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[Very sneaky, barraging him with runes to copy down so that he has to focus on that task before the magically transmitted message fades from sight — which leaves him unable to answer for a few minutes. Her judgment of Lucifer, like a secret password, does defuse his annoyance. Toward her, at least.]
Done.
He's an asshole.
Done.
He's an asshole.
I hope you've told him as much.
[yeah, they'll talk about this in a minute. first, she needs to express this to him.]
Excuse the lesson in runes.
ᛉ is called algiz. It helps in the control of emotion and offers protection in keeping them moderate. ᚲ is kauna. It is the rune of opening, of new clarity and concentration. If you keep this rune close to you, you will see past the distractions and your focus will be clear. ᛗ is known as mannaz, the self. It is all about balance, to listen to your impulses but keep only to those best suited in your setting. Finally, ᛇ is eiwaz. This rune is about defenses, to have the strength to ward off and repel obstacles. Patience, perseverance, and caution.
You can draw them on the outside of your fingers or the inside of your wrist in a circular pattern. The order doesn't matter. If you are good at stitching, you could even put them on the inside of your clothes.
They aren't foolproof, but they will boost the qualities they are meant for. Any questions?
[As Wanda explains each rune, Wilhelm double checks the symbols against the one's he's drawn to make sure they're accurate. Control. Focus. Balance. Perseverance. All things he could use more of. Staring at the lines he's scratched down, he tries to get his heart to calm and his stomach to settle.]
Thanks. I think I've got it.
I told him to fuck off.
[Actually, he's not sure that he did. While everything Lucifer said to him that afternoon remains sharp as glass, whatever he said in answer is all blurred and smudged in his memory.]
Thanks. I think I've got it.
I told him to fuck off.
[Actually, he's not sure that he did. While everything Lucifer said to him that afternoon remains sharp as glass, whatever he said in answer is all blurred and smudged in his memory.]
It doesn't matter if you've already said something but can't remember it. If you still want to say something, you should say it.
[in the same way she had meant to say a hundred thousand things to tony stark, now fizzled into nothing after his death; that kind of hollow nothing just sitting there, never to be resolved.]
[ If Rhy notices him staring (or blushing), he doesn't give much indication. But he also certainly doesn't move away or try to disentangle himself from Wilhelm. When their fingers lace together, he squeezes back, and rests his forehead for a moment on the boy's shoulder. ]
I'm okay. [ he whispers back, as if still convincing himself just as much as his guest.
Eventually, when Wilhelm moves again, he lifts his head and then gives him some space. ]
Yes. Excellent idea.
[ Rhy manages a smile; it looks a little worn. ]
Thanks.
I'm okay. [ he whispers back, as if still convincing himself just as much as his guest.
Eventually, when Wilhelm moves again, he lifts his head and then gives him some space. ]
Yes. Excellent idea.
[ Rhy manages a smile; it looks a little worn. ]
Thanks.
[The worn edges of Rhy's smile snag at his worry. Rhy, so often aglow with the confidence that things will turn out all right, usually plays the soother — not the one who needs to be soothed. To see him dimmed sets an ache in Wilhelm's chest. It's what he felt the first time he saw Erik cry, that big brother magic falling away.
Swallowing, Wilhelm busies himself with opening the bottle of wine. It takes a little negotiating with the knife, but eventually he pops out the cork. He offers the bottle to Rhy with a smile.]
First drink is yours.
[He doesn't bother asking about cups. This seems like a straight-from-the-bottle night.]
Swallowing, Wilhelm busies himself with opening the bottle of wine. It takes a little negotiating with the knife, but eventually he pops out the cork. He offers the bottle to Rhy with a smile.]
First drink is yours.
[He doesn't bother asking about cups. This seems like a straight-from-the-bottle night.]
It might not end up happening, in any case.
How are you, otherwise?
[this question, though she's likely asked it, is more regarding one very specific thing: his brother. losing someone like that is not easy. wanda can only empathize, remembering how she had reacted when she was initially grieving for pietro.]
Have you been sleeping well? Eating?
[ Wilhelm's got the right of it. Straight from the bottle it is. Rhy takes it with a nod -- and takes several big gulps in a row. It's wine for getting drunk, not just for drinking. He just hopes it's strong enough.
Once he comes back up for air, Rhy hands the bottle back to Wilhelm, gasping slightly. ]
Come to bed with me.
[ A beat. He clarifies, quickly: ] Nothing untoward. Just... sit with me?
Cuddle up and pass the bottle back and forth until it's gone.
Once he comes back up for air, Rhy hands the bottle back to Wilhelm, gasping slightly. ]
Come to bed with me.
[ A beat. He clarifies, quickly: ] Nothing untoward. Just... sit with me?
Cuddle up and pass the bottle back and forth until it's gone.
[Otherwise? He's lonely most of the time. He misses his brother every day. Simon, every other day. He'd kissed two boys. He lies awake at night and can't get out of bed during the day. Sometimes he forgets meals; other times he slips food out of the dining room to eat alone.]
I guess so.
Wanda, I'm fine. Despite everything.
I started learning how to fight. I kind of suck, but
It's better than nothing.
I guess so.
Wanda, I'm fine. Despite everything.
I started learning how to fight. I kind of suck, but
It's better than nothing.
[Wilhelm should probably be worried — and he still is, his concern hovering like an overcast sky — but he can't help but also be impressed when Rhy knocks back a substantial fraction of the bottle in one go. Hey, there are worse coping mechanisms than booze. Besides, it's just one bottle, and Wilhelm is here to look after him.
At the invitation, he nods. His smile warms then flickers. He takes a little swig of wine and, juggling the bottle from hand to hand, pulls off each of his boots to get comfortable.]
I can stay longer than that.
[Because judging by the first round, this bottle won't outlast the hour.]
At the invitation, he nods. His smile warms then flickers. He takes a little swig of wine and, juggling the bottle from hand to hand, pulls off each of his boots to get comfortable.]
I can stay longer than that.
[Because judging by the first round, this bottle won't outlast the hour.]
[ Rhy's smile is slower than usual, tired, but immensely and visibly relieved. He nods, and takes the bottle to allow Wilhelm to take his boots off more comfortably.
He leads the way to climbing into his still-messy bed. It takes some effort not to keep drinking; he should save at least a bit for his companion.
Rhy pulls back the nest of blankets enough to let Wilhelm climb in with him. The way he scoots close and presses himself against his side is not so much shameless as needy, a simmering desperation that only seems soothed after a few minutes of sitting like that.
For the first half hour or so, until they finish the bottle and start on the next one, he asks after Wilhelm's day to day, maybe some benign questions about what's been served in the dining hall or if Wilhelm's found any interesting new books.
Eventually, when he's ready, Rhy will come back around to the topic of what happened to him. He doesn't hide anything from Wilhelm, explaining how he'd wound up on that awful black shore unexpectedly, how cold he'd been, how trapped, about the corpses and the slick black substance on the sand. He mentions Julie, someone who'd been trapped somewhere else but who could talk to him, and how grateful he is that there'd at least been that.
But if Wilhelm has any questions, he cannot answer them. Not why or how, or even how he'd been freed.
He might just get an answer as to why Rhy's so keen not to be alone anymore. ]
He leads the way to climbing into his still-messy bed. It takes some effort not to keep drinking; he should save at least a bit for his companion.
Rhy pulls back the nest of blankets enough to let Wilhelm climb in with him. The way he scoots close and presses himself against his side is not so much shameless as needy, a simmering desperation that only seems soothed after a few minutes of sitting like that.
For the first half hour or so, until they finish the bottle and start on the next one, he asks after Wilhelm's day to day, maybe some benign questions about what's been served in the dining hall or if Wilhelm's found any interesting new books.
Eventually, when he's ready, Rhy will come back around to the topic of what happened to him. He doesn't hide anything from Wilhelm, explaining how he'd wound up on that awful black shore unexpectedly, how cold he'd been, how trapped, about the corpses and the slick black substance on the sand. He mentions Julie, someone who'd been trapped somewhere else but who could talk to him, and how grateful he is that there'd at least been that.
But if Wilhelm has any questions, he cannot answer them. Not why or how, or even how he'd been freed.
He might just get an answer as to why Rhy's so keen not to be alone anymore. ]
[wanda remembers not wanting to have people fuss over her when it came to reconciling losing pietro. she would much rather distract herself with hours and hours spent watching tv, when she wasn't out training with the avengers. there really isn't much she can do from solvunn for him.
and the last thing she wants is to betray his trust and tell others about why they should check up on him.
so— she skips over that.]
and the last thing she wants is to betray his trust and tell others about why they should check up on him.
so— she skips over that.]
You have? Are you learning to use a weapon in specific?
Or is it using magic to fight?
[He understands, before Rhy explains anything, the howling hunger for any reassurance that you are not alone. Not despite his own failure to convince himself of much the same, but because of it.
So Wilhelm provides what he would crave if the situation were reversed. Fitting himself to Rhy's side, he loops his arm around his middle and folds their heads together, cheek resting against hair. With his other hand he soothes Rhy's knee, fingers making little patterns like made-up runes to ward off his sadness. He doesn't mind the ambling small talk that usually exhausts him. No detail seems too unimportant to Rhy, though he suspects it's not the details that matter so much, just the unbroken cadence of his voice.
When the bottle is empty, and Rhy opens up, he listens. He asks no questions, just murmurs little words of consolation here and there. Strokes his hair, squeezes his hand.
They can stay like this for as long as Rhy needs. Wilhelm has nowhere else to be.]
So Wilhelm provides what he would crave if the situation were reversed. Fitting himself to Rhy's side, he loops his arm around his middle and folds their heads together, cheek resting against hair. With his other hand he soothes Rhy's knee, fingers making little patterns like made-up runes to ward off his sadness. He doesn't mind the ambling small talk that usually exhausts him. No detail seems too unimportant to Rhy, though he suspects it's not the details that matter so much, just the unbroken cadence of his voice.
When the bottle is empty, and Rhy opens up, he listens. He asks no questions, just murmurs little words of consolation here and there. Strokes his hair, squeezes his hand.
They can stay like this for as long as Rhy needs. Wilhelm has nowhere else to be.]
[ It's shortly after they've returned from Nocwich that Rhy knocks on Wilhelm's door in the castle. He calls out as well, just in case Wilhelm might be more likely to answer if it's someone he recognizes. Rhy's learned the boy can be a little prone to squirreling himself away, and he's sure the trip was stressful. ]
Wilhelm? Are you in there?
Wilhelm? Are you in there?
I know Kyle.
["i like him"]
I didn't know he would know hand-to-hand combat, but maybe that just means he's that good at it.
I know you'll take advantage of that.
I have to help herd in the goats. I'm sure you'll find that exciting.
I hope I'll talk to you again soon, Wilhelm. Take care of yourself.
[Both of Rhy's assumptions are correct. Wilhelm is in fact hiding out in his room, staring up at the canopy of his bed in place of mindlessly scrolling through the phone he doesn't have here. For someone else he might make up an excuse or decline to answer altogether, but for Rhy he perks up like a puppy. Rolling out of bed, he scrambles to straighten out his hair.]
Yeah, one second...!
[Promptly, he pulls open the door and welcomes Rhy with a smile. Although to be perceived is an embarrassing ordeal, he appreciates that Rhy has made a routine of checking on him. That he never questions his habits and moods; his company is unconditional.]
Hey, what's up?
Yeah, one second...!
[Promptly, he pulls open the door and welcomes Rhy with a smile. Although to be perceived is an embarrassing ordeal, he appreciates that Rhy has made a routine of checking on him. That he never questions his habits and moods; his company is unconditional.]
Hey, what's up?
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