selfhelp | [action / voice] backdated to the 16th

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[action / voice] backdated to the 16th

[Billy wakes up for the first time since the portal drama feeling nauseous, exhausted, and heartsick: sort of like waking from a long nightmare, only he can't recall dreaming at all. Instead of being at home in his own world and his own bed, he's still in Luceti, and what's worse is that he's alone. His magic doesn't seem to be working, either. Panic sets in, and... well...

After a bit of trouble-at-home, and a resolution that leaves him feeling even more weary, the reality of his (or rather, their) situation really sinks in: the portal didn't work. And while none of the people involved in the execution of said plan are in any great state of being today, he seems to be the only one who's up and talking and available to explain the situation to the general public (at least, to those who didn't witness what a spectacular disaster it was), and that leaves announcing it up to him.

Unfortunately.

He delays it as much as he feels that he can, perusing the journal in the desperate hope that someone else has done it for him, then wondering if it would be better to wait for someone more in-the-know to do it, until finally he steps up to the plate. Now or never.]

...Hey everyone. I'm sure a lot of you already heard, but for those that haven't, Tony and Jane's big escape portal didn't work. It kind of backfired yesterday, and...

[His voice trails off in the beginnings of a more distraught tone, so he pauses to compose himself.]

Nobody died? I mean, we've got that going for us. For what it's worth. But no one went home, either. The whole thing was a bust. No point in even keeping it a secret anymore.

One last thank you to everybody who gave up their mission points to get parts for it, though. I don't think it was a waste or anything - I mean, trying's better than sitting around and doing nothing, and something definitely happened, so we at least pushed a few of their buttons - but...

[Ugh, why did he think this was a good idea?]

...sorry it wasn't what we thought it would be. That's all.

[After that he really just wants to curl up in bed and pretend to be unconscious for the next several days, but that's not particularly responsible, so he'll have to settle for making it a few hours instead. It's the little things in life.]

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[Teddy was not the type to wake up early unless he really made himself do it, and this was one of those times. With Billy feeling so exhausted and down over the events that happened yesterday, Teddy thought he might surprise him with a grand breakfast in bed. He'd actually gotten up before his boyfriend, slipped as carefully as he could out of bed, and headed to the kitchen, where he begins to make omelettes and bacon. It's a nice treat for himself, too, having also felt the weight of yesterday on his shoulders. He's glad no one died, but still...

Little does he know that this breakfast-in-bed thing probably wasn't the best idea after all.]

[Mornings in the Kaplan-Altman apartment are something of a ritual, after this long: like that of a married couple, together for so many years that the habits just mesh into one long line of familiarity that nothing can break. When he wakes up (well before Teddy) Billy will untangle himself from a collection of twined limbs, stretch, kiss whatever part of his burrowed boyfriend he can reach, and make his half of the bed so that Teddy knows that he left willingly. He's seen too much panic over the journals or through accounts with his friends to know that kidnappings or sudden disappearances, even due to something as simple as waking up can be upsetting, and it really is the little things that can get to you. So he makes the bed and leaves some sign for Teddy to know, if he happens to wake up before Billy pounces him in an hour or so, that he's up and about and safe. This is his ritual. A ritual that, in his mind, is what anyone else would do.

So when he wakes up late after an already-stressful day, reaches across the bed for some much needed cuddles with the boyfriend to help himself unwind, and finds an empty bed? It's the last straw.

To his credit, he does not cry. He calls, at first, quietly and with a shaken voice, his hands gripping the covers, waking the tiny black kitten curled up near his arm. And then he staggers out of bed - apparently his body is still weakened from too much spellcasting the day before - to check Teddy's room. It doesn't look utterly abandoned, but that doesn't mean he's okay. It doesn't mean anything. He could be hurt somewhere or kidnapped or in trouble and logic is not working at this hour so all he feels is panic, panic, panic. He drops to his knees by the bed and starts chanting, his hands shaking, wishing with all his might for his magic to come back to him and show him what he needs to see- Teddy at home, safe and well, where he belongs.

"IwanttoofindTeddyIwanttoofindTeddyIwanttoofindTeddyIwanttoofindTeddy..."

But there's nothing, not even a flicker, not even a spark. He's powerless and he doesn't know where Teddy is.

That's when he starts crying, calling Teddy's name again - louder this time - and making a stumbling run for the door. He has to be here. He has to be here...!]