~CLOSED FOR REPAIRS~ Holding Back the Tide (Roland/Leander)

A Long Due Reunion (3)

"Higgle-piggle! Hig-higgledy PIG!

Leander lifted his head off of his desk, his vision blurred. He'd clearly fallen asleep at the desk, as there were what seemed to be papers and pens strewn out in front of him, as well as his glasses(which he slid onto his face nearly immediately), and what had woken him up.

"Higgle-higgledy PIGGLE!" Hibber Gibber the Hopeful, his own higgledy, sounded excited, jumping up and down on Leander's desk.

"Alright," he groaned, "alright." he managed to stand up, but barely. What had happened the day before had weakened him to the point that he worried if he could ever be strong again.

You sound like a forlorn storyteller.

The bright blue higgledy leapt from the desk to his chair, to the floor, and started to run out the door. Owing to the small legs of the creature, the mage was easily able to follow it down the stairs and to the throne room.

Leander hesitated. He couldn't go in there, not now. Not like this. He looked a mess. His clothes were wrinkled, his hair was wild, his eyes were red. If Evan saw him like this, he'd throw a fit and keep him from working. No emotional burden could keep him from working, not after such an important event.

But Hibber Gibber, apparently, wasn't having any of that. He started gabbling furiously at him and poked him in the shin, causing him to cry out in pain and collapse to the floor.

"Now why would you do that?!" he scolded the tiny sprite. But his anger quickly turned to nervousness when he heard the door to the throne room open, and watched as Evan stepped out of the room.

"Oh my goodness!" he exclaimed, looking down at Leander. "You look awful!"

"I didn't have any time to look presentable," he tried to recover, standing up. "One of the sprite creatures found his way into my room and brought me here. He barely allowed me to grab my glasses."

"Oh!" Evan scooped up the higgledy from the floor. "I'm so sorry, He must have wanted you to see--"

Evan stopped, trying to contain a grin. "Nevermind. If you'd like to take a moment and ready yourself, you can come in and see in a moment. You and I are the only ones awake right now, anyway."

Leander didn't question it. He didn't have time; there was plenty of work to do today, he was sure. He headed back to his room to try and look somewhat presentable. He ran a comb through his tangled grass-green hair, trying to make it lie flat(a lost cause for certain), pulled on his Junior Consul coat, and walked downstairs again.

Just before the throne room, he stopped. He listened. He heard Evan's giggly laughter. He heard Batu's hacking, growling laugh. He heard Bracken and Tani. And he heard...

No... impossible.

"Is Leander usually the last one down?" a very familiar voice asked. "I thought he was always up first."

Leander couldn't wait another second. He pushed the door open and stared at Roland. Roland stared back. He scanned him, from his long, black hair down to the white and gold boots from his Chief Consul outfit. He'd never show it, but he'd never been happier to see another person in his life.

Well...

"How did you...?"

"Same way as last time, I think," he answered before Leander could finish. "You feeling alright?"

It took Leander a moment to process the question. "I... I suppose I am. Why do you ask?"

"No real reason. Just thought I'd ask." This wasn't true, and he knew it.

"If you two are done staring into each other's eyes," Bracken butted in, "shouldn't we tell everyone Roland's back? The Chief Consul's return is a big deal. Not to mention the fact that we connected with the other world twice now, and I'd like to study it."

"Uhm..." Evan considered for a moment. "Alright! Bracken, take Tani with you and start working on that. Maybe Leander could help in a moment, but I need him here with me to try and bring everyone in."

"Am I jus' a lump on a log now, curse ye?!" Batu growled. "Leave this spindly bundle of sticks to follow these lassies, and I'll do the collectin'!"

"Don't call him that," Roland grimaced, turning to Evan. "He is right though. Let Leander go with the girls, and Batu and I can help you with..."

Leander closed the door behind him, walking up the stairs with Bracken and Tani. He didn't know how exactly he was supposed to help them. He had no knowledge of the Other World, save from the children's stories. True, his knowledge of magic was strong, and perhaps that's all they needed from him. Not to mention, he was hopeless when it came to technology like that of Broadleaf. But he did need something to distract him.

Fron Nerea. From Hydropolis.

From Roland, especially. He had a feeling Roland was going to be on his mind for a while. They'd been very close before, owing to the time they spent trying to form the plan to sneak him into Ding Dong Dell.

Is this a blessing or a curse?