Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 14, 2022 18:51:32 GMT -5
Zuko | Valentine’s Room | ®Hawkpath® and everyone else Zuko blinked in, his usually harsh appearance replaced with something far more relaxed. His hair was still tied up in its usual ponytail, but his armor was gone and his clothing seemed far more casual. It was interesting to be outside, he noted, taking a small step forward and letting his eyes close for just a moment at the feeling of the sun on his skin. It was much warmer here than it was on the ocean, if only because there was a lack of sea breeze constantly cutting through his armor. Not to mention they were nearing the South Pole… It took him another long moment to realize he wasn’t alone, though his expression completely shifted when he noticed Sal. Any wariness disappeared, replaced with something quite pleased. “Hey,” he said after a moment, approaching and lifting a hand in greeting. “Do… you have any idea what this is? I mean… the red and pink has to mean something, right?” He shrugged, reaching over to run a finger over one of the rose petals. “It seems… awfully fancy, I don’t know.” |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 14, 2022 19:07:48 GMT -5
Sal Fisher | Valentine’s Room | strider and everyone else Sal turned, a small, invisible smile touching his face even though he’d guessed he was about to see him again. Zuko looked somehow both very out of place and oddly at home standing there, an almost cheerful expression on his face. The lack of armor probably helped with that, too. He looked far more casual without it, like he wasn’t getting ready for a fight. He felt his ears turn a light shade of pink at the question. Because from what he knew of Zuko’s world… Of course he wouldn’t know anything about Valentine’s Day. “Hi,” he replied, waving back as Zuko approached and doing his best to sound casual and to not look at the hearts printed neatly into the nearest tablecloth. Blink me out now?“I just…got here. New room, so…yeah, who knows? But how are you?” |
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 14, 2022 19:16:03 GMT -5
Zuko | Valentine’s Room | ®Hawkpath® and everyone else “Right, yeah,” Zuko replied, looking around the room. He hadn’t known Sal for as long as he would have liked, but he noticed the way his ears got just a little bit pinker. He didn’t know what it meant, but he did notice it. Later, he would be surprised that he did. He didn’t tend to notice things like that. “I’m… okay,” he said after a moment, picking at the edge of one of the tablecloths. “I mean… I don’t like that we have to take a break, but it’s going to boost the sailor’s morale, and Uncle seems happy about it, so… I guess it’s been two years already. I don’t know what difference a few days is going to make.” There was something reluctant about the words, but he was clearly trying hard to believe them. He took a few moments, then lifted his golden gaze to meet Sal’s blue. “What… about you? You been up to anything… interesting?” |
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Pansexual
Cloverleaf
For certain as our banner flies, we are not alone. The people too must rise.
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Post by Cloverleaf on Feb 14, 2022 19:28:52 GMT -5
| Eurydice | Blanket Fort Room | Orpheus | “Maybe.” Eurydice answered. “Have you ever taken anything home from the House?” She remembered some of the other rooms she’d been in- she’d never taken anything home in her hands, but she recalled that she hadn’t been as hungry after pilfering some of the House’s food. So it was possible, perhaps. She took the scissors by the handle carefully, appreciating that Orpheus had held them out to her so carefully. She looked down at her new untouched side of the blanket, trying to picture how it would look when it was finished. She put the scissors down to cut a new strip, but the shears fell on top of the fabric with a soft thump. She had blinked out. | Valentine's Day Room | It had been a week or two since Eurydice had last blinked into the House, and she was starting to give up on the idea of ever finishing the blanket. She was surprised to find herself appearing in a sunny pavilion in the blink of an eye- she was back in the House. A latticework of shadows was cast over the pavilion. Squinting, she looked up. A dome like a birdcage surrounded the outdoor seating area. That was... foreboding. She took in the sight of what was inside- tables, chairs, brightly colored flowers, pink and red streamers- it looked nice, if you ignored the dome. There was a pair of blinkers here already- hey, wasn't that the guy who could light stuff on fire? |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 14, 2022 19:32:22 GMT -5
Sal Fisher | Valentine’s Room | strider and everyone else Sal hesitated, trying to think of a way to answer that would bring the conversation further away from the room. They had just been starting to find a nice, comfortable rhythm. Sal had just been getting used to the idea of blinking in and spending time with Zuko here, and he’d been trying to figure out what to do with the feelings that had started up in the last couple, but this room… He really didn’t know how ready he was to have that conversation. Especially here, where he knew what was going on and Zuko didn’t. He probably should tell him what it was supposed to represent…and it wasn’t like it definitely represented that, anyway, he could be reading into it, so…it would probably be fine. “That makes sense,” he replied, dragging his thoughts back to the conversation instead. “Plus, if your sailors are happier, they’ll probably try even harder, right? So maybe it’ll actually make your chances better.” He hesitated. “Me? I’ve been pretty good, I guess. I was just looking for more ghosts when I blinked in, so same old same old, really.” |
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Post by <Raintalon> on Feb 14, 2022 19:46:06 GMT -5
Touka | Valentines day room | @ anyone but mostly ice |
Touka Kirishima binked into the room, absent-mindedly sipping a mug full of coffee, a book in her other hand. As she looked up, clocking her new surroundings, she rolled her eyes and set them both down, sighing.
"Oh, House, what great things do you have in store for us today?" she muttered, standing up and smoothing out her skirt as she turned, looking to see where she was. It looked...fancy. And outside. The wire cage over the whole thing, barely visible at certain angles as it caught the candlelight, was kind of foreboding. There were other people here, she realized - she didn't know most of them. That was....Orphelus, right? Orpleus? Something like that. And she'd seen the kid with the burn scar before, but didn't know his name.
She sat down at one of the tables and draped one arm over it, using the other to push her hair out of her face on the side without the eye patch. Well. Time to see how this was going to go.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 14, 2022 19:49:58 GMT -5
Zuko | Valentine’s Room | ®Hawkpath® and everyone else Zuko started at the appearance of two others in the room. He was used to having rooms alone with Sal, when he blinked with him, and it had been a long time since he had blinked in with more than one other person. He tried to push away the disappointment he felt. Why should he want to be alone with Sal? They could just… continue their friendship like normal even if there were other people around. It was stupid. He didn’t need to worry about it. “Did you find any ghosts?” he asked, doing his best to get his mind off the appearance of other blinkers. Neither of them had come over to say hi yet, so he could have Sal to himself for at least a little bit longer. He was trying not to think too hard about why that was or what it meant. “But uh… yeah. I guess maybe the sailors will try harder. They probably think Uncle Iroh ordered the break, though, so I’m not sure they’ll do it for me. They’re not here for me, anyway. But that’s… beside the point.” His cheeks grew a little red as he realized how much he was complaining. That wasn’t how he wanted to start this room. It seemed like it was going to be a nice room, and Zuko was going to actually try to make it one. |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 14, 2022 20:00:30 GMT -5
Sal Fisher | Valentine’s Room | strider and everyone else Sal didn’t notice the other people right away. He’d never blinked in with anyone other than Zuko…and though Zuko said he’d met other people, and Sal believed him, it hadn’t felt like it was going to happen to him. At least not any time soon. So he jumped when he caught movement out of the corner of his good eye, whipping around to see what new creature the House had decided to ruin this room with. He didn’t have a weapon, but something around here would work if it came to it, right? He could improvise, he’d be… He paused, his hand halfway towards the nearest weapon-like decoration before he realized that they just looked like…regular people. House people, he assumed. Though he didn’t know why the House thought they needed npcs for this room. Maybe they were there to make sure he couldn’t get out of explaining the room… He eyed the one with the guitar especially. “Oh…just Megan again. Did I tell you about Megan? Little girl, purple hair?” He asked, not quite looking back at Zuko just yet. |
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Pansexual
Cloverleaf
For certain as our banner flies, we are not alone. The people too must rise.
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Post by Cloverleaf on Feb 14, 2022 20:03:07 GMT -5
| Eurydice | Valentine's Day Room | Eurydice turned, hearing a cascade of notes suddenly fall into the pavilion. It was Orpheus again. She'd seem him in lots of rooms lately, but she didn't know why. She didn't say anything at first, instead choosing to listen to what he was playing without interrupting him. "Not bad." She said to Orpheus in greeting, one side of her mouth quirking up into a half smile. She'd seen his lyre before, but she'd never heard him play. "I've never heard that song before. What is it?" She noticed another blinker, one she didn't recognize. She lifted up a hand to give a little wave. The House was still new to her, but with one other person that she knew here, she was a little bit braver to be friendly to the other blinkers. |
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 14, 2022 20:11:33 GMT -5
More blinkers. Zuko frowned as Touka blinked in. He only recognized one of the other blinkers, but she had seemed… nice enough… when he had met her. He hadn’t seen her in a very long time, but he remembered someone trying to stab her for no reason… he pushed the thought away, raising a tentative hand in greeting before he turned his attention fully back to Sal. “Megan?” he repeated, tasting the unfamiliar name. He would never get over how different names were in Sal’s world from his own. There was something sad about the fact that she was a little girl, though. The fact that she must have died young… did ghosts need anyone to take care of them? Were they ever lonely? “I don’t think you’ve mentioned her, no,” Zuko added, trying to catch Sal’s gaze. “I mean... At least not in my memory. I forget… does everyone in your world know the ghosts are there? In mine only some people can access the Spirit Realm, and spirits don’t often appear outside of it. Eurydice’s voice startled Orpheus out of his reverie. He glanced up, squinting against the sudden bright light as he realized she was speaking to him. “Thanks,” he murmured, voice high and breathless. Somehow she was even prettier with the sun creating a halo of gold around her dark hair. He was stunned for half a moment, trying to make words bubble up from his chest… somehow they were a lot harder when there wasn’t any music to bolster them. “It’s a new song,” he added, cheeks reddening. He didn’t know whether to tell her that the song was about her, but… “You made me think about a lot, in our last room. I wanted to make it into… something. It doesn’t have a name yet. And it’s not finished, but… I can play it for you when it is. If you want.” |
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Pansexual
Cloverleaf
For certain as our banner flies, we are not alone. The people too must rise.
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Post by Cloverleaf on Feb 14, 2022 20:22:43 GMT -5
| Eurydice | Valentine's Day Room | Eurydice prolonged her little wave and addressed it to Zuko as well. She'd met him before for like, thirty seconds, but he'd saved her life, so there was that, at least. She hadn't meant to startle him, and she waved at him too as a little hello that was less abrupt than her comment. "Oh." She murmured, touched. "Sort of how we made the blanket together. You're making a song that combines what we talked about? And, sure, I'd love to hear it, when you're done." |
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Post by <Raintalon> on Feb 14, 2022 20:26:05 GMT -5
Touka | Valentines day | well, this is a situation |
Touka sat at her table, contemplating whether or not it was a good idea to just go back to her book. She so rarely got any downtime back in her world, and she really did want to finish it(she'd just gotten to the fight scene)...but she was too uneasy to feel comfortable taking her eyes off the other blinkers. In case this turned out to be a bloodbath.
At least everyone here seemed friendly with each other so far, though. They were milling about, choosing tables, talking with each other, and no one was fighting, which was nice. This whole place was nice, actually.
She got up, resolving to move across the room and find somewhere better to camp out and watch everything. Maybe somewhere she could see the whole room from. A corner table, or she could just drag a table to a corner and call it a corner table. Either way, she -
She bumped into someone, hard, ramming her shoulder into them painfully and nearly knocking them both over.
"Shit, sorry," she said, turning around and hoping whoever it was was in a good mood. "Didn't see........you."
She stopped, the words dying in her throat as she saw who it was she was looking at.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 14, 2022 20:27:06 GMT -5
Sal Fisher | Valentine’s Room | Sal dragged his gaze back to Zuko, trying not to feel too paranoid about all the House people. More were appearing, too…someone wearing a helmet, which would have made Sal a little more optimistic about how people would react to his prosthetic if he’d thought any of these people were real. He hesitated, catching the end of Zuko’s wave. His eyes widened a little as he realized it was directed at the pretty girl, who had started talking to the guitar person “Right. I don’t know her that well, but she’s nice. I think she gets lonely sometimes, so I just come and do homework in her room sometimes, and that seems like it helps sometimes…but no, people don’t really know about ghosts at all. No one even believed me until I convinced Megan to show up in front of them, and they’re definitely not well known or anything.” He paused, glancing back at the girl again. “Do you…have you been in this room before?” |
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 14, 2022 20:36:28 GMT -5
“Yeah,” Orpheus replied, a warm smile touching his face as she seemed to understand the idea of it. He had been somewhat worried she would be weirded out by the fact he was writing a song based on an experience they’d shared. It wouldn’t have stopped him from writing it, because it was something he felt needed to exist, but he wouldn’t have mentioned it to her or ever played it out loud for anyone. He was grateful he wouldn’t have to worry about that. “I think… the world can be found somewhere between our two viewpoints. Or… if not the world, then something meaningful.” His smile strengthened just a little as he shifted his chair so he was facing the table a little more. He gestured to the seat across from him, half hoping that Eurydice would be willing to take it. “I can play other songs, if you want to hear them, of course…” It didn’t occur to Zuko that Sal might see the other blinkers as house people. He had been in enough rooms with multiple people that this wasn’t a surprise to him. He hadn’t seen many of the other blinkers before, but that wasn’t that unusual either. The people in the House seemed to change quite often, and it wasn’t unusual to find people who knew each other well who he had never met before. It was always a little bit disorienting, but he was grateful to at least not be alone in it this time. “That’s really nice of you,” Zuko commented, voice lilting up into a surprised tone. He had known that Sal was nice, but he had to consider how much it must mean to a girl who people didn’t even know existed. Did Sal know that such a simple gesture probably meant the world to her? “I think you do a really good thing for ghosts, then,” Zuko added, flicking a piece of shiny heart-shaped confetti across the table nearest to him. “This room isn’t like anywhere I’be ever been before.” He glanced up at some of the decorations hanging above, some of their strings extending all the way up to the cage-like bars overhead. |
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Pansexual
Cloverleaf
For certain as our banner flies, we are not alone. The people too must rise.
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Post by Cloverleaf on Feb 14, 2022 20:56:13 GMT -5
| Eurydice | Valentine's Day Room | Orpheus | Eurydice nodded, acknowledging his statement. "Yeah. Something like that." "Alright, I'll bite. What do you like to play?" Eurydice pulled out the chair across from Orpheus and sat down. She picked up some of the little pink and white confetti hearts on the table and let them fall back down, glinting in the light. A little vase of red and pink roses sat on the table, too. They were pretty. Everything seemed color coded, like the House had a theme. |
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Bisexual
Iceclaw
You can kill me, but you will never destroy me.
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Post by Iceclaw on Feb 14, 2022 21:00:36 GMT -5
Rex | vday | boy is it
Rex turned his gaze to the fancily decorated food. Maybe he could just swipe some and go hide in a corner until someone he knew blinked in. Or until the aching loneliness in his chest lessened. Whichever came first. Suddenly, somebody slammed into him, nearly sending him face first into the bowl of candies. A curse slipped out as he just caught his balance. Turning sharply, he opened his mouth to snap at whatever clumsy idiot had crashed into him. The words died immediately along with his anger as he stared down at the ghost in front of him. The world seemed to freeze around him until all he could hear was the dull thump of his heart echoing in his ears. No... no it couldn't be... She looked different- of course, but achingly the same altogether. Her hair was short and black and the eye patch was new. And yet, it was her.
Rex's hand unfroze, slowly going up to remove his helmet, as if the vision might vanish as soon as he looked upon her with his own eyes. But she remained, even as he dropped his helmet onto the table beside him. Something akin to hope flickered into his exhausted eyes. "Touka?" he asked softly, reaching out hesitantly toward her, afraid she would startle away or vanish and he would lose her again.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 14, 2022 21:02:08 GMT -5
Sal Fisher | Valentine’s Room “Oh,” Sal said, his voice betraying his own surprise at Zuko’s reply. He hadn’t thought of what he was doing as particularly nice or not nice. He hadn’t really given it that much thought in general, actually…he’d met her, and it had been less shocking for him to find out ghosts were real than it seemed to be for his friends. They’d become friends, even if she couldn’t do all the same things some of his other friends could. So what? It wasn’t like his other friends could do what she could, either. “I don’t know about that…she’s a friend. I like hanging out with her,” he replied, giving a small half shrug. “And I think she likes having someone to talk to, even though she never wants to actually help with my homework.” He shrugged again, his ears turning slightly warm again. “Right. I mean, me neither,” he replied, trying to sound nonchalant about it. “I just…can’t think of a time when a room with a bunch of House people in it ended well. But most of them look preoccupied with each other for now.” Hopefully not too preoccupied. |
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Post by <Raintalon> on Feb 14, 2022 21:15:07 GMT -5
Touka | valentines room | reunion time |
Touka stared back at him, his shock mirrored on her own face as she blinked, then shook her head a little, trying to register the person standing in front of her.
"...Hi, Rex," she said, her voice coming out hushed and shaky. Her arms moved up a little, and she forced them back down - she wanted to hug him. He looked so sad, and so much older...but then, so did she. How long had it been for him? How long since...
Her face felt damp, and she blinked, feeling stunned and a little out of it.
"I...you haven't been here, I started to think - " She paused.
"We....should find a place to sit down," she finished numbly. Was she crying?
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Post by <Raintalon> on Feb 14, 2022 21:36:26 GMT -5
Touka | valentines day room | and the rest was history |
Touka yelped a little in shock as he pulled her in, holding her hands a small distance away from him at first as she processed. Then, her shoulders finally relaxed and she held on tight, pressing herself against him and feeling the unreality of the situation melt away to an impossible little bubble of truth.
"I've been back," she laughed, pulling out of the hug but keeping her hands on his arms for a moment longer as she felt something between them click comfortably back into place. "You've been gone every time i've blinked in here lately." She sobered a little at her own words. "I was worried I wouldn't get to tell you I was back. After, yknow...the last blink."
Matt | valentines day room | @ lark |
"Don't buy her that," said Matt, making a face at whatever he'd been looking at before he blinked. He was wearing his usual striped shirt without the jacket this time, and had his arms crossed, shaking his head critically.
He blinked, looking around, and then drooped visibly at the decorations. "Come on, really? How many times today do we have to rub this in?"
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Post by <Raintalon> on Feb 14, 2022 21:56:11 GMT -5
Touka | valentines room | the story begins |
Something flickered deep in Touka's eyes as Rex asked the obvious, overhanging question, and she seemed to grow tired in front of him, the lines under her eyes deepening and catching shadows from the dim light.
"Let's sit down," she said simply, looking around at the growing group of people who were nearby. "Here - this one should be quiet." She moved a few steps away from him, hesitant to put even that distance between them, and pulled out a chair for Rex, taking her seat across from him. She watched him for a moment, clocking the tears on his face and his expression. She was surprised at how relieved he was, honestly. She knew he'd be a little down if she did die, but she would have thought he'd be more or less over it by now. Not that she'd wanted him to have to go through actually missing her...but she hadn't thought it would be that much of a problem. But the look on his face now...like she was the whole world in this moment...it made her want to look away.
"I really did think I would die," she said finally, suddenly full of things she'd thought over and over while she was sitting in her cell after that last blink. "I didn't...I wouldn't do that if it was just another dangerous situation. You should know that first."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Feb 14, 2022 22:21:05 GMT -5
Touka | valentines day room | some minor technical difficulties |
"Anyway, I don't remember much from the first six months of it," she said, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear just so she had something to do. "Little bits and pieces. Flashes, sometimes. Actually, that's a weird thing. Have you ever - "
She stopped short, biting her tongue just short of asking, have you ever been tortured?
"They...wanted to know where Kaneki was, mostly," she said instead, steering herself to safer territory. "And the other Aogiri ghouls. Once they decided I didn't know anything, they got sick of me and sent me to the lower level. That's where the, uh......more disposable ghouls hang out until they run out of room down there. I was there for most of the time I was in Cochlea, until I escaped. And now I'm just...here." She shrugged, gesturing at the room around them.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Feb 14, 2022 22:45:36 GMT -5
Touka | valentines day room | its fine |
"I wouldn't have gotten out on my own," said Touka, suddenly feeling like it was important she tell that particular part of the story as it came into focus. "I mean...nobody does. Normally. I had a friend down there who had been there for 46 years, so...yeah." She paused, then continued. "A human I was friends with back in high school found me. Guess she'd been working with Aogiri for a while, and they didn't want to go to the trouble of getting me out, but she...insisted, I guess. Said she wouldn't keep working as a Cochlea guard undercover for them otherwise. So out I went."
Her stomach twisted, and she took a short breath, trying to push down the guilt and anger as she thought of the others who hadn't been so lucky as to have a human for a friend. She didn't want to deal with it all right now. She just wanted to be here, just...just for a little while.
She squeezed his hand at his question, and shrugged, snorting a laugh. "Nope. You?" She shook her head. "But...yeah. Stuff's not so bad right now. I'm back working for Aogiri."
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Bisexual
Iceclaw
You can kill me, but you will never destroy me.
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Post by Iceclaw on Feb 14, 2022 22:55:22 GMT -5
Rex | vday | completely fine
Rex winced internally at '46 years'. He couldn't imagine that amount of time, let alone being trapped for that long. He said nothing, just nodded as she told the story. What was there to say? That he was glad she had a friend? That he was glad she was one of few, if not the only one, to ever escape?
Her dry answer made him chuckle. "Nope," he replied, then looked back at her, smiling faintly, though it didn't completely reach his eyes. "Glad you're doing alright."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Feb 14, 2022 23:09:56 GMT -5
Touka | Valentines day | so, anyways |
Touka shrugged off the sentiment, fumbling awkwardly with it and not quite sure where to set it down inside her heart. "Yup," she said instead, eloquently.
She traced a finger along the tablecloth, noticing the pink hearts on it absently for the first time. Huh, was it close to valentine's day? She grimaced internally, wishing she could pull the decorations down and subtly stow them away. The last thing she needed was the House trying to set her up with somebody right now, with Rex here for the first time in forever.
She shook off the thought, and with it the ominousness that had just been added to the barrier overhead. "What about you?" she asked, leaning forward a little. "How long has it been since...yknow, that blink? For you?"
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DM me if u want