(Untitled)

[evalon]

what a strange and bizarre month this has been. Ralph and i have moved on to the cleaning up part of our lives, him with the bar and me with Michael's house. i've sent Peregrine back, it's one of the saddest and oddest things i've had to do lately. i still get the feelings of dread and despair when i'm around him, but i also love him so it's hard

Comments

[_eva_c]

I hear Ev yelling up at me to bring Cristoff some food. I'm a little surprised she's letting me down there while he's awake, but I'm not going to argue with her.

As I reach the bottom of the stairs though, I almost drop the plate of wings when I see him chained up like that. I notice Ev is looking at me and somehow I'm able to keep from doing that, but I'm not entirely sure I caught it before he saw it. I do my best to keep my face calm and my voice normal when I walk over towards him. "I think Ralph's making lasagna if you'd rather have that."

[cristoff_eleni]

It was not nice for her to see me chained up, this hurts her but she is covering it well. It is so good to see her I can barely stand it, it takes all my willpower for a moment not to try to reach out to her...it would only end in me tugging on chains after all.

"It does not matter as long as it is edible and you bring it Drabarni."

[_eva_c]

He sounds so normal despite being chained to the damn statue that I smile for real at him. What did Ev do to get him this way? For a moment I'm disturbed again at how she was able to do this but I couldn't, but I'm just grateful he's not asking me to let him out right now.

"It's very edible, Ralph knows how to cook."

I stop at the end of the bed and look back at Ev, wondering if she's going to tell me I can't get too close. She doesn't, though, so I sit next to him and put the plate on my lap. "Um, I think I'm going to have to feed it to you."

[cristoff_eleni]

I can feel the smile tugging at me again. "Well you had no issue with feeding me while we were in Europe." I have a vivid memory of that and am truly despising these chains right now.

"It would be difficult for me to do it at the moment." I hold her eyes as she helps me take a bite, yes in some ways the girl is right, I would do anything to protect her but I am learning to seperate out who I should protect her from.

[_eva_c]

"I had no issue with doing a lot of things to you in Europe." I actually start to have hope that he's fighting this demon, that Penn was right and if he can do that then he'll be okay.

But as I sit there looking into his eyes while i feed him, it occurs to me that he's probably doing this for my sake, the joking around and trying to make this seem normal. On the one hand, thank god if I can encourage him to do that. On the other? I feel awful that he's the one chained up in our basement, having to try and keep ahold of his sanity and having to make me feel better. I should be making him feel better, he shouldn't have to worry about my feelings right now.

And it's those thoughts that allow me to keep it together, because god damnit but if he can do it during this? Then I better be able to. "So was I right, are they edible enough for you?"

[cristoff_eleni]

"You were right. He is a good cook." I want to touch her and make her feel better, but for this time I must sit back and let her do this for me. And she is holding up very well, it makes it easier for me to be more normal around her, although in truth I am scared every moment.

"Too bad he runs a bar, we could hire him to cook for us."

[_eva_c]

"Of course I was right." If I just look at his face and not at the chains I can do this. Pretend we're not here in the basement, my sister is not over there listening to us, and there's no demon besides Acathla present.

Ev coughs and I look over at her, amused. "I think Ev would have a problem if we hired her boyfriend to be our cook."

[cristoff_eleni]

"Ah well so much for that idea. I suppose we shall just have to suffer and cook for ourselves as usual." Yes, because we will still be here and be whole when this is over. I will not let it be otherwise.

[_eva_c]

I realize he's talking as if he believes we'll do these things still, he doesn't seem as broken to me anymore and I feel an enormous sense of relief. And I can't help it, I can't sit here like this with him sounding so much like himself again and not touch him, I've missed him greatly over the past few days.

I scoot up some on the bed and make myself comfortable against his side, in that place where I fit so well. "You mean me ordering off of a takeout menu kind of cooking. Or were you hoping I'd finally figure out the kitchen is more than just the place where I go to get coffee in the morning?"

[cristoff_eleni]

I lean my head on the top of hers because that is the best I can do right now. But she fits against me so perfect and her warmth is something to concentrate on instead of the voice.

"I make no expectations on you learning how to cook, I am fond enough of take out. Besides I have cooked for you from time to time, I just have a limited menu that I know how to make." yes like sandwiches and stews and things that are easy to make on the road. "Like sacrificial chicken." I look down at her with a hidden smile remembering that day.

[_eva_c]

I have to laugh when he brings up eating my sacrificial chicken. "How sad is it the only food I know how to make is sacrificial food?" I smile up at him, he even makes better sandwiches than I do. "But I can bake. We could have chocolate cake for dinner every night."

[cristoff_eleni]

"Baking is a good skill, I'm sure we could live on chocolate cake for a while. And maybe if we are really nice we can get a discount from Ralph if we eat there." I close my eyes and just lean against her as much as I can. The voice of the girl is loud and insistant. I manage to keep myself from tensing but it is an effort.

[_eva_c]

"Cristoff? He's cooking in our kitchen right now and he's living with my sister. I would hope we'd get the family discount." I don't know what's worse, him being normal like this and still chained up or if he'd of been raving. At least if he was raving I wouldn't be sitting here thinking about unchaining him, but I can't do that, they wouldn't let me.

So instead I trace veves on his stomach with a finger; Legba and Ogoun, give him the strength to keep fighting this. Trying to keep up the casual tone of the conversation, I whisper in his ear. "And am I the only one wondering when the hell my sister started dating Ralph? 'Cause Michael was at the wedding with her."

[cristoff_eleni]

"I have to admit I didn't think about it until now. I was busy I suppose." It's true, I had not thought about what Ev was doing with Ralph. "I should learn to be more observant."

That earns a switch in the tactics from the little girl and she tells me that the demons are banding together to hurt Eva. Her sister would not hurt her, I will not listen. And I smile when I realize what she is tracing on me, I doubt the girl knows what she is doing.

"You will have to get the gossip for me I am afraid." I have a feeling that we are both shaking inside and putting on a normal face for the other.

[_eva_c]

I smile a little and lean up to kiss his neck. "Well yeah, we were kind of busy at the time." I'm not sure if he's referring to us not being here or if he's referring to having been busy lately, but I figure it's better not to talk about that.

"Or we could just ask her." I turn and look over at her and without looking up from her book she simply says it's because she loves him and to stop talking about her. Then she flips me off, so I stick my tongue out at her and turn back around. "Or not."

[cristoff_eleni]

"So I see being polite does not run in any part of your family." it is amusing to see them react to each other like small children.

"Well if we cannot talk about your sisters love life I do not know what we'll talk about." I make sure to say it loud enough for Ev to hear.