InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Ah blitznack!"

onceandfuture_ (onceandfuture_) wrote in musingslogs,
@ 2010-09-21 11:11:00

Entry tags:

king arthur, lancelot, river tam

Who: Warren, William and Severin Connolly.
What: A reunion of sorts.
Where: William's apartment in The Bathos.
When: After this and this.
Warnings: Probably none at all.

Warren allowed himself to lean against the elevator. It was a quick ride to the fifth floor, enough where he would often take the stairwell, but for once he was thankful for the brief moment of solitude. As the eldest brother, he knew from an early age his responsibilities, and more than anything he would have to keep himself composed at this visit. There could be no allowances for doubt or anxiousness, not when his very voice could project onto others his emotions.

Calmness then, like that of a leader, a captain. Military intuition told him to step back and analyze the situation, make a strategy based on reason and lend his younger brothers what guidance he could. Give them whatever they needed in fact, and with so much celebrity capital, Warren could afford to give them a great deal. He'd been nearly a man when Severin was born, already halfway out the door when they'd crossed through the portal into humanity. Perhaps the two didn't share the same familiarity as he and William (or some of the other boys at that), but blood was blood. Warren was honor-bound. He would do all he could for Severin and without hesitation.

As the door opened with a cursory chime, he took a final, calming breath and walked out into the hallway. His strides were wide and even, and as Warren stepped to the front of 505, he only hesitated for a moment before walking inside.

"William," he called out softly, carefully shutting the door behind him.

(Post a new comment)

grailseeker
2010-09-21 05:21 pm UTC (link)

Tea. Tea was a ritual, one of leaves and warmed china and boiled water and it was something to engross himself in until -- until what, Will? Warren could no more pick up the fractured pieces of their brother and make him quite whole as he could contemplate (as any of them could) just how fractured Severin seemed to be. Sleep had been unfulfilling, utterly resistant to being appropriated and Will had woken from what little dozing he had had, quite uncomfortably curled in an armchair opposite the couch, with a book still spreadeagled against his chest. The call had been made just after dawn, when he'd woken in dusty sunlight and seen Sev lying there, cheek against faded purple velvet couch arm and realized, heavy-hearted, it wasn't just a bad dream.

Now he stood bare-foot in the kitchen, neatly avoiding what passed for leftovers in the fridge beside the milk and stirred the tea quite obediently, doing as he had for so many years, for as long as he could contemplate -- what his brother commanded. The door pealed slightly stickily (the chime needed fixing, it had needed fixing for eight months but that was a short enough time for anything in this apartment) but the only person expected had a key. Will raked a hand through tangled curls until they stood on end, and tapped the teaspoon against the pot -- ready.

"Here."

(Reply to this) (Thread)

bytwos
2010-09-21 05:56 pm UTC (link)

Severin had slept heavily, a sleep full of dreams, of nightmares. Will getting up and moving about the kitchen making tea hadn't stirred him, but the phone call had. He had woken with his head still against the arm of the couch and listened to the call, and when Will hung up the phone sleep claimed him again. He wasn't ready to face anything just yet, morning among them.

When he slept again, a nightmare came. They were commonplace, the nightmares. He had endured some spectacular ones in the Institute, encouraged by chemicals and the day to day events of life there, but, then again, waking life itself in the Institute had been a nightmare all on its own. This one was an old motif - escape, freedom, warmth, and then they found him, they pulled him away kicking and screaming. They were angry for what he had done, what he had wrought on their grand plan. They made him watch as they killed first his parents, then his brothers. They made him listen to their thoughts as they cut off, snapped to a stop.

He woke just after Warren walked in the door, sitting straight up on the couch, gasping for breath. The new face almost set him screaming - they were here - and then realization crashed in. Warren, it was only Warren.

He sank back against the couch after a moment of sitting ramrod straight, his whole body deflating. "Just a transient medium for horror," he murmured, "Just a painting." It hadn't been real, but it had felt real enough.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

onceandfuture_
2010-09-21 09:23 pm UTC (link)

Warren stood quietly in the doorway. He didn't expect--well, he wasn't sure just what to expect by William's phone call, but it surely couldn't have been this. Had he not witnessed things in his time of service, damned horrible things, the sight of his brother who now looked very little like his own memories would have sent him backwards. Granted, he'd been almost a man by the time Severin was born, halfway out the door already. The two weren't the closest of the brothers and they'd never shared the same familiarity Warren had with William (or even some of the other boys), but he held nothing but affection for Severin. The sight only solidified his vows to work through whatever mess he'd found himself in.

Warren crossed over to the sofa with a careful stride, kicking about William's scattered messes as he approached. Kneeling beside the sofa, he gave the younger man a careful appraisal. "Been a while, hasn't it," he asked, his voice carrying with calmness and warmth. "Didn't sleep so well, aye? It's a wonder anyone could relax in a terrible mess as this anyway, but we'll not let William in on it just yet. Still time to bring in a cleaner." He was careful not to make much movement, or touch the man if he felt ill at ease; there would be plenty of time for hugs later. Now, Warren simply waited.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

grailseeker
2010-09-21 09:41 pm UTC (link)

Will heard the sound from the kitchen -- there was a crash of tea and mugs and pots and other things so very not fucking necessary when Severin was in such clear distress -- again. He swore, loudly and with distinct feeling as pieces of pottery skittered and jumped against the tiles in a hot dance of boiling water and tea-leaves, and the curse wasn't anything to do with the mess or the bright red mark across his arm he was rubbing when he hurried into the living room. Will had scarce an eye for Warren beyond the cursory -- who else would it be, after all? Who else would walk in and --

"You don't need to scream, Sev, it's all right. It's all right." One hand was raking through messy curls already on end; Will had the slightly white look of too little sleep and defeat and worry. Of all the brothers, he had had the least cause to worry, to protect, to defend, sheltered as the youngest for so very long. Now he had his free hand pressed against Severin's back, sank down onto the couch beside him and looked at Warren.

"It's been like this all night."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bytwos
2010-09-22 12:56 am UTC (link)

The sound had been quickly bitten off, smothered as fast as he could manage it. When the crash of pottery came he looked to the kitchen, listening to Will swear, and winced a little.

He looked back at Warren, eyes darting in a way they never had before, taking his measure. When he made the comment about the mess, Severin smiled a little. "Damned horrible things," he said, mimicking the intonation he had used when he'd said it, because he liked the way that sounded, adult and serious and very Warren. Then again...had Warren said it?

Before he could dwell too long on that Will was back in the room, and it wasn't until he had his hand on his back that he remembered why he'd screamed in the first place, realized he was shaking. Will wanted to comfort him, but his thoughts were spikes of concern tinged with exhaustion. "They were angry," he said, looking at Warren but not looking at him, eyes far off. "I left, and they were angry. No one caught them," he said, and he turned to Will. "The possibilities are infinite. They could be here today, tomorrow, outside the door and they - the things -"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

onceandfuture_
2010-09-23 02:23 pm UTC (link)

Warren held back a grimace at the sudden shattering from the kitchen. He should've been around to deal with this mess himself, not at some needless book-signing in another state. Now the three of them were all in a mess. He watched as his brother approached from the kitchen, looking completely haggard and disheveled--his entire posture was enough to indicate just how dire their meeting had been.

He cast a glance up to William as he sat, wondering how much it would take to put the boy right again. They would need solidarity if they were going to work around this properly. Warren needed him calm. "I suppose it has," he replied.

At Severin's imitation, Warren's expression turned to surprise. Had he managed to say that aloud? "No one's coming around," he assured his brother calmly, trying carefully to keep up with him. "Just us three, and maybe some pizza later, aye? You look like you could use a good meal, Sevvy."

Scratching at his beard in thought to his next question, Warren watched the two of them carefully as he asked, "Now I don't suppose one of you will tell me properly just what's been going on while I was away?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

grailseeker
2010-09-23 10:30 pm UTC (link)

Will's voice was soft, the kind of soft that was a blanket to swaddle concern and bundle sharp edges away -- he looked into Severin's face with eyes that were steady and honest and hushed away the worries, "They won't be outside the door, Severin, not tomorrow or the next day, we'll find them first." He made his promises, even as he wondered who the them were, and he rubbed a hand through Severin's hair and settled it against the back of his little brother's neck, with a way of doing so that was beginning to be without thought. It was only then Will's attention turned away from the immediate, the need to quiet the shaking and shouting, the tremulous edge that Sev seemed balanced on when awake and worse when asleep -- and to Warren.

"He was on the forums," Will explained with a shrug that was helplessness and a lack of explanation -- things often did not make sense, not in Seattle, not these days, not at all since he'd moved there -- but Severin had never been caught up in it and now it seemed, the threads of what made Seattle so very different now had caught around the glass of his brother and broken it. "I found him in someone's apartment," his gaze caught Warren's above Severin's head, the 'someone' was very definite and deliberate, almost as empty as the place had been itself. "He's got an article. His school, Warren."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bytwos
2010-09-24 01:35 am UTC (link)

Severin's keyed up tension released a little when his brother put his hand on the back of his neck. Will didn't understand. He meant well, but his comforting words weren't going to keep them away, wouldn't keep him safe for long if they decided to come and find him. If. Not if, but when.

"You won't," he said, eyes downcast but nothing more. He heard the question about what had happened but didn't rise to it, hands resting on his lap, head bowed, Will's hand on the back of his neck. He was hungry, he realized. He hadn't thought about it before. He listened to the conversation, and the second conversation of thoughts layered over it. It was difficult to filter the one from the other, since they both seemed like natural progressions. "Trees, branching off," he said, looking up just as Will finished speaking.

The article was still in his pocket, and he pulled it out, unfolded it, and set it down on the couch beside him. It was marked with names, numbers and black scratches, dozens of words cut out of the page. The gist of the article was still legible, however. It was an article from the Seattle Times, about a week old, written about a private school out in a rural area of Washington that had been burned to the ground and subsequently outed as a human testing facility. "It's not finished," he said, with trepidation, as if it was his life's work not yet copy edited.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

onceandfuture_
2010-09-24 04:26 pm UTC (link)

Warren stood to his full height as William began to explain. So it was all a meeting of chance? Just luck of the forums that they'd managed to discover Severin at all? He stood there, hands in the pockets of his expensive Italian slacks curled into fists, until his brother had finished.

His other brother replied as well, and it was all he could do to keep himself composed at this; he'd promised his parents that no harm would come to his siblings. Had they all been so completely blind to the dangers of this new world? "So the school was burned and he found his way to us somehow then," Warren replied, processing the fragmented information.

He leaned down to take the article. It was barely readable with so many markings and cut-out words, the entire page a mess of barely coherent thought. Human testing facility, he read to himself, mouth twitching in dread. Detaching from the emotion as much as he was able, Warren ran down the page of words--hoping futilely to unravel its hidden code. After a silent moment he placed it carefully back where Severin had set it.

"Whatever this mess is about, I promise that whatever happens you'll not go it alone any longer," Warren said, entirely resolute in his oath. He looked from one brother to the next. "William no doubt agrees. Since you need a place to stay for the moment, I suppose our first order is to come to an arrangement you'll feel comfortable with. We'll share dinner together, the three of us, and sometime Severin--" he hesitated a moment, a flash of concern that he quickly suppressed, "--You'll want to tell us the rest of things."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

grailseeker
2010-09-24 05:09 pm UTC (link)

With his hand rested against one brother, and another so clearly within view, Will ought to be settled -- in the very physical middle of his family, surrounded by family fealty and faith, but a very small candle of concern in his breast kept lighting and being extinguished and re-lit once again as Warren stood steady like an priest to take comfort from -- but Will knew the odd sensation that was being with Warren, a curdling of mind that wasn't his own, and he ducked his gaze and made an intense study of the nap of the couch's velvet.

"He can stay with me," he said as though it were without question, because it was when Warren moved such a great deal and the mere idea of leaving Severin to his own devices was impossible. "He'll stay here. You can send that idiot maid service round to clean up," and there was a quirk of the mouth when he looked at Warren that didn't meet the eyes -- peacemaker, smoother of savage edges, Will tried for humor that did little to lighten the mood, "And we'll manage." Will held out his spare hand for Warren to take, in a clasping agreement of how it would be. They would bear up, beneath the weight of a brother who couldn't manage himself, not right now, because it was how it had been and how it would be.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bytwos
2010-09-24 11:42 pm UTC (link)

Severin's mind was like a knife, wielded on everything he saw. When he was lucid, when the chaos cleared and he could direct that blade accurately, what he said made sense. If not, it made sense at least to him, and he never failed to be just as sharp as always, confusion and non-sequiturs aside. He followed Warren's thoughts. They would have dinner, and one day...

The thought dropped off there. They weren't to know about it. He knew in that moment that what had happened to him in the Institute, the hurricane of memories that whipped him along, he could never share that with these two. It would break them. He had to protect them from that.

So he nodded, looking between them. He would live here, and there would be a maid, and they would manage. Because Will was right. He couldn't manage himself, not right now.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

onceandfuture_
2010-09-25 07:29 pm UTC (link)

Warren took a moment before shaking his brother's hand. Perhaps it would lessen William's nerves if he were to have a more direct handle on just how Severin got along. True enough that he himself was busy at the most inconvenient of moments, but for his brothers, he would do most anything. If something bad were to happen, Warren was sure the situation could be adjusted accordingly. "Aye then," he said to William, hands clasped in firm agreement, "you'll have him room here for the time being, and I'll finally have an excuse to clean up the place." A twitch of his mouth at that, but even Warren wasn't up to his usual humours. No, certainly not.

"So as that's agreed," he continued, flopping down on the opposite end of the sofa, the old piece of furniture sagging under his bulky form, "I'll make a few phone calls and by the end of the evening we'll be well-stuffed with greasy take out. Even for a somber greeting as this, boys, a proper Connolly dinner is in order."

He reached into his jacket and nodded to himself. This was but the beginning.

(Reply to this) (Parent)