Room 324, Saturday Early Evening

[wwiii]

Warren had just about had enough of... everything. After heading Karla off at the Causeway, after getting his bearings and picking himself off the ground and trudging back to his room, he'd done more... well, more moping with the rabbit. It wasn't until a few hours wore on that he reached for his phone, thinking maybe he'd call someone, or check to see if maybe there was new news about... anything at all, that he realized that there was a message waiting for him.

Not five minutes later, Warren's wings were pressed up solidly against either wall, his chest was heaving, and he was staring blankly at the remains of his phone, punctured clear through by his claws, and sitting splintered on the floor.

It wasn't like there was anybody left who was going to call him, after all.

Warren was done, damn it. He was just... fucking done with it.

[Open with some slight SP heads-up, since I'm still animating and running largely on energy drinks.]

Comments

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"It was," Wesley agreed gently. "You -- even if she doesn't forgive you -- and she might not, though she should -- you did the right thing."

It probably hurt just as much to hear even when you hid it in the middle of the sentence like that, Wes.

[wwiii]

It did.

But Warren was prepared to never be forgiven. It was just one more world-shattering loss, to add to the list along with his father and his best friend and his entire reality. And this way, she was safe. that was more than he could say for the rest of them.

"I don't know if there's any coming back from this one," he murmured. "But I hope you're right."

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"Even if there isn't," Wesley said, "and she doesn't forgive you, or she takes quite a while to do so -- it's still less permanent than the alternative. At least she's alive. And she stands to help the rest of those who otherwise stand to be hurt by this thing."

He hesitated, then continued, "I was -- I, that is to say, back home, I was always taught that nothing is so important as the safety of the Slayer. My primary concern was making sure she was equipped to fight. Anything else was secondary. That's... rather how it sounds here."

[wwiii]

Warren hesitated. Again. It was kind of becoming his modus operandi tonight, really.

"I... honestly wasn't thinking much about fighting," he admitted, softly. "Just... how much of a waste it would have been for someone like her to throw that much away for a bunch of people who would never realize, when she could... could maybe even save them, instead of some empty gesture. It would be like... Like choosing to jump off a bridge because someone else's car went out of control and dragged them over the edge."

Mmm, colorful metaphor.

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Wesley nodded thoughtfully, sitting in silence for a moment before he formulated what he wanted to say.

"She... I wouldn't have expected it from her, even," he said. "When Katniss... I mean, after everything, Karla wanted her to be productive. Even shouted at her for it. But now, I mean. One would think she'd've thought the same now."

Except it was different and he knew it. It was always different when it was your own world.

[wwiii]

Warren bit the inside of his cheek.

"With all that's going on? Maybe she's just not thinking straight," he murmured. "I don't know what she's heard about from here home, but... I can see how she'd want to be there for her friends and for Morton, at least."

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"To the extent that she chose to shut you out entirely," Wesley summed up dryly. "Not a perfect solution."

[wwiii]

"Maybe not." He shrugged a bit. "But it isn't like I can compete, really."

He wasn't worth as much as her territory. He knew that.

"It doesn't matter."

It did. It mattered so, so much.

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"Of course it matters," Wesley persisted gently. "You two are... were... in a relationship." Because he knew so much about those. "It's only natural that you'd expect her to afford you some level of consideration."

[wwiii]

"She left me a note."

That was consideration, right?

... Okay, no. The note just made him angry about the whole thing. Which, granted, was better than moping. But only marginally.

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Sorry, Warren, give Wes a second, here.

"A note," he repeated. "After ev--" Sigh. So much sigh for you, Karla. "That's -- completely inappropriate."

[wwiii]

"Maybe," Warren sighed. "But her reasoning for it was sound enough. I would have tried to talk her out of it."

So, hey. At least she knew him.

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"And she ought to have realized that perhaps it might've been intelligent to listen to what you had to say," Wesley countered. Seriously, Karla, what the hell?

[wwiii]

"... I kind of think that being intelligent about it wasn't really her top priority, honestly."

Warren shrugged a little.

"Either way, there's no running off to disappear for anyone to do now, right? So... it happened. Okay. It's done."

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Dammit, Warren, why did you have to be so reasonable? Assigning blame probably wouldn't kill you.

Probably. You know.

"And you're -- all right?" Wesley shook his head at the ridiculous question. "I mean -- of course you --" Wait, no, that wasn't any better. "Can I help at all?" There. That was something.

[wwiii]

Warren shrugged a little.

"Just let her know about Bobby and Sookie," he murmured. "Make sure she's not going to spend the rest of her life moping around after this."

A pause.

"Be a friend to her. She's going to need them now more than ever, I think."

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"Right," Wesley promised, nodding. "I'll -- I'll do that."

He paused for a long moment, then asked, "Would you -- er, would you prefer -- er, should I go now? Or...?"

[wwiii]

And... and another shrug. Good day for shrugging, today.

"I'll be fine," he said, with a little smile that was just a bit forced. "But she was... well, not doing so well, last time I saw her. She matters more."

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"I'd hardly say that," Wesley pointed out mildly. "I've no doubt that she's just as affected by this as you are, but I wouldn't say that makes her any more important."

[wwiii]

There. There was Warren's wry, tired smile.

"She is to me."

And that was all that mattered to him, just then.

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

All of Wesley's arguments fell away then, because that was -- not something he had it in him to contest.

"Oh," he said, softening some. "Yes, of course she is. My apologies."