#re: aethercore-seeker

[apple-caleb]

the fleet business took longer than caleb had expected. he sported a blank visage, eyes cold as he listened to the person speak. his eyes would glance over to the clock then to his phone, his thumb scrolling up and down along the screen when messages exchanged between nymeria and him were displayed.

his head rested against a curled fist, his elbow propped on the arm of the chair and when his name was called, he only drifted his gaze up to the source, his head unmoving.

“we will be heading into the deepspace tunnel in three days,” he answered when he had been questioned if he heard anything the man was saying, “and i will be the one leading the fleet. rest assured, i heard everything clearly.” his tone matched the coldness in his eyes. 

everyone grew silent and stared at the man that dared to question the colonel. he only scoffed and caleb brought up a knowing smile. eventually the meeting ended and caleb was already headed back to his place. 

back to nymeria.

once he got back home, he walked through the hallway and headed for the kitchen. that was when someone bumped into him. he arched a brow and reached over, his hand moving passed nymeria as he slid the light switch up until the area was more properly lit. now he could see her face a bit more clearly and he tilted his head, leaning down slightly.

“hey, pip-squeak…” he chuckled quietly, lifting his hat from his head to settle it on top of hers instead, his tone much more softer than the earlier one he had back at the farspace fleet's meeting room. “i thought you’d be asleep. i’m headin’ the kitchen, you want anything?”

Closed starter for @apple-caleb

The explosion still echoed in her ears. The heat, the suffocating smoke, the way their childhood home had split open like a wounded beast—

Nymeria jolted awake with a sharp gasp, her heart hammering against her ribs. Her breath came too fast, her fingers twisted in the sheets, and for a moment, she was back there. Back in the fire. Back in the wreckage. But then reality settled in. The cold air of Caleb’s room, the distant hum of city traffic below, the faint scent of detergent on her borrowed blanket. Not fire. Not smoke.

She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes and exhaled. Caleb. Her Caleb. 

He was alive. He had been alive for a year. And he hadn’t told her.

The emotions churned—relief, joy, anger, confusion—twisting into an unsteady knot in her stomach. She should be happy. And she was. But there was something bitter underneath it.

A year. A whole year.

Shoving the blankets off, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood. The room felt too small, too tight, like the walls were pressing in. She needed water. Maybe the walk to the kitchen would clear her head.

She padded barefoot through the dimly lit hallway, rubbing at her arms as the night’s chill sank into her skin. The kitchen was just around the corner. She could already picture the glass in her hand, the cool water grounding her—

Smack.

Nym yelped, stumbling back as she collided with something solid. No—someone.

A sharp intake of breath. A familiar presence.

“…Caleb.” she breathed.

[crimsonbloomss]

✏️ - @aethercore-seeker

nymeria: Good news! maeve: You found where I hid your phone? nymeria: … maeve: You found your phone?

--

nymeria: Why are you late? maeve: A technical error occurred, causing an unexpectedly long bout of unconsciousness. nymeria: Overslept? maeve: Overslept.

--

maeve: I know every song to ever exist it doesn't matter if it's from the past, present or the future. nymeria: Oh yeah? Then continue this. nymeria: I don't cook I don't clean- maeve: So let me tell you how I got this ring. maeve & nymeria: ….. maeve & nymeria: GOBBLE ME, SWALLOW ME-

Send in ✏️ and I’ll use this (improved) incorrect quote generator featuring both our muses!

[apple-caleb]

💬 Caleb 😔

💬 I think I should give up on my bike

💬 it’s become so expensive to maintain.

💬 Just paid 10K Linkon gold to have premium air filled in my tyres…

💬 things I do for this bike :( - @aethercore-seeker

...

premium air?

did it come with a new bike?

10k????

[apple-caleb]

💌💝🍾

To: Caleb From: Your favorite pain in the ass ( @aethercore-seeker )

Happy Valentine’s!

Don’t get too excited—I’m not about to outdo you in the kitchen (yet), but I did put in the effort. Learned how to make them when you were… gone. Thought maybe if I got good enough, I’d be ready to learn to live without you...

Are they as delicious as yours? No. Are they edible? Yes. So don’t make that face. I’ll get there someday.

Oh, and because I’m a woman of generosity, I got you a bottle of wine. A whole bottle, Caleb. No more sneaking sips from Grandma’s cabinet like we’re criminals (even though, let’s be real, we were). Though I imagine you get fancier stuff at your big, important colonel banquets now.

Sometimes… I wish we were back in Linkon. Together. Before everything got complicated. Before the world decided to change on us.

But since we can’t exactly turn back time, I guess we’ll just have to settle for chocolate and wine. And if you don’t say mine is at least a solid 7/10, I will fight you.

-Nym

valentine's day gifts

the contents in nymeria’s letter are bittersweet. her words serve a reminder to him what he chose after that incident had consequences and he had to live with those. away from her. he recalls the times he would sit in his home on the days the fleet had nothing better to do, so he was dismissed and he was left in his own thoughts. day in and day out, he would look at his phone, his old account was deactivated, but never deleted, yet, he couldn’t find the courage to say ‘fuck it’ to the other consequences he’d be met with if he did reach out to her. 

even now he can’t help but wonder if he’s dreaming or if this is really happening. that nymeria’s back in his life, the radiant beam of light and the gravity that kept him grounded when he was already soaring through the skies. she was the one that would always guide him back home. he reads the words over and over again, as if he wanted to commit to memory. especially the part where she wishes they were in linkon together. there are times where he wants to be as well, but that’s an understatement, he wants to be in a world where it’s nymeria and him. 

he pulls himself back to reality and grabs his phone. the object sitting in his hand feels foreign to him suddenly, even pulling up her text messages felt so surreal, but he presses into the textbox and begins to type.

> we were partners in crime, are we not anymore? :(  > I think Gran knew that we were sneaking sips of the wine. > if she confronted us I’d take the blame anyway :P 

he pauses, these next few text messages a little harder to type as he keeps doing what he did before he was able to reach out to her again. type, type, type. delete. type, type, type. and delete. but he manages. for her. 

> yours is a 1000000/10, Nym. > you know what? I’ll come down to Linkon whenever you ask me to. > doesn’t matter what I was doing before. I will find a way to come down as soon as you want me to. > one day, pip-squeak… one day, if you want to, we can be together and I don’t care where in the world we would be. > I’ll go and stay anywhere with you when that day comes.

[apple-caleb]

caleb half-believes there to be some goat popping out somewhere in the apartment, the other half of him believes she’s definitely bluffing. still, he plays along for the time being. that said exasperated look on him coupled with a dramatic sigh–and just as he was about to voice out his question of where this goat was, he blinks. 

“yeah, uh, nym–pip-squeak, pretty sure the landlord’s got some logic reasons, like… the fact that poor goat’s gonna have nowhere to freely move around.” he says, eyes observing the said apartment then returns back to her. “i get it, it’s lame. but we gotta think of the poor goats tryin’ to be free… when they’re not fainting.”

he snorts, recalling the many videos he’s seen of goats fainting due to being startled.

caleb takes a step forward, eyeing the plush goat and reaches out to poke at its head until his gaze drifts down to the aviators. that’s where they went. he laughed and instead of grabbing the aviators he had been looking for, he only adjusted a bit and gave an approving nod. “there we go, this little guy’s sporting the best aviators now… gotta make sure it stays on there reeeal good.” 

with a grin, he swiftly snatches it as if to observe it better. “oh no, nymeria… we’ve got a problem.” he frowns and turns the plush around for it to face her, “did you get a friend for him? ooor a partner?”

“I bought a goat.” - @aethercore-seeker

send me one for my muse’s reaction

he blinks. then blinks once more and slowly looks around the place.

"you bought a what, nym?"

[apple-caleb]

Ever since the incident, Caleb wasn’t entirely sure what he could or couldn’t do. Sometimes his brain would short-circuit and he would overthink. Even then, Nymeria’s presence served as a safe place for him.

While things may be different, there were still some semblance of how things used to be and he latches onto those increments, tightly, afraid that if he were to loosen his hold, those last pieces of their past would vanish into thin air—and perhaps, along with her.

Her voice brought him back and he kept his forehead pressed against her shoulder. Does he know her? Does he still remember the things she liked, the things she hated, little tidbits of her that he thought he used to know to the very last bit of detail.

Everything felt so distant, yet he pulled up a smile, tender, and reassuring. “Alright, you don’t have to tell me what the dream was about,” he spoke softly, eventually eased back as he reached out with his right hand, brushing some strands of her hair from her face, as if to get a better look at her, “just know that, whatever it is, I’m here and I won’t let anythin’ happen to you.” 

He noticed the stolen glances as he was doing the same to her, their eyes never quite locking in with one another, but he also noticed the hesitancy, it caused a frown to etch along his lips. 

“Is it really better when I’m here?” He couldn’t stop himself from asking, his voice soft as his eyes roamed along her face; he cupped the side of it, his thumb gently stroking her cheek.

Please say yes.

Nymeria let out a small huff at the “pip-squeak” nickname but didn’t protest. It was just Caleb being Caleb. She watched as he slipped off his gloves, shoving them into his pockets, his gaze never really leaving her. He always had this way of making things feel... less heavy, even when they were. The way he was looking at her made it impossible to keep up any pretense of nonchalance. His eyes, always so sharp and calculating in front of others, softened when he looked at her like this.

She swirled her tea absentmindedly, watching the steam rise as he spoke. The offer to talk about it was tempting, but she wasn’t sure she had the words to explain. So instead, she just took a quiet sip, letting the warmth of the chamomile settle in her chest.

But then he moved closer.

It wasn’t often he sought comfort like this—not directly, anyway. And yet, here he was, exhaling against the fabric of her pajama top like it was the only thing keeping him tethered. There was something grounding about the way he leaned into her, something that made her feel less like she was drowning in the remnants of her nightmare. “You know me. It’s just dreams, nothing new. Just the kind that feel a little too real when you wake up.” a quiet sigh escaping as she tilted her head just a little, resting her cheek against his hair for a brief moment. "But... it's not so bad now... with you here."

She lifted her hand, her fingers brushing against the fabric of his shirt for just a second."That chamomile’s already getting to you, huh?"  She let her gaze drop to the cup in her hands for a moment before stealing another glance at him. “But… yeah. I get it.” Her voice was quieter now, almost hesitant before she finally admitted, “Everything’s better when you’re here too.”

[apple-caleb]

“Let’s see…” 

Caleb taps his chin, eyes looking anywhere but her with a playful glint in his eyes before they return to her. The plushie remains between the two as if to serve as some border, but Caleb continues pulling her closer.

“Cookin’, spoilin’ you rotten…” He murmurs, one hand moving up to play with the ends of her hair before he brings it up further, tucking some strands behind her ear as he cups her cheek, his thumb then gently brushing against her supple skin. “Gettin’ you snacks… lettin’ you win…” 

He continues listing the pointers from Nymeria, pursing his lips to keep from chuckling. He must remain serious, note serious face. He notices how her grin turns devious and he could only shake his head, despite his eyes gleaming with certain mirth.

“I’ll bring back the good ol’ days then, that includes cuddles… endless cuddles.” He proclaims and chuckles now, using his evol to snag the plushie from between them as he wraps his arms around her waist, a gentle kiss placed against her forehead. 

“Damn, Nym… you drive a hard bargain, buuut.” He kisses down her nose then smiles, “I think he would. Indefinitely.”

Nymeria hums, tilting her head slightly as if deep in thought, though the playful glint in her eyes betrays her. She taps a finger against her chin, drawing out the silence just long enough to make him wait.

“Well,” she finally says, dragging the word out like she’s weighing her options. “You could start by cooking for me again. You used to, remember?” She looks up at him, feigning disappointment, though her smirk gives her away. “I miss the good ol’ days when I was spoiled rotten.”

She shifts in his hold, just enough to nuzzle the plushie between them before continuing, “And snacks. Lots of snacks. Oh! And maybe letting me win at games.” Her grin turns absolutely devious. “Actually, scratch that. Not ‘maybe.’ You should let me win. It’s only fair.”

She leans in, resting her chin on his chest as she bats her lashes up at him. “And cuddles,” she adds in a dreamy sigh. “Endless cuddles. VIP treatment means I get to sprawl all over you whenever I want, and you don’t get to complain.”

Her arms loop around his waist, hugging him tighter. “Think this Colonel would agree to those terms?”

[apple-caleb]

to you? :o no way. false information.

ohhh those trends...

no wonder Gideon was laughing at me >_>

listen. mechanic shops say the most insane things to get you to snag more services your bike probably doesn't need. XP

I guess the guy gets to live.

💬 you’re such an ass, sometimes 🫤

💬 no, I didn’t pay 10k for air. It was a prank I saw on moments.

💬 you really thought…

💬 Imagine the poor dude if he actually scammed me…..

[apple-caleb]

...

.......

baby. angel.

pip...

does the air cure protocore syndrome?

where's the place? I just wanna talk to the dude :)

💬 Caleb 😔

💬 I think I should give up on my bike

💬 it’s become so expensive to maintain.

💬 Just paid 10K Linkon gold to have premium air filled in my tyres…

💬 things I do for this bike :( - @aethercore-seeker

...

premium air?

did it come with a new bike?

10k????