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 Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2017 9:56 pm
"When is he arriving, Mary dear?" asked her grandmother. Mary glanced down at her phone, checking the time.
"Shouldn't be long now, Grandmother," she said with a smile and glance out the front windows. The older Tunith woman smiled at her.
"Good, because that tree is not going to decorate itself." Tersa patted her on the shoulder and wandered to the kitchen, presumably to make tea. Mary had, several days earlier, asked Tristan if he would like to come over and help them decorate the tree for the holidays. Most other activities her grandmother had suggested sounded far too much like a date to Mary and...
That was just wasn't who Tris was. Tris was her friend, and while yes they'd survived the harrowing experience in the mirror realm together, it did not make them anything but friends. Besides, Mary was quite sure Tris wasn't interested in her that way.
The blonde pulled her hair into a messy bun. She was dressed in a sweater-dress with leggings and the cutest fuzzy socks you ever did see. They had sheep on them.
Now all to do was wait for Tris to arrive.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 2:09 pm
Taking public transport was often tedious when it came to reaching the abodes of his few friends. Fiona kept offering to help him with a car and he kept politely refusing.
Something about driving made him uneasy, a feeling he couldn't shake despite the fact that it had nearly been a year since he had stepped into that church as Captain Aluminite and stepped out as Midgard, Squire of Chronos. While Tristan couldn't figure out why, he figured it had something to do with his ghosts from the life he barely remembered. So, public transport or getting rides from friends were the methods he took to get from place to place.
It took up a large part of his time, but Tristan didn't like inconveniencing people with ride request when his decision to drive was just that, a decision he made.
So he had left early, bundled up in a sweater vest, jacket, and scarf, to make sure that he could get to Mary's on time. Tristan carried a backpack with him, his camera stuff carefully placed beneath delicately wrapped gifts he had picked up for his friend and his fingers tugged at one of the straps over his shoulder with nerves.
Once at her door, he carefully knocked.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 9:06 pm
The knock rang through the hallway and Mary bounded out of her chair to get the door. She pulled the door open after a moment and smiled at him. She waved him in, taking note of the backpack and the bundling of layers.
"Hi Tristan! ...Did you walk here?" she asked, glancing past him down the driveway of the estate. Her grandmother's house was not exactly... close to downtown, sort off the beaten path in the suburbs. Not that he couldn't have walked - it certainly was possible, and Mary had done it on occasion - it just sort of boggled her mind that he would. To come to her house.
To help an old lady decorate a tree.
"Welcome to my home, young man. Always a pleasure having company, especially during the holidays," spoke Tersa, who walked into the foyer from the left, wiping her hands on a very colorful Christmas apron. She gave a smile, looking at the two young adults and Mary just knew the woman was thinking of setting them up together.
"The tree is in the great room to the right, I thank you for the help," Tersa smiled at them, then wandering back to the kitchen to make tea or snacks, or something.
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Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 8:02 am
Cheeks were flushed red with the cold of the air and his trek from the nearest bus stop to her house, but Tristan offered her a cheery enough smile when she greeted him.
"Um, yes?" He responded, worried that was the wrong answer. "I...don't have a car." His voice was soft, like he didn't know if he should be ashamed or not about the fact. "I didn't walk walk, just from the bus stop here."
He shrugged awkwardly, shuffling inside and beginning to undo his scarf as Mary's grandmother spoke to him. He kept his attention on her, offering a smile, and nodded. "Yeah, sure thing. I'm happy to help."
And he was because there wasn't much he could offer his friends besides his company and a helping hand or two here and there.
"So," he looked over at Mary, carefully toeing off his shoes and setting his backpack down by a wall. "Any tree decorating tips for me?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 9:54 pm
"Oh! That makes... sense," she said, smiling sheepishly in her own silliness. Whoops, way to go Mary, make him feel weird about walking from the bus stop why don't you.
(Being around people you liked was really, really hard, she was finding.)
She guided him into the room with the tree after her grandmother disappeared. The fake tree was about seven feet tall, with a haphazard-looking garland on the branches, while a box of lights sat in the corner. The strands were, thankfully, at least relatively organized. Several other cardboard boxes in holiday colors sat stacked near a floral print couch, all with the label ORNAMENTS - FRAGILE.
"Grams likes the whole tree to be decorated, and there's some blown crystal ornaments that go near the top for safety. Otherwise, you can't do worse than last years, when she tried to do it herself and somehow ended up in the tree herself." How that had happened still confused most of the Tunith family. The only saving grace was the woman had a cellphone on her at the time.
The rest of the room was decorated with hanging tapestries, several windows with faded but well-kept curtains, and a small army of nutcrackers. They sat in windows, on bookshelves, on top of the mantle, they were everywhere.
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 11:44 am
As far as Christmas trees went, this one was impressive. There was a tree at Fiona's, but it wasn't nearly as tall and it was real, something that the kind woman had picked out with her boyfriend in the beginning of the month or close to. He didn't remember if he had kept a tree in his apartment when he'd had one.
He didn't remember a lot of things, like if he enjoyed Christmas or if he was participating because the people around him seemed to and he could never repay them for their presence and influence in his life properly.
"The whole tree?" He echoed, stepping towards it cautiously to examine how much room it had behind it. "Even the side we won't see?" It seemed a little silly, but if that was what the old lady wanted, he was going to comply.
"Hey, don't question my ability to goof up and get stuck in things, I might surprise you," he tried to joke offering the blonde a half smile before he knelt down by the decorations and began picking through them.
"Also, I make no promises about my decorating skills." He was a happy worker bee, but he wasn't a talented one.
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2018 6:22 pm
Mary nodded and pointed to a mirror situated behind the tree. "There's a mirror back there to show the back side. We also have so many ornaments, it would clutter the front horribly." The blonde pulled a strand of lights from the box and plugged them in, making sure they worked. The floor lit up with multicolored lights and she unplugged them, satisfied.
Mary giggled softly and smiled at him. "Duly noted. I'll remember to take pictures of the goof up," she teased. She reached up on the balls of her feet and tucked the end of the strand to the top of the tree. "Decorating skills are not really important. Just don't leave giant holes in the tree and we're good."
About that moment, Tersa wandered in with a tray. A steaming teapot, two cups and a plate of cookies were placed on the coffee table. "Have fun you two, I will be in the kitchen if you need."
"Thank you Grandmother!"
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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 2:05 pm
It was only once she pointed it out that Tris became aware of the mirror, which should have been obvious to him now that he was looking. He chuckled, ears tinged red with some embarrassment, but he luckily didn't flush otherwise.
"Clever."
He had started picking through the ornaments when her grandmother returned and he offered her a polite smile. "Thank you." It felt a little strange to be in Mary's home with her grandmother tending to them like she might her grandchildren but it was nice none the less.
"No major holes, got it." He repeated, brows knitting together before he got right to work.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 2:41 pm
Mary pried open a box and began unwrapping some of the most... eccentric ornaments. A small pile of them slowly appeared on the table, the girl humming as she worked. She glanced up after a moment, still unwrapping things.
"How have you been since the whole... mirror thing?" she asked Tris. All things considered, Mary recovered decently, though she'd had to cover her mirror for a few days to sleep properly. She might have died on the Surrounding and come back to life and been through a lot, but that didn't mean she still didn't have nightmares after these things.
Mary stood and put one of the ornaments - a very... 'stylized' owl - on the tree.
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 1:06 pm
Decorations were unwrapped left and right and Tristan was careful when he began placing them on the tree branches that he also made sure to fluff as he went along. He was slow, meticulous, and he was so focused on his task that he nearly missed Mary's question.
He was halfway around the tree, beginning to put ornaments along the back side as he took advantage of his height and reach, when he realized that she'd said something and was waiting for an answer.
Looking like a deer in headlights he pulled his arms back towards himself and blinked at her a few times, cheeks flushed. "Uh, sorry I was-- I missed your question."
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 3:56 pm
Mary watched him quietly, appreciating his focus and slow movements. She even paused in her unwrapping to regard him thoughtfully. There was a quiet strength there, even he wasn't aware of it. She was... It was enjoyable and nice to know, to be honest. Pleased maybe was the proper word.
He turned to her, suddenly confused that she'd asked him a question, with tinged cheeks. Mary giggled softly, standing up.
"I asked how've you been since the whole mirror thing?" she asked again, placing her collection of ornaments on the tree. She wanted to check in and make sure he was okay. There were so few Chronos knights these days, she cared for them deeply.
You know. As a friend.
Cough.
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 8:47 am
While the question was innocent enough, it made a surge of panic and anxiety well up within him. He pressed his fingers against his sternum, focused on his breathing and let air ease out of his lips as he spread his fingers out, pressing down on his chest when they moved.
"I'm-- " Tristan hesitated, because he didn't have an answer for her. "I'm still breathing," he settled on, even if it implied that maybe he wasn't doing the best but he was still managing.
"Some days are better than others, but..." He shrugged, because he didn't know what else to say. "What about you Mary?"a-disgruntled-dragon somehow i lost this but here i am, tagging
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Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:40 pm
She was... "Alright. I'm alright. It doesn't keep me up anymore, thankfully,' she said, idly rubbing the spot on her head where the piece of the ceiling had hit her. Still sore, but no longer throbbed or ached. She ate well, she kept her thoughts in the moment and tried to not think too much about whatever that place was.
Mary noticed the way he pressed against his chest, the breath he let out, but didn't draw attention to it. They both had their own demons, it seemed. She gave him a smile of hope, of lighter thoughts.
"I'm---"
"Still hard at work my dears? Oh it's looking so lovely!" interrupted her grandmother, who came in to check on them. There was a worried sort of look in Tersa's eyes, but in that parental sort of way. "Would you be a dear and put this on the top? I found something better than a star for this year."
Mary looked down at the object in her grandmother's hands. A Chronos symbol made out of gold filigree and metal. A little tarnished, a little worn, but still lovely.
"I found it in his study." Mary's eyes widened slightly. Tersa may have reopened the west wing of the manor, but she never went into her late husband's study. The significance of that alone was more than enough. Mary took the tree topper and smiled, eyes wet at the corners.
"Yes, I think this will look lovely," she said, showing it to Tristan.
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Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 1:43 pm
Alright.
Alright was only marginally better than fine but Mary didn't seem like she wanted to talk about it and Tristan wasn't the type to push. So, instead he hummed, offered her a slight nod and a smile just in time for her grandmother to come interrupt them.
It was good, kept them from drifting into too dark of times.
Green eyes widened at the sight of the symbol and he wondered what her grandmother knew of things. "Seems fitting," he practically echoed, glancing at the girl before he stepped over, gently pressing his hand to her shoulder.
"I think there's enough put up to put that on top now."
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Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2018 7:10 pm
Mary was able to keep herself from blushing as he touched her shoulder, and simply smiled. She would deal with whatever emotions she had later. When Tristan was gone, and she was safely under the guise of Bifrost. Her grandmother, to her credit, did not comment or even seem to notice. Thank goodness. " Yes, I think so." she said, slipping out from under his hand to place the system on top. Yes. It was perfect, and this... This was nice. Wonderful even. She wondered if Tristan would want to come over next year too. Ah well, thoughts for another time. For now, this was enough.
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