02.04.09 - More Time

Location: Redwall Recorder's Room

Characters Involved: Harper, Darcy, Sivaine

The room is dim. Harper is sitting in the corner of his room, with his back to the stone and the letter in hand. He feels the texture of the parchment between thumb and finger as he stares out the window. He is positioned /just/ so the moonlight filters in through and across his form. He can see the moon and a few winking stars, and a portion of the Bell Tower.

The door edges open. Darcy has left him alone for the better part of a day. Now the doe glances in, a plate of food in one hand, a bottle of liquor in the other. Sustenance. She takes a step in, waits.

It's.. a bottleneck. Sivaine isn't visible, but there's a /presence,/ a suggestion of snark just outside the door, and she raises a brow at Darcy's room service.

For the better part of a day, most everyone has left him alone. Then again, who all knows what's befallen him? That all depends on who Darcy has told, doesn't it? Harper hears the door and can guess with fair accuracy who is standing there, but he doesn't bother to look.

Darcy steps forward, up to where Harper sits. He looks like hell - she doesn't say it. "You need to eat sometime," is what the doe opts for. Soft, unaggressive. The plate is held out.

This is.. strange. Well. Not what she'd expected. Sivaine stays where she is, not stepping past the doorway. The letter in her hand crackles as she tilts it up, furrows her brows at it, then looks back to the two hares.

Harper reaches out without looking, taking the plate. He sets it on the floor beside him, scoots it about a foot away. "Thanks."

Darcy eyes the plate, then Harper's face. "Eat," she says again.

Sivaine's ears fold back. She waits.

Harper finally looks around at Darcy. His eyes are bloodshot and he looks like he hasn't slept. No surprise there. "No."

Darcy drops into a crouch. ".. can I offer some stupor-inducer, then?" she mutters, tone not at all humorous.

"No, thank you." His eyes shift to Sivaine, next. Yeah he knows you're there.

Sivaine's mouth twitches to the side. "There's a letter," she says quietly, holding it up.

Darcy sighs out a soft, tired sound. "Alright," she mutters, then glances at Sivaine.

Another letter. Harper's eyebrows go up silently. His expression is. Darkly amused.

Sivaine turns her head slightly, looking at Harper askance. "From Tam?" she prompts. Her gaze settles on Darcy for a moment, questioning.

Harper extends an open paw.

Darcy straightens and steps back. She sits on the edge of Harper's bed, out of the way.

The door squeaks on its hinges as Sivaine pulls it nearly to as she moves inside, with the careful steps and sweeping glance of someone stepping into a smoking ruin. She approaches Harper and wordlessly places the letter in his paw, then withdraws. Her heel knocks against the plate.

The other letter rests in his lap, folded, on his stomach, while he slowly opens this new letter. He opens it, and his eyes can.

A little greenish leaf flutters out as Harper unfolds the letter.

When Harper's finished, he manages the very ghost of a smile and folds this letter, too, and rests it with the other. He tilts his head back, looking out the window once more. He doesn't say anything.

"You look terrible," Sivaine remarks.

"You look fairly well deceased," is Darcy's version.

"Do I?" Harper asks, rhetorically.

"Rather." Sivaine says it without irony, her voice low and quiet. "What happened."

Darcy rubs at the side of her face, and cringes. "... don't ask him that."

Well, they're exchanging letters. He sorts out the other one - all three pages of it - and holds it out to Sivaine. He glances to Darcy, but doesn't comment.

Darcy just doesn't want a repeat of last night, okay.

Sivaine blinks and draws the sheets toward her, holding them in both hands. Her eyes half-lid as she reads in silence, expression neutral.

Darcy gestures vaguely, "Leaf, Harp."

Harper watches Sivaine for a few seconds, then just looks towards the window again. And then his eyes close. His head rests back into the wall.

A subtle change comes over Sivaine's expression as she turns the pages in silence. It takes some time; she reads each one with care, narrowing her eyes in places at the handwriting.

"... oh," she says finally, and closes her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah. That," Darcy mutters. She still has the bottle with her, and opens it to take a swig. If /he/ won't drink, she certainly will.

Harper finally gets around to noticing the leaf. He reaches down. Picks it up. He turns it this way and that.

Sivaine puts the pages back in order and aligns their edges, handling them gently. "When," she asks Darcy.

"Came last night," is Darcy's answer, gesturing at the letter.

"It's just a flurry of letters, around here." There's a little laugh. A scary little laugh.

"Hmm," Sivaine thrums. She tilts her head to the side just slightly, regarding the buck. "Have you eaten?" Her ears angle back at that sound, eyes creasing at the corners.

Harper grows serious. Or. More serious, less scary, at least. He shakes his head. "No."

"He's being stubborn," Darcy mutters, and takes another swig. "You know it's all well and good for a few days, Harp, but if you don't start eating soon I'll just have to force you. Don't want Tam coming back to a corpse, right?"

The corner of her mouth deepens. "Are you going to?" she asks softly, then, "Darcy." Sivaine shakes her head.

"Yes." The answer is for Sivaine. Darcy mostly gets ignored.

Darcy just drinks the liquor she brought for him. Isn't she nice.

"Mm." Sivaine nods, just once. "I'll hold you to that in two days' time." She crouches down to offer the letter back to him. "Better if I'm not here?" she murmurs.

Darcy stands, corks the bottle. It's left next to Harper, most of the contents still available. "Likely," she mutters, and nods at Harper. "I'll bring you breakfast in the morning, yeah?"

Siv gets a faint smile. "Better if I wasn't." Take that as you will. His eyes shift to Darcy, next. "Sure."

Darcy pauses near the door, then backtracks. She crouches in front of Harper, about a foot back, reaches to touch the back of his hand. "Harp? If there's /anything/ you need.." Her voice is soft.

Sivaine squints at that statement. She glances up to Darcy, a third party for the moment.

Harper isn't quite dead in there. He reaches out, touches the tips of his fingers to her cheek. He just nods.

Darcy ducks her head briefly, and her lips brush his forehead. She gets up without a word and heads for the door.

Sivaine sets the paper beside Harper's feet and slowly starts to rise.

Harper's eyes close at the contact of her lips, then open again to watch her head out. His eyes shift to Sivaine, next. His fingers twitch, his wrist flexes, and he imagines himself reaching out to catch hold of her, halt her leaving. But she's not his comfort anymore. He just watches her go.

Sivaine draws herself up, looking down at Harper with that impassive expression of hers. "I can sit with you," she says after a moment. "Or I can leave." Your choice.

"Or I can get Darcy." Option number three.

Harper looks up at her for a few seconds. He... oh. "That's -" He pauses at this third option. He glances away. Towards the window. "... I don't know, Siv." He sighs. "I don't know." He doesn't want her to sit with him! He wants- ah, well. "I don't know," he repeats.

Sivaine lifts a brow, rather slowly. "Darcy," she decides, and pads to the door. "Don't starve. I promised Tam."

Harper's head thunks back softly against the wall. He turns his head to watch her go. "... I won't," he promises softly.

She's fetched. It's a few minutes before the door is pushed open partway, and Darcy stands there, looking weary, cautious, her ears back and bangs in her face. "What do you need?" she asks, softly, quirking a far-off kind of smile at Harper as she steps in the room.

Harper is standing, now. He's leaning with his arms crossed over his chest, shoulder leaning into the wall next to the window. An arc of moonlight falls across his shoulder. He's looking out, but turns his head at the voice. Without words he just lifts a paw to her, holds it out.

Darcy's eyes narrow a tiny fraction and she shuts the door, softly, then moves across the room. Her hand sets in his, fingers curling, her head tipped up. Her expression is questioning. "What?"

Harper tugs her forward, into his arms, shoulders curling forward and down to accommodate for the height difference. His head rests alongside hers. His shoulders give a single hitching sigh.

Darcy exhales outward, slowly, and steps in closer to him. Her arms slide around his waist and her cheek rests on his shoulder, angled a little up.

Some of the tension seems to ease out of him. His voice is muffled, his muzzle turned in against her temple. "Will you stay? I don't-" He sighs. "I don't want t'feel so alone."

Darcy nods against his shoulder. "Yeah." It's muffled. She keeps her arms looped around him, not tightly; just holding on. "... yeah. As long as you need."

"I always thought - with time. You know? We loved each other. So much. We..." Harper shakes his head. "I thought I had... more time. Time enough..."

Darcy noses absently against the line of his jaw. "To set things right?"

"... Yeah. Yeah. To. To do that. And to know the twins again. When they were old enough. If they - if they'd have me." Harper sounds so wretched.

Darcy crinkles his habit a little with her fingertips, sighing out in a tense, thoughtful manner against Harper's shoulder. ".. yeah. Yeah, and you know what? ... I bet they would've. I bet they loved you all this while, even without ever knowing you..." It's feeble. She's really /trying/..

"I always sent them letters... little gifts... T'let them know I was here, that I loved them. I always let them know..." He sounds so hopeful and hopeless at the same time.

Darcy swallows, and squeezes him a little tighter. "... Harp. They knew. I promise, okay? ... there's no way they /didn't/ know. When. /You/. Love someone. You. ... like, Tam? It fills the whole damn /room/. I know it had to have reached all the way across to where they were, too..."

Harper's eyes close, silent tears wetting his cheeks. "I just... if I'd had more time..."

Darcy shakes her head a little. ".. I know, Harp. I know." She's silent for a moment, ears tucked back, eyes the barest bit open. "Harp? You have time. You.. ... maybe not for them anymore? But you haven't lost everything. You have time..." Her words are mumbled like she's not even sure what she's trying to say.

"If it wasn't for Tam, I..." he trails off. "Even /with/ Tam..." he admits. "But I won't... for him. I won't." But he sounds so world weary as he says it.

Darcy's eyes open more. Her head lifts, she blinks a little and focuses on his face. "You'd what? Off yourself?" It's a low, flat delivery.

"My family is dead." It's so final. And then the weariness sets in again. "... Do you begrudge me the wish t'be with them again?"

Darcy edges back a little; just a lean of her small frame away. It makes just enough room for her hand to scoop up against the side of his face, eyes half-shut, soft, peering into his. "Not for a second, Harp," she mutters, and gets the tiniest of little smirks at the corner of her mouth. "... I'd miss you something fierce, though. So please don't."

That's not the answer he was expecting. And he likes her more for it. Harper manages a small smile in return, though it is tired and wavering. "... No. I won't."

Darcy makes no reply, just smirks at him for another moment. Then the doe leans back in, face against his chest, hair brushing the fabric of his habit's collar. ".. heh. What do I even know about bereavement, right? Spirits, that's my solution."

"Sometimes it's a good solution," Harper murmurs. "A lot of times."

".. well I left most of it for you," Darcy mutters against him. "Most of it. Took a few swigs 'cause I was having this stupid growly protective thing. Heh." It's all half-muffled. She sounds tired.

Harper is tired, but. He nods towards the bed. "Get some sleep... I'll. Soon." He shrugs.

Darcy huffs. "Not tired. The point of company isn't for the company to be /asleep/."

"It's good enough," Harper objects with a shake of his head. "Please? Sleep. You look like you hardly got anymore sleep than I did..."

Darcy blinks wearily up at him. "Doubt I did. I've been worried. I /am/. .. worried." She pauses, looking off at a wall, sighing out a breath. Her hand leaves him briefly to push her bangs back from her forehead. "... I'd rather stay up. With you. Okay? Not like I /could/ sleep anyway. So I might as well not bother trying." She grumbles this. Protest!

Harper gives Darcy a long, thoughtful looks. He looks drained, which no doubt hasn't been helped by the fasting. He looks from her to the bed. Sighs. "What if I sit with you?"

Darcy slowly lifts one brow. "This is supposed to be the opposite. You're supposed to pass out and I'm supposed to like. Sit vigil or something. Right? Isn't that how this works?" She tugs free of him, running the fingers of one hand back through her hair and aiming for the bed. It is inviting, yes it is. She is. Exhausted.

"I think you're supposed t'do whatever makes me feel better." Is that a small smile? He follows after her. Nudges her towards the bed. Goes to unfold the blanket from the foot of the bed, holding it up and waiting.

Darcy shoots him a disgruntled look, and perches on the bed. "... I will lay /down/ but. I'm staying awake until you come to sleep too." So there.

Harper makes a silent gesture for her to do that, then!

Darcy pouts, but it quickly turns into a smirk. She sighs and flops over sideways, head on the pillow, knees tucking in a little and petite form curling on the bed. "Mmf."

The blanket drops down over her slight form. Harper tucks her in. He then goes to the sit at the head of the bed, next to her. He rests his head back against the wall. Yawns softly. Then, "Would you like a lullaby like Tam?"

Darcy catches the edge of the blanket in one hand, tugs it in toward her. Her muzzle drops, face hidden near the pillow with her eyes shut. For a moment she stays like this, then a little chuckle bubbles out and she rolls over, facing him, head angled up and squinting toward the seated buck's face. ".. will it make you feel better?"

Harper's smile is gentle. "Any song that could do that would be..." But he just shakes his head. "But it might help you sleep."

Darcy pushes herself up just a little, and rearranges herself to lean more into the pillow. "Yeah. Hi Harper. You're the one who needs taking care of, not me. So I'll do what /you/ want." Her expression is an odd mixture of fond and amused and sleepy.

"Call it my fatal flaw - I like t'take care of the-" Short pause. "Others." Harper gives her a Look. Almost a normal Harper Look! "Now hush up 'n' go t'sleep, you."

Darcy's eyes narrow almost all the way shut. It's dim in the room and the irises appear very dark. "Mmm. Nothing my arse." /Now/ they close.

Harper's muzzle curves upward, in a faint smile. He just shakes his head at Darcy's words and sits there, looking down on her for a few seconds. And then his eyes turn towards the window. They eventually drift shut.