MOVED

Elsa knew that she should be heading back to the enchanted forest so close to Christmas, she had gotten numerous letters from her sister asking her if she was able to play a game of charades Christmas Eve. Though she hadn’t responded yet, which was unlike Elsa. She felt a pull to this place, perhaps because it was magic like she was? “How you holding up with it being close to Christmas?” Elsa asked as she stood beside the head Elf. She could feel her mind wander touching the frame of the door, making it freeze. She hadn’t done that in a while, “Oh.. Sorry.." 

Jinglebells and holly, he hadn’t even realized he had an audience. He slipped the flask into his pocket - it was bad enough when Santa caught him using it this time of year, never mind one of their more esteemed guests - and nodded his head in greeting to the spirit.

“I didn’t know you were still here. Your family must be wondering what’s keeping you.” Bernard didn’t know all of the details of Elsa’s particular situation - that was information only for members of the Council to know - but thanks to a certain Number Two elf’s snooping, he knew the basics. “We have everything under control, if- if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Arthur hated his lack of ability to have a poker face. He was sure that as Dipper unraveled the story of his home life, his eyes only got bigger and bigger with realization. 

“Dipper …” He started, but paused in order to collect his thoughts better. He stretched out his metal hand, flexing out his digits to give himself something to do for a moment. Stuff like that was heavy. 

“Thank you for telling me. For trusting me with that. I know – I understand what it’s like to have parents who don’t care, and an uncle who does.” Arthur said softly with a smile. Except, his parents didn’t hate him, they had just been neglectful his whole life. He couldn’t thank the laws of the universe enough for giving him his Uncle Lance. He was just glad Dipper and his sister hadn’t waited until they were eighteen like he had. It was best to get out as soon as possible. “I’m sorry that happened to you, is happening to you. You don’t deserve that.”

Arthur’s concerned expression soon turned into a kind smile. 

“You’re a smart kid, Dipper. Really, really smart. I mean, you saw through me,” The man chuckled, stretching out his arms in a wide gesture. “And I’d like to consider myself a pretty darn good actor.” Arthur’s shoulders dropped again, opting to leave the playful, deprecating talk for another time. 

“You’re a good kid too, you and your sister.” He said firmly. “You’re tough. Definitely tougher than I was at your age. You’re gonna be just fine. I know it.”

He had to take a few deep breaths after finishing his story; aside from a brief explanation to his grunkles, it was his first time actually telling it. He hadn’t expected it to be easy, but he was still taken aback by how hard it had been.

“It’s hard for me to trust anyone because of that,” he admitted. “Even if it didn’t have anything to do with me, not really, I still feel like it’s my fault. Like if I’d just tried harder and fought what I was feeling, somehow I could make them love me, even though I knew that wasn’t true.”

It wasn’t true, was it? But the feelings of guilt were still there, he’d cost Mabel her parents as well, it wasn’t like he could ever forget about that. But those feelings were only human, weren’t they? He took another deep breath, finally straightening back up to look Arthur in the eye.

Kagome figured Inuyasha had said something she shouldn’t have, knowing her husband as well as she knew herself. This situation seemed to add to the list of many that began because of his temper. However, unlike in their teen years, he was admitting it outright and felt regret for it. That alone showed how he wasn’t the same boy she unpinned from the tree all those years back, and for that, she was proud.

“No wonder she seemed so confused…” She speaks, her tone soft as she stares into her husband’s golden hues with her wooden ones. “You told her one thing, but your temper made it seem like the opposite. She is only six. It’s understandable she wouldn’t be able to fully understand things like this, and instead latched onto how you were talking.”

Though, she could not totally blame Inuyasha for his reaction. Considering his childhood and what he had gone through, it only made sense. He was a very protective individual, especially of her and the little one they together had brought into this world. That was why she wanted to at least try to ease the concept into Moroha, knowing the day like today would come. 

Her heart aches though to see him being so hard on himself, hearing the sounds of his claws into the wooden floor below them. At this rate, he might get so upset they could break. So, there was only one thing a woman like her could do to help. She moves her position behind him, resting her hands on his shoulders as her lead then leans on his. It’s a position he should know full well by now, one that meant she was here for him. Kagome was his own rock as much as he was her own.

“I know. I understand, Inuyasha. Believe me, I do. I’m not mad.”  Her words are as sincere as always, Kagome herself not exactly being the best liar.  She then moves to kiss him on the cheek before returning to her point. “That’s the last thing I or you want for Moroha. We’ve tried to make sure she is surrounded by family and friends who love her for who she is, and considering she knew to run off to Sango’s where her cousin Hisui is, I think we’ve managed to do that. Though, we can’t protect her from everything. We just need to be sure to be there for her. We’ll explain things to her when she comes back. Don’t be so hard on yourself, okay?” 

He exhales softly through his nose, tilting his head back to lean back against his wife’s. He brings his hand up from the floor, clutching her hand tightly, but not so tight as to cause her any harm. Kagome always had that sort of calming effect on him; much as he sometimes hated to, hated letting her see him in any sort of weakness, he could lean on her just as much as he let her lean on him.

“I should’ve done better,” he mutters, half to himself. Years ago, he’d always felt like the world was ending whenever he saw Kagome get upset, especially when he was the cause, intentional or not. Now that feeling was back, tenfold, at seeing his daughter get upset and knowing he was the cause of it. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper in front of her.”

Kagome’s logic is a blessing as much as it is a curse; her words make sense, but do little to sooth his already-troubled mind. Moroha was still so little. She was tough, sure, tougher than most kids at her age would be, but she was still small. Whenever Inuyasha looked at her, all he could see was the fragile little bundle in her mother’s arms from the first night he’d ever laid eyes on her.

Who could fault him for just wanting to protect her, from lashing out when he felt like he had failed? But he’d misdirected his anger, and his daughter had been caught up in it instead. How could he not blame himself for the fear in Moroha’s eyes, fear that his temper had caused?

I’ve got the two partially-finished drafts in the queue, so with that, this blog is officially archived. I’ll be posting the promo for it later tonight, but from now on I’ll be found over at @thcsevoices. There’s nothing to it yet aside from moved-over headcanons and such, but I plan on carrying over all threads that I had ongoing over here, and I have the drafts for my replies already saved over there.

I’m also going to be taking a tumblr break for at least a week, possibly more. I’ll still be checking in, but probably only like once or twice a day as opposed to my usual constantly having tumblr open and refreshing multiple times a day, so it might take me a couple of days to follow back and all that.