save_the_souls | driftfleet ♪ IC Contact: Year Two

[He is nowhere near emotionally stable enough to use the voice function, but dammit, Allen deserves to know -]

Is this a bad time?
I need to talk to you about something.

No, it's not a bad time.

What is it?

I can't find Alex anywhere.

[Allen doesn't deserve to find out via text, so he'll switch to voice, shaking and nervousness be darned:] I've looked everywhere, and I can't reach her by phone, so I think... I think she went home.

What?

[Oh no. Allen's...received this sort of notice countless times before. It's a part of living a life like this. But still, there's a pause when he hears it]

Oh God...I'm so sorry. Are you alright?

I don't know.

[On the other hand, this is only Stefan's fourth rodeo with disappearances. It's happened, just not to people he actively cared about.]

I just - I keep thinking it's my fault somehow, even though that can't remotely be right.

No, it's not your fault.

Believe me, nothing you did caused this to happen.

I know that. Like logically, I know that it's whatever Atroma decides is best, versus anything I did...

[He sighs,] But it doesn't feel real. It's like I'm gonna turn the corner and she'll sneak up on me and act like she'd never left.

I know. It...takes awhile for it to really sink in. At least it does for me.

Dammit.

[That was all the confirmation he needed, and he might be letting his tongue go loose for once...]

I'm going through her room now, and it - [...] Did the castle prepare you for this? For uh, people leaving with zero notice?

It...happened a lot there, yes. [Too often]

No wonder. [There's the sound of some papers rustling, before he realizes he should be speaking,] She left you something.

Do you want me to bring it over, or should you come over, or... [Should he wait? If Allen's too busy to come over?]

What would you prefer?

[Hesitation,] Could you drop by?

It might... uh, take me a while to sort through all of this.

Sure.

[For Stefan, of course]

I can be over in about...twenty minutes?

Sounds good. I'll get the tea ready for you.

[Whenever Allen drops by, he'll see Stefan lingering in Alex's room. True to his word, there's a tray with two mugs of tea (and a bowl of freshly-baked dino pastries) on her bed. There's also a lot of stuff that he's uncovering.

This may not be his first rodeo with disappearances, but it sure is his first with someone who's left behind more than enough presents.]

Thanks Stefan. I'll see you soon.

[And after that, he turns off his communicator to finish up what he was doing and make his way over there. But true to his word, in about twenty or so minutes, he'll be in the doorway of Alex's room- which he'll knock on the side of the open door]

Hey.

Hey.

[Stefan manages a faint smile as he waves Allen in,] This feels a lot like that old dream of mine. Except it's not my room, and it's more packing than unpacking....

[He hesitates, because while this feels reminiscent of his Calibration, it also feels weird. Too weird, as if reality is the exact opposite of everything those dreams had indicated.]

[ He picks up on Stefan's hesistation, and he offers a small smile as he steps into the room ]

And I can actually help you this time, instead of preaching and refusing to touch anything.

To be fair, my memories were pretty heavy.

[He laughs, genuinely this time, as he holds up a box with... honestly, he doesn't even know. A few stuffed animals peer out from the top.]

Somehow, I think these stuffed animals are a little lighter.

Oh yeah, the memory about cooking pasta...I nearly lost my mind.

[He walks over to take the box from his hand, smiling]

I'll manage. Where would you like them?

Just a bit. Not that I could blame you, either. I'm not proud of who I used to be.

[He pauses, picking up a handwritten list (in Alex's handwriting, no less)].

She didn't specify, so... my room for now?

Ah...don't worry, that was supposed to be a joke. It takes a little more than pasta to lose my mind, promise.

[Right. This is exactly why he stopped being a clown.]

Your room, got it. I hope there's enough room in there for all this.

Oh. [Stefan's laugh is a small, embarrassed one.] No, that's on me.

I don't think I can keep everything. I don't want to donate it all either... but it's not like she left a super-detailed list for me. I'm just going by what I think she'd want.

No, it's fine. Jokes have never been my strong point.

[But he makes a "Hmmm" sound]

Well...if she has anymore of those novelty coffee mugs, I bet those could be used in the interfaith center as back-up mugs.

I mean, the ones that aren't too sacrilegious.

[!!!]

I hadn't even thought about that. We could take them there. [beat] I feel like God's gotta have some sense of humor, you know?

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save_the_souls - 2016-08-26 06:07 (UTC) - Expand

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stefanged - 2016-08-26 06:44 (UTC) - Expand

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