notquiteheartless | Deduction 5 - [ audio / action ]

That one there.

...No. The other.

Thank you.

[Sherlock Holmes likes to talk as he works.

Today, he actually has a project. Gone is the boredom and lethargy, but he has not progressed into the mania of a case yet. He is all scientific control now, watching every flame and chemical and reaction with the utmost care.

There's a lot to do. Compounds need to be broken down so elements and simplier compounds can be isolated. Then those have to be correctly combined. A long process with the rudimentary equipment found in the laboratory he and Temperance share in her flat.

And whomever he is speaking to isn't the only one who has to listen to him.]

It's always about comfort.

Truth? Entirely expendable if one is not comfortable with it. People prefer what makes them feel at ease, what seems 'nicest.' Even if it's nothing more than a good story.

[And Moriarty was a very good storyteller.]

Whatever threatens their world-view least, they accept. Are delighted to take as proven fact, even if there is only conjecture to support it.

Sheep, following the butcher to slaughter, bleeting happily.

[Does he sound irritated?]

But everyone makes mistakes. All their deceptions? Eventually come unravelled. Strange as this place is, it is not an exception to this rule.

[That would be because he is. His mood has been just a slight bit volatile since his midnight "chat" with Moriarty. Whom he is quite sure will hear this, whom he wants to hear this, wants him to know he'll be waiting for that one mistake. His conversation with Lestrade hadn't helped either.

To the other in the room:]

That one now.

[A quiet sigh. The look he's getting doesn't need words to make its doubts clear.]

Oxford, John. I know what I'm doing.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A false trail. Fascinating.

[And it is. History, after all, is all about false trails, glossing over the truth, hiding it, misleading, but what is hidden sometimes reveals more about the writer than intended.]

It's a dangerous game you're playing. [But she sounds pleased as she says this. Without danger, a game just isn't any fun.]

Let's hope the mouse catches the cat this time, ne?

Without knowing more about them, I can't be sure what they will or won't know or what they'll look for and overlook.

They're clever, certainly.

And powerful. Even if you can out-think them, out-gunning them may be something else entirely.

If you're good enough at the former, you won't need the latter.

Perhaps. You just have to be good enough to be sure you don't make any foolish mistakes. The Malnosso are known to be petty.

There are always mistakes.

I suppose that's just part of the game. [And she hopes you win. Or at least survive. If nothing else because you're really very interesting.]

Part of being human.

[Because as much as he hates being human sometimes, it does mean that he is not completely infallible.

Just mostly infallible most of the time.]

Very much so. I wish you luck.

[Since she has the feeling he's going to need it]

Deduction 5 - [ audio / action ]

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