hey mom, dead mom, i need a little help here

[nothingcanstop]

[ ...All of that happened, huh. That's the sentiment each and every week, and it's no different this time. Except, this time they've lost more people than before. Five.

The gathering invitation is slipped under everyone's doors, but it specifies something a little different. ]



[ That's a good two hours or so of difference. Enough time to wander around, for sure.

But, in the garden, at the appointed time, there's a variable arrangement of fresh-cooked food. A good amount of beef stew, some Chinese hot pot, and...watermelon? Just, an absurd amount of watermelon, cut up and set on plates. All the food's set on tables that seem to have been moved from the library, and the ground is littered with blankets, for those who don't want to sit on the grass.

And yes, she did not lie. There is, indeed, a variable fuckton of alcohol. (And coffee, for our underaged.)

This has become routine. But, we're still here. We're still alive. ]

Comments

dinner

[bogwife]

[When Mira finally shows up to dinner Zerinda doesn't waste a minute getting up off her blanket to go to her. She doesn't say anything, not this time, just takes a seat next to her and pulls her into a hug.]

[philoxenia]

Zaza--

[ Oh. Oh, she's hugging her. Mira doesn't move for a second, but then she wraps her arms around her and clings, tightly. ]

[bogwife]

[Zerinda clings back, resting her chin on top of Mira's head. These past two weeks have been especially hard on her, she knows, and if she were in her shoes she knows what she'd need. Hopefully it's what Mira needs too.] I'm so sorry, Mia.

[philoxenia]

[ It... really hasn't been easy. But as she holds on tight to Zerinda, things feel a little less heavy. It's not enough to stop the hurt, but it helps. ]

I wish-- I could have done something more...

[bogwife]

I know, honey, I know. [Her heart aches for Mira. She's felt the same way with Alice. Still feels the same way, even if she's managed to cope with it by now.] But you're not responsible for anything that happened today, Mia.

[philoxenia]

[ She holds onto her, just a little tighter--and maybe part of her is scared Zerinda will be gone, too, but-- She can't think like that. Not for a second. ]

I-I know, I just--

[ Just what, she doesn't know. So she lands on... ]

I hate this, Zaza.

[bogwife]

[Zerinda shifts a hand to the back of her head, giving her hair a gentle stroke.]

I do too. It sodding- [No, they've moved past dwarven swears now.] It fucking sucks. None of us deserve this, none of us asked to be in this awful "experiment". [Even if it did lead her to meeting so many people she now cares about. She pulls away slightly, just enough to look her in the face. She can't tell for sure but she has an inkling what she's feeling- mostly because for a over week now she's had a pit at the bottom of her stomach with the fear that Friday would come and she'd have to look over Mira's cold and still body.]

Mia, I need you to know I'm not going anywhere. I don't care what he throws at us, any secret, any regret, any threat of monster templars or rips in the sky full of demons- I'm not leaving you behind.

[philoxenia]

[ Oh-- She swallows hard, and Zerinda is a little hard to look at... but she holds that gaze. She doesn't look away, even as she feels her eyes start to sting. ]

I-- I won't leave you, either. [ She wipes at her eyes, quickly and desperately, and she wonders when the idea of death started to scare her so much. But... it's because she doesn't want Zerinda or Della or Therion or anyone to find her, and-- ] I don't want to leave any of you.

[bogwife]

Then it's decided. [Zerinda tilts her head down to plant a light kiss on top of Mira's head before pulling her close again.]

When we get out of here, [Because it is a when.] you should visit me. We can take a trip to Redcliffe, maybe have a picnic at Lake Calenhad. [A small smile quirks at her lips and sneaks into her voice.] I think you'd like it, if you look at it on a map it's shaped like a rabbit.

[philoxenia]

[ Oh-- ]

Really? [ She can't keep that tiny sliver of excitement out of her voice. What she says next, though.... the significance in it is hard to miss, isn't it? ] Well... you'll have to adjust for more than just me.

[bogwife]

Give me a list and I'll make all the space we need. And how much they may or may not enjoy watercress soup.