[PRP] meant to live (ollie & nasir)

[azuredreams]

Things were-

Things were-

Things were going.

It was the easiest way to put it, if Nasir thought about it. He at least paid attention to the posts on the listserv and never mind that Alexis was practically a ghost and the strange letter and a conference and-

Things were going.

Which was probably why he had texted Ollie to see if he was alright to meet up at Equinox. To hang out, to chill, to be around someone else who had magic and seemed a little less wound up than everyone else was. (Oliver looked stressed to Nasir but he was not wound up around all the magic stuff that was going on. This was an important fact.) Nasir was doing his best to not be jittery but things were going on that were more than a little jittery.

Tea would help that, right? Right. Which was why he had one of the most calming blends of tea in a pot, warm and waiting at the table he was sitting at. He took a sip of it, a pleased sigh escaping, before he adjusted his scarf (though Trouble was not currently hiding in it).

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

The door to Equinox opened with a soft sound, Oliver's footsteps traversing the space like a second home. Truth was it had turned into something like that, probably since he'd been coming here even before his shift into a Moonwalker. Nasir's fluffy hair was easily spotted across the otherwise empty shop.

"Sorry I'm late." He said as he slid into the seat across from Nasir, his clothing simple but cute. His jeans were sufficiently sun-bleached and purposefully frayed, his shirt so short-sleeved that it was damn near a tank top, the front of it proclaiming in blocky writing "I WANT TO K I _ _ YOU" and '(options may vary)' underneath it. He started fussing with his curly blonde locks the second he sat down.

Despite this, he looked... almost pained. His eyes were preemptively squinting like he was expecting something.

"What did you order?" He set his bag down as he tried to make idle small talk.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Nasir had shorts on, leggings underneath, a faded anime tee, and button-up plaid shirt that was not buttoned up at all and instead hanging loose. It was comfortable clothing but also cute (and maybe, just maybe, was a little inspired by America).

"It's cool," Nasir replied with a smile, watching Ollie curiously a moment because of his expression before it eased. "Oh, uh ... I don't know what's in it - I deliberately didn't ask - but it's supposed to be one of their 'calming' blends? You know, help people chill out and relax. Been feeling antsy lately, thought it might help. A few pastries too." The pastries were on the table, a small of assortment of the kind of thing that would go well with tea. Nasir, at least, knew how to pick things that were wide and varied.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Oliver took note of the pastries dully, his eyes lidded like he was half awake (or perhaps deeply in thought); pensive, that was the right word, airily considering something in the back of his mind. "Ansty, huh?" A soft hum followed before he reached out, his manicured fingertips plucking up one of the danishes. "I guess I can sympathize with that. Or empathize. I get the two confused." He sighed, nibbling on his treat. It was comforting in the familiarity of its taste and texture; Equinox never failed to deliver.

"I'll probably order some earl grey in a moment. It's my favorite."

After a moment of consideration, his posture seemed to crumble. It wasn't a fast acting thing, but a gentle sort of collapse, like paint peeling off of a weathered surface. "Did you get one of those letters in the mail? The invitation."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Probably both," Nasir replied with a small laugh. "Like you've been in the same place," empathy, "but you also understand it." Sympathy. He had his own pastry that had been torn into pieces to be eaten one at a time (it was an odd amount of pieces; it always was an odd amount).

"You can try some of this too, if you want? I got an entire thing of it to drink." His eyes cut towards the counter, keeping an eye on the line so that he could go grab some earl grey for Oliver. Nasir was about to mention said line before he noticed the way that Ollie crumbled in on himself. It was slow, not fast, as if everything was fading away.

Then the question.

Nasir sucked in a breath before he a quick up and down nod of his head was given. "Yeah, I did. I didn't know I would even be getting one ..." His fingers were, without realizing it, picking up a napkin and making symmetrical tears in it. "Especially since last time I was invited by accident."

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

That caught Oliver's attention, "Accident? So... there was another meeting?" His pondered this for a moment, "Oh. Oh. That was the Ball, right? Shiloh hasn't told me much about it." He sulked for a second, but managed to shrug it off. It was hard enough dealing with his stress as he was. The last thing he needed was getting pissed at his brother on top of it. His eyes were fixated on Nasir's hands as he picked apart the napkin.

"I'm going, I guess." He said after a while, "Not sure what else there is to do, even though I didn't, y'know..." He looked around, "Choose. To be a Moonwalker, I mean." When he sighed, it sounded heavy. "But I guess I should go... are you?"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Yeah, the Ball. I mean, I didn't really see much? Got lost in the side hallways running this errand for one of the people there." Nasir was fidgeting still, tearing at the napkin until he realized he was doing it and stopped. It was set down before he picked it back up one more time to make another tear (to make it symmetrical).

"I think being a moonwalker is the only thing someone can't choose to be." It was an offhand thought (and not thinking that some people could ASK to be bitten; who would?). "I mean I didn't pick to suddenly have a bond with a flying squirrel either but people can train to be a warg." He picked up a piece of pastry to pop into his mouth. It was washed down with a sip of tea before he spoke again.

"I'm going to go. I mean, there aren't a lot of us? Wargs, I mean." Nasir knew more moonwalkers than wargs. "... but I don't want people changing things if it could affect me without me being there too."

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

He nodded, "I get that." His eyes were still watching the napkin, but after a while Oliver resumed fussing with the pastry. "I'm... curious about this spirit-bond thing too. How moonwalkers and wargs used to be the same thing." He turned a piece of his pastry over and over in his hand, "It sounds... neat, but I don't know if I want that sort of relationship with magic. I don't know if I even like what I have right now." Being a warg sounded fulfilling, in that you had a companion for a long period of time. Being a were meant monthly trips to the Otherworld, a contagious disease, very obvious traits that could get you outed if you weren't exceedingly careful...

...a hassle, basically. He didn't know how Jamie put up with it for so long.

"Maybe that b***h who hit me'll show up." He muttered to himself darkly, the expression on his face falling (not that it was all that uplifting to begin with). "Either way, I'm not looking forward to it. I have enough bullshit going on, you know?" The way he shrugged was like well, it can't be helped I suppose; "I'm fairly certain the magic is going to kill me anyway, or at least rapidly speeding up the process." Oliver added nonchalantly.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"I'm curious too, I think. I mean there was that, um, Pride? They posted in the listserv using Lily's phone." Nasir was not sure if it was the same person he had seen at the Ball so long ago. It probably was. There were three of them and everyone was talking about triplets ...

"It sounds more ... intimate," he admitted quietly. "Like if it was one whole thing? Might be kind of scary to be able to turn into an animal but also have an animal and-" There was a shake of his head, Nasir not sure if he liked the idea of having a fluffy tail and ears and gliding through trees with little memory of where he hid foods.

"Oh, that girl, right?" Nasir's nose wrinkled up, remembering Oliver and his bruised face. "Probably will be." Then he was focusing on the other young man, a flicker of concern before he sighed. "I want to say you're wrong but sometimes it feels like that." That magic was speeding up the process. "I mean ... some people get really changed by it." Brown eyes were searching Oliver's face. "Are you- is everything alright with your magic?"

Mostly because he was dealing with Alexis and they had just lost all theirs and-

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

He nodded, "I dunno if I'd want to warg a raccoon, but I also don't like transforming into one all the time. It's inconvenient." He huffed. "I guess if the moon thing was removed, it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe there's a way to destroy the moon?" He laughed, but it sounded sarcastic. Coming from Ollie, it undoubtedly was.

"I'm developing something new every week like a garden infested with weeds." He grumped, "That's what it feels like, anyway. I can't parse what this new one is though, but sometimes my vision shifts. I see things that make no goddamn sense, because they're not actually... there. It's just a sensation." He looked at his hands, "It's making my migraines act up again, whatever it is. I missed like two days of work last week."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Only if we can destroy the moon and it doesn't mess up everything else." Since wasn't the moon kind of important to gravitational pull and other forces? Whatever. Nasir played along anyway, even if it was sarcasm. It made him smile just a little bit.

Then it flickered back to concern.

"Shifts how? Is there something that happens every time?" Nasir was biting at his lip in thought. "I mean, yeah, it could be migraines but if there's some kind of trigger it could be magic ..."

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"No it's—I don't know when it happens? Or what causes it?" He was frowning in deep concentration, "It's... when I'm around people, I guess. Like I was with Shiloh and—Shiloh always smells like rain? It's just a thing that he has—but..." He started to rub furiously at his temples.

"I don't know. Something in my vision, like..." His cheeks flushed like he was embarrassed. Oliver continued to hesitate for a solid minute. "It... I saw it, but it tasted like the way grass smells when you cut it."

Ollie was making a face. You'd think his n***s got leaked or something with the amount of shame that was evident on his cheeks. After a while, he suddenly exclaimed, "I told you it doesn't make sense!"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Hey, no, I mean- it kind of makes sense? Like is it just people with magic?" Nasir tried to give Oliver a reassuring smile. "Maybe you're picking something up? Sensing something? Extrasensory sensing something?"

This time it was Nasir making a face, not sure he was even making sense.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"I don't know! I guess maybe that might make sense..." He frowned at his pastry, of which was half eaten. "I mean, I'm not sensing anything from you right now... and you're, well. Magic. Which is why it doesn't make sense. It might not even be Shiloh."

He started to rub the back of his head contemplatively. "Either way, it makes my head hurt. I wish it'd stop."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"I'm not doing any magic right now though ..." Nasir absently nudged a piece of his pastry. "That sounds more than a little frustrating. At least if you knew what it was you could maybe try to do something about it." No wanted to deal with something all the time that would cause headaches on top of normal migraines.

"Oh, well," as the thought hit him, "I could try warging? Though I don't want to like ... give you a headache." Nasir frowned. It would be a way to know if it was actually doing magic or not.

Melancholies