Synthesia

@paradisusstart​

Open starter: @paradisusstart​

It was almost surprising that the library was even expected to be open while there was so much going on in town with the carnival. So many people were talking about how excited they were about it for weeks, but while Alex understood why, he personally couldn’t feel the same enthusiasm for it as everyone else. So, he was perfectly content sitting in the library all night as the rest of the island enjoyed themselves at the festival- even if there were only a handful of people to even stop by. With all his work done, he sat behind the desk with a book of his own, just waiting for the time to tick by until he could leave and go to Charlie’s apartment. At this point, he wasn’t expecting anyone else to come in for the rest night, as the past few hours it’d just been him, but he glanced up over the pages when he heard someone coming, watching them for a moment as they began to browse the shelves, before returning to his book, but only for a moment before asking, “carnivals aren’t your thing either?” He wasn’t usually one for small talk, but he was just curious why anyone would want to spend their time in the library rather than out in town (even though he preferred it himself). 

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“Not, not my thing- but more so overwhelming.” The male looked through the shelves, before turning to the other. “I’d guess that you would want to be out and about though and not here. Did you get stuck with closing?” 

“I think that would be a wonderful idea.” David mused lightly, though he wasn’t the biggest fan of other species, if they did the work then he wouldn’t complain at all. “So it would be pretty much a lake party? Any other plans or ideas? I mean this could be made much bigger ofcourse.” With that he would help easily anyway.

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“Oh.” She still didn’t quite get it though. What was a projector…? And wasn’t a sheet for a bed? How was he going to play a movie that way? Over water no less. Certainly a witch needed to be involved, but she wasn’t going to say any more on it. Instead she focused on being annoyed by the man’s words and rolled her eyes. “Family.” She echoed, the word coming off nearly like a scoff. The same thing was said by a few of her owners in the past- claiming they were a family and what they did was for the best. All bullshit. “Well your community isn’t mine.”

She was ready to just turn around and leave, regretting ever starting a conversation with the man she still didn’t trust. Not when he unwillingly knew so much about her and her past. But what stopped her was the continued mention of Oliver and she pursed her lips, watching him before she huffed out a breath and shook her head, “I’m good for no one. Especially someone like him.”

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“It’s pretty cool, the whole process” He’d stop pressing her, seeing her grow agitated. “I’m not asking you to make it yours, simply extending the invitation if you wish to.” The alpha watched, tone staying rather neutral. “I know I messed up our first impression, but the rest of the pack isn’t me.” 

“You had me at ‘lake swimming parties’” Harley perked up. He absolutely loved to go swimming. He debated trying out for his college’s swim team but between his classes, cheerleading, work and being in a coven he just never had the time. “And, of course, the movies will be captioned.” He reminded the councilman gently.

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“You are welcome at the lake at anytime, Harley.” Marc smiled, “But of course, I’ll see to it that it is captioned.” He hummed, “While I have you- do you have any movie recommendations? I have to admit I’m a little out of touch in that realm.” 

String it up between the trees….that sort of made more sense.. “String…a television? Between the trees?” She felt like she was missing something, but it just all so new to her. Even when she felt like she was starting to fit in every day still brought something new for her. Her mysticism (and her guard being down) immediately faded away though when the man mentioned the pack and Aiyla bristled a bit, her body tensing slightly as her eyes narrowed a bit up at the man. “I’m not in your pack.” The grit wasn’t completely there though when Oliver was mentioned–even if she was still a bit tense. “What does that have to do with anything?”

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“A sheet- with a projector.” Marcus rephrased- watching her carefully. He knew his record with the young shifter wasn’t the greatest. Oliver didn’t tell him much, but he knew they spent a significant time together. “It’s not mine, I don’t own a single one of them.” He stated softly- watching her carefully. “It’s a community- a family if you will.” 

She wasn’t quite sure what she was doing there. Aiyla wasn’t a part of the pack. Yet the more time she spent with Oliver, the more times she found herself in the presence of other shifters–and sometimes that included their Alpha. “Wh..What would all that..even be for?” she wondered, biting her lip. “How do you..get a movie on water? Witches?” DIdn’t he just say the witches took care of things last time?

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“I suppose having the witches help would be smart. I was going to try and string it up between the trees.” The man spoke, smiling now as he turned to look at her. “But to answer your first question; companionship. To get everyone familiar with one another. What good is a pack that isn’t familar? You would be more than welcome to join, Ms. Badem. I’m sure Oliver would love the company.”

“There always seems to be one celebration after the other.” Leda pointed out with a chuckle, obviously exaggerating, as she recalled the ball that took place on the island just a few weeks after she arrived. It was almost humorous, although she supposed the island was something to celebrate! It allowed the supernatural world to live freely and happily- it was exactly the kind of place the queen was looking for.

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“I’d like to believe that it makes unity possible.” Marc smiled, turning to watch the other. “But it is a lot at times, I welcome the downtime.”

With a breath, the shifter only turned to face the other- “Have you we met?”

@paradisusstart​

It was a pretty slow night at the Moonstruck Pub. Harley didn’t mind too much at first, it gave him an opportunity to organize and deep clean behind the bar. But cleaning was easily one of the least exciting things about his job, so he mentally begged for a customer to come in. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the door to the tavern open and a figure walked in the door. Finally, a customer! “Can I get you anything to drink?” Harley asked. He signed as he spoke, a habit he picked up a long time ago. It started off as a way to let clients know he was deaf (with varying degrees of success), but quickly turned into something he did without thinking about it. “Our special right now is the Colorado Bulldog and if you like coffee, I totally recommend it.”

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“A coffee beer?” The face he made was a natural response, watching the other with great interest. That taste sounded....different to say the least. “Is it like a sweet coffee drink? Or bitter?” 

@paradisusstart​

— 🍂 —

Watching Elijah’s expressions, Theo chewed on the inside of his cheek. That day - of course it was seared into the back of Theo’s mind. But it meant something different to Elijah than it did to him. It had happened at a time when Theo was only just starting to figure things out, forced to grow up quicker than he ever should have had to. For Elijah, it wasn’t a start but instead an end. The loss of…so much. 

It was the same - but also so very different. 

These things that Elijah had carried with him all this time…it was clear they meant something to him. Whether they were just place holders or reminders, Theo wasn’t sure. But there was something he was sure about.

“I get that…” Theo finally spoke up, choosing his words carefully as he traced his fingers along the edge of the table. “I just think…It seems like they mean a lot more to you than they ever would me.” 

He cleared his throat, folding his arms loosely across his chest. “I’m not that kid anymore. I don’t even know how much of that kid is left.” 

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He wasn’t sure what he was hoping for, this weird attempt at bonding- at...something more with Theo. Nia’s words echoed in the back of his mind- that he should be doing more to really try and connect- but it felt....weird. 

“Maybe I should just frame them, since we’re sharing this space now.” It would make more sense, In his mind at least, if Teddy didn’t want them like that.

— 🍂 —

Everything about Paradisus…it was different than what Theo had grown accustomed to. He wasn’t used to having people around who genuinely seemed to care for him, he wasn’t used to this feeling of family. The whole concept was foreign. No, he was far more accustomed to disappearing in the middle of the night, or moving from one place to the next. Leaving a bed empty in the morning rather than sticking around for breakfast. Blending into the background so that no one would make note of him while he snatched a wallet from an unsuspecting purse. But everything, everyone - it was all different. 

Certainly he wasn’t used to have a place he actually considered a home and not somewhere he simply lived for the time. And Elijah’s home - their home - it was becoming just that. A home. Slowly but surely. Maybe he didn’t know still how to fully navigate this dynamic between father and son, didn’t know exactly where he fit into the pictures that were starting to materialize before his eyes - but it was all becoming a little clearer with time. 

But then there were things that threw him back into the shoes of that lost little kid he’d been, too - that set him back just a step where he couldn’t quite find his balance. Things like Elijah calling his name - his former nickname - Teddy. Things like the toys laid out that so suddenly felt familiar when his eyes landed on them.

“I uh -” He hesitated, eyebrows knitting together briefly, “I didn’t know you had all this…still.” As the picture was slid across the table, Theo was hesitant to pick it up, to let his eyes rest too long on that happy family that had once been and no longer was. 

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“There wasn’t much left when I got back.” The elder explained, “I’m honestly terrified of losing them, so I keep them away- together and easy to grab if something were to happen again.” But the man settled into one of the chairs at the table. This felt weirdly exposed. 

“After she passed, and I couldn’t smell you around- I went back to see if you were there. Maybe you tried to return to the house. When I saw the stuff- I grabbed what I could carry in hopes of finding you. Giving you- something.” With a sad smile, he shrugged. “They’re meant to be for you- it feels wrong to keep it all to myself.” 

Every so often, Elijah withdrew from everyone. His home made that easy 9 times out of 10. It was secluded, no one bothered him often at home. But that changed with Teddy back in the picture, arguably for the better. But it made the box of memories that he tended to dive into on his own weird to not explain. 

Hearing the door unlock, he smiled a little “Teddy, you got a sec?” The charred family photo of the three of them lay on the table, half photos of them as a couple, a couple of ruined kids things kept incase they found Teddy sooner- including a raggedy looking teddy bear. “I probably should of shown you this stuff sooner.” He laughed, pushing the photo of the trio across the table. “But if you want any of this-” 

feyre-marlowe​:

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Feyre glanced down at his outstretched hand for a moment before looking back up to his face. “It’s nice to officially meet you, Elijah.” She laughed gently and placed her hand in his, “You were already forgiven, but alright. I’d love to.” She took a few steps in the direction of the dance floor, and glanced over her shoulder to make sure he was following behind her. 

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“If we’re going to keep meeting by chance like this, I might just start giving it to you in snippets, always ending on a cliffhanger.” A playful smile tugged on her lips. She was relieved and overjoyed that this was actually that same man. She’d enjoyed his company before, and his welcoming demeanor was a pleasant surprise in this otherwise slightly overwhelming atmosphere. “This whole air of mystery thing is a little fun, you know? That is unless, of course, I get to know your name?” 

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