There's always a lighthouse

[wheremst]

And just like that, you wake up in the basement of a lighthouse in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There's a circle of 25 pods in the middle of the room, and two more in a room off to the side, and you can imagine who is in which.

An elevator to the side of the room leads up to the ground floor (or to the first sub-basement, if you want to check out the machine that brought you here), where you can for the first time in weeks look out a window and see the sky. Its a beautiful sunny day, with a strong breeze on the grassy ground of the island where the lighthouse stands. Have you ever been this happy to hear seagulls?

You're free. Whatever comes next, you're free and you won. Take some time to relish your victory, won't you? Reunite with friends you thought you had lost, go forth and just... well, enjoy this.

Comments

[bolderfell]

[He swallows. Masters himself. Nods.]

Yeah. [He lets out a short breath, a kinda-laugh.] Bar wasn't nearly the same without you.

[Sentimental fool. He missed her, too. Shit, change the subject, change the subject.]

You know they let me dust for prints?

[snackooed]

[ Her laugh, on the other hand, is a touch louder; the kind she tries to cover with her fingertips. ]

I mean, in fairness to them, you are my protege...unless, of course, you're saying our professional relationship's come to an end now that we're out of there?

[ She should probably sound a little more serious, but she can't help herself... ]

Wouldn't that be a shame? To lose my star pupil and my best patron...

[bolderfell]

[Blink.]

I. But.

[He stares at her, then shakes his head and lifts a hand.]

Aren't you going back home?

[snackooed]

Mm, not just yet. I figured I'd help Ghostworth and his friend in red look for the ones from the previous experiment...I figure they could probably use a forensic investigator, and I can't exactly pretend it's none of my business, after two months of this. Once we find them, they have a way of getting them back to normal, so...I think that's a job worth taking.

[ A chance to show off her chops and throw herself back into the field... ]

But even when that's over and done with, there are those machines that should let you travel between worlds, right? I'm not gonna let this be goodbye. Not when we only just started catching back up...

[bolderfell]

[Ema. He has to turn aside for whole seconds, scarf up and over half his face, and he knows how transparent he must be but damn it, he still can't just up and reveal just how much it means to him that she'd do that. That she'd even just say that. That she's not just done with him.

Once he recovers, he graces her with a whole actual smile.]

You're right. You still have to show me around that city of yours, you know. And I'm not not taking souvenirs.

[snackooed]

I didn't forget. [ How could she? ] Our game of cops and robbers, right?

[ That smile of his...it seems so much brighter than the sly smirks that he would let slip through before. It's in his eyes, now; she sees it in the way they're shining like stars.

How many weeks was she prodding at him, to get to see that sort of smile? However much time it's been, to see him grin like that, it was worth every second.

She has to wipe at her eyes with the sleeve of her white coat, herself, before she has the chance to return it. ]

I'll show you around my City of Angels, and you can introduce me to Greengrass and the others. I'll tell them all about how good of a student you are. And I'll tell them about how you saved me, too. Do you think they'll be surprised?

[ She doesn't. ]

[bolderfell]

[So many feelings spring up at that, Therion practically trips over himself to latch onto a familiarly grouchy one.]

Ugh, don't. I wasn't going to tell them any of this. And putting you and Alfyn within five feet of each other...

[Actually, he thinks about that for a moment.]

...Might not be too bad. You'd keep each other busy talking for hours. Bet you wouldn't even notice if I slipped away to ply my trade here and there.

[snackooed]

Clever as ever.

[ She pretends there isn't a frog in her throat and lets a hearty little laugh escape, not even bothering to hide it. ]

If you think I'm taking my eyes off you for a second, you've got another thing coming. It'll take a lot more than distracting me with good conversation to catch me off my game, Therion. I don't fall for the same tricks twice.

[ She didn't forget your little stunt with her horseradish! ]

I'm afraid you're stuck with me.

[bolderfell]

[Therion doesn't really cry anymore. He can't even remember the last time. But his chuckle comes out a little wet with everything he's feeling: the relief, the guilt, the joy to have her back and smiling and alive.]

Damn. Guess I'll just have to get used to it. Worth it for the drinks, though.

[snackooed]

Oh, as if the drinks are the only thing that you like having me around for!

[ She can't help herself; she makes a big show of pouting at him, as though she's really fooling anyone when her cheeks puff out like balloons-- ]

That does it. Next one I make for you, it's gonna knock you flat on your butt! It'll taste so good, it's gonna make your head spin!

[bolderfell]

Oh no. How terrible. That'll really show me.

[Under his cloak, Therion holds on to his own elbows like he might come apart otherwise. He missed this so much. He missed her so much.]

[snackooed]

It will! You're gonna forget you're drinking liquor and you won't be able to hold it, and then you'll come crying to me...

[ She has a hard time imagining he'll actually come crying. If anything, it'd be the other way around. But this is her story, and she's sticking to it.

She's tempted to ruffle that mangled mess of hair on his head, just to really stick it to him, but she settles for a nudge instead, a gentle little push while he huddles in on himself. Her hand doesn't pass right through him; they're both here. ]

...I knew you could do it, Therion.

[bolderfell]

[The nudge gets a soft, ticklish sound out of him, a faintly disbelieving laugh. She's solid flesh and bone, and her belief--that's something tangible, too.]

I... don't know how you did. [He says that quiet as a confession, then breathes out.] But I suppose an investigator has to have an eye for those things.

[Therion looks at her a moment, glances away, sighs, and drops his arms.]

If you want a... hug, or something. [-///-] I won't tell anyone if you don't.

[snackooed]

[ If the statement surprises her, it doesn't show on her face through shock. Her eyes may go a touch wider, and the play-pout she's giving might find its way back to that wide smile, like she's pulled a perfect print...

But she doesn't even have the words to crack wise, or poke fun. Like a barrier's just come crumbling down, the only thing keeping some level of distance between them crushed with those words, Ema's arms are moving before her lips can start.

She pulls him in and holds him tight. ]

My lips are sealed.

[bolderfell]

[For the first time in recorded history, Therion hugs back just as fiercely.]

...I'm glad you're back.

[It's probably not enough, not compared to everything he owes her. But he hopes, at the very least, she can hear some of what he wants her to know in there. How very, very much her acceptance, her teaching, her presence has meant to him all this time.]