tushanshu_logs | so long as you come home at the end of the day [July, catchall, open]

Characters: Raine Sage and OPEN
Date: mostly after 9th July, as attitudes will differ markedly before and after
Location: Many places: special mention for apartment in Earth, Healers' Guild in Water
Situation: lots.
Warnings/Rating: hold on to your feels, Raine's misplaced her husband. warnings updated as things change.

A | Healers' Guild | Open

Before the ninth, business is as usual; Raine is brisk and efficient. After the ninth, she makes a level attempt to throw herself into work, at the Guild long hours and busy more often than not. She may be found in her office, sometimes awake, sometimes passed out over her desk with the door ajar; down in Solomon's old laboratory space, sifting through his research; or with patients. She seems more tired, and she smiles less frequently, but she doesn't do her job with any less dedication.

B | park in Earth sector, later in the month | Open

When the familiar surroundings of her apartment get too much, and she's been nudged out of the Guild by coworkers, Raine walks, takes herself out to watch people and keep herself moving. Often she stops in a park, a little ways away from the more traveled areas, and sits to meditate, pale light glowing under her and at her fingertips. Focusing on her magic helps: it won't abide distraction, and she gives all her attention to the clean peace of mana and light, rather than emotion.

As a result, she will be easily startled.

C | Wildcard??? | Open

D | apartment | Sheena

Raine allots herself a few days, not so much to work through the loss as to try to hammer out the nuances of working around it. It may not be the best strategy, but it's what she has. She's not oblivious, all the while, to the food that appears while her remaining roommate disappears, but it takes her some time to actually catch Sheena in the apartment.

On Sheena's day off she taps on the closed door of the room, frowning slightly to herself. It's beginning to seem like Sheena's avoiding her, and if something's wrong with Sheena, Raine would prefer to address it now, before it becomes something worse.

[ooc; if you'd like to plot, hit me up via pm or

makaricrow. c: other than that, let me know specifically if you need Raine before the ninth for some reason, since her attitude and mood will differ drastically before and after.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

On more than one occasion, Raine has been there for Pepper as a source of calm in the middle of a storm. Nothing quite like this, though. Nothing with so much loss - but Pepper has lost a parent and she can guess. She wants to cry, when Raine hugs her back, but she doesn't. Right now is about Raine and being there for her.

"I know you said you need to be busy, but..." Her voice wavers, and she swallows a sob. "I'm here anyway."

Raine takes several deep breaths, and at first they scrape over the back of her throat but with repetition it gets a little easier. She isn't going to break down now; she still has things to do.

"I can't stop to think about it right now," she says aloud, when she trusts her voice not to catch over-much. "I--"

She doesn't know what to say. Solomon is gone. Life goes on, as it has to.

Everyone dealt with grief differently, and throwing oneself into work is a strategy she's familiar with. Just because Raine is normally level-headed and people rely on her work doesn't mean she shouldn't be allowed to deal with how much this has to hurt.

"You can. You can," Pepper insists, quiet. "And you should." She pauses, takes a deep breath, and when she speaks again it's more evenly, but barely audible. "I know- I know what it's like. I know why you want to work - it's what my dad did, too. But it's okay to... It's okay." Okay to cry, okay to wail, okay to feel it all completely, okay to let it bring Raine to her knees. "I've got you."

And Pepper isn't about to let go unless Raine absolutely makes her.

Even if it's okay, Raine doesn't want to-- she hates it when emotion gets the best of her, hates feeling like she's lost control of herself. Hates other people seeing her in moments of weakness.

But Pepper understands. And it's all right, to depend on her friends.

Raine holds on to her, trying to think only of here and now, trying not to think of how much she wants Solomon back. She's very quiet, and very still, holding on to her composure like it's the only thing she has left; but all the same a little dampness escapes her eyes.

It doesn't surprise Pepper that Raine holds on to composure as much as possible. She'd be sobbing uncontrollably if it were her, but Raine is Raine. Still. Her friend isn't trying to pull away, and that's something.

"He loves you. You love him. That's not going away," she whispers. Solomon might be gone but his effect on people wouldn't fade so long as they remembered him. So long as someone remembered what they had, even if Raine ends up going home someday too. And maybe even when they all consciously forgot. "That's never going away."

"I know," Raine says at last, heavily, trying to keep her voice even past the lump in her throat. "The people here will remember us even if I cannot; it's written down, somewhere, that we loved each other enough to marry. It's just..."

She wanted longer. But that would always have been the case, even in the best world: she likely would outlive Solomon.

There isn't much way to make this better.

"I... need to get back to work," she says slowly, some few moments later.

Pepper doesn't want to let go. She really, really doesn't want to let go, and she's not sure if it's because she wants to comfort Raine or because she herself needs the comfort.

Raine is probably going to work herself into the ground unless someone, or several someones, intervene. Briefly, Pepper actually tightens her hold before drawing back a little ways, leaving her hands on Raine's shoulders.

"You can let other people take care of things, for a while," she points out gently. "Let other people take care of you, too."

Her friend was, after all, a healer. Raine looked after people, and she did it very well, but to the point of stretching herself thin at the best of times. Stretching herself now seems like a recipe for disaster.

Though she won't admit it out loud, Raine takes some solace from Pepper's determination to hold on to her.

She tries to smile at Pepper; it doesn't really work. "Fletch has already insisted on taking over some of my duties," she says. "But really, I'll be better off if I'm doing something. I can't..."

Raine gestures with one hand, out of words for the moment. If she is left to sit and be by herself with little to take up her mind, it really will drive her mad. At least this way she can pursue the research which interests her most without worrying for all of her responsibilities, she supposes, even if it's research she'd rather be doing with Solomon.

There is no way around grief.

so long as you come home at the end of the day [July, catchall, open]

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