OOM

[theresnodoor]

After this.


Rachel did not go back inside right away. Threatened and afraid, inside with four walls around her was not the place she wanted to be at that moment. And just because voices ring in her head with some regularity does not mean that she, for a second, thinks it's okay.

Or sane.

So she walks.

Away from where the cat disappeared.

In the opposite direction entirely, actually.

For a long time. Until the voices get soft enough to ignore. Until what she sees in front of her is what actually is in front of her. And nothing more.

Until his words are gone. All of them.

Your friend.

Every last one.




In the end, the only reason she goes inside is because her room isn't empty anymore and at the end of every day, someone is waiting for her.

Comments

[whoiwasmeant2be.livejournal.com]

And, of course, there is someone waiting for her. Tobias' head tracks her entry automatically, and then he stiffens.

Something is wrong. Very, very wrong.

Wrong enough that he begins to prepare himself to actually ask her what's wrong.

[theresnodoor]

Her eyes go immediately to his usual perch, already smiling slightly in anticipation of seeing him.

And then he stiffens.

Either she's really bad at this or he's entirely too good.

"I'm okay," Rachel says immediately.

[whoiwasmeant2be.livejournal.com]

Physically, maybe. But beyond that? She's not. It's obvious. At least to him.

He doesn't say so.

<What's wrong?>

[theresnodoor]

The smile stays. In fact, it's more genuine now than it was a moment ago. Because he knows her that well, reads her that well.

It's comforting, somehow.

Rachel steps inside and closes the door behind, leaning against it for a moment and examining the carpet.

"You know Yrael?"

[whoiwasmeant2be.livejournal.com]

<He looks like a cat> But isn't one.

[theresnodoor]

She nods.

"He can look like other things. I've seen him human once. I mean, I knew he wasn't either of those things, but he's pretty much always the cat, and even when he's human he pretty much still acts like a cat, and if I had the choice of being anything at all with no time limit, I wouldn't be a cat without a really, really good reason but..."

Breathe.

Breathe.

"He's not a cat. He's more than that. Like... a lot more."

[whoiwasmeant2be.livejournal.com]

Tobias is silent for nearly twenty seconds.

<A lot more> he repeats. That... could mean a lot of things. But to get Rachel this tense... Well, he can guess.

[theresnodoor]

She nods.

It's hard to say exactly what's bothering. Namely because of Yrael's response.

His emotional response. Not the anger, but the hurt. The defensiveness. Emotion like a real person and not like... well, what she accused him of.

"I thought it was ego. Exaggerating or something. But what he says sounds a lot like the Ellimist."

Not just, but only naming one of them will do just fine.

[whoiwasmeant2be.livejournal.com]

It wasn't like Tobias hadn't known what she meant, but he still tensed slightly at the name.

<Oh> Yeah. The tension makes a lot of sense.

He thinks he had better dealings with the Ellimist than Rachel did, but... that's not saying much.

[theresnodoor]

Whereas Rachel would say that, where the Ellimist was concerned, Tobias got the short straw.

She says nothing more.

What else is there?

[whoiwasmeant2be.livejournal.com]

Tobias is silent again. Then he flaps awkwardly from his perch toward Rachel. He knows she'll have somewhere for him to land, and he wants to be there for her.

[theresnodoor]

She looks up at the sound, and her arm lifts at the same time she smiles. Right now, awkward and unsure and everything, she almost prefers him this way.

Without any more possible awkward.

[whoiwasmeant2be.livejournal.com]

He leans his head against hers.

He doesn't know how long it is before he speaks again. <So... what now.>

[theresnodoor]

She leans back, eyes closed.

"...apparently I'm being judgmental and mean to him," she says, very soft. "Which, you know, I might have been able to explain if I hadn't been doing my best not to pick him up by the tail and throw him as hard as I could into a tree."

[whoiwasmeant2be.livejournal.com]

His talons tighten just a bit, a little squeeze around her arm. Presence, understanding.

He... knows how hard that must have been.

[theresnodoor]

Harder than Yrael knows.

Which is a point in his favor. And apparent lack of omniscience.




"He said we were friends."

This is said more bemused than upset.

[whoiwasmeant2be.livejournal.com]

Tobias hesitates to say that they aren't. Or weren't. Rachel needs people more than he does. (Or, at least, more than he's willing to admit he does.) So he's not going to push her away from someone who might actually be a friend, but...

<He doesn't understand> Her. What happened. Why this is a big deal.

Tobias is willing to bet that Yrael acted as if it weren't.

[theresnodoor]

Yrael said it first. Rachel never would have named it as such.

Close, though. Maybe closer than anyone else she knows. But still, not friends, for the exact reason Tobias just stated.

He doesn't understand. Wouldn't. And it's not like she's in a great hurry to explain it.

Ever.

She nods, frowning slightly, her temple against his feathers.

[whoiwasmeant2be.livejournal.com]

He shifts his head slightly against her.

He's here. He understands.

And he's not going anywhere.

[theresnodoor]

And that's everything.