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 Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 8:39 am
grim defeat
"Master," Grimshaw growls, and it's a low, guttural sound from deep within his borrowed throat. Alistaire makes another note on the paper in front of him and glances up, the eyes behind his glasses narrowing slightly as he surveys the weapon.
"What?"
"How long must I sit here?"
Alistaire draws a line connecting one word to another and smiles slightly, though it's cold and doesn't reach his eyes.
"As long as it takes. I'm observing you, after all. You're a mysterious thing; and it's nice to be able to take you out of my head from time to time." He gives a small snort, leaning back in his seat. "If anything, it's just nice to have silence in my head for once."
Grimshaw growls. "I thought you liked me," he snarls, but Alistaire is unfazed.
"I do," he says. "You and I have a mutual understanding. We work well together, which shouldn't be the case, and that is exactly why I am observing you today, trying to pick you apart. It's endlessly fascinating to me, these weapons we have."
Alistaire picks up the pen again and begins to write. Grimshaw looks slightly more mollified, but remains sharp eyed and stiff, his entire body tense as though he's waiting to pounce at any moment. There are feathers on the floor around him, and if he were not a golem, Alistaire would have thought he would have smelled like earth and blood and bones.
"Hurry up," Grimshaw grunts, and Alistaire smiles.
"I'll take as long as I need to."
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 8:49 am
ash me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies
"What is your take on relationships?"
"Depends on your definition of relationships. I like watching people, in a non-creepy sort of way. I like interacting with people and seeing what their story is. I like understanding them on a deeper level than just a casual acquaintance, but I've never really been very close to anyone, in spite of that. Understanding a person doesn't necessarily mean being close to them, after all. "
"Does that bother you?"
"Not at all. That's just how life is."
"You've been here a month now. You've interacted with a great many people. Do you think you could develop that sort of closeness with any of them?"
"Your interrogation about my personal affairs - or lack thereof - not withstanding, it's hard to tell, since I've only been here a month, and that's only four weeks. I have no idea how to gauge what anyone's definition of closeness is, but I do like a lot of people I've met so far, if that counts for anything. Some more than others, of course."
"It does. Are you a romantic?"
"Not particularly. At least I don't think so."
"I'm just trying to understand you a little better, my friend."
"I know. I appreciate you, Ace."
"As I do you, Chance."
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 12:21 pm
nay(omi)sayers
"How exactly do human wedding ceremonies go?" Naomi asks, and Ian slides a glance towards her, raising an eyebrow.
"I thought you thought that my being with Shiloh was an unnecessary distraction," he says teasingly, and she rolls her eyes and lets out a huff of breath, scowling at him. "I have already retracted my previous statement on this subject," she says, and Ian laughs.
"I know, I know, I'm just messing with you. As for the actual ceremony..." He taps a finger against the side of his face. "I'm not too sure, really. I've only ever been to my sisters' weddings, and I was too grumpy to pay too much attention to those. Plus, you know, a wedding on Deus is bound to be different." He shrugs. "I guess we'll just find someone to do the actual ceremony - there's gotta be someone somewhere that's qualified - say a few words, exchange rings, have one hell of a kiss, and voila, that's it. And then we party all night."
The last part is said with a grin that Naomi returns with an exasperated expression of her own. It softens a little, however, and she seems momentarily lost in thought before asking, "Who would you invite?"
Ian leans back in his chair, kicking his feet up on the table he's sitting at and crossing one ankle over the other. His hands are folded together over his stomach, fingers laced with each other as he contemplates the question currently posed to him.
"Quinn, of course," he says finally. "And Finn, even if all he would do is crack stupid jokes. And Jack, though I would hope he wouldn't spend the entire time making homo comments or telling me that marital bliss is a lie and the concept of marriage is an antiquated ritual."
"Was he not supportive before? When he encouraged you?" Naomi points out and Ian does recall that it was Jack who told him to calm down and just go for it when it came to proposing in the first place. He lets out a small sigh.
"That guy is hard to read," he mutters, and then says, "I'd like Oliver to come, and I know Shy would love Maebe there too. Other than that, or whoever else Shy wants to invite, and we're good." He snaps his fingers. "Oh, and Lucky! Shy's pretty close with Lucky."
He doesn't mention the fact that he wishes with all of his heart that Nevada could be there too; that he aches for her to be there to witness what will hopefully be the happiest day of his life. But even without saying it, he can tell that Naomi understands, because she gives him a straightforward look that is not quite pity, but in fact is rather gentle instead.
"It will be a beautiful day," she tells him quietly, and Ian relaxes, just a little, and nods.
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 1:42 pm
gin and tonic
Jinhai asks him for a third time how he is feeling, and for the third time Gale says he is fine.
Jinhai is not convinced.
"If you were fine, you would not be adding that to you tea," he points out, and Gale looks down at his mug, in which he has just poured a generous helping of bourbon. It has been a while since he has drunk alcohol; getting completely sloshed has never been appealing to him - especially since he usually drinks wine when he is drinking - but he feels as though he deserves something stronger for a change.
"Well...I wanted something with a bit more flavor," says Gale stubbornly, and takes a sip. The alcohol burns down his throat unpleasantly, but he swallows it anyway, the expression on his face kept determinedly casual so that the dragon in front of him does not see that he is lying through his teeth.
Jinhai frowns, but his tone is gentle. "You can't hide things from me," he says quietly. "We have been through too much together. Is this about the return of Stormy's boilfriend, or something else?"
Gale considers this, and then says, a little reluctantly. "Both. I mean. I'm dead chuffed that we're now living together, it took us a bloody long time to even get a little bit of happiness, so I can't complain there. I just sometimes wish..."
He trailed off, and Jinhai nods, because he understands, even if Gale hasn't said anything.
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 10:35 pm
ashes ashes we all fall down
Chance sits on the floor of his room and Asher sits beside him. He is looking at at a photograph of a bookstore, and they are looking at their human, pale blue eyes narrowing slightly at the distant, disconnected expression on his face. He seems to be lost entirely in thought.
Chance says nothing at all, but Asher understands.
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2014 10:04 pm
without a doubt
"Do you care?"
"No."
"Should you?"
"Probably."
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2014 10:10 pm
you missed a step
"It's crooked," says Jinhai.
"I know," says Gale, and passes the dragon an exasperated look. He's kneeling on the bed, trying to adjust the picture above the headboard so that it's just right, but he can't quite get it right. "I think the nail is crooked. Or maybe the frame is."
"Or maybe it's just you," says Jinhai with amusement, and Gale scowls at him.
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 11:49 pm
endless
"Even if you fall, I will fall with you. You know that, right?"
"I know." It's said with a touch of weariness. He casts a glance at the dragon and gives him the smallest smile. They are rare and few and far between, reserved usually for one person and one person alone. But Jinhai is a special case; he is an unbreakable bond, a partner, someone to which he is irrevocably linked to.
He is grateful for that connection.
Jinhai reaches out and smooths a hand over the a few stray strands of golden hair that have fallen over Gale's cheek. It's more reassuring than affectionate, and the fingers of the dragon's golem body feel cool against the side of Gale's face.
"Please be careful," he says, for what is probably the two hundredth time by now. They have been partners for almost four years now; there is no one that Gale trusts more, and when Jinhai tells him to be careful, it is meant to be serious.
"I'm always careful," Gale says, gently teasing in reply, and Jinhai's hand falls away, a look of mild exasperation mingled with affection on his face.
"Yes, I can tell," he says, in a voice dry with amusement. "You like the quiet life."
"I certainly do," Gale says.
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 12:13 am
drifting away
He tries to sleep. Asher sits beside him, their voice gently soothing as they stroke cold fingers through the mess of black curls. Chance thinks they feel comforting, and he allows himself to close his eyes.
"Wake me up in twenty minutes," he says, in a muffled voice, his face pressed into the pillows. "We have to get you back before the timer runs out."
Asher gives a little hum.
"Of course."
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Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2015 11:29 am
puzzle pieces
Jinhai warns him of being too much of everything - and overthinking everything, as he always does - but Gale just reminds him that he knows what he's doing.
(He really doesn't, not anymore. The blurred vision on his right side makes everything more complicated, everything more convoluted, and although he is determinedly trying to work through it, every once in a while he remembers that his sniper eyes are no longer what they were.)
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