cheltochtli - Tumblr blog

[cheltochtli]

neverletyoufall-cor‌:

He paused. It’s not a big deal and I’ll be fine were not reassuring, but he didn’t want to pry. “Reevaluating can be helpful,” he agreed after a moment, offering her a soft smile. “If you need a friend to talk to, I’m always here for you, Chel.” It seemed like a reasonable compromise between pressing the issue and ignoring it.

She nodded at his agreement, biting down on her bottom lip slightly at his smile.  She could see the question in his eyes, but his offer had her sighing softly.  “I know you are,” she assured him.  “I’m just not sure talking about it will change how it’s made me feel,” she shrugged.  “And it’s nothing near as life-altering as what you’ve been through.  It was just a nightmare, but it’s left me considering some of my choices.”

[cheltochtli]

quillantheyounger‌:

“Some.  I was expected to lead and participate in battle, but it was a time of peace, which rendered me essentially useless.” He shrugged.  “I… don’t know.  The girl I was promised to did not suck, so I didn’t have to find out.  My parents seemed to love each other well enough and my brother…. well, I’m not sure if he was ever promised to anyone.  Not that I am aware of, and certainly not anything that stuck.” 

He smiled.  “Right.  And that is good.  I’m studying to be a doctor, though, so that takes plenty of my time.” He led her to the next kennel.  “This is Koty.  She’s very fluffy and a little smaller than our last friend.” 

“But you were still trained to command armies.  That’s pretty impressive,” she admitted.  “Probably for the best you weren’t needed though, right?  I mean, if the alternative is being at war with someone,” she pointed out.  Her brows furrowed when he claimed his betrothed didn’t suck.  “Oh so you got to meet her before you guys got married then.  I take it she didn’t come over here when you did?” she wondered, knowing that wasn’t exactly uncommon.  It was kind of sad to imagine two people meant to be married being separated by whatever had brought them to Fableton.  No wonder he wasn’t interested in dating.

“And yet, he still has time to volunteer at an animal shelter.  You know, whenever you are ready to get back out there, you’ll probably have women lining up at the chance go date you,” she warned.  Chel brightened a bit more at the sight of the next dog, the beautiful, smaller creature bouncing happily.  “Oh she is just adorable.  How did such a cutie end up in here?”

[cheltochtli]

outtherequasimodo‌:

“I know about people not being nice.” Quasimodo muttered, noticing that some bitterness was rising in his voice but he pushed that down. His father told him that the world was cruel, but it was just hard to accept. Still, when Chel mentioned that she dealt with people that weren’t all nice, it brought up those lessons of people that would probably never accept him and be just awful. “I understand. I had a friend like that” he admitted, “Really my only friend.” And someone he had a crush on but he didn’t want to admit that. It was silly. Esmeralda wouldn’t look at him that way… Would she? Looking down at his sketchbook, he turned to a new page and began to start drawing Chel, “I think I can teach you a few. As long as no one knows where you got them from.” Pausing from his sketching, he only glanced up at her, worried, “B-because you are… P-pretty. I don’t have to. If you don’t… Want me to…” 

“I meant they weren’t all nice gods, but yes, there were plenty of not-nice people too,” she nodded.  Just thinking about Tzekel-Kan sent a shiver down her spine.  “Well now you have another friend,” she pointed out, nudging him again gently with a soft smile.  “It’s good that you accept people that think differently from you though.  Shows great maturity,” she complimented.  She watched as he began sketching her, her head cocking to the side slightly as her shape began to take form.  He really was talented.  “Your secret’s safe with me, hermoso,” she assured.  Her smile softened at his words.  She was very often called sexy, but pretty had a sweeter tone to it.  It was nice.  “No, it’s okay.  I’d like to see how you see me.”

[cheltochtli]

neverletyoufall-cor‌:

“In hindsight, I very much doubt I would have changed things,” he admitted. He wasn’t sorry to be here, though he wished he could have spared Thumbelina some of the trauma she went through. The best he could do was try to keep anything like that from happening again. “Are you speaking from experience?”

“Exactly,” she replied, her smile growing a bit.  She thought about her own journey and all she had been through and wondered if she would go back and change things.  Would she have appreciated El Dorado more if she knew she wouldn’t be there forever?  Would she have been more open with her feelings with some of the men she had spent her time with if it meant not being so lonely now?  There were so many what ifs in her life, but she figured, things could be way worse.  “Sort of.  It’s not a big deal.  I’ll be fine.  Just doing some reevaluating, like you.”

[cheltochtli]

neverletyoufall-cor‌:

“I suppose I wouldn’t be here now if I’d done what was expected of me.” He tilted his head thoughtfully. If he’d never gone searching for Thumbelina, he wouldn’t have been frozen in a pond or woken up at Fableton General. Try as he might, he couldn’t think of that as a mistake though. There was no version of Cor that didn’t try to rescue her. “I used to think so, and then the girl I loved was kidnapped, I was frozen in a pond, I woke up a giant in a strange world, and I accidentally stole someone’s magic. I may have lost my taste for it,” he chuckled.

“‘Wrong’ and ‘what is expected’ are not the same thing,” she pointed out.  “If the worst you’ve done is go against expectations, and it led you here, then I say it was worth it,” she decided, giving him a soft smile.  At the end of the day, she was incredibly grateful to have Cornelius in her life.  She wasn’t sure how much good she brought to his, but she couldn’t imagine being in Fableton without him as a friend.  “Those sound like interesting adventures that clearly ended well since you, and the girl you loved, are still here,” she commented, smirking slightly.  “But I see your point.  It’s impossible not to reevaluate your life when bad things happen,” she agreed, knowing she was doing the same thing over just a nightmare.

[cheltochtli]

outtherequasimodo‌:

“I-I’m sorry…” Quasimodo paused, looking at her before taking a deep breath and nodded. “I would never” He shook his head, “N-No. I would not hold anything against you. I just… I-I never thought about… A different o-opinion.” Realizing just how pretty she was, as well as being kind to him, he kept his head down, not wanting to embarrass himself further. “I only know French” He remarked, chuckling, “So I don’t mind.” Adjusting his sketchbook, his eyes glanced up at her, “C-Can I draw you? If you don’t mind…” 

“No need to apologize, I assure you,” she told him, her smile softening a little when he seemed to relax.  “It’s a big world, Mo.  Lots of different people, lots of different beliefs.  Back home, my people believed in a lot of gods instead of just one, and they weren’t all nice,” she explained.  “I’ve been through a lot when it comes to religion.  Kinda makes it hard to believe in anything,” she admitted, shrugging a shoulder.  “Maybe you could teach me some French swears.  Might come in handy some day,” she joked, laughing softly.  She quirked a brow when he shifted his attention to her, his question surprising her a little.  “You want to draw me?  Why?”

[cheltochtli]

knightedlancelot‌:

“Thank you.” He looked up with a reflexive smile. If he’d realized he was being rude, he would have put down his phone and paid more attention to his surroundings. “Nyet.” He paused, considering. “No, that isn’t right. Nichego,” he corrected himself. He tipped the phone so she could see that he wasn’t just babbling nonsense.

Oh but that smile made it all worth it.  Last Chel heard, Lancelot was either seeing someone else or not interested in dating at all, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t still admire how handsome he was.  Her eyes widened slightly at the word she didn’t recognize, his correction only leaving her more confused before he showed her what he was doing.  “Ah, learning a new language.  I’m pretty sure that one isn’t used too often around this area though.  Why the interest?”

[cheltochtli]

neverletyoufall-cor‌:

It was hard for Cor to imagine Thumbelina not getting along with most anyone. She was very sweet. “I certainly hope so, or I may be doing it wrong,” he chuckled. His track record was far from spotless, and it was largely the reason he was in Fableton to begin with. “I don’t seem to be able to even when I try.”

“I cannot imagine you’ve done anything really wrong, Cor,” she assured, shaking her head slightly.  Besides, what would life be without the mistakes and trouble?  Rather dull, if you asked her.  There would be no growth, no adventure, no excitement.  She wouldn’t want anything to do with a life like that.  “Why would you want to try?  Everything’s more fun with a little trouble, don’t you think?”

[cheltochtli]

knightedlancelot‌:

Lancelot had kept up with his Russian lessons, but he and Lana had also discovered language apps on their phones to help the process along. The devices were useful for so many things. He muted it while he was in public, but he caught himself muttering the words under his breath from time to time. Truth be told, it only mattered if he could read and write them, but he preferred to be thorough. He thumbed through the lessons with the usual efficiency, rarely missing one, and paused, repeating a word thoughtfully to himself before he moved on.

It was a slow day at Tiana’s.  The weather was getting colder, so less people were going out.  However, plenty were ordering pickup and delivery, so at least the business was still doing well.  It just meant Chel had less people to talk to, less tips, and just longer feeling days.  She had brightened a bit when Lancelot had showed up, always glad to see a handsome face like his, but he was soon distracted by whatever it was he was working on.  Coming over with a refill of his drink, she placed it on his table and quirked a brow.  “What’s got you looking so serious, hermoso?”

[cheltochtli]

neverletyoufall-cor‌:

He chuckled appreciatively. Chel and Thumbelina had little in common on the surface, but they did seem to make friends wherever they went. He couldn’t help thinking they would get along. “Some can save you trouble further down the road,” he admitted. He’d never thought he’d be one to advocate for following rules, but he supposed it came with the territory of being an adult.

A small part of Chel really wished she wouldn’t like Cor’s girl, but it seemed like they might get along if they ever met.  Maybe if she got to know her, and saw what Cor saw, it would make the sting of rejection a little less painful.  “Maybe, but isn’t making mistakes and getting into trouble all part of life?” she pointed out.  “You know me, Cor.  I’ve never been the type to avoid trouble.”

[cheltochtli]

quillantheyounger‌:

Philip shook his head.  “Yeah, we might.  I was more like… athletic I guess.  I liked getting lost in the woods and not wearing shoes or being proper in any way.  Not ‘wild’ like having sex and doing drugs.”  He shrugged.  “The problem is most princes, even number twos or whatever, are promised at a pretty early age, and I was, too.  Even if I had a fan club, I couldn’t have done that and honored the alliance or whatever.”  When he put it that way, it sounded stupid and it undercut so much of what he and Aurora had actually shared before she died.  He let the implication stand that it was in the past, that it maybe hadn’t followed him to Fableton, and moved on. 

He nodded.  “Yeah, maybe.  I mean, we had instructors on some subjects, and I always found them boring.  Now I’m at the university and I’m taking pretty heavy schooling.  It’s not boring now.  But this kind of work didn’t exist.” 

Once he’d returned, he listened to her requests and the details involved, and then nodded as he thought.  “Yeah, that sounds good.  To be fair, you look strong enough for something medium sized,” he pointed out.  “But an apartment limits things.  Come this way.” 

Originally posted by lovingpostit

“I take it you were expected to be more proper and do more gentlemanly things than just manly things, huh?” she mused.  She supposed that made sense.  “I never did drugs, but I did have very sticky fingers,” she admitted, brushing her hair out of her face.  She’d been wild too, just in a different way.  Closer to the way he’d said he wasn’t, but El Dorado was a bit more of a free world than the one he seemed to have come from.  “So even if you had met someone you fell in love with, you wouldn’t have been able to be with her?  What if the girl you were promised to sucked?” she wondered, shaking her head in disbelief.  She’d heard of people who married for alliances like that, but she knew plenty more who married for love.  She had never been interested in marrying, but if she did, she would want it to be her choice.

“At least here, you have more freedom in that sense.  You know, if you were interested in that sort of thing,” she pointed out with a small smile.  “You’re at FU?  What are you studying?” she wondered.  Sometimes she considered doing the whole college thing herself, but she had no idea what she would even go for.  Besides, she had a pretty sweet gig at Tiana’s, and anything worth learning could be learned from the woman herself, in Chel’s opinion.  “I’ll take your word for it.  I just know a dog as big as her probably wouldn’t work in my place,” she nodded.  “Who’s next?”

[cheltochtli]

outtherequasimodo‌:

Quasimodo froze, his eyes widening, feeling his hands starting to shake. “N-No… I…” He paused, looking away and trying to make himself smaller. He did have a different opinion but he didn’t want to anger her because he had a different opinion. “I mean… He is f-forgiving. But I don’t mean to speak out against you. I’m sorry.” Focusing on his sketchbook, he felt himself relax and nodded. “Of course you can… Stay here. I’m sorry if it might be too boring.” He knew that it wouldn’t be too interesting if she just sat next to him. But he did find comfort and a little bit of happiness that someone would even want to be near him for a long time. 

His shift had her eyes widening, her heart aching as she realized he thought she was angry or something.  “Hey, hey, it’s fine.  You’re allowed to have a different opinion,” she assured him.  “Around here, everyone’s got their own story, their own beliefs, their own opinions about the big things.  I’d never hold whatever you believe against you,” she promised.  “Just like I’d hope you’d never hold anything about me against me,” she added.  “You can disagree with me whenever you want, Mo.  The worst you’ll get in return is my big mouth and maybe a few Spanish cuss words,” she joked, offering a comforting smile.  “I could use a little boring,” she shrugged.  She just wanted something quiet, something different from her normal routine.  Something that might make her forget about all of the bad stuff in her head for a while.

[cheltochtli]

quillantheyounger‌:

Philip chuckled a little and shook his head.  “Maybe if you’re describing my brother,” he agreed.  “I was a little more of a wild child.  Not much, but a little bit.” Plus he’d been betrothed to Aurora from a young age, so it wasn’t like he played the field or anything.  He was more of a sportsman/hunter/ride in the woods sort of guy. Had they not lived in mostly peaceful times, he probably would’ve been more of a soldier.  Here and now, that was really difficult to contemplate.  He shrugged.  “Not really.  I guess there were moments when it got a little old feeling like I was the backup replacement or something – but I don’t think I ever really wanted all the pressure my brother had.  It still kind of defines him here, and I’m pretty glad I haven’t had to worry about it.” 

While Mac had known his history, he hadn’t been able to really talk to her like this.  Being able to with someone, now, was really nice. 

He used the leash to trot the pup in a proud circle, the bounce in her step inordinately pleased.  He was pretty sure she understood cute in terms of the language.  “You bet.”  It only took him a moment to get Charlie settled and then he returned.  “Who’s next?” 

Originally posted by taronunwin

“You?  A wild child?  I think you and I might have very different definitions of that label,” she joked.  “I’m sure you still had a little fan club of your own.  Every girl secretly dreams of marrying a prince.  Well, most girls at least,” she shrugged.  She had been more focused on finding the next best adventure, and El Dorado didn’t have any princes.  “Oh I never even thought about that,” she muttered.  She couldn’t imagine expecting to get something like a crown and a kingdom only to have them stripped away when you’re thrown into a completely different world.  “So not being the heir gave you a certain amount of freedom, let you explore things you might not have been able to in your world.  Like working with dogs,” she mused, nodding with a small smile.  It sounded like a pretty good life, but she had a feeling there was still a lot about him she didn’t know yet.

Chel’s smile grew a bit when Charlie trotted around a bit.  Yeah, she would get swept up soon enough, she was sure of it.  And there was only room for one HBIC in her apartment, and that role had to be her.  She had to find something smaller, and maybe a little less obviously adorable.  “Do you have anything smaller?  I’m trying to imagine bathing a dog in my apartment and I’ll probably need something I can pick up.”

[cheltochtli]

neverletyoufall-cor‌:

“No, she ran away.” He smiled, a little proud of Thumbelina for that even though he’d had nothing to do with it. “That is true. Adult life has its share of rules too.” He shrugged. Some of them were more arbitrary than others. Cor had never had trouble following a rule he understood. It was the other kind he struggled with.

“Sounds like my kinda girl,” she replied, her lips turning downwards in a look expressing that she was impressed.  “Exactly.  Rules are there to hold you back.  At this point, I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to them,” she joked, smiling softly over at him.

[cheltochtli]

outtherequasimodo‌:

Quasimodo looked at Chel, his lips pursed a little in thought. He didn’t necessarily think bad things made someone completely sinful but he was never allowed to express that. Especially not to Frollo. Letting out a heavy sigh, he shook his head, “If you say so.” Changing the subject to beignets was easier, as Quasi let out a small, quiet chuckle, “I don’t leave the church that much. Except for certain things.” The deal sounded harmless and he already was thinking of ideas of what to make Chel. Timidly he nodded, “Okay. We have a deal…” 

“You got a different opinion?” she inquired.  She could tell when someone was holding back, and she preferred a friendly debate over that any day.  “Go ahead.  You think your God is a forgiving one?” she asked, her expression open and far from judging.  She wasn’t sure she could ever believe it, but knowing someone that seemed as good as Quasimodo did believe it would give her some hope.  “You willing to make this one of those things?” she questioned, giving him a smile.  When he agreed, her smile grew, and she gave him a little nod.  “Great.  I look forward to it,” she told him.  “You mind if I sit here and watch you sketch?  It would be better than what I was going to do with my afternoon.”  Maybe some of his goodness would rub off on her in the process.

[cheltochtli]

fiyeroooo-nope‌:

“Oh good, I’d hate to be anything less than memorable,” he laughed easily, poking a bit of fun at himself. His head tipped curiously to study her and his eyes crinkled at the corner with his smile. “It’s nice to properly meet you, Chel. I’m Fiyero.”

“I have a feeling that’s rarely a problem for you,” she replied, bowing her head as she bit the corner of her bottom lip.  The flirting was more like her, but the shyness that was coming with it was not.  “The pleasure’s all mine,” she replied, meeting his eyes again.  “I’m sorry again for taking you by surprise there.  I’m sure you were not expecting someone to jump on your back today.  I hope I haven’t interrupted your day too much.”

[cheltochtli]

outtherequasimodo‌:

Quasimodo shook his head immediately, “No you won’t. The church is suppose to be… Sanctuary…” He frowned, looking at the church before back to Chel, “T-that shouldn’t matter, I don’t think. My friend wasn’t religious and she was okay.” He fiddling with his pencil for a moment before nodding and smiling at her, “I can do that… I’ve never been to Tiana’s….” His eyes immediately went back to his sketchbook, almost nervous about admitting he hasn’t ventured out to many places in this new town. 

“Oh how I wish I had your optimism,” she replied, releasing a heavy sigh.  “It’s more that I’ve done quite a lot of things that would probably be categorized as ‘sinful’.  Regardless of the religion, I’m pretty sure gods don’t like it when you sleep around and steal from people,” she explained.  She did more of the latter than the former these days, but either way, she was no saint.  “Really?  That means you haven’t had her famous beignets.  You’re missing out, cariño,” she nodded seriously.  “Alright, you make me something and you get a meal and some beignets.  We got a deal?”