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 Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2017 9:57 pm
”Holy smokes you’re tall,” was the only thing Charlie Durand could think to squeak when she nearly ran head first into a man carrying a camera, nearly fumbling the large bouquet of flower molded from fabric in one arm, and a large pink smoothie drink held in her other hand. That was what she got for not paying attention to where she was going, and trying to multitask. Thankfully her classes for the day were over and she was just grabbing something for lunch before heading back to the dorms.
“I’m so sorry, are you okay?” she gaped, shaking her head to knock the earbuds from her ears, unable to pull them out with her hands so she could hear him. She practically had to step back to look up at him! She was pretty sure she didn’t run into him, but it was better to cover all her bases. She wore a red flowered fuzzy headband over her forehead and ears to keep out the cold, an old pink backpack over her shoulders, and a puffy black jacket with fake fur around the hood. And of course jeans and yellow, paint splattered sneakers.
“Are you a photography major?” she couldn’t help but ask, eyeing his camera, green eyes sparkling with interest and curiosity as she peered around the overly large faux flowers, her silver blonde hair falling over her shoulder as she tilted her head. “I’m in the art department!”
Okay, so she was probably talking way too much to a random stranger that she’d never seen before. And it was probably awkward for him, too. She chewed nervously on her lip as she grinned up at him, and then tried to shuffle her flowers and smoothie in her arms to free up her cold hand, holding it out to him in greeting.
“I’m Charlie! You know, in case we ever run into each other again! Just not literally!”
Yeah, that was good. Totally not weird or awkward at all. A plus.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2017 10:35 pm
Tristian had been fiddling with the settings on his camera, adjusting his lens when he had almost been run into. He caught sight of a small woman in the edges of his vision, eyes of emerald green snapping up when she squeaked, and tilted his head curious at her.
Immediately, her words gave him a sudden wave of deja vu that hit him hard and heavy in the chest.
He understood what she had said and had understood that she was speaking english, but his response was automatic and in the language that seemed to be persistently at the forefront of his brain ever since he had woken in that church with a handfuls of scattered memories and a dead body cradled to his chest. "Qu'avez-vous dit?" He blinked several times afterwards, squinting slightly as she continued to speak, taking a moment to give her a once over.
She certainly wore much warmer clothing than he did, what with his long sleeve button up and sweater pulled over it, jeans and a decently warm hoodie. On his hands were fingerless gloves, so he could keep them warm enough and still be able to fine tune his camera.
Tris stared at her extended hand for too long before he shifted his grip on his camera, grateful for the neck strap before taking his hand. "Tristian," he introduced, offering her a tentative grin. "Je suis désolé," he sighed, shuffling from foot to foot in his own bout of awkwardness. "I forget...english.." He waved a hand about as if it would explain the mess of a person he would.
Without realizing it, he was leaning forward, staring at her a bit more intently before he lifted his camera towards his eye and nodded at her. "Would you...mind?" He asked, hoping she would allow him to take a few pictures. "You would make a lovely subject."
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2017 12:23 pm
Charlie stared up at the man as he responded, not in English, but in French. For a moment, he seemed as though he didn’t quite understand what she was saying, but eventually replied with an offer of what she could only assume was his name as he shook her hand and offered her a grin.
“Ce n'est pas - un problème,” she struggled slightly with a shake of her head, her eyes wide with wonder, hoping she was remembering her classes correctly. She was nowhere near fluent, but she remembered some words and phrases! “Are you not from here?” she asked in awe, although her attention was drawn to his camera and she immediately ducked behind her bouquet.
“O-oh my gosh, you shouldn’t waste your film on me. Or is it digital? Then memory space,” she squeaked again, taking a step back and nearly dropping everything in her hands in her attempt to deter him from taking any pictures of her, trying to ignore the heat in her face, even as she was fully aware that as a photographer he most likely took pictures of people all the time. Still, she would rather her art be photographed than herself.
“You know, there’s a lot of people around campus who’d be great to take pictures of!” she tried, not feeling shy as not really thinking she’d be that great of an art subject. Okay and a little shy. And awkward. Mostly awkward.
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2017 1:37 pm
French spilled from her lips and Tristian seemed to brighten almost immediately at the recognition. "Parlez-vous français?" He asked, eager to know if maybe he wouldn't have to struggle and think too much about the immediate french-before-english that his brain had reverted to once he had settled into this new skin and glamour. At the question he frowned, waved a hand in the air because he had no idea how to explain that yes, he wasn't from Destiny City, but no he didn't really know where he was from because he didn't exist. Instead he said, "C'est difficile à expliquer," and shrugged his shoulders.
His green-eyed gaze dropped back down to the camera, who's settings he fiddled with a little bit before lifting it to his face and peering behind the window to look at Charlie as he hid behind her bouquet. There was adjusting of the lens and a click of the shutter before he lowered it, head titling in consideration.
"There's beauty right in front of me," he said, words coming out slowly like he had to think too hard to remember what the phrasing and words needed to be in english instead of the automatic french filtering. His accent was slight, a sign that he'd lived in the states far longer than he had abroad, but there none-the-less. As she stumbled, Tristian stepped froward, camera falling against his chest as he reached his hand out to catch any of her belongings as they should fall.
Again, he smiled tentatively at her, clearly confused by her reasons for refusal. "Ah, I...I apologize," he said, stumbling over his words. "I did not...mean to...intrude." But he certainly looked rather dejected by the fact that she was turning him down.
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 3:03 pm
Tristian had lovely eyes, so when his expression brightened and asked if she spoke French, Charlie couldn’t help the flush that darkened her cheeks. “Juste un peu,” she said sheepishly, hoping she wouldn’t be quizzed too extensively. In return, she didn’t press him any further about where he was from, figuring it just wasn’t something he wanted to talk about to a complete stranger.
Ah, and then he had to go and look so confused and still so nice about it and obviously wasn’t happy that he might have upset her.
“No no, it’s really not your fault,” she quickly lowered her bouquet and drink to explain, looking up at him with wide eyes. He reminded her of a friend she hadn’t seen in… too long. Her heart twisting a little as she fought with herself because he was being very kind to her even when he didn’t have to be.
“You… you’re not intruding,” she tried again, biting nervously at her lip, “Je suis désolé. You can if you want. Take a picture, I mean,” she tried, slowly lowering her bouquet so she could… pose or… whatever he needed for her to do.
“Do… you just want me to stand here?” she asked, figuring this was what she got for rarely wearing makeup and was definitely not wearing any that day. Her hair was probably a mess and probably had bits of fabric or fur. But he was so nice, she couldn’t help but want to do what he’d requested.
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 3:43 pm
He really wished that he could have caught her cheeks flushing on camera, because little candid things like that were the type of photographs he strived for. Tristian savored those moments the most because they reminded him that the world was alive and buzzing with potential memories and people that he would have liked to know, if he thought he could stop hiding behind his camera lens.
"Pas de souci!" He replied easily, waving a hand to brush it all aside. Sure, he would have preferred to continue the conversation in French but was also content to try and converse in the more universal language that was English. Mildly embarrassed, Tristian returned to fiddling with his camera, waiting for her to tell him that it was nice to meet him but that she had to leave.
When she, instead, told him it was fine to take pictures, he was looking up in surprise, blinking several times before the large smile broke out on his face. "I would like to," he said soft and slowly, lifting the camera to try and catch the first, true flash of her face and expression.
"Ah, we should get off the sidewalk." He had realized that people were diverting around them, some looking awfully annoyed at the amount of space they were taking up. He offered her his hand and gestured towards the open expanse of grass not too far from where they stood. It was a little side part of a cafe with a lone tree sprouting from behind a tiny black fence. "This way?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2017 8:43 pm
Charlie wasn’t sure what happened. Maybe she’d suddenly died; hit by a bus or something drastic. All she knew was that the air was suddenly gone from her lungs and she stared, wide eyed and open mouthed at the brilliant, beautiful smile this man was showing her.
And less than a second later, the realization of her staring at him caught up with her, and she could feel her face burning and quickly looked away, her bouquet lifted to once again block him from being able to see her stupid red face.
“Y-yeah was can move off the sidewalk that’s fine that’ll be great just getting off the sidewalk now because that’s more reasonable and less people in the background for pictures and things like that,” she rambled, and for a moment just stared, dumbfounded, at his offered hand. Cautiously, as if she wasn’t sure, she reached out to take it, biting nervously at her lip as he lead the way towards the grassy area out of the way.
“Y-yeah okay that’s a good idea,” she continued, absolutely sure that he could feel her stupid hand shaking because people didn’t just smile like that at her. Because it seemed like that was something special and precious, reserved for important people, and not some ragamuffin nobody like her.
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Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2017 9:56 pm
That wide-eyed, open-mouth awed expression was the one that he managed to capture on film. Without a doubt in his mind, Tristan knew he would enjoy spending the time developing and printing it, hopefully to show her what he thought was a beautiful moment. His camera's shutter snapped a second time, capturing the way she tried to hide her face.
Charlie's flush had him lowering the camera and tilting his head in consideration, but then her hand was in his and he wrapped his fingers around it.
"Don't worry," he said slowly, words feeling clunkier than they should have coming out of his mouth but readjusting to English first, French second was harder than he liked. "Any picture is bound to turn out...beautiful, if you're in it." He appreciated the naturalness of everything with her so far and she was very kind, something he didn't think he'd find so easily these days.
Tristan took a single step back, gripping Charlie's hand firmly and giving it a little squeeze. "You're great, really." When he smiled it was something softer this time around.
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Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2017 10:33 pm
There was a very serious part of her brain that told her, warned her, that this was exactly how those crime show episodes started. A very charming man luring a woman off with the intention of taking her photo, only to brutally murder her and dump her in the river. In fact, she was pretty sure she saw this particular episode just the other day.
But there was also a stronger part of her that knew someone with that beautiful of a smile couldn’t possibly have any ill intentions, even if everything he was saying about pictures with her turning out beautiful and her bring great and nonsense like that.
And he’d taken a picture of her staring dumbly at him, how could he not think she was just some stupid little girl who rambled and looked silly?
She bit nervously at her lip, even as she held onto his hand, feeling him give it a comforting squeeze, everything else carefully balanced in her other arm as she let him lead her. Charlie peered curiously around the fake flowers at him and his softer smile, feeling once again as though her heart was stuttering to a stop. All the women he spoke to must feel this way, surely. Men too, because why the hell not?
Charlie cleared her throat, trying to ignore the heat that overtook her face, and gently pulled her hand away from his once they reached the grassy area by the tree near the cafe, but only so she could carefully set her drink and the flowers down on the ground.
“You’re very kind, you know that?” she wondered, still chewing nervously on her lip as she brushed at the wrinkles in her jacket and pants, and ugh, she was sure there was probably some stain from where she’d spilled something on her and never got around to washing it out, or paint on her pants, or fuzz sticking to her hair, or any number of things.
“Do I… just stand here?” she asked, trying to remind herself that this was okay, that he just wanted to take a few pictures, and then he would be on his way, and then she would probably never see him again. Because that was how things worked. Tristian reminded her so much of another man she knew, one that she’d only met a couple times before he completely disappeared. It made her sad to think that she might never see him again, but so far, no matter where she looked, there was nothing.
Knowing she would probably never see this man again, either… it made her heart twist in a way she couldn’t quite explain.
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Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2017 11:23 pm
Tristan was unintentionally laying it on thick, something he only seemed to realize as they moved away from the hustle and bustle of the sidewalk and the businesses that lined the street. He had simply been trying to reassure her that she was a subject worth taking photos of, but there had to be some level of flirtiness that came out naturally, because Charlie made him feel like things could be normal again.
One day.
For some reason the loss of physical contact was disappointing, startlingly so, and the man found himself looking at his hand like he was remembering something from another time. He had to shake his head and shove away the cloudy fog he couldn't properly wade through to focus on the present and the moment that was presenting himself.
He could worry about his past and the ghosts from them later.
"You are...very kind to say that..." Tristan replied, looking and sounding like he didn't quite believe her. Guilt and the weight of his sins sat firmly on his shoulders no matter what he did, but he was willing to pretend, if even for a minute. Tilting his head, he couldn't help but chuckle as he watched her trying and tidy herself up.
"There's beauty in what's not perfect as much as what is," he offered, hoping it would help ease her nerves. "It doesn't matter what you do. If it helps to pretend I'm not here, try that." The suggestion came as he was kneeling, peering through the camera window and adjusting the lens to be better for the distance between them. "Walk around, tell a story, spin in a circle..." he paused, chewing on the word before he said, "vivre."
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:33 pm
Vivre.
Charlie drew in a deep breath to settle herself, not normally feeling this nervous around people, but when there was a spotlight on her she felt as though she needed to somehow be better than what she really was. If that was even possible. Probably not.
The look on Tristian’s face when he told her she was kind to say what she had made her heart twist uncomfortably, as though there was something painful just below the surface that he was trying to hold back. It reminded her of someone else, someone she missed and hadn’t seen in quite some time.
But for Tristian, she didn’t know what she could do to bring back that bright smile he showed her, but for some reason she wanted desperately to do just that.
She felt completely ridiculous and tried not to look at him as he knelt down to take pictures, trying to think of something to do or say.
“Once upon a time,” she started, pausing to bite nervously at her lip as she looked up at the buildings around them for inspiration. “There was a girl who was attacked by a monster. It wasn’t a very big monster, but the girl wasn’t very big either,” she explained to no one in particular, trying to ignore the heat rising in her cheeks. “When she thought all hope was lost, a prince appeared and saved her! He was tall and handsome and kind, but he was under a curse!” she continued, waving her hands somewhat dramatically to put extra emphasis on it.
“An evil queen had control over his kind heart, taking away his happiness. He and the girl became friends and she promised to help him break his curse. He took her to the top of the tallest tower in the kingdom to show her how beautiful the world was, even at great risk to himself.”
Charlie paused, her hand lifting to clutch at the jacket over her heart, the strange twisting emotion threatening to overtake her as she thought about Aluminite and how she missed him and hoped he was okay.
“Some time passed and the prince disappeared. To this day, the girl still goes to the top of the highest tower, hoping he’s okay and that she’ll be able to help him break his curse. And if his curse was already broken, that he’s found the happiness he deserves,” she finished, having almost forgotten that Tristian was kneeling there, and when she glanced up at him, she forced a bright smile and laugh, her free hand lifting to scrub at the wetness that filled her eyes.
“That was really silly wasn’t it? I probably just ruined all your pictures. Je suis désolé.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2017 10:01 pm
While Charlie was struggling to figure out what to do, Tristan had crouched with one knee pressed into the grass to steady himself and held his camera up to his face. One eye was shut so that he could focus through the small window, finger hovering above the shutter while his other hand adjusted the lens to get the right zoom for the moment. He had taken a test shot just as she began to talk and watched her through the quiet little window.
Something about her story as it began to unfold, struck a chord with him and he tried not to focus on how he could heart his heartbeat loud and ferocious in his ears or the way his chest seemed to constrict with something painful that made it difficult to breath. Ignoring the way his body tensed up or how his grip tightened around his camera in a dangerous way was harder.
Ignore it, he insisted, shoving all thoughts and flashes of memories, the ones of sweet and innocent Connie who probably got herself into trouble because she chose to trust him...
Stop.
His finger was automatically pressing down on the shutter, pictures snapping away as she spoke without thought. The world felt like it was tilting beneath him when she said, he took her to the top of the tallest tower.
It couldn't be -
Stop thinking, focus.
His mind sharpened and he caught the image of her hands twisting around her coat, something zoomed in and blurred on the edges. The next picture was one of her face, just as the smile broke across her face and tears glistened in the corner of her eyes.
Tristan was on his feet in an instant, camera falling from his hands to thump against his chest. Thankfully, due to his long legs, it only took a few strides before he reached her and his hands moved to cup her face. "Ne t'en fais pas." Green eyes searched her face, brows knitted together and a lump in his throat. "S'il te plaît, ne pleure pas." If she let him cradle her cheeks then his thumbs would brush away any wayward tears.
"Don't give up on your prince." He wasn't sure what he meant by that, or if his feelings were correct but...she seemed so sad talking about him that he wanted desperately for this man that brought her to tears would show up and ease whatever ache he'd created.
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2017 6:44 pm
Charlie hadn’t expected Tristian to react as quickly as he did, immediately dropping his camera against his chest to stand up and reach out for her. Even though she barely knew him, she didn’t resist, but instead stared up at him with wide eyes.
It wasn’t like her to cry so openly in front of someone else. She did her best to stand strong and show she was perfectly fine because there were so many people who were dealing with worse things than her, and missing and being worried about a friend was probably low on the “reasons to cry” list.
And yet, as he looked at her with those kind green eyes, his expression more caring and concerned than what she was used to. And he reminded her so much of Aluminite that she couldn’t help it when more tears welled up, even as he tried to brush them away.
“I’m sorry. I’m s-sorry,” she quietly sobbed, feeling her cheeks heat with embarrassment, which only meant that the tears came harder and faster because she felt so ridiculous for crying in front of someone she literally just met. Charlie made an attempt to help mop herself up by tugging at the sleeves of her shirt from under the jacket and lifted her hands to try and pat her face dry around Tristian’s hands, but it wasn’t very effective and she couldn’t bring herself to push him away so she could scrub at her face better.
“I’m n-not. I w-won’t. I’m just worried,” she tried to explain, not having the slightest thought to give up on seeing Aluminite again, or whoever he’d become if Captain Tourmaline was correct in that he’d been changed.
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2017 7:14 pm
Tristan felt like a giant when he stood so close to Charlie, with his knees bent so that his gaze could be more level with hers. Softly, he began to sing quietly, beneath his breath, in french in what he hoped was a soothing tune. It was something arbitrary, an old lullaby he was certain his mother had sung to him once.
If he could have remembered who his mother was.
"Ne pleure pas, Charlie," he murmured after the verse ended. "You miss him." It was hard, believing that someone would care this much about someone else. "Was he...was he important to you?" Finding the right words was difficult, because he had this terrible nagging feeling that was telling him that he knew her even though his memories, magic said otherwise.
There was something sad about the way he was smiling this time, carefully wiping away her tears. "S'nothing wrong with crying." He told her, even though it tugged at his heart strings, seeing her cry. "I didn't - I didn't mean to make you cry." And then, because cheesy was what he was apparently good for. "For what it's worth...you're still beautiful when you cry."
Tris hoped it made her laugh and he carefully pulled his hands back, searched her face and tried to think about what he could do to make her smile again. "Would it help...to show me where he took you? Closure maybe?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 3:51 pm
The comfort of what must have been a lullaby was surprising, although she did nothing to stop him. If anything she wondered if it was intended to help calm him as much as it was for her. She still wasn’t entirely sure about all this, even though he was kind to her, and even though he wanted to take pictures of someone like her. Of course, that was before she ended up crying like a child.
Carefully, she took a step back when he released her, finally able to use both of her hands to rub at her face. She let out a laugh just because of how incredulous it was for him to say she was beautiful, even as she cried. He was nice to say something like that, but she knew she was not the first choice to look at when picking out someone beautiful.
She was short with no figure and almost white hair that made people question just how old she was, or maybe thought she was trying to be super edgy. Her clothing was a hodge podge (often covered in hodge podge and paint) of different styles that didn’t often match. She supposed she could see the appeal in an artistic regard, but it was only beauty at that point. Captain Tourmaline was beautiful. Charlie wasn’t a fool to think she was anything special. Not that she was trying to compare herself, but it was just an observation.
“I do miss him. And he is someone important to me,” she corrected Tristian, taking in a deep breath to try and settle herself, a somewhat shaky smile back on her face. The thought of showing someone else where Aluminite had taken her was appealing, if only because it was important to her, but she had no interest in closure for something that she didn’t want closure to.
“Thank you, but it was just a story I made up,” she partially lied, and tried her best not to look too guilty about it, since she didn’t often lie about things. But she also didn’t often cry in front of people, especially those she’d just met. “I do have a friend that I haven’t seen in a while and miss, but there was no actual place we went.” It was to protect Aluminite, too. Because while she didn’t think Tristian meant any harm, she didn’t want anyone knowing for certain the place that she was hoping one day Aluminite, or whoever he was now, might return to.
“I’m okay, I promise,” she said with a slightly brighter smile, and she brushed at her clothes to try and make herself presentable again. “I’m going to see him again, no matter what. So it’ll be okay.”
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