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Posted: Thu May 11, 2017 1:16 pm
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If Pascal had opposable thumbs, answering the door would've been his absolute favorite thing. Before he heard any steady footsteps or the sound of clicking locks, Horace would hear the the scramble of claws and the thud of a heavy, awkward body hitting the door. It sounded like sheer disappointment.
From the other side a boof, then another boof, then finally a clack and the door swung in to reveal one of the craigslist personals blondes Horace had been looking for.
"Oh, hello, darling," Eli greeted, sounding a bit more subdued than usual, though he still wore a smile. Pascal was behind him, scrambling to get past his legs. "Come in?" He stepped to the side just enough.
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Posted: Thu May 11, 2017 4:36 pm
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"Sugar?" There was a deeper curl his lips. Of all the nicknames Horace could've chosen, that one didn't quite feel like it fit him. It was funny, really, and it brought a small, glittering amusement back to his eyes. "You're fine, don't worry about a thing." Pascal, of course, was equally pleased if not more so. Probably more so.
"It's Horace," he told Ollie, shutting the door behind them. Or Batman, but Eli wasn't privy to that particular introduction. "We just made coffee and tea," he looked back at Horace, "Would you like a cup?"
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Posted: Thu May 11, 2017 5:40 pm
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"All you really have to do is tell me how I've got you wanting me," he assured Horace, but as they found their way into the kitchen, he seemed to cut the joking entirely. Solemn might not have been the word, but something about the atmosphere on this side of the room was borderline uncomfortable. Even Pascal lingered around the edges until finally giving in and following in case someone saw fit to pet him. "It is a first, isn't it?"
It was while Eli was pouring Horace a cup of coffee that his lips pursed and it took him a moment to speak. "We got the letters, too," was all he said, setting the drink down on the table. Creamer and sugar were not far off.
His eyes flicked back up to Horace and lingered a moment, then fell down to Oliver, but if he picked up on some sort of social cue, he didn't mention it.
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Posted: Thu May 11, 2017 7:05 pm
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Even to Horace, the change in atmosphere was weird. He felt tense, pirckly, as thought extra sparks danced across his skin. "I'm... invested. Half of the Charter is with me, the other half is with your brother." It felt really, really wrong to refer to Melany as that.
"Let's do something together... I mean, I trust you guys. And we've got to find a way to actually destroy it, sort of. Half of it...." He rubbed his hand across his undercut nervously. "I know you're newish, Eli, do you need a rundown of anything?" Buzz, buzz...
"Shouldn't you get that if it's Shiloh?"
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Posted: Fri May 12, 2017 5:35 am
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"I've gotten a bit of a rundown already, but it probably wouldn't hurt to hear it again." Finally he sat, taking his own mug between both hands. The coffee was pale with creamer and sugar, but Eli didn't bother to take a drink. "I'll be honest, as well. I don't know how much help I would be. If any." And it was honest, if not a touch self-depreciating. "I'm not even sure what my own abilities are yet."
Now he took a drink. "But I did promise to help you, didn't I?" It had been a promise over a totally different subject, but that was a minor detail. "So if I can..."
Despite knowing just as well that Oliver's text was probably from Shiloh, he didn't say anything, just looked between the phone and its owner. It had been like this for some time now.
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Posted: Sat May 13, 2017 1:41 pm
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"You did." He smiled at Elliot, even though this wasn't the same thing at all. He took a deep breath, then faltered when Ollie grabbed his wrist. "Is your hand okay?"
And then he frowned at Oliver's sudden words. "He's kind of involved whether he wants to be or not, Ollie. He deserves to at least know as much as possible..." Maybe the words meant that Oliver was awakening his true, secret feelings of love for Elliot. Augh. No, no, that was good. His expression shifted for a second, looking kind of stricken, but he covered it up.
"Anyway, there's three magic symbols, sigils. This one is the charter and it put into place a lot of weird rules and restrictions. And they kind of dragged an innocent girl into it as a component. So there's the paper,,,, and then there's Melany. And everyone voted to destroy the charter, but I need to find out how to do it without killing her." There, that was succinct.
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Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 7:15 am
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"Yes," he started, following suit with Horace, "Are you alright?" Then his lips set into a line and his eyes narrowed like he was thinking.
In some cases, Oliver and Shiloh were like night and day. They were as opposite as a twin could get and it caused them to butt heads. It was something Elliot had seen multiple times over the years he'd known them. And yet, in other cases, they were far, far too similar. This was one such moment. Maybe Eli had the right to get upset about Ollie telling him he shouldn't get involved, and it did sting a bit knowing how upset Ollie had been himself over Shiloh, but he didn't let it show too deeply.
"Horace is right," he said, "And I'd like to be involved. I know I'm... a little behind here, maybe I won't be of any help, but..." What did helping destroy and remake the charter do for him? Nothing really. It was just a way to know that the few people he'd grown at all attached to would have someone watching their backs if s**t hit the fan.
"This does sound awfully complicated, though," Eli admitted. "How can we destroy the charter without killing your Melany? Being damn near half the thing makes it sound... difficult."
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Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 10:09 am
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"Fine." He huffed, thumb still kneading his wrist, "I haven't been minding my stretching when I play. Bad habit." Which, anyone who knew how zealous Oliver was about his hands, would know that was an utter lie. Still.
"I guess if that's what you want though..." He was relenting, but it was obvious his heart still wasn't completely into it. Magic was something he always felt one step behind in, and Oliver hated being second best at anything (despite his long monologues about how talent is a myth, practice makes perfect, the works). "Isn't the deal with Melany that... she has the charter inside of her? Surely there's a way to separate it without killing her, right?" He tapped his chin, "Though I suppose if you merely separated it, that still doesn't mean you've destroyed the damn thing..."
"Are you sure we should be doing this? We barely know anything. We'll probably just make it worse." His tea was growing cold. Oliver hated cold tea, but he was sipping it again anyway. "It'd be better if we talked to someone more knowledgeable before we end up slaughtering half of Ashdown on accident. I feel like once we've involved ourselves into something like this, then there's no backing out."
Then again, Oliver had apparently gotten involved a long, long time ago.
"Are you willing to accept that, Elliot?" He raised an eyebrow curiously. Magic was innocuous at first—subtle—but once it took hold of you—really sunk its roots into you, really dug its claws into you—it snowballed more and more and more into the realm of bizarre and unmanageable.
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