angstfactory

[angstfactory]

"No," Mateo shook his head, "I can't imagine you surrendering to circumstance, not without a very fine reason for it." Elian came off as such a particular man, possibly with any number of plans, and backup plans to those plans. "I would lay in wait," he whispered, with a secret smile. "And should you never come home... Well, I guess I'll have myself a sweet little cottage," he claimed, giving the table an affectionate pat.

"I do a lot of reading and research," Mateo shared, the smile still present. "I've never been a boy that went outside very much." A hand came up to rest on Elian's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze of comfort as he added, "Trust, you've nothing to fear from me, my friend. You're far too precious." How could he say such things, they hadn't known each other very long, right? He didn't care, it was how he felt already. Elian was such a character to him, he could hardly imagine the world without them now.

"Small world," he appeared delighted to hear that Elian knew of the florist. "Velvet," Mateo repeated the name, "I assume this is your carrion?" Jinhwan, too, may have a bird or animal of some such, as the name 'Dori' got mentioned, too.

"Oh, these are for you," Mateo advised the other, laying a hand briefly over the rubber finger puppets. "Unless you'd prefer I don't leave them here." He already had a number of them, as he just explained. "You don't agree?" he questioned. "Imagine, a large and hallow home, covering in thick layers of dust... now think of one, large, but polished surfaces. Don't they inspire different feelings and vibes?" They did in his mind's eye. The dusty mansion certainly gave off a more eerie vibe.

"I can?" Mateo stood straighter, with sudden excitement, as Elian gave him permission to check the cottage for hidden rooms. "Let's see," a serious, thoughtful mien came over him then, as he circled about in spot very slowly. Considering every nook and cranny the small home had available. "The point would be to have it be something so mundane, any normal person would pass it up..." He was reasoning it out loud to himself, before approaching an area that had a couple of books on its surface. Mateo slanted a curious, probing look back towards where Elian stood. "Now are you the type of man that would use such a classic example, out of convenience?" A finger tapped one of the books lightly, thoughtfully. "Either you would have considered it too easy, or you would have counted on others to feel it was too obvious, and thus hid it in plain sight." After a moment, however, Mateo seemed to decide Elian would be in the former category, that choosing a book to hide their extra room as far too typical and ordinary, because he wandered away from those books without even testing them. Shaking a finger at them, as if they had been the ones trying to entice him to such a simple option.

"Maybe something in the kitchen here," he mused then, approaching the counter. "Something practical, something someone would think is used too often to be a hidden key." Mateo suddenly started to touch everything within reach, from plates, to silverware, even the dish soap. Picking up a dish rag, refolding it perfectly in place. Inching closer and closer to a certain cookie jar in the corner.

Elian nods." I surrender to circumstance." They offer him a smile." Yes, if you are to break into my home at night the least you could do is give me prior notice, what if I'm not here? You would have wasted a trip." The witch glances away, playing along with Mateo, how could they not, when they charmed them in such a manner?

Elian's lip twitch, trying their best to remain serious." I would never think of such a thing. Poisonous tea." It does tickle them that he would bring it up, if only Mateo knew. " How do you know such things Mateo? Maybe I should be the one to worry, what if you poison me?" They tease him.

At the mention of Jinhwan Elian nods, staring back at Mateo." I know of him." They hum." He is nice, pleasant. He gave Vel a small red jewel about this size." Elian moves their fingers close to one another to represent it's size." Velvet was beyond himself, he makes it so that we pass by his store whenever we can so that he can say hello to Jinhwan and Dori."

Elian's gaze drifts to the puppet still in Mateo's finger, smiling softly at it. " I do enjoy teas. Maybe next time you can bring some for us to taste, you can bring you friends." They gesture towards the puppets on the table.

" You seem to have this all figured out, maybe you should be the one to get a mansion Mateo, for whenever Halloween comes." Elian crosses their arms, head tilting to the side." Dust gives character?" They tease again." You are a fascinating man."

They listen as Mateo goes on about the cat that they had found, they notice the disappointment in his tone as he speaks of the encounter but then it shifts to excitement and Elian decides it's best to not push it." You could? Be my guest then." It amused them how right Mateo was about his assumptions of them, the poison, the magic.

Blue eyes follow as Mateo arranges the finger puppets neatly in a row." I do." They confess." Very you, unique."

[angstfactory]

There it was again, that mild self-importance that Silas exuded with a delicate balance, that it somehow came off more charming than repelling. Mateo felt a smile come on, even despite the inner upset he had just reminded himself of, where Brook and this author were concerned. In a way, he was starting to see small glimpses of traits to this man that likely intrigued his best friend in the first place. Maybe one day, he might even come to understand how it was that Brook, who claimed to love him, for years, had managed to move on so quickly.

It wasn't quickly, Mateo. He's loved you, unrequitedly, for years. Brook had plenty of time to slowly come to terms with moving on.

Mateo had spent so much of that time resenting his friend, then working on forgiving him. Then dealing with the guilt of coming to care for him. They were very complicated feelings, they would always be so. And a part of Mateo understood it was, perhaps, the best thing for Brook, to move on and be with someone who didn't have so much baggage in it. That didn't make any of this easier to stomach.

"My lips are sealed," he swore, drawing an invisible zip across his lips. Mateo sat forward in great interest, wondering what could have happened. "Really?" Surprise registered across his face, to hear that Silas had been attacked — by two women!? — seemingly, out of the blue. "How bizarre," he remarked, baffled by why such a thing would occur, in any city. But especially in such a cozy small town like Cardinal Hill. Mateo could feel there was a certain heaviness to the area, but violence? "Do you have any known enemies?" he asked then, as if this was some puzzle to solve. "Perhaps someone who may have taken issue with something you've written?"

Silas said he didn't know what caused the attack, but maybe that was because he hadn't considered different ways to look at it yet. "I read before that things like this.. they often happen from those that are already in your inner circle..” these words came slowly, because even as he said them, Mateo realized it was a ridiculous thing to suggest to an author. As if Silas wouldn’t already know such things! It was the man’s job to consider every angle imaginable, to stop plot holes in their tracks. “I realize you would already know this,” he said then, with an apologetic grimace. “I don’t normally have the chance to speak to one of my favorite authors, I know you would know this.”

Mateo rested a palm over the book, staring across at the other. “I, for one, would find this world far less interesting without you in it,” he said, earnestly. “It would be a tragic loss, so I’m glad you’re sitting here now. Selfishly, I don’t wish to be robbed of any future would you’re conjuring up.” That last part was a joke… mostly. “Maybe you could use what happened as source material.” Silas could have the last laugh over those two woman, at the end of the day.

Silas smiled and nodded at Mateo's concern, "I am feeling better, thank you." It was only marginally, it still hurt to breath deeply, and he hadn't even mustered up the courage to stretch his side yet, but at least he was out and about. While Silas wasn't particularly excited to talk about the situation, he could see clearly on Mateo's face that the curiosity was killing him, a feeling that Silas was all too sympathetic of. "No, no, it's okay." He said, holding his hand up slightly to calm Mateo, "I don't mind, any reason to talk about myself really." He chuckled, before sitting up slightly, instinctively checking over his shoulder cautiously. Silas' tone was hushed, his body language protective, but he leant in for Mateo to hear him better. "I haven't told anyone, so if I see it in the news I'll know you said something." Silas started. He didn't think Mateo would go spreading gossip, but throughout his years of publicity, he knew not to trust his own gut in that regard. "I was attacked. These two women jumped me, trust me, it was scarier than it sounds. One of them had platinum hair, the other dark and curly, it was weird and out of no where." Leaning back, Silas shrugged, "Sorry I don't have more information, I really do wish I did."

Silas grinned at Mateo's words, "My readers and my loved ones, I feel like they are two starkly different categories." With a light chuckle, he continued, "I think I'm more important to my publisher than any loved one I have." His joke did get a light laugh out of his own mouth, but similarly to Mateo, it made him think of Brook. Another loved one, the whole concept of loved ones seem so... arbitrary, sometimes. "You can be a loved one though, only because you're buying me a coffee though." Silas winked at Mateo, "I'll tell you first though, it doesn't get you a lot of bragging rights."

[angstfactory]

Now that there seemed to be no immediate threat — on either side — the slight rub burn to his hands bothered Mateo enough that he checked them other. "That's not fun," this was murmured more to himself, fingers lightly brushing aside some of the dirt and grime off them, the palms slowly turning an angry red. Hopefully there hadn't been any poison ivy down that embankment.

"I'd like to think I'll survive," Mateo offered up, answering the other man with a tentative smile, flashing him a peek at his palms. "But who can really tell these days," the man mused on, gently brushing his palms off on the thigh of his pants. "I might very well have micro scratches not visible to the naked eye, and possibly some ancient microbe I just disturbed after thousands of years could have needled its way into said micro scratches, hitching a ride through my bloodstream as we speak.. So on the whole, I can't tell you if I'm good or not, let's give it a half hour or so, see if a fever kicks in?"

While this was partly a morbid joke, Mateo wasn't far from serious, either. He could have tiny injuries he couldn't see, and they might very well cause him to get sick. There were all kinds of bacteria and germs in the world. "Did I ruin your photo?" Mateo squatted beside the river now, leaning forward to rinse his palms off in it.

Enzo's daily routine always differed, but it almost always included some time for photography. Not only was it his job, but it was his passion, and in recent years, Enzo had held onto his passions for the sake of his sanity more than ever. He often remarked that he could photograph a wedding in his sleep, but the truth was, photography captured all of Enzo's focus in a way that he really loved; it wasn't a mindless activity, not even after all of these years, and he loved getting lost in the craft - in the art.

Today was like every other; Enzo was down on one knee, capturing a little blood orange coloured bird on the rail of the bridge, but only a moment later the bird rushed off in a frightened flight. Enzo, slightly startled, too, turned around just in time for Mateo to begin speaking. "Don't worry, I won't take it to heart," he smiled; he wouldn't allow himself a chuckle until he knew that the other wasn't injured. "You okay? Did you hurt yourself?" He questioned. Enzo really didn't mind the intrusion; it wasn't like he owned the place, and while he might have been a little concerned over the idea of having been watched, the other's mannerisms and demeanour didn't read as concerning to Enzo. Not yet, anyway.

[angstfactory]

@wcirdo (lori)

"That's going to be sweet," DJ murmured this to himself, pushing through the door as he paid more attention to the magazine in his hand than where he was walking. Because of this, he skirted right into someone else's path and only stopped just shy of walking straight into them, because he managed to catch sight of their legs first.

"Oops, my bad," the young man apologized, lowering the magazine. Then wishing he hadn't. DJ made a face before he could help himself, after seeing that it was Lori. Oh god, not her.

He stood there, transferring weight from one foot to the other, awkwardly. "Uh, hey," DJ managed then, politely enough, as he rolled up the magazine and cleared his throat. Looking away from the woman his mother had been dating once upon a time. "Fancy seeing you and all." It was the nicest thing he could come up with, without completely blowing her off or actually asking how she was doing. He didn't want to be rude, but he also didn't care how she was, either. This was the woman who helped kind of screw up his parents' marriage (he did too, but that's besides the point), so she wasn't exactly his favorite person. He didn't know what to think of her.

[angstfactory]

@hearthandhallows (luna)

"LUNA!" The bark of their name reverberated around the chamber, followed by the pounding of quick, heavy steps down steel stairs. Like someone was running down them. DJ came jumping over the railing at the last second, landing ungracefully on the cement floor. Out of breath and puffing, as he rushed up to her. "Luna," he gasped her name, grabbing onto her arm, "you've got to come see this. It's so cool!"

DJ barely gave them a chance to react, let alone breathe, before his fingers linked with hers and he was dragging her back up the steps as quickly as humanly possible. "C'mon, we gotta hurry, before it goes away!" The sun was setting, and they had a clear view of it from the top of the observatory. "Just wait," he panted, storming up the stairs, nearly tripping once or twice, one hand bracing along the rail and the other tightly clasped onto hers, holding them hostage. "These colors are going to blow your MIND," he swore.

[angstfactory]

The sudden pounding at his door caused DJ to startle, accidentally bumping against the LEGO model he was building. Half the section he had just finished, came apart, the hard blocks clattering to the table. Perhaps that had been his fault, as he didn't like to snap them into place fully until each specific section was finished, but now he lived in instant regret over such a stupid tick. "Damn it!" Frustrated, DJ scooped the pieces into a hasty pile quickly, before he grabbed one of his crutches to get himself to the door. His ankle was almost fully healed from when he twisted it the other week, there was almost barely a limp left, but DJ continued to use one crutch to help keep the weight off until he was absolutely certain it was completely stable again.

"This better be important," DJ snapped through the door, hearing his brother's desperate pleas before it was yanked open. They stood there, facing each other for a beat; he took in Lucky's nearly naked form with almost no reaction on his face. Finally; "Why are you like this?" An eyeroll and shake of the head later, DJ stepped back to allow his brother refuge.

Closed starter for DJ Howell @angstfactory

Located at DJs place

Lucky had been stuck in his fair share of precarious situations, but he couldn't recall the last time that he had found himself in so much trouble. He was thankful that the weather outside wasn't as cold as it had been in months prior, as he swiftly strode through the streets in nothing other than a tight pair of underwear. He hurried towards the closest place he could think to receive help, a hand over his crotch for the sake of his modesty. Once in front of the front door, he didn't knock, no, instead he banged on it desperately. "DJ!" He shouted. "Please open up! Kinda in a pickle here!"

[angstfactory]

The last two weeks had been going great for Tripps. As such, his mood had been on the rise. All that good, positive attitude seemed to be powering his life forward; channeling great energy straight through his body, right on down to his very fingertips. There was a strange momentum within, something that thrummed dully, as if he had become some charged battery that tingled all along his flushed skin, brightening him up like an active cell.

It was, quite frankly, one of the first times Tripps truly felt tuned into that magical essence that lived inside him. He'd never been the best witch, to be sure. His talents were usually basic and unexemplary, so he'd never taken that heritage so seriously.

Lately, though? The young man felt like he was on top of the world, and it was doing his body good. Literally. Whatever this good, charged feeling was, it seemed to have kept his health problems at bay in recent days. Even tonight, as he ran the lead vocals for Chasm, Tripps didn't seem to have as much trouble to keep up with his bandmates tonight. He was damn near rushing around the stage with unfailing energy, screaming his vocals out, and sweating bullets.

By the time they called it quits for the next set, Tripps trounced off the stage with a certain earned, sweaty exhaustion. Slightly out of breath, certainly flushed, but otherwise, not needing to find his puffer while everyone was busy looking the other way. But he could use a splash of cold water on his face.

Tripps wasn't stupid enough to think he'd suddenly become impervious to his shitty immune system, that he wouldn't overexert himself still if he didn't play it careful.

Unaware that his new friend wasn't at the table anymore yet, Tripps beelined for the bathroom to get some cold water on his slick face and neck as soon as possible. Pushing open the door, he paused, catching sight of Sky bent over at the sink, looking... Well, he was looking rough. "Whoa, you alright?" Tripps let the door close behind them, approaching Sky in several quick steps. "Are you choking?" There seemed to be some kind of harsh, closed-throat inhales coming from the other, as if he wasn't quite able to breathe. And of course, he'd picked up on it immediately, because they were so like his own, when his throat closed up and the air felt like it was just out of reach.

closed for @angstfactory tripps

He’d only met Tripps a few times, but the impression Sky had was that he was distinctly cool, in a way that Sky found himself envious of to a growing degree. Not that he’d like him to know it, he was hoping to get away with some level of at least nonchalance if convincing him that they were on similar levels was completely out of the question. The invite to the Chasm gig had been appreciated on Sky’s front - a sign, maybe, that Tripps didn’t see him as totally dorky and stupid - which was partly why he was mildly freaking out just at the thought of the older man noticing that Sky had vanished to the restroom midway through the final song and was showing no imminent signs of emerging.

In fact, he had no intention of going back out, yet. Not until his chest loosened and he stopped making an embarrassingly wheezy sound every time he exhaled, at least. His focus was so entirely on trying to calm it down - obviously he’d not brought an inhaler, thinking the chunk of plastic would stick out too clearly in his pocket, worried it would make him look silly - that he barely even registered the door opening and someone else walking in, until to his horror he looked up at the mirror and saw a familiar face behind.

“Um.” He took another constricted breath, cheeks slightly flushed, trying his best to sound less breathless and yet failing in the process. “Hi-“

[angstfactory]

Mateo had his glasses off, fingers idly brushing through the salt-and-pepper locks at the side of his head. Nursing a glass of brandy that had barely been sipped from yet. He had made some attempt in wardrobe tonight; a sleek black button-down, dark pants and belt. Dress shoes, even. It was like he had dressed for a night on the town, and yet, miserably, was by himself.

Always by himself. Alone. Lonely. With people on his mind. Ones that he desperately wanted to be around, like Brook... Or Elian.

Elian. They kept coming up in his thoughts a lot more lately, ever since Brook had asked several times after them. Mateo had never quite answered the questions, because he hadn't known what to say. Or to think. And now it was like all he could think about. What had Brook meant by it? Why should he think there was anything between the two men? They hardly knew each other! Yet, it didn't exactly feel that way. Perhaps what confused him most, was that he hadn't been ready to label anything. It should have been easy, to stamp them as just friends.

They were just friends. But is this what he wanted? That was what Brook asked, and now, Mateo found himself confused. And more miserable. Because he could have invited Elian to join him tonight, if he wasn't so stuck up in the head about things now. Worried that one wrong move, one wrong word, could suddenly shatter this very important friendship the two had begun to cultivate. Because of course Elian wasn't confused in any of this, of course this wouldn't be a thing on their mind. Mateo was Mateo; he charmed them, sure, found him silly and amusing. That was it. The last thing Mateo wanted, was to make the other uncomfortable by assuming the wrong thing.

Is this seat taken?

He only shook his head 'no', not yet looking over at the other male. Mateo assumed he was there for the seat only, as asked. But then they introduced themselves, and the woodworker sat up some with a sideways glance. "Sorry.." Mateo slipped his glasses back on, "are you talking to me?" he sounded confused, before giving a furtive look about them. As if he expected to see someone else out of eyesight that Griffin was actually talking to, because it couldn't be Mateo.

Closed starter: Mateo ( @angstfactory ) Location: Breaking Glass

It had been a hell of a week. When he had come back to Cardinal Hill, Griffin knew that things were going to be challenging - in more ways than one. It was be difficult to adjust to quiet small town life after coming from NYC, sure. And Griffin would not be a well-respected artist showing his work in galleries here either (at least not at first). But Griffin knew that the hardest thing was going to be his relationship with Colt and Sparrow. Despite trying to maintain a connection with them all these years, things were strained, and Griffin tried not to take it personally. After all, they were all still recovering from their loss, and this all seemed to be part of the grieving process. Even so, it wasn't going as well as Griffin had hoped. There was Colt, who was always being a smart ass, and Sparrow, who was closed-off and quiet; neither of them seemed willing to let Griffin in. Of course he was going to keep trying, but right now he needed a break. Both of them were away with friends for the night, not that they needed a babysitter anyway (they were 16 after all), so Griffin could stay out without being held accountable (it was a humbling experience to come home late and find your teenage siblings waiting up for you like angry parents).

Most of all, Griffin needed some stress relief, needed to talk to people, to feel like a normal person. That was why he was at Breaking Glass. It wasn't even the lure of alcohol that had brought him here (well not just that), it was just the fact that there were people here, real life adults whom Griffin could talk to. He really needed that right now. As he walked into the bar, Griffin scanned the room, not really sure what he was looking for - well not until he found it. Sitting at the bar was a drop dead gorgeous man, one that stopped him dead in his tracks for a moment. And as luck would have it, there was an empty barstool behind him. Griffin headed in that direction, and once there, he asked, "Is this seat taken?" before sitting down next to he man. He looked over at him and smiled, saying, "My name is Griffin. Mind if I join you for a drink?"

[angstfactory]

"Do you?" he countered, with a rise of his chin, the challenge there in tone and attitude. "Because I'm older now," DJ reminded her, "I'm a fully grown man, not a little boy anymore, so... I'm probably capable of a lot more than you remember now." He tried to puff himself up a bit once again, tugging down on the front of his shirt with an air of self-importance and pride. As if he had personally spent half his life working up to this moment, polishing himself, to present himself all nice and shiny to his greatest love. "I bet I could surprise you!" All he knew was, he didn't want her to see him in that 'little kid' aspect anymore, which seemed to be the case now, as she tried to write him off so quickly. Heck, just the fact he pushed back to challenge her on it, might be a sign he was ready to tango. Horizontally.

As Addie explained her return had been more on the downlow, it did soothe some of that ache. Not much, but some. DJ still felt as if he should have been one of the people she told straight away the second she stepped foot back in town... But, he supposed if he had to settle for knowing there were at least others in the same boat as he, unaware she'd returned, then that was good enough. Not like there was much choice in it for him. "I wouldn't have told anyone," he promised. Maybe next time, that would help her know she could tell him.

DJ looked at her, then at the crumpled bills and change in hand. "I could get more," he swore, if that wasn't enough. He could always run to his father, beg for an advance on his allowance. But since Addie seemed willing to spend time with him for free, DJ stuffed the money away excitedly. "Absolutely," he readily agreed, voice nearly shrill from this excitement. "So what'd you do while you were gone?" He fell into step at her side, each step intentionally bringing him a bit closer and closer to her without making it so obvious or fully invading her space. "I bet you had lots of adventures," he went on, proving her right in how much he liked to chatter. Especially where Addie was concerned. "Gosh, Addie, it's so good to see you," he gushed all over again, a smile in her direction. "You look so great," now DJ rushed a step or two in front of her, to block the path once more, his face earnest as he tried to shoot his shot in a rush of words, "I know you've probably been busy and all, catching up with people, might have a lot on your plate or whatever, but do you want to go out sometime?"

Did she not realize, he'd been waiting a full decade for this moment?!

Addie tilted her head back just a bit, following the line of his hand as he measured their height like it was breaking news. He definitely had her beat now—by a couple inches, easy—but it only made her roll her eyes. If she was being perfectly honest, she couldn't help but still view him as the little kid with a backpack half his size and his shoelaces perpetually untied. “Okay, big guy. You win. Must be real proud of yourself right now, huh?" She teased, lifting her coffee cup up like a trophy. "Go ahead. Enjoy your little victory 'cause I still got you beat in a million other ways, kiddo."

She didn’t miss the way his smile dropped when she said ‘December’; and something about it tugged at her—low and unexpected. She took another sip of coffee, using the cup as cover, and gave a small shrug. She'd expected him to care; but the look in his eyes? Raw. Too real... Something in him still cared too much. It hit harder than she wanted it to—not because she thought she owed him anything—but because Newt had always looked at her like she hung the damn moon, and she no longer knew how to carry that kind of softness. Not anymore, not after everything she’d survived...

“I kept my return pretty low-key.” She admitted after a pause, voice quieter now. “Didn’t really want it turning into a whole thing. Never really been one for parades, y'know?” She shrugged like it was nothing, even if some small part of her was glad he cared enough to look disappointed.

Then he started rifling through his pockets, pulling out wads of crumpled bills and loose change like he was trying to buy her mood. Addie let out a genuine laugh—lighter than she expected. Before he could hand over his mini-treasure trove, she flicked his wrist with a finger. “Save it, Rockefeller. I don’t do charity cases.” She stepped toward the street, gesturing with her cup. “Wanna make it up to me? Walk with me for ten minutes. I got some errands to run; and you always did talk enough for two people. Let's see if that's changed."

[angstfactory]

Indeed, Paige looked very different, which is why it had taken a moment for DJ to place her. He was usually fairly good with faces and names, his memory was fairly impressive. It's how he managed to skip a grade. There had been some rumors and stuff, going around about her back then, that's what he remembered most. People had whispered about how she'd gotten herself into some hot water.

DJ knew all too well, about hot water, himself. If his dad hadn't stepped in to shut certain mouths and forge some documents, who knew what his life would be like right now?

"Nine years?!" he exclaimed suddenly, whistling to her it. "I can't believe it's been that long. Where's the time gone?!" DJ shook his head. "I was fourteen only nine years ago. Can't believe life moved so quickly." Truth be told, he didn't exactly feel too much different from that age, either. Maybe a little less hormone-driven, perhaps, but not by much. He still very much wanted to find someone he could liplock on a daily basis with, please and thank you. His dad wouldn't be able to know about it, though. The man would probably flip if he so much as breathed romantically in someone's direction these days.

DJ came forward, plopping down onto the couch and making a face when dust pillowed out around them. "Gross, don't they dust this place?" he coughed vaguely, waving the particles away from his face. "I just got one the other week," he apologized, "but I'll come to you for the next one." Unless he found out she couldn't cut hair that well... "Yeah, I never went anywhere," he shrugged, adjusting so he pulled one leg out, body turning to face her better. "I'm going to school at the moment, and working at Orion's Reach. So, if you need the in for a romantic getaway under the sky... I'm your guy," he finger-gunned at her, jokingly. "What was California like? Do they really skate in bikinis there?" he asked, excitably.

⋆⋆✮⋆⋆

She pondered whether she, too, looked older, perhaps different, her hair having changed color since she last visited. Her initial reaction was to ask if he’d stayed or had his own move. That was too forward for a greeting, taking the unexpected route, and she held her tongue. “Why, thank you,” the blonde replied with a curtsy. When she last called Cardinal Hill home, Paige was a different person. A girl she did everything to purge once in California. Now, being the first time she had to acknowledge the teenager she left behind. Everyone knew here, but it was about time someone knew. While in California, she’d never had a child, been pregnant in high school, or become a mockery amidst her peers. She was just another small town with who wanted to make it. That’d been nice, but something, someone, called her back home.

“Yeah, lived in Los Angeles for 9 years, and felt like it was time to come back,” Paige explained simply. Meanwhile, there had been far more details she left out than she said, but those weren’t given out so easily. Dj was still related to the man who broke her heart into a million pieces, not that anyone knew, not really.

“I’m working at Serene’s now, if you ever need a haircut.” Finding clientele was like modeling in that she had to advocate for herself and continue putting her name out there. “What about you? Fill me in.” She took a few steps to a couch on display, taking a seat, and patting the spot next to her. “You stick around here? Were you working these days?”

[angstfactory]

"Hey, it's okay," DJ teased, giving Winter a gentle punch in the arm, "it's kinda nice to know you missed me so much. I'm so flattered." And also very clueless, as he had zero idea of Winter's mild embarrassment, or how it was over DJ misinterpreting the situation so wildly. "And you got a great smile, too!" he said then, to make up for the fact he hadn't implied he missed Winter. It was more like, once school was over, he hadn't exactly thought of him much since. But that could go for a bunch of the people they used to hang out with, not just Winter. DJ's life went in one direction, theirs another, that happened. "So, don't apologize, I needed the pick-me-up after making a fool of myself," he laughed, before shooting a glare at the ground as if it had done him personal wrong.

Unaware the other man seemed on edge about the lizard, DJ was more than happy to discuss it. "Oh yeah, he was like," here, the young male started to measure out with his hands the length of the lizard he saw, "about this size, and a cool light-brown color, almost like he was trying to blend in with the sidewalk! I wonder if he can camouflage? Like an anoles... Maybe he's turned the color of the bush now, hiding out in plain sight and just watching us.." His eyes surveyed the bush thoughtfully. "Wouldn't that be cool?"

DJ was forced to hop away from the area with Winter, though he looked back over his shoulder with regret as they left the area. He'd been hoping to catch that little guy... "No, I'm cool to hang out," he nodded along, bracing onto the phone booth to give Winter a break from having to carry his weight. "Just, I didn't think you'd care all that much, since we haven't seen each other in a while." DJ smiled. "That's awesome of you. You're a good guy, Bee Man!" The nickname was hard to drop, it was usually how he thought of Winter to begin with. "Hey, do you still got those bees? I haven't had honey as good as yours in years."

When he heard DJ's response, Winter tried to hide his relief that they hadn't been hanging out frequently since school. That probably meant that DJ wouldn't question why Winter had even needed to ask. If they hung out again, Winter would probably need to tell him about the accident, but for now, it felt like he could keep it to himself. But then Winter was a whole other kind of embarrassed, though he knew DJ was just teasing him. How could he explain why he was smiling like this without coming clean. His smile fell away, though Winter tried to play this off, managing a laugh. "It's just nice to see someone I haven't seen in awhile," he said quietly, shrugging. "Sorry...I guess I'm just a smiley person." Was he though? Some of the things Winter had lost were memories of himself even, of the kind of person he was before. Maybe he hadn't been much of a smiler back then? Maybe DJ would question it? Or maybe Winter had always been like this before he'd lost who he was.

It was easier to focus on the lizard. Winter looked toward the bush that DJ gestured to, surprised by the way he tensed - did he have a fear of lizards? That was a bit of a new revelation for post-accident Winter. "Was it big?" he asked, hating the way his voice shook a little. "I don't think there's a wrong way to run, just maybe a wrong way to run and win races," Winter reasoned, trying to recover from this surge of unexpected trepidation. There was a payphone nearby, so Winter pulled a quarter out of his pocket, still supporting DJ, and he opened the phone book to find a number for a taxi service before making the call. Once he knew the cab was on its way, Winter turned to DJ and said, "Yeah, I do. Is that okay? Or should I just let you take the cab alone?" Had Winter overstepped here? It was just his natural inclination to help, but maybe it was too much.

[angstfactory]

"Who knows," he joked, "maybe you do got a magic touch." DJ wasn't too bothered that Davis had so much interest in the injury. In a way, he liked to wear it as a badge of honor, or at least he enjoyed the attention it gave him. He just wished he had a more harrowing tale to tell as to how it came about. Maybe it wouldn't hurt anyone if he claimed he had saved some little old lady in the street or something. But he had already told the truth with Davis, so now wasn't the time. "No, just tripped over my own two feet," he admitted. DJ leaned forward in some interest to see the scrapes Davis presented, even reaching out to touch his fingers to the man's palm a second before he snatched his hand back, laughing. "Oh man, you're right!" he continued laughing, "we do like to touch injuries!" It had been such a natural reflex, DJ had never even considered that before. "Those look gnarly," he said then, "you sure you're okay?"

A sad, wistful sigh escaped. "No, he got away," DJ confessed, clearly bummed out by this. "I was going to keep him," he went on. "Now that I got my own place, I want to get a whole handful of them and build like a whole obstacle course for them. It'd be so cool." Then he paused, in thought. "Though I guess maybe I should build that first, huh?" For being so smart, he could make some dumb decisions.

As he got comfortable in the chair, DJ grinned as Davis claimed to be his connection. Sweet. He would file that away, for the next LEGO released; Davis now created a monster, where DJ would ask for him first whenever the new releases came out. "Geez," he whistled, noticing the armful of stuff his friend brought, "is this how you work out? Look at these arms, dude." DJ actually reached out to poke an area on Davis' arm that showed the vein, before finally reaching to help take the load off and spread their haul out on the table before them. "You gotta tell me what you do, because... look at these?" He presented his own, rather thin and unimpressive arm, barely a mild little bump of muscle forming as he tried to flex. "It's pitiful," DJ scoffed at himself, as if he spent his life in the gym lifting weights that never shaped him up the way they should. He didn't. At all. So, it wasn't a surprise that he was just some skinny kid, barely any meat on his bones.

"Are you going to help me build it?" he asked, going for a grape soda.

Davis felt his cheeks flush a little as he stood; he definitely shouldn't have been touching DJ's ankle. "I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, smiling a little sheepishly. "I don't know why it's people's instinct to touch a wound sometimes. What did I even think I would accomplish by that?" Then he laughed; Davis was always able to laugh at himself, or at least he was most of the time. "Maybe I thought I could heal it with my magic touch," Davis laughed, though there was a part of him that wondered if he really could. He knew healing magic was a thing, but that wasn't something he had ever really tried, and the last thing Davis was going to do was risk further injury for his friend. If he knew someone better at magic, he might have asked, but Davis didn't make a habit of talking about it with people. He never had, not since he was a teenager. "What happened though?" he asked DJ. "Did you fall? Were you riding your bike or on a skateboard or something? Did you just trip? I do that all the time, and actually I did it on the way here. I tripped over a slightly raised section of sidewalk and just went down. My hands are still scraped, see?" He held his hands out, showing DJ his scratched palms, though they weren't too bad. The mention of the lizard caused his eyes to widen, and Davis asked, "Did you catch it? Is it your pet now? What's its name?" As usual, Davis wasn't fully aware of the fact that he was talking a mile a minute; usually this was something he would only recognize after the fact, like now. "Sorry...I should give you time to answer," Davis apologized, grinning at his friend.

When he saw DJ's reaction, Davis beamed, feeling proud of himself for doing this for his friend, especially now that he saw he was injured. Davis just felt like DJ could use a win today. "Yeah, I thought we would get a lot more, but I guess there aren't enough to go around," Davis replied. "We're lucky we got two. But you've got connections." He winked at DJ, grinning. "We've got both of those things, so give me a minute," and then Davis went and retrieved the box from behind the counter and the snacks.

A minute later, Davis returned, arms laden with the large LEGO box and the snacks as well as five cans of soda. "I wasn't sure what kind you would want, so I got one can of each," he said, voice slightly strained from the effort it took to hold such a preciously-arranged collection of things. His arms were tensed against the sleeves of his t-shirt as he gently and carefully set the items down; Davis wasn't really aware of the appealing way clothes fit him. "Phew, that was touch and go for a minute," he said, grinning at DJ, and then he sat down. "Well, should we get into this?" he asked his friend.

[angstfactory]

She moved along the bed of the truck, until she paused, leaning back against it with her arm stretched out to rest on its edge. Considering Dimi a long moment as he rambled through his recent discoveries, who Enzo was, and then jumped straight into asking her for help.

Neylani had a certain weakness, for people in need. She was something of a general Auntie to everyone in Cardinal Hill; she liked to put herself out there, as someone they could all turn to in times of need, that she would always be there. It was how she got elected sheriff for two years. Why they trusted her now, to come rescue their cats, their family, their property. So, immediately, her heart went out to the, clearly, lost and confused father that was desperate enough to ask this almost stranger for help with his most precious person in the world.

It touched her, quite a bit. And made her feel good, to see that her impression to others was still warm and open and trusting. That people who barely even knew her already could instinctively tell they could lean on her for support.

"I never said I was a witch, you know," Ney finally spoke up, leaning forward just a bit as she dropped this knowledge onto him. Though, there was a certain smile on her lips, because she hadn't denied it, either. And of course, why shouldn't he assume that she was? Ney hadn't been surprised in the least, to catch displays of magic from his daughter. Nor had she come off weirded out by the conversation of it. "My family has known magic, which yes, is the correct term," she added, "for centuries. Far back as we know, documented, in this area." She gestured, vaguely, to reference Cardinal Hill itself. "I can only imagine the amount of disgrace and shame I'd bring to them, if I turned away someone in need, especially someone with a daughter who has as much potential as Ozma does."

Now, she looked to the house. "But only if she'd like me to. Trying to force study under someone she can't connect with isn't any better than leaving her without a mentor."

Neylani clearly had more witch knowledge than Dimi had expected, and she also clearly wasn't weirded out by what she had just seen. As she talked about what he could expect with Ozma, Dimi listened closely, wanting all the information he could get. "That's kind of what I've been able to find out too," Dimi replied when Neylani was done, "but I wasn't sure how reliable the information was. I mean, I had no proof of any of it apart from the fact that magic exists, and that's only because I've seen it. Ozma...well, she's been through a lot, and I think stress has manifested in spurts of magic. Is magic even the right term? But you know what I mean. Things have actually been much better since coming here." Ozma missed her grandparents, but mostly she was so much happier and less stressed here, which made Dimi very happy. It definitely helped being reunited with her Uncle Enzo. "This is the first time that she's ever done something so obvious in front of strangers," Dimi went on, "and I think that was just because she was so scared for Alex." Luckily the one who had witnessed this - Neylani - was proving to be very understanding.

"Enzo is...uh..." Dimi responded, trailing off. Just a few days ago, that would have been a much easier relationship to explain. Now it was...well, not. "Enzo is my best friend, and he's basically a second dad to Ozma," Dimi answered finally, which was all true, though it no longer felt like enough. "This is his house, and we live here with him. But he's not a witch either, so I don't know how much help he'll be with this. We're kind of in the same boat." Then Neylani brought up Ozma's mom and her family, and that was even more complicated. "That's not possible," he answered quickly; there was no way Dimi would be able to reach out. "Angelica - that's Ozma's mother - she left a few years ago, and I don't even know how I would reach her. And she wasn't close with her family, so I never even met most of them. And even if I knew where Angelica was, I...well, there's a serious reason I still wouldn't reach out, let's just say that. Ultimately it would do Ozma even more harm." Although he would never say this to his daughter, he actually thought it was a good thing that Angelica was no longer in Ozma's life.

It was very clear that Neylani was quite knowledgable about all of this, and Dimi appreciated the encouragement she was giving him. But he still felt out of his depth. "Do you think you could help me?" Dimi asked, surprised by the suddenness - he hadn't consciously chosen to do this, but apparently his subconscious wasn't above asking for help. "I would be really grateful, and I'll pay you for your time. I just think it would really benefit Ozma to have a witch to mentor her, at least for now."

[angstfactory]

It was like he hadn't asked her any questions at all, with the way Vivian blatantly ignored them. She was doing too much, to keep the conversation solely, squarely focused only on him. DJ saw it immediately; his lips twisted into a deeper frown as he repeated, a bit louder, and more pointedly, "And what about you? What are you doing?"

His brows lifted, a bit affronted by her bold comments. Even though he could have figured out her cutting him off completely, meant they weren't friends anymore, it was something else entirely to hear her admit to all of that. "Oh, okay, so we're not friends anymore," DJ confirmed then, with a bob of his head, acting as if that didn't bother him when it did. Clearly, it did, as the frustration was difficult to cover. "Good to know, thanks for telling me that, finally, years after the fact," he went on, unhappily. "Might have been some good news to hear back when, I dunno, you decided we weren't, so that I didn't spend so much of my time wondering what it is I did wrong or whatever. But that's fine." And she had to audacity to come up to him now, asking how he was, like things were supposed to just be okay?

It was as DJ said. For a long time, he had been obsessed with the reasons over why she cut them out. Was it only because of her sister? Or was there more behind it? Had he done something? Said something? Did she think he couldn't handle it? Be there for her? Was he some shitty friend that wouldn't understand? Then, after a while, that had slowly turned into defensiveness. Frustration. Anger, even. Apparently, he was wasn't as moved on from that stage as he thought.

Vivian mustered a genuine smile when she heard that he was working on a masters degree and worked in the observatory. He managed to finish college? He was in post grad education? That was more than she could say about herself. It made her feel like she made the right decision, even if it hurt her to do so. "That's good. I'm glad to hear that." Hopefully he could get everything he wanted out of life.

She could tell by his tone that he didn't believe her when she said she was fine, so she found herself letting out a deep breath. "No, I'm not. And you don't need to bothered with why I'm not. Just know that if we were still friends, you probably wouldn't be okay either."

[angstfactory]

The older woman's lips pursed at the corners, as if she was preventing herself from smiling. Instead, she did her best to give Alice a certain look for teasing her. "Very funny," she batted at the air, as if to brush aside Alice messing with her. "One of these days, you might very well go on a game show and this could be crucial information to know," she went on, deadpan. "And you're going to thank me, once you win that fifty thousand dollars."

Disappointment shone across her features some, as Alice admitted she didn't have any of the same sense that Neylani did about the town's current state. "Nothing at all?" she asked, hopefully, because maybe then it was just her losing her mind. That wasn't something Ney wanted to exactly confront. "I don't know, exactly... it's just a feeling, that's why it's so strange... but I heard some people have gotten hurt recently, and a few months ago there were notes being left at people's doors, we got some complaints about it." Not that it was necessarily a fire station's duty, to check into such concerns. These complaints mostly came from those neighboring houses by the station, the people coming by to ask if they had been told anything about these letters and their strange contents, if they'd been told anything by the police yet. The fire department was simply a form of convenience for them, in that sense.

Alice nods." I'm taking mental notes as we speak, filling them under Ney's favorite drink, no hard liquor allowed and a start for Rum." She teases her friend playfully." I also can't stand hard liquor, give me a fruity drink any time." though she tended to avoid alcohol, one drink was enough to get her tipsy.

She narrows her eyes as Neylani leans closer." No..." Alice takes a bite, chewing as she thinks over what her friend had told her. Had there been something in the air? If that had been the case Alice hadn't noticed it." What kind of trouble?"

[angstfactory]

Another slow day at the store, nearly ready to close up shop. He was just waiting for a couple of slow shoppers to finish up their browsing so he could lock things up for the day. While he waited, Vivek stood leaned against the counter, chin in hand, as he flipped idly through a motorcross-themed magazine.

Suddenly, Eve burst their way into the store, already raging a mile a minute. Vivek, however, barely lifted his gaze at first. This wasn't necessarily out of the ordinary for them. "Well if it isn't my future spouse," he remarked, smirking to himself, loving nothing better than to remind them every day of their life, of the silly little pact they had made when they were wee ones. Had they been serious? At the time, everything was absolutely dead serious for kids. But today? Absolutely not. It just tickled him to annoy Eve with it, especially because they tried to keep such a sensible head on their shoulders these days. Sometimes it was good to remind them they could say and do stupid things just as easily as anyone else!

"Well, my youngest is still only ten," he mused, casually shutting the magazine, "so it's tempting, but.." Joking or not, Vivek felt he was just about ready to be one of the empty nesters for good. At least the oldest two were all grown up. "Oh, he's definitely trying to drive you up the wall," Vivek advised, giving a sage nod of wisdom. He was a guy, and a brother, so he had personal knowledge that's exactly the kind of stuff they would do to their siblings. "If you throw in a malt, I'm all yours," he agreed, readily, to Eve's proposition. "Just got to wait for the last few people to finish up," this was said in a quieter tone, to be respectful of those still within earshot, as he didn't want to come off like he was pushing them out.

Location: Windsor Sporting Goods Starter for @angstfactory

"I'm two seconds away from tearing someone's head off," Eve complained as they bursts into the store looking for Vivek. It was later in the day and thankfully the store wasn't very full though they did earn themselves a very nasty look from a woman there with her daughter. They shrugged in response, instead continuing until they finally found their best friend. "Do you happen to be in the market of adopting a younger brother? He's a shithead but he'd be good at kidsitting," Eve finally puffed out their cheeks and sighed before running their hands over their face. "My brother is driving me crazy, treating the house like he owns it and he was playing his music so loud last night I couldn't sleep. It's like he's going through latent puberty. He tells me it's cause it's part of his meditation but I feel like he's trying to annoy me to death."

Eve finally took a breath, realizing just how heated they were and shook their head. "Sorry, I just needed to get that out, I came because I figured you'd be closing soon and you could accompany me to drown my frustrations in a stack of cheese fries. What do you say?"

[angstfactory]

"What'd you do, aggressively throw it down the stairs so it hit every step on the way down?" he questioned further, amused by the thought. Helmets were fairly durable, they were supposed to be, since they protected a person's skull from cracking open the way her helmet now currently was. "The amount of damage this thing has from going down some steps is... wow, just glad you didn't go with it."

At least, he assumed she hadn't, as she stood before him perfectly okay.

"Ladybugs? That's been a popular one with the ladies, I noticed," Vivek supplied, with a smile and brief wink of acknowledgement. "Ladybugs it is!" The man approached the wall, reaching easily for the patterned helmet sitting along the very top row; he was six foot four, one of the only people in the store that didn't need to fetch the step stool to get things off the higher shelves. "I think you're going to look real adorable in this," Vivek teased her, goodnaturedly, as he carried it towards the front desk. "Is there anything else you were looking for today?"

"I dropped down the stairs the other day." Candace explained, thinking back to how much of a tumble her old helmet took. She read into this theory called panpsychism - this theory that consciousness is fundamental to everything in the universe. Essentially, everything is conscious - even that helmet. Did she harm a conscious thing? Surely not, because even if it is conscious it couldn't possibly be as complex as human consciousness. This theory just seemed unlikely, Candace had to tell herself.

"That is really cool!" She said, Vivek informed her that you could get custom helmets. It wasn't really something she was interested in, all she cared about was being able to ride her bike safely - but it was a cool option nonetheless. That being said, she did glance over to the patterned ones, figuring there was nothing wrong with her protection gear being aesthetically pleasing. "I like the one with ladybugs." She said - it made her think of life.