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 Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2021 10:22 am
This was weird. He’d heard about Gale, but he’d never met her. He knew she was part of the Court, that she’d been recruited earlier, but he’d never met her. He didn’t even think she knew who he was, which made this whole thing super awkward. He’d texted her that he was a friend of Cambria and Evan’s, and asked if they could meet up.
He didn’t know if she knew about Cambria; from what he could tell, Evan wasn’t talking about it--no one was--but she deserved to know.
...And if she could, he hoped she would help try to get Lysithea back.
When he’d completed his anxiety ridden request to meet up (it had only taken him a week of revising a simple text message before he forced himself to send it) it turned out that she was actually very kind about it, and she didn’t even live too far away from him.
It was a bit chilly outside, but the weather was good enough that he could ride his bike over.
He’d made a commitment and couldn’t back down, so when it was meeting time he’d biked over there. His nerves were on fire by the time he showed up, and he hopped off his bike and wheeled it to her front door. He was nervous, because he knew he was going to mess this up and make a total fool of himself, but he was going to try.
He was going to do his best.
For Cambria.
Lump in his throat, he had to force his eyes up from the ground. He brushed his clothes off; he was wearing tight pants and boots, and a jacket over his very cozy sweater. His hair was braided and resting over his shoulder, and he had a brown satchel hanging from the other shoulder.
He couldn’t just stand on her doorstep forever (he could get on his bike and ride away!)--NO--so, before he could talk himself out of it, he knocked.
He waited.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 7:53 pm
Gale had heard what happened. She always knew what was going on, even if she was only ever a part of things in theory. Still…it was kind of nice to be included…like, verbally. Not that she hadn’t ever felt…well. Whatever. It didn’t matter now. Things were rough, and Malcolm was coming over, hopefully to get her to help with the court and look for Lysithea. She could do that.
At the knock, Gale’s head shot up and she drew in a long breath, trying to calm herself down and went over to the door, opening it with a smile. “Malcolm? I’m glad to finally get to meet you…how have you been? I know things have been…ah. Awful.”
She stepped aside, gesturing for the blonde to come in and held the door open for him. “I have some snacks coming out of the oven in a minute…I um. Hope you like cheese? And garlic? I found a really good deal on a wheel of brie and I roasted it and…ah. Wow. Hi. I’m Gale and I talk a lot when I’m nervous…and I…wanted this to go well. I hope I haven’t scared you off.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 8:11 pm
“No, it’s okay. I’m not scared off, really.” He tried to flash a smile, even if he was every bit as nervous as she was. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Officially. I wish we’d gotten to meet under better circumstances, but I’m really glad you were willing to talk with me.”
He stepped in, even though his stomach was churning.
“Your snacks smell delicious.”
Though he’d entered, he hovered nervously, tugging at the bottom of his sweater while he tried to calm himself down. He didn’t want to come across as too friendly, or too cold, or too comfortable, or too distant.
“How have you been?” he asked, trying to get through all the social protocol while also trying to buy himself time to prepare for the talk.
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 4:07 pm
Gale hesitated and flashed a small smile. “I’ve been fine. You…I mean. If you’re asking me to fill in regarding the court, the answer is yes. And if you’re asking for my help in finding her, the answer is of course. Whatever you need, I’m here for it.” It was nice to have the chance to become a true member of the court anyway. So long it had been implied…but.
Well. Implications were easily misconstrued.
But if this wasn’t an invitation…well. Now she looked rather stupid.
“Or…um. If you just wanted to meet to have a new friend! The um. The answer is obviously yes too…um…I didn’t mean to presume. And I know that was a pretty big one…ah…Yeah, you can forget i said it, if that’s not what you were planning on…um. No pressure.”
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 5:37 pm
Malcolm blinked and looked a bit flustered. “Oh, you weren’t presuming. I was here for Court things, and–well, all of those things, yes. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be vague. I need all the help I can get. It’s not like I’m replacing her, I’m just filling in, but she left big shoes and–well, I can’t do it myself. You’d need like eight of me to compete with one of here. And even then I’d still be coming up short.”
He flashed a quick, forced smile, because he was anxious about all of this.
“I’m not really good at being social, this isn’t you. I’m just nervous. Hearing you say yes is a huge relief, I don’t handle rejection well. I’m, um–wow, this is not a good start.”
He paused, drew in a breath, and then tried again.
“I’m really glad you’re so easy to talk to. I really appreciate your patience and willingness to help with all of this. This isn’t just a ‘filling in’ type of thing, though–even after she’s back, I’d like if you could stay in the Court. If you want! You’d be more than welcome. And you’re more than wanted.”
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 7:38 am
Gale swallowed and nodded, trying not to seem as overcome with his words as she felt, but…it was nice to hear. To know that she was actually wanted and wasn’t just…her filling in. “You…um. That…really means a lot to me. I mean. I’ve never felt like the court needed me, or even knew I existed, if I’m going to be honest. I just…I’m nothing more than Evan’s friend who’s dating Tobias’ brother, you know? I’m invited to some things but…pretty easily and pretty often forgotten…”
Turning away, she swiftly wiped at her eyes, not wanting to show Malcolm that his invitation had her crying...that was…ugh. She was dumb sometimes.
“I would love to help you. With whatever you need…and I would love to stay on too. I want to be a part of this…I…I always have. I just never felt like there was really a place for me…if um. If that makes sense.”
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 11:18 am
Malcolm faltered, because he knew how that felt. “It’s okay,” he reassured. “I–I was with Cambria in the beginning, but. I messed up. I got hurt. By the time I recovered, I felt like everything had changed and they didn’t need me anymore.” He didn’t want to say anything to hurt anyone’s feelings, it’s why he never really had conversations like this.
“I didn’t want to be a bother. I wasn’t as strong as the rest of them. Evan, I mean.” He looked at Gale. “He was an Eternal Senshi for way longer than me. Like he was actually made to be a Senshi. I was just,” he shrugged, and tried to ignore the way the memories still tugged at him. “There. But–there’s always a place. I promise. And if you ever feel like you’re getting thrown to the side or forgotten–you’re not. I’m sorry that we’ve never met before. I–I was sort of on the outskirts. I’m not the best Senshi. But I want to help Lysithea. I’m sure she’ll be happy to have you in the Court.”
He didn’t have a high opinion of himself, that much was obvious, but he seemed to think highly of Cambria.
“Whatever you need to feel welcome, please just let me know. Everyone’s sort of messed up right now. But we’re going to do our best. And we’ll be better off for having you with us. Maybe we can all meet up sometime and go over what we know, and make a plan? We’ve all been out looking. So far there’s nothing solid, but…if we work together, we’ll have a better chance.”[/sze]
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 4:19 pm
Gale hesitated and nodded slowly, swallowing hard. “...It’s. Kind of enough to break you. When you already have such low self esteem and then you just feel…redundant. I’m sorry that you felt like that. Evan…he was a good friend to me at one of my lowest points…but I do know what you mean. Even when he went through Hell he just…sprang back up. Found love, found happiness and just kept plowing through things. I…I mean I hope she’ll be happy to have me. She always seemed so busy…”
She sighed and reached blindly to grab herself a snack. “...I really like that idea. I would…like to have more friends. Even if you ever want to hang out and it not be about court things. I’d really like it. Or just. Friendly patrols or something. I’m not picky…Just a little lonely sometimes.”
And hopefully he was right and the court would still need and want her when Lysithea came back.
…If she came back?
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 6:20 pm
Malcolm nodded, and though his brows had furrowed he seemed like it was internalized, not a reflection of what he thought of her. He smiled in an attempt to be reassuring. “It doesn’t have to be a competition,” he said gently, like it was something he’d had to remind himself of plenty of times over.
“Everyone has their own hardships, and we just have to do our best. There are a lot of people stronger than me. A lot of people that work harder and do more. I guess it’s easy to say ‘they deserve it’ more than me, but that doesn’t mean that anyone else doesn’t deserve to be happy. I’m, um. I’m going to be honest with you,” he looked a bit nervous, “Even after I’ve just said all that about it not being a competition, um. I’m actually–Evan’s probably a much better friend than I am. I don’t know much about him except sometimes he makes a sour face when you compliment him. I, um.”
He rubbed at his arm and tried to pull himself together. He wasn’t particularly successful. “I don’t have a lot of friends, and I haven’t ever.”
He knew how pathetic it must have sounded, he was an adult. “I’m wiling to try! But I’m not good at making the first move. And if I don’t text back it’s probably because I’m worrying about my wording, not because I don’t want to. I’m willing to try. I’d like it. Evan would, too. And Soleiyu, have you met him? I think he’s going stir crazy. But, um. I don’t live with any of them. I don’t want you to be lonely, though. You can text me if you’re ever feeling sad or lost or anything. I don’t really have a schedule so I’m free a lot of the time.”
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 11:54 am
Gale was quiet for a long moment and then sighed heavily. “Why haven’t you and I met sooner? We’re the depressed ones in the court. You have on more friend after today, Malcolm. This is going to be great. A perfect match. At least neither one of us will be alone in our heads, yeah? And um. You can text me too. Even if it’s just a neat picture of a rock that you saw and liked…I like random texts like that. It reminds me that people know I’m there. And…that’s a nice feeling.”
She reached down, grabbing one of the snacks that she had prepared, feeling honestly hungry now that all of the awkwardness had passed.
She was wanted. And welcome…and now she had another new friend to patrol with and care about and…
And it sounded so good.
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