ofkalea

[ofkalea]

leavetheminshreds​:

-

“Alright, okay. So-” Doug started, a thin smile on his lips, clearly not impressed by her answer, though it did not seem like any answer would have satisfied him, “how many times have you had to do those things? Do you just carry hair spray and a lighter on you? I assume you have that silver dagger tucked away somewhere, then. Knowing and doing are very different things.”

 He quieted down when she began to tell him more about what she’d gone through in the Archives, still wondering how she’d gotten down there in the first place when he’d remembered coming down alone. Unless she’d gotten there before he had? He was still confused about that. Douglas listened, still not giving her a lot of expression to read him. The story seemed bizarre, but with his own experiences in the Archives, he could not really judge what it was capable of being. The fact that she just…asked for it and was given it mildly infuriated him, but there was nothing he could do about that. Wishing he’d taken a different path didn’t change the fact that he hadn’t. While she got a cool sword, he had his heart ripped out of his chest. “And then I assume you ran into me,” he finished, remembering how jarred he had felt the moment he’d laid eyes on her. “We were bound to work together, I guess. All things considering, at least we got out alive.” Even if he was quietly convinced that they’d just been pawns in a bigger game. “Thanks for helping me make sure we didn’t all die, I suppose.”

- 

“Oh...I haven’t tried any of those, at least not when being actively attacked.” Kalea responded, tone suggesting it was one of the most obvious things. “But yea, actually-” On cue she tugged the dagger out swiftly from it’s hidden scabbard in her back beltloop, holding the handle out to Douglas gingerly. “You can check to see if I’m joking or not, this was a gift from a friend.” A soft hum fell from her lips as she lips quirked up in the corners, an idea popping into her head. “Ya know, since you seem quite the expert in these things, maybe you could train me or something. Teach me some tricks to protect myself.” It’d give her an excuse to see him again.

She could almost see the questions in his eyes, which made her heart ache a little. He really didn’t remember any of it, did he. Not them holding onto each other’s hand for some sort of comfort in the terrifying things they’d seen, not him saving her from the shadows in the library...not the kiss in the Archives or before they left each other. None of it. Kalea nodded her head. “Yea, I ran into you and then we were not so gracefully transported to the steps.” She didn’t want to drudge up their not-so-happy reunion. At his thanks, she smiled softly. “Thank you, I’m glad we were able to take Merlin down.” Her voice died off towards the end, head tilting slightly as she looked up at him, gaze gentle. “If you don’t mind me asking, what did you see in the Archives?” 

[ofkalea]

lovesucked​:

-for @ofkalea​

So sure he wasn’t easy to befriend, James would be the first to admit that but also college was hell and there was a certain ease befriending the people that were stuck in the trenches together. He doesn’t really remember the specifics but he knew one day Kalea was taking up the space next to him in his Japanese history class and they’d wound up making sure they were in classes together for the past two semesters. It’s maybe why he’s neck deep in an art class he only really needs for electives but takes seriously cause no he isn’t competitive at all.

But still they’re at Love You a Latte and he’s on his third caffeinated O negative and his hands are smudged a little from charcoal. Of course that doesn’t deter James from taking a bite out of his bagel and scowling down at his homework. “So this art thing, is it supposed to get easier or something cause I don’t believe it.” Taking through his mouthful, he huffs and sits back with a shakes of his head.

Another bite and he nods at his sketchpad, a silent offer for her to take a look at the sketch of wolves playing in the snow. It’s decent of course but James is nothing but a perfectionist and he can’t help but notice the little things. “Man this would be easier if I was back home.”

-

It was easier to get through classes when you had a friend in them. Kalea had figured this fact out her second year in, so she’d made it her mission to try and make a friend in whatever class she took. James had become a special case, though, ending up a friend she enjoyed hanging out with regardless of the need to study for an upcoming exam. But she digressed, it was easier to study when you had someone who was either just as confused as you, or someone who had far better notes on whatever subject you found yourself stuck on. 

A perfect example, the art nerd all to happy to try and help James with his project for their art course. She tore a piece of her muffin off and popped it into her mouth, chewing as she chuckled softly at his scowl. “Art is supposed to be in the eye of the beholder. Which I’ve always taken to mean there is no bad art, if that’s what you mean.” She replied with a shrug, lifting her mug to her lips to take a long and labored sip. Caffeine practically ran through her veins at this point.

At the offer she half spins the sketchpad towards her, looking it over. “I hate to be the one to tell you this...” Dramatic pause. “But you’re being way too hard on yourself, this is great. Listen here’s my advice; if you’re not happy with this one, start another one. You can always come back and fix this one if you don’t like the second piece, but I’d hate to see you potentially over fix something and you don’t like it even more afterwards. Sometimes you just need to take a break and come back to it later.” 

[ofkalea]

leavetheminshreds​:

-

“Knowing a few supernatural doesn’t mean you’re experienced with them. It means you’re naive enough to trust them. You happen to be a food source for one of those, by the way, so yes, you lack self preservation,” he said flatly, pulling back his shoulders into a tall stance as he continued. “Let’s say you don’t have a magic sword doing the work for you. What do you do when a vampire attacks you? A witch hexes you? A werewolf tries to bite you?” He quieted down when she spoke about excalibur, the corner of his lips twitching once as he pressed them together. He was tempted to ask her if she had asked it why it’d chosen her, an inexperienced human girl, of all people, looking to make another jab, but held his tongue. “How did you find it again? What did you do? Walk me through it.”

-

She felt as if it’d be a truly losing argument to bring up the whole ‘letting a vamp feed off of her from time to time’ thing, so she bit her tongue. But let it be known she was tempted, just to annoy Douglas. “I’m aware, thank you.” Kalea returned, with a near huff before a smirk ghosted over her lips, the young woman answering his inquiries on attacks. “Silver dagger to the throat? Lighter plus aerosol can for a makeshift flamethrower? Poof, nothing more than a pile of ash.” She also recently acquired a nifty runes tattoo that apparently worked as something of a protective shield, so there was that. But she felt that wouldn’t help her case. 

At his insistence to know how she’d acquired Excalibur, she rubbed her temple a little before scrunching her nose, setting the books she’d gathered onto a bare space of the nearest shelf.

“I took a path that turned into this...forest, I don’t know if the forest was even still in the Archives but I digress. I could either take a path that led further into the forest, all mist and ominous, or I could take a path that led to a small house by this lake where some cloaked figure was sitting by a fire outside.” She watched to see if Douglas was with her so far. “Remember the Knight from the fight? That was him, and I just started asking him questions, he responded with rhyming riddles. Apparently that was the Lake Excalibur had been thrown into. So I just...I asked how I could get the sword, if I even could...” Kalea cleared her throat. “Because I needed to help, no matter what I had to do. Then he said something about ‘Courage of Heart’ and gave me the sword and everything disappeared, until there was just a path again.” 

[ofkalea]

leavetheminshreds​:

-

“If you have a list you can name off, then you’ve already made my point. Your sense of self preservation is terrible. We got so lucky,” Douglas closed his eyes, shaking his head at her amateurish endeavor to earn some kind of credibility. What she said next made him pause and pay attention, however. “…It talks to you?” He asked, not shocked living in a world where Merlin really did exist, and the stories Arthur told him as a kid were true. “What does it say?”

-

“So...” She shook her head, laughing breathlessly at his logic. “If I don’t know any, I’m some inexperienced human. But if I can list off some supernaturals that I do know, I lack self-preservation? Can you give me a happy medium?” Kalea returned, genuinely curious what this side of Douglas figured was a middle ground where knowledge of the supernatural was concerned. She figured mentioning Excalibur would either grab his attention, or would make him mad at her again like in the Archives. “Yea.” She shrugged. “More advice than anything, usually pretty snarky if you can believe it.” You two would get along, she wanted to say. “It’s helping me learn how to be a better swordsman. I mean, who better than a mythical sword right?” 

[ofkalea]

leavetheminshreds​:

-

“We got lucky,” he said, acknowledging her statement but not giving her the satisfaction of the teamwork that happened naturally. He gave her an incredulous look. “So you’re that kind of human,” he replied, pausing with a raise of his eyebrows as if affirming his suspicion before he continued, “inexperienced with supernaturals. So, we got really lucky. Have you ever even held a sword before in your life?”

-

“Lucky,” She repeated, half exasperated yet not all that surprised. This version of Douglas would ignore the way they naturally worked together. “Yea sure.” Kalea scrunched her nose when he made it sound like being a human was bad thing...before she let out a chuckle. “Actually not quite. My roommate turns into a tiger, and I’ve been friends with plenty of vampires. Even a witch.” She felt like telling him that one vampire she’d let drink from her wouldn’t help the situation. “So I’d say I’ve dabbled where supernaturals are concerned. But where swords are concerned, the closest I’ve gotten is fencing. Thank goodness Excalibur can talk to me in my head, eh?” 

[ofkalea]

leavetheminshreds​:

“Yeah,” Doug said in reply, his tone short as he crossed his arms over his chest, looking her over with a critical stare, clearly sizing her up. He was quiet for a moment, his lips pulling into a thin line as he shifted on his feet. “…Thanks. For your help. I’m not really sure if we really won, but in the moment it seemed like the right thing to do - and you did a good job.”

If Excalibur could hear her thoughts right now, it’d probably berate her. She rolled her shoulders a little when she noticed Douglas’ look, but her demeanor remained casual. Don’t antagonize him. “Yea of course, thank you too. We uh, we made a pretty good team actually.” Of course they did, but he wouldn’t remember any of their teamwork from before. “So did you. I’ve never seen a werewolf in action, it was impressive.” She complimented genuinely, but tried to keep her tone as neutral as possible. That had also been something of a bomb dropped in the moment, but not as big as the rest of what she was processing. Douglas a werewolf? Who would’ve guessed. 

[ofkalea]

@leavetheminshreds

[ofkalea]

An almost relieved laugh fell from her lips at Sander's response, Kalea nodding. "Aye aye Captain, lead the way." She replied in turn, falling into step alongside him. The question posed was a valid one, though she paused a moment as she thought on how to answer it. Oh ya know, just recovering from some trauma and hiding from it too-sounded a bit too heavy right off the bat. Though eventually, she did want to dish to Sander onto some of what had occurred. "I've been way too busy lately it seems, work and school have just been piling up." Kalea responded easily, it was mostly true. "But you hun sound like you should not take after me, and should in fact get some rest. Can't run yourself into the ground." She playfully nudged her friend, before a laugh managed to escape her. "Just...surviving." Kalea joked. "You know how it is, take it day by day, yea? What about you?"

As her face dropped to mask his own serious face, a grin blossomed across his face. “Very good then soldier. Right this way!” He saluted back to her, falling into an easy walk as he headed up to the park exit. “I haven’t seen you in forever. Are you just laying low or have I been that busy with work?” He arched a brow down at her, trying to quash the nervous energy that still ran through his veins even after an extended run. “Or maybe I’ve been hiding away. Sleep is a hot commodity now a days and I am afraid to say…. I’m broke in that respect.” He was already thinking about putting on a marvel movie and falling asleep in the middle of it. Being on call meant you got to sleep whenever you could but… he had to admit, he was glad he’d run into Kalea. “Annnyway,” he drawled, unable to hide his laugh. “I do go on. How have you been?”

[ofkalea]

moonglut​:

Sander had been ousted out of bed for an early morning call. Days that started off like that never seemed to end particularly happy but he was trying to make the best out of the day by getting some exercise and rewarding himself with a donut and coffee so sweet it rendered his jog superfluous. He was stretching out his protesting limbs when he heard a voice and grinned over at her. “Hey! Fancy meeting you here. I actually get my morning donut and coffee from a great place a few blocks down. I can show you if you like. Just don’t go spilling secrets. It’s my little private hide-a-way and I don’t want people eating all my pastries.”

Kalea flashed her friend a bright smile when she recognized him, thankful to see a friendly face. She truly needed some time with friends, and Sander was a perfect example of that. “Sander! Can’t even tell you how great it is to see ya.” She laughed, nodding along as she listened to the idea for food. “That sounds even better, actually. I could use the caffeine, and a donut sounds wonderful right about now.” Her expression dropped into a faux serious one as she pretended to look around, before saluting Sander with a smirk. “I promise not to spill. Consider me honored that I get to know about it.” Kalea hummed. 

[ofkalea]

Kalea felt a bit like she was...flailing. 

She’d thrown herself into her studies and art after everything that’d happened, especially once she found herself alone in her usually shared apartment; Sabine having gone off to deal with what had happened in her own way. Kalea bothered Victor when she could, but at times she holed herself in the apartment to try and not think about...well anything. The loss of Ronan, what she’d had to do (which had unsurprisingly given her terrifying nightmares), and the ever prominent loss of Douglas. 

But he was still very much in Los Santos, which made the open wound hurt all that much more. She had half of a mind to try and switch her classes to online and take that trip to Hawaii to visit family she’d been putting off. 

She was torn on whether or not if she should avoid him. He didn’t know who she was, telling him seemed to make the situation worse...she wasn’t sure what to do. So when she saw him down the fantasy aisle, she almost turned around-but he saw her first. “Hi uhm, yea.” She saw awkwardly flashing a small smile in greeting. “It’s Kalea. Nice to see you again, under better conditions at least.” Kalea half-heartedly joked, a snort of laughter escaping her. 

@ofkalea​

Douglas tried very hard to stay busy.

If he wasn’t working out, he was reading. If he wasn’t reading, he was helping in the library. If he wasn’t in the library, he was in the Archives. His curiosities had been piqued by something he didn’t understand. The more he thought about the events that had occurred, the more he wondered if they’d really won because of what he sacrificed - or if his sacrifice had been part of the ritual all along. The “librarian” had said he’d been waiting for him, fond of the fact that Douglas had been there.

He felt used, taken advantage of. He didn’t like it. 

Douglas couldn’t spend all day in the Archives - although he tried. Arthur still needed some help in the main library, so he’d took a break to go return a few books to their proper spots. Here he was, returning some adult fantasy novels back to their shelves when he caught someone looking at him at the corner of his eye. 

He was in the middle of setting Lord of the Rings back into it’s space when he paused, glancing to see if someone needed some help. “Can I help you-” he started, hesitating mid sentence when he saw it was the girl he had to team up with to beat the Entity. “Oh. It’s you. Sorry, what was your name again? Kaira? Kala?”

[ofkalea]

[ofkalea]

status: open to anyone

location: any park in the city

If anyone knew the real reason as to why Kalea had enrolled in a beginner level kickboxing class, they’d probably send her to the nearest psych ward. Or why she’d decided to go for jogs for frequently. A mythical sword you were given by a Knight was helping to train you? Yea, that probably wouldn’t go over well in most circles. The exercise kept her mind off of…other issues in her life for the time being. It was a nice distraction. Which was why, as she finally took a break after her last lap, Kalea walked up to the nearest person with a warm smile. “Hi! This may come off as an odd question…but do you know of a good place for smoothies? I’d be happy to buy you one for the trouble of helping me out.” She offered, hands on her hips.

[ofkalea]

AULI’I CRAVALHO via TikTok

[ofkalea]

I've finally finished this one! An untidy, yet cosy fantasy/sci-fi bookshop, with a stack of old paperbacks on the counter.

Prints available here

[ofkalea]

@leavetheminshreds

♡ ultimate romance meme ♡ : 3/5 hand holding scenes

[ofkalea]

auliicravalho via Instagram:

Honored to have celebrated @tessamaethompson as the new face of @armanibeauty! 💕 felt like a breath of fresh air w/ @alexahernandez.xyz + @cynthiaglam ✨ p.s. AJ’s dreams came true that night and if you get this movie reference then hats off to you fellow #crushers 🥳💗 #ArmaniBeauty