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[obeir]

KD6-3.7
3313 Creampuff Way


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[bywolves]

[ This time he does actually see the full sign, and Royce looks amused. ]

You complimented us the first time?

[devoutish]

That's a yes, then. But I would also like to hear details.

[obeir]

Guess it was lost in translation. [ He raises his eyebrows and gives them both a look as if to say, oh no, nothing I can do about it. ]

Then I'll assume your thieves cant bypasses it because it isn't a full language. [ It's too bad about the sign language autotranslating — that could've been fun to exploit. He doesn't expect he'll have any real need for a secret language in the Meadous, but it's interesting to note how Zephyr's autotranslation works. ]

[bywolves]

[ Royce nods a bit. ]

It only has a few relevant words. We used to use it to supplement the Russian, Yiddish and Elvish conversations we'd have in Norfinbury.

[devoutish]

What we're saying here is that we had the power to piss off everyone we spoke to, if we wanted.

[obeir]

[ Kind of sounds like they developed a garbled Cityspeak all their own, he thinks. ]

With everything that I've heard about Norfinbury and the people there so far, I wouldn't blame you.

[bywolves]

Not everybody was terrible. [ He glances away. ] But there were people who we tended to try and make life as difficult as possible.

[devoutish]

How long have you been here?

[Alfie asks, looking over at K. He's wondering if he'd had the chance to meet Emily, before she left.]

[obeir]

[ And K has to think about it. It's easy to lose track of time in a place like the Meadous, where it doesn't seem to matter very much. ] About half a year, now.

[ Longer than he'd realised, judging by his mildly surprised expression. ] How long for you two?

[bywolves]

Longer. Two years? Or - a year... and some. I can't remember. Time seems to go by faster here.

[devoutish]

A year and a half.

[Alfie says quietly. Then, louder:]

We had Emily Kaldwin with us for a bit. She was in Norfinbury, as well. And she, well; she was one of the good ones. Yeah. One of the best.

[obeir]

[ At that K falls quiet for a long moment, sensing the gravity of what he's being told. Past tense. She must've become "unlost" and returned home? Surely not back to Norfinbury. ]

The young girl who lived with you. [ He guesses, having seen them together before. Having photographed them together before, for that matter, when he'd been documenting daily life and festivities around the village for Gabriel's museum. He glances down at his hands, wondering if he should mention it.

Well. They can decide for themselves whether or not they want to see the photos. ]

I never got to take her portrait. [ Just as he'll probably never get to take Royce's, because Royce. But it seems rather regrettable, now. ] But she's in some of the photographs I took around the village, for the museum.

[bywolves]

[ It's been hard for both of them, Emily's absence. Royce keeps his eyes down on the table, tracing his finger lightly over the rim of his wine glass, until K mentions he has pictures of her. Royce's gaze snaps up. ]

You have pictures of her? [ They also have pictures - the tablets are good for that - but about half of the pictures are from Norfinbury and Royce doesn't like remembering those. ] I - I think I'd like to see those, if you don't mind.

[devoutish]

[Alfie's reaction is also immediate - he leans forward, eager almost to the point of desperation.]

Yeah. I don't suppose you've got them near at hand?

[obeir]

[ It seems his instincts were right. He retrieves his phone from a pocket and accesses the camera settings. ]

I don't know if Gabriel's set them up yet, but I gave him physical copies for the museum exhibits. [ Just mentioning it hoping they'll go sometime, since Gabriel would surely like more people visiting.

Laying his phone flat on the table, he sets it to project the contents of the small screen via a much larger virtual display that hovers above the phone. After a moment the opacity auto-adjusts for the room's lighting so they'll be able to see the files he's scrolling through: thousands of pictures taken over the last few months.

Using the face recognition software on a picture of Emily brings up the others she's in, and he sets them to slowly scroll like a slideshow. Though he calls them photos, they're more like 30-second silent movies; the physical copies also retain the animation through the magic of futuristic technology.

There's nothing particularly remarkable about the contents of the photos themselves. They offer glimpses of daily life in the village — in some shots Emily is the focus, in others she's in the background, and Alfie and Royce are undoubtedly in a few with her as well. The photos also document the changing seasons in the Meadous, beginning at the end of last summer, and progressing into autumn, into winter. The most recent will have been taken probably a couple weeks prior to Emily leaving. ]

[bywolves]

[ Oh no. There's so much here, and Royce is momentarily speechless. He opens his mouth - and then closes it, finding it impossible to make his voice work. There she is. Happy and sweet and living. Having fun. Climbing on the playground, on the monkey bars after Royce - another one with their backs mostly to the camera, her legs swinging back and forth as she sits on a bench in between Royce and Alfie, eating ice cream.

Royce swallows hard, breath shivering out as he looks. Under the table, he takes Alfie's hand and holds it tightly. ]

[devoutish]

[There she is. There's their girl.

Alfie has some well-loved, often-watched video of her on his tablet, both from Norfinbury and from the Meadous, but these moving images that are unfamiliar to him is an emotional punch to the gut. He remembers some of the scenes (swimming in the pond, sitting on the grass and drawing with her, taking a walk in the woods), but others are of her alone or with other friends, and he realizes that he'd never expected to be able to see anything new of her, ever again.

He squeezes Royce's hand, then shifts an arm around him, pulling him close.]

Thank you.

[He says to K, his eyes misty, not looking up from the screen.]

[obeir]

[ It feels as though he's intruding on something intensely private. He'll mostly keep his eyes down and watch his phone's physical screen as they look at the photos, only glancing up with a small smile when Alfie addresses him. ]

I remember reading something on the bulletin board, from someone who became unlost. They felt as though no time had passed for them when they returned to the Meadous.

[ Referring to Pokey's account of becoming unlost. Maybe this knowledge will be comforting. Far better than imagining Emily returning to Norfinbury, at any rate. ]

[bywolves]

[ Royce leans into Alfie's side when he's pulled closer. It's okay - he doesn't mind people seeing him when it comes to this, to Emily. His daughter. Their daughter. He still can't quite speak yet, the feeling of missing her, of missing being a dad - it's overwhelming.

But he can manage after a moment. ]

Yeah. Maybe someday she'll make it back.

[devoutish]

[Alfie nods, cheek scraping lightly against the top of Royce's head. He just hopes she's at home, and not some other god world. Home is the only place he can think of that she belongs more than she belongs here.]

Thank you.

[He repeats, closing his eyes for a moment.]

[obeir]

[ His smile grows a little as he watches the pair, glad that he was able to give this to them. Being a parent. Having a family. Something he's unlikely to experience himself, but he can't help wondering, now, what it must be like.

Who knows what the future holds or what multiverse paths will intersect. Hopefully they'll get to see her again one day, in some form. ]

I can make physical copies later, if you want them. [ Something he'd already been planning on doing anyway after how eager they'd seemed just to see the photos. Making their own picture frames might be something to do in their "retirement" as well. ]

[bywolves]

[ Royce takes a deep breath, and finally settles the rest of the way. ]

We do. [ Royce says, without even waiting for Alfie to answer. He knows they both do. ] I owe you something. Wine, or pastries. We'll figure it out.

You're also welcome here whenever you'd like. [ Which is an invitation he's only extended to Gabriel, so that's pretty special. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie is already mentally running through ideas of where they can hang the prints (it has to be somewhere accessible, but also somewhere where the movement won't be distracting), so absolutely they both do.]

We can send him home with wine and pastries today. We've got enough for it.

[obeir]

That isn't necessary. Not that I wouldn't appreciate either, but I'm happy to do this as a gift.

[ Because bartering for sharing photos of Emily seems insensitive. Of course, if they're just wanting to give him a gift in return out of gratitude, he won't argue it.

Based on everything that he's learned about Royce, he certainly hasn't seemed like the sort of person who extends an invitation like that lightly. The reminders of Emily clearly mean a lot to both of them, and it has him very much regretting not meeting them sooner. When she would have still been here, too. A family. ]

[bywolves]

And we're happy to send you home with wine as pastries as a gift.

[ It's not so much bartering as just desperately trying to give something to match what this means for the both of them. He glances up at K. ]

She would've liked you, I think.