for @snizier

[goldencharms]

there will be starters here, and no one can find them, wee hee hee

Comments

[snizier]

[Jamil is making a very valiant effort to come off exasperated instead of embarrassed.]

I'm trying to test something. That's why I said to ask something you already know the answer to!

[goldencharms]

Oh! Whoopsie-daisy!

[ he places his hand to his chin, trying to think of something simple he already knows the answer to, but that just seems silly?? why ask something he already knows?

And that confusion is really starting to be more apparent on his face ]

Why... am I asking something I already know, again...??

[snizier]

Because we might be under the effects of a spell! Take this seriously!

[Maybe invoking A Potential Threat will get Kalim to follow basic instructions!!!!!]

[goldencharms]

Oh! Why didn't you just say that?

[ he says without considering the deeper meaning of this. luckily, it's very easy to ask Jamil a question he knows the answer to, right? ]

What's your little sister's name?

[ is that how this works?? he still isn't sure, and he's still bothered by what jamil said before. Look after you... being stressed... Isn't that more important than all of this...? ]

[snizier]

[So much for that idea.

It takes some effort not to say Najma's name immediately, and the longer he holds out the stronger the compulsion feels, like a tug that borders on physical pain. In the end it feels almost forcibly pulled from him.]

--N-Najma.

[That seals it: there's something magic going on. In the very next instant it finally clicks what had been bothering him in the back of his mind the whole time--he remembers where he'd experienced that licorice aftertaste before. In Crewel's class, late freshman year.

Jamil stares at the ceiling, feeling his soul leave his body. This might be a nightmare actually.]

There was truth potion in the chocolate.

1/2

[goldencharms]

Truth potion…?

[ Kalim trails off, thinking about that. Why would someone do that? ]

[goldencharms]

[ and then he realizes, everything Jamil had said must have been the truth. The stress, the “looking after him”? And his expression shifts to something more serious.

Worried. He doesn’t understand, really, why Jamil is stressed. But the idea of being the reason for it… he hates it, he thought he’d been trying to pay attention more.

And he must have missed it. ]

Am I stressing you out?? Is that what you were trying to say earlier?

[snizier]

[Jamil just looks at him incredulously.]

Kalim, that's not the point! [There's an almost hysterical note to his voice.] This is my entire job! What if it had been poison??

[goldencharms]

It wouldn't have been!

[ he says in response, immediately. his eyebrows draw together, and he frowns, thinking about how (or what) he wants to say next. ]

No one would do that here-- it was probably someone's idea of a joke. Or a prank!

[ he says, backing off a bit from his insistent tone, instead rocking on his heels lightly. ]

You really don't need to worry that much, Jamil.

[snizier]

Clearly I do, because this should never have happened in the first place! You were the one who said it wasn't a prank! This is why you should listen to me!

[Oops, Jamil is maybe going off a bit. This isn't even what he was upset about in the first place, but it's a convenient outlet for it 😔 After all, if it had been poison, they'd both be fucked and it would be his fault.]

[goldencharms]

... Oh yeah, I did...

I'm sorry.

[ he laughs awkwardly, ]

But no way would someone have done something like poisoning here! I still really think that, so it's definitely a different kind of prank.

[ and he would have known as soon as he tasted it, after all. ]

[snizier]

You would have said no one would do anything like this, either.

[But someone did. And that's the next order of business, after waiting out however long it takes for the effects to wear off (and they are doing exactly that, there's no way either of them can go out in public while they're this vulnerable): figuring out exactly whose wise idea this was. As soon as he has the thought Jamil begins running down his mental roster of all the dorm members. The most likely candidates would be anyone still holding a grudge from winter break, but nobody has been causing problems about that recently...

At some point Jamil had gotten to his feet in his consternation, and now he sits down on Kalim's bed with a heavy sigh. Great. This was supposed to be a homework session and now he has this to worry about too. Now he really is stressed.]

1/2

[goldencharms]

A truth potion isn't that bad.

[ he watches him pace, and settles on one of the cushions on the floor, tugging his knee into his chest. And still... Jamil hasn't answered his question. Was there something else?

He should be able to puzzle it out. but it's still frustratingly hard... He frowns to himself, the gears in his head trying to turn. ]

[goldencharms]

[ ... but puzzling over it isn't getting him anywhere, and so he exhales. ]

Cheer up, Jamil! We can still do our homework, right? No more talking about poison or pranks! Besides, if it were really dangerous, I wouldn't have brought it to you at all!

[ wait. ]

[snizier]

[That does get Jamil to look up from his little spiral. He makes a a face like Kalim grew a second head.]

What? That's the entire point of bringing it to me in the first place.

[Did Kalim his his head???]

[goldencharms]

[ how to explain-- he wants to pass on this conversation, but the words are coming out before he can really think through them. ]

No, if I thought it was really dangerous, I would've put it aside. But I still wanted to try it...

[ ... and sometimes, anxiety brain is not the most rational. ]

[snizier]

[Truth potions are a two-way street that way! Now Jamil knows and he's pretty mad about it, but more than that, he's just confused.]

What? Kalim, what else do you think I'm tasting your food for?

[goldencharms]

I don't want you to get hurt!

[ they are a two way street, but if he's going to say this stuff... he's going to commit. ]

... Again. Mnnngh. I don't like it.

[snizier]

[Kalim makes absolutely zero sense at all times. This is why Jamil always has a headache.]

If you only bring me food you think is harmless, that defeats the entire purpose of me testing it in the first place!

[HOW LONG HAS HE BEEN DOING THIS]

[goldencharms]

I don’t want you to test it!

[ there are ways to ah dale this with more finesse. Or to just not say anything to avoid conflict, his personal favorite. But the words are out there.

… and if he were asked how long he had been doing this, it would’ve been a long time. ]

[snizier]

Then what am I doing when I taste your food for you?!

[goldencharms]

[ oh, he looks like he doesn’t want to answer this. He clamps his mouth shut, trying to do his best to be strong willed over the potion.

It looks a little like a pout. ]

[snizier]

[Oh no. Kalim does not get to dodge this one when Jamil's had answers inadvertently forced out of him all evening. He angrily slams his hand onto the floor between them with quite some force.]

Kalim! Answer me!

[goldencharms]

[ this is actually painful to not answer, even though he wants to avoid or dodge or-- ]

Mmnnngh....

[ ... but he's losing the battle, and the truth comes tumbling out, ]

Nothing! I didn't want you to know!

[snizier]

[Jamil about hits the roof.]

You realize I'm the one who could get in trouble for this?!

[His voice is about an octave higher. He feels a little light-headed just thinking about it.]