Re: lakeside mansion; hugh c./dietre a.
Dietre tensed briefly as Hugh’s hand settled on his arm, surprised by the contact, but he didn’t pull away. Kindness would always be his undoing, piercing the thin barriers he tried to build to keep himself together. Just this one display of compassion and understanding was enough for him to almost fall apart. It was clear Dietre was struggling to contain his emotions, watching Hugh with tragic eyes as he spoke.
The whole nightmare of his life threatened to spill out of him; his father’s contempt, his mother’s death, how he had grown up believing he was insane because he could see spirits, his suicide attempts, Liam’s body in the lake… With a great effort he swallowed it down, eyes squeezed shut until he could regain control. That was all far too much to dump on Hugh, it would be unfair to the man, Dietre couldn’t burden him like that. In time, maybe… he would air these things out, bit by bit. An infection needing to be purged. But not yet. Not the first time they met.
“Alright…” He whispered, hoarse once he was able to talk. “I can do that.” He bit his lip for a second before turning to Hugh to return his smile, small and wavering, but very much full of gratitude. “Thank you, Hugh…”
As if she possessed some innate sense of perfect timing to lighten the tension, Sieglinde came padding over with some colorful stuffed toy in her mouth. She had found it in Heart’s stash, no doubt, and thought it worthy of showing her master. She sat before him, tail thumping the floor, wearing an irresistible doggy smile so that Dietre had no choice but to reach down and scratch her behind the ears and ask, “Did your new friend let you borrow that?”