[PRP] a split focus (ezra & jeremiah)

[azuredreams]

With everything that had happened, with the shift in the world, this was one thing he was still not quite prepared for. Not even after catching a glimpse of him through that unintentional vision shared by Leila (that he was beginning to realize was the reason why he craved citrus far more often) was he truly ready.

Yet Jeremiah was more willing to find him in Ashdown proper than other ashdown, just to confirm it- to settle things in his mind.

It was why he was at Equinox, a time that he usually was not there (his hours were early morning or late evening), looking for Ezra.

shibrogane

here for a quest step, possible brain breaking, and other good times

 

[shibrogane]

Ezra was at Equinox. He liked to do his homework there, or at least he seemed to: he had a table nudged into an out-of-the-way corner where he could just camp out and cause no problems. It was ******** covered in reference books and he was busily typing into a laptop one-handed. The other hand was full of a teapot. He was haphazardly pouring himself another cup of something steamy and pink. It was a disaster waiting to happen, and so anti-Ezra that someone somewhere was probably having a stroke.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

That someone was Jeremiah.

Who was absolutely not prepared for this moment. Part of him wanted to turn around, part of him wanted to not even be here to see this. His phone is pulled out, a quick text to Leila sent with only one sentence.

cibarium

text to: leila townhome

i was not prepared for actually seeing him.

Phone slid away a moment later, Jeremiah took a breath and slipped forward. "Let me get that for you," he said, voice surprisingly steady, "as it looks like you've got your attention elsewhere." It was not like it was the first time he had prepared a cup of tea for Ezra either though he could not, honestly, recall if he had poured him something so pink.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Ezra startled. That was when the tea sloshed over one of his reference books and he cussed around the pen he was holding between his teeth. "Frick," he might have said, although who knew, he had a pen in his mouth that was interfering with his communication. He set the pot down on its little metal stand and smacked a napkin down over the sheaf of papers there. Then he removed his pen from between his teeth and said, "It's rude to sneak up on people!"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Still not prepared. Also sneaking up on Ezra? What?

"My apologies, Ezra," he replied, sighing as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to help. Hopefully he had not ruined anything. "I wasn't trying to be sneaky."

Everything about this was hurting his brain.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Chief Mercer," said Ezra, as he shuffled papers to keep his laptop away from the spill. "I was preoccupied. This is due on Monday, and I want it to be perfect."

His right hand, his dominant hand, was a horrifying mass of scar tissue. If he was going to play the complex-looking composition, he was damn ambitious.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Bzzt.

Crackle.

Jeremiah was still not prepared for this, noting both the work that Ezra was doing and the scarring on his hand. He continued to clean up the spill, a gesture made to show he was going to go wring out his handkerchief.

A moment later he was back, really looking over the composition as he made sure everything was cleaned up from the spill. "It has been a few years since I composed something myself but this looks to be something magnificent." There was a brief pause as he really looked it over. "Challenging and ambitious as well; it'll be a testament to skill."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Ezra frowned. "There's no need to patronize me, Jeremiah," he said, sharply. "I know damn well this composition is beyond my current physical capabilities." He seemed... bothered, by that. He'd said it too quickly to be fishing for compliments. And in a man who had always valued competence, having his ability to perform so drastically undermined had to be uncomfortable.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

This was very much at odds with what he was used to and Ezra's tone, the sharpness, was familiar but the fact that-

BZZT.

"What part of my statement was patronizing? Physical capabilities aside, this piece is exactly what I stated." It would've been challenging and ambitious even without injuries in his opinion, though considering who Ezra was Jeremiah knew this was probably a minor form of torment.

"Though anything from me about challenging your personal limits and striving for more would be ..." His fingers flicked, not sure if hypocritical or humorous would be appropriate given his habit to be stagnant even if he was far from that currently.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"It'll be a testament to skill," said Ezra, quite sourly. He poured himself a cup of tea using both hands this time. "And I have lost all that I had." He spoke differently to Jeremiah--to any of his tithes--than he spoke to his parents, his friends, his students. Cooler, somehow more detached, for all that he wasn't. "It's an intellectual exercise."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah inclined his head towards a chair, a quiet question of if it would be alright to sit. Were this someone else, he might have simply sat but this was far, far from the usual.

"It's still an excellent piece, regardless of whether or not you try and play it."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"And many young people will play it for their audition piece, and I never will," said Ezra. He was still sour about it, but didn't seem to care whether Jeremiah sat or not. He sipped his tea, the awful ruin of his right hand cradled closer to his chest as if he could prevent Jeremiah from seeing it.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah pulled the chair out and sat down, ankle sitting across a knee a moment later. It was not as if he could not see the right hand, the damage of it. At least when Ezra had been a being of perpetual fire-

"It's- your regeneration has been affected as well?"

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"This is a different body," said Ezra. "And, strictly speaking, I had no body as a noble. It had long burned away. The strength of my mind is what kept my form corporeal."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

It certainly made sense, all things considered. "Your mind is quite formidable." Jeremiah certainly had no desire to go up against it, not with knowledge of who his parents were but also-

"Are you aware that Melany is also away from the Court and here in Ashdown?"

shibrogane