012 ~ [Action]

[distressedude]

[Anise hadn't even been gone a full day yet and Ion already didn't know what to do with himself. It hurt to look across the hall and know that the room was empty. It hurt knowing he wouldn't see Anise's smiling face as she cooked breakfast in the morning. It hurt knowing he wouldn't get to spend another day with her around the village. It hurt knowing he still had so many things he wanted to talk to her about, things he needed to say to her, and now he couldn't.]

[Too many things were hurting and he didn't know how to handle it. He'd never felt something like this before.]

[And the only thing he could think of right now was to try not handling it. He needed time. This was different from the kidnappings; he may not have been able to know when, but he always knew she would come back eventually. And he would be there waiting for her. Now? He wasn't sure he could wait. Naturally, the thought that he might never see her again had already crossed his mind. Even if she were brought back to Luceti, he could be sent back before then...]

[He needed to get his mind off of things. Even if just for a day. Even if just for an hour.]

[Which is why Ion will be making his way around the village today, first stopping at the library and trying in vain to lose himself within the pages of a good book. Or a few books. From there, he wanders the areas around the plaza for awhile, perhaps grabbing something to eat at one of the restaurants despite his lack of an appetite. Eventually he'll give up on this and settle for walking the paths of the village until it gets too cold to do so anymore. By the time the sun has set, he'll be sitting on the front porch of House 1 and looking up at the starry sky, still not quite ready to head back inside.]

Comments

[distressedude]

[Walking inside! A little quickly, actually. He's pretty much freezing, so a warm-anything sounds good now.]

If it's not too much trouble...

[silversnowfall]

When has it ever been trouble?

[Oh, Ion. She's really starting to understand why Anise said that all the time.

Right now you are being led to the couch. There's a fire going because Nephry likes the comfort of a good fire in winter, and it's just one more benefit now.]

[distressedude]

[Ion doesn't reply to that, mostly because the answer would, of course, be "never". There's another small "Thank you" for her when he sits down onto the couch with a small sigh.]

[And if she leaves him for longer than a few minutes, he's going to start falling asleep right there. He did spend most of the day out walking, after all.]

[silversnowfall]

[She's prepared - there was already water for tea on when she came outside. Ha-ha.

Ion will find a big mug of hot tea being placed in his hands before he can doze off too far.]

[distressedude]

[And he's certainly thankful for it; falling asleep when he was still so cold probably wasn't a good idea right now. Before saying anything, he takes a nice long drink.]

...it's good. Thank you, Nephry. [No, he's not going to stop thanking her for everything ever.]

[silversnowfall]

[plus every conversation has been ending with him going to bed lately]

You're welcome. Tomorrow we're going to the clothing shop and getting you proper winter clothes.

[distressedude]

[Well, he is only 2 years old. The kid needs his nap time.]

Mm... yes, there's no sense in putting it off anymore, is there?

[silversnowfall]

Getting it done just in time for spring [oh how hilarious that sentence would be in the middle of a Keterburg winter!] fits in nicely, around here.

[distressedude]

Well, I should probably still be dressing warmly for a few weeks after the last of the snow melts to keep from getting sick... and it'll be nice to have them ready for next year.

[Assuming he's still here next year.]

[...]

[He takes another long drink, pushing that thought away.]

[silversnowfall]

I suppose.