-oo3- Eva Sparda

[sanctamater]

Curae leves loquuntur ingentes stupent, autem credula vitam spes fovet et melius cras fore semper dicit.*

This business of waiting for the madness to end is wearying. But sleep comes uneasily.

What I wouldn't give for a book.

[ooc note: *"Slight griefs talk, great ones are speechless (minor losses can be talked away, profound ones strike us

Comments

IN PERSON

[vaterunser]

[Because Vergil's a busy body and sees nearly everything that happens on the network, he doesn't miss his mother's post. Of course not, unfortunately.

So it's without little ceremony he reaches next to the bed, over to the desk, and picks up a notebook. It's heavy, hard-backed, and already showing signs of wear and tear from much use. And then he holds it out to Eva.]

Here. It's not a bodice-ripper, but it may give you a clearer picture of things.

[sanctamater]

[She had expected mocking, perhaps-- or ignoring outright-- from her eldest; his kind gesture catches his mother a little off-guard, though she offers him only a puzzled smile before she looks over the cover, feeling the weight of the notebook in her hands.]

I've never really been one for bodice-rippers. But what is it?

[She asks, but she's already opened the cover and begun glancing over it with lidded eyes. A notebook-- she'd know her son's handwriting even if he hadn't posted on the network with it--, and observations. So many observations. A bit of shorthand is indecipherable to her, but the majority of the book is legible and, on top of that, useful. She wonders, briefly and with a little guilt, if he knows what she's planning-- and then she dismisses the thought and looks back at him, a tentative softness in her gaze so subtle it was as if she hadn't put it there at all.]

Thank you, dear.

[vaterunser]

[No mocking there. He's focused and serious and forming a plan to pull Steph away from kicking Robin's body and possibly in the room with them, though he wonders if that's a good idea. Eva's here, after all, and Steph could pose a possible threat until she calms.

Conundrum.]

If nothing else, it will give you an idea of who to avoid.

[sanctamater]

[She nods, lips tightening into a line as she looks down at the book. She turns the first page, eyes sailing over the paper with the ease of a scholar; she plans to pick up the important bits and use them to establish herself once this is done. Then, she'll finally stop being a burden on her sons and become self-sufficient. She hopes. It will be harder than it is on paper, but she knows it needs doing-- the way things are now is an uneasy truce and is killing her inside.

His handwriting's a lot like Sparda's was-- very clear, neat. It was like that from childhood, she remembers-- Dante's huge scrawl, Vergil's somewhat exacting lettering--, and then she stops herself. It won't make things easier.]

How long have you been working on this...?

[vaterunser]

[He's turned away from her once more, gingerly poking at the faciliberry with his bloody hands. They're still raw, so very raw, and it's almost clinical, his fascination with the effects of lasting injury on his body.

It's not something he's ever seen.

But at her question he raises an eyebrow, waiving one hand to and fro slightly.]

Since I arrived.

[sanctamater]

Mm.

[Back to the notebook, then, and quiet planning. Much as she is a chatter by nature, she simply hasn't got it in her to talk right now.]

[vaterunser]

[And when he gets the go signal, he's moving from the bed, standing slightly hunched with one arm wrapped around his middle, before moving to Eva's side, one hand going to lightly rest on her shoulder.]

It might be best if you get out of the open.

[sanctamater]

Ah--

[The tone is sharp but after Lady's warning, no surprise; the touch is, and she scrambles to her feet after a moment, tucking the notebook under an arm, and looks around for the best angle within which to hide. The far corner, she decides, will do-- though she looks to her son for confirmation for that as she begins moving to brace herself against that wall.]

[vaterunser]

[He gives a slight nod before taking the chair, almost casually, though it's obvious all the movement pains him, and greatly. Now there's nothing to do but wait for Steph to arrive to finish him off. Or so she thinks.]

Just stay there, no matter what happens. And if the one coming here goes for you, run.

[sanctamater]

[She looks like she wants to argue for a moment, before thinking twice. This is important, and if anyone knows how helpless she is, Eva does.]

Yes.