crescentview | 🌸 be not defeated by the rain 🌸

[But snacks tho…]

I can just walk around naked.

[Nobody wants that. Mostly Owen doesn’t want that, honestly, so he’ll grumble and follow Otegine to the bedroom. As soon as he’s in, the layers are coming off regardless of if the door’s closed or not. Coat, jacket, shirt, tie, pants… Why is he wearing this much clothing in the summer, anyways?]

You don’t even have pants that will fit me, so it’s basically the same thing.

[How are you not dying of heat stroke, my dude.

He doesn't bother to close the door completely - modesty is just a polite myth in this house when nobody is human, anyway - but he does at least keep his eyes turned away when he's seeing more skin than not, stripping off his own soaked shirt as he digs for a pair of sweatpants and a tee to drop on the bed closest to Owen, scooping up the fabric being shed and waiting a little awkwardly until he thinks he has most of it.]

Those should have a drawstring you can use, at least. I know it won't fit great, but... it's better to have something dry on you, isn't it? [It's all said with his head politely turned to the side, though he clears his throat to try and excuse himself.]

...Try to dry yourself off a little, okay? I'm gonna go work on hanging this all up.

[Don't mind him coming back out to the living area, Syr, still sopping wet, but now without a shirt and an armload of clothing, deposited carefully to the side as he looks for their washbasin and drying rack. Normally he'd set this up outside with the clothesline, but lmao... not happening.]

I hope it's a long time before I ever have to be this soaked again. [Remarked towards Syrlya in the kichen, as Otegine moves everything closer towards the fireplace.] Ugh. It never stops being a pain...

[By the time Otegine returns, Syrlya is setting down three cups and the plate of cookies at the table.

He looks up, an amused smile faintly tugging at his lips.] You should probably get a towel as well. As for your clothes, why not hang them in the bathroom?

[He stays quiet again, flinching a bit at the admonishment.]

Because it's what I'm made to do. And, like I said... I promised. Just because it's all I'm good at doesn't mean I'm going to stop everything else.

[He considers Owen's rant about the animals as he rises from the fireplace only to drop down to a seat next to the wizard, enough room left for Owen to keep his privacy.]

...Like how the birds cluck differently when they're feeling comfortable, right?? Things like that??

I've never been able to really tell right away. People aren't much different for me. Maybe that's part of the problem.

...

[Speaking of.]

...Hey. Can I ask you something?

Time can't be moving the same way, though, can it? I mean, cherry blossoms happen in early spring, and we're already in the dead of summer only a month later. The crops are just growing way too fast, too...

Not that it matters for me whether we're moving, but... I guess you're gonna have a lot of people missing your presence back home, huh.

[Oh! Spear!!!!! Fellow spear!!!!

He lights up immediately as he reaches for his own and cocks his head to the side, an unspoken gesture to follow him down the road a bit to some open space. They're too close to the store, no need to accidentally hurt anybody.]

My whole life, to be honest. Nothing feels more natural.

What about yourself?

[Syrlya doesn't know what the cherry blossoms have to do with anything...] The goddess has clearly been interfering with our crops. But the hours have not felt any different, have day? At least, six weeks here feels similarly as long as it would in Tyria.

[That's a little beside the point, though.] I didn't exactly leave a note. So, yes, my absence must be worrying them. I can't let it go on too long.

[Wow, what a nice day. Otegine's in no rush to wake up, mentally exhausted from the night before with the cooled weight of another body making a restful sleep come easier for once in his life. But the space is small, and Owen can only be "Owen" for so long.

Owen will find a familiar bedroom, a cramped little twin bed with a tall and familiar form snoozing away underneath him, having only shed his shirt for sleep. Syrlya, perhaps graciously, does not seem to be home.

Too bad that doesn't explain how he got there!]

[ there's a genuine brightening of his expression when otegine gestures down the road. honestly, it made sense. sometimes he forgot about the perks of being within his own noble phantasm— no potential for disturbances, no need to worry about collateral damage. that said, it doesn't dwindle his excitement any.

really, it only cemented his thoughts that otegine was as much of the seasoned warrior he thought he was. someone who didn't just live by his weapon, but that wasn't unfamiliar to the chaos and adrenaline of the battlefield. ]

Your whole life, huh? [ he twirls his spear as he walks down the road. ] You must have been an impressive kid, but I'm pretty much the same myself. I'd say fighting is probably what I like the most...

[Owen isn't used to waking up feeling warm - he's constantly cold, after all, his circulation not what one would consider amazing on account of... not having any. He also knows that there's something missing, too, having no idea when he even settled down for bed... but would it really be so bad to lay here, listening to the beating of someone's heart and enjoy the comfort of being curled up on someone... which absolutely isn't normal.

So sorry, Otegine, if he takes an elbow to the side as Owen flails upright and tips off the bed that definitely wasn't made to fit two grown men in it. At least he wasn't already sore, so hitting the ground isn't that bad. (He's also not sure if the fact he's not aching is better or worse, because there's only a few things that could explain why he doesn't remember last night, and he doesn't feel hungover.)]

[What, do you expect Owen to show off his bare arms like a cheap slut? He's a luxury few can tolerate! It'll take more then just the summer heat to get his clothes off, and natural disasters fall under that umbrella.

Everything about this is a disaster.

Still, clothes are clothes, even if he ultimately decides he's not going to spend the rest of the night tripping over himself in pants that are way too long and ends up just emerging wearing one of Otegine's shirts like a dress.]

So now can I finally have that tea?

[He doesn't care about anything but snacks. Who cares if Otegine is still wet!!]

...You have a strange way of talking. I wonder if it means something, saying things like you were made to be good at one thing...

[Which isn't really what Otegine said at all, but it seems like a logical conclusion. There are very few things, in Owen's experience, that they're "made" to do. There are things people choose to do, or are chosen to do, but "made"... It's not a word most people would use casually, and Otegine is about as arrogant as Heathcliff.

Which is to say, hardly at all.]

Of course you can't tell right away. You have to give yourself the chance to understand them - giving up just because you don't get it immediately just means you'll never get it.

[But, fine, fine. He can entertain at least one question from Otegine. Maybe.]

Sure, but if it's a stupid question I'm not going to answer.

[The brunette chokes out a garbled sound at the prod to the ribs, jostling awake as Owen rolls right onto the floor. His hair is disheveled and his expression is hazy and disoriented with the adrenaline of being startled out of a deep sleep.]

Wha--

[Ah. Someone's on the floor. Clarity comes back to him in stages - first subtle, then openly worried, fumbling to get his legs untangled from the small frame.]

Owen... Owen, hey, are you alright? [Would the scared, meek Owen cry when startled or hurt? He's not sure.]

[Sir where are your pants

Otegine's face colors a bit when Owen comes back around the corner still half naked, but he shrugs it off with a sigh, shaking his head towards Syr as he flips open the drying rack.]

Mn, I'm not doing anyone any good by getting sick. But... I mean, the chickens are gonna be stressed out enough, right?

[He'll at least peel off his own shirt and add it to the pile on the washbasin for now, ugh. Owen gets a passing hand up to ruffle his hair, briefly and messily.]

Maybe. [Said as the brunette passes back to the bathroom, long enough to grab a towel and throw it over his own head.] Did the pants not fit well enough?

Ah, who knows. Sometimes things just happen that way.

[It feels strange to have Owen's words resonate a little deeper than expected. You have to give yourself the chance... is that right?

...

He leans over against his own knees, lacing his fingers together as he casts a glance towards Owen, pensive.]

Why did you kiss me?

[Good news! He doesn't start crying. Bad news! He's clearly not that other Owen anymore, which is probably obvious with the way he openly scowls at Otegine.]

Why am I here?

[He's not really interested in what happened at this point, because that's ultimately irrelevant. What is relevant is the fact he's here in the first place. Why must he suffer himbos...]

Do things really "just happen"?

[You can't keep secrets from him forever! He's too stubborn to quit while he's ahead!]

Well, why not?

[Which is surely a satisfying answer to Otegine. Owen shrugs, keeping his gaze on the fire.]

Do I have to have a reason to do the things that I do?

[Is there more to it then "just because he could"? Probably, but he doesn't see why he would need a concrete reason in the first place. Otegine can keep on thinking it was done just to mock him if he wants, even if that's not the truth of it. It's not Owen's problem right now.]

[Ah.

A frustrated sort of relief floods over his expression almost instantly.]

Oh thank the gods, you're finally back.

[He shoves his legs off the side of the bed, burying one hand in his hair with his arms propped against his knees, looking down on Owen with exahustion.]

I brought you here, last night. Your, uh... other Owen decided to come say hi at the auction.

I figured you'd be safer here.

Sometimes. Time just kind of works like that. It's not really a fair thing.

[THAT'S NOT AN ANSWER WOW! He exhales sharply.]

You realize you made a fool of me in front of the whole town like that, right? [There's some bite to it, obviously hurt, but it's brief.]

If you hate me that much, you can just... say something, you know? I don't... enjoy dancing around all of this any more than you do.

[Has anyone ever looked so relieved to see him? He's not sure.]

So you took me to your bed?

[Not that he actually thinks Otegine would ever do anything untowards to any version of himself, still. He has to find some ammunition here.

But also.

What the hell is Otegine talking about? He knows what an auction is, but... Huh??]

What auction are you even talking about?

[He shrugs halfheartedly, the implication entirely missed.] You didn't want to be alone, and it's not like I was going to demand you go sleep on the couch or something. Besides, you were freezing.

[...

Oh. Did... Owen not know...

He should have figured as much, since that application didn't look like it was even remotely close to language Owen would use. But it's still a long, awkward silence as Otegine freezes up a bit.]

The date auction? The one the goddess has been advertising for something like two weeks, for the end of summer?

...

I'm... guessing you never saw it?

Edited 2023-02-04 04:23 (UTC)

[Well, he supposes time isn't fair, but that still feels like a copout.]

...

[Of course he realizes it! He was there! Still, that's not... what he intended to do. It wasn't his grand plan to have Otegine feel so humiliated, and he shifts uncomfortably for a moment.

It's also not like he likes Otegine, either. He doesn't think he hates him, but he couldn't qualify the feeling if he tried. It's not like the feeling Cain inspires, or the feelings that the likes of Bradley or Mithra inspire, and it's not the loathing he feels for Oz or the twins, so it's something he can't quite articulate. Not that he would want to to begin with, but it's frustrating that it's something unfamiliar when he's already been feeling so many unfamiliar things even before he showed up here. He's too old for this, isn't he?

This is stupid. He hates this, even if he doesn't think he hates Otegine. Not that he thinks it really matters how he feels, anyways.]

I don't hate you. I never have, even if I think you're frustrating and obtuse.

[Hm. Is it really too late for him to go back into the hurricane?]

It's just something I wanted to do, and it's not like there would be any other chance to do it - so why not? Nobody's going to remember it for long with how everyone was drinking, anyways, and I'm sure someone you like more will kiss you if you ask.

[Wait. What?

It's a confusing, especially after all the grief Owen had been giving him this entire time. Why act like this if he didn't hate him?]

Obtuse, huh...? [wtf is that supposed to mean]

Nobody wants to kiss somebody like me, Owen. Nobody was ever going to. That's... part of why I'm surprised.

...

I don't get it. Why didn't you just ask?

Edited 2023-02-04 04:45 (UTC)

[Of course he was freezing, he’s always freezing. That seems like a sus excuse to him! At least he’s distracted Owen enough to not double down, for… better or worse. Probably worse.]

This is the first I’m hearing about it. What - what’s even the point of a date auction?

Mostly for fun. People just wrote up applications anonymously and everyone just got to choose who sounded like they'd be fun to get to know better.

Ah. Though, the problem was that a lot of people signed up other people and not themselves, so it got... uh... kind of messy. Really fast.

[So, really, it turned into the opposite of fun for a lot of people.]

🌸 be not defeated by the rain 🌸

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Closed - Owen - Morning after the Auction

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