[ He had made a promise and despite the unique circumstances, he intended to deliver. That's why right after they lift off from the port, Edwin will find a little box wrapped in ribbon just outside of his cabin door. And in that box, in rainbow colored paper, he will find a beautiful wood and brassdevice, complete with a little display stand as well, and engraved with a message in English and one in a language that is far more sinister in appearance, at least.
The English reads: To my brother: something new and beautiful you can bring with you anywhere.
And there's a little note in the box that explains:
Make sure there is plenty of light. Then put your eye to the dark end, look through, and turn it. ]
[ He is so, so glad to be back on the ship. He goes to each floor to pat the wall and tell her that it's good to see her, just in case barge doesn't hear it the first time. He didn't hate this port, didn't hate what he was, but it's still unsettling and a little nauseating to think about, being trapped in a form someone else chose and subject to lethargy to keep him out of trouble. Still better than being a human.
When he finally gets to his room, he picks the box up very carefully and carries it inside, captivated without knowing what it could possibly be. But it's from his brother. That's immediately obvious. Which already makes it special.
When Edwin follows the instructions that come with it and looks through, he gasps, captivated by the shift and clink and change in patterns and colors. They're arresting, almost hideous sometimes but in a way he would find breathtaking if he breathed. Like each turn of the little cylinder shows him a piece of a stained-glass window from somewhere he's never seen.
He probably spends a good few hours pointing the kaleidoscope in various directions and at various light sources and turning it slowly, but eventually--once it has a place of honor next to several New Year's presents and Jedao's stolen, glittery, slightly pink-tinted sock--Edwin goes in search of his brother. He wants to reassure himself that the life without JD that he just came from doesn't feel more real than what's real this time.]
[ John has had his reunion with Arthur (shaken at first before he can just slide in and relax) and they have people to check on, the both of them. John had been just about to go find Edwin when he runs into him in the hallway. ]
Edwin!
[ He doesn't so much run as zoom, robes swaying as he stops before colliding. But it's clear he wants to... something. ]
[ Edwin also desperately wants to do... something. It's such a relief to see John, to be himself and be back in their home and to find his brother right when Edwin himself was thinking about John. He twines a handful of ribbony tentacles around John's arm, clinging to that since he's not sure what would happen if he tried to touch the mask. ]
John. You're okay. Are you okay? Did you fall off the ship?
I was a cat. [A pause.] I wasn't really a cat. I don't remember much of what I was before that, but it was something dangerous. Something dangerous and strong, that they couldn't kill, so they caught me instead.
I'm glad you're all right. [He draws himself down by his tentacles until he's not-quite-resting his crown on John's wrist. He doesn't know what will happen if he actually did that, but it seems like a bad idea to find out.] I don't like not remembering you.
I wish there was a way to make us remember if we can't. I... liked the breach... The carnival. I liked being... able to see what another kind of life would be like. What I could be like, if things were different, if things had been... If I had been a person from the beginning. I didn't like everything, I hated after that I was stuck in a human body. But.
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after the port
The English reads: To my brother: something new and beautiful you can bring with you anywhere.
And there's a little note in the box that explains:
Make sure there is plenty of light. Then put your eye to the dark end, look through, and turn it. ]
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When he finally gets to his room, he picks the box up very carefully and carries it inside, captivated without knowing what it could possibly be. But it's from his brother. That's immediately obvious. Which already makes it special.
When Edwin follows the instructions that come with it and looks through, he gasps, captivated by the shift and clink and change in patterns and colors. They're arresting, almost hideous sometimes but in a way he would find breathtaking if he breathed. Like each turn of the little cylinder shows him a piece of a stained-glass window from somewhere he's never seen.
He probably spends a good few hours pointing the kaleidoscope in various directions and at various light sources and turning it slowly, but eventually--once it has a place of honor next to several New Year's presents and Jedao's stolen, glittery, slightly pink-tinted sock--Edwin goes in search of his brother. He wants to reassure himself that the life without JD that he just came from doesn't feel more real than what's real this time.]
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Edwin!
[ He doesn't so much run as zoom, robes swaying as he stops before colliding. But it's clear he wants to... something. ]
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John. You're okay. Are you okay? Did you fall off the ship?
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No. I was here, myself. You and Arthur both did, though.
[ And he fucking hated it.]
I'm... fine. Astarion decided to be an asshole. I couldn't go out without a body.
...I bought a lot of books and spent the time learning the magic from them in between shopping for supplies.
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I missed everyone.
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[He makes a soft, awkward sound.]
I liked it, there. Here was... lonely.
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I don't like it either. I don't... I really don't like it. I don't like thinking about what would happen if it got taken again and didn't come back.
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I feel the same.
...want to talk about anything else?
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Are you enjoying it?