hear me roar

Jamal nestled into the space the boys so graciously afforded him, right between the two of them, while Nari made him a plate. It was nice not to be alone and their energy was infectious, making Jamal smile as they bombarded him with questions about his favorite super heroes. When Nari returned and gave the boys orders to prepare for bed, Jamal grabbed the remote to pause the movie accordingly. He accepted the plate from Nari, but didn't snatch up a fry just yet. "I was too late," he exhaled heavily. "I tried to fix things.. but it didn't work out."

Settled back on the couch with the boys out of the room getting ready for bed, Nari adjusted so she could give Jamal her full attention. Given the time of day and the fact that he had shown up completely out of the blue, she knew not to expect good news. When he opened up, her shoulders sagged down before she reached over with a sympathetic rub at his arm. "Fuck, Jamal, I'm sorry," she hummed out, knowing just how much he'd been hoping to get things patched up with Thierry. "At least you tried, right? Better to know than to spend the rest of your life wondering if you could have fixed it."

Any time something new came out to try in her coffee orders, Nari tried to switch it up and see what it was about. Whether it was a new type of milk or new flavor, she was pretty open. She drank so much of the stuff that it only seemed fitting to try a bit of everything and make sure that she wasn't ever getting too bored of the same thing every day. "Oh, for sure. My nephews would probably riot if I tried to serve them oat milk with their cereal, so we always have whole milk in the house," Nari signed back with a soft laugh. The boys had learned to be somewhat open to new things, but some stuff they would put their foot down for.

open starter ! location: outside of deja brew, downtown !

If there was anything Nari could relate to, it was the zombie walk in front of a coffee shop. You knew where you wanted to be, but weren't quite awake enough to focus on walking the last few feet inside to put your order it. She recognized the exhaustion in the man as she stepped back after being bumped into, sympathy evident in her eyes. "Not too hard at all, no damage done and the coffee is still in the cup. Which is obviously the most important thing here," she chuckled warmly, patting her hand against the coffee cup as if it were the most valuable thing she'd ever held. "You look like you need one more than I do today, though. I can go grab you something if you want to sit and relax?" It was a simple offer to make and it looked like the guy could use a seat for a bit. With two young boys, Nari had been on the other end of this interaction herself plenty of times.

"Okay, absolutely, the food there is excellent," Nari agreed, nodding approvingly at the idea. It had been a long time since she'd been there herself, but she could see it being a perfect spot for a blind date. Even if the company sucked, at least the food would be worth it. "Love that as a first date spot for you. Definitely going to need a dress, though. Do you have anything in mind? Or do we need a shopping day?" Nari didn't know how much Maya wanted to put into it since it was a blind date, but a chance to get all gussied up wasn't such a bad thing.

"Deal. If you can promise that, the least I can offer is helping you with picking out an outfit," Nari agreed, happy to fill that role. She considered herself stylish enough that her advice was worthwhile to have and wouldn't steer her friend in the wrong direction. "Do you know where you guys are going on the date? That's super important to know to figure out what's best to wear." Nari had outfits for pretty much any occasion, though most days pajamas bled into her regular daily attire when she was dropping the boys at school or grocery shopping.

The redhead didn't like bothering people, but had also been brought up being told repeatedly that their existence and need for extra help wasn't an inconvenience. However, getting mixed responses over the years always meant they were often a little bit hesitant. So Emerson couldn't deny being excited when the other replied while signing, the smile spreading on their lips. "Thank you so much. That is indeed me." Despite the other's signing, Emerson still continued verbalizing, not sure how fluent the other was and not wanting to be inconsiderate.

Stepping away from the counter to give Emerson space to move forward and grab their drink, Nari gave a polite nod. "Of course. Glad I could help." Nari was always pleased when she was able to make that small bit of difference for someone. It seemed like such a small thing being able to sign back and make this an easier space for the other, but she knew it counted for a lot. "Excellent order, by the way. Oat milk is the way to go." Nari easily stuck with both verbalizing and signing as she spoke, happy to adapt to whichever was easier for Emerson.

Jamal slowed his steps immediately upon turning the corner, realizing that he'd interrupted the boys' wind down. "Oh. My bad," he murmured, folding his arms as he drew back a moment to steal a glimpse of the TV. "Yeah." He nodded. "Nuggets sound good," he sighed, propping up a smile on his lips as he went over to Nari's nephews and gave them each a fist bump. He wasn't actually hungry, but it was habit to accept food. "'Sup fellas?"

"It's all good, they'll be excited for the company," Nari assured him, already spotting the curious looks from both boys as they snooped to see what was going on. They both greeted Jamal with wide grins and eager fist bumps, inviting him to sit down on the couch with them. "Great, I'll grab you a plate real quick," she offered, shifting into the kitchen to slide some of the nuggets and fries out of the air fryer and onto a plate for Jamal. It was certainly no five star meal, but it was pretty par for the course there in the Yang household. "Boys, go start getting ready for bed, I'll pause the movie for later." Nari shooed the boys out of the room as she handed over the food to Jamal, curling up on the couch herself. "Hit me with it, J-man, what's going on?"

closed starter for @narixyang ; Big Horn Hills

After getting home from work and making dinner for the boys, Nari and her nephews were crashed on the couch watching movies before it was time for bed. Evenings were some of the best times in the household. The boys had settled down after a long day at school and were just tired enough to curl up next to Nari as they watched Iron Man. They'd just been about to fall asleep when the sound of the doorbell rang out, meriting a look of confusion from all three of them. Shifting her nephews over to the pillows, Nari walked over to the door, opening it up when she saw Jamal on the other side. "Hey - hey, yeah, of course. Come on in, we're just watching Iron Man and eating dinner. Can I get you some...well, it's chicken nuggets and french fries, but. It's dinner." Nari stepped aside to let Jamal in, her nephews poking their heads around the corner to see who it was.

where: deja brew who: open (cap 3/5) @providencepeakstarters

With a relatively late start for her morning, only needing to head in to work at the zoo for a few hours later, Nari was taking her time getting herself a coffee. She was glad she'd built the extra time in, as when she'd gotten to the cafe it was absolutely slammed with customers. Waiting off to the side of the counter, Nari let her eyes shift up with each called order, knowing hers was getting closer with each cup that passed across to other customers. Her attention was dragged away from her thoughts when someone spoke, smile lifting towards the other woman. "They did. Called it out for an Emerson if that's you," Nari replied back, her own hands starting to move and sign back as she did so. It was moments like this that she was glad to have learned to sign for her sister-in-law, something that had come in handy more than she would have expected in life.

It was an opportunity that Nari was glad to see Maya taking advantage of. Even if the date was terrible, it could at least end up being a good story to tell later and another experience in life lived. Since she hadn't been getting herself out there much, she was glad to be able to live vicariously through her friends to some degree. "Oh, girl, you absolutely stay for the free dinner if it's offered. That's just a given," she agreed with a bright laugh. "But, whenever the time comes, I've got you. I'll send the boys in to break the date up and drag you out of there. They'd be perfect for the job."

It was a bit of a relief, though she had a feeling that if the Baileys wanted, they would offer those services for Dylan and she wasn't really sure she wanted that either. Of course she wanted the best for her children, but the idea of them having everything they ever wanted at the touch of their fingertips didn't sit right with her. Things were expensive and she was shifting things financially to make sure to account for what it cost to raise twins. It was nice to know that was the reality for most people in Providence Peak too. "Oh they're just 'bout halfway here, their due date is in the first week of January." She had plenty of time still, she reminded herself, but Dylan was always a planner.

As far away as January felt right now, Nari knew that feeling wouldn't last. The months would start to slip away quicker than ever and before Dylan knew it there would be two babies in her life. "Sounds like a long way away, but hell, time flies sometimes," she chuckled. It had definitely been that way for her, especially with how busy the boys kept her. It felt like just yesterday that she'd had to pack up her things and move back to Providence for them and now here she was going on over a year since the big move. "Kids definitely make time seem to go a lot faster. They just grow so quick."

"You and me both," RJ couldn't recall the last time he had taken any time off, let alone got on a plane. Maybe it was a trip during his senior year, when he wasn't responsible for maintaining the farm. And now, with Penny gone, it was just him and Link. He really couldn't afford to take any time away now. RJ laughed with her words, "It really can, they don't hold back."

"Have you thought about going anywhere? Or is it just not feasible?" she asked. Nari knew that there was a lot going on for RJ being in charge of the farm, but she hoped he had enough help to be able to get away every now and again. "Not at all. You doing good, though? Anything new and exciting in your world?"

Dylan had just simply liked baking from an early age and never felt like it was pressed upon her that she should be doing those activities in order to find a husband or raise children. It was just something that relaxed her and reminded her of her mom. Nari sharing the reality of what it was like was a bit refreshing. Knowing that so many people had these high expectations of the bliss of life was not so practical. She hummed in some understanding of what Nari was trying to say, though she felt like growing up there was no way her own mom could afford such services and that it is a reality that a majority of people cannot afford it, people having night nurses and nannies or people who took care of the cleaning felt like a controversial topic. Dylan didn't know how she felt about the subject, mostly she thought that people shouldn't have to suffer but considering it was a costly expense and she had not one but two kids that would not necessarily be in her own budget. "A full staff definitely isn't somethin' I can afford."

Nari was in the same boat, certainly not able to afford to pay for a lot of help. Once in a blue moon she was able to pay for a babysitter for a night if her parents weren't available, but those moments were few and far between. "Oh, absolutely not me either. Most people around here I think are more like that, like us, just trying to make it through," she shrugged. It was easy to rag on the rich moms in the carpool lane that showed up in their fancy cars, parading around at the PTA meetings and bragging about how much money their families donated to the school. At the end of the day, though, most people were pretty normal. "How long do you have until the babies arrive?" Nari never wanted to make assumptions about how far along people were, it being far too easy to mess that up.

"Yup, sometimes my mother taught me. There is nothing like perfect and chasing it just makes you lose sight of what's important. There is beauty in mistakes, and mistakes is what helps us grow, change," he smiled. Daxton was really enjoying the conversation that he was having with the other. "Maybe you should stop by and I pick some flowers for you. Different combination and it's on me." he added giving her a wink and smile.

"All good lessons to learn. Sounds like your mother knew what she was talking about," Nari agreed with a soft smile. Parents could be a tricky subject for a lot of people, but she could tell Daxton had a lot of love for his mother. "Okay, yeah, you're on. Next free afternoon I get, I'll come stop by." It was an easy thing to agree to, especially if there was a beautiful arrangement of flowers waiting for her if she showed up.