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 Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 6:28 pm
The idea to go back to the house–home and bake had been in Talia’s head ever since she had to endure watching Malus become a youma again. When she had to watch Adria pretty much die in her arms it. She needed to get it all out. All of the worries that had built up, all of the frustrations with the chaos illusions.
She had invited everyone back to the house, Adria, Varuna and Ilse, and now she was in the kitchen with Malcolm and Rhiannon. Varuna had a pretty name in civilian form too, and Talia thought it was quite fitting.
Evan had been scooped up by Tobias almost the moment they entered the house, and Ilse was off showering, so it was just the three of them in the kitchen which was perfectly fine by her.
The mixer was out and there was already a half formed batter for chocolate chip cookies stirring away. The dough for the sweet rolls that Malcolm liked was covered by a tea towel and rising, it would take a little extra time but...it was well worth it. Moving past the table, Talia let her hand skim lightly over the top of Rhiannon’s head as well as Malcolm’s as she went to the cupboard to grab some chocolate chips to add to the mix. “...Is there anything special I can bake for either of you? I mean. I know it’ll be a while but…I just.”
It had been a lot. For all of them.
“We can talk while whatever it is is baking…Rhi? Do you have anything you like special?” Hopefully…the idea of talking while whatever was baking was…unsubtle enough to be an outlet for if either of them needed to just unload.Guine AGAIN THROWING THIS HERE TO PUT IN MY JOURNAL, no rush ilu <3 MWAH
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2022 5:45 pm
Rhiannon tried not to be noticeably uncomfortable in a new setting as herself and not Varuna. She knew the dangers of letting her civilian identity fall into the wrong hands. For years, only her auntie knew her identity. That night at least five more people, including her cousin, knew she was the Senshi of Avalanches.
She tried not to squint suspiciously when someone she didn’t know came to take Malus -- Evan away, but didn’t think she managed it as well as she’d hoped. Ilse had gone off as well, although she’d missed her civilian name.
Her thoughts were jostled a little as Talia passed by and brushed the top of both her and Malcolm’s head.
“I like anything with fruit in it. Pies. Tarts. Apple turnovers. Things like that,” she quietly suggested, but didn’t have anything that she could think of that she specifically wanted. She didn’t know what Talia had, so she didn’t want to inconvenience her.
“You all live here?” she asked after a moment, because it was… strange… but must have been nice to live in a place where there were so many others. And by so many others she meant more than just herself and her aunt. Except she lived in the apartment below her aunt, not with her.
“Lift up your shirt,” she then requested to Malcolm. The look she gave him promised that she would do it herself if he didn’t comply.
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2022 7:09 pm
Malcolm had been a little shy to introduce himself to Rhiannon as Malcolm. His hair was a little unkempt, in a braid he’d been wearing all day. He’d been wearing block reading glasses, and a slightly oversized, faded blue sweater and black jeans. He looked like he could have easily fit into the background of about just any scene, so when the attention was on him, he seemed a bit sheepish.
Rhiannon’s identity had been important to he to keep secret, and a part of him felt guilty for seeing her now so he tried not to look at her too much, but his head snapped up when she insisted he lift up his shirt. He immediately looked a bit pink, and he suspected she only wanted to see because of where he’d been hurt earlier.
“It’s fine,” he insisted quickly; his hands curled at the hem of his sweater and he looked like he was torn between complying and protesting. “I mean, I’m fine, it’s not bad. I don’t live here,” he said, and the words just tumbled out like he thought he might be able to distract her. “I still live with my parents.” No, that was a little cringy; he looked embarrassed for even saying that much.
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Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2022 10:52 am
Fruit…Talia could do fruit. She was sure that they had something, and making up a tart crust wasn’t difficult. “Can do, might not be perfect but…” Her head turned to look at the two of them when Rhiannon’s request reached her ears and she gave a half amused, half embarrassed cough. “I wanna check out the wound too, not gonna lie, but maybe not in the kitchen? We can take a look after I get the cookies in the oven, if that’s okay?”
A possible open wound and exposed skin didn’t really sit well on Talia’s mind when she was baking. There was too much that could happen, and if the wound got infected because it was exposed while she was mixing flour into the dough for something, she would absolutely never forgive herself.
“The house is crowded sometimes but…all of us here are powered too…so it’s a great connection…and honestly…most of the people who live here…”
She paused and wrinkled her nose. “...Yeah, most, not all since we have Todd, but most of us have come from situations of purifying out of the Negaverse too so…that…” Talia shrugged and turned away again, turning off the mixer. “It adds another layer of…understanding, I guess. But…sometimes I do wish the house was a bit bigger. Evan and I have to share the kitchen, and he’s quite possessive of it but…since I came back…I’ve really enjoyed baking. It’s new, I guess.”
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Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2022 7:10 pm
Rhiannon tilted her head curiously when Malcolm reacted so tensely to being asked to lift up his shirt, insisting that he was okay. She tilted her head the other way, towards Talia, as though silently acknowledging what she was saying. And then…
She reached out to gently take hold of one of Malcolm’s hands, tugging it away from the hem of his sweater so she could hold it between both of hers.
“It’s okay, we don’t have to look at it. Your magic would have healed him already, Talia,” she decided. She didn’t see any blood seeping through his clothes, and if anything, he looked more uncomfortable now than he had all day. Okay, maybe not all day, but there was a certain panic about him that made her hesitate and feel guilty for drawing attention to him.
Rhiannon frowned again, shifted a little in her seat knowing there were many with connections to the Negaverse. She could feel her heart racing, and maybe she held a little tighter than intended to Malcolm’s hand, but she smoothed the back of it with the tips of her fingers in apology.
“Evan doesn’t seem the type of person to be possessive,” she said quietly, but then shook her head. “I don’t know him well enough.” If anything, he seemed like a pushover, if she was being honest.
How any of these people survived for as long as they had, she had no idea.
“I live in my auntie’s basement apartment,” she then said, wanting to reassure Malcolm that it was okay to still live with family.
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Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2022 8:13 am
Malcolm smiled, soft and appreciative, when Rhiannon took his hand, and still when she mentioned living with her aunt. He knew she was nervous about all of this; she’d kept her identity closely guarded for a while. He was grateful that she shared her identity with them now, but he still felt a bit nervous about being too overwhelming.
“Evan’s always been protective of the kitchen,” Malcolm volunteered, but he knew he wasn’t the best person to talk about it. He mostly knew Evan through other people–Talia, and Cambria, and Zac. “I don’t think he means any harm by it. He and my brother were, um–friends? In high school. And he was always coming over with food he made. He’s a lot different than in high school. It’s really nice to see him grow into himself, he’s a lot more confident in the kitchen. I’m glad he got to have his food truck, he makes really good comfort food. I’ve gone a few times and it’s always been really good.”
He chewed on his lip and almost tried to tug at his shirt again, but he realized he was just getting himself all worked up for no reason. He was here with friends, and anything that had happened earlier wasn’t worth thinking about right now. They were safe, and they were together.
“Um. But I promise, it’s not like…I don’t think it’s that bad or anything. It’s like, it’s itchy,” he said, and again resisted the urge to scratch at it. “If–I mean, if I’m going to take my shirt off, I’d rather do it in the bathroom or somewhere a little more private. I mean, there are a lot of people here, and…”
And he didn’t want to get into all of his insecurities and bring everyone down. He smiled at Talia, appreciative that she was trying so hard to make them nice treats. He thought she probably used the kitchen for the same reason as Evan did; it was safe. They could create something for someone else. They could take care of other people.
“I mean, I really do think it’s okay. But I don’t–I don’t want either of you to worry. But I promise, it wasn’t as bad as the last time I got stabbed.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2022 6:54 pm
“Well, we can take a look in a few minutes, I’d rather it be somewhere more private too, but…” Talia glanced over to him, giving a smile that ended up more like a grimace. “How about we make sure to try very hard to not let you get stabbed again…the fact that it’s happened more than once makes me feel…rather ill…”
And like she should have prevented it…or if she wouldn’t have wasted her stronger magic on the fake Malus and the fake Adria…maybe she could have done more.
She should have done more.
Swallowing hard, Talia turned away again finally adding the chocolate to the batter, adding…far too many chips to the batter in all honesty but…
That was fine. A little extra chocolate never hurt anyone…besides. It was good for the soul. And the heart and the nerves. And they deserved it.
“I think it’s nice that you two both still live with your family…” There was a wistful note to her voice at that, and a sad wish that she had any real family, or. Had Faustite back even. Faustite purified. Her other brother here with her. It. Would have made everything simply perfect. “I’m not really sure about mine, but Evan has agreed to be my brother in this life so…I guess I live with my family too!”
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2022 6:09 pm
Rhiannon frowned. Not particularly at either of them, just at hers and Malcolm’s hands as she held his. He was saying he didn’t mind taking off his shirt in the bathroom, and he could do whatever he wanted of course, but she didn’t want him to be made uncomfortable for their benefit.
She was also curious as to what Talia expected to do for him, unless she was also medically trained and not just a healer with magic. Wanting to help was good, but Rhiannon hoped that they were all training themselves to make potentially life saving decisions…
And not just all helpless, poking and prodding at each other before slapping a bandaid on something.
Maybe she was just uncomfortable because the topic of family had been brought up, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
“Not all family is good,” she said quietly, but she didn’t need to bore either of them with the specifics of her life. They’d just met her as Rhiannon. They didn’t need to know the things her mother put her through, or how her father abandoned them.
After a moment, she looked up at Malcolm with a quiet sigh. “No more getting stabbed.” And then to Talia. “No more getting stabbed.” Just in case she thought it didn’t apply to her as well.
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2022 6:36 pm
Malcolm smiled, but in the process forgot to untangle his brows so he still looked a little worried. “I promise, I didn’t mean to. It–I mean, I feel really stupid, in hindsight. I should have been more careful but I let my emotions get the best of me. But, you know–I’d rather get hurt doing the right thing than someone else get hurt because I didn’t try. Anyway, I’m pretty durable,” he insisted.
Although, judging by the way his face immediately turned red it was obvious that he might not have had that much faith in himself, or just felt silly trying to say anything good about him.
Even if it was just his propensity to survive stabbings.
He tugged at the hem of his shirt again and tried not to look at Rhiannon too much because he’d heard what she said, and then he thought he heard what she said. So, he tried to catch her eye and smile reassuringly, but he didn’t try to press it. “I think family’s the best when you get to choose your it. Found family is one of my favorite types of stories,” he explained, and though he found a way not to make eye contact while he said it, he was visibly sincere. “Because then you know you find people that like you for who you are, and are going to stick with you through anything. Not people who are there just because you share some genetics. I don’t know, that might be silly!” he laughed, and was still red from earlier so he sheepishly rubbed at his face quickly as if that could hide it.
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 8:15 am
Taking a moment to put a piece of cling wrap over the top of the cookie dough before putting it into the fridge, Talia rummaged through and found a few nice looking apples, perfect to make something out of. She was turning over the idea and the words that they were both saying and after a moment, gave a sigh, placing the four apples on the counter and moving over to both of the two at the table. “Rhi, he’s right. Found family is the best family, and now we’ve found you, so…we’re terribly lucky.”
Looping her foot around the leg of Malcolm’s chair, she drew him closer and pulled both of them into a loose hug, pressing a kiss to the top of each blonde head.
“I can’t promise I won’t get stabbed, but I do promise that I’ll be more careful with myself. I’ll start…trying to have a buddy with me when I go out, and I’ll start telling people when I have dumb ideas and people I think are worth saving…and…I’ll just. Do my best. For you. Because I love you both so much, it’s…”
She let out a sigh and rested her chin on Rhiannon’s shoulder for a moment. “...it’s nice. To feel so warm with people.” Glancing towards Malcolm, Talia gently rubbed his back with the tips of her fingers. “Don’t worry. It’s not your fault. That Chaos was…trickier than I would have ever believed. It almost got us all, honestly…”
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Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 6:32 pm
“That means you have a family. Not just Evan,” Rhiannon gently countered Talia. If Talia was worried about not having family to live with, but believed Malcolm was right, then she was agreeing that living with people she cared about was just as important and as nice as living with blood relatives.
But she also lifted her hand to gently comb her fingers through Talia’s dark hair as she rested her chin on Rhiannon’s shoulder.
“It’s okay to think that people are worth saving. It’s not okay to get so caught up in trying to save them that you lose sight of the consequences your actions can bring. People could probably trick you easily because you want to see the best in them. They’ll take advantage of it.”
She paused to tilt her head to rest against Talia’s. “You know I’m not taking advantage of it because I’m not that nice.”
Maybe it was an exaggeration. She wasn’t being mean, but she also thought that both Talia and Malcolm were wearing rose tinted glasses.
She squeezed Malcolm’s hand again, and then said, “I killed you.” She couldn’t look at him, or at Talia. “I couldn’t feel the warmth from your magic, so I knew it was Chaos. I used my magic on you, but it didn’t work how it usually did, either. I thought I must have made a horrible mistake. You fell into the mud and must have suffocated. Then Lysithea saw and tried to kill me for it. I thought I deserved it.”
Her voice remained barely above a whisper, and broke a couple times with emotion. She couldn’t look at them, but she thought they deserved to know what she was capable of -- killing her friend and giving up. The Chaos wasn’t just tricky, it was terrifying.
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Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2022 8:28 pm
Malcolm swallowed the lump in his throat; the loose hug had been reassuring, and he squeezed Rhiannon’s hand as if to offer silent support when his words failed him. It took him a moment to find his words but he didn’t want he to sit there and blame herself for something that wasn’t her fault.
“You didn’t kill me,” he reminded gently. “You didn’t kill anything. It was all just a trick. I’m fine,” he promised. “And Lysithea would never want to kill you. Even if there was an accident where I got hurt. Talia would want to make sure you were okay, I’m sure. You did the right thing by fighting the chaos. I wish I’d been clever enough, but I just panicked. I’m going to have to work harder. But–I am going to,” he promised, looking between the two of them.
“I’m not going to be a weak point in the Court, I just want you to know that. I’m going to find a way to do better. I don’t want to let you down. And I’m okay, I’ll finish healing up and be fine, and I’ll do better next time. I know I’m gullible. I just–I know it’s stupid. I just always think, what if I were in their shoes and no one would listen to me or give me a chance? And I guess I know what it’s like to be on the outside and feel like you don’t belong. And. I mean,” he forced a laugh, “I don’t actually have a lot of friends. And I didn’t growing up. And I guess I just get worried about people who are lonely. And I want to try and help them because.”
Because it’s what he’d wanted when he’d been lonely, but he looked embarrassed to say it and immediately dropped his eyes.
“But I’m going to try harder. I don’t want you to have to worry about me. Thank you both for being so strong and clever and knowing what to do, today. I’m really lucky to know you both, and I really appreciate you two so much.”
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Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2022 9:34 pm
Laughing softly, Talia shook her head. “Yeah, yeah. You’re right. About the family at least. About the not being nice though, you’re completely wrong. You’re extremely nice, and those who don’t take the time to learn that…” She pressed another kiss to Rhiannon’s forehead and then looked to Malcolm, shaking her head.
“And you! The both of you. There are no weak links in this court. There is nobody in this court who is any kind of a weak link. We compliment each other, and we love each other. Malcolm, you did nothing wrong, and neither did you, Rhi. You’re both tired and both being very silly, and it’s all going to be okay.”
Trauma did that to people, and…that was all. When the baked goods were ready, she could really do her part, but for now…she could just. Keep being strong.
“I would never turn on either of you for anything…and it doesn’t make me weak or…naive or anything like that…I’m just. Squishy, and Rhi, you can help me form a lovely candy shell and make better decisions, and…it’ll all be good. So long as we have each other…it will all be good. I love you guys. More than I can possibly say, so…don’t ever doubt yourselves. Especially not when we know that it was chaos being a complete and total a**.”
…Like it normally was.
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 5:51 am
Rhiannon smoothed her fingers over the back of Malcolm’s hand in reassurance. As if to say me too, even if she was looking up at Talia who’d kissed her forehead and was talking about them complimenting each other.
Rhiannon understood what it was like to be the odd one out. To be lonely and lost. Sometimes it was easier to stay away from people. They couldn’t hurt you that way. She knew what it was like to not have friends, to be told she wasn’t worth the trouble.
She liked to think things were different now, with them. She was putting herself at a huge risk -- more importantly, putting her family, regardless of how close they were or not, at risk. Her auntie especially. Her cousin already had a target on her back. The children were in danger as well. There were so many she knew that could be targeted by the Negaverse that she’d thought it was better to be alone.
“Thank you, Malcolm. You’re very sweet. Thank you, Talia. You’re including yourself in that, I hope,” she added after a moment, looking up at Talia.
Maybe there was a little weariness in her eyes, maybe a little suspicion. She wanted to make sure that Talia was telling them those things about no weak links and how they complimented each other, while also including herself in the equation.
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 10:08 am
The ghost of a touch on his hand brought Malcolm some relief, even if his brows stayed knit. Sometimes his face just seemed twisted in permanent worry, even if he was happy. Tonight, he had a lot to think over, and even with the kind reassurances, he was still determined to do better.
He wasn’t beating him up, he wanted to be reliable. He wanted to be dependable. He wanted to be someone they could trust to make good decisions and not have to worry about.
Talia knew him, she knew he wasn’t going to just stop doubting himself–especially after something like this. The best way for him to heal and make progress was to set a goal for himself and try to take steps to reach it. He wasn’t going to wallow in his mistakes, he was going to try and learn from them and do better next time.
“I think everyone is probably on their own path of growth, but I think as long as we’re all doing our best, we shouldn’t feel bad about where we’re at. I know that I can rely on you two if I need anything. And the others! I just. You’re really important to me. I just don’t want to mess anything up. I want to make your lives easier. Not make you worry about, you know, if I’m secretly bleeding out or something. I’m not. It’s a little itchy, and it feels like a pulled muscle,” he promised, and tried to smile enough that they wouldn’t actually worry about him.
He trusted them. Believed in them. Appreciated them.
He wanted the best for them, and wanted to be the best version of himself for them.
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