3rd Floor Common Room, Wednesday Morning

[not_every_mage]

Kathy was back from the dead.

Kathy was back from the dead, and that made everything else in Anders' life seem ... a little bit mundane. Not bad, mind you, but it was a tiny bit odd to be on the dorm couch nibbling on toaster waffles and watching a marathon of a reality show about a British nanny when somebody on the island had beaten death itself.

On the other hand, what was he supposed to do? Stalking Kathy was hardly an option. So he'd sit here with his waffles and the brats on TV and pretend he knew how he felt about any of this.

[OOC: Open like a common room.]

Comments

[rebelseekspizza]

"Yeah, there's a victory," Dante said, snorting.

He kicked gently at Anders' foot. "What's up?"

[not_every_mage]

Anders kicked back, lightly. "Nothing. I'm still tired, mostly. How are you?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Better," Dante said. He threw Anders a light grin. "Booze and sack time helps."

[not_every_mage]

"Cures for all ills," Anders pronounced. "And not having to go anywhere last two days helped, too. Blondie's a good therapist."

Lachlan was a jerk.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante laughed. "Yeah, she looked cute sleeping all over your face while you snored," he teased.

[not_every_mage]

"How dare you," Anders said easily. "I don't snore."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Yeah you do," Dante said. "Especially with cat hair up your nose."

He nudged Anders' shoulder with his own. "Figured the Kathy shit out yet?"

[not_every_mage]

"That's wheezing, not snoring," Anders claimed, then sighed. "...and no. I haven't seen her since Sunday, either. Have you?"

Anders hadn't exactly been seeking the girl out.

[rebelseekspizza]

"No," Dante admitted. "It feels weird."

[not_every_mage]

Anders nodded. "I have no idea how to talk to her anymore," he admitted. "I don't know if she changed or I did, or if it's just been too long."

[rebelseekspizza]

"It's not just you," Dante admitted. "Don't really know what to say either. Just-- I don't know."

[not_every_mage]

"We spent most of a year figuring out what to do without her," Anders said, half to himself. "And we were -- I won't say fine, but it had quit hurting so much. And now I need to figure out how to fit her in again. Only I'm not even sure who she is anymore."

[rebelseekspizza]

"She hasn't turned into anybody else, Anders," Dante said. He sank back into the sofa. "It's just hard not to look at her different."

[not_every_mage]

"She died," Anders argued. "She saw her world fall apart, and she died. That's going to change anybody. Maybe she's not someone else, but she's not the same."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Nah, but that's not why we have a hard time talkin' to her," Dante said.

He eyed the ceiling.

He didn't like thinking about this stuff this much.

[not_every_mage]

"So what's your theory on why we have a hard time talking to her, then?" Anders asked, idly kicking at Dante's ankle.

[rebelseekspizza]

"'Cause we changed, I guess?" Dante said, kicking back just as idly. "Shit that went down before she died..."

[not_every_mage]

"Not to mention my little vacation in the Circle," Anders added. "You're right. I feel the same, but maybe..."

[rebelseekspizza]

"It's just fucking complicated," Dante said. "I don't like it."

[not_every_mage]

"I like having her back," Anders said, trying on the thought. "It'd just be nice if it stopped feeling so complicated."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Probably not gonna stop until it's been complicated for a while," Dante said.

He eyed the television.

"Maybe we should all just go out and get drunk."

Stellar idea.

[not_every_mage]

"You have had worse ideas," Anders said thoughtfully. "Take her into Baltimore, maybe have a hotel set up for after so we don't need to rickshaw drunk?"

Dante was such a good influence on Anders' decision-making processes.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Not like we got a lot to lose at this point," Dante offered. "'m still working out if I'm still pissed."

Not that he'd say as much to Kathy, but him and Anders were in this together.

[not_every_mage]

Anders frowned and said, "I don't think I am. I don't trust her the way I did before, but I'm not angry."

[rebelseekspizza]

"I yelled at her," Dante said, after a pause. "Last weekend. A lot."