vibrafinal | 15th moon [voice]

[Grune had been taking a break from watering her many indoor plants to check on her friends through the journals. Maybe Giles would be back today. Maybe she could go have some tea with one of her friends.

...This wasn't what she expected to hear.]

Cecil!

[She's already heading for the door, ready to find him and protect him from whatever is hurting him.]

[Protecting him might be impossible, but his screams should make him easy to find.]

[Grune almost never moves quickly. Much to most people's exasperation, she travels through life at a wander.

She's running now.

It doesn't take her very long at all to arrive at Cecil's house--she's been there often enough that the location has stayed in her memory. She doesn't bother to knock, but simply opens the door and rushes inside.]

Cecil? Are you there?

[The screams have stopped, by then, but if she listens closely she should be able to hear Cecil plead 'no' over and over from one of the upstairs bedrooms.]

[Grune doesn't hesitate, but runs straight upstairs. She pushes the door open, already preparing to cast, and--

There's no one but Cecil in the room. He isn't being attacked.

She doesn't take any time to readjust her understanding of the situation--she simply continues forward to enfold him in her arms.]

[He's not being attacked, but he is bleeding. His lower lip is split, and there are some rather deep crescent marks on his palms. Ceodore's sudden disappearance was a shock in more ways than one.

So is her hug, really. He freezes for a few seconds, before leaning into her embrace.]

[She holds him so tight, her arms stronger than might be expected. It'll take her a little while before she notices the blood.]

It's all right, Cecil. Everything is going to be all right.

...Back home, perhaps. But not here.

[Not when his head and heart feel as though a part of them has been violently ripped out. How could anyone thrive with such feelings?]

What happened?

[She's not going to be letting go for quite some time.]

Everything was normal, everything was fine, and then suddenly I could not feel Ceodore anymore.

[That's a bit of an understatement. It felt more as if the connection between them had been ripped away in a single strike.]

Do you think he went on a little trip?

[She pulls back slightly to look at him, and--] Oh, you're hurt!

He's not in Luceti anymore. He's gone.

[He manages to say it in a completely flat voice, somehow. He doesn't even acknowledge his cuts.]

[She was about to let go completely, to go get something to stop the bleeding. But now, she pauses.]

...Are you sure?

[He brings his hand to his heart. He wants to say no, I'm only being silly, but he cannot lie now.]

It's not muted as it is during kidnappings. Neither did it fade away. He's truly gone.

[She looks at him for a long moment.

And then she hugs him again, even tighter than before.]

[He just leans into it. He doesn't have the energy to do much more at the moment.]

[After a while, she lets go and takes his hand, entirely ignoring the blood against her palm.]

We should look after where you're hurt.

...It's nothing. Only scratches. The feeling was so sudden...

[Yet even biting his lip had not been enough to hold back his scream.]

[She shakes her head.]

It isn't good if you don't look after yourself. Come on.

[She tugs his hand a little, but gently, to avoid hurting him.]

It's fine. I know how to heal myself.

[However, he gives her his hand willingly.]

You should do that now.

[She doesn't know how. She wishes she did.

...Once she looks after Cecil, she's going to go try to find those spirits everyone has been telling her about. She needs to learn.]

[He starts casting a Cure, but his heart is obviously not in it. The wound looks no different when he's done.]

[She watches. She'd let go of his hand while he cast, but now she takes it again.]

Maybe you should heal yourself later. Let's go find something to clean up with.

...Very well.

[He leads the way towards the bathroom, but he does so rather lifelessly. He mostly reaches the room by instinct, really.]

[It's a good thing Cecil took the lead, because, as much as she wants to help him, Grune wouldn't have been able to find the right place. Not with her memory.

Once she's there, however, she spends a long moment looking about. After a moment, picks up a facecloth and wets it under the tap.

Then, with the gentlest of touches, she starts dabbing at the cut in his lip.]

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