Calliope doesn't believe for one moment that he is as powerless and blithely unconcerned as he is acting. He would not have found his way here, for one thing, and he wouldn't be such a serious disruption to the familiar narrative. Also, she simply cannot accept that all of creation may be doomed, that her choice was in vain, with nothing for her to do about it. No, he is yet another puzzle to solve, a new game piece to put in place so events may unfold as they need to.
"My purpose isn't her purpose," she corrects him, another flick of her tongue all that belies her agitation. "I think you ought to hear a story. Sit, please." She raises her arm in an inviting gesture, one long claw pointing at a rock of suitable size and shape conveniently appearing behind him. Though she doesn't much care whether he accepts her offer and continues without pause. "We began the same. Weak, uncertain, vulnerable, our brother cruel and unrelenting. But while she found those who were drawn in by her flaws, who supported her naivety and offered her comfort and distractions, my only choice was to fight or fade. So I became strong, and I killed my brother." The echo of victory rings in her voice, and it tastes cherry-red. "I wore him down. I ate his soul. And I consumed his strength. But it was not enough. The game was rigged in his favor, only a Lord of Time was ever meant to succeed. Having gained immortality, all I could do was to watch the planets detonate one by one as the dead session became my living grave. So I sought council with Echidna, and she offered me a simple choice. She mercifully ended my life, and in exchange I must wait here for the signal that will allow me to leave and defy my brother once more." There is hunger in her words that she doesn't bother to restrain, nor does she doubt that the stranger is familiar with her brother. He is as bound to both her selves as her title, after all.
"The signal is my weaker self. Would you like to hear her half of the story, too?" It's a challenge more than an offer; that half contains the monster her brother has become due to her other self's weakness. She isn't telling him all this because he has a right to it, not as the unknown variable that he is, but because he must understand the importance of his cooperation.
no subject
"My purpose isn't her purpose," she corrects him, another flick of her tongue all that belies her agitation. "I think you ought to hear a story. Sit, please." She raises her arm in an inviting gesture, one long claw pointing at a rock of suitable size and shape conveniently appearing behind him. Though she doesn't much care whether he accepts her offer and continues without pause. "We began the same. Weak, uncertain, vulnerable, our brother cruel and unrelenting. But while she found those who were drawn in by her flaws, who supported her naivety and offered her comfort and distractions, my only choice was to fight or fade. So I became strong, and I killed my brother." The echo of victory rings in her voice, and it tastes cherry-red. "I wore him down. I ate his soul. And I consumed his strength. But it was not enough. The game was rigged in his favor, only a Lord of Time was ever meant to succeed. Having gained immortality, all I could do was to watch the planets detonate one by one as the dead session became my living grave. So I sought council with Echidna, and she offered me a simple choice. She mercifully ended my life, and in exchange I must wait here for the signal that will allow me to leave and defy my brother once more." There is hunger in her words that she doesn't bother to restrain, nor does she doubt that the stranger is familiar with her brother. He is as bound to both her selves as her title, after all.
"The signal is my weaker self. Would you like to hear her half of the story, too?" It's a challenge more than an offer; that half contains the monster her brother has become due to her other self's weakness. She isn't telling him all this because he has a right to it, not as the unknown variable that he is, but because he must understand the importance of his cooperation.