hadriel | eleventh. text. (i just want to turn the lights on in these volatile times.)

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eleventh. text. (i just want to turn the lights on in these volatile times.)

[Mello's getting a little tired of making these announcements, truth be told. And sure, maybe they've technically got more pressing matters at the moment, but Chris was here a long time, and he had many friends - of which Mello was one, believe it or not. The rest of them should probably know what happened sooner rather than later. That's what Mello would want, anyway.]

Chris is gone.

I'm looking after his wolf.

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THERE IS A WOLF HERE
AND NO ONE THOUGHT TO TELL ME
THE WOLF WOMAN
THE CRAZY DOG LADY

[... rosie pls.]

I didn't know you like dogs.

[Maybe if he went out of his way to actually get to know people, he would also know things like this!]

dude I don't like dogs
I LOVE THEM
I HAVEN'T SEEN ONE IN LIKE THREE YEARS, DO YOU UNDERSTAND
HOW EXCITING THIS IS FOR ME
when can I see him I wanna pet his cute little head asap
please

Sorrow's orchard. What's left of it, anyway.

[ Maybe someday, it won't feel like the jab of a knife to her heart when she sees or hears his name. It never stopped when it came to her packmates, it was just that she was the only one who knew them anymore. Well. The versions of them that were hers. ]

my home away from home
you got it, dude
I'll be there before you know it

[Mello wouldn't say he liked any of the gods, but Sorrow was the one he found most reasonable - he was logical and direct, both of which were things that Mello appreciated, and he had the most information about the Door, even if he wouldn't disclose all of it. Sorrow was the god Mello found himself relating to the most, and though he knows the wave of emotion he felt when Sorrow died was an effect just like when he was resurrected, Mello still finds himself silently lamenting the loss.

Sorrow's orchard is where Mello spent most of his time outside of his house, too - weeding, a way of putting his hands to work in an effort to distract his restless mind. He spent time here with his long-dead mother, when she appeared, and it's here he lost her again. Fitting, perhaps, given the orchard's patron god.

He's leaning up against one of the sturdier trees by the time she arrives, hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket, watching Wolfie trot around, sniffing at things, doing as a wolf does.]

[ The orchard isn't what it used to be. Though it wasn't a target of the Null, there had been enough people on their hit list finding refuge in the rows of trees that some of it had been razed.

Rose had saved the weed though so, y'know. Not all bad in Hadriel. They still got silver linings. Just like Rose's in this tough time is the wolf. Soon as her eyes fall on the canine, there's a spark of some genuine happiness behind them that likely hasn't been seen but fleetingly for months. ]

Hey, you, [ she coos, immediately crouching down and extending a hand for Wolfie to sniff. ] Aren't you beautiful. [ A beat. ] Your owner looks like he's seen better days though. Don't tell him I said that. Our secret.

[Wolfie is a good wolf friend and so he sniffs her hand and then circles around her, continuing to sniff her over in a way that that means he's accepted her. Mello watches, smiling halfway at the comment about him.]

I don't really think you can own a wolf.

[She's not wrong, though. He's definitely seen better days. For all Mello's talk about fighting a war back in his own reality, it's a simulated one, like a game of chess with extremely high stakes. Actual combat is something he's not accustomed to, and the fight against the Null has definitely taken its toll on him.]

[ The woman smiles all the while as he does. She sits calmly and is careful in her movements; wolves are not nearly as tame as their cousin dogs, but she understands when she's gotten his stamp of approval. Good. He certainly is a docile wolf. He couldn't have been too high up in the pack hierarchy- ]

No, you can't. People have tried with me and found out the hard way that it's not possible.

I don't have much experience with animals. My mother had a dog - I remember seeing pictures - but that was before I was born.

[And there were no pets in the orphanages he ended up in after her death, and he was too busy surviving to deal with pets after he left the orphanage. A strange cat stayed with him for a while, but he disappeared some time ago.]

So when you call yourself a wolf lady, am I correct in inferring that you're not speaking metaphorically?

[ Rose had never owned an animal before. Haven had been devoid of all animals beyond the people like her that were part but not whole.

She missed dogs more than anyone will ever know. ]

Nope! I'm... Well, I'm technically just a wolf I guess. Got the soul of one. My people are called yokai and we're a bit complicated to explain, but. I'm a wolf, through and through.

[It sounds strange, but Mello's seen enough strange things both in and out of Hadriel to believe in possibilities. There would be no point in lying about something like this, either.]

Then I guess you're in a unique position to understand Wolfie.

Chris is GONE??

Oh, hell.

He's no longer in the directory.

[So - yep, gone. :c]

That sucks. [ The Elves of Curufin's clan usually curse with more eloquence, but hey. ]

If you're the one who is making the announcement, then you must have been a good friend of his. I'm sorry. But I'm glad you're taking care of Wolfie.

He was a good friend to me. I'm not sure you can say the reverse was true.

Perhaps you underestimate yourself?

I calculate rather than estimate myself.

[On this subject, at least. He knows he is not good at making genuine friends - it was never a priority, and Chris called him out on it on more than one occasion.]

[Plenty of other people have left. Plenty of people Ellie was closer to, even. But, for whatever reason, whether it's due to recent events, or the way that the last conversation she has with Chris is so fresh in her mind still- she should have stayed with him, should have gone to see him while she could- this one hits hard.]

would it be weird to ask to hang out with the wolf
i dont mean just like
ugh

i knew chris. he was cool and im gonna miss him. sorry

It's not weird. Chris let me do the same when Sharon left. I think he'd like that. We're at what's left of the orchard.

thank you

[She doesn't know what else to say.]

its ok if i come right now?

Of course. We'll be here.

[It's only when Ellie is almost at the orchard that she realises she hasn't asked what Mello looks like. She's searching for a veritable stranger, after all. But hey- there's a guy over there with a wolf, and how many of those are in this place?

She walks over hesitantly, adjusting the backpack over her shoulders.]

Mello? I'm the one who messaged you.

Sorry. This feels weird now that I'm here.

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