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 Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 5:59 pm
Maia heard Toby come in. She sighed. He looked worse than he had in the morning. She'd warned him not to go. She waited for Dari to return with the checkers box and settled on the couch, leaving a seat free for Dari between them.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:01 pm
Toby looked up at Maia and almost offered her a smile. Almost. That had been the plan until he realized she was pointedly ignoring him, when the plan then became to pop his ear buds in and head upstairs for a nap. Dari heard the footsteps on the stairs and came back to find Maia alone on the couch and tilted his head. Uh...?
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:10 pm
Maia watched Toby go, and when Dari came back with the checkers, she said, "Hold that thought," and followed Toby upstairs. She knocked on his bedroom door. She found the door was locked. "Toby? I'm sorry for earlier, you know. Calling you an idiot and things." Even though he'd been one. "I thought you ought to rest."
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:24 pm
There was a few moments of silence and then the soft creak of floorboards. Toby unlocked and opened the door and looked down at Maia with an utterly blank expression. He popped out one ear bud.
"And I'm sorry my going to work pissed you off."
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:28 pm
"Your going to work didn't piss me off, you pissed me off," Maia said, frowning up at him. "If you hadn't assumed that the only reason I'd care about your health was so I'd have someone to talk to, it would've been alright. I was worried about you. Like last night. I wasn't scared for me when you were changing. I was worried about you, because you were in pain. And you made us worry about you."
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:31 pm
Toby's expression didn't change, he just shook his head slightly. Was she blaming him for the effects of his own transformation? No, no, he thought he knew where she was coming from. It was a warped, overly-affectionate sort of place but he understood it nonetheless.
"Okay. I'm sorry I made you worry."
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:36 pm
"And I'm sorry I made you feel bad. Come out now?" she asked hopefully. "Dari and I are going to play checkers and you could play the winner. Then we could make dinner together, if you'd like to..." Anything to get him to smile again.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:37 pm
"I think I'm going to take a nap," Toby said, voice still odd and flat. At least it matched his face. "I'm going out with a couple of guys tonight anyway. Cook if you want, don't wait for me."
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:42 pm
Like many broken things, Maia didn't know how to fix Toby. He wasn't something you could patch up with tape. She sighed. "Okay. I hope you feel better." She said. "Have fun with your friends."
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:46 pm
Toby offered the barest flicker of a smile. At least she was wishing him well. He nodded and offered a little "thanks" before retreating back into his cave and pulling the door shut. At least this time he didn't lock it.
Dari was at the bottom of the stairs, peering up. None of that had sounded good.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:51 pm
Maia retreated to Dari's side and pulled him into a hug. "I don't know How to cheer him up," she said. What Had made him so upset? She hadn't greeted him when he'd come in. She hadn't sat next to him--maybe that was it. She sighed. "He sounds like a robot, Dari. And I caused it."
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:56 pm
Dari returned the hug and rubbed Maia's back. The poor thing. It was odd to catch Toby in one of these moods. Clearly this selkie was something special. "Every person has bad days. Just let him rest and I'm sure he'll feel better." Or, more likely, pretend to feel better. Dari hated when the walls went up and the curtains rose. Toby as he was right now was confused, vulnerable, clearly hurt... there was nothing to be done without invading the space he needed.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 7:02 pm
Maia nodded in understanding. She kissed Dari on the cheek and promised him a game of checkers later. She went to the bookshelf and selected the collection of short stories Dari had shown her before. "I hope he feels better soon."
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 7:05 pm
"He'll be fine," Dari reassured her, "He gets like this sometimes." Rarely. "It always passes." He'd set the board game on the dining room table and it now sat there unattended. Would Maia want to read alone? If so, he'd have to make himself scarce.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 7:08 pm
"I hope he never does again. It breaks my heart to see him so unhappy." Had what she'd done hurt him so deeply? "Do you want to read with me?" Maia asked, propping the book open and offering it to Dari. "You can read first, if you want to."
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