[ota] blood or water, it's all the same

[sirforawhile]

It's been going on for months. The quakes are over and don't seem to be starting up again any time soon, and there's no sign of any other disaster. Iggy just wants to move out of Heart Castle and go home. Unfortunately, as the rest of the family is adamant that the kids remain at the castle, he cannot. Or, well, he's not allowed to. Because poor little kids, even teenagers old enough to babysit their own siblings and cousins, need to be supervised. Even if some of them are already adults by the standards of the Deck.

Which is, of course, piffle. So he's put his foot down and packed his things and gone back to the Xiu house.

The Xiu house will not have him. So, alas, he is wandering the streets of the Town, box of belongings on one shoulder and dragging a monstrous suitcase behind him. Or maybe he's sitting down on a bench somewhere. Take pity on him, folk of the Deck.

[ooc: he will ultimately wind up at Alasdair's place, so offers of a home are welcome but will not be accepted for varying reasons.]

Comments

Anyone else can be before this?

[dreamsofwords]

It wasn't the sight he expected to see after talking to Riley on the swings, that was for sure, Alasdair thought as he paused on his front walk and shifted his messenger bag on his shoulder.

"First you bring me an envelope of nonsensical numbers," okay the numbers are probably sensical to someone who knows what they're looking at. "And now - running away from home?"

He's kidding, Iggy. Let him unlock the door and get that box.

[heartvestment]

"Hey, Iggy." Edie drops into the seat next to him, just slightly concerned. "You okay?"

o7

[sirforawhile]

He'll get a puzzled look for the remark about the envelope, but any real confusion is overpowered by the aura of sadness. Well, mostly sadness. He's just a little too indignant to be completely sad.

"Can't run if I've been booted first."

[dreamsofwords]

"...They kicked you out?" That is certainly, he thought, something he would have never expected from the Xius, and he frowns as he picks up the box and kicks the door the rest of the way open so they can get inside.

"Why'd they do that, for god's sake?"

[sirforawhile]

He looks up from his absent drumming fingers on the box and shrugs his shoulders, slouching a little more. "Uh. Kind of? In all points except the residence checkbox. Oh, and the relationship checkbox, but we all know that one's optional."

[sirforawhile]

His hair gets a frustrated ruffle before he gets up, dragging the suitcase in behind him. It's barely slim enough to fit through the door.

"Well. Y'know how the kids've been living in the castle, and I got shipped off with them? Apparently just because there's nothing going on now doesn't mean there won't be anything in future." There's an aborted, exasperated gesture before he returns his hand to the task of pulling. "Which, okay, it's fair enough. But the older ones can take care of themselves and their sibs. They shouldn't need me."

[heartvestment]

"Uh-huh. Totally optional." She pulls a sisterly arm around his shoulder. "What do you mean, residence? Did you... get kicked out?"

[sirforawhile]

"Pretty much. I can't go back home without the kids, but they want the kids to stay at the castle. And I'm not staying at the castle any longer, Edie, swear to god." One hand comes up to rub at his temple. "They have adult supervision. They don't need me."

[dreamsofwords]

Alasdair's brows go up a bit at that, and he heads down the hall to the spare bedroom - the one he hadn't turned into a library. "Yeah, okay," he says. "But you aren't their parents. If they're so worried about that, shouldn't they consider moving to the Castle themselves?" Instead of shoving it all on Iggy. Filial duty was one thing, but sometimes he felt like Iggy went way above and beyond.

He sets the box on the floor. "I've got plenty of room," he says, "if you need to stay a while."

[sirforawhile]

"They're too busy revelling in the months-long novelty of a child-free house to bother. It's pretty much- wow, you're the ones who decided to procreate, so take some fucking responsibility." He runs his hand through his hair again, leaning in the doorway.

"Uh- thanks for letting me stay. I just realised, I didn't even ask."

[dreamsofwords]

"Seriously. Did you try putting it that way?" Not that he thought it would get a good initial reaction, but maybe it would kick all of the brothers and sisters in the ass, something that seemed a little bit necessary.

"It's not a problem. Elani doesn't stay over all that often what with the Jack-duties, so..." Though he should probably send her a text message warning her. "It'll be fun or something. Want a drink?"

[heartvestment]

"Do you have the money to buy a place in Town?" She asks logically. "Or- do you need to move in with someone?"

[sirforawhile]

"Wish I had. It woulda been a shitton more coherent than all the yelling. And one against eight or nine, I couldn't even get a word in." The Xius were particularly adept at yelling when there needed to be, and even when there didn't need to be, with all the languages they were fluent in. He'd eventually just picked up his things and left before they realised he wasn't there to yell at any more.

The offer has rather more fervent a look than necessary. "Yes, please."

[sirforawhile]

"I--" He catches himself before his first thought makes it out, and he shakes his head slowly, gnawing on his lip. "I've- probably got enough offhand, but finding somewhere right away is- it'd be difficult."

[dreamsofwords]

"We aren't yellers, really, in the DeWitt family. Mom always makes calm and reasonable pronouncements about what will or will not be, right before asking you if you want some shortbread." She was getting back in the swing of Calm and Reasonable Pronouncements, which relieved Alasdair, even if the current Pronouncement was about where his relationship with Elani McCartney was going.

He leads Iggy to the kitchen and opens the fridge. It would be appropriate and writerly for Alasdair's drink of choice to be something hard, preferably whiskey, but he never developed a taste for it. "We've got beer, hard cider, and half a bottle of white wine that I'm pretty sure Bea left behind." He's going with a Yeungling. "They're in for a shock when they realize you didn't go back to the Castle. It might be good for them."

[sirforawhile]

He leans in, reaching for a beer. "Ha- I'm betting they won't figure it out for a while yet. Not until one of them gathers their offspring in for tea and asks about Uncle Iggy, and the oldest tries to shush the youngest from blurting that Uncle Iggy hasn't been living with them a while. Probably Tabby. Don't think that kid's learnt the meaning of 'secret' yet."

Still. Maybe he ought to check in on the older kids tomorrow, just for the sake of having their support.

[dreamsofwords]

Alasdair snorts a little bit at that. "The faces will be epic," he tells Iggy. "Might be the only thing that gets it through their heads." It's not that the older Xius were bad people, honestly. But Iggy had been sort of a yes man all his life. As a former yes man, Alasdair knew it was hard to get out of the habit of that from either side.

He took another drink of his beer. "I think you might've mixed up some of the files when they had you on delivery, by the way. I got some spreadsheets." Which led him to believe that someone else had gotten Eve's editing notes - but maybe they wouldn't read it.

[sirforawhile]

That has him bumping his head on the fridge ceiling as he moves too fast to look at the other man. "Spreadsheets? Where'd you put them?" And then, standing up properly to rub his head, "Crap, someone else must've gotten your last rejection then."

Beat.

"Uh, sorry."

[dreamsofwords]

"They're in my messenger, don't worry," Alasdair says easily. He's not that great a liar, except about this. It's probably all the practice he's had.

That's why he can shrug a little laconically. "It's just there's a missing spot on my collage of rejection, you know?" In actuality, he needs to get those edits done by the end of next week.

[grrranimals]

Of course Tess sees him. Like calls to like or something similar. She grins lopsidedly and reaches for the suitcase. She doesn't take hold, mind. Never know when some male might have a testosterone fit.

"Outwardly mobile, are you? How'd that go?"

[sirforawhile]

This big a sigh of relief warrants that beer, right? Right. "There weren't that many people on my route that day- shouldn't be hard to find it. Your collage can survive a little longer."

And given that no one had yet called him to ask why they had a rejection letter, he figured they hadn't made it that far in his delivery yet. Good news all round, surely.

[sirforawhile]

He raises an eyebrow at her and then lets go of the suitcase. If she manages to catch it, it will be heavier than she's expecting. He's in the sort of mood to be vindictive to anyone near enough to take the brunt.

"Ready to make a bet?"

[dreamsofwords]

"I'm in no rush." Which was a bald-faced lie, but what can you do. "Just remind me in the morning to give it to you. It'll probably be a day or two before I manage to clear it out of all the end of the school year stuff."

[heartvestment]

"If you need a place... I mean, I'm sure someone in my family can find you something." She bites her lip. "I'd be more generous, but I don't want to just offer you a couch when there could be an actual bed out there for you."

[butneverbreak]

She's got other things on her mind. She's got other questions she needs to ask him. She's got much more reasonable heels on than her usual high spikes because there's been a good deal more running from point A to point B these last few days.

But this... bears a moment.

"Run away from home, sweetheart?"