abraxaslogs | july catch-all

[He drops the blade of grass, and his touch drops briefly to the watch on his wrist. That too had been Erik's. He'd been wearing it when he crashed — his pulse must have stuttered and stopped right beneath the wristband when his heart beat for the last time. But Wilhelm prefers to think of the steadiness of his brother's pulse pumping against the band where it now sits on his own wrist.

A smile pokes out as Kyle echoes his words, and with nothing more they reach an understanding. It's a nice place to be.

He rolls up his sleeve so that Kyle can get a better look at his new ink. In real life, his tattoo has scabbed over and his skin is starting to peel off in flakes that carry the ghost of his tattoo. It's been hard to keep his fingers, always itching for something to pick at, away from it while it heals. But here in the Horizon, his skin is already smooth.]

My new tattoo. [His grin widens, as if he loves the feel of these words.] I got it in honor of surviving two years here.

[Two frogs, rendered in crisp lines and shaded in greyscale, appear to climb up a fern leaf. The whole thing stretches from a few inches above his elbow up toward his shoulder.]

[ Kahlil smiles back. Right at this moment, despite his circumstances in the real world, he could say he oddly feels at peace. He has been blessed to be given this strange second life, with all these strange people in it.

He peers at the artwork revealed across Wille's skin. He's seen some colorful tattoos from Nayeshi, like murals on the skin that cover an entire arm, both arms. Wille's ink is much simpler in comparison, but still more intricate than his own tattoos. ]

They're cute. Like they're off on an adventure. [ He grins, teasing: ]

Is this where all your wages went?

[He laughs, pulling an exaggerated guilty look as if he's been caught red-handed. Of course, he doesn't feel guilty it all. It was worth every coin, to celebrate himself, to mark how far he has come.]

A big chunk of them, yeah.

[He'd been saving up for months, without knowing what exactly he was saving for. He just figured he shouldn't be blowing all of his money on snacks, booze, whatever happened to catch his eye in the moment. The thought of getting a tattoo hadn't hit him until he realized he was coming up on his anniversary in this world.]

I won't be broke for long. I've been going to Borrel to try to get a route started there too. You know, now that it's open fulltime. I have a few clients interested.

[ It makes him glad for Wilhelm to be able to spend his money on something just for himself. ]

That's good. I like Borrel. And the money's not bad... [ The clients are more on par with the castle city than Nott in most cases - and the actual city itself is technically safer. He was surprised that the new regime planned on allowing their Summoned to roam more, but he supposes that getting them better acquainted with a loyalist city is part of the intention, when so many of them already make their preference for Nott clear.

But, speaking of deliveries - ]

How are the bikes holding up?

[ He doesn't inquire about them often, he expects if something was broken or destroyed he'd eventually hear about it. So far, so good, though. ]

[Wilhelm shrugs.]

I figure it doesn't hurt to make some ties with the city our new king is from too. It sort of balances out my involvement in Nott.

[It's not that he's eager to ingratiate himself to Sidwell or anything; he just wants to stay out of hot water. He's prepared to accept consequences for his choices, his principles, but he's not going to go out of his way to draw attention to himself or put a target on his back.]

The bikes are holding up great. Annabeth and I have been taking them out on the trails sometimes. They're surprisingly good off-road, actually. [He flashes a sheepish look at Kyle.] I hope that's okay... I know it's not official courier business.

Good call.

[ He gives an approving half nod. He could not imagine the Wilhelm he knew of two years ago coming to a decision like that on his own. It's possible he talked to some of the others, but Kahlil likes to think he's starting to need them less.

Both eyebrows raise at the sheepish look, but after a moment he shakes his head with a faint grin. ]

It's fine, so long as no one else needs them. It's just you and Cassian using them for work, as far as I know. [ River has taken one out before too, and he expects others have as well. All he really cares about is that they don't break them, and don't break anything else while riding them. He shrugs. ]

Might as well enjoy them while the weather's good. [ It'll be fall before they know it, then winter again. ] I don't know how much use they'll be once it starts snowing again, but I can ask Viktor about different wheels.

[Two years ago, he couldn't think in the long term. Each day felt like a rock isolated on all sides by a vast body of water, which lapped at his ankles and threatened to pull him under, and it was all he could do to keep his head down and crash from one to the next. When that changed, it's hard to say.

Speaking of long-term thinking...in the height of summer's heat, he's reluctant to consider the short bitter days of winter. But Kyle makes a valid point. Wilhelm carefully picks a tiny yellow flower out of the grass.]

Maybe he can figure out how to put the bike on skis instead of wheels. Like a snowmobile, except you pedal it.

[No, he's not sure how that would work. That's why it's not his job to invent things.]

[ Kahlil attempts to imagine that description with only half an idea of what a snowmobile even is, and shakes his head with a laugh. ]

I should probably find out first if it even snows that often where he's from.

[ To help him understand what strange things they're asking him to make, or at least the problem they want to solve. Kahlil grew up on the side of a mountain in the north of his country. He's never particularly missed the snow or cold, especially living in Thorne, but he could recreate it in his domain if he wanted - or needed to.

He looks over at Wilhelm for a second before dipping his chin, mouth forming a line in slight discomfort because this still feels odd to tell people. ]

He's the one I was talking about, last time. [ Like a month ago. He hasn't actually told that many people, the only left in Thorne that he considered mentioning this to is Lucifer, at least to warn him off messing around with Viktor should he catch the devil's attention. But Kahlil also thinks pulling his own fingernails off would be preferable to that conversation. ]

[Behind his sunglasses, he squints at the little yellow flower as he rolls its stem between his fingers. It takes him a moment to piece together what Kyle is referring to, the one I was talking about. Then it snaps into place, and he looks at Kyle.]

Viktor's your boyfriend?

[Boyfriend doesn't feel like a word Kyle would use, but he isn't sure what to exchange it for. And...he can't say he's surprised, exactly. Not that he was trying to stalk Kyle, or that he was obsessing over his teacher's love life, because that would be weird, but it didn't seem like the mystery person lived in Thorne. That narrowed down the possibilities.

He breaks into a grin, and his tone slants into teasing.]

Was it the bikes that made you fall in love with him? They're so sexy, it's hard to resist.

Edited (every day i'm editing) 2024-07-31 02:53 (UTC)

[ Kahlil doesn't acknowledge the word, but at least he doesn't scowl at it. He clearly hasn't decided on a word either. 'Boyfriend' sounds odd to him. 'Partner' is what Viktor used when he's spoken about Jayce before, and he's not sure if it's his to claim.

He lets out a sharp, wordless sound, if it's a stumble he recovers quickly and replies in a serious tone - ]

Is that why you've been taking them out so often with your friends? I really hope you've been giving them a thorough cleaning when you're done...

[It's a funny reaction. He likes it when Kyle loosens up, slips out of the quiet, serious shell he draws around himself. Scoffing, Wilhelm throws the flower right at his face. The thing doesn't make it — it falls limply onto the grass between them.]

Hey, don't try to turn this on me. I'm not the one who gets turned on by bikes.

[He throws his hands up in a wide shrug, as if to say no judgement. But he's laughing all the while.]

I don't get - [ his face scrunches and he rolls his eyes without finishing his sentence, instead flicking the flower from where it lands in the grass back in the direction of Wilhelm while he laughs, which is about as effective as Wille's attempt to toss it in his face - the poor, abused flower gets as fair as his leg where it lands. He seems more amused than exasperated, despite his aborted protest - he likes to make Wilhelm laugh. After a second or so shakes his head. ]

I know nothing can last here. [ Most of them can lose their connection at any time, parting without the chance to say goodbye. He doesn't need to explain this to Wilhelm, and he winces faintly. There are different complications too, in the forms of other people for each of them, though he's not going to get into that - ]

But it's been nice. [ He frowns. ] Coups and escalation of war aside, anyway...

[He only laughs more wildly, his face split open with glee, as Kyle abandons his protest and flicks the flower at him in retaliation. When he rescues the poor thing, its stem is a fair bit bent and it's down a few petals. Well, there's nothing to be done for it but pinch off the rest, one by one. He loves me, he loves me not, except there's only one boy on his mind, and the answer to that question doesn't matter anymore.

Two months later, Kelson is still never very far from his thoughts. It would take time, to bury their short-lived relationship properly. Wilhelm's demeanor drifts back down for a knowing nod at nothing can last here.]

But it's still worth it.

[He still thinks so, despite everything. Sometimes he thinks it would almost be better not to know what it's like to have someone, to love someone, because then there would be nothing to miss. But sometimes he thinks he wouldn't trade that rush, those warm golden days, for anything.]

Lovers on opposite sides of a war...how romantic. It's so Romeo and Juliet.

[ He smiles warmly at that. Wilhelm's experienced quite a bit of heartache in his time here. Maybe that wouldn't be so odd for someone else his age, except for the particular cruelty of these circumstances. ]

I don't know them. [ He gives a one shouldered shrug, than lets out a small huff. ] And I wouldn't exactly call it romantic, worrying so much.

[ Being so far apart, not being able to do anything whenever the the opposing territory is attacked. There's a part of him that badly wishes he could run to Cadens. But one of the reasons he stayed behind in Thorne is sitting next to him. ]

[He was mostly teasing, but there is something romantic about choosing to be with someone despite whatever forces try to pull you apart. There was a time when he'd chosen Simon, against the gravitational tug of history, tradition, expectations. Only, he had ruined it by letting his mother get inside his head. He wonders if now he would be strong enough, brave enough, to stand by his choice in a way that he thought he couldn't back then.]

They're from a play. They fall in love, but their families have been beefing with each other since a long time ago, so they have to see each other in secret. At the end, they both kill themselves.

[He cringes, sucking in sharply. The flower has run out of petals.]

I guess that part's not really romantic, but you and Viktor have way more sense than that.

[ 'Beefing'. That's a new one to add to his vocabulary. The description of the ending gets another raised eyebrow. That sounds very dramatic, like teenagers, and for a moment it brushes over a memory not his own - the first time in a while it's happened to him. He remembers telling Jahn he'd be willing to die to be with him. He remembers meaning it, and the way Jahn had lashed out at him, accusing him of being selfish and thoughtless. He remembers how much that hurt.

His expression goes blank until he catches himself with a light huff. ]

We have some sense, probably. [ He grins again. ] But, sneaking around is a little exciting...

[ It is actually a lot exciting sometimes. ]

july catch-all

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

wrap this one up?