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[devoutish]

Yeah?

[That's it, that's all you get.]

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[bywolves]

Glad alive. [ Royce mumbles. He buzzes for a couple of seconds, and then almost reluctantly: ] Miss you.

[ The nice and not so nice thing about being an anomaly is that all of his emotions are loud. He can feel that he misses Alfie and wants to get back, can feel that Gwen in pain is agonizing - he can't stop himself from saying it. ]

Her hurts. [ Royce mutters, half to himself, wisps of smoke cracking and snapping out from the cloak. She's still crying, and it hurts him. But he doesn't want to get close. ]

[devoutish]

Not her.

[He touches the screen again, as if that'll make any difference at all.]

It's an anomaly. A trick taken fr-- from your memories. It'll be-- all right.

[bywolves]

Trick. [ Royce knows. Long, long pause. Almost so long that it's like he's hung up, and then: ] ... Alfie. Hurt her?

[ Should he? She's in so much pain, it looks like. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie lets out a ragged, rumbly breath.]

It hurts. It hurt hurting mine, even though I kn-knew she wasn't real. It hurt-- hurt hurting you. It hurt. But she'll stop crying. She'll-- stop. Stop acting like she's hurt.

If you do, I'll-- I'll stay with you while you do it. I won't hang up. I'll stay.

[bywolves]

[ She's falling apart. Royce can see it, even through his monster lens. It isn't her. It isn't her, it can't be, but - even if it is. If it is, it's his responsibility to make sure she doesn't hurt. He can't just let her cry and not try to fix it. And he can't, not any other way.

Royce lets out a low, anguished noise. He wants to tell Alfie that he doesn't have to stay, that it's just another death he has to listen to, but the selfish part of him wants someone there. He has to do it and leave.

Funeral home. It's a good place to do it. He can make sure she rests. ]

Need to. [ He says finally. He can't cry, but - he's close. ]

[devoutish]

I know. I'm here for you, mate.

[Even if he cries.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce turns off the video, and Alfie gets to hear what happens.

He moves forward, slow and quiet on the ground. He stops right next to her, and rests a hand on her arm. There's no response at all, just hysterical sobbing, and Royce can't deal with it. He wants to hold her so badly that he can't breathe. She barely even seems to realize he's there, though - and it's like the last time all over again but worse. He has to kill her. And he doesn't even get to say goodbye.

Royce lifts off the floor, curls up around her like he's trying to keep her warm, his cloak body gently settled on her, and then he slits her throat, quick and easy. She chokes, gurgles, and Royce very carefully holds her, lowers her down to the floor.

Royce doesn't come back to the tablet. He just wraps around her and holds for a while. ]

[devoutish]

[It's quiet, and the tablet isn't very close, but there's enough sound that he can make a pretty good guess as to what happened.]

Royce.

[bywolves]

[ No answer. He physically can't cry, so he just - rots, instead, very carefully trying to hold her hand without cutting it to pieces. ]

[devoutish]

I'm coming.

[He pulls himself up, scrambling to gather both of their things together. Spotting Royce's cloak on the floor, he snatches it up and pulls it on.]

[bywolves]

No. [ Royce manages from across the room. He sounds like he's in physical pain. ] Don't. Won't make it.

[devoutish]

This is not a fucking discussion. I'm not leaving you alone.

[bywolves]

You can't make it. [ Royce snarls. ] Far.

[devoutish]

I'll leave now. I'll run.

[bywolves]

Alfie. [ If you die, you fucker, he's going to kill you himself. Royce hisses, and accidentally cuts through Gwen's skin because he's aggravated. That's - horribly upsetting, but he's distracted. ]

You can't died. Can't. Can't. Hurt. Don't tunnels.

[devoutish]

Royce, I won't. I've been fighting it. You see this, yeah? I haven't been-- I've been--

[Pause. Breathe.]

It hasn't taken me over. And you need somebody, mate. You do.

[bywolves]

[ He hears it. Alfie's fighting it better than Royce is. Royce drags in an unsteady breath. ]

Don't died. [ It's a bit desperate. He's not going to stop Alfie. ]

[devoutish]

I can't do anything for you here.

[He growls, frustrated.]

Fucking helpless.

[bywolves]

Don't need you to do anything. [ Royce says, after a moment. He looks down at Gwen. ]

Not need. Not if you died for it.

[devoutish]

I don't want you being on your own right now.

[bywolves]

Don't want being on own. [ Insistently: ] You need not died. Walk. Not run. Can't make it? Don't walk. Next door.

[devoutish]

I think-- I think I can make it.

[And that's the best he can do.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce growls, but - he doesn't make any move to argue further. He's going to be so pissed later. If Alfie risks himself here, Royce is not going to forget it, in a lot of ways. ]

[devoutish]

Royce.

[He knows how he'd feel if their places were switched, and it's what makes him hesitate. They've been in positions like this before, but switched, and he'd felt fully prepared to stop traveling with Royce if he took too many risks - not because of any sort of power play, but because he couldn't stand the idea of losing him to his own recklessness.

He doesn't want Royce to feel that way now.]

Royce--

[bywolves]

Echoing. [ Royce reminds him, angrily. He carefully sets Gwen down to go over and pick up the tablet. He can't get out what he wants to get out and he's too impatient to pick through the words he knows to elaborately put together a sentence that makes sense. ]