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[greatestgood]

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[chambermusicandtenpins]

And what happens if it goes wrong? This is not magic we are familiar with. And if something goes awry and harms you, you will not be able to help Li should she be sick or hurt in turn.

If for no other reason, keep me involved for her sake so that someone can keep the both of you from too much damage.

[greatestgood]

... [He is quiet, grinding his teeth and trying not to imagine Albus dead.] Very well. We'll do it your way.

Now, the name.

[chambermusicandtenpins]

[He seems somewhat more relieved at that, but still cautious. Don't lead him astray, Gellert!!]

Thank you.

Her full name is Lithium Amaranth.

[greatestgood]

[He's more concerned about leading Albus to an early demise. The other man would die for him and he just...can't stomach it.]

...pretty. Is that a flower?

[chambermusicandtenpins]

[He smiles slightly.] It is. They call it the 'love-lies-bleeding' flower, if I remember correctly.

[greatestgood]

How grim. [He wrinkles his nose and cocks his head.] Do you have a favorite flower? I never asked.

[chambermusicandtenpins]

Ah, but how poetic all the same.

[He thinks for a moment -- it's not a question he considers often, but he has an answer once he's had a chance to consider it.]

Forget-me-nots.

[Which he knows is rather appropriate, all things considered.]

[greatestgood]

Do you like the white blossoms? I think they come in pale blue too. [But the white is poetic for Albus's name.]

[chambermusicandtenpins]

I like both, I think. White for remembrance, blue for serenity.

And what of you? Which flowers do you favor?

[greatestgood]

Flame lilies. Have you ever seen them? They are singular in color and poisonous too.

[chambermusicandtenpins]

Not in person. But they do seem to be the sort of thing you would quite enjoy.

[greatestgood]

They're like tiny flames in orange and red. Their petals are sharp, but they curl in such pretty patterns.

[chambermusicandtenpins]

Sharp but lovely. That does seem rather fitting.

[greatestgood]

Fitting for...me? Why Albus, I have never cut you on purpose.

[chambermusicandtenpins]

Do you deny that you have any edge to you at all, Gellert?

[greatestgood]

I'm as dangerous as broken glass. I didn't used to see myself in that light.

[chambermusicandtenpins]

You don't have to be. You are skilled and powerful, but that need not be dangerous on its own.

[greatestgood]

Skill doesn't change my emotions. My power makes me more dangerous because of how I feel.

[chambermusicandtenpins]

Emotions can be contained. You can feel them just as strongly but without letting them control you.

[greatestgood]

My power is stronger if I am angry, Albus. I tap into it and hold my anger at my beck and call. I am never fully without it.

[chambermusicandtenpins]

Perhaps. And yet perhaps you are also at its beck and call as well. You can make it entirely your own without succumbing to it.

[greatestgood]

Then I would truly be unstoppable and unfeeling. That doesn't seem like a good alternative.

[chambermusicandtenpins]

Controlling emotions are not the same as not having them. Do you think of me as unfeeling, Gellert?

[greatestgood]

...no. [His brow furrows.] You feel far more than I do, but you have control of it. I only know how to push things down and strangle them.

[chambermusicandtenpins]

You can learn differently. It's helpful, sometimes, to be able to quell what you feel without destroying it.