[Camille clucks her tongue, looking out over the water.]
Mama...had a way with her kids. She could smother you in sight of the public and leave you high and dry behind closed doors. Or she could dote. Obsess. Amma was more like a doll to her in some respects.
[Like Marian before her. Like Camille refused to be.]
And then town itself, that was another thing. Wind Gap is the kind of small, close-knit community that fed its girls through the meat grinder. Some cow to pressure and cope, some never clue in and take their hits accordingly. Amma learned to play the game.
She was smart enough to play both sides. Mama's little angel and junior high head-bitch-in-charge.
[karlach listens, quietly, tail still for once, just very slightly swaying behind her.
this isn't something she has experience with personally, but she sort of recognizes the way this is going. there are parts of baldur's gate that aren't sunshine and daisies, and karlach's an optimist, not an idiot.]
... Sounds like your Mum's not a very nice person. [cautiously...]
big big spoilers.....Also cw: sexual assault of a minor, child murder, self harm mention
Camille's messing with a frayed sting on her sleeve. It's easier than meeting eyes, talking about this bullshit. Even in roundabout terms.]
Anyway, Amma was a surprise to me. I barely knew her for most of her life. I didn't make a point to go visit. When I was in town last year, it was to cover the possible serial murders of two little girls. Both strangled, with all their teeth pulled out. Amma wasn't much older than either of them, so I got a bit worried.
[She trails off. There's two paths to take here. One's easier and one's a knife. Camille snaps the thread loose and lets it fall into the muck.]
I heard things about her. How her and her little friends got another girl drunk and gifted her to the high school boys for the night. She was a fucking brat to me to start, sassed back a cop, stuck a sucker in my hair and joked about the dead kids.
Then she sort of...latched onto me. She said some strange things one night, about hurting. Liking hurting. I thought she might be cutting herself.
[Wicked. She's been unconsciously scratching the word into her thigh as she speaks.]
Later on I found the missing teeth in her doll house. It was a replica, you see. She'd been making an ivory floor to match the one Mama's bedroom.
[god, what do you even say to something like this? something that gets across how sorry you are without sounding condescending or awful or insincere? or even just like - how horrifying it is, to have to deal with something like this, to have lived it.
karlach comes a little closer - slow. telegraphed. trying to be smaller than she is. and very carefully crouches down next to her and takes that hand that's scratching. holds it, fingers twined.]
[Hand in hand now, Karlach folds herself into a peaceable size for her. Too considerate, too kind. Camille's shoulders hitch but she meets her eye. Squeezes her hand back, even if she wants to sink into the swamp just to escape attention.]
Had her incarcerated. [What else was there to do. Camille's mouth becomes a thin line, neither smile nor grimace.] I visited her once. I don't know when I'll go back.
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Doubt she can reach this far, though.
[and then she popped out of a grave like six days later so you know]
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Here's hoping. [Camille lends her half a smile before looking back to the distance.]
Glad you found a way to be free, Karlach. Just a pity it came with strings attached.
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... Can I ask about yours?
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Camille's head ducks down, her smile half grimace now.]
Sure. Tit for tat.
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Might make me understand you a little better, which I always like. [gestures a bit like... go on.]
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That one's more about Amma. My little sister.
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[Camille clucks her tongue, looking out over the water.]
Mama...had a way with her kids. She could smother you in sight of the public and leave you high and dry behind closed doors. Or she could dote. Obsess. Amma was more like a doll to her in some respects.
[Like Marian before her. Like Camille refused to be.]
And then town itself, that was another thing. Wind Gap is the kind of small, close-knit community that fed its girls through the meat grinder. Some cow to pressure and cope, some never clue in and take their hits accordingly. Amma learned to play the game.
She was smart enough to play both sides. Mama's little angel and junior high head-bitch-in-charge.
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this isn't something she has experience with personally, but she sort of recognizes the way this is going. there are parts of baldur's gate that aren't sunshine and daisies, and karlach's an optimist, not an idiot.]
... Sounds like your Mum's not a very nice person. [cautiously...]
big big spoilers.....Also cw: sexual assault of a minor, child murder, self harm mention
[Among other things.
Camille's messing with a frayed sting on her sleeve. It's easier than meeting eyes, talking about this bullshit. Even in roundabout terms.]
Anyway, Amma was a surprise to me. I barely knew her for most of her life. I didn't make a point to go visit. When I was in town last year, it was to cover the possible serial murders of two little girls. Both strangled, with all their teeth pulled out. Amma wasn't much older than either of them, so I got a bit worried.
[She trails off. There's two paths to take here. One's easier and one's a knife. Camille snaps the thread loose and lets it fall into the muck.]
I heard things about her. How her and her little friends got another girl drunk and gifted her to the high school boys for the night. She was a fucking brat to me to start, sassed back a cop, stuck a sucker in my hair and joked about the dead kids.
Then she sort of...latched onto me. She said some strange things one night, about hurting. Liking hurting. I thought she might be cutting herself.
[Wicked. She's been unconsciously scratching the word into her thigh as she speaks.]
Later on I found the missing teeth in her doll house. It was a replica, you see. She'd been making an ivory floor to match the one Mama's bedroom.
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karlach comes a little closer - slow. telegraphed. trying to be smaller than she is. and very carefully crouches down next to her and takes that hand that's scratching. holds it, fingers twined.]
... Gods.
[she says, finally.]
What... what did you do with her?
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Had her incarcerated. [What else was there to do. Camille's mouth becomes a thin line, neither smile nor grimace.] I visited her once. I don't know when I'll go back.
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I don't blame you, that's a heavy fucking thing to handle. [...]
I haven't got good enough words to say, I think. Nothing will fix it. But that sounds like a weight on your shoulders, and I'm sorry about it.
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You don't need words. It's not — there's no easy replies for anyone's bullshit. So don't worry about it.
...Just don't spread it around.
[The media had feasted on it for ages. She's tired of being a spectacle.]
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[a beat.]
Thanks. For trusting me with that.
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Thanks. Same to you.