[Lup doesn't even reply. She rolls out of bed where Barry is snoring softly, slips into some leggings, throws on a too big sweatshirt, and quickly casts teleport. Normally, she'd just walk. But since the whole island shift, it's so much easier to burn a spell slot here and there instead of facing the stormy weather outside.
Which is precisely why, whether he's prepared or not, Lup pops silently right into the middle of his living room. Her hands fly to her hair, loose and more messy than she'd like, running her fingers through to try and tame it.]
[ Drake is not exactly ready for company -- he was pretty drunk when he attempted to go to bed and completely failed at sleep, and got up when she said 'omw' but didn't expect her to fucking burn a spell slot and pop into his living room instantly. He's still in the bathroom washing his face, in just his boxers, when he hears her. His head pops out to peer down the hallway, hair mussed and eyes sort of red. ]
I'm here. Geez, did you teleport straight from bed?
Natch. Just be grateful I came in pants at all. That's how much I like you.
[Lup stalks down the hallway to the bathroom door, leaning against the doorframe so he can go about finishing his routine, all the while she stands casually there, eyes trailing over his features. Poor guy looks like he's had quite the time. These last few months have not been kind to him.
If you really liked me you would've come without pants.
[ He might... still be kinda drunk. Forgive him. And is ducking back in to rinse the rest of the soap off his face and scrub at himself with a towel. He should probably also put some clothes on but honestly doesn't care all that much, just hits the light and goes back to his bedroom and sinks down on the bed instead of opening a drawer to find a shirt. ]
Rita. She was like me. She died in the same place I did, in a different cell. I told her we'd find her somewhere else to go once there was a cure, and now...
[Well well well. It's been a long time since she's seen the flirty side of Drake Holloway. Lup's brow arches and she grins, worry still lingering there in the tense line of her shoulders, but at least it's something.]
Hey, be a good boy and we'll see how I'm feelin' next time.
[She follows Drake back to his bedroom, not too concerned with his state of dress when she plops down next to him, a hand immediately slipping up to rest at his shoulder.]
Shit. Not Rita too.
[Intensely, immensely unfair. Poor guy.] I'm real sorry, bubeleh. Do you - Do you think she'll be back? Sometimes folks disappear and then pop back up in a few weeks, right?
[ Her flirting back gets a faint smile, though it doesn't light his eyes. ]
When have I ever not been a good boy?
[ But then Lup is sitting next to him and gripping his shoulder and he just... can't right now. He shifts a little, curling up so he can rest his head in her lap instead of on the pillow. He's fucking miserable. ]
Not us actually dead people, I've noticed. Whenever somebody goes home and comes back, they're usually there for awhile, and come back remembering more.... dead people just go home.
[ That's nice. He closes his eyes and tries to uncoil a little, knowing he sounds fatalistic, but... ]
I don't think it counts for you, Lup, don't worry. With the whole lich thing.
[ The comment about being super close gets a huff. ]
We weren't, I'd never met her before here. But I felt responsible for her, nobody'd ever taught her how to live like this and... I was supposed to protect her and I can't now. Same as Ephemera.
[Oh, she knows. Lichdom is pretty eternal. But Lup just runs her fingers through his hair, letting that whole subject close. Death is tricky for her. It was before when she was just an elf, but now? Yeah.]
That's not your fault. Don't you dare get all up in that head of yours thinkin' you coulda stopped it, alright? We know exactly who to blame.
[Useless is a word that comes up far too often in Hadriel. Lup's never felt quite as powerless as she does in this place, not when the gods can manipulate them and twist their emotions with so much ease. No strength of will can stop them. They've simply just had to adjust how they lived in this place, learned to forgive transgressions and attempt to make peace that they weren't always in charge of their own actions.
It still burns through Lup. It's the only thing that keeps Hadriel from being a place she'd want to stay. From becoming the home she never had.]
I know, hun. And it sucks. It's the fuckin' worst, you don't have to tell me. If Koko and I had our way, we'd boot out all of those liches an' take over for 'em. We'd do a hell of a lot better job.
[Her free hand slips down to rest over his own. A silent show of comfort. What can she even say? What the two of them had to go through was awful. Even a ten year imprisonment can't really compete with that.]
[ Is that true, though? Even in charge, and let's say with more power, would they know how to work the Door? To keep people here who wanted to stay, and send home the ones that didn't? Drake doesn't believe the gods are dragging unwilling people by choice or forcing them home against it, they seem pretty clueless how it works too. Maybe, in charge, Lup and Taako could figure out more? He doesn't know. But it feels futile to think about.
He spreads his fingers a little so Lup's can slip between his, then knits them together in a loose grip.
Talk about running the city and figuring out the door is too big for his current mindset, the loss of his friends and lovers too raw a wound to poke at right now. Maybe someday they'll figure this shit out but it's too far off so he focuses on something simpler, something even more personal. ]
You think you guys could ever cure me, Lup? Love said I should talk to Hope about it, about doing something like he did for you when you came back without a body. But there's been so much other shit going on he needs power for, and I don't know if I even trust it to go right...
[The hand running through Drake's hair freezes completely, both of her long ears jerking upwards, eyebrows arched up in surprise beneath her bangs. Whatever Lup had been expecting to hear, wherever this conversation was drifting towards, nothing could have ever prepared her for that question.]
You should.
[The words come out in a soft, breathless whisper before her fingers are curling around his, twisting tenderly into his hair. For a woman who loves to make jokes about the pair of them being dead, how flippant she is regarding her own mortality or the state of her soul, the idea of Drake being alive and well and safe is enough to back up the confidence lingering in those two words. It's just not something she'd ever considered, asking the gods to bring him back to life. But now that he's planted it in her mind, he has to know she's going to grab for it.]
I mean, duh, if Taako an' I were in charge, we'd figure out how to fix you up. Easy. [Her fingertip gives a quick tap against his temple.] But I don't think you should wait for me. We can go to Hope and get that shit taken care of. He owes it to us. To you. After everything they've taken away, they friggin' owe you this.
[ Lup sounds so certain, now that he's suggested it. Drake doesn't share that feeling, isn't sure it's the best idea. Not with the way things are... even considering the time he starved and could have endangered everyone, there have been a dozen other times when his zombie nature was the only thing that kept him from dying here. He turns his head, looking up at Lup. So he can see her face. ]
You think? I'd be... way less useful. Zombies can take a ton of damage and get back up. Like this, I can protect people. I wasn't going to ask until we had the option to leave, and then I'd need to be human to go anywhere else.
[There's certainly a hint of that usual tease to the woman's tone, but the look she aims his way, the slight narrowing of her eyes should at least convey how serious she is. Drake may label himself as a protector, as someone who puts the needs of others before his own, but he's already given up so much the last year in Hadriel for the people here.
Why shouldn't he get to have something he wants for once?]
If you're worried about dying, I'll keep you safe, but don't devalue yourself as just a big, strong guy whose only talent is taking a hit. You're fuckin' smart, you nerd. And your heart is like way too big to be real. You gotta be selfish sometimes. You're allowed to want a thing and to actually take it. Don't deny yourself if this is what you really want.
[ Somehow, this shift in conversation is more intense than how it started, and it started dark. Drake just lies there a moment longer, studying Lup's expression in the half-light from the moon shining outside his window. She is serious. It's not like it's a novel concept or anything -- Lup certainly isn't the first person to care about him and it's not like he considers himself expendable quite like she's describing. But thinking about it now, he does kind of have a history of jumping in front of the gun for other people, literally and figuratively. It's how he got turned, it's how he died, and it's how he's gotten fucked up so many times here. And not being able to do it in the future is why he's hesitating on this despite it being something that, yeah, he does want.
He wouldn't have said it was "denying himself" if Lup hadn't, since he's always gone for what he wanted. But there were priorities at play. And maybe... he's been putting others before himself for too long now? It's something to think about, anyway. Whether or not it should change, since as much as he wants to be human again he also wants to be able to keep protecting people.
The silence stretches a little too long while he processes this, until he pushes himself up from Lup's lap and wraps her in a tight hug. ]
I'll think about it a little more. I'm not sure what's more important to me right now.
[Sometimes you just gotta have some dark, super intense conversations with your bestie. It happens.]
Fair. I'm not gonna bully you either way - [Oh absolutely yes she will. Just not if he chooses correctly.] So I guess you have time to suss out all the deets.
[Drake untangles himself from her so that he can sit up and drag Lup into a tight hug instead, the elf slipping into his embrace without pause, like she knew it was coming. Lup's arms wrap loosely around the man's neck, letting him hold her close as long as he needs. They're both physically affectionate people and they've been close like this for nearly a year, so this kind of dance isn't anything new. When she's been hurt, he's been there for her. And when he's hurting, her for him. There's no questioning it any longer. It's just what they do. It's what feels right.
Still, it wouldn't be Lup without a little tough love. Even while they hug, she draws back a hand just to give him a playful punch to the shoulder.]
Not that I don't dig the whole undead look, but think of all the spellslots I'd be saving if you weren't zombiefied. [pulling herself close to him again, her head bumps purposefully against his, an affectionate touch.] Don't just brush it off, alright?
[ That gets a little huff of disbelief, because he knows full well she's totally gonna bully him at least a little. But she'll let him think about it on his own first, and he knows that whatever he decides Lup will stand by him, so. Drake relaxes a little into the hug, until she pulls back and punches him lightly. ]
It's one tiny spell, not even weekly. You totally weren't using it anyway... wait, can you like. Bank your magic somehow? Like money you don't spend?
[ It's only half a joke, and he lets his head rest against hers for the moment as he addresses that last. ]
[Lup absolutely sticks out a tongue at his rebuttal, but in the end, she gets the answer that she so needs from him. It isn't a promise to follow through or even a few soft, reassuring words that he'd ask around about it. But Drake isn't going to just push the possibility aside and completely forget about it, so Lup'll take that as a small victory.
She leans in to bump her forehead to his, affectionate and sweet, the same way Ephemera used to do for her, before flicking Drake's nose and giggling.]
[ Drake smiles at Lup, a little sadly, because yeah. They picked up the forehead bump from the same person. It was something to do with how they'd communicate in armor, apparently? He remembers the first time Ephemera did it to him, how he'd been sort of confused what it meant.
Then she flicks his nose and shakes him from those thoughts, the echoes of something like grief for his missing partner. Be here, he reminds himself. ]
You're the best friend a monster could have, y'know that?
[It's exactly the reaction she was hoping for. It may not fix things, but getting Drake to drag himself from his darker thoughts is the very best she can hope for.]
Am monster. Can confirm. I am the very best there is.
[And look, she loves this doofus, so it's only natural for her to peck a quick kiss to the tip of his nose. It's the same comfort she'd give to Barry or Taako or Angus. Drake is basically on that same level, alright.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
uh
you wanna run that by me again hun???
no subject
i'm having a night
rita and her roommate are gone
meaning she's back in the basement we died in
just a matter of time for me, right?
no subject
gimme a quick sec to throw something on and im omw
no subject
i didn't want to bother you
i just can't sleep and i'm down to like...
you
honestly
everybody fucking disappears
no subject
Which is precisely why, whether he's prepared or not, Lup pops silently right into the middle of his living room. Her hands fly to her hair, loose and more messy than she'd like, running her fingers through to try and tame it.]
Hey, I'm here. Where you hidin', thug?
no subject
I'm here. Geez, did you teleport straight from bed?
no subject
[Lup stalks down the hallway to the bathroom door, leaning against the doorframe so he can go about finishing his routine, all the while she stands casually there, eyes trailing over his features. Poor guy looks like he's had quite the time. These last few months have not been kind to him.
All of it is just so unfair.]
Someone else fucked on outta here?
no subject
[ He might... still be kinda drunk. Forgive him. And is ducking back in to rinse the rest of the soap off his face and scrub at himself with a towel. He should probably also put some clothes on but honestly doesn't care all that much, just hits the light and goes back to his bedroom and sinks down on the bed instead of opening a drawer to find a shirt. ]
Rita. She was like me. She died in the same place I did, in a different cell. I told her we'd find her somewhere else to go once there was a cure, and now...
no subject
Hey, be a good boy and we'll see how I'm feelin' next time.
[She follows Drake back to his bedroom, not too concerned with his state of dress when she plops down next to him, a hand immediately slipping up to rest at his shoulder.]
Shit. Not Rita too.
[Intensely, immensely unfair. Poor guy.] I'm real sorry, bubeleh. Do you - Do you think she'll be back? Sometimes folks disappear and then pop back up in a few weeks, right?
no subject
When have I ever not been a good boy?
[ But then Lup is sitting next to him and gripping his shoulder and he just... can't right now. He shifts a little, curling up so he can rest his head in her lap instead of on the pillow. He's fucking miserable. ]
Not us actually dead people, I've noticed. Whenever somebody goes home and comes back, they're usually there for awhile, and come back remembering more.... dead people just go home.
no subject
[Drake settles his head in her lap and Lup lets a gentle hand drop onto it, carefully petting his hair.]
No second chances for us dead folks, huh? Guess this place is supposed to be it. I never knew you an' Rita were super close. She's a pretty fun gal.
no subject
I don't think it counts for you, Lup, don't worry. With the whole lich thing.
[ The comment about being super close gets a huff. ]
We weren't, I'd never met her before here. But I felt responsible for her, nobody'd ever taught her how to live like this and... I was supposed to protect her and I can't now. Same as Ephemera.
no subject
That's not your fault. Don't you dare get all up in that head of yours thinkin' you coulda stopped it, alright? We know exactly who to blame.
no subject
[ He reaches up to scrub at his face again, then drops his hand to Lup's leg beneath his cheek. ]
Nobody deserves to die like me and Rita did, Lup. As lab rats.
no subject
It still burns through Lup. It's the only thing that keeps Hadriel from being a place she'd want to stay. From becoming the home she never had.]
I know, hun. And it sucks. It's the fuckin' worst, you don't have to tell me. If Koko and I had our way, we'd boot out all of those liches an' take over for 'em. We'd do a hell of a lot better job.
[Her free hand slips down to rest over his own. A silent show of comfort. What can she even say? What the two of them had to go through was awful. Even a ten year imprisonment can't really compete with that.]
no subject
He spreads his fingers a little so Lup's can slip between his, then knits them together in a loose grip.
Talk about running the city and figuring out the door is too big for his current mindset, the loss of his friends and lovers too raw a wound to poke at right now. Maybe someday they'll figure this shit out but it's too far off so he focuses on something simpler, something even more personal. ]
You think you guys could ever cure me, Lup? Love said I should talk to Hope about it, about doing something like he did for you when you came back without a body. But there's been so much other shit going on he needs power for, and I don't know if I even trust it to go right...
no subject
You should.
[The words come out in a soft, breathless whisper before her fingers are curling around his, twisting tenderly into his hair. For a woman who loves to make jokes about the pair of them being dead, how flippant she is regarding her own mortality or the state of her soul, the idea of Drake being alive and well and safe is enough to back up the confidence lingering in those two words. It's just not something she'd ever considered, asking the gods to bring him back to life. But now that he's planted it in her mind, he has to know she's going to grab for it.]
I mean, duh, if Taako an' I were in charge, we'd figure out how to fix you up. Easy. [Her fingertip gives a quick tap against his temple.] But I don't think you should wait for me. We can go to Hope and get that shit taken care of. He owes it to us. To you. After everything they've taken away, they friggin' owe you this.
no subject
You think? I'd be... way less useful. Zombies can take a ton of damage and get back up. Like this, I can protect people. I wasn't going to ask until we had the option to leave, and then I'd need to be human to go anywhere else.
no subject
[There's certainly a hint of that usual tease to the woman's tone, but the look she aims his way, the slight narrowing of her eyes should at least convey how serious she is. Drake may label himself as a protector, as someone who puts the needs of others before his own, but he's already given up so much the last year in Hadriel for the people here.
Why shouldn't he get to have something he wants for once?]
If you're worried about dying, I'll keep you safe, but don't devalue yourself as just a big, strong guy whose only talent is taking a hit. You're fuckin' smart, you nerd. And your heart is like way too big to be real. You gotta be selfish sometimes. You're allowed to want a thing and to actually take it. Don't deny yourself if this is what you really want.
no subject
He wouldn't have said it was "denying himself" if Lup hadn't, since he's always gone for what he wanted. But there were priorities at play. And maybe... he's been putting others before himself for too long now? It's something to think about, anyway. Whether or not it should change, since as much as he wants to be human again he also wants to be able to keep protecting people.
The silence stretches a little too long while he processes this, until he pushes himself up from Lup's lap and wraps her in a tight hug. ]
I'll think about it a little more. I'm not sure what's more important to me right now.
no subject
Fair. I'm not gonna bully you either way - [Oh absolutely yes she will. Just not if he chooses correctly.] So I guess you have time to suss out all the deets.
[Drake untangles himself from her so that he can sit up and drag Lup into a tight hug instead, the elf slipping into his embrace without pause, like she knew it was coming. Lup's arms wrap loosely around the man's neck, letting him hold her close as long as he needs. They're both physically affectionate people and they've been close like this for nearly a year, so this kind of dance isn't anything new. When she's been hurt, he's been there for her. And when he's hurting, her for him. There's no questioning it any longer. It's just what they do. It's what feels right.
Still, it wouldn't be Lup without a little tough love. Even while they hug, she draws back a hand just to give him a playful punch to the shoulder.]
Not that I don't dig the whole undead look, but think of all the spellslots I'd be saving if you weren't zombiefied. [pulling herself close to him again, her head bumps purposefully against his, an affectionate touch.] Don't just brush it off, alright?
no subject
It's one tiny spell, not even weekly. You totally weren't using it anyway... wait, can you like. Bank your magic somehow? Like money you don't spend?
[ It's only half a joke, and he lets his head rest against hers for the moment as he addresses that last. ]
...I won't. Promise.
no subject
She leans in to bump her forehead to his, affectionate and sweet, the same way Ephemera used to do for her, before flicking Drake's nose and giggling.]
It's all I ask, big guy. That's all I'm asking.
no subject
Then she flicks his nose and shakes him from those thoughts, the echoes of something like grief for his missing partner. Be here, he reminds himself. ]
You're the best friend a monster could have, y'know that?
no subject
Am monster. Can confirm. I am the very best there is.
[And look, she loves this doofus, so it's only natural for her to peck a quick kiss to the tip of his nose. It's the same comfort she'd give to Barry or Taako or Angus. Drake is basically on that same level, alright.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)