| 03 ♣ | accidental video | backdated to late yesterday morning.

[bosomist]

[The feed begins rather unexpectedly. Hannah is completely unaware of it happening; her NV is small after all, and it’s a wonder that a small mistake like this hasn’t happened already. It’s caused by a stray book knocking against it, one of many from appears to be a rather big pile.

You will see Hannah seated, and dressed casually today rather than

Comments

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[slipperysoul]

Pretty sure being a parent isn't something you learn from a book.

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[bosomist]

It's not parenting exactly.

[She may be cringing just slightly at the word 'parent'. It's gone in an instant however, replaced with a very small, ironic smile.]

But I'm starting to see you're right.

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[slipperysoul]

Then what is it?

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[bosomist]

I'm a guardian, I suppose? That may be too presumptuous too, however.

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[masterbaiting]

Han-nah.

[He sounds so very sweet.]

Been bedded and knapped, really? Should I be surprised at you? Oh, Hannah. There'll be a lot of preparation ahead of you, won't there.

[Because she'd better be knocked up and not trying to parent a child that already has a PERFECTLY GOOD AND SANE AND RESPONSIBLE AND CARING FAMILY THANK YOU VERY FUCKING MUCH.]

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[bosomist]

[Head in hands, head in hands. This is not what she meant; she wasn't trying to imply she was Luca's anything, and oh god. HEAD IN HANDS.

There's a moments hesitation and then:] I'm not pregnant, master.

[This is possibly the most humiliating thing.] I was simply seeking advice, on how to look after him better.

[Does she really to say expand on who 'him' is.]

Forgive me.

[She is literally sitting with her head in her hands, even if Alois can't see it and there are a million signals screaming 'not as planned' through her mind.

She does sound very sorry though - she just wants to be the best there is, and she isn't sure she can with her limited knowledge on how to look after children.]

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[masterbaiting]

[AHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHDSFSKLSA; you silly bitch.

-He actually does laugh, trilling and bright and very high-strung, a peal that's hysterical if you know him as well as certain demons do but not otherwise.]

You are so fucking funny sometimes, Hannah. [Every time he says her name, it's really terribly sweet-sounding.] Has he really got to be looked after so much more? You have really fragile eyes.

[The idea scares him so much that he can't even register it as fear; instead it feels like anger.]

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[bosomist]

[There is a pause in which Hannah inhales deeply; it's a very human habit, because Hannah doesn't even need to breathe. She feels her lungs inflate with air and she can almost taste how stale it is.

It's not about what she thinks, really. In the years of Queen Victoria's reign on the throne, a little boy summoned Hannah to a village named and watched over by spiders. It's not about whether Hannah thinks Luca needs looking after, it's that she wants to. She couldn't then; not with the contents of their contract, and not with he and Jim so jaded by their experiences. Except now, they aren't two little boys on the street and Luca is happier than she ever remembers him being.

It's complicated, because Hannah fell in love with a devoted little boy filled with vengeance, and then again with another filled with hate and vengeance and loneliness. ]My faith in you, master, is only second to that of my faith in Luca. But this is not your village, and your life is no longer dedicated solely to him

[troparion]

They have books out there on how to do this shit--?

[oh, er, well. that was rude. slight cough, and,]

-- Why s'actly are you asking, anyway, if it's not what it seems like? ... Miss.

[bosomist]

Advice. I'm partly responsible for the well-being of a little boy.

[Clipped, professional- Hannah does not want to be in any more trouble.]

He is very dear to me; I couldn't forgive myself if I failed in my duty.

[troparion]

You might be better off snagging an old lady at a park and getting her to give you some facts-- unless those books really did seem helpful?

[bosomist]

They're quite useless.

If they are old, will there not be a generation gap?

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[stabilimentum]

[Oh, Hannah Anafeloz. What the fuck were you thinking.

Claude is surprised to feel sorry for her--and not just in a disgusted, egocentric way. It's alarming, too, because Alois has been firmly aligned against the idea of parents because of Claude. It was important for fending off Jack Vessalius, remember, but unintended backlash? Yeah, not as planned. So he's furious and--worried. Actually worried. This is his family that's hitting the rocks. He feels nauseous.]

There are better places to put your NV.

[He sounds very unforgiving, about to reprimand her further, but then he remembers how she--]

Are you all right?

[Gentler, that.]

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[bosomist]

[The moment she notices that the feed is secure, she visibly relaxes. Which is funny, because Hannah hasn't really noticed herself becoming gradually more tense with every response. She's still sitting with her head in her hands, trying to ward of a bought of pure panic because Alois Trancy saw this, and there are a swarm of profanities going through her mind.

She nods her head once, fingers gripping at her hair.]

I know. I had it out in case Luca were to contact me- [and a sigh, because what use are excuses?]

I'll be alright. I'll be home in a little while, I- [this whole time she has been quite pointedly looking at the table. Now she looks at Claude, and she very much looks like she wants to cry.] I wasn't trying to become his mother.

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[stabilimentum]

[Awkward. In a single word: awkward. This is awkward. It's still awkward and unnatural for Claude to think of demons as being overly emotional. When it's him personally, when he can't stop from feeling, he feels even stranger and even defective any time his thoughts boomerang away and bring back loneliness or jealousy or fear. (There's occasional contentment, too, when his master is happiest and happy to have him--) Hannah always intrigued Claude for her understanding of love, which made her a revolting aberration--but one worth keeping and dissecting. Now, looking at her face, uncomfortable at the sight of her, Claude doesn't want her to start crying because he's just as much an abnormality as she is. They should be pinned to cork board; made examples of.

Glancing around, wherever he is, he makes sure that they aren't going to be overheard. He's already too late to stop his master from seeing this post, though.]

I'd prefer you to be all right, right now. [Comforting Hannah is almost unimaginable when he doesn't have

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[goldilocked]

...do I count?

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[bosomist]

[A long, hesitant pause.]

Go on.

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[goldilocked]

I've been a guardian before I arrived in Siren's Port, Miss Hannah. It's- not something you can pick up from books or from other people's instructions.

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[bosomist]

Instinct can only get me so far, Mr. Vessalius.