Well, that isn't strictly true; certain things get easier. Regan's family is... plainly overwhelmed by the sudden influx of inexplicable strangers, but they are kind and they are determined, and they are very, very good at surviving in this unfriendly place. Lee is able to fill him in on the situation of it all, and Evelyn - Christ, she really does look exactly like Greta - is incredibly patient with him, giving him a crash course in American Sign Language as well as guiding him in the day-to-day. The quiet is comforting, after a fashion, though he's never able to forget why it's necessary.
But all that - the adapting, the constant awareness of nearby danger - that isn't what makes it hard. It's that the more he settles into it, the longer it becomes normal to wake up here, to keep silent, to help Evelyn with food preparation, the more dread sets into his heart that this is it. Darrow sent him somewhere - not just him, but a lot of them, like it meant to send Regan home but coughed up a whole handful of others along with her. Just as he'd started to get settled, to tentatively grow used to it. And as everyone is rounded up and brought together, it becomes unavoidable to recognize that among that handful, John is not. Or if he was brought here, he is on his own somewhere, or likely dead.
He tries very hard not to think about it. That had been getting easier back home, and now he has to relearn all over again, for reasons much more arbitrary. It is maddening.
"Why the long face?" Evelyn signs, slowly so he'll have a better chance to parse it. They've been standing in the kitchen together, quietly preparing some dinner; he hadn't realized he'd been moping so obviously. He hesitates a moment as he pieces her question together, then smiles faintly.
"I miss..." he signs a bit awkwardly - he knows he's doing the words in the wrong order, spoken order, but he hasn't had time to learn the proper grammar of it yet - "home."
That isn't quite true. It isn't home he misses. Not his proper home, and not Darrow. But he doesn't know how to sign the full truth of it, and he doesn't want to get into it now.
"I understand." She smiles and nudges his arm. They've hit it off quite well, which is a small comfort. She looks over their half-prepared food, then back at him. "I've got this," she signs. "Do you want a better distraction?"
She ends up having to spell both 'better' and 'distraction' for him - he's managed to memorize the alphabet, at least - but once he understands, he nods in passive agreement. It certainly can't hurt.
[Two options: Martin can keep people company around the house (open to everyone), or he can venture outside with Regan and her brother, which will lead to his inevitable monster death :D If your pup is hangin around the house and wants to chill with a sweet boy, come get it!]
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Well, that isn't strictly true; certain things get easier. Regan's family is... plainly overwhelmed by the sudden influx of inexplicable strangers, but they are kind and they are determined, and they are very, very good at surviving in this unfriendly place. Lee is able to fill him in on the situation of it all, and Evelyn - Christ, she really does look exactly like Greta - is incredibly patient with him, giving him a crash course in American Sign Language as well as guiding him in the day-to-day. The quiet is comforting, after a fashion, though he's never able to forget why it's necessary.
But all that - the adapting, the constant awareness of nearby danger - that isn't what makes it hard. It's that the more he settles into it, the longer it becomes normal to wake up here, to keep silent, to help Evelyn with food preparation, the more dread sets into his heart that this is it. Darrow sent him somewhere - not just him, but a lot of them, like it meant to send Regan home but coughed up a whole handful of others along with her. Just as he'd started to get settled, to tentatively grow used to it. And as everyone is rounded up and brought together, it becomes unavoidable to recognize that among that handful, John is not. Or if he was brought here, he is on his own somewhere, or likely dead.
He tries very hard not to think about it. That had been getting easier back home, and now he has to relearn all over again, for reasons much more arbitrary. It is maddening.
"Why the long face?" Evelyn signs, slowly so he'll have a better chance to parse it. They've been standing in the kitchen together, quietly preparing some dinner; he hadn't realized he'd been moping so obviously. He hesitates a moment as he pieces her question together, then smiles faintly.
"I miss..." he signs a bit awkwardly - he knows he's doing the words in the wrong order, spoken order, but he hasn't had time to learn the proper grammar of it yet - "home."
That isn't quite true. It isn't home he misses. Not his proper home, and not Darrow. But he doesn't know how to sign the full truth of it, and he doesn't want to get into it now.
"I understand." She smiles and nudges his arm. They've hit it off quite well, which is a small comfort. She looks over their half-prepared food, then back at him. "I've got this," she signs. "Do you want a better distraction?"
She ends up having to spell both 'better' and 'distraction' for him - he's managed to memorize the alphabet, at least - but once he understands, he nods in passive agreement. It certainly can't hurt.
[Two options: Martin can keep people company around the house (open to everyone), or he can venture outside with Regan and her brother, which will lead to his inevitable monster death :D If your pup is hangin around the house and wants to chill with a sweet boy, come get it!]