hearthwarming | reverie 🦋 inbox

diner?

Okay. I'll see you there.

[ Of course, she's probably not going to be as fast getting there as Alec would be if he's taking his portal, but she'll get there. ]

[ Nah, he walks like a normal person. He still probably beats her there since he was on his way by the time he texted her. She'll find him sitting at the diner's front counter when she walks in. He turns to look at her, tries for a smile, but it's hard to know just where the two of them stand anymore. ]

Hey.

[ You want to know where they stand?

The moment she hears that 'Hey' - it's such a short, simple greeting - but even that is enough to tell her that he's no longer the husk she'd last seen him as. That 'Hey' spurs her onward, her feet in quick steps taking her towards where he sits at the counter to just. Wrap her arms around him. ]

Hi...

[ He half expects her to cross the room and smack him, to berate him for how Henry hurt her, and he wouldn't fight it. But instead Ori, sweet Ori, slams into him with a hug, and the relief he feels is a palpable thing.

His arms curl around her in turn. ]

I'm so sorry.

[ For worrying her, for Henry. For all of it. ]

[ Her arms wind around him tighter. ]

None of it was your fault. None of it, Alec.

[ She doesn't know how much he knows about the Henry situation but... That wasn't Alec's fault, either. ]

I know, but— [ but. That line of thinking will do him no good. Alec is pragmatic enough to know that, but it needles at him all the same. He squeezes her tight, heaving a sigh as he loosens his arms to get a better look at her. ]

How are you? Henry... told me what happened.

[ When he pulls away, Ori offers an uneasy smile. She looks hale and whole, but Alec would know that Ori would have cast healing spells on herself as soon as she was able to...

...But she is tired. It's been scarcely over a week since the previous game, when she... Well. It doesn't feel like it matters, now. She is tired, but maybe not as tied as Alec, or anyone else who fared worse.

The moment he mentions Henry, she tenses visibly. ]

Oh, I... I see. What did he tell you?

[ Ah, yep. There it is. ]

Everything. Well, in so many words.

[ He motions to the seat next to him. Sit for a while? ]

You wanna talk about it?

[ Of course, she's not about to cut the conversation short when it's felt like an eternity since they last spoke properly. She slides into the seat next to him, and sighs deeply. ]

I was trying to see how everyone came out after that round, and... I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[ ... ]

I don't hold it against him.

Ori... [ He sighs, glancing over at her. ] That's awfully forgiving of you.

I saw how you reacted when I brought him up. He scared you. Sill scares you, doesn't he?

[ She wants, so badly, to say that it's fine, that he doesn't scare her. Or that even if he did - she's lived a long, turbulent life - she knows how to deal with fear.

...Just like she knew how deal with fear when she suddenly found herself facing off against a dragon not too long ago. ]

I... I'd known for a while that he had a really... prying nature, about him.

[ She'd seen that when she wandered into his dream, when he found her with her Shadow. ]

But...

[ She looks away. ]

...I didn't know how deeply he could... [ reach into the depths of my mind. ] He made me see things that I... [ feared. And people that I failed. People that my healer's hands could not save. ] And...

[ I'm still scared. ]

[ It would almost be funny how quickly Alec "I don't do hugs" Brennan has changed his stance on that, if not for the circumstances leading to his change of heart (or lack and then return thereof) being so damn shitty.

He reaches over and gathers her close again. If she needs to cry it out, he'll let her. ]

[ Oh, she absolutely needs to cry it out. She hasn't really slept since then - NO ONE will recognize you when I'm DONE - and once again her own desire to be exceedingly Fine and There For Everyone bites her fully in the tail.

She is not okay. ]

I-I'm sorry, Alec. You're the one whose heart got taken away, but I...

Hey. [ Quiet, as he bends a little to get in her field of vision. ] I'm not the only one who suffered because of it. You don't have to apologize to me, or anyone.

[ Much as she wants to keep avoiding his gaze, he's making it difficult to. Beneath it all, it's also just so... damn good to see emotions spelled out across his features. That hadn't been the case last time she saw him. ]

I'm just... I'm so glad you're back. That's all I want to focus on, now. When I saw you without your heart, it was so...

[ She draws in a sharp breath. ]

What Henry did terrifies me. It pains me to think he might have done that to others. [ he did ] But in the end, whenever I think about it, I... He was grieving. That's why I can't... I can't bring myself to hate him.

Ori... I know I keep telling you that big heart of yours is gonna get your in trouble, and it did, and even after all that, you're still one of the kindest people I know.

[ She shakes her head. ]

Don't get me wrong, I... I'm not sure I would ever want to be alone in a room with him again, but... If that had happened to someone I cared so much about, I...

[ Well, she probably wouldn't indiscriminately attack people on sight, but still. ]

Kindness wasn't something I saw a lot of when I was very young, so I know... if I wanted to see kindness in the world, it would have to come from me. So...

I don't blame you. I— I'm not here to justify his actions. Not by a long shot.

[ It's complicated. Alec would have also lashed out, but certainly not at friend and foe alike. ]

Are we cool? You and me?

[ She just looks at him with a puzzled expression. ]

I— Of course we're still "cool," Alec. You're my friend. It broke my heart to see you without yours...

I remember it all. What it was like. The look on your face...

[ He frowns. ]

I didn't feel anything at the time, but now I feel fucking awful.

I... I can't even begin to imagine, Alec. I... I hate that feeling that I couldn't do anything to help you.

How did you get it back...?

My heart?

[ Ah. That's a loaded question that he's not sure how best to answer. ]

... Henry.

Oh...

[ ...Henry had been the most distraught (understatement) at Alec's fate. It would stand to reason that he would be the one to see to it that his heart is returned... ]

...Of course. I'm... I'm glad he was able to restore it, then...

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