Richard, King of Windor (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ledbythewind) wrote2014-08-24 11:13 pm
ledbythewind) wrote2014-08-24 11:13 pm
[Action/Voice]
[Having to wake Asbel up in the mornings isn't anything out of the ordinary for Richard. In fact, it's become a routine of sorts by now, as his friend is a notoriously heavy sleeper who often needs the assistance of a pillow to the head or the scent of a fresh bowl of curry to lure him into wakefulness.
Today, however, he can tell right away that something is wrong when he opens the door, even if he can't see anything. The room is too quiet, too still, and his heart suddenly feels as if it's being squeezed in a vise. It's a struggle just to get Asbel's name past his lips in what is more of a plea than anything else. He doesn't even care that he almost trips over Tiger Festival on his way to the bed; he's just reaching out to feel the blankets, because surely Asbel is just sleeping too deeply to hear him, that has to be it...
... only the bed is empty, made up properly, as if no one has ever slept in it. There isn't even any warmth left to signal that Asbel had been sleeping there not long ago. Desperately he straightens up and gropes his way to the closet door, opening it to reach inside and feel for the clothing that he knows should be there, but that too is empty.
And even though he knows what that means, he doesn't want to accept it. He doesn't want to accept that his friend is gone. Numb, he reaches for his journal and fumbles it open, because he owes Asbel at least that much.]
Asbel Lhant has returned home to Ephinea.
[Composed as ever, even though his heart is breaking. That accomplished, he shuts the journal before he has to deal with anyone offering sympathies. He'll respond later, but right now the pain is too raw. He just doesn't have the heart to have to face the fact that Asbel is gone over and over again.
Instead, he sets the journal down and curls up in Asbel's bed, which by some miracle still smells like him. Now, for the first time, the darkness that Richard has become so accustomed to feels cold and oppressive and utterly lonely.]
Today, however, he can tell right away that something is wrong when he opens the door, even if he can't see anything. The room is too quiet, too still, and his heart suddenly feels as if it's being squeezed in a vise. It's a struggle just to get Asbel's name past his lips in what is more of a plea than anything else. He doesn't even care that he almost trips over Tiger Festival on his way to the bed; he's just reaching out to feel the blankets, because surely Asbel is just sleeping too deeply to hear him, that has to be it...
... only the bed is empty, made up properly, as if no one has ever slept in it. There isn't even any warmth left to signal that Asbel had been sleeping there not long ago. Desperately he straightens up and gropes his way to the closet door, opening it to reach inside and feel for the clothing that he knows should be there, but that too is empty.
And even though he knows what that means, he doesn't want to accept it. He doesn't want to accept that his friend is gone. Numb, he reaches for his journal and fumbles it open, because he owes Asbel at least that much.]
Asbel Lhant has returned home to Ephinea.
[Composed as ever, even though his heart is breaking. That accomplished, he shuts the journal before he has to deal with anyone offering sympathies. He'll respond later, but right now the pain is too raw. He just doesn't have the heart to have to face the fact that Asbel is gone over and over again.
Instead, he sets the journal down and curls up in Asbel's bed, which by some miracle still smells like him. Now, for the first time, the darkness that Richard has become so accustomed to feels cold and oppressive and utterly lonely.]
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... Look. It's just me and you here.
I know how you feel, okay? Mostly...
There's no reason to be ashamed about it if you are.
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[A deep breath, and he tries to steady himself.]
He belongs at home, not here. And I'll see him again when we return.
[But even saying that doesn't really make him feel any better at all.]
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[Again, it's just the two of them. He's not going to put up any pretenses of being hardened to this sort of thing.]
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[Except his voice cracks again before he can stop it, another shuddering sob wracking his body.]
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[He gives the blond a very light squeeze.]
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Although he's trying his best to keep it quiet, the shaking of his body will no doubt give it away.]
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It might not help much, but he needs to do it.]
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Somehow there's something more painful and raw about this than about the loss of Sanji or even Naoki, because Asbel has been such a constant in his life that the thought of being without his oldest friend yet again hurts in a way those other losses didn't.
He feels lost, almost, and it frightens him.]
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[This is spoken in a whisper against Richard's shirt.]
I know it's not the same, but I'm here for you. It'll be alright.
[That's not really something he can promise, but he says it anyway.]
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[Anything he could possibly say just feels so empty, because how can he possibly express how much that offer means to him? How can he convey how much any of them mean to him?
With Asbel gone, Isamu is now the only anchor he has left. He has other friends, true, but none of them he trusts anywhere near as much. Isamu is the only one who knows the real him, not the him he shows to the rest of the world.]
Please, just... stay here with me.
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[A brief, comforting squeeze.]
As if I have anything more important to do than be here.
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[It seems like an innocuous enough statement given the circumstances, but...]
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I mean, yeah. I want you to be able to trust me, but I'm sure there are others. Or will be others.
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[That much he's certain of. They're special, both of them. He needs them both.]
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You have to be more positive.
... Like me. I'm the very model of positivity.
[This is such a lie, and this isn't really the time to joke around, so it comes out awkwardly.]
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[The laugh that escapes Richard at that is pained, disbelieving.]
What right do you have to tell me to be positive at a time like this?
[He sounds like he isn't sure whether to laugh at that, burst into tears, or both. Both is starting to sound like a good option right about now...]
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[Though he doesn't sound positive at all.]
No one ever said friends always give the best advice.