Finally, as spring began to come to Palisade, the smith was finally feeling a little bit better. She was engaged to her first love, her shop was doing well, and little by little her injuries were finally healing up. It wouldn't be long now, she thought, until she'd be able to get back to work, to finally forge those rings and feel like she was making progress towards something. But, having exhausted her books, having finally set the design for her rings, and having marred her poor bookcase trying to learn how it was a certain friend was so good with knives, she finally took up another task.
Shuu was, after all, missing his lovely lady, and what better way to get him to see her than to have him deliver notes to First? It would be hard, she knew it, but...It was better to see what she could mend before finally calling on Ghastly's....services.
Thus, the smith took pen to paper.
First,
It’s been far too long since we’ve last spoken. I’m very sorry for what I did, there hasn’t been a day I haven’t regretted my words and actions, and I know I’ve hurt you terribly. It wouldn’t be right of me to beg for your forgiveness on the matter, though there’s nothing more I want more than to see you again and tell you in person my sincerest apologies. I miss seeing you around, things aren’t the same without you here, and are far more lonely than I would ever expect them to be.
If you find the time in your busy day, or if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, please write back. I’m so sorry for everything, including what my presence spurred between you and your brother. I’m also sorry for stealing him away from you for the moment, I really do need his help.
Are things going well? Is the bar doing well? Please write back soon.
-Rosa
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 6:21 pm
No response, not a single peep out of First. Of course, she wasn't one for giving up, she never had been. Thus, pen went to paper once more...
First,
The weather has finally started to get warmer, hasn’t it? Last says the trees are starting to bud, so it really must be spring. As soon as I’m up to it, I want to go on a picnic outside the city with you both, on a nice clear day. It’ll be fun, we can make a date of it. Maybe we can even pick up some sandwiches and cakes from Toms. Remember that place? It’s where you went and got us lunch the day we met. It’s so hard to believe it’s already been over a year.
Are you doing well? Gee said you’d been drinking a lot. Trust me, nothing good comes of it, I tried, I know. Please take better care of yourself, I worry a lot about you.
Stubborn. That was a word for him, a very good one. Of course, this was going to be a battle to see who was going to give in first, and it sure wasn't going to be her.
First,
I hope you’re doing well. I hear even the flowers are awakening to springtime now, though you’d think it was much earlier with the arrangements your brother keeps bringing me. Last says some of the little gardens in the city are absolutely beautiful. Has the weather been treating your business well? I know it can be difficult to get customers on rainy days, so perhaps the good weather has lightened your patrons’ and your brothers’ moods. It seems like it would be a good season to go out and enjoy the warmth of the sun and the familiar faces of friends and family.
I miss you. Even if you wish to continue this nonsense of how it could never work, or how you’d get between what your brother and I share, I will not act as if I don’t feel anything for you. I miss you so much it hurts, I just want to see you smile again, or at least hear word that you’ve been feeling better. I care about you and your happiness so much, and it’s hurting me to know I’ve hurt you this badly. I wish I could see you again, but even if you did agree to meet me to discuss what has happened, I’m afraid I’m in no state to do so, as I’m sure your brother has told you. I know you’re probably not comfortable with coming to see me, and that’s fine, but please, as soon as I’m able I want to see you again. I’m so sorry.
You’re not mad that I accepted your brother’s proposal are you? I know you’re aware of it, from what I’ve heard the whole family is, but please don’t take this as a sign that I no longer wish to see you. I love Last with all my heart, but that doesn’t mean you’re not important to me either. I miss you so much, I just want to talk and make things right between us. I just want to see you smile, I want to know you’re alright, I want to be able to go out and walk on the rooftops of Palisade together with you and laugh until our stomach’s hurt. I want to give you the date you deserve, not the one that happened. I want to spend time with you again, to just watch the world go by without a care for anything. I want to see you smile and laugh and be in high spirits again, just like before. I know I’ve ruined things horribly with what I said, but that doesn’t change how I feel about you one bit.
I love you.
Always and forever.
Yours, Rosa
(Inside the envelope, carefully placed in the folded letter, are three tiny pressed flowers. If First knows his flowers well enough, or asks, he’ll find they’re forget-me-nots.)
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 8:19 pm
The third note generates a flurry of activity: she will wake the next morning to a happy crooning, the sound of a familiar voice in the rafters, one she has not heard for some time. Unwelcome sits with Shuu, tenderly preening his feathers — but when she sees that Rosalie has woken, she will make a soft chortling noise, and with a final touch of her beak to Shuu’s cheek, she flutters out the window.
She has left a hastily scrawled note on the coverlet, addressed simply — with a crude picture of an anvil on the outside of a folded scrap of paper.
———— dunt ken what y put in yon leter but kip it up hes turribl destracted
G
I don't know what you put in that letter, but keep it up, he's terribly distracted -- Ghastly
————
Later that afternoon, Unwelcome returns again: this time she lands on the windowsill with a cheerful chirrup that sounds very much like the noises that the little songbirds make, like the one that lives in the flat that the twins share. She preens and she poses for several moments, prancing back and forth, and only then will flutter onto the bed, presenting Rosalie with a more carefully folded letter.
It is slightly damp, and smells somewhat of beer: it comes from the tavern, no doubt, and perhaps even .. yes. It’s got to be from him.
———— Rosa,
I am not mad but this isnt right and I dont want to get between you and him cause he loves you more than anything I ever seen him do. I aint good at loving like he is and we both know I would only muck it all up for everyone so please just be happy with him.
Please be happy. Your I aint wurth wasting no time over or hurting for. You and Last are the most important people I ever knowed and I would sooner die than muck things up between you and him. If your happy it will make me happier so be really happy.
She honestly hadn't expected her outpouring of feelings to get any sort of answer, not after getting no response the prior two times. But hearing the familiar sounds in her rafters, knowing that Unwelcome has finally come to pay her a visit (or in truth, more likely Shuu) adds a little bit of relief. She's just about to try and coax the girl down, to brush her fingers through those pretty feathers, when she finally flutters out the window.
Frowning, it's not then until she spies the note, carefully unfolding it and reading it. Oh, so at least he's read this one, and it's worked. Well....If it's her feelings that'll get his attention, then there's no reason for her to stop. Deciding to wait the day to see if she finally gets a reply out of him, she'll go back to he books, smiling just a little bit more.
It won't be until the fluttering of wings finally catches her attention that she'll finally start worrying about what the day will bring again, looking up rather suddenly and marking her page. She's come back, with something.
It won't be until she takes the letter that she knows, half wondering if it'll be legible with the dampness of the paper. What kind of answer has she gotten out of him? Is it good? Is it bad? She can't seem to stop from worrying until she takes a deep breath and just reads it.
It's not entirely bad, but it's certainly not good. She'll purse her lips, mulling over what exactly she should do before finally taking up pen and paper again.
--- First,
It's good to know you're at least alive. I was beginning to get concerned that Gee would come over and tell me I had a funeral to attend. You'd best not even think of taking that course of action, there's nothing that would break my heart, and your twin's, faster.
Furthermore, there is no possible way you can get between us. We already know that, don't we? Back before everything happened, I think the three of us worked rather nicely together. It makes no sense to even think you'd get between us, not when you're both two halves of a whole, not when you both don't mind sharing.
I can't be happy, not without you. You're worth every little bit of my attention, you're worth being heartbroken over, and always will be. The both of you are my most important people, the only two I would ever want to spend the rest of my life with. There is no way possible you can muck things up, unless you keep on deciding to be away from us.
I miss you, I want to see you again. I want to forget how much I'm hurting without you here, so please please come back to me. Please make me happy, so that way you can be happier too. I'm sure it would make Last happier to have you back too, so won't you do this for his sake if you won't for mine?
I love you.
Rosa ---
If Unwelcome has decided to stay long enough, she will brush her fingers through those beautiful feathers, murmuring how pretty she is and how much she's missed her before giving her the reply.
If not, there's always Shuu to send off after her.
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:10 pm
Unwelcome is glad to stay long enough to be properly recognized; she burbles and coos at Rosalie, calling her by name, imitating her laugh (a habit which perhaps is worth encouraging, if she is going to repeat the sound every time the smith’s name is mentioned — it can only ensure that Rosa is on First’s mind), and seeming in general quite pleased to be here. That Shuu is present plays no small part in her happiness, but she appears .. well, smug. When Rosa settles down to write another letter, she seems to expect this, praising it by sitting nearby, bouncing up and down, and calling the smith a “good ol’gel, good ol’gel” in her strange and creaky voice.
She is glad to take the new letter, once it is complete again in a hurry to be gone, stopping only to rub her cheek against Rosa’s hand before she departs.
Sometime later but not near to dinnertime yet, and far from the time he normally closes up her shop, Last comes clomping up the stairs with a puzzled expression, a bottle in one hand and a letter in the other. The bottle is wine, and a nice vintage, too, and the letter is another dirty scrap of paper and actually possesses teeth marks.
“What’re you playin’ at up here?” He holds out the letter to her and sets the bottle on the counter. “Dapple — that’s Gee’s deer, right fearsome thing, you ought see her — she come knockin’, and give over the bottle and a note. When I tried to open it, she near took my fingers off, wouldn’t give it to nobody but Aelius. I had to promise them both I’d give it to you without lookin’ ‘fore they’d let me have it.”
———— kip at it he arnt gona rite again tonite but i hadta stop wapons practis he kept starin at nuthin
make me wanta do riting beter if it kin do this to a man
maybe u kin tich me sumday
PS - sorri i hit him a few times but it were jest practis so dont get mad
G
Keep at it, he isn’t going to write again tonight, but I had to stop weapons practice because he kept staring at nothing. It makes me want to write better, if it can do this to a man! Maybe you can teach me someday. PS - Sorry, I hit him a few times, but it was just because of weapons practice so don’t get mad. — Ghastly
There is no lack of encouragement on Rosalie's part towards Unwelcome, she'll gladly coo at the pretty young thing and promise her all sorts of attention and gifts if she'll help her win him back. The entire time she writes, she's more than happy to ruffle her feathers, murmuring her own feelings to the rook in hopes that they might end up getting repeated, thus further distracting her hedgewitch. It is only reluctantly that she'll let Welly be on her way, kissing the top of her head fondly and whispering for her to take good care of First for her.
The sound of footsteps later in the day catches her attention far faster, and by the time Last finally makes it upstairs, she's already curiously looking at him, wondering indeed what has brought him up this time. The bottle of wine only makes her raise her eyebrows, but it's the paper that immediately catches her attention. She'll hold out her hand for it expectantly, clearly wanting it more than anything else.
"Nothin'." She lies, grinning just a little bit more, though she seems rather pleased as she takes the paper, nodding with a hum as she opens it. "Just been writing to your brother, Gee's keeping me well informed." This should be enough of a hint, and just to prove it, she'll hand over the letter she got from him earlier. "Apparently I'm the most distracting thing in the world, but he's still going on about that nonsense of getting between us." The smith is rather pleased with herself, she's never thought she's been that good at writing...but if she can distract First, if she can keep it up, she can win him back.
While she won't write again until the next morning, preferring to keep the company she's got for the night, it'll take a few moments more of consideration to get the words down right. She's liking this, she's adoring writing to him, but it would be so much more fun if the circumstances were better.
Carefully, tying it with a ribbon, she'll send the letter off with Shuu just before noon, watching him fluff his feathers in an attempt to look handsome for his lady.
--- Beloved,
You mean the world to me, you know that? I wish you would just stop this nonsense about how you think I feel, how I should feel, and would come back to me. I miss your smile, your laugh, everything about you. I don't want to lose you, I want you back here by my side where you belong. I want to just spend another day together with you, no matter where we go. I want to be happy with you, to just share in happiness itself.
I can't help but worry that I've lost you forever. You never talk about how you feel, you just go on and on about how you would break everything, about how you would mess things up. Is there a reason for this? Is there something you're not telling me? Do you not love me anymore? Is that why you don't want to come and see me, why you won't write about it? The very thought makes me want to cry, to think that I've messed up what we had so much to that point. Even if it has come to this, even if I've lost your affections forever, please don't doubt that mine will remain. I will always love you, Nothing in the world could change that.
No, not even me marrying your brother will change that. I love the both of you, that in and of itself must be a constant at any point in time. I wish I had never let you go, I wish you wouldn't be afraid to be yourself with me. I love you, every little freckle on your face, every scar on your body, even your stubbornness. Even if you continue to reject me, even if we may never speak again, please remember this. I won't stop, even after death takes me from this world.
I am yours, I will always be yours, and I will always love you. Even if we may fight, even if we never speak again. I want you back, I want to be happy, but if you no longer feel for me as you once did, please be gentle with telling me.
Always and forever yours, Your Rosa ---
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 6:27 am
By noon Last brings her up another missive from the second-eldest Grimm brother with her lunch, still bemused: he isn’t entirely sure he wants to ask, much less get involved in any sort of trouble being crafted by the joint combination of his intended and his most troublesome sibling.
———— he aint red it yet mebby no riting today but i jest woke up as there were a fiht as hed triped and fall in a mans lap and man thout it were on purpos
also how in hells did yo tich damnbird to sond lik yo i nivir laffed so hard in me lif
damnbird on yor side fer sur
G
He hasn’t read it yet, and maybe he won’t write today, but I just woke up because there was a fight — he’d tripped and fallen in a man’s lap, and the man thought it was on purpose.
Also, how in the hell did you teach the damn bird how to sound like you? I’ve never laughed so hard in my life!
The damn bird is on your side for sure.
— Ghastly
————
There will be no response from First that day, and he will manage to hold firm for a few days more, while Ghastly reports on his activities with great amusement. From all accounts, between her letters and Unwelcome’s imitations, he goes through the next several days in a fog: regularly missing orders for drink spoken directly to him, tripping once over Dapplegrimm herself (who then needed to be restrained from retaliating), walking regularly into tables and even once into a wall .. The staff soon catches on, and First gains a reputation of being easy to fool: while Unwelcome takes up a permanent perch on his shoulder during the daylight hours and mostly prevents customers from cheating him, she does not intervene when the staff begin to play games with seeing what they can make him drink or eat, simply by putting it in front of him and telling him to do so.
Much to the interest and general mirth of the tavern’s young wenches, he even shows up one day without a shirt, an event which especially seems to please Ghastly. Although Ghastly could have gone back to his brother’s flat to fetch one, the pirate generously doffs his own shirt to cover his brother (a gift that the more fashion conscious First would normally have been appalled by) and then spends the next few hours grandly recounting the causes and stories behind all of his scars.
It is at the end of that day that Ghastly himself stops by — to personally recount the day’s events, interspaced with booming laughter — and ends his tale by reminding her of his earlier offer. “ .. ‘leastways he ain’t taken no harm from it this time, but if’n yer minded to, I thinks I kin get him knackered fer ye; e’en drinkin’ half a pint o’rose water yisterday ain’t learned him none, and ‘e’s still swillin’ whate’er ’tis pushed in his hands. Blimey, t’will be a shame t’stop all this, that it will. B’ain’t had this much fun since they were likkle, and fool enough t’belief me when I tells them things.”
There's only bemused cackling when she reads Ghastly's latest note, and she can't seem to resist showing Last. He's so utterly distracted it's obvious! It's working! And the fact she's got Welly on her side makes it that much better. Maybe she shouldn't be laughing, though, it is a little cruel all and all. But when First is bringing it upon himself? She can't help it.
Though she doesn't receive any reply from First, she is more than happy to wait, finding great amusement in the daily updates from Ghastly instead. Little by little she starts to feel bad for what she's done, only to shake herself out of the nonsense, assuring herself this is what he deserves for acting like such a fool. He deserves every last missed order, and every last bit of pranking by the staff of their tavern. It comes to her mind to start maybe sending Ghastly suggestions on what they should present him with, though she decides not to join in on the fun, instead, picking up her sketches again to work on them. The rings she'll be making are, after all, going to be her best work, and perhaps one of the first pieces she'll make and keep for herself, having already sold the pieces from last year's masquerade.
There is one event, though, that gains her jealousy. Oh no, Rosalie is not pleased to hear about the giggling wenches on the day First had forgotten his shirt. She half wonders if it was really on purpose or not, given the twins' reputation for impressing young ladies. She'll stop laughing entirely at this part, staring with a look that clearly stakes her claim on the other twin, and only relaxes a little more once she finds he instead took the attention by giving First his shirt. Clearly Ghastly has been gaining top marks in her books.
"So did you end up bedding any of them?" She'll grin, knowing far too well this is the brother she can get away with making such remarks at. For once she's learned not to mind having the company of the gruff brother up in her bedroom while she's still recovering, she's found she likes him enough to do so. "I promise I'll make sure there's plenty of other fun to be had, you've been a big help in all of this." She shakes her head with a sigh, "But as amusing as it is, I'd still like him back. I think maybe we've pushed him enough by now, maybe he at least understands a little. Go ahead and get him drunk, and I'll see if I can't personally bring an end to his nonsense. He's not much use to you all being like this, is he?" She knows family comes first, but having one of the twins incapacitated like this can't be good for business, especially when the other is busy taking care of his fiancée.
LoveByLetters
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 6:48 pm
"Tch, 'course I did!" He thumps his chest with one hand, as if to remind her of his masculinity; he is grinning all the while, plainly enjoying having an audience that genuinely appreciates his rougher sense of humor. "Took me a day anna half to recover, it did, as they kept takin' it in turns -- oughter start charging, I should, t'would make meself a fortune!" He gives her a wink and a nod of his head, getting to his feet with a grunt and swiping his cap off the corner of the door where he'd hooked it when he came in. "True enough, Jay been chafin', but I tol' him it were yer hand at th'ropes; tell ye true, we were at our wit's end o'er it, lass, that we were!" Another boistrous laugh escapes him, and this may and may not be true; certainly it is easy to imagine Ghastly worrying and frustrated over First's predicament, but it's hard to picture Jay flustered by anything, even a recalcitrent brother. "Ol' Ghastly, he tol' Jay afore the letters that we oughter go find one've them me-dee-ums, get our mum out t'tell him what's what! Takes yer time, lass, takes yer time."
He'll head out as Last heads in, clapping the younger Grimm on the shoulder in a sort of friendly way; he manages to recover with a stagger, swinging the basket that holds their dinner so that he doesn't drop it.
"Watch it! Clumsy bugger." The words are muttered, fortunately low enough that Ghastly does not seem to hear; they will hear the distant sound of him tromping down the stairs and saying an exuberant farewell to their Guardians.
"I think I would have been disappointed if you hadn't." She can't seem to keep from laughing, "What, charge by the inch? You could make a fortune on that alone." There's no doubt the two get along swimmingly, especially when she doesn't even bat an eye talking about such things with him. It may even be reason for Last to be concerned, though not for the reasons one would think. "Well tell Jacob he won't need to worry any longer, I'm more than willing to put an end to this nonsense, as soon as you can get your brother delivered here, of course." She's ready, there's no doubt she's ready, and she knows she can get it done properly. "I'm counting on you."
Of course, as soon as Last comes in, she brightens up considerably more, having already been rather pleasant. There'll be only a stifled snort at hearing him mutter, hoping indeed his brother hasn't heard. "Mmm. It's nice that your brother comes to visit." She laughs, leaning back with a sigh. "We might just almost have First back, you know. He's been awfully distracted, apparently. Distracted enough to forget his shirt." Oh she's still not happy about that, but Ghastly had taken care of matters there. "I'm taking Gee up on his offer, so don't be surprised if he does show up with First over his shoulder."
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 8:49 pm
"Nice ain't no word for it," grumbles Last, pulling the chair back over to Rosa's bedside, and unpacking their dinner from its basket onto the bed around her legs. "Bloody busybody, is what he is. Somewhere under all that salt and fish stink there's an old granny wanting to know everything 'bout everybody. Jest as glad we b'ain't never had no auntie to pinch our cheeks -- never did need none, with him 'bout." With a little huff, he offers her a hunk of bread, and then a bit more carefully will set a bowl of stew in her lap. This is far more hearty than the stuff she'd been given in the first days of her recovery, a savory brew with chunks of recognizable meat.
" .. huh." The news about his brother seems to come as welcome; he's been putting a good face on it for her, but it's surely been just as hard on him, if not harder. To hardly be on speaking terms with his other half cannot have been easy: there've been times he's waited for someone else to finish his sentences, times when he's glanced back over his shoulder, as if he expected someone else to be there. And though he hasn't spoken on it, there've been times he's been distracted, too, though not near as badly as First. There's been no tripping here, no unfortunate tumbles into the laps of angry strangers or forgotten garments of clothing. Anyway, these days most of his clothing is kept here, in and around Rosa's.
"Prolly be tomorrow," Last finally decides, setting her a mug of cool spring water on her bedside table where she can reach it, and setting his own just beside. "First's got Georgie tonight, she goes back t'Jay tomorrow, so's he'll wait 'till then."
"It's nice to have it when you haven't had it all your life." She retorts, frowning a little. "You keep forgetting I'm the one who grew up with just m' dad about. No siblings, no aunts or uncles, nothing. It's going to be interesting getting used to having...well...a family." It's already getting interesting with Ghastly's visits, and she can barely begin to imagine what holidays will be like, not to mention birthdays and family gatherings. At the least, she knows the majority of the Grimms now, and it's likely she'll only have to get to know Ferdi once he comes to visit. The stew is clearly well accepted, making her grin as she starts to finally dig in, her appetite having increased the better she's gotten.
"We'll get him back, don't worry." She soothes, seeming to know at least partially how hard it's been on him. "This is just a big mess, we'll get it sorted out. At least things are picking up, right? I'll need your help with all this too." She wants it so badly to be back to how it was, at least for him and First. If she had to pick between her getting First back, or Last getting his brother back, she'd choose the latter without even thinking of it. She's known for a long time already how important it is that the two are together, and is hoping at the least she'll be able to fix that, or give it a shove in the right direction. It's just not the same without First about...
"Tomorrow then. You'd best be ready, he needs to hear from you how much you've missed him." She sighs, looking back over to him. "Not that I would mind a visit with Georgie."
The next day can't go by quick enough for her. She tries reading, and sketching, and doing all sorts of things to distract herself, but nothing seems to work. Will it work? Can she at least convince First to start talking with his brother? Will he come at all? By the time night falls she's pretty sure she's nervous enough for the both of them, finally having calmed herself to read a book in the dim light. Probably not the best idea, but at least it keeps her mind mostly off First.
The voice is surprisingly harmonious, warbling its way into her hearing and seeming to grow louder the longer she listens: it comes first to her open window as the singer ambles their way through the song, at times appearing to forget the lyrics, at other times appearing to forget the entire language in which they sing. ‘Drunk’ apparently does not entirely cover what this person is.
“ .. aaaan’ grief do’sn’t .. frrrriiight’n ..” Another voice puts in, somewhat deeper, and the initial singer makes a wordless noise of protest.
“ .. eeeh, no, that’s not ri’ .. y’did that part .. y’did .. didn’t y’ .. do .. a’reddy?” There is some distress attached to this, as if by repeating the verses the second singer has made some grave transgression, committed some great blasphemy, but the second singer reacts with a good-natured carelessness, and Rosalie will be able to hear the deep, warm chuckle, even rounder and friendlier than when she’s heard it before, as if the owner of that voice cannot help but love all the world when he’s so steeped in alcohol.
“Tsh, ’twill go any which ways I wants it t’, ‘cause it’s me own self as is singin’, now b’ain’t it?” The second singer has perhaps forgotten the lyrics because they are paying attention to something else (like where they are going), a fact which the original drunk does not seem to have noticed. Then again, while pirates are infamously well known for their ability to withstand and enjoy the effects of liquor, the Grimm family as a whole does not have any such reputation.
“ .. nnoo, ’s th’ trav’lr bit ’s comes next, I like th’ bit .. ’n th’ bit ‘bout th’ bird .. lark? Can’t r’memb’r. Hey. Hey. Why’re we — .. I don’t wanna go there .. hey!” The call is pleading, but Rosa may hear the sound of a door opening downstairs: and though Rosa does not get to see it, Aelius and Unwanted will have the incredible luck to witness the legendary struggle that breaks out on the doorstep, as the argumentative (and thoroughly drunk) singer attempts to fight his way back onto the street, and the slightly less sloshed and fortunately somewhat larger drunk struggles to keep him upright and from banging his own fool head on anything.
It is a short while later that Ghastly makes it up the stairs, panting slightly, and without any further ceremony shifts First off his shoulder and into a heap on the floor. Both men are by now disheveled, and it is hard to say which of them looks worse -- but then again, Ghastly has always appeared to be in a permanent state of disrepair, where First has for the most part kept himself neat and properly attired. Now there is nothing neat about him, and very little that is proper: he has a difficult time determining which way is up, and as soon as he has got that matter sorted Ghastly drops his own cap on First's head and this sudden change seems to paralyze him, as if he is a bird whose cage has been covered.
"Here y'are, lass, one late night extra spesh'l deliv'ry .. jest as promised, aye?" Ghastly grins, giving his brother a pat on the head through the cap, which makes First flinch, seemingly unaware he can simply remove the cap and thereby regain his ability to see.
She's lost track of how many times she's read this damn book in the past week. It's gotten to the point where she's sure she'd be able to just endlessly quote it if given the chance. But even then, it's not like she's sick of it. This one in particular is an old favorite, and no matter whatever else she reads, there's always time in her life for this one. Once more, she'll finally finish it, closing her eyes for just a few moments to rest, not meaning to doze off entirely.
It'll be the warm and heavily intoxicated voices that finally rouse her from her slumber, eyes slowly blinking in what candlelight there is. She's not sure how late in the night it is, if Last has just let her sleep through dinner in favor of her being better prepared for what is to come this evening, though the warmth of the familiar voices make her sit up all the more. It's time, isn't it? To finally see if she can end up working this out for the better, to see if she can at the very least get the brothers back to being...well...brothers. Hell, where is Last anyway? She's not even sure if he's somewhere downstairs or if he's out fetching something, she supposes she'll know soon enough.
Aelius himself seems to want to at least assist, giving a rather unhappy snort at watching the two battle it out. He really doesn't want to move from where he is, and he doubts Unwanted really wants to assist either way in this problem either. Once Ghastly does leave, however, he will be more than happy to halt any hope of escape for the elder of the twins, at least, not until things are worked out to his liking. He'll watch the two go up the stairs before settling down again, laying his head back on his companion. It'll be a long night, he has a feeling at least.
The sound of them tromping up the stairs makes her feel terribly anxious, something she hadn't been expecting. Shouldn't she be overjoyed to finally see him again? To finally try and see if they can work this mess out? It won't be until they finally make it up that she'll set the book back on her nightstand, trying to adjust herself comfortably in the bed at least. Our of the three of them, easily, she's the least disheveled, having been left to her bed for the better part of the day, bandages fresh and carefully placed. It's clear she's saddened by state of First's dress, though really, what was she expecting? With a sigh, she'll sit up a little straighter, giving a quiet nod to Ghastly.
"We'll talk shop once I'm allowed back to work." She murmurs, glancing down to the frozen boy with a frown. "But for now, help yourself to all the cheap wine I bought, I'm not touching that, not after what good it did me." She's not sure if First has heard about her own drinking habits, and of course, knowing now that he'd been drinking heavily, she feels absolutely terrible about putting Last through that. "...Thank you again." It takes her a while, obviously considering her options. She could ask to have him put in a chair, but there's no guarantee he could sit without falling, not for long. Then again, there's her bed, but that is certainly getting ahead of herself, not to mention that's a fall risk too.... Yes, the floor has to be the easiest.
But now, she's not sure what to do. It's been so long, it's been too long, and it would probably be better if she had thought about what she'd say. For all this time she's wanted him back, all the time she's had to think about what happened, she's surprisingly speechless. It takes more than a few deep breaths to finally quell down the slightest bit of anxiety (oh god, what if she makes it worse?) before she finally does her best to smile a little.
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