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 Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 8:56 pm
Toby winced. That was the worst part. Knowing they were gone was bad. Seeing the results of their passing was worse. He swallowed hard and clasped Maia's hand in his and brought it to his lips as if it might somehow warm her. He took a little breath and nodded.
"Yeah. I found mine too." More or less. Parts of them. He privately hoped that Maia's parents had at least been whole. "The night they died was the night I was, uh--" 'Sired' was more for vampires and show dogs, wasn't it? "--changed."
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 9:01 pm
And with that, Maia knew how Toby's parents had died. At least, she assumed. The werewolf that had bitten Toby had murdered his family. She tightened her hold on his hand, trying to comfort him as much as he was a comfort to her. And his fiancee had died too, hadn't she? Forty years ago.
"I'm sorry," she said. They'd both lost people.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 9:05 pm
Toby shook his head. Words wouldn't come, but he hoped she'd understand. He'd heard that so many times in his life. 'We're so sorry' had turned into 'I'm so sorry to hear,' so on and so forth for years upon years. He still heard it today, but it wasn't any of those people's faults. 'Sorry' didn't undo what had been done, not even from his sire.
"C'mere."
All of a sudden he felt like he needed comfort too, and he tried to pull Maia to him and into his lap to hold her properly. It felt odd to hold Dari. Hugging was one thing, as was desperately clinging while sobbing, but for some reason Maia seemed a better candidate for a good... cuddle. This was a bad idea wasn't it? Oh well, he was already pulling.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 9:11 pm
Maia allowed herself to be pulled into Toby's lap, and nestled against him. She didn't mind this. She recognized that Toby needed comforting as well, and snuggled him.
He was warm, he was safe, and she was there to help him if he needed it.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 9:15 pm
It felt right somehow. He wasn't sure why. He kept a hold of Maia and brushed some hair from her face, which he couldn't quite see.
"Do you want to listen to music? Or watch TV?" They could go back downstairs. She'd want to drown out the noise, wouldn't she? Her presence alone helped him but he doubted he had the same effect on her.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 9:22 pm
"I'm alright here," Maia said, she seemed unwilling to move. Toby's presence was reassuring. "Do you want to watch Tv?" she asked. "We could talk some." Talk and fall asleep, maybe? "We're safe inside, aren't we?" It hadn't felt that way before they'd come in here, though. Huh.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 9:28 pm
The TV sat up atop his dresser so they'd barely have to move to see it. He didn't really want to let Maia go either.
"Of course we are," he said, voice sincere and deep, "Of course we are." He rubbed her back. They were. They had good walls and a strong roof, and they had him and her and Dari. A storm wasn't going to get to any of them. "What do you want to talk about?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 9:34 pm
"Good," Maia snuggled against him. "I don't want to lose you. Or Dari." They were so important to her, her new family. "I don't know," she mused. Her mind had mysteriously gone blank once he'd asked. "What do you want to talk about?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 9:50 pm
"We're not going anywhere."
Frankly, Toby didn't know what he wanted to talk about either. Not death. Not losing family. Not storms or camping. He shrugged and leaned back, taking Maia with him as he grabbed his iPod and turned it on to shuffle. He put one earbud in his ear and offered the other to Maia.
Maybe they didn't need to talk. Maybe they just needed to be together.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 10:00 pm
Maia took the earbud, putting it in her ear And covered a yawn with her hand. She gave Toby a small smile in thanks. She curled against him; it was easier to ignore the storm this way.
Toby was safe, and Dari, and they had kept her safe from something worse than a thunderstorm.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 10:03 pm
Toby settled around Maia, resting his chin on her head and then just his cheek, thinking his chin might be a bit harsh on her scalp. Thunder roared outside, but they each had a stream of music to distract themselves, and they had each other. In a short while Toby was singing along with the music, just very softly like a mother might to soothe an upset child, but in reality it was a natural reaction. If it was meant to soothe anyone, it was himself.
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 9:54 am
Toby was singing. That registered in Maia's brain, and she smiled softly. He had a good voice, even if that was the one thing he was modest about. And she liked this, being so close to him. The thunder didn't seem so loud. She hoped it was the same way for Toby.
They were together, and the music helped.
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 3:31 pm
Toby was equally unaware of his singing as he was unaware that he was stroking Maia's arm fondly and pulling her hair back behind her shoulder. He was lost in the moment, in this closeness with another person regardless of relationship. He hadn't felt this comfortable in a long time.
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 3:37 pm
Maia was falling asleep. A combination of warmth and being comfortable had settled her nerves. Her breathing had slowed, her eyelids were getting heavy, despite her best efforts to stay awake.
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 3:44 pm
Toby could tell Maia was slipping from the changes in her weight distribution and her breathing patterns. He pulled back from her a little just to address her.
"Do you want to stay here tonight?" There were no implications and no subtle nudges one way or the other. Maia had stayed with him last time. Did she wants to stay again, or would she rather sleep in her room?
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