Well, I was raised in a time rather less squeamish about the dead and gone. Bones are nothing out of the ordinary, we all have them and they are all we leave when we have shuffled off this mortal coil.
But I have no interest in the bones of anyone else, Mr. Givens. I ask for Mr. Bennett's bones for the simple reason that I cared a great deal about him.
Yeah, and in hindsight, you were all weird as hell for it. I'm not squeamish but once put down, that's where they're meant to stay for someone to dig up in 4 thousand years and be a science product.
Can't you care a great deal about him without setting a dinner plate for his literal bones at your dinner table?
You've got your own memories to keep you company. I could argue our differences in the definition of 'friendship' but that's another conversation. This isn't about company. I assume you've got books, they make great company. Why Barnabas?
[ Elias types out and deletes a number of hostile comments. They won't help, he's sure. ]
What is it you'd like me to confess to, Mr. Givens?
If you believe the circumstances leading to his death, namely my inaction despite his request, disqualifies me from wishing to keep his bones then simply say so and refuse me.
If you do not believe me capable of feeling sentimentally about a former friend, that is your right to do so. But at least say so outright.
I believe that your inaction disqualifies you from the 'friend' category, but that doesn't really apply to the actual question here. I don't know what you're capable of feeling. I assume you do, at least around things that you're interested in.
You've given me no reason to say no. You also haven't given me any reason to say yes. So in the name of a fraction of understanding about your feeling anything either way and you getting what you want, answering this is your ticket to Mr. Bennett.
I can be more explicit if that will help you come to a decision? Would you like the details of how and when we met? How we grew closer bonding over our distant fathers and the expectations which come with being the only male heir of a family with ambitions towards the upper classes of British Society at the turn of the nineteenth century? The delight one feels in finding a kindred spirit in a world which, as I suspect you have learned in your time as a Marshall, cares very little for any one individual person? I don't have physical copies of all our correspondence, he living in London and I in Edinburgh, but I can give you comprehensive summaries.
But words are cheap, I realise. You have no reason to believe that anything I tell you is the truth. So if you like I can make you Know for yourself the exact nature of what and how I felt about him, as though you'd lived out our relationship yourself. But that is perhaps a little invasive, I understand. And given that you are now the third person alive who knows the nature of my relationship with Mr. Bennett, why not make it an even four and bring Jon into the fold? I will not be able to lie if Jon uses his Power to ask me.
[Raylan's starting to think that whatever Elias is typing on might have a few fractured keys after such a block of text But Raylan was surprised to get something that wasn't a two step. On the fourth read, he was almost proud of Elias. Anger wasn't always a bad thing.]
You can put your teeth away, Elias, I'm not here to drag you over coals or tear at you. What you tell Jon is your business; I'm not running back with updates. But you haven't lied to me yet. I don't need to be made to Know the details to have a working bullshit radar.
I still have questions but that wasn't a part of the deal. I'll put in the request in a bit, we'll see if the Admiral clears it.
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I would like to request the bones of a former friend of mine; a Mr. Barnabas Bennett.
[ He warned you, Raylan. ]
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Why keep anyone's bones?
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But I have no interest in the bones of anyone else, Mr. Givens. I ask for Mr. Bennett's bones for the simple reason that I cared a great deal about him.
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Can't you care a great deal about him without setting a dinner plate for his literal bones at your dinner table?
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Give me 24 hours to weigh things, then I'll get back to you. Even if keepin the bones of your dead friend is weird as hell.
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And I'll spare you the stories which make the bones of my friend seem tame by comparison.
he does not expect an immediate reply he knows u like your sleep
Tell me why you want them. Not just 'sentimental' value, none of the dancing bullshit but why these bones? Why Barnabas?
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Why do any of us prefer the company of some people over others, Mr. Givens? He was my friend. I am not sure what more you'd like me to say.
[ there is more he could say, but he's resistant. this isn't something he speaks about to anyone. ]
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What is it you'd like me to confess to, Mr. Givens?
If you believe the circumstances leading to his death, namely my inaction despite his request, disqualifies me from wishing to keep his bones then simply say so and refuse me.
If you do not believe me capable of feeling sentimentally about a former friend, that is your right to do so. But at least say so outright.
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You've given me no reason to say no. You also haven't given me any reason to say yes. So in the name of a fraction of understanding about your feeling anything either way and you getting what you want, answering this is your ticket to Mr. Bennett.
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I can be more explicit if that will help you come to a decision? Would you like the details of how and when we met? How we grew closer bonding over our distant fathers and the expectations which come with being the only male heir of a family with ambitions towards the upper classes of British Society at the turn of the nineteenth century? The delight one feels in finding a kindred spirit in a world which, as I suspect you have learned in your time as a Marshall, cares very little for any one individual person? I don't have physical copies of all our correspondence, he living in London and I in Edinburgh, but I can give you comprehensive summaries.
But words are cheap, I realise. You have no reason to believe that anything I tell you is the truth. So if you like I can make you Know for yourself the exact nature of what and how I felt about him, as though you'd lived out our relationship yourself. But that is perhaps a little invasive, I understand. And given that you are now the third person alive who knows the nature of my relationship with Mr. Bennett, why not make it an even four and bring Jon into the fold? I will not be able to lie if Jon uses his Power to ask me.
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You can put your teeth away, Elias, I'm not here to drag you over coals or tear at you. What you tell Jon is your business; I'm not running back with updates. But you haven't lied to me yet. I don't need to be made to Know the details to have a working bullshit radar.
I still have questions but that wasn't a part of the deal. I'll put in the request in a bit, we'll see if the Admiral clears it.
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Thank you.