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 Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 7:30 pm
Toby waved one last time and was off.
Dari continued in Gaelic, his voice happy and light to cover the meaning of the words. "Many things. It's like walking on egg shells."
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 7:42 pm
Maia continued to speak in Gaelic, despite Toby having left. He had a werewolf's ears. "I can tell. I thought it might be an act," she sighed. "I wish I could come home and fix it."
A week and a few days later, Maia opened Skype and clicked Dari's icon. She hit the green phone button and waited. She hoped Toby wouldn't be there; she wanted an update on how he was doing. Maybe she could come home?
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 7:52 pm
Dari had taken to coming home and leaving his laptop on where ever he put it in case Maia decided to call. He caught her on the fifth ring, but luckily Skype didn't give up as quickly as cell phones. He slid into the chair near where his laptop was set up and chimed a happy "Dia duit!"
Toby was in the house, but he was up in his room. Either way, it wasn't worth risking English.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 7:59 pm
Maia echoed the greeting; so Toby was nearby. In hearing range maybe. "How is he?" she asked, following Dari's example and speaking in Gaelic. "Is he alright?" Maia knew the full moon had been a few days back. She'd marked the days of full moons on her iPhone calendar.
It was clear this call wasn't to update Dari on seagulls or tidepools, or things she'd discovered. Maia was strictly business. He'd been alone, except for Dari who was working and couldn't provide distractions.
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 5:22 pm
"He's alright. The full moon was hard on him. He's definitely missing you, but that's the point of this whole thing." Dari had continued in Gaelic as well. Toby was upstairs, but that didn't mean he couldn't come down or perhaps even hear what was being said. Skype calls in Gaelic had become the norm. Sometimes he asked what they had talked about, but most times he didn't.
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 5:29 pm
Maia was frowning. The last thing she wanted in this was for Toby to suffer. "I hated being away from him that night. So many full moons together, and then..." She shook her head. "Can't I come home now? Its been ages!"
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 5:32 pm
Dari shook his head. "No. He still talks about how this is better for you than staying around here. I know him. He hasn't learned his lesson yet. If you came back now it would be two weeks ago with all of the...awkward tension."
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 5:38 pm
Maia sighed. "It'd almost be worth it," she said, and then looked down at her hands. "How's he been doing though, besides miserable-full-moon?" She asked, looking up. "What've you been up to?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 5:40 pm
If Dari was to be completely honest, he would have to say tat Toby was doing rather poorly. His mood was sullen except when he felt the need to act otherwise and they did almost nothing together. It was wake up, crappy breakfast, work, home, sleep. At least Dari assumed he was sleeping, although on occasion he'd heard the TV droning on. Maia couldn't hear that, though. If she heard that Toby was suffering she would want to come back, and it was too soon.
"He's doing fine," he said instead, "Honestly we haven't been doing much. Some of the magic's gone, I guess. The magic being you."
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 5:49 pm
"Try to take him somewhere," Maia suggested, looking concerned. Toby had always seemed happy to go places with the two of them. It was like something had broken inside him. His heart was broken. "Please. I don't like him being so unhappy. Maybe take him to a club, or to a bookstore--he seemed to like the lake, but that's no good. Can you distract him?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 6:05 pm
"We still play video games." From time to time anyway. He knew better than to try their diving game. It was hard to convince Toby to sit down, but when he did there were still sparks of the real him in there. His emotions were just having a bit of a hard time compromising. "It sounds worse than it is." A bold-faced lie. Perhaps the first one he had ever told to Maia.
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 6:17 pm
Maia was still frowning. Video games weren't the same as getting Toby out there and enjoying life again. "I made you something," she said, after a moment, suddenly changing the subject. She dangled something in front of the screen. "Its a good luck charm," she said. "You wear it and you'll be safe."
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 6:22 pm
"Safe?" Dari asked. Had Pinterest said that, or had Maia just decided it? Either was just as likely. "Hopefully you'll be able to deliver it by hand."
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 6:25 pm
"Yes, for when you go on dangerous missions," Maia explained. "I made one for Toby too." She couldn't go with them, and right now she was far away, hours even by plane. She wanted them to take something from her with them. "Hopefully. Maybe by next week?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2015 6:30 pm
Dari's head inclined slightly.
"A week may be too soon. I promise I'll keep you updated."
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