Tatty:His Room:Rocking and Tatty in New Boots

[tribal_tatty]

As Tatty slowed his rocking his vision became clearer, and he realized that he was alone in his room. Anna and Jack were gone, how long had they been gone? One glance at the door reminded Tatty why he was so upset; the boots. There they sat, next to the door, glaring at him, black and large, and his eyes trailed back down to his own tattered Boots

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[tribal_anna]

The moment that Anna entered her room, having walked away from the scene in Jack's workshop. She found that the tears would be held back no longer, they streamed down her face, making it hard to see. Her breath caught in her throat and her chest was tight and constricted. Through her blurry eyes, she saw Tatty, in his rocking chair, tatting. It was all so normal, seeing him sitting there, tatting away and he looked so calm. Blidly, she found herself next to her bed, instead of sitting on it though, she slide down the wall next to it, tucking her legs under and bringing her hands up as the tears fell harder and faster. She hated to cry in front of people and she didn't want Tatty to see her so completely upset. She tried to get herself under control, to explain, so he didn't worry. But every time she opened her mouth, Ebony's face was there. The look. It'd been so angry. What had she done? Was it wrong to kiss people in the mall? No... that was ridiculous. What was it?

The hiccups came back making everything much more difficult, every deep breath she tried to take was interrupted by one. This led her to think of Jack, and that led to Ebony. Anna wiped in vain at her tears, her hand brushing at them, but they were only replaced as quickly as they disappeared. "I...I..." Her heart pounded hard against her chest and her throat felt so constricted and tight. Anna felt her stomach clench from all the crying and she tried to take a couple deep breaths. She tried again, "I..." The words wouldn't come out, they were lodge somewhere back with the words she'd wanted to tell Ebony when she'd told Anna to leave. They were back there with her courage. Anna began to shake, her whole body. "I think I screwed up." Anna forced it out in a giant rush, the words muttered and quiet. "And I don't know how or why or..." The tears didn't slow and she hung her head. Bringing her hands back up to her face, she curled into herself, blocking out the world and wishing she was any where but here. Almost wishing that none of it had happened. This made the tears far harder, she didn't want to regret anything about today...

[tribal_tatty]

Tatty slowed down in the chair when he heard the first sniffle, he'd long ago become lost in his inner mind, remembering happier times, his escape. Looking up, he found Anna leaning against the wall, sliding down it, tears staining her face. His heart clenched up with fear, if Anna was crying they were all dead, it was not a good sign. He perched further out on the edge of the rocker, setting his tatting down behind him before standing, gliding across the room to her. He was beside her in the blink of an eye, his right arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him for a hug. His natural rocking motion took over and he rocked her from side to side gently, it comforted him if it did nothing for her.

Tatty didn't understand, how could Anna screw something up? This was a different world, for all of them, even Tatty knew that much, it was probably easy to screw things up around here. "It's ok," he whispered to her, "Anna it's ok, Ryan won't be mad, whatever it was. I forgive you," he told her simply, hoping that little bit would help to ease the pain he could feel was deep within her.

[tribal_anna]

Anna felt the comforting weight of Tatty's arm around her shoulder and he slowly rocked her. The motion was soothing enough that her body stopped shaking quite so badly. Her chest was still tight and she felt so tense. Though the shaking had stopped for the most part, her stomach was upset from all the crying. Dropping her hand into her lap, she leaned into Tatty, letting her head drop lightly onto his shoulder. The tears continued to slide slowly out of her eyes, though she was no longer sobbing. She hiccuped quietly as Tatty's voice washed over her, comfortingly. Those his words were mostly helpful and nice to hear, she was worried about Ryan. It was only a matter of time till Ebony said something to someone.

But that would be a bridge that she'd cross when she came to it. Anna sighed, her heart feeling heavy. As the intense emotions began to wane, she began to feel sleepy and tired. There had been so much, drama today, good and bad, and it was just barely past lunch. Anna rubbed at her eyes, wiping away the tears before they fell. "I... just don't know." Anna offered lamely, knowing Tatty wouldn't understand what she was saying, or what situation she was refering too. "We... its not a bad thing. At least, I didn't think so." Anna's voice trembled, "And then she..." Tears trickled from her eyes as she remembered it all again. "I just...I don't know what I've done..."

Anna frowned, brushing fruitlessly at her eyes. Her whole body felt fatigued and her mind was drifting in and out of memories of the day. "Thank you Tatty..." She murmured, feeling a little drowsy. "I'm glad you're here." She yawned, the tears had stopped and know all she felt was hollow.

[tribal_willow]

Willow followed Sammy from the Music Room and entered Anna's room, formulating an opinion of Jack that was not a very happy one at the moment. Anna was sat on the floor, Tatty had his arms around her and he was rocking back and forth, never ever a good sign. Willow moved quickly past them and slid down next to Anna, on the other side, her hand on Anna's knee. "What's wrong," she breathed out, scared and worried, and really really angry.

"That Jack, he's a jerk Anna! He kissed you, didn't he? He said he's still in love with that other girl, Ellie, he's a jerk! Forget him, Ryan and Kerry'll pound him!" She was so angry, she was spitting the words out, but the look on Anna's face made her stop and give a sympathetic press of her lips together. "What happened?"

[tribal_sammy]

Sammy found Willow into Anna's bedroom and stopped as soon as they were in door. Anna was on the floor, next to Tatty, looking rather upset. He hung back as Willow went forward, feeling out of place. Tatty and Willow were bascilly Anna's siblings, what right did he have to be here. Looking back out the door, he could still see Jack and Ebony arguing, but their voices had dropped enough that the couldn't hear them. Sammy frowned and looked back Willow, then Anna. He should say something, anything. Agree with Willow? But Sammy didn't think Jack was a jerk, rather smart and a little bit uppity sometimes, but a jerk?

Moving in further, he leaned back against the door, considering his options. The wedding decorations seemed to be mostly up, and he could only assume that the wedding was near. But he was already dressed, he didn't have an excuse to leave. But maybe they'd think it was weird if he stayed? Was it rude to leave? Sammy bit his lip, trying to think of something to say. Something constructive. Think Sammy, think... "Uh...Ebony and Jack seem to be really angry at each other." That was lame. Really lame. Sammy wanted to smack himself.

[tribal_anna]

Anna stared blankly at Willow and Sammy as they entered the room. Willow was instantly by her side, and Anna was grateful for that, for her being there and trying to help. The words coming out of Willow's mouth weren't making sense though. Only little snippets seemed to enter and they were only making her more sad. "he's a jerk...He kissed you....still in love with that other girl....Ryan and Kerry'll pound him...." "He..." Anna started, tears choking on her own words, "He's not a jerk, Willow. He's really not." Anna laughed hollowly, as her eyes drifted shut and a few more tears leaked out, "I kissed him." She smiled painfully as the tears trickled down her cheeks. "Then Ebony..." Anna shook her head, "I don't even know what she wanted or why she would care?" She laughed nervously, opening her eyes and looking at Willow. "I already knew about Ellie."

Standing suddenly, Anna swayed on her feet. The world tilted around her and stuck her arms out to steady herself. She felt sick, her stomach was upset and rolling. Closing her eyes, she willed herself to feel better, to not want to cry. It didn't work though. Everything had gone wrong so quickly. How could she be so happy, and now sobbing? Anna stumbled forward to her bed. She looked at the glittering clothes lying on the bed. The pretty gold color twinkled at her happily. Anna sighed. They were for the wedding. She didn't want to go any longer, not looking and feeling like she did. Maybe she could just hide away for awhile till Ebony stopped yelling.

Carefully, she picked up the clothes and set them in a pile on the floor. Her head hurt, a dull pain in her temples. Sitting on her bed, she carefully pulled off her shoes. Then she lay on her bed, curled up into herself, facing the wall, and cried. Ryan would come to find her if she didn't show up for the wedding, so would Kerry. They would worry. Then they'd wonder why she was upset and ask questions. She'd have to tell them, and that could make things worse. Worse how? Her mind asked her, and Anna ignored it. She just wished everyone would go away and leave her to herself.

[tribal_tatty]

Tatty sat there, staring at Anna, wetness on his cheeks, he didn't even realize he was crying. He could feel her fear, he could feel her sadness, deep within his heart, and it hurt him. He crawled up closer to the head, over Willow, sitting down so he could keep eye contact with her if she opened her eyes. One thing that comforted him was staring into her deep, soulful eyes. He only hoped that little bit would help her. People knew better than to come between Anna and Tatty when their gazes were locked, and he didn't even blink that much.

He felt the worst because he didn't understand what was going on. Talking of kissing Jack, of Jack loving another girl, of Ebony caring that Jack had kissed Anna, it all mattered very little to him. All that mattered to him now was Anna and how she was feeling. The pain, the sadness, he couldn't stop dwelling on it. His eyes did not shift, he actually forgot Willow and the boy with bright hair were in the room, Sammy, and he spoke, something Tatty didn't usually do in front of other people. "Look Anna, I put the boots on," he told her softly, not lifting his foot, not looking away.

[tribal_willow]

Willow was confused, Anna knew Jack was in love with another girl and yet, she'd kissed him? Why? Why would Anna do that to herself? And if she did it, why was she crying? If she did something wrong, that she knew was wrong, why was she upset with herself when someone yelled at her? Willow could not believe Anna had done anything wrong at all, how could she? Anna was the most thoughtful, caring, loving person Willow knew, and she was never in trouble, she never did the wrong thing. Willow was in shock, and she was getting mixed signals and she didn't understand any of it.

Tatty crawled across her and Willow let him, she knew if anyone could bring Tatty out of a state, it was Anna, it surely would work in reverse. She watched for a minute before moving to get up, brushing her skirt off and moving to pick up Anna's clothes she'd shoved onto the floor. She'd completely forgotten that Sammy was there, simply taking the beautiful dress and draping it across Tatty's bed, along with the other little pieces of her outfit. Tatty wouldn't mind, and Anna would be glad someone had picked up her clothes for her, maybe, hopefully.

Sighing to herself, Willow moved and sat on the end of Anna's bed, not saying anything, just sitting there, incase she was needed. Her eyes traveled to Sammy and she gave him a slightly confused smile. She didn't know why he was still here, but she liked that he was. She'd left her book, she was afraid to go back and get it, but that didn't matter, it wouldn't be hurt being left there. Chewing on her bottom lip, she didn't know what to say, or what to do. The wedding was getting closer, she could feel it, but she didn't care one bit. If Anna was too upset to go, then so was she, and there was no way Tatty would go. So forget it, she'd just stay here in the silence with her siblings, that or she should go find Ryan or Kerry. Someone had to pound Jack, Willow was just determined to prove it was all his fault!

[tribal_sammy]

Sammy shifted nervously from foot to foot, unsure of himself and confused by the entire situation. Anna had moved to her bed in a rather zombie like move, and though this thought made Sammy want to smile, he held it back in fear of offending someone. He looked down on his feet wishing he could just disappear out of the room, perhaps go and finish the movie. But he supposed that Willow would want to see the end of it, and that could wait. Besides, he didn't want to accidently miss the wedding. Not that it was very likely, the mall was going to be noisy at the start of it, that was for sure. He glanced back out the door once more, looking at the decorations scattered through ou the mall and thinking this was getting to be rather big.

When he turned back, he noticed Willow giving him an odd smile. Did that mean she wanted him to go? To stay? It was just confusing Sammy and giving him a headache. Perhaps he ought to go find Ryan or Salene or somebody. But this really was a family thing. Scratching at his head, Sammy tilted his head to one side. "I...uh, could go get her a glass of water or something..." At least then he'd be out of the room. Sammy hated watching other people cry, it made him uncomfortable. He shifted again, back and forth.

[tribal_anna]

Anna felt the pounding in her temple ease as she lay still with her eyes closed. Though her mind tried to bring up memories from the day, she kept her mind blank, focusing on her breathing instead. Her entire head felt stuffed up from crying and it seemed that her ears were plugged one moment and ultra sensetive the next. Anna felt the bed move and knew it was Tatty next to her. It struck her as interesting that for once their positions were reversed. Is this how Tatty felt after a fit? Embarassed and frusterated? Anna was mortified that not only had she broken down, even Sammy had seen her crying. It was upseting. Her thoughts were private, and usually if she was upset, she could keep them to herself, but everyone could see your tears.

It seemed strange, but she could hear someone moving around the room. She assumed that it was Willow, but Anna couldn't guess what she was doing. Though her panic attack over, it left Anna feeling drained and angry. She was angry at herself for getting so worked up, she was angry that Ebony had made her feel so small over something that personal between her and Jack, and she was just angry. The curled up position was hurting her back, and her face felt tight from the tears drying on it. Anna groaned tiredly to herself. "Look Anna, I put the boots on." The voice parted the fog of her mind and the statement shocked her into opening her eyes.

He put his boots on? The ones that she'd picked out and thought he'd hated. Anna blinked her eyes rapidly for a seconds, meeting Tatty's eyes with her own. In them she could see forgiveness and love. She could see him shouldering her pain in an attempt to help her. It was such a reversal of that Anna allowed a small smile to slip across her lips. She broke eye contact briefly to glance at his feet. Sure enough, the boots were there, laced up. As she glanced back up at him, she realized that he'd dressed for the wedding. The boots didn't matter, nor the clothes, not really. It was just his way of showing he cared and hearing him say that blocked out Ebony's words. Anna continued to look into his eyes, letting them calm her mind. Her body relaxed a little more. "They..." Her voice was groggy and she cleared her throat, "They look nice." Anna replied very quietly, shifting into a sitting postion but not breaking eye contact. She reached out and took his hand, squeezing it lightly. Everything would be all right. Anna had her family all around her, to watch out for her when she couldn't. Everything will be alright. She thought hard to herself, trying to communicate to Tatty that she was alright, or would be.

[tribal_tatty]

Tatty heard and saw nothing but Anna, he was not interested in what Willow and her friend had to say, he was concerned about Anna and the look on her face. Was this how Anna felt when he'd just had an "episode"? Worried, scared, nervous, and did it make her stomach hurt so much? His heart ached, he didn't even know what the problem was. His admission got her to open her eyes and look at him, then look down to the new boots.

They gazed upon each other for a very long time, at least it felt that way to Tatty, as if the earth stopped, or generations continued on without them and here they sat, locked together in this world. Anna was the only other person Tatty felt knew his world, his own private hell, but when she was there with him, it was lovely. He smiled as she told him his boots were "lovely" and sat up. "They are comfortable too. I put the old ones on the dresser, you won't make me throw them out, will you Anna?" His hand simply held hers, everything was fine, she was going to be ok, he could tell now, and he felt relieved.

[tribal_willow]

Willow watched Tatty and Anna in their little world, she'd seen this before, there was no way of getting through to them when they were like this, you simply had to ride it out and wait. She used to get very jealous of them, when they were like that, storming off and diving into a book. She'd long ago learned how to deal with it, and she cared about Tatty as much as Anna did, even if she couldn't help him like she could.

Shifting her gaze to Sammy, Willow realized he looked aggitated, the way Tatty would when he was about to lose it. She hoped Sammy wasn't like that, one boy with...issues, was enough for her, thank you very much. Tilting her head, she studied him, no, she wouldn't mind, maybe if he was like Tatty she could help him. She'd long ago learned how Anna behaved with Tatty, it wouldn't be hard, not at all. "Oh, no, it's ok, um, if you have other things to do you don't have to stay," she told him softly, giving him a thankful smile. "We'll ah, we'll see you at the wedding," she nodded, even if she didn't believe she was going. She still had to get dressed, but like she'd vowed earlier, if Anna wasn't going, then neither was Willow.

[tribal_sammy]

Sammy decided that Ryan's kids were all rather strange, well, excluding Willow. But she liked to read, and that was a little weird to Sammy. Though Anna had sat up, she and Tatty were now in the middle of a staring contest. He assumed there was much deeper meaning to it, but why would you just want to stare at someone? It could've been that he was just very uncomfortable around this entire situation. He'd rather be watching a movie or out strolling the market then watching a girl cry. Sammy flicked his eyes at the door as Willow spoke to him.

Willow wanted him to leave. Sammy felt relief and a little bad. She probably didn't want to hang around with him any longer. "Er, yeah. See you at the wedding." Sammy replied. He gave her a small smile and headed out the door and back towards his own room.