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 Posted: Wed May 05, 2021 7:50 am
The letter from Lupu had been both wonderful and utterly unexpected, but it made Cambria feel so utterly and completely excited. She had to get everyone together...Evan was already there, so that was good. One less thing to worry about. The first on her list to call was Malcolm and she clutched the letter in her hand as she dialed his number.
They were going to save Airi. Finally. She hadn’t had a chance to tell Evan yet that she had found the youma...but it seemed like it worked out regardless...but…
Crap, there was so much to be done...and even though she wished she could have planned for this a little better...she was happy that he had finally said yes.
As she waited for Malcolm to answer, Cambria began to pack a bag with some snacks and drinks from the fridge, as well as a blanket just in case.
...If something should happen...and Airi turned out to not...not have been a human well…
No, this wasn’t the time to think about that outcome
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2021 8:02 am
Malcolm was trying to decipher the letter he’d gotten--because Michel had sent him a letter or two so he knew what a Knight’s letter looked like, but he didn’t know--who was Lupu? Was it a trap? His phone started ringing and he reached over to pick it up, pausing when it was Cambria.
He automatically assumed the two things were related, and he immediately worried that something was wrong.
“Hey,” he answered, and his voice betrayed his concern and surprise. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to remember when he got so anxious about being on the phone, even with her. “What’s up?”
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2021 8:23 am
Cambria paused when he answered and had to swallow hard. ********. When had been the last time she had talked to Malcolm? It...hadn’t felt like so long until this moment. Until she heard his voice again...oh.
“Hey you. Damn, it’s good to hear your voice...I...I’m so sorry I haven’t been in contact…” She reached up and swiped her arm across her eyes, giving a soft, slightly shaky laugh. “...Are you busy tonight? We...could really use your help for a purification...if you wanted to come over, we could leave together...how have you been? Are you doing okay? I…”
Cambria grabbed a few more drinks from the fridge and put them in the bag, suddenly wanting to see Malcolm right now and give him a hug.
“I miss you. I didn’t...realize...how much time has passed. I’m so sorry.”
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2021 8:38 am
He hesitated for a moment, because this was peeling at the scab of a hundred insecurities he’d buried under excuses and justifications.
“It’s okay,” he said, first and foremost, whether it was or not. No matter how he’d felt about anything, he didn't want her to feel bad. “I know you’ve been busy, you’ve said so before.”
He understood that, at least. He’d understood when she’d been helping with his brother’s purification, when she’d been doing all those house things. When she’d been helping Evan recover. When she’d helped him with his food truck, when they’d started that whole business.
He’d visited the truck a few times, and always left very good reviews, because that’s what you--you supported your friends. And he was good at taking pictures, he’d posted them on a few forums and websites, and in the absence of having his own friends to spread it around to, he’d just gone online. Where it was safer, anyway, and you could pretend to be anyone and no one had to know the real you.
HIs mind was racing and he could hear the blood rushing through his ears almost as loudly as he could hear her talking. He was moving before he really even thought about it, pushing himself up from the computer desk and removing his glasses so he could make sure he was dressed in something reasonable before going on. He held the phone between his cheek and shoulder as he changed out of his pajama pants.
“I missed you too.”
Which was, of course, a massive understatement, but he’d been so desperate not to be annoying, not to add to her already stressful, busy life. She had so many people that needed her, he didn’t want to be a burden--not when he already had been, before. He’d been slowing her, maybe even the Court, down forever. Which was probably why they’d had to pull Malus in, because he couldn’t pull his own weight. But that was fine, too. He hadn’t had any calls to do Court things, like purifications, in years, so he just sort of assumed that they hadn’t needed him.
“I got a letter from some guy, I guess he really is your friend? I don’t think I know who it is. Lupu? I’ve still just got my bike but I think I can be there in fifteen minutes. I don’t know how much help I’ll be, I’m a little rusty. But I can try.”
He didn’t want to be useless anymore, he’d spent so long trying to be better and when he’d finally--finally--gotten to be an Eternal Senshi, he hadn’t even been able to muster the courage to tell anyone. Julienne knew, but only because she’d been there.
Now, he was just anxious that it was too late, that it wouldn’t matter anyway.
...But at least he could still be useful, somehow. He hoped.
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2021 10:05 am
“Oh! Yeah! Lupu is Evan’s fiance, it’s Tobias...I think you’ve met him once or twice, he normally hangs out around Evan and um...enjoys baiting your brother into spats sometimes. Honestly, I hadn’t even gotten around to telling Evan that I met up with Airi...it only happened the day before yesterday and...things have been so busy…” What an excuse that was. She should have told Evan that night, and honestly...why hadn’t she?
“You’ll be fine, Mal...I...truth be told, I haven’t been powering up almost at all...so this...this is kind of a nervous thing for me too. And I’m almost scared to death--he’s a full youma like Evan was but...nobody knew him when he was turned? So like...what if it doesn’t work? Or he turns into a dog or something...it’s all...it’s just a lot. I’ll let you go so you can come on over, I’ll see you soon, the door is unlocked! I’ll have something for you to eat before we go too, I made some cookies the other day, and they’re pretty good, I think!”
She would get better at this. At balancing everything she had taken upon herself...honestly, she had to.
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2021 10:21 am
Evan was engaged? When did that happen? His fiance was a Knight?
He felt his face flush with an emotion he couldn’t quite place, because jealousy seemed so bitter and he wasn’t even sure that’s what it was. Good for Evan. Good, he deserved nice things. Malcolm was happy he’d fallen in love with someone who was very responsible and wanted to be with him. He’d come a long way from when he’d been purified and was afraid to leave the house, and now he had all his friends, his food truck business, and a fiance.
He had no idea who Airi was and was racing to put things together, but Cambria was encouraging him to come over quickly so he didn’t ask. “Yeah,” he said, not wanting to let her down. “I’ll can do that.”
He could figure out the details; if Airi was important, he’d find out. Malcolm was just afraid it was another Negaverse agent who was going to be upset that his youma was purifying, and his fingers had already gone numb at the thought of what happened last time. Between one breath and the next, he felt all the cuts, the broken bones, the pain.
The fear of death.
The last time they’d come together to purify anyone had gone well. After that, not so well for him.
He forgot how to breathe for a few seconds and had to forcibly drag his mind out of the dark shadows of the night Sanidine had attacked him in a mad rampage. He still had nightmares, and a part of him wanted to ask if she could just call someone else--but if she was calling him, she must be desperate. There must be a reason.
“See you soon,” he promised, despite the growing anxiety broiling in the pit of his stomach.
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