( His message rings out in her house, phone vibrating on the floor, screen cracked from where she threw it earlier. Kate groans and pads over, debating whether to even answer it for a long minute.
She eventually opens the text function and types a response. )
Was going to happen sometime. Should be back where he's meant to be. Not here.
[ He switches to text, since she seems to prefer it at the moment. ]
I suppose so. Lately he's been. . . sort of absent. Didn't tell anybody where he was located, didn't seem to do much besides meet his Guard leader requirements as to keeping track of his Guards via the network. I've noticed such signs before, in others. They seem to disappear before they disappear.
[ Including Curufin's son and his eldest brother. ]
I did not know Henry very well, but from what he said about his world, I can understand why he missed it so much. No, he didn't belong here. Even more than others do not belong here! If he's gone home, then I'm happy for him. Not so happy for you, though. You'll miss him greatly.
( It's been a long month, a whirlwind of intense experiments, and even that response sounds tired, which... Well. It's Kate. She doesn't often like to sound tired for anything, or anyone. )
[It was the previous evening when it ended, when the thundering whispers finally stopped and so abruptly that it left his ears ringing in the aftermath. Ignis found himself suddenly, blessedly able to hear his own thoughts, though they hadn't lasted long beyond relief before he had slipped into something that was far closer to black unconsciousness than sleep.
He wakes with a pounding headache, more out of sorts than he can ever recall being in the morning. Food and a cup of coffee does little to help shake it, but he's still not feeling entirely himself when he heads out to check on Kate. The Door had done more than a number on her, that much he knows, and after realising he's been almost entirely out of commission for over two days the concern for her well-being curls in the pit of his stomach like something cold and weighty.
Ignis doesn't knock. He learned not to after the first few times. Instead, he unlocks the door and heads in silently, shutting it quietly behind him.
Normally, he'd call out. 'It's me', or 'anybody home' or something pleasantly corny to make her laugh, but not today. It's as if he's forgotten how to speak, the thoughts slipping down and rising back up to form words that stick in his throat and never find voice. What he manages, more or less, is to quietly clear his throat when he sees her.]
( Being able to move without every part of her body protesting in agony is a blessed change after the last few days, though instead it has more than a few things to say about just being too damn tired to do anything. She knew The Door would wreck her, that doing what she did would overload her powers, would be far too much for them to handle, but actually experiencing it for herself?
Well fuck, it would have been easier to simply let herself die and have Hope revive her, and isn't that just 50 shades of messed the fuck up?
She slowly chews a slice of toast, leaning heavily against the kitchenette counter, the world around her somehow managing to look duller though nothing has changed. Nothing but the emptiness running through threads of power veins, familiar and yet more terrifying than ever before.
She hadn't simply exhausted her powers, after all. She'd burnt straight through the whole thing and somehow come out alive.
And now all she can do is trust herself to time once more.
The door unlocks and her head lifts, turning back from a window with slowly dawning recognition as she comes face to face with someone who, honestly, looks about as bad as she feels. Hell, about as bad as she does, all unbrushed hair and skin paled by exhaustion, heavy shadows lining her eyes.
She doesn't want to sleep more, but everything in her screams for more rest. )
...You look like shit.
( But hi, boyfriend, she's just going to slowly pad her way over to where you stand and take your hand in hers. )
[He isn't certain if anyone saw him while he headed over here and honestly, he doesn't care at this point in time. No doubt they look as bad as each other, Ignis all uncombed hair and dark shadows standing stark against exhaustion-paled skin, his eyes still slightly unfocused with the headache pulsing at his temples.
But there's a reason he's here - a reason he all but dragged himself here - and that's for the simple, but undeniable balm of her touch against his hand. It wears the sharp edge from his weariness and he lifts her hand to kiss the back of it, the faintest ghost of a tired smile running over his expression.]
I feel worse. [He admits quietly, his voice slightly hoarse from the desperate, harsh whispers of 'shut up, shut up, shut up' that he had thrown against the rattling mutters in his head without even realising he spoke.
When he draws her against him it's slowly, gently, not like she will break but like both of them are fragile enough to shatter at the first hint of roughness. He puts an arm around her shoulders and tucks her head under his chin, smoothing her hair carefully behind her ear with the pad of his thumb.]
I'm not sure you'll remember me. Feel free to ignore this if it's unwelcome. But you were on my mind.
I'm hardly one to stick my nose where it doesn't belong, but I still wanted to make sure all was well after hearing what you said about owing Hope a favor.
Good to hear. I suppose there's no reason, as long as you did your side of the deal to Hope's liking. [He doesn't trust Hope, and he had a feeling that there would be some other issues. Pointless worry, it seems.] Alls well that ends well, I suppose.
( Kate flinches at the video request. No. Not right now. It's going to be hard enough to talk without having to think about the state of her place. Or herself. )
...Enough. ( Not really. She's fucking cold, and the fabric she's used to cover the holes in the windows aren't really enough to block that. But she'll live with it. )
[Though he'd spotted Kate returning to her home through the window of his and Glacius' new house last week, it's taken Carlisle this long just to work up the gumption to go over there. He hasn't truly spoken to her since before the Siphoning, since his hair first returned to its redder color and he had, thanks to literally feeding off his partner's energies much like the false deities, been given a new lease on life. Try as he might to not think of the consequences of such an ordeal (or the irony of the position he's been put in at all), he cannot ignore it entirely, much like he cannot ignore that he needs to speak with Kate at some point, if for no other reason than to thank her for her part in this. It doesn't change his mind on some of their other disagreements, but he has to admit that seeing Glacius happy at his recovery has been... satisfying, to say the least. Rewarding, even.
And she should know that, so over to her house he goes one morning, giving the door a solid knock as he smooths back his hair. It's not as red as it was initially, but it is nowhere near the faded brown it was upon his arrival in Hadriel, and a far cry from the dying grey it had been when last he saw her. His skin has color to it again, as do his eyes, though they still glow brightly behind his glasses. All in all, he is alive and here... which is, unfortunately and unbeknownst to Carlisle himself, more than can be said for some individuals.]
( The first hint that something's off is in the glass littered around the side of her house, the rattle of broken windows as the breeze whistles through the holes. The second is her swearing, the intake of breath as though she's just tried picking up something sharp and shattered.
... Which might just be because she has. )
Fuck— ( The scent of blood starts anew, red and dripping warm down the palm of her hand. Ugh— )
Who's there?
( Water. She needs water. And for the vice around her chest to disappear. )
Hey, Kate, right? Listen, I'm working on a thing, like kind of an encyclopedia for this place and all the shit that goes down. Since you've been here forever and you seem to know things, I figured I'd hit you up for info. Hit me up when you've got some sit-down time, this might take a while.
[Yeah, recent events have fucked with him, but he's all for the camp of "pretend that never happened and move on to business as usual".]
( Is it a lifeline? She isn't sure yet, but the call snaps Kate out of her current wanderings, out of moving without really seeing where she's going, and there's the gentle thunk of her back hitting a wall as she picks up.
The name is meaningless to her, but the message brings back a post written barely a couple of weeks ago which feels so distant it may as well be from a lifetime before that. Before Rage latched onto parts of her better kept bottled up, before the icy depths of some horror locked away in the base of her chest was allowed to swallow her whole.
... Right. )
Got time now.
( An encyclopedia? It'll take several volumes, Kate thinks. )
It has been some time since this familiar voice has found its way into your inbox, hasn't it? Glacius does not have much of an excuse, save for the fact that he'd been trying to glean as much from the tundra where they were previously staying as he could, and now he's been doing his best to help both he and his partner adjust to this new world. However, with whispers of the Null's return circulating among Hadriel's populace, growing louder and more certain with each day, the ice alien knows he cannot wait any longer to reach out.]
Are you well? Safe? Do you perhaps have time to meet? Much has happened and threatens to happen still, and I would like my sister to know that I am always here, ready and willing to support.
( They're busy adults, especially in the current climate of the city. Delight's death had long-lasting effects, an ache that left Kate trying to bury herself in things that were not Interacting With Others, after all, how could she face Glacius — of all the people in this city — after what she did to Ianchus?
What she wanted to do to Rosie?
(She doesn't even want to think about what could have happened had he, Carlisle or Ignis found her.)
Guilt churns at her stomach as the memories surface, but quietly enough that Kate pushes it down and instead concentrates on the soothing cadence of Glacius' voice. Meeting... )
Aye. Come over.
( It's easier, now she knows Glacius and Carlisle are next door, to simply have him pop round. )
[ Sharon has a favor she wants to ask but it's not one she's willing to ask for over the network. Hell, it took a lot for her to work up the guts to even bother. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[Video] Backdated to 8/31
text;
She eventually opens the text function and types a response. )
Was going to happen sometime. Should be back where he's meant to be. Not here.
text;
I suppose so. Lately he's been. . . sort of absent. Didn't tell anybody where he was located, didn't seem to do much besides meet his Guard leader requirements as to keeping track of his Guards via the network. I've noticed such signs before, in others. They seem to disappear before they disappear.
[ Including Curufin's son and his eldest brother. ]
I did not know Henry very well, but from what he said about his world, I can understand why he missed it so much. No, he didn't belong here. Even more than others do not belong here! If he's gone home, then I'm happy for him. Not so happy for you, though. You'll miss him greatly.
text; i'm sorry about her
From:text; Aw, Kate!! <3
From:text; she's the worst (':
From:text; Nah, she's just hung over and unhappy. *snuggles Kate*
From:text; so business as usual :joy:
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From:Video; backdated to the 20th
Jo can't wait any longer, so she calls Kate one evening.]
Kate?
Video;
( It's been a long month, a whirlwind of intense experiments, and even that response sounds tired, which... Well. It's Kate. She doesn't often like to sound tired for anything, or anyone. )
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Just checking in. How are you?
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From:action; 26th
He wakes with a pounding headache, more out of sorts than he can ever recall being in the morning. Food and a cup of coffee does little to help shake it, but he's still not feeling entirely himself when he heads out to check on Kate. The Door had done more than a number on her, that much he knows, and after realising he's been almost entirely out of commission for over two days the concern for her well-being curls in the pit of his stomach like something cold and weighty.
Ignis doesn't knock. He learned not to after the first few times. Instead, he unlocks the door and heads in silently, shutting it quietly behind him.
Normally, he'd call out. 'It's me', or 'anybody home' or something pleasantly corny to make her laugh, but not today. It's as if he's forgotten how to speak, the thoughts slipping down and rising back up to form words that stick in his throat and never find voice. What he manages, more or less, is to quietly clear his throat when he sees her.]
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Well fuck, it would have been easier to simply let herself die and have Hope revive her, and isn't that just 50 shades of messed the fuck up?
She slowly chews a slice of toast, leaning heavily against the kitchenette counter, the world around her somehow managing to look duller though nothing has changed. Nothing but the emptiness running through threads of power veins, familiar and yet more terrifying than ever before.
She hadn't simply exhausted her powers, after all. She'd burnt straight through the whole thing and somehow come out alive.
And now all she can do is trust herself to time once more.
The door unlocks and her head lifts, turning back from a window with slowly dawning recognition as she comes face to face with someone who, honestly, looks about as bad as she feels. Hell, about as bad as she does, all unbrushed hair and skin paled by exhaustion, heavy shadows lining her eyes.
She doesn't want to sleep more, but everything in her screams for more rest. )
...You look like shit.
( But hi, boyfriend, she's just going to slowly pad her way over to where you stand and take your hand in hers. )
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But there's a reason he's here - a reason he all but dragged himself here - and that's for the simple, but undeniable balm of her touch against his hand. It wears the sharp edge from his weariness and he lifts her hand to kiss the back of it, the faintest ghost of a tired smile running over his expression.]
I feel worse. [He admits quietly, his voice slightly hoarse from the desperate, harsh whispers of 'shut up, shut up, shut up' that he had thrown against the rattling mutters in his head without even realising he spoke.
When he draws her against him it's slowly, gently, not like she will break but like both of them are fragile enough to shatter at the first hint of roughness. He puts an arm around her shoulders and tucks her head under his chin, smoothing her hair carefully behind her ear with the pad of his thumb.]
... I thought I might have lost you.
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I'm hardly one to stick my nose where it doesn't belong, but I still wanted to make sure all was well after hearing what you said about owing Hope a favor.
[Text]
Fine. ( Now, anyway. Her body no longer feels like it's being burned from the inside out. ) Why wouldn't it be?
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[ Hi Kate your bitching buddy is back and wondering what happened that you don't live at the clinic anymore??? ]
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Rooftops.
( Makes it easier to shoot dragons. )
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are you not at the clinic for a reason?
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Are you staying warm?
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...Enough. ( Not really. She's fucking cold, and the fabric she's used to cover the holes in the windows aren't really enough to block that. But she'll live with it. )
Know anyone who can fix that?
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From:[action] Back when Ignis was Ignisn't-in-Hadriel-anymore
And she should know that, so over to her house he goes one morning, giving the door a solid knock as he smooths back his hair. It's not as red as it was initially, but it is nowhere near the faded brown it was upon his arrival in Hadriel, and a far cry from the dying grey it had been when last he saw her. His skin has color to it again, as do his eyes, though they still glow brightly behind his glasses. All in all, he is alive and here... which is, unfortunately and unbeknownst to Carlisle himself, more than can be said for some individuals.]
[action] that's awful get out.
... Which might just be because she has. )
Fuck— ( The scent of blood starts anew, red and dripping warm down the palm of her hand. Ugh— )
Who's there?
( Water. She needs water. And for the vice around her chest to disappear. )
I regret nothing. :>
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[Yeah, recent events have fucked with him, but he's all for the camp of "pretend that never happened and move on to business as usual".]
audio;
The name is meaningless to her, but the message brings back a post written barely a couple of weeks ago which feels so distant it may as well be from a lifetime before that. Before Rage latched onto parts of her better kept bottled up, before the icy depths of some horror locked away in the base of her chest was allowed to swallow her whole.
... Right. )
Got time now.
( An encyclopedia? It'll take several volumes, Kate thinks. )
Where are you?
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It has been some time since this familiar voice has found its way into your inbox, hasn't it? Glacius does not have much of an excuse, save for the fact that he'd been trying to glean as much from the tundra where they were previously staying as he could, and now he's been doing his best to help both he and his partner adjust to this new world. However, with whispers of the Null's return circulating among Hadriel's populace, growing louder and more certain with each day, the ice alien knows he cannot wait any longer to reach out.]
Are you well? Safe? Do you perhaps have time to meet? Much has happened and threatens to happen still, and I would like my sister to know that I am always here, ready and willing to support.
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What she wanted to do to Rosie?
(She doesn't even want to think about what could have happened had he, Carlisle or Ignis found her.)
Guilt churns at her stomach as the memories surface, but quietly enough that Kate pushes it down and instead concentrates on the soothing cadence of Glacius' voice. Meeting... )
Aye. Come over.
( It's easier, now she knows Glacius and Carlisle are next door, to simply have him pop round. )
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From:he better come fite with her in the combat log she has Things to say :>
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[ Sharon has a favor she wants to ask but it's not one she's willing to ask for over the network. Hell, it took a lot for her to work up the guts to even bother. ]
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Sure. Where?
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