johna dawlish, rules robot. (johna) wrote in cultureic, @ 2017-01-27 20:24:00 |
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Entry tags: | johna dawlish, wendeline toke |
WHO: Johna Dawlish and Wendeline Toke
WHAT: good-byes
WHEN: early evening, 26 January
WHERE: Wendeline’s flat
WARNINGS: nah
“I shrunk most of the boxes,” Johna said, after coming out of Wendeline’s guest bedroom. She’d spent most of the morning bringing things from her flat to Wendeline’s. “There will be some furniture left at my flat, but if you want any of it or want to donate it, that’s fine. Anything else you can do whatever you want with, but the most important things are in those boxes.” It was easier if she thought about this like a mental checklist, a list of things she needed to do before she could move onto the next thing. It was a way to not realize that the future was soon going to be very uncertain and possibly scary since she didn’t know what exactly was going to happen. “Here’s some money if you want to get a storage unit,” she said, going through her mental list. “I’ll bring over Sting - I’ve also signed -” she glanced at the crup who she refused to call Shithead “- both of you up for Cruppy and me classes and they’re paid for.” Shithead panted happily in her direction. "You didn't need to do that," Wendeline said. She looked and sounded tired, as though she'd spent a lot of time worrying, but both Wendeline and Johna knew that she would not acknowledge that. And Johna would not point it out. Some things were better left unsaid. "But I'll take it." “I know I didn’t have to, but I thought it might be good for everyone,” Johna said. She rubbed her forehead. “I think that’s everything, I’ll leave you some money in case you need it to cover anything that I might have forgotten.” The odds were that Johna had not forgotten anything. "I doubt you forgot anything," Wendeline reassured her. "What time are you leaving?" “I don’t know when we’re leaving yet,” Johna said. “I just know that it’s soon. In a few days soon, so I need to make sure that everything is taken care of.” "Oh," said Johna's cousin simply. A cursory glance around the flat revealed a whirlwind of carefully packed chaos, with boxes and coat hangers and a zany, happy puppy leaping playfully around their legs in desperate pursuit of attention. Wendeline reached down and scratched the puppy under the chin. He sighed. "So what now?" “I don’t know,” Johna said. “I think that once the other thing happened, it’ll be alright. I’ve done what the DMLE has asked of me but...I hope that they don’t give you a hard time when i’m gone.” She rubbed her forehead again. "I can handle it." It was true. Wendeline could handle anything. She stubbornly endured everything thrown her way, from Death Eater bosses to losses of friends to unexpected acquisitions of pets and governmental interference. "We'll be fine," Wendeline stated. “I don’t want something I’ve done to come back on you,” Johna said. Out of her pocket she handed Wendeline a burner phone and handed it to her. “If you need to get in touch with me, use this.” "We'll be fine," she repeated, but this time Wendeline took the phone offered to her. "You've thought of everything." “I tried to,” Johna said. “You can ward me too, but I thought that this might be easier.” It was easier to talk about things and plans and what needed to be done than it was that Johna was going to miss Wendeline and she couldn’t thank her enough for everything she’d done for her. She looked down at the cabinet. Wendeline said it first. "I'm going to miss you, you know. You've always been there." Johna let out a breath. “I’ll miss you too,” she said, her eyes still on the counter. She wanted to say something like it won’t be for forever but she wasn’t even sure that was true. She didn’t know what would happen next. Wendeline sighed. "Come here, give us a hug." Without waiting for her cousin to respond, Wendeline went in for the hug. Her arms formed a vicegrip around Johna, not really willing to let her go just yet. There should have been more time. Johna fought to keep her balance as Wendeline pulled her close and after a second wrapped an arm around her cousin, closing her eyes as tightly as she could. A brief wave of nausea rose in her stomach but she pushed it down. She was admittedly nervous and scared about what came next, but she let Wendeline hold her and ignored the thoughts. She needed to be in this moment and held her cousin close, focusing on the now. Because soon "now" would be in a different place. "This isn't forever," Wendeline stated emphatically. "I'm only keeping Sting until you come back." Because she would be able to come back. She had to. “Just till I come back,” Johna said and she hoped that it was a promise she would be able to keep. She let go of Wendeline and squeezed the other woman's arm affectionately. “I left Dedalus a note with some plants. You can tell her whatever you want.” There was a moment of silence before Wendeline added, her voice curious, "Whatever I want?" “Don't try to convince her that I have seven toes again, I meant within reason,” Johna said. Laughter escaped from Wendeline, who couldn't even suppress her smirk. "Fine. Within reason." Just then, a doorbell rang. "I think dinner's here," Wendeline added. "Shall we stuff our faces with pizza now?" “Yes,” Johna said, nudging her cousin. “I want to eat until I can't breath.” "Deal." |