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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jun 18, 2021 12:26:59 GMT -8
Kai had been dropped off at a posh looking abode in Henderson. There had been a hiccup as the Dancer spied the lack of his irises in the rearview mirror, which he brushed off with a resigned sigh. The Summer's new connection with her rage influencing his own perception on things didn't help, but he was acclimating with the proximity, and the Polychromatic's departure provided some relief. He would deal with it later, for now his phone silently updated with several feelers looking for a hookup, and his out from this extended shit show of an evening. He knew, logically, that his hands burning and the feeling of impending disaster was all in his head. However, there was an undeniable rage that boiled along with the glittering diamond veins blooming across his knuckles—that his own mien decided this was how Arcadia was going to show itself. Kai's complaints about a complete lack of privacy to her experience echoed some empathy, even if it wasn't anywhere near having a full kaleidoscope for people to read into. Mitchell didn't have the willpower left to bury his ticks, relenting to several shoulder checks before he could pull back onto the empty road, making sure middle finger on the wheel lined up with the divider in a sharp correction that jostled his passenger. "Are you still at the same apartment?" he asked, glancing at Oren . |
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Oren
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written by Hiver
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Post by Oren on Jun 18, 2021 15:33:10 GMT -8
"Yeah."
Oren's elbow dug into the shallow groove where the lip of the car door met the window. Grey, violet, then emerald eyes blinked as traffic passed them by. Red and yellow streaks of rearview light, like shooting stars bound to a stretch of asphalt and concrete. Confessions, diatribes, and soliloquies bounced around in his skull from a thousand different places. They melded into a word salad of platitude and passion. Somber and soulless. For once, he did not have the Perfect Thing to Say, and that drove some fingers through his hair, the mess of curls needing to be mussed in order to comb through his sobering post-Arcadian frustration.
"Hey so --"
Nope. Try that again. Take Two. "How are y--"
Back to one! Focus, Oren. Take Three. "Why did you take me in, before?"
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jun 18, 2021 15:49:47 GMT -8
Mitch seemed surprised at the question. "You asked? You're nice, ambitious, intelligent and artistic. We have similar interests," he said carefully, gauging the reaction from the corner of his eye.
And you're a good manipulator.
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Oren
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written by Hiver
Posts: 242
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Post by Oren on Jun 18, 2021 19:00:41 GMT -8
"I should plug myself into Spring flings more often. I always end up learning something new. I really don't know how you can stomach it. The posturing. You're so good at getting to the point. I wish I was that concise..."
He stopped himself. "You think I'm nice?"
It was a genuine question. It had been the first time, since he could remember anyway, that Mitchell had given him a compliment.
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jun 18, 2021 19:22:47 GMT -8
His fingers almost tapped against the wheel, thinking to himself. Even with his skills and the time spent, he still had a hard time tracking when the Mirrorskin was jealous and mapping--adapting traits from people he admired or wanted to be. Mitchell had learned that Oren's compliments had a double meaning. He had tried to manage it so the Elemental stood a chance to be himself once in a while.
"Honestly, Oren, I think I 'get to the point' because I don't overthink how I socialize. I'm not that analytical," he laughed, flushing a bit.
"...Why wouldn't I think you're nice?"
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Oren
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written by Hiver
Posts: 242
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Post by Oren on Jun 18, 2021 19:32:18 GMT -8
"Oh, I'm wonderful, I've just never heard you...say it."
Granted, Oren didn't do much thinking either. It was very easy for him to glide and elide and the words would just come to him. "I'm not even trying to deprecate, it would literally make my job easier."
Sigh.
"I should tell you...I don't feel bad about it. Fawkes really messed with our heads. Opened us up to stuff we normally keep locked tight. Things we work really hard to stitch. And I know it's something you're going to worry about because it sets you off-kilter...which is something you literally cannot be..."
"What I am trying to say is, you can't hurt me anymore."
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jun 18, 2021 19:55:18 GMT -8
"All right, I'll try and work on that," the Fairest said, blinking. Mitch had been admittedly ignoring the anxiety that came from lack of obvious praise, erring that independence had been the priority.
"You seem to be communicating fine right now. What usually-" he grit his teeth; he wasn't here to be a counselor. There wasn't anything he was being asked to fix or intervene, and he had to recognize his own coping habits. The Dancer flinched as he heard his own voice reflected back; still decidedly heightened, and the tension wasn't going away.
"Thanks. You really don't need to...I didn't- sorry, 'anymore'? You mean Arcadia?"
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Oren
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written by Hiver
Posts: 242
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Post by Oren on Jun 18, 2021 20:06:01 GMT -8
"I used to think about you all the time. Afraid of what you might say if I came crawling back. I don't beg, and I don't plan to. When I started working for the Freehold, in earnest, found you to be someone of title, I owed it to myself to watch you dance. Call it nostalgia."
Watching and waiting. Assassinating. Did everything that come out of Oren's mouth hold the weight of a double-meaning? "I thought you hated me. I thought I was too much. And when I finally felt like myself in the Bastion, I found that it was less about what I do and more about what you cannot allow yourself to be. I spent so much time worrying about how and why you broke my heart."
There is a genuine softness to his voice. There isn't an air of derision or an upturned nose. Oren has learned something, and the realization is evident in his eyes, as their hue mirror and match Mitchell's own. "But you didn't."
There's that smile. "Do you remember Ruby?"
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jun 18, 2021 20:30:52 GMT -8
Mitchell sagged, feeling more relief than he could last remember.
"Jesus Christ. I didn't- Oren I asked for space for you." He raked a hand through his hair, crystals splitting through his knuckles momentarily. "Was I that bad at explaining? I'm sorry, it was- you weren't too much, it was like there wasn't enough space for you. You analyzed everything! It was like you were five different people, like you were testing which I would respect more. The more I pointed it put, the more upset you got and doubled down in hiding yourself. I figured if I-"
"I'm happy you figured something out about yourself? And- Oh, Ruby? Yeah, I..." he went quiet, frowning to himself and shivering a bit as a day he had blocked nudged from the recesses of his memory.
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Oren
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written by Hiver
Posts: 242
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Post by Oren on Jun 18, 2021 21:10:39 GMT -8
"She wasn't a complete lie. I did see you, in La Sylphide. I admire your poise and your grace. And for a while, I was so angry with you. When the pressure was on, I felt as if I was sun bathing and that I liked watching you squirm. To tell you the truth, I was too caught up in my own feelings to parse what it was that you were trying to tell me."
What would have been a sigh, bubbled into laughter. "You're always able to accommodate someone else. You make a point of it. For once, I'd like to return the favour."
"Would you allow me?"
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Jun 18, 2021 21:50:52 GMT -8
Bullets and the clicking of a knife against the ribcage briefly kept the Emerald from the current conversion. He wanted to believe the Mirrorskin was telling the truth, and accept that the Ruby Thing wasn't an inappropriate breach of trust, and Oren being actively malicious about distance. He had just carved the man apart, but that didn't happen? Oren said to not worry about it.
His breath hitched as he searched for a flag, but the Elemental seemed genuine. His Court didn't believe in finding issues that didn't have to be there, if it meant another night taking back your life.
"I've got no issue with that," he laughed, elated.
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Oren
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written by Hiver
Posts: 242
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Post by Oren on Jun 18, 2021 22:10:12 GMT -8
He knew it was dangerous on the open road. But a part of him didn't care to wait. He'd have him in this car right now, if he wanted. But there was nothing quite like your own bed. So he would placate the stirring in his chest with a tentative reach. A hand passing the gear shift and resting just under the steering wheel.
"Can I?"
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