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[ He's haphazardly dressed in something that could be considered vintage pieces of a noble era long gone. A tiny little glass of liquor by a bottle of it. To the side lay a small plate of smoked meat and a pen and a paper with notes and scribbling inside and this is all that occupies the otherwise open table.

He puts the pen down and looks outward with a calm exhale. ] What philosophies shape your life?

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[ Fear not. Fabian is only occasionally perceptive. He's not telepathic by any stretch. He doesn't have some kind of mind-meld sci-fi nonsense going on. No, real witchcraft is a lot less exciting. Maybe that's why media embellished it so. He'll admit, running naked in the woods and praying to stones does some more thrilling. ]

And so on.

I believe as mortal beings we are capable of great acts. They can sway to this side or that. Sometimes people focus on a fear of themselves and their swaying when they've swayed too far, or think they have.

[ Mundane perceptiveness is bad enough. Nate has been very attentive to how he comes off in his day to day life, but less mindful about more personal encounters, something which recently got him into trouble. This time, he's set on doing better. ]

I'm easily swayed, by others as much as myself. I think it's fair to be cautious about that. But maybe that's not something you're as concerned about.

[ Fabian seems like he'd be unmovable, anyway. He's an artist! Artists have Opinions and Vision. Things like that. ]

I long to be swayed. Consequences will fall on to me when they do and then I will reflect and think 'I am such an idiot' after the fact. [ He lets a small smile come to his lips and paints a small idle design on the table top with a finger ]

My life will be a disaster but look at the art that came from it.

You mentioned marketing last time we spoke. Is this your strength?

[ Nate makes an amused sound as he drinks again, though it really is not amusing. Chalk it up to a combination of going with the joke and inappropriate detachment. ]

So that's what you mean by not looking for inspiration.

And no, I'm on the research end of it. I'm afraid I don't have the techniques to sway you.

[ It's amusing. You'd think after 300 years someone might learn from their mistakes on reckless abandon. A fool is always a fool, they say. Well, he's a might bit more cautious of malpractice at least. As for the desire to be swept into some fantastical nonsense, he suspects that will never fade. Artist, after all. ]

Likely not. [ He pours another small glass of snaps and pushes the plate of meat forward ] Pace yourself, älskling. There's no hurry, is there?

[ Between Fabian's ancient history and his recent, Nate would only be able to utter the deadest of laughs. Fortunately, such matters are still behind their respective curtains.

His gaze skitters away from the meat at first, but if it seems for that second that he might be a vegetarian adherent of "do no harm," Nate loses further credibility with the new age crowd by taking a piece. ]

This is me taking it easy. But thanks. Do I want to know what 'älskling' means?

[ His pronunciation is a precise imitation of Fabian's, which might sound entertaining coming out of his mouth. ]

[ And hopefully they remain so. Skeptics look at him as a homeopathic nutcase. Artists look at him as an uncouth waste of talent. Everything is in balance with the world. ]

That depends on which way your sexual pendulum sways. [ he says calm as always and parts his eyes from Nate toward the bar with an amused curl on his lips. It was an atrocious attempt at Swedish but then again every word Fabian says is likely an atrocious attempt at English regardless show fluent he is. ]

[ The unexpectedness of that answer gets a laugh that has one foot in deadened territory, but on the other hand, it is also genuinely entertained. Not something he meant to do, but Fabian startled it out of him before he could put something more appropriate together. ]

Oh, maybe I do have the techniques.

[ He drinks again, easy about it, then sets about detaching bite-sized portions from the piece he took. ]

I'm going to pretend it's something actually endearing, as opposed to what endearments always end up being, something bizarre.

[ Watch your step lest you be caught off guard. He calmly lays the side of his cheek on a propped up fist. ]

Perhaps. [ a beat ] Well, it's nothing to do with pigs.

[ That's right. There are Swedish endearments that include piggery. ]

Touching. [ Nate puts a piece in his mouth, unsure whether his fiddling with it helped or made things worse when it comes to the meat aversion he's still working on, but he'll eat all of it regardless. ] Narrow it down for me. Vertebrate or invertebrate?

[ One German endearment is, after all, "snail." ]

[ He observes this with faint interest before mentioning: ] They have a menu and some of it even lacks meat.

[ A brief pause and then again ] It means darling, more or less. One of those normal endearments.

Does it?

[ As if he has no idea why Fabian might mention that fact. He eats another piece with deliberation. What exactly that's meant to prove (or to whom it's supposed to prove anything), who knows. ]

Well... that's gratifying, and I choose to never look it up on the internet to keep it that way.

It does sound better in Swedish — it was that, right? [ A twitch of the good old mostly-monolingual-American panic, there. ]

[ Just an observation. He picks at piece of meat himself. ]

You relieve me. Ja, it's Swedish.

[ It's not as disturbing as it could be. Perfectly bearable, as long as he keeps talking. ]

Good. Sorry. Pretty tone deaf for languages. Anyway. I'll let you get back to whatever — [ He inclines his head at the notebook. ] and quit putting off errands.

[ He looks up at Nate again for a moment. ] It's been misinterpreted for other languages by many people, you would not be the first.

[ a beat ] Perhaps wise. Putting something off will sadly not make it disappear.

[ That comment makes him go still for just a moment, less than a second. But it's just one of those things people say, that happens to ring more true than usual right now, all the more for being unexpected. He gives Fabian an odd little half-smile and stands, leaving his drink. ]

Sadly. See you around.

[ You're welcome. ] I'm around. Drop by sometime, hm?

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