Eli Rasputin

“oh, me, too.” winnie chuckled, letting out a little relieved sigh of air. it was nice to know somebody else who was able to get as wrapped up in the world of books and studying as she did. it made her feel a little bit better about herself, less embarrassed and more comfortable. her watch, working or broken, wouldn’t stop her from spending hours there.

“winifred. uh – ‘winnie’ is fine.” she introduced herself, a bright little smile gracing her features. “i’ve seen you around quite a lot, i think. you don’t have the time though, do you, eli?”

“Well at least I don’t feel quite as lame, knowing I’m not the only one.” Eli says with a soft laugh. He never really worried too much about it - being in the library makes him feel so at peace with all of the books and the stories he holds most dear, but it’s nice to know he’s not the only one who has that sort of connection to this place.

she’d spotted him from a mile away – she didn’t know him by name, but the boy winnie had spoken to was somebody who she saw in the library a lot. the pair of them often ended up at neighbouring desks or in the same aisles or both staying back late, so he felt like a safe person to ask. she couldn’t get too anxious if she knew him, right?

surprised but not unpleased with his concerned response, winnie smiled softly. “thanks. i just– my watch is broken, and i… you know, i end up here for hours because i don’t realise how much time i spend and i just… needed to make sure i hadn’t been here for, uh, six hours. again.”

winnie, at this point, lived in the library. and sure, technically, she lived in an apartment with her best friend, but the amount that she studied in the paragon library was astounding. it was as though she couldn’t function without throwing herself into work. time slipped away from her, as it always did, and she hadn’t realised it was so late. looking up, she spotted someone at a nearby shelf. 

“excuse me– sorry,” the redhead started, “do you have the time at all? my watch has stopped.”

Being with books is a huge comfort to Eli. He’s got a few things at home, things he’s accumulated over the years - but it’s only a small collection. It’s hard to really keep mountains of books when you don’t settle down that often. So the library is a kind of heaven for him, a safe space where he can escape whenever he needs to.

“ she sounds like she’s a tough cookie , “ fabian smiled , glad to know that matilda liked them. “ yeah , she’s awesome , she’s a bit grumpy and hates human contact on most days but she’s great. “ fabian has had wanda since she was a KITTEN , even if she was on the older side they still couldn’t imagine losing her. 

“Nothing wrong with that. It’s not about the size of your family, but how much you love each other. I’m not going to get preachy, not the type of person I am.” Blayze chuckles a bit, but closes his notebook after that. He really does appreciate Eli taking so much time out of his day to help him out. “I have kind of a big family? It always keeps things interesting that’s for sure.”

“It’s alright. Math is a problem for another day.” Blayze admits with a shrug. He wasn’t too worried about it actually, but he was thankful for the help with this much at least. “I agree though, family is important to keep close. When times get tough they’re the ones who will be there at the end of the day. Good grades or not.” He answers with a grin, followed by a laugh as well. “You close to your family too then?”

❝ suburbia isn’t for me. i’m a city girl at heart. ❞ she’s sharp edges, watching her back, used to everything being within walking distance. a bar on every corner & a thug too. she’s not normal in gotham, but she isn’t an alien. here, she’s painted in bright lights. her actions are nothing but what they are. ❝ in paragon, yes. ❞ well, she did buy a house, but that was just for convenience’s sake. and decorating and redoing the inside gives her something to put time into. winona falcone doesn’t do the whole communal living thing. she’s not a peasant. winona doesn’t miss his recognition. she’d be surprised if he hadn’t. too used to it to care, even.  ❝ i suppose i can extend the same to you. even though circumstances aren’t desirable. ❞

“Yeah, it’s your job – right.” Blayze says with a smile as he looks over at Eli. He wasn’t really ashamed in needing some tutoring, but Eli was amazing nonetheless. “Family time is always cool. I get that, I’m always bothering my dad and sibling because they’re here.” He says as he even knows that right be annoying on his part. “They’re alright, some are better than others, you know? Not a big fan of math either.”

   ‘ no no, becoming a statue is your uncle piotrs’ thing .’   illyana chided,  which is as close to a coo her deep voice ever went. ‘ but if you did become one, it would stay like that forever,  but then you wouldn’t be my little eliya would you–’   illyana leant down moving to squish her sons cheeks,   she knew he probably would get annoyed with how much she was doting of him as of late – but all of it came from a place of love, and a quarter worry.   ‘ but  i hear hair spray is a good alternative ? ‘

Blayze tries to take school seriously between his social life and everything else going on with him. He may be set to live for an eternity, but he does want to see this school thing through. He looks over at Eli with a smile. “I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to help me out. I’d love a break, really.” He leans back in his seat with a yawn. “I’m alright, same old stuff I suppose. What about you?”

“please don’t apologise,” dot insisted, touching his arm gently. her hands moved slowly as she spoke. the truth of the matter was, as much as she had missed him – and god, no human being had missed another more than she had missed eli – the fact that he hadn’t had lead her to hal and carol. the fact that she was alone for so long had given her a family. “you not finding me let hal find me. i have a real dad, now. a whole family. so it’s okay that you couldn’t find me.” she promised, before shrugging. you couldn’t really handle this sort of thing well. “i try. you seem to be taking everything better than i would have.”

       🌸 // @infinitehcpe

  ‘ ah , sit still for a second longer, eliya –’     illyana’s words, though harsh, came from a place of love,  though with her hands so busy fussing with the flowers in her sons hair, it partially came from impatience. ‘  there.’ taking a step back to admire her handiwork, she smiled, ‘ so handsome –’ she remarked, her brother had always let her braid her flowers into his ( albeit short ) hair, one of the most simplest expressions of her affection. ‘

dot didn’t know why she’d never thought that he’d try to find her. maybe it was because she’d tried her best to put distance between herself and everything that had happened. of course, this was no fault of eli’s, but it had been too much for dot to try and handle that hunting him down might have been tipping point. of course, it had been a decade now, and she was much better at containing her emotions. plus, the distance from the incidents from their childhood certainly helped. if their roles were reversed, dot imagined she would have tried her best to find him, too. “thank you for trying.” she said. she wasn’t sure what she might have done if he had found her, but the fact that he tried at all was enough for her. “i don’t think it will ever be easy. but we’re okay. as okay as we will be, anyway.”

“I have done that a couple of times myself actually” she said and nodded. It was the truth. There was a time when Ororo couldn’t control herself and her emotions. A time when her powers overwhelmed her, took her to places she never thought she would go. But now she had grown and now she knew how to handle it. “Just distract yourself. But you also need to let yourself mourn. There is nothing wrong with that, Eli”

“I am weak for animals, what can I say? Even if she was the most awful cat in the whole wide world, I would still love her” he said and laughed softly, shrugging a little. Spending time with Eli had always been one of his favorite things in the whole wide world. Mainly because he seemed to always find a way to make Orion smile, even when he was angry or sad. “No need to thank me, silly. I would do anything for you” he mumbled. “But a movie sounds good”

❝ this place is suburbia already, ❞ she said the word like a curse. gotham was dirty. paragon had hall monitors & security guards. it was like a country club, but for the wayward children of villains and heroes to live in harmony. she much so preferred gotham, where everyone was a villian, and you got stabbed in the front, not the back. it was cleaner that way.  ❝ i’m not here permanently actually. it’s a vacation. ❞ an exile, more like. she stands straighter and flips her hair back. ❝ winona. winona falcone. ❞