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+---- Thread: sun comin' up on a world that's easy now (/showthread.php?tid=11269)
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sun comin' up on a world that's easy now - Isla - 05-04-2025
Quietly enjoying her drink, Isla glances up as the door opens once again and Ronin and Remi enter the Hanged Man, her eyes lighting up at their familiar faces. She's already kicking out chairs for them as the Knight begins to saunter over, and her hand is extended to welcome them both to the no-heartbreak table in the no-heartbreak bar when oop, there goes her heart anyway.
Of all the places she might have expected to see Everest Hart - in Torchline or anywhere else, in fact - right here is not one of them. The noise, the heat and press of the growing crowd, the chaotic weave of servers bearing trays of drinks with obnoxious scents and hues, the glitter; it's a lot for any one, let alone Ever. But to spot him there, just a few feet away, waving a quiet hello with a smile on his lips that doesn't secretly scream for help...?
[say]"I'm so sorry - excuse me,"[/say] she mumbles to the Taliesins with an apologetic smile, raising her hand back to wave to Everest as if to make sure the aviator doesn't suddenly go anywhere. Sidling out from the table and stepping gracefully (i.e. soberly) around the people in her way, she finds herself before him without really knowing what to do next.
[say]"Hi,"[/say] she tries for a start, putting on a tentative smile. [say]"I didn't think you would come so a party like this."[/say]
Breakaway thread from [ME] one shot, two shot, coppertone-red!
RE: sun comin' up on a world that's easy now - Everest - 05-04-2025
Everest blinks once, twice—as if double-checking that Isla is, in fact, walking toward him and not just a trick of the light, a heat-haloed mirage conjured by the lanterns and the throb of music. She’s smiling. She’s waving. She’s standing in front of him.
[say]"Hi,"[/say] he echoes, voice soft but steady. His hands twitch slightly at his sides, fingers flexing and releasing in the space between them, like he's trying to find the right way to hold something invisible. [say]"This wasn’t the plan,"[/say] he admits, glancing around the bar like it might corroborate the obvious. His gaze skips over the dancing bodies, the spinning lights, the bright fringe of Flora’s curls across the room. [say]"I was going to write you a letter. Or maybe show up at your door. Something...more contained than this."[/say] A small breath leaves him, not quite a laugh, but close. [say]"But it's nice to see you, just the same."[/say]
His gaze returns to her, more direct this time. Still flickering, still precise, but present. [say]"Mateo completed his quest. The one he started before I was infected. He brought me something. A...glass acorn, infused with Frey’s magic. It holds all of my social anxiety now. All of it."[/say] He raises his hand, thumb brushing along his fingertips once, twice, as if evidence of something [say]"I'm still...me, though. Not like I was before. I still count ceiling tiles and am inclined to avoid eye contact and get distracted by texture. But it feels like I can breathe again."[/say]
He hesitates only a second longer before asking, [say]"Would you like to go somewhere quieter to talk? Outside, maybe?"[/say] He tilts his head faintly, hands folding neatly in front of him as he waits—not rushing her, just giving her the space he always tries to give, even now. [say]"Unless...I apologize, it looks like maybe you were going to sit down with your friends."[/say]
RE: sun comin' up on a world that's easy now - Isla - 05-05-2025
Even the steadiness of his voice - over the din of music and rumble and press of people - is a balm on Isla's psyche that she had no idea she needed until now. One hi and her imagination is already running away with itself, blocked only by the curiosity of his words as he continues. [say]"The plan...?"[/say] she echoes with a soft tilt of her head, almost wishing she'd brought her drink with her to give her hands something to do.
But then he's almost laughing and definitely looking at her, and Isla's smile grows warmer by the second. Having to step a little closer just to hear him clearly, her eyes flick from Ever's gaze to his fingers and back again, feeling tension drag itself out of her shoulders hard enough to nearly send her to the ground. [say]"Everest, that's amazing news,"[/say] she breathes. [say]"Gods, I'm so pleased for you."[/say]
Of course there are thoughts of what about us? rattling around in the medic's mind, but she's far too sober still to let them take the wheel, and honestly, no matter what happens between them, it's enough that Ever can breathe free and feel comfortable to simply exist again. Isla will make it enough.
[say]"Outside? I would like that. I - oh, they will be more than happy to make their own fun,"[/say] she says of Remi and Ronin. (They'd also understand exactly why her attention is elsewhere right now). [say]"Please, lead the way."[/say]
RE: sun comin' up on a world that's easy now - Everest - 05-05-2025
[say]"That’s—thank you,"[/say] Ever says, quiet but deeply meant, the corners of his mouth twitching like the shape of a real smile is something he’s still getting used to wearing. His fingers fidget once, brushing his palm, and then still. [say]"As soon as Mateo gave it to me, I started wondering how to tell you."[/say] His eyes flicker to her, then away again, like light glancing off water.
[say]"I kept going back and forth. I thought maybe a letter would give you time to...absorb it? To not feel pressured."[/say] He huffs softly. [say]"But I also considered showing up at your door. With flowers. Something... symbolic. But I wasn’t sure which ones would be right. That part kept stalling me."[/say] The admission is earnest, if just a touch sheepish. [say]"Something romantic, maybe. If that was still something you’d even want."[/say]
Then she agrees to outside and Ever nods, already scanning for the nearest exit—one that doesn’t require them to thread through the densest part of the revelry. Before they start moving, though, he does something that feels small and enormous all at once: he reaches out his hand toward her. Not just to guide her through the press of people, though it will help with that too—but to keep them close. To say without words that she doesn’t have to walk behind or ahead, but beside him, if that's a place she still wants to occupy.
RE: sun comin' up on a world that's easy now - Isla - 05-05-2025
Holding a conversation with Everest - an Everest who is smiling without it looking like a grimace, who can hold eye contact with her and let it flicker away again to make him more comfortable, who has admitted to thinking about her, about them - it's a wonder that Isla hasn't already thrown her arms around him. Only how he'd been in their previous conversation, and the reminder of what he'd said - still me, not like I was before - tempers her reactions into something still breathlessly delighted for him, but still and otherwise calm.
[say]"Is that something you would want?"[/say] she asks, almost whispering the words as she goes to follow him out of The Hanged Man, before faltering as if wondering what she's dropped as he extends a hand towards her. No, not towards her - for her. Swallowing back a lump in her throat and offering him another smile, she lets her fingers slip against his own, warm and soft but not clutching or grabbing, and heads for the exit.
[say]"It's something I would like to try with you,"[/say] she continues, not bothering to hide the heat in her cheeks. [say]"I always liked you, Ever. You knew that from the beginning. And however you are now, I want nothing more than to get to know it properly."[/say]
RE: sun comin' up on a world that's easy now - Everest - 05-05-2025
Ever’s fingers curl lightly around hers—not tight, but definite. Grounding. His thumb brushes once across the back of her hand, more a subconscious motion than anything deliberate, and he glances at her sidelong with a private, almost conspiratorial smile. [say]"Romantic gestures are probably still going to be mostly lost on me,"[/say] he murmurs. [say]"But I did want to do something for you. Something that felt like it meant...something."[/say] He shrugs slightly, the admission soft-edged but honest.
The Hanged Man’s dusk-gilded coolness gives way to Torchline’s relentless, blinding sun, and Everest blinks hard in the sudden flood of light. He doesn’t let go of Isla’s hand—he simply tilts his head, eyes narrowed, and scans for something livable. A patch of shade, tucked just beneath the lean of the tavern’s overhang, finally earns his approval. He leads her there with slow steps, as if the moment might dissolve if they moved too quickly.
Settling into the sliver of shadow, Ever finally lifts his eyes to hers properly. [say]"I think getting to know each other again is important,"[/say] he says plainly. [say]"Because this version of me isn’t one you’ve met before. And I don’t want you to commit to something just because you remember what it used to feel like."[/say] He says it without defensiveness—just the careful, deliberate cadence of someone laying facts out like compass points.
His fingers tighten ever so slightly in hers. [say]"But I’m not upset about what happened,"[/say] he adds, the words carrying a quiet, anchored weight. [say]"Not about the beach. Not about the lily. Not at you. You made the only choice that was right. I understand that. I really do."[/say]
RE: sun comin' up on a world that's easy now - Isla - 05-05-2025
Smiling hard enough that her cheeks hurt, Isla raises her free hand to shade her face as they step out into the blinding sunlight, leaning in a little so she might murmur something mischievous and secretive back to the aviator. [say]"Ever,"[/say] she murmurs, [say]"just you showing up would be something I would have considered to be a romantic gesture, flowers or no flowers. That means the world,"[/say] she assures him, drifting leisurely towards the overhang and the cool shadow it offers. (For Ever, at least; Isla will bask in the sunlight as much as possible).
Spotting a couple of outside tables and chairs stacked nearby, she gestures as if to ask if he'd prefer to sit, before pausing to hear him out. Her smile fades into something warmer but no less genuine, and she gives his hand a brief squeeze. [say]"That sounds very logical,"[/say] she agrees with a nod. [say]"And important for both of us,"[/say] she adds. [say]"I imagine this version of you is something you're still getting used to as well...?"[/say]
The apology for the lily, the island, and everything that had followed has been sitting like a weight on her chest ever since the moment it had happened, and Isla has been working up to it again, not wanting to dredge it up too soon. She'd apologised before, sure, but not to this Everest, and it's just dancing towards the tip of her tongue when he goes and beats her to it. Isla's eyes widen, then brim with unshed tears, and she blinks them quickly away.
[say]"It felt anything but right at the time,"[/say] she says in a tight, quiet voice. [say]"I want you to know that. I regret every second you were suffering because of something I did. And I'll always be sorry for it, however necessary it might have been. But... thank you. It means a lot, to know that you aren't upset."[/say]
RE: sun comin' up on a world that's easy now - Everest - 05-05-2025
Ever's head tilts toward her, the corners of his mouth pulling into something wry and quiet. [say]"Shame, then,"[/say] he says, voice low with a trace of dry amusement, [say]"that I just bumped into you at a party. If you’d prefer, I can walk away and circle back around. You can pretend you haven’t seen me yet. That way the gesture lands better."[/say] He glances sidelong at her from beneath the shade, expression warm even if his delivery is still clinically precise.
At her offer to sit, he nods once—short and measured, then eases into one of the chairs with his free hand brushing against the wood first, checking for temperature. He doesn’t let go of hers until absolutely necessary. [say]"I am still getting used to it,"[/say] he agrees, brow furrowing slightly. [say]"The markers are all still there—the way I process things, the way I respond to certain types of change. But without the anxiety constantly setting everything on fire, I have more control. Or...I think I do. It’s only been a few days."[/say]
He pauses, eyes narrowing thoughtfully, then offers her a look that is suspiciously close to a deadpan joke.[say]"We may need to run some tests. Controlled conditions. Repeatable stimuli. Variables like you and time of day."[/say] He pauses a moment and then adds: [say]"Some people might call them dates."[/say]
But Isla’s emotion doesn’t go unnoticed. His hand, no longer held, comes to rest against his leg, flexing once—his version of a squeeze he can’t quite offer aloud. [say]"I don’t know if feelings are always the best way to gauge whether something’s right or wrong,"[/say] he says softly. [say]"You felt terrible. That doesn’t mean the decision was wrong. Just that it was difficult for you."[/say]
A breath, then, because even now there are some things that are harder to say. But he gets there. [say]"I could have done without Remi, though,"[/say] he adds, tone carefully flat. [say]"Being knocked out wasn’t a high point. At the time, it felt like a set-up. Like you were all conspiring to erase me. But now—"[/say] He shrugs, looking over at her again. [say]"Now I can see it wasn’t. It was just...happenstance, and a way forward."[/say]
RE: sun comin' up on a world that's easy now - Isla - 05-05-2025
Sitting beside him, it's easy - too easy, almost - to bask in the warmth of Ever's company and his dry and easy humour, to the point where Isla has to remind herself that they are not, in fact, the same sort of close as they had been when he'd been under The Family's influence. Still, it's with an impish grin that she shakes her head. [say]"Whilst I'm grateful for the offer, and watching you as you leave would be a treat, I'd much prefer your company to anything else,"[/say] she assures him.
Listening with a mix of scientific and personal interest to the descriptions Ever is able to offer, Isla nods her gentle understanding. [say]"I can say as a direct comparison from this meeting to our one in Stormbreak, you seem much more in control. More relaxed, too,"[/say] she confirms.
But oh, then he's talking about tests that could be dates, and immediately Isla's cheeks go pink with the implications. (She's run a lot of 'tests' on him in the past that have ended rather... acrobatically, after all). Clearing her throat and smoothing out a non-existent wrinkle in her skirt, she shoots him a smirk. [say]"That would offer a breadth of results for you to analyse,"[/say] she agrees. [say]"It sounds very agreeable to me."[/say]
Still, with their conversational highs come the lows, and Isla drops her gaze and considers Ever's next point with a soft sigh. [say]"It was very difficult for me,"[/say] she agrees. [say]"And I'm glad you're okay."[/say] As for Remi? Without thinking, the Remedy reaches out to rest a hand on his knee. [say]"That was a mistake on my part, and it won't happen again,"[/say] she tells him firmly. [say]"You were overwhelmed and panicking, and it was the only thing I could think to do to give some space and silence. But it was wrong, and I'm sorry."[/say]
RE: sun comin' up on a world that's easy now - Everest - 05-05-2025
Ever chuckles softly, the sound brief but real, and ducks his head as Isla declines his theatrical exit. [say]"Understandable."[/say] A small smile lingers on his lips as he settles into the shade, comfort creeping in around the edges of his frame like something long-missed and quietly rediscovered.
At her assessment, he nods once—slow and thoughtful. [say]"It feels that way. Like I can pause before reacting instead of being shoved through a wind tunnel every time something shifts,"[/say] he agrees, glancing at her. [say]"You noticing it helps. Makes it easier to trust that it’s not just in my head."[/say]
The soft pink warming her cheeks doesn’t go unnoticed—Ever’s gaze flicks to it and away again like he’s logging it for later analysis, some quiet catalogue of nonverbal data he’s already begun assembling. Her agreement draws another smile from him, this one smaller but no less sincere. [say]"Then maybe we start tomorrow?"[/say] he offers, voice gentle with the possibility. [say]"If that’s not too soon. I’m down in Torchline for now—Mateo asked me to bring La Verbena just like you said he would, and it made sense to stay."[/say]
When Isla’s hand settles on his knee, Ever doesn’t flinch or freeze—though his gaze does drop to it, watching the contact like it’s something both familiar and faintly new. The moment hangs in his mind, hovering just outside his comfort zone, but not in a painful way—more like something he’s still learning the shape of. After a second’s hesitation, he lifts his own hand and rests it lightly over hers. [say]"You did what you thought was right,"[/say] he says quietly, not quite looking at her. [say]"And maybe it wasn’t perfect, but neither was the situation. I was unravelling. You made a call because you cared. I could never hold that against you."[/say]
His thumb moves—barely—a small, unconscious motion against her hand.
RE: sun comin' up on a world that's easy now - Isla - 05-05-2025
[say]"That's how a lot of people describe it, when they're able to overcome their social anxiety,"[/say] Isla says with an encouraging nod. [say]"Like they're able to take a pause or a breath to consider things before reacting to them. That sounds really positive."[/say] Because it does, especially compared to the man who had lingered so awkwardly in his own space, such was the speed of his own spiralling thoughts. [say]"I'll be sure to note any other changes that come up for you. Second opinions are important."[/say] She winks.
Tomorrow has her stomach erupting into butterflies quite without her permission, and were it not for the party going on at their backs, she'd have suggested starting right now. [say]"I'd like that a lot,"[/say] she says. [say]"It isn't too soon for me at all. Would you like to meet me at the marketplace near the medical clinic? We can find somewhere to get lunch?"[/say] It's a gentle suggestion, she thinks, that allows for any preparations that Ever might need to make.
All of that dwarfs, though - the idea of getting to know one another again, the prospect of a date or date(s), the easy conversation between them - to the feel of his hand covering her own, calloused and warm and exactly how Isla remembers it. [say]"Well,"[/say] she says thickly, [say]"I have learned from the call I made. And so if anything like that happens again - which I hope it doesn't, but you never know - I would definitely do things differently."[/say]
RE: sun comin' up on a world that's easy now - Everest - 05-05-2025
Everest nods, something about Isla’s words striking a quiet chord inside him. [say]"I’d like that,"[/say] he says, sincere and immediate. [say]"The second opinions. I don’t always catch things as they happen, but you’re good at that. Observing. Naming things. I trust your judgement."[/say] His smile twitches into something shy but genuine, still a little surprised by how easily the words come now—not unfiltered, but unhindered.
The mention of tomorrow earns a nod just as sure. [say]"Later is best. I know what Mateo’s mornings usually look like after parties like this. There’s a high probability of glitter in the galley and someone I don’t know asleep in the sink."[/say] There’s no edge to the comment, just dry affection, and his thumb shifts once more against the back of her hand. No doubt Everest will curl up as a canine in the corner of La Verbena to keep himself out of whatever antics take up the botanist's early hours.
For a moment he’s quiet again, watching the way her fingers rest in his. [say]"It feels like it’s been longer since we've talked than objectively it has,"[/say] he murmurs, voice lowering like the truth of it needs a softer place to land. [say]"Not just weeks, but...longer."[/say] He reaches forward and slides his other hand beneath hers, cradling Isla’s hand between both of his. His hands are warm and solid, and while the touch is gentle, there’s a kind of anchoring weight to it too. Like he doesn’t want her to doubt that he’s here now; that he doesn't want to doubt it either.
RE: sun comin' up on a world that's easy now - Isla - 05-05-2025
[say]"Perk of the job,"[/say] Isla says with a smile that comes all too easily now that she's sitting out here with Ever, now that all of her worrying and wondering has coalesced into the man before her. Happier than the ghost of himself she'd seen in Stormbreak, healthier than the trembling ruin she'd let leave for the docks before that, it's a breath she can let go that she hasn't even realised she's been holding. [say]"And later it is, then. We can make it a late lunch or an early dinner. Shall we say about three in the afternoon?"[/say]
Also a fan of nailing down times and places and plans, this isn't entirely for Ever's benefit either, but even though he's here with her now, the quiet thrill of planning to see him again is like the anticipation of any first date; enough to make her want to break out into soft laughter. [say]"I did catch sight of him,"[/say] she says, glancing briefly towards the doors. [say]"He seems to be having a good time, at least."[/say]
With a wry smile, Isla is about to say something else when suddenly both of Ever's hands are cradling her own, and she bites the inside of her cheek to stop her delight from running away with her. [say]"I agree,"[/say] she says quietly. [say]"Were it not for the fact that I only technically met this version of you a few minutes ago, I was tempted to kiss you. But that would be inappropriate."[/say]
RE: sun comin' up on a world that's easy now - Everest - 05-06-2025
[say]"Three is perfect,"[/say] he says, storing the time away like a vital piece of flight data, the kind of detail that keeps everything else steady. As for Mateo, Everest can only tilt his head and nod. [say]"He both worked very hard on his outfit but also seemed to come up with it at the last moment."[/say] Which, contrary as that might be, fit the botanist's MO perfectly.
His thumb brushes lightly along the curve of Isla’s knuckle, deliberate but not overly so. The pressure isn’t flirtatious; it’s grounding. Familiar.
And yet, at her final words, he stills—just for a moment. Not out of discomfort, but surprise. His gaze lifts to hers, and though his mouth doesn’t move at first, his expression softens in a way that makes the rest of the party seem very far away. [say]"Well,"[/say] he says at last, quietly, the corners of his mouth twitching with a subtle smile. [say]"If it helps, I am tempted to let you."[/say] A pause, and then: [say]"But I don’t want this version of me to rush anything. I want you to know him first."[/say] There’s no shame in it, no apology. Just steady clarity, calm and real. His grip doesn't tighten, but it doesn't loosen either—just a quiet tether between them.
Then, with a breath, he murmurs, [say]"But...I’d like it if you were tempted again tomorrow."[/say]