hypnagothic | [The City] IC Contact

[ She does wish it, but she can't stand him to see her as any more useless. Vanessa has managed this far, she can continue to do so.

She doesn't have anything to wear, though. Unless... She pulls back to glance down at the sweatshirt, gauging the length. Too short for public, of course. ]

I will be fine. I only need to be shown where it is.

[ But she is a bit unsure of leaving his room. What if someone is out there? She cannot see people, not now. ]

Then I will show you.

[ he tips his head forward briefly as she looks down, his words whispered into her hair like a blessing before a light kiss is pressed against her. only after does he pull back just slightly, only just enough so that he can direct them through the bedroom door to the bathroom. ]

[ Any time he initiates touch, she struggles not to lean and cling and stay.

Walking, he will find, is not her strongest ability at the moment. She can walk, of course, but the poise that carried it is gone, the silent creeping is replaced with uneven tapping, and there are moments now where she would wobble if not for his presence. ]

[ his arm remains around her then to help her balance. and thankfully, while Hob is technically home in the flat, he's currently asleep in his own room with the door mostly closed. so they are uninterrupted in their journey to the bathroom, and Dream makes a point to close the door behind them. he brings her over to sit at the edge of the tub too, sitting with her so that he can reach for the tap without having to pull away too much from her. ]

Not too hot.

[ She says it a bit too quickly, catching herself with a glance down in embarrassment. As though she could give the lord of dreams commands?! ]

...Please.

[ She can figure out his tap, many of them here are similar, but at this point it would be ruder to push him out of the way. ]

[ he moves to turn it down as she asks, though he is curious, glancing back to her. ]

Would the warmth not be more comfortable?

Warm is fine. Just...

[ Softer. ]

Not too hot. Please.

[ She can check the temperature with her fingers, so he won't have to blindly guess. ]

[ he nods. once she finds it acceptable, Dream turns to find something to put into the water itself. surely Hob has something pleasant smelling ... ]

[ It's plenty warm, but steaming. It will likely get cold much sooner than a normal bath would, but she only ever stays long enough to wash.

Vanessa would doubt that Hob would have anything scented like that, but then she is going by what she has seen of Heine and Badou's washroom... And she does not care. She isn't thinking of indulgence in any capacity beyond staying near him for the moment. She certainly isn't deserving of it.

She'll tug off the sweatshirt to fold with care before slowly leaning down to unlace her boots. ]

Has anything else happened since— since we last saw one another?

[ A much more pleasant, delusional phrasing. As if she's merely forgotten to look up from a book for a few days. ]

[ as she leans down, his fingers lightly touch her back so she if she'll accept his touch there, and if she doesn't pull away for flinch too badly then he will help to start unfastening her dress. ]

I presume you are aware of Ethan Chandler's condition?

[ The touch is immediately relaxing, though when he mentions Ethan, she freezes momentarily, eyes closing with grit teeth. The horrors are ceaseless.

She still cant imagine how he must have felt to have woken with her gone. She should not spend too long coddling herself. Not when he's somewhere heartbroken after having likely feared the worst. ]

I am now.

[ The boots drop away to reveal worn down stocking, somewhat torn for her earlier struggling. ]

He never told me. I found him... Constantine was attempting to...heal Badou, and Ethan and Heine were... [ It wasn't Heine. But that isn't her story to tell. ] They would have killed one another.

Edited (words?! ) 2023-12-03 08:46 (UTC)

As with others similarly affected, he likely could not control himself.

[ his hands pause at her freezing, staying still until she speaks, finishing the unfastening as she discards her boots and stockings. ]

I came upon one who had been both involved as well as injured by him. I was then called to Hob.

Not at first. He did manage to come to his senses, but he...must have been so frightened...

[ The sight of him just before he turned and ran still hurts, even with her experiences over the last two days doing so well to override nearly everything. The thought of the scene, the violence and the anger, it forces her to look up with a stare toward the wall, listening even as she grinds her teeth. Is there something in his wall? Did rats come to the city?

Did—

Vanessa is snapped out of the fleeting descent by the name to turn and look to him with eyes wide. ]

How badly was he hurt?

He lost a great deal of blood, though Constantine was able to aid him and call for me before she left to aid you. He is resting in his room now.

[ he's leaving a lot of details out since she doesn't need to hear all of it, but he does let her know they're not completely alone in the flat. ]

[ If she could get any paler... ]

I should not be here.

[ First Heine had selflessly looked after her in her shock, despite Badou's injuries, with the wolf's victim recovering under the same roof as her, and now somehow Morpheus is managing the same. He's known Hob so much longer, too, what sort of worry must he have felt? Everything has become a disaster.

The same sound (there's no sound) has her looking back to the wall and shaking her head with little jerks while standing up, uncaring of a partially undone dress. Her nails lightly scrape at the back of her hand as her mind turns in circles. ]

Please tell Mr. Gadling that I am so very sorry. I will do whatever I can to aid in his recovery.

[ he watches her rise with a growing frown, standing form the edge of the filling tub when it seems for sure she is leaving. ]

My lady? You will not stay?

[ Of course, she has to sit back down unless she wants to talk out barefooted. ]

But how can I? I could not imagine him even bearing to look at me, nor wishing me to remain under his roof. Does he not blame me?

[ Even Badou's acceptance feels beyond her deserving, and he has been a close friend. The growing shame is enough to drown her before she can even touch the water, and her shoulders droop. ]

I know that I must go to him and apologize, but at the moment I do not think myself strong enough to bear anyone's hatred.

[ Morpheus reaches for her hand so that he can tug her back to sitting, sitting next to her once again while still holding her hand delicately. ]

Why would you think Hob would bear you blame or hatred?

[ Her red-eyed gaze is unsteady when she looks back to him. ]

My connection to Ethan is no secret.

Perhaps it is not a truth withheld, but I would doubt if Hob knows more than your acquaintance with him. Even if he did know more of your relation with him, why would he think you responsible for another's actions outside their own control?

[ She shakes her head at that. If he didn't know more before, he will soon. ]

I ought to have known. I have always known something. The others, they saw.

[ Looking down, Vanessa does everything she can not to picture any of it, but it's still vivid even after everything else she's been forced to witness the past two days. The dog and the wolf. Both of them had been feral, out of their minds, with something else left behind that was only for killing.

And still—there it is! She glances nervously at the wall while going to scratch at her hand, only to halt with a twitch when remembering his own is in the way. ]

The only reason he wasn't killed was because of me.

Ethan Chandler withheld this knowledge from you. You are not to blame for other's secrets, lady Vanessa.

[ he tightens his grip on her hand. ]

Then he has reason to thank you for your intervention, not to blame.

Not Mr. Gadling. [ Whispered. ] Ethan.

[ With a shaken sigh, she holds the heel of her palm against her temple, eyes closed while trying to out the sounds of someone scratching from inside the wall. ]

Constantine saw me protect Ethan. Badou may have, I am not certain how aware he was, but he knows. There was no controlling those who had become beasts, you see, they had forgotten themselves. I am not certain how, but Heine heard my voice and returned. They both did. ...But Ethan was the one I was defending.

[ Protecting Badou's attacker while his blood was still fresh on the ground. And still, Heine cared enough to protect her. She doesn't know how. ]

You once told me to question him, and I should have pressed. I tried, before coming here, and was afraid he would reject me just as he did then. But I can...sense these things. I should have. What good am I?

You are human. As is he, for all intents and purposes, with all your flaws and wondrous natures.

[ his other hand reaches for hers against her temple, gently tugging it down to join her other hand in his lap. ]

[ 'All intents and purposes'... It makes it sound like something other than what it is. As loud as she is about being human when confronted, she knows she is more than human, as is Ethan. He was the one to remind her before.

The pull to her other hand draws and keeps her attention back on him with a little twitch of her fingers. The bandages chafe the raw skin underneath, still hidden beneath her sleeves while her dress remains mostly draped over her shoulders. ]

Most people are not so quick to understand as you. You didn't see their faces.

[ Heine's, at the time, had broken her heart. ]

You— [ There's a tug of her hands as she sits up straighter. ] I need to message Heine. He will worry if I take too long. May I use your telephone?

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