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 Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 12:19 pm
A quick stop at one of Luke’s favorite taco places and then the two boys were back in their dorm, food in hand and goodness did it ever smell wonderful. “I don’t say that I like much about this city, but this taco place, and getting to meet you are the best things.”
Luke gave a little grin over to Julian and stretched as he laid his food on his desk, ready to dig in. “I swear, the food has to be filled with love or magic or something. Have you had anything from here before?”
Obviously, he was going to get to eat something now...but still. “Also, if you have, or haven’t…let me know if there’s any places you like. I want to try everything that’s good. I’m not picky.”
He was itching to ask questions now that they were alone and safe in the dorm, but…it was only polite to at least let Julian get himself settled and his food in order before Luke began to just…
Ask things.
“If you haven’t had this stuff, I really hope you like it!”
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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 7:56 pm
Julian had insisted that Luke didn’t need to get him anything, but Luke’s persistence saw his resolve crumble quickly. Especially because the food smelled very good and Julian very much wanted to make sure Luke wasn’t going to hate him after this.
It was foolish. He knew it was silly. There was no reason to be worried about anything. Luke was his normal, friendly self. Julian had listened to him talk all the way back to their room and things felt pretty normal.
“I haven’t tried them,” he answered, and thanked him again for the food. “My family and I were never really big on eating out. I like it, though! There were a lot of new foods I’ve never tried.”
Julian didn’t seem picky about what he ate, even if it wasn’t good for him.
He still waited for Luke to take the first bite before he lifted the taco and nibbled on the edge. It was warm, and heated whatever winter chill had crept into his bones on the way back. Mouth full, he made a pleased little noise and nodded approval.
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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 8:01 pm
“Honestly that just means we get to try new things without any judgment, so I think that’s a win!” Luke swallowed the bite of his taco that he had taken and took a sip of the soda he had bought and finally looked over at Julian. “I have a few questions, and I hope that’s okay? But how long have you been Dering? And what’s Lysithea like? You seriously know her? She’s like…real? That’s what I can’t get over! It’s so…cool...and I’m a little jealous!”
He paused and then shook his head, thinking over his words. “Not…jealous. But I would like to meet her, if you get the chance, put in a good word for me, won’t you? Oh my god, my cousin will flip if she ever gets wind that Lysithea’s real.”
Taking another bite of his food, Luke grinned at Julian and nodded for him to speak, if he so chose.
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 8:36 am
Julian took his time to finish his mouthful, not that it was even very large. He was just buying himself a few seconds to consider his answer and get his heart out of his throat. This was easy! He was good at talking about these things!
Well, he was at least okay at it.
“She’s been nice to me. She’s really supportive. I don’t think I’ll have to put in a good word for you, I think she’ll like you. You have a lot of energy and you’re really friendly. And she likes Lysithea Knights. It’ll be a year for me in March. She was actually there when I found out I was Dering, she’s the one who explained everything to me. Have you been up to your Wonder yet?”
Maybe that was a silly question to ask, but he’d only been up to his own a few times, and he’d only scraped the surface of what Stirling’s Wonder had to offer.
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 9:11 am
“I have! I have my ring and all that, mine is like…” Luke looked thoughtful, and then a little sheepish, taking another bite of his food as he struggled to describe Lisse.
“There’s a lot of tulips. It’s beautiful. There’s a big windmill, and a cottage that’s attached and that’s where I found my ring, there’s also…I don’t know if it was a church or what, I have to be honest I’ve only been up there once, and I know I need to go back but I just haven’t. If you ever want to go with me you’re welcome! It’s…”
He wrinkled his nose. “Quiet up there. And I guess I’ve gotten used to all of the noises of the city…and it kind of…unnerved me a bit, I guess.”
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 9:36 am
“Oh, I have mine too!” he said of his ring, but he didn’t confess that he’d only recently acquired it. “My Wonder is…”
He didn’t want to say spooky, but he felt a bit unnerved sometimes. It was probably just because he was alone up there, and the fog was sometimes so thick that it made it seem like there were figures in the distance. Watching him.
Lysithea wasn’t a spooky world, though! …Unless that was just the energy he brought to his Wonder. He hadn’t felt anything like that anywhere else.
“I’m still figuring it out. It’s foggy, so sometimes it’s hard to figure out where I’m going. But it’s a forest. There are a lot of neat trees, and a lot of flowers. I saw a castle at another Wonder there, though! Yours sounds beautiful. I like quiet. I don’t mind being by myself sometimes. But too quiet can be unnerving,” he agreed. “I’d like to see your Wonder. I’ll show you mine, too, but…there’s not much to see if it’s not a sunny day, I think.”
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 9:50 am
“I’d absolutely love to go and see it! That would be fun. Field trips to space with my bestie!” It sounded amazing and…
“I think…the biggest issue I had is there was no…sounds. Like…living in Bailey, it was quieter in the winter, obviously. All of the bugs had gone underground so there weren’t crickets or anything like that, but there were always…noises. Birds and squirrels, critters everywhere…just background noise. Back on Lisse…there was wind…and…it creeped me out. The absolute silence.”
Pleased that he had articulated his issue so well, he nodded and looked excited again. “Look, Julian. I love forests. I grew up exploring the forests around my house and…I would be happy to explore with you in yours! We should get tents! Go camping for real! That would be neat.” He hesitated.
“If you would want to, I mean! Shoot, we can do it at my Wonder too!”
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 12:09 pm
“I’ve never camped,” Julian said apologetically. “It makes me a little nervous. I’m kind of a city boy.” Not a big city type of person! He was very much ‘comfortable suburban’ type. “I don’t think I know how to function out in nature. I like it though, like being in the park? But that’s safe, you’re never too far from someone if you need help. I like the idea of spending more time up there, or of camping. I’m just afraid about doing something wrong.”
But if Luke was comfortable…and Brooklyn was up there doing it on her own, too! She was quite a bit more resourceful than he was, probably.
“The, um, the unnerving quiet is a little uneasy. I wish there were birds at least. It makes me worry that there’s something wrong with my Wonder. But I need to spend more time there. I’ve seen other animals on Lysithea, though! At my friend’s Wonder. The forest also makes things kind of echo, so sometimes when I move, I startle myself. I’m trying to be better about all of that, though.”
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2024 3:46 pm
“I get that, I’ve done some camping back in Bailey, but never in space, like…I feel like it would be both more safe…and less so…more because…well if we both don’t have anything alive up there, we don’t have to worry about bears or anything like…eating us…and also, there wouldn’t be any creeps up there to like…try to take us away…so…really?”
He looked thoughtful and shrugged, taking another bite of his food as he thought about it. “I was going to say the only danger part is that there would be nobody up there but…honestly, now that I’m thinking about it, it could be a good thing, really. And I always have paper on me, and if we really needed help, we could always write to my brother or cousin, or you could write to Lysithea herself!”
The more Luke spoke and thought about it, the more excited he grew. “Yeah, yeah I think…this could be a lot of fun, and there’s no way to do it wrong, you know. Camping is just meant to be fun, and the important thing is that you’re comfortable.”
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2024 5:47 pm
Luke’s enthusiasm wasn’t entirely contagious, but Julian could see how excited he was getting and it was impossible to think that there was any world where he could have said no. Even if he was nervous, the corners of his lips turned up into a small smile. His brows were knitted together, but that seemed like a natural feature of his face.
He was always worried about something, always overthinking something.
“Is it really comfortable? I mean, laying outside, in a tent? I don’t mind sleeping on the floor, I just–you know.” He flashed another quick, nervous smile. “I’ll try it, I mean.” Especially if it was something that seemed to bring Luke so much happiness. And it was safe!
“I just don’t have any supplies for it.”
Or any funds. He never talked about his parents or getting their permission and he always seemed particularly private about that aspect of his life, aside from a vague statement here or there.
“My friend is staying at her Wonder, too. So if we did get into any real danger, we could always ask her for help. I can walk to hers from mine. But my forest is a little creepy. Fields of flowers sound nice.”
He sounded almost dreamy thinking about it. He didn’t mean to talk poorly about his Wonder! He just really didn’t want to disappoint Luke, or pick a bad place to go camping!
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2024 7:13 pm
“We can go and get some, it shouldn’t be a problem, honestly, I have some…well. Had some at home. I’m not sure if mom has gotten rid of anything or not, but…I’m sure I can convince her to give me money for new supplies if she has!”
And if he couldn't…well? He was sure that Jason would be able to think of some way of making some money, he was good at things like that, and as long as Luke shared the supplies, he couldn’t see his brother refusing.
“I know that if that doesn’t go as planned, Jason would be interested in camping up there too, I bet. He’s like, totally invested in his Wonder…a lot more than I am…sometimes he really makes me feel like I’m standing still with all of this stuff, and I don’t really like the feeling, if we’re being honest…and like…” He shrugged. “He puts so much of himself into it, like…this is what’s keeping him from going crazy after moving…I mean, I don’t know if that’s completely true or not, but it really feels that way sometimes. He’s super into training and like…I don’t know. It’s a lot. He’s a lot.”
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2024 6:19 pm
Julian considered this for a moment but he nodded slowly. “I think I understand. I want to do more at my Wonder. I feel like I’ve been a Knight for so long and I don’t really have a lot to show for it.”
He was a little embarrassed, a little ashamed. He wanted to be better. He was trying. If circumstances had been different, he’d have been out a lot more.
“Honestly, it’s a little bit of a relief…for you to know. It’s been really hard to sneak out and have an excuse. I don’t like lying. But it’s not like I can just tell people that I’m not sneaking out to cause mischief. This school doesn’t have the best reputation so I know people expect the worst.”
He still seemed a little nervous but he knew it was just because of his own shortcomings. He didn’t want to be Julia, the bad Lysithea Knight! He didn’t want to let her, or anyone, down.
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2024 6:24 pm
“Same here! The part about it being a relief, I mean. Like…I’ve wanted to tell you a few times, but I got cold feet…I’m kind of glad that you were the one to figure it out, that’s pretty cool, you know. And it really shows that you…you know. Listen and know about me…it’s nice having a friend like that…and you, you’re the best thing about this whole school. I think I would have really hated every moment here if you hadn’t been my roommate, and I don’t thank you enough for it.”
He gave a little grin and shrugged. “...So, thank you for being you. I think you’re great and I’m lucky to have you as my friend.”
He figured that Julian was just going to let him handle the whole camping thing and that…was just fine. He knew the best ways to wheedle things from his mom anyways.
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Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2024 9:01 pm
Once more, Julian felt the tension release from his shoulders. He hadn’t even realized it had been building up again, but with the pressure off his chest it felt like he could really breathe again.
Even if his mind still felt like it was spinning, he didn’t feel like he was going off the rails.
Luke was saying such kind things; Julian’s face burned with embarrassment and he mumbled a sheepish excuse, like it wasn’t really a big deal. Any friend would have noticed anyway, right? Luke was hardly secretive. Julian didn’t think he was great, and even now he thought he must have been the lucky one to have friends who were so patient with him.
In other circumstances, they might never have met, so the universe must have been kind enough to introduce them.
A soft smile grew on his face again. He forced himself to take another bite of the taco, and when he’d swallowed that he kept his eyes down and said, “I’m lucky, I think. I had a really hard time when I got sent here.” He spoke softly, like he was embarrassed to admit it. “It’s gotten easier with you around. You make this place less gloomy.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2024 7:10 pm
“I thought it was like, a death sentence honestly. And we were sent her pretty much on accident so like…I don’t know. I don’t know what I was expecting but…it’s been okay. Getting a room away from Jason was good for us both, I think. It’s allowed us both to start to figure out who we both are…and. Yeah.”
He swallowed and shoved more food into his mouth to stop himself from saying something stupid but.
“I’m glad I can help make it less gloomy for you. If we can’t both leave the school next year, I’ll just stay, so we can be roommates again and I can keep making it less gloomy. The…orchestra here really is good…”
Even if everything else did…honestly suck.
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