☼ thirteen ☼

[deviances]

[Know what else is great about cold weather? Fireplaces. Know who's going to make that happen? This guy.

Eithan is not at all a fan of the cold. Snow? Snow is fun. Cold? Cold is very much not. So since he still wants to waste time on the Plane instead of dealing with shit in his own world, he's bound and determined to find a way to stay warm. Fortunately, the house he brought to the Plane a while back has been properly fixed up, so it's a perfect shelter from the cold... especially since it has a completely functional fireplace!! Furniture, well.. that's still a little sparse - but there's at least two (obviously well-loved) couches and a good many (nicer, better kept) Victorian-esque parlor chairs near said fireplace. So that counts for something, right?

He's already inside, and is making sure the fireplace stays lit - in fact, anyone wandering anywhere near the building is bound to see smoke rising from the chimney. He's not about to let it go out anytime soon, and he's just as freakin' determined to not set foot out in the snow anytime soon, either.

So, come join him by the fire! Anyone who comes into the house will find him either poking at the fireplace to keep it nice and toasty, or sitting around and basking in the warmth. Possibly smoking - he's had it rough lately, after all. And maybe if you're really lucky, you could convince him to play his guitar - he's brought it with him, it's just going untouched for the moment.

And as if to prove his point that he doesn't want any cold anywhere near him... there may or may not be a snow-free ring around that house, because he may or may not have melted it all with fire. Just saying.


Eithan do you hate fun]

Comments

[swerve]

( darren may have been to the paine estate in meridia, but he has yet to come inside this particular humble abode. originally, he might have thought it odd to bring an entire house to the plane, but if you happen to spend more time here than in your own reality, it does make a fair bit of sense.

having spent his entire life in new england, he's more acclimated to the cold and everything that comes with it than eithan might be. he happens to like it a lot, actually, because it means he can bundle up in his ridiculous amount of sweaters and hoodies and be nice and toasty-warm. he's got several layers on him and is out for a walk in all the powdery white stuff when he happens across the house and the snow-free ring around it.

well.

of course this means he has to stop in and say hello. things have been kind of ... spotty since the whole ordeal with the other him and what had come from it, but if he's completely honest with himself, there's no one else he would rather see right now.

he lets himself inside and finds eithan poking at the fire, lingers a tiny bit behind him as he tries to think of something to say other than - )

Hi.

( good job, darren. gold fucking star. )

[deviances]

[Hey, if you like the cold, you can have it. Eithan may be a fan of warm clothes, but that's because they're warm, thanks. Snow, though... man. If only you could have snow without cold...

Things really have been rough since the whole... other selves thing. Both of their shadows had been particularly nasty, dredging up shit that neither of them wanted to face, particularly truths about each other. But worst of all, when Darren's struck and he had to watch as...

... He doesn't want to think about it. He shuts it out - like everything else. He'll face it later. Because that's healthy, sure.

Eithan's finishing up with the fire when he hears the door, and when he hears Darren's voice behind him...

It doesn't matter that it's just the one word. Eithan smiles, stands up straight and turns to him.]

Hey.

[He might be happy as hell to see him, and certainly wouldn't want to spend his time with anyone else right now... but he's just as short on words for the time being.

Good job, boys.]

[swerve]

( you don't have to like the snow. he'll like it enough for the both of you. the warm clothes, though, at least that's something you can both appreciate. ( besides, who doesn't love a nice sweater, or layering? or scarves? )

it's kind of funny that he's more concerned about the things he will prospectively have to discuss with eithan than he is about the fact that he's died on the plane. when you're brought up to think that death is pretty certain and then you … accidentally get yourself killed by your own freaking shadow and wake up a little while later like nothing had ever happened, you may tend to see things a little differently.

he doesn't know about the black blood yet. the understanding of his dragon … it's new, it's something that he has to get used to and something he will inevitably bring up to eithan just to lighten conversation in future, but for the most part he's keeping quiet. there are way too many things on his mind that he … decidedly does not want to talk about.

the shortness of words shouldn't really be an issue – it's them, after all, and they've never really felt the need to fill a stretch of silence with words that don't mean anything. all in all, even if this ends up being a little awkward for a bit, there's nowhere else he'd rather be, either.

darren smiles back, shoving his hands into jean pockets. ) Nice place you got here … even if it's a little under-furnished.

[deviances]

[No, Eithan's cool with snow. Just wishes it weren't so cold. Because that makes sense. But this is Eithan. What do you expect? (Layers, though... layers are a wonderful thing. So are scarves. And coats.)

Eithan really does want to talk about.. things. Everything. He hates that nagging feeling that they should be having a conversation, because when it's up against the fact that he has no idea where, how, or if he should even start, it puts him at a complete standstill. So all he can do is leave it alone. For now. The time will come, right? Maybe.]

Yeah, well, it's still more furnished than it was when I found it. Less broken as hell, too. [Snort!] Though yeah, I admit that movin' in is... kinda slow. I originally brought it here 'cause Emil and I were gonna make a restaurant and stage out of it, but... well, he's not here anymore. So. [He's quiet for a second. ... Then he shrugs.] Guess I'll just call it my own, huh?

[swerve]

( sweetheart. that's the point of snow. for it to be cold. of course you wouldn't like it just for that – he's been around you long enough to have realized that long before now – but that just means he might have to get inventive when it comes to getting you out of the grumps when you're cold.

darren wants to talk about Things, too. but he doesn't know where in the world to start, doesn't know if he should start off by saying he's sorry, that he'd never intended for eithan to find out about the depth of his thoughts and feelings once he'd found out that the other was spoken for; because how could that conversation have gone, anyway? hey, i kind of like you – a lot – but you're getting married, and i don't even know if you like guys …? no, thank you. this one has some pretty impressive social anxiety even on a good day, and he doesn't think he could have taken the direction that conversation was sure to have taken.

so, for the moment, he's going to wait. eventually, he knows they're going to have to talk about things – because it's them, and they've never had an issue with working things out, no matter what it happens to be – but sue him if he wants to keep the veneer of normalcy up between them for the moment.

he hums a thoughtful note as he moves close to one of the couches, fingers tracing along its back. ) Nothing wrong with that. ( golden eyes flick upward, a knowing little grin curving the line of his mouth. )

Hm … do you have a Goodwill in Meridia? You can always find cheap furniture and stuff there. ( he laughs, just for the hell of it, for the sake of how ridiculous what he's saying actually sounds. ) Not that you need to worry about cheap, but you never know what you're gonna find. Most of what's in my apartment, I got because nobody else wanted it.

[deviances]

[Grump, grump... hey, if you want that job, go for it. Good luck and godspeed. (We're sure you can manage~)

See, either of those worries would be plenty enough on their own. Darren's just had the misfortune of having to worry about both of them. And that's not fair. ... Which is the whole point that Eithan's been trying to work on. Fair... none of this is far to him - or to Val, either, and probably not to himself but he's less concerned about that one since he's sure he's the one who made this mess (or at least didn't help it) - and he just... needs the right time to tell him the rest of everything. So maybe he'll realize things really are okay.

But for right now... sure. Normalcy. Why not.

He's momentarily distracted, just watching Darren's small smile positively light up his face - but he zones back in on what he's saying, and blinks, curious.]

Uhh, you mean like the virtue? ... Intent. Whatever? That? [Snort!] Nah, I know, I figure that's, what, a store? Haven't heard of it.

[He grins as well.] Ehh, yeah, sure, but it's easier to get away with it if there's not a money trail. I mean, all this was free! The couches were bein' thrown away, so I grabbed em. And the chairs? Well, uh, mom decided she wanted a new color for one of the parlors, and these were last month's chairs. [He even waves his hands, emphasizing the silliness.]

[swerve]

( you bet he can manage! just watch him manage!

there's so much to talk about, so many things to go over and smooth over – but darren has always been something of a coward, even if since he'd first started coming to the plane that's changed, if only the smallest bit. he likes to think that he's gotten over some of those fears, of being an inconvenience, of getting in the way, but as they say, old habits die hard. and it doesn't matter how much he's progressed, some things will always be a proverbial cloud hanging over his head.

but. maybe he'll work up the testicular fortitude to broach the subject. any subject that needs to be broached.

all in good time, naturally. ) Thought not. It was a shot in the dark, anyway. ( there's a small laugh, and he absently reaches into a pocket for his pack of cloves, tucking one into the corner of his mouth and simultaneously patting other pockets down in search of his lighter. the hell did he even put that thing.

last month's chairs. what on earth. he will never understand you noble types. ) Last month's chairs … well, I can't blame her. Gotta keep with what's in. ( snort~

… still can't find that lighter. what in the world! )

[deviances]

[Oh don't worry, he would gladly watch you. .... What?

Eithan'll bring it up, if Darren doesn't. Eithan will probably pop under the pressure, otherwise - under the guilt of making things worse for the one he really cares about. It'll come. It will. Just... not right this second. Let him have this moment - that smile, that honest happiness. He knows he'll see it again later, that it'll all somehow be okay, but... that doesn't make it that much easier.]

Hey, it'd be pretty impressive if a store managed to be in both Earth and Meridia. That's like, some sort of transcendant achievement or somethin'. Also, would be kinda creepy.

[Snort!] And yeah. Apparently black wood is out and dark wood is in. Who knew? Maybe next month, they'll make chairs outta twigs.

[Still no lighter... oh dear goddess, boy, come here!

Eithan shakes his head, walks around that couch Darren is standing behind and stands beside him. With a quick word, a fireball appears in his hands, and he holds it out toward him with a grin.]

Need a light, I take it?