[[SO. LONG TIME, NO UPDATE? I was struggling with a case of writer's block/general summer vacation malaise. BUT YEAH, I'm so glad that some many people apparently like After! Special thanks go to Sarah for like... everything, brainstorming, proofreading, general motivation... YEAH. THANKS SARAH ILU BUNCHES.]]

The remainder of that day passed relatively uneventfully. Raven spent the majority of it in the small garden he now maintained to keep himself busy. He had found that looking after Yuri was a surprisingly time consuming yet incredibly dull task. In the beginning, he had tried to continue with helping Harry run Altosk, and at first it didn't seem to be a problem. He would run small errands within the city, checking on Yuri at home ever so often. However, following an incident where he had left Yuri in the bath alone for not even 5 minutes, and he'd almost drowned, Raven decided it was best to stay home with Yuri until he was better. He worried that it had been a conscious decision on Yuri's part to do that, but even if he had wanted to ask, Yuri's lips remained closes and his dark eyes revealed nothing.

Raven hadn't realized he was daydreaming until he received a gentle nudge from Repede. He snapped back to reality with a little start, glancing over at the dog, who was gazing intently back at him with what was possibly a slightly confused expression. Raven laughed, patting him on the head, "Did Yuri send ya ta find me?" He stuck his head up, glancing back at the house from where he had situated himself in the garden. He spotted Yuri sitting by the open window, arms draped lethargically upon the windowsill. Raven waved at him, smiling brightly. He turned his attention back to the tomato vine in front of him. He plucked the ones that were ripe off the vine, dropping them into a small basket beside him. He stood up then, following Repede over to where Yuri sat, staring blankly at the patch of faintly purple anemones growing just beneath the window. Raven had planted them there when he had noticed Yuri seemed especially fond of that particular sort of flower.

"What's up?" he inquired. Yuri had taken to sending Repede off to find him whenever he didn't know where Raven was. Yuri looked at the basket in Raven's hand in response. "These're the sweeter tomatoes I told ya about. You'll like'em," he took one from the basket, holding it up to his mouth. Yuri regarded the bite-size red fruit carefully before gently taking it from Raven's hand and eating it. Raven laughed a little at his cautiousness, "what's the verdict? Good?" Yuri nodded slowly, glancing down at Repede, who was sniffing the bottom of the basket. "Alright, so, I take it yer hungry?" Another nod in response, Raven laughed again. "I s'pose ol' Raven will make some dinner then," he said as he headed inside.

"Hey Yuri, time for bed," Raven rapped gently on the door to the bedroom, pushing the door open.

Yuri turned his head from where he sat lazily slung on the window ledge, and shook his head, seeming almost nervous. Repede lifted his head slightly from where he lay curled up at the foot of the bed.

"Y'know ya can't just never sleep again. It ain't healthy. We all worry 'bout ya enough as it is." Raven walked over, patting Repede on the head, but not taking his gaze off Yuri.

Yuri turned away from him, directing his gaze again out across the darkened city. Of course, the city of Dahngrest was never truly dark, as there was always some sort of business going on. However, the house was high up on the hill in the residential district, and it was late enough that most of the surrounding buildings were dark. The light from downtown was still plainly visible though it was a ways away.

"What're ya afraid of? Th' Yuri I knew wasn't afraid of anythin', right Repede?" Raven turned his gaze to Repede for a moment. The dog whined as if he was uncomfortable with where this conversation was going.

Yuri seemed to ignore the jibe though, remaining motionless. Not that Raven really expected a response. It was a bit frustrating, really.

"C'mon Yuri, stop being difficult!" Raven grabbed the other man's wrist, pulling him a bit roughly off the windowsill. He instantly knew this was a bad idea, as Yuri's eyes widened, and as Raven let go of him, he crumpled to the floor as if his legs had suddenly stopped working.

Of course, in his mind, they had, what with the being broken and mangled an all.

Raven dropped to his knees beside him, grasping his shoulders gently, calling out to him, "Yuri, it's alright, you're okay, calm down!" There was a tone of desperation in his voice. He didn't think he could bear to see this happen again. "Yuri, listen to me, you're fine, snap out of it!"

Yuri seemed unable to hear him, however, as his body began to tense, and he ground his teeth, suffering from the unbearable pain that was all in his head. He doubled over, letting out an involuntary cry, shuddered, and was still for a moment until suddenly his hands rose, clasping tight on Raven's arms. Raven found himself suddenly face to face with Yuri, the dark eyes seeming almost shockingly lucid, unlike the deadened gaze he had grown used to, it was almost as if he was looking at Yuri for the first time in ages. The eyes seemed to plead with him almost as if to say, "help me..." However, before he could respond, he was gone, slumped back over, unresponsive, moaning occasionally. Raven sat stunned for a moment before he remembered Yuri was still in pain. But what was he supposed to do? Yuri apparently couldn't hear him.

Just then, Repede nudged his way to Yuri's side, curling up around him as best he could. This seemed to calm Yuri down a bit, as Repede whined worriedly. "Good thinkin', Repede..." He wrapped an arm gently around the other's back, hoping it would be over soon. It was only a few more minutes, but it felt like hours to Raven, and when Yuri finally looked up at him, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief. And then remembered what had trigged the episode in the first place."Yuri, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have lost my temper like that."

Yuri stared at him blankly, petting Repede without even thinking as the dog nudged his hand with his snout. Then, quietly, almost so soft that Raven thought he was imagining it, Yuri spoke, "It's ok."

Raven was unsure if he had just imagined hearing that. He realized just then that he'd almost forgotten the sound of Yuri's voice. Then he finally managed to get a word out "w-what?"

"I'm going to bed," Yuri responded, getting to his feet, undressing, and climbing into bed, while Raven still sat speechless on the floor. Repede nudged the older man repeatedly, until he finally got to his feet, and went to go out the door.

Raven turned to look back at Yuri, seeing that Repede had already curled up right next to him. He smiled, turning off the light, and walked out the door, closing it behind him. He was quite for a moment, and then mumbled, "guess he's alright as long as he's got Repede by his side..." He paused again, then grinned. Yuri had spoken. Twice. For a few fleeting seconds he had seemed as if he was normal again. Did this mean that his words were finally getting through to him?

He'd have to wait until morning to find out. He turned to go to his own bedroom, thoroughly tired from the day's events. It was high time he get some sleep. However, to his immense exasperation, just then, there was an odd knock on the door. He'd recognize that knock anywhere. He had to answer it. He trudged over, and swung the door open, "What's up?"

[[This obnoxious cliffhanger is my promise to you that the next update will come soon~]]