Voicemail for Seasons

[wolfishlycharming]

Thank you for calling. Unfortunately, I am unable to answer your call at this moment. Please, leave your name and a message and I shall reach out promptly.

I look forward to serving you.

BEEP

Comments

[abnormalizes]

Thank you. I'll be right there.

[And in a few minutes, she's knocking on Lycaon's door. She's wearing a butterfly dress - it seemed appropriate.]

[wolfishlycharming]

[Lycaon is in his usual attire when Evangeline arrives. He steps aside for her to enter.]

I prepared tea in the sitting room for us. Do please make yourself comfortable.

[abnormalizes]

Thank you.

[She steps inside, but rather than going to the sitting room...]

Can I hug you?

[wolfishlycharming]

Of course.

[Lycaon opens his arms and wraps them around Evangeline, pulling her close.]

[abnormalizes]

[Evangeline buries her face in his chest, hugging him tightly. She takes a moment to put her words together before looking up at him.]

...Thank you for the tea. But, what I need right now is my friend who's hurting too, not a butler. If that's okay.

[If 'friend' isn't a role he's up to performing right now, she understands.]

[wolfishlycharming]

[Lycaon keeps his arms around her and looks down at her, meeting one of her eyes with his own one eye. He nods to her question.]

I can try. I...find comfort in my duties. In hosting. At least let me be a friend, who is also hurting, also be the host of my own friend. If that is amenable.

We have both lost someone we cared for deeply. The words we use may be different but the hole he has left in our lives likely feels as deep and permanent for us both.

[abnormalizes]

-Yeah, that's okay. As long as you talk to me like a friend, that's what matters most to me. You can host.

[She doesn't want to deny him what he uses to get through the pain.]

...He was irreplaceable. My honeybug - my most precious pearl, I'd call him.

[wolfishlycharming]

He is irreplaceable. I love him. Still. He...wished to be my partner. Raise Nine with me. A family. Something...he gave me something I have never had before. And now he is gone.

And I do not know if I will ever see him again.

[He walks to the couch and pours the tea, his tail drooped low and gently brushing the ground.]

I will miss him for as long as I live.

[abnormalizes]

[Evangeline sits down on the couch, gripping the cushions for some measure of stability.]

...There's always the chance that he comes back, and that'd make me happier than anything, but... I can't keep the wound in my heart open waiting for him to come back and fill it. He wouldn't want that for me - for us.

[She can almost hear Louis telling her that letting herself grieve is important.]

...But I love him so much. There was still so much more I wanted to do together. So much more I wanted him to experience.

[wolfishlycharming]

[Lycaon joins her on the couch and pours their tea, making it as he remembers Evangeline liking it.]

Your feelings for him run deep. Love is not a word I have heard you use so.

I tried to remind him, everyday, that I wanted his company. That I loved it and him. That I craved him. As dangerous as his magics and his very body were. I would gladly risk much to spend time with him. To touch and hold him. To kiss him. To try and show him how much he means to me.

And I hope, at least a fraction of the time, I was successful.

[abnormalizes]

Love's not a word I use lightly. [She sips her tea once it's ready.] -Thank you, this is perfect.

...I think he knew we cared for him, at least. He may not have understood why or felt that he was at all deserving of it, but I think we proved that we did care for him, that we weren't just tolerating him.

[wolfishlycharming]

It is not a word I believe should be used lightly. I am glad you find it perfect.

I do believe you are right. He knew we cared for him...but he questioned his worthiness of our care. Of our love. Though that did not cause him to reject it. It brought upon him caution. Given his...physiology and his past, it is more than understandable.

Still. I wished to show him I had no hesitation. No fear of him for who and what he was. And I hope he finds someone, anyone, who could give that to him in his world. He deserves it, even if he does not see it for himself.

[abnormalizes]

I hope that too. -Before he came here he'd recently moved out of the literal catacombs and started living with a couple, so at least I know he won't be completely alone... But I don't know if they'll understand how much there is to love about him.

[It's better than before, but is it enough? Could he ever be loved enough, to make up for everything else?]