[Written | Action]

[dissonates]

[The message, tossed on the journal some time in the early afternoon, is short, carefully scripted, and with the camera concealed to keep it anonymous. He has no intention of dealing with the aftermath unless he absolutely has to.]

Luke fon Fabre and Xion have returned to their respective worlds.

[A short while later, another message is sent privately, though not so anonymously:]

[Private to Buffy and Jack (Horner)]

I won't be at the bar tonight. Close it if you want, work the shift yourselves, I don't care.


[After that, he's in the wind. First he goes out into the woods to where Luke was when they last spoke, to check for any signs of what might have been left, then to Luke's apartment to scour the place; he returns with a necklace, a ring, the Jewel of Lorelei, and a lot of hollow feelings.

After that, it's off to the Battle Dome, where he'll spend the next several hours destroying every simulation he can come up with, working his way through several of them one after another. He'll only stop once in a while when, in the midst of his fury and frustration, his body decides it's had enough; his heart seizes up, protesting the way it's being overworked. It's yet feeling the relief of that fact that for the first time in years, the weight of Luke's presence, their connection, no longer exists. His dissonance has been halted but he honestly wasn't prepared for how it would make him feel.

He won't be home for a long time.]

Comments

[Voice]

[herotypical]

Understand that I make this offer with the full knowledge that you probably want nothing to do with it but -- just in case you do wanna talk with a person who might be me? My ears are here. We've all been around this block a few times.

[Voice]

[dissonates]

That won't be necessary. It's been five years, I'm well accustomed to dealing with departures.

[Not that every departure involves a presence in his mind being violently ripped out, but hey, he's dealt with worse. More or less.]

[Voice]

[herotypical]

[ so is she, she thinks, but she still likes to talk about it. but that argument is not for today. ]

I can...respect that.

[Voice]

[dissonates]

If that's really true, you'll keep your concerns to yourself.

[It's curt, and probably unnecessary when she came to his defense, but he can't help feeling snippy. It's just his way.]

[Voice]

[herotypical]

[ a huff of breath -- as if she'd been about to say something (isn't keeping them to myself exactly what i'm doing?) but then thinks better of it. ]

...Roger that -- [ her conclusion is simple. with his pre-emptive strike, she doesn't dare provoke him. ]

[Voice]

[dissonates]

[Sigh. There he goes again, snapping at people for no reason. It occurs to him that he ought to apologize for it, but he just... can't. Or doesn't want to, maybe. He can't really sort it out.

Either way, he says nothing instead.]