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!]

Comments

[devoutish]

[Alfie doesn't speak up when it ends - he just quietly dozes for about half an hour, drifting. When the credits finish and the DVD menu kicks in, though, he grabs the remote again to flick off the screen.]

I didn't know you didn't like Frodo much.

[bywolves]

I don't dislike him. I think he's an idiot, here and there. [ Royce hums, stretching catlike. ]

[devoutish]

Mm. Why? What does he do?

[bywolves]

For as much as he thinks he's being a benefit to his friends by leaving them behind, he's not. These people are not going to write this off as a lost cause, nor are they going to think you're being noble. They're just going to chase after Frodo, either because they care about him, or more likely, because destroying that ring is the single most important thing to do to win the war against the all-seeing all-powerful evil.

Pretending to be self-sacrificing just makes it that much more difficult for things to get done, especially when you're supposed to be following a plan. What if he died, and some random person picked up the ring and ran with it? Used it? What if he got kidnapped by orcs? What if a spider ate him? It almost did.

[devoutish]

[Damn boy, you've got some feelings. Alfie hmmms.]

You aren't wrong. Suppose that's why you like Sam so much, eh?

[bywolves]

[ He does have a lot of feelings. He huffs. ]

Loyalty means something.

[devoutish]

Mmmm. Yeah, it does.

[Says Alfie, who betrays people with alarming regularity in his line of work. But look, those aren't the people he's truly loyal to.]

I liked feeling your emotions as we watched.

[bywolves]

[ Says Royce, who would sell someone to Satan for one corn chip, but - it's the same idea. There are people who he would die for, and that means something. ]

-- you did? [ A beat. ] I didn't realize I was feeling enough for you to notice.

[devoutish]

Yeah, you were. More than I expected.

[And he knows how much Royce fucking loves these movies.]

[bywolves]

[ There's a faint flush of embarrassment, and Royce dims his emotions down slowly, trying to make it so he's not completely shutting Alfie out, but. ]

Oh. [ Shift. ]

[devoutish]

[Oh, well-- now Alfie feels a little bad. He runs a hand down Royce's arm.]

Hey, hey. It's not a bad thing, mate.

[bywolves]

I - I know. [ Royce says, wrinkling his nose a bit. ] I know. It's just a film, though.

[devoutish]

It's a film that you relate to.

[bywolves]

Mm. [ He sighs. ] I don't know why I do, but I do.

[devoutish]

Why wouldn't you? It's got relatable themes and such.

[bywolves]

[ Shrug. ]

You're right, I guess. [ He stretches out again, with a yawn. ] Wonder if Gwen has seen it. I've never asked.

[devoutish]

Would she like the romance of it as well?

[bywolves]

I'd like to think so. She'd appreciate Arwen, at least.

[devoutish]

Yeah. A woman who makes her own choices.

[He's quiet for a moment, unsure of whether or not to bring it up, but--]

I felt your sadness, in her scenes.

[bywolves]

[ A long pause. ]

I'm sure you know why. [ Royce says, closing his eyes. He's flat out on the bed, now, rolled away from Alfie. ] Except that it's almost reversed. I suppose I'd be Arwen in this case.

[devoutish]

[Alfie starts to reach a hand out to him, but then changes his mind, withdrawing it.]

I'm sorry, mate.

[bywolves]

[ Royce glances at him, and then holds out his hand to Alfie. If you want to take it, he's not going to say no. ]

Don't be. [ He murmurs. ] It'll work out. Eventually.

[devoutish]

[He takes the offered hand, squeezing it.]

You've still got my sympathies, just as I know I've got yours for the people I'm still missing.

[bywolves]

Yeah. [ He sighs, and moves back over to curl up against Alfie's side, resting his head against Alfie's hip and staring over at the TV screen. He's not in a very talkative mood, but - at least Alfie can feel some of what he's feeling. It's tired acceptance, mostly. He's just tired of being sad. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie shares something of his own - the peace and tranquility that he feels, lying here with Royce. There's an undercurrent of something else, though - a fleeting anxiety, well-hidden but still briefly detectable.]