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]

[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.]

[bywolves]

I know. [ He rests his head back against Alfie's shoulder. ] I will. Later.

[devoutish]

Yeah.

[Alfie strokes Royce's hair, bumping his cheek into the crown of his head.]

What do you wanna watch, at the treehouse?

[bywolves]

[ He shrugs a little, finally easing into the touch. ]

I don't know. I don't know if I can focus on something I haven't seen. [ A beat. ] Fiddler on the Roof.

[devoutish]

Are you just saying that for my sake?

[bywolves]

No. [ Royce says, and this time his tone is annoyed. ] Nothing that I say is solely for your sake, Solomons.

[devoutish]

Stop.

[He bumps him again.]

I was only asking.