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Darkseeker
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Avery set his cup down, and let his tears fall, wrapping his arms around himself, trying to feel less like he was so alone. He couldn't bear to be sitting still, and he started pacing the room, taking deep, shuddering breaths, staring blankly at the walls. "He can't die, he just can't," he whispered, over and over again, like a chant, like a prayer. He could remember his brother's pale face, his bloody torso, and memories of another face, different blood hit him, and he swayed slightly, and let himself crumple to the ground, putting his arms around his knees so he was in a tiny ball, and whimpered softly, trying to make his mind go blank, like he'd done so many times before. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't let him go to the track, if I had gone with him. Now he-...he's dying and I can't do a damn thing!" Avery's shoulders were tense, and he dug his fingers into his legs to keep himself grounded.
"It's just like her. If I had been there-" he cut himself off with a sob, and ran a hand through his hair, not caring how bad he was going to look. |
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Neutral
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It seemed like tiptoeing didn't seem to work too well. It took one look and the prince was back to panicking. He was a little stunned and just watched. He was half frozen, unprepared for the emotional break down the prince was going through. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't let him go to the track, if I had gone with him. Now he-...he's dying and I can't do a damn thing!" His words is what pushed Aspen out of his state of shock. He raced to the prince's side. falling down on his knees beside him. His arms went around him just like they did in the car. He ran his hand up and down the prince's back trying to comfort him. "It's just like her. If I had been there-" "Accidents happen," Aspen whispered in the prince's ear. He was sure whatever happened to the her the prince was referring to was the same thing that happened to Prince Robbie . There was nothing the prince could have done to stop it. "That's what this is-an accident. You are not to blame, Avery. You are just a man, you aren't a god. There's nothing you could have done to stop this. And your brother will be okay." He knew he was probably wasting his breath. People loved to blame themselves when tragedy stuck but it wasn't their fault. "It's not your fault," He whispered,"It's not." |
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Darkseeker
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Avery caught his hands through his hair, trembling like a leaf in the wind. At Aspen's words, he slammed his hands against the wall, and swore. "Well, I have to be! I have to keep him safe, and I can't let 'accidents' happen. I have to be in control!" As soon as he finished speaking, he realized he wasn't in control. He was hyperventilating, and he forced himself to take slow breaths, using the floor as his anchor, and counted to ten over and over again, softly saying the familiar numbers. He thought of when he and his brother were little, and would sit on the floors of huge banquet halls, and played clapping games, and counted as high as they could, all while drinking fizzy lemonade, and pretending to be incredibly sophisticated, and then sometimes pretending to be drunk. He managed to calm himself down enough to remember that he'd just fallen to pieces in front of someone he didn't know that well, and started on his routine to get him emotionless face back. He relaxed his facial muscles, making sure that he looked slightly blank, and to keep himself from freaking out again, he focused on the floor, and the blank walls, and anything but his emotional triggers. |
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Neutral
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Aspen flinched at the sound of hands hitting the wall. He could tell that the prince was trembling against him. He tightened his grip around him, his hands moving into the other man's own to prevent him from hitting the wall again. He wasn't going to let the prince hurt himself over this. "You need to calm down," He whispered, tightening his grip just a tad more. He wasn't sure if he was going to fight against him. He wasn't sure how the prince was going to react. It was a little scary seeing him like this,"I'm not letting go until you do." "Take deep breaths," He whispered, hearing the prince's breathing. He didn't seem to have to say anything, Prince Avery seemed to realize himself. He listened to him forcing his breathing back to normal, counting to 10...It seemed to be working. He kept his grip on the prince but did loosen it slightly seeing that he was calming down. He stayed on the floor with Prince Avery. He still had ahold of the prince's hands but his grip had loosened significantly. The prince could pull away now if he wanted to. "Okay, good good," He soothed,"Do you think you can stand up now and go sit back down? I can get you another tea if you want. |
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Darkseeker
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Avery stood up, his face cool and neutral. "I'm fine. Remember? I'm always fine." He straightend his suit jacket, carefully doing the middle button, and taking a deep breath. Just as he was about to lose his cool again, a nurse came in, and for a second his facade slipped, and a panic looked flashed across his face.
Thankfully the nurse was trained to deal with hysterical people waiting, and gently pushed him into a chair. Avery immediately leaned forward, needing the information she had. She gave him a relaxed smile, and tucked her hair behind one of her ears. "Alright, Prince Avery. Let me tell you what's going on with your brother." Her voice was rich and slow, and he was able to keep calm. "He's pretty battered up, there's quite a few broken bones, and a punctured lung. But there's no brain damage, thankfully. He's having a bit of trouble breathing right now, but we can help him with that for now."
Avery nodded, and rubbed his eyes.
"Can I see him? Is he going to-...to die?" Avery asked the question in a shaky voice, scared to know the answer. The nurse's forehead crinkled. "We're hoping he won't, we're doing our best. I think it would be good for you go home, ok?" Avery nodded, but once the nurse left, he couldn't bring himself to move. |
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Neutral
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"Mhm sure you are," Aspen responded, standing up and helping Prince Avery do the same. He let the prince fix his suit before he began to guide him back to his seat to sit. He wasn't going to let the prince out of his sight for a single moment. Not with the way he was processing his emotions. He knew right away that the prince wasn't fine. It was quite obvious. He began to guide him toward the chair gently but right when he almost had the prince sitting again, the nurse came out. The prince's face gave away his panic and Aspen held on to his hands again tightly, praying the man wouldn't have another panic attack. The nurse helped him with Prince Avery, pushing him back into the chair for him. He gave her a series of quiet thank-yous. He took a seat next to him to listen to what the nurse was going to say and the condition of Prince Robbie. "Can I see him? Is he going to-...to die?" His heart broke hearing that. It broke more when the nurse's forehead crinkled. It seemed like for a moment she was debating on whether to sugar-coat it or tell Prince Avery the truth. "We're hoping he won't, we're doing our best. I think it would be good for you go home, ok?" Avery nodded, agreeing to go home. However, once the nurse left the prince seemed frozen in time. He didn't move and after realizing that he didn't, Aspen stood up. "Come on, let's get you home," He grabbed the prince's hands and pulled him to his feet,"They'll call you when they have any news." |
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Darkseeker
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Avery shook his head, and lurched backwards. "I have to stay. I have to be here for him, because I couldn't be there for Emily." He was so tired, and his emotions were everywhere, but his face was calm and controlled as ever. He leaned back, and practically fell into the chair. "If you want to stay you can," he said, knowing it was a weak argument. There was no way he was going to be able to stay, but it made his tired mind happy to think that he was at least trying.
"What if something goes wrong, and I'm so far away? Things have already gone bad enough when I'm not with my brother. He's too young to die! He hasn't had time to do everything he wants to do! And he doesn't love his life! He needs time!" |
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Neutral
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Prince Avery couldn't stay here, not in the condition that he was in. He needed to go lay down and rest. When the prince lurched backwards, he tightened his grip and kept the guy standing. He knew that he had to take the prince back to the home, even if he didn't want to go. However, the prince still ended up sitting in the chair. Aspen took a moment to catch his breath before grabbing the prince by his hands and pulling him to his feet once again.
Besides, his argument was pretty weak. He could tell that he didn't have the strength to truly fight him-even if he wanted to. "I know this is difficult for you," He told him, taking a slow step toward the doors. He changed his grip on the prince, switching so one hand was around his waist and the other in his hand,"But the medical staff here are doing the best they can. You need to do the best you can and right now, that's for you to go home and get some rest." He took a couple more slow steps, wanting to be careful with the prince's emotions. "Robbie wouldn't want you here panicking over him. He would want you back home, resting, so you can give him the biggest 'get well soon' surprise when he wakes up. Notice how I said when and not if. He's not dying," He continued to guide the prince toward the doors. He was being as gentle as he could but the nurses were quite clear on what they wanted the Prince to do. "Besides, to be frank, I'm quite worried that if you stay here one of the nurses are going to put you in a padded room," He warned in a hushed voice. |
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Darkseeker
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"At least I'd be here," Avery whispered, but he leaned heavily on Aspen, and walked slowly to the car. He spoke quietly to the driver, and then headed to the door. Standing next to it was Lorenz, and Avery felt a rush of relief, the familiarity of his bodyguard, and he collapsed into the older man's arms. Lorenz soothed the young prince, and helped him into the car. Avery leaned against the seat, trying to keep himself calm. His hands were still shaking, and all of a sudden he though about Windemere. There would be two empty bedrooms now. At the thought his face crumpled, and he sobbed into his arms again.
"We can't go back to Windemere! I can't see his room, I can't I can't I can't!" His whispered words were garbled, and hard to understand, his voice thick with emotion and a knot in his throat. |
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Neutral
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Prince Avery didn't fight him which was a good sign. Prince Avery weighed quite a bit more than him and was stronger. Things weren't going to turn out well if he had to fight to get the prince to the car. Even without him fighting, Aspen still staggered slightly under the prince's weight once he leaned heavily into him. He let the prince speak to the driver. The driver and Aspen shared a look that could be understood from a mile away. The driver didn't like Aspen but they both shared a mutual understand that he had been the one to even get the prince this close to the car without a panic attack. He felt the prince's weight shift off of him and let the man go. The man went straight into his body gaurd's arms. While Lorenz helped him into the car, Aspen took a moment to catch his breath before getting in on the passenger side. He didn't want to be crushed by the two other men in the back so he figured the driver wouldn't mind for about 5 miles max. "We can't go back to Windemere! I can't see his room, I can't I can't I can't!" Aspen could barely make out the words but what little he did, his heart ached. He wondered where the king and queen were in all of this. Surely Prince Avery needed the comfort of his family and not some random friend-if that-and his body guard. They arrived to the manner and he stepped out of the car to help Lorenz with the prince. He opened the door and held out his hand to Prince Avery to help him out of the car. "I'll make sure you can't see his room, I promise,"He promised, offering a friendly smile,"Please? You'll feel so much better after you get some rest." |
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Fall 
Day Weather: 
