hugtopia | The First | Text

I only remind you of it to help you with your perspective.

[ Hopefully the slight tease isn't lost to the reticence of text. ]

However, there are other pressing concerns that you have not stated... the reason why this need is all the more dire now. You must want some aspect within it to control, and the knowledge of food preparation seems the easiest to begin with ... is that correct?

[ She. Doesn't know what's happened, but context clues; she knows he lives with Era, she knows the kind of person he is and the kind of person Era is; she did not know Emet Selch well beyond his meaning to Era... but Ardbert has not mentioned anyone going missing. Perhaps ill was a possibility; but there's only so far she can reason out until he confirms something. ]

[The time it takes him to respond is more or less all the answer she needs, as is the private response.]

Eye. With an eh. Text to speech isn't the best. Food is the most immediate concern. There's only me and era now and she doing poorly and it's all I can do to keep our former egg fed. Not eating or anything and we're running out of food anyway. I can't cook and can barely operate the replicator. Cooking wasn't a skill I was focused on relearning yet. I was an idiot.

[ She's patient while he continues. Even in text, his panic is palpable. This loss he mentions is not the first that has been announced recently and she knows that such impacts could have great effects. But it is always easier to be prepared to help others than to know what to do when one finds themselves suddenly bereft of what they hold dear. ]

You were not an idiot. One does not expect to have to prepare for such a loss... and both of you are faring poorly for it.

[ She does not doubt that Era is doing worse, knowing what she does about how she presents herself. ]

You will have your assistance with the food situation. What else has fallen to neglect that can be aided?

[Reading all this text is making his eyes hurt, and he's already telling her emotional stuff anyway, so he switches to audio.]

I know I couldn't have known. Or know it'd be this bad. Still....

[He trails off, then starts with the rest of it.]

It's not bad yet. I've rinsed the dishes I've used and I've kept myself and Hythlo fed and clean. Been keeping our plants watered. Laundry will be an issue eventually, as will cleaning the house. It's mostly that we're almost out of leftovers to eat and Era basically not leaving her room for long. She's drinking water, but she... needs to eat.

[That last bit is an incredible source of stress.]

[ When he goes to voice, she will follow through with a shift on her end as well. ]

... How many days has it been? It does seem abnormal for Era to not desire to eat... though that only makes it all the more clear how much this loss has impacted her. However if you have already been in contact with Lup, she should know what to provide for you both, in regard to meals...

[ Clothing and cleaning were a little more complicated; she might be able to lend her roomba, but their household heavily relied on magic otherwise. ]

Days. Two or three. Era and I both need large amounts of food, her especially because of how much more aether she has than I. Lup's already having me come over. Maybe a fresh meal will tempt her....

... It may, or may not. She will require time to realize the adjustment in her needs, and you will need to be mindful of your own needs as well.

[ He seems to be aware of his limitations, but pushing himself to do better with stress would only harm him in the long run. Such a thing was always easier to notice in others. ]

As for your other concerns, I have a small cleaning robot that I can lend you for tidying smaller particles -- just be certain nothing precious is left upon the floor. Lup may have better advice for clothing; she is far more knowledgeable than I am on such matters.

May not is more likely. [A sigh.] I'm not used to having needs still. It's weird.

[He's very aware of his limitations... and that stress is eating him alive right now.]

I can handle cleaning the floors well enough... but having the robot for a bit would mean one less thing on my plate. Thank you.

I'll get laundry advice from Lup when I get to the cafe. I'm heading over now. I know most of my stuff is supposed to be easy to care for at least.

It does not matter if it is... "supposed" to be easy.

[ The stress of that word is another unnecessary burden. Even with her soft tone, she does take care to make her meaning known. ]

They are cares that can be managed in time. You will manage once you have time to draw breath for yourself.

[ Already he has done what many could not or would not do... and that is ask for help at all. ]

I know, I know. [A moment of tired amusement, there, before he grows serious again.] But I meant that all my stuff can go in the laundry machine. I'm not good at all the precision stuff that goes along with tending it after.

[She has no idea how difficult it was for him to ask for help. Ardbert got used to being the one providing the help. It had almost been too much to accept Urianger's help.]

... but you're right. Breathing first. I've been so focused on trying to keep things up myself that I didn't even really let myself realize how much I was drowning until the food started getting low. People are supposed to be able to handle this, you know?

((OOC: I KEEP FORGETTING to say this on plurk so uh idea of... maybe a thread of them meeting when Ardbert can return the robot when Era's up and about again?))

[ She understands how difficult it is, knowing those who have not asked before. Knowing her own history. Even those who were meant to be brave and providing the help for others constantly often did not know when to ask for themselves. Any circumstance could be extenuating. These certainly were.

Perhaps it is only because of that, that she is able to even... admire his actions here. Let alone support them. ]

... It is a lot. A lot to... take on, for all you had went through to be there. You were certainly not thinking of your own state, or the impact it has had on you until now. It is no simple measure, to pick yourself up or anyone else, after a... significant loss.

((ooc: that sounds good to me c: ))

[It makes it all the harder to ask for help when you spent decades pleading for someone to hear you to no avail.]

Aye... I've forgotten so much of what it's like to feel emotions with my body that it's no wonder it knocked me right off my feet.

... It can be rather like a shock, when you are unaccustomed to it.

[ Experience teaches much, even when it is unexpected or comes from unlikely sources. ]

For yourself, however... perhaps an opportunity will come when you can process your own feelings as well, as strong as you are being for Era and Hythlodaeus' sake. All we can offer you right now is... time.

[ Time, of all things, how ironic and perhaps not entirely a comfort. They do not know how long things will last like this for his household, but he has options and is not wholly alone to deal with them, until something more shifts within this world but better not to focus upon that concern. ]

You can say that again.

[Ardbert would like to be taught a little less.]

That opportunity isn't happening until I'm sure Era's going to be okay. Going to be on my guard until then.

Yes, they are your priorities. It is only something for you to remember for yourself... to not lose yourself to that uncertainty.

[ However long it took for Era. There was no true measure for how long such a state would last for her, let alone the state she would be after. Loss could be ravaging, and the ramifications of it were ripples for all the rest. ]

There's no uncertainy; Era will be okay. It's just going to hurt and be terrible until she is.

[It's the first time he's said that, and just saying that makes him sound a bit happier.]

[ The uncertainty was in the when, not in the recovery. But all the better for him to be more reassured of it happening at all. ]

... It will be. But you will not be alone while it is.

[ At least that he had guaranteed, by reaching out. ]

[Ardbert is quiet for along moment, his voice cracking a bit.]

... Thank you. I think I need to hear that a lot.

Many of us do.

[ So he's not alone in that, either. Frankly she knows that were she faced with such a situation herself she would not be handling it particularly well, but to help others... it was always different, when it came to others. ]

But that is why they are called... reminders. You will want to bury yourself in your tasks and care of Era, but also... continue to call on others, so that you can speak and continue to engage. To feel more connected.

Aye.

To hear someone's voice other than my own. I'd say things like "and to remember to eat", but my body yells at me, so I can't forget that one.

[He's mostly saying it to say he's not stupid enough to not eat and take care of himself. It's even a good reminder to do so.

... Ardbert doesn't want to think about where he'd be if he didn't have Hythlo and Era to care for, but truthfully, he probably would've just shown up at Ardyn's door with all of his important things in a pillowcase.]

[ She's quiet for a moment, before allowing a soft laugh, despite the seriousness of their talk. ]

I admit, that is something I still need to be told sometimes.

[ Ardbert at least may not be stupid enough for it but she certainly is, but she's learned to own that about herself; she knows she'd be lost without Lup and her brother, which is what makes everything about this conversation with Ardbert too real and too scary. ]

Hearing other voices... can do a lot.

The First | Text | Help Pls

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