The Magic Guild: A Familiar Pain

[gorgonfondness]

Mia didn't know. Not until she saw the sign.

She couldn't go to the wake, not when she just found out. She didn't know him as well as she could have, but he was a dear friend and a comrade in arms with Will and her. She's not sure how she was able to hold it together all the way back to her quarters in Vane.

Once she did, she collapsed on her bed (as much as she could considering her current shape) and just cried. Cried until she wore herself out, until she almost felt like she couldn't breathe.

It's amazing, the pain of losing a friend.

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[iambetadraconis]

He'd heard Mia coming even before he saw her. As the calendar back at the bar read "full moon" to his lunar calendar he'd spent the time in Vane.

"Mia?"

He couldn't tell if she'd heard him or not, so he followed her to her room—

—To stand at the door, listening.

Had something set off her hormones to make her cry like that? he wondered to himself.

"Mia, are you well?"

[gorgonfondness]

Well, sort of? Her hormones certainly aren't helping.

She carefully sits herself up on the bed, trying to control her breathing.

"No..." she says.

She'll explain that she's fine physically in a moment, once Rabastan realizes the door is unlocked.

[iambetadraconis]

It is not so much the realising so much as it is the respect for privacy he holds with other people's spaces.

Therefore he does not check to see if the door is locked or not.

"What happened? Did somebody say something to upset you?"

Mia didn't look to be in any more discomfort physically than she was at times.

[gorgonfondness]

There's always going to be some discomfort this late in pregnancy, isn't there?

But seriously, don't make the upset pregnant lady get up. The bed seems to be her only comfort right now and, given her choice, she would rather lie back down.

"Uncle, it's-" she tries, uncertain of what to say and putting a hand through her hair.

"-Doc died. Josiah Scurlock..."

Yes, she did know his first name and even called him by that.

"I just learned..."

[iambetadraconis]

He mutters for a bit, still waiting for the cue to come in.

That name is faintly familiar, but he hasn't seen the name's owner in years.

And Milliways is a place where, if people disappear, you just assume they either can't find their way back, or they're not coming back. Ever.

"You want to talk about that?"

[gorgonfondness]

"I don't know," she moans. "I don't know what I want."

Though there is a pause while she thinks and she eventually decides...

"I don't think I want to be alone."

And baby kicks, though somewhat reassuring, aren't quite the same thing.

[iambetadraconis]

Rabastan falters for words for a brief moment, then,

"You're not alone. I'm right here. Uh. On the other side of the door. But here."

If he was trying for levity it came out wrong.

[gorgonfondness]

She shudders and wipes at her eyes.

"I'm by myself in here."

Mia's trying to make the message clear, though it's hard to directly state it with her mind weighed down with sorrow.

[iambetadraconis]

Alright, so initiative is something Rabastan needs to show more of. No longer waiting, he tests the door to see if—

Ah. It is open.

"Maybe because you were the only one in the room," says the head peeking through. "But I meant you have all of us to help if you want it."

[gorgonfondness]

"I didn't know where else to go," she says before covering her nose and mouth while she continues to cry.

Before long, she's gasping for air again.

[iambetadraconis]

"Mia, breathe!"

Rabastan is at her bedside before he's aware he's even moved.

"You came here, though. Where you have friends and family ready to help you through this."

[gorgonfondness]

Mia's already leaning against him, now trying to make a conscious effort to get herself under control.

Though it's difficult, her sobs are starting to come a little slower and she isn't gasping from the effort of them quite so loudly or frequently.

"It just-" she tries. "Had no idea- what if- what if we- could've helped?"

[iambetadraconis]

This moment feels not unlike when the bar finally learned what really happened when Boo disappeared. Only, Rabastan wasn't thinking 'what if?' thoughts—he was thinking 'I'm gonna do this' thoughts.

"You could, but it depends more on how he died. Some ways of dying you can't do anything about but make it easier on the person about to die."

Because you can die from mundane things, even in Milliways. And Rabastan has no idea how Doc had perished.

[gorgonfondness]

Mia doesn't either, but that doesn't really help matters.

Except that she is quieting down a little more. Perhaps it's time for Rabastan's next move.

[iambetadraconis]

It doesn't, but initiative, and more of it, might. Mia's hair is given an assuring stroking. This might help his niece-by-marriage-to-a-man-he's-uncle-to-by-marriage calm her mind enough to clear away some of the emotional tumult and get some thinking in.

"When exactly did this happen? Him dying? Did they tell you when you found out about it?"

Announcement sign for wake? What announcement sign? He was here in Vane hiding from the full moon and missed it.

[gorgonfondness]

She shakes her head.

"There was a sign saying there was a wake. I hadn't known about it before that."

Which is another thing that doesn't quite help: exactly how long was Doc dead before that?

[iambetadraconis]

"Your friend died, they did not tell you; they merely left a sign up for anyone to see and read, assuming everyone already knew?"

Rabastan may be thinking that there are some parties involved who need a Talking To about making sure that those who are friends with the newly-deceased know about the dying of the person involved.

Anyways, he's not too chuffed about Mia being kept in the dark.

Mia, he reasons, is pregnant, not fragile. She can handle the telling.

[gorgonfondness]

Mia's not sure who was really supposed to tell her.

"I don't know. I don't know how I was supposed to find out. The last time I learned a friend died, he told me myself."

[iambetadraconis]

But someone should have. Rabastan is resolute on this matter.

"Well, it is Milliways, that can happen."

Still.

He thinks on this.

"Doc may yet be able to come back and tell you what you were not told: the details."

[gorgonfondness]

"I don't know if that would be better or worse..."

[iambetadraconis]

"Nobody ever knows, until it happens."

[gorgonfondness]

She sniffles a bit and wipes away some tears with the knuckles of her hand.

"All I can think of is why. There never seems to be an answer."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Nash and Draco had been dealing with a lot more work now with Mia practically on leave. So it was that Draco didn't return to the room till fairly late, and clearly exhausted.

"Oh Mia, could the Thieves be any more sufferable, I swear!" He groaned as he opened the door. Upon noticing her silence, he walked closer.

"Mia?"

[gorgonfondness]

At least Mia's share is more or less done. All she's really doing until their holiday is teaching classes.

Though she may need a day off for this.

She carefully props herself up on the bed, the pillows no longer muffling her quiet sobs.

"Draco..." she answers back, partly to call for him.

He was so wonderful the first time she had lost a friend, he really was. And now she needs his comfort again.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

He paused hearing the cries and sniffling, before quietly saying 'Lumos' before quickly approaching.

"Darling? What's wrong, are you all right?"

[gorgonfondness]

She shakes her head no.

"Josiah died. My friend Doc Scurlock..."

As soon as he's within reach, Mia holds onto him and cries, her sobs renewed.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

He set his cane aside, still with the light spell before putting his arms around her. He didn't really know the name, but obviously Mia knew him well.

He shushed her as he held her, rocking very gently since mindful of the baby.

[gorgonfondness]

Well enough for them to laugh together and fight side by side.

"What if-" she says, gasping. "What if- we could've- done something- to help?"

One of them should also be mindful that Mia isn't the only one who will probably need air.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco gently held her, moving to the side.

"Easy, luv. And you don't know that. How did it happen?"

[gorgonfondness]

Once her breathing's a little more under control, she tries again.

"I don't even know," she gets out, leaning her head on his shoulder. "No one told me directly. I learned when I saw the sign in Milliways for the wake."