Lorenz "I'm an 11" Hellman Gloucester (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bergamotrose) wrote2019-10-01 08:59 am
bergamotrose) wrote2019-10-01 08:59 amEntry tags:
Inbox for Aef
will edit
bergamotrose) wrote2019-10-01 08:59 am
Outpost Problems Event Contact
But they'd each been hit in turn, so on the third morning after waking up from awful nightmares, Sylvain finally gets in touch with Lorenz. If Lorenz has been in contact before this point, it's gone largely ignored, brushed aside for "more important" things, and if someone else has filled him in, then Sylvain hasn't cared to find out.
And even when he does reach out, the contact is clipped, simple.]
If you've felt that the past few nights, I apologize...
It shouldn't last much longer.
I hope.
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But. Here they were.
Naturally, messages had been sent. When no replies were had, Lorenz merely bit down on the impulse to check in with other people and chose to trust-- a difficult concept for anyone who dealt with the nobility as deeply as they did.
The late acknowledgement brought with it relief. At the very least, the people on the expedition were safe.]
Whatever is happening, Sylvain, please understand that I am willing to listen no matter what the hour is. Doubtless you prefer the ear of someone closer to you, but if you need the opinion of someone with an outsider's view then you are welcome to it.
If you want for neither, then all I ask is that you don't be foolish. Your safety is as important as everyone else's.
When you return, there will be tea. If you are open to talk, we can do so then.
-LHG.
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But at the same time, those sensitive things don't usually have a direct line to his own state of mind, so leaving him un-contacted had been cruel at best.
So instead of throwing himself into the day's affairs as a diversion from his own thoughts, it's the least he can do to elaborate further, to a point.]
Thank you. Truly, Lorenz.
The expedition is safe, and progressing according to plan, but I have been having nightmares. They say it's a side effect from a task witches were given a few days ago, but that doesn't make them any easier to weather, as I'm sure you've noticed.
Some of us are already over the apparent symptoms. You may be relieved to know that those same symptoms are preventing me from having the means to do anything overly foolish, haha.
Tea sounds... nice. I'll look forward to it.
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You were never one I expected nightmares from.
[However, given his own encounter, under the Professor's guidance, with the eldest son of House Gautier, Lorenz realized that he should have. The Professor had invited Sylvain to accompany them for that particular mission-- perhaps out of that truly poetic sense of justice that he had displayed even that early on in his tenure.
The desperation he had seen in Miklan echoed the desperation he had seen countless times in others who were denied what they felt was their birthright; of course Sylvain would have nightmares.]
Should you wish to unburden yourself, the offer stands. Regardless, tea will be had.
Do be safe. If you need an idea of who among the Mirror Bound on the expedition who may be reliable in a crisis, I can relay that information to you as well. Although, as everyone is working toward the same cause, most anyone is likely to be a help if you need it.
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[Implying that having them isn't unusual for him. If they were speaking in person, he might have been able to better play off that fact, but through text it's clear as day.
This is why he didn't want any bonds in the first place. And now he's inflicting harm on three others through this whole mess. It doesn't sit right with him.
Though perhaps that's just an excuse he's readying to avoid sharing much more with Lorenz once the expedition has returned. A shield, of sorts.]
I think, at this point, if I do anything more unsafe than being out here, Felix will have my head. He and Bernadetta are doing an impressive job of fretting, as well...
Though you're right - everyone else seems at least somewhat reliable. It may be better for me to tell you who wasn't, if anyone, once I return.
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That may indeed be for the best. We will compare notes when you return.
Please, don't worry the others too much. We all need to rely on each other here, and working together helps with that.
[Say's the man whose acceptance of and willingness to work with the darker aspects-- alone-- of humanity were a driving force behind his own decision to go unbonded for so long.
Hypocrite.]
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Sure, he can still manage a sword one-handed, but he's not as good at defending those important to him without the full array of his strengths at his disposal.
He might even admit as much over tea, should Lorenz think to ask.]
Hah. I've been trying not to worry anyone, but... these Bonds make that much difficult, as I'm sure you've noticed.
...But I will try to rely on the others more going forward, at least until I'm back to myself. I think I needed that reminder.
So thank you, again, Lorenz.
[Look, he gets the acceptance and willingness to work with the darker aspects of humanity... and he gets not really wanting a bond for the sake of protecting himself and others.
It just... didn't pan out that way for him, is all. Clearly.]
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Much would be spoken of over tea, eventually. Only in the time that Sylvain was comfortable with doing so.]
You're always welcome, Sylvain. Please remember to take care of yourself as well in the circumstances out there. I will be here when you get back, to take care of whatever needs to be done.
Stay safe.
hits fast forward on the expedition o boyee
He'll even welcome the fretting, for once, because, frankly, he's exhausted, and he knows he won't have a choice either way.
So, maybe he should have gone to bed instead of summoning Lorenz.
Instead, Lorenz will find him in - you guessed it - his library. At his desk. Recording the shifts and changes and developments in his magic that occurred while outside of the walls.
At least he's listening closely for anyone to enter, and will turn to greet Lorenz when he does.]
I... apologize, again, for...
[And he gestures at the general space between them, encompassing both the Bond and the feedback loop of emotions between them, because... well, the symptoms had dragged on for days after they'd originally spoken.
They're still lingering, a bit, though he suspects it's all his mind's doing instead of the side effects, at this point. Not that it matters much.]
Oooooh boy~
[Such bonds of even the likes that they shared ran far deeper than Lorenz had anticipated. He felt every pang of frustration and guilt even across the boundary of the Bright Wall and the distance between them. At their current proximity, he felt a distinct fluttering in his chest which he knew was not his.
The exhaustion, and the shaken foundation that it did nothing to hide, were reflective of a very different Sylvain than the one that Lorenz knew.
Hooves clacked across the floor with more certainty than they had not even two weeks before, accompanied by the sound of a third beat created by the ash wood cane Lorenz had acquired in the intervening time. Fashionable, certainly-- but also crucial while he learned to navigate the slick flagstone with unfamiliar feet and legs.
At least he had found clothes that fit appropriately. Small wonders, of a monster-populated town.
Sighing at the sight of Sylvain hunched over his desk like a careworn crest scholar who had been working with raw data for too long, Lorenz set down the bag he had been carrying in the doorway crossed the distance between them and gently laid a hand on Sylvain's shoulder.]
Come. Let us go to the kitchen and heat some water. I haven't much in the way of a collection of tea sets yet, but the tea itself is as fine as ever.
[With Sylvain literally working himself to the bone, getting him out of the library was for the best.]
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Even considering as much feels like more trouble than it's worth. He'll make it up to him in other ways, ones he can't easily brush aside, if he even notices.
He does pay close attention when Lorenz crosses the distance between them, and takes a moment to relish in the contact when he lays a hand on his shoulder before he stands, arches his back and reaches upwards in a full-body stretch.
He's right. He does need to get out of the library, even if he is beyond ready to get back to studying now that he's home. It might be wise to wait until the infection has left him completely, but the inky blackness that had dyed his skin up to the elbows is now lingering just in his fingers and wisping over his hands in the last stubborn remnants.
Rest will take care of that.
Rest is the last thing he wants, right now.]
You're walking well, now.
[A compliment by way of observation - cane or no, Lorenz has adapted quickly - enough so that Sylvain trusts he can follow him to the kitchen with enough ease that he doesn't slow his pace.
Even if he does use magic to light the stove, a burst of flame from his hand drawing a wince, but his control over it is much improved.]
I think there's a tea set or two in the cabinet. It's not to your standards, but it'll do.
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[He looked over-- and down at the cane. It was mostly for the extra stability, and to give him something to lean on when he needed to relax the muscles that still ached from time to time. His 'miscalculation' hadn't allowed either his body or his mind to appropriately prepare. Thus, there were moments when he felt akin to a sheet being spread across a matress that was too large.
For the moment, however, it worked.]
It isn't without difficulties, [He confessed idly, knowing he would get called out if he tried to brush it off,] But it's manageable as long as I pace myself appropriately.
[After taking a brief moment to watch Sylvain's conjured flame with a narrowed gaze, Lorenz took the direction to the cabinets nearby.]
I trust your tastes haven't changed?
[He asked, picking out a simply made yet elegant pot with matching saucers and cups.]
I've discovered an interesting blend of Bergamot if they haven't. There is dried lavender blossoms added to the leaves; it makes for a pleasant shift in flavor.
[He had also heard that lavender helps calm disregulated, nervous temperaments-- not that he is saying as much. Some details were unnecessary for simple conversation.]
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[Said as if he doesn't think Lorenz was pacing himself - the fact that he doesn't have skinned palms is evidence enough that he hasn't toppled over onto the ground - or at least not often or not on surfaces that could do too much harm - but teasing him does help to mitigate some of the lingering sensation of frayed nerves.
It's something like normal, something like the ribbing they usually give each other.]
They haven't. I'll look forward to trying it.
[And honestly, he means it. The implications of the lavender aren't lost on him - but Lorenz isn't bringing it up, so he doesn't have to pretend to be offended when he knows very well that any little thing could help.]
Has anything noteworthy happened while we were gone?
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[Perhaps a small, white lie at the moment-- although the following question would reveal exactly why. Lorenz's motions didn't hesitate an instant, although the distinct thread of discomfort that coiled through his chest was likely evident through the connection of their Bond. He sighed audibly as he thought over the last week-- of people disappearing, of sudden visitors, of people dying and rising once again...]
Nothing earth shattering,
[Lorenz said airily, moving briskly as he spooned out the appropriate amount of the blend for two. The heady notes of the tart bergamot blended with the balmy lavender in a complex yet comforting aroma. He neatly closed up the package in a brisk movement.]
...There is reason to believe that Marianne is no longer in this realm.
[Despite it being clear that there was more-- like the terrified young girl who had arrived at his doorstep after nightfall, with only her stuffed bunny and her nightclothes in hand, in dire need of both comfort and an explanation-- Lorenz kept his lips sealed.
It wasn't his business to say. He would not speak out of turn.]
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Or, perhaps something earth shattering really had happened, and he was making a considerable effort to hide it.
The offered answer is certainly some of it, though, so he hums, contemplates the strained tugging at the back of his mind. Perhaps it isn't Lorenz's place to say, but...]
That's not all that's happened, is it?
[He doesn't mean to lean so heavily on their Bond when finding reason to call him out, but for now... he does. Whether or not Lorenz actually tells him anything is up to him - he can't pry that deeply, yet, when he's still just getting used to feeling him.]
...If she has gone home, I hope she doesn't remember the ordeals she faced here. She has enough to worry about in the future there.
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I hope for the same, [Lorenz replied, his thoughts straying to the Marianne he recalled from his own history. Her quiet strength and poise had become a rock that they could all rely upon in even the hardest of battles.]
She becomes a fine soldier.... and an even more fine woman.
[Someday, he hoped to call her 'partner'. Until then, he was content to be by her side.
Until then, however, Sylvain was his partner. Lorenz did owe him an explanation.]
Regarding the rest, trust that you will know in the appropriate time.
[Lorenz said carefully, pushing away the recollection of Leslie's terrified eyes and trembling little voice. The tale she had told, of Hubert arriving like a shade and ordering her to flee in the aftermath of a horrid scream, was almost sordid enough for a tawdry novel. It wasn't difficult to imagine, but Lorenz felt terrible that a child had to go through such an ordeal.]
It isn't anything that directly involves myself, if you're wondering. Besides Marianne's absense, everything in my household is fine.