When Last We Met...

[Cole Volker]

Summer was having their little meetup. Cole wasn't going to grace King Dick (props to Circe for the nickname) with his presence. What, banish him in his own home, and expect the metalflesh to feel hunky dory over all of it? Sit in awkward silence with the new Summers wondering who he is and what was done? Or maybe he'd lash out again, and somehow get double-banished. No. Cole had his drinks for now, and that was enough...


Though, there was probably some sort of poetic irony to him getting banished in his own home, given that he'd just recently been barred from entering someone else's (well, their business. Ok it wasn't the exact same but there was probably something humorous there). He'd already made arrangements to speak to Abraham, to finish their business. Met with his cousin to... Try and clear the air. Next on the list was Seraphina.

Hey. It's Cole- I have some things to apologize for. And I have too much to drink by myself. Do you like mixed drinks? I'm also making outfits and logos, and since you have a business.... Do you mind dropping by? Not the strongest reasons to give, for her to come over. But the metalflesh wasn't prideful- thanks in part to Rhodes' instructions and some inebriated reflection, he understood what he'd done wrong.

Hopefully she'd come over- he really DID have too much to drink by himself. He sent the directions to his hollow, along with the way to get into his Hollow.


@%1;

Seraphina

[Seraphina]

To say she was surprised at the message from Cole was an understatement. But in a way, she was glad as well. They needed to talk about what happened at the coffee shop. And from what she hears, he probably needed a friend too. As much as she wanted to hold a grudge, it just wasn't in her to do so.

She sends a reply saying she’d be there. Another message was sent to Rhodes , telling him where she was going. Last time she didn’t had been a mess. Lesson learned. And he can’t be mad if he knows where she is.

The directions were easy enough to follow, which was great, cause some people sucked with those.

The Nix was wearing a burgundy sweater dress with matching boots, and knocks before entering.

“Hey Cole.” Comes the angelic voice.

[Cole Volker]

Cole didn't look well. Not as good as normal, at any rate- Circe had given him a reason to be busy, and the distraction helped a little, but the Forge provided just that- a distraction. It was a way to channel his feelings- not eliminate them.

"Hey Lass... Come on in. Ever had Irish Coffee?" The place was small, and had little in the way of creature comforts. A pile of junk lay in a corner, meant as components and fuel. A sleeping motorcyle was snoring beside the warm forge in the middle of his home. Indeed, despite his being a Summer, the thorns didn't seem to react much at all to his presence- the Forge was the warmest part of the room, and the wisps of steam that might normally escape his maw were no longer present.

A crate of miscellaneous bottles of alcoholic beverages lie next to the table, and on a sheet of metal upon it were two mugs of frothy beverages.

"It's coffee and whiskey, mostly. Made over the Forge, so I'm not sure how that translates. Figure it'd help to have something to drink while we talk."

The metalflesh sat down, grabbed his mug, and took a hard sip.

[Seraphina]

Well, it wasn’t as nice as the Spring Hollow. But there had been a few hands going into making that. This seemed to only be his.

When the cell buzzes, she looks at it quickly, smiling slightly at the message before sticking it back in her bag.

And Cole? Well, she’d seen him look better. “How you doing?” there was concern in her voice.

Smiling as she enters, “I have had Irish Coffee, used to be a favorite.” Way back when, “But I actually don’t drink. Not anymore. But please, don’t let me stop you.” Not that she thought she could. “Though I can’t say I’ve ever had coffee made over a forge. Sounds like a great selling point.”

Sapphires look around, “You did this all yourself?” she asks, curious. “Looks like a lot of hard work and effort.” A soft smile appearing on her lips. Was there more to him than the anger she saw at the coffee shop?

[Cole Volker]

"I was banished in my own Hollow not too long ago. What do you think?" He snaps a bit, but his eyes sink almost immediately- not even a wisp of steam then, not a hint of Wrath. A shake of the head, A drink. "Sorry that was... Wrong of me. I'm... Fine." It was more than the banishment, but the rest was Summer business. Seraphina likely wouldn't be able to help with that....

...And he clearly wasn't all fine. A child could see that. Not exactly at 'intervention' levels, but nearing there. Another drink.

"Aye... Making things over a forge helps. Working things with your hands, getting involved. No talking, no people, just the sound of a hammer and the roar of a flame... Can't last forever, can it?... Eventually people appear. Can't help that." The metalflesh was staring into space now, mumbling. Seraphina's words about his hollow snapped him back. Another shake of the head. Another sip.

"Agh... Yeah, I carved this space out. Sometimes a scythe, sometimes fire, some with my bare hands. Not much, but it's private enough for my work." The elemental seemed quite mellowed out. That was entirely due to the drink- it was the only thing keeping the reality of this situation from constantly pressing against his mind. Cole pulled out a bottle of water and set it on the table for his guest- customary, wasn't it? Polite?... She'd offered drinks hadn't she?

"Anyways, not why I called ya here. Not... Entirely. Look lass..." Another drink, the glass empty. The metalflesh set it down, gave a sigh. "What Abraham did was... Wrong. Threatening me and... Sonnie... I don't regret my reaction to that, but I've learned a bit more since then. I understand the gravity of a Pledge. And I understand it was... wrong to react in your store, in that... Moment. I apologize. It didn't help the situation, and it didn't make me a good guest." It was genuine. Even inebriated, Cole was blunt as a hammer- and he was inept at lying or hiding things.

" And... Challenging you was stupid of me, so apologies for that as well. Just... Didn't like you seeming to ignore Abraham's threat. I've no intention of doing that again. " Airing every little detail out, every little spark of wrath he'd gone over in his head, tiny flames that eventually culminated in his situation now. If it weren't for the drink he'd probably have nightmares over it.

Someone that hadn't seen almost every single interaction he'd had with the freehold might have mistaken him for a Winter. Which didn't bode well, considering the Peak of Summer neared.

[Seraphina]

And there it was, the anger. Though, weaker.

But the Nix doesn’t seemed fazed, “You don’t need to apologize. You’re upset, and rightfully so. And I’m sure being Banished isn’t easy for you, if I can help in some way, I’m willing to. But I’m not going to push it.” If he needed help, he’d reach out. It wasn’t something you could force.

Looking to the forge, “What do you enjoy making? Aside from a sleeping,” she pauses, “motorcycle?” that was a first.

“And no, it can’t last forever. Nothing ever does.” A light shrug, “And maybe people appear because they’re concerned. Or they like talking with you. Or a bit of both.”

He was self-medicating. It was clear to a former addict.

“I think it’s great. There’s nothing like taking something and making it into your own. Putting in the time and sweat. Are you looking to do more with it?” not that there was anything wrong with it. But sometimes people had bigger plans.

With a smile she takes the water, “Thank you.” And takes a sip.

Now the heart of the issue. Their issue.

She nods gently, “I understand his threat was wrong, I don’t believe he should of done it. And a lot of us were in the wrong that night. You weren’t the only one who made a mistake. It could have been handled a lot better by everyone.” She was trying to be understanding. “I don’t think any of us had been in the situation, with an Envoy, and True Names. To say things were tense would be an understatement.” She says with a light musical laugh. “But thank you for apologizing. That means a lot.” And she meant it. “And I’m sorry for snapping like I did at you. And if you want to come have coffee sometime, I’d love to have you.”

There was a small sigh, “I wasn’t ignoring it, I was trying to bring the whole mess under control. Making threats is not the way to get a Pledge entered into, it only creates more problems. Which we saw first-hand.” There was a small smile as she took another sip of water.

“Can I ask you something?”

[Cole Volker]

She was understanding. Cole would automatically assume it was genuine- perhaps he was too deep in the bottle to want otherwise at that point. Was it right to be upset at banishment?... The metalflesh shook his head- that it was right did not make it justified. Things to remember- it was harder, with the booze. "You being here is... Is plenty." He'd hoped he spent all his tears with Circe- the last thing he wanted was to fall apart again. The metalflesh wasn't sure why such a simple gesture would mean so much- others had offered before. Hell, the KING had offered it. Regardless, he pawed for the untouched Irish Coffee on her side and looked slightly away while he took a drink, glad she was deviating from the topic.

After a few seconds, gathering himself. What did she ask? What he made?... Right. "Ah... Anything metal, honestly. Car parts, swords, reinforced doors, armor... I've dabbled in the lot of it... No end of fuel for the flames." He had hoped the discussion would continue along that line- but like a knife in the gut: And maybe people appear because they’re concerned. Or they like talking with you. Or a bit of both. She couldn't have known how fragile he was, and what that meant.

Apparently He had tears left after all. Idle ones that flowed down the metallic features. He didn't break down this time- Circe had borne the brunt of that. But with every word, and as she accepted the apologies, explained the scenario, the drops continued to fall. Booze couldn't hide everything. Or anything, really. He nodded slightly at her explanation, it made sense- Cole understood better now. But it was the offer for coffee sometime.... Why was it the simple things that caused the tears to fall hardest? It didn't make sense when he was human. It made less now.

He had to wait a few minutes to respond- a few attempts to speak merely ended in voiceless heaves. There was plenty he could say- but anything too much so and he'd be a wreck all day.

"thank you...."

It was all he could muster. Hopefully it would be enough. He gave a nod as she wished to ask a question. It wasn't as if he could break down any further right? His vulnerability on front and center, not masked by Wrath. Underneath the flames and fury, all that trauma, always present. Just like the rest of them.

[Seraphina]

Eyes drift back to the forge, “That’s a wide variety of things. But sounds like you have a passion for it.” Which was good. “Only thing I make is coffee and some Hedgespun here and there. But nothing as impressive as a sword.” She says with a smile.

Wait, was he crying? Oh no, don’t do that she silently begs as her heart strings were pulled. While there was part of her that wanted to reach out, gently squeeze his hand, the memory of him punching Abe was still fresh as well as the rage behind it. And that stopped her. Not that she thought he would hit her, but, she didn’t know.

Her smile softened, as did her face and voice, “You’re welcome, and it’s ok.” She says.

Now she didn’t want to ask, but it was the hard questions that needed to be asked.

“I don’t know you very well. And it would be easy to make assumptions based off the few interactions we’ve had. But I don’t want to do that, there is obviously more to you than the anger and rage you display.” Least, she was hoping. “And please don’t take this the wrong way, but why is it always anger you jump to when in a situation like with Abraham? Not saying he was right, but have you ever considered other options?” there was no judgement in her voice, she was just curious.

[Cole Volker]

Cole calmed down, a few deep breaths, a few more sips. The tears stopped as the Metalflesh listened to her speak, ask her question. It's not as if it was a bad one, either. Of course the answer wasn't simple. Nothing was. But, the answer let him get some things off his chest- let the Elemental collect himself. Speak about something that didn't cause tears.

"I didn't know much happiness in my Nightmare- even the macabre variants some might. And after the first few years, any such fear gave way to my burning desire to burn down everything my Keeper held. When I escaped, that's what stuck. I tried to get away from it, of course- tried drugs, tried to forget it, tried to hide form it. I almost succeeded at that- before I turned to Summer, I turned to drink. Coming back to dead parents will do that to you..." And the full realization of what the nightmare meant.

"One day I was stuck in a bar. Stuck in a bottle. And this one guy... He kept just... pissing me off. Made me angry, couldn't drown him out like everyone else. As I got angry I remembered my keeper. My hatred for It. Eventually I... Punched him. Again. And again. And again. And that was... The day I turned to wrath." There was no medium to it, either. "I lived in extremes lass. If there's a way to control my anger, I haven't found it. And that wrath is the only thing that's kept me together. Er... The second thing." A macabre chuckle as the metalflesh lifted up the glass and finished the contents.

"I'm too loud for Winter. I have no desire to create a wall of Fear. Any Joy I reveled in was burned away a Lifetime ago, or is borne from anger. Wrath and Despair are the two places I've found a home. Perhaps selfishly, I chose the one that causes me to punch more people. My wrath towards the Fae, my desire to burn them down. That's what's kept me going all this time lass. I... Don't think I want to know what happens to me without it, and without the drink to bury myself in." His tone was dull, void of the loud boisterous nature.

"Eh... That's depressing. But I'm better now. Thanks for... Asking? Listening. I don't know. Thanks." A shake of the head. "Anyways. You're... Here. You let my apologize. Let me... Air out some things. If you ever need something made, I'm always around; A nice suit of battle armor, or something frilly, or... I don't know, A magical hat pin. You're nice, and... I enjoy talking with Springs." They had a way of turning his tension to dust.

[Seraphina]

She knew they each suffered in their own way. The Durance different for each Lost. As was how they dealt with the scars and mental trauma from it.

“Believe it or not, some of that I can understand. And have experienced a few of them myself.” But she wouldn’t get into it.

“I don’t think it’s about controlling the anger so much as learning to living with it in a healthier way. Channeling that anger into something that boosts you up and helps you. But has anyone ever asked you what you want?” she looks at him, “Who does Cole want to be?”

She couldn’t imagine living like that, letting her anger consume her. “You don’t have to get rid of it, it’s a valid emotion. A powerful one, but one that can destroy you from the inside. And I don’t want to see that happen to you. There are other ways to stick it to the Fae and our Keepers. For Spring, we live the best life we can, we don’t let them take anything else away from us. We refuse to be victims anymore and give our Keepers the satisfaction of tormenting us beyond the Hedge. Now, that’s not for everyone. But the point being, there are other ways to give a big fuck you to Them.” She says with a smirk. “Turning that anger and wraith into something that betters you,” she says, “that’s the best way to can get back at them. Taking away that power they have.” But, that was her opinion.

Laughing, light and musical, “Battle armor? I’m not sure if I can pull off battle armor, but I bet you make some badass looking armor.” Says the Nix with a smile. “A hat pin? Are those still a thing? I’ve been thinking of something to help me move quicker. I haven’t put much thought into it, I’ve been focusing on a larger Hedgespinning project. Do you always have ideas of what you want to make in your head? Or do they just suddenly come to you?” asks the Treasured.

“Why thank you! You’re quite enjoyable to talk to as well.”