[He knows what that's like, wanting to do something that will actually affect the crazed situation they are both lost in, but not being able too. Because he has to reassure the kingdom that everything will be alright and she needs to keep a cool head and find their missing king as he does it, and he knows that's a huge weight on both their shoulders.]
Set after "King Juli-END?" and before "O Captain My Captain."
Maurice seemed so emotional in Dance, Dance Resolution at just the mention of what Julien went through. I really wish we would have seen something in O'Captain My Captain that actually described how him and Clover were feeling.
"I've covered all of the underwater landing sites.. No, uh, no luck." Clover's voice flows out from behind the plane's curtain, and sure enough, she walks through almost instantly, her fur soaked in water, presumably from the watery landing sites she's been so desperately scuba diving through.
Maurice opens his mouth to speak, but doesn't get the chance considering Clover soon continues; "The nearest island is Feartopia. I'm planning to check over there right now, if you're all good here. But, um, the odds are..." She clears her throat and places her arms behind her back, in a matter of order and a better way to keep from making eye contact. "Timo is saying the odds aren't in our favor, since, apparently Feartopia is hundreds of miles away. He stated something about the current rising soon.. and the.. and the tide.." Her stern figure drops for a few seconds, before she takes in a deep breath, and looks back in the direction of Maurice.
"...But don't think for a minute I'm going to listen to his insensitive logic. Ted, Horst, and Pancho are still staking out the beach. And I've sent everyone we know out for evidence. And when I'm done searching Feartopia, there's another island, a bit ways off, and after that, there's a-"
He can hear her rambling, but he cannot hear it. The words mean nothing, for all they are saying is 'King Julien is still out there, dead or barely clinging to life' and considering hours have passed by since he fell into the water, the odds of survival have nearly been wiped out.
Maurice only nods because he knows that's what she's looking for. Some way to help. And he knows what that's like, wanting to do something that will actually affect the crazed situation they are both lost in, but not being able too. Because he has to reassure the kingdom that everything will be alright and no, Willie, please do not panic, it's going to be okay. No, Willie, no one is going to die. Please stop screaming. And she needs to keep a cool head and find their missing king as he does it, all well promising the world that she will not quit, and he knows that's a huge weight on both their shoulders.
But he also knows it's late. And at a quarter past midnight, the odds of her locating their king in the dark, are very, very slim. And she has sent everyone who has ever served out to find him, and Maurice is pretty sure if that keeps up, somebody will randomly stumble into fossa territory pretty soon.
And if that happens, then all hell will break loose, and they might as well send a fossa out to find their king, because if a fossa attack suddenly occurs and half the kingdom is wiped out, the village will collapse beneath them either way. And they will have failed in protecting the kingdom King Julien had loved so much.
The thought tears Maurice up a little inside and only when he is sniffing back tears, does Clover meet his gaze.
"Um... Are you alright? We haven't stopped looking Maurice, I promise you. It hasn't been that long. I'm sure we'll find..." Clover's voice cracks, and her words slow to a stop. Because she knows lying for reassurance won't do any good. She's been trained for this since she was a child, so it's a lot easier for her to put her emotions on the back burner when needed. Or at the very least, away from public eye.
"I'm sure we'll find something, Maurice."
"His.. his crown is just there." Maurice trails off, and he motions to the throne, where their king's crown is neatly placed. So Clover follows his gaze and looks up at it, a bit taken back.
"It's just sitting there in silence. He loved that thing. Since the day.. since the day he was crowned king, I don't think there was ever a day he wouldn't bring it up in conversation. You know what I'm talking about. He was.. fine, just a few days ago. We were on the water slide just a few days ago! And now he's... Now the crowns all we have right now and I don't know what to do with it other then just leave it there.."
And right then, was when the wall broke through, and Maurice allowed himself to burst out into tears. Clover, although eyes wide at the sudden encounter, did not argue or threaten when Maurice wrapped his arms around her hips and loudly sobbed into her already soaked fur.
Placing a paw on his shoulder, in what Maurice knew was meant to console him, Clover patted his head gently with her other paw, all well promising things would be okay and work out. But even he knew Clover wasn't the best at promises nor comforting, and there was no chance of knowing what would really happen in their future.
Faintly enough, he heard her mumble something about how this was part of their jobs and sometimes terrible things occur within politics, things that they can't control, and although Maurice knows that was just her way to reason with what was going on, he cries harder hearing it.
They haven't hugged like this since the last time Julien went missing, and that time's situation was resolved within 45 minutes. They both knew this was different, this would be different.
Because there is no secret cave with a crazed plastic surgeon and ex best friend vowing for vengeance. And there is no way even Mort could track their king down.
And their king has been missing for the past 6 hours, and even with countless search parties spread throughout the island, there has been no luck in finding him.
And within a few more seconds of justifying it all aloud, Maurice is fairly certain Clover's crying too.