Well, when you put it like that... He did see her point, all too painfully clearly, and it took him a few moment's silence to frame an answer.
"The thing is," he said finally, "...the thing is, you're only seeing that the danger exists, not what it is or why it's there. And it isn't all of it bad, Kit. I guess I haven't given you much reason to think otherwise, but there's good people mixed up in it too, doing good things. Sometimes it's even beautiful."
He'd timed that one about as perfectly as he could have. The Manor tree from two Christmases back--the one somebody had enchanted to glow with a soft inner light--was coming in sight up ahead, still shining after all this time.
"So you could try," he went on, articulating each word carefully, "looking it in the face. Find out what it actually is and then decide whether it's something you can handle. And I think maybe you could. You live in Belfast, for Chrissake, I've seen you take on thugs twice your size who were bloody well dangerous. You're not afraid of that kind of thing because you know what you're dealing with and what to do and how not to get in over your head. Knowledge really is power.
"Maybe if I'd told you straight up the first time around everything I was getting into...well, you either would have left right away and spared us both the fallout," he shook his head tiredly, "or we could've had a stronger door or an alarm system or something put in and those two shitheads never would have made it inside. Or you could've headed to Chas's the minute I was overdue coming home. Something."
He stopped them a few yards off from the tree and stared at it, wondering just who had decided to light it up and why, but mostly needing a place to put his eyes other than on Kit. "If you're not willing to do that, I understand, I get it. I'm not going to claim I'm worth taking risks for. But I haven't got any other answers for you." Translation: If you're going to leave, do it now. Don't keep stringing me along. I can only take so much.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2007-10-03 06:37 pm (UTC)"The thing is," he said finally, "...the thing is, you're only seeing that the danger exists, not what it is or why it's there. And it isn't all of it bad, Kit. I guess I haven't given you much reason to think otherwise, but there's good people mixed up in it too, doing good things. Sometimes it's even beautiful."
He'd timed that one about as perfectly as he could have. The Manor tree from two Christmases back--the one somebody had enchanted to glow with a soft inner light--was coming in sight up ahead, still shining after all this time.
"So you could try," he went on, articulating each word carefully, "looking it in the face. Find out what it actually is and then decide whether it's something you can handle. And I think maybe you could. You live in Belfast, for Chrissake, I've seen you take on thugs twice your size who were bloody well dangerous. You're not afraid of that kind of thing because you know what you're dealing with and what to do and how not to get in over your head. Knowledge really is power.
"Maybe if I'd told you straight up the first time around everything I was getting into...well, you either would have left right away and spared us both the fallout," he shook his head tiredly, "or we could've had a stronger door or an alarm system or something put in and those two shitheads never would have made it inside. Or you could've headed to Chas's the minute I was overdue coming home. Something."
He stopped them a few yards off from the tree and stared at it, wondering just who had decided to light it up and why, but mostly needing a place to put his eyes other than on Kit. "If you're not willing to do that, I understand, I get it. I'm not going to claim I'm worth taking risks for. But I haven't got any other answers for you." Translation: If you're going to leave, do it now. Don't keep stringing me along. I can only take so much.