reverie⚡inbox

[striketwice]

REVERIE INBOX "THIS IS ALEC. MAKE IT QUICK." ⚡ voice . text . action ↳ OVERFLOW | REGISTRY

( code from supersuits )

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[vecna]

[Charlotte slips back into her home. Henry secures the terrarium’s lid.]

You let it all out, and I kept it all in.

[He returns to his spot soon after, sitting next to Alec again.]

I would have been one of the boys you picked on, or started a fight with. There’s one difference between us.

[striketwice]

[ It's weird to think of, what they would have been like as kids together. Alec snorts a little. ]

Oh, yeah. I would have made your life a living hell.

[vecna]

Hm. Maybe it’s good I didn’t meet you when I was younger. You’re already a pain as an adult.

[striketwice]

And yet, here you are.

[ His smile skews crooked, amused. ]

Anyway, do you want me to finish this portal or not?

[vecna]

[And yet, here he is.]

I’m not stopping you. How much longer do you have left?

[striketwice]

Like fifteen, twenty minutes tops, probably.

And then food. I've been at this all morning.

[vecna]

Yes, then food. You've been working hard.

[And that's not even patronizing.]

I won't interrupt you anymore.

[striketwice]

[ Thank you for genuinely acknowledging his hard work. ]

It's fine. Thanks for the break.

[ So saying, he hauls himself up to finish his work. ]

[vecna]

[No sketchbook this time. Henry will just watch him work until he’s done!

Twenty or so minutes pass.]

…Well?

[striketwice]

[ Like before, Alec checks and double checks his work, and when he's done, the marks vanish, leaving a yawning opening in the fabric of reality in their place. Beyond, the interior of Alec's room. ]

But wait, there's more.

[ Said like a true infomercial announcer. He waves the portal closed, then etches out another series of runes. The air tears open again, this time showing the shadowy corner of the graveyard where they started. It really is a network. ]

[vecna]

[Okay. Cheesy infomercial voice aside, it is impressive. Henry’s portals were never interconnected in that way. He's almost jealous.]

Soon you’ll be zipping around all over the place. Just don’t track graveyard dirt into my room, Alec.

[striketwice]

I'll be sure to portal in from someplace appropriately clean, Henry.

[ There's no shortage of sarcasm there. He waves the portal closed. ]

So, how about lunch?

[vecna]

[Listen, Henry Creel might be a gross monster thing in reality, but old human habits dictate CLEANLINESS!!! No dirt in here, sir.

The portal closes, and there’s some sense of satisfaction in knowing that Alec has a little secret route into his room, but he doesn’t remark on it.]

Sure. The kitchen or the diner?

[striketwice]

[ It'll be their little secret. ]

Diner, probably. I've done enough work today, I'm not cooking jack.

[vecna]

I guess you’ve spoiled me enough for one day.

[With the portal!

Henry stands, ready to go.]

Let’s go, then.

[TO THE DINER]

[striketwice]

[ TO THE DINER. They will walk there, the old fashioned way. ]

[vecna]

[How boring.

But some small talk as they near:]

Oh, I've thought of something else I meant to ask you about. I heard you visited a certain cell block?

[striketwice]

Hm? You mean your buddies over in Basilisk? I did.

[vecna]

[Buddies? Plural? He actually laughs lightly at that. Don't be silly.]

Sprezzatura told me you thanked her. I was surprised to hear it.

[striketwice]

[ Buddy, then. Whatever. ]

My original intent was to figure out who lowered us and why. After that, well, it's not like I couldn't say thank you.

[vecna]

[He could have just asked Henry. He could have told him that it was probably Sprezzatura’s influence; but then again, how would Alec have known?]

I’ll have you know that your thank you was compared to mine, which was apparently lacking.

[so thanks for that!!]

What did she say, though?

[striketwice]

[ In fairness, Alec couldn't have been certain about the state Henry was in. The one time Alec brought up someone lowering them, Henry started throwing debris.

Besides, he wanted to hear any explanation straight from the source. ]

Oof. Couldn't even clear that low bar, huh?

[ He's probably selling himself a bit short, but "thank yous" have never been his forte. ]

A couple things. She didn't want a lich running around. She didn't want us to suffer for the "crime of not knowing anyone". She's an interesting character.

[vecna]

[Oh. He laughs again. Didn’t want a lich running around? Irony abounds.

But it’s fine, probably.]

Couldn’t even clear that low bar.

[But that’s about the usual push and pull between them.]

She’s a friend. One of the very few people here I can call that with any sincerity.

[UNAWARE OF HER MEETING HIS SHADOW AT THIS POINT, TOO, BUT THAT'S ALSO FINE]

[striketwice]

[ FAMOUS LAST WORDS(?) HENRY ]

Yeah? Guess it makes sense why she'd stick her neck out for you, then.

[ Sprezzatura didn't mention anything like friendship to him, but she didn't seem the type to want to monologue about it at all, let alone to a complete stranger. ]

[vecna]

I suppose so.

[Even if he didn’t take the news of being lowered very… kindly at the time.

They’ve reached the diner. In they go! The jukebox kicks on again, as it always does.]

To be honest, at the time, I wasn’t sure if we could rely on Basilisk. Not completely.