[closed] they told me all of my cages were mental

[ordinar]

Who: Wilhelm & miscellaneous
When: throughout October & November
Where: Thorne, Horizon
What: Catchall for dramatic bitch fall
Warnings: will adjust as needed


Closed starters to follow. Maybe some open starters eventually.

Comments

[ordinar]

On the slog to the Winking Cauldon, Wilhelm keeps his head down and his arms crossed, as if intending to hold himself together through physical force. He sets his countenance in the sullen anger that marks someone who is trying to pretend he wasn't just crying. His face stays dry, though his glossy eyes betray him.

Somewhere along the way, he wonders why the hell he's still following. He wants to be alone to lick his wounds, but the thought of being alone also makes his chest tighten. The empty silence of his room seems suffocating.

Somewhere else, it strikes him that Lucifer could have left at any point. And he chose to stay, to ensure Wilhelm wouldn't be left alone. He chose to stay despite his awkwardness in dealing with others' emotions. Wilhelm doesn't know what to do with that ill-fitting piece. Clutch it close or fling it away.

Once inside the teashop, he folds into a chair at the table he's led to. He avoids looking at Lucifer; he says nothing. For his trouble, he gets a half-shrug, a tensing jaw. When Lucifer vanishes, the world doesn't end, though his heart momentarily contracts like one of those stars that's burned up all its fuel. Mildred scoots something hot and fragrant in front of him, and a warm hunk of bread slathered in butter to go with it, which gets a terse thanks out of him. He tears into it less because he's hungry, and more because it provides a reason not to talk.

Like the tide going out, Sannleikr's influence recedes. As familiar faces repopulate his memory, the sharpest emotion he's left with is his anger. Used again. Betrayed again.

But it's never that simple.