[Open] Worried Mama Lark

[stitch_witch]

WHO: Lark, Any of her CR that experienced Calibrations
WHERE: Wherever her people can be found
WHAT: Mom's hovering in worry guys
WHEN: June 11th-18th
WARNINGS: There may be motherly behaviors and lectures

A month. More or less a month (definitely less in some cases), where the people she cared about had been out of touch. Again. And when Lark had come back, she'd started to hear horrid things of people having been trapped. It was horrid.

Which is why people were going to have to deal with this now. Without announcement even. There's Lark, showing up at the door. In one hand a light scarf. In the other, a covered container with wafting hints of savory scent.

And the look on her face? It says she's not going to walk away easily. That and the dog that has gone to lay down across the doorway, tail thumping excitedly.

"How are you doing?"

Comments

[mutedsuspicions]

Lerith had been heading back to the hotel from a walk, trying to get to know the city better after being literally holed up for a month. A month. He found Haven faster than he got out of that place.

The moment he sees Lark and Little Bear, he brightens and starts over to her. He's not sure about her expression and stops with an uncertain one of his own on his face. Was she upset with him?

He hunches down a little with the uncertainty and then types on the device for Jon's voice to answer her. 'Miss Lark it is good to see you. After being trapped for a month I wanted to get more outside time. Are you... mad? At me for some reason?'

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis wasn't sure why he was getting a visit. It was weird and fortunately the shield had gone out. But then again maybe Gladio locked himself out or something and it was in that vein that Noct hurried to the door. "Don't know why you forgot your key..how many times have I reminded you?"

This was then a surprise as he opened the door, and found Lark standing there with food.

"Oh..hey."

[in_extremis]

Bad. Which wasn't a rare occurrence, just more unavoidable than Tony preferred, apparently much like the people around him which he had really been hoping to see a lot less of now that they weren't crammed into a bunker. That was on him, really, for assuming no one would have any reason to make the trip out to the forge, and leaving the heavy door open for the breeze to carry in the scent of the enthusiastic burst of flowers crowding their way around the factories. Without it, the air in the forge was dense and hot, and Tony already felt nauseous enough.

He raised his eyebrows and came to an abrupt stop as the movement caught his eye, the box he was hauling around rattling as it settled and he processed what to do with this information. Step one was easy: "Fine, always," but after that he stuttered, and then continued like he hadn't already answered, "What--Me?" He dropped the box of parts and tools that he had been busily gathering, not leaving him much more inviting, streaked with sweat and grease that only sharpened how pale he was, but freed his hands to welcome Lark, "You're the one that's been out here--" Tony wasn't exactly sure how few people Lark had been relying on since the rest of them had been sealed away, with the fluctuation in their numbers, but he did know most of them were down in those rooms. "Are you okay? Did something happen?" he concluded, drawing closer with concern.

[small_compromise]

"Lark!" If there had been anything traumatic to experience, it certainly doesn't seem to have affected the young clone as she greets the woman brightly. "And Little Bear! I've missed you both! It seems like forever!"

Since Lark appears to have her hands full, she'll settle for hugging the dog first. Oh, right-

"I'm doing great! It's so good to be able to go outside again!" Omega pauses. "You weren't caught in that awful place, were you? No, I would've remembered seeing you."

[stitch_witch]

Upset? Oh dear boy, no. Just worried.

“I am not made. I have made you some lunch, and a gift. I was so worried about you. What happened?”

Oh there is so much concern on her face. Her poor friend, so hurt. And she couldn’t protect him.

[stitch_witch]

Ah, there he was. Lark smiled at the young man, offering him a respectful nod.

“I have brought some soup. Are you doing well? I was so worried when I realized you weren’t in Sh’Ka and I couldn’t reach anyone.”

[stitch_witch]

“Yes, something happened Tony,” she said, offering an exaggerated sigh. The man is just so unable to understand concern expressed for him, isn’t he? “You were missing for a month, trapped I presume, with the others. Do you have any clue how worried I was for you? Come here, clean your hands, and have some soup. I made it for you.”

[stitch_witch]

Ah but she is bright and cheerful. And more than anything, the eager energy of the girl was met by Little Bear bounding up to his feet so that she could hug him. He is the best dog, and likes all of his new friends here.

“Yes, I imagine it would be,” Lark noted softly. “And no, I was one of the few free of it. I was in Sh’Ka at the time, gathering plants for dyes. But I worried greatly for you all. Are you hungry? I prepared lunch for us.”

Feeding the girl is of course something she intended to do. And try and not touch too much on it being ‘awful’. Other adults might need to talk through it, but the girl should be allowed to let it go until she was ready to talk.

[small_compromise]

Omega gives Little Bear some extra head scratches on top of a big hug. "Oh, I'm so glad. And at least you weren't alone, were you?" Not with Little Bear around, thankfully!

"Oh! That smells wonderful-" she says, loosening her arms from around the dog so she can scoot over to allow them both entry. "Sorry we worried you. I don't think any of us meant to. But it could have been worse, I think. And I wasn't alone. None of us were." That, overall, is something Omega's most thankful for. She had her brother there, and friends. If she had to be stuck anywhere, she felt that at least it was bearable for the company.

[in_extremis]

"We were fine, everything was fine," Tony was already waving off again before Lark was even finished, sauntering closer to better inspect her, what she was carrying, and the dog who Tony cocked his head at and had him slowing his step slightly. He'd hardly had to bother, though, because he was stopping as Lark just told him what it was she had, rolling his eyes with as much theatrics as her sigh, though he did start to self-consciously wipe a hand on his shirt. "Make yourself comfortable," he instructed, starting to wave the other hand to invite Lark to help herself to the forge as he backtracked toward the bathroom, then aborting as he tried to offer, "Take a sea--..." There still wasn't much in here to lounge around on. Tony cleared his throat and raised a finger to promise he would only be a second as he slipped into the bathroom.

Over the sound of the water through the open door, he could call, "I thought maybe you were gone. None of us had our phones. I thought..." Even with just the mirror to look into, though, he didn't really want to say any more. The water stopped, followed by a thunk as Tony lifted the mirror from the wall to leave it tucked beside the sink instead, on the floor. He was smiling when he came back out, enough to say, "I'm glad you aren't. Is that fucked up? I mean, I'm sorry you're here..."

[fatedsacrifice]

"I'm fine.."

And then he realizes he should let her in, so he takes a step or two back.

"Uh ya..sorry.."

Though he's really not sure what he's apologizing for here.

[mutedsuspicions]

'I wasn't sure with your expression,' and he gestured to his face, pointing and circling his finger around it. 'Did you bring enough lunch for both of us? I can try to tell you about it while we eat?'

There was a lot to tell, so better to do it over good food at least. With Little Bear!

He looks to the scarf held out and points to it. 'Gift?'

[stitch_witch]

"I was not alone. There were a few of us that didn't get pulled in. So I was not alone, beyond just Little Bear."

But the free entry means Lark comes into the room. "Is there somewhere you'd prefer to have lunch? I want to put these things down so I can hug you, if you welcome it."

[stitch_witch]

They were fine, huh? Everything was fine, huh? Oh she does not believe it. Still, he goes off to do what he is going to do and she finds a clean area to put down her container of warm soup. Then she pulls out bowls too and makes a noise at Little Bear. The dog goes to lay by the door, which is important. He knows how to act at forges.

"I thought you were all suffering. I was scared for you, Tony. And I know that you, you're prone to undervaluing yourself, so I was afraid you were hurt for everyone else. It seemed your way."

[stitch_witch]

That's helpful. She steps in, and Little Bear's tail thumps the floor because he wants in too.

"Dont' apologize. I worried and I just wanted to be sure you were alright."

[stitch_witch]

"I brought enough for us to enjoy it. We can make ourselves a little picknic. And yes..."

She holds out the softly green colored scarf to him.

"I wove it for you."

[small_compromise]

"Good. I don't know why we were gathered like that. The voice that spoke to us didn't sound very nice." Her nose wrinkles as she remembers it, a frown on her face, but only briefly as she looks around, finally extracting herself from Bear-cuddles.

"Maybe right outside? We can look out at the lake. Echo's not here right now- can I save some food for him?" she suggests as she holds her hands out, offering to help with anything she can. There's a little table nearby the entryway they can use. "There's plenty of hugs for you too."

[fatedsacrifice]

"Uh..come on in." Noctis said to the little guy. Animals were a part of people and people were a part of animals as far as pets went in his eyes. They were family too so he moved and heard Lark state the part about making sure he was alright.

"Ya, we're okay. How are you?"

Even if this was his place, he wasn't about to even think about getting in a lady's way.

[in_extremis]

Suffering was the most logical conclusion that Tony didn't have a great argument against, unable to foresee the day that they were lured into some bunker for a nice time and a case of Dr. Pepper. Still, he tried to shake his head, eyebrows raised placatingly as he approached, and offered a reassuring hand to Lark's cheek to point out that they were all here and in no more pieces than they had left, only for his expression to drop with a baffled frown. "Under--?" he started to echo, then waved a finger at Lark's inverted interpretation to help her before anyone else had the chance to call her crazy. "You've just never asked me how exquisitely beautiful I am," he pointed out, then just as readily provided, "Off the charts, thank you for asking." Before she could push him on that, he went rattling on, repeating, "Everyone's fine, listen, we were fed, we had beds, we all got to hold hands and play board games every night, practically summer camp. Did you go to summer camp?"

[lionunchained]

Shiro was out and about either between his room in the ship, doing some repairs, or at the field with the glownies so it wasn't hard to not be able to find him. He was fairly predictable for the most part.

So he wasn't too surprised when Lark suddenly showed up where he was doing some work. The dog of course was helping to block the way.

"I'm doing fine, now that I'm back here again. How are you?"

[stitch_witch]

Voice? Lark looks worried by that. Projection of voices had been what had hurt young William, had it not? Oh dear. oh dear indeed.

"You are very welcome to do so. Here."

She offers out not some of the food, but a pale blue scarf.

"This is for you. A gift. I've worked some small protection spells into it. It will not do much, but held over your mouth and nose it will serve as something like a filter for air if you are near smoke or something else. It isn't flawless, but it is still charmed for health."

A charm that will not last forever, but she still had given the protections for the girl. It took energy, energy she had not put on all of her other gifts, but the child, she needed it.

[stitch_witch]

Little Bear seems to understand it's an invitation to him as well, and the massive wolf hound rises to his feet to rush forward and sniff at Noctis's hand. Does he have treats? He should have treats. Treats are the best.

"I was coming to check in on you," Lark said. "You came back to the city to investigate why everyone had gone silent, and then I heard nothing from you either. I was scared for you."

[stitch_witch]

"Happier to see you safe my friend," Lark says with a sigh of relief. There's her Shiro. She was glad to see it. "You went back to Temba and then you were missing like the rest. Are you surprised that I would worry for you?"

But she guesses not.

"I brought some lunch, and a gift. And I'm hoping you might give me straight answers when others have not always been so forthcoming."

[stitch_witch]

Oh but how she laughs at his comment.

"You are, indeed, quite fetching. However I don't think you need someone to tell you."

Summer camp? The woman raises an eyebrow at that.

"I do not know what you mean, because I suspect you don't mean camping in the summer."

[in_extremis]

See, he didn't undervalue himself at all. Most would agree that he severely overvalued, in fact, so Lark appreciating his spot on evaluation earned her a waggle of Tony's eyebrows and slow smile. Maybe now she'd stop being so...frustrated with him, and could tune him out like a normal friend.

He pulled himself up onto the table next to where she was trying to lay out her nice offering, and explained, "Well--kind of, yes, there is camping in the summer." For a moment, it didn't seem like there was much more to the phenomenon to explain, they had covered the basics, but that wasn't what Tony meant. "When you're a kid, and you're home from school so your parents have to figure out how to get you out of their house for a few weeks before they strangle you, so they send you out in the woods on the other side of the country with a bunch of strangers and you play Dungeons and Dragons. Summer camp." Some of those details had to hit on something familiar.