[IC Inbox for Recollé]

[heiroglyphs]

VERA WEISZ

You have reached the voice mail box of Vera Weisz, heiress of Weisz Manufacturing. Please leave a message.

VOICE | TEXT | VIDEO | ACTION

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9/1

[darkinferno]

i called ari
i thought shed have worried becuase we wre all gone for three weeks

shes forgotten everything



even that wed started dating

[heiroglyphs]

[Oh no. Oh no no no.]

Shit. I'm so sorry Dante.
Are you okay?
Where are you?

[darkinferno]

peach beach

its quiet outh ere depending on when yuo go

[heiroglyphs]

Are you drinking right now?

[darkinferno]

depnedson what answer youre lookign for

[Yes.]

[heiroglyphs]

Nvm. Stay there, on my way.

→ action? c:

[darkinferno]

[Whenever Vera makes it to the beach, she'll be able to find Dante sitting on an outcropping of rocks, watching the waves as they roll in and out. He's not sure if it's something that might have been the case before or if it's due to what he'd remembered just a couple days ago, but there's something about the sound that's soothing to him, something comforting in its regularity. There's a bottle at his feet, about three-quarters full, and his phone sits on a rock beside him.

He doesn't seem to notice Vera approaching; at least, not at first he won't.]

[heiroglyphs]

[Vera quietly takes a seat beside him. It's good to see he isn't actively drinking when she shows up. She knows that temptation well, and fought with it when Victoria forgot about her as well.]

How are you holding up?

[darkinferno]

[There's a hollow laugh as he nods at the bottle down at his feet.]

That's a brand new bottle, if that gives you any clue.

[heiroglyphs]

[Well, Vera's just going to bend down and take that bottle, tucking it away in the large purse she brought with her. In its place, she takes out a water bottle of similar size and sets it in his lap.]

Well we're done with that. It's your best friend's job to make sure you're not hurting yourself.

[darkinferno]

Wh--hey! [DON'T TAKE AWAY HIS ALCOHOL IT'S THE ONLY THING THAT'S BEEN MAKING ALL THIS BEARABLE] Give that back!

[He's stretching toward her, trying to grab the neck of the bottle before it can disappear inside her purse, but once it does he'll just frown, sitting back on his rock. The idea of reaching into her purse to get it back is... yeah, he's not going to do that.]

I'm not hurting myself. It's just... easier to deal with everything with this way.

[He'll accept the bottle of water, but that doesn't mean he's going to drink from it just yet.]

[heiroglyphs]

[Anyone going near Vera's purse should be prepared to lose a hand.]

Look, I know exactly what you're going through. You saw me when Victoria forgot everything. How did you feel seeing me try to get sloshed?

[darkinferno]

[Vera... that's a bad question to ask. Dante's brow furrows; is he supposed to say something... encouraging? Tough-love? This is a trick question, isn't it?]

Like... I should give you as much alcohol as you needed as long as you weren't throwing up ruining my sofa?

[heiroglyphs]

Well, hang out with me for a little bit, and if I think you're okay, I'll give it back. Deal?

[darkinferno]

Deal.

[He leans to one side, bumping her shoulder. Honestly... he doesn't want to be alone right now anyways. What with everything that's gone on so far, this is just the icing on the shit cake and for all he claims to know he'll be alone in the end and to have made his peace with it, he also just wants to grab hold of the people around him and hold on tight.]

Do I get one last mercy drink first?

[heiroglyphs]

[Vera smiles at Dante's response. Good thing he's not fighting for it. Maybe he's taking this better than she expected. She scoots closer, giving him a playful grin.]

Of course! You can have all the water you want.

[darkinferno]

Oh, come on, Vera! [He bumps into her again, a little harder this time.] You know that's not what I meant.

If you're gonna take my vodka away, at least let me have a final parting.

[heiroglyphs]

It's a little concerning how much you want to drink this.

[She takes the bottle from her bag and offers it back to him.]

But fine, one sip, then no more until Pen's party. Okay? You're done drinking alone.

[darkinferno]

Can you really blame me?

[You're an angel, Vera. An angel with mango-flavored vodka. Dante takes the bottle back from her, uncapping it and taking a long drink. After a moment more he recaps the bottle, offering it back to her. Look, no tricks, he's accepting her terms!]

I don't know about that last part, but yeah. No more until the party.

[heiroglyphs]

I really can't, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you get yourself sick.

[She puts the bottle back into her purse, then places a hand on his leg.]

You can stay with me, if you want.

[darkinferno]

I'm not gonna get myself sick. I know what my limits are.

[But it sure doesn't mean he's making good choices. Dante knows that, just as much as he knows Vera's just looking out for him here. He looks at her when she touches his leg... and nods.]

Thanks. I'd... like that.

[He doesn't want to be alone.]

[heiroglyphs]

Come on, Dante, when have you ever been held back by your limits?

[She gives him a playful smile, hugging his arm and resting her head on his shoulder.]

Let me shoulder some of your burden, okay?

[darkinferno]

[That, at least, draws a weak smile from him.]

This isn't a limit I'm gonna push. Spending the next day and a half sick as a dog doesn't sound too great for me.

[He drops his head to rest on top of hers, letting his eyes slip closed and resting a hand on her arm.]

Yeah. Thank you, Vera. I mean it.

[heiroglyphs]

Don't thank me.

[She can't help but feel her own eyes closing.]

You've been there for me more than anyone else in my entire life. The least I can do is return the favor every once in a while.

[darkinferno]

[There's a quiet huff of breath, a voiceless wry chuckle.]

That still doesn't mean you had to.

[It isn't that he's been burned before, but... he still wouldn't have expected it. People don't do this sort of thing for him--not until now, at least. It's still something he's trying to get used to.]

I'm glad we're both still here.