Garlic bread will be missed | Glowfic Constellation

"Okay. Well, c'mon then, we'll see if she'll lend you her couch."

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"Is she home?"

".... No, doesn't sound like it. Hm." Up she goes to the door. She has a key, of course, she can just unlock the door and walk right in.

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Her hitchhiker follows.

"..... She packed up her stuff?" she observes, in a confused and somewhat plaintive voice. "Wh- oh. A note."

There is indeed a note. She walks over and picks it up to read.

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Mark looks around at the interior of the cottage.

"What does the note say?"

The interior of the cottage is spotless, and carefully organized. It does look like someone has taken some things, though; there are empty shelves that wouldn't make sense to be left empty. It's more reasonable to think they contained important objects, and that they were taken with the fabled sister.

The present sister seems to be having trouble forming words. "She - met someone and they decided to go to Tibet together."

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"Is that uncharacteristic?"

"It's, it's kind of sudden. But the way she explained it makes sense, and. She's clearly smitten with him."

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"Does he have characteristics?"

"I'd be a bit appalled if he didn't," she says, attempting to return to the slightly detached calm she displayed so readily when he first met her. "Uh - he seems very energetic, enthusiastic, and earnest. And it's kind of obvious he's delighted with her too, they seem like they're cute together."

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"...Can I read that?"

"Hm? ... Yeah, sure."

She offers the note.

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And what does the note say?

Yvette Lane

my-cold-desire

Cyrille,

Sorry about the surprise and the short notice of me not being home, everything's been kind of a blitz lately. I'd have called you, but you continue to not have a reliable cell phone number, so really, you only have yourself to blame. I didn't want to put all of my plans on hold until you eventually showed up. So I guess you'll get this note when you get it.

I decided to do a bit of travelling with someone I recently had the pleasure of meeting - you know that magical tradition that originated around Lhasa when Songstän Gampo was reigning as Emperor of Tibet? The one I have about six pages of some badly translated poetry on, but looked really promisingly non-explosive? Yeah, I finally decided it was worth the trip to investigate. Partially because it'd actually be really useful to know, but admittedly mostly for the company.

So you don't have a new brother-in-law, and I kind of want to wait for the hormones to wear off before I say anything concrete, but at the very least, he's worth going to Tibet with. His name is Miles, and he's um - actually kind of hard to describe. I worry that trying to pin his energy to words would just cause the paper they're written on to bounce off of the walls and ceiling along with him, but that's surely what paperweights are for. He's bright and brilliant and funny and honestly kind of nuts - but then, so am I. To say the least, I like him. Being around him makes me feel like I'm more myself. Not caught up in some fantasy of what love could be, or dragged along for some insane ride, but like I can go further in what I want to do, reach farther, think harder. Like if we just sat down together and figured it out, within a week the both of us could leap off a cliff and fly. I'll pack the parachutes just in case, but somehow I think we'd have a better shot than you might think.

Anyway, the trip was his idea, something about wanting to take me to gorgeous and exotic places? I think he just wants to have an adventure or two with me. It seems like as good a start as any for - something. Whatever this is. I'd be tempted to speculate, but somebody's run out of things to do. I'll spare you the conjecture for when I have a crossword or something for him.

Then there's a vague sketch of their possible plans, and where they're likely to be found if they don't show up again in six months. This is followed by assurances that she will definitely be back, because all of her books are there, and that she's fond of her adorable little cottage by the ever so scenic Hellmouth.

It's signed Love, Yvette.

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When he reaches the name, he starts laughing softly.

"Your sister's run off with my brother," he says. "I really should've guessed. Not that I had the slightest indication he was present in this universe until just now, but I should've known that wouldn't stop him."

"Your brother?" says Cyrille, blinking. She aborts a line of questioning for being too pushy and paranoid, and then a second, and settles on, "... What's he like?"

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"Miraculous. Astonishing. Indescribable. Also subclinically bipolar, I'm fairly sure."

And likely to persuade sisters to run off to Tibet -

No, no, that's not a useful line of conversation.

"Well, I hope they're happy together."

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"They seem to be. I wouldn't know. But people are happier around Miles, generally."

"That's a useful quality."

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"Yes."

"Anyway, if she's away for a while - probably shouldn't crash on her couch without her permission. It'd annoy her. The traditional place for a vampire's a crypt, and there are a number in town, but that might not be your style..."

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