Two can be as bad as one / Its the loneliest number since the number one

[dogbitesman]

William did not immediately note anything amiss upon waking; he woke, as he usually did, before dawn, and since even the earliest riser is not at their best at an hour so early sundials aren't working yet, he didn't note that he was closer to the middle of the bed than usual, Maladicta having rolled further to the side

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[dishabille_mal]

Maladicta instinctively did not get up, because the backs of her eyelids were not the right color to warrant it. This made sense if you were sleeping. Instinctively, she did lean back to press against her sleeping fiance because she always noticed when the both of them were up and out, even sleeping, and she hadn't felt the bed shift that much

[dogbitesman]

"Maladicta," William said, speaking very carefully, because speaking at all was requiring an active effort of will, "Did you notice Sacharissa leave this morning?"

There, and now she'd say she had woken up at the disturbance, gone back to sleep, and everything was fine.

Only if that's the case, why did she just go from relief to blankness?

[dishabille_mal]

Shenlong whined. She only noticed it in a distant way. There was the touch of cold that was a nose at her wrist, before he got up to go to William. Maladicta didn't move. This was for many reasons, not the least of which that her greatest desire, in that moment, was to look him in the eye and lie. She wanted to look him in the eye and say Yes. I must have been mostly asleep. But I just now remembered, I did wake up, just for a moment, when she went.

She hadn't, though.

Maladicta swallowed, carefully, and carefully, voice sounding slightly muzzy with sleep but actually being so from the silent strain it had just gone through, said, "No."

[dogbitesman]

"Right," William said, the word tight, having been forced through a throat that didn't want to let anything past. "Well, you could have slept through it. That's a possibility."

He wasn't going to voice the other possibilities. Not just yet. He'd hold off on that. Forever, preferably, although that might not be an option. Please, let it be an option.

[dishabille_mal]

She nodded, mutely. She could have. So could he.

But there was the direwolf. If one of them left, alone, why was he still asleep by the bedside. Unless Sacharissa had told him not to follow. And why would she have done that?

She turned, to slide out of bed, and then stopped. She was going to get up and get dressed and go look for Sacharissa, of course, but something stopped her from leaving the bed, just yet.

"I'll go see if she went to Jane's to help with the baby while you head for the office."

[dogbitesman]

"Meet you by the compound door once I've checked," William said, very deliberately leaving any pronoun out of the sentence. To use I'll assumed he wouldn't find anything; We'll assumed he wouldn't.

He glanced down at the dog. "...do you want to take Shenlong, or shall I?"

He was deliberately ignoring the fact that having Shenlong follow the most recent trail belonging to Sacharissa was possibly an even more logical step than the ones they were taking. That, also, assumed too much.

[dishabille_mal]

Maladicta looked over at where the wolf was seated beside William, and said, "You take him."

Okay, she thought, so we're going to get out of bed now. She planted both feet on the floor, and felt a stab of dread, just as the idea of turning her back to the place they'd all fallen asleep the night before. She didn't want to leave it. But she did.

She stood and walked to grab up her clothing.

"Meet you there," she said, feeling like a liar for the same omission and hoping that the feeling was going to turn out to be wrong.

[dogbitesman]

"Right," William said, "Heel, Shenlong."

And then he didn't move right away, because his brain was pointing out look what happened last time you looked away. Going to sleep hardly counted as looking away, but his brain was not entirely logical at this point, it seemed.

But he couldn't hover forever, so eventually there was nothing to do but hurry for the office and hope that the feeling of dread was entirely misplaced. Or mitigated by some circumstances. There was still time for there to be circumstances.

[dishabille_mal]

She had barely started to unfold her trousers let alone pull them on when he was walking out the door, and in a moment of blind adrenaline, she dropped them, and, from a pulled back place, saw herself run after him to the porch and heard herself call, "Will!"

[dogbitesman]

William stopped, spun about immediately, calling back "What?" in an alarmed tone.

Suddenly that edge of buried panic wasn't buried very deep.

[dishabille_mal]

She ran directly to him, practically collided with him, only stopping because he was in her way- arms around his shoulders, tight, feet not actually on the top step of the deck any longer. She had to breathe him in and feel him, solid, there. Maybe it was the empty bed at her back, but she couldn't watch him walk out the door without- She just couldn't. No reason why. Didn't need to be. Not right then.

[dogbitesman]

William wrapped his arms around her and just gripped her tight. It was comforting, at that, although he was still refusing to admit to himself there was anything he needed comforting about.

This was all some sort of confusion or misunderstanding, and once he applied himself to the situation it would all come right. That was how it worked.

[dishabille_mal]

She turned her face to bury it in his hair. Okay. Okay, there was anchor, now. She could feel the vibrations in the wood of Shenlong going up and down the stairs a few times- in a few steps- out of whatever doggy emotion was going through him, and there was the feel of William, warm against her, around her. She swallowed, and pulled back a little, letting her forehead drag against his.

"Meet you there," she repeated.

[dogbitesman]

"Meet you there," William echoed, kissing her on the forehead and stepping back, promptly calling for Shenlong and stepping away at a fair clip, else he'd never leave for fear that she wouldn't be-

No, his mind wasn't going there.

[dishabille_mal]

She took a few steps back, watching him go, and then turned to go back into the house, dragging her hands through her hair. She looked at the bed for a moment, then swiftly dressed and left, leaving the bed unmade.

[dogbitesman]

The office was as empty as it ever was when he arrived, but it seemed emptier.

William hovered over Sacharissa's desk for a while, but there was nothing there that was helpful. All the notes there were from the island and told him nothing except what had happened yesterday.

He locked the office behind him and headed for the entrance to the compound.