audibly clicks her tongue against her teeth when he calls out her lying. of course he can probably register what she's doing, just well enough to know that she's definitely not sleeping.
he interrupts before she can answer him. essentially with a question: why else would he bother her if he isn't having some kind of crisis?
there's a long pause from her end of the 'line', as she pretends to ponder that please. ]
[ wow can't she just be the person he trusts here (questionably) ]
[ honestly, he half expects her to say no. maybe some part of him wants her to say no. he's prepared for that and isn't entirely sure he'd fight it, but he waits for her anyway. ]
[ it's a good thing relief doesn't come across even if some of it's in his mental voice. ]
[ a sort of restlessness takes over and she stands up, moving to place the book back in its place on the shelf. there's a part of her that wants to take it to her room -- an innate desire to take things, even something so trivial, that had gotten her into trouble in salem.
he wants to address what she would rather ignore, apparently. ]
You wouldn't be talking about the Avengers-sized elephants in the room, would you?
[ William isn't fully aware of what she's doing - he's not trying to see through her eyes, but he gets the impression she's moving all the same. He's already outside when he reached out, remaining on the beach as has so often happened in the past few weeks. ]
[ Mild amusement as he breathes out and answers: ]
The Avenger elephants seem super small in comparison, actually.
[ she groans. and there's part of it that's probably audible through the link. there's a number of things he could be referring to: the dragon, wanda-- ]
Oh, so you're making me come to you? Got it. No consideration whatsoever for my old knees.
[ an exaggeration, of course. she didn't feel her three hundred and fifty years at all, and hopefully wouldn't for quite some time. she steps out of the library and toward the castle doors, changing with a flourish of purple into something warmer.
once she steps outside, it doesn't take her long to find where he's waiting. ]
Did you hear my bones creaking the whole way over?
[ she gives him a quick up and down glance -- and doesn't think about how it's laced with more concern than disdain. ]
[ Another mental equivalent of rolling his eyes as that prick that had been him communicating with her pulls back and away. He could have gone to her - he could apologize for it? - but then finding a place in the castle that's not busy is a chore. If she was in the library, he definitely wasn't going there. ]
[ So he waits expecting - hoping, really - that should would come back shoved against a castle wall and arms folded. He tries not to think, but it's difficult not to. It's also difficult not to be pulled from it immediately when he hears the crunch of movement in the path and then her voice pulls him from it entirely. ]
[ He shifts away from the wall as he makes a face: ]
Why would I have super hearing?
[ Does she know something he doesn't. He pulls his mouth into a frown as he shrugs. Notes the change in her clothing - not the ones they filled their wardrobe with which, fair enough. Even if he's wearing some he doesn't lie it. ]
It's not that late.
[ It is that late, but he's petulant to be petulant versus saying the truth (that he does not stay in his room as often as he should). ] There's totally new constellations here, it makes me wonder how it interacts with magick.
[ This is not why he's out there, but it's only like half a lie. ]
[ obviously, she's just poking at him for the sake of it. the edge of jealousy in her tone is undeniable though. and she sniffs a little awkwardly, as she slides her hands into the pockets of her coat.
he insists that it isn't that late and agatha rolls her eyes, gesturing to the darkness around them with one arm. his comment about the constellations catches her off guard, and she angles her head back to look at the sky. in all honesty, she hasn't been paying that much attention. ]
... does it feel any different to you? When you use it?
[ for once, it's plain, genuine curiosity. no longer laced with her sarcasm and flippant deflection. ]
[ An immediate response, reflexive. Well, he thinks he might in some sense of the word as coming into his power had felt intuitive in a way. But there were still some things he didn't know he was capable of doing in spite of that. Somehow, he doesn't think super-hearing is really a part of witchcraft. ]
[ He chooses not to respond to her obvious gesturing and focuses on the follow up as he glances up. Hands go to his pockets as he shakes his head. ]
I'm not sure? It's not like I knew how to use it much before all of this.
[ There's an inflection in how he says this, in the weight of the being there as he tilts his head to her: ]
That's more a question for you? Magick stuff in general, I mean.
[ ... there's more meaning in it than he lets out in that statement but half the question is posed: what do you feel? ]
[ she purses her lips, barely masking the way they tilt up at the corners, as she shrugs her shoulders. nearly all the way up to her ears. they literally didn't know many things about his powers.
but he is probably safe from super powered hearing. maybe.
his uncertainty shouldn't tug at her heart the way it does. and she almost makes an effort to stifle it, to put the mask back on and scoff at him. but she doesn't. ]
Well-- sure, but you do have an annoyingly intuitive grasp on it already.
[ if the road and the telepathic communication are anything to by. but she exhales heavily and shakes her head, sliding one hand out of her pocket to hold out in front her. swirling purple emanates from her fingers, coalescing right above her pointer finger into a little ball. ]
Not that different, I guess. I worried that this place's own magick would make it unstable.
[ William watches her as she moves - quiet and probably a little too understanding of the gesture. There's so much mockery Agatha could go for and she doesn't. It's a kindness, but there's always that other unmeaning thorn. ]
Not enough. Not if I can't control it. [ Not if his mind kills people. ]
That's part of what I wanted to talk to you about.
[ It's said as he turns eyes from down to back up again, watching her collect the purple power that - Should worry him. It doesn't. He swallows something back. ]
I think it only does if you have big magick - like you're trying to leave here? Or upsurp the royalty could do the trick, too, I guess.
[ there's a part of her that wants to be painfully honest-- that sometimes it isn't something that can be controlled. after all, her mother's death had been an accident. and, for all this time, she had assumed that she couldn't control that part of her.
but she can't bring herself to fight with him. one eyebrow flicks upward as he continues. and she keeps lets the purple magick dissipate with a flick of her fingers. ]
That makes sense. I didn't even bother trying to teleport out. Kinda feels like something they would have accounted for.
[ and there were a number of them here who certainly would be able to, wanda included. ]
But we could definitely test the other thing. Nothing like a little rebellion.
[ William doesn't say that he's not sure how to teleport to try even though he nebulously made some kind of portal. It hadn't been the first thing he thought of and - as foreign as it is - it wasn't a thought that he might be able to do. For as much as he had come into some of his powers, he was still more comfortable performing in the traditional way of witchcraft. ]
[ For a moment he doesn't say anything but then she continues and he shoots her a look of disbelief before frowning a little. ]
Only if doing that means you'll help prepare me for it.
[ she very nearly cackles when she sees the expression on his face. but manages to bite it back. instead, offering a lopsided shrug.
she is normally one to keep her head down if there isn't power involved. and she's happy to play along with the fae so long as it keeps her alive. but if they come between her and coming home? or, even worse, if they attempt to hurt billy in some way--
she buzzes her lips at him dismissively, as if he's said something particularly boring. ]
[ He's just :/ :/ at her. Which is to say he doesn't need telepathy to see the way she's humoring him at best. His arms fold against his chest as he frowns a little more at her: ]
What, the stuff about magick?
[ It's more confused than it's not. He shakes his head. ]
If I was concerned about it that way I wouldn't ask you to meet me out here.
[ and he wouldn't!!! though he still needs to ask her properly to teach him, but that's a later problem. The problem now is met with a glance away. It's an issue that - to him - is far bigger than any Avengers-sized elephant in the room. ]
There's someone here who says he's me? And I believe him. Like a me from a different universe with a completely different life.
[ she gives him a suspicious look, lips purses. her eyebrows draw together in the middle.
truthfully, she's nervous about the prospect. while her ego tells her that she's the only one who should be teaching him, deeper there's a pinch of doubt.
but he isn't worried about that. and so, she's determined to not be either. what he says instead surprises her. her eyebrows raise high enough that they could easily disappear into her hairline. ]
Huh.
[ there's no arguing with that. billy could be naive, but he was discerning enough to catch another kid in a lie. she lets out a huff of air and then she's gesturing for him to follow her as she takes off down the path toward the water. ]
The Darkhold does mention parallel universes. I mostly just skimmed those chapters, but... from what I know, that does seem possible.
[or what, or what? had she really had a plan coming in here? no, wanda has to admit to herself — and it's that same stupid feeling she'd had when agatha had managed to trap her in that basement.
she'd also promised to try; mindlessly threatening someone probably isn't a good look to winning points in william's eyes.
so wanda — exhales a long, frustrated breath. and instead of answering the question, she asks another.]
What do you want with him? Why bother to help him when you didn't care about hurting him before?
[ there’s a flicker of understanding. she thinks about nicky and how she would have fought anyone who dared touch him.
wanda’s question throws her off. and she realizes that she herself doesn’t fully know the answer. ]
I owe him.
[ for trying to get her out of the spell. for trying to see good in her when others didn’t. it’s almost a lie; it isn’t owing so much as caring about him. but she can’t confess to that. ]
He’s at least part of the reason I’m not still stuck in your spell.
[some things, maybe, make sense now. no one would be able to break that spell except for her, or bill— william; she knows he's just as powerful as her, if not more so.
[ it's easier to feel brave from the other end of this stupid little device. but the possibility of running into wanda in person, in the castle, makes her sweat. it would be all too easy for the scarlet witch to lock her up again.
billy might vouch for her. but, of course, that's probably what wanda assumes -- that she's going to use him as some kind of shield. it's not something she wants to put him in the middle of, but she'd do it to save her skin. ]
Not exactly.
[ she doesn't bother maintaining the half-truth. but she doesn't dare utter the whole of it, even to herself. so what is she meant to say to wanda? ]
[no matter what answer she ends up receiving, wanda knows she won't believe it. there are very few people who can be trusted, and the rest will never change in the blink of an eye; she hadn't survived all those years with only pietro to count on, with only vision to count on, and then no one at all, by giving grace to those who don't deserve it.
agatha only barely qualifies as deserving anything at all — and that right could go away oh so easily. (she expects it to.)]
If you do, we're going to have a problem.
[still, she's making good on her word; she's trying.]
[ it would be best to leave it at this. to let wanda assert herself and pretend to be oh-so-very intimidated. she is, of course -- knowing all too well what the scarlet witch is capable of. but a prideful (and spiteful) part of agatha wants to lash out at the younger witch, to put her in her place. pride and self-preservation go to war with one another. ]
Don't we already have a problem?
[ she knows wanda's anger runs deeper than her association with her son. and maybe she wants to test those boundaries. ]
If anything, you should be thanking me for keeping him safe.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
action - > idk slightly backdated to late february i guess
[ ... And sharing a room with a nice lady who while, yes, nice you kind of don't want to bother because it's Weird. ]
[ After his last run-in with the other Billy he's a bit antsy. More than a bit when the dragon comes and he's not able to do much of anything and god does he realize he wants to do something. Which is maybe why he doesn't nose around in her mind or anything but sometime later in the evening - 10pm??? she will feel a presence seeking her out. ]
[ It's not really intrusive. He's not looking to read her mind but the quiet Agatha, Agatha, Agatha probably gets more insistent the longer she takes to act like she doesn't hear him. ]
Re: action - > idk slightly backdated to late february i guess
and there's also no shortage of people bristling with magic. but she isn't keen on starting that kind of trouble, for once. not when she's so out of her depth.
she spends the bulk of her time in the library, hunting for answers and trying to decipher the strange language the grimoires are written in. usually, she ends up distracted and annoyed, opting for a fairytale -- some of which are familiar. others, not so much.
she's there instead of in her room, tucked into a corner. her eyes burn from the strain. she's been reading for hours, with no sign of stopping any time soon. even as she has to stifle a yawn.
there's a telltale tickle in the back of agatha's mind before she hears him. but, even so, she nearly drops the book in her surprise. she bites the inside of her cheek, determined to ignore him but not quite making the effort to push him out entirely. ]
Shut up. Some of us are trying to sleep.
[ she lies. like a liar. there's a pause as she tries to find the line of text she'd been previously reading. and then she exhales, closing the book. ]
What's wrong with you now?
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Not sure why you'd lie about that when we both know I can tell that's not the truth but okay.
[ Yes, he's calling her out on that while he patiently(?) waits and there's the mental version of rolling his eyes when she responds. ]
Why would you jump to thinking something is wrong with me?
[ hELLO??? ]
You know what, nevermind. I wanted to talk to you. Not like this.
[ a beat and hopefully: ] Please?
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he interrupts before she can answer him. essentially with a question: why else would he bother her if he isn't having some kind of crisis?
there's a long pause from her end of the 'line', as she pretends to ponder that please. ]
Fine.
[ a pause. ]
About what?
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[ honestly, he half expects her to say no. maybe some part of him wants her to say no. he's prepared for that and isn't entirely sure he'd fight it, but he waits for her anyway. ]
[ it's a good thing relief doesn't come across even if some of it's in his mental voice. ]
I think we both know what about.
[ he doubts she HASN'T noticed ]
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he wants to address what she would rather ignore, apparently. ]
You wouldn't be talking about the Avengers-sized elephants in the room, would you?
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[ Mild amusement as he breathes out and answers: ]
The Avenger elephants seem super small in comparison, actually.
I'm outside close to the path to the beach.
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Oh, so you're making me come to you? Got it. No consideration whatsoever for my old knees.
[ an exaggeration, of course. she didn't feel her three hundred and fifty years at all, and hopefully wouldn't for quite some time. she steps out of the library and toward the castle doors, changing with a flourish of purple into something warmer.
once she steps outside, it doesn't take her long to find where he's waiting. ]
Did you hear my bones creaking the whole way over?
[ she gives him a quick up and down glance -- and doesn't think about how it's laced with more concern than disdain. ]
Why are you out here so late?
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[ So he waits expecting - hoping, really - that should would come back shoved against a castle wall and arms folded. He tries not to think, but it's difficult not to. It's also difficult not to be pulled from it immediately when he hears the crunch of movement in the path and then her voice pulls him from it entirely. ]
[ He shifts away from the wall as he makes a face: ]
Why would I have super hearing?
[ Does she know something he doesn't. He pulls his mouth into a frown as he shrugs. Notes the change in her clothing - not the ones they filled their wardrobe with which, fair enough. Even if he's wearing some he doesn't lie it. ]
It's not that late.
[ It is that late, but he's petulant to be petulant versus saying the truth (that he does not stay in his room as often as he should). ] There's totally new constellations here, it makes me wonder how it interacts with magick.
[ This is not why he's out there, but it's only like half a lie. ]
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[ obviously, she's just poking at him for the sake of it. the edge of jealousy in her tone is undeniable though. and she sniffs a little awkwardly, as she slides her hands into the pockets of her coat.
he insists that it isn't that late and agatha rolls her eyes, gesturing to the darkness around them with one arm. his comment about the constellations catches her off guard, and she angles her head back to look at the sky. in all honesty, she hasn't been paying that much attention. ]
... does it feel any different to you? When you use it?
[ for once, it's plain, genuine curiosity. no longer laced with her sarcasm and flippant deflection. ]
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[ An immediate response, reflexive. Well, he thinks he might in some sense of the word as coming into his power had felt intuitive in a way. But there were still some things he didn't know he was capable of doing in spite of that. Somehow, he doesn't think super-hearing is really a part of witchcraft. ]
[ He chooses not to respond to her obvious gesturing and focuses on the follow up as he glances up. Hands go to his pockets as he shakes his head. ]
I'm not sure? It's not like I knew how to use it much before all of this.
[ There's an inflection in how he says this, in the weight of the being there as he tilts his head to her: ]
That's more a question for you? Magick stuff in general, I mean.
[ ... there's more meaning in it than he lets out in that statement but half the question is posed: what do you feel? ]
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but he is probably safe from super powered hearing. maybe.
his uncertainty shouldn't tug at her heart the way it does. and she almost makes an effort to stifle it, to put the mask back on and scoff at him. but she doesn't. ]
Well-- sure, but you do have an annoyingly intuitive grasp on it already.
[ if the road and the telepathic communication are anything to by. but she exhales heavily and shakes her head, sliding one hand out of her pocket to hold out in front her. swirling purple emanates from her fingers, coalescing right above her pointer finger into a little ball. ]
Not that different, I guess. I worried that this place's own magick would make it unstable.
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[ William watches her as she moves - quiet and probably a little too understanding of the gesture. There's so much mockery Agatha could go for and she doesn't. It's a kindness, but there's always that other unmeaning thorn. ]
Not enough. Not if I can't control it. [ Not if his mind kills people. ]
That's part of what I wanted to talk to you about.
[ It's said as he turns eyes from down to back up again, watching her collect the purple power that - Should worry him. It doesn't. He swallows something back. ]
I think it only does if you have big magick - like you're trying to leave here? Or upsurp the royalty could do the trick, too, I guess.
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but she can't bring herself to fight with him. one eyebrow flicks upward as he continues. and she keeps lets the purple magick dissipate with a flick of her fingers. ]
That makes sense. I didn't even bother trying to teleport out. Kinda feels like something they would have accounted for.
[ and there were a number of them here who certainly would be able to, wanda included. ]
But we could definitely test the other thing. Nothing like a little rebellion.
[ she's kidding. mostly. ]
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even though he nebulously made some kind of portal. It hadn't been the first thing he thought of and - as foreign as it is - it wasn't a thought that he might be able to do. For as much as he had come into some of his powers, he was still more comfortable performing in the traditional way of witchcraft. ][ For a moment he doesn't say anything but then she continues and he shoots her a look of disbelief before frowning a little. ]
Only if doing that means you'll help prepare me for it.
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she is normally one to keep her head down if there isn't power involved. and she's happy to play along with the fae so long as it keeps her alive. but if they come between her and coming home? or, even worse, if they attempt to hurt billy in some way--
she buzzes her lips at him dismissively, as if he's said something particularly boring. ]
Is that really what you're all worked up about?
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What, the stuff about magick?
[ It's more confused than it's not. He shakes his head. ]
If I was concerned about it that way I wouldn't ask you to meet me out here.
[ and he wouldn't!!! though he still needs to ask her properly to teach him, but that's a later problem. The problem now is met with a glance away. It's an issue that - to him - is far bigger than any Avengers-sized elephant in the room. ]
There's someone here who says he's me? And I believe him. Like a me from a different universe with a completely different life.
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truthfully, she's nervous about the prospect. while her ego tells her that she's the only one who should be teaching him, deeper there's a pinch of doubt.
but he isn't worried about that. and so, she's determined to not be either. what he says instead surprises her. her eyebrows raise high enough that they could easily disappear into her hairline. ]
Huh.
[ there's no arguing with that. billy could be naive, but he was discerning enough to catch another kid in a lie. she lets out a huff of air and then she's gesturing for him to follow her as she takes off down the path toward the water. ]
The Darkhold does mention parallel universes. I mostly just skimmed those chapters, but... from what I know, that does seem possible.
text | un: wanda
I'll only say this once.
Stay away from my son.
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Or what, Clifford?
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she'd also promised to try; mindlessly threatening someone probably isn't a good look to winning points in william's eyes.
so wanda — exhales a long, frustrated breath. and instead of answering the question, she asks another.]
What do you want with him? Why bother to help him when you didn't care about hurting him before?
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wanda’s question throws her off. and she realizes that she herself doesn’t fully know the answer. ]
I owe him.
[ for trying to get her out of the spell. for trying to see good in her when others didn’t. it’s almost a lie; it isn’t owing so much as caring about him. but she can’t confess to that. ]
He’s at least part of the reason I’m not still stuck in your spell.
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but some things don't.]
So, what, you're on an honor system now?
[a beat.]
Forgive me if I don't believe you.
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billy might vouch for her. but, of course, that's probably what wanda assumes -- that she's going to use him as some kind of shield. it's not something she wants to put him in the middle of, but she'd do it to save her skin. ]
Not exactly.
[ she doesn't bother maintaining the half-truth. but she doesn't dare utter the whole of it, even to herself. so what is she meant to say to wanda? ]
I'm not going to hurt him.
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agatha only barely qualifies as deserving anything at all — and that right could go away oh so easily. (she expects it to.)]
If you do, we're going to have a problem.
[still, she's making good on her word; she's trying.]
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Don't we already have a problem?
[ she knows wanda's anger runs deeper than her association with her son. and maybe she wants to test those boundaries. ]
If anything, you should be thanking me for keeping him safe.