RC: AUTUMN DAY ONE

[Hitokiri Hitaru]

✦location: Raethia Papers xxxxxx ✦Company: Theodoraxxxxxx ✦Mentions: Lheon xxxxxx ✦Wearing: main header outfit



"One large vanilla latte for Eddie!"

Corwin Wyatt looked up from his laptop, having stopped typing in the middle of a sentence. His brow creased slightly in thought as he tried to recall what pseudonym he had decided with that day. That's how he functioned at Bellato cafe anyway. Every time he went, he ordered under a different name, though occasionally the barista on duty would call out to "Beanie" and he'd know it'd be him. His pseudonyms were on an alphabetical rotation after all, the very thing that made it all more complicated than it had to be, but alas, Corwin considered himself a complicated man. Still...was E the letter in rotation that day? Ah ******** it, it had to be his latte. Getting up to his feet and adjusting the black beanie on his head, the violet-haired man slowly made his way over towards the counter and grinned. "Yossu! he exclaimed as he grabbed the mug that the young woman with the nice smile held out to him. "Ehm...did you remember-"

"One pump of pumpkin spice...our little secret," The barista whispered softly with a cheeky grin as she pressed a finger to her lips indicating the secret. The little exchange caused Corwin to snort back a laugh before shooting the girl a knowing glance. "Ohohoho....you're getting an awesome tip the next time I bring cash." "I look forward to it~!" she called out before turning on her heel and getting back to her other orders. He carefully blew at the hot mug as he made his way back to his laptop and sat down. "What BS was I writing again...?" he asked himself as he glanced over the document he had open, only to roll his eyes before taking a sip of his latte. Perfection.

Cominomicon, or whatever the nerds called it. For whatever reason, he was honored every year with the duty of doing the final write up for the convention that had just concluded. Maybe he was just really good a faking up excitement over the topic. Truth be told, when he was at the event photographing the freak show, he couldn't help but wish he was the journalist that had been in charge of covering the murder of the gang leader that had been shot up in the alleyway. Now that was something worth covering, a possible murderer running around the city, or an unfortunate accident? Regardless, no doubt the mayor would be happy with one less crime lord alive in Raethia. He took another sip and set down his mug before beginning to furiously type away once more.

The biggest shocker to shake the very foundation of Cominomicon this year was the winner of the Cosplay contest. Seriously, who gives a s**t? Cosplayer S. Wolf got second place this year after defending his title for the last three years, losing to his sister and fellow cosplaying companion, Helheim. Least she made a ******** hot Saber. When asked for a comment regarding his loss, S. Wolf replied "I don't consider this a loss at all. My sister deserved to shine this year." Cry me a river. Despite not winning over all best cosplay, S. Wolf, he did win the prize for best technique for the detail he applied to the construction of Helheim's costume.

"Blah. Blah. Blah. Thank god I'm ******** done," Corwin sighed as he saved the document onto his flashdrive before pocketing the device in his pocket and slamming his laptop closed. Within a few minutes, the journalist had finished his latte, packed up his things and was out the door to head back to the office. No sooner had he entered the lobby did one of the receptionists come scrambling over towards him.

"M-miss Theodora asked for you...." The woman managed to nervously get out before hurrying out of the building.

"Have a good lunch, Christine," Corwin yawned as he headed towards the elevator, which he caught just in time. "Lucky~!" he grinned as the doors closed behind him. Up and up he went to his floor, where the journalist in questioned meandered to his little cubicle decorated with little pictures of him and Monstro, his beloved Koi fish. Setting his messenger bag down on his chair, he stretched before wandering over towards the throne room, ahem, the office, of his most lovely boss. Upon entering the office, his signature grin remained plastered on his face before he made the sweeping gesture of bowing lowly to Theodora as she remained seated at her desk. Keeping his head low, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Oh Mistress mine, my will is thine~" Corwin purred before looking up to face her, soon straightening up and shoving his hands in his pockets. "You rang~?" he chuckled as he fished out his flash drive from his pocket and chucked it onto her desk. "There's that piece you wanted on the Cominomicon. Stop making me write that bullshit."

[- - caffe espresso]

NYX FORMAT REMOVED
• 　　　Osment, River & NPC Elizabeth　　　Blue Skirt white blouse
  　　　　　　　　　Bellerose Mansion: Kitchen　　　Desmond Von Draesk
  
  It’s been a week since she mended things with River, a day or so later Osment decided to leave. It felt like she could never have people remain constant in her life. That was to be expected though as people change, life changes and nothing should really stay constant forever. If it all had then maybe her wife Elizabeth would still be alive today, Osment would be happily married, River would be flying planes and Desmond would still be with his girlfriend. That wasn’t how it was though as everything fell apart. Dreams were crushed, hopes shattered, and romances burned. Nyx hated it though as she laid sprawled out on a chaise lounge thinking back to what Osment said when he parted with her, the excuses, the sorries, the no it wasn’t your ex bf punching me in the face three times I swear! A sigh escaped her lips as she moved her right arm over her forehead, her blue eyes fixed on the ceiling above. I think that’s a burnt mark, soon came to mind when she noticed a black smudge on the ceiling. A smile soon crept on her face and a fit of giggles quickly escaped from her lips, her right arm moving so her hand hovered over her mouth as she laughed. She was remembering a very fond memory of when Elizabeth was gifted a torch and they lit it up. Somehow the flame blew up really high enough to leave that mark. While fire wasn’t exactly funny, the after math of Elizabeth’s hair getting singed was hilarious to Nyx then as it was today. Lighting the torch was as about as smart as doing it in this particular room.
  
  Sitting up she shook her head of such a memory, it was a better one than saying goodbye to an old friend. Her arms stretched upward far above her head, her back curving forward as she enjoyed the feeling of elongating her body for a brief moment. Stretches and yawns were a lovely thing to her. As she lowered her hands back to her lap she glanced over at the old grandfather clock. “Hmm,” she hummed out as she glanced at the time. It was nearing noon and she spent a good portion of her day in the library that Elizabeth had made for her. It was one of the places in her home she loved to go to when she needed to meditate on things that and not many people were even allowed in here. It was better this way, no books were ruined – for many of them were quite rare, and no one dog eared the edges – oh how that infuriated her! There were a lot of people living under her roof now and she honestly liked the company but it did mean at times little to no privacy.
  
  Were any of them here currently? Nyx hopped off the lounge, grabbed the old leather book off the coffee table and gracefully made her way out of the library, shutting the door firmly behind her. It wasn’t locked so people could enter, mostly the maids to clean it as the mansion was really far too big for her to maintain by herself. The hallway felt like it went on forever; many paintings were hung on the wall and some of the Bellerose family from ages past. Part of her felt awkward being here as the primary owner for she was not of the Bellerose lineage, only married in.
  
  Winding down the hallway she finally entered the great room where it seemed particularly empty of people. That was fine though as it meant she didn’t need to make lunch for anyone else… well… that actually made her a bit sad as she loved cooking for others. “Ah well,” she softly said as she passed by a table, setting the book down on it befoure turning into the kitchen where Desmond was. Her face lit up like a holiday tree as she saw someone was indeed here! “Desmond,” she spoke his name softly and in an airy tone, “Good afternoon.” Nyx rounded the island counter towards him checking out what he was working on. The man liked to make his own food as he was very particular about what went in his meals. From living with him so long she had hoped she knew how to make him his meals just fine. “I’m surprised to see you here. No business at the orchards today?” It was the first of the season so she wasn’t sure if he had extra paperwork to do or not concerning it. The hell wasn’t she at work again? Oh, no reason. She was just an assistant librarian and they over scheduled some people so Nyx stayed home. It wasn’t like she was hurting for money or anything, cough cough great mansion, fancy clothes, personal driver, oh yeah, totally hurting for money. “Do you want some help?” she asked looking at the ingredients laid out on the counter. She hoped he would say yes, oh she loved cooking for people. Did he like her cooking? The thought immediately entered her mind and she worried a bit but kept on giving him a soft smile anyways. If he doesn’t he can teach me how to make his meals even better then! Yes that’s the spirit!
  
  The redhead moved closer to Desmond but watched as he spoke, her head moving downward closer to the counter as he was focused on the food as he was speaking. He seemed to notice her awkward lean and she let out a little airy laugh as she straightened. From time to time people forgot she was deaf but she understood as Nyx wasn’t the norm here and instead one of few. “It’s hard to follow you when you turn away but I understand. Maybe,” she paused, tapping her lips with her left index finger and turned to look at the other side of the island, “I should stand over there.” Pointing at the other side she looked again at Desmond and smiled. “I don’t want to miss how to help make your food.” Her crush on the man never waned over the last season but she never did pursue it. It was for the best since her attempt at getting back out there ended up with Osment at the hospital. At least she hoped the next time River caught her on a date he wouldn’t assault the man, haha yeah right.
  
  Slipping behind him and around the counter she stopped as soon as she made it directly in front of Desmond and nodded. She watched his lips move and would glance down at what he was doing in between. They had interacted enough for he knew when to stop speaking and show her and then start up again. Little social cues she picked up from him indicated when he would speak or stop, and likewise he knew when she was wasn’t ‘listening’. “Ooo,” she whispered as he said something important. Wanting to see further what he was doing she leaned forward on the counter, her eyes focused on what he was doing then met his eyes with a smile and nodded. “Okay. I can help you with that,” she stated cheerfully and straightened her body once again. Nyx was rather excited to be cooking with Desmond, it happened once in a blue moon and she really could use a cooking buddy and someone delicious to look at today. Hey, she still found him quite attractive, not that she would make a move on it. No, it was much too soon with the loss of Osment moving and Desmond recently breaking it off with his girlfriend. She did wonder, who was the lucky lady that snagged Von Draesk?

[poopie boopie]

xxxxx ■ ■ xxxxx ANNA MARIE ❜xxxxx 》


Ketchup, wine, fudge, water...wine. No, no wine. Definitely not any wine for a while. Maybe.

Thank whatever mystical force had blessed Anna with the last bottle of water. When she was younger, water was disgusting and dull. Now, if she didn't drink wine, it was water. Bringing the water bottle to her head, she cursed under her breath. Idiot. Idiot, huge god damn idiot. Anna bit her tongue, glancing around the kitchen. The last time spent time with a good friend, Desmond, there was absolutely no control of liquor. It was one thing to lose control of your liquor but she didn't even know what she said afterwards. Anna's words were all and the thread of self confidence she covered had vanished. Whatever had gotten into the cafe owner was flushed the next morning faster that expected.

"I still need to apologize.." Mumbling to herself, Anna closed to the fridge. Apologize. Anna could barley snap out of her own thoughts about anything other than apologizing. It ate at her for the past few days, but there was nothing she really did about it; wake up, go to work, then go home, rinse and repeat. 'I'll apologize before my birthday or at least before I die. '

Making way to the sleeping beast, Anna plopped onto Melody's bed. Letting out a soft coo, she shook the coworker awake. Letting out a snicker at the cranky Melody, Anna patted the girls head. "Maybe you do need your beauty sleep after all." Melody did sleepily retaliate, introducing their day on a nice note. Putting on a red plaid shirt, she hummed softly. The past few days seemed to fly by as if they were nothing, and work had been kind.

The rest of the day seemed slow enough to remind Anna of a few days before Autumn, but not slow enough to stop her from making treats. Despite these things, Anna hummed to herself happily. The blonde did bump into the kitchen doorway at least twice before angrily mumbling of it being in her way, there was no way in hell her current mood would trump her baking. As 12pm rolled around, Sebastian clocked out almost instantly. Waving him a goodbye, Anna sighed knowing the rest of the day would go by slower, even if the vibes Melody gave off probably would be enough to get by and the afternoon workers weren't all too bad; hell Anna was proud of the team her father put together. But morning crew just did things better and left the place feeling a lot happier. Sure, she could've clocked out, but nothing came to mind on what the rest of her evening would consist of other than angrily contemplating being a terrible drunk or considering writing a letter as a way to apologize because she was simply too embarrassed to say so in person.

Bumping into the corridor of the kitchen again, Anna cursed a lot louder this time. Maybe kind was too good of a word in her case.


❖ : ██ ( * MENTIONS _ SEBASTIAN, MELODY 　　❖ : ( * WITH _ 　 NPC'S, MELODY ( ? ) 　　❖ : ( * WHERE _ 　 BAKERY 　　 ❖ : ( * OUTFIT

[moonsyrin]

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bleepbloopble00★│location ↪ ❛4xaelyn beach ⊰DR★│company ↪ ❛7trey, dom (maybe others?) ⊰
doopdoopdoopppppdooDR★│mentions ↪ ❛7alek⊰DR★│outfit ↪ ❛7outfit⊰ ❥❥

After narrowly avoiding certain death by the hands of Niko, Trey conversed with his younger siblings. It was like he was asking to be punched in the eye. If Riya knew what he did to Alex, she'd turn away and allow Niko to give her father what he deserved. Luckily Alex didn't seem to mind. Well, it wasn't a negative response at least. Trey winked at the younger girl, grinning a bit. His jaw dropped when Matthias said he was sixty. "UH! What I am not." He glared at the boy, then grinned at his sister again. "You know it, doll." His attention turned to Dom when he mentioned camping. "If he doesn't let you off, I'll go talk to him." It was a well-known fact that Lenix was terrified of Trey. He became more of a nervous-wreck when he was around.

Trey raised an eyebrow at what the male was saying. He eyed Alex, then turned towards Dom. "Is that a threat?" He asked with a smirk on his face. He chuckled a bit, tapping Dom on the arm lightly. "I'd like to see you try, boy." He knew how the two of them felt though. It was a good thing that said something to make it clear. "I'll keep that in mind." Trey grinned, cracking his knuckles. His cheeks were starting to hurt with how much they were making him smile. He wasn't going to tell them that, but he could certainly feel it. He relaxed his face, staring off into the distance for a moment. "Hunting? Well damn, I didn't even bring my fishing rod." Trey furrowed his brow. "Course, I could use Alek's present and stab some fish.." He mumbled, stroking his chin.

He looked back up to the group and pretended he didn't say anything under his breath. "Ah, well, let's get going." Trey looked around for Riya, spotting her sitting in the sand. He went up to her, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're gonna be covered in sand." Riya looked up at him, shrugging her shoulder. "Meh." He could sense something was wrong with his child, causing him to squat down in front of her. "What's wrong? Not having fun?" She looked up at him for a moment, then looked over to Alek and his friends who were in the water still. "I'm okay." Trey turned to follow her gaze. "What. Did they say something to you?" Riya shook her head and stood up. "No." Trey eyed her suspiciously and stood. "I'm really bad at this stuff and you should tell me if something was wrong." She smiled, nodding. "I will. Promise." At least he was being honest with her. Though, she already knew how bad he could be at things.

Riya walked over to Dom, waving at him as she approached. "Hi!" She hugged the taller man, nuzzling her face into his chest. "I've missed you!" Trey appeared behind them with a smile on his face. "Riya, are you hungry? I think there's some chips and stuff over on a table." He vaguely remember seeing a bag of chips somewhere, but he wasn't sure where. Riya looked around for a moment and spotted the table he was talking about. She ran over to it, standing there. She didn't know what she wanted, but she did want to wait for Trey. "So, how's work going? You like it there?" He asked Dom, looking at him while they walked over to Riya.


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bleepbloo✖│location ↪ ❛4beach⊰DR✖│company ↪ ❛7dom, riya (others?) ⊰
doopdoopdooppppDR✖│mentions ↪ ❛7alek, niko, alex, matt, lenix⊰DR✖│outfit ↪ ❛7outfit⊰ ❖❖

[Aeolith]

• Rolling up the sleeves of his old brown and white plaid button down shirt, Zach kneeled down next to Yulia. The levi jeans he wore were worn and faded at the knees, the ends tattered, a few threads flapping along the ground as he walked. He had chosen this very pair for the task that Yulia and himself were partaking in since it was no matter if he dirtied them with dirt and grass stains. He hardly wore them anymore anyway. It was a wonder they still fit him perfectly. He had bought them several years ago by now, about four to be exact.
  
  He grabbed one of the hand shovels that Yulia had brought outside with her and began to dig a small hole in the soil. About half a foot away from the first one he dug another hole. He glanced up as Yulia mentioned her hat. He couldn’t help but smile at her, noticing exactly what she meant as she saw the large hat flopping into her face. “I can see that. I think it just might be a bit too big for you.” He reached over and lifted the hat up so that it wasn’t covering her face. “There, much better. I prefer to see that pretty face then for it to be hidden by that hat.” As soon as he said that, he regretted it. Should he have said she was pretty?
  
  He smiled at her a little awkwardly before looking away, staring instead at the soil where he had dug a few holes. He wasn’t exactly knowledgeable about gardening, but he did know that pumpkins needed to at least have half a foot of space between seeds, and several feet away for a row. He doubted Yulia wanted more than a few seeds planted. She certainly had space for a few rows, but then her yard would be covered in pumpkin vines and leaves. They spent a few moments in silence before he heard her speaking again.
  
  He couldn’t help but look up at her and give her a look. “No, you don’t smell.” In fact, she smelled rather good. Each time the slight breeze in the air blew in just the right direction, he could smell the delicate floral scent of bluebells and a soft undertone of vanilla. “Oh no, you don't need to apologize for asking. You really don’t smell. Promise.” He smiled and chuckled with her as well before looking back down at the mounds of soil. He could tell that she was embarrassed as her cheeks had flushed and she stammered on some of her words. It had made two of them in the last five minutes. She hadn’t said anything about his comment earlier of her being pretty. Even then, pretty was still an understatement. Yulia was beautiful in his eyes.
  
  She changed the topic before he did. “I think water is good enough for me.” He looked up at her only to see her cheeks still a soft pink hue so he looked away again. He wasn’t sure if it was from her embarrassment or if it was the heat. It was pretty warm out here. He could see that his arms were slightly glistening in the sunlight. “I can get some for us if you want. That way you don’t have to get up.” He wiped at his knees as he stood up, and then swiped his hands to rid them of any dirt that had stuck to them.
  
  He headed for the backdoor entrance as he made his way into her house. The door opened straight into the kitchen so it wasn’t too far to get them two glasses of water. As he stepped toward one of the cupboards, careful not to leave any muddy steps, Zach noticed a wooden frame on the wall. Turning, he saw Yulia’s smiling face pictured on the wall, a veil draped down her back with the white dress cascading in subtle waves down to the grassy hill where she stood. In her hands was a bouquet of light yellow roses, white peonies, and lavender rhododendrons. Next to her stood Lheon, his hand wrapped around her waist.
  
  Zach swallowed as he looked up at them, both portrayed so happily in that memory. He breathed out slowly and then looked away as he made his way to the fridge to retrieve their drinks. When he made it back outside, he stepped up to Yulia and then handed her a glass, stepped around her, and then tipped his own to his lips. He managed to drink most of it in one shot. He didn’t look back toward Yulia, and instead looked at their progress with their gardening. They still had a few more packets of seeds left over.
  
  Drinking the rest of his water, he stepped away from Yulia without saying anything and returned the cup to the kitchen. As he came back out, he kneeled back down at the same spot where he had been before leaving for their drinks. Why was he here doing this with her and not Lheon? He hadn’t considered it before, but how strange was it to have her neighbor here helping her with this and not Lheon, or even a girl friend of hers? Would it seem odd to someone else on the outside if they saw him here with her, laughing and enjoying playful banter while they planted? He wasn’t sure just how odd it might appear to someone who knew them, or to someone who even didn’t. Maybe it appeared too friendly.
  
  “Yulia, uh… did we need any supplies from the store to finish this off? Like more soil, perhaps, or some pruning shears? I didn’t see that you had one and some of the plants you already have looked like they could use a trim to cut those dead parts off.” He pointed to the nearly empty bag of soil and then glanced at the plants that already decorated her yard. Some did need a trim. “I can go and get those things really quick if you need them. I can be back here in an hour, maybe less.” Zach began inching toward the front of the house.
  
  Even if he did go to the store, momentary distance wouldn’t make him feel any less guilty.
  
  
  

▶ LOCATION Yulia's place tab ┋ tab ▶ COMPANY Yulia tab ┋ tab ▶ MENTIONED Lheon

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I WANNA HOLD YOU HIGH tab AND STEAL YOUR PAIN AWAY tab I WANNA HOLD YOU HIGH tab AND STEAL YOUR PAIN AWAY

[a park in botswana]

❥ ❘❙❚ XAELYN BEACHXXXX❥ ❘❙❚ NIKOLAI, ALEKSANDRXXXX❥ ❘❙❚ TREY, RIYA, DAWSON

Saffron sighed, nodding her head in agreement. "Unfortunately...Twins always seem to be getting into trouble, our families especially..." She certainly didn't any bickering or arguments to erupt out of her son's birthday party. This was certainly not the time nor place for any family drama. Unfortunately, with a family as large as hers, something always ended up happening. Glancing over towards her son, she spotted Aleksandr promptly tackle Dawson into the water...or well, attempt to. While Aleksandr was quite tall for his age, Dawson still towered over most everyone in the party. Made sense, of course. Instead, Dawson easily threw him off before being shoved around by the other teammates and Aleksandr's friends. Saffron went on edge, worried that someone would get hurt, but...well, everyone appeared to be laughing. She would never understand why fooling around and shoving was considered fun. When Nikolai mentioned racing Dawson, Saffron sighed. "As long as you two don't kill each other in the process..." Still, Aleksandr would probably find it fun to watch his coach and father race, and so, she didn't dismiss the idea. As he stretched his arms up, Saffron's eyes noticed on his toned stomach before she instantly glanced away. "...Mmm. Things happen," she murmured, trailing off. Mostly trying to keep her flushed face away from Nikolai's gaze so he couldn't tease her, but the subject was a little awkward. Neither of them liked to speak about the past years, especially in regards to anything Nikolai missed in Aleksandr's life. Sure, they spoke plenty of times on the phone, but...well, that wasn't always enough. But it was all they could do.

Hearing a familiar voice, Saffron glanced in one direction, noticing Trey, the blacksmith and Nikolai's co-worker, quickly approaching. Riya was first to appear, however, running ahead of her father before embracing her in a hug. Saffron smiled gently, reaching down and patting the girl gently on the head. "Hi there, Riya." After an awkward belly pat for Nikolai, Riya had walked over to the present table. Moments later, Trey appeared beside them, and Saffron was enveloped in another hug. One a little more...awkward. "A-Ah, thank you, Trey..." she murmured, going a little rigid at first but relaxing by the end of the short hug. It was just so...unexpected. At the mention of the gift, Saffron's face paled for a moment before her cheeks suddenly pouted, and her eyebrows furrowed. "Trey...if there's a weapon in there, I will..." Moments later, Trey had grinned and run off to visit the rest of the guests. Saffron sighed, grumbling a little under her breath. That was absolutely the last thing she needed - Aleksandr swinging around some sort of weapon and getting either himself or others hurt. She should have expected as much from a blacksmith, though. At least Riya was a sweetheart and not so unpredictable like her father...or maybe she should have expected it. Ugh, more stress.

"Or someone getting hurt from it, Alek included..." Her eyes linger on Trey speaking to the other siblings of Nikolai, though she coincidentally did not notice what Trey did. Not that it would have mattered, of course. At the mention of food, Saffron glanced over at Nikolai. "I haven't eaten yet, no. I've been too busy preparing for this..." Looking over at the long buffet table she had set up, along with plates, napkins, and even picnic tables she'd had brought into the area for the guests to sit, Saffron took a long breath. "Were you hungry...? There's plenty of food...before the boys get to it, of course." Or Dawson. He was a pig. Speaking of boys...Saffron glanced back towards the water. Alek still hadn't noticed who had even arrived yet.

"Aleksandr!" Instantly, several of the boys jumped at the boom of a voice, likely expecting to be scolded. Alek almost flinched, looking over sheepishly to the source of the noise. It was always a surprise to hear such a little woman yell so loudly. Noticing who was next to her, Alek suddenly beamed, looking to his friends and saying something quickly. Dawson patted him on the back and shoved him playfully towards the shore, as the teenager scrambled up onto the sand, running over to where his parents stood.

"Dad! When did you get here?!" Moments later, Alek suddenly rushed forward and wrapped his arms tightly around his father. Saffron blinked, a little surprised by the show of affection...then again, Alek and Nikolai were undeniably close, especially after the distance apart. She just didn't expect him to be so affectionate in front of his friends.

"Not long, Alek." Alek pulled away from Nikolai then, looking up to his father. Though, in a year or twos time, he expected he'd almost be his height. Alek grinned.

"You met all of my teammates last time, right? At the swim meets?" Alek glanced over to his friends still in the water, trying to remember if there was anyone he'd missed. "Oh! Are you hungry? Did you see all of the food? I'm pretty sure Mom got every damn food--" Feeling his mother's glare on him, Alek laughed nervously. Whoops. "I mean, darn food. Sorry, Mom." Looking back to Nikolai, Alek grinned again.

"Wanna go eat?" Saffron smiled gently, seeing how excited Alek was to spend even just lunch time with his father. Even though the two now lived in the same city, it seemed like Alek was constantly trying to make up for lost time. Before Nikolai had moved to Raethia City, Nikolai hadn't seen his son since he was just seven. And now, today, Alek was turning fourteen...It seemed almost surreal.

"Mmm, I'll leave you two alone. I wouldn't want to get in the way of bonding time. Have fun." Alek blinked, looking over to his mother.

"But Mom--"

"Please, Alek. It's fine. Besides, I have a couple of things to check up on." Alek mumbled, looking over to his father. Why did Mom always excuse herself from everything? He knew they were divorced and all, but did it mean she always had to run off when he and Nikolai were together?




ＯＯＣ： Just toss Saffron over your shoulder, Nikolai!


Layout by Kyra La Kyra

[a park in botswana]

❀ ❘❙❚ ＬＯＣＡＴＩＯＮ：YULIA'S VILLAXX❀ ❘❙❚ ＣＯＭＰＡＮＹ：ZACHARIAHXX❀ ❘❙❚ ＭＥＮＴＩＯＮＳ：LHEONXX❀ ❘❙❚ ＯＵＴＦＩＴ：HERE

No matter how much she adjusted it, Yulia just couldn't keep the hat out of her voice. She wondered about just removing it completely, but worried about the disaster her hair likely looked underneath, especially with the heat and it being in a bun. Typically, Yulia's hair was almost always down, falling in soft layers and waves to past her thighs. But in this weather, and for this activity, Yulia had found it necessary to at least attempt a different hairstyle. Paired with a hat, she thought she had looked decent - until she realized the hat in question hardly fit. Her head hadn't shrunk, had it...? Maybe it was because of her current hairstyle...Perhaps she was just over thinking this. The banding in the hat might have been loosened by age and wear, or even the weather. Why was she putting so much thought into the hat she was wearing? Was it because of Zachariah? Because of what he'd said - had he called her pretty? Did she mishear him? Did he compliment her hat instead? Yulia's ears had been buzzing, so much that she couldn't even find words when he'd said the words 'pretty' and adjusted her hat once more. All she could do was smile nervously and nod her head, recognizing that he'd said something.

And then, the word vomit. Honestly, could she no longer think anymore? It must have been this heat. Thankfully, Zachariah responded very well, far better than she could have ever expected. Yulia smiled, bowing her head gently to him in thanks. So she didn't smell...unless she really did, and Zachariah was just playing if off to avoid any embarrassment. Her cheeks were still flushed from her stupidity of even asking such a thing. Oh, Zachariah truly was an angel to put up with her stupid words and not tease her, to treat it as even those words were important to him. What a great friend.

Her request to bring him a beverage instantly got flipped around, as Zachariah offered to bring it to them both. "O-Oh, but, I can do that..." There was no convincing Zachariah, however. In an instant, he was standing up, wiping off his pants, and heading towards the back door of her villa. She took a deep breath, deciding to take this time to calm herself down so she wouldn't look like such a fool. Glancing at the plot she had selected to plant pumpkin seeds, Yulia marveled at their work. It wasn't difficult work, other than the heat and digging (though Zachariah did most of that), but it still felt so nice to be outside. The medication had made her feel a bit better, and for the last week or so, Yulia had only had minor aches and pains. Was she pain free? No, and Yulia assumed that would never happen. But this was as close to perfect as she could be. And even, in the last week...well, Lheon had been home almost every single night. It seemed like his workload had lightened up some, as he'd spent more nights at home. And even then...he'd crawled into bed with her one night, and...Her cheeks flushed hotly at the memories of what had occurred. She couldn't remember the last time she and Lheon had been so...passionate in the bedroom. It was almost like her disease hadn't existed. She hadn't felt any pain then. Perhaps this medication could fix it. It could give them the love life they both desired, it could help strengthen their marriage, and...perhaps even give them a child. If the pain was gone, nothing could stop them for trying for a child. The chances of her becoming pregnant were low, but not non-existent. Miracles happened everyday. Why not them? The surrogates had all fallen through, but maybe it was because fate didn't want that for them. Closing her eyes for a moment, Yulia hummed gently. All she wanted was to be a mother, and Lheon desperately wanted to be a father. She knew that. Perhaps everything was going to work out in the end. They still loved each other, didn't they? She absolutely adored him. And yet...he wasn't here. Zachariah was. But...that was because Lheon was working. Right?

Hearing footsteps on the soft grass, Yulia opened her eyes, glancing up to notice Zachariah holding a glass of water. "Thank you, Zachariah." She smiled, nodding her head to him in thanks before gently taking the water glass from him. Taking a sip, Yulia almost felt renewed, just from one sip. She glanced over to Zachariah, watching him gulp it down, feeling a little bad. Had he been that thirsty...? She should have offered him water a long time ago, if only she had known he was that parched. Without another word, Zachariah took his empty cup and returned to the house. Yulia blinked, wondering what was wrong. What was Zachariah thinking about...? Moments later, he returned to his spot beside her, kneeling back down and looking at the plot of land before them. Had she upset him somehow...?

Before she could speak, Zachariah suddenly did, as Yulia blinked. More soil...? And pruning shears? Had this what he had been in deep thought about - preparing a mental list of things from the store? Glancing around her yard, Yulia did see a couple of places that needed trimming up. The gardener had been on vacation for the past week, and Yulia didn't find it necessary to have a maid or another staff member take over the job. No one ever wanted to mess up the gardener's beautiful work, so she thought she could just leave it until he returned. But it appeared that the plants were growing back far quicker than she expected.

"Ah, so that's what you were thinking about. Things we needed from the store, right?" That made sense. He'd just been in deep thought to not forget anything! He tried to leave for the store by himself, likely so Yulia wouldn't have to go along and get tired, but Yulia shook her head. "I'm feeling well. I'd like to go with you, if that's all right. I haven't been to the store in a little while." She'd been sending her staff members to fetch things for her, and even though she'd been feeling better this past week, Yulia still spent most of her time just cleaning or catching up with things in the house. Though she had people who worked for her, she found it necessary to not become lazy. Standing up, Yulia adjusted her hat once more, deciding not to just remove it and set it down beside the tilled soil. Reaching up, Yulia began removing the tie that held her hair up, instead letting it cascade down her back and past the small of her waist. Fluffing her hair out, she hoped she didn't look too awful. Yulia smiled, looking up at Zachariah.

"If you don't mind me tagging along, anyway." She took a step beside him, so that they were now standing next to one another. As Yulia slipped a hand to the back of her neck, adjusting her hair, she suddenly winced - why was it so warm back there...? It almost stung. Had she gotten...? Oh no...

"Sunburn...?" How useless had that hat been? It'd spent so much time flopping around, it hadn't even offered her any shelter for the back of her neck. What other spots had it missed? Yulia smiled nervously, shaking her head. "I should have just worn my hair down..." At least it would have provided some sort of protection. Stupid hat. Oh well, it didn't hurt too much. "Ready?" Well, of course he was. He'd been the one almost inching to go. She smiled again. "You seem eager to get there~ Do you have any pruning shears in mind? See them before, maybe?" But Zachariah's problems weren't about shears and soil at all, were they? But to Yulia, little oblivious, dumb Yulia, that's all she saw. For even if she were not married, Zachariah was just a friend, right...? He certainly could never see her in that way. So then, why did it hurt sometimes to be reminded of that?




ＯＯＣ： Thinking about that list, right Zachariah?


Layout by Kyra La Kyra

[Aeolith]

• 
  Desmond tried not to think as he sliced the tomatoes on the squared wooden cutting board, slipping them off into a pot and then proceeding to cut the remainder. For the past few days, he had mostly been either at work or at home, coming home by about six pm to make and eat his own dinner, play cello for an hour, and then read until bed by ten pm. He didn’t have anywhere else to be, not anymore anyway. His little sexual relationship with Zophia had ended, and he no longer had a girlfriend.
  
  He and Lotus had fought throughout the past week about… well; it had started about meeting her parents. Only two weeks of dating, and already she had wanted him to meet her parents. To him, that had felt a bit too fast. They hadn’t been together long at all, and already she had wanted to take that next step to meet them. He wasn’t ready; he had not been ready. Other arguments had included things like him being so busy, him not listening to her, or him being difficult. In other words, she had been blaming him for everything.
  
  Three days ago, he had decided to end it. The arguments had eventually become so commonplace and there had even been times that he didn’t know what they were fighting about. He didn’t want to deal with it. After three days of peace, he knew breaking up with her had been the best thing for them both.
  
  The pot of tomatoes had begun to simmer. In a few minutes, he would be able to puree them with basil leaves, and add the rest of the ingredients. As he was about to start brushing oil on the slices of sourdough bread, he saw someone passing into the kitchen. Looking up, he spotted Nyx walking up to him. His name slid off her tongue like melted butter.
  
  “Good afternoon,” he greeted in return. “Nothing that needed my tending to. I have been busy working all week, so I could afford coming home early today.” He had been at the orchards, but he had been home by about one. Now, here he was making himself some tomato basil soup and caprese paninis. “I would quite adore your help, actually. I’m about done with the tomato soup, but I was about to start on the paninis.”
  
  He picked up one of the slices of bread and began to brush oil on one side. “These are fairly easy to make. Just brush a bit of oil on it, add the ingredients I have here, which are mozzarella, tomato, basil leaves, and a bit of balsamic vinegar. Then grill it.” Desmond said with his head bowed down as he looked at the food spread out on the counter. When he looked up, he saw Nyx leaning down to look at his face. For a moment, he didn’t know what she was doing, and then he realized.
  
  “Oh, my apologizes. You’re right, I should look at you when I speak, shouldn’t I? Not that it’s hard to look at you.” Smiling mischievously at her, he looked back down at the food but said no more. He pointed at the grill pan. “Go ahead and add the oiled bread to the pan while I check on the soup.” He stepped away and moved to move around the tomatoes before he turned back to look at Nyx again. Seeing her finish with setting the slices of bread down, he waited until she looked at him again before speaking. “The tomatoes I sliced are simmering now, so now I’m going to puree them and then set them back down in the pot to finish cooking with the heavy cream and butter added.”
  
  As he transferred the tomatoes to the blender, he glanced back at her. “I think you can go ahead and lay the basil leaves and tomatoes on top of that bread. Then you can drip some of the balsamic vinegar, add the slices of mozzarella, and then the other slice. We can flip it in about another minute.”
  
  Finishing with the puree, he moved it back to the pot on the stove. “That’s pretty much it. Nothing too complex. I do hope you’ll join me to eat all of this food though. There is more than enough for the two of us.”
  
  He lightly stirred the pot of soup, allowing it to come back to a simmer for a few more minutes before turning it off. With most of the food nearly ready, Desmond stepped up to one of the cabinets and pulled out two bowls and two plates. “Ah and… would you care for a glass of white wine? It would go wonderfully with this meal.” With her response, he pulled out wine glasses, and moved to the wine rack that he, himself, had bought and set up in the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of chardonnay, one that had been made and bottled at his winery, he pulled off the aluminum seal and uncorked it. After pouring into the glasses, he looked back at Nyx and smiled as she finished up with the sandwiches.
  
  He handed her a glass and then held his own glass between his fingers cupped in his hand. “Should we cheer to something? I always feel like we should whenever we enjoy a glass.” Smiling, he raised his glass to her. “To good food… and great company.” He winked at her before tipping his glass to his lips and taking a drink.
  
  
▶ LOCATION Bellerose Mansion tab ┋ tab ▶ COMPANY Nyx tab ┋ tab ▶ MENTIONED Lotus, Zophia

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