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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2021 22:22:30 GMT -8
“Linden…”
He let that hang in the air for a moment.
“I am going to be one hundred with you. Feel free to take a swing if you feel it is appropriate, but I wanted to know more. More about you, what makes you tick, because I find you to be an incredibly interesting person with Hollywood cool that drives me crazy knowing I could never emulate outside of the bathroom mirror.”
He set everything down, phone included as he may be taking a tumble.
“The Antler Crown lets us dive into recesses of what people desire most. Mostly I call it a competitive advantage in my line of work - but just now...You know you do so much for us right? Between the family you have built and protected at the Salt Bar...To being someone Riley gushes about when he chit chat...You stepped up for me for nothing and no reason other than you could. For virtually nothing.”
Would that buy him any time?
“There is a saying - People often avoid making decisions out of fear of making a mistake. Actually the failure to make decisions is one of life’s biggest mistakes. You don’t let that fear rule you, you are there doing what you do. That is why so many people have gravitated to you, a protector, an architect, a friend...Because you give off that energy that you will be there to catch us when we fall. I mean...We had breakfast once - I didn’t even know if you were a good bouncer, and I called you blindly. I called you because you are you. I wanted to know more because any time someone brings you up it is with a smile.”
“People you pity are the ones who snarl to get your attention - not the ones who extend their hand. You are the latter. Otherwise I wouldn’t be trying to show you how grateful I am for what you have done, and how good you are to those in your life with lobster rolls. Cheap, I know right? But...Truth be told - I want to know more, I want to know you - just as much as I want to know Riley beyond legalese and contracts...You both are titans in your own rights and I don’t think you know it yet. Call me silly - if not envious to not have been able to know you both sooner...But I was busy hiding from what was an immutable truth. And...You both took a chance on me when I never deserved it.”
Had he gotten this far? A little ranty...train of thoughty...from the heart? Maybe...
“You can...Hit me now...for the magic.”
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Linden
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Post by Linden on Mar 11, 2021 21:37:09 GMT -8
Linden's brow creased as Archie began to explain, leaning in to give him their full attention. Their first instinct was to deflect, block, cancel out the things he was saying; the kindness and appreciation was like a brand, the recoil less to do with negation and more that they just couldn't bear it. But they waited, hands clasped together in a painfully tight hold that made their metal knuckles squeal.
His words were kind, horribly so; each sentence beat Linden's head lower, staring into their own palms trying to reconcile what they were hearing with what they felt was true. If they were so good, surely... But that wasn't how things worked, it wasn't true to the world.
It felt wrong, to feel grief when a smart, good friend was saying these things. It made the Ogre want to cry, but the closest they could get was eyes squeezed shut for a vulnerable moment.
A long moment after he finished, Linden raised their eyes to his. Their hand extended, ostensibly for the punch, but landed on the top of his head instead. It wasn't gentle, but it lacked the full force of the Ogre's strength. After a moment they mussed his hair with a strangely violent energy before stilling, and giving him two gentle pats.
"I'd never hit a friend. Unless they were going to hit back." Their hand parted from his head and dropped to stealing his half a shrimp roll. "But this is mine now. I don't..." They struggled, caught between trying to lighten the mood and responding in a way that felt emotionally appropriate. "I understand, why you would- but I hope we can find a place where it's not necessary."
Looking down at their hands once more, Linden added, gruffly, "Thanks."
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Riley Sorsa
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Presence (3) Captivating | SL(1) Stylish Mantle (2)Spring | Status(1) Entertainment
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Post by Riley Sorsa on Mar 11, 2021 22:16:04 GMT -8
Riley had found themself in a rare position of not being directly in the conversation. Instead, the moth watches and listened, their hands rested awkwardly in their lap. The stillness was not something they were good at but they tried.
As Archie let it slide he had used Cupid's arrow. Riley tensed up, knowing all too well what that could mean. Their eyes darted to Linden to watch, but it was at that moment something happened the moth did not expect.
The kind words that flowed from Archie so sincerely and compassionately landed against Linden. The ogre whom to Riley's eyes was indomitable, begun to buckle. Each word seemed to weigh like lead upon their shoulders, pulling them towards their hands. Linden was encased in emotional armor, yet here they were vulnerable. Just for that moment.
It was a surprise when Riley realized they were crying. Their cheeks were beginning to wet from the tears that well up during the speech. They shouldn't be crying. Why were they crying?
He sounds like Claire.
Not in his voice, or his words per say, but in the honesty and care they were delivered. They were genuine. The darkling choked at the realization. That at this table, eating fucking lobster rolls, they found a shared vulnerability. It was a moment of connection that took them by surprise, not in its suddenness, but that they had not seen it. It blinded sided the darkling that the three of them had built a place where they could say that to each other.
Riley let out a choked laugh as Linden patted Archie on the head. Wiping away the tears quickly on their sleeve. They quickly regained composure with a small sniffle.
You cant cry at a lobster shack in the middle of the day.
They didn't know what to say so they smiled at the two of them like an idiot.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2021 8:24:27 GMT -8
He was braced, he had used magic, he was ready for the consequences as he saw how Linden reacted. He deserved it but then…
Pat
Pat
Ruffle
He was confused as he let the moment sink in, then the words, ending in a smile as heard what the Summer had to say. It was everything he had seen, everything he had thought in action. While Linden may not have accepted it, they really were something else.
“Here you go, doing it again…”
He said with a smile as his roll was snatched.
“Pretty sure that guy by the stairs is another Jew, and would have narc’d on me. Still looking out for me, heh.”
He took the queue to lighten the mood, still with the small grin across his face.
“I’ll have you know, I won a fight once. Sure it was my brother - the little one, and I was ten - but that gives me some street cred right?”
He could have choked out more, but...Read the room, right? They could all do with a chuckle.
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Linden
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Post by Linden on Mar 12, 2021 22:17:07 GMT -8
Linden rolled their eyes as Archie joked about being ratted out for eating shrimp, and kicked him lightly under the table. They were grateful for the change of topic, though the idea of Archie winning a fight made them snort. "Yeah, bud, lotta street cred. I'm quaking." They couldn't quite meet either of the friends' eyes, but the smile they directed down at their ill-gotten roll was genuine enough.
Grabbing a couple of napkins, the Ogre passed them to Riley without comment.
"This one is the best," they announced, mouth partially full of shrimp. "But it's hard to really know after just one visit. Gotta come back sometime. You know, make sure." The discomfort they were feeling broke like a wave, but they knew it would return, sooner than later. They didn't love knowing Archie had used a contract on them, reached into a part of their mind they tried not to touch; if it had been someone they liked less, someone they hadn't invited into their life... Honestly, they weren't sure what they would've done.
Linden was thick skinned, an armor-plated bruiser; but maybe it was nice, sometimes, to realize they liked someone enough to let them get away with things.
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Riley Sorsa
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Presence (3) Captivating | SL(1) Stylish Mantle (2)Spring | Status(1) Entertainment
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Post by Riley Sorsa on Mar 13, 2021 14:37:51 GMT -8
“We’ll call you Kid Kicker or Rug Rat” Riley joked in response to the idea of Archie having street cred. They chuckled at the thought, they couldn't begin to imagine Archie with ‘Street cred’
Riley took the offered napkin without comment. They carefully dabbed the tears around their eyes away and inhaled. The vulnerable moment had passed but was not forgotten.
“It was great. Normally not a seafood type but these were top notch. I’d come back for sure. “
The moth stood up from the bench as if they suddenly had permission to move collecting their garbage, and fluttered their way to the closest trash receptacle .
“We aren’t holdin' you from anythin’ are we Archie?” Riley asked realizing how much time they had taken.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2021 18:27:47 GMT -8
“Well, nothing pressing - but I suppose it is time I get you kids home before it gets dark, shouldn’t I?”
He slapped his own legs and swung out from around the table so they could head back to the car.
“You know...Maybe one of these days I could teach the two of you a thing or two about throwing a punch. Never hurts to know how.”
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