Teatime

[Cassandra Reeding]

Tea. They always seem to be having tea when one comes over. It's become almost a ritual now. Cassandra will drink a lemon and lavender combo, maybe chai if she's feeling spicy, and Gerrit will have his rooibos. So, that's what Cassandra sets up.


Today, she takes out the good tea set with the beautiful blue flower impressions. They are delicate and almost a perfect replica of the set her mother had when she was a child. She sets them up on the island counter so that tea customization can be efficient and easy, hopefully contributing to a calmer environment over all. Aside from Aria, who is now a fully grown, medium-haired, gray cat with hints of tabby in her coat, now ready to play with anyone who comes near, the house has a delicate feel to it. Probably more Cassandra's vibe than John's. Though, John didn't come with much in the first place.


Said cat brushes up against Cassandra's leg as she's setting up the kettle on the stove and she can't help but smile a little bit, "There's my sweetie." she says in a soft, loving voice toward the cat, bending down a little to pet the length of her back to her tail before giving her a couple of gentle pats on the side. "We're gonna have Gerrit over, so let's remember that not everyone is into lap cats. Or playing catch." It is funny how much of a lap cat Aria has become over the last week that Cassandra has been back. Maybe she felt the effects of absence in the house just as much as Cassandra did.


After she's gotten the kettle on the stove going, she heads upstairs to get ready, putting on a simple, baby pink sundress with a light floral pattern along the waist. Her hair is loose with a natural wavy pattern, making the copper color of her hair stick out in a shine. And aside from a hint of mascara and lip balm, the Polychromatic does not put any other effort into make up. It's not one of those days.


When she is ready, she walks downstairs, waiting in the foyer for Gerrit to arrive. She could just let the door unlocked, but she wanted to greet him at the door and let things go from there.
Gerrit Aeolus

[Gerrit]

So suddenly Cassandra was back. Gerrit tried real hard not to hold a grudge, intellectually he was sure that there were valid reasons for her disappearing. And after all, she did come back.
Unfortunately the Ogre in him wasn't as easily convinced. They had made a promise, and the Wyrd had since then decided that someone has broken said promise. And now she invited Gerrit into the shared little house of quasi-marital bliss, invited him to drink tea and chat as if nothing had happened.
Don't take it out on her. Hear what she has to say. Don't burn any bridges.

That was probably easier said than done, but he had been through many uncomfortable or taxing situations. If nothing else, they needed to find a way to become a functional Court. Maybe they just needed to lower their respective expectations.
He arrived at Cassandra's dressed in simple, sensible jeans and a long-sleeved grey shirt. Nothing else - the situation didn't exactly call for gifts, in his opinion.

He knocked and waited for her to answer, his face worked into a scarred neutrality.

[Cassandra Reeding]

Hearing the knock at the door, Cassandra looks through the peephole before opening. Seeing Gerrit there in person provokes an emotional response and a profound sense of guilt comes over her for just a moment. She even feels a sense of nervous coldness.

This is my fault, she can't help but feel and think.


She doesn't entirely know why she does it, it is unlike her, but she opens her arms a little and asks in a hushed tone, "Can I have a hug?" She feels teary, almost like a child and realizes how much she has missed her life in Sacramento, with the people she loves. Being in Baltimore may have been nostalgic, but it wasn't home anymore. Even if for a moment she had wanted it to be.

[Gerrit]

A few seconds passed until Gerrit reacted. He knew she wasn't big on physical contact - she knew he wasn't big on physical contact. Plus, it wasn't what the first exchange between them after what happened was supposed to be like. He ultimately stepped forward and agreed to the hug, because it felt like that was the thing that would calm the waters best. It felt like this was what Cassandra needed.

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-07-25 07:55:00	Gerrit rolls 6 to act natural (Man 2 + Subter 3 + Mantle 1)	5, 6, 2, 6, 7, 5	failure

His arms closed around her, pain shooting through his body from every point of contact. He tried to act as if he also wanted that hug, to make Cassandra feel better - but at this moment, riddled with aches and frustration he almost succumbed to his Ogre instinct and pushed her away in anger. He was done pretending this was all right.
But instead he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was more or less stiff as a stone in the Artist's arms, neither fully returning nor rejecting the hug.

Spending a point of Willpower to turn the dramatic failure into a regular failure.

Once that was over (and he was sure that he wouldn't snap at Cassandra) he stepped back again and even managed half a smile. "Can I come in?"

[Cassandra Reeding]

It felt good hugging a friend, even though there was awkwardness there. And while it wasn't a very good hug, it at least showed Cassandra there is some hope. Maybe things can mend over time.

"Of course," she says, stepping aside to let him through the door before closing and locking it behind him. The scent of the house is not what one would expect at the moment. Normally, the house smells of some kind of combination of lavender with coffee and smoke. Now, the house just smells mostly of lavender, sort of like her old apartment.


"I've already started up some tea. I have your usual out and ready, but if you'd rather something else, I'm happy to set it up," she offers a smile even though her emotions are clear on her face. Things have been troubling.


She walks with him toward the kitchen and everything is, of course, neat and orderly. At least for her. "Oh, I also bought some various snacks. Haven't been in the mood for baking lately, but you know I like to keep some sweets around." She gestures to some frosted cookies, pre-sliced banana bread, and a couple of blueberry muffins.

She doesn't entirely want to think about what's been going on for the moment, but she knows by the time they sit down and finish with the usual pleasantries, it'll be time for real talk.

[Gerrit]

Gerrit followed Cassandra inside, her shifting colors ever the mystery. She was almost acting as if things were like they used to be, a few months ago. Was she just holding on to tradition to control the situation or was there something else to her behaviour? "The usual is fine, thank you." He knew that he used to associate good memories with that kind of tea, but life had a way to knock that right out of him - just the tradition remained. "I will pass on the sweets, though."

He stood near her in the kitchen, waiting for her to say something, address the elephant in the room. He didn't wait in silence out of malice - he simply didn't know how to beginn. It was her that maybe needed to explain some things.

The Stonebones watched the Artist with open patience.

[Cassandra Reeding]

"Sounds good." She says, taking the kettle off the stove and allowing it a little time to cool to the right temperature. When she's placed the infusers in the hot water, she sets Gerrit's down near him on the counter. She takes a moment in the silence to look at Gerrit's hand, the way it seems more frostbitten than before. Something has changed about him and she's not taken full notice until now. His mantle is also stronger than it had been before. It's an odd feeling considering how much warmer he used to be comparatively.


"So..." she starts, looking up at him then, trying to put words to a complicated situation, "I..." Start from the beginning. "I've been away for a few weeks. I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly." That's a good start, but it hardly touches the surface.


"A friend of mine was killed and I wanted to be there for her funeral." And then I got sidetracked. "I should have sent you and the others a message. At the very least." And that still doesn't begin to cover the larger problem: their motley oath. Could something like this really be the cause of it breaking? She can't see another explanation for it and the Wyrd is not easily forgiving.

[Gerrit]

On the one hand her reasons were sound - if anything had happened to one of the people he held dear he'd probably act the same way. He wondered about the distinction between 'preparing ones goodbyes' and 'skipping the goodbyes all together', though. It was a cold thought, but if the friend had already been killed, why was there such a rush, why was there no minute in which she could have texted or called?

Voicing those thoughts would get them nowhere. "I see. My condolences, but yes: that would have been nice." To swallow down the accusation that she had made herself very sparse since moving in with John Gerrit reached for his cup. Some hot water spilled onto his hand and the shot of pain that flared up was unusually strong - with a growl of surprise he yanked his hand away, shattering the cup on the ground in the process.
He looked at the mess, then at Cassandra with clenched jaw. "Sorry." It took a few seconds for him to get this out. He wanted her to make sure she saw the consequences of their broken Pledge just as much as he didn't want to snap at her.

He then looked for a sponge or towel to clean up the mess, talking to her while busying himself. "So are you here to stay now? And how are you?" It was easier to ask those things if he didn't have to look at her, and while he wasn't big on chit-chat he didn't trust himself to talk about the Pledge right now.
One thing was certain: the Wyrd didn't make mistakes.

[Cassandra Reeding]

Cassandra gasps when the hot water hits Gerrit's hand and she jumps when the cup hits the floor. She takes a deep breath, trying to cool herself down. The way the glass had shattered felt like it was shattering her as well. Is this the effects of the Curse? A few tears escape her eyes, but she wipes them quickly, "Uh, yes. Towel." She gets up, almost slipping on the water, but she manages to stay upright, just barely. Quickly, she makes her way to the other side of the kitchen for a couple of the kitchen towels. She hands them to Gerrit before beginning to pick up the larger pieces of cup.

This has to be my fault. What if the curse acts up worse when we are together? "Don't worry about it though, a cups a cup."

He asks her how she is and if she is staying and she purses her lips. "I never truly intended to go for so long... Sacramento is my home now. It's where I've put down roots and started finally living again. Baltimore is a shell of a city, I... Part of me wanted to stay, because of Blodwyn, but I know that was just momentary weakness." She looks down a little, "I think-" Just say it. "I doubt any of us are feeling well."

Something comes over her then, a feeling like she wants to just let everything out. She tries to hold it back because Gerrit has never responded well to her actual feelings. They've made things awkward and nothing works like it is supposed to when she does, but she's unable to quite control herself, "I mean, I've just lost my best friend. The one person in the world I could talk to about anything and never fear judgement. Then I get to Baltimore and the Winter Queen puts me in my old apartment to make sure I was reminded of all of my traumas. I find out that Blodwyn let Eliza's family know I'm still alive, so now I might have to deal with my 12 year old daughter going through a second bout of trauma as she tries to figure out why I-... I am so far from being okay that I don't know what to do with myself. And I haven't been able to share with John because he's hardly here, if at all. And on top of that, I think I caused the oath to break-" She didn't mean to say the last bit. Of all of the things she could have said, she didn't mean to take the blame for it. She's still not sure what caused it to break, but Gods if it didn't feel like with the line of other things that it has to be her fault.

She covers her mouth with her hand and then sits on the floor. Now she's embarassed and frustrated and positive the response from Gerrit will not be one she wants. It never is.

[Gerrit]

He kept on working and cleaning while Cassandra was talking, and inside of the Ogre a different battle went on. The cold, cynical, and bitter part of him didn't want to care for all of her problems. That part only saw how she and John left him after promising him the world. That voice insisted on the fact that he stayed here alone, after every single one of his friends went somewhere else to do something else.

But he also knew that Cassandra at least returned. The advocate for that train of thought reasoned that he would be just as bad if he deserted his friend in her time of need. I said I'd be here at her side, no matter what. If she needed me right now, what would denying her my support make me? And of course there was also the fact that she probably suffered from this, probably as much as he was. There was just this Fairest-like way of showing it in a dramatic way.

Those two conflicting sides resulted in a neutral facade and with every beat of suffering the Artist talked about, he inched a bit further towards the latter part. "That sounds like it sucked. Hard." He finished throwing away the shards and soaking up the spilled hot liquid and then sat down on the ground like the Fairest. He cared about her, even though there was a loud voice inside him that objected calling her a friend unconditionally. But he still cared about her, and he was a man of his word. "I can't promise you that I'll understand everything as well as you'd like me to, but you can always share things with me." And was it the curse or Gerrit's mood that made this sound a little bit exacerbated?