Rome, Italy Thursday Evening Fandom Time

[glacial_queen]

Even in Kaeleer, Karla made sure to keep a Fandom-based calendar handy, so she could keep track of things like friends' birthdays and things like that. A few days ago, she'd noted another anniversary was coming up, but not one as fun or exciting as a birthday.

Thursday, May 10th, was the day that Triela had died, last year. Funny how it felt like both more and less than that long. Funny how much it still hurt, an ache in her heart she doubted would ever go away.

After seeing that, Karla had made a few handwavy calls to people, friends of hers and Triela's that she thought might want to join her sojourn back to Italy. Unsurprisingly, several people had already made separate plans to do just that, but didn't mind combining those plans with hers. Karla couldn't speak for everyone, of course, but she was sure that very few people wanted to go back and remember their friend alone.

For once, Portalocity was willing to work with her, and she was able to set up several portals to meet in Rome for Thursday afternoon and a return set for late Thursday evening. Hopefully that would give everyone time to...do whatever they needed to do today.

[For any friends of Triela's who want to meet up. If you think you'd've gotten a phone call, you absolutely did. Give a sec for OCD. NFB, NFI]

Comments

Re: Gather by the Grave

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Hilshire looked... not good. Triela would have disapproved, was the first thought Dinah had. And yet she couldn't say she was surprised.

"Hello, Hilshire." She studied him, her hand still clutching the bear. "We should have expected you, I guess."

Re: Gather by the Grave

[sie-bruder.livejournal.com]

Hilshire turned, staring at her a moment while his eyes focused properly. "Dinah Lance," he responded, voice sounding scratchy. "I should have expected all of you, too."

He hadn't.

Re: Gather by the Grave

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Yes." On both sides. Dinah would have hoped he'd be doing something else by now, but... Maybe a year wasn't that long. She gestured with the bear. "The other girls haven't been here, have they?"

Re: Gather by the Grave

[sie-bruder.livejournal.com]

"I believe they're coming by later." Claes had planned it. Which had been odd. Triela had been the planner among the first generation.

Re: Gather by the Grave

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Oh. That's good." Claes taking up the banner, sort of. She'd be good at it. Dinah let out a shaky breath, then decided to say what she was thinking. "You don't look so hot."

Re: Gather by the Grave

[sie-bruder.livejournal.com]

"I'm fine."

Funny. Last year Hilshire had been pretty good at lying.

Re: Gather by the Grave

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Somewhere, Triela is snorting at you," Dinah told him. Knowing it would probably hurt, but how much more could that be? She held out the bear to him. "I was thinking of leaving it by her grave, but-- it would be better if the girls could have it. Can you get it to them?"

Re: Gather by the Grave

[sie-bruder.livejournal.com]

Hilshire flinched at the mention of Triela. And then stared at the bear like it might bite him.

He took a deep breath and blew it out noisily, then extended his hand.

Re: Gather by the Grave

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah placed it in his hand, then covered his with her other one. "What are you doing these days?"

Re: Gather by the Grave

[sie-bruder.livejournal.com]

"I do some training. At the Agency."

And he knew that they were really only keeping him on to keep him busy. They didn't need him, and he wasn't doing much good.

Re: Gather by the Grave

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"They haven't assigned you to another girl, hunh." Dinah bit her lip, studying him. "How are they doing? The others? I send postcards, sometimes, but..."

Re: Gather by the Grave

[sie-bruder.livejournal.com]

Hilshire shook his head. "It doesn't work like that." There was really only one handler he'd met that would even contemplate taking on a new partner. And Jean was pretty sociopathic in some ways.

"The others are..." Hilshire grimaced. "She was the oldest, but they're all... getting there."

Re: Gather by the Grave

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Has there been any improvement?" Dinah asked, hoping. Oh, hoping. It was all she'd been able to do for Triela, and that was... nothing. "I mean. It's been another year, and..."

Re: Gather by the Grave

[sie-bruder.livejournal.com]

"The doctors have learned a lot."

Hilshire paused.

"They say it'll help the next generation." But it was too late to apply those changes to the first.

Re: Gather by the Grave

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Oh," Dinah whispered. Claes. Rico. All the others. She suddenly realized she hadn't kept in better touch, because she'd been afraid to get close to another girl like Triela, and have to say good-bye in the same way. So there was no way to blame Hilshire for feeling the same, only worse. She took a breath, wondering what Triela would say. "Maybe... maybe you should do something else. Somewhere."

Re: Gather by the Grave

[sie-bruder.livejournal.com]

"Like what?" Hilshire asked softly.

He shook his head. "Besides, I can't leave Marco or Jose behind. They were there for me when..." Well.

And Angelica probably wasn't going to make it through the month. Certainly not two.

Re: Gather by the Grave

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah nodded, throat closing, and felt the insane urge to hug Hilshire for a moment. The other handlers, trainers. Facing the same loss. "You were police, before. You could go back to that, in a while. This isn't-- this isn't what she'd want for you."

Re: Gather by the Grave

[sie-bruder.livejournal.com]

"Europol?" Hilshire shook his head again. "I doubt they'd take me back." Not with a five year gap in his resume. Especially not considering the circumstances of his departure.

Re: Gather by the Grave

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"There's other places. Smaller towns. Somewhere to rest, sometimes." Dinah wished she'd talked to Triela about this. Maybe she would have had an idea; then again, maybe not. Triela tended to live in the Now, not the hazy unlikely Future. "Or going private. Pick your clients, your hours. Just-- not this waiting. What are you waiting for? After what's coming for the girls?"

Re: Gather by the Grave

[sie-bruder.livejournal.com]

Hilshire shrugged listlessly.

He wasn't waiting for anything in particular. Just... waiting. Because he didn't have anything else to do. And waiting was easier than finding that something.

Re: Gather by the Grave

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah wanted to wake him up, snap at him, reach him somehow, but couldn't think of anything that wouldn't just send him sinking lower into depression. "I'm coming back again. To see how you're doing," she vowed. "And ... I don't know. Find something for you." Somehow.

Re: Gather by the Grave

[sie-bruder.livejournal.com]

Hilshire snorted. It was a very Triela-esque snort, too. "Thank you." He did sound grateful, just not... hopeful.

Re: Gather by the Grave

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"You're welcome." Sad. Inadequate. Dinah let go of his hand, and stepped back, crossing her arms.

I'll think of something, Triela. Just give me an idea of how to help him.

Re: Gather by the Grave

[sie-bruder.livejournal.com]

"And thank you for coming. She wouldn't have admitted it, but it would have meant a lot to her."