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 Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2018 2:09 pm
Quote: Getting free Hot Chocolate from that new food truck seemed like a great idea at the time, and the blue sprinkles on top was just the cutest touch! A few hours later though, you just can’t seem to get warm. Nothing helps. Not a bath, not wrapping in ten blankets and not sitting in front of an open fire. Your skin begins to turn a pale blue starting at your fingertips, and if you were warm enough to remove your socks, you’d see your toes were doing the same thing. As the minutes wear on you begin to sneeze small bunches of snowflakes as the icy blue continues to take over your skin. Perhaps it is a good idea to just go to bed and pile on the blankets. The cold lasts for about six hours, and the blueish tint fades after you again get warm. Maybe you should think twice the next time someone offers you something for free… The wrapped package sat on Sadie's floor for the better part of a week. She wanted to send it, she did, just ship it off as a little I'm fine and I'm thinking of you, so he wouldn't worry when she didn't show back up, but she didn't have a place to send it to. It didn't feel right. She'd seen the smile on his face when they were up on that mountain, looking over that city all aglow with lightning and she'd known that place was his home, but you couldn't just send a cat sweater to a comet halfway across the solar system. Looking for a everyday address didn't really work either. She only knew Ignacio's first name, and even though diving into the Internet helped her find a bit more, including a surprising number of followers, she did not find a mailing address. Well. She have to be a little less subtle, then. She tore herself out of her lovely bed and walked to the kitchen, finally picking up the package with one hand before reaching reaching to where her phone sat on the counter with the other and sending out a text. Quote: Hi, Ignacio! Merry Christmas! I've got a present for you and I was wondering if you wanted me to bring it to you?
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Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2018 1:36 pm
Ignacio was cold. He was beginning to learn that perhaps free was a trick. It was a bit surprising he hadn't put that together yet, considering how many times the Negaverse used the label of free to snake in some terrible plan that was somehow painful or deadly, but the allure of a free sweet thing was just too much. He loved sweets almost as much as noodle soups, and free hot chocolate? On a cold day like this, that sounded excellent. At this point, though, Ignacio was convinced that he was about as cold as it was outside. He wanted to cuddle with Richard until his fingers stopped turning blue and he finally felt warm again, but Richard was at work and Ignacio didn't really want to be a bother. He was fairly sure Richard was training with the competition class. That was a little more important than Ignacio making a terrible mistake and deciding to drink what equated to frozen hot chocolate. He couldn't help hoping the buzz of his phone was Richard, though-- Wait, Sadie? That was a name he hadn't seen in a bit. His eyes lit up, and even though his hands were shaking, he tapped out a, before he even bothered reading the message. He then read the message. Had he already gotten the gift he was going to pick up for Sadie? He was fairly sure he had, but he wasn't sure if he had actually gotten it yet or if it was still one of the things he needed to go pick up. He'd go check under the tree, but he was shivering and the last thing he wanted to do was get out from under this blanket-- His teeth chattered annoyingly, which for some reason reminded him he should probably respond-- Quote: Yeah, sure! I could use some company here at the house! Uhh, you probably need my address then, right?
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2018 8:15 pm
Well, she wasn't going to have to wait long for a response. Her phone was buzzing in her fingers as soon as she'd pressed send, and that got a smile out of as she reflexively tapped back a quick The actual response took a little longer to come, maybe half a minute that Sadie used to lift herself up into a sitting position on her counter before staring intently at her phone. Maybe he'd be busy and she could send it over after all. Except, as she nervously started scrolling through her apps, she realized the thought of that didn't really soothe her nerves either. He was wise, they shared common interests, and he'd been nothing but sweet to her. She did want to see him again. Still, when the message came that he wanted her to come visit, her heart went rabbit fast in her chest and she thought she could feel it throbbing behind her bad eye, but she'd bought a gift and she'd committed to social interaction before being offered the address. She would have to walk out of her door a few more times before it got painless again, but she was trying to try, so she typed out her next message. She sent it quickly before typing out the next bit. Quote: Um, I do need to know where you live, yes Not wasting more time, she kept the package, grabbed a coat, let her hair down to frame her face which she felt made the scars a little less stark, and headed outside.
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Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2018 11:19 am
A guest! This would be fun. It had been a while since Ignacio had invited over a personal friend, not a work friend or a business friend. It had been literally never since he had invited over someone else who knew his powered side. Admittedly, that was a big step... But it would be fine, right? She had to know who he was by now, and Richard knew what was going on now, anyway, so he wasn't sure why he still had the instinct to hide things away. There was no point. Slower than he wanted due to the blue fingers and the agitating numbness in them, Ignacio typed back a, and he attached a link to his exact address that would have pulled up whatever map application she opted to use. That'd hopefully give her some decent directions to where he lived... And now he just needed to convince himself to stand up and go check under the tree. It wasn't like the blanket was helping overly much, right...?
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2018 4:05 pm
But the apartment, once she got it all pulled up on her map, wasn't so close that she could just pop over. If they'd been living in the same building all along, that would have been, well, either a blessing or a curse depending on how you looked at it, depending on how things went. Of course, that was really the way of things. If they stayed friends, it wasn't too bad of a trip. For now, it just meant she had to flag down an Uber, nod at the driver, who was thankfully someone she'd had before, to listen to the way he talked gently about his wife and about the puppy they were going to surprise their kids with for the holidays. She still had her phone in hand, and she wondered if she should try to warn him, somehow, to make things easier, to work them out so that in the end it could just be a light and lovely holiday. She typed out a few messages, but they all seemed either flippant or blunt in the end, which was always the problem with this kind of thing, why she ended up with secrets. Before long, she was stepping out of the car, paying the driver, and walking up to a door, and knocking. Then she waited, her loose pale hair getting whipped around by the wind, her recycled paper parcel held up like some sort of offering.
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2018 9:43 pm
The building that she had pulled up to was, in the end, a rather large, two-floored house. It would certainly be odd if just Ignacio Araya was living there by himself, and even odd if it was just him and his partner. Thankfully, it wasn't just the two of them. Sometimes, Ignacio felt odd about the fact that he lived in Richard's parents' house, but their house had been so large to compensate for their sheer amount of kids--being part of a two-child family himself, it had been surprising to find out Richard had four brothers, to say the least--that he oftentimes didn't even mind. They definitely saw each other on a daily basis, ate meals together, talked together, but Richard and Ignacio had their own space. Ignacio had been waiting near the door, as much as he wanted to shy away from the cold, and so heard her when she knocked. Hurriedly, he hopped up, pulled the blanket a little tighter around his body, and shuffled his way over to the door. He opened the door to an excited, "Sadie! Come in!" And had to use all of the strength of his acting to not immediately ask what happened when he noticed the state of her face. "It's too c-," dammit, his teeth chattered, "cold out there."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Dec 24, 2018 9:17 am
Sadie didn't really bat an eye at the apartment, and wouldn't have even if she hadn't been distracted. She was from a big family herself, and a social one, but lately she'd been living more in the twenty-something starving artist sphere. She was no stranger to a wide variety of living situations. This one seemed nice enough. The door opening and a familiar face on the other side was nicer. "Ignacio! Hi!" He was nice enough not to even flinch, which was really more than she could ask for. However, it only took one look at him to figure out that she was not the only one who had been hiding something about her condition, and Sadie was not one who had made a practice of not showing concern. Her eyes went wider and she blinked twice. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You're looking a little blue." She raised a hand, sort of gesturing towards his face before she realized that it wasn't very helpful. "That's not, um, a metaphor," she added instead, before finally stepping out of the doorway. She took one more moment to stare at him, worried. He looked so cold. "Here," she said, more decisively, and there was no more delicate offering. She pressed the package into his hands. "You can open it. It might help," she said, then moved on, making sure the door was closed tight behind them, and turning to look at the rest of the house. "Is there any tea in here that I can get you? Cocoa? Coffee? Soup?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 12:44 pm
At having his literal state pointed out, Ignacio chuckled nervously, rubbing his hands together. It wasn't very effective. Honestly, it just felt like he was rubbing two ice cubes together. "I'm fi-fine," offered Ignacio, teeth chattering again. He was clearly lying. It seemed that Sadie knew better than that, all but shoving her package into his hands. He was thankful when the door closed, and even happier to get away from it. Not that his home was particularly drafty, but the further away he was from any cold sources, the better-- The house she looked out to was definitely a house that either belonged to someone with a lot of money or a lot of children, or maybe somewhere in-between the two. The nearby kitchen which could be seen off to the left was nice and clearly built for people who enjoyed cooking, with big counters and a large island in the middle, a lot of cabinets, a double-decker stove and a decently sized fridge. The pantry was off to the right, which Ignacio pointed out as he shuffled behind her. "It's over there but you don't have to get me anything, you're the-the-the," he paused, tried again, "guest." Holding the package closer to himself like it would help keep him warm, he offered, "We could sit in the dining room if you'd like? Or the living room, it's warmer in there..."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 8:13 pm
What was left of Sadie's eyebrows edged together ever-slightly towards a frown as she turned back from her vague search for warm beverages to look Ignacio straight in the face. "Oh, um, okay," was what she said, though. Sadie was not one to push the issue, even when the issue was things like tea and sweaters. That often came off as the opposite of helpful in the end, and anyway, she was in no position to judge too harshly for someone just wanting to pretend everything was okay. She let him stumble over his words, instead, nodding sofly before she went back to looking around. The house, on the other hand, got no reaction at all. It was a lot like her own parent's home, so like the kind of place that Sadie didn't really have to think about, a place where she could feel, instead, vaguely cozy although she did no that she was not at home. The cabinets, for example, were in unfamiliar places and there was an entire pantry, besides, leaving her at a bit of a loss where she would find anything. "Your house is pretty," she remembered to say as she took everything in before starting to look for couches instead. "But, right. I won't go rooting through all your cabinets." Although, when it came to the rules of etiquette, she thought when it came to visiting the sick, the roles were reversed to some extent. Then, Ignacio wasn't quite incapacitated, even if he was struggling over his words. Sadie was never good at manners, and she wasn't sure what rules she was even meant to be following right now. "Um, the living room," she said, since that suggestion should be fine and anything warmer would be good.
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Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 8:36 pm
Ignacio could figure by Sadie's expression and the way she was speaking that some part of her felt rejected by Ignacio insisting that she was the guest. He felt it even more strongly when she said she wouldn't go rooting through all his cabinets, and his shoulders slumped just a tad ... before his body shrunk in tighter and he shivered once again. Dammit. "I didn't mean it that way," mumbled Ignacio, suddenly feeling terribly awkward. "If you want to get me something, you can, I just feel like I should be doing something for you because you are in my house, you know?" A beat. "Or my boyfriend's parents' house, I guess." He cleared his throat, attempting to straighten his back despite the instinctual cold urge to curl into himself and curl tighter until he never uncurled again. His fingers were literally blue. As was his nose, he was fairly sure-- "But, yeah, the living room's over here..." Ignacio kept his grip on the package, shuffling his way over to the living room and settling into one of the couches, huddled against the corner. He was so cold. "When you get settled, I'll open this?"
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 9:28 pm
Oh no. Ignacio was looking sad now, and somehow colder still. So there weren't formal manners, then? "Sorry," Sadie said, again, looking down this time, and as she stared at her toes, she thought that maybe she shouldn't have come out just yet. "Everyone has different preferences about their space," she murmured. And to be honest, they didn't really know each other that well. Still, she had her permission, and she would take it. She smiled when Ignacio settled into the couch, the first time since she'd come inside, and she nodded. "Right." Then she was off, feet pattering back across to the kitchen. There was a bit of jostling that could be heard, but not too much, and no rustling through cabinets at all before she was back, kicking off her shoes and sitting cross-legged on the couch. "Well, I put the kettle on. You can pick something out in a few minutes." She tilted her head again, once again struck by just how much he was looking like an icicle. "You've been so helpful with all the advice and the rest. Something like this is no trouble, and um, I am worried." She exhaled slowly, her brows knitting deep now. Lowering her voice, she said, "It's magic, isn't it? I'm learning that you have to take that seriously." She was having a hard enough time herself. She didn't know if she could take this being something a little warmth couldn't cure.
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Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2018 10:04 pm
Despite not knowing each other very well, Sadie arguably knew Ignacio a lot better than quite a few people did. After all, she was one of the lucky ones to have awareness of both sides, awareness of both Transcendent Eternal Sailor Encke and one Ignacio Cesar Araya, both of whom seemed decently known in their own rights, but for different reasons. It wasn't like Encke was exactly the mid-level actor that Ignacio was, even if they shared the same talents. Seeing Sadie smile relieved Ignacio, and his body relaxed just a little bit, even if the tension from the urge to shiver still rang throughout his body. He waited patiently for her to finish fiddling around in the kitchen, huddled under the blanket and keeping the present close in the meantime. Whatever it was certainly felt warm, and he was excited to get a closer look at it. Maybe it would help, even if he was convinced that hot chocolate was literally cursed. Did the Negaverse work in curses? Was this the work of the Negaverse, or was the winter season in Destiny City just cursed, because he definitely remembered the living nightmare of last year where he and Richard couldn't sleep for literal days-- Ignacio's smile was appreciative when she returned and explained her reasons, delayed as it was. He also, admittedly, appreciated that she said he was being helpful. It felt good to know for sure that he was actually doing something of use. He wanted to help. He wanted to make them all stronger. He wanted to make their planets stronger, too. "Yeah, it's gotta be," replied Ignacio, with a frown, as he sat back just slightly, not quite pulling himself out of his huddle. "I drank this free hot chocolate and I think it was a mistake. Been cold as hell ever since. Like it pulled out all of the warmth in my body." He glanced down at his icy fingers, adding, with a frown, "Perhaps literally..." He looked down at his gift with a chuckle, attempting to open the package with his constant shivers. It wasn't the cleanest attempt, but he was, at least, making some sort of progress. "Maybe this'll help? It feels warm, at least. Maybe warmer than this--" Ignacio got sight of the galaxy pattern and gasped, suddenly pulling out the sweater even further with a wide grin on his face. Galaxy pattern! He honestly loved anything with galaxy -- When he spotted the Christmas cat face, he burst into amused snickers... well, before his teeth started chattering again, anyway.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 6:38 am
She got a proper look now at his fingers peeking out from the blanket, which did not have the slight blue undertones of his face but were the full and proper color of cartoon ice. At least she didn't think it was frostbite, or anything dangerous and painful in a practical sense, but then again, what did she know? She'd met two Negaverse officers so far, and they had been sadly and dangerously twisted people. She almost understood the people who thought killing them would be the kind thing, the right thing. Almost. Anyway, the ones she'd met had dealt in explosions and claws, not hot chocolate that froze you over hours, but then Sadie wouldn't be the one to know if that was one of their tricks. Encke would, or Ignacio, and he didn't seem too worried. "Is that normal?" she asked, before deciding that this wasn't something you needed to be an Eternal Senshi to figure out. "I don't think that's normal. Um, anyway, go ahead and open it. It could help." With that, she waited and watched, holding her knees to her chest as the paper came off. His grin made her feel warm as warm inside, something she'd been sorely missing in recent days, and she smiled, too. "The colors made me think of you," she said, and it was true. It was even nicer, now, seeing the purple and blue in his hands. It looked okay with his cold-cursed fingers, even, but of course the stars had been the selling point. Space was what they'd bonded over, after all. The Santa cat, of course, was there to make it all holiday appropriate. "I'm so happy you like it," she said, her smile wide now.
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 6:49 pm
Ignacio was happy to see Sadie happy, mostly, but he also was happy to get such a ridiculous sweater from a thoughtful friend. It was, admittedly, partially because it felt soft and warm and he felt very much not soft and not warm. Well, he wasn't sure if soft was the right word. Could humans be soft? Could Enckeans be soft? Was that something Ignacio would have even wanted-- Cutting off his own mental babbling, Ignacio threw the sweater on over his head and let out a happy sigh when he felt the warmth on his skin. The colours suited him in a way that was, at this point, natural. Encke's colours were blue and purple, after all, and this catface sweater was covered in blue and purple and space, which was indeed what Sadie and Ignacio bonded over, and what Encke and Pendour had bonded over. And it was so warm, too, and that was the main thing he cared about, happily sinking into the couch. "It's cute," admitted Ignacio, with a happy, albeit chattery, laugh. "I don't think I have a so-called ugly sweater quite like this, actually. Mostly just the ones with the obnoxious lights and the, uh," he gestured loosely at the lights above them as he tried to find the words he was looking for, "fair isle patterns. This is different! And it's warm." Which seemed to be the most important part, considering he was looking slightly less blue.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 7:53 pm
The inner warmth started to spread all the way to Sadie's toes. To be fair, she wasn't the one who needed the heat, really. She hadn't been the one sipping on an enchanted beverage that left her shivering, but it was still something she hadn't felt in awhile. There was something about being curled up on a couch talking about clothes and holidays, something smooth and normal, even with the quirks thrown in, that she had desperately needed. "They can get to be quite a lot, yes," she said with a smile that was smaller, more natural, but still there. "There's one floating around this year with a tinsel wreath on it an a unicorn plush coming out of the front and back of it. I don't mean it any disrespect. The color scheme's lovely, it fits the over the top niche. I don't quite know how it's seasonal but I guess it's a nice non-denominational option. I just don't know how someone would sit in something like that." She pressed her lips together, then made herself breathe. Fashion wasn't exactly her area of expertise, but knowing what sold aesthetically speaking was helpful for her job. She had to stop herself from getting overzealous, sometimes, unless she got lucky and Ignacio was as interested in the deeper meanings of ugly Christmas sweaters as he was interested in space. "Practicality isn't always the point in clothes, but I'll try not to go all designer on you," she finished. "I'm trying to say that I hope it's comfy." He looked a little warmer putting it on, at least. That was really all she could ask right now. "It looks nice on you," she added. "Um, for what it is." The cat face and the Santa hat got a quick giggle out of her.
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