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[sighs] Give Anna some education. She's right. It's more dangerous to leave her out there ignorant than to educate her. I mean, for cryin' out loud, she was catching damn fairies in a damn jar by the river.

She needs direction, Cait.

[STARES] She was doing what?!

[She just presses both hands to her face with a groan. Because he's not wrong.]

This is going to end badly. I don't need my prophecy to know this, Phil.

Edited 2014-10-16 20:13 (UTC)

Yeah. She's been exposed to so much, and yet for all that she's still stumbling around blind in the supernatural world. She's still that young vegan college kid.

I know.[shakes his head] I got a bad feeling too. But I'm not teaching her how to do any magic. Just the academic definitional stuff. But even that...girl is cursed. It might blow back on me.

She was one of Death's reapers and before that a murderous vampire. She's hardly blind to the supernatural. [She is unimpressed, but she does recognize what he's saying and she's more petulant to the idea than actually believing her own words.]

I have no doubt that it will. You may be teaching her the more dangerous side. Knowledge is always worse. Knowledge and that girl's ingenuity? Phil... if she is cursed, someone put that curse on her and for a reason. If you undo that... who knows what you will unleash.

Yeah, and she was lost doing both of those too.

Maybe. But how many curses are put on people out of spite, or evilness? She could be a good person who was just cursed by an evil person. Curses aren't usually good peoples' weapon of choice.

The second most effective curses are done casually out of spite. The most successful are done on dying breath after blood has been spilled. If we are being realistic and knowing Anna's behaviour, she was most likely cursed by someone with some power when she murdered them--She was quite prolific as a serial killer once, remember.

The former tend to be short term.. they fade with time. The latter... I've never heard of a death curse being removed successfully without the curse-dealer's cooperation.

[sits down and pulls out a cigarette] Yeah, I know. Or you've told me before. But what do you think I should do? Let her keep fumbling around with the curse, which keeps somehow coming into YOUR life, or at least try to give her enough instruction to deal with it and not hurt herself or anyone else?

[She reaches over and touches a finger to the cigarette, lighting it for him and then sits with a sigh]

I have no reasonable suggestions for dealing with this particular request, Phil.

She will hurt herself and others. This much we both know. Do you trust she'll use the knowledge you give her wisely? It will be on you if she hurts others.

[He takes several long drags]

She means well, but I don't trust her to be wise in anything. Question is, can I teach her wisdom?

Age teaches Wisdom. She's a child. But perhaps you can do what I can not. You are more patient than I am, certainly.

I'm also more anti-social...

I just want to be left alone with you. Is that too much to ask?

[She gives him the most amused look]

As I have learned? Yes. It is too much to ask for.

Hey, I know it takes talent, but I do it. You put on your shows! You're a celebrity, in your own circles.

[sighs] I love you, Cait. And that's all I want to do. You're everything I always wanted. This is it. My dream life. I have a wife that I love and I even found my niece, in a manner of speaking. But some maniac in a mask and a girl that keeps getting the short end of the stick keeps finding ways to threaten that.

A celebrity! I think you overestimate my popularity! But I would be far less interested in my circles if I didn't have you to come home to.

[She comes over to stroke his hair lightly with a small sigh and nod of her head]

And they turn to you, now. You can choose to help them, or ignore them. I can't tell you which will produce the more favourable results. I don't know if there are any with those two.

Nah. I know the woman I fell in love with. I saw the way they looked at you, on stage. And I still get that little twinge of pride that I'm the one you come home to. Theah dream is my reality.

[He leans into her. She is always the most comfortable person to lean into.

I can deal with the bad consequences if they don't hurt you. But I feah they will. It's the road to hell with these good intentions all around.

Good intentions are the road to Hell. So are bad. There's no escaping that path, I've learned. We will weather whatever happens, and endure.

I don't promise to be cheerful about it though.

Well, both of us have stuck around this long I guess. Seems like it would take more than her to get in the way of that.

What kind of relationship would it be if we could let one unfortunate girl disrupt it?

Not a healthy one, that's for sure.

Exactly.

You need to do what you feel is right, or best for this particularly annoying and difficult situation.

I'm no good at figuring that out. Honestly, you're my only compass nowadays.

I have never been very good as a moral compass, Philip.

I don't look to you for what's right. [He takes her hand and squeezes it a little] I know that already. I look to you for what's right for me. You're my heart. Without you...

I just look back to my life before you, and it breaks my haht. I could do it then because I didn't know any different. But now I do.

If it was anyone or you, including her...I'd choose you and let them die or be damned. [looks down] I don't know if that's wrong or right. Maybe it's wrong in some cases. But I'd do a great many questionable things to keep this. To keep you.

So you're telling me that I made you just a little bit selfish. A little bit corrupted...

[She smiles slightly and laces her fingers with his]

I had thought I'd reached the peak of my power and influence years ago, and you go and prove me wrong.

[Touches her cheek] Sorry to break it to you, love, but that powah isn't unique to you. [smiles] Love, true love, and lots of it makes everyone a little bit selfish. Corrupted is a mattah of perspective, but if I evah am to be corrupted, then I'm happy it's with you.

[He chuckles] If you didn't know love then, and from the way you allude to your dahk past, I'm guessing you didn't, not really, then you were wrong. Theah's a reason everyone sings about it. It beats eye of newt and skull of demon...okayokay, ancient forgotten god...any day.

It may not be unique, but I can still take the credit for it. As slight as it may be.

[She smirks slightly and presses a light kiss to the top of his head]

A different person, a different sort of love. But what we have no is far more preferable.

Of course you can. [smiles] But we gotta work on your interpretation. I can't believe love is corruption!

Really? I think it's the most corrupting.

It's salvation. It allows you to transcend who you used to be. It urges you to be better for the person you love.

mmm. But being a better person for the person you love isn't always the moral choice to make.

It's not? [curious as to her take]

You said it yourself. Even if it was wrong, you would choose me over someone else given the choice... even if it damned them.

Yeah, I guess.

[runs a hand through his hair] I've always been Catholic, but I've learned a more relative truth with you, I think. What's moral to me is your well being. I always put that first.

Well. I certainly adore you for it.

It's just what a good spouse does. [shrugs] We made vows. Maybe not traditional ones, in a church, and there might have been more skulls involved than I like, but we made 'em, and I stand by 'em.

We certainly did... in front of quite a few of the old gods. They are very impressed with you, by the way.

Impressed with me?? [Now that surprises him]

Why wouldn't they be? They're very fond of me, for taking care of them. And you did bring me Ba'al... That's quite impressive for someone who is Catholic.

Yeah...I guess I just thought they all hated me for the Catholic thing...

Only when you annoy them with it.

[little smirk] Which has to be all the time.

Less than you used to.

Okay. Maybe I'm a little corrupted.

But in a good way.

Most certainly! I never intended for it to be considered a bad thing.

I've learned there's more to life than my religion. But...I still think it's a good thing to have.

You still have your faith. But you've grown. I'm very proud of you for that. It's very easy to become comfortable and stagnant after a time.

Especially with religion. It should be an evolving thing, but in most cases...it isn't.