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BRRRING BRRRING << Alex's phone

Alex: *the other end picks up, a bit of scuffling heard; Zul's voice is in the background, something about a tinkle-thing, and Alex replying with exhasperation to just hand it over; after a moment, her voice is more clear* This is Alex.

Aphi: *blinks at the first part, floundering a bit once the phone is REALLY picked up* Ah, uhm.... Um, A-Alex? It's Aphismet. Delaran. It's Aphi...

Alex: *a clattering of pots is heard followed by a quick, short explictive* Aphi! Hey, I know who you are, silly. *laughs pleasantly, her tone surprised but pleased* To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?

Aphi: *chuckles at the other end, sounding rather at a loss* Ah, there's nothing in p-par... particular... Uhm, w-we... Remember we talked about going somewhere? Well I uh, I thought we could do that this weekend? If you're not busy? Although if you're busy that's okay, we can wait...

Alex: No! Not busy! *the grin in her voice is clear* I'd love to, really! I was just thinking it'd been too long since we ran into each other. *she pauses for a moment, not really knowing the right questions to ask* Um, what was the name? 'm sorry, must have forgotten in my excitement over you being a chef. *embarrssed giggling follows her words*

Aphi: Ah, The Crystal Carafe. I kind of, uhm... I was told there was a spot on Saturday at 7pm, would that be okay? We can meet in the restaurant lobby, so you'd just have to go into the Durem Hotel and take the elevator to the top and I'll be waiting there. Is that o-okay? *feels a little more confident as he hears the enthusiasm in her voice.*

Alex: *sucks in a small breath, paper flipping as she checks her calender; when she speaks, her tone is joyous* Saturday at 7pm, Crystal Carafe! Sure thing Aphi, it's a date. *makes a soft, strangled sound of embarrassment before she laughs at herself*

Aphi: *laughs a little nervously at the mention of "date" even though he was the first one to say it before.* Sure, Alex! Dress nice, the restaurant is five-star and whatnot... I'll have to wear a tie, hahah. Uhm, w-well, I gotta go. See you on Saturday, in the restaurant lobby!

Alex: *rather than alert him to her own half-scrambled attempts at impressing him, she only laughed again, a happy sound* Looking forward to that then. *teases him lightly* See you Saturday, Aphismet.

Aphi: Yes! B-byebye! *hangs up*
Offscreen, in Delaran house: APHI: D8!!!!! OMG she said yes. *flops onto sofa* 8|

This smelled of guilt, for some reason. Rivener frowned at the wrapped package from Ebony Shade, glaring at it as though waiting for it to explain itself. He'd taken his half of the gifts and left the other for Eiry. The strange long box now sat on the Scorpion's bed, staring at him with that striped motif.

She had to have sent this because of what she'd almost put them all through, nearly having Aphismet killed on that crazy half-cocked "cave exploring adventure" of hers. She'd yet to really redeem herself in Rivener's eyes, although he was still more pissed at himself for not realizing this was about to happen... And now the woman thought she would buy back the Sigel's feelings with a gift? Well, it better be a DAMNED GOOD GIFT if she thought it would be enough! She needed to grovel and beg for forgiveness for another few years, Riv thought! There's no way a simple present would be enough!

Growling softly, gritting his teeth, Riv decided to get this farce over with. Clawed fingers grabbed for the present harshly and yanked it closer, ripping up the wrapping with righteous fury. "If she thinks I'm going to forgive her over some damned gift, she's got another-... thing-... Whoa."

Rivener's whole demeanor changed. He held the previously offending box like a precious thing now, staring at it with wide red eyes. "No way."



Rivener forgave Ebony Shade.

"Doesn't look like anyone's home, Riv."

Rivener glared balefully over his shoulder at the white-haired chef. "I'm not blind, I can see that." They'd knocked, they'd rung the doorbell, Riv had even tried looking through a door window that was covered by a curtain. The absence of Alex's truck was their first clue, but the complete silence that answered Rivener's very persistent, very loud calls for Anyone Hoooome?? was the nail in the coffin.

"That's what happens when you don't call ahead..."

"Alright, okay, fine. ...Help me out, then. Find some small pebbles, like... like this big." Riv lifted a small rock from the ground to demonstrate, setting to building a little pile of them, picking and choosing from the stones along the home's front walkway. With a tolerant sigh Aphismet had complied, bringing a handful at a time until there seemed to be enough. "That should do," Riv said, moving eagerly to the front doorstep and carefully writing out in rocks:



The flower was placed just below the step, and another small pile of rocks was added on top of the stem to make sure the wind wouldn't push the flower away. The Scorpion floated back, examining his handiwork with a faint smile. "...Do you think it'll survive the wind?"

"...I'm sure it'll be fine, Riv. Come on, then, let's go home. You can call him tomorrow or something to see if he got it." The chef placed a hand at his Raevan's back, guiding him to the car. Like Alex had when she'd watched Zul listen to Rivener's phone message, Aphismet now began to wonder what exactly this was between the two floating bodies...

[[Duplicated from Chrystali's Journal]]

It had been what, two or three days since Rivener had left the flower. After the first night, Riv had been waiting anxiously for some kind of message from Zul, some kind of sign that he'd gotten the flower. When no such message came, Rivener wondered if he should call himself. ...He didn't want to seem desperate or clingy or anything, and so he'd forced himself to wait a whole other day, his insides twisting into nervous knots the entire time. Finally he'd picked up the phone and dialed the dreaded number, wondering if he hoped someone would answer or not.

After a few rings, the tell-tale click of the machine sent a soft disappointment through the Scorpion, and he frowned in concern.



Feeling a little bit lighter, glad he hadn't made too much a fool of himself, Rivener hung up and stared at the receiver, almost wanting it to ring. Ten minutes later, deciding that wasn't going to happen right away, Riv sighed and moved over to the couch, intent on distracting himself with television.

Rivener clutched at the answering machine, red eyes wide and teeth grit. GAH, he'd just stepped out of the house for all of twenty minutes, and it was during that short absence that Zul had called?! How unfair! Rivener wanted to talk to him, dammit! Huffing lightly, the Scorpion played the message again, wondering if it would be too eager of him to call the demon-frei back right away.

Zul sounded... strange. Well, firstly, his grammar and the make of his sentences was so much better than Riv was used to hearing. It was full, and vibrant, and it all made the Sigel shudder with barely-contained happiness. He wondered if the younger Raevan was making an effort? Or had he grown and simply started using more words?? Or was it just Rivener's wishful thinking that he might be special?

Besides the improved grammar, there was an unspoken weight to the demon's voice. A lot had happened, Zul said. A hard time had ended. ...What exactly had happened? Why had Zul been gone so long? The final plea of "can we meet up soon?" pulled at Rivener's heart strings, causing the frustrated Sigel to whimper lightly and knot his eyebrows up. Yes, yes! Riv wanted to go see Zul right this instant and find out what happened, console him if need be!

"Aphismet!" Riv called, abandoning the machine and zooming into the kitchen, his guardian's usual haunt. Without waiting for the man to fully turn around from where he was washing dishes, Riv launched into his excited questions. "Can we go see Zul and Alex? Please? Zul left a message, they finally got back, he says they went through some hard times... You should go, since you and Alex are like, really friendly now, right? You should go find out if she needs someone to talk to! And I wanna see Zul, I wanna see him SO much... If you won't go with me, I'll go on my own, Aphi, I'm serious, you HAVE to go, can we?"

Dizzy from the sudden rush of questions, Aphismet raised both soap-drenched hands, staving off more words. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... Slow down a minute. Alex and Zul went through some hard times? ...Hunh." Strange how a soft pang of pain shot through Aphi's chest at the news. He'd thought-... he'd thought that maybe he and Alex... But apparently not, they were just friends, right. Why would Alex tell him when she was having troubles? There was no reason to. Still, the chef felt himself lose his smile a tiny bit.

"...I suppose we could go visit soon, if it's alright with them..."

"Alex already told Zul that it was okay!"

"Then, uh... okay, sure."

"I'll call to set it up! Thanks Aphi!" Grinning happily, unaware that his guardian's mood wasn't similarly soaring just yet, Rivener zoomed back to the phone and picked up the receiver, dialing Zul's number enthusiastically. Given their luck, Riv would get the answering machine... But that was okay! He already knew what he'd say!

[[Reserved for Aphi/Riv and Alex/Zul's meeting!]]