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[last_adam]

*Leaving Thom behind, Adam follows Alanna, hand on her shoulder. Not too friendly - just about right, he thinks, and once they're in the back corridor, he leans forward to place a kiss on the back of her head.*

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[the_lioness]

*Despite the temporary enjoyment garnered from poking fun at her twin, Alanna is still brooding. She gives Adam a small smile over her shoulder as she unlocks the door. It sticks. Grumbling under her breath, she kicks it, finally shoving it open.*

Stupid door.

*Frowning, she hops around trying to take her boots off.*

[last_adam]

Hey.

*Adam tries to help, but when she shrugs away and hops, he stands back, ready to catch her if she falls.*

The door doesn't deserve all that much anger.

[the_lioness]

*Alanna yanks off one boot and stills, quirking an eyebrow. She stays like that for a moment, balanced on one foot. Finally, she grunts and tosses the boot at the door, going to work on the second one.*

Perhaps not. Sadly, I have nothing else to beat up at the moment, and I'm frustrated.

*The other boot goes sailing toward the bedroom. Hands on her hips, she slowly turns to look at him, feeling quite short.*

I'm sorry I sort of sprung the shopping trip idea. I swear I'll make it up to you somehow. It's just that sitting there... I panicked a bit. *She gives him a lopsided grin.*

[last_adam]

*He smiles back at her, still worried, and laughs.*

You could always beat up on me.

*He's mostly kidding. Mostly.*

What did you panick about?

[the_lioness]

I would never hurt you. Unless you did something to deserve it, of course.

*She flushes, twitching her nose.*

Oh, you know. *hand wave* I'm nervous about how he's going to react. On one hand, I want to blurt it out and get it over with. I feel like I'm lying to him. On the other, he... might not speak to me for awhile. He was so unhappy about Peter, and he wasn't even with Peter's father...

Ow, my head.

*Pinching the bridge of her nose, she laughs a bit helplessly.*

[last_adam]

*Adam blinks at her, a bit confused, and then shakes his head with a wry smile before wandering over and hugging her from behind.*

It's bad enough thinking about him with my father. Let's not make it worse, shall we?

[the_lioness]

Mmmm, denial is a wondrous thing.

*Leaning on him, she tilts her head back and smiles.*

I'm glad you're here though. I was worried I wouldn't get to see you before I left. *She leans down and kisses his arm.* Gods, this week has been miserable.

[last_adam]

*He lifts his arms a bit, wrapping her up, and moves so that he can turn his head and kiss her cheek.*

You didn't think I was just going to let you go, did you?

[the_lioness]

*Smiling, she touches his face and turns to kiss him lightly.*

I wasn't sure. You might have been busy.

*Relaxing a bit, she closes her eyes.*

I'm nervous about taking him home. Have I told you much about Ramon and Arithon? About the geas?

[last_adam]

*He runs a hand along her arm and moves them towards the couch.*

Aziraphael wrote me a letter - I'm not to open the shop as often.

*He sits down and lightly tugs on her arm, pulling her down next to him.*

No, you haven't.

[the_lioness]

*She flops down, half on the couch, half on him.*

Oh? Is he alright?

*Something catches her attention out of the corner of her eye. Squeaking, she dives across the couch, tossing a blanket over a stack of books. She blinks. Slowly returning to her former position, she smiles at him like this is perfectly normal behavior.*

Ramon, of course, is the man responsible for torturing him. Arithon punished him before I even knew there was a crime. This isn't the normal way of things, but nothing I could come up with would be more effective. You see, Arithon gave Ramon a share in his geas. He now suffers the s'Ffalenn guilt, which is made doubly excruciating given what Ramon has done in his life. The problem is that Arithon feels his guilt as well. *She furrows her brow.* He is hurting, so much, and I can't do anything to help.

[last_adam]

*Adam raises an eyebrow and makes a mental note of the books.*

I don't know. I wrote back, but haven't heard from him again. He just said that I'm in charge for now.

*Adam swallows. He's torn on this; he knows it means that Aziraphael trusts him, but on the other hand, he'd rather just have Aziraphael back.*

Can't he revoke it, and let you punish him? I get wanting to hurt him, but if it hurts your friend, too...

[the_lioness]

*Sighing, Alanna watches him, her fingers gently skimming his cheek.*

You miss him. I imagine the shop gets lonely. It is good though - a compliment- that he trusts you so.

He could, but he won't. *She smiles sadly.* I said as much to Bianca yesterday, and she opined that the guilt he would feel when his friends killed Ramon would be just as bad. The effectiveness of the punishment is in some ways protecting him. Arithon is loved by many here. Not that I would condone or participate in such a thing. At all.

I do want to run his head into a wall, however.

[last_adam]

I know.

*He lifts his hand and plays gently with her hair.*

It's hard to see your friends suffer, though.

[the_lioness]

*Alanna nods, trapping her bottom lip between her teeth. A full minute passes before she speaks again.*

Aye. And now Faith has gone and gotten herself in trouble that I can't even comprehend, Mel is still in Hell, Mike is sad, Indy has silver toes, Anita told me something that happened to her that still makes my stomach turn and George is risking his neck every day.

*She slumps against him, hoping this explains her current mood.*

[last_adam]

*It does, though Adam can't think of anything to do or say that can make any of it better. So instead, he wraps both his arms around her and pulls her close, running his hands down her back and side in what he hopes is a comforting manner.*

[the_lioness]

Sorry.

*Wrapping her arms around him in turn, she closes her eyes.*

I'm afraid I was more than a little grumpy and stubborn at Svava earlier. I just... hate feeling useless. And every time I hear about these horrid trials my friends are facing, I feel like a coward. My Ordeal? It was nothing by comparison.

[last_adam]

Just because they're going through something hard doesn't make what you did to prove yourself any easier.

*He leans forward and kisses her forehead.*

You do what you can, and that's all anybody expects.

[the_lioness]

I suppose. *She smiles, leaning into the kiss and shifting so she's rubbing his back a bit too.* But I want to do more.

Now that I've offloaded all of my troubles on you... are you doing alright? Besides worrying about Aziraphael?

*She looks up, searching his eyes. Part of her really wants to ask about Cort, but she'll let him tell her more about that if he wishes.*

[last_adam]

*He shrugs, and turns away.*

Feels like...


Like I'm waiting on an edge, for somebody to push me off.

[the_lioness]

I know that feeling well. Remember the night I went to London Below? And how I couldn't quite describe how I was feeling?

*She nods, combing her fingers through his hair and trying to comfort him as much as he did her.*

Sounds like pre-battle jitters.

[last_adam]

*He closes his eyes and lays his head against her.*

But it's not a battle. It's just training. I don't know why I'm so tense about it.

[the_lioness]

It's new, and you want to do well. Of course you're nervous. It's only natural. And I think that on some level, you are afraid of letting yourself down. Because this? It's a chance to do something as you and not your father's son.

*She hugs him.*

If it helps any at all, I have so much faith in you, Adam.

[last_adam]

*He tries to remember to breathe, and he knows she's right, though she's leaving somebody out in the worried-about-letting-down department. He just hugs her back.*

[the_lioness]

Even the finest warriors struggle with nerves. We all got sick after our first battle. Some of us... still get sick.

*Alanna pulls back, absently rubbing his shoulders.*

I devoted more energy to worrying about my Ordeal than I did to my studies, training... even worrying about my secret. I watched all of my friends go through it, even kept vigil with Jon in the Chapel the night before his, but nothing helped. I was convinced I didn't have enough time to prepare, and yet time crept by. Jon had to physically pull me away from the Chapel on my seventeenth birthday. Wherever I went that year, whatever I did, my mind was on and in that Chamber. Waiting.

Perhaps it was just fear of the unknown. *She swallows and kisses his forehead.* But I survived, and you will too. It's just that the waiting stinks. So how can I distract you? Shall I tell you about how I finally learned how to make coffee? *She grins.*