thisavrou | text; + action options; (cw character death)

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text; + action options; (cw character death)

[locked to people who know Elena Fisher]

elena's dead

[....yeah that's all. Odds are good that Nate will not want to reply to questions, condolences or comments regarding the recent tragedy, though Chloe Frazer might. However, he can be found...]

wandering; Once the shock has passed—if it ever does—Nate wanders for hours. Fuck, maybe days, he doesn't know. He just doesn't want to go back to the house in Region 1 where she isn't.

Eventually he finds himself in a well-wooded park. For lack of anything else to do, he climbs a tree.

at home; When he finally does make it back, Nate parks his ass on the couch, where he'll be sleeping until—well, he can't count on there being an "until." Maybe he'll just live on the couch forever. Sorry, Pepper, Varric, etc.

at the ingress complex; Nate comes by the facility a couple of times, to ask for news or if they can guarantee that they'll be able to bring her back, because he knows that people have returned, and he knows that they don't always.

He walks away both times, unable to stand it if the answer is no.]

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Nate?

[ She isn't surprised at the lack of response, and although she doesn't know enough about what happened after Allison's death to compare the grief of Leonard to the grief Nathan must be experiencing, she feels like she recognizes this mode of mourning. Barely acknowledge the event, go numb, go silent.

She gets up, visits his home, and finds him absent. That doesn't surprise her either. She makes a few inquiries amongst the neighbors and figures out what direction he took off in, hops on her motorcycle, and starts canvassing.

She hasn't driven this fast in a long time. It seems urgent to find him. What she'll do when she finds him, she doesn't know. She just knows him being alone isn't the best thing for him.

She's going so fast, she nearly misses him when she spots him, and she has to slow and go around the block in order to catch back up to him. She parks the motorcycle some distance ahead and walks to intercept. Has he even noticed her? ]

Nathan. It's Tex.

[He doesn't know that she replied because he hasn't even looked at this TAB in ages. He doesn't see her coming, either; the sound of his own name reaches him, but slowly, as if it's coming from a long distance away.

Nothing in his expression changes when he looks at her.]

Hi.

[ She lets him finish approaching before continuing to speak. ]

You're a long way from home, Nate.

I am?

[He comes to a stop, but he doesn't really look around. What does it matter where he is?]

Oh.

Yeah.

[ She draws closer, coming to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, facing the direction he's facing. ]

How about we get a bite to eat. There's a cafe right around the corner here.

[ She doesn't know this neighborhood, but she had noticed it when she went around the block. How fortuitous. ]

I'm not hungry.

[He pretty much feels like he never wants to eat again.]

I know, hon.

[ She says it quietly, gently. ]

It'll taste like cardboard, but you need to put something in your stomach. Or at least have a glass of water. You'll need it.

I don't.

[He does, or will. But he'd rather not do anything that requires thought or action on his part or he might start screaming.]

Mm.

[ She's not interested in arguing with him. It's not what he needs at this point. ]

How about we just go in and sit for a little while, then. You don't have to look at the menu, or pick anything out. Just sit with a glass of water for a while.

[ They're drawing closer to the corner and Tex sets an arm on his back to steer him around the bend. ]

It's right here.

[He barely notices that they're still moving. One foot in front of the other, a little at a time. Walking is automatic, like breathing; he does both despite not seeing much of a reason to continue with either.

He doesn't answer Tex. But he does sigh, and his shoulders slump, and he lets her guide him.]

[ She opens the door for him and leads him to a table. The sign says to wait to be seated, but she figures someone will notice them sooner or later. She waits for him to select a seat and sits down across from that spot. ]

All right.

[ She's observing him, watching for signs that he's in shock or some other dissociative state, but outwardly she just grabs the menu off the table card holder and peruses it. ]

You want water, when they come, or tea?

[He sits down with a soft 'whump', choosing the closest seat because it's there. He doesn't give the menu a single glance.]

I don't really give a fuck.

[There's not malice in his voice. There's not anything, aside from a little weariness. He's just stating a fact that exists.]

[ She doesn't take offense. She makes up her mind what to order for the both of them and sets the menu down. ]

I'm not going to pretend this isn't a shitty situation. I'm not trying to, either. I just don't want you sick on top of it.

[ When the server arrives, asking for a drink order, Tex goes ahead and orders tea for two, two glasses of water, and two light pastries. ]

[Nate winces at that. She cares about him, sure. Probably he should be glad for that. But the words echo in his ears and all he can think is they don't remotely describe what it's like to know that his wife was killed on that planet and he never knew until it was too late.

He stays quiet, elbows resting on the tabletop like he can't support himself on his own, until the waiter's gone.]

'Shitty' doesn't cover it.

[ She crosses her arms in her lap, sitting back in her chair. ]

No, I don't imagine it does.

[ She watches him, for just a moment. ]

Why don't you tell me about it?

How about I don't?

[She doesn't deserve the ire. Nate knows this. Tex is his friend, and she's trying to look out for him. But now is not time for logic and measured thinking.]

Going over the details of how my wife was killed on that goddamn planet they opened up isn't going to give me more of an appetite.

Okay. Don't then.

[ It's too soon for him to feel any closure from talking about it. She knows this, but she's trying to make him feel something, even if it's a brief flare of something bad, just something to snap him out of his numbness. At least that seems to have worked, for what it's worth.

The waiter returns shortly with their teacups and glasses of water, and she drops her teabag in her teacup once he's left again. ]

I wonder sometimes what the Ingress techs even think they're doing down there.

[Nate just barely manages to shut his mouth before letting loose, pushing for a real fight. It wouldn't be fair when this isn't Tex's fault.

(Fairness isn't actually on his mind, but he also has enough awareness to know that it wouldn't make him feel better.)]

Jack and shit, seems like. Continues the old Moira tradition of the higher-ups not being able to find their ass with both hands.

[ She lets out a little snort, dunking her teabag up and down. ]

There are better traditions, that's for sure.

[ She has been avoiding looking at him too much, not wanting him to feel he's under pressure of any sort, but she does focus in on him now. Just to check in and see whether he is going to fix his tea or take a drink of water. ]

[Nate goes for the water. It's simpler than tea; he doesn't have have to worry about sugar or milk or whatever goes in tea. All of the hydration, none of the hassle.]

Could hardly do worse.

No, I don't think we could.

[ The server returns then with their pastries; Tex nudges her plate a little closer to herself, but doesn't dig in. ]

Maybe something could be done about it. I don't know.

[He picks at his but doesn't put anything in his mouth. Acknowledging that the food exists is a kind of progress.]

Probably not. There's fuck-ups everywhere, at every level.

[He's barely thinking of the captains now. Or whoever runs this fucking planet.]

That's true, I know, but maybe if someone campaigned for something to change...

[ She sighs. ]

I don't know. Wishful thinking.

Can't say I really give a damn about it right now.

[The fuck-ups didn't have anything to do with Elena's death, causing or stopping it.]

Fair enough.

[ Nathan doesn't seem up for caring about much. Just about the grief he's being wracked with. She takes small sips of her tea and small bites of her pastry as they continue to sit, without digging into it enthusiastically—she wants to be seen as commiserating with him. ]

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text; + action options; (cw character death)

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