[open] some Kenoma come up to Godsblood the other day...

[baltimores]

WHO: Amos, Gen, Eustace, Childe, any Pleroma
WHAT: Amos wants a gun, Eustace wants to make a portal, and in order to make it happen they go to...
WHERE: Godsblood.
WHEN: Towards the end of Visoseri/start of Soviseri
WARNINGS: None, unless you count bullying of various Pleroma; will add as necessary


The content of this entry is intended to be an OOC explanation of what's going on to keep everyone up to speed; any characters who may be in Godsblood during this time period are free to top level or tag out. This is not an event and simply a unique instance that some characters are kinda sorta technically in enemy territory, which opens itself up to thread opportunities that would not otherwise be possible.

Basically: four Kenoma are journeying up to Godsblood, albeit not all together and through different means.

Amos and Gen will be arriving via a boat directly from Achamoth, and accordingly, will be outed as Kenoma Aions right from the get-go — the populace should know who they are, and word of their arrival would likely get around. Amos is there because he wants to build a higher quality gun than what they have in Achamoth and Godsblood is the place to do it; Gen is there to serve as backup/moral support/because they're friends, okay. Story plotting link here for more details.

Eustace and Childe will be sneaking in via carriage from the Artisan shrine/a portal and will therefore not be known as Kenoma Aions upon entry to Godsblood — unless there are characters there who already know who they are, that is. Eustace is setting up a portal to facilitate travel between Achamoth and Godsblood. This is not public knowledge and non-Kenoma Aions/NPCs are unlikely to know about this. Story plotting link here for more details.

The mods have also provided some guidelines for how interactions could go between characters so that any Pleroma wouldn't necessarily have to out themselves as Aions when it comes to interacting with Amos or Gen, who are publicly declared as such. Highlighting what was said further down in Amos' plotting comment:

It wouldn't be unreasonable for a visiting Aion to be chatting up people within Godsblood so sharing a meal ... wouldn't be a dead give away, but it might tie them to the Aions on the rumor network if they do it in public. Whether they are just strangers Gen and Amos are dining with or whether they are connected to Achamoth won't be clear, but it would definitely have implications ... It's definitely a risk, at any rate.

As for meeting in a busy street or a public park the connection is still possible but a lot less likely, since the odds of them chatting up some rando in the park is a lot more likely than sitting down for dinner with them. It'd also be a lot more obvious if someone was spying on them, unlike a closed environment like a pub or eatery, so that'd probably be the safest option without going somewhere deserted or private.

Comments

[dragonmount]

[ the thing that throws him the worst, in this moment, is that amos reminds him of egwene. just for a moment. just in the smallest of ways. but it was egwene who always wanted to leave, to go on adventures just like jain farstrider himself. oh, rand was as enamored of the stories as anyone, but he'd never wanted to go anywhere. that was her, always. and, apparently, that was something she might've had in common with amos, of all people.

he breathes out sharply, frowning. still, after a moment, he admits, ]

I'd never seen an ocean before coming to this city. I still don't understand how it can be so big.

[baltimores]

The way it stretches out forever until it meets the horizon, right? [ There's a slight tilt to his head; in query, in the direction of the water spreading out to the point where blue meets blue. ] Yeah. Down here it really does seem endless, huh. Though if you go up high enough you'll see it's got an end. It'll hit the next patch of land, and then that's that.

[ Amos then tilts his head back, looking up at the sky above them. Whatever agitation Rand might be feeling about his presence, he ignores. Not his problem. ]

Up there, though — once you get off the planet — then it's actually endless. You think an ocean is big; it's nothing compared to up there. Took me, what, four days to get here? I'm used to trips taking four months. Longer than that.

[ He looks back at Rand, casual, faintly amused. ]

Everything's all relative, right?

[dragonmount]

Off the planet?

[ well — rand is usually in some state of agitation, when he's around amos. but this is nothing but surprise that's almost disbelief, the edges of wonderment around it. amos doesn't lie, after all. but that just seems to beggar belief. he frowns as he turns to look at the man, though he's already starting to believe the notion despite himself. ]

What, are you saying you've been to the moon?

[baltimores]

Yeah. Couple of times. Did the bulk of my apprenticeship up there. [ Actually. He frowns in thought. ] Well, the moon I'm used to, at least. Pretty sure there isn't anyone living off planet here.

[ Wouldn't that be something. It really is like he's been thrown back into ancient times. Oh well; Amos shrugs it off. ]

You know there's a lot more out there, right? That dream you probably had before waking up at the Martyr shrine... It's not too far off from that. I mean, it's nowhere near as colourful. You can't actually see all those galaxies and shit all splayed out before you. They're too big for that. Think more like a whole lot of nothing. That's where I've spent most of my life.

[ Enjoying this bit of humanization of the Aion who wanted (and still wants, really) to force feed you some Kenoma sludge, are you, Rand? ]

[dragonmount]

You can't have lived in space.

[ reflexive denial. the only people who have ever gone to the moon, who have walked among the stars, live in myths and stories. he barely knows what a galaxy is, besides some vague awareness that the term describes some geography or other in space. he knows stars, of course, can identify constellations — could identify constellations, back home at least. the sky in horos is strange, which has been an adjustment in a lot of ways. orienting himself to what he knows as the north star had come so instinctually that it was disorienting to learn a new one.

he does remember the dream he had before waking, of course. he thinks about it a lot; has nightmares about it a lot. but he's never dwelt, actually, on the strange swirling cosmos. certainly never thought about it as a real place.

but maybe it does suit a man like amos. rand's never met anyone like him, after all. maybe it does take a life among the stars to shape a man like him. ]

How far does it go?

[ space. and isn't it strange to imagine someone leaving the planet to do something as normal as an apprenticeship? almost as strange as having this conversation, at all. ]

[baltimores]

[ A soft huff at that denial. It's been months since Amos has been up the gravity well, and he accepted months ago he'd probably never go up it again. There is something of a loss there, but since Horos doesn't have any the problems he associated with growing up on Earth, it's not that strong. Either way, he gets to live comfortably — though he thinks there's always going to be something vaguely amusing about people here who can't fathom being up there. That something so mundane for him would be fantastical for others.

Though considering the way he's helping the Machining Guild out with airships now... who knows what'll be possible here, actually. What he might be able to help them get a head start on.

It'd certainly be a hell of a thing to go back up the well but with his vision now attuned to the world of the spiritual.

Rand's question — and that relatively quick turnaround to what must be acceptance — gets his attention back. His eyes flick over to him, and Amos shrugs. ]

Forever. If there's an end, then no human's gonna live long enough to reach it, let alone send word back. It's the kind of thing that's too big to comprehend.

[ A beat, as Amos tilts his head back, shifts his gaze back up above. ]

Puts things into perspective, how small you are. None of us are really all that important compared to everything else out there.

[ And that's more like the nihilism he'd had before the Kenoma. Space may not have shaped him, but being somewhere so empty and meaningless had certainly served as a comfort. ]

[dragonmount]

[ forever. something that's too big to comprehend. in some ways, the explanation goes so, so far beyond his experience. there's no simple way to wrap his mind around it. he'd used to think taren ferry was far from home; then tar valon; then the blight. now horos. but this goes far beyond that. his eyes widen as he listens, awestruck. it sounds terrifying and beautiful all at once.

but the explanation does pull at something in his memories. that is how he understands time, isn't it? huge and infinite. the wheel of time turns, as it always has, as it always will, cycling through the ages from the beginning to the end of existence. dana had wanted him to break the wheel. the dark one would see it smashed, time unraveled, the universe stitched back together by their own design.

just like the regent would. just like the man in front of him, as much darkfriend to his estimation as dana. amos is just more upfront about it.

rand breathes out. ]

I know what you mean. [ there's no danger in admitting this. he looks to amos as he does. ] I doubt you've heard about the Wheel of Time, but every child is taught about it, where I come from. Every person's life is a thread in the Pattern being woven. No more than that.

[ ta'veren, like he and his friends, have particularly impactful threads, yes. but threads nonetheless, woven tightly to serve the needs of the Pattern. there are days, even in horos, when he thinks he may yet be throttled by his own life's thread.

he follows amos's gaze upwards, to the big blue sky and the infinite cosmos that supposedly lies beyond it. there's something wistful in the action. a part of him would like to see it; a part of him knows he doesn't get a choice in that matter. which is why he adds, the weight of centuries-old melancholy straining his voice, ]

The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, as Moiraine would say. The things we [ i ] want don't much matter to it.

[baltimores]

[ There's a twitch of a frown at Moiraine's name. Not because she'd bested him for this kid, but because of that first reaction he'd had at the Martyr shrine, the way that the tone of his voice seems to emphasize it. Shaken that his world was gone, because he was supposed to stop it. Freaking out because it was the Martyr shrine, specifically. And the way that it's clear Moiraine had, in some way, served as someone for Rand to follow...

There's something instinctual in there, the way something inside him twists, agitated. He pushes it aside because it's not relevant, instead turning back to Rand, amicably curious. ]

We're all just threads then? [ Is this some kind of interpretation of string theory or... ] How's that work? We shape this wheel's pattern by the things we do or something?

[ He gets the need to visualize things sometimes. Wouldn't have ever extended that to philosophical questions, but sure, why not. ]

[dragonmount]

[ he sometimes forgets to count amos among people who know bits and pieces about him. he sees amos so rarely, after all, compared to others — akua, who's seen him channel, ernesto, who knows most of the implications of his power, abel, who saw some of what haunts him in venera. but rand was more vulnerable back in the martyr shrine, and amos heard...enough.

that day doesn't come to mind now. there's nothing in amos's face or voice to indicate he's thought of that moment. and this is such basic knowledge in rand's world, that why would he think too much about elaborating on it now?

so he shakes his head. ]

It's only what we believe, [ he amends belatedly, less because he doesn't believe in it, and more because he knows most everyone he's met here doesn't. ] The Wheel weaves the Pattern — like a loom, you know. [ s. surely amos knows. he sort of mimics a weaving gestures with his hands, before letting them drop. ] The fabric of reality. Sometimes the Wheel gives you choices...sometimes it gives you none. When what needs to happen is more important than what any one person wants.

[ being the dragon reborn, and everything that entails, wasn't a choice. going to the eye of the world wasn't a real choice. hadn't he told ernesto not so long ago? i didn't ask for this. the wheel can't be swayed by a single thread. ]

The Wheel is doing the weaving. What people do matters, but it isn't that we shape the Pattern.

[ he frowns though, and shrugs, finally admitting, ]

But I never had much reason to think about the Wheel for most of my life. Moiraine could've explained it better.

[baltimores]

[ Moiraine again, and Amos finds himself wondering just what it was she filled Rand's head with. He'd kept his eyes on Rand as he spoke, taking in every word, the miming of a loom, and yeah, he gets that much. But. ]

Just because we're insignificant doesn't mean we're playthings to some fucking wheel.

[ ... That was a bit of bite that snuck into his voice there, wasn't it. He'd ended that on a bit of a snarl, teeth bared for a fraction of a second before reining himself back in. Considering what had happened in Venera, Rand's inadvertently hit on a sore spot: the way Innocence had corrupted him, taken him over, turned him into its puppet, used him. The way it hadn't given him a choice. The way it had felt something that needed to happen was more important than his agency.

Anger is the only emotion he really understands. He also understands how destructive it is, so he knows to keep a lid on his. Through daily life, yes, but particularly here in Godsblood, where he's not wanted, and where he's capable of making things go south in a hurry. Amos shuts his eyes and shakes his head as though it'll clear it. When he opens them again to look at Rand, he hasn't entirely succeeded — things are mostly back under control, but also, there's more emotion to his gaze than there normally is. None of his anger is directed at Rand; more at what's beyond him. The ideas he's brought with him. The ideas that were clearly fed to him, that explain a lot more about him now.

There's a sharp exhale through his nose before he speaks again, and he can't help that underlying current of anger that comes with it. ]

What needs to happen... What, and some wheel decides that? I don't even know if you mean a literal wheel or what, but fuck that. Something takes away your ability to choose, you kill it or you die trying.

[ Spoken both like a man who has been there, and one who is aware of the irony of what he's said, considering their history — only he doesn't really care if he's just given Rand the green light to try to take him out. If it happens, it happens. Anyone's free to try. They are still ultimately at war.

But something takes away his ability to choose ever again, and he's going to kill it. That part's non-negotiable. ]

[dragonmount]

[ there's the impulse to reel backwards for just a split second, to distance himself from amos's anger. given their history, given what amos is willing to do — to him, to anyone among the pleroma — it's not such an irrational thing. but he doesn't want to be afraid of amos anymore, and more importantly, he doesn't want to look frightened or skittish or weak. in front of anyone, in front of any kenoma, in front of this man. given their history.

it helps that amos is clearly trying to control his anger. rand doesn't have any concrete way of knowing none of it is directed at him, but the restraint helps him guess. the part amos says next, too, about the wheel. rand has no idea he's struck on an open wound from venera, but the sentiment isn't too surprising from a person he's already identified as darkfriend, despite the tremendous irony.

he doesn't even think about the implications for future encounters. you kill it or die trying. he will, later, but not right now. they are at war; but this conversation is a truce. neither of them are going to break the rules of engagement first. and, in truth, the topic is near enough to rand's own bleeding wounds that his attention stays close at hand. considering how to take in this surprisingly impassioned sentiment, and how to answer, without creating new bruises.

moiraine would have something sharp and coolly indignant to say, probably. she's had twenty years to make peace between the life she expected and the life she has. he doesn't know the circumstances that set her on the search for the dragon reborn, but there's no questioning her commitment. she's had so many chances to turn back.

rand is new to this. rand didn't want a single damn thing about his life as it looks now. a part of him hates the wheel and the pattern and the inexorable pull of destiny. but he's quiet a long, long moment, meeting amos's eyes when he's finally got an answer. ]

There are things that matter more to me.

[ than his ability to choose. than his life. he hadn't known this about himself before, but it'd become clear to him in fal dara. we've lost too many people already. i can't lose anyone else in this room. perrin, and his steadfast loyalty; nynaeve's quicksilver temper and deep love for her people; egwene, light, egwene, always so beautiful and so caring and so good. mat, all quick to smile and quicker to help a person in need. his father, emond's field, the loss of which aches so much he can barely breathe some days. ]

People and places I love. [ that'd been the answer he found, his guiding light after realizing what he was. ] People I want to protect. That matters more to me than having choices the Wheel didn't spin for me.

[baltimores]

[ ... He should have seen that answer coming. They'd met at the Martyr shrine for a reason, and as much as that had upset Rand at first, he really is playing the part to a tee.

Amos finds his anger fading. His gaze less intense, more passively studious as he takes Rand in. (Doesn't notice any trepidation, or lack thereof, on his part. They're just talking. And Amos just happened to get pissed for a second.) That his choice is to be used, then.

There can be ways of making that happen. Later.

And then he huffs out a humourless laugh. ]

I knew someone like that back home. Real good guy, the kind who'd put his life on the line for people he hadn't even met. There's a reason I was at the Martyr shrine that day, you know.

[ No, he hadn't been looking for Rand. He'd just happened to find him, and he wasn't going to be picky. Certainly not once it was clear that everyone from his old life was gone. ]

Couple of reasons I stuck with him. One, [ he flippantly unfurls his index finger, wrist flicking with the motion, smooth and casually indicative of his worker's hands, the way he'd fit right in as a dock worker, ] because I knew chances were pretty good he was doing the right thing. I'm with him, then I'm probably also doing the right thing.

Two, [ his middle finger, and with a more pointed gaze at Rand, ] to make sure he didn't die always trying to do the right thing.

[ A Lover for a Martyr, it hits him then. Christ. He almost smiles, half-fond, half-self-deprecating. ]

You want to give yourself up, that's one thing. Hell, I'd've taken a bullet for that guy any day of the week. But you're also fucking other people over by going with it. People who want their guy to still be around. And, [ a deeper breath in, out. Ah, hell. Amos is much more detached as he realizes where he's starting to tread, into the realm of the deeply personal, ] people who want to make their own choices.

[ A beat. ]

Really can't think of anything worse than having that taken away from me.

[ Again — but at least he manages to stop himself from saying it. ]

[dragonmount]

[ rand had never flattered himself into assuming amos went to the martyr shrine knowing he'd be there — how could he? but he had clocked that amos was willing to take anyone he found back with him, that amos had probably done the same at other shrines. but he'd never really considered that amos might've had someone he was hoping to see. least of all a person like the one amos describes. someone determined to do the right thing, no matter the cost to himself.

it's easy to forget that there are people with the kenoma who think they are doing the right thing. (dextera's question over communion after they returned from venera comes to mind; and he ruthlessly quashes that memory.) it's easy to forget that amos is one. why shouldn't any of them have had lives, friends, that weren't...spooky?

there isn't a flicker of pain when amos reaches his second point. he isn't newly unhappy when amos makes his case about self-sacrifice. there's no being reminded, any more than rand could remind amos about the air they're both breathing. leaving everyone he ever loved to face his fate is one of the most painful things he's ever done. on the days when he chooses to believe that his world is alive, he very carefully doesn't think of the grieving his friends and family must be doing.

there wasn't another way. that doesn't make it better.

but he does shudder, eyes cutting away, until amos returns to the point of making their own choices. wanting their own choices. he can understand that; he really, really does. ]

There's no one who'd miss me like that in Horos.

[ comes to his lips easily. he's never said something like this aloud, but he's thought it, if not in so many words. there's nothing of self-pity in his tone. this is just a simple fact, as far as he's concerned. what does he have with anyone besides a couple of months' acquaintance at best? he's deliberately tried to keep a safe distance between himself and the others.

but that's not the point. it's definitely not a point he wants to dwell on, either. so he breathes out, watching amos as he slots these pieces of information into his understanding of the man. ]

Did you really go to the Kenoma of your own free will? [ this could be combative. but that isn't his intent. ] I've heard about what it was like for all of you who got here first. How was going with them a choice? I don't understand it.

[ even misa had said she hated the experience. it just doesn't add up to rand, this being taken and tortured and then talking about destroying anyone who'd compromise his ability to choose. he's not trying to pick a fight, or even convince amos of anything. it's as he said: he just doesn't understand how both of these sentiments can live in one person, who is with the kenoma, and so ferociously. ]

[baltimores]

[ There's something to that shudder. He hit on something there. Has no way of telling what, but... he hit on something there.

And that tone Rand uses, that nobody here would miss him — Amos feels as though he could be speaking to himself. He gives Rand a look at that, flat and factual as his voice, like, you might be surprised. Amos sure as shit had been a couple of weeks ago.

But that really does take a backseat to what Rand asks him next. Nothing about Amos' gaze changes: flat, factual, obvious, like Rand's asked him a truly simple question, the kind that's hardly even worth answering. But he did ask it. And he will answer. Maybe it'll help in the long run; at the very least, he figures Rand deserves this much considering Amos would have inflicted it on him. Still would. ]

I did. And I'd make that choice every time. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I liked it. But I think it was necessary. Like we all needed a reminder of just how bad things can get, so that we could commit, do what needs to be done. [ End this iteration of reality. He's certainly committed. ] Clearly not everyone chose that, [ something of a derisive scoff there, like, how, ] but as soon as I did a whole new world opened up to me. Everything just made sense. The Kenoma gave me that.

[ A beat. ]

Been trying to find that my whole life. I think there was always a part of me that recognized what the Kenoma had to offer, so I went with it. Couldn't deny it. Didn't want to. Rough as it was, I'm grateful for it. Anything else wouldn't have been right.

[ And that's all he wants for Rand; for other Pleroma he would've called a friend except, well. Just so they can see what he sees, so they can understand, and then they can all get to work instead of fighting each other in some nonsense. ]

[dragonmount]

[ there's a part of him that thinks, finally, a straight answer. it's not that talking to misa hadn't been illuminating — it really had, and he's begun to understand why the kenoma's goals are appealing to some people. some of the possibilities even appeal to him, if he's honest with himself. but it's been so difficult to understand why anyone, no matter what promises, would go back with soldiers that had them tortured, serve the person who'd ordered it. ernesto and moiraine and estinien had shed some light on what the kenoma did to their minds and bodies, but it — is so hard to hold in his mind, talking to otherwise normal people like amos and gen and misa.

but here it is. the world opened up to me. everything just made sense. this is what the kenoma did, why following the regent's goals seems rational to them. it's not that he assumes mind control, exactly. it's more like

he knows how a high like that feels.

when he channels, he can feel his death coming. he can feel the poison seeping through his veins, soaking into his bones. but there's something just as potent: when he channels, when he's flooded with the Light, he feels complete and whole and right. the way any channeler does, should, feel when touching the True Source. it's simple: channelers were born to channel. the dragon reborn more than anyone.

the Power seems to blaze, just out of view, humming at the tips of his fingers. it would be so, so easy to reach out and take it in his fist now.

he breathes out, and he pushes it back.

(he doesn't want to think about the look amos gave him to his earlier assertion. he doesn't want to think about yuuta's cheerful encouragement while teaching him swordplay; ernesto's uncharacteristically obvious show of distress upon learning about the end coming for rand; abel's gentle insistence on saving him in venera; akua's matter-of-fact decision to guide him with channeling; proud and powerful hayame's decision to trust him in some measure. and there's more, of course there is.) ]

I get it. [ he does, actually, at least in part. some of what amos said is absolutely insane, but...you know. he feels like he understands their footing better. he feels clarity. ] I do. So you should know that I will never go back with you. I will never choose that. The Wheel spun me out to destroy people like the Regent. People like you.

[ amos isn't here to fight, he knows. amos has reasons to be here, and it'd be inconvenient to be thrown out for causing trouble, he knows. that might mean it's safe to say this, right now. that might not. he doesn't visibly do anything, not beyond straightening his spine, not beyond a tightening of his jaw. but the Power seems to roar in his ears, seems so close he can taste it. ]

And I accept that.

[baltimores]

[ Amos inclines his chin when Rand says he gets it, but it's so short-lived. As he continues, he lowers it again, looking at Rand head on, a rueful almost-smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

There's a lot of ways he could respond to that, to this little show of defiance in service of something else entirely. Then no, you don't actually get it. Because if Rand did, then he would come back with him. Or, You won't actually know until you try it. Amos isn't even entirely certain if he would have without that crucial step of having the Kenoma forcibly administered to him, or if he would've just latched onto people like Abel or Moiraine. People who had showed him kindness before; one who still is, even though he knows they're in the wrong.

But he knows Rand's just gonna give him some bullshit in response — same as this, just with different words. Some insistence that he does get it for reasons that are going to be beyond Amos' comprehension, if his reasoning even rings true. Or some bullshit about why would he try it.

(Rand's never taken in any of the Kenoma. The first Pleroma he'd met had fended it off, but Rand doesn't actually know what it's like; doesn't know if he's capable of fending it off. Only one way to find out, except that way isn't feasible right now.)

So instead, he just has a question. ]

If the wheel spun you out, then did it spin me out, too?

[ If his whole thing has been pre-determined to stop people like Amos, then it would've had to have made people like Amos to begin with, wouldn't it? Otherwise they'd just have a fucked up kid without a cause. ]

[dragonmount]

[ or maybe he'd been spun out in response to people like amos?? and — honestly, that probably is what moiraine would say. that and, yes, every person is a thread in the pattern. but rand just shakes his head. he doesn't exactly deflate, but the lack of immediate anger to that blatant defiance makes the tension unwind out of his shoulders just that much. ]

Light, I don't know. Maybe it's different for you, from another world.

[ it is necessarily different for amos, as far as rand's understanding of the world and the pattern works. there's only one dragon spun out in an age, a signal of the coming of the end, the Last Battle. but if rand isn't inclined to tell amos about the channeling, he absolutely isn't going to talk about being the dragon reborn. not today, anyway. ]

[baltimores]

[ Rand can playact defiance all he wants. As far as Amos is concerned he has the upper hand here; if Rand tries to make a move, he'll quash it, and justifiably at that.

Kind of a shame he clearly isn't going to do anything today though, judging by how his body slackens just enough to be an indicator. Amos blinks, his expression reverting to something neutral, his voice casual and just pointing out the obvious. ]

Sure put a lot of faith into something you don't know a whole lot about, don't you.

[ Like... get some standards, Martyr. ]

[dragonmount]

I know enough,

[ is said wearily. no, he's not picking a fight today. not anymore than he has already, at least. if amos didn't rise to that earlier provocation, then rand isn't going to push his luck any further. and besides, he really did get something out of this conversation, so

there's that. ]

Do you need anything else?

[ pitched louder than the conversation they've had so far. not loud, exactly, just more audible to anyone bustling around nearby who might be paying attention. slipping back into the act of being (1) random godsblood local who had the bad luck to pull the interest of one of these aions from achamoth. ]

[baltimores]

[ A raising of his eyebrows, a tilt of his head, an open and questioning expression. Sure you do. Know enough. Except from where Amos is standing, Rand just seems like a lost kid clinging to the one thing that'll keep him straight.

Which is actually incredibly relatable. It really is a shame he wasn't able to nab him the first time around. He really could've helped.

The crack of a smile as Rand raises his voice just enough, widening as he finishes his question. ]

Nope. All good here. [ Amos keeps his tone the same, reaching up to give Rand a couple of little friendly pats on the shoulder, some light jostling in companionship. ] Still gonna be here another few days, I reckon. Maybe I'll run into you again. Maybe it'll be some place you'll be able to show me that sword after all.

[ Just keeping up pretences. He gives Rand one last look, nods, and makes his way elsewhere down port, to where his own ship from Achamoth is docked. ]