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Darkseeker
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Callisto had blinked open his eyes in the middle of the night, awoken by the sound of the front door closing. He spotted Lily slipping outside and furrowed his eyebrows, leaning up from where he was sleeping to listen out for where she was going. Except, she didn’t go far at all. She had stopped just outside the door. He didn’t dare go and question her, frankly the more he saw her the more he was wary of her sharp tongue that seemed to only be directed at him. Lily had not slept, it hadn’t come no matter how many times she had tried through out the night. It was closer to dawn than it was night by the time she had decided to get some fresh air. Which had turned into hours of sitting on the step outside and staring at the sky. Not exactly what she had planned, but it was pleasant. Only once the sun had began to creep through the sky again and her stargazing had been interrupted, did Lily stand back up. Her body felt heavy and her shoulders slumped, turning to open the door and step inside. Her eyes blinked wider in surprise as she saw Finn in the kitchen, she was half way through the door when she paused upon seeing him. How had she not heard him go into the kitchen? Callisto was already awake and looked over at the door as it opened, Lily slinked her way into the room like a stray cat returning from a night of wandering. He didn’t say anything yet, but she didn’t look like she had slept a moment. Quietly, Lily tried to sit down at the table and pretend that she wasn’t as tired as she truly was.
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Lightbringer
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Finn blew a short breath, hardly noticing that Lily had come inside. He knew, for certain, that he had dark circles under his eyes and that was not a good look. Ugh! He used to look so much better before this whole thing happened. Not that he was vain. But he did care about his looks... a little bit. He glanced over, spotting Lily and then Callisto before he let out a weary breath. "... so... did anyone sleep?" If not, it was going to make this whole thing a whole lot harder. That, or they'd take the day to sleep. That didn't sound bad. But he felt--his cheeks tinged with a faint pink color at the sheer thought. He felt... lonely. Somehow, in the mere few days there, he had gotten used to sleeping with another body nearby. And now, trying to sleep on his own? It felt... wrong. But he was not about to admit that aloud to anyone nearby. That was one of those 'inside secrets' that was going to stay inside. Hopefully. "I have eggs," he set the plates down on the table. "Well--I made eggs. I don't really... have them..." Finn put one hand against his forehead and winced.
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Darkseeker
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Lily peeked up, glancing at the plates that Finn had dished out onto the table. Food she could appreciate, she straightened her spine and tried to look like she was awake and functioning. “I slept quite well.” Callisto stretched his arms out in front in him a small grunt before lifting himself up from the couch and making his way over towards the table. “But you two look dreadful.” He quipped, flicking a hand between the two of them. “Did you actively try not to sleep? Why were you loitering outside all night?” He turned to Lily and raised an eyebrow, to which the woman simply let out a small grumble. “It wasn’t all night.” Lily retorted as she gratefully began to eat what Finn had prepared, keeping her head ducked a little to avoid her disheveled appearance from being too obvious. It hadn’t even helped clear her mind, in fact she felt more overwhelmed now than when the night had started. Callisto scrunched up his nose a little. “You pair had no problems falling asleep in that godforsaken hotel, would it not be easier to sleep here?” He pondered, looking between the two before he began to dig into his own plate. Lily narrowed her eyes slightly at his words. It had been strangely easy to fall asleep despite the impending presence of Veles, but perhaps it was the lack of memories that had allowed her to not care as much in there. Out here, she had all her memories and the knowledge that Veles existed and would soon be trying to kill them. That mades sleep much harder to achieve in her opinion. "You were practically sleeping at every chance you got, even if you had nightmares it-" He paused and looked between the two of them again and gave a small huff of air. "Well, you were together." He finished bluntly. Edited at December 5, 2024 06:23 PM by Urux
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Lightbringer
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Finn shook his head lightly as Callisto chirped that he had slept just fine. Oh what a lovely surprise! He was just so special. So unbelievably special. "Of course, I actively tried not to sleep," Finn's voice was dry and flat as he gave Callisto a short look out of the corner of his eye as he prepared another plate of eggs. He really didn't have much of a problem falling asleep at the hotel. What ... well, he knew what the difference was. At his last comment, Finn turned his face away. He could feel--physically--how unbelievably hot his face felt and he had a feeling that his cheeks were very, very red. "Yeah, but... we knew at least vaguely that you two were... there to keep us safe. We didn't have memories, we didn't have... extra stuff.... we were just there." He pushed one hand through his hair, unable to even think about looking back toward the others. So maybe his inside thought was not as inside as he had hoped it would be. That was always fantastic. "We didn't know... about you, about Veles, about all of the cult and that sort of thing. It was less stressful and we didn't have as much to worry about," he added, sliding the eggs out of the pan and onto a plate. He didn't bother sitting down to eat and instead just stood near the counter.
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Darkseeker
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Callisto cocked his head to one side. “The fact that Xevon and I were there was enough to make you sleep like newborns?” His question was rhetorical, eyes rolling over to look at Lily who was sitting before her empty plate. Her eyes said shut up. With a small shrug, he sliced into his eggs as Finn began to sizzle his own. “I think the impending pressure of a death god that we are willingly going back to, to save your /friend/, has both of us a tad bit anxious.” Her comment was direct as she stepped up from her chair, plate in hand. Callisto mumbled something in response, but he was chewing and the words were unidentifiable. She slipped behind Finn, grazing a wing as she made for the sink and flicked the tap on. “Thank you for breakfast.” Lily attempted as she began to scrub at the plate, glancing towards Finn. For some unknown reason he was chowing down standing at the counter, he was an interesting individual. Moving to place the plate into the dishwasher, Lily popped back up and looked over at Finn a little closer. Well, he looked tired but he was almost as red as his feathers. Her eyebrows raised and she tilted her head to try and catch his eyes. “Are you..alright over there?” She placed a hand on the counter to try and lean closer to him. Callisto perked up, eyes scanning over the pair of them. Mouth still full with food, he watched happily at the interaction that was playing out. Despite disliking being taunted for his own love life issues and drawbacks, he did quite enjoy watching others squirm.
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Lightbringer
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Finn had fallen silent, trying to cool off his face as he ate. Every so often, his eyes would flick up toward the table. At least Lily was giving Callisto the look he wanted to give him as well. "Anxious, the fact that we have to go back to the cult, the impending chaos that's going to be coming... the fallout with the cult itself..." He swallowed and dipped his head a couple times, nodding briefly to Lily. What progress he had made in cooling off was promptly destroyed when she brushed by one wing. Finn bit down on his lip, scrunching inward with the plate and his shoulder to try and block Lily from coming any closer toward him. "M--M'just fine," he swallowed the bite he had been chewing on, "I'm just tired. That's all..." his eyes flicked from her to his plate in rapid fashion, trying to cool his face, calm his thoughts and his heart. His stomach twisted in knots, heart racing in his chest. But he was tired. He really was! But he could feel Callisto's eyes on him as well and for whatever reason, the concept of ... subtly flirting with his great-great... some odd greats granddaughter in front of him seemed really, really awkward. Also the threat of Alma who had not woken up yet but was likely to come out at any point in time. And then, then, he was never going to hear the end of it.
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Darkseeker
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Lily’s lips split into a small smile, a ghost of a laugh coming from her as she watched his eyes dart up and down over and over. “Right..” She trailed off, looking over her own shoulder towards Callisto who looked like a naughty kid that had been caught. Callisto’s amused expression was zapped into surprise, his fork met his plate and he cleared his throat rather dramatically. He tensed up his shoulders and abandoned his plate at the glance and went wandering down towards the hallway. “I suppose I shall see what this shower business is.” He mused to himself as he made his way along the hallway, foot falls heavy. Lily watched him go and after a moment she looked back to Finn with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I hope he burns himself with the hot water.” Lily leaned back towards the sink, tapping her fingers on the metal rhythmically. She stood there, almost awkwardly looking around the room for a good minute before she piped up again. A quick glance at the hallway was enough information to assure her that Callisto wasn’t about to pop back out. “Is that really why you couldn’t sleep either?” Her question came slowly and quietly, her eyes making their way back to his hunched form. It looked like she had cornered him in the kitchen with a knife or some other weapon from the way he had huddled himself up. Edited at December 5, 2024 11:35 PM by Urux
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Lightbringer
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Finn shook his head lightly, watching Callisto as he stood up and abandoned the plate behind him. He followed him for a moment before his eyes landed on Lily and the same flushed color tinged his cheeks again as he took in a breath. "..." he chewed slowly on the eggs, torn between lying to save face ... and telling the truth because it was just Lily... but it wasn't the same Lily. Finn set his own plate down on the counter, he tapped his fingers on the counter as he fought to figure out the right answer. Finally, he shook his head lightly. "... no..." The words slipped from his lips, still flushed with bright color. "... I--listen--I don't... it's...oh geez," one hand pushed through his hair, tangled up in strawberry blond locks, "it... I don't... really want to say it out loud because a lot of me is scared that it's not the right thing to say. Just... just promise you won't make fun of me for it, please?" His eyes lifted up to catch her own, listening for her answer before he looked away again, chewing on his thoughts. "... ever since the hotel... it's been hard to sleep... alone."
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Darkseeker
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She blinked a couple times as his initial answer, well she hadn’t expected the answer to be no. Her head tilted to the side as she listened to him, focusing her attention on him and not the irritating sounds Callisto was making in the bathroom despite all the doors in between them. Lily offered a reassuring smile and shook her head with a gentle laugh. “I wouldn’t make fun of you, Finn.” Her words were kept light despite the tiredness that pulled on her body like a lead weight. She waited patiently, a soft smile still on her lips. Until he actually spoke that was, her eyebrows bunched up together slightly. A small bit of confusion washed over her. It wasn’t as though he was alone, alone. The home had four people in it, he shouldn’t feel alone with all of them here. In the hotel, they hadn’t been alone, sure they’d been in…ah they had been in the same room. The beginnings of a small blush began on the bridge of her nose and her eyebrows relaxed in realisation. “O-Oh.” Was all she managed at first. Lily tore her eyes away from him and peered down at the floor where her bare feet shuffled a little. She wasn’t going to let him sit there looking like that, she’d give him something in return. “I..I get scared that when I go places without you or I can’t see you,” Her voice was quiet and she kept her eyes trained on the kitchen floor, leaning her weight back onto the counter at her hips and bringing her hands in front of herself. Fingers fiddling as she continued. “That you’ll be gone.” Lily finished hesitantly, giving the smallest side-long glance back up towards Finn. The beginnings of colour had taken dominance across her face by now, she told herself it was embarrassment from admitting something so silly, but it wasn’t.
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Lightbringer
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Finn rubbed the back of his neck and swallowed thickly. The silence was... telling at first and he chewed on the inside of his lip, letting it linger for a long few moments. His gaze was focused on the floor as well but shifted when she spoke. A small knot of guilt twisted in his stomach. A part of him wished that he could just tell her that he wouldn't be gone, he wouldn't ever leave. He was ... he had enough self-awareness to know full-well that he wasn't exactly the most proficient at self-preservation. But given the option between himself and someone he cared about, there was little hesitation. He could take it. He would take it and deal with whatever the consequence was. It was his problem and not something that someone else had to worry about. "I ... yeah..." Finn murmured quietly. "That they'll have come back for you and I can't do a thing about it. That... that somehow... he's won already and I just... it eats me up inside," he lifted his chin to look up at the ceiling. "... i just... I don't know... how to ... uh... address it... or fix it without... y'know..." he gestured half heartedly to the hallway with the shower and Callisto and then to the door that led to the Master bedroom and Alma. Not that it was a bad thing but there was a small note of anxiety that somehow, someway, they wouldn't agree with it. Or they'd embarrass them. Somehow, embarrassment was far worse than anything else in his mind.
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