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[king]

I've been wondering, Scorched.

[ Arthur has been training since before the sun rose: it's visible in the flush across the bridge of his nose, the way his blond bangs are sticking dark to his temples, the slouch of his usually straight-backed posture. But he needs a break, a distraction from his own mind, from the questions that have been plaguing it without concrete answer. ]

Say that the Door started — temporarily — working the way that all doors should, and we could all trip merrily back to our own worlds.

[ A breath, considering whether he's really going to ask. Despite his slightly laconic tone, he knows how depressing some of the answers he'll get will be. But he still wants to know: ]

Would you stay here in Anatole?

Or would you go home?

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[king]

And here I was thinking you were something of a foregone conclusion.

[ After all, this entire post is a result of his dwelling on the question since Snape opened up home as a distant possibility. ]

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[brewglory]

My complaint with Anatole is not the city itself, but rather that I was alleviated of a choice.

Paris, for example, is a lovely city unless you are abducted and forcibly detained there.

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[king]

Is it? I'll have to take your word for it.

At any rate, in my scenario you're being given the choice. So is it Paris, or — wherever you're actually from.

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[brewglory]

[The reply takes far too long for him to simply be typing slowly; he's either annoyed with the line of questioning or thinking it through very hard. Finally:]


I would stay.

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[king]

[ Arthur can't even pretend not to be surprised. ]

Look, I'm not meaning to discount whatever research you've been doing, but why put your energy into getting out if you don't really want to leave?

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[brewglory]

Because I choose not to stagnate. Because I was forcibly dragged here and am a prisoner.

Because choice and free will are important. If I were to stay, in this purely hypothetical scenario, it would be on my terms and mine alone.

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[king]

You can't be imprisoned somewhere you choose to be, however you ended up there.

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[brewglory]

Indeed. But I did not choose to be here. I was taken forcibly. Until the moment that I am given the choice to go or stay, I will always be a prisoner.

What you are suggesting is the choice between continued attempts to escape and resignation to my fate, which is an entirely different matter. I can choose to resign myself to being a prisoner, but the bars don't disappear solely because I decided it wasn't worth the effort.

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[king]

I know a girl who'd rather be here than anywhere else, unconditionally. Is she resigning herself to her fate? Would you really rather spend your time railing against a greater power when you're already where you want to be?

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[brewglory]

The situations are not comparable.

In the strict confines of the scenario presented, I would stay. However, there are variables which would alter my decision. I would not rather be here than anywhere else, and certainly not unconditionally.

I would rather be here than at home, from the moment I was snatched away, were I given a choice.

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[king]

[ Calms, somewhat. ]

Fair enough. I suppose I took a very long time to resign myself to my fate.

How's the search for a way home going, anyway? You should seek out that woman from Wynn, she knows a lot about the magic of this place.

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[brewglory]

Her name?

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[king]

Claramond.

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[brewglory]

[What follows is a very long delay - hours, in fact. He eventually wanders back and remembers his manners.]

Thank you.

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[king]

Welcome. Also, if you want to know about the Venificus, you'd do well to call on Remus Lupin, at the Clinic. He's got some interesting theories on just how we've come to be here.

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[brewglory]

Noted.