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 Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 3:11 pm
Toby nodded. Good. So she was thinking ahead. Now why was she staring?
"Yeah, of course," he agreed, "It'd be nice to hear from you."
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 3:18 pm
Maia flashed Toby a more genuine smile this time. That seemed to make her feel better, knowing she'd be able to be in contact with him. "I'll send you things," She promised. Holidays weren't far away, she could send cookies or something, if she wasn't home by then.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 3:21 pm
Ah, there we go. No more tears.
"You don't have to send us things," he assured her, "I'm just glad they finally cleared you to go home."
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 3:33 pm
"Yeah, it'll be nice to go home," Maia said. Nice to visit, it wasn't her home anymore, not really. "I want to, though. I won't have anyone to bake for at home. The seals won't know me, and I can't shift. Besides, sweets would be bad for them."
A few days later, they were at the airport. Maia was trying to put on a brave face, but her eyes were wet and threatening to overflow.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 3:37 pm
Toby was helping Maia with her bags, but Dari was unable. Thus it was the alien that took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. It would all be for the better, but at the moment all anyone would feel was hurt. Sometimes it was hard to see the ends through the means.
Toby meanwhile was mostly dead on the inside, face flat, having shut down to avoid an emotional breakdown here in public. At least they could go with her and wait at the gate. Flashy federal badges did have their up-sides.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 3:42 pm
Maia wiped at her eyes, giving Dari's hand a squeeze. "I'll call you as soon as I get there," she told the agents. She wanted to stop. She wanted to turn around. She wanted to tell Toby the only reason she was leaving was that Dari had suggested it.
Instead, she said, "I'm going to miss you both. More than anything."
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 4:36 pm
"Alright," Dari said, and then turned and hugged Maia. "We'll miss you too."
Toby put Maia's bags down by an empty chair for her and opened his arms too. He was grinning broadly. She got to go home, right? That was what she had wanted from the beginning. Maybe if he told himself that enough times it'd become true.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 4:41 pm
Maia held onto Dari for a long time, almost as if shet thought if she hugged him enough, she might be able to take him with her. She released him at last, moving to hug Toby. Her grasp on him was tighter, and lasted even longer. "I'm going to miss you most of all," she said in a murmur. "Take care of yourself."
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 4:45 pm
Toby sighed. Maia wasn't making this any easier.
"I'll miss you too," he said, speaking softly in return. "We'll be fine. Keep in touch, okay?" His arms were wrapped tightly around her as if he could change all of this if he crushed it out of her.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 4:58 pm
"I will," Maia promised. "Look after Dari for me," She said. She pulled away after a moment, forcing a smile. "Well. I'll call you once I'm home," she said, giving each of them another brief hug. It wasn't forever. She'd be back soon.
It was like she was going on her own mission.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 5:32 pm
It had become routine to sit down at a certain time of night and chat with Maia. Her lack of a job made contact rather easy, and Dari looked forward to their chats. When Toby wasn't around they could talk about him, but only cautiously, sometimes using the text feature.
He double-clicked Seamus' picture, tapped the green 'call' button, and waited while the program rang. He was currently at the dining room table.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 5:37 pm
Maia answered by the second ring. She was smiling. She'd gotten used to the program, and now it was routine. "Hey Dari," She greeted him. "What's up?" She opened the screen to full screen. "I heard it was hot over there. You don't seem to have melted."
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 5:44 pm
"I'm offended," Dari replied, "I have far more constitution than the average pat of butter. You've seen me take things out of the oven." He only mentioned it for how much he knew it bugged her.
"Otherwise, not much. We may have found a home for the dragon finally. How about you, have you done anything exciting?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 5:51 pm
"You still aren't allowed to do that," Maia informed Dari, shaking a finger at the screen. "You never know when something will be too hot and you'll end up getting hurt." A home for the Dragon? That was great news! "There's enough food for her? And she'll be safe?"
"Nothing exciting. I fed a seagull this afternoon and I think the entire state's worth of seagulls came to stay on my beach. He called all his friends! They won't leave!"
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 5:54 pm
"We think so! They've sent a team out to check just to make sure. There aren't people for miles, but there's plenty of prey. We may have to blast her a cave, but that's not as hard as it sounds. Lori's out there actually." Dari was smiling.
"Seagulls will do that. Feed one and they all show up. Pigeons are the same way."
Toby crossed by in the background, off to the kitchen for a snack, and then reappeared with an apple, leaning into the screen and taking a bite, seeming to consider Maia for a moment. He smiled then and waved. "Hello~"
Dari smiled, leaning to the side so Maia could see them both.
Toby cursed himself. Dari never did this in the dining room!
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