you know you could have it so much better

[corviform]

WHO: SHADE and GILBERT
WHERE: Residence #004
WHEN: 3/7 evening
WHAT: One actual Victorian fellow and one not really Victorian fellow smoking a smoke and being classy and weird. Probably more weird than classy.
WARNINGS: tba

---

[ Sharon hadn't been herself before Gil had come to realize she had been infected with some mysterious virus whose origins were still unknown to him by the end of it. She needed rest after such a grueling and strange week and he tended to her without crowding her. It was never polite to impose too much on a young lady, especially the Duchess Rainsworth's granddaughter.

But then she disappeared and he was filled with temporary panic before it receded and was replaced by a touch of happiness and comfort Sharon was back where she belonged.

Then came bitter thoughts. He was supposed to be happy she was ported back home, to continue what they had all started out to finish regarding the Baskervilles, Leo, the Sealing Stones, and the mysteries of the Abyss. But while pleased for Sharon, he began to wonder when his turn would come. Three years away from Oz was rapidly approaching and his throat felt tight and head dizzy and heavy.

He needed to get back and yet here he was. All he could do was focus on cleaning the home, offering Aileen the now spare bedroom, preparing meals, and when the evening settled in and quiet fell upon the neighborhood he stepped out into the backyard and took long drags of his cigarette, watching the sun disappear from view. ]

Comments

[foreshadower]

[ Shade really did prefer a certain style of life, and most of it began in the evening. Oh certainly, he was around during the day, but the man never seemed quite as active as he did at night. Lethargy melted away to the shadowy, shadowy man looking fully alert and active, his movements always more fluid, the ever-present smile on his lips just a touch more genuine.

He was at home at night, so it was no surprise that after dinner, when things were settling, and after everyone else seemed to wind down, was when Shade himself slipped into the dark to smoke as well.

He didn't do cigarettes, finding there to be no ritual to it, and Shade loved his rituals. Everything had a purpose, as he slipped from the shadows more like a spectre, a hand on his pipe, stuffing it with tobacco. ]

Gilbert. [ His greeting was soft, but conversational, hand reaching back into the darkness before reappearing with a match, one of the old sorts that struck on any surface. He lit it in silence, before tipping his head to him again. ]

You know, you don't have to cook every night, I'm more than happy to take some of that duty.

[ He was a gourmet. ]