first ☀ text;

[augured]

Upon first inspection, I anticipated this to possibly be the result of a whimsical fantasy in the form of a lucid dream, however I do fancy myself a touch more creative, albeit realistic, when it comes to dreaming. Also considering the fact I had not been asleep, but rather with a comrade of mine, that option is quite void at this point

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[toocoolfor]

consider me enticed
my mouth salivating at the mere prospect of reading fucking novels of lavender font
etc fucking etc

cant exactly say that our kidnapper is the brightest bulb in the box
or really the most original
just be thankful you missed swimming around the place with a shell bra
or got to hop about as a fucking pokemon
cause those are things thatve happened so far
and god knows what the hell else well go through
i imagine something worse

also
its no longer johns birthday
and you missed the birthday apocalypse at the beginning of december
but only by a few days so maybe i wont keep this box hostage for another year

in other words
welcome to the manor sis
enjoy your stay
in whatever room youve been given
what room are you in

[augured]

[ And her response is uncharacteristically short. Because it's Dave, it's Dave and she's so thankful; regardless of where they are, where this might be, it's Dave and he's alive and she needs to know that it's really him and not a false pretense of red text and ridiculous stilted sentences. ]

Ninety-six, I will expect you to be prompt in arriving.

[toocoolfor]

[ And it's not a moment after she hits send that there's a knock on the door--Dave barely even spares the name plaque a glance, just hits the Manor's timeline so he can be there in the blink of an eye--because the feeling is mutual.

He's been worried about her since he and John and Jade--who now seems to be gone, and he's not sure how to feel about that still--arrived in the Manor. It's only been a couple weeks, but that doesn't change his concern. It doesn't change the fact that he was trying to keep it out of his response to her, because this is a public damn network and no one needs to know that the coolkid has been worrying over his ectobiological sibling. ]

[augured]

[ And normally, normally, Rose is rather disinclined to the physical aspect of affection among people. (Read: her mother.) However this situation is significantly different than any other (of course it is) and she doesn't entirely know how else to react.

Because when she opens the door and it's clearly Dave, she doesn't think to stop herself when she all but throws herself in his general direction, arms around his neck.

She'll be damned if he brings this up later because for the moment she's too full of relief for it to be ruined by him being an obnoxious twat. ]

[toocoolfor]

[ Neither of the Derse siblings are particularly accustomed to positive physical contact, but Dave has been dishing it out quite a bit in the past week or so that he doesn't even tense up this time when Rose's arms find their way about his neck. He makes sure she doesn't knock into the one bag he has at hand, but there's no delay between that and his arms going around her, free hand settling between her shoulder blades. ]

Hey. [ And, honestly, that's all he says for the moment. Everything else he could say can wait until they're not standing in the hall, or when they aren't composing themselves. Because the last time they truly spoke to one another was when the numbers of the timer were counting down to zero, and they were waiting for the bomb to explode. He's not really sure what he should say, what should come first, what's really important. ]

[augured]

[ It's difficult to trust her voice at first, and so she doesn't. Says nothing, just tightens her arms and stays there until she's confident that she can keep it together. It's completely ridiculous, getting so broken up about it, but it's hard, okay. It's hard being thirteen and dying twice and waking up in a new place every time and-

Okay. Emotions. Reign them in, Rose, you can do it.

She takes a deep breath. ]

Hello.

[toocoolfor]

[ The corner of his mouth twitches a bit, and he ducks his head down to hide it in her shoulder as he simply holds her. Part of him doesn't want to let go, either, but he knows he ought to at some point. The thought to bring this up later, just to agitate her, doesn't even come to mind. Hell, even if it did, he knew it could be used against him, too.

Dave's fingers curl a bit in the back of her shirt, and he can't help but huff a quiet laugh that manages to shake his shoulders a little. ]

Look good in orange, sis.

[augured]

I never did think of it as my color. [ But there's a hint of a smile there, just barely. It feels normal, really. Just like this, the simple exchange -- it's familiar and comforting and, above all else, a relief. ]

[toocoolfor]

Helluva lot brighter than your grim ol' blacks 'n shit, but ain't bad. [ It also saves him the trouble of asking where she sat on the timeline, in comparison to the rest of them. And that in itself is a relief to the Hero of Time, still trying to keep things in order despite the fact they are so far away from their broken session. Having Rose, his Rose from nearly the same moment, is a comfort he didn't know he needed until now. ]

[augured]

Your own color is much improved from the last time I saw you. Fuchsia was never quite your shade. [ An attempt at joking, which makes her feel a little better. Finally, she reaches up, brushes away a dampness at her eyes, before pulling from the embrace. ] I never truly thought I would find it relieving to see you.

[toocoolfor]

But damn, those fuchsia PJs sure as hell were comfy, wearing 'em could've bordered on unironic. [ And he rolls with it, as he is wont to do. When she pulls back, he lets her, bringing his free hand up to, as surreptitiously as possible, slip his thumb under his sunglasses to rub a bit under one of his eyes. ] Lies, it's always a relief to see a Strider.

[ A pause. ] Though, I could say the same about you, really.

[augured]

Please, enlighten me to your definition of 'always', as I believe it might differ from my own. [ She says it with a hint of a smile. ] Ah, should I borrow your response and say it should always be a relief to see a Lalonde? It would be an incredible lie, though, as I can't imagine it would ever be a relief for many to see my mother.

[toocoolfor]

[ He crooks a brow at her, the corner of his mouth twitching up a little more, before he takes one out of John's book. Reaching, her paps the side of her face gently. ] Shh, it's okay, Rose. I know you've got such a massive dictionary of convoluted words in there that you might get a few definitions mixed up every now and then. Don't worry, I've got your back.

Although, yeah, maybe we should narrow it down to 'Dave Strider' and 'Rose Lalonde' instead. Sure as shit no one's ever relieved to see Bro, especially since you'd never see him until it was too late.