[It's what she knew in her heart was the truth, but that doesn't make it fucking suck any less.
'you gonna be okay?'
She wants to scream. She wants to throw the communicator, smash it into itty bitty pieces, wants to march over to their house and kick the door open and demand they get him back. Somehow. They have to.]
[even over text, lup has a feeling that ellie is anything but fine. part of her wants to take that out that's been given to her and just go back to pretending that everyone is just fine despite the sudden gaping hole in their lives.
but wouldn't magnus be real peeved at her for letting ellie down like this? ugh. he's not even here and his stupid face still works wonders on Lup.]
his shit is still here btw were not moving any of it but if theres anything you want to take its yours first dibs and everything
[At first, she feels incredibly sick at the notion of rooting through Magnus' shit when she's only just discovered that he's gone. It only takes her a moment to think about it, though. What if someone else takes the nail polish color he painted on her?
ok. im coming [a second later-] who the fuck is Bar
[She doesn't wait for an answer though, just strides off towards Lup's place with a load of fake got-it-together-ness. She stops halfway to splash her face with water from one of the pools, aiming to look more alert and less red. Hopefully that's the case by the time she knocks on Lup's door, uncharacteristically quiet. She follows it up with a louder, sturdier knock, self conscious about appearing weak.]
[oh right. gotta introduce ellie to the husband sometime huh.]
we can chat it out later. ill be here
[and as promised, when Ellie makes it to the door, Lup is there to answer, not a soul in sight behind her. It's just the two of them for this, to give the girl a little of the privacy she deserves. Of course, seeing Ellie after Magnus' disappearance just makes Lup want to drag her in for a big hug, but she steps off to the side to let her inside instead.
Not yet. She doesn't think Ellie would appreciate the gesture right now.] Sup, sis. It's just us.
[It's a good move. She feels small right now, but sharp, too. A hug isn't what she wants. What she wants is Magnus to jump out from behind Lup and ruffle her hair, having pulled the shittiest, most assholeish prank in the world.
His booming voice doesn't come. It's just them.]
Yeah. Hey.
[Ellie wanders inside, and drops her backpack near the door.]
[Lup steps aside to let her in, before she's already moving to the bedrooms on that first floor, one of which was Magnus'. Outside of that initial peeking in to see if the big guy was in there at all, she hasn't touched his room at all. None of them have.]
Sure thing, El. It's what he'd want.
[She doesn't mean for that to sound so much like Magnus had up and died, it's just the truth they both know. He loved her something fierce.]
[She doesn't miss the way it sounds. Her voice is small, her reply a mumble.]
No.
[All the same, Ellie steps past Lup and opens the door. She can't stand to wait any longer.
She's never been in his room before, but it's just how she would have thought. A bit of a whirlwind. Scattered carvings. And over there- the bottles. Ellie makes a beeline for them, pocketing the blue immediately.]
Is it- you sure I can take it?
[There's not much else she wants, although a package wrapped in paper catches her eyes.]
Anything you want, babe. Like I said, it's all stayin', so go ahead. Can come back anytime.
[They'd keep his room just the way it was. To keep his memory in Hadriel as alive as possible.
But Lup's eyes follow Ellie's to the package and the elf moves forward to pluck the gift up. Ellie's name is scrawled out on the gift tag in Magnus' familiar scribble. She holds it out to the girl.] Late Candlenights gift.
[She doesn't know if she can do that. If she can keep coming back, and not hope for a second, every single time she opens the door, that he'll be back again, waiting in there. To Ellie, it sounds like hell.]
...For me?
[Ellie takes it from Lup's hands carefully, handling it like glass, fragile and delicate. When the wrapping is removed, what's left in her hands is a wood carved angel holding a knife.
She doesn't realize she's crying until a drop stains the wood, spurring her to wipe her eyes against her jacket sleeve and stash both the figure and the gift tag in her backpack.]
[Lup's tried to give Ellie her space for this whole grieving thing, to collect what she wanted and go, but the sight of tears on the young girl's face is just too much for her. The loss of Magnus hurts too deeply, is felt in every inch of empty air in this house.
But more than that, the elf knows he'd be so disappointed in her if she just let Ellie leave in this state. He's not even here and Lup's heart aches at the thought of disappointing him.
Once Ellie's stashed away her gift, Lup's there with open arms to drag her into a hug, drawing the girl's head to her chest, a hand slipping through her hair. She doesn't say anything - what even needs to be said? - just holds her close, giving her someone to hold onto since the one person she'd most turn to is gone.]
[Lup's arms around her are soothing and warm. Almost motherly, in a way she has never known. It hurts.
It hurts, because she can imagine, through the pain of Magnus' loss, the absence of the mother she never knew, the way she misses Joel, Connor, Prompto, Jade, Sans and all the others, so many others- she can imagine what it would feel like, to lose Lup, too.
Her chest unlocks and bursts open and she sobs, rocking into Lup like a wave.]
I'm not going anywhere, hun. [This isn't exactly the kind of scenario that Lup excels at, emotions like this, messy and raw and so frightening, just aren't something the twins have ever been truly equipped to handle. But Ellie is family, just the same way Taako is, the same way Barry is. The same way Magnus is, even in his absence.
It's easier keeping that in mind, pressing the girl close to her, a soothing touch through her hair, a closeness that so few people ever are privileged to receive from Lup. But she's here as long as the girl needs her. Lup won't let go.]
And you don't have to go either, y'know. Stay here with us. As long as you want.
[Magnus isn't dead, but Ellie knows mourning. It feels like this. She isn't sure how often she could stay here, meters from this room, in a place so thoroughly covered in his footprints. Feeling like this.
But Lup is so comforting, and her words are the kindest Ellie has heard.]
I'll stay tonight.
[She doesn't ask about where she'll be staying, or who else is around. She just squeezes Lup too tight and wishes this over like a nightmare.]
C'mon, kid. [Lup gives Magnus' room one last look, her eyes dancing across the unfinished wood carvings and the mess he left behind, before a hand moves to Ellie's head, patting her gently. Time to put some distance from this place and shut the door behind them.
They can't linger here in Magnus' memory forever.]
[She nods and draws back, wrapping her own arms around herself the moment Lup's aren't there. Gotta get sharp again, or she'll just start unraveling, and she fucking refuses to be the little girl who can't sleep alone and cries all night.
She wipes her eyes on her sleeve again, steels herself to not talk about this any further, and clears her throat.]
Yeah. Gotta tell me who Bar is. What the fuck kind of name is that?
[A skinny arm slips around Ellie's shoulders before Lup's already leading her out of Magnus' room and towards the stairs. Funny how so much of the weight of Magnus' disappearance slips from her shoulders the second the door shuts behind her. It's still hard, of course it is, but this is so much easier, just putting that pain behind them.]
Funny story. I ever mention I was married? No? Uh, well I kinda am. Anyway, Barry's my husband. Finally decided to pop into the party, super late as usual, but at least he made it.
[that's probably the weirdest answer to give, but also, it kinda fits for lup.]
Oh for sure. Is he an elf? A human? A tentacle monster? I'm keepin' you on your feet till then. But you'll probs like him. Now pop a squat while I get our drinks ready.
Oh ho, and here I thought you were too young to know the fun of tentacle monsters. [Lup tousles her hair before she's dancing out of Ellie's reach to the kitchen, before the girl can retaliate.] They grow up so fast.
So, [Lup starts, already pulling out a pair of mugs from the cupboard.] I was thinkin' of taking Peanut out for monster hunting tomorrow. You up for some fun?
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text;
did he break his phone
whats going on
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thank all of hadriel's shitty gods that ellie had the sense to text her, so lup doesn't have to see her expression for this]
hate to bring shit down but
hes gone, babe. fucked off back home
took all of us by surprise
it was just
kinda
well
[shes bad at this]
sorry el. you gonna be ok?
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'you gonna be okay?'
She wants to scream. She wants to throw the communicator, smash it into itty bitty pieces, wants to march over to their house and kick the door open and demand they get him back. Somehow. They have to.]
yup
ill be fine
[Angry, hot tears streak down her cheeks.]
thanks for letting me know
no subject
but wouldn't magnus be real peeved at her for letting ellie down like this? ugh. he's not even here and his stupid face still works wonders on Lup.]
his shit is still here btw
were not moving any of it
but
if theres anything you want to take its yours
first dibs and everything
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What if there's something like what Sans left?]
whos there right now?
['who's going to see me with red rimmed eyes?']
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just me and bar
but he wont bug us
promise
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[She doesn't wait for an answer though, just strides off towards Lup's place with a load of fake got-it-together-ness. She stops halfway to splash her face with water from one of the pools, aiming to look more alert and less red. Hopefully that's the case by the time she knocks on Lup's door, uncharacteristically quiet. She follows it up with a louder, sturdier knock, self conscious about appearing weak.]
no subject
we can chat it out later. ill be here
[and as promised, when Ellie makes it to the door, Lup is there to answer, not a soul in sight behind her. It's just the two of them for this, to give the girl a little of the privacy she deserves. Of course, seeing Ellie after Magnus' disappearance just makes Lup want to drag her in for a big hug, but she steps off to the side to let her inside instead.
Not yet. She doesn't think Ellie would appreciate the gesture right now.] Sup, sis. It's just us.
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His booming voice doesn't come. It's just them.]
Yeah. Hey.
[Ellie wanders inside, and drops her backpack near the door.]
Thanks for letting me come round.
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Sure thing, El. It's what he'd want.
[She doesn't mean for that to sound so much like Magnus had up and died, it's just the truth they both know. He loved her something fierce.]
You ready?
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No.
[All the same, Ellie steps past Lup and opens the door. She can't stand to wait any longer.
She's never been in his room before, but it's just how she would have thought. A bit of a whirlwind. Scattered carvings. And over there- the bottles. Ellie makes a beeline for them, pocketing the blue immediately.]
Is it- you sure I can take it?
[There's not much else she wants, although a package wrapped in paper catches her eyes.]
no subject
[They'd keep his room just the way it was. To keep his memory in Hadriel as alive as possible.
But Lup's eyes follow Ellie's to the package and the elf moves forward to pluck the gift up. Ellie's name is scrawled out on the gift tag in Magnus' familiar scribble. She holds it out to the girl.] Late Candlenights gift.
no subject
[She doesn't know if she can do that. If she can keep coming back, and not hope for a second, every single time she opens the door, that he'll be back again, waiting in there. To Ellie, it sounds like hell.]
...For me?
[Ellie takes it from Lup's hands carefully, handling it like glass, fragile and delicate. When the wrapping is removed, what's left in her hands is a wood carved angel holding a knife.
She doesn't realize she's crying until a drop stains the wood, spurring her to wipe her eyes against her jacket sleeve and stash both the figure and the gift tag in her backpack.]
Cool. Thanks.
no subject
But more than that, the elf knows he'd be so disappointed in her if she just let Ellie leave in this state. He's not even here and Lup's heart aches at the thought of disappointing him.
Once Ellie's stashed away her gift, Lup's there with open arms to drag her into a hug, drawing the girl's head to her chest, a hand slipping through her hair. She doesn't say anything - what even needs to be said? - just holds her close, giving her someone to hold onto since the one person she'd most turn to is gone.]
no subject
It hurts, because she can imagine, through the pain of Magnus' loss, the absence of the mother she never knew, the way she misses Joel, Connor, Prompto, Jade, Sans and all the others, so many others- she can imagine what it would feel like, to lose Lup, too.
Her chest unlocks and bursts open and she sobs, rocking into Lup like a wave.]
Don't leave. Don't leave me.
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It's easier keeping that in mind, pressing the girl close to her, a soothing touch through her hair, a closeness that so few people ever are privileged to receive from Lup. But she's here as long as the girl needs her. Lup won't let go.]
And you don't have to go either, y'know. Stay here with us. As long as you want.
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But Lup is so comforting, and her words are the kindest Ellie has heard.]
I'll stay tonight.
[She doesn't ask about where she'll be staying, or who else is around. She just squeezes Lup too tight and wishes this over like a nightmare.]
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They can't linger here in Magnus' memory forever.]
I'll make some cocoa.
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She wipes her eyes on her sleeve again, steels herself to not talk about this any further, and clears her throat.]
Yeah. Gotta tell me who Bar is. What the fuck kind of name is that?
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Funny story. I ever mention I was married? No? Uh, well I kinda am. Anyway, Barry's my husband. Finally decided to pop into the party, super late as usual, but at least he made it.
I'll introduce you later. After cocoa.
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--That, and the very distracting bomb she just dropped. Ellie gapes at her, but continues to allow herself to be lead along.]
Holy shit? You're married!
[Cocoa is still more important though. Priorities.]
Okay. Sweet. Dude, I have no idea what the fuck to expect.
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[that's probably the weirdest answer to give, but also, it kinda fits for lup.]
Oh for sure. Is he an elf? A human? A tentacle monster? I'm keepin' you on your feet till then. But you'll probs like him. Now pop a squat while I get our drinks ready.
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I'll put money down on tentacle monster. Sounds about right.
[She nods and flops down, somewhat tiredly giving Lup a salute.]
Aye aye, cap'n.
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So, [Lup starts, already pulling out a pair of mugs from the cupboard.] I was thinkin' of taking Peanut out for monster hunting tomorrow. You up for some fun?
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I didn't mean it like that! Gross!
[She still obviously gets what Lup is implying, though, so...]
Oh, fuck yeah. [frown] Promise Peanut won't bite? [She still doesn't like that pupper.]
(no subject)