wildroseofarran

[wildroseofarran]

Olek squeezed his glass of water with both hands. Slowly looking up, his eyes bore through Sky, peering beyond him to an uncomfortable place. When coming to, his gaze shifted from the witch to the familiar, glazed and cold.

"Felix Rune?"

Leslie glanced at Sky. "That's the one."

Sky’s only reaction to Olek’s sudden and intense scrutiny was the most infinitesimal tilt of his head. He met the cat’s gaze, letting his curiosity push him past the urge to look away and lock up his thoughts. Something was happening here. Something had shifted in his friend at the mention of this mage for reasons that Sky was not privy to.

Yet.

The fox’s gaze remained fixed on Olek even when the cat finally looked away, considering him over the rim of his glass. Their conversation on the way home promised to be interesting.

“Have you ever met him?” he heard himself ask the cat.

[wildroseofarran]

"Well, you'll fit right in with the older folks. The ones who really like their time dilations and swapping stories with spirits. The Euthanatos I was telling you about, Rune, trying to rope him in, too. Don't see that one happening."

“Yes, the one who hates familiars.” It didn’t surprise Sky that this Rune didn’t enjoy communing with spirits. It was often a tricky business.

He smiled to himself and shook his head.

[wildroseofarran]

"If you don't mind Verbena," he continued. His smile had a way of accentuating his brows, bordering on wicked regardless of the subject. "A bunch of half-naked hippies passing on our knowledge to the youngins."

Sky seemed utterly unfazed at the notion. “I’ve known my share of hippies, fully naked and fully clothed. I don’t share or understand the Western distaste for the bare human body.”

[wildroseofarran]

"Sky," he repeated. There was no need to place his finger on the familiar's pulse. The man was generous with his truths. He was falling back against the booth when Olek took the drink to sniff, placing his tongue on the surface, only to wince. The Verbena laughed.

"Oh no. Don't think they sell peach juice here."

"Olek doesn't drink when singing."

Their glasses were refreshed, water with lemon and ice for the cat. The lemon was discarded.

"So, you know what this means?" The witch stretched, hands resting behind his head. "Now I get to steal both of you for solstice."

Olek’s reaction made Sky smile. In moments like these, it was very easy to see the cat he truly was. For a trained eye at least.

“Mm.” The fox sipped his drink, vaguely wondering if perhaps he should switch to water himself as he nodded. “If my young master agrees, I’d be pleased to accompany you.”

[wildroseofarran]

Olek looked over at the woman of subject, who had already moved on to the co-owners, chatting with polite fervor over something he couldn't hear.

"She's not Olek's," he smiled. His hat was removed and placed in the center of the round table.

"What is Sky drinking?"

It was then that Leslie seemed to startle. "Oh, Trinity, I didn't give my name, did I? I'm Leslie." The Verbena offered his hand.

“Old fashioned.” He offered Olek the glass for either a sip or a sniff; whichever was preferred.

Ah yes. They’d never exchanged names, had they? The familiar scent had been introduction enough for the fox but human formalities had their place.

He took Leslie’s hand with both of his own and shook, briefly bowing his head. “Leslie. My name is Sky.”

[wildroseofarran]

Leslie looked from the passing servers to the guitarist limping to the bar, to the familiar kneeling in front of the old woman. He wondered if the familiar ever drank, as he'd never seen him do so, nor heard a word from Bo about it. The Etherite rarely touched anything beyond white wine. His cat was probably the same.

He was just starting to wonder about Sky's ID when Olek joined them, sitting beside his new housemate.

"Sky made a friend?"

“Mm.” Sky nodded, smiling his gentle, serene smile as he scooted over a bit to make room for Olek.

“It appears so. Your Mrs. Pennyapple was delighted with your performance. You sang very well.”

[wildroseofarran]

"Probably imagining something completely off, so now I have to see," he smiled.

The round of applause caught him by surprise. A little intermission. How long have they been chatting, he thought. Hardly beyond introductions.

Olek meandered his way over, pausing for a handshake, a request, and a single autograph for Mrs. Pennyapple on a napkin, followed by a kiss to his cheek and a photograph. He didn't mind, but it left Leslie covering his mouth so as not to laugh.

"You'd think she was 20 again."

“Any time.”

The fox smiled, humming thoughtfully as he watched his friend and this woman his young master was so fond of. It was very sweet. There was clearly a lot of fondness on both sides.

“I’m sure that’s exactly how he makes her feel.” Sky called the waitress back over to ask for some water for Olek.

[wildroseofarran]

A new line of questioning came to be, but he would hold his tongue and eventually string them out. But, he had to ask something - or well, a statement.

"I'd like to see those. Silk flowers. I can't imagine em."

“It just so happens that I’m in the middle of a project. I’ve already finished preparing the silk so I’m now in the process of wrapping the flowers. I’m sure my young master and Mr. Bo would not object to you coming over to observe.”

[wildroseofarran]

It was the little things. The dance of politeness and decorum was met, just so. The refilling of their drinks was a padding of conversation, of silence. Things people had come to expect without explanation, so easily dismissed by the familiar by his side. Olek was similar in this manner, bypassing that which he didn't care for, poking at the heart of a conversation, or the motivation for it. Some things were universal to a species. So far, nothing had contradicted his assessment.

"Do you sing, or is this Olek being Olek?"

An assessment Sky would have agreed with had he been privy to it. Very few familiars cared for decorum.

The fox smiled and shook his head gently. “Simply Olek being Olek. Every familiar I’ve met has something. A hobby, a passion. Olek sings. I make silk flowers.”

[wildroseofarran]

Well then, that made Kelly selfless and foolish, didn't it? He wouldn't say as much, but his sigh certainly mirrored his host.

"Want to do some stretches after we eat?"

“You sigh like Henry. I’ll tell you the same thing I told him: would you rather June come to work and get everyone sick?”

Kelly shook his head. “I do my stretches every day, one missed appointment won’t kill me.”

[wildroseofarran]

There came his head poking back in.

"Why would you miss an appointment?" Rather than coy, his tone of questioning had become pointed.

Kelly gave Leslie the same sigh he’d given Henry. “I had to work. One of June’s 47 nieces and nephews gave her the flu and I was covering her shift.”

[wildroseofarran]

"Sounds like Bob Dylan is as close as I'm gonna get," he grinned. He stepped back into the kitchen and tapped at his phone. A few strums in, and he was already humming along to "Don't Think Twice."

"Tell me something new," he called.

“I’m fine with Dylan.”

Kelly stretched out on the couch, careful not to groan or make any other noise that would indicate any pain or discomfort. Thinking about it though…

“Henry came over to nag me yesterday about missing a PT appointment.”

[wildroseofarran]

Everything required in one sparse refrigerator. Mayonnaise, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce - that made him chuckle - and various spices. The hot sauce was pulled last, and the honey.

"I am not employed by Raising Cane's. This is a Chef Leslie's original, and you'll like it."

But soon he was poking his head from the kitchen. "One of us is putting on music, and you probably won't like my choice."

That got a smile. It even got a raspy little chuckle. “You’re better than Cane’s. They need sauce to make their chicken taste like something.”

Kelly shook his head fondly. “You pick, I don’t mind what it is. S’long as it isn’t country.”

[wildroseofarran]

"I wonder... what'll make you ask. What thing you'll see that'll..." But he didn't want to walk down that aisle. Nothing good would come of it. Someone in the throes of mental anguish might be enough to break his resolve, and that meant trauma no one deserved. Best to change the subject entirely.

"Spicy or not spicy?"

That was one of the many good things about Leslie. Even when he made up his mind to push, he was always aware of the line. Not only did he understand that there were some questions Kelly simply would not answer, but also that there were some questions to which he didn’t really want the answer.

This situation was the latter.

“Spicy,” he said as if they had only been discussing food and nothing else. “Should be some hot sauce in the fridge.”

[wildroseofarran]

"You could start your own Ted Talk," Leslie grinned, hiding his devilish expression in the fridge as he rummaged.

"He's never told you what's amiss?" The question had an air of innocence, but his back was still turned, gathering an armful of condiments.

The wolf snorted. “Yeah right. Like anyone would listen to some guy with a fucked up face telling them to get their shit together.”

Innocence? Pfft. There was none of that here. Every single thing that came out of Leslie’s mouth had a purpose and a plan behind it, including that.

He squinted at the witch’s back. “Haven’t seen him lately. Besides, you know I’m not the type to pry. I don’t ask for anything that someone isn’t willing to volunteer.”

[wildroseofarran]

“It was always you” is just so good. It was always you. The second we met, it was you. It was you even when I didn’t want it to be you. It was you even when it was someone else. It was you. It was you. It was you. I belong to you, even if you don’t know it yet. I will never belong to someone else, I only belong to you. Don’t you get that? It was always you.

[wildroseofarran]

Kelly was expecting a harder push than this, and Leslie knew Kelly was expecting. He couldn't hand him the obvious on a silver platter. Being relentless took strategy.

"Sure. You've got enough here to make a decent sauce. You mind?" A request for permission despite rolling up his sleeves. He knew the answer.

"I think something's been on his mind," continuing where he left off. "He smiled more when we first met. I mean, actually smiled."

Kelly was absolutely expecting a harder push than this, and every second that passed without it put him more and more on edge. Amazing how Leslie could do that without being remotely threatening.

“Go for it,” he said, letting Bobby know to bring chicken and sides for two. Vegetables included, just for the witch.

“Happens to the best of us. Can’t go through life without shit weighing on you at some point. You either take the weight off or you learn to carry it.”