I know I've been gone a long time (Backdated, pre-event)

[have_your_lives]

[When Schuldig reawakens in his bed, he might almost have never realized he'd been away, except for two things. One, the woman he's sharing a bed with isn't Ema. That's only mildly surprising, because while Ema may be his assigned 'wife', she rarely shares a bed with him if she can at all help it, even now that they're on (somewhat) friendly terms. He might think she'd been removed from Mayfield entirely, but a quick - perhaps it wouldn't even be going too far to say alarmed - telepathic search of the surrounding neighborhoods turns up her mind, undroned and as good as ever. Perhaps better, because even that cursory check tells him that she's staying with Edward(who is apparently also still kicking around). That sparks some irritation, perhaps even jealousy in him, but not much; the self-aware part of him that knows he's a basket of food, a blanket, and a sunny day short of being any sort of picnic to live with isn't exactly surprised. Besides, it's not like she re-assigned her own house; that's the town's business. And it does mean Susan is gone, which gives Schuldig some food for thought.

The second thing that orients him is, of course, his telepathy itself. Ema could have been moved in a single night - certainly the town has managed greater and far more aggravating feats - but even just the idle input he receives from nearby minds tells him that it's been awhile since he fell asleep. It's not even the same season. So he's most definitely been gone - droned, he assumes, and bares his teeth at the ceiling at the thought - for months, at least.

He slips out of bed without waking the drone beside him - he wants nothing at all to do with her, with the only reason he doesn't just shoot or strangle the mindless husk being that he simply can't be bothered at the moment - to stalk around the house, assessing any possible changes since he's been gone. With Ema gone, he seems to be the only one with a functional mind in the building, though that doesn't concern him. The reassurance that all his own things - his clothes, his weapons, even his car - are still in place means far more to him.

That ascertained, he finds himself wandering to the kitchen, reaching automatically for the coffee pot - and realizing that it's empty. When Ema had been living with him, he'd had her well-trained into always having coffee ready, or at least brewing, every morning. The lack of it somehow makes her not living in the house just a little bit more intolerable.

He stares at the empty pot for a long moment, then smiles wolfishly at nothing and heads back up to his room for his clothes. If there isn't any coffee here, he knows where he can get it.]

[462 Stone Street]

[A beautiful Mayfield morning is being shivered into a thousand pieces by the roar of a sports car that quite clearly gives exactly zero fucks about being quiet or, indeed, obeying any speed limits. (If you happen to be walking along or crossing the road, the driver isn't going to take any particular care not to hit you, either.) Schuldig considers pulling into the driveway crooked, or even parking on the grass, purely to further defy the orderly neatness of Mayfield...well, no, not purely. Also partially to simply give the world both fingers at once, as high as he can raise them. But in the end, he merely settles for parking in such a way that he entirely blocks off Edward's car.

He deliberately blares the horn once before he unfolds his lanky form from behind the wheel and gets out, already smirking. His intended aim is to let Ema and Edward know that he's back and steal whatever coffee Ema's doubtless made her new husband, but he's also succeeded in letting quite a large portion of the hearing population of Mayfield know he's back, too.

It's good to be an asshole.]