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Vodka sometimes helps.

Speaking of...

[She holds out a bottle of wine with a ribbon on it]

[He blinks at her blankly for just a moment, taken completely by surprise.]

You... didn't have to... I mean, thank you! [Horvath flounders for his manners abruptly, accepting the bottle. He just may use that to get through the holidays.]

You helped me out. It was appreciated.

Merely a Merlinian's duty... [He tries to wave it off, but any actual gesturing is hampered now that he's got both hands occupied.]

I was... just lucky to meet someone so well worth knowing, through that.

Mmm. True.

Just because you had to do it, doesn't make me any less appreciative though.

You're welcome my dear. [He's flattered and just a little flustered. 'Thank you' isn't something he hears enough of.]

Not... everyone is so appreciative.

No.
But I have an old lady in my head reminding me to be polite and mind my manners now.

[He laughs at that.] I didn't think thanking me was what she had in mind. And I'm an old man, but I'm not sure that's done much for my manners...

Well, we've moved from wanting to stab you, to just cursing you with impotence. So... there's some Mellowing!

...That's why I went with a bottled wine instead of something handmade... no poison potions.

That does sound like something to be grateful for. [He smirks a little.] I've never enjoyed being stabbed.

Thank you. It's such a nuisance to have to check for poisons before one uncorks the bottle...

My husband doesn't like getting stabbed either. So consider yourself luckier.

It seemed like a bit of a downer to a offer a deadly gift.

... Why, has he been, recently? [Horvath's had his share of fights, although he doesn't make a career out of it quite the way Wade does.]

I haven't received many? Not that I'm complaining.

On a regular basis. But I meant by me. [She's vaguely sheepish but probably not as much as she should be]

Well, lets keep it that way.

...Good lord. Does he need healing? [One eyebrow rises.]

Naw. He has a hyperactive healing factor. Basically he heals up on his own. He's more or less unkillable... even with my precise artery stabbing.

... Ah.

[He shifts his weight a little, leaning on the cane, and struggles for something to say.]

...That's good. That he heals, I mean.

Well... Yes. Mostly. But it means his Cancer is always growing too... He doesn't talk about much except with jokes... but it makes him insecure about his appearance. He hates himself most days. He doesn't need to but... I can understand a little how he feels now. I was a rotting zombie for a while and it really messed with me.

Edited 2014-12-09 18:37 (UTC)

[Another blink, because this isn't the sort of information he expected at all. Perhaps her husband has some good reasons for being a mess, and insecurity about one's appearance is something Horvath can relate to.]

I'm... sorry. We all bear these things as best we can, I suppose. I didn't know he had cancer.

Among other reasons, It's a little bit of why he's so manic I think.

But like you said, we all deal with as best we can. You'd think having all this almighty witch knowledge would help... but it really doesn't. I haven't thought up anything I can do to help him.

No... cancer is a tricky one, and even magic has yet to find a proper cure that's worth the price. Perhaps if it was caught very early, but it so rarely is...

[Not that thinking of things like that encourages Horvath to go see a doctor, either.]

Very tricky. And then add in wonky experimental science projects... [she gives a little shrug]

I'm scared to go to the Doctor. Not that I have to, but... so much weirdness with all the magic and stuff, you know?

[He smiles weakly.] If it's any consolation, I haven't been in ages. All they ever do is tell me to lose weight, anyhow.

And then I have to change doctors a few years later so they don't start to notice I'm barely aging...

Yeah... according to my I.D I should be in my thirties not my twenties. I can play it off a few more years but not forever. Not looking forward to dealing with that when it stops being easy to pass as having good genes.

It's getting to be more difficult, as society keeps better track of people. I'll have to forge an ID sooner or later, I suppose. I don't have a social security number or a birth certificate... the calendar isn't even the same as it was when I was born.

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