[Day 2, Night - A House South of Town]

[direstnews]

[Written into the ground alongside one of the houses to the south of town tonight are a series of strange letters, forming a rough circle near the wall. A figure of approximately Loki's build, not there during the day's exploration, leans against the wall at the corner. The door to the house is open.]

[Some hours after the sudden switch from day to night, Loki stands in front of the door, a candle before him, a kitchen knife in one hand and a spoon in the other. He checks the mirror set carefully in the darkness, nothing yet visible in its surface. Then he strikes the knife with the spoon's handle, and he holds his breath - and he waits.]

Comments

[tearsinnajar]

[Lets out a long breath, rights herself, and gives herself a once over.]

No, I don't think so. You?

[assworthsaving]

No.

[Well it is certainly clear now that this place isn't just a prison- it's dangerous too. And there are supernatural creatures lurking around that can do some serious damage.

Which brings him back to his earlier concern. His eyes narrow, and he tries his best to not sound annoyed.]

So was that your idea of staying out of trouble?

[tearsinnajar]

[Places her hands on her hips.]

It's not what I had in mind, no.

[assworthsaving]

[Her response is a little disarming and his brain can't seem to decide if he was thankful for her having his back or upset that she didn't listen. So he hovers somewhere in-between.]

Yeah, well you could've gotten hurt, Elena.

[tearsinnajar]

[As if he can give her a lecture on this? She turns and jabs a finger in his direction as she speaks, not quite annoyed but not exactly calm.]

No, Nate. Don't do this.

[assworthsaving]

[His brows knit together and he feels his emotions going in a direction he doesn't want.]

Don't do what? Care?

[tearsinnajar]

That is not what I said. Look, we don't have a lot of options right now. We really don't know much of anything, and there are no guarantees that any place is safe.

[assworthsaving]

[She has a point. But he doesn't have to like it.]

I'm willing to bet that staying inside the inn would've been a lot safer than running out into the middle of all this.

[He says that but knows he is losing this argument. There was no guarantee that another creature wouldn't have snuck into any of the inns. And if that's the case then he would have rather had her by his side. Drake sighs heavily and looks away, wrestling with his thoughts.]

[tearsinnajar]

[She keeps her eyes fixed on him, unflinching from this argument. This entire relationship only happened because she refused to be left behind and she had no intention of making it a habit.]

You said you don't want to lose me, but has it ever occurred to you that I don't want to lose you, either?

[assworthsaving]

[That shuts him right up and he finds himself robbed of words and unable to put together any emotionally demanding counter-argument. Instead he nods silently, then carefully meets her gaze.]

... You're not gonna let me win this, are you?

[tearsinnajar]

Not a chance.

[assworthsaving]

Then promise you won't go running off without me.

[Because that shouldn't be too difficult if she was that concerned about him.]

[tearsinnajar]

No, Nate, I need you to trust me to be able to take care of myself when the situation calls for it.

[assworthsaving]

[And that made it worse and he can feel himself back on edge again.]

It's not about trust. Trust doesn't stop someone from hurting you, Elena. So how is letting you run off into danger any kind of compromise?

[And 'trust' doesn't stop someone from, say, setting off a grenade near her. But he doesn't dare bring that up.]

[tearsinnajar]

"Let" me? You don't get to decide what I do or what risks I choose to take! You can't put me in a tower, Nate.

[assworthsaving]

[He breathes out a chuckle in frustration.]

Well that's a little melodramatic, isn't it? All right, fine, poor choice of words- I'm not putting you in a tower. But 'thanks' for completely ignoring the point I was trying to make.

[God, he doesn't want to do this. He's tired, he's confused, worn down and sore from what only happened a few days ago, and, worse, Sully isn't anywhere to be found. After everything he just wanted to relax, but apparently that's not going to happen.]

[tearsinnajar]

[She's in no mood for this either, being just as tired and confused and scared and frustrated. But he's crossing the line between protective and over-protective, and she can't have that.]

Then what point are you trying to make?

[assworthsaving]

That I can't control what other people do, but I sure as hell can do a better job of watching your back if I'm actually there to watch it.

[tearsinnajar]

[A straight answer for once. And to be honest, it's not an unfair one.]

... Okay.

[assworthsaving]

[And just like that he's been diffused, though still a bit prickly. He won't deny any accusations about being overprotective. And while he didn't know how to properly voice the reasons behind it, fearing they will sound wrong somehow, he can't change how he feels.]

Did you really think there was any other reason?

[tearsinnajar]

No, Nate. I understand that you worry. And I worry about you, too. It's not that I don't want you to look out for me—all I want is for you to dial it back a little bit, okay?

[assworthsaving]

[In a single, fluid motion he closes the gap between them, which wasn't far by now, not even sure what he is doing until he gently ghosts his hand over her left side.

His voice is thick, heavy when he speaks and barely above a whisper, but he manages to hold eye contact.]

That's what happened the last time I dialed it back. [Switching trains of thought, unable to say anything more on the subject, he lets that hang in the air for a couple of seconds before speaking up.] C'mon. We should make sure this thing is actually dead.

[tearsinnajar]

[She stands, stunned lips silently parted and unable to articulate everything she has to say before he switches subjects on her. He was right there when that happened, and there was nothing that he could have done. With the moment passed, she sighs.]


... Yeah, we should.