eastbound } { ic inbox | @taken for granite

[rumorate]

Allison Hargreeves

missives | encounters

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[rumorate]

Ben is rarely happy.

[Which isn't entirely true, but more to the point Ben is rarely happy with his sibling's choices. Even when they were children there was always this put upon sigh as he went along with his siblings antics.]

But I'm fairly certain Klaus has done worse.

[somebadnews]

[ Five pulls a tight smile. It isn't true; he knows what she means, but he remembers when he first saw him. Ben just seemed happy to be alive. Even in this nightmare. ]

That's not exactly a high bar. [ Although he does appreciate Klaus for setting it to something they can all achieve.

It sounds like he's really going to do this. He still doesn't feel at all comfortable about needing special attention for yet another ritual, with known and unknown consequences. He promises himself this will be the last. ]

I hate to put you through this again. [ It's almost enough not to do it, which is why he's taking hers and Ben's opinions into account. As old and tired as he is, he still feels like a kid when he asks: ] Would you come with me?

[rumorate]

Of course I will.

[He's her brother, and she's not going to let him do this alone.]

We do this together. Always.

[somebadnews]

[ Five's lips tug upward again, and does mean something, that she's so willing to do this for him. As much as he cares about his family, he never really knew what they thought of him. Having their support is something he didn't realize he needed before he came here. (The deal itself seems even more impossible than forgetting one of them. How could he remember and feel nothing?)

It would have been worse, he thinks, if he didn't have her here. He would have lost by now. He swipes at his nose again to catch a stray trickle of blood, then moves to stand. ]

I need to wash up.

[rumorate]

[Allison nods.]

I'll meet you outside.

[Give him some space to pull himself together. But once he's ready, they'll head over to the Whispering House and make a deal.]