018 [voice]

[chaincutter]

[House 47, you just got a most unpleasant wake-up call. Namely, loud banging and the whining of a terrified canine. Sigmund has just kicked Capell's door with all of his considerable strength and put his fist through the wall in the hallway

Comments

[flicker_flash]

[...gone.

Gone just means he went home, so it's not something to be sad about, but that means she won't see Capell again, won't it? That faint pang of loss makes Katie bite her lip, but her attention is more on Sigmund right now. She's in earshot when he makes that entry, hovering in the doorway and not willing to approach. An upset adult who puts his fist through a wall is not one she thinks it's wise to disturb.]

[chaincutter]

[She's not going to go entirely unnoticed, if only because Dog is doing a confused, upset circle dance around the hallway. He comes to a stop and sits down hard by her feet.

Sigmund, meanwhile, half slides, half crumples down the wall to the floor. If he looks bad, his echo looks worse - unkempt, grief stricken, alternately dull and wild-eyed.]

[flicker_flash]

[The depth of that grief is frightening. But she can't just walk off and pretend she didn't see it, much as there's a temptation to-- she's still a child, when all is said and done. So after a few moments, she unlatches herself from the wall, pausing long enough to give Dog a small scratch behind the ears. Cats and dogs can get along, just this once.

He may not notice her approach until she's by his side, fingertips touching nervously to his shoulder.]

[chaincutter]

[He glances up when she touches his shoulder, red-eyed in both senses, and gives her a look something like a smile that forgot to turn up at the corners. She's just a little girl, after all.]

Did I wake you? My apologies.

[vermified]

[Edward doesn't need the journal entry to know that something's wrong; he rushes right over to check on Sigmund. And, of course, he finds Sigmund, an empty room, and a hole in the wall. Doesn't take even a smart person to figure out what happened.]

...My lord...

[chaincutter]

[It will take Sigmund a bit to respond, and when he does, his voice is tight and wavering in a manner that surely Edward's never heard before.]

Gone. He's gone. [A deep, shaky breath.] You should...

[vermified]

[Edward pauses, uncertain; there's a flurry of conflicting emotions that strike him all at once, but he hastily shoves them aside in favour of moving to Sigmund's side, resting a hand on his shoulder. His tone by itself would be reason enough to place Sigmund's state of mind before his own, even if he wasn't... well. Who he is.

He's sure that Capell is safer there, but that would be no comfort. Capell is in a place where Sigmund can't follow yet, and that, in Edward's opinion, is unacceptable.]

We'll find a way to join him, my lord. Both of us.

[chaincutter]

[Sigmund shakes his head, although so slowly as to not be clear whether he's reacting to Edward's statement, or just... reacting.]

I still wanted to- [He cuts himself off, and swallows.] Edward, you should- [He stops again; but from the quaver at the last word, his meaning should be abundantly clear this time. 'You should go, or else you are going to see me cry.']

[ nothing ]

[markofthebrave]

[...

She's got nothing to say to you, Sigmund. Not really. They've yet to really talk despite Capell's effort's at reconciliation.

Capell. He'd been a friend. Going back to that world where they judged you based on what you could or couldn't do...

Katara wishes him well.]

[thestormishere]

[ Lightning's been meaning to contact you, Sigmund, but... when she hears this, the normal hardness she typically shows and was every bit ready to use here falters. She decides to wait, at least a little while longer, and an entire day might have already passed before she finally says something, tone absolutely neutral. ]

Sigmund... I need to talk to you.

[chaincutter]

[The Sigmund that finally responds to her is in fine pre-Capell form - that is, not fine at all. His veneer of control, usually supple and near perfect, is thin and brittle. He is not so much a man about to snap as a man looking for a reason to snap. But who knows. She may want that. Ten angry words from Sigmund hold more truth than two years of contentment.]

And? [So aloof. So cold.]

[thestormishere]

And when you've got the time... I expect it to happen. [ Just the slightest bit lower, but it's clear she isn't affected - or surprised, really - by the coldness at all.

... But she's also walking a thin line here and knows it. That "need" was honest. ]

Please.

[chaincutter]

[It's slightly laughable to expect anything of him. There are precious few people, alive or otherwise, that could claim that kind of hold on him. One might as well will the moon to rise.

He lets it go.] You've not moved?

[Voice]

[ledbythewind]

... I'm sorry to hear that.

[Because he knows all too well that, even though it's better for the person to be at home, that isn't going to make the hurt go away.]