en sous de la lune qui chante

ABOUT

Full Name/Nickname: Mallory “Mal” Feng Hou

Age/DOB: 27, November 10th, 1994

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio ☉ Aquarius ☽ Taurus ☿

Gender: Cis Woman

Place of Birth: Paris, France

Arrondissement: Entrepôt

Sexual/Romantic Orientations: Bisexual, Biromantic

Religion: Agnostic

Occupation: Mechanic at Pepe’s Auto Repair

Caoimhín laughed at the dramatic roll of her eyes. “Hm… now this is interesting,” he said, dragging out her misery. Blue eyes glinted with mischief and flicked from her to the sky, considering his options. “Right, tell me this. Is there anyone currently you would like to go on a date with or be romantic with in anyway?” It wasn’t the best question but since they were on the topic of love, he wanted to see if she had any secret crushes. If so, he wanted to help her open up to them. The attention was quickly back on to him and he gave her a roll of his eyes, mimicking her actions. “Speaking isn’t my strong suit as much as that might seem like a surprise given my job,” he joked. The fact was he preferred to listen or ramble on about nothingness until they were suitably bored or drunk. “I know – I just don’t want that conversation to change everything and then I lose her…”

Sad but true: her life consisted of yoga, her cat, and the occasional farmers’s market trip — she hardly made time for friends, as she’d done so often before, but she’d made it a mission to change that this year… not that she’d had much luck. Every aspect of her life revolved around her job, and not much else; since the surge of popularity in the last twelve months, her schedule had become sporadic and chaotic, needing to squeeze in more than she had to before. Maybe, she needed someone like Mallory in her life — someone who wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.

“I mean, yeah, definitely!” She brought her hand to the loose strands of hair, tucking them behind her ear with a nod of her head. “You’re actually not the first person to say that I need to go out more, so I guess it’s high time I listen, and do it,” she took a deliberate step forward, further closing the gap between them and the market stall they’d been waiting ever-so patiently for, flashing an ecstatic smile towards Mallory, “I just hope you can keep up with me on the dance floor.”

~

Mallory could be a bad influence on people at times. Going out meant not thinking, and not thinking meant not processing. It was an ideal way to live her life, and some people were just unfortunate enough to have to be brought along on her little excursions. But, it seemed like Keziah needed it more than most of her usual suspects, and that made it fu. At least she’d be a more willing participant than Luca. 

“Only if you want to, but I think it’ll be fun.” And it would be if Mallory had any say in the matter. “But, I think you’ll actually have to keep up with me for once,” She said with a pointed look. She may have not been the best at Yoga, but keeping up on a night out would be far from a challenge for her. 

location: Montreuil Flea Market 

@malloryhou·

The word best friend didn’t come out of Ronav’s mouth, but anyone with eyes could see that it was clearly Mallory. She was one of the first people he connected with when he moved to Paris, and it helped immensely that they lived in the same neighborhood. Some of the things they did when they were younger developed into comfortable habits, or traditions. Hitting the flea market was one of those things.

“You should’ve bought that jacket,” he mused, picking up what appeared to be an extremely used bucket hat. “Think I can save this with some bleach?” he asked before tossing it back down. There was nothing in particular he was looking for; he was sure it would just call to him. That was how thrifting worked! Ronav continued to drag his finger along the tops of the shelves, grimacing at the amount of dust that was beginning to coat his skin. “So, uh, you remember that girl I used to mess around with?” a sheepish grin came over his face. “I ran into her the other day.” 

~

There was something to be said for Mallory and her innate ability to be so bad at expressing emotion. It was why she didn’t have to stress with Ronnie so much, he knew that they were as close as could be, and she never had to say it. Because saying it, whether it was the truth or not, would make her wade far too deep into the emotional pond. Maybe if he ever got married, she’d say it in a speech, or she write it in her will for someone to let him know after she died. But, for now, she’d let him infer it. 

“No way, if I wanted to pay 30 for a jacket that someone else has already worn for years, I’d go to Chinemachine. And, I know that vendor – he doesn’t take kindly to a haggler.” As cool as the jacket was, it was not worth getting chased off for offering no more than 15 pounds. She eyed the bucket hat suspiciously, pursing her lips and shaking her head at the question. White fabric had already yellowed beyond comprehension. Eyeing random things here and there, Mallory tilted her head in his direction as he spoke, only half committed to hearing him until he mentioned his former... friend. If that’s what you could call that relationship. She gave him a bright look, before letting it morph into something much more melodramatic. “Oh mon Dieu, qu'est-ce que je vais faire? All the future canceled plans, I can see them now.” Mallory placed a hand to her forehead, falling into his side for dramatic effect.

Her intuition was one of her stronger suits: subtly identifying the nuances of the somebody’s tone, or their unnoticeable shifts in body language — it granted her the ability to avoid uncomfortable situations. Keziah often steered into the skid, and sometimes, her luck would run out, and she’d find someone who wasn’t so fond of her observations or curiosities; Mallory definitely seemed like one of them, and so, she never pressed.

“Not yoga related? What did you have in mind?” Her brow cocked in consideration, fingers playing along the handle of her basket; Keziah offered an amused, if not, enlivened expression, her brown eyes narrowing. “I’m totally assuming you’re offering to take me out here, so please, feel free to tell me that I’m being presumptuous… I’ve got a habit of doing that,” she reiterated, hoping to save herself some embarrassment, had she been reading Mallory’s response entirely incorrectly. Which, thanks to personal experience, was very possible.

~

Mallory couldn’t help but laugh at her inquiry. As if it hadn’t been unclear, though Mallory thought she had been perfectly clear. Perhaps another place where she struggled: Being more inviting so people didn’t assume she didn’t want to spend time with them when she genuinely asked them to hang out. Of course, her aloof nature worked with her closest friends, but it didn’t always read right to people who were not so cursed to eternal friendship with her. 

“I am totally offering to take you out,” Mallory confirmed, parroting her word choice back to her. “We should go out and dance or drink or something that gets you out of the Yoga studio and back into the world. It seems like we could both use it these days. Do you want to?”

WHERE: outside of Mazarin Library WITH @malloryhou·

Nephi couldn’t say he had the balance of a circus artist, but he at least felt that he could deal with all the ice on the road from the museum. After all, he’d been ice skating before, enough times to know how to stand upright and skate all the way without needing one of those iron help things. But perhaps it was his shoes, because he constantly needed the stranger’s help to keep himself from going onto his butt. “I really thought this was going to be easier,” he said, taking a careful step down the staircase, almost falling backwards again. He looked up at the person who got stuck with him. “I’m so sorry,” he said, laughing a little before taking another step and catching the railing to keep himself from actually going down.

~

Mallory needed to stop letting the likes of her overly kind and considerate friends rub off on her. She wouldn’t have made much progress on this perfect sheet of ice Mother Nature had decided to drop at the edge of the library steps, but at least she was more stable than whoever this guy was. With a soft sigh, she released her grip on him, dropping down to the step below him, the ice snapping beneath her feet as she went. “Have you never seen ice before, mon amie,” She questioned with a faux genuineness, “Or, is this your Bambi impression?” She blew a loose strand of hair from her face, offering a hand once more as she leaned her hip against the handrail. She didn’t figure they were going anywhere in a hurry at this point.

They may not have lived together in the technical sense, but Ronav was over there so much he may as well had been on the lease. Leaving her would never be an option, and though he was well aware that Mallory knew that he still felt the need to reassure. “Leaving you isn’t an option, Mal.” 

In the daytime, they never spoke of their soft fondness for each other. It was always snappy, sarcastic quips followed with a loving smile. But he felt safe with her. He would never say it out loud, to her or himself, but he slept the best whenever he was on her couch. “I would, but that would mean having multiple people over here and…,” a small yawn, “this is like…our thing. So this fictional coffee maker we’re talkin’ about? It would like…just be ours,” he peered up. 

“Am I making sense or is it that time of night where we should probably fall asleep?”

~

Mallory knew that Ronnie wasn’t really going to just leave. Eventually, they’d both cultivate their own lives, and the nights he’d spend in her apartment would lessen, but she could at least take solace in the fact that it wasn’t something that would come any time soon. She was at lest stuck with him for a while yet. “No, you’re right, it’s not on the approved list of activities,” She joked.

There was some truth to that. Mallory really only had Ronav and Luca over, and Ronnie’s access to her place was much different than Luca’s. As close as she was to both of them, Ronnie had become a constant in her space. It was less like having a house guest, and more like having a shared space between them. No one else got to participate in their middle of the night tv binges. That was as much their thing as her apartment was. “No, I’m following. You want to invest in antiques with me.” Another joke, clouded by sleep. 

“Though, I think it’s fair to say both are true.”

“Definitely need both,” Jean laughed at her remark, flippant in his own safety. “Right now, the drink feels far more pressing.” And he wouldn’t go the hospital anyways as it raised far too much questions as to what happened to him. Eventually, he would doctor himself as best he could without the help of an actual doctor. 

~

Mallory blinked a couple of times, debating how involved she really wanted to be in this situation. She was not this strangers mother, and she certainly didn’t want to end up being overly involved in whatever situation got him looking... like this, so she’d let him do as he pleased. “Well, that’s one way to deal with the pain, I suppose,” Sliding him the napkin that had been under her drink, she gave his face a once over, “Though you may want to clean up a bit before they kick you out.”

“Remember what I said earlier? Give a little to get some back…” A brow quirked upwards, challenging her. If Caoimhín was opening up and trusting her, he hoped that she would do so back. Not that he would ever press her on it, but it was just a subtle reminder of their earlier conversation. He couldn’t help but believe that it might be nice for her to have someone she could talk to, even if it was something trivial and she needed to vent. The way her jaw dropped caused him to pause, laughing at the dramatics. “I’m not sure if interesting is the word I would use… more like confusing,” he mumbled back, eyes fixed on his hands as he attempted to focus on something to distract from his racing thoughts. “We’ve not really seen each other since… I don’t know – “ The words caught in his throat and he sighed, trying to figure out what all this meant. “She means a lot to me as a friend, like a lot and I’m scared it might have ruined things.”

Now, it was not her place to know, nor did she seek the answers, but from the moment Mallory stepped foot into her class, and worked through Keziah’s guided exercises, she could immediately tell that she was flexible. Maybe she’d done something in the past, but it was obvious: there was little struggle with her movements — in fact, they were smooth and defined, and she knew exactly how to place her form to find the most effective stretch. Though, the one thing she found lacking had been Mallory’s mindfulness — she was a treasure trove of tension, and that was something she would be able to assist with… something the young woman would not be able to achieve on her own.

Deflecting, Mallory questioned Keziah about her own life, and she couldn’t help but let out a laugh, “I’m sorry to report, but my life is nothing but yoga.” Brushing her thumb along her bottom lip, abashedly ashamed of her lack thereof a social life — coaxing her to glance away momentarily, the flurry of reds, blues and dark purples capturing her attention, which remained forward for a moment longer before returning to her friend, “I did start a new book, like… two days ago — I’m almost done with that, so that’s… not yoga related.” She nibbled at the corner of her lip, “I realize how lame I sound right now, I know.”

~

If Keziah picked up on the fact that Mallory was trying to move herself out of the center of the conversation, she didn’t let it show, and Mallory was grateful for that. Impressively, questions had yet to come about about how she was so flexible or solid in her balance – ones that would have been completely fair to ask when Mallory came in as a so-called beginner to the yoga studio, but the fact that she didn’t have to dive into all the gory details of her childhood was the biggest relief there was. It wasn’t a topic Mallory liked to touch on very much. 

“No, come on, you’re just on a one track mind, that’s all,” Mallory offered in response. “Well, hey, maybe you just need to do something that isn’t Yoga related. See if that broadens your horizons a bit, right?” It was an indirect offer to take her out for some un-Yoga related fun if she was willing. As much as Mallory enjoyed the classes, there was more to life than just that. 

“Exactly.” she agreed, though the sentiment was laced with a teasing roll of her eyes.  She took a sip from her own drink as she waited for Mallory’s response. She managed to nod in agreement. “Same here.” she admitted with a sigh. Life had become a bit of a blur of the same cycle Mallory was talking about. Work consumed most, if not all of her time, and while Micayla loved Le Rouge. It was the one thing she truly cared about in this world, after all, she was just beginning to feel the effects of a life consumed by work. She couldn’t tell anyone how much she was feeling those effects, because it would likely be considered a form of weakness, but she could at least empathize. “Busy enough that while I’m still in that exact same time loop, the time I get to spend asleep seems to be getting shorter and shorter.” she added with bit of a dark chuckle. 

~

Mallory was not all that familiar with how business ran from inside the office. She knew how to be a hell of a mechanic and a good employee – good enough that they put up with her bad attitude without batting an eye with the revenue she managed to bring in. But, she could only imagine it was a lot more than the trials and tribulations that working with the general public brought. Still, Mallory envied the fact that Micayla at least enjoyed her work, as hard as she was sure it could be. Mallory would give anything to actually enjoy getting up every day. Though, at least she got a full nights sleep. Well, when her body would allow it. “Well, sounds like you’re due for a vacation at some point. Hopefully that’s in your future plans come the next few months?”

“Your secret is safe with me,” Caoimhín said, reassuring the woman next to him that she could trust him. The hard exterior she presented to the world - and him when he pushed too far - was cracking and he could see that soft centre. The man had seen hints of it the first day they met when she had offered to teach him French, a kind gesture to a stranger, but he also knew from that same encounter not to fuck with her. She was an enigma and he was enjoying figuring out the code. His glanced away from her to the ground and he chuckled. “That’s my trick, get others to talk about themselves so they never ask me what’s going on in my world,” he shared with a playful grin. It was true, he had learned it through his work at Le Rouge. He could sit with a customer all night and learn their life story but not one word was spoken about his own, he liked it that way. Pale blues considered her for a moment before he sighed and looked away again, “A friend kissed me and I’ve not stopped thinking about it.” 

Hardened exterior topped with pessimism– most people who believe that Mallory was Ronav’s complete opposite. And she was, most of the time, but as the old saying goes, opposites attract. She had been soft with him before, especially when he first ended up in the city. She was a source of comfort and familiarity that he had been searching for since the accident. 

The compulsions were new. There may have been a genetic factor somewhere down the Joshi ancestry line, but Ronav wasn’t sure. He wasn’t sure if his brother Dev suffered from them either, and even if he found a way to get in contact with him, how does one ask that question? And did Ronav really want the answer to it? His tongue grazed his front two teeth as he counted backwards from ten internally. Settling down back into his spot on the couch, his head finding Mallory’s shoulder once more. That’s good. They were safe, for tonight.

“Probably,” he answered quietly. “I don’t know if I’d use it. I suppose it would depend on the year, the make, the history…,” a soft chuckle as he realized he sounded like the middle-aged women on the television before them. “I think I’d use it as a conversation piece whenever I decide to get my own place.”

~

It was a pattern that they often fell into nowadays. Mallory sitting quietly, and without judgement as Ronnie checked every nook and cranny for any sign of danger. Some may judge, but having known the reason behind it, she would have found herself doing the same thing if she was in his position. Mallory had grown her own quirks since her incident, however more mild it seemed compared to his. She could understand the need to do those things. She could just hope that, one day, he would find more comfort in not doing those checks anymore. 

Ronnie settled back against her shoulder, the tension dissipating once things settled back into their usual routine. This whole thing would be a blur in due time, forgotten against better, kinder memories. 

“Don’t kid, you love my couch too much to ever leave me,” She teased, “You’ll get it, and make it a conversation piece of my place.” Truth be told, having his own place would probably be a good idea, but Mallory had grown so used to their routine, that she probably would actually miss evenings like this if they went away. Even if he could be a thorn in her side at times. 

Where: Le Rouge 

Time: 9:45PM 

@paristarters·

Bloodied, bruised and utterly spent, all Jean wanted was a drink. His ribs twinged every time he moved and his head spun with each new step to the bar but still he persisted. He wondered, in his state of bloodied pulp, if they’d sell to him but it was a risk he was willing to take. Finally, he made it to the bar and gingerly took a seat and ordered his favorite. “Old Fashioned, please.” 

~

Mallory had little concern with how other people chose to handle their business. However, watching a man who looked like he had just gotten out of a boxing match that had not gone his way stumble up to the bar caught her attention. “Shit, you’re sure you need a drink and not some stitches, mon amie?” Not that she was a doctor, but Mallory certainly wouldn’t be walking around in a state like that in his shoes. 

Caoimhín grinned at her response, affection for her growing. She had a confidence he envied and an endearing nature with how she carried herself. “Only a little bit,” he added, bumping his shoulder against hers. “The day in the market, though – you might have made me wee myself a bit,” he joked. For someone so small, she was fierce and he admired that quality in her. “I’ve yet to have a reason to think any other way.” It was true. From their first meeting, she had been nothing but kind and friendly to him, plus she had those enviable traits, so he considered her very highly. Affection and fondness growing with each encounter, especially with how Luca regarded her too. The other man’s opinion something that Caoimhín respected, so he knew that Mallory was a great person and was happy to remind her of that fact. When the focus turned on him, he looked away shyly, blue eyes fixed on the ground as a light red colour warmed his pale skin. “Maybe…” The irishman glanced in her direction, then looked away once more laughing. “Let’s just say I had an interesting Valentine’s.”