prayercycles | ic inbox (mask or menace)

[ In some ways, Sabrina calling is a strange relief. He’s felt on eggshells around most people he’s close with, since the strange occurences last week- worried about their newfound knowledge of him.

Of course, this isn’t a pleasant call. He thought this might happen, in this changing world. But he’s sad for her. ]

I am sorry, Sabrina. [ That’s quite sincere. ]

You can come back. Your room- it is the same.

[ The sincerity in his voice should be a warm relief to her, but right now Sabrina is on edge, the weight of everything that's ever happened in this world crashing down on her. Her head spins, cohesive thoughts seemingly impossible at this moment. She only feels, and what she feels is an intense melancholy, but a burning rage she can't quell either.

When she speaks again, as terse as her voice is, none of her anger is directed at Fortunato. ]

I can't. It's not— it's not the same.

[ It may have been empty, it may have been worn down, but it was her home. She had a little piece of it here and nothing can convince her that house that sat in Jeopardy was a fake. ]

My home is gone and now Reggie is gone and he was the closest I had to someone from my world. Everything and everyone is disappearing. I just... I just want to go back to my real room, in my real home in Greendale.

[ There's a weird, static-y noise on her end, as if she nearly cuts off the audio. It clears up quickly, but all that can be heard is her crying miserably. ]

[ There's a part of Fortunato that takes her feelings as despairingly normal. He may have not gone to another world then, but he was ripped from home long enough ago that he sometimes barely recognizes the wish for life without it having happened. And it wasn't just his own experience- it was the experience of nearly everyone he knew. He supposes this shouldn't make Sabrina come off as naive, but for all her apparent magical ability and her strange home, this is so normal to him as if to seem a bit foreign.

It leaves him silent for a moment. There are places to talk, there; relating to her experience, and the fact that, having worked at the same place as him, he'd noticed Reggie's absence and picked up on his departure. But he's not inclined to bring either thing up, at least not yet.

Why did Sabrina call him, he wonders?

After perhaps a few seconds too long: ]

Do- do you want me to come to Jeopardy?

[ He doesn't think of them as especially close. But what else does she want? ]

[ She almost doesn't hear him the first time, her crying muffling out the sounds around her and through the device. But somehow, she manages to hear his question and she quiets down a considerable amount as if she's mulling over the idea when in reality she's very, very confused by the offer. ]

... what?

[ Would he really do that? She has nothing left in Jeopardy. She's actually seated on the steps of the creepy spider church by herself, with nowhere to go for now.

Though she does, she's too caught up in her emotions to realize she can return to her other home, where Magnus, Angus and Fortunato will greet her with open arms. ]

I could come. If- if you need help, finding where to go.

[ It feels strange to say, considering he doesn't feel like he knows Sabrina closely, not really. But he doesn't know what else to say or do- he doesn't know what else she wants from him. ]

It is not a problem. If it is what you want.

O-oh.

[ Genuinely, Sabrina is perplexed.

And then guilt trickles in, for having called him in such an emotional state. She tries to make it up by composing herself some more, taking some deep breaths. ]

Um, well... even though the house is gone, there are some things I got from Magnus and Angus that are still there. I can't... I can't lift the chest Magnus gave me.

I can help. [ Although...if it's something Magnus made... ] If- if we cannot move it, Magnus would come.

[ He pauses. She didn't seem to react to returning to the house too positively, although perhaps she was a bit taken by emotion. Or maybe she doesn't want any kind of attention on her right now. Reggie is gone, but...she must have some other friends. ]

Do you- do you want to come back, here?

[ She's overwhelmed with emotion, mostly grief, anger and embarrassment. Reggie had tried to warn her, but she was so convinced the house would remain.

After all, weirder things have happened here. Why wouldn't it have stayed? ]

... I don't know if I'm welcome back.

[ She wouldn't say no if anyone asked her come home, but she had taken off without as much as a warning, so her assumption is they aren't happy with her. ]

[ Fortunato doesn't quite acknowledge that it's how he would feel, in her circumstances. Then again, he wouldn't have left without asking permission- and he sees nothing as home in his world, anymore. But he still understands her feelings, despite all those caveats. ]

They would not be mad. Magnus, and Angus- [ He doesn't want to sound dismissive, but his thought is along the lines of they're forgiving of everything. ] They are kind.

[ After a moment, he realizes he needs to add something else to that. ] And- I was not mad, either.

[ For a moment, it sounds as if she's about to cry again, voice heavy and loud sniffling.

But she doesn't. ]

... you weren't?

[ Fortunato's voice is as level and stoic as ever, but he's hiding a small sense of pity. He's sad for her, but he's also surprised she'd think this way. ]

No. It was your home. [ After a moment. ] It was good, that you had it.

[ Considering everyone's circumstances here, not just his own? Her choice was understandable. ]

... thank you, Fortunato.

[ It's all still foreign to her; people not losing their temper on her for her mistakes. Even if this one hurt no one, it seems like her friends and family back home have a far worse temper than the people here.

She doesn't know if that's a good or bad thing. ]

I... I was glad to have it. I didn't feel trapped.

[ There are plenty of places Fortunato wouldn't like to return to. But a replica of the camp, or of his childhood apartment, even...it would be painful, but hard to resist at least visiting. Sabrina seems to have little in terms of bad memories associated with her home, and loved it deeply. If he'd had a home in that sense, he would have done what she'd done, though hesitantly.

It is a strange thing to realize- the gulf between his and Sabrina's experiences. She may be magical, but she seems quite normal, in a lot of other ways. ]

I did not think you were. [ He pauses. ] Did- did you want me to come?

No, not by you or Magnus or Angus... this place.

[ If she could gesture to the general vicinity she would. ]

We're trapped here until a Fate decides on a whim we can go home. I hate it.

[ It makes her feel powerless and so, so small. She's tired of godly beings interfering with her life. ]

... if you don't mind.

[ Fortunato doesn’t know what to say to that. What he fears isn’t never going back- it’s going back at all. Sometimes he thinks he shouldn’t fear it; that God has a path for him. But if this is where it leads, to death-

He distracts himself. Sabrina wants help. ]

Okay. I will be there.

[ And, about a half hour later- once he’s used the Porter and the bus- he is. He can’t see incredibly, but he doesn’t need to do be disturbed. It’s as if Sabrina’s home was never there. ]

Hey.

[ It's a sad picture, really: Sabrina, all by herself in an empty space that's half parking lot and a field with litter strewn across the grass. If there ever was a house there, there are no hints of it.

The chest Magnus made for her sits on the concrete ground. Sabrina is holding the succulents Angus brought her. ]

[ Fortunato approaches her slowly, looking around as best he can- but he sees the point. She's got nothing. He genuinely looks a bit saddened, for once.

He's got his cane, but he's also got a free hand. He looks toward the chest. ]

...I can help you carry that.

Are you sure? Fortunato... you've got your cane.

[ The guilt seeps into her expression quickly; she realizes she shouldn't have asked for him to come at all. ]

...It isn't heavy.

[ That isn't really a misinterpretation of what she's saying as much as a bad excuse; he doesn't mean to come here and not be helpful. He leans down, going to pick it up on one end. ]

[ She walks over to the opposite end to lift the other side. ]

I can carry it on this side, then. Just all the way to the Porter and then maybe I can... I can call Magnus.

[ Sabrina is quiet then, wondering what he will make of her sudden return to the shared housing. ]

[ Fortunato goes ahead and picks it up with her. It's...heavy for two teens like them, but it can be handled. He really should get stronger.

He looks at her, as much as he can, a little sadly. She sounds nervous. ]

Your room...it is still yours. He will not have a problem.

[ He can rarely say things like that with such conviction, but it's true. It's Magnus. It won't be a problem. ]

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