[say]"Edy, wait--!"[/say] There's no stopping his fellow Launceleyn, though, and no matter how unfit Neron feels to be holding her up, here she comes anyway. Luckily there's the side of the door to brace against, and he manages to get his arms around the Ascended. And maybe he's grinning as well, but hey, it's a rare occasion they find themselves in. [say]"Wessex asked me to try and help out a little longer,"[/say] he tells Pet, his voice muffled by the great amount of Edrei all over him.
No, he doesn't mention that he slipped and fell on his ass. You'll never hear him mention it. [say]"She's still out there... I only hope she managed to kick that thing's ass,"[/say] he muttered. Still clutching Edy close and taking the punch on the arm with a good natured smile, he tries to carry them to a couch to slump down onto. [say]"Gods, no one said LongNight could be this long. Are the two of you alright?"[/say]
Peter is more than happy to step aside in the face of Edrei’s exuberance. His support is still there, if Neron needs it. This isn’t his moment though, not really. He’s not really family, not really. He stands to the side and nods, face hardening just a little with the reason Neron had been so far behind them. [say]”She needed you that badly?”[/say]
There’s a swirl of something too complicated in his chest to really process, at least right now. There’s a ringing in his ears that should probably be a heartbeat, and he zones in again just in time to catch Neron’s question, an uncharacteristic smile crossing his face as he nods. [say]”I-I think we are... better now?”[/say] Pet folds his arms behind his back as he follows along to the couch, standing stiffly beside it.
[say]"She fucking wot!?"[/say] Edy demands, stoping her downpour of kisses to pull herself back and fix Neron with a stare.
As Neron plops himself onto the couch, Edy simply spider-monkey's herself around him more, quite content to stay in his lap forever and a day at this point. She mumbles something about immortality, says what the actual fucking fuck a number of times, before huffing contentedly and nuzzling herself against the crook of Neron's neck.
[say]"We're fine."[/say] She chimes against the Hailstorm. [say]"Peter was real good company while we waited. Stopped me from lighting this place the fuck up out of worry. I can do that now, y'know."[/say] Edy adds with a fanged grin before stuffing her face back against her cousin and refusing to be moved.
Whilst Edy and Pet decide amongst themselves how outraged they can be, Neron merely contents himself in dissolving into the couch. His one arm winds around Edrei, accepting her position as spider-monkey with all the grace one would expect of a Launceleyn. With his nose and cheek pressed against her unruly hair and his arm curled about her waist, he can only glance up at Peter standing stiffly and awkwardly on the sidelines.
[say]"For gods' sake Pet, sit down,"[/say] he rumbles, patting the space on his other side as if to persuade the other man to take a load off his feet and his conscience both. [say]"Good. We're all fine and we're all better, then. Do me a favour though, both of you - don't make a habit of dying, alright?"[/say] It's rare sentimentality, and that's all they'll get from him on the subject.
Outrage is not a mask that Pet wears often, but it’s one that graces him now, every part of him drawn into a tense, tight line. What kind of audacity, of poor planning, or unfortunate circumstances? He only hopes it was worth it.
Well, he can’t disobey a direct order, now can he? Pet sits with a graceless thump. He’s stiff right up until he isn’t, right up until he turns to hide his face in the back of the couch, close enough to Neron and Edy to reach out and touch, if he wanted. A soft chuckle, or something like one, huffs out of him, his voice near silent when he speaks. [say]”S’too late for that.”[/say] For now though, he can honour that favour.
Fin
