slightlyoffchilt | - IC CONTACT POST FOR MASKORMENACE -

The Watson's. I'm at the Watson's.

[ It wasn't as though Chilton wouldn't find out now that he knew she was alive; now that she said she was with a 'friend.' But she drew in a deep breath, finally getting up off whatever sleeping arrangements Mary had set up for her in the attic. ]

I want to see you. I need to see you, yes. But you don't understand, Frederick. I saw you die. Most horrifyingly of all the things I saw, I saw you die. And not simply die -- you were desecrated. I lost you. And it damaged me.

[ Raina turned on the overhead light and hesitated. With trembling fingers, she switched from voice to video -- showing him the state she was in. Locked in her monster form with no escape, dark circles under her eyes, and very deep bruises lining her neck between the thorns. ]

When I see you, Frederick, I need to be able to hold you in my arms and not let go for hours. I need to feel you against me and hear you breathe. I need to know you're not simply a ghost. I need to know I'm not imagining your voice or your presence. And there's no way to know that when I'm like this. Because if I can't even touch you to make sure you're real, then you become even more of a phantom, haunting me.

Mary and John's?

[His surprise registered. While they were a charming couple, Chilton questioned how either Watson could aid Raina in her most dire of moments; her predicament was relatively unique. Chilton was a precious resource, having the sympathetic knowledge of her suffering based upon his own -- what could Mary or John offer? Why them, why them first? Raina had her reasoning, he thought, and he would analyze that at a later time.]

But I didn't die, Raina. I never have, not even here. Despite numerous attempts -- they're only illusions. What you saw. Only lies, as Crane feasts upon anxieties, the possibilities yet to manifest. [His tone drops. That was her fear, or one of them, his demise. His agony.]

I am.

[Chilton switches his end of the communicator to video.]

I am very much real.

[ Raina paled a little when he said Crane feasted on anxieties. But when she saw him pop up on her screen, she let out a sound that was a mingled mix between a sob and a laugh. Her hand reached up to brush a tear away from the corner of her eyes. ]

That's just what your phantom would say.

[ It was spoken with mild humor. Raina was lucid enough to know that who she was talking to was 90% the real Chilton. There was still a hint of doubt that edged everything she saw, though. ]

Keep staying alive, Frederick. Keep surviving. Your life is what matters to me most in this world. I couldn't bear to go on if you were no longer alive.

You've just suffered incredible trauma -- how can you deny me the chance to help you with that?

[It sounded like a selfish protest, and in many ways it was; but this was also the only thing he felt he could offer Raina, right now. That swathed comfort of psychological protection. That promise inherent. His expertise. It's how he could respond, in emotion, to her heartbreaking confession.]

I'd like to help you. Be there for you, Raina.

Edited 2015-06-21 19:10 (UTC)

Because what I want out of you is far more important than you being here for me right now. I want you to devote that brilliant, scheming mind of yours to ruining Crane. When I'm well enough to be by your side again, I want there to be a plan ready to put into motion. He didn't simply gas me, Frederick. He tried to murder me.

[ Raina gestured to the bruising at her neck. ]

And he needs to suffer -- for what he did to both you and I.

[ Her tone was vengeful, angry, and absolutely murderous. Raina would tear Crane apart without second thought at the moment. Though, she dialed it back a little bit to say: ]

You can also use this time to find us our apartment, so that we two can finally have a proper place. I, for one, know I don't want to see anyone other than you when I leave here.

He -- he dared to do what.

[There was a hollowness innate to his voice, as if the bottom tenor had just fallen out. That idea, that trembling notion of losing Raina, that had seared Chilton in this moment. While many imPorts relied on the surreal possibility of returning to life, Chilton intimately knew how that wasn't a promise. He had killed Abel Gideon. Freddie Lounds had been killed. They had yet to return.

The risk of losing Raina was heightened beneath this skeptical glare.]

All right. [Chilton capitulated to her, his agony and furor now resolute against Crane.] When do you think you'll want to see me, again? How much recuperation time do you require? I don't want to be disengaged from you, Raina.

[But he would keep a low profile for her, in the coming few weeks. As low as Frederick Chilton could.]

[ Raina managed to muster up a weak smile to try and reassure. Really, it wasn't as though she wanted to stay apart from him. Her instinct was always to go to his side first. But if the Watsons took care of her physical stability and Raina herself took care of her own mental stability, it would give Chilton a head start on the bigger picture -- using his unseen hands to start moving their pieces out on the board and going in for a larger attack. She could join him immediately in this upon recovery. It was the best move -- emotions aside. ]

Soon. We'll see each other soon. I'm taking it day by day for now, but I will call you up every evening. We will be in touch.

[ Raina paused, her eyes drifting away from the camera for a moment. ]

Frederick...

[ There was a monumental pause before: ]

You are the best thing to happen in my life.

[ A confession. She had, after all, seen him die -- hallucination or not. She lost him without telling this to him, and now that she had a second chance -- well she felt compelled to say it -- emotional vulnerability or not, he needed to know. Just in case. Just in case this was the hallucination and he really was still dead.

Raina looked back at the screen and felt a tightness seize her chest. It became harder to breathe, anxiety welling up inside of her. Raina recognized this as the sign that she needed to go lest he see her in the middle of another panic attack. ]

I need rest.

Give me a call again, yes. Every evening -- or even sooner. [He said, urging. Pleading.] Once you've recuperated enough. Once you've rested. The very moment you've accumulated the requisite strength -- [He exhaled, audibly. Chilton recognized this behavioral pattern, though he seemed powerless to curb the impulse of anxiety.]

It isn't my intention to henpeck.

[But it gnawed at him, the fact that he couldn't take care of her. The fact that she wanted to heal on her own schedule. The fact he didn't protect her.]

You're essential, Raina. To me. Please know that. I'll -- I'll await your call.

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