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[beautifullies]

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— the week of 2/20

[theidlemaiden]

[ After checking in with Kyle, Hilda immediately reaches out to Claire. ]

𝘏𝘪, 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦! 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨.

[ The last thing she wants to do is cause any alarm, but she has to know that the older woman is okay. The one bright side to this feature is that it’s just text, and Claire will be unable to detect the strain or anxiety in her thoughts. ]

[beautifullies]

[ Claire hasn't had anyone reach out to her, personally yet, and so it startles her just a bit to hear her own name. But she sees who it's from and stops what she's doing, sitting back in her chair. ]

Hello, Hilda. I'm doing fine. Is everything alright?

[ She's only heard the faintest whispers of something happening, but it's not much, and so she's only asking in a general way, from being contacted out of the blue. No one ever contacts her out of the blue, even at home, with good news. ]

[theidlemaiden]

𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬.

[ Relief floods her watching Claire’s neat handwriting appear in her vision. Fine is good. Fine meant she was still in one place and safe. Fine meant one less person to potentially worry about, but then again, Hilda isn’t certain when this nightmare will end. ]

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 — 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦. [ Another beat before text flies, unbidden and a little bit accidentally. ] 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨.

[beautifullies]

[ Claire doesn't know Hilda's friends, but the other woman coming t her is enough. She's immediately worried and puts down her pen completely, abandoning her writing. ]

Missing?

[ She'd heard whispers, but nothing like this, nothing that gave her concrete information. ]

When did you last see them? And what can I do?

[ As far as Claire knows, she can't travel freely between cities to help look, which is frustrating. ]

[theidlemaiden]

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨…𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

[ She doesn’t respond for a little bit, trying to figure out how to respond to Claire’s second question. She wants to say a hug, but instead she goes with — ]

𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦.

[beautifullies]

[ Damn them not being able to actually go see one another. Yes, there's the Horizon, but it takes time to relax enough to meditate, and she'd rather be with Hilda as soon as possible. ]

Whether or not you've heard from them, let me know by this evening, will you? I don't know what I can do, but at least you won't have to think about it alone.

[She's going to keep her ears open, more than usual, for things that sound like disappearance. Her eyes will follow suit, to be sure she doesn't fall prey to whatever's taking these people. ]

[theidlemaiden]

𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺? 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦.

[ A part of her wants to let everything else spill out that she's been feeling but the superstitious part of her worries that if she voices them, they may come true. But with Sam's post about the missing Summoned reports rolling in, it's becoming increasingly more difficult not to worry.

So instead she pushes through though in her usual fashion. ]

𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦.

[beautifullies]

𝐼'𝑚 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑠𝑘. 𝑁𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼'𝑚 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔'𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒.

[ Alarm bells are starting to ring in her head; something is coming, something is happening, and she can't help but wonder how bad it will be. She always goes to the worst-case scenario so that she can mentally plan what might be needed. In that fashion, she gives Hilda's question thought. ]

𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑘𝑖𝑡 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑘𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒. 𝐶𝑙𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑡𝑠, 𝑎 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑝 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑, 𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑜ℎ𝑜𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡.

[theidlemaiden]

𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 — [ The words stop short as she hesitates. It's not like they live several streets down from one another. There's no way Hilda can physically check up on Claire short of bothering the woman with messages every day. Maybe that's just what would have to happen. ] 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦?

[ She's nodding, reaching for what will soon become her ever present notebook over the course of the next several weeks. It all sounds a lot like what they'd have to pack back home, but focusing on something that isn't worry is what she needs right now. ]

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. [ Claude normally did most of the shopping since he frequented Nadine's store more than she did but she supposes she'll have to do it in the mean time. But speaking of... ] 𝘖𝘩! 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 — 𝘕𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

[beautifullies]

𝐼'𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑘𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑙𝑒, 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑡. 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑜 𝑚𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠.

[ Anything and everything usually does happen, but she catchers that thought before it becomes a message. ]

𝐼 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑒, 𝑎𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒. 𝑃𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑠 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑎 𝑚𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑜 𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑛. 𝑁𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ, 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑖𝑛.

[ Claire files away the information about Cadens. If she could get there, it'd be more helpful. But still, the name Nadine is committed to memory. ]

𝐼𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑢𝑠, 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑑?

[theidlemaiden]

[ She feels a little bit of embarrassed relief ripple through her when she voices the bit about checking in every other day. It's like Claire read her mind. ]

𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯! 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦...𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵!

[ That way she'd know for sure that it was Claire. Not that she thinks people are impersonating other people out here or anything. ]

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦; 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

[beautifullies]

[ She has to smile at the idea. Hilda is lovely, and Claire has quickly become protective, seeing a bit of her own daughter in the youth of Hilda. ]

𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑎 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑎 𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑑.

[ There's no telling what may or may not happen, Claire's starting to feel as if things might be more unpredictable than she thought, even after all the people she's spoken to. ]

𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑟 𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒, ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑘 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑢𝑡. 𝐼𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓. 𝐸𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤.

[ When Jamie was missing, all the times they'd been forcefully separated, it was nearly impossible to think about anything else. It's right now that Claire has disdain for the lack of ability when it comes to traveling between settlements; she'd invite herself over to watch over Hilda and keep her company if she could. ]

[theidlemaiden]

𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦.

[ A little prickle of comfort ripples through her at Claire's suggestion, in part because it landed and hadn't been deemed as silly or ridiculous. ]

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘴.

[ Hilda loved a little trouble as much as the next person, but her taste for politicians throwing a little fit about where Summoned arrived and where they went wasn't her cup of tea. ]

𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘴𝘰. 𝘖𝘩 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺: 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦.

[beautifullies]

[ Claire can't help but smile warmly, even though there's no visual component. ]

𝐼'𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑙𝑒𝑠, 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙, 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑒, 𝐼'𝑚 𝑎𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑑.

[ But she takes pride in those laugh lines around her eyes and mouth. She may not have had much laughter, but when she did, she likes to think it was enough to imprint itself on her. So that in times like these, when she's alone and far from family, she can be reminded with a glance in the mirror. ]

𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒, 𝐻𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑎. 𝐼 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑜 𝑠𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎, 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑖𝑓 𝐼 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐼𝑓 𝐼 𝑑𝑜, 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤.

[theidlemaiden]

[ It doesn't matter if she can't see the smile; Hilda would like to think that she can see Claire in her minds eye smiling at her all the same.

The bit about wrinkles trips her up slightly and for a moment she's worried that she's offended her, talking so carelessly about something that she may or may not actually be worried about some day. But her next message doesn't betray any sort of indication otherwise so she tries to gracefully save herself from her brief trip. ]

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴.

[ Faintly, she hopes that she can live long enough to have those. ]

𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸, 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦!

[beautifullies]

𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛'𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓.

[ Her affection for Hilda is already strong, and now, she's worried about anything happening to her, but she knows the messages must pause for now. ]

𝑊𝑒'𝑙𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤, 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙.

[nadine_he_loves]

Dr. Fraser? It's Nadine Cross.

I just wanted to let you know I've been granted permission to visit Solvunn to help with the situation there. I'll be bringing you equipment and supplies, it's all approved.

I've made a list of everything you mentioned already, but if there's anything else, let me know. I'll try and bring it.

[beautifullies]

[ Claire can't help but delight in the news, though in words, it's difficult to express, she's found. ]

𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝐼'𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠. 𝐼'𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝐼'𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑎 𝑙𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝, 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑟. 𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐼'𝑣𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑜𝑓, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑒'𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚.

[nadine_he_loves]

I'm glad I had some good news to offer.

Blankets we can do. And I've loaded up every kind of medicine I could think of that might be needed.

[beautifullies]

𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑛𝑜 𝑑𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑. 𝐻𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑤𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑡, 𝑁𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑒.

[ It might seem like Too Much from another, but Claire means it genuinely and gratefully. ]

[nadine_he_loves]

Thank you. Despite the circumstances, I'm looking forward to being able to work with you.

I'll see you soon.

[restingstitchface]

I forgot how much I despise parties. The only thing missing was an office.

[Because, you know, office parties.

Anyway, hello! Guess who didn't bump into you in the Feywilds or anything.]

[beautifullies]

[ Claire sorts in amusement at the message that comes across her vision. ]

There was no shortage of awkward small talk. [ Riffing off of his message, she remembers the boring attempts at casual conversation at the hospital of her past. ] It's good to know I'll always be rubbish at that, even with a mask. You made it through alright, then?

[ She has no clue it was him who creepily guessed her identity, she's so bad at this. ]

[restingstitchface]

Well, I have my arms and legs, not to mention my intelligence. I'll be right as rain in a day or two. I think the next time anyone comes knocking I'll just pretend I'm not home.

[beautifullies]

A wise plan, it always takes me a few days to feel as though I've recovered from forced mingling.

I didn't mind the rest of it, but even I have to admit the ball was a bit much.