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 Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 12:43 pm
Who: Dee (Aric Val) and Grey (Chrystali)
When: Mid-afternoon
Where: The alley behind Grey's workplace
Weather: It's warm, but the long shadows cast in the alley give it a cool air
Grey's smoke breaks were becoming more frequent. It wasn't so bad when he was working and could get lost in the bright sear of the flame and the thrum of the metal machines around him, but he was never truly left to his own devices: there were interruptions from co-workers, clients, his own needs to satisfy hunger or the bathroom and once he was brought out of his reverie of work, he'd remember the glowing dream catcher in the pouch against his hip. Then, it didn't matter why he'd been interrupted, as his thoughts would be glued to the object away from sight and he'd be unable to focus on little else. It had been happening for days now, and with that concentration came the anxiety - and with the anxiety, came the smoking.
He found himself outside again, a light sweat on his skin that felt almost chilling in the shadows of the alley. He wasn't sure if he felt hot because of his work or because he was on the cusp of an anxiety attack, but either way, he was trying his damndest to keep himself as composed as possible, his pale hair in a high tail to keep it off his neck. It was halfway through his lunch break, and rather than simply smoking a cigarette, he was indulging in his more languid smoke of a cigar, leaning against the wall and slowly curling the thick smoke over his tongue and blowing equally thick smoke rings. They just reminded him of the catcher, but the taste of his guilty pleasure brought him at least some measure of comfort.
Having already eaten a quick sandwich and played with Ajax for twenty minutes, he intended to spend the last half hour rolling the smoke through his senses until he was utterly at ease for the rest of the day. Grey made a mental note to try and switch his work schedule to a later one so he wouldn't have to deal with interruptions and could just work and not think. Even as he told himself that, his free hand slid subconsciously to the pouch concealed on his hip by the top-down coveralls, drumming his fingers over the leather stitching.
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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 3:52 pm
In his hands he gripped the newly bought carton of cigarettes, still wrapped in plastic and the price tag scratched off. Dee hoped the brand would please Grey, after all, it was the brand he saw the other man smoking a few days ago when they had first met.
The days had been even more nerve-wracking for the violinist as usual, suddenly more shows to play -- which was always good but he was distracted by the dreamcatcher that was tucked carefully on the inside of his violin case. Even as the musician was going through his notes, each stroke of the bow, he was terrified for the spirit to suddenly pop out unexpectedly.
He was in a deep maroon button up shirt this time, his slightly worn navy jacket on top but otherwise he looked certainly sharper than most people that walked the street -- cept for his unruly wavy hair which still insisted on falling on his face even as most was swept away into a small bun at his nape.
He breathed deeply, one hand carrying his case and one hand with the pack, going over to that one building where he had met the one who carried a dreamcatcher just like him. It was a little dark, but it was unmistakable that he saw a puff of smoke coming from the alley, a little skip in his heart when he had hope that it was Grey that was there. And meekly he peeked into the alley, that little skip in his chest turned into a crowd of butterflies in his stomach, oh God, damn.
"Grey," he said so faint that he wouldn't be surprised if Grey didn't hear him before he stepped into the alley, biting his bottom lip as he took in the form of the man, and the hazy thick smoke that emanated from him. It was strangely comforting.
"Thank you, just -- in return for last time." Dee said vaguely, handing the pack quickly onto Grey and turning his heels.
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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 4:29 pm
He did not, in fact, hear the sound of his name whispered into the alley, watching the smoke escape his lips in lazy plumes. Grey did notice the approach of someone on his left and, turning his head with only a half-interest, his demeanor immediately changed when he recognized the other man: his eyes widened a touch and his brows lifted, his posture straightening and pushing himself off the wall. Removing the cigar, he murmured in surprise, "Dee!" And before the violinist reached him, he was facing the other man, expression something like neutral with a gentle touch of being pleased.
Before he could say anything, Dee actually spoke up first, further surprising him. He stared in dumb shock as the musician stuck a pack of his favorite cigarettes in his free hand, not quite understanding. It took him several seconds of staring at it to even register what the other had said, and as he raised his eyes to say something, he was again at a loss as Dee was already on the retreat. Never in all his days had someone shown up to just gift him a box of cigarettes and leave. Not even a 'how do you do' or a 'bye,' just...leaving!
Grey gathered his wits quickly and before Dee was too far from him, he reached out and seized the other man's shoulder, holding him firm and attempting to turn him back around before quickly releasing him again. He had a dozen questions and things he wanted to say, but all he could do was stare at the other in his severe way, one brow cocked higher than the other, lips slightly parted with surprise as the box was lightly bounced in his hand. Finally, he held up the cigarettes, looking between the box and Dee's face, uttering an utterly baffled, "What?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 5:19 pm
He breathed out in relief mixed with fear when he felt the hand on his shoulder, facing the baffled man now with his mismatched eyes, blinking up at him in confusion. He really didn't want to leave just like that but -- what was he to say, really? Maybe the other man had better things to do with his time, not that he could blame him.
"What?" Dee echoed the word, eyes looking down to the box and to Grey's face, the two of them looking a little comedic in their similar actions though the musician was more wide-eyed than the other for sure. "Cigarettes," he stated, eyes shyly looking down for a moment before looking back at the mechanic again. "Because you gave me one last time, so I just figured ..." he trailed away, giving Grey a small, unsure smile. "Ah, maybe you'd prefer cigars?"
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Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 11:35 am
"Yes," he drew out the word as though mulling it over, "I'm aware of what they are, Dee." He looked even more baffled as the man continued on and, shaking his head, he lightly tapped the box of cigarettes with his index finger, his cigar's embers smoldering a bit more. "It was one cigarette -- what do you do for people who buy you a drink? Get them a case?"
Waving off the comment of the cigar, he tucked his own against his teeth, unwrapping the cigarettes. He spoke around the piece in his mouth with ease, many years of experience in doing so ensuring he was easy to understand. "Unless you know cigars, I don't want you to try and buy them. I'm ridiculously picky about them and they're too expensive to get the wrong type." It was a little harsh, but it was true. With the pack unwrapped, he smacked it against the palm of his hand a few times before flicking his wrist, one cigarette perfectly halfway out of the container. It was this that he aimed towards Dee, expression placid.
"You're just going to have to come 'round and help me smoke these. Wouldn't feel right to accept a pack for a single drag." He paused, his tongue briefly working over the back of his teeth and the butt of his cigar. Removing it from his mouth with his free hand, he pursed his lips to the side to blow out the smoke, not wanting to expel it in Dee's face. "Besides, we can catch up a little. Like...your catcher. How's that going?" No small talk this time, just a cut to the chase. Even if nothing had happened with Dee, he wanted to talk about his own -- and the fact it was glowing.
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 9:59 am
"Uh... no." He felt a little silly for giving Grey the pack then, but his real reason wasn't really to repay him for the cigarette anyway. "I just wanted to get you something." Dee said afterwards, biting his bottom lip for a moment as he listened to the larger man. Indeed he had no idea about cigars other than they were big and supposedly tasty. No wonder the other man liked them, he supposed.
And now what? His eyes looked over to Grey who was fiddling with the box, he really, really wanted to talk to him more, about the dreamcatcher and not about the dreamcatcher. Just the fact that the other man was going through sort of the same thing than him was comforting in itself, immediately around Grey he thought that he wasn't alone in this at least.
"...Wha-?" he paused, looking up to Grey, he almost left again, just for the reason that he didn't know what to say but thankfully he spoke again. "I can help you smoke them, yes." He smiled subtly, sort of getting that it was a roundabout way of Grey being nice -- he liked it.
"May I have one?" Dee boldly took a step forward, inching closer to the pack of cigarettes. "Ah, the catcher--" That took him slightly by surprise, shrugging his shoulders. "It's... going... Still strange, weightless --" happy dreams, the happiest he's ever felt in a long time. "-- weird dreams. But nothing has actually happened... yet. And you?"
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 10:55 pm
"That's the idea," he responded with a lift of a brow at Dee's question, again giving the box in his hand a slight jarring motion to indicate he better damn well take one. Only when one was removed did he tuck the box in the fold of his overalls, instead removing an oblong fan-shaped item with a circle cut out of the middle. He put the tip of his cigar in it, pushed the fan tips and neatly cut the burning edge off. Tucking both the item and the cigar away, he again procured the cigarette box and took one for himself, using a lighter to offer Dee a light.
After he lit his own cigarette, it was only then he saw fit to respond, blowing out the significantly thinner smoke. "Mine is glowing." Grey pursed his lips to the side, made a soft 'tsk' sound and shook his head as if the words didn't quite taste right in his mouth. "It's not overly visible but it's got this uh..." he waved his hand around with the cigarette, dark brows knit close together, "...kinda seafoam glow to it. Very soft. S'just weird." He didn't really know what to say if Dee's was still normal. There was no way to compare notes or seek affirmation that things were still on track. "Makes me nervous." He shook his head again and took in another deep drag, eyes distance down the alleyway.
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 11:26 pm
Dee obediently took a cigarette when Grey held the box out to him, idly fiddling with it as he listened to the man. "Yeah--yeah! Mine too--" he paused making a motion with his hand, "Like, some kind of aura around it-- mine's kind of a gentle green-blue-- kind of like the sky. It's --weird, right?" He looked over to Grey, looking at him as if asking confirmation that he wasn't crazy.
"I have no idea what's going to happen, I hate that." He said honestly, breathing out as if he had a huge load on his back and finally got a moment of rest. He got a little nervous talking about the dream catcher again, rubbing the cigarrette between his fingers and leaning towards the other in a gesture to ask for a light, putting the stick in his mouth.
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 11:38 pm
Grey paused, lips taut around the cigarette. He removed it, speaking in plumes of smoke, "So it did change?" There was something like relief in his voice, but barely so, because now there was a different reality to contend with -- things were on track and neither of them felt any the better for it. Pushing his pale hair over his shoulder, he frowned, biting the inside of his lip in consideration. They'd been warned about Oneroi, but there were no amount of warnings or words in the world that would prepare them for this, not really.
He lit the cigarette when prompted and put the lighter away, putting his own piece back between his lips. "Maybe the color has something to do with the dream?" Grey paused. Nope, that was way too personal. "Maybe it has to do with that talisman Granny hooked in it." Maybe it's a color of the spirit itself. Exhaling slowly through his nose, he had to not psyche himself out in front of Dee; both of them panicking would definitely be a disservice at that point.
"Look, this whole business is really heavy...would it be too forward of me to ask if you have a number I can reach you at?" Grey still wore his frown, brows tight knit, expression severe. He looked more like he was sentencing someone to death than asking for their phone number. Pulling out his cell phone from his hip, he unlocked the screen with a calloused thumb and handed it over to Dee. "If s**t hits the fan, I can't exactly call the cops and I don't know if I could run to Granny's fast enough."
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 11:47 pm
Taking a deep inhale of the cigarette, he listened carefully, then taking it out of his mouth and exhaling the cloudy smoke before he spoke. "Not yet." Yet was right, it still sent Dee on the edge knowing that the dream catcher would become something else. When would it happen? In broad daylight when he was on the streets? In the middle of the night? Or even right in the middle of the stage in one of his shows. He wasn't sure if he wanted it to happen fast or for it to take its time.
"Why, is yours something with the sea?" he paused then, also realizing asking about the dream wouldn't be the right move, after all he was hesitant to share his. "Maybe, something Granny did definitely --changed it even a little-- I have no idea what's happening, god." He said a little exasperated, taking another breath of the cigarette.
And when Grey started to hand him the phone, his hands started to motion towards the phone in confusion before he realized what Grey had just said, mouth agape. Of course because of this the cigarette in his mouth tipped on his lips, falling to the ground.
"Ahh f*uck--ah--don't worry about that--" He was very embarrassed then, though taking the cellphone in his hands, blinking at it. "My number yeah, sure." He fiddled with the keys carelessly for a moment before he grew quiet, mismatched eyes slowly looking over to Grey. "Um--I accidentally clicked something..."
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