Will doesn't have to stand, not just yet. All he has to do is tap the dog on his lap, and off she goes, running in between them and effectively standing in the way by standing on Albus' shoe. She's a tiny thing and couldn't scare or stop anyone at all, and she could at the moment just be doing it to try and get some love out of the stranger before he leaves. If asked, Will would shrug it off. Surely he doesn't train them to respond to every little move he makes, to react to his moods. Surely he doesn't put that much effort into stray dogs. This one's just a very sweet dog, it has nothing to do with him.
Fortunately, he doesn't take Albus for a man who's willing to kick a dog just to get his way.
"You don't need to do that, Albus. I know where I am. I know what it is Sigyn values. I know who I am, and I've done rather well at piecing together why I actually belong here and not in Hel."
Will's heard this same song and dance for far longer than he'd like. He's asked for help, assured there's something good in him and he seems to be genuinely caring, and then it's all pulled away. He gets sick, he keeps working. He gets sicker, he gets lied to, guilt is used to get him to continue, and it keeps going. But he could never say he was forced by anyone other than himself, even when his brain was burning and he was getting too deep into the whole understanding the complexities of something unwanted and disturbing.
Albus is not his boss. Albus is not here to fiddle with his glasses, though he's apparently here to ask for his help. Albus is also not here to evaluate whether or not Will is stable and, in the process, do everything he can to make sure he's the opposite of it. The methods, he knows, knows them well. Knows that they work. If Albus thinks he can't recognize that much, he's sorely underestimated Will Graham, which isn't new, either. He's being manipulated, Will would say, for lack of a better word. To call it that out loud may insult, and he doesn't want that. Not just yet.
He's not being fooled, not again.
"You were trying to propose something, weren't you? I interrupted it. I shouldn't have been so rude. Tell me what it is, exactly, you want from me."
Of course, one doesn't have to kick such a small dog to get it out of the way. They just have to step past it—what's it going to do, nip at an ankle?
i am 110% okay with this breaking development
Fortunately, he doesn't take Albus for a man who's willing to kick a dog just to get his way.
"You don't need to do that, Albus. I know where I am. I know what it is Sigyn values. I know who I am, and I've done rather well at piecing together why I actually belong here and not in Hel."
Will's heard this same song and dance for far longer than he'd like. He's asked for help, assured there's something good in him and he seems to be genuinely caring, and then it's all pulled away. He gets sick, he keeps working. He gets sicker, he gets lied to, guilt is used to get him to continue, and it keeps going. But he could never say he was forced by anyone other than himself, even when his brain was burning and he was getting too deep into the whole understanding the complexities of something unwanted and disturbing.
Albus is not his boss. Albus is not here to fiddle with his glasses, though he's apparently here to ask for his help. Albus is also not here to evaluate whether or not Will is stable and, in the process, do everything he can to make sure he's the opposite of it. The methods, he knows, knows them well. Knows that they work. If Albus thinks he can't recognize that much, he's sorely underestimated Will Graham, which isn't new, either. He's being manipulated, Will would say, for lack of a better word. To call it that out loud may insult, and he doesn't want that. Not just yet.
He's not being fooled, not again.
"You were trying to propose something, weren't you? I interrupted it. I shouldn't have been so rude. Tell me what it is, exactly, you want from me."
Of course, one doesn't have to kick such a small dog to get it out of the way. They just have to step past it—what's it going to do, nip at an ankle?