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<h1 id="debarre-2350">Debarre — 2350</h1>
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<p>When Debarre received the ping from End Waking, he quickly excused himself from dinner and dashed out into the back yard to respond. The last time he’d received a ping in the middle of a period of overflowing, it had been when the skunk’s leg had been impaled on a branch, so he hoped against hope that it wasn’t the entire tent washing away in a flood this time. It was getting on in spring — still a bit early for floods, but one never knew…</p>
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<p>“E.W.?” ey mumbled. “What’s up? You okay? Is the tent?”</p>
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<p>“E.W.?” ey said. “What’s up? You okay? Is the tent?”</p>
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<p>“The tent is fine, my dear,” he replied. “I apologize if I interrupted, but I have some news regarding May Then My Name, Ioan, and True Name, and you requested that I message you. Besides, I need to speak about it with someone other than them. Someone not an Odist.”</p>
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<p>He frowned down to the lawn, kicking at a tuft of crabgrass. “Well, if you’re getting in touch, I’m assuming it’s urgent.”</p>
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<p>There was a sense of a sigh from the other end. “I am sorry, my love.”</p>
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@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
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<p>“It does, yes.”</p>
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<p>“I never knew you had it in you,” she said, sounding proud. To Debarre, she said, “Did this asshole tell you why I am here?”</p>
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<p>He gave her a hug before sitting down with them. “He said it had something to do with you, Ioan, and True Name, and that he needed to talk to a non-Odist. That’s why I was surprised.”</p>
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<p>She grinned. “You will have your chance, my dear. I will not be here long. I needed to step out for a moment, and figured I would catch End Waking up. I am happy to see you, too, though.”</p>
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<p>She grinned. “You will have your chance, my dear. I will not be here long. I needed to step out for a moment, and figured I would catch End Waking up. I am happy to see you, as well, though.”</p>
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<p>“Happy to see you too. You’re always welcome over to my place, too.”</p>
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<p>“Of course, yes. This did involve End Waking, though, so alas, I could not go make you uncomfortable with my flirting.”</p>
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<p>He shoved at the skunk, who giggled.</p>
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@ -48,8 +48,8 @@
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<p>“Wait, <em>you’ve</em> been talking with her, too?”</p>
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<p>“Yes.”</p>
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<p>He shook his head. He could already feel his hackles up, and this wasn’t helping. “Can’t fucking believe it.”</p>
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<p>May Then My Name frowned, leaned over to hug him around the shoulders, and whispered, “I am going to leave you to it, but first, remember who you were, who you are, and imagine who you will become, but above all, remember that you love him and that he loves you. Let go, and have fun. Those are the rules of engagement.”</p>
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<p>After a moment’s hesitation, he returned the hug. Had she said it in anything less than her most earnest voice, he might have scoffed, and as it was, he could see himself falling for the gentle manipulation as though from a meter above. He could resent her, but she had said exactly what it was that he needed to hear.</p>
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<p>May Then My Name frowned, leaned over to hug him around the shoulders, and whispered, “I am going to leave you to it, but first, remember who you were, who you are, and imagine who you will become. Let go, have fun, but above all, remember that you love him and that he loves you. Those are the rules of engagement.”</p>
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<p>After a moment’s hesitation, he returned the hug. Had she said it in anything less than her most earnest voice, he might have scoffed, but as it was, he could see himself falling for the gentle manipulation as though from a meter above. He could resent her, but she had said exactly what it was that he needed to hear.</p>
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<p>Because of course she had. She was May Then My Name Die With Me. She knew just how to. She was built to</p>
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<p>“You’re such an asshole,” he whispered back, then kissed her cheek to take the sting out of the words. “I’ll do my best. Now, shoo.”</p>
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<p>She laughed and licked at one of his whiskerpads. “Yes, yes.”</p>
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<p>He shook his head. “Give me some time to think. There’s still some of me that’s stuck on dinner parties, then another chunk on this whole thing, and another still on May telling me about these rules of engagement or whatever.”</p>
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<p>The skunk smiled faintly. “Twenty minutes’ walk up-river, then. He will know that you are coming.”</p>
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<p>After End Waking quit, Debarre started to trudge up the faint trail that they’d already worn heading up along the river.</p>
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<p>He knew that May Then My Name was right, that he probably needed to at least take into account that if Sasha and Michelle could change enough to make the Odists, then surely True Name could change enough to become someone that even her up-tree instances could like, just as he knew that he probably shouldn’t take that out on End Waking, frustrated as he was.</p>
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<p>Still, it was hard to square the image of his boyfriend and True Name meeting up voluntarily. What was it that he’d said when Ioan had come by asking after camping supplies? <em>“I will help but I will not speak with her”</em>?</p>
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<p>He knew that May Then My Name was right, that he probably needed to at least take into account that if Sasha and Michelle could change enough to make the Odists, then surely True Name could change enough to become someone that even her up-tree instances could like, just as he knew that he probably shouldn’t take that out on his boyfriend, frustrated as he was.</p>
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<p>Still, it was hard to square the image of End Waking and True Name meeting up voluntarily. What was it that he’d said when Ioan had come by asking after camping supplies? <em>“I will help but I will not speak with her”</em>?</p>
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<p><em>Remember that you love him,</em> he thought, even as he trudged up the path. <em>Even if you’re working to undermine all that shit that she’s done with Jonas, at least you still love E.W.</em></p>
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<p>The skunk was crouching at the edge of the stream, washing his paws after having apparently just finished gutting a trio of large trout.</p>
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<p>“I understand if you are upset, Debarre,” he said, not looking up. He kept looking down at his paws as he scrubbed.</p>
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<p>“I understand if you are upset, Debarre,” he said, keeping his gaze on his paws as he scrubbed rather than looking up to Debarre.</p>
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<p>“No,” Debarre said, sitting down next to him. “Or, well, I am, but it’s whatever. I just don’t see how something as stupid as May Then My Name merging down solves anything about this. Suddenly, you two are all buddy-buddy?”</p>
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<p>End Waking shook his paws free of most of the water before drying them on the hem of his cloak. “We are not. I am pleased that she is no longer who she was, but she is not a friend. She is not me.”</p>
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<p>“But you’re visiting her!”</p>
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<p>“I do not know, my love,” he said after a long silence. “If I am defined by not being her, by not being what I was, then what is left? I cannot say my love for you, because all of the clade has that to some extent. I cannot even say that I have being an Odist, because, after all these years and with all of her changes over the last few months, I am not even sure that I am that.”</p>
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<p>“You can be just End Waking,” Debarre said gently. “Like, you can just drop the clade and be that nerd who lives in the woods.”</p>
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<p>The skunk laughed and elbowed him in the side. “We have rather turned our clade identity into idolatry of a sort, have we not?”</p>
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<p>“Don’t get me wrong, I like where you came from! But I won’t be pissed if you drop your clade signifier. Hell, maybe you can even start saying things like ‘don’t’ and ‘isn’t’.”</p>
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<p>“Don’t get me wrong, I like where you came from, but I won’t be pissed if you drop your clade signifier. Hell, maybe you can even start saying things like ‘don’t’ and ‘isn’t’.”</p>
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<p>“Do not push your luck.”</p>
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<p>They laughed.</p>
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<p>“You don’t have to have this sorted out, though.” He shrugged, adding, “You don’t even have to stop seeing True Name. I’m sorry I got angry there. I think I just got upset because any chance that you might start liking her felt like something of a betrayal.”</p>
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<p>“I have never caught anyone hitchhiking on you, though I have on May Then My Name and Ioan.” He shrugged, gathered up the line of fish. “But speaking of fat, can we go back to cook these? I am not ready for you to stay over, but I would like to eat dinner with you, if you are up for it.”</p>
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</article>
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<footer>
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<p>Page generated on 2022-07-22</p>
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<p>Page generated on 2022-07-29</p>
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</footer>
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