riverviewlogs | oh there's fire in you and you know it's gonna hurt [ open ]

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oh there's fire in you and you know it's gonna hurt [ open ]

who: Sage and YOU
what: the swamp witch settles into Riverview.
when: Second half of March
where: ALL OVER.
warnings: Cursing. Lost of cursing because Sage never learned how to be polite apparently. Alcohol. Probably violence, mentions of spiders crawling out of mouths because of hexes. Will update if it changes.

i. communal housing, floor five

It isn't all that unusual to find Sage more awake and moving around in the middle of the night when most people were asleep. That was just the best time to get a lot of spell work done, what with the moon and the swamp being prevalent in most of his work. However, now that he is here-- well, Sage still doesn't quite have his magical bearings. He can cast spells (limited), make potions (pretty much the same as long as he finds a proper substitute), but he has yet to try casting a circle for pithy summons or traps.

Which is what he is working on right now.

Usually these kinds of things he works into vines and willows, twinging them together to make actual physical circles with which to bind the magic to but-- well, he hasn't found anything that he likes that much in the way of foliage here (hasn't really looked, to be honest), so he is sitting on the floor in the common area, cross-legged with a large piece of paper and a bunch of different writing utensils scattered around him. There is chalk smeared on his face, along with charcoal in his light green hair, but he doesn't seem to notice since he is looking utterly befuddled at the crooked drawing of lines and circles before him.

Feel free to ask the strange boy what the fuck he is doing at 3 a.m. looking like he wants to light the world on fire.

ii. exploring the city

More than one person has informed Sage that the city here is well stocked in all of the things that he needs in life; coffee, booze, and bars. Now, it is just a little bit too early at first to indulge in the latter two things (before noon, that is), so Sage has set out to find himself some coffee of the highest calibre. There isn't a lot that he demands the highest quality from, but coffee is one of those things (the other usually being the ingredients he used in spells and potions that he sold but that wasn't really a thing he did here. Yet.).

So if you are to run into Sage wanding about the city before four p.m there is a good chance that you will catch him either in a coffee shop, or perusing the stalls for things that he might be able to use in his potions.

Should you run into Sage after the hour of 5 p.m. there is a good chance that he is either headed towards a club or already in one, drink in hand and leather jacket clung around the back of his chair. Depending on the hour, he might be well on his way to tipsy as well.

What, he was just thrown across the cosmos, he likes to think that he has earned himself a good drink.

iii. exploring beyond the wall

What good is a swamp with without a swamp? Well, slightly more useful than Sage had intially thought but-- still, he kinda misses the swamp. Which is why, despite being told not to go wandering about beyond the way by himself by more than one person, Sage has actually laced his boots up all the way and is not-so-subtly wandering his way to the wall and the wilds that lay beyond it.

Look, he doesn't make friends easily and, if the wilds really are that dangerous, it wasn't like he wanted to get other people into danger. He just... needs to see it for himself.

"It's like the damned nursery rhyme about teddy bears in the woods..."

His words are hushed, trying to be stealthy and all, as he walks along the wall looking for a good way over and beyond that isn't the obvious door.

iv. make your own stupid choice
[ feel free to come at me with your own prompt or idea. : ) ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's probably a good thing that his head is down when Sage comes through the door. It means Sage won't immediately recognize him as the strange guy who started spewing apology and emotion at him over the network and run in the other direction.

Minsu could be meditating - that's a thing that he's trying these days, and it would definitely be a good thing given the mess that his head's been in these past few days. He could also just be asleep on his feet. Minsu's been at this coffee shop from open to close for the past few days too, going back to his bed when he's given up for the night so that he can toss and turn for the few hours until it's time to try again.

Whichever it is, it only takes a second or two for his scent to reach him, and then Minsu's alert and looking up. Minsu glances from him to the door and back again, thinking about locking it and flipping the sign to "closed." He's been pretty good at his first job, friendly to the customers, knowledgeable about coffee even if he doesn't drink it himself. But good luck to anyone who comes in right now, because there's not a chance of anyone else getting Minsu's attention.

He wants to jump over the counter between them. He wants to pull Sage close and bury his face where his neck meets his shoulder, hold him and breathe him in and feel like he's home. But something is...off kilter. At first he thought that Sage was just mad at him, and he'd have a reason to be. But it's more than that.

'Wait.' A voice is back in Minsu's ear again for the first time in a while - the fox, the clever side of him that's better at handling situations where he wants to draw someone in instead of chasing them away. And he listens, hard as it is. Minsu takes a step back from the counter, keeping his eyes on Sage as much as possible as he just starts making him a cup of coffee. Exactly the way he likes it.

If he was being honest, the only thing that Sage really remembers about the weird guy who emoted way too much at him on the first day here was that he was freakishly good looking. And way too full of what seemed to be genuine concern and emotion for Sage despite the witch swearing he never met the guy before. Sage has no idea that the coffee shop that he walks into houses that face, just knows that this place came highly recommended by the few people that he stopped and asked on the street about a place for good coffee.

The first thing that Sage notes is that, yeah it smells really fucking good in here. For the first time since getting here, Sage almost feels the tension that has been coiling in his shoulders slip away, a small smile barely making itself known at the corner of his lips. The witch moves to toss his jacket and bag of ingredients across the back of a comfy chair in the corner, facing the window, along with a (familiar) beat up notebook and pen before he makes his way towards the counter.

The intention was to take the time to come up with a few new ideas about how to utilize the magic here, and maybe toy with a few new potion ideas now that he had a job (a real job, what the fuck) while indulging in way too much coffee.

When he reaches the counter however, the barista is nowhere in sight for ordering, and there is no menu board which leaves Sage a little confused for a moment until he realizes that there is someone working and-- already making coffee. There is a faint tickle of recognition in Sage, something about the profile familiar to him, but he bushes it off and decides to wait a moment; there were few people that earned polite Sage right off the bat. People who served him coffee were one of them.

The witch hums and leans against the counter, craning his neck a little to look at the different teas and beans and syrups that the place had, making a slight face at the sheer number of sugary things. Who would desecrate good coffee with cotton candy flavour? Ew.

Calling out, head still cocked as he looks at the different things, Sage flickers his gaze from the assorted flavours to the barista down the line. "Please tell me you guys also serve just like, black coffee. Though, gotta say, fuckin' impressive lineup of flavours here."

"Black like your soul." Minsu murmurs the words. They come with a memory of Sage mumbling them with mussed hair and wearing one of Minsu's over-sized shirts, and something twists inside him, a hunger but not the one that scares him. A cup - one of the ones that gets free refills and also the one of the ones that isn't allowed to leave the shop - is in front of him before Sage can barely get the words out of his mouth.

It's like he can read the witch's mind. There are stranger things here. Sage would probably be more comfortable with that than the truth of how Minsu knows how he likes his coffee. As for the flavors: "I've tried most of them." Just...not in coffee. Minsu smiles a little, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes, eyes that are roaming over his customer in the strangest way. It's not the kind of look that Sage is used to, not a look that says that he wants him - at least not in a way that he'd understand right now. Minsu is checking out a few things: his knuckles to see if he's been in any fights recently. His sides, hidden under a baggy shirt that tells him that he's too skinny. His mouth-

Yep, he weird.

Minsu moves again, just as quickly as the first time, and this time Sage will find a sandwich beside his coffee. "It comes free with the coffee." He tries not to squirm, because it's a lie, and it's a lie to Sage. And his boss will probably be having a talk with him soon about giving away so much free food, but....

Minsu breathes out, his breath as shaky as his voice.

"Ah, you're still beautiful."

Edited (idek i remembered minsu brain) 2018-03-16 21:32 (UTC)

The words are too quiet for Sage to really hear and process, but they have him turning to the barista anyway, brow quirked and mouth open to say something but-- then there is coffee and it's fucking black as midnight in the swamp coffee and smells fucking delightful and--

"Holy shit, that smells fucking amazing." The witch is wide-eyed and looking far more pleased with life as he reaches out for the coffee up with pale, ring lined fingers. Seriously, this is the best smelling coffee that he has ever come across. Ever. He just hopes that it tastes as delightful as it smells because, if it doesn't, that is one hell of an upset. "How the fuck did you know what I was gonna ask for."

It is a question that isn't really a question, words hummed as he leans in to smell the coffee a little more, remembering last minute that, oh yeah, he has to pay. It is when he is reaching into his back pocket, lips turned up in a small smile, that Sage finally looks up to actually take in the other before him and-- oh. Okay that's, interesting. He is familiar, kind of, but he is looking at Sage in a way that makes the witch want to fucking blush, or maybe knock the guy out. Smiling and letting his eyes roam but there is something just off about it and Sage doesn't know why it makes him want to hide but--but-- coffee. Best not to offend the coffee gods.

Sage ignores it, but the smile on his face falters ever so slightly. Turns into bewilderment when there is suddenly a sandwich next to his precious caffeine and-- what.

"Right. The sandwich comes... free." This is the look of someone who really, really doesn't believe you. There is a twist of Sage's gut as he looks up at catches the look on the other's face. Something hollow and aching in his words. "Uh, what the fuck? Beautiful-- what the fuck do you want?"

Because that is what Sage knows; a compliment for a spell, the night for a potion or more orgasms than you can usually muster, roving lips and hands for wishes and trinkets of power.

Seriously, what the fuck is going on here. He just wants his damned coffee.

Edited (LALALA pretend i got the edit before i posted yes) 2018-03-16 21:38 (UTC)

Idiot. Minsu's hand goes to the back of his neck, like he can feel phantom teeth biting him and trying to haul him back. He could answer that question. No less than half a dozen things are already on the tip of his tongue. He's recited them during every quiet moment since he first arrived.

It's the way that Sage is looking at him is what really stops him. It's a look that he's seen before, the first night that they met and so many meetings after that. Minsu really had wanted something from him then, something far worse than any of the those things. That quickly changed, but how long did it take Sage to stop looking at him the way that he's looking at him right now? Minsu can't remember, but the reminder makes him feel horrible and small. He doesn't want anything that sage isn't willing to give, and if that means he has to throw himself on the floor instead of into the witch's arms, that's something he's willing to do.

So Minsu swallows, shaking his head like he can dismiss all the weirdness.

"Enjoy your sandwich."

Sage is here. He's safe. As long as Minsu can stay close to him, he'll be safe. That's what he wants.

Maybe it is because he is new to this place, or because he doesn't have a connection to the land the way he does back home but-- there is nothing about this guy that screams 'warning! Danger!" to Sage at all. Sure, he is weird, and now that Sage thinks about it he is more than a little familiar, but not in the way that makes him want to reach for one of his more volatile curses (which is good, because they are in the pocket of his leather jacket, and not his jeans).

Still--

"Fuck, you're that guy from the network." The one that looked heartbroken and kept spilling apologies at him like he deserved them, like he knew Sage somehow. Sage flickers a look to the coffee and sandwich then back up to the barista, gears whirring and clinking and moving... mostly in the wrong direction but, what did you expect from the child of the swamp with shadows in his veins?

Sorry there, Minsu, but he is just gonna take this coffee, pushing the food back to the barista with more than a little trepidation in his face. No one gives him things for free, nothing is free. Especially for him. "Just the coffee."

He flicks through his wallet, searching for the things given to him, before holding them out, eyebrow raised. "I don't fucking know what you want there," he quints at his name tag, tone of recognition when he sees the name. "Minsu. But you should know I am more easily plied when I am drunk, though I guess the coffee is a good start."

Something shifts in the witch, and the smile he gives Minsu is sharper, flirtatious and dangerous all at once, nothing like what the other is used to, as he leans over the counter a little closer. "But please, for both our sakes, stop pretending like you fucking care, alright? I ain't about to judge you if you just tell me the truth, honey."

The words are sugar sweet and contrived, sharper than the nickname would suggest, but Sage still seemed perfectly at home with them falling from his lips.

That guy from the network. Something in Minsu's chest catches when he's called that, because that is far from the recognition he was hoping for. To be reduced to some stranger in Sage's eyes is akin to being erased. Sage is the only person that he ever really mattered to, and Minsu pulled himself free of a monster just so he could be with him. He barely existed without him.

He feels in danger of coming apart, frayed and unraveling under the witch's sharp gaze. That look of anguish is coming back to him, when Sage rejects the food, when he has to look at Minsu's name tag, when he thinks this is just about getting into his pants. But it's those last words that drain the remaining color from him.

Stop pretending. For two hundred years, that's exactly what Minsu did. He pretended to be interested in others, pretended to be attracted, pretended to be so many things. He was a pretender and he was good at it, it got him exactly what he wanted. It hasn't worked near as well for him today - because Sage is right, he has been pretending, just not about the things that he thinks he was.

He's been pretending that Sage is just another customer. He's been pretending that he doesn't want to hold him. He's been pretending that no, he's not looking at someone that he's so goddamn head over heels in love with that it even makes it hard to breathe.

"Ah, fuck."

Well that's not language that's permitted by The Coffee Shop handbook. Minsu closes his eyes for a moment, trying to get ahold of his emotions and calm the rapid beating of his heart. But should he? Wouldn't that also be pretending? It's not who he wants to be, he wants to be honest and loving. Sage met the pretender, but that isn't who he fell in love with.

"Just tell you the truth?" Minsu opens his eyes again, and they're still too soft whenever they look at Sage, too fond, but there's something in them that wasn't there before. He's even coming over that counter, hopping up in a move that seems almost unnaturally quick. For a human, at least. Minsu jumps down beside him, tilting his head. "Okay Seiji, I'll tell you the truth. I'm sorry that I wasn't before." If this was a drama, Sage's back would be against a wall and Minsu's hand pressed against it somewhere above him. As it is, he just leans in closer. "I know how you like your coffee because I've been making it every morning for you for months. And what I want really is for you to eat that sandwich because you're about seven-" He leans back as if to recheck. "-eight pounds skinnier than the last time I saw you. And yes, my name is Minsu, I'm the guy from the network. But more importantly, I'm the guy who's gonna marry you, and I fucking care. You have no idea..."

He breathes it, some of his strength ebbing as he lifts his hand to touch Sage's cheek, the one with the ring.

Edited 2018-03-17 00:35 (UTC)

For a moment, Sage thinks that he has pushed too far, has pushed beyond the lines that he usually toes with his sharp words and sharper eyes. There is a moment where he almost expects to be kicked out, or perhaps just kicked, maybe even the facade of giving a fuck to drop and for Minsu to tell him whatever fucked up thing he is after, but not-- fuck, Sage didn't expect for the other to look like he was about to cry. That was the last thing that Sage ever expected.

Sage kind of wished that there was violence, at least he knew how to handle that.

But no, no he was stuck watching as the hollow smile on Minsu's face fell away to a look that made the witch think that the other was experiencing heartbreak right there in front of him. That somehow, with his words, Sage was tearing his heart out of his chest here and now and ripping it to shred without a second thought. And while that was something Sage was wont to do to some people-- not to people he just met that had done him no more harm than most.

The language doesn't even phase Sage, the curse slipping past the barista's lips easily, and honestly, Sage was ready to just slam the money down and leave, fuck the coffee, but-- then Minsu is moving, faster than Sage can blink and he is crowding in to his space speaking with a heat and an honest to his words that Sage has a hard time finding doubt in. The words-- well the words were completely insane, talking about coffee and weight and fucking marriage. No, that--

Shaking his head with a sneer, Sage doesn't back down and there is a curse on his tongue and a hex at his fingertips, because clearly, this guy was fucking insane, even if he was telling the truth (or his truth), but then-- something cool touches his cheek. A ring. That really shouldn't be cool since it was on a body and all but-- that wasn't what made Sage's words die in his throat.

That is because the ring vibrates with magic. His magic. That very specific mix of life and death, blossoming flowers and decaying wood, the undercurrent of shadows and claws and the swamp that Sage misses so much. That ring has a great deal of his power in it, and it is on Minus's hand. Minsu, who is still looking at him like he fucking means something to the other, like he matters beyond the potions he sells or the pleasure he can give with his body. And that is the terrifying thing to him, above all else.

Grabbing his wrist, Sage pulls the hand off his cheek, eyes wide and face flushed, as he finally tears his gaze from the other's face to gape at the ring, words hissing out from behind his teeth. "Where the fuck--- how the fuck do you have this. What the fuck is this?"

There is a slowly creeping terror in his voice, the ebb of too much for the mind at once; he knows his own magic when he feels it, he does. He also knows truth when he hears it, at least usually knows truth when he hears it, and Minsu honestly believes everything he is saying.

Sage believes he needs to run. But he stays rooted to the spot, grip unyielding around the other's wrist.

"What the fuck are you playing at, Minsu."

It's far from violence, but it still felt strange to speak to Sage that way, feeling such a fire inside of him and the determination to be heard. He doesn't think he could've stopped even if Sage had told him to, and Minsu was always the one to back away from conflict first.

He just couldn't this time. He couldn't let Sage look at him and see only the same things that he's seen in everyone else. He doesn't bother trying to hide what's really there now, his gaze even softer than before, sad but also affectionate, a promise that everything will be okay even if it isn't right now. The backs of his fingers have barely made contact with his cheek before the witch is jerking his hand back. And really, he's not surprised by that. He probably shouldn't have tried to touch him yet. But then he realizes the real reason that he did it, looking from Sage's face to the ring and back again.

"This is the truth too." Minsu curls his fingers down, like he's suddenly afraid that Sage might try to take it back. "You gave it to me. Because I'm yours and you're mine." He says the words so easily, so earnestly. But he hears the fear in Sage's voice, the panic. It's too much. Minsu realizes it too late, but maybe if he can just get Sage to sit down and breathe, let the coffee work its magic on him-

Minsu's eyes travel along his face, down his slender neck and stop- This time Sage has a surprise for Minsu, without knowing, without trying. The fox makes a sound, and really, he should be happy that the scar isn't there. Minsu's just grown so used to it, Sage so unashamed of showing it, believing in what it proved to both of them. Minsu kissing it until he believed it too.

He thinks he gets it now. He understands.

"You're still - oh."

Violence is a language that Sage knows very well at this point, along with lies and hollow promises. Truths and heartbreak, however, are foreign to him. Which is probably why he has such a hard time swallowing them. Because, what Minsu is saying? The barista honestly believes them. That he is going to marry Sage. That he has made his coffee for him time and time again (and the witch does have to say that, just smelling the cup that is sitting so innocently on the counter made him believe that a little himself, he was notoriously picky about his coffee). That he can tell just by looking at him that he hasn't eaten properly in a long while (easily since before he got here, but when does he ever?).

Those aren't lies made up so that Sage feels something for him. They are honest truths.

That really doesn't make them any easier for Sage to believe, even with his magic sitting in a silver ring on the other's hand (it looks like one of his own creations, well, if he was better at metalsmithing that is. That is something he is still learning, had just started working on in the last few months when he realized how much more he could make and sell if his charms were made by him and not bought beforehand). Sage can't believe it because--

"No. There is no fucking way in hell someone like you wants-- chose-- me." Not without there being something else at play, there being some other piece of the puzzle that he is missing. There has to be something missing, there does, it is the only thing that keeps Sage from cursing Minsu and bolting, even if he is sure he wouldn't get far before panic overtook him. And yet, Minsu gives him no leads to what the missing link might be as he stares at him, looks at him like something is clicking into place and--

Sage feels disappointment curl briefly in his gut, expects Minsu to say he isn't who he thought, but instead. Instead there is still softness and adoration and-- fuck, Sage hates that so much. He snarls and pulls his hand back, cradling it close, even though he doesn't move out of the other's space. He needs to not be touching him. Needs to not be here under that look.

The witch doesn't move.

"I'm still what? What am I exactly? Not who you thought I was?"

If Minsu looked heartbroken before, it's twice as bad when he hears Sage talk about himself that way, like he can't even entertain the thought that someone could love him exactly as he is. It's not really a surprise, he just hasn't heard it put that way lately. But he knows that Sage has always struggled with his self-worth. Minsu sometimes seethes with his own self-hatred, it's not too different. But they loved each other enough that it almost made up for it.

"I did. I do." Minsu chose him, and he will again. He wants him. But Sage isn't wrong that there's more to the story, and Minsu's suddenly filled with fears of the opposite - what if Sage learns the truth and doesn't want him? What if the timing or the place changes things? He tries to swallow that fear down and keep his voice from shaking too much as he continues. "There are things about me that you don't know. Things that only you could accept. Only you could love."

Sage is already flinching, and tossing out such a heavy word might be too much for him. It's part of the reason why Minsu's mouth moves but no words are coming out after he notices the scar's absence. There's surely a limit to how much Sage can take right now, how much he will believe. Minsu doesn't even know if he's believed a single thing that he's said, but he's at least listening. He's giving Minsu a chance to either prove his words as the truth or lies.

"No, you are." Because he doesn't want Sage to doubt that for a second. Even if things turn out to be more complicated than the both of them know, even if there are infinite universes and countless thems, he will always love Sage. That much is untouchable by time or place. "Seiji, how old are you?"

It seems like such a random question, unimportant in light of the conversation that they're having. But it's important. It's in Minsu's eyes and the way he's looking at him, like he might crush the witch's body against his own at any given second.

Those words, the reaffirmation that this guy, this guy that wears his magic like a wanted brand and looks at him like he hung the fucking stars in the sky, has chosen him before (will choose him) and is choosing him again even without knowing him shakes Sage to his core. I do isn't something abstract, it isn't Minsu talking about a time that has come and gone, but the now, and -- fuck. No one chooses him willingly, not in the sense that seems to resonate here. And it doesn't end there, that isn't all--

Fuck. Love. Sure, that's implied by the idea that Misnu marry's him but--

Too much all at once, even with the other bits of information, with the unspoken idea that there is more to Minsu than what meets the eye, that there have been battles fought an won in whatever place they have come from, well that Minsu has come from. Sage can feel panic creeping in along his veins, crackling energy that threatens to suffocate him, the steady beat of nononono curling around him. But he can't let it win, can't let it sink into him because there is no fucking way he is freaking out right now in front of--- whatever Minus is to him.

"No, that-- no. That doesn't make sense, you can't-- what, what." The witch blinks, panic settling if only for a moment at the oddness of the question.

There's that word again, too.

"The fuck does that-- I'm twenty-two." Why is he answering him. "How the fuck does that even matter? Why are you telling me any of this, that you fucking love me and that you are going to marry-- you don't even know me! There is no fucking way that you would say any of that if you did, and Why is this-- fuck, I just wanted fucking coffee!" Ht he nearly yelling by the end of that, hands curled into fists to the point where he can feel blunt nails leaving marks in his palms; something to keep him grounded.

"Ahh, baby boy." Minsu breathes out. It makes a little more sense now, or as much as any of this can make sense, and some of the confusion bleeds out of him. He's looking at Sage with the same soft gaze as ever, but he's hurting for him too. Minsu's instinct is to give him a warm body to hide and cry against, someone who could wrap around him like armor.

But then he feels it, the panic and chaos the spirals around Sage, emotion and magic that make the witch so amazing, even if it makes him fucking terrifying at the same time. Minsu holds his hands up as Sage starts shouting - the crackle in the air is a warning, but he all he wants to do is hold him together. He knows how this works. Sage never hurts anyone who loves him without hurting himself worse. He can't let that happen. Minsu won't leave him alone in this world the way that his parents left him in theirs.

"You're twenty-four when we first meet." Maybe that'll explain to Sage to why it matters, why this is a one-sided lover's reunion. Minsu takes a deep breath. Maybe it's like yawning. Maybe if Sage sees him do it, he'll do it too. "Please...drink it. I made it just for you. Just give me the time it takes for you to finish. I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Minsu's smile is shaky but genuine. They've made a similar deal before.

Panic is not something that Sage is a stranger to, or the prickle of sharp, wild magic that comes with the emotion either. Usually, there are the dredges of the swamp to curb the feeling, the rush of raw sharp magic that resides all around no matter where you are, something full of shadows and quiet acceptance, but Sage finds himself without that usual buffer; there is no swamp here. There are no shadows with claws here, no mires with death and life tangled together, and that honestly just makes it worse. Makes Sage shake with the weight of how out of his depth he is, how he really isn't at home, how--

"The fuck-- what the fuck did you just say?" It's shaky, a hissed question as Sage blinks, eyes wide, at Minsu. Did he just call him baby boy? What the actual fucking fuck was wrong with him? Fuck that, what was wrong with Sage for not just hexing the fucker, punching him, and leaving? (Attention, a small voice in his head responds, that and the fact that the way he says it makes something shake loose in his chest. That is-- shit).

It makes a little more sense with the additional information, that somehow Minsu is someone he meets in the future (fucking alternate universe, time travel, the fuck was wrong with this moon) and he remembers there being a mention of that when he got here but he never thought that he would meet his fucking... betrothed or some shit. That doesn't work. This isn't a fairy tale, and even if it was, he was a witch for fuck's sakes, he doesn't happily ever after. "Good to know I fucking live that long, I guess."

His chest feels too tight, skin too small and itching with panic and power just waiting to explode outwards (inwards) in some manner that made Sage stop thinking for just a minute. That was what he did; panicked, picked fights (got fucked) whatever he could to not think for a little while, but that isn't an option here--

For a flicker of a moment it almost is, Sage almost closes the gap between them and kisses Minsu like one would go for a kill; something biting and violent. But then the other is breathing and looking so fucking honest that the witch... the witch can't do it. He is an asshole, he is broken and dark and has more blood on his hands than most, but--

Minsu doesn't deserve that.

"Until I'm done the coffee." A time limit. Something concrete. Sage can drink it quickly if he needs to. It settles the static, reigns in the panic and magic just a little.

Then, without saying anything else, he turns sharply and stomps towards the table with a clear view of the whole cafe, sitting with his back to the wall and being incredibly grateful that this place was empty at the moment. Clearly, he expects Minsu to bring him said coffee now.

"...It just slipped out." Even Minsu seems a little surprised by it, mostly at the addition of that second word that he's never used before. Somehow it feels more right for Sage as he is right now, younger but rougher. It makes Minsu want to love him all the more, in spite of any potential blood loss.

Even when he stomps off, the embodiment of every biting thing in the swamp. And it says something about Minsu that he finds it so adorable, that he wants to shoot secret finger hearts as his back but he's too afraid that Sage will see them reflected in the glass. (And then he probably would be in trouble.) He looks from the abandoned coffee to the table and back again before he gets it - he does work here, after all. Minsu picks up the cup, but he has to set it back down again. His hands are shaking, and Sage might never forgive him if he spilled his dark brew. Minsu would never forgive himself, because every drop that he loses represents time with Sage that he could lose too.

He wipes his hands on his apron and tries again, bringing the cup over and placing it in front of the witch like an offering. Minsu smiles at him again, waiting for Sage to take his first sip before he says anything else. He should probably have waited for him to swallow first too.

"See? It's good, right? I'm the man of your dreams, after all." But the confident words are accompanied by a nervous laugh. "Just kidding. I'm an asshole when we first meet."

Fucking slipped out, right. Sure. Sage will take explanation that with a sharp noise, something that promises violence if he hears it again, along with a flush of anger (at least, he tells himself that it is anger, whether or not Minsu can see the lie is another thing entirely). Reigning in the urge to flick sparks of crackling energy and magic at the barista (mostly because he really doesn't want to fuck with the coffee), Sage makes himself at home at the table.

If being 'at home' meant his leg constantly vibrating beneath the table, ringed fingers drumming on the table restlessly. There is still an itch in him, the need to leave this all behind, the desire to flee, but-- then he remembers the familiar call of his magic on Minsu's finger. That isn't something you can duplicate. Not to mention the way the other looked at him.

As soon as the coffee is placed before him, Sage is wrapping his fingers around the mug and taking a sip. Okay, more than a sip, more like a gulp, but he doesn't choke (it burns a little, but he can handle that) and he can't help the pleased hum as the flavour hits him.

Yeah, yeah okay this was perfect coffee.

"Fuck, okay I will give you that you make good coffee. Shit." The witch sighs, a fraction of the anxiety in him leaking out of him as he stares into the liquid. It is only after a few heartbeats that he looks up, gaze sharp, as he regards Minsu. "You mean you don't just profess your love to me right off the bat when we first meet? How shocking."

There is a little bite to the words, guard still up. But-- he said he would give Minsu until the end of the coffee and the coffee isn't terrible, so he just sips a little more and stares at the barista as if prompting him to say whatever it is he needs to say. "I still don't really believe you. Just-- a warning. It's too... "

There is a noise then, a wave of his hand as if that would explain it all before he goes back to his coffee.

That pleased hum, that sound without word...it makes Minsu happier than anything else since he arrived. It shows, in an exhaled breath and a relieved smile. He never had any doubt, really - what he told him is true, he makes him that coffee every morning. (After a few mornings where Minsu tried and got less of a hum and more of a grimace for his efforts.) But Sage could've held it back from him, kept him in some terrible limbo.

"Ah-" Minsu shifts his gaze away, sheepish. "Not exactly. I hit on you and you told me to go fuck myself." Because Sage didn't believe him then either, thought that there was a catch to a guy like Minsu hitting on him. And he was right, but Minsu thinks that even on that night, there was something about the witch that drew him in. Something different.

Minsu crouches down, content just to watch Sage drinking his coffee, enjoying it. A hundred thoughts and concerns cross his face, everything from 'is he happy and safe?' to 'I might like the taste of coffee from his lips.'

"It hasn't been a fairy tale." Because they talk about that a lot, the happily ever afters that get denied things like them. Minsu rests his chin on his fists, a little more thoughtful now that Sage seems less inclined to run or hex him (or both). "I wonder how much I should even tell you. But if you ask anything, I will. I'm always honest with you, Seiji."

Okay, now that you frame their first meeting like that...

Sage laughs, bright and sharp, knees hitting the underside of the table with how abrupt the noise leaves him. Thankfully, his hands are still wrapped around the mug, keeping the precious liquid from spilling onto the surface. "And I see you took me so seriously, huh." It does make him curious to know so many things though; why did Minsu hit on him in the first place? Why did he tell the other to fuck off rather than just fucking him? What made Minsu try again?

Instead of voicing any of those though, the witch tries to ignore the strangely content and soft look that crosses the barista's face to focus on the coffee. At least, until Minsu mentions fairy tales and makes him choke on said coffee because, fuck. Fuck, that was another one of those things that he kept to himself, the notion of the wicked witch. How there were no happy endings for creatures like him, the ones with blood staining their skin, shadows in their bones and magic in their veins.

Wiping at his face, Sage stares at Minsu with wide eyes, clearly taken aback by that. "No shit, the prince never falls in love with the witch, that isn't how it works." There is the familiar tone of loathing there, simmering beneath the surface of his words; it is all for himself, as Minsu knows. "What the fuck does that even mean. That word you keep using. Sounds... fuck, sounds Korean."

Okay, a little bit of the loathing is spared for his feelings about that language and the ties it has to his family, to those who abandoned him so long ago.

Minsu perks up, sitting with his back a little straighter, because if you think that Sage's laughter isn't the most beautiful sound in the world, in any world, on this moon, to him than you would be badly mistaken. "I can be persistent..." He says it sheepishly, because no more than Sage knows about him, he could probably guess that already.

He's on his feet when Sage chokes, pulling a napkin from the pocket of his apron, trying to dab at the witch's mouth without a second thought to the strangeness of the act, the tenderness. "Are you calling me the prince?" That's what it sounds like to him. Minsu looks at him with raised eyebrows before shaking his head gently. "I'm not. I'm more like...you know the one with the little girl in red who goes to grandma's house? I'm the thing that's dressed up and lying in bed." The better to eat you with... A fox instead of a wolf. Somehow it's still easier to confess to Sage than to anyone. He meant it when he said that only Sage could accept him, only Sage could know the truth of him and love him anyway. Minsu starts to wad up the napkin in his hand but - can't. He subtly slides it back into his pocket.

"It is Korean!" Minsu looks up with a smile, so happy to just be talking to him, to be allowed to be this near to him. "Seiji. It's how your name would sound. Sage - the plant. I've always assumed it was the plant and not the other type of sage, since your sister's name was Lily-"

His breath catches. The smile drops from his lips. Fuck.

Sage is pretty sure that when the other says persistent, he means stubborn as fuck but he doesn't have time to comment what with the choking and the trying to wave the other off with his napkin and kindness and general emotion. The witch is still leery but-- fuck if the more he talks to Minsu the more he sees that the other knows him. Or at least some version of him.

"You are the prince, maybe you're a wolf but--", he shrugs, watching and trying to reach out with the energy and magic in him. It is volatile, without the swamp there to be the singular source, to filter it, but there is at least something. Enough that Sage can feel the resonance of his own magic, far more powerful than his right now, and vicious in its desire to protect, wrapped around the ring. Wrapped around Minsu.

That is a fucking weird sensation.

"Wolf or not-- my magic wants to... wants to protect you." He gestures to the ring, brows furrowed as he does. Like he might be able to understand it, the time and the magic, the possibility of someone being able to use a language he hates so fondly without retribution, it doesn't make sense to him, not even--

Lily

There is a crackle, a snap of raw sharp power that isn't directed anywhere in particular at that name that leaves a fissure in the table and coffee spilling out of a crack in the mug clenched far too tightly in his hands. That-- Well, Minsu clearly knows him, knows his demons and darkest secrets if he knows that name, and knows that he clearly shouldn't have mentioned it. But it is too much, Sage is raw from too fucking much emotion and newness, and this does not help.

For a heartbeat, everything is silent. Sage has no doubts about the truth of what Minsu says but--

"No. Fuck. You don't-- fuck you. You don't get to know me and my goddamned secrets, you don't get to wear my magic and say you fucking love some version of me like it's forgiven. No." His voice is shaking, raw and thick, and there is a familiar glow in his eyes, not quite the green Minsu knows, but something Other. How could Minsu know about Lily, about everything Sage is, and still want him? "That isn't-- no one loves the fucking monster, no one."

Stubborn as fuck is still a little more generous than the truth - stalker. Minsu lost his ill intentions after that first encounter, even if the fox was probably in denial about that fact for a few meetings more. What Minsu was left with was curiosity, a little annoyance, longing... He didn't want this human to get away from him, and maybe it wasn't the healthiest of beginnings, or even the healthiest relationship, but they were happy.

"Can I be both?" He wouldn't mind being a monster to the world but Sage's prince. He could live with that overlap just fine. Minsu's not immediately aware of Sage's magic trying to feel him out, but his body alerts him soon enough. There's always that initial instinct to push it back, a magic gag reflex. But Minsu relaxes it, goes still. That might convince him more than any of Minsu's words and looks ever could.

"Yeah. You worried about the hunters." Like the woodcutter who came through the door and killed the wolf, except their reasons were more about wanting something that Minsu had, something that could make any man a monster or a millionaire. And there were other things too. Minsu looks down at the ring, appreciating it in a new light. He'd always just loved it because Sage gave it to him, but there was so much more to it than that. This was protection and a claim. Mine.

Her name just slips off his tongue. Minsu doesn't even know why himself, it's not a subject that they ever talked about casually. Minsu grits his teeth. The power isn't aimed at him, but he still feels it acutely. It's a wildness, a chaos that's in Sage's eyes, which are wide on him, angry and heartbroken and terrified. The only emotions that he's ever known are the worst ones, so of course he would push against Minsu.

"I know, I know..." It isn't fair. Sage hasn't given him these things yet, he has no right to them. But they're there, and Minsu can't erase them, wouldn't if he could. The fox wants to retreat from the glow in the witch's eyes, but Minsu wants to reach out to him again. And does. He worries for his heart, worries for his fucking fingers as he tries to pry the splintered mug from them, breath shaky again when he speaks. "You're not a monster to me, Seiji. I love you."

The monstrous prince, well if Sage ended up falling for anyone that would make the most sense for him. Even if he still isn't sure why on earth Minsu seemed to keep going after him despite their rocky start. But he did, and now he sits in front of Sage with his magic on his hand like a shield and that is something that Sage would never see. Someone other than himself being able to wield his magic, or accept his magic and it accept him. There is still a crease between his brows as he watches Minsu, the way he seems to relax beneath the echoes of his magic pushed out, the way he tells Sage so easily that he worried about him, over hunters.

"Hunters? I mean, they are assholes but why..." Clearly, there is more to Minsu, like he said. He isn't just bright smiles and well-made coffee, but something that was hunted, and something Sage wanted to protect.

Though, at the present moment, the only thing that Minsu needed protection from was Sage himself. The witch is -- hurt. Raw and too vulnerable and he hates that, hates the tangle of hope and fear that rises like bile in his throat when he realizes just how much Minus knows about him, and still goes to profess that stupid fucking emotion so fucking easily. It isn't okay, Sage is not okay, and he does the only thing that he knows: he fights and he flees.

"Shut the fuck up." The words are hissed as he stands up, pushes Minsu's hands away along with the splintered coffee mug, the palest shade of vines skittering along his hands as he does. But Sage doesn't lash out with his magic, knows that it isn't going to help, so he leans over Minsu, words sharp. "Don't fucking say that, because you don't love me and I sure as fuck don't love you. This isn't-- fuck. "

More than anything, Sage just wants to be gone from this place, needs to be gone, so he is pushing Minsu over, snagging his jacket and notebook with a low noise and headed for the door, ignoring the way the world tilts and his breathing catches in his chest. Nothing else matters but getting out, running from the kindness he doesn't deserve and the words he never thought he would hear.

He's not exactly a stranger to Sage's anger, but he can't remember the last time it was directed at him, the last time it cut this sharply. Minsu's eyes are wide when he tells him to shut the fuck up, his breath catches like he's about to say something more, but then he just...shuts the fuck up. All the difficult words that he said so easily, but he also said too much, things that he shouldn't have.

The mug shatters at his feet, but that's probably the least violent thing in the room. Sage is all vines and a twisted mouth, words that sink into Minsu's skin like thorns, like teeth. It isn't the part about Sage not loving him - of course he doesn't, how could he be expected to? But still hearing Sage doubt how Minsu feels about him, that's what hurts him.

Minsu's toppled over easily, too easily to be the bigger guy in the room and quicker than any human. (Almost any human. There are a few that were unnaturally fast.) It's almost funny, except they're about as far from laughing about it as it gets. "Sage!" Minsu shouts his name as he runs for the door. Every instinct in him says to go after him, to catch him, to wrap his arms around Sage and let him scream and hit and cry until it's all out of him. But there's too much in him to be released so easily right now. Sage is already too fractured, anything more from Minsu might shatter him like the coffee mug on the floor.

It's been awhile since he's done this...it doesn't feel any particular way, or maybe Minsu's still too focused on Sage to think about the changes that his body goes through in such a short amount of time. He also doesn't think about anyone who might come in and wonder (worry) what became of the guy who belonged to the clothes on the floor.

He makes a run for the door, knowing he has to get through it before it closes. The fox will keep his distance, peeking out from around things to go as unseen as he can. This is all he can do for now.

Truth or not, there was really only so much kindness and hope that Sage could handle in one sitting before he cracked. Sure, that might be something that other people flourished under but-- fuck, Sage refused to get his hopes up, let himself feel something, when he was still so very sure that it was just going to end with disappointment and his ribcage cracked open. What Minsu is saying isn't a lie and, fuck, he means what he says Sage can see that much, but--

He isn't that Sage, he might be totally different (even if Minsu seemed to know so much, understand what lines needed to be toed and which ones shouldn't have been crossed despite everything). And he doesn't know what about Minsu is so monstrous, what makes him think he isn't the prince, but he was more than he seemed. And in some universe, some time, he was enough to make Sage craft a ring, a fucking engagement ring, imbued with more protective wards and magic than he usually carried on his own person.

So, yeah, truth to the words or not, Sage cannot even begin to fathom what the fuck he is supposed to do with the information except run. He could stay and fight, could let the magic and energy he can feel here crackle along his skin and force it at Minsu but-- but he felt the desire to protect in that ring, the way Minsu accepted his magic.

Not something he wants to fuck with.

So he flees. Is out of the shop and down the alleys of the city that he barely knows and is headed towards the outskirts of the city, not beyond the wall (not yet at least) but far enough away that if he does decide to lose his shit, no one should be around to get caught in the crossfire. Like the poor tree that Sage comes across, sneer on his face and frustrated scream on his lips, knuckles now bruised and bloody because fuck this.

"What the fuck-- this is-- fuck!" Sorry foxy friend, he is gonna beat up a tree now.

The fox barks a few times, trying to get Sage's attention, trying to distract him from busting his knuckles. It hurts to see him this way, confused and frustrated. Sage fights because he's trying to dispel all those emotions, but Minsu knows that the biggest part of them are still eating at him from the inside.

Meanwhile, the little red forest creature whines, pressing his belly to the dirt and wiggling like he's trying not to pounce the witch. Minsu wishes that he could, wishes he could wrap his body around Sage's and bear the brunt of everything that's hurting him. But Sage ran from that form, so now he's trying this one.

He sits up again, making a few more sounds before flopping onto his back. He's offering his belly Sage, you know you wanna rub it.

"Ain't gonna find any teddy bears having picnics out there," comes a dry voice from farther down. Bucky is on patrol, rifle slung over his shoulder, Perimeter Guard uniform on. It's been a pretty slow day, as far as things to do goes, and the civilian trying to sneak his way over the wall is at least a curiosity.

"There's nothing keeping you inside the city if you want to go out there. It's dangerous, and official advice is that you take an escort, but nobody's gonna stop you."

Sage, startle? No, never. He would do no such thing. (He totally startles, look he was usually a lot more aware of his surroundings, but he wasn't quite in tune with this place yet, and apparently, that meant that he paid no attention to his surroundings.) The voice makes Sage snap his head away from the wall and--

Freezes. Just a little bit. Sage didn't need an on-point gut instinct to realize that this guy, whoever he was, was not someone to fuck around with. Okay, maybe that was the reaction to the gun and the uniform but whatever. The witch shakes off the initial impulse to turn on his heel and walk the other way and stuffs his hands into his jacket pockets, raising a brow and looking over the wall with a half smirk.

"I feel like, if you're gonna find a teddy bear picnic anywhere, it's gonna be in these woods." Seriously, this place is weird, and this is coming from someone who lives in a swamp with a bunch of things that want to eat him. "Escort huh, there an official place to find those or you gotta just know who to ask?"

Bucky seems unfazed, occasionally pausing with a finger to his ear, listening to a bit or piece of Perimeter Guard radio chatter on his comm. He is paying attention, though, and shoots him a wry smile at the quip. "Alien bears, maybe. Though they're more likely to make you their picnic." Which is true enough, and not a threat like it might come off. Bucky's job is Search and Rescue, and he doesn't particularly want to make more work for himself.

"Ask around the training ring next to the Guard barracks and you can usually find somebody lookin' for something to do. Just don't bother on the afternoons the new recruits are training. It's not safe to take a greenie." He shrugs briefly and glances back at the fences, out to the vast wilderness beyond. "You wanting to go out there for any particular reason?"

Alien bears, that-- huh. Sage doesn't know if he is terrified by that idea or really intrigued by it. Probably the latter, but he also has limited experience with bears for the most part. Also with aliens. The witch snorts a little though, casting a look down at himself before shooting the guard a crooked grin. "Dunno if I would make a good picnic honestly, toothpick afterwards maybe, but-- " he shrugs. The witch is more than a little aware at how he doesn't take up a lot of space, physically.

As the guard talks, Sage's brow furrows a little more as he tips his head. That-- okay, ring next to barracks, no greenies and-- "How the fuck do I know if they are greenies? They wear patches or some shit?"

Because that would make the most sense to him. Maybe. Not even a little, maybe it's like in private high schools where the uniforms change based on year or something. But Sage doesn't think on it long, caught by the next question. "Mm, yeah. Lookin' for a swamp. You wouldn't happen to know of any, would you?"

It's a moon full of creatures and people from every corner of the multiverse. Shit gets pretty weird out there in the wilderness. Bucky smiles a little wryly. "Well, most predators aren't choosy." He's tangled with enough of them to think they probably wouldn't care how big or small a human being was, as long as it was an easy snack.

"The ones fumbling their weapons and getting knocked on their asses are the greenies," he says helpfully. Or, 'helpfully'. Whichever way you take it. Unfortunately there's no patch or difference in their uniforms, though Bucky's jacket has 'Squad Captain Barnes' embroidered at the breast, so he must not be a greenie. He pauses thoughtfully at the question, though, and for a change, offers a real answer.

"Yeah, there are some marshlands out there, toward the south. Been through on patrol once or twice."

Eventually Sage will realize that this place is full of more monsters than he is particularly used to, but it is probably going to take him getting his ass kicked at least twice before he does have that realization. The universe would hope that it was only once, but Sage was kind of stubborn (stupid) and dense like that at times. With a tilt of his head and shrug, he concedes that point; when you are hungry enough you will really eat just about anything. He knows.

"Okay, so don't ask the ones that would make better meat shields than guides got it." Another nod. Not that he would have asked them in the first place. Actually, chances were that if Barnes hadn't stopped him, Sage wouldn't bother talking to anyone in a uniform. Not because of the uniform so much as because he is a little shit who never asks for help even when he is drowning. Wonderful survival tactic really.

Whatever else he might have had sarcastic commentary on vanishes though when he is given the first real hope of finding a fucking swamp in this place though. Sage's whole face lights up a that and he leans in a little. "Seriously? Thank fuck, I was starting to think either no one fucking explored or this was a weird ass place with now swamps." No really, he looks really relieved with this information. "Think that you might be able to give me more specific directions than south? I mean, not right now but... eventually. "

He will probably go stomping about either way, sadly.

Normally Bucky wouldn't care too much about people trying to get out past the fence into the wilderness, but his job is search and rescue; it's literally more work for him when someone isn't prepared to be out there. "And it wouldn't hurt to stop by the Surveyors' offices for an updated map. If you're heading out there." It doesn't hurt to tell people what's available if they just go ask for it. Nobody is too stingy with information in Riverview, which is odd, but nice.

It's also odd how the guy's whole being seems to light up at hearing that there's an actual swamp on the moon. He can't help raising a skeptical brow at the enthusiasm and- relief? Swamps have been nothing but unpleasant in his experience, so he doesn't really understand the utter delight this guy seems to feel for them.

"Plenty of people explore, and it's an alien moon. The landscape changes a lot out there." He's seen jungles, forests, marshlands, fields... It's a little bizarre, how much variety there is outside the city. "I could probably take you down that way sometime. What do you need a swamp for? Not exactly a vacation destination."

The fact that there were so many people in this place willing to help out and give out information with ease was something that Sage was still coming to terms with himself honestly. There is a small part of him that is skeptical of it all, even if so far nothing has ended poorly. People just-- weren't this nice in his experience. There was always a catch. "I was just gonna go out with a ball of yarn and hope for the best really."

Mmm, sarcasm. His favourite.

As for the swamp-- well, home was home either way. The witch snorts a little and smirks at the eyebrow being raised at his enthusiasm about great swaths of bug-infested land. Gesturing to himself, Sage elaborates with a muttered 'swamp witch". That makes perfect sense, right?

"Kinda need swamp land in order to be at my best, though I am still not sure how the swamp here is gonna react to me." There is a poorly executed nonchalant shrug. Someone might be a little bit worried about not getting along with the swamp, because that is something you usually worry about, right? "I mean... if you're up for wading in the wilds, I won't say no. But also not gonna ask if you have other shit to do. "

It's hard to get used to for the more paranoid types. Bucky spent his first couple of weeks thinking all of it had to be some kind of trap, but no. It's as innocent as it seems, transparent even. It's allowed him to relax a bit, knowing he doesn't have to go looking too hard for the information about the city and the moon that he needs. "Ball of yarn probably wouldn't get you far enough," he says with a slight, wry twitch of his lips. "Try marking the trees with paint as you go?"

It's a sarcastic suggestion, he doesn't mean to really try that. It would still be pretty easy to get turned around, at least for someone who doesn't know what they're doing out there. He's not sure if this guy is one of the kinds who can manage in the wilderness or not.

'Swamp witch', says that maybe he is, though. Bucky looks a little skeptical, but he's seen plenty of weird shit. He won't question it too hard. "Couldn't tell you. There are some things that are like Earth, and some things that aren't. Whole place is a mishmash of different universes, whatever flora and fauna has come through the portal over the decades." So you might find cattails, or you might find some hideous man-eating alien hybrid cattails.

"I could make time. I got a flexible schedule these days."

[After his conversation with Sage, Alec had the feeling that the witch would try something crazy. No one seemed to mind if he patrolled the walls for a few days, walking along the border to make sure that no one tried anything foolish.

Like sneaking through somewhere that wasn't one of the gates.

He walked along the top of the wall silently, runes improving his balance and sight, and a speed rune activated in case he's needed for a fast rescue.

Noticing a familiar figure - or one as familiar as possible when he'd only met the being through video, he scowls as he heads toward Sage.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he gives the witch a 'Really???' look.]

If I have to go home covered in mud and smelling like a swamp, Magnus is going to turn one of us into a hamster.

[Surprise! It won't be Alec that's going to be in one of those plastic balls for a few hours.]

[ excuse you sir, this is not crazy!!! he has done crazier. mainly that one time, at witch camp with the wendigo and the-- you know what, never mind. point is, this isn't the craziest thing that Sage has ever decided he wants to do. sure, he is on an alien moon-planet-thing in a universe that may or may not be his own with limited magic and no understanding of what lays beyond the wall but, still not the craziest thing.

a close second though.

so as he is perusing the different parts of the wall (and maybe stopping to look at some plants, taking some samples and shoving them in the bag he has strapped to his thigh), the witch is just a little bit taken aback by a familiarish disappointed face.

ah, that would be a look he sees a lot, he can already tell.

so of course, the witch grins as brightly as he can and waves.]

Ah, hello to you too, parakeet! [ look, he can't remember the word you used for that thing with partners so... parakeet is what you get.] I mean, I certainly don't mind smelling like swamp, honestly a little weird to not smell it for this long. [ he is kind of teasing, a little, he usually smells like ozone not swamp but eh. ]

...how long would you be stuck as a hamster? Is that a thing Magnus usually does to you, or is it special for swamp related incidents?

That isn't the worst nickname someone's given me. [Magnus' endless supply of pet names have included some that were truly cringe-worthy. He knows what this one is based off of and he still rolls his eyes... and hopes Jace never hears it because he'll either laugh himself silly or decide to kick Sage's ass to defend parabatai honor or something.] Doesn't swamp smell like dead things?

[Alec's never really been in a swamp unless the sewer system of New York suddenly counted as one. During his vacation with Magnus' swamps really hadn't been part of the sightseeing tours.]

I would end up in the shower. You'd end up in the hamster ball. The spell usually lasts a couple hours unless Magnus is feeling vindictive.

Aeacinos is there at some point, he's surprisingly stealthy given his size though. His tail stretches far behind him as he approaches Sage, a look of amusement on his features, as he crosses his arms over his chest. His long pale hair falls about his shoulders as he cocks his head to one side.

"You are one of those not listening types, hm?" He doesn't really say it in a chiding way but he still will give Sage a look.

"If you are ready to go then I will accompany you. There are some things I must look for anyway." More like survey he supposed. Checking the local fauna population to make sure none of them stray too close is one of his duties.

"We will look for that swamp of yours as well."

Ah, right. He was supposed to ask for assistance or something. Oops?

Sage puts on a look of innocence or at least something that might pass for innocence if you really had no idea what it might look like, ever. The witch shoves his hands in his back pocket and rocks back on his heels with a small shrug, maybe a bit of mirroring amusement in his eyes as he regards Aeacinos. "I mean, I heard what you said, but--"

Another shrug. What can he say, he was getting antsy. And he was also really wanting to get to the damned swamp, potential weird moon monsters or not. And even if he didn't find a swamp, the witch had a leather thigh pouch ready and waiting for whatever flora he might find that could be useful in potions. Namely, anything that caught his attention and he thought he could do something with.

"What are you gonna be looking for, if you don't mind me asking." The question is accompanied with a 'lead on' motion; he is pretty sure that his idea of just following the flow of energy in the wild was far less efficient than whatever the other might do.

Oops indeed?! Although Aeacinos doesn't really have any true connection to Sage, so what he does is his business, safe or otherwise. But he rather the other didn't go off alone and get eaten by anything. So he'll just snort, his tail flicking idly behind him.

"But you were thinking of fighting powerful creatures on your own without any back up or regards to how dangerous it is out here?" Aeacinos says with some amusement as he shakes his head. You humans sure are something.

"I have heard from the locals there is a hot spring left abandoned. I wish to find it and restore it to it's original state for our use." He does love his hot baths after all.

Casting a look around him as if to say 'well duh', Sage just gave another shrug. It wasn't that he thought he was going to get eaten or something he just-- was kind of hoping his weird ass luck and ability to get out of highly dangerous situations without too many new scars would have come with him to this new place. No way to really know if it had if he never went out exploring.

"I mean, I didn't plan on fighting anything, but I at least didn't come completely unprepared?" He wiggles his fingers, silver wings glinting. "I have some defence, nothing like a sword or other weapon but... enough." Especially if he found a swamp, or managed to appeal to some other energy out here. Then, all it took was a little bit of blood and he was fine.

Well, better. Ish. Maybe. He doesn't actually know.

So yeah, maybe a good thing you showed up.

"Hot spring? Huh that sounds interesting." Hot springs mean that he might luck out with a swamp after all. But also: "You knowledgeable about the vegetation in this place at all?"

"Then you are a fool if you didn't expect something in these parts to attack you. Many have probably told you of the dangers, so you choosing to ignore them is your own business." Aeacinos will huff and shake his head before eying Sage with a skeptical look. It's a good thing he did wander into him then. You crazy humans.

"I am not, no. That is not my...forte." Aeacinos is more of a kill things type of person. He doesn't care much for the flora of this place unless it poses a threat to him or his own.

"It would be a good place to have up and running. Many people here could use the distraction and relaxation it brings."

[In their first conversation Freya promises to show Sage around the forest and direct him towards some of the swamps. She is a lot of things but she isn't a liar. So, she grabs her backpack, sends a text to her new friend and meets him just outside the wall.

They haven't met in person yet but she's toying with the idea of telling him that she's a wolf. A few people know but it isn't something that she's explicitly told anyone yet. They all learned through their own heightened sense and while Sage is most likely something, Freya isn't sure he'll be able to tell.

She almost wants to tell him so he can see that not all wolves are assholes though she's sure that she can be an ass at times. On the other side, it'll be easier to find the swamp she has in mind if she's a wolf. Freya had been the first time she went there and her perception is a little different between the two forms. He could also play fetch with her and pet her. Freya has it on good authority that her fur is softer than most, she's also a smaller wolf than most.

Freya is lost within the complicated twist and turns of her thoughts when she spots Sage just outside the wall. She lifts her hand in a wave and flashes him a warm smile.]

Hey! Ready for an awesome swamp adventure? I packed sandwiches~!

[She gestures to the old ratty black backpack on her shoulders.]

[ Sage is a little bit taken aback at how readily some people are here to be friendly and nice even when they have no real reason to but, but he also isn't upset by it. the text from Freya after their first few conversations isn't so much a surprise but-- well okay maybe it is. Sage blinks a few times at his phone when he sees what she has sent and, after a moment of processing, grabs his shit and heads out towards the wall.

okay, so all he really grabs is his jacket, a few charmed rings, a curse or two, and the thigh satchel thing that had taken to wearing when harvesting herbs and other potion ingredients when out in the swamp back home. totally prepared for any potential monsters. t o t a l l y.

when the witch sees Freya, he is squatting down, hands already dirty as he presses them into the earth trying to find some echo of power there. or at least some echo of power that might be useful to him; energy and power are everywhere after all. he grins up at her, amused.]

Well, you're a step ahead of me then, I just, uh-- I have a few curses on me if we need 'em?

[ no one should trust this child on his own, no one. ]

[Freya doesn't consider herself 'nice' but she does go out of her way to avoid pissing people off. Sometimes it's too easy and thus unavoidable but Freya gives her self points for trying because people are usually stupid and annoying.]

Oh nice. I don't usually use curses. [She pauses.] I kind of want to see that though. [It sounds fun.

Freya shifts her backpack and then waves for Sage to follow her.] After me! By which I mean, this way. The place that I have in mind is about six miles out. It's shorter than that but we'll have to take some twisty paths because there is a bear den between there and here and I'm all for respecting people's or animal's homes.

[She sets out at an easy but quick pace.]

So, what's your deal anyway? You talk about werewolves and other fairy tale creatures. I take it that they're normal where you're from?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

oh there's fire in you and you know it's gonna hurt [ open ]

coffee shop

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beyond the wall

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exploring beyond the wall - sorry I'm so late!!!

DO NOT WORRY AT ALL~

<3