Dr. Sasha Pukhov | The Sorcerer's Apprentice (stress) wrote in fableless, @ 2017-03-28 19:51:00
WHO: Carter Pukhova and Sasha Pukhov WHEN: Backdated to yesterday, March 27 WHERE: Telephone call! SUMMARY: Carter calls Sasha to tell him the news WARNINGS: Balloon stuff STATUS: Complete!
She was calling them by order of her phone. First Anna (in honesty, Anna would’ve been first regardless), next Eliza, and lastly Sasha. She was glad it worked out that way. The luck of the alphabet. Because by the time she reached him a calm had settled over her. She didn’t feel as if she were going to cry or jump over her skin with every rumble of thunder. Her gaze stopped finding itself to the sky.
Sasha had a way of hitting things to the heart of the matter that Carter didn’t feel it was smart for her to tap into right now. Not in this weather. Not when her family needed her. Dad was out of town and Anna had fallen into a silence. And without -- And she was holding the fort on her own.
A focus on calling her family, making sure her cousins and sister were safe, was helping with that.
She hesitated before she dialed his number, but then quickly pressed his name on her contacts.
And waited.
Sasha turned away from the window as he heard his cell phone vibrate against his desk, lips pressed together as he tried to push aside thoughts associated with the rain that pelted against the glass. His next appointment wouldn't show; she had a strong aversion to being out in storms.
“Hallo?” He said, bringing the phone to his ear as he made a note to turn it off before his later clients arrived.
“Hey. Sasha. It’s me. Carter.” The almost robotic staccato wasn’t unusual. However, it was devoid of the warm affection that spilled out for family. The hint of teasing that was often there when talking to Sasha.
She sounded beyond monotone. She sounded flat.
“You’re busy?” If he wasn’t at work, he probably would be soon. What with all that was happening.
Sasha’s brow furrowed as he registered the way Carter’s voice lifelessly traveled over the network. He could feel a slight tugging sensation in the back of his head, indicating someone needed help, but ignored it as he perched on the edge of his desk. It could wait.
“No, I have some time between sessions. Is everything okay?” It wasn't out of the norm for her not to talk, but something was up.
“No, um.” This is the third time she had done this call. And it still wasn’t easy. She wasn’t surprised by this, and she hadn’t forgotten that fact - the lack of ease through repetition, Carter just would’ve liked to know how to say it. “Did you go to the park today? See the balloon?”
No. Wait. Rip off the bandaid. “Uhm, I need you to sit.” She always went with that suggestion because she could understand that need. But it wasn’t for everyone. “Something happened. So. Sit. Or whatever you need.”
Sasha waited. He could be patience personified if the situation called for it, and it was a trait that helped in his profession. People responded better when they didn't feel like they were forced to say something they didn't want to.
“No, I had an early morning session. What's going on, liebling?” He asked after a while, brushing a few documents to the side as he made himself comfortable on his perch.
Carter resisted the urge to double check that he was sitting.
“Elsie was at the park. On the balloon. It floated off. It, there was a crack in the sky. It disappeared into it.”
“Что? The sky cracked?” Sasha brought a hand up to scrub at his cheeks as Carter’s words washed over him, his mind instantly flicking through the catalog of tales he had stored in his mind to make sense of what had happened. He knew he should say something comforting - she had just lost a sister - but he was struck by the sudden feeling that they had somehow been transported out of this life and shoved into another tale.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, picturing Carter trying to hold everything and everyone together now that Elsie was gone. He was the eldest; he could carry some of the weight for her. “Where are you?” He asked, pushing off the desk and reaching for his calendar. He could move things around. People would understand he needed to be with his family.
“Mhm.” She said in response to his first question. There was nothing more she could, or wanted, to elaborate on. She could tell him the color or how it looked. But it wouldn’t help either of them. “I’m with your dad. We’re calling family. I already told ‘Liza and, and Anna. And he’s taking me home.” Then maybe to his place. However, Carter didn’t promise that to Sasha like she hadn’t to Eliza. It all depended on what happened when she saw her sister. On if either of them would want to leave the house once Carter got there.
“I can be there in ten minutes,” Sasha assured her as the silence stretched on. He paused, considering his options, before adding, “Do you want us all there, or do you want time with just Anna?” Different people grieved in their own way; what was right for some wasn't for others. He loved his family, but he didn't want to cause any more undue stress.
A softly hitched, shaky breath came threw. And then silence. It was relief and appreciation. “I need time with Anna.” She finally said after a few steady breaths. It went without saying to her, but she said it anyway as an expression of her thanks. The sentiment coloring the low cadence of her words. He got it. “And - I’ll let you know if things change. Maybe -- I’ll be over later.” Eventually. The prospect of leaving the house seemed as daunting as the thought of sitting in silence with Anna felt suffocating. But she would probably choose staying with her sister.
“Then you'll have time with Anna,” Sasha promised, shooting an email to his remaining clients and asking to reschedule. He grabbed his keys as her voice floated to him, breaking his heart as she tried to keep things together. He'd gather his side of the Pukhovs, binding them together as they grieved Elsie’s sudden loss, and would be there for when Anna and Carter needed them to hold to as they navigated this new, unexpected journey they were now in. “We’ll be there for you when you need us, whenever that is. That's what family is for, liebling.”