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 Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 4:48 pm
Quote: Frozen Time (3) : Midnight is a magical time of night; parties, dancing, kisses--there are a number of rituals celebrated in the winter nights. Every night has a midnight, but this one is special. There is an old church and bell tower on the quiet outskirts of town, near a beautiful forest that has been decorated with lights to celebrate the season. Maybe you are alone, maybe you are with friends, or maybe you’re at a party celebrating one of the many events--whatever the case, small, delicate snowflakes have been falling lightly for the past hour. And then--suddenly--they stop. The clock strikes midnight and the bell echoes a low, metallic chime that feels like it can be heard for miles. By the second chime, you realize that nothing else is moving. Snowflakes are suspended in the air and all living creatures--plants, animals, and people alike--are completely frozen. The clock chimes twelve times and the world is still frozen. Suddenly, there’s no way to tell how much time has passed--but nothing moves. Maybe it feels like a moment, maybe it feels like an hour. You can try to leave the area but you can never go far enough that the church is out of sight. In an instant, time seems to snap back into motion. To everyone else, it feels like no time has passed. To you, you know. The church seems eerie and foreboding and if you return you feel uncomfortable, as though you have broken something and are unwelcome. If roleplaying with a partner, multiple characters can remain unfrozen as the world around them freezes!
But now? He had a job. Sort of. He worked, but it was mostly under the table for Evan, which he was perfectly fine with! He would work for Evan for free if Evan would let him. It also meant that he had money to buy things. Small things, probably, but something.
And with Julian getting an allowance too, it meant they were both trying to figure out what to get for their friends. Thankfully, they had Elliot and Atticus to keep them company.
Or… at least until Atticus told them that he would be taking Julian to look for presents for him and Elliot.
Which meant now Riker was stuck with Elliot until they were to meet up with Atticus and Julian at a nearby cafe. They’d already eaten, at least. And it wasn’t so late that they were getting too tired to be out. He just hadn’t been expecting to go shopping with Elliot. Although he supposed now he could get something for Julian to surprise him with.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 4:49 pm
“What are you thinking about getting Julian?” Elliot asked, with his usual friendly and casual demeanor. He didn’t seem the least bit uncomfortable about being left with Riker, but why should he? They’d been on the same team for ages, and more than that they were friends. Well, Riker sometimes still seemed undecided but Elliot had made up his mind.
It wasn't really any secret that Julian and Riker were good friends; Elliot couldn’t imagine that Riker would get presents for people and leave Julian out. He wasn’t quite fishing for information; he had some ideas for what he was going to get Julian but he wasn’t exactly easy to shop for.
Julian would have been happy to get a neat looking rock for a gift just because you thought of him. It made him easy to shop for, but hard, too! If he was happy with anything, how did you know what he wanted? Right now, Elliot was thinking about getting something practical for him, probably stationary supplies since he’d noticed Julian had a fondness for carefully organizing his notes–and he seemed to enjoy writing notes and passing them in the hallways between classes. There was a cute shop along this strip; they were heading in that direction now. Elliot had mentioned needing to grab a few things so they were on their way now. He was hoping to pick up a few things there for Julian, but he’d also planned to pick up some cute stationary for himself. He’d been writing too many love notes to Atticus so was running low on his own supplies.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 4:50 pm
Riker knew he was probably a jerk for being suspicious about Elliot’s cheerfulness. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t known him for years. It was just who Elliot was. And it was pretty annoying at times.
Most of the time. Because what did Elliot have to be so happy about? Oh, right. A loving family and good friends and tons of opportunities handed to him.
Sure, Riker was aware that maybe he was just a little bitter. Not jealous. Because why would he be jealous of something he didn’t actually want? He had Evan, and he was pretty sure that counted good enough as a loving family, anyway. Julian was basically his brother, in that case.
“I don’t know,” he grumbled and shoved his hands into the pockets of the warm jacket he was wearing. It protected against the chill of the night at least.
He did know, though. He’d been eyeing one of those little warming plates to keep stuff like tea and coffee or even soup warm. Julian got distracted or focused on things, and could probably be offered a little grace with letting his tea or food remain warm for longer, rather than suffering through having it cold, or not bothering in the first place.
Every so often his chest ached, and a pain from what lingered of his wounds irritated him, but he was mostly healed. He felt guilty for it, knowing that Cassidy was still in physical therapy for his injuries. If only they’d figured out a way to get him some healing, sooner.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 4:52 pm
Elliot tilted his head as if he thought he might hear Riker a little better but there wasn’t any point to it when Riker wasn’t saying anything. He waited for a few seconds to give Riker time to speak again but he didn’t mind when there wasn’t any clarification.
“Oh, that’s all right. There’s still plenty of time to figure it out. Is there anything you want for yourself?”
He didn’t have to fish for information, he was just curious. He’d already planned to get Riker a video game he’d enjoyed but he was trying not to make a big deal out of it or hype it up. He had a bit of an idea of the games he’d liked because Julian told him which ones got the most use while Riker was recovering. Julian had often expressed how grateful he was that Elliot had let them borrow a few games and the console to play them on, and Elliot had already insisted they keep everything and get good use out of it. It wasn’t even a selfless action since a new console and new copies of the games had already appeared mysteriously in Elliot’s room. It could have been either Atticus or Michael but both of them were playing coy. So, probably Michael, since Atticus wasn’t very good at keeping secrets.
The thought brought a smile to his face, anyway. It was a bit chilly outside, not so much that he was freezing, but he was looking forward to getting inside and warm, soon. Especially since he didn’t want Riker to get so cold he started shivering.
Riker was doing a good job pretending like hadn’t just died–albeit briefly–but Elliot knew how much it must have hurt. He knew that he was healing. He knew that Riker was pretending like it didn’t hurt as much as it must have.
Elliot wanted to do what he could to keep Riker comfortable, especially since he hardly advocated for himself. He kept a quick pace and pulled open the door to the stationary shop, holding it for Riker in the gentlemanly way he would have for anyone else.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 4:53 pm
“Not really,” Riker grumbled once more in response. He knew he wasn’t being
fair to Elliot, who was obviously just trying to be friendly and make conversation. He wasn’t even being pushy. Thank goodness. Because if he was trying to pry stuff from Riker, then Riker would clam up even more.
Instead, Riker awkwardly followed along with Elliot to the stationary shop, scoffing at the flowery displays and fancy, useless things.
Except he knew that Julian would probably like a lot of this stuff. Damn, that meant Elliot was probably going to buy him things from this store.
Riker already bought gifts for Elliot and Atticus. It wasn’t too difficult. Sweaters. The exact same in two different sizes. So they could do their stupid little matching thing. It was gross. As if Riker wasn’t indulging them with more opportunities for it.
He eyed Elliot when he held the door for him, and gave him a suspicious look as he walked inside, mumbling a quiet thanks as he passed him.
“Bet we could all make use of the wax,” he scoffed, except it was with mild curiosity. It seemed like such a waste of time to melt some wax just to stamp their rings. He twisted his around his finger. Plain and ordinary now, of course. But he liked having something with him.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 4:54 pm
There was no catch when Elliot opened the door, it was just good manners. He hurried in after Riker and rubbed his hands together quickly to help heat them up. “That’s a good idea,” Elliot hummed. He knew Riker had probably just intended to be facetious but it was a good idea.
“We should get some, I bet that would look really cool. Hey, which one of these stationeries do you like the most? Julian’s probably going to be writing you the most notes.”
It was only partly a joke; Elliot valued Riker’s input, but he wasn’t here for just Julian. He’d already found a few things he liked and tucked them into the crook of his arm. Some cute honey bee stationery for him to write to Atticus, and some matching stickers. Some cute flowers, too. Julian seemed to like neutral colors and pastels–nothing gaudy or flashy, just a little bit of subtle color.
There was a sale on some of the fall patterned stationery, and Elliot would have been drawn to it even if it wasn’t discounted. Cute, country-style prints and patterns. Checkerboard and patchwork. Maybe he should have gotten a basket, they’d been in the store for all of a minute and he felt like he’d picked up half of what he’d seen.
…Riker had a really good idea, maybe he should get them some stationery they could use while they were powered up, too.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 4:54 pm
Riker watched as Elliot collected whatever he could get his hands on. Okay, maybe it wasn’t whatever he could get his hands on, but he might as well since he had the money to do it. Or so it seemed.
Or maybe Riker was just being grumpy because he didn’t know where Julian was. What if he and Atticus ran into trouble? Sure they were both Knights but… but. They weren’t exactly fighters.
It wasn’t that he didn’t have all the faith in the world in them! He just worried.
“Julian writes notes to more than just me,” he huffed, but picked up a small stack of paper with music notes on them. “How about these?”
Sure, it was probably stupid that he would pick out something that Julian was second guessing about himself. But Riker was sure that once Julian felt comfortable again…
He would get there. Riker was proud of how far he’d come so far.
And Elliot was doing his best to play nice with him. He’d done a lot more than just play nice with him…
“Énna told me what you did. Back when-- you know. All the stuff happened.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 4:55 pm
Though Elliot found himself nodding along with Riker’s suggestion, it was short lived. He knew Julian played–or at least, had played. He was still working on it, presumably. He was flighty about the topic.
Like Riker had been about what happened back ‘when’.
It was the first time he’d really mentioned it with Elliot, so for a moment, the stationery was forgotten.
In a way, the topic was like a landmine. Elliot didn't want to say the wrong thing. He didn't want to bring up bad memories. It was bad enough that sometimes he closed his eyes and still saw all that blood–Riker had lived through it.
...And died in it.
He was alive and well now, but the whole ordeal was very stressful! Elliot wasn't quite sure what brought it up now, so he glanced at Riker and searched his face for any unspoken answers.
“Oh, that?” For all his words, Elliot was almost a little uncertain what to say. “What about it?”
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 4:59 pm
Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought it up. He knew it was probably awkward for Elliot to talk about.
Absently, Riker lifted a hand to rub at his chest. He was avoiding looking at Elliot as much as possible, because there was something about Elliot that seemed to be able to see through him. It was like there were no secrets that could be hidden. Not for long at least.
On top of that, nothing about Elliot seemed malicious. Which made it even more difficult for Riker to be cranky with him.
“You broke my ribs, dude,” he huffed again, rubbing at his chest once more. There was only some bruising left, but enough time had passed that he was mostly healed. Especially with help from Ephesus.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 4:59 pm
Elliot made a face that was probably a wince he was trying to hold back. “Yeah,” he said, and drew out the word apologetically. “I’m sorry about that. Michael said it happens sometimes. I’ve been trying to practice more to make sure I get it right if there’s ever a next time. I think the problem was that I wasn’t considering my strength.”
Elliot’s CPR might have been great form. Amarynthos’ might have been too much.
It didn’t matter if it was a common injury, he still felt bad about it.
Riker was alive but Elliot didn’t really think he’d done much to help. At the time it had seemed like the right thing to do! But maybe all he’d actually done was just break Riker’s ribs. Maybe Ganymede could have helped him without Elliot needing to add to his injuries.
He’d spent a lot of time thinking over it, but he’d never voiced any of the thoughts. He didn’t want Michael to think he doubted himself. He definitely didn’t want Atticus to. He couldn’t really talk to Riker about it, or Énna. So the thoughts swam around in the back of his mind.
“...But I am sorry, Riker. I did the best I could, I didn’t want to hurt you or anything. I just really didn’t want to lose you. I’m really glad you made it. But if there’s anything I can do to make up for the,” he gestured vaguely towards Riker’s chest, “just let me know, okay?”
Riker didn’t really talk a lot about it, and Elliot didn’t want to pry if it was a sensitive topic. But, with that door open, Elliot asked, “How are you feeling, is everything healing up okay?”
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 5:00 pm
Riker glanced up every now and then to make sure Elliot knew he was listening, but he busied himself with picking up little things on display. There was a pack of sparkly stickers that he thought a few people might like, especially since they were stars and iridescent. He picked up one with little farm animals, too. As for the wax…
He did end up picking up a small bag of multicolored wax. It meant he needed to buy a little candle and a fancy spoon that the wax was supposed to be melted in. But that was fine. He could test it out and maybe they could get something similar for all of their friends. Just in case they wanted to have more fun with their messages.
But he couldn’t ignore all of the apologies from Elliot. It rubbed him wrong. He didn’t think what Elliot did was bad. He was just… trying to make him feel bad or something. Riker also felt bad about it. Bad habits of self defense and preservation.
“If there’s anything you can do to make up for-- saving my life?” Riker tilted his head with a curious frown at Elliot. Obviously that wasn’t what Elliot meant. But Riker didn’t want him thinking he was actually trying to nag at him.
“I’m sorry you had to do it,” he sighed and picked up a muted blue fountain pen to look at. It was something Julian might like. But he didn’t want to go overboard, especially if Elliot was also getting him stationary stuff.
“But, uh… thanks. I’m glad you knew how. I kinda freaked everyone out, didn’t I? Sorry,” he said, and it was his turn to wince. “I’m okay. Just a little sore still, but mostly back to normal.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 5:01 pm
Elliot easily stayed away from the items Riker was picking out; there was plenty enough that it didn’t feel like they were even looking at the same things–and Julian was going to get good use out of all of it. The more he had, the better. Elliot was picking up a few things that were probably for other people too but he didn’t make a big show of it.
He’d stopped briefly, just to give Riker his full attention, but when he realized Riker was starting to get a little squirmy he found more to busy himself with.
“You don’t have to be sorry, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Elliot countered. “You did freak us out but that’s not your fault. I’m not glad you got hurt, but I’m glad you were there. I mean, if Énna had been alone…”
There wasn’t any point for either of them to think about it. They probably both already had.
“I know Atticus is big on the first aid stuff, but we talked a lot about it. I wouldn’t want him to have to do anything like that. I mean, it’s kind of gross,” he admitted. He’d felt Riker’s bones crack under his touch. Maybe at the time he hadn’t realized, he was on autopilot, but he knew. He’d been distracted by the blood at the time. And the fact that Riker’s heart had stopped.
“Atticus has skills that I don’t have, so he’s gotta focus on other things. So I do what I can.” He didn’t want to call it dirty work but that’s what it felt like, in a way. “If you ever want to learn first aid or CPR stuff, Michael’s a great teacher. Don’t use the broken ribs thing against him, that’s my bad.”
Maybe if Michael had done it, his ribs wouldn’t have been broken. Elliot cleared his throat and said, “Anyway, you don’t have to thank me for something like that. If our positions have been swapped, I know you’d have found a way to help me, too.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 5:03 pm
“It’s probably gonna be a good thing to know,” he frowned as he thought about it. He didn’t know it nearly as much as he should, but if anything happened to them? If something happened to Julian or Dawn or Énna?
“Elliot, it’s fine,” he insisted, patting his own chest to try and prove that he was really okay. “I really did just want to say thanks. Of course I would have done anything I could have to help you, but I’ll have to learn. I uh-- I asked Devyn to teach me how to fight. Maybe we could--”
He paused and glanced around to make sure no one was listening to them. It probably wasn’t the best place to talk, so he figured it was probably best to hold the conversation until they were done.
Riker switched to talking about some of the stationary he’d picked up, and once he was sure Elliot was done looking, he made his way up to the counter. He got something for all of his friends, at least. Nothing big, but a stocking stuffer would be good.
He waited at the door for Elliot to be done with his shopping as well.
“Maybe we could spar sometime,” he picked up the conversation once they were out of earshot of the rest of the store, but shrugged about it in case Elliot didn’t want to.
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 5:07 pm
For the duration of their time in the stationery shop, Elliot understood that they were halfway through a paused conversation. He finished up quickly so they could slip out and get back to it, and once they were back out in the cool winter night things picked up right where they left off.
“I’d like to spar with you. I’ve been training with Michael and Devyn. Devyn’s kind of intense. I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen him fight at his full potential? I’m not sure. I feel like he pulls his punches a lot. But he’s good. You know he’s never lost a fight? Or so he says, but I believe him. Fighting was a big thing on his homeworld. Mm, he probably told you some about Alastor while you were up there with him for so long. He’s got some really good stories.”
Elliot tried not to sound too excited but maybe he was a little too enthusiastic about Devyn’s stories. He always wanted to hear more, and Devyn always obliged.
“Anyway, he’ll chat your ear off about it so that’s all I’ll say. But Devyn’s a good teacher.” And it was maybe a little less weird than getting any training from someone you already knew, like Mr. Gallo.
“Definitely better than I am, but I’ll give you any tips I can think of when we’re sparring. Heal up quick, okay? I’ve been looking forward to seeing your new weapon in action.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 5:07 pm
“Never lost a fight and he’s the Senshi?” Riker scoffed as he walked beside Elliot with their new bags of purchases. “Maybe other people pulled their punches for him.”
The suggestion wasn’t entirely serious. He was just skeptical of a lot of things, especially when it came to adults. They were more likely to lie about things, anyway.
“Yeah, he didn’t shut up while he was up there with me,” he sighed with slight exasperation in his voice at the memory of having no one but Devyn to listen to for days while he was recovering.
“The thing about being the only survivor of a planet is that you don’t have anyone to prove that your stories are real or not,” Riker shrugged. He knew Elliot thought highly of Devyn, and Riker didn’t really dislike Devyn, but he barely knew him.
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