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 Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 7:45 pm
“Yeah, but… sometimes people need a little awful in their lives.” He quipped. “Lets them appreciate all the ‘not awful’,” He hummed, thoughtful at the thought of letting Jace Rest. “We can always just camp out here for a bit, no one said we HAVE to get to the lake today, and, for your information, I’ve been practicing because someone has to return the favor for our sister. She’s always using us to practice, and if I get good at this then we can do it for her in turn. You’re down suffering through me practicing for a good cause yeah?” They both loved their little sister, and it -was- a good excuse that would let him do something small and nice in thanks to them for putting up with him.
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 8:04 pm
Jace pursed his lips but didn't protest. "Well. If you're going to be practicing to repay her for the both of us, yeah. You need all the practice you can get. Just don't tie my hair in knots."
He didn't know if he should say more, if he should just appreciate the silence and let his brother work. It wasn't uncomfortable, and the sounds of nature were soothing. No cars, no screaming, no hum of any electronics to worry about. No synthetic light, no crowded spaces.
He had stopped chewing, even, and just held the bar in his hand as he propped his elbows on his knees and relaxed.
"Maybe you're not so awful. I guess. We'll see how I feel when we get back. After I see what you've done or my hair. You--" he squinted. "...You don't want me to do your hair, do you?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 8:13 pm
“I have been trying everything on MY hair first, so if I come out with shorter hair some day, you know that I got a knot and I couldn’t get it out.” He smirked slightly, because he really would drive everyone crazy and cut a few inches off without consulting anyone. “Ah…no… no offence but I think letting you at my hair might be too close to letting you ‘teach me a lesson’ for tripping over tree roots.” He teased. “I saw this, trick in a magazine I wanted to come out here and try though, I bet you could do it anywhere but, here sounded better.” He mused. “It… they said to imagine you were standing on like, Poles, big wooden ones sunk into the ground, like stilts almost, and when you step you’re supposed to imagine settling onto the next one. I guess it’s supposed to make you feel more grounded and be more centered. I don’t figure it could hurt… maybe I’ll focus better you know?” He finished the last few twists of hair and reached a hand forward to take the hair tie back. “I figured out a fishtail braid too, you’d probably rock that one… I need to work on multiple smaller braids for Sis though.”
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 8:21 pm
Jace offered only a grunt in response and held out the hair tie as he contemplated. There was a lot to unpack in Xander's statement. Did he want to insist he didn't need to teach him a lesson for tripping? Make fun of him for still reading a magazine? Scold him for assuming he'd look good with a girl's hairstyle?
Ugh, all of it was too much energy.
"Proud of you for trying to find something to help you focus," he said instead. "I don't really think you're as stupid as you pretend to be. Don't get me wrong. I think you do dumb things all the time. But."
He pursed his lips and shrugged.
"...I'll give you credit when it's due."
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 8:35 pm
“Ahh… it’s like Q likes to say, you’re the really bright one, more than you give yourself credit for.” He gave a small tug on the braid and then moved to collapse on the log beside Jace. “If you’re really bored, I will let you practice on my hair in the name of our sister though.” He grinned and offered up the comb.
“… That said if you don’t think I’m dumb, I just not as bright as my Brother, you have some real talent. You’re already a diamond you’re just still under all that pressure.” He tugged the end of the braid one more time and wagged the comb before making like it might vanish again if not taken. “… I wonder if in another time line, maybe my family adopted you and sis… I wonder who we would have been if that had been the way things went.”
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 8:59 pm
Jace snatched the comb from his fingers and huffed, removing the hair tie from his brother's hair with far more gentleness than he did his own. He wasn't bored; he had been perfectly content to sit there and soak up the sunlight. He had finished the snack and shoved the trash back into the bag; he brushed his fingers off on the side of his pants to make sure there were no crumbs, and carefully detangled his brother's hair with his fingers before carefully combing through his hair.
He wasn't ignoring what Xander had said, he was just mulling it over--and putting far more effort into gently combing his hair. He had a bad enough reputation already for being a bit aggressive when solving problems--and knotted hair was certainly a problem. He wasn't going to yank a bald spot in the back of his brother's head. Not today, at least.
He was almost glad that Xander's mind had wandered before he could comment on anything else he'd said; he and his brother gave each other a lot of s**t, but he'd never thought it came from a bad place. Compliments weren't aplenty in their house, and he found himself always suspicious when presented with something that even sounded close to one.
"Maybe," he finally answered.
He didn't have any idea who they would be. So much of his own personality was constructed by his mother that when he tried to imagine who he would be without her influence, he hit a brick wall. Who would he have been without her?
"...I can't imagine mom dying," he said after a few seconds. "...She sort of seems like the type who would get into an argument with Death and win. She definitely doesn't take 'No' for an answer. So. If something happened in another timeline, I'm pretty sure her ghost would still haunt us. So we'd probably be the same. I don't really know all that much about your parents, though. Dad doesn't talk about them with me, only you. Do you think you'd be that different if they were around?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 9:11 pm
“That… thats very fair. Hell… she’d probably take his…his…” He made a sweeping motion with his hand. “Scythe!” He declared at last. “And like… beat death with it till he gave up, and She’d probably quote law at him the whole time.” “Mmm…” He let his shoulders show the relaxation of letting someone play with his hair. “…I don’t know.” he admitted after a long moment. “… Probably not. I… like, I think there are some things that are just, too hard wired into how I act you know? I mean… other than I think even if things hand’t played out the way they had, I’d still have been…me, which is why I think we would absolutely have been friends.” He reached and tapped on Jace’s shoe to make his point.
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 9:24 pm
"I guess," he sighed heavily, tugging his shoe away out of instinct as he continued to carefully comb Xander's hair. The enthusiasm of Xander's previous answer had drawn a half smile onto Jace's face and he continued to diligently work on smoothing his hair. "Well. Even if you are annoying. I like you the way you are. Mostly."
It was more sentimental than he was usually inclined to be, and he shifted positions immediately and tugged on Xander's hair with a bit more force than necessary, as if to distract him from what he'd said.
"You make me worry when you talk like this. Are you sure everything's all right? --Is someone giving you a hard time?" He shifted on the log, propping himself up on his knee to get into a better position to braid, and also to make sure he could see Xander's face enough to make sure he wasn't lying.
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 9:32 pm
He tipped slightly back towards the tug, unexpected counterbalance to his own relaxation and did a half pinwheel, though trying hard to make sure he didn’t smack Jace in the process. “EEERK…” He exclaimed. “No, no no… I’m good! You know me, Sometimes I just wander off on stupid thought chains!” He waved a hand like it wasn’t actually a thing that led down all sorts of ‘thought chains’ for better or worse. He put both his hands palm up under his chin as though to emphasize his innocence. “Do I look like I’m jerking your chain? Look at my face, I’m the soul of honesty…and like, awkwardness, but I’m working on that!”
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 9:45 pm
Jace squinted again, like the scrutiny would unveil some hidden secret. He simply eyed Xander for a long moment before he finally relented. He shrugged, and then lightly smoothed down his hair before he set the comb down and parted the hair. He was so used to quick, tight braids, that it was a bit of a struggle to tie a loose, comfortable one.
But, Xander had done the same for him, and he couldn't be indebted for any reason.
"Oh, whatever. You're so full of it. You know--if Q put you up to all of this and this is just her working through you, I'm going to go home and ignore both of you. At least, until I get this essay done. How does that feel?" he asked of the braid, suddenly; he had paused in the end, almost ready to tie it but needing approval before doing so. "--Too tight?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 9:54 pm
“Believe me, I couldn’t hope to channel even HALF of what Q can manage. “I promise, Q only put me on to making sure you didn’t and I quote… ‘Scalp yourself due to stress’, I said I’d do it when I could, and NOT when doing it would get us both in trouble for making you less than presentable.” He put his hands up in the air like he was surrendering. “And no! No… that’s perfect, that feels better than what I had.” He said earnestly. “Besides, you know if I didn’t do the hair thing she’d come after me with those… NEEDLES.” He shuddered. “I know that its like, a family thing but… I don’t want to be on the wrong side of those.” He laughed.
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 10:11 pm
He snorted in response. "...I don't know why you all are obsessed with my hair. It's not that bad." He reached to touch his forehead though, now a little more self conscious bout his hairline than he wanted to admit.
His hands were back on Xander's hair only a second later and he finished tying it off before drawing back, reaching for the water in his pack. He didn't want to admit how much he missed the other two but it was only a matter of time before he had his phone in his hands again and was unlocking it. "Speaking of family things, I have no idea how she and Nelson are related. They're polar opposites. Are you texting Nelson enough? If Q thinks you're ignoring him, you will be on the wrong side of her needles."
He opened his phone finally, ignoring the few emails he had from school and the study tips they kept shoving down his throat and instead going straight to his text messages.
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 10:18 pm
“She says it causes headaches.” he shrugged. “She also says something about being able to cure those with needles in your -ears- but i would…rather just redo your braid once in a while for practice than see needles in your ears, no offence.” He glanced a bit at the idea of needles for not texting enough. “I am I am!!…I’d better send him a picture too in case she thinks there isn’t enough…parity or whatever.” He laughed. “Here! Say cheese!” He didn’t command a smile, just the glance towards the camera as he fished out his phone and too his own picture of both of them with their hair, done very neatly for a pair out in the middle of the woods. There was a new message from Q- which said “You probably weren’t before I told you to!!!” but it was at least followed by a screen shot of her in front of some glass canisters with some curious contents, powders and leaves and things. Probably out with her mother, sometimes on her own but, given the nature of the trip. “MoneyPenny” as Q had so determinedly nicknamed him - had send back a string of Crying Emoji that said ‘You’re right you’re right, I don’t know where he got some of this, I don’t know how I’ll survive!! and another…eight crying emoji.
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2020 10:42 pm
Jace was nearly still grimacing at the thought of needles in his ears when Xander took the picture; he only barely managed to not look absolutely disgusted by the time the camera snapped the shot.
"Plenty of things cause headaches," he countered. Like not sleeping enough, and staring at your computer screen for too long, and drinking coffee, and not eating enough, and stressing over little things. "Like, you."
Another little smile appeared on his face at the text messages, and he turned away just slightly as if to hide such from his brother--especially when he still had his camera out.
To Q, 'Maybe. We went out for a hike. Not dead yet. I've breathed at least three times since then. Stop telling Xander to mess with my hair. I think I have to lock my room before I go to bed so he doesn't do something weird to it while I sleep.' He paused, wanted to say more, and then just settled on, 'Hope you're not working too hard out there.'
The second message had him smile a little more, though perhaps it was only because of the sheer over-the-top nature of the response. That, and he did like being right. 'Send pictures. Tell him you're taking notes. Give me a detailed report in case I want to pick up cage fighting. Might look good on my resume.'
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Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2020 6:06 am
“Okay but, to me that sounds like most of your life, including me, is a headache and maybe she’s got a point trying to remove a source of them. It’s kind of like watching waves fight a cliff.” He looked amused “Over time the waves are going to win but the cliff sure is going to be stubborn about it.” He watched as the faint smile appeared for the text messages and grinned, sending one more of his own. Q’s reply was quick, not shocking she could type at alarming speeds even on a phone touch screen. - I will not tell him to stop, consider him a faulty dispenser for me fussing at you. I have already made threats to his continued existence. I will not retract them now. -stern emoji- (here though she had typed out the words, stern emoji, it was followed with an actual emoji of a knife but it was a persistent quirk. A pause and three dots as she added more. “If you weren’t currently hiking I’d scold you for the gal of scolding me about working too hard. Do you want a souvenir? From your other friend you got a mix of shocked and crying emoji. And then a message - ‘So cruel! You were right, I should have faked the kidney stone!! He looked like hw might just carry me here regardless though. *more sob emoji* 007, he has slides with costume designs!! I’ve seen more fabric on a lingerie catalog!! - a mix of horror and crying emoji followed. A long pause and then dots again, probably having nearly been caught paying attention to something other than the slides. - If you’re so mean I’ll make him do a slide show for you too!! So cruel! ... ah, he says . Hello.
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