[The knock is one thing. Her voice, giving away her identity, is another.
This was going to happen sooner or later. (Sooner is better than later, and most likely for the best.) There's a pause before Rufus gets up to silently open the door.]
[ It had stung, when she'd heard that there was apparently a whole group of people who had known. It had hurt even more when speculation had brought up his name and--
Dorothy knows she has absolutely no right to be hurt by this. That was emotional. Rufus was... he had made it abundantly clear that this was a business partnership. The goals were clear. He did what he did to gather nova and bring this to an end.
But he hadn't participated in the discussions.
But he'd known, and Dorothy makes a quiet, little choked noise in her throat right before she throws a punch at his cheek. ]
I hated that! Every moment of it, and you-- even knowing that--
[His head snaps aside from the blow, and there it lingers before eventually righting itself as Rufus closes his eyes.]
. . . Why do you think I took you aside?
[Seeing her make a fool out of herself, strung up like a puppet to a series of clumsy hands—of course he knows that she hated it. He had known from the start that she would hate it.]
[ Dorothy is silent for a long moment-- because he had been the only one to stop her. The one to remind her what she needed to do, even through the confusing shift of her emotions, and the one who had led her away until she had been able to handle it a little better.
Rufus doesn't tend to do things he thinks are unnecessary-- she knows that too. In his own way, he'd been protesting this, hadn't he?
She won't apologize for hitting him... but instead, she steps closer and just-- leans, pressing her forehead to his shoulder. ]
I want to add a new term to our agreement. Temporarily.
[Just like the punch, he accepts her weight as she leans into him, neither offering an apology nor seeking forgiveness on his end. Regardless of the reasons, they're all responsible for their individual parts in everything that's transpired over the weeks.
It's a response fueled by foolish emotions at best—one that puts him at a disadvantage—but he listens.]
[His cheek smarts where she struck him, but a bit of physical discomfort is nothing to the humiliation she endured last week. Wordlessly, he moves to the adjacent bed, where Rupe watches Dorothy for a moment before climbing onto his feet and padding over to sniff her feet.]
[ Dorothy glances down at Rupe, then leans down just enough to offer him her hand before she tries to pet him. Hey, buddy. ]
Yes, by... going through twisted approximations of what seemed to be the memories from the others who had also died. [ Hence why she's scuffed up. ]
... I remembered the song, the day I died. The one you were able to recognize when I couldn't. It's strange, the things you sometimes don't realize you've lost until they return to you.
[ Beatrice had commented once that Dorothy always seemed to be humming it, even when she wasn't consciously aware of it. Apparently old habits died hard. ]
[ Stop calling her out that she talks to your master a lot, okay. But also once he's satisfied that he knows her, she'll rub an ear and then let him do as he pleases. ]
... Were you hurt, at all? When you were getting your memories back?
[ Well, he got punched by someone minutes ago, Dorothy. ]
[Satisfied by her familiarity and the rub, Rupe settles down on the floor next to Dorothy's feet. Perhaps she'll be able to sneak in a pet at some point.
The only visible damage on him is, in fact, the red splotch on his face from Dorothy's sucker punch. It will bruise.]
No. We were walking down a dark hallway when they started to return.
No, that was chaotic at best. But the removed were all discussing it before-- that the Leaders remembered that the problem in the Realm was apparently some manner of virus.
I was wondering if that might have had something to do with what happened to them... and how things have disappeared and reappeared this week.
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This was going to happen sooner or later. (Sooner is better than later, and most likely for the best.) There's a pause before Rufus gets up to silently open the door.]
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She didn't think he would, but Dorothy gazes at him where she stands.
She's a little scuffed up, weirdly. But. Eh. ]
May I come in?
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And then, still staring directly at him-- ]
I want to know how much you knew and if you actually approved of any of it.
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I knew that there was a plan to implicate you . . . but I didn't participate in the discussions.
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Dorothy knows she has absolutely no right to be hurt by this. That was emotional. Rufus was... he had made it abundantly clear that this was a business partnership. The goals were clear. He did what he did to gather nova and bring this to an end.
But he hadn't participated in the discussions.
But he'd known, and Dorothy makes a quiet, little choked noise in her throat right before she throws a punch at his cheek. ]
I hated that! Every moment of it, and you-- even knowing that--
Why?!
[ And her voice fragments, just slightly. ]
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. . . Why do you think I took you aside?
[Seeing her make a fool out of herself, strung up like a puppet to a series of clumsy hands—of course he knows that she hated it. He had known from the start that she would hate it.]
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Rufus doesn't tend to do things he thinks are unnecessary-- she knows that too. In his own way, he'd been protesting this, hadn't he?
She won't apologize for hitting him... but instead, she steps closer and just-- leans, pressing her forehead to his shoulder. ]
I want to add a new term to our agreement. Temporarily.
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It's a response fueled by foolish emotions at best—one that puts him at a disadvantage—but he listens.]
What is it?
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In exchange, let me stay here for a little longer. I've said what I needed to... to the ones who would listen.
[ She's tired and Rufus is always good for a quiet space. ]
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[He stands in place, waiting. To stay like this or move elsewhere in the room—the choice is Dorothy's. He won't push her around in here.
They could talk about it at length, but the past is the past. There's no changing it now. Sometimes, the quiet is better.]
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Rupe is best boy still, but that's fine. Dorothy will finally lift her head and move over to one of the beds to sit on the edge of it.
She's talked enough about it, she thinks. There's no changing what happened. ]
We've gotten closer to the end.
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Have you recovered your memories as well?
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Yes, by... going through twisted approximations of what seemed to be the memories from the others who had also died. [ Hence why she's scuffed up. ]
... I remembered the song, the day I died. The one you were able to recognize when I couldn't. It's strange, the things you sometimes don't realize you've lost until they return to you.
[ Beatrice had commented once that Dorothy always seemed to be humming it, even when she wasn't consciously aware of it. Apparently old habits died hard. ]
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Memories are sometimes all that remain. It's natural not to realize once you've forgotten.
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... Were you hurt, at all? When you were getting your memories back?
[ Well, he got punched by someone minutes ago, Dorothy. ]
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The only visible damage on him is, in fact, the red splotch on his face from Dorothy's sucker punch. It will bruise.]
No. We were walking down a dark hallway when they started to return.
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I meant more the process of finding the Leaders, but... [ Wow that mark sure is gonna bruise, huh. Amazing. ]
Goat's, ah. Aura told us that they were lost when he had us go through the pathway, and that you were all trying to find them.
Admittedly, I'm not sure what that entailed. [ Dark hallways, apparently. ]
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[ Dorothy hums a little, thoughtfully. ]
... By any chance, was there any mention of a virus?
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Was there any mention of it in your journey?
Aren't you supposed to be asleep
I was wondering if that might have had something to do with what happened to them... and how things have disappeared and reappeared this week.
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It's been said that eliminating the virus may require more than a fight.
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