Love mends even the broken parts
To no one’s surprise, least of all his, Loren had been avoiding people. There’d been everything with Remi, which ended with a fucking note (the tear stains had been an oh so nice touch), as if that would somehow make everything okay or give the summoner any sense of closure. News flash: it didn't. And then the alchemist hadn't even been able to stay away, showing up at the efforts to help secure the Temple for LongNight.
On top of that there was the incident with the Fae—which he’d admitted was his own fault—that had resulted in his ban from the Sidhe Village. While he hadn’t exactly been planning to go there, and he still felt guilty for his actions that day, it stung. Then there had been the snow creature: he’d been attacked, by a god, fucking Ludo no less, when words would’ve sufficed. Even the ministrations of Frey, which had almost been enough to let Loren have a little bit of hope and peace of mind, had been shattered to pieces by that day. And that wasn’t even beginning to get into the whole mess with his family.
Plus there was the seemingly never ending preparations for LongNight that just got more complicated and convoluted the more time they spent on them. And everyone had differing opinions. The one thing they all seemed to agree on was that they disapproved of how he was handling everything.
So, yes, it was no wonder that he wanted nothing more than to be alone for a little bit. And for once, he got his wish. No one had come to find him, no one had checked in on him to see how he was doing. None of the many people in the Manor had made an appearance, at least not a deliberate one, and none of the many people he knew in the Hollowed Grounds had bothered to seek him out, even for his skills.
Good.
He wrapped his loneliness around himself like a cloak; where once it had bothered him, now he embraced it. So what if people hated him, whispered about him behind his back. He’d tried so hard to do the right thing, and be good, and had been rebuffed at every turn. Time for him to take some time and just do what he wanted to, he decided. And if that made him selfish and evil, well, at least there was precedent for that among the Launceleyns.
Today, though, he just wanted to do something familiar. Which is why he was in the Atheneum, golem trailing behind him with an armful of scrolls and books. They needed reshelving, and while this was obviously not a priority, it was soothing. And he needed all the calm he could gather before he was shut away for LongNight. Otherwise, he might lose his damn mind. Again. And this time he didn’t know what he might do.
But he knew it would be bad, and even now he was trying to make sure that when he inevitably exploded, he'd hurt as few people as possible.
On top of that there was the incident with the Fae—which he’d admitted was his own fault—that had resulted in his ban from the Sidhe Village. While he hadn’t exactly been planning to go there, and he still felt guilty for his actions that day, it stung. Then there had been the snow creature: he’d been attacked, by a god, fucking Ludo no less, when words would’ve sufficed. Even the ministrations of Frey, which had almost been enough to let Loren have a little bit of hope and peace of mind, had been shattered to pieces by that day. And that wasn’t even beginning to get into the whole mess with his family.
Plus there was the seemingly never ending preparations for LongNight that just got more complicated and convoluted the more time they spent on them. And everyone had differing opinions. The one thing they all seemed to agree on was that they disapproved of how he was handling everything.
So, yes, it was no wonder that he wanted nothing more than to be alone for a little bit. And for once, he got his wish. No one had come to find him, no one had checked in on him to see how he was doing. None of the many people in the Manor had made an appearance, at least not a deliberate one, and none of the many people he knew in the Hollowed Grounds had bothered to seek him out, even for his skills.
Good.
He wrapped his loneliness around himself like a cloak; where once it had bothered him, now he embraced it. So what if people hated him, whispered about him behind his back. He’d tried so hard to do the right thing, and be good, and had been rebuffed at every turn. Time for him to take some time and just do what he wanted to, he decided. And if that made him selfish and evil, well, at least there was precedent for that among the Launceleyns.
Today, though, he just wanted to do something familiar. Which is why he was in the Atheneum, golem trailing behind him with an armful of scrolls and books. They needed reshelving, and while this was obviously not a priority, it was soothing. And he needed all the calm he could gather before he was shut away for LongNight. Otherwise, he might lose his damn mind. Again. And this time he didn’t know what he might do.
But he knew it would be bad, and even now he was trying to make sure that when he inevitably exploded, he'd hurt as few people as possible.
loren
