IC contact for wethelost

[devoutish]

Solomons & Melborn
1108 Sweet Cream Street

[Feel free to use this space for letter/package deliveries as well as visits/knocks on the front door!]

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[devoutish]

Just tell me whether or not you want to be on your own, Royce.

[He will come in there in an instant if he's wanted.]

[bywolves]

[ A beat, and then he manages, shakily: ]

Yeah. Come here. Please. [ Something twists in him - he hates asking for help, even now, even after everything, but he can't do this on his own. The cold in him wraps icy around his heart and he gags a bit, swallowing hard. There was a time, in Norfinbury, that he saw his own insides, but it was methodical. Tifa. But it was different.

This was sudden. Messy. He watched it twice. And Royce Melborn is not exactly a person who shies away at guts and gore, but it's different when it's your own. ]

[devoutish]

[He'll hear the sound of Alfie practically vaulting himself off of the bed, and less than five seconds later he's in the bathroom with him. He goes to stand next to Royce at the sink, looking at the two of them in the mirror.]

[bywolves]

[ He doesn't want to look at himself, so he turns, wrapping his arms around Alfie and holding on tightly to the back of his shirt, dragging in a wet sort of breath. His grip is a little desperate. ]

Talk to me about something stupid. [ Royce says, muffled against Alfie's chest. ] I can't - I keep seeing my own insides and I --

[devoutish]

[He hugs Royce hard, bracing Royce's head against his shoulder.]

A man is sitting on his front porch watching the day go by, when a farmer with his cart drives past. "Good morning!" calls the man to the farmer. "What have you got in that wagon of yours?"

"Manure," says the farmer.

"And what are you gonna do with all that manure?" says the man.

"I'm gonna go back to my farm and spread it over the fruit," says the farmer.

The man shakes his head. "Mate, I need to have you over to mine for lunch someday. We put sour cream on our fruit. Tastes much better."

[bywolves]

[ Even just listening to Alfie's voice helps. He stares at the wall and lets Alfie take care of him, doing his best to drag in steady, evening breaths. At the end of the joke, Royce huffs out a sound, something amused in that weary, upset sort of way.

It makes it easier to come down from the panic attack he was working himself up into. Keep going, buddy. ]

[devoutish]

[He does.]

There was once a little village that needed a new synagogue built.

[He rubs soothing circles into Royce's back.]

And so all the strongest men got together and went off into the mountains to gather stone for its foundation. At the top, they heaved the biggest boulders that they could carry onto their shoulders and started walking back down. When, after many hours, they finally reached the village at the bottom, one of their grandmothers stuck her head out her window and called to her grandson: "Are you stupid, boy? Why didn't you just roll those boulders down the mountain?" The men stopped walking and looked at each other, and then, still carrying the boulders, they turned right around. They climbed that big fuck-off mountain again, and when they reached the top, they rolled the stones down. "She was right," one man said to another. "That was a much better idea."

[bywolves]

[ The soothing circles actually ease him up. His shoulders slowly relax. He mumbles something that sounds like stupid, but it's mostly inaudible and he sounds vaguely amused anyway. ]

[devoutish]

[Good. He continues:]

Once the new synagogue was built, it was decided that a box would be put in so that money could be collected for the poor. But there were concerns that it would be very easy for thieves to steal money from the box, and so someone came up with the idea to hang it from the ceiling at a great height, far too high for any thief to reach. That idea was a popular one for a few hours, until a villager asked, "How will I put my offering in the box when it's hung so high up?"

Well, everyone thought about that a bit, and they came up with a solution. They would build a staircase up to the box, so that anyone who wanted to contribute could reach.

[bywolves]

[ Muffled: ] Tell me the village ended up being raided so the stupidity didn't spread.

[devoutish]

[Alfie grimaces, but does his best to hide it against Royce's shoulder, because he knows he didn't mean it like that.]

Now - before that, but after the boulders, the men of the village dug a large pit into the ground for the foundation. "What are we gonna do with the dirt we're digging up, once we're done?" one wondered.

"Well," said another, "We'll have to bury it, I think, in a new pit."

That seemed like a good idea to the men, and they dug quietly until the first man had another question. "But what are we gonna do with the dirt we dig up for that?"

The second man thought a moment, but then he came up with an answer. "What we're gonna do is we're going to make a great big pit, and in that pit we'll put all the dirt from this pit we're digging for the synagogue, and all the dirt we'll dig from the pit to bury it in. We'll just need to be sure to make the second pit twice as big."

[bywolves]

[ Royce stays quiet, this time, but he's definitely distracted, trying to get his head around the logic, here. All the while he's easing up, evening out. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie goes quiet, after that one, just letting things settle.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce closes his eyes, finally, and brings his arm around to rest against Alfie's chest, instead. The other still grips, but not with the same sort of urgency. His stomach has settled a bit, at least. ]

... Thank you. [ He says, finally, leaning heavily into the embrace. ]

[devoutish]

Mm, yeah.

[He reaches for his hand, lacing their fingers together and squeezing.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce keeps hold on his hand, not minding. He doesn't say anything else, for now. This is good. If he holds on tight, he doesn't have to think. Eventually he's just going to let his knees give out. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie catches him easily, when he does.]

Come on, mate; back to bed. Bear will have eaten the rest of the bread by now.

[bywolves]

[ Royce lets Alfie keep him up, and leans heavily against him while they make it back to bed. ]

Probably. [ Royce mumbles. He sucks in a shuddery breath. Quietly, as they walk: ] I might need to keep a bucket by the side of the bed. Alfie.

[devoutish]

Should I not have fed you all that bread?

[bywolves]

I was hungry. [ Royce says, shaking his head a little. ] I just keep thinking about...

[ You know, his insides on the outsides. He swallows hard. ] Maybe we should go to the treehouse. I need to distract myself and the television will help.

[devoutish]

[ He leans back, looking at Royce's face.]

Are you sure?

[bywolves]

Yeah. [ He holds onto Alfie's wrist. He's not looking forward to the walk, but. ]

[devoutish]

[ Neither is Alfie - he's exhausted. But there's no he's staying behind. ]

We'll bring breakfast. Food for tomorrow, in case you're hungry. And Royce...

[ He trails off. ]

[bywolves]

[ Breakfast sounds good. He's okay with that. ]

Yeah? [ He looks up at Alfie, expression wrung through. ]

[devoutish]

If you need to talk about any of this.

[He lets that hang, trusting that Royce will be able to fill in the rest - if he needs to talk, Alfie is here.]