vanillajello | The Mainland or Thereabouts, Wednesday Evening

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The Mainland or Thereabouts, Wednesday Evening

Kate hadn't gone back to the cabins after work. She hadn't even gone to Caritas to see whether Nathan was working his shift. No, she'd portalled out to their original flavor mainland and come here, to the spot with the trees and the lake. The weather wasn't the greatest it could have been but at least she wasn't caught in a storm.

And maybe she would've liked one. The day had been long, and she was feeling off-balance in a way that not even idle chatter over the phone with her aunt (in response to a voicemail Charmaine had left for her) had been able snap her out of. Her head just wasn't on straight, and that was why she was here. This had always been a happy place, and this was a good place to take a moment and breathe.

She wasn't sure what she was intending to do later. She figured she'd go back to the island, at least, but perhaps to crash at the dorms just for the night, instead of the cabins. She would've gone to Kansas for the night if she'd thought she'd get away with it. Maybe next week.

Rummaging around her bag, she found she had no more cigarettes, and wondered if this wouldn't just be the perfect time to quit.

[ooc: NFB but open for contact via phone and/or if you know where this place is.]

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Bod draped his arms loosely around her and rested his cheek against her hair. "Perhaps he's just worried? I know if you were worried, I'd be completely out of sorts and off balance."

"Yeah but I don't know if I got that vibe from him, you know?" Kate replied quietly, brows knitting together again. "I mean sure, he was turning his office upside down trying to find the name of her church, but... I don't know. He didn't say a single word about hoping she was okay or anything."

"Is he usually private about that sort of thing?" Bod asked softly, rubbing her arms with his fingertips. "Perhaps he just didn't realize he wasn't saying something like that?"

"Maybe," Kate allowed mildly, though it didn't sound like she really believed that. "But he did say he wasn't in the mood for humans."

Notice how Kate made that word sound like an insult.

Bod frowned at that and guessed that particular line was what was causing Kate's current mood. He was quiet for a second or two, trying to think of any reason Mitchell might have said that.

"That's quite the thing to say," Bod said, coming up with no logical response. "If he was worried, I'd say you could chalk it up to not thinking but I think the response would have been more broad if that was the case. I would suggest he needs to not be on the island if he's not in the mood for humans."

"No worries on that front," Kate drawled, dryly, shaking her head, "I think he took off again straight away."

She closed her eyes, breathed deep and was quiet for a moment. "His girlfriend's a human," she pointed out then. "And I've heard him say things like that before."

"Are you worried she's in danger?" Bod asked quietly. "That maybe he was trying to find her for...something bad?"

"No?" That probably shouldn't have been a question. "I really don't know."

And she felt guilty for realizing just now how little she actually cared about Lucy in this scenario. Her worry was basically for herself, through Mitchell.

"I don't know if it sounded like that, either. It could be anything, I can't even remember the last time he told me anything about Bristol."

"Maybe you should try to give him the benefit of the doubt until you know more?" Bod suggested. "Maybe it was just a bad day. We all have them from time to time."

"But his bad days are worse than mine or yours," Kate replied, quietly, almost softly. She almost added something, then didn't.

"I know they are," he soothed, rubbing her arms again, "but if he's not going to talk to you about it, there's really nothing you can do and I'd hate to see you tearing yourself up with worry."

"Too late," Kate replied with a joyless little laugh. "I just can't help thinking, like, what if this is it? What if this is the huge horrible thing that happens?"

"And what if it isn't?" Bod proposed, looking down at her. "What if it's something unexpected and worrying but not the big thing? You're going to make yourself sick."

"I would prefer it if this was the big thing instead of some other things that just precedes the main event," Kate replied, so quiet it was barely audible. "I'm going to make myself sick."

"You are," he said and sounded concerned about that. "So, what should we do about that? What will make things well, not better, but less stressful?"

"I don't know," she said, for what felt like the billionth time today. "I'm not that stressed, really, I mean, I was holding it together pretty well until now."

"If you're admitting that you're going to make you're going to make yourself ill, you're stressed," Bod said quietly. "Do you think you should go to Kansas?"

"I don't wanna run away," she replied with a quick shake of her head. "No."

"What do you want to do?" Bod asked, nodding at her answer. "I refuse to watch you make yourself sick with worry."

"Well then close your eyes," she said, in a weak attempt at a joke. "Because I don't know what I want to do."

Bod sighed and actually did shut his eyes as he fell quiet. He didn't know what else to say or do so he was just going to do nothing for the moment.

Kate, for her part, opened her eyes to look over the lake. Just listening to his breathing for a moment.

"Maybe I should go to Kansas."

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Bod asked after a moment's silence. "I thought you didn't want to do that."

"Yeah, well, I think I realized that I do," she said, shrugging lightly. "Staying in the cabins is kind of making me want to puke, at this moment, and I don't really have anyone I want to be around there right now either. present company excluded."

"So then, go to Kansas," he said, nodding. "If you feel like you need to go to feel better, you should go. I hope it's helpful for you."

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