#matriarchee

Claudia from the back: HE'S ALREADY HUNG. 

(Claudia) “Oh? Quite an eloquent response.” The teasing is gentle. “Have tea. I’ve made plenty.”

The sun hadn’t kissed the horizon yet, but he found himself reaching for the cup of tea regardless of his drowsiness. He let the warmth seep into his hands before he took a sip.

     there is blood everywhere. on his hands, in his mouth, drip-drip-dripping from the sky, everywhere, everywhere --

     it’s a nightmare. he jolts awake in bed, peering out the window into the dark surrounding the keep. it’s. . .late. it must be late.

     the trees are too thick for the moonlight to come through. the lack of light only unsettles him more. he runs his tongue along the roof of his mouth, tasting blood-that-isn’t-there, and pushes himself from bed.

      when claudia finds him eventually, he’s in the keep, pacing bookshelves in search for a tome on dreams. he keeps coming up empty, books plucked from the shelves and left in a pile beside the lectern at the bottom.

    her touch makes him tremble, makes him go to his knees in an instant. repentant, he kneels and clutches at her dress and begs a silent forgiveness.

         “ i met him. i saw him -- that. . .thing that took our family. ” his voice is quiet, almost broken, as he speaks. he thinks of the tormented, of the screaming that still rings his ears, and is glad at once that the undead cannot vomit.

(claudia) “Oh, yes–I’m afraid he has /your/ spirit.” Claudia laughs. “He wanted to play with you.”

He made a face as the bribe nearly tugged him from his rather comfortable spot on the floor. He held his game over his head, nearly surprised the sound of Pokemon didn’t drown out her words.

“...Can I get an extra spell slot and a sandwich?”

It was early. Far more early than he had any real desire to remove himself from the comfort of his own bed. The smell of tea, however, was a far better motivator. Right up until he remembered he currently doesn’t live with anyone else.

Paranoia settled into his bones as he quietly touched down on to the wood floor and crept into the hall. Magic hummed silently in his hand as he entered the kitchen to–

“Oh.”

Was all he managed before a yawn over took him, and the magic fizzled out. Claudia was among the list of people he’d expected to never see again. He paused on the door frame for a few seconds before he joined her at his table. The time spent alone in his ambitious project has been nothing but few trials and plenty of errors.

“That’s one word to call it. Did you need something of me?”

        “ claudia. look. ”

     he extends a hand to her, holding out the wire sculpture. it sits balanced in his palm perfectly.