tsuninlaw | [VOICEMAIL]

[That's right...she hadn't had a chance to think about it until he brought it up, but they were supposed to be meeting each other that evening. He would have come across her first unless someone else happened down that street at just that moment. But what on earth is he talking about? A restless spirit? That makes no sense at all, perhaps he really had gone mad. She certainly understands; there had been more than one occasion in the past when her terrifying dreams had seemed so real.

But she doesn't have time to question it, because a moment later he's attached like a barnacle and she can only stand there in shock and confusion. There's a shaky exhale, and her shoulder that he's pressed against trembles as she attempts to stand as still as possible.]

C-calm down...there's no reason for these hysterics, I'm...

[Her voice wavers and trails off.]

_{[Her words cut through him like a scolding would, even if her tone is anything but. He silences himself then. She's solid enough, real enough, that he can hold her in his arms, and realizing his imposing actions he immediately draws back, embarrassed, black gloved fingers, as dark as the rest of his attire, resting gently against her shoulders.]}

I apologize! I became so suddenly overwhelmed I simply had to...

_{[Make sure it really was her, and not some clever ghost or trick.]}

[She's still too surprised to get actual words out, but she does get enough of her wits back to notice what he's wearing. Abruptly, she reaches up and grabs hold of the sleeve of his dark jacket.]

What is this? Are you...in mourning?

_{[He blinks at her, slightly startled.]}

Of course I was! Although I suppose there's no need for it any longer...

['Of course I was,' he says. So simply. As though there were no other option. Back home, no one would have mourned her. The only people who had cared were all dead by the time her funeral would have happened. This is something that she hadn't expected in the least.

Her face goes completely red, so she tilts her chin down and drops her gaze to the ground.]

No, there's definitely no need for it now. [She's still hanging onto his sleeve.] I - I need to go home.

_{[He nods, pink himself, before offering up his arm to her. As much as he wants to insist she come home with him instead, it's not his place to demand such a thing. All he can do is abide by her wishes.]}

Of course...Are you sure you needn't see a doctor?

[She takes it and holds him close, as though to help shield her from the rest of the world. Even though she's still mortified by his actions during her brief time departed from this world, he's the only person that she can fully depend on right now.]

What am I supposed to say to them? 'I just woke up after having been dead a week, am I healthy'?

[She shakes her head.]

I'll be fine if I can just get home.

_{[He stays silent at that, letting his gaze drop to the road as he begins to lead her toward her home. She would be fine as long as she could get home. Edward could only hope that would be the case.]}

As you wish.

[She refuses to cry about this. It's not even the first time she's died, she reminds herself. She thinks back to when she arrived here the first time, how she'd nervously kept her hand around her throat as Vincent had walked with her to meet Elliot without realizing why.

That same free hand moves up to rest on her neck now, tracing a line across her throat. She doesn't feel a scar, even though for some reason she'd expected to this time.]

What did you say before? You saw me as a restless spirit?

_{[He nods,trying his best not to re-live the experience as he recalls it.]}

Yes. Haunting the place where you had been struck down.

[She ponders it for a second, but...]

Edward...were you really that mad with grief?

[She sounds concerned, but still a little stern.]

Do you not believe me? What I saw was true...I was overwhelmed, perhaps, but I wasn't mad. I'm sure of what I saw...and if you had seen what I had, you would feel the same.

I've fought the undead before. Confronting a restless spirit however was a new experience altogether.

_{[One he never wishes to repeat.]}

I think I would have remembered if I was...

[She shudders at the idea that her body could have become something so twisted without her permission or her knowledge.]

No, it's impossible. That sort of thing doesn't happen here! You have to be mistaken!

[Now she's the one who sounds hysterical.]

I wasn't! I know what I saw...I would never lie to you so please, I cannot bear being accused of lying to you again.

_{[The accusation of lying still rings in his ears from when he'd found her in the alleyway. It hurts.]}

'Again'?

[Her voice is much smaller now.]

It was an accusation from your phantom...nevermind it. It isn't important any longer. What is important is that you are here and whole and alive. I cannot thank God enough for the relief I feel.

[She still has no recollection of it, but from the way he's speaking about it she's starting to believe that it could really be true. Her life really is cursed, no matter where she exists.

She slumps against him, grasps his arm tighter to indicate that he should stop so that she can catch her breath. But she's shaking harder now, feeling faint and ill. There's only so much that can be repressed, but suddenly she feels herself become sick with anxiety. No matter how much she wants to run from her family name, it's written on her soul; a family cursed and tainted from the beginning.]

_{[He stops immediately, worried as he watches her tremble. Immediately he's cursing himself. What sort of fool would be so inconsiderate to say such a thing?]}

I never should have said a word. I'm a fool.

_{[With the way she's begun to slump he's afraid she might fall and he draws her close to him, supporting her. She can hate him for it later.]}

I'm sorry.

[She shakes her head, and doesn't push him away. Her words are weak and watery.]

No...I was the fool for thinking that -

[That I could escape the curse of my existence.]

You are many things, Vanessa, but you are no fool.

It's all I am.

[And then she says, without thinking:]

It was my fault. I'd started it -

I can think of plenty more things you are.

_{[He pauses, still holding her to him.]}

You mean to say you instigated the attack against you...?

[She inhales sharply, a half-sob.]

N-no...never mind, I can't remember. My mind is a mess.

Trouble yourself no further over the matter, then. _{[A gloved hand rests against the back of her head gently.]} Let's get you home, shall we?

[She nods and continues holding tight to him so that he can lead her home. She stays silent the rest of the way aside from the strained, nervous sound of her breathing.]

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