Born again

[not_snake_bite]

We can only suppose it is the fact that he was, er, utterly destroyed that would explain how slow his return might be.

Steerpike is back, half amnesiac - he only remembers the Mansion in patches. Specifically, he remembers faces.  A woman, good to him, beautiful and sullen.  Something about a watch. And he might place a few faces, without

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[i_flynomore]

Him again? Lynn pauses and looks at him, frowning a little. Something's different now.

[i_flynomore]

"Are you having flash? It's all right. Just try picking something to look at and concentrate on it. Make it stay. Sometimes that works."

[not_snake_bite]

He has no clue what she just said. But.

He picks Lynette and stares at her a long while. The memory dissipates, but not the residual emotion.

He's feeling angry and vulnerable, now. His eyes are pleading.

He needs a hug.

[i_flynomore]

"That's good, ser." She isn't anywhere near as good at this as Elaine is--she wasn't ever really supposed to have to deal with born-men. On the other hand, she's gotten a little bit of the idea from hanging around with Elaine, and she puts her arms around him carefully and hugs him up. "That's good."

[not_snake_bite]

"Why?" His voice is but pain and anguish. "Just a boy..."

[i_flynomore]

"You're all right now, ser. You're good."

[not_snake_bite]

He might be clinging a little.

"It's not fair. It's not fair."

[i_flynomore]

"It's all right now, ser."

[not_snake_bite]

He pulls away, after a moment, looks at her. "Thank you, you are kind to me."

Very kind. And after the flashback, it's more than welcome.

[i_flynomore]

She shrugs. That's how it works. "I'll make sandwiches."

[not_snake_bite]

"Thank you," he stays sitting a moment, looking at her.

[i_flynomore]

Lynette straightens up and gets out some of the eggs Percy brought up last week, and some bread that's left, and goes to turn on the stove.

[not_snake_bite]

He looks at her, working, but after a while...

"Can I help?" He's remembering gestures, in the kitchen, that have nothing to do with Swelter.

[i_flynomore]

Lynette shakes her head without looking around. They always ask. "No thank you, ser."

[not_snake_bite]

So he stays sitting at the table, fidgeting a little - he's trying to avoid more flashbacks.

The only place he can look at to avoid them is Lynette, so that's where his eyes are.

[i_flynomore]

She is, of course, a lovely woman--she can't help that, it was programmed in. She moves with a kind of blunt grace, because she's always more comfortable when she's doing some kind of work; with a certain pleasure of purpose that accentuates the beauty so much as to overshadow it: happiness is better than prettiness. Her hair, Steerpike may notice, is cut in an extremely ugly fashion, as short as it can possibly be done--almost shaved, except patchy. Her overalls are regulation uniform, and stained with grease and oil from working on her ship. Her hands are quick and pleased with their work as she whisks eggs and toasts bread.

She has freckles over every inch of her body.