"Before a loss, it seems like you will do anything if only your loved one would be spared. “Please God, ” you bargain, “I will never be angry at my wife again if you’ll just let her live.” After a loss, bargaining may take the form of a temporary truce. “What if I devote the rest of my life to helping others. Then can I wake up and realize this has all been a bad dream?” We become lost in a maze of “If only…” or “What if…” statements. We want life returned to what is was; we want our loved one restored. We want to go back in time: find the tumor sooner, recognize the illness more quickly, stop the accident from happening…if only, if only, if only." - Kavid Dessler
It was 10:53 p.m now, and midnight was beginning to creep up on them. Hardly anyone was out this late at night, and the dark, inky sky seemed permanent, just like his blindness. Ahote’s denial had passed and his anger was fleeting, leaving him to mope in different ways for the night.
"I’ll quit my job if that’s what it takes to bring things back to normal. . ." Ahote confessed anxiously, his hands clasped together so tightly that it looked like an unorthodox prayer, "I’ll do anything it takes. . ."
Watching the babbling Ahote was, like before, the bartending lich and then another one who dressed identically but had the appearance of a young woman. The bartending lichman was sheepishly polishing the glasses for the ninth time now in silence with the bartending lichwoman hovering over him sympathetically. After watching her fellow minion be abused by their “grieving” Master, she couldn’t help but comfort him with her presence. But seeing Ahote’s tears and stress pour from his face, she found it too captivating and pathetic to leave.
Ahote ran his hands through his hair, exposing the widest part of his forehead and his frowning countenance in full. With a trembling gaze, his hands covered his eyes as he stared into the space of Boomslang. "Oohoomm. . . my god. . ." he sighed, his voice shaking as if tears were about to give way, "I'll go apologize to the woman if it means it'll restore my sight. . . resolve this issue. . ."
Of course, the likelihood of Ahote being able to do any of this was too little to ever be acknowledged as probable. He couldn't even remember the woman's face since, by the time he had approached her, he was surprised with an attack of her own.
The piqued lichwoman and crestfallen lichman both watched their Master crumble underneath the reality of the situation, but couldn't find the words to comfort him. Both of them had seen their Master falter under circumstances of any calibur before, and recalled how his companions were always rather skilled in comforting him. But both of the liches could only watch from the counter and only respond to his calls when he made them.
STATISTICS
HP: x/y
MP: x/y
Spells Used: xxx
Abilities Active: xxx
Weapons Equipped: xxx
Monsters Killed: xxx
Other Notes: