I suppose not. However useful it might be in the long term... [he sighs slightly, because the truth is that he'd rather no one died, either. He just knows it's an unrealistic hope.] Remind him that he's welcome to my tablet. We won't gain anything except by taking risks.
[And after a moment, with the tone equivalent of an eyeroll:] And please do tell him not to be so skittish. I don't coerce people.
I think maybe you should tell him that yourself. If we're all going to be working together on this, then you and Zell can't be afraid to even talk to one another.
[He is not acting as a go-between.]
Maybe... maybe try to be a little more, um, sensitive?
I'm sorry, afraid? [Where did you even get that idea, kid.] The only reason I am asking is that he'd be more inclined to trust your word on it than mine, since he is, presumably, your friend. We hardly have the time or leeway to be sensitive when it comes to discussing things that could decide all our fates. I certainly don't plan to dance around anything.
It's not exactly that you should dance around anything, but you might get more cooperation if you tried to approach it sympathetically. These aren't just tablets we're talking about but possibly people's lives as well.
[That's not to say he disagrees with what Beckett is trying to accomplish by any means.]
Indeed. It's precisely because this involves all our lives that we should all be ready to talk about things that may not be terribly pleasant. [He huffs a mildly exasperated sigh.] For the sake of cooperation, I suppose...
If you have any more information you want to share, I'll welcome it. And repay it as I can. [Beckett sounds willing enough, deciding that in the spirit of being more cooperative, he would not make any scathing remarks about how they are or are not a team. He's made his attitude toward such sentiments clear enough by now, he thinks.]
Though I seem to recall, you weren't too thrilled about answering any questions last time we talked.
[That doesn't sound like him, and it takes a moment for him to remember it was because Beckett had been probing about him being potentially non human.]
O-Oh-- haha... but I did answer your question, remember? I told you that I was just a normal kid.
Yes. At which point I told you that you aren't a very good liar, and a few more attempts at hedging later we were talking about alchemy. Not much of a track record.
Fine, a human with an unusual ability. I stand corrected. [He does not sound corrected. Potayto, potahto. Magic is magic.] I believe this. But I also believe that you were trying to hide it.
[For someone who's so bad at lying, Beckett has to admit, Al is fairly good at dodging. And Beckett dislikes being dodged even more than he dislikes being lied to.]
You are asking for trust while hiding something. I know it. You know it. Are we going to run in circles all day? I have things to do. Not freezing to death is a harder job than it looks.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2015-11-28 07:45 pm (UTC)[There's no point going to the effort of having spare tablets if they're then powerless to do something with them.]
But I really hope he never has to put his skills to use.
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Date: 2015-11-29 11:49 am (UTC)[And after a moment, with the tone equivalent of an eyeroll:] And please do tell him not to be so skittish. I don't coerce people.
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Date: 2015-11-29 12:41 pm (UTC)[He is not acting as a go-between.]
Maybe... maybe try to be a little more, um, sensitive?
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Date: 2015-11-29 12:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-30 02:01 pm (UTC)[That's not to say he disagrees with what Beckett is trying to accomplish by any means.]
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Date: 2015-11-30 10:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-04 05:48 pm (UTC)Thanks, I really appreciate it. I guess I better get back and tell Zell about all of this if we're going to get his cooperation, huh?
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Date: 2015-12-04 10:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-06 11:06 am (UTC)[Maybe not in those exact words.]
We should try and keep in contact more too, we'll work better as a team if we are used to communicating.
[Also he wants to keep an eye on Beckett.]
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Date: 2015-12-06 05:28 pm (UTC)Though I seem to recall, you weren't too thrilled about answering any questions last time we talked.
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Date: 2015-12-07 04:56 pm (UTC)[That doesn't sound like him, and it takes a moment for him to remember it was because Beckett had been probing about him being potentially non human.]
O-Oh-- haha... but I did answer your question, remember? I told you that I was just a normal kid.
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Date: 2015-12-10 02:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-10 05:21 pm (UTC)[That much, at least, is true. He still sees himself as human, even if his body isn't exactly conventional right now.]
It's not my fault that you don't believe me.
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Date: 2015-12-10 10:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-11 06:29 pm (UTC)[That, at least, is the truth even if he knows he's just obscuring something else with it.]
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Date: 2015-12-13 11:38 pm (UTC)You are asking for trust while hiding something. I know it. You know it. Are we going to run in circles all day? I have things to do. Not freezing to death is a harder job than it looks.