hadriel | Dictation - 4 [Text] (Forward Dated to the 7th)

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Dictation - 4 [Text] (Forward Dated to the 7th)

[When he had blinked back into life upon Hope's altar, Rosen had felt neither joy nor sadness at the fact. He had stared dumbly at the ceiling, noting with vague surprise and disappointment that death seems to do nothing for alleviating a person's mental and emotional exhaustion. They, or at least he, simply felt the same heaviness and dull discomfort that seems to come with owning mortal flesh. Mortal flesh that has aged and withered, had grown gaunt and grey.

There was no ceremony or eagerness to the way he pulled himself up, sat for another moment or so, and gathered himself onto his feet.

There was a slight haze. A disorientation that felt like heavy fingers gripping lazily at the back of his brain, just tightly enough to be a constant drain but not an actual impairment, and with the same slow, apathetic demeanor he had begun the trudge back to the spires, climbed the steps, opened the door, then tucked himself away inside his apartment, slumped into a chair at his kitchen table.

What now?

Should he call someone? Inform someone that he was back? In his tired fog he couldn't really see a point to telling anyone. What difference would it make? Was it even important? His empty apartment almost felt, in that moment, like evidence confirming that no, it was not.

At some point his fingers crept into his sweater pocket and fished out his phone, and at last he typed out a simple and emotionless text]

Has anyone seen my satchel?

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[Lee swallows with some difficulty, beginning to feel more than mildly frustrated with how he can simultaneously feel like himself and very much not feel like himself at the same time, then nods.]

Are you sure?

[Last time he'd stayed there had been when Lance was in the worst of his recovery. And at that time he had been, at least in theory, serving a function. Now he would just be- well he's not sure how to finish that thought.]

I wouldn't have offered otherwise.

[Even if he didn't already owe Rosen a lot for all he's done for him here he still would've offered, because it's the right thing to do in this situation and being there to help when needed is part of what goes into being friends.]

[Rosen moves to stand then]

Could we, um, could we go now? [A beat] Please?

I don't want to be here.

[He's a little surprised at the sudden enthusiasm, but nods and gets to his feet as well.]

Of course, sure. You should grab some spare clothes and things.

[Lee draws in a low breath but silently goes to do just that, using a drawstring bag he normally uses to carry spare things he finds for the clinic. He halfheartedly folds a few shirts and pairs of trousers, along with the odd cardigan and jacket.

He then walks back out to the kitchen, the bag gripped before him with both hands. He looks half like a kid waiting to be taken camping and half like he is lost in his own home. His last memories here were of being sick in bed and of Danielle and of dying.

He doesn't have it in him to process that right now, so now Rosen watches Lance expectantly, just wanting to get out of here. ]

Edited 2017-07-05 19:46 (UTC)

[While Rosen packs Lance wanders over to the piano, not bothering to sit down and just tapping a few keys here and there, in a very slow start to the first song that comes to mind which is made pretty unrecognizable by the slow pace and lack of chords. He looks up again when Rosen reenters the room, noticing the lost look, and tries taking the lead a bit.]

Is there anything else you'd like to bring? If not, let's go.

I, uh,

[His head turns slowly, looking around in a vague search for nothing specifically]

I think this is everything.

[Besides, if he's forgotten something, it is not too difficult to run back and grab it.]

Okay.

[That decided, Lance leads the way to the door and waits for Rosen to go first so that he can lock it behind them, then takes back over leading way toward the second spire. He shoves his hands in his pockets, glancing over at Rosen to make sure he's following, but he's content to walk in silence unless Rosen wants to say anything.]

[Unsurprisingly Rosen is short on the conversation as they walk, now and again just staring around at the cave but never remarking on it.

It is only when they begin the final approach towards Lance's door that he attempts some lightheartedness]

Roomies again.

[But his tone falls flat and it ends up feeling forced though he hadn't meant it to. Instantly he looks apologetic and drops his gaze back to the floor]

[Lance glances over an offers an encouraging smile, ignoring the forced tone and responding with his own light one.]

Yeah, although I'll warn you I'm probably going to be a lot more annoying a roommate now than I was last time.

[It's a joke, but might also be a little true; even as much as he'd complained about being stuck on bed rest--and as much as he'd run off to do things anyway--he'd still been in too much pain and feeling too sick to be particularly active, or even all that talkative while Rosen had been staying with him. Now that he's feeling better, his odd hours and breakneck pace of doing things might be a little trying.]

[There's a half smile at that though it is not followed by the snarky comeback that one might normally expect from him. No jokes about living with children or know-it-alls.

Right now he will take any situation with Lance, annoying or otherwise, than his empty apartment. After the whole issue with the ghosts, seeing Danielle again, he can't seem to rip his thoughts away from the emptiness that has dogged him the past year or so. In a way that it had never bothered him before, now it is as if a harsh light has been aimed directly at the fact that he has gone from a large house that is meant to hold an entire family but only contains himself, to nights alone in an office, to a prison cell, and now at last to Hadriel where he now has an empty apartment.

When did he become this way? It is like one day he looked up and everyone had left the room and he's not sure when they did.]

I don't think you'll annoy me [He murmurs]

You say that now.

[Lance unlocks the door to his apartment and leads the way in, and his apartment looks pretty much like it did last time Rosen was here except somewhat more organized and a little more decorated. It's simultaneously more lived in and more maintained.

There's still very little edible here, though, which might be a problem; he wasn't planning on any guests, after all.]

[And that is almost instantly the first thing Rosen thinks of as he follows Lance inside]

We will need to go grocery shopping

[He doesn't even need to look in Lance's fridge to know this]

[Well at least Rosen's still himself in there somewhere.]

I'm not sure if that's the term I'd use, but yes. Probably.

['Shopping' is not exactly what happens here, after all. He did find some cans of stuff that's reasonably decent, but he knows Rosen has slightly higher standards than he does for this sort of thing.]

[Rosen hums a bit distractedly at Lance's comment, setting his back down and wandering over to the counter]

What have you been eating?

[He had been dead for over a week, after all, so he's not sure how desperate the situation has gotten]

[Lance feels a sudden flash of annoyance at the question, for a few reasons, but he's not going to address any of the issues just yet. And if it makes Rosen feel better at the moment to fuss over him, then he'll allow it for now.]

Standard college fare, mostly. I even found something that vaguely resembled spaghetti-Os.

[Which you're never too old for, just like boxed macaroni and cheese. He's also mastered the stove top as far as reheating stuff goes, so that's a thing.]

But I know the elderly can't handle that sort of thing without heartburn, so...

[He has to get the light-hearted jab in there.]

I probably should have guessed as much

[For the moment he still can't really be riled enough to swap jabs with Lance though he tries a small laugh to acknowledge that something humorous was said.]

So...what have I missed?

[He stands now, blinking at Lance, arms hanging at his sides]

Not with the gods, i mean, but with everything else.

[Lance gives a small shrug at the question, stepping closer to the counter to straighten a few glasses that need to be washed.]

Not a lot. People are quiet, for the most part.

[No real surprise after the stress of the event. Pretty much all people have been talking about has been the Null's post, but Rosen's not interested in that at the moment, so he doesn't mention it.]

Will and I and the others have been watching the Clinic, but it's been pretty deserted as well.

[At the mention of Will's name, Rosen grimaces]

I should apologize to Will. I didn't realize he didn't know.

[Some things have just become accepted as part of the norm here, it never even crossed Rosen's mind that Will hadn't known about the impermanence of death here. Although, in his own defense he had been dying at the time. Still, he owes the boy an apology.]

It might be a good idea to talk to him, yeah.

[But he says it without judgement; the situation had been a mess, and considering the conversation Lance had with Will about the subject he thinks the discussion itself might end up being a little more complicated than Rosen's expecting anyway.]

But that can wait, for now. Getting some rest is a little more important.

[Rosen huffs, its almost an actual emotional response. Almost.]

Isn't it a bit ironic that you need to rest after death?

[Lance offers a small grin at both the reaction and the comment.]

A bit.

[He grows more serious again, though.]

But considering it's not permanent, it probably shouldn't be too surprising; in practice it's a lot more like having a close call but ultimately surviving something traumatic.

[Which is almost always exhausting mentally, even when there are no physical effects.]

I am beginning to think that death here is just a grandiose coma. The only difference is your body tends not to disappear during a c-

[His voice drops away when he comes to that point. Dammit. His body. If Will didn't know about death being temporary, then dealing with a corpse would have had a whole different effect.

A hand comes up to rub over his face before roughly combing back his hair]

It would be too much to ask for something not to end up an absolute mess in this cave, wouldn't it?

Not too much to ask, but probably unrealistic.

[It's a subtle distinction. Lance watches Rosen for a few moments, before making a vague gesture toward the spare room.]

You should get settled in.

[To not just the apartment, but being back in general.]

I'll make a trip to the shops and see what I can find.

Probably a good idea

[Rosen turns to gather up his bag again before moving towards the spare room. Its strange to think that in the great span of things, it really wasn't long ago at all that he had stayed there before.

Which reminds him-]

Lance [He pauses, halfway to the spare room's door] Your hyoid. How has it been?

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