[For a moment, Ajax is frozen, for multiple reasons. He sort of feels how Lumine pushes him away to get up and grab for the long, braided piece of hair that lies on the floor, but when he lands back on his butt onto the couch, it barely registers. He just stares at the lock of hair that she grabs for, his mind only saying one thing.
Aether. Aether's braid.
It was unmistakeable, they'd cut it off of him and stuffed it in the bottom of that box. Adding the chocolate and roses to just to add insult to injury. The mafia lord feels his stomach lurch, wondering if they'd done anything to the chocolate...but only time would tell now. He doesn't feel strange, other than the raging fire that starts to build in his chest.
Anger comes after. That fire comes to a head quicker than a spark igniting a field of dry grass in a water-starved landscape, his face flushing red as his temper breaks. The audacity, the insult to send her a package like this. To taunt them, to let them know that they weren't safe no matter where they were. And a reminder that Aether was still theirs, that they still hadn't found him yet.
It's all he can do to keep from bursting through the front door and hunting them down personally.
A note fell from the box as well, and he reaches down to pick it up from the floor. It's hard to put himself together to read it, and he sees something about if they want to see Aether again go to a designated spot. So he takes a moment to try to calm himself before he can read it in full, but at least he knows Aether is alive. Lumine is hysterical, with good reason, so he sets the note down on the coffee table to reach out to her, finding himself needing her touch to help him calm himself.]
Comere.
[He slips down from the couch, moving anything else aside that gets in his way, to hold her, wrapping his arms around her.]
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Aether. Aether's braid.
It was unmistakeable, they'd cut it off of him and stuffed it in the bottom of that box. Adding the chocolate and roses to just to add insult to injury. The mafia lord feels his stomach lurch, wondering if they'd done anything to the chocolate...but only time would tell now. He doesn't feel strange, other than the raging fire that starts to build in his chest.
Anger comes after. That fire comes to a head quicker than a spark igniting a field of dry grass in a water-starved landscape, his face flushing red as his temper breaks. The audacity, the insult to send her a package like this. To taunt them, to let them know that they weren't safe no matter where they were. And a reminder that Aether was still theirs, that they still hadn't found him yet.
It's all he can do to keep from bursting through the front door and hunting them down personally.
A note fell from the box as well, and he reaches down to pick it up from the floor. It's hard to put himself together to read it, and he sees something about if they want to see Aether again go to a designated spot. So he takes a moment to try to calm himself before he can read it in full, but at least he knows Aether is alive. Lumine is hysterical, with good reason, so he sets the note down on the coffee table to reach out to her, finding himself needing her touch to help him calm himself.]
Comere.
[He slips down from the couch, moving anything else aside that gets in his way, to hold her, wrapping his arms around her.]
It's okay. Shhhh, it's okay. He's alive.