Written Wonderland

Ah, good. Evan was worried he'd sensed a less-good mood from Xavier when he was approaching, but perhaps he'd just misread focus as grump. He nodded gratefully to Xavier and turned to lead the way to his tent, figuring they'd want some privacy for this, to say the least.

The captain's tent was admittedly not the most hospitable place, as it was fairly clear he only ever particularly anticipated using it to sleep. When they entered, Evan moved quickly but calmly to kick aside some dirty clothes, fold up his cot, and pull out a couple cushions that usually rested off forgotten to the side. He motioned for Xavier to sit down on one, and then took a seat himself on the other.

Now. Ah, where to even start?

"I know you were worried about Seth last night," he said carefully, deciding this was in fact as good a starting point as any. "... You were right to be. He's fine now, but he wasn't himself yet when you left. Something was possessing him-" Evan paused, shaking his head slightly as he rethought his wording, "I say something; the same thing that's been causing the nightmares in the first place."

There he paused again, but while meeting Xavier in the eye, and taking stock of the boy's reaction. He didn't want to throw too much at him at once, so he waited to give the lieutenant a moment to process.

"I knew something was weird about him," Xavier said, his face falling again. "He's never given me such a 'get out' stare before. Does that mean the charm didn't work? Do you think the thing is going to come back into him?" Xavier was talking quickly, obviously nervous and confused. 

"I think the charm had an effect," Evan offered, "It might've been what allowed him to wake up at all, I'm not sure."

That was about as reassuring as he could be on that front, though. He'd save the potential bad news about the charms until later in the conversation, at least. Xavier was clearly nervous, and Evan wanted to take this slow.

"I don't know if he's still in danger or not, but I think it's a good sign that he came to."

The captain gave his lieutenant a firm nod, as though reasserting that last sentiment before moving on.

"I... had opportunity to speak with the thing through Seth, briefly." Evan reached up to rub at his hair, nervous that this was diving in too quickly, but not sure how to more gently lead up to it. He left it at that, glancing to Xavier hopefully to again gage his reaction and let him process.

"What? Well, what is it? What does it want?" Xavier grew excited in an almost manic way now, partly from how quickly this conversation had gone off the rails, partly from the fact that he didn't know how to process what Evan had said about the charms yet. His tone didn't sound... good. But, Xavier told himself, he'd seen enough weird shit to keep his head on. With grandparents like he had... He took a deep breath, trying to show Evan he could handle it, whatever it was. 

Honestly, Evan was relieved by Xavier's curiosity, even if it came with some mania. Mania he could deal with.

"Not sure... yet." There, Evan allowed himself a small grin, and a glint of his own excitement to come through. "It was dodgy when she spoke to me, but there's a woman in these parts who can give us a way to speak to it directly. I'm inclined to give it a shot."

Yes, Evan was indeed excited at the prospect, but keeping it from showing past the smirk and the glint. He knew this conversation was still only just getting started. Still, he hoped Xavier could revel in the spark of adventure this implied.

((OOC: just... feel like noting that the it/she/it was on purpose, on my part. Sort of. Left in on purpose, in any case lol))

Xavier caught the grin escaping Evan's expression, and it was contagious. Suddenly, it felt like a wild game to Xavier, and he was relishing in it. Sure, the stakes were high, but they'd been through worse before. Well, maybe not weirder but definitely worse on the battlefield. 

There was a part of Xavier's mind that wondered how Mizu would feel about this plan Evan seemed to have, but given that Evan was his direct superior and was--let's face it--far more fun, that train of though petered out before reaching a conclusion. 

"How do we do it?" Xavier asked, deliberately using "we" in the hopes that Evan wasn't just telling Xavier his plan but wanted to... tangle him up with it as well. 

Yes good. This was in fact going precisely how Evan had hoped it would.

"She said we'd need three men in total. You've had a solid head on your shoulders about this whole situation, so if you feel up for it, I'd like you to join me. There should be minimal danger providing you follow instructions and keep your head on your shoulders."

It was tempting to leave it there, and draw Xavier into a 'yes' while he was still flush with excitement at the prospect. But, there were a couple more details Xavier should hear, first. Evan's face sobered some, admitting that there were some less-fun things to talk about next.

"You'd have to leave your charm here, though." Evan paused, debating whether and to what extent to explain why. He didn't want to demoralize Xavier about all the work he'd done, and he also still wasn't even sure the charms weren't useful, on the whole. Perhaps he'd just keep it localized to the specific ritual they were going to be performing. "The woman indicated it could interfere with the ritual, and potentially put us in more danger there, rather than less."

Xavier was elated that Evan had asked him to join at first but later furrowed his brow in a way that looked somewhat ridiculous on his young face after Evan mentioned he would have to leave the charm at camp. Xavier had kept the one his grandfather made him close to his skin since he was a child, and he wasn't about to set it aside lightly. For all he knew, it had saved him from countless attacks even before the dreams started happening here. He was torn. No one had ever asked him to take it off before, and he respected and trusted Evan, but...

"That seems like an odd request. Did she say why?" Xavier asked.

"She said..." Evan sighed lightly, concerned about the effect this would have. But if Xavier was asking, Evan couldn't find it in himself to withhold the information.

"She said that, while the charm does have some effect on protecting the mind, it actually makes the body more vulnerable. So my take is, it might've helped Seth weather the nightmare, but also potentially made it easier for the thing to use his body in the meantime. And I gather it'd be pretty fucking bad if it were able to use our bodies while we're specifically trying to summon it and keep it bound."

A part of Evan found it pretty absurd how frankly he was discussing a ritual to summon and bind a god. Not that he'd quite come out to say that last part just yet, but he'd get there before making this plan official. Three days ago he never would've talked like this. Hell, three days ago he'd've had a hard time taking the idea of charms to ward away bad dreams seriously. But, he felt he'd been responding and adapting reasonably to everything that had been happening, and still saw no reason to doubt his own perceptions of what had taken place.

He regarded Xavier with a calm, serious expression, hoping he was continuing to come off as level-headed about all this.

Taking a moment to process the information, Xavier appeared puzzled for a minute but then said, "So, then they work! I mean, Seth isn't a mumbling puddle of man, anyway. It's a small charm. It can't do everything." With the reason Evan offered, Xavier felt more comfortable with the idea of taking his charm off, but some part of him still twinged at the idea of going into a new situation so naked, so to speak. 

"But, also, body possession. That's terrifying," Xavier added sheepishly, realizing he should probably have a little respect for the ordeal Seth probably went through. "So, when we goin'?"