Arthur (
specifiercity) wrote in
deercountry2021-09-08 08:13 pm
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Entry tags:
then they fluffed up like miyazaki characters
Who: Arthur (
specifiercity) & Raleigh (
righthemisphere)
What: a running club reunion
When: early september!
Where: the streets of trench

[Is that... a Raleigh Arthur sees? Is that his good running buddy Raleigh Becket? Make eye contact!]
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What: a running club reunion
When: early september!
Where: the streets of trench

[Is that... a Raleigh Arthur sees? Is that his good running buddy Raleigh Becket? Make eye contact!]
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It's just as good a place as any to come across someone. There's hustle and bustle all over the place, with market stalls and throngs of people going about their day. September is a sacred month, with people burying seeds and hair and pieces of themselves they want to let go and grow from. Apparently. But the more Raleigh looks into it the more it sounds like every month is sacred.
He kinda likes that.
What he actually likes is the fact it isn't October. Because last October he woke up (for lack of better words) in Deerington and went head first into a literal bloodbath.
Waking up here (again, for lack of better words seeing as it was more like rebirth than anything) was Very Weird and yeah, a little violent and a lot scary, but it wasn't October In Deerington scary. And besides, he kinda likes this place. A real place. A real world. Somewhere to start over. Maybe finally start that Actual Life he's always dreamed about. He was willing to stay in Deerington forever to make that happen, monsters and calamity after calamity come what may, so what's a little blood magic and beast hunting. Fuck it.
So, in an effort to get himself settled in, he's made a point to visit every district and explore. Make a few notes about interesting places to come back to later, and see what The City of Trench really has to offer.
So far, it's a lot. And he loves it.
Willful Machine is exactly what it sounds like: people making the city run. It reminds him of the markets he and his brother used to explore when they were kids. Busy streets in Tokyo and Berlin with vendors shouting out into the air. Here, horse drawn carts clatter over the cobble stones, with gondolas in the canals all around and the air is a mix of fresh baked bread and iron. Something in his head suggests episodes of TV shows he used to watch and as he wanders and observes he silently assigns passers by to different houses. That redhead looks like a Stark the way she walks with so much purpose. That guy selling roasted meat over there is definitely a Greyjoy.
And that guy across the square, with the dark, neat hair and straight shoulders- well he's absolutely in house-
Raleigh stops in his tracks, hands tucked into the pockets of his dark, long coat. Surprise hits him in the chest like a sucker punch, closely followed by relief and then joy. It's Arthur. Holy shit it's Arthur.
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There were very few things from Deerington that he would have preferred to keep; his friendship with Raleigh easily being one. Those early morning conversations in that nightmare town probably kept him more tethered than he even has words to appreciate. It makes him a little giddy to see the man again, giddy enough to pick up into a jog when he's closed half the distance.
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"Arthur," he calls, tone full of warmth as he opens his arms for a hug. Bro it out.
But man he really fuckin' means this hug. After Arthur and Eames chose to go home he thought that was it. And in those last days of war, in the difficult decision to say good bye instead of coming with for fear of him and Chuck being separated, the ache of loss was terrible.
"I thought I'd never see you again, brother."
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He squeezes Raleigh tight for a few seconds, then backs off to smile up at him. He has an even warmer presence than he remembers, though maybe that's because so far this Trench inspires less dread than Deerington did. The moon has him full of anxious energy, but it's a far cry better than the deep depression he was pulling himself out of last time he and Raleigh spoke.
"I was hoping I'd see you here."
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Shaking his head with disbelief, it's hard to let go of Arthur- hands settling to grip his friend's shoulders and the biceps before he can finally let go.
"I don't understand, you went home. What happened?"
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"We were home, but things were just... weird. Like, off, you know? Then I came home one day and there was this antler on my bed... few days later I was waking up here on the beach."
He can't explain any of it, and doesn't feel any particular urge to either. He just knows he feels much more at peace with the idea of being here than he ever did in Deerington. Seeing Raleigh just cements that even more.
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"That's wild. Is Eames here? Are you guys okay? Settling in? Where are you staying?"
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"Yeah, he's here. So's his whole house from back in Deerington, just up in Crenshaw. I've been staying there with him" — he says that bit with a casual shrug, clearly anticipating the conclusions Raleigh will draw about that — "for now, anyway."
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BECAUSE YOU'RE BOYFRIENDS!!!!
"We're in a new place, safety in numbers. And it's a nice house. Chuck'n I are out in Feed," he says with a gesture in the rough approximation of a direction.
"His house and our stuff showed up too."
Tragically, there is no sign of Raleigh's beloved shack. Not that he would leave Chuck or the house to move in, but he's still sad about it's demise.
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He slips his hands in his pockets and looks up at Raleigh with a curious expression.
"How did it end?"
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"It was quiet. No birds, no people, nothing. One by one everybody left.. I guess we were waiting it out until we could be sure Chuck would be able to make the journey. We never did know but by the end everything just.. collapsed. Like a big sigh. There was no way we could stay longer. I looked for a way but."
Raleigh shrugs. He was that desperate to keep Chuck alive. He tried, but there was no power to focus like Ramona had. No time. And no one left to make a deal with. No devil to sell his soul.
"In the end we had to go through the door and hope it worked out."
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"I'm glad it did."
He gives Raleigh's arm an affectionate pat, but suddenly sparks fly from his hand and he pulls back abruptly.
"Shit — sorry."
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"Jesus-" he shakes his hand out. He's so fried from electrical pulse it's amazing he can feel it but Christ alive.
"Let me guess, new weird powers?"
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He looks down at his hands — he doesn't like his own body being this unpredictable, but the excitement of the the new powers overrides it.
"Same with you?"
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"I'm like the Human Torch without the spandex."
Not that he wants the spandex and honestly the The Fantastic Four are a B team ensemble anyway, but whatever.
"My friend Mako calls it Firebending."
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"Lighting bending or something. He said once he used it working in a power plant. Seems like some high level stuff."
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Arthur's spent a lot of time in Gaze already, no surprise there.
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"But come to think of it he said he'd developed ice abilities. I bet that's got to do with the blood thing."
A beat.
"Chuck bleeds black glitter now. So that's a thing."
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Wouldn't that be magical.
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"Wow.. so you've really looked into this. Any tips for noob?"
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"Honestly there's just enough variation that any standardized method to practice it won't be very effective. I'm just trying to practice and get it under control, but it's only been a couple weeks."
He holds out his hand to look down at it with a sigh. "I can barely sleep... maybe when the moon finally lets me get some rest I won't have so many misfires."
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A beat.
He very visibly gets an idea and opens his mouth before shutting it again.
.... no, it's still an idea.
"Arthur, I um."
Mmmm not sure actually. Might be stupid. Definitely is stupid.
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"What's up?"
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Genuine question.
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"Oh, um... no, that's alright. Thanks."
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Not a mean punching out, a friendship punching out. For friends in need. With fists.
Yeah.
He nods a little and tries to half-laugh it off with a shrug.
"Desperate times and all. Last October I spent like.. ten hours the whole month. We're almost there again and who knows what's going to happen."
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"I have some Camomile, if you need it."
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Is he still scarred from last October? Absolutely.
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"Well, our house showed up here with all our stuff inside. Amazingly the beans have survived. Lucky me."
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“Eames’s house too. Even the horses were there.”
Yes. You waited this long for one line. Love me.
i do love you
"I don't know, probably not."
/preen
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"So uh.. are you busy? Should I let you get on?"