InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Yes what?"

Hal (dominopusher) wrote in makebelievelog,
@ 2012-04-13 11:50:00

Entry tags:

hal york, thomas macnair

Who: Hal York and Tom McNair
What: Reunions,
When: Friday, after this.
Where: Hallway, then Tom's rooms.
Rating/Warnings: TBD
Status: In progress/Closed

Despite his somewhat careful, detached way with Tom over the network, Hal was glad to see the younger man. He liked familiarity, and more importantly he liked Tom. Which he shouldn't, because he was uncouth and a bit of an idiot at times, but there it was. He had been reading the only decent broadsheet newspaper that seemed to be available in the castle when the all-too-familiar voice appeared on his phone, and soon he was folding it up, tucking it under his arm, and padding towards the door.

Pulling it open, Hal blinked out at the young man stood by the other open doorway. If he was honest, he was still trying to catch up on what Tom had told him. Most importantly, despite the arrival of a girl and Cutler into his life, his apparent slip off the wagon. If he really was detoxing back home (Which was a horribly unplesant experience at the best of times, let alone after 55 years), he supposed he must look a good sight better than he did the last time Tom had saw him. He wasn't completely sure he could say the same to him.

"You really don't have to yell, you know."

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hungry_likethe
2012-04-13 01:08 pm UTC (link)

Tom grinned when the door opened and Hal was standing there, looking just as he had a few weeks ago, before all the shit started with the baby and the vampires.

"Sorry, just happy to see you, mate," he said bounding the short distance and then stopping just short of Hal. He had intended to give him a hug or something, but Hal didn't really like to be touched so he sort of teetered uncertainly on his feet for a moment, before taking a step back. "You look good. Better than when I left you." He didn't mentioned that he'd tied Hal to a chair to help him kick his addiction. It was probably best not to mention it. "So, wanna explain what's going on here, or what?"

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dominopusher
2012-04-13 11:03 pm UTC (link)

"Erm... okay." Hal took a sharp step back as Tom approached. As fond as he was of the young werewolf, he didn't think that was a reasonable argument for unneeded physical contact. He turned his head a little to give the younger man a sideways warning look, then sighed and pulled the door to his rooms closed behind him.

"Come on," he took a breath and forced himself to reach out and take Tom's elbow, dragging him back into the room the werewolf had just come from. "Only complete barbarians have conversations in the hallway," he told Tom sternly as they moved back over his room. Hal paused on the threshold, having to grit his teeth and tighten his shoulders before he could step inside without the verbal invitation. Hal had managed to learn a few tricks in his time hanging around with the rest of the Old Ones, after all. He sighed once inside and shut the door carefully behind him, swinging around with his hands clasped in the small of his back.

"It's a..." Hal fished around for a better word, but failed to come up with one. "Kidnapping, of sorts. We got taken from home and put here to... live."

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hungry_likethe
2012-04-14 12:14 am UTC (link)

Happy to let Hal lead him back across the hall, still grinning a little stupidly. He was just relieved to see Hal, and know that he wasn't a danger to anyone. Well, provided that he never met up with Cutler here, he supposed, cause that's who Tom blamed for getting Hal drinking again. Once inside his room, he moved to the cushy looking sofa and flopped into it, but Hal's explanation had him leaning forward, both elbows on his knees as he listened intently.

"So, what? We're just...stuck?" he said, looking for confirmation before he decided how he felt about that.

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dominopusher
2012-04-14 10:42 pm UTC (link)

Hal followed Tom towards the sofa and sat down carefully into one of the chairs, his hands falling to rest neatly on his knees, back poker-straight. "Yes," he answered shortly. "Until whoever brought us here decides to send us back. I've been here for around a month."

He drummed his fingers in a rhythm against his trouser leg, examining Tom carefully for a moment, as if that would inform him about what he wanted to know without the need for actual conversation. But it apparently didn't work all that well, because in the end he sighed and settled back in the seat, sinking into the cushion. "What did you say about Nick Cutler?"

He hadn't heard that name in nearly half a century. It had been a bit of a surprise to hear Tom, of all people, mentioning his old friend.

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hungry_likethe
2012-04-15 01:23 pm UTC (link)

Tom's fists clenched at the mention of Cutler. If it hadn't been for Hal, Tom might have hurt innocent people at the club that night, all because of that complete prat.

"He tricked me, Hal," he said, feeling as stupid as people often told him he was. "He got my trust after I fought a vamp and then set me up. He was gonna let me loose on innocents during the full moon. Thanks to you, no one was hurt, cept Alex." He ran his hands over his head. "Cutler killed her cause you was sweet on her. Revenge or something. Made you drink her blood. It weren't pretty."

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dominopusher
2012-04-15 05:01 pm UTC (link)

Oh. Hal had a brief flash of Cutler's wife on the table, decades ago, and felt guilt crash through him. He wasn't surprised, not really - Vampires could have very long memories. But he wouldn't have thought Cutler would... He must have changed somewhat in the last fifty years.

"Cutler is... cleverer than most," he finally told Tom, a little awkwardly. "You shouldn't feel bad about him... erm... tricking you." But comforting people didn't come easily to Hal, and he shifted in his seat a little uncomfortably. "Why did he set you onto humans?"

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hungry_likethe
2012-04-15 10:56 pm UTC (link)

It made him feel slightly better that Hal didn't call him stupid and he looked up. Hal had explained Cutler's plan to him, after he'd changed back.

"He wanted to show the humans something worse than vampires. Part of some grand plan to take over," he explained. "Didn't work, but. Someone else cleaned up the mess, and it weren't the vamps. They even hid Alex's body somewhere."

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dominopusher
2012-04-16 11:39 am UTC (link)

Hal had no idea who this 'Alex' girl was, and so failed to feel any real connection concerning her death. He felt a bit bad about it, of course - it was his fault. But he didn't know her, so the whole thing was a bit confusing for him. He couldn't imagine falling for a girl. He was so careful not to get too close to people - wasn't that what Leo had always said to him?

He frowned at Tom's next words. "And we don't know who?" He sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. As long as it's cleaned up." He touched his thumb against his forefinger, tapping it a few times in a predetermined pattern to try and expell some of the agitation.

"What about Eve?"

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hungry_likethe
2012-04-17 12:17 am UTC (link)

Hal managed to hide his whatever indifference he felt about Alex's death enough that Tom wasn't upset on her behalf. He didn't really know her himself, except as Hal's girl. He'd been a bit too distracted by Allison at the time to really give Alex more than casual politeness. Of course, it was awful that she was dead, but given that Annie had passed over with Eve, he was glad she was around. He gave a heavy sigh. Annie and Eve. He missed them and couldn't help but feel that he'd failed them, failed George.

"Nope, no idea, but yeah, they took care of everything, which is great, cause I musta got caught transformed on someone's phone, but it never come out on the telly or nothing," he said. Then, he leaned forward, running his hands over his head again. "Eve's dead, Hal."

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dominopusher
2012-04-17 05:13 pm UTC (link)

Sometimes Hal completely gave up when it came to Tom's butchery of the English language, but he was rather used to it by now. At least enough that it didn't get under his skin to quite the same extent as it had when they'd first met. Anyway, he was distracted by the second bit of news.

"What?" Had he missed something major? The baby... the whole point had always been to keep the baby safe. What the hell could have happened to get past Annie, of all people? As soft and kind as she was, she definitely wasn't the kind of person - ghost - that you'd want to cross when it came to Eve.

Then a terrible thought struck him. "It wasn't... I didn't... did I?"

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hungry_likethe
2012-04-18 02:23 pm UTC (link)

"What?" Tom said in shock, as he turned his wide eyes on Hal. Why would he possibly think he had anything to do with Eve's death? Well, there was that one time when he'd caught Hal vamped out at her cradle-side but that had been weeks ago. Then again, Hal did come from weeks ago, didn't he? "No, it were Annie. S'bout the prophecy. We got it wrong and Eve had to die to save the world, or sommat. Well, really, it were all of us. I built the bomb, you took it to 'em and then Annie blew it. Killed all them old ones and Baby Eve, too." He sighed heavily, his head sinking into his hands again.

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dominopusher
2012-04-18 07:30 pm UTC (link)

"Right."

Hal went very quiet for a few minutes, silently processing what he'd been told without any outward signs of whatever was going on inside his head. Eve had to die to save the world... What kind of prophecy was that? He felt a self-conscious itching around the burn mark on his arm, but dismissed it. Hal pressed his lips together into a harsh line, looking thoughtfully back at Tom, who had his head in his hands.

Taking a deep breath, Hal reached forward and awkwardly patted Tom's shoulder a few times. At least he didn't say 'there there'.

"But the world got saved?" he offered. "That's... a good thing."

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hungry_likethe
2012-04-19 11:55 am UTC (link)

It was just a small thing, but Tom took so much comfort from that touch. He sighed heavily and nodded his head. Funny how saving the world didn't mean it didn't still hurt like hell to have lost Annie and Eve. What would George say if he knew? He'd promised him, promised he'd take care of Eve and he'd failed.

"Try not to think about it, to be honest," he said. "We got our work cut out for us, helping you go clean, so been focusing on that."

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