Catch-all: Lucretia

[ercnerd]

Comments

[ercnerd]

What made you think you were saving everyone from us, anyway?

[ambiography]

...we thought everything was your fault. That if you weren't there, we wouldn't have had any of the problems we did.

[ercnerd]

I don't know who was responsible for the lightbulb, but wasn't it Malik who stole cards from the store . . . ?

[ambiography]

It was, I know that now, but at the time-- it was what we truly believed.

[ercnerd]

Well, it's over now.

[The mattress bounces slightly as he drops back onto it.]

You're all back to yourselves, and Malik got his original form back. Do you think it bruised when I stepped on his tail? . . . Which part of him would that even be?

[ambiography]

[-okay, that question startles a short breath of a laugh from her.]

I am not thinking about that, Sieghart-!

[ercnerd]

Oh.

[He turns his head her way. She laughed, did she? Now that's a win.]

Why not? Wouldn't you want to be sure that it healed completely when Hope used his magic?

[ambiography]

I really don't spend any time thinking of other people's asses, as a general rule.

[listen either it wouldn't exist at all or it'd be attached to his butt! these are weird things to consider!

in before you make a backside joke at me.]

[ercnerd]

[There is no joke. His backside is pristine.]

Who said anything about those?

We should count ourselves lucky. All things considered, we got out relatively unscathed.

[ambiography]

[technically, he did, but she's not arguing that right now.]

Physically, yes, we did, but-- I don't know that it was necessarily that easy on all of us.

[ercnerd]

Are you still thinking about what you said?

[ambiography]

Hope and Malik's minds were affected too, Sieghart, and I know we put Lila through a lot.

[also hope literally backstabbed her, there's a good chance neither of them is that okay about it.]

But- no, I suppose I've been thinking more about what you said.

[ercnerd]

[There's a good chance none of them is okay about it. Sieghart, on his end, just processed everything as soon as it was over (and internalized only his rage at the cruelty forced onto his young companions, though that's neither here nor there).]

What I said?

[ambiography]

It was-- a little unexpected.

[he'd said so before, of course, but to have it reiterated at that kind of moment--

that was something different.]

[ercnerd]

It would've left a bad taste in my mouth to let the compulsion get the last word in . . .

[He peers up at her. Since he merely reiterated himself, he didn't think it would leave that sort of an impression.]

[ambiography]

Still. I think that was-- something it helped to hear, at the time.

[after everything that happened there, especially. for him to keep her close, too-- it helped.]

It was the right gesture to make.

[ercnerd]

Was it . . .

[He sits up.]

It was Lila who brought you back, though.

[ambiography]

It was, but it was you who was right there when I snapped out of it.

[ercnerd]

. . . Well, it's good if it helped.

[ambiography]

[maybe slightly lighter in tone:]

It was nice to see you taking a little more initiative, too.

[holding her like that when he usually won't initiate to hold a hand...]

[ercnerd]

Huh?

[It takes him a moment.]

Are you talking about when I . . . ?

[ambiography]

I might be, yes.

[ercnerd]

[Oh.]

Th-that was . . . The circumstances were unusual!

[ambiography]

You do realize I'm not saying I disliked it? I thought that was a little obvious.

[ercnerd]

If you're not, then . . .

[Obviously, she isn't saying that she disliked it. But the opposite of dislike is—well. He clears his throat.]