@hafid.alghul

[batricide]

[ For once, Damian's post isn't well put together. The words are rushed together, coming out in a frenzy of thought. ]

has anyone seen Kara
she hasn't
it's been a few days
i can't find her

[ and then, a few hours after this initial panicked post, he posts again. ]

I have a room open if anyone needs it.
Needs furniture.

Comments

@keith.kogane

[secondnature]

[After the second post.]

Do you need anything?

[batricide]

A new coat of paint on the walls.

[secondnature]

You want me to paint your walls??

@stephen.strange

[rehandle]

[ it comes on a day when he wakes with a watch in his hand that gives him a better chance than he'd usually have of understanding what this might feel like.

there's no asking Hafid questions like Are You Alright, Is There Anything I Can Do. even if there were, the answer to both is easy. so all there is from Stephen is a quick, ]

I'm sorry.

[ he'll check in later if there's only silence and keep an eye on developments in the meantime. but for now, at the crest of the hill, some space. ]

[batricide]

[ He doesn't know what to do.

It hurts in a way he hasn't felt in some time. He'd told her they'd been a bad idea, whatever they'd been building to. That this could happen, that it was stupid, that -- that...

He needs to get back home. Back to where things are fucked up, but fucked up in a way that he can still anticipate and work with. When people disappear there, it's because they're dead. And he -- he can do something about death.

He can't do something about them vanishing to a different world and forgetting everything.

He doesn't reply to Stephen's message for a while. ]

It is what it is.

1/2

[rehandle]

Yes. And what it is could be better.

[ everyone's already swept in to lift him up. it's good to see. ]

Looks like you're covered, but if you need anything you know how to contact me.

[rehandle]

Unless it's expensive. Then I'd go somewhere else.

[ is now the time for unemployment humor? maybe not. ]

@daisy.johnson, private.

[evite]

[ oh. poor hafid. they might not be best friends, but she feels for the guy. losing someone is never easy, and the panic that seems to bleed from the rushed words feels familiar. like looking through a window to someone else's memories. ]

you at home?

[ is that what happened to the furniture? ]

[batricide]

I am now.

[ He had to go out and buy paint, and scrub brushes, but that's not going to do much for the scorched walls and the ash everywhere. ]

[evite]

do you want company or do you want pizza?

[ she's sending something. he'll just have to deal with that. whether he wants somebody to come keep him company or just to shove his face full of food alone is up to him. ]

@kaldur'ahm.shayeris

[shorelined]

[ kaldur feels a surge of sympathy, but all he replies is ]

What happened to the furniture?

[batricide]

It broke.

[ Well, no. Actually he blew it the fuck up. ]

[shorelined]

I see.

[ well. ]

Do you think I should move out of the safehouse?

[ he essentially knows the answer to that already, but —making this not about damian's loss but about damian doing him a favour, helping him, is something he hopes will be a kindness. ]

@matches.malone

[reneger]

yo
meet me at the usual place?

( bad days need to be combated with. something. )

[batricide]

I'm not good company right now.

[reneger]

i know

( which is when he needs someone the most. )

@kate.bishop

[fledges]

want to come over? it's just me

[batricide]

I'm not good company right now.

[fledges]

has that every stopped me before?
i'll make you dinner

@jughead.jones

[drivein]

You've probably got everyone on you now. I know how this goes.
But l have a new ride, and I haven't really tested how fast it can go yet.

Re: @jughead.jones

[batricide]

You're asking me to test drive for you?

@nill.klein

[culver]

[nill knows that kind of panic. and she knows that kind of deflection, too.]

I'm sorry.
Did you know her long?

[batricide]

[ The silent girl from the party. ]

We arrived together.

@deimos.fighter

[tishina]

haven't seen them
sorry
have you tried messaging them?

[batricide]

I messaged everyone BUT her because it hadn't occurred to me to talk to her directly.

[ That's bad even by his standards. Fuck. He stares at the message in a blind panic, and then, not knowing how to apologize or take it back, just plows on ahead. ]

Yes. I've messaged her.
She's not answering.