The further they got from the cabin, the better Zelda felt - by the time they made it to the pier she was more worried about him than she was actively afraid. Zelda sat down on one of the crates on the pier and pulled her notebook out of her pocket. She thumbed the cover. The situation in the cabin changed - well, it changed almost every calculation she had made. But the bones of the issue were the same - Alfred's boat was cursed, and she was going to fix it.

If she could.

"I can answer any questions you have," Zelda said, "And I can walk you through what I think is going to happen. But I don't know how long it's going to take. Especially not now."

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AMAZING set by MJ

She could answer any questions he had? He doubted that, because the question that came to mind as he saw her sit on the crate and watched her hair tumble over her shoulder was so what was that, then? That moment in the cabin where she had said so much while simultaneous saying nearly nothing at all. How was he supposed to interpret that, given that she hadn't even responded to his last letter? And what, if anything, was he supposed to do about it?

But Alfred supposed he did also have questions about the ship, and his own possibly-damaged life expectancy. They just weren't questions he wanted to ask Zelda, of all people.

"You don't have to," he offered, sitting on a crate some distance from her and looking at the water beyond the edge of the pier instead of at her. "I imagine there will be some sort of report or something, yeah? I can read that. From my hospital bed, maybe," he joked hollowly.

He paused, thinking that perhaps he ought to ask her what he should do next — whether, for instance, a trip to the hospital was in order. Whether there was any possibility that the rest of his crew might be affected, or even that he would have transferred any of the curse to his flat in London or his housemate (who didn't have the best of luck with these sorts of things, anyway). What actually came out when he opened his mouth, though, wasn't about him at all, but rather the ship. "D'you think she'll be okay?"

The following 1 user Likes J. Alfred Darrow's post:1 user Likes J. Alfred Darrow's post
   Jupiter Smith

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

"I'll deliver it," Zelda said, and perhaps it would have been a better joke if her tone wasn't still set to worried. She was trying to think of this in terms of steps - update Mr. Urquart, strengthen her containment spells, work on a plan. She had steps, but they kept getting swallowed in her mind by the fact of him sitting there. Alfred was in danger and there was so much she wanted to ask him, but she did not know where to start. Zelda tapped her fingers against the side of the crate and looked at the boat.

"I don't know," Zelda said, "I've stopped the curse from spreading into the water, and I'm going to try to shrink it, and stop it from spreading further on her. But it's - there's more of it than I expected. I need to rework my spells." And it was nasty, difficult magic - containing was different from combating, and she did not speak Pictish.

"But I'm trying. Alfr -" no, first names were bad, and she should not use them. Zelda cut herself off. "I promise I am trying."

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The following 2 users Like Zelda Darrow's post:2 users Like Zelda Darrow's post
   J. Alfred Darrow, Jupiter Smith

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AMAZING set by MJ

I don't know was an honest answer, at least, but it wasn't a particularly reassuring one. Alfred leaned forward to rest his chin in his hands as she explained, staring dejectedly forward at the Voyager. She wasn't the biggest or the best ship in the world, nor the fastest, and she couldn't fly like the Sycorax had, but she was his. Alfred genuinely didn't know what he would do if she couldn't be salvaged. He would survive, he supposed, because a few years ago he had been in England without a sickle to his name and no ship and no occupation, and he'd managed to bounce back from that. He could do it again, if he had to. He would not be left with nothing if he lost the Voyager, but it was a daunting prospect all the same.

He glanced over at her briefly when she started to call him by name, then looked back towards the ship. "I suppose I'm glad it's you," he reflected miserably. Not that he'd been particularly thrilled to see her when he'd shown up onboard that day, but of everyone who worked at the Ministry, Zelda was at least competent. And she cared.

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Zelda didn't know what to say to that, but it brought back the lump in her throat. She wanted to ask him why - why was he glad it was her after months of nothing?

Besides that - it was a lot of pressure. The Voyager mattered to Alfred; anyone else in MA&C may have been tempted to destroy the boat, at this point, but Zelda knew that she had to do her best to save it for him. And if she couldn't succeed - well, then he might never forgive her.

"Thank you," Zelda said, "That means - it means a lot."

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AMAZING set by MJ

Alfred nodded mutely. This was another statement that didn't quite match his expectations of how an interaction between he and Zelda should be going, based on everything that had happened in the past year, but he suddenly didn't have the energy to dwell on that. Faced with the prospect of losing his ship, his interpersonal relationships were momentarily taking a backseat. Maybe hours later, when he was home and replaying this entire interaction in his head, he'd ask himself why? Why would it mean anything at all? but for the moment, he didn't question it.

"When do you think you'll know?" he asked, surveying the ship. She didn't look doomed. It was hard to believe that things were really as bad as they were.

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

"It's hard to tell," Zelda said, which was code for I don't know. She didn't know if she could save the boat, didn't know how to save the boat, and was terrified that in the attempt she would discover how irreparably doomed Alfred was. This was - well, it could be worse, but she was having a difficult time telling how it could possibly be worse at the moment.

"I'm sorry," she said. Her voice cracked, and Zelda bit her lip - embarrassed for all the emotion she really did not want to display at the moment.

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The following 1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post:1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post
   J. Alfred Darrow

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AMAZING set by MJ

"It's not your fault," he said, which was a weak thing to say. It didn't have to be her fault in order for her to be sorry, and the fact that it wasn't wouldn't make her feel any better about it. She seemed sincere, though, and he supposed that was nice. Given how distant everyone from the Ministry had been about this whole thing so far, it was a change to have someone acknowledge that this fucking sucked, and to be sorry about it. Maybe it made sense that that person was Zelda — maybe it made no sense at all, given their recent history. He didn't know anymore.

"I guess I should... leave you to it," he said lamely, rising from the crate and looking vaguely towards the water.

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Zelda stood up. So. Steps - if she outlined this into steps, then it didn't matter as much. Strengthen her containment spells, talk to Urquart, get to work. Maybe go to the library, research it, learn some Pictish. She could do this - or, if she could not do this, she could certainly try.

"Goodbye," she said, morosely. "I'll - I'll let you know."

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The following 1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post:1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post
   J. Alfred Darrow

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AMAZING set by MJ