[Break is the first to come out of his corruption, and it's a lot like waking from a dream. The sort of dream that's so mundane, so ordinary, that you don't even notice the transition from sleeping to waking, and the differences between the dream and real life are so subtle that it takes a while to even realize the dream didn't happen at all.
Except that when Break wakes up he's definitely sitting on a table surrounded by his little army of marching teapots.
There's a lot to be alarmed by as he puts all the pieces together, starting with the fact that he appears to have made a contract with a witch without noticing. But as Break sets out to explore the world Ange has made with his eye properly open, his misgivings settle into worries far more standard for Trench and its nonsense. After all, he can sense Ange over his link to her, even if it's not the same as a blood bond. And so, he can feel the protective nature of her powers, the feelings underneath them as familiar as though they were his own, and not just because of the weird link between them.
Break is fond of saying a loyalty too sharp will become a blade that pierces the very thing held dear, based on his own experiences with twisted love. Trench is doing the same thing to Ange now, he sees. She's made this place out of love -- but it's a love too suffocating, becoming a prison to smother the very people she wishes to save.
The cold, practical, independent part of him wants to try to leave just to see if he can, and test how far his magical tie to Ange will stretch, just in case it can't be removed. Break puts a great deal of consideration into trying that, as he takes stock of the "guest rooms" where Ruby has tossed the troublemakers and investigates the full scale of Ruby's Rubilessness. But tearing the place apart by any kind of force, he realizes, is only liable to make things worse, cause Ange to dig in her heels. The trick will be to ease her out of her corruption, help her come to the decision to emerge on her own. For that reason Break should stay, right, should be trusted eyes on the inside, should see if he can catch some of her other loved ones before Ruby does and guide them in the right direction without Ange noticing what he's up to...
...that's his scheming side, which he'll never fully be rid of. Ultimately, Break, too, stays out of love. Ange brought him here so they could watch over one another.
He'll do the job she's given him.
Having reached his decision, he pops into Ange's garden with a plate of her favorite blueberry cookies balanced on his head, and a small battalion of teapots and things flying in a line behind him on gothic purple fairy wings. Baltus is with him, looking decidedly less toothy, but it's with no less enthusiasm than usual that the omen trots forward to rest his head in Ange's lap.]
Miss Ange. How are you feeling? I notice the hedge isn't wanting to grow any doors for me at the moment.
Post-corruption wildcard
Except that when Break wakes up he's definitely sitting on a table surrounded by his little army of marching teapots.
There's a lot to be alarmed by as he puts all the pieces together, starting with the fact that he appears to have made a contract with a witch without noticing. But as Break sets out to explore the world Ange has made with his eye properly open, his misgivings settle into worries far more standard for Trench and its nonsense. After all, he can sense Ange over his link to her, even if it's not the same as a blood bond. And so, he can feel the protective nature of her powers, the feelings underneath them as familiar as though they were his own, and not just because of the weird link between them.
Break is fond of saying a loyalty too sharp will become a blade that pierces the very thing held dear, based on his own experiences with twisted love. Trench is doing the same thing to Ange now, he sees. She's made this place out of love -- but it's a love too suffocating, becoming a prison to smother the very people she wishes to save.
The cold, practical, independent part of him wants to try to leave just to see if he can, and test how far his magical tie to Ange will stretch, just in case it can't be removed. Break puts a great deal of consideration into trying that, as he takes stock of the "guest rooms" where Ruby has tossed the troublemakers and investigates the full scale of Ruby's Rubilessness. But tearing the place apart by any kind of force, he realizes, is only liable to make things worse, cause Ange to dig in her heels. The trick will be to ease her out of her corruption, help her come to the decision to emerge on her own. For that reason Break should stay, right, should be trusted eyes on the inside, should see if he can catch some of her other loved ones before Ruby does and guide them in the right direction without Ange noticing what he's up to...
...that's his scheming side, which he'll never fully be rid of. Ultimately, Break, too, stays out of love. Ange brought him here so they could watch over one another.
He'll do the job she's given him.
Having reached his decision, he pops into Ange's garden with a plate of her favorite blueberry cookies balanced on his head, and a small battalion of teapots and things flying in a line behind him on gothic purple fairy wings. Baltus is with him, looking decidedly less toothy, but it's with no less enthusiasm than usual that the omen trots forward to rest his head in Ange's lap.]
Miss Ange. How are you feeling? I notice the hedge isn't wanting to grow any doors for me at the moment.