#interaction*

[blackcatxmagic]

Dimi did notice the way Felix's expression shifted more than once, but he felt like they understood each other on a deeper level, and he knew that the other wouldn't want Dimi to bring attention to it. But he couldn't fully ignore it either, so whenever Felix's smile would fade or his face would drop, Dimi would offer him a small, encouraging smile of his own, though he didn't bring further attention to it. "Thank you," Dimi said when Felix complimented his portfolio. "Don't let this fool you though. These are the good attempts out of many, many more failed ones. For every good photo, there are ten that are just terrible." Dimi laughed because this was true, and it didn't make him feel badly. It was just part of being a photographer. Sure, sometimes he was super inspired and didn't have as many failed shots, but overall, there were usually a good amount that he immediately discarded. "That's why I always take extra," Dimi explained. Nodding, he said to Felix, "I would love to see your work sometime, but I get it. Remember those shitty photos I'm not showing you right now."

It was getting difficult to talk about Ozma's mother, and Dimi felt his heart starting to race. Just relax, he thought, but it wasn't so easy. Part of the problem was that whenever he thought of Angelica and her leaving, he thought of what only the two of them knew, about how it was always looming over them, and Dimi couldn't even entertain the notion of what might happen if Ozma or anyone else found out. So Dimi just smiled at Felix, pushing the thought away. "I'm the lucky one," Dimi told Felix. "I can't imagine my life without her." Well that wasn't totally true because Dimi had forced himself to imagine it, and it was bleak; he hoped desperately that that would never happen.

Dimi was admittedly caught off-guard when Oscar jumped onto the counter, but he just laughed; this felt very much like typical cat behavior. "It's okay," Dimi told Felix, kissing the top of Oscar's head. "Alex is probably going to do this anyway. I know how to clean a counter, so it's alright." Obviously while cooking he didn't want Alex lingering on the counter the whole time or something, but he figured this was just part of owning a cat. "I'm sure you know that they just do what they want," he said to Felix. They timed making the sandwiches right because just as they were done, they heard the sound of a school bus out front followed by Ozma opening the door. "She's here," he told Felix excitedly. "Hey Oz!" Dimi called, "come in here. I want you to meet some of my new friends."

What followed was a whirlwind of delighted squeals and laughter as Ozma met Felix, Oscar, and Alex. Luckily Dimi introduced Felix first because she totally got lost in the cats once she noticed them. Dimi just introduced Alex as such, that was already his name, and Ozma didn't protest when Dimi revealed that Alex wasn't just a visitor. Instead all she did was rush to Dimi, hugging him tightly, and yeah, that made all of this worth it.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Felix took the portfolio carefully and opened it on the counter like it was something sacred. “Oh, no, I meant it, I can assure you.” He said quickly, already thumbing through the first few pages. His eyes flicked up briefly, smiling, before moving back to the photos. The Witch lingered on a few pieces, clearly engaged. “I don’t have it with me, but I can show you the next time we hang out. Well, I suppose I do have my pocket sketchbook, but I’d rather show you something I’m proud of.” He laughed, then continued, “You have such an eye for composition; these are lovely, really. Oh, and no judgment on the unpacking. I lived out of boxes for months before.” And it wasn’t like the current state of his apartment was much better. Depression really affected the apartment. His face scrunched up at the thought, but he tried to shift his expression before Dimi noticed.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ But the way Dimi talked about Ozma and her mom… that ache in Felix’s chest didn’t go unnoticed. His eyes softened again. “She’s lucky to have you.” He gave the other’s hand a light squeeze, thumb brushing once along his knuckles. “That steady, everyday-showing-up kind of love is real magic.” His gaze drifted toward the cats again. “Uncle Enzo sounds really kind, too. She’s lucky to have you both.” 

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Felix’s smile faltered when Dimi mentioned Felix’s situation, however brief, and he quickly tried to remedy his expression, humming out a noise in agreement, then latching on to the comment about the cats. “Everything does seem more simple. Just naps and chasing invisible monsters at 3 a.m.” Well, except for the invisible monsters that aren’t invisible and actually look just like you and turn into some sort of woman who laughs at you. Yep. 

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ He gestured to the pan, “Let’s get this one on a plate; I’ll help with the next.” Felix followed a similar process as Dimi; after all, there were only so many ways to grill a cheese sandwich. Once he was done, he stared at Oscar, deadpanned, as the cat had hopped onto the counter and was an inch away from the plate, almost daring Felix to swat him away. “This is not polite behavior; you are being a bad role model to Alex.” In response, the cat meowed, eyes not moving away from the food.

[coldxxwinter]

Closed starter: @ritualove Location: Winter's house

Standing at one of his hives, Winter replaced the last frame, having just finished harvesting some of the honey and beeswax. His family had a sprawling backyard, so he had been able to plant different flowers and such all around so as to get different types of honey, and this particular one was near a patch of wildflowers. Some thought the differences in flavor were subtle and hard to detect, but Winter had gotten quite skilled at it. That made sense though because he had been eating honey for as long as he could remember, long before he had even started beekeeping, and his dad had taught him a lot. He was like whatever the honey version of a sommelier was, and Winter had learned so much from him. Thinking about his dad caused a twinge of sadness inside Winter. It wasn't like his dad - or his mom for that matter - were dead, but they hadn't been home in awhile, and he missed them. But Winter had his bees at least. He rarely even wore a beekeeper's suit anymore unless they seemed especially feisty, and today was the same, Winter just outside in a sweater and jeans as he went about with his beekeeping duties. Everything felt so peaceful out here, and nothing seemed as bad as when he was with his bees. Luckily the accident hadn't erased Winter's ability to care for them in the slighest.

Alas, there were ways the accident had had a strong effect on Winter, and chief among them were his memory. So when he heard a car pulling up his driveway, Winter groaned because he realized he'd forgotten something. Of course he had, he always did. At least he was done with his beekeeping for the day, so he whispered a goodbye to the bees, and then Winter rushed inside to greet Annette at the door. It had been his idea to hang out too, he remembered that now, and Winter was mad at himself for forgetting.

[deepbluexocean]

Closed starter: @theartdoctor Location: The Cardinal Hill Art Gallery

Ocean was mesmerized. Though he'd been living in Cardinal Hill for a little while now, he hadn't gotten out much. Most of the time he only went to places like work or the grocery store or occasionally to get coffee, choosing to spend the rest of his time at home (or at his brother's home he supposed it was). Every time he went out, Ocean felt like everyone was watching him, assessing him, silently judging his clothes or the way he walked or his body or something. There were so many things he would change about himself if he could, almost everything, and Ocean knew that if he was thinking these things, other would be too. So he'd been spending quite a bit of time closed up in his brother's basement, which he was using as his studio, not that Ocean was ever happy with any of the pieces he created.

But some days were better. He wasn't sure what was different about today, but Ocean had woken up feeling a little less self-conscious, and he wasn't going to waste that feeling. Since coming to Cardinal Hill, he had been wanting to go the art gallery, but he had been avoiding it. While part of Ocean thought he might get inspired there, another part of him thought he'd just get discouraged seeing all of the superior artists. However, buoyed by his good mood today, Ocean had decided to just do it. Unfortunately, it was having the effect he had thought it might: all of these artists were so talented, and Ocean would never be as good. Even so, it was still nice seeing what these artists had created. As he stood staring at a large painting hanging on the walls, someone came to stand beside him, looking at the same piece. "It's so good, isn't it?" Ocean said, surprised by the fact that he was talking a stranger. He was lost in the art though, making him just very slightly more outgoing than usual.

[conorxsurvives]

Closed starter: @zoaoliveira (Starting) Location: The Settlement

Even though Conor had been in Arcadia for a year now, and even though he was a guard and had been on the settlement many times before, there was still a lot he didn't know about it. Maybe if he talked to people more or asked more questions, he might have a better idea of things, but he kept to himself a lot. That had been true even before Garrett had died, but his reclusiveness had increased dramatically since his husband's death. And since coming to Arcadia, well...there were many day stretches where he barely spoke at all. It was a lonely existence, but it after so long living in such an isolated way, sometimes Conor felt like he had forgotten how to interact with people in a normal way. So he saved his words for when they counted, and he tried to keep to himself as much as he could without coming across as rude (he'd been raised to be polite, and it was ingrained in him now). But lately Conor had begun feeling more like he was part of the community, which was actually something new for him; before Arcadia, he'd lived alone in the forest, but now he lived in what could only be described as a town, albeit a twisted, shadowed version of one. So he found himself feeling just a little more comfortable around the residents of Arcadia. But while the Settlement still felt very mysterious to him, Conor still headed in that direction. He had a job to do today.

As a guard, Conor was given certain responsibilities, and after doing this for a year, he was beginning to be trusted with more important jobs. Today was one such day. As he reached the Settlement, Conor thought about Zoa, whom he would be accompanying today. Like most of the residents of Arcadia, Conor didn't know much about her. They were in town meetings together, and Conor's impression of her was that she was very passionate about her role as a scout. Zoa always seemed to have quite a lot to say; Conor thought she had probably spoken more in a single meeting than he had in every meeting combined. But he still respected her point of view - Zoa had been here a lot longer than him, after all. And Conor respected her bravery, knowing that a scout was a dangerous job.

People around the settlement knew who Conor was by this point, if not by name then by face at least, so no one questioned why he was there. He found the place he was meant to meet Zoa, waiting for her to join him, and as he did so, Conor adjusted the hatchet strapped to his thigh (he'd fashioned a sort of holster out of re-purposed strips of leather), making sure it was easy accessible. Similarly, Conor had his axe strapped to his bag. The job they were doing wasn't the most dangerous he'd experienced in Arcadia, but he'd learned to always be prepared in this town.

[leonidasxx]

Closed starter for Corey ( @innocentcurse ) Location: Hometown Groceries, hair care aisle

Leo had a secret, one he had kept from everyone, even Arjun. Okay, so Leo had a lot of secrets, like the fact that his maniacal father was trying to find him, prompting him and his mother to move around all over the world for the last 25 years of his life. That was one secret Leo never, ever planned to tell anyone, and then there was the secret that he drank too much, which was one Leo worried he'd someday reveal - someday soon. But right up there with his other biggest secrets was this: Leo spent a lot of time on his hair.

Over the years - once Leo had learned the power of his hair - he had spent quite a bit of time learning how to take care of it. He'd tried so many different products, tried different ways to style it, even tried to dye it once, though his dark hair hadn't taken to the color well (and the less said about the time he'd bleached it, the better). Leo had tried different lengths and styles as well before settling into his current hair situation, which had achieved a higher level of hair transcendence. But Leo didn't want people to know he spent a lot of time on his hair because part of that higher level of hair superiority was making it look like he didn't spend a lot of time on it. What Leo aimed for when it came to his hair was to make it look like he'd just rolled out of bed and just naturally looked that way, and truthfully that was how it worked sometimes. But then other times - especially after a bender - Leo would wake up with his hair a mess, looking like he'd just been through a tornado. Luckily, Leo had honed his hair care skills by this point and knew just what to do in those cases.

But now in addition to a hair-related secret, he had a hair-related problem: they had stopped making the line of hair products he liked the best. The company had gone under, which Leo couldn't fathom because as far as he was concerned, the quality of their products was amazing; Leo had even wondered if they were magically-infused, though he ended up deciding that would be extremely difficult given the scale of product distribution. Although he had a bit of his hair products left, Leo needed to find a suitable replacement, and as he looked at the various products in the aisles, he was at a loss. What shampoos and conditioners and pomades and serums and everything else would work best? It was an important decision.

Leo was so lost in thought as he examined each product that he didn't immediately realize someone had joined him in the aisle, but eventually he saw the figure out of the corner of his eye. Working to look disinterested in the products, like he didn't need all these fancy items to make his hair look as incredible as it looked (he totally did), Leo turned slightly to look at the man next to him. And immediately Leo froze because whoa, this guy had good hair. In fact, as he looked at the other man, Leo thought, Well shit...I've got competition for the best hair in Cardinal Hill. But this was an opportunity, and Leo wouldn't waste it. "Hey man," he said, still trying to act aloof, "which of these works best? I usually just let my hair do what it wants, but lately I've been trying a little harder to take care of it." Leo shrugged, acting like he didn't really care that much even though he was desperate for the man with the second-best hair in Cardinal Hill to give him his advice.

[forestxleo]

(closed for @malltms )

Ugh. That was what Leo was thinking as he looked at the flier pinned to the bulletin board at The Blue Sparrow. It was colorful to the point of garishness, and there were too many exclamation points for his liking; he could already tell that this 'Reina' person was going to bubbly and cheerful, and he was already feeling exhausted just thinking about it. But this was the only flier that advertised guitar lessons, and Leo needed them because teach himself wasn't going as well as he would have hoped. While he knew the basic chords, he felt sort of stuck now, and he knew he'd need more than a book, even with his musical aptitude (he generally picked up the basics of various instruments relatively easily). For a moment, Leo looked around the board to make sure there weren't any other fliers hidden underneath others, perhaps one advertising guitar that didn't look like a box of crayons had thrown up on it, but this was all there was. So Leo took a pen out of his pocket and jotted the number down on his hand with a sigh.

The next morning, Leo sprang awake suddenly, not sure for a moment where he was. Then he realized he'd fallen asleep at the table in his apartment, half of a beer nearby. As he reached for it to throw it out, Leo noticed the writing on his hand, and he groaned because he realized it was smudged. He could barely make it out now, but he thought he could just make out the number. So he walked over to his phone in the kitchen and dialed, holding the receiver with his shoulder while he tried to open a bottle of Tylenol at the same time. When someone answered, Leo asked, "Yeah, is this..." He paused, trailing off as he tried to read the smudged name he'd written on his hand. "Is this, um, Rina?" Leo wondered. "I think it's Rina at least?" And then suddenly he remembered, exclaiming, "Reina! That's it. Is this Reina?" He knew he was not coming off well in this conversation with the stranger, especially since he had yet to mention what he was calling about, so Leo quickly explained, "I saw your flier about the guitar lessons and was wondering, uh...if you were still accepting new students."

[blackcatxmagic]

"It...does feel kind of crazy sometimes, yeah," Winter confirmed, laughing. It really did though. If someone had told Winter's life story to him as their own, like if it were someone else's life, he would have thought the same thing. Actually he would have thought the person was lying to him probably because it was just that wild. "Usually though, it just feels normal now," Winter told Eve. "I think part of that is because I don't remember so much of how it was before, but also...this has just been my life for awhile now. Yeah, it sucks a lot of the time, but I've adjusted. I think if I suddenly could remember everything and no longer needed all my reminders and stuff, I think that would feel weirder." Though Winter would take that over what things were like for him now any day.

Laughing, Winter told Eve, "I kind of assumed you would recommend other things for me. But I'm going to set a limit to five albums, so make them count." As they walked through the aisles, Eve began to ask Winter their first set of questions, and Winter started with the one that was more complicated. "I've always felt a kinship with my bees, ever since I was 11 or 12. It's like a connection I can't really explain, like we can feel each other, and I don't mean in a tangible way. It's kind of like a dog or cat who can tell when you need comfort - that's how it's always been for my bees and me. And when I'm doing my beekeeping things, it feels like a partnership, like I'm providing them a safe home, so they return the favor with their honey. It feels so symbiotic. Sometimes I just go out there, especially when I'm really sad or upset, and I sit with the hives, and the bees just know I need them and come over to me. I never wear a bee suit either because never once since I started this have they stung me." That was kind of a complex answer, but it was the truth. "And as for your first question," Winter continued, "it's like...I remember a lot of things from my past, but then there are other things I've forgotten, big things. Like I forgot how to drive. Even sitting in a car, the memories never came back to me, so I'd have to learn all over again. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to what I do and don't remember though." That wasn't entirely true though, but Winter wasn't about to start talking about Erik.

"Yeah, sort of. A seamstress who also keeps bees and is on a new journey of self discovery? I mean it's an amazing story, probably kind of crazy to live through that though. But we'll have plenty of time to answer questions," they assured him. Now that they knew of him, they'd certainly would seek out more conversation. "Yeah, I'll help you find them, but I can't say I won't recommend even more along the way," they teased lightly, feeling like they were getting into a comfortable conversation now. Eve could be a little pushy but they weren't totally unkind, at least not unless provoked. "I mean I don't want to ask you every little thing, we'll come to some things naturally but have you forgotten everything or just specific pieces? Also tell me what you like about bees."

[copperxxgalileo]

(closed for @urdamage )

Copper used to be into comics when he was younger, but then things had happened, and suddenly he had other priorities and interests that took precedence. Some of that was Deacon of course - new love often felt more important than anything else after all. But Deacon was gone now, and Copper was looking for ways to fill his days. Sometimes he didn't feel like the living dead, felt like he could live his life and be happy again, but when he got too stuck in his head, he felt like he'd died along with his husband. Sometimes Copper couldn't comprehend the fact that he was a widower at 27. Such things were difficult to process for anyone he supposed, but Copper would spiral if he even tried. So he definitely needed something else beyond his psyche to get lost in, and that was what led him to Solstice Comics. He wasn't sure if he could rekindle his past interest, but Copper had fond memories of losing himself in the fantastical stories - everything else had always seemed so trivial while he was reading these epic stories. As he walked into the shop, Copper began looking around the shelves of comics, but then he glanced over at the man behind the counter, and that immediately took all of his attention. Whoa, Copper thought, looking at the man. He was incredibly hot, but a second later, Copper was distracted by him for a different reason: he looked familiar. It only took Copper a few seconds to put it all together, and he realized he knew the guy. Walking toward the counter, Copper asked, "Junior?" They hadn't exactly been friends in high school, but they had known each other a long time, and Copper was surprised by how pleased he was to see him. When Junior turned his head to look at him, Copper knew he was right about his identity. "Hey man," Copper said, smiling at Junior. "It's been a long time."

[deepxbluexocean]

(closed for @enshrikes )

Although Ocean liked the colder weather, liked the snow and the crisp air of fall, there was just something special about the weather getting warmer. Today was a day like that. Ocean was on the commune, which was pretty typical of the last couple of days since he'd been off work and hadn't yet started classes at the university, and he was out in one of the fields looking up at the sky, thinking about a lot of different things. It had been more difficult than he had expected to try and get back to his normal life. After he'd ended things with Grant, Ocean had expected to go back to the way he was before, but he'd been shocked to realize that this might just be him now. Even with Grant gone, Ocean still felt the same way, felt sad and worthless most of the time. Grant had always made Ocean feel like an idiot, like he was stupid and not good at anything; he'd been the most critical person Ocean had ever encountered. And after awhile, Grant's view of him had wormed its way inside his head, and now Ocean couldn't shake it. And to make it even worse, Ocean knew people could tell that he was different now, especially those on the commune who had known Ocean most - if not all - of his life. And sometimes it just got too hard to pretend like he was fine; sometimes it was too difficult for them to see him like this. So Ocean was spending the afternoon alone, lying in the field and staring up at the sky, just enjoying the sunshine. It was easier to spend time with the animals. Growing up on the commune had made Ocean an avowed animal lover, and he felt so at peace in this moment with his favorite cow lying on one side and one of the commune cats on the other. Sometimes it felt like they were the only ones he could talk to, though Ocean knew that was more because of himself - Ocean had no shortage of people he could talk to. The problem was that it was difficult to talk about everything he was feeling.

As he laid there on in the field, Ocean heard someone approach from behind, and he looked upside down at the person on the edge of the field to see a familiar face. "Hey!" Ocean exclaimed, climbing to his feet and turning toward the veterinarian. Despite the fact that he'd just wanted to be alone a few moments earlier, Ocean was happy to see the vet. They had a sort of working relationship given that Ocean was always bringing animals he found to be assessed by the vet, plus he saw the man all the time on the commune when he came to take care of the animals. As he approached, Ocean asked, "What do you have going on today?"

[that-sweet-jester]

poor Sevika's been embarrassed ever since, yet still stuck around😔✊

[blackcatxmagic]

Smiling at Addie, Leo said, “You know, usually when I say things like that, people just don’t understand it. It’s kind of nice when people actually do.” He had always thought only a certain kind of person could truly understand the way Leo felt about this, and if that were the case, it seemed he and Addie were just that - the same kind of person. Truthfully that tracked, going along with what little Leo knew about her. Something she said piqued his interest though, eyes widening just slightly. “Does that mean you’ve stared death in the face too?” Leo asked. He wasn’t sure he would put his experience quite like that, but he was definitely closer to death than a lot of people. Realizing how personal a question that was, Leo added quickly, “You don’t have to answer. Just tell me to fuck off.”

Although Leo had sort of already surmised this, what Addie said about her tattoo reasserted the fact that she was kind of a badass. “I don’t think tattoos would feel worth it if there wasn’t the pain that went along with it,” he said, though this was only an assumption. He didn’t have one of his own. “I’m trying to think where it would hurt worse. Ribs maybe? Ironically that’s where I thought about getting one. Maybe I just like pain.” Leo laughed, but he wondered if maybe that was true. 

Addie gave a quiet snort of amusement at his comment; but there wasn’t a trace of judgment in her eyes—only understanding. She reached over to drag a fingertip through the ring of condensation her coffee mug had left on the table, like she was chasing a thought before it got away. “Honestly? I think that’s the sanest way to look at it.” She began, glancing up at Leo. “You spend enough time pretending death’s this far-off thing and it just makes it scarier. But if you can sit with it, like really sit with it…” She shrugged, pausing for a long moment before continuing. “Then you start realizing the only thing worse than an ending is never actually living the stuff in between.” Her tone softened, the edge tapering off into something that sounded almost like affection. “So yeah. I get it.” She paused again, contemplating whether or not to voice her next thought aloud. “Once you look death in the face, it’s not so scary anymore.” Her brows lifted just slightly. “Now that’s morbid as fuck.”

But she didn’t apologize for the thought. If anything, she seemed more grounded by saying it out loud.

When the subject shifted back to her tattoo, she rolled her eyes with a little laugh. “Oh, it hurt. Don’t let the size fool you—felt like someone was carving into bone.” She turned her arm outward again, thumb grazing over the edge of the ink like she was brushing dust from a page. “But I needed it there. Somewhere visible. Somewhere I’d have to see it even on the days I want to run from this reminder...” She admitted, a lopsided grin finding its way to her features. “Pain’s temporary. Regret’s a bitch.”

[coldxxwinter]

Closed starter: @beaumontproctor Location: Beau's home

Even though he had lived in Cardinal Hill for his entire life, and even though he knew a lot of the people who lived here, Winter generally kept to himself these days. It wasn't that he was anti-social, it was just that he didn't quite know how to interact with people. Usually things would start off well enough (at least if he knew them somewhat already), but then there'd be the awkward smiles and uncomfortable expressions and the excused to end the conversation. It had been like that to some extent since Winter had begun school, but it had gotten much worse since his accident a year ago. It was like some hidden switch had been flipped inside him, and Winter thought that made sense because of the way his mind had been damaged by the accident. Hell, Winter didn't even remember what the accident was, he just knew that he'd done that very terrible thing he didn't like to think about, and sometime shortly thereafter there had been some incident that had irrevocably changed him. Now Winter couldn't remember big chunks of his past, and he was always forgetting things; there were notes all over his house reminding him of appointments and things he needed to do and other things of that nature.

So yeah, Winter didn't get out much, but one person he had gotten comfortable with was Beau. It helped that Winter had known him for awhile now, what with them being rival beekeepers. He used the term "rival" jokingly as at least in Winter's eyes, it had been something of a friendly competition. And Winter actually made money from it because he didn't use the beeswax from his bees and Beau did, so it just made sense to sell it to him. And overtime, Winter had grown comfortable with Beau. It helped that he felt no pressure to be anything other with the man. Yeah, he'd known Beau before the accident, so he'd maybe noticed a change in Winter, but it still didn't really affect things in Winter's eyes.

Today he was going to Beau's farm. In all the years he'd known Beau and sold beeswax to him, he'd never been to the man's farm, meeting him other places. That hadn't been intentional, it was just how it had worked out. But today he was meeting him where he lived, and he was interested to see where Beau did his work. He'd written down the directions because there was no way he was going to remember, and Winter looked at the farm in awe as he approached what he hoped was Beau's house (because otherwise it would mean he was lost). The farm impressed Winter, and it was much better than his setup, which was just a series of beehives behind his house along side flowers he had planted. Winter pulled into the driveway, parked his car, and then climbed out and approached the front door. Please be his house, Winter thought, knocking on the door.

[deepbluexocean]

Closed starter: @puddlexdeep Location: Forest's home

The dream stuck with Ocean long after he woke up. Even though he had tried to go back to sleep afterwards, it hadn't taken long for him to realize that wasn't going to happen, though he'd still tried. For another hour he had laid there just trying to shut off his mind, but after that hour, when he wasn't even remotely close to falling asleep, Ocean had given up. So he'd gotten out of bed and gone for a long walk, observing the eerie storm and the even eerier mood that settled over the town afterwards. Even as a human, he could tell that something was strange, and it made him uneasy, so it wasn't long before he returned to Forest's house. Even though he had lived here for months now, it still wasn't his house, it was his brother's. Though it was no fault of Forest's, Ocean didn't feel like he really belonged here or anywhere else; he felt like he belonged nowhere, especially after that dream. But it was still home, and Ocean hoped it would feel like that one day.

Once he had gotten back to Forest's house, Ocean knew immediately what to do. There were two things he could do to clear his head: go swimming and do something with his art, whether it be painting or pottery or sculpting or whatever medium felt right in the moment. And after his dream, Ocean didn't much feel like swimming. So he ventured down into Forest's basement, which he used as an art studio, and he went to work on a new painting. While he often experimented in different styles, this time Ocean decided to work on something abstract He wanted to express how he felt, but he couldn't really explain that in any sort of concrete way, which was why an abstract painting was the best style for his purposes currently.

The piece just flowed naturally, and it was like Ocean didn't even have to think about what he wanted to do. Soon he had a palate consisting mostly of cold colors, blues and greens and purples, and Ocean was so laser focused that he nearly didn't hear the footsteps on the stairs leading into the basement behind him. But then Ocean snapped out of his reverie, realizing someone was behind him, and he looked to see Forest standing there. "Oh, hey," Ocean greeted his brother with a smile. "I couldn't sleep. I had a really bad dream last night."

[blackcatxmagic]

Brook wondered what Roman did for a living as he talked about his mother's feelings on the matter, and his answer wasn't what Brook had expected. "Really?" he asked. "Your mother wishes you were doing more than that? But education is so important!" Brook really believed that, and he laughed a little as he added, "I mean clearly I'm pro-education since I went to college for eight years and then residency to do what I do now. Your mom should be really proud. That's not an easy age group to teach either. Not everyone has the patience." Brook didn't think he would at least. "It's always harder for me to talk to the younger patients," he admitted to Roman. "It's just...it's difficult to connect with them, and I never really got that good at it, though I guess I'm better than I was, especially now that I've got more face time with my patients than I did back in Massachusetts. I think it takes a certain kind of person to do that, so I'm impressed." These weren't just words either - Brook meant them.

"Yeah, it's kind of interesting to be able to trace our lineage back so far," Brook replied as the pair began walking again. "But a lot of that history is...bleak. I mean, you've heard of The Salem Witch Trials I'm assuming, and...well, my family is lucky the line didn't die out, let's just say that." Them being actual witches definitely helped, but a lot of his ancestors died during that time. "It's always kind of weird for me the way the town treats it like some big event now," Brook admitted. "I get that it's really interesting and kind of spooky even, but...those were real people." He stopped there, not wanting to make this weird (if he hadn't already). They were getting closer to The Ceramic Cup now, and Brook smiled at Roman's reply. "Good man," he said, patting him on the back. "That really elevates hot chocolate from something that's merely amazing into the spectacular territory, don't you think?" Upon reaching the cafe, Brook held the door open for Roman, walking inside after him.

Roman smiled as Brook spoke, a little chuckle leaving his lips. “I think my mom would like it if I had a job like that,” he admitted. “She’s supportive and everything, but I feel like she thinks I could be doing more.” He sketched air quotes around the final word, his puzzled expression indicating he wasn’t really sure what more he could be doing. He smiled again at Brook’s question. “I teach kindergarten,” he said, with a soft chuckle. “As much as I love my job, it’s not really so much of a dressing up kind of thing. Except parent-teacher conferences.” He smiled. “What do you do?” He wrinkled his nose as Brook spoke, though a smile lingered on his face. It usually did. It was rare for a smile to fade entirely from Roman’s face, especially when he was talking to someone. To say he was a yapper would be putting it mildly. “I like to think I’m willing to try anything, but I don’t know if I’d have the guts to actually submerge my whole body in an ice bath,” he admitted with a laugh. “Maybe I’d start with a foot.” He smiled as Brook expanded on his own point of loving cold weather, charmed by how readily he agreed. “Summer definitely isn’t my favorite season,” he admitted. “There are nice things about it, but my favorite is probably fall.”

“Wow, cool,” Roman said with genuine enthusiasm. “Your ancestors, really? I don’t know where my ancestors lived. I’m guessing we were around here somewhere.” He waved his hand to indicate the general area of the country. “My parents moved here a few years before I was born.” He smiled again as Brook spoke. “Sure, any time,” he said. “Most of the town is walkable, which is nice.” He chuckled. “Or runnable, in my case.” Another easy smile graced his features. “Thank you,” he said easily. He knew some people had trouble accepting even simple kindnesses, but he wasn’t one of them. He chuckled. “I love them,” he said. 

[leonidasxx]

Closed starter: Arjun ( @veilxstars ) Event: Pumpkin Palooza - Pumpkin Carving Station

Taking a sip of his pumpkin ale, Leo sat back in his chair and eyed his half-carved pumpkin. It...well, it wasn't good, to say the least. "It...it's a monstrosity," Leo said, looking over at Arjun. "I know it's not finished yet, but...I can't see how it's going to improve." Really pumpkin carving wasn't Leo's thing, but with this being his third Pumpkin Palooza yet first time actually attending, he had decided that he was going to try and embrace the tradition and see everything it had to offer. Well...almost everything - he refused to do the apple bobbing contest because he spent too much time on his hair to make it look like he didn't spent any time at all on it just to get it wet.

So that was why Leo was sitting here in front of a pumpkin, carving what was supposed to be a happy face but was quickly turning into something unsettling and frankly a little terrifying. Leo never claimed to be an artist, and this was more than enough proof of that. Really it was almost impressive how far off base of his original intent this pumpkin was turning out to be. "I kind of want to use magic to fix it, but I'd probably just make it worse," Leo told Arjun. Looking over at his friend, Leo hoped he was having a fun time. He knew that Arjun had good days and bad days, and he wanted to make his friend's good days especially good, so this was part of that. "Can I see yours?" Leo asked. "Or is this a situation where you don't me to see it until you're done?"