I will be leaving soon. I have been called upon by ALASTAIR to return to my world.
I would like to thank you for the times you have assisted me, and for our conversations. I never forget any who I meet, but you are particularly unforgettable. You have so much energy, so much drive, so much strength. I am hopeful that you will use your strength to continue to protect others. Even in times or places it may be difficult to do so... those times can be when it is most important to do so.
If I may leave you with one last lesson... When watching after yourself, you watch after others. When watching after others, you watch after yourself.
Once the red moon wanes again, Matthias returns with his lupine features receded and his clarity of mind restored. But stepping over the threshold, he discovers he was not the only one to experience turbulence over the last few days. In his absence, the cramped common space has become cluttered with empty takeout containers, random articles of clothing, and other detritus. He wrinkles his nose.]
Djel, what a mess...
[Trassel's nose wiggles as he tries to discern these new scents. Matthias sets to collecting the trash.]
FINALLY RETURNS TO THIS, also, i’m glad you pictured the state of things perfectly
[ There’s movement in the living room outside, Ramir realizes. That’s gotta be Matthias, right? Or there’s always the burglar option. But by now it’s easier to remember that she’s got strength on her side, so she’s not to worried about it.
She steps out of the bathroom with a toothbrush crammed in her mouth, naked but for a towel wrapped under her armpits. And ... Matthias! Called it. She offers a wave with the toothbrushing-hand. ]
Hey. [ It’s kinda blurred around a mouth full of foam, but an attempt was made. ] ‘Sup?
[He makes the mistake of looking up at the sound of her voice. An eyeful of curvy thighs is enough to turn his face bright red, and he snaps right around to hide his embarrassment. Which probably only advertises his discomfort all the more loudly.]
What in Djel’s good name are you doing?! Put your clothes on!
[This is precisely why he had sojourned to the beach while Sanguis was active — remaining in close quarters with her would have been disastrous.]
[ Aw, that’s just precious. She’d grin, if it wouldn’t be so disastrous in the face of toothbrushing. Not even Ramir is that reckless. Instead she offers a shrug and a noncommittal non-word of a sound. She’s wearing clothes, says this pointed sweep of a hand down her towel (which he probably doesn’t even see, but, whatever). Her towel covers the important parts, it’s enough.
She wanders to the kitchen sink and, with a few more scrubs, spits into it. ]
Did you have a good time? [ Off doing ... whatever he was doing. ]
[In order to dispose of the takeout containers he has harvested, he would have to get to the trash bin under the sink — but she blocks the way with her barely concealed body. And so Matthias is trapped here with his hands full of garbage. His shoulders heave with an exasperated sigh.]
It was peaceful. [He caught and gutted a lot of fish, a good direction to put his aggression toward. He also took many dips in the cold, bracing waters to get certain areas of his body under control.]
I wish I had stayed longer, but then I would have returned to a whole lake of garbage in here.
[While he talks to the wall, Trassel sniffs at a plate left on the coffee table, but apparently takes no interest in whatever greasy residue remains.]
[ Both to the fun times had and the undeniable truth of his assumption. Yeah, it’s bad, not sorry. She might’ve put a little effort into cleaning up if he gave her a return date, but ... that’s definitely a maybe. She turns to lean against the sink, arms folded, not at all minding that she’s leaned directly in the way of the trash bin. ]
Well, we had fun over here! [ Who is we? Good question. ] Looked around, Found lots of good restaurants. Do you guys have Indian food? Found a place that does something almost just like an Indian curry, but they call it something else. Fucking delicious.
[ Yeah, she seems pretty content to lean here, in the way, almost naked, all night. ]
[Djel help him. Why is she still gabbing on and on, instead of putting her damned clothes on? He risks a glance over his shoulder, only to find that his way to the trash bin is thoroughly impeded by her hips. He then stamps out all thoughts of how nice and full her figure is by throwing his gaze to the ceiling. His fingers tighten around the stack of empty takeout containers.]
Can you at least move aside so I can clean up after you?
[Yes, this is a very interesting ceiling his eyes are attached to. No, his face is not pink; that must be a trick of the lighting.]
[ She’s ready to keep going on about this Indian food, but — oh, yeah, she could move for him, couldn’t she. The trash in his hands hadn’t really connected with the trash bin behind her. Too bad, that would have been a funny thing to (intentionally) hold hostage. ]
Knock yourself out.
[ And she does slide over — then over further, on second thought, to take a sprawling seat at the kitchen table instead.
And since that flush, adorable as it is, doesn’t escape her: ] You can chill out, too. It’s not like I’m naked. [ Well. She is. It’s just a covered sort of naked. ] Perfectly decent!
[As she plants herself at the kitchen table, Matthias stalks toward the sink with shoulders drawn stiff and eyes fastidiously averted. He pulls open the cupboard door to stuff the garbage into the bin. This is when she tells him to "chill out" — but her command seems to have the opposite effect.]
You are not perfectly decent! You're...you're— [He sputters, gestures at her, and then remembers he is not supposed to be looking at her. He spans his hand from temple to temple as he mutters to himself.]
A Fjerdan woman would die of shame to be seen like that. Even the West Stave girls must wear more.
[Not that he has ever visited Ketterdam's pleasure houses himself, but in Hellgate he heard plenty of colorful stories he would well do without.]
[Please, if he clutches these pearls any harder, they'll crumble back to sand...
Matthias stalks back to the living room to gather the remaining trash. He is all hard lines, from the tight shape of his shoulders to the frown tugging his face.]
Are you in the shower right now?
[Trassel, meanwhile, worn out from the day, has decided to lay across the couch. The armrest cradles his chin as his eyes follow his brother.]
[ Point taken, actually, but he doesn’t have to be a little bitch about it. She rolls her eyes, and with a little flare of actually annoyance: ]
It’s my place too, asshole.
[ This is, actually, a fairly legitimate expectation to have of a roommate — but that doesn’t mean she’s feeling in the mood to oblige it at the moment. Later, maybe. Now she’s nearly naked as a statement. ]
[While he's not quite above endless bickering that loops in circles, he sighs and decides that he might as well attempt to be the mature one here. Since he's already cleaning up after her and all.]
Look, I don't know how things are where you come from. But where I come from, it would be improper for a man and a woman to live together unmarried — or even spend time together unsupervised, for that matter. Maybe it is old-fashioned, but that's what I'm used to. So can you at least try to understand why this makes me uncomfortable?
[He feels a bit foolish having to explain, but it becomes easier to talk to her when he can focus on straightening up instead.]
[ Ramir heaves a sigh at the explanation, but she does stand up. She was gonna get dressed at some point, may as well make it sooner than later. For her stupid roommate’s sake. ]
I get it, I just think it’s stupid as hell. You don’t wanna fuck, so, we’re not gonna. Nothing else to it.
[ She straightens her towel with a tug, snatches up the toothbrush from its temporary home by the kitchen sink, and starts back toward her room. Tossed over her shoulder as she goes, though: ] But just so we’re clear, I wouldn’t mind if you did wanna fuck!
[ She can’t resist, he’s earned himself some grief with his ridiculously straight-laced sensibilities. ]
[Predictably, color floods his face for the crude words she tosses around with ease. He had been on his way to throw out another load of trash, but now he shifts his load so that he can scoop up a stray tank top that lies crumpled on the floor. As she vanishes down the hall, he lobs this after her.]
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