Having Flown [Harry, Jane; FIN]

[chase]

There was no denying that Chase was distracted. There were numerous hints, especially in Harry's demeanor, that he normally would have at least picked up on. At the moment, though, he was feeling a bit jittery. But Jane's hot cocoa helped to push away the anxiety, and he was able to mostly focus on the conversation at hand. He noted that Jane looked very shy about Harry's and his showy compliment toward her, and he felt badly about having put her on the spot. She deserved the kind words, though, and much more than that.

She gave him a little smile as she agreed with his comment about having friends around. He wondered if she was still as lonely as she had been back when they had met at the library. Asking her anything to that effect would have been very, very awkward, though, with Harry sitting right there. Given the little Chase knew about Harry- the young man's grief, especially- he thought maybe Harry would commiserate, but it still wasn't Chase's place to make personal comments about Jane in front of people she barely knew. So he kept these thoughts to himself, and tried to remind himself to ask her how things were later.

In response to the same comment, Harry grinned and shrugged. "Yes. And hey, 'tis the season, right? Its good to have friends around. Besides, this beats going to the company Christmas party, for sure. Honestly, I find it pretty funny how work places try to promote synergy through half baked parties. "

Chase laughed. "Yeah, synergy with eggnog and awkward jokes and the heaviest dude on the payroll dressed as Santa Claus. Real bonding time there," he added jokingly. "The classics professors at NYU always have this-"

His story was cut off by another set of knocks, this time a little louder and sharper. "Okay, that's really weird," Chase said, getting up and placing his mug of cocoa on the nearest table. This time, he knew where the knocks had come from. He just wasn't sure who would be knocking at his window. Especially since he lived on the third floor.

"There's something at the window," Chase explained to his guests as he stood up and went to the edge of the living room. "Probably just the wind." Nevertheless, he swept aside the purple curtains to look outside, and when he saw nothing, he unlatched the window and swung it open.

There was a rustling, fluttering sound, and shortly, a raven landed on the windowsill. It took a couple of steps indoors, with a remarkably cool gait, as if its strutting into Chase's apartment was the most natural thing in the world.

"Hey guys, check this out." Chase turned back to look at where he had left Jane and Harry, and the bird took off, soaring over their heads to land on the bust of Pallas that was mounted above Chase's front door. It settled down on the statue's head quite comfortably.

Chase chuckled and wandered over to the front door, his arms folded, amused by the sight. "And now there's a bird in my apartment. That was unexpected."

[JANE EYRE]

Jane heard the knocking this time, and jumped at it. It was a sudden, sharp sound that she hadn't been expecting. Jane pressed a hand to her chest, over her pounding heart, as she watched Chase move about. He opened the window and in hopped a raven. Jane wasn't a fan of birds. They reminded her of that vicious rat that had trapped itself in her bathtub for almost a week. The sudden throwback to the unpleasant creature and the fact that her landlord wasn't bothered to fix the problem made Jane a little uneasy but she didn't show it.

The bird took flight and Jane watched the flight path. The raven wasn't quite as terrifying in flight as it was when it was standing on it's two feet. Jane pressed herself into the couch when it landed on the beautiful bust over the door and clenched her fist on her heart. She let out a shuddering breath.

"It certainly is...unexpected," Jane agreed. She stood up, shaking a little. "Does anyone need anything from the table?" She walked over to the spread of sparse goodies and nervously picked up a couple of snacks.

[hamlet]

"Yeah, synergy with eggnog and awkward jokes and the heaviest dude on the payroll dressed as Santa Claus. Real bonding time there. The classics professors at NYU always have this-"

Harry gave his usual amused grin towards Chase, prepared to here the story about the professors at NYU when there was a knock at Chase's window. Harry eyes shot towards the sound and he felt his heart pounding against his chest suddenly. Strange occurrences such as that unsettled him - as he felt that they were happening to him more and more often. He'd wake up in the middle of the night to some sound. In the darkness he could swear he could see his his father standing in the room. But in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

The rational side of Harry dismissed this as some side effect of deep grief or lack of sleep or too much alcohol or a combination of all three. But something else inside of him just couldn't let these visions of his father go. And what he would say to Harry in his dreams...

"Probably just the wind."

Harry took one large swallow of the cocoa, hoping Chase or Jane did not notice how startled he felt. "The wind has one hell of an attitude then," He said after the swallow, placing the mug on the table as he watched Chase check things out. Suddenly, a bird - a raven - entered the room onto the windowsill.

Harry smiled a bit, letting out a breath as Chase tried to showcase the bird. But then it flew further into the room - Harry ducking a bit as it did - and it perched above the front door. Harry stared at it amused, approaching the door along with Chase.

"And now there's a bird in my apartment. That was unexpected."

Harry laughed a bit. "I just think the guy was too cold out there. He probably knew we had some hot cocoa in here and wanted to get in on it." He cracked.

"It certainly is...unexpected. Does anyone need anything from the table?"

"No thanks, but hey - look at this," He said turning to Jane and nodded towards the bird sitting on the bust. "You think you could make a painting out of this? I don't know anything about art but maybe you could make something...I don't know, metaphorically meaningful with this imagery?" He grinned and shook his head. "And just as a disclaimer, my suggestions don't necessarily have to be taken seriously. Especially if you find them ridiculous." He said, light heartedly.

[chase]

What an odd turn of events. Chase was standing before his front door, looking at a raven that had just flown into his apartment. The bird looked pretty well settled too, as if it were planning to stay awhile. That wasn't good. At least Chase's two guests hadn't been too startled by the bird, as far as Chase could tell. He'd been pretty damn startled himself.

"I just think the guy was too cold out there. He probably knew we had some hot cocoa in here and wanted to get in on it."

Chase chuckled, trying to ease his nerves, as Harry joked about the hot cocoa. "Poor guy. I wasn't planning on sharing that great cocoa too much." The bird turned its head in a jerky motion and looked at Chase, as if acknowledging that it was being talked about. Chase found this morbidly amusing. Animals really did have some sort of sixth sense for dealing with humans.

Jane offered to bring snacks from the table. Chase turned to look at her; she seemed to be shaking a little. Maybe the loud knock had scared her. Or maybe she was afraid of birds. All the more reason to get rid of this one quickly. "Hmm," Chase said, turning back to the bird. "Do you think we could lure it back outside with cookie crumbs or something? The bird, I mean. The raven." For some reason, his breath caught in his throat on the last word.

"You think you could make a painting out of this? I don't know anything about art but maybe you could make something...I don't know, metaphorically meaningful with this imagery?"

"That's not a bad idea," Chase offered, glancing at Jane. "I dunno if I have the stuff here for a painting though. Maybe a sketch. Or a digital photo," he added jokingly. Not that Chase was sure he wanted this moment to be preserved for iniquity or whatnot, but still, it was an amusing thought, to make art out of it.

He took a step toward the door, studying the bird. "It's not a bad looking bird, though its feathers could use a little fixing up. Hey, come down here a moment." Now he was talking to the bird, in the same way a dog owner might address his pet. "You look like hell. What's your name, little guy?"

"Nevermore."

The bird hadn't left its perch on the bust. But it had definitely just spoken. Chase blinked, then chuckled and glanced back at his friends, not realizing that the word had been uttered only in his mind. "Man, this is crazy stuff."

He tucked his hands into his pockets and began to rock back and forth. Now he really wanted the bird gone. The talking raven was making him nervous. Ravens were birds of omen, and for this one to be talking... it had to be a bad sign.

Chase raised his eyes. The bird was still there, just chilling on Athena's head. It wasn't harming anyone. He took a couple of breaths, trying to calm himself. It wasn't a big deal. He didn't need to make a big deal out of a bird in front of Jane and Harry. The bird would leave eventually, fly out the same way it had entered.

Breathe. Calm down. To himself, barely above a whisper, he murmured, "He'll be gone by the end of the night. Everyone else always is. As everything always is."

"Nevermore."

He jumped. The same scratchy, birdlike voice had uttered that word again. Nevermore. He had to be hearing things. Again he glanced at Harry and Jane; neither seemed to have heard anything weird.

And he was scared to ask whether they had.

[Note to players- neither Jane nor Harry should hear the raven, and it won't look like it's talking either. ]

[JANE EYRE]

"I'll not be painting ravens, not anymore," Jane had drawn several ravens back at Thornfield and the birds held no interest for her now. They had been a source of artistic inspiration for far too long and were connected with too many memories. "I've painted enough of them, they no longer hold the grace or allure that they used to,"

Jane busied her hands with the snacks and found herself doing a lot of nothing. She ended up with a biscuit and a mug of cocoa. Jane returned to the couch and regarded the bird. She wasn't as uneasy around it as she was initially. Listening to Chase's suggestion on how to rid the apartment of the bird, Jane thought about the problem silently. "I'm not sure if that'll work Chase. Birds are frightfully smart,"

Jane then focused her gaze on her biscuit and nibbled at it. It hadn't dawned on her until just then that she was in the private apartment of a young man, with said young man and another, unchaperoned. If her teachers at Lowood could see her now, they'd have a fit. It was "unladylike to the highest degree to be in the presence of men alone". Jane had argued passionately that it was an outdated custom but found herself thinking on it. Outdated or no, it was the philosophy with which she grew up. Jane tried to shake the idea off, the the sudden discomfort it brought, and focused on her host instead.

Seeing Chase distressed, Jane edged to the front of the couch, ready to stand if need be. "Is everything alright, Chase?"

((ooc: Sorry for delay and suckiness D: ))

[hamlet]

Harry heard Jane's very pointed answer to his suggestion and shrugged. "Yeah you're right. On second thought, the raven does get a lot of unnecessary publicity as far as birds go," he said with a smirk in Jane's direction.

His attention returned to Chase as he started talking to the bird. Even he had to admit that this was pretty amusing. He would have never guessed he'd be watching someone talk to a bird during a holiday party. He imagined, moreso, that he himself would be the one talking to animals, especially if he were at home. But for once, he did not have to deal with his family, so there was no need to...'go crazy.'

Harry finished off the cocoa and walked over to the counter to get more, hearing Chase tell the bird that it 'looked like hell.' He snorted at the comment in amusement. As he fixed up more cocoa for himself, he heard Chase laugh a bit and Harry looked up to meet his glance.

"Man, this is crazy stuff."

Harry grinned. The guy seemed genuinely fascinated by this bird. "Really? I bet the bird thought you were crazy for telling him he looked like hell," Harry cracked with a dry, though humorous tone, before returning to fix himself another cup of cocoa. After stirring it a bit and listening to a brief silence, he looked up and saw Chase looking a bit antsy. He then started mumbling to himself.

Something was definitely wrong. He glanced at Jane briefly, with a troubled gaze, to see if she was thinking the same thing. But then Chase jumped, for no reason - the bird wasn't even moving.

"Is everything alright, Chase?" Jane asked, which was the exact same thing he was going to ask. The guy was probably scared of birds and was trying hard not to show it. Funny how fear makes a person react sometimes. It either forces them to be bold unnecessarily, or forces them to cower when its necessary to be bold.

"Hey look, Chase," Harry said moving from the counter in a bit of hast and approaching him. "We can try to shoo the bird out of the window. Animals from the street making themselves at home in your apartment isn't exactly ideal. I don't know if you have a bird phobia or anything but I wouldn't want any unwanted visitors either." He glanced over at Jane on the couch. "What do you think? Is the bird smart enough to go after bread crumbs on the window sill or something?"

[chase]

The whole "raven" thing started out being pretty funny. Maybe having a bird fly in wasn't such a bad thing after all, even though something about its presence did make Chase feel unsettled under his casual demeanor. He fully turned to look at Jane when she spoke, partly to give her his attention and partly to give him an excuse to not look at the bird.

"Yeah, and I definitely wouldn't use 'grace' or 'allure' to describe this one either," Chase commented. "Its crest is pretty shorn and shaven. Looks like it flew through a storm." Feeling a little more grounded now, he looked back at the bird, which was still eyeing him. So creepy.

He commented on how to get rid of the raven, and Jane pointed out that birds were pretty smart. Well, then, Chase would have to be smarter. As amusing as it was and had been, he wanted the bird gone.

"Really? I bet the bird thought you were crazy for telling him he looked like hell."

He heard Harry's chuckle after his comment on the bird's appearance, made directly to the bird, which of course couldn't understand Chase. Right? Turning to look at Harry the same way he had for Jane, he gave a sloppy half-grin and a slightly nervous laugh. The bird had remained still, though, so if it had taken offense, it definitely did not show it.

But then the bird began to talk. Or, rather, it said one word, which it repeated. Chase jumped, which apparently alarmed his guests, and for good reason. He was being a terrible host. Thoroughly scatterbrained, and bothered by the presence of a harmless bird- and, apparently, hearing things. But he could swear the bird was talking, even if the others didn't seem to hear it.

He turned around a little too fast when Jane asked if he was okay. "Yeah. Yeah," he answered, not in a dismissive or offended tone, but simply in the manner of someone who is too distracted to give a detailed answer. He looked at Harry when the young man moved toward him; his eyes were a little larger than they should have been.

"Hey look, Chase. We can try to shoo the bird out of the window. Animals from the street making themselves at home in your apartment isn't exactly ideal. I don't know if you have a bird phobia or anything but I wouldn't want any unwanted visitors either."

"Yeah. We can try that." Listening to Harry had given Chase an opportunity to calm down. He didn't have a bird phobia, but if it helped explain his behavior, then he wasn't going to say nay at the moment. As his eyes moved to Jane on the couch, waiting for her response to Harry's question, he got the sudden impulse to sit. If he were sitting, it wouldn't be as obvious that he was shaking.

The apartment had come already furnished; he had not picked out the violet-and-burgundy theme himself. The chairs' cushions were made of purple velvet- or maybe velour, he couldn't tell. A little suddenly, he moved toward one of the small chairs and pushed it until it was directly in front of the bird, the bust, and the door. Relieved, he sank into it, his head falling against the headrest. He did not mean to ignore Jane and Harry, but he needed to figure out the bird's purpose, and explaining that to Harry and Jane would require explaining that the thing had talked.

Nevermore. For some reason, perhaps because of the lights and the chair- he never used anything in his apartment properly unless he had guests- his thoughts wandered back to Lenore. Then again, that was not unusual; he still thought of her often. But why else would the raven have come to him, if not over the mystery of Lenore's death? Why else would he be feeling short of breath at the idea, as if the air had become too dense for him to breathe?

"This is about Lenore, isn't it?" His voice started soft, broken, but grew stronger as he spoke, and he neglected the fact that Harry and Jane would hear him. "Will I see her again? Will I ever stop hurting?"

His chest was heaving now, and tears were clouding his eyes. Even seated, and not facing them, it would be clear that he was descending into an emotional panic to everyone- except himself. For Chase, only the raven existed; that and his need for closure, his need to be reassured, if even from a stoic, otherworldly raven.


(Feel free to approach Chase or react in any other way.)

[JANE EYRE]

"Breadcrumbs might work. Then again, so would a broom," Jane answered Harry. A bird phobia seemed like their last worry really. "However we decide to get it out of here, I recommend that we do it soon. We don't know what sort of disease it might carry, or its temperment," It was the last thing any of them needed in the holiday season, a violent bird. If it scratched any of them, or pecked them, it would mean a trip to the emergency room. Even the cleanest birds posed a risk. They could be carrying rabies or any other such ailment. Jane turned to Harry and was about to ask about the nearest hospital when Chase began talking to the bird.

"This is about Lenore, isn't it? Will I see her again? Will I ever stop hurting?"

Concern spread through Jane. "Chase?" She didn't vocalize very loudly, too confused to really take a step to help him. It wasn't normal for someone to talk to a strange bird about a specific issue. Obviously he was still grieving, maybe he was just projecting his pain onto the nearest apathetic object, the raven. That didn't seem very likely though, Chase didn't strike Jane as the type to do that, even unconsciously. Not many people could, projecting to the point of hallucination being an extreme reaction. Jane looked back over at Harry, her unease apparant on her face. She didn't know what to do and she begged the answer silently from Harry.

[hamlet]

"This is about Lenore, isn't it? Will I see her again? Will I ever stop hurting?"

Harry's brow furrowed, and his gaze switched from Chase to the bird...just in case he was missing something...then finally at Jane, giving a look similar to the one she gave him. Lenore...Lenore...who was Le-

Then he remembered. It was the woman Chase had been grieving over. Time had not treated him kindly, as it failed to do for Harry, in terms of grief. And suddenly in that moment, Harry discovered just how much Chase and him were alike. Harry often questioned if he was driving himself crazy by pretending to be crazy, in the name of his father, in the name of grief, in the name of not wanting to deal with what was truly eating at him from the inside. Seeing apparitions of his father? Thinking he was trying to contact him? Was that not crazy? Of course it was.

And perhaps...perhaps Chase was experiencing the same. Did this bird have meaning to Lenore? Who knows. But Chase was talking to it.

Suddenly not knowing what to do, he stared at Chase - stunned to see tears welling up in Chase's eyes. For some reason, his grief automatically reminded Harry of his own, and he prevented himself from getting emotional at this moment. He felt as if he'd see the ghost of Hamlet at any minute, and Harry didn't think he could take that in this moment. He has done nothing but fail Hamlet, how could he even bare to look his dead father in the face now?

Swallowing, he glanced at Jane once again, hoping she might stand and help Chase, mostly because Harry felt he wasn't the most stable person in the room to be giving out 'free counselling.' But when Jane didn't, Harry tried to buried those thoughts and hesitantly moved to put a hand on Chase's shoulder and turning him towards Harry. "Chase?" Harry said, trying to hold eye contact with him. "Who..." He paused for a second because he knew he often asked himself the same question when he was 'visited' by Hamlet's ghost. "Who are you talking to?"

[chase]

There were people around him, talking to him in comforting tones. Chase could see and hear them, somewhat. The raven was what he saw and heard; everything else faded into the background. Things were becoming blurry, too, thanks to the tears in his eyes.

Why was Lenore haunting him? He had loved her, more than anything, more than anyone - yet it was he she tormented, not her family or her old friends. They had already let her go, given up their grief. It was Chase who needed peace, but she seemed insistent on torturing him, through his memories of her and now even through this raven.

He felt a hand touch his shoulder, and a familiar face swam into his vision. Harry. Jane was there too, Chase had heard her. He knew he was probably scaring both of them. He was being a terrible host. God, why did he have to fail at everything? He tried to hear what Harry was saying, but his focus was shattered and it was like translating the words from some other language.

"Chase? Who... who are you talking to?"

Wait, what? Didn't they see the raven? Chase felt mildly annoyed. Of course they did; both Jane and Harry had been suggesting ways to get rid of it. Then what was Harry talking about? Obviously, Chase was responding to the raven. It was taunting him, it knew something about Lenore, maybe it even was Lenore, Chase didn't know, but he had to try something. He needed closure. He had to figure this out.

Chase's brain felt as if someone had set it on fire. His eyes were blank and unseeing. Transfixed, he stared up at the bird, willing it to speak again.

"Nevermore."

The word sank in, and Chase drew in a breath. The sadness and heartache left him then, replaced by a growing, seething fury. He leaped out of the chair, nudging past Harry in the process. "Get out!" he screamed, waving his hands as though to scare the raven away. The raven never moved. "No more of your lies! No more! Get out of my house; go back to whatever hell you came from! Take your beak fro out my heart, and take your form from off my door!"

"Nevermore."

As suddenly as he had leapt from his chair, Chase froze. A look of terror grew on his face, but that was the only movement in his body as a series of forgotten images flashed through his mind. An argument, one night, in the same apartment he was standing in; then pushing, and a fight, and a body hitting the door frame, and the bust of Pallas crashing down from its perch above the door.

"Oh God." The words came out in less than a whisper, with all the breath Chase had left. "I killed Lenore."

With barely a blink, he fainted, his body crumpling to the floor as if lifeless. Above him, the raven's eyes regarded him impassively, and those eyes were the last thing Chase would remember seeing before his eyes fluttered closed and he blacked out, almost hoping, vainly, to find some solace there in the dark.





[This is a fin for Chase, naturally; if you guys want to post responses, like calling an ambulance or somesuch, feel free to, but I suspect this is a difficult post to reply to, so it's not necessary. Thanks so much, Kay and Yols!]

[hamlet]

[OOC- aksjdaskdjaskdlajsdaksdj *hugs and loves your post* I would like to continue if that's okay with Kay, she'd be up next. We can play up until the ambulance comes or something]