start a fire.

@sinriddled​ said: ““How about making me vice president in charge of cheering you up?” from doug !”

   Doug’s voice came from outside of Riley’s cocoon of blankets.  With a significant amount of rustling he turned to face the other on the couch.  He kinda looked like shit now, huh?  That’s what he got for running out of pain meds.

@chcsings· said: “ for a special agent, you’re not having a very special day, are you ? ” mmmmmmm from Riley

cry u.n.c.l.e.

“Riley…” 

Ava is not nearly as exasperated with him as she sounds, and is finding it rather difficult to keep herself from grinning. If she didn’t ham it up a little for him, there wasn’t really a point in keeping her face neutral. She extends her arm towards him, the one with the bracer, a brow arching as she does so. “You’ve got one too, Mr. Special Agent. And for the record,” The grin makes an appearance, and she doesn’t bother to fight it back. “It’s a good day. Not special, no… But it’s not a bad day either.”  

   “ Yeah?  I wasn’t aware that anything was happening today. “  What had Ava so chipper all of a sudden, now?  That was usually Riley’s job.  As she extending her arm with the bracer, he hit it back with his, allowing the gentle clink to resonate through the hall.  The bard’s smile grew as a realization dawned on him.  

@bystcrdust​ said: “Open your heart (for ava) owo”

@serenitystored​ said: “❛❛ I’m not even going to comment. ❜❜ / from benny!”

   Bubblegum pink sunglasses are lowered to frown at Benny.

“ What’s that supposed to mean?  Is this not one of the best outfits you’ve had the pleasure of seeing on someone? “  To emphasize his point, Riley gave another little twirl.  Just in case Benny hadn’t been able to appreciate the whole thing on the first go.

Matthias scoffed. “I do, actually, know what fun is. Now is not the time, I’m– Busy.” He gestured to the map once more.

Perhaps he’d already become too comfortable around the stranger, but his fear and alarm shot up incredibly fast when Riley insinuated that Matt was running away. If he did tell the others… If they found Matt… He’d be done for good. The stranger did seem earnest in his promise not to tell.

“How do I know I can trust you with such a secret?” Oh, well, he’d basically gone and confirmed the truth now. Perfect. “Look, this doesn’t concern you, alright? I just need to find my way out of the forest, or at least somewhere safe to stay tonight.” Matthias glanced up at the dark sky and bit his lip, thinking of what was the best option now.

   “ Oh, what a right shame you’ve not met anyone who lives in the forest, “ Riley lamented.  After blinking his frog eyes a few times for effect, he sighed and started walking in the direction of the little spot that he rested his head.  “ You know, if you trusted more people you could probably get further. “

Then again, when had trusting people ever benefitted Riley?  The answer there was very rarely, honestly.

@illustrctio​ said: “Open your heart to sterling 🥺”

“…you can call me Quinn,” they speak slowly, thoughtfully. This name is safe enough, and this man … doesn’t appear to be fully fae, but one can never be too sure. Curious, though. Maybe he is something of a dream, some inkling of foretelling amidst the usual omens and worries brought to them. The idea of familiarity soothed them somewhat, here. “May I call you by anything?”

“I am not in need of any food here.” They must refuse, as politely as possible. They know the rules. They know what manners they must maintain. Despite being lost and terrified and unsure of what even to do next. “I - I cannot ask you of anything.”

   Quinn.  Just hearing their name made Riley’s heart flutter.  His smile softened while he listened to them speak these carefully-crafted sentences.  At the last polite refusal, he hummed, eyes squinting in another pleasant smile.

“ Suit yourself. “  Ah -- what name should he give them?  For a moment he considered a plethora of other aliases.  He’d actually confused himself with these in a past form, never remembering which name he introduced himself with to people outside of the Feywilds.  No, simplicity was key here.

Besides, Quinn deserved all the honesty Riley could give them.

@bystcrdust said: ❛❛ That’s enough emotions for today, goodnight. ❜❜

   “ I -- alright.  Goodnight then. “

As Ava laid down in her sleeping bag, Riley couldn’t help but sit up in his.  Had he said something crude--?  He was trying to get better at that, though apparently he wasn’t having the best of luck.  Perhaps his friend just...didn’t want to talk about her troubles.  But what better time to pour out your feelings than under the stars?  No one had stumbled upon their little campsite yet.  Who was going to eavesdrop on them?

     Surely there were better things she could spend her Friday night doing. Maybe relaxing on the couch with a nice glass of wine, watching some Netflix movie, even getting a good night sleep. But no. She was here, in a Denny’s parking lot, being dragged inside by Riley.

     Hey, maybe she would get a free dinner out of this.

     “ I’m sure it is. ” Charlotte sighs once they make their way inside and find a seat, already peering over the menu. “ So you’re paying for this right? ” 

   “ Of course!  My treat. “  Riley took a moment to beam at Charlotte before picking up his own menu.  He’d take a few minutes to peruse his options, though he already knew what he was going to get.  Every hour, especially one so late, was the perfect hour for some Denny’s pancakes.  

“ Dude, they make the pancakes as big as your head here, “ he said aloud, looking up at Charlotte.  “ It’s fucking great. “  When the waitress came around at first, he ordered himself a coffee plain.  He smiled at his friend afterwards, and laced his fingers together.

@nomadiisms​ said: “❛❛ You fucked your way into this, and you’re gonna have to unfuck yourself. ❜❜ ;; from Lyari”

   He had a point; literally and physically, that is exactly what Riley had done.  Now he was idly talking with the father of some darling he’d met in the tavern last night.  How was he supposed to tell this mountain of a man that he was looking for a good time with his kid, and not a marriage proposal?

Shit.  There really wasn’t any way to do that smoothly, huh.

@chcsings liked THIS for a one-liner

     She looks rather unamused at the moment, arms crossed over her chest and eyes void of emotion. “ This is what you wanted to show me? ”

   “ You seem incredibly unimpressed with like, only the best place in this town. “  Was it a Denny’s date?  Hell yeah!  Where else would they go?  Riley skipped across the empty parking lot to stand under the flickering light of the half-alive sign.  Grinning at Charlotte, he quickly closed the space between them to take her hand.  

“You… Live here?” Matthias glanced around at the area. It certainly didn’t look like anyone lived here. Was he the only one around, or… Were there more? Matt didn’t want to think about that. He glanced down at the map again, thinking for a bit before he felt the stranger tug on his cloak. Matthias grabbed his end of it and tugged back firmly.

“No, you can not have this.” He turned to face Riley. He seemed harmless, but Matthias wasn’t about to risk turning his back on a stranger if this odd fellow did pose a threat.

“And I’m not lost. I have a map, see?” He held the book out to Riley. “I’m just on my way out of the woods.” Saying it out loud felt… Strange. A Beornen rarely left the village itself, but to leave the forest entirely was something entirely new. “What is it you want, hm?”

   “ No need to be such a spoilsport, “ mumbled Riley, lower lip jutting out in a pout as the fabric was pulled from his fingers.  “ I’m only looking for a bit of fun!  You do know what that is, don’t you? “  Maybe it wasn’t nice to assume that this human, coming from the village that he did, would even understand the concept of cutting loose.  What a stick in the mud, though.

Blinking at the book shoved in front of him, Riley peered at the script.  It had been so long since he’d seen texts such as this.  Well -- actually, he’d never seen anything written in this text.  How curious.  Masking his confusion with indifference, he looked up at the other.

          Taubi’s ears folded back slightly and his brow knit in concern at the human’s admission. “…I…I can’t, in good conscience let you go to kill someone…” he murmurs, before pausing. “…But since you haven’t done anything yet, I can’t bring you in…” What was he to do?

          The human’s question caught him off guard and he looks down at him in surprise. “I–I, uhm…well…” he sputters, glancing away, his cheeks tinging blue in embarrassment. “…Yes…yes, I have…a long time ago.”

   That was a surprising amount of honesty for someone Riley had only met within the last few minutes.  His smile faltered before he gave a little shrug.  Right, maybe he should watch himself around this lethal stranger.  Who was calling him lethal...perhaps he didn’t mind being seen as a threat.  It was nice to be taken seriously, at least.