Hippolyta Hollister

"I... I dunnow. Last I heard he was still trapped, I don't even know where he is... Did Dez get him out in time?" She looks apologetic. "Wade gave me a happy little pill that knocked me right the hell out. I've been asleep for the past day and a half."

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"Good lord, I envy you. No, I think they got him out. I seem to remember Serenskaya sending me a rather incoherent and sleep-deprived note. She was keeping him in the surgery." He peers at her. "And you? Are you all right?"

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Djehuty is patting her back, and giving Ruthven an ibisy anxious look.

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"I'm scared shitl... sorry. Sick. Scared sick. Heh. I don't know why, it's hard for me to cuss around you guys. I feel like a kid getting caught scrawling dirty words on a fence."

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"I know lots of bad words. I can teach you some more, if you like, some time."

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"Can you teach me to cuss in ancient Egyptian? I think Wade would appreciate that. I think he's getting sick of 'smeg.'"

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"I can! I can, and I will. Sometime when we've had more to drink than cocoa, though, I think."

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She laughs, although it's not anywhere near her usual, free laugh. "We can get smashed when Dez and Hermes come back. To celebrate. A birthday party. Heh."

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"I think that's one of the best ideas I have heard all day. God, yes."

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Ruthven returns the anxious look with a slightly more serene, but not-very, one. His eyes are doing that polished-tin thing again.

"I expect it's because in this reality we're ever so much older than you, my dear, but do feel free to use extremely creative language around me at least. I'm not sure about Djehuty."

He gives her a bit of a smile. "And it's quite understandable to be frightened. I myself am bloody terrified, but I doubt it's having any effect."

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"Oh, boy. If you're scared, then I should probably ratchet up my own flailing."

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"I beg of you, don't." He makes an effort, and the eyes are just ordinary grey eyes again. "Hermes knows what he's doing, and Serenskaya can just about follow instructions, if they're given to her in a clear and understandable manner. They'll do, Miss Hollister."

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Djehuty nods firmly, gratefully. "They will. They truly will."

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Another chuckle. "Hey, no pickin' on Dez when she's not around to defend herself. Or I'll turn you into a fruit bat. Oh. Wait. Bazookoid's at the Lab still. Rats."

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"You wound me. Bats, yes, but fruitbats? Beneath a Ruthven's dignity."

He looks hopeful. "There any more cocoa left? With those little marshmallows in it? I love those."

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Djehuty bobs his head. "They melt, they do melt, in the hot chocolate, and they cling to the side of the mug, it is just like I imagined."

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"Yes, they're delightful. One can also eat them directly out of the packet, and they are crunchy and very unnatural indeed."

He goes over to fiddle with the stove.

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"Crunchy?" He looks over at Ruthven, by the stove, and then at Hippolyta. "Marshmallows are not supposed to be crunchy, it is wrong, it is not their style. --Do you want to try for sandwiches, Hippolyta, or to sit for a bit?"

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"I... I think I'll just sit for a bit and be a terrible hostess, if you don't mind."

She's got her mug again, her knuckles around it splotched white and red.

"And the marshmallows came seperately, Ruthven. No crunchy freeze dried marshmallows in this house. Severus says those are an abomination against man and god."

The fact that she knows his opinions on freeze dried marshmallows shows how far they've come in the last four months.

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He's disappointed. "Blast. Oh, well, I expect he grinds his own coffee, too, does he? And bakes."

Nevertheless he adds marshmallows to his cocoa, and sits down beside her and Djehuty. "My dear...I have the feeling that you, like myself, have been rather on the periphery of this entire situation since long before it began, and I do sympathize."

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"I was on the periphery. Then I went and got myself a job at the Labs. Put me smack dab in the middle of it."

A pause.

"I tried to punch Spidey. I attacked him. I accused him of lying. He's never gonna speak to me again. God."

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"Oh, dear. Well...look, Miss Hollister, I don't know the man at all, but from what I hear--when he isn't being Grecian in his grasp of tragic flaw--he is a most understanding creature. What did you think he was lying about?"

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Djehuty would probably like to flinch away from this conversation, but doesn't. He's quiet, though, very quiet. Until now he's avoided picking up any details of what happened.

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