[PRP] with taste and scent (algie & jeremiah)

[azuredreams]

(icly set in the earlier part of the month? idk. something.)

The mail, of course, is right there in a little box waiting for them once they close the door to the house. Jeremiah squeezes Algie's hand, letting go of with a chuckle (because they had just been talking about something humorous and humor was most definitely needed at a time like this).

"Let me grab the mail. See if there's anything interesting or just the usual." The usual involved bills, statements, and the occasional note about a gathering the Chief of Police was expected to come to. "Put the water on and-" Jeremiah stopped when the scent hit his nose: magnolia blossoms in full bloom.

"Think someone doused their mail in perfume," he said in a thick voice, turning his head away as he used a nail to open the letter up. It was not the first time as some of the letters for functions had come with a faint smell. The paper, of course, is what makes him realize that he probably should have realized quite quickly that this was tied to the Court- to the other world. His fingers brush against it and he can taste it on his tongue and-

Not unlike months earlier when letters had been delivered, those by hand, Jeremiah was pressing the mail to Algie and bolting for the downstairs bathroom. There were, of course, two letters. One still sealed with Algie's name and the partially opened one with Jeremiah's.

iloveyouDI3

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"Christ-" Alg gagged himself against the smell as he clasped the letters. He wasn't sure how they could ruin something so simple as floral scent. Besides that it was hardly inviting to make your guests sick when they opened the mail.

A fetch probably made out the damn things.

Holding a handkerchief to his face, Alg finally was able to read the thing. He gave it a once over before walking towards the bathroom and reading aloud for Jeremiah to hear.

"Your presence is requested at a conference held by the regents of the Spinel Lady to discuss the document that defines your existence as a visitor in the Court," Alg read aloud. He then paused and bobbled his head and summarized, "No offensive magic.. No guests.. have an idea what you want for your magical future.. etcetera.."

He then moved to open a window and let some air in, "April twenty-first. Dinner time."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

It was to no surprise Jeremiah was sitting on the floor, head tilted back against the wall and pale. His eyes were closed, cracked open to slivers as he Algie came in and finished reading the letter.

"Lovely," he said in a rasp. "Mind getting me a glass of water?" There was a cup in the bathroom, thankfully.

Once he had a sip of cool water, he would speak again. "I already have something in mind for what I want for my magical future. No more letters that come with scent and taste." As this was not something he enjoyed in the slightest.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Alg did pour and hand him a glass of water after the envelopes were tossed onto a nearby surface and kept a safe distance away.

"You know I bet some bloody fetch does it. Thinks it's charming or cute.." But they were zombies and half probably didn't have noses so he wasn't surprised.

He also took a sip of the water himself and made a face, "Why's it got to stick in the back of the throat...?"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Remind me to question Fell about it then and make sure she's not sending missives out like that to other creatures." Jeremiah took the water gratefully and only passed it back when it was empty.

The taste lingered still.

"I've no idea but I could live without it." He tilted his head back against the wall again, eyes closing while he let things settle. "This puts us back on a time table."

It was not a pleasant thought.

"Not that we're not already on one but-" This one was far, far closer.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Alg refilled the glass and in a moment was sinking to the floor beside his husband. A first floor bathroom wasn't the roomiest but he made do.

"I'm not liking this entire noble rejection but I don't see people swaying to the side of reason.." Alg side. He chose the word 'reason' on purpose.

"This may pit us against our friends," It already was. He didn't agree with other factions maintaining their status and power, perhaps even being exalted, and nobles relegated to the trash bin.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah shifted, legs moving and making more room for Algie. He ended up leaning his head against Algie's shoulder with a sigh. There would be moving away from the bathroom when he was sure that the nausea had passed.

"I do not believe it to be rejection but it is certainly something." His eyes slid shut. "I don't agree with the dissolving of the Court. There needs to be a third but-" At this point, it was fighting against people who only saw the bad in the Court, in the Nobility. Jeremiah, foolish as he was, still had hope for better.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Alg's hand curled around Jeremiah's knee and he rubbed his thumb lightly.

"I don't agree either," He sighed, "A balance has to exist. I don't see them wanting to give up their own statuses either.." Which meant it was entirely unfair for them to impose that decision on others who didn't want it.

Alg huffed audibly and growled in one of his usual disgruntled complaints, "They're so far up their own asses.."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"It may not matter in the end," Jeremiah said softly, head tilting to nose at Algie's neck and then press a kiss there, "since all this made fade away if we succeed in opening the cage."

That had him quiet a moment before he sighed and rested his head once more on Algie's shoulder. "We don't exactly know how much can be changed or that we can even do anything. We talk big, we say all of these things, but in the end we may be far more limited.

"I want to think that is not the case. That we will be able to make a change in the nature of the Court. If we are to continue past this cycle, to have another, then we need it to be less abusive. It needs to be something that can be relied on, not just by those of other ashdown but those from Ashdown as well." Jeremiah Mercer, hopelessly hoping and optimistic. As long as it was not his own mind or problems.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"If people have an open mind I'm sure we change just about anything.." That's how it had been presented to them anyway, yet people still clung to their already existing precepts of what the world was and could be. "I thought I was supposed to be the tick in the mud?" Alg huffed.

It was perhaps good that Jeremiah was optimistic. Alg tried, he was especially trying in this scenario, but it was difficult to extend his mind past the solid reality around them.

"How close are we?" We meant all of them, even though he wasn't directly involved, "To opening the cage."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"... and I thought I was the one who was supposed to not want to navigate social circles," Jeremiah huffed, leaning up for the glass on the counter and bringing it back for another drink. His stomach was settling, though the taste remained.

"Vivien gave us a focus but we still have to free Liam Noor if we want to get our hands on the ring to destroy it. Likewise, we would have to figure out what the other pieces are represented by." A breath escaped as the cup was offered to Algie in case he wanted another drink himself. "Not taking into account how strange both America and Shun have been acting lately."

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Alg snorted because as much as Jeremiah perhaps didn't want to navigate social circles, it hadn't been a practical thing ever. Sometimes he tired of how much his husband was out and around and wondered how he fit it all into the day.

"I suppose we can't just bash a bunch of s**t with a bat until it fixes hmm..?" Who knows, maybe complicated thought was where they were going wrong. Maybe it was time to just start assaulting things. When thinking failed... start punching.

That would go over well at the meeting..

"I haven't seen them. But Shun and I were supposed to work on some mental training for him-" Alg accepted the glass and took a sip, "But I haven't seen him since."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

If it was not for one or two of his very particular talents, his organizational abilities, and the fact that he actually flourished under pressure, Jeremiah very likely would not be able to get anything accomplished. Instead he always seemed to find the time, even if it was fleeting.

"Alg ..." Jeremiah gave him a look, lips twitching in amusement. "I believe we're trying to be the adults in this and not tear the foundation out from under it." Not that he did not indulge in those thoughts every now and then. The ones where he did not argue, did want to let it all burn- It never lasted long because for him to accept that reality was to deny everything he had done so far.

"Mental training?" That had him giving Algie a curious look before it dawned on him. "Ah, well. Hopefully that actually makes his mental fortitude stronger and doesn't actually do the opposite." Or lead to him being weaker in regards to your powers, he thought with a mental laugh. It was deliberately shared so Algie could hear his thought.

"Either way, he has been acting strange. If I didn't know better, I would say there's a fetch in his place. He is acting similar to how Julian Fitzpatrick is but I do not want to think about fetches who act like that all the time." His legs were stretched, eyes closed, and arms raised above his head as he stretched with a groan (it was likely more show than he intended). "We can move to the kitchen, Alg. I think I'll be fine if I avoid the letters."

iloveyouDIE

by all means, have alg ask *why* jeremiah says strange |:

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"He wasn't happy when he sparred me and found I had abilities that punching couldn't do anything about.." Alg shrugged, but was also smiling a bit. It was nice to ever feel like he surpassed someone in something considering how far he felt he was behind in other things.

"So I think he's willing to take the chance.." Even though it may make him more susceptible to his abilities. "But perhaps, again, its a matter of intent." Jeremiah had never fought Alg's influences, accepted the emotional exchange and comfort. It opened him to it. Perhaps if Shun fought it, he would develop accordingly.

Alg stood, needing a moment for his creaky bones and grunting before he was offering Jeremiah a hand up, "Strange how exactly?" He didn't know Julian and thus had no frame of reference.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"He had never been particularly pleased with anything I've thrown at him that wasn't blockable when we've sparred." Shun was one of Jeremiah's more constant other ashdown sparring partners though they had not lately.

His lips curled into a small smile, watching as Algie got to his feet first and then taking the hand offered to pull himself to his feet. "My perfect gentleman," he said with a smile before leaning in to get a kiss, "I will never hold out against your particular talents. Yet I'm sure intent and will play a heavy part in being able to resist them."

Straightening up he made something of a face. "For starters, he opened with 'Ay yo, Chief Merc'," Jeremiah even did it in the same kind of accent Shun had used, "and then proceeded to speak more aloud in one encounter than I have heard him say over the course of a week. America, likewise, has turned into a wilting flower. You saw that post on the listserv? How she feels safer with people like Shun and myself around?"

That was far away from how America truly was.

iloveyouDIE