d r e a m y

There had been a time when he and Kaitlin could rarely be found separated. When they were both Players they were almost constantly together, either working around Oakenfold or training on the practice board. It hadn’t changed that much once he’d won. Maybe Kaitlin was one who understood best what he was going through, having been exposed to the game for all of her life. But at the same time, she didn’t really get it. She didn’t understand what had changed for him after his wish had gone awry. She didn’t know what it was like to go from the human world to separated from it in one day. She still sought a life among these people - not that he could fault her for it. It was all she knew. 

Thinking he could lose her to Fidchell one year - maybe even next year, very nearly this year - he didn’t like the thought of it. He feared losing her, someone who had been a constant for him both before and after. Someone who was always there to try and bolster his spirits. 

“I don’t make the rules,” he smiled as she spoke about her pay, following after her up the hiking trail. She did have a point though, this was much more reminiscent of their type of thing than some drunken night out. Though, conversely, his nights with Marigold tended to include a fair amount of alcohol and surface conversations…

“So…” he hummed after a moment of silence, catching up to walk beside her, “What do you think of all this?” 

What did she think of it? Truthfully, Kaitlin hadn’t thought she was allowed an opinion. Not one that wasn’t smothered in happiness and well-wishes. Which she gave - with only one reservation. And even that wasn’t allowed to see the light of day, so afraid she was of letting any ugliness show. All she had ever wanted was to be beautiful. If she pretended hard enough, she had always thought she might get her way.

But this was Kevin. If she couldn’t confess anything to him, then who could she talk to? Besides, he was the only person...now that Davey had forgotten everything...who could truly understand. He had made the journey from player to seelie - the only one she knew. Even if...even if it hadn’t been his original course. Or even his chosen one.

“I just want you to be happy. You deserve that.” Out of nearly everyone she had ever known...he deserved it one of the most. He had paid his dues, survived the heroes test...it was time for Kevin to have his happily ever after, to ride off into the sunset.

“You’ll just have to promise not to forget about me.” She played it off light-heartedly, more a joke than anything else - but she knew that Kevin knew her, could read her like an open book - and would see the pain laced underneath. 

She didn’t usually venture up to Central Park. Of course, she found it lovely - but it was Seelie territory, and though she appreciated the Zoo and the atmosphere of the park, venturing up too frequently would more than likely turn more than a few heads - and not in the way Camellia might have preferred to. The nearing-autumn day did not feel quite as much like autumn as Camellia wished for, there were hints of it in the air.

She heard a voice that was familiar - not incredibly so, but one that she could pick out. Kaitlin. Sean’s kinder equivalent although on the opposite side. How Camellia wished (though she knew it naïve and not wholly right) that both Kaitlin and Hazel could have belonged to the Unseelie. They, like Willow, seemed to not be the sort to hate Camellia right away, just because of where she was from. “They can be lovely.” A smile crossed her lips. “It sort of feels as though you are transported to another place - another time, even. If you allow yourself to believe it.”

Of all the people Kaitlin expected to see in Central Park - Seelie territory nonetheless - the Unseelie princess and assumed heir wasn’t one of them. Not the guidelines were explicitly rigid in a place like this...but still. Her smile remained in place, courteous and polite enough, but it was frozen, restrained from growing anymore. Her entire life, Kaitlin had been told that the Unseelie were the enemy - the polar opposites to the court she had pledged her life to. Cold where the Seelie’s were warm. Stone to the Seelie’s gold. Brutal to the Seelie’s beautiful. Camellia didn’t seem to immediately conform to those expectations...but still. 

“You’ve been before then?” She wasn’t sure why she was surprised. Camellia had lived in this city for a lot longer than Kaitlin had. “Where did it take you?”

Hazel had no idea that her use of Forest’s fey name would bother her sister. It wasn’t that she preferred one name over the other, but she saw it sort of like choosing your pronouns – he’d decided to rename himself Forest so that’s what she called him. That, and she hadn’t gotten to know Kevin. When he’d been a player she hadn’t really been involved with any players other than Kaitlin. She assumed the contemplative look that crossed her sister’s face was more due to the Lugnasad tradition than anything else. 

“Me? No, probably not. I’m not…important? enough for the court to want to nominate me. I don’t mean that like it sounded, exactly, I just mean that most people don’t really know me because of how much time I spend out in the city rather than in An Sídalann. Ya know?” With someone who knew more about human traditions, she might compare it to being nominated for homecoming queen – it seemed like something of a popularity contest. 

And there it was, the envy that occasionally reared its head in regards to Hazel. Try as you might, you cannot completely quash the ugly parts of yourself - even for the people you love most in this world. But it is the act of trying that makes someone noble. Or so Kaitlin mused. Secretly, she was a little relieved at Hazel’s reply. The only thing worse than seeing Kevin married off would be Hazel. When Hazel married, Kaitlin hoped it would be for true love - in the mix of fey and human traditions she knew her sister would pick.

“You’re important to me.” Kaitlin wasn’t sure if that was worth anything. Logically, she knew it wasn’t - in terms of feyry politics anyway. But nonetheless, she felt like expressing the sentiment. “Besides, don’t you want to marry for love?” Kaitlin knew she did. When...that part was less certain.

The air was changing. Though the days still sweltered with summer heat, the first hints of a cool autumn breeze ruffled his hair, pinkened his cheeks. It was a time ripe with expectation, change lingering just beyond the horizon. He could feel it in his bones. Maybe that was what drove him to the park that day, to escape the thoughts that coiled round his mind and squeezed, hard. The rebellion couldn’t wait forever, but it could wait for a damn minute, at least.

Settled on his favorite bench overlooking the lake, he closed his eyes and breathed in the sweet air, still thick with the smell of fresh-cut grass. He could stay like that forever, he thought, just taking it all in, from the twittering of birds above to the distant splash of oars on the water.

A voice startled him from his trance. Blinking away the haze from his eyes, he turned to the girl beside him and smiled, only to find that she was looking out over the water. He followed her gaze to the little boats that dotted the surface, watched as a small child pointed at a duck and exclaimed with a wide grin.

“It’s nice. Overpriced, yes, but totally worth it. Out there on the water, you can’t take your worries with you—gotta leave em on the shore. Everyone needs that once in a while.”

He offered his hand for a shake.

“I’m Jasper.”

“Leaving my worries behind?” Several sentences popped into Kaitlin’s mind. Sounds unrealistic. Sounds unlikely. Sounds impossible. But she had always been a girl inclined to believe in impossibilities, in all that beyond the realm of human touch. A dreamer at heart, the thought of leaving behind her burdens and floating away was a tempting one. But, realistically, she knew she could only find peace as a member of the Seelie court. She left that unsaid. “Sounds good.”

Shifting her coffee cup into her other hand, Kaitlin stretched out her own. “Kaitlin.” She wondered if she’d ever have a new name to introduce herself. She wondered. She wondered. Story of her life. “So are you an over zealous tourist or a local who doesn’t mind giving into tourist traps?”

Ever perceptive of the energies that surrounded others, Brielle was glad to be greeted with a particularly positive one. She needed all the good vibes she could get to lift her current spirits. The interruption from her thoughts was more than welcome today and, after a moment of feigned consideration, Bri slid a little closer to the vaguely familiar woman. Once more, she slipped into the friendly persona that’d endeared her to Clann Naudha, that’d eaten away at her with each passing day. “Hey, I’m down! Sharing is caring, right? So long as it’s not a cold or syringes or an STD – which I have none of.” That last addition had been a rushed one and might’ve been awkward if not for how quickly she’d moved on from the topic.

Taking a bite of a mozzarella stick, Brielle observed the woman with friendly eyes, trying to pick her apart from the sea of faces in her mind. “I’ve seen you before, right?” As likely as it was that she’d just seen someone that looked like her, there was a stubborn voice insisting that this stranger had entered Maynooth once or twice. That was unusual considering the store’s small target market, but not unheard of. Nudging the basket of mozzarella sticks closer to her newfound friend, she shifted where she sat. “At Maynooth? I’m Bri.”

Warmth called to warmth - and instantly, Kaitlin was drawn in, pulled closer by the vibrancy in her voice. She seemed like she was alive - maybe Kaitlin could pick up a tip or two on living. “Good to know?” She replied, forehead crinkled with slight confusion on why they were talking about STD’s so early on in the conversation...or, at all...really. “Don’t worry, my food is all clean. Unhealthy - but that only bites you back later, right?” Once upon a time she had indulged in super foods, so called bounty of the earth...but times were different. A little comfort wasn’t bad, was it? 

Pushing her own basket of food towards the girl, Kaitlin picked up a mozzarella stick between her fingers, twirling it before biting off a chunk. As good as they were advertised. “Yeah - that could have been me.” The only person people mistook her for was Hazel...and as far as Kaitlin knew, she hadn’t wondered to that part of town. “I can promise you it wasn’t an evil twin.” Finishing off the stick with a second bite, Kaitlin couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing in Maynooth. It seemed...to have a very specific audience. And she couldn’t help but remember what Tyler had warned her about. Cults. Extending a hand, Kaitlin offered it to shake. “I’m Kaitlin.” Glancing around their atmosphere, things began to click into place. “I guess it makes sense that you’d hang out here. You guys are into Irish things - right?”

“Trying and failing. That the title of your autobiography?” Of both their autobiographies. But Sean would never deign to put himself on the same level as Kaitlin, to find something they shared in common beyond their status as Players. And he certainly would never so much as admit any shortcomings he’d found in himself. Wouldn’t give her anything to feed off or harp on the way she gave to him. Ivy had drilled it into him ages ago       Sean doubted he’d ever be able to shake that constant sense of keeping his cards close to his chest. 

She wasn’t responding with any of her usual pathetic animosity though. Wasn’t trying to feed poorly constructed insults back at him which he’d always found odd      that she didn’t have much of a bark at all. The Seelies, from what he’d always been told and had personally experienced, were the cleverest with their words and then there was Kaitlin. But maybe that was the downfall of being raised by the Summer Court, of being coddled and catered to like she was some sort of fake ass princess. 

Wasn’t his problem. 

He carded a hand through his black hair, a bored expression on his face while she moped. “It look like I care?” About Fidchell, of course. It was insulting to sit back every fucking year and watch lesser Players getting picked before him. About Kaitlin’s rosy life? Absolutely not. “Lemme guess, your nail polish chipped in training and Forest didn’t have the exact shade you needed to fix it so now your whole week has just been ruined,” Sean continued, adopting a particularly obnoxious sympathetic tone before he sobered. “Blow me, princess. Life sucks.”

Screwing her face into a ball of frustration, Kaitlin tried (and failed, which was ironic, given the point she was trying to counter) to come up with numerous clapbacks, something that would be so sensational that it would force him to lace his lips shut for good. Or at least, until the lift started moving again. But that would probably be too much to ask for. Open. Close. Open. Close. Nothing she rehearsed in her head sounded as if it would work in anyway. That would probably always be the case. 

“You must care. A guy like you doesn’t do second place.” She didn’t know a lot about Sean, but she did know that. Or at least, she thought she did. If she allowed herself to think about him, lots popped into her head - the deliberate way he held himself, the beard he trimmed, always needing to be on top...it made sense, right? Or maybe she was imagining his ego...tainted by her vision. No. His ego was definitely real. It had only grown with time. 

Of course, it was easier to discuss Fidchell in the hypothetical. No matter how much she despised Sean, the thought of murdering him wasn’t a rosy one.

Eyes flickering down to her (rather chipped) nail polish, Kaitlin covered her baby pink nails, digging them into her jumper. “I’d never blow you.” She hadn’t meant to rise to the occasion, but once again, she had found herself unable to resist it. “I might catch something.” Weak? Perhaps. But it had been the first thing that popped into her head.

“It’s one of those things where you get more when you share,” Nickel observed. He cast his eye at her lemonade–not judging, but vaguely skeptical. He balanced his chin on the heel of his palm.

Hazel had assured him that Kaitlin, if she was chosen, would win. For his part, Nickel would be willing to pay a substantial fucking amount to watch her kick Sean’s ass. You were supposed to shit on the Seelie, and for the most part, yeah, okay, he got it. But just this once … 

It would be great if Sean would just vanish from his life, but Nickel knew, deep down, that he was lucky, but not that lucky. Kaitlin would be in real danger. And Hazel … Hazel would do something dumb, probably. 

“You a hard liquor sort of girl, then?” Nick said, just a touch of a challenge in his voice.   

Kaitlin, for all the wits she possessed, couldn’t figure out why he was here. What could be possibly want? They weren’t friends. Of that, Kaitlin was certain. In fact, she couldn’t recall the last time they had spoken...if ever? Unseelie’s were the enemy, put most simply. And simply by virtue of his association to Sean, Kaitlin found him a bitter pill to swallow.

Too polite to ask him outright, or instruct him to leave, Kaitlin shifted her position a little, sipping at her lemonade as he spoke. Way better than beer. 

And you know what they said...when life gives you lemons...

“Um - not really? I prefer cocktails.” Drinks that didn’t taste as if they had a drop of alcohol in them. Drinks that masqueraded as something else, something more innocent. That was her type. “Or...” She gestured at her drink. “Lemonade. Makes for a clearer head in the morning.”

The look of shock on the other woman’s face would have been answer enough, but the vehement denial made Nadia smirk. Apparently the idea of being married to her brother was not exactly a pleasant one. At least not to….shoot, was Nadia supposed to know this woman’s name? Probably. But she sure didn’t. It was curious that she said they couldn’t have gotten married, it was hard to tell if that was significant or if Nadia was reading too much into it. Maybe she wasn’t attracted to men. 

“You know her? Well, then you’re one step ahead of me. I’ve never met the woman, obviously,” Nadia replied, careful to keep the bitterness out of her tone. “If you do happen to find him, feel free to tell him to stop neglecting his sister. Is everything alright, not an emergency you need him for or anything?” 

“Oh.” Kaitlin was beginning to think that approaching Nadia had been somewhere between a bad and a terrible idea. Feeling foolish, she blushed slightly, hoping that the darkness hid her redness from Nadia. Obviously. Kaitlin played that word over and over in her head. As if the tattered state of the siblings was something she should have known. And of course, she had...to a certain extent. But not to the one that Nadia implied. “Sorry I thought that - I thought you’d met her.”

Human traditions were her foil from time to time. But introducing your bride to your family was one of them, wasn’t it? Unless Kevin didn’t see her as family anymore. “I’ll - um - pass along the message?” She wasn’t sure if she could deliver it with a straight face, or a touch of sympathy on Kevin’s part. He had...endured a lot over these past few months. Unimaginable things. “No no - there’s no emergency. I saw him earlier today actually in tra - “ managing to cut herself off before she revealed anything, Kaitlin brushed past it. “- Just figured I’d say hi. That’s all.”

Well, there it was. It had been said, and there was no going back, no matter how much Tyler  might want to. Although he wasn’t sure if he did. It wasn’t like he wanted people to feel bad for him, he just wanted… He wasn’t sure. Wanted more people to remember Jason, if he was really gone? Or maybe wanted to be able to imagine that Jason was still around, that he was just telling stories about his stupid cousin. He nodded. “Yeah, sounded like that to me. A weird, Irish, cult-y get rich quick scheme.” It was the sort of thing that sounded like something off one of those true crime podcast one of his friends listened to. She had stopped talking about it was much with him after Jason had disappeared, and he had tried to pretend not notice. “I have to. If… ” He hated saying this part, but he had to be realistic. “If he’s really gone, people need closure. His parents, his girlfriend - Well, ex girlfriend, but that’s hardly relevant anymore. They deserve it.” Me, he thought. I deserve it. I need it. It was all for him, really, at the end. Selfish. But he couldn’t help it.

“Thanks.” He said. He did need a Bess, or a George, or maybe he just needed a Kaitlin. It really showed what sort of person she was, he thought. The good kind. “Really.”

Listening to him, Kaitlin picked up on one notable exemption from his list, one that deserved to be stated and made salient. With a soft smile, Kaitlin extended a gentle touch on his arm, the sort that whispered; I’ll be here for you. "You deserve it too.” Everyone deserved the truth. She had thought she’d been luckier than most, blessed to see it in its purest form. Turns out, she hadn’t known anything. There are many tragedies in this world. That was one of them. “I hope you find it. Really.” Nothing, after all, was totally impossible. You just needed to find a little hope - and then see it through.

There had been many mornings where Kaitlin’s name had popped up on his phone, advising things like going for morning runs first thing to start out the day, getting an early training session on, or just to grab coffee or tea. Usually it wasn’t quite as obscure as this one was…but he went along with it anyways. He was already awake, as she probably knew.

What he wasn’t expecting was for her to drag him out of his apartment and start driving out of the city. Sure, they’d gone out of the city together a handful of times - but when had she learned to drive? As much as he loved Kaitlin, was it wise to trust her behind the wheel? He didn’t let the questions kneed at him too much; she was pretty insistent that he come along and getting out of the city was actually something of a relief. It let him push some of the insanity behind him and let out the breath that felt as if he’d been holding for an entire month now. Comparative to how things had been, heading upstate seemed more normal than anything else.

Naturally Kait’s idea of a good time out involved some sort of physical activity, not that Forest was complaining. He was fond of spending time outdoors, always had been, and it had been a long while since he’d been out on a hike. The weather was perfect; still warm like summer but tinged just slightly with that hint of autumn weather to come. “Your idea of a bachelor party is a hike?” Forest chuckled as the player attempted to explain herself, shaking his head. Surely she knew what bachelor parties normally entailed - but nothing was normal about this marriage or celebration. Plus, she was probably right; as much as getting drunk and partying with strippers did seem enticing, the hike was a little more up his alley. Besides, he didn’t want to think on the marriage too much - it had been a while since he’d gotten to spend any time with Kait; not since Fidchell, since Davey… 

“Just to confirm, you do know what a bachelor party normally looks like, right?” He questioned, honestly curious, “But thanks - It’s nice to get out.” 

For him, Kaitlin would have endured a traditional bachelors party - donned her best ‘bro’ hat and planned an extensive tour of the cities strip clubs. She would have been miserable the entire time, but she had never been someone to contain her acts for friends, loving to be of service. But that wasn’t really...them. Maybe if Davey had still been around. But you couldn’t count on maybes. You had to make do with what you had. (Logical advice she rarely took herself).

Instead, Kaitlin pulled a face, indulging in childish antics. It was easy to be free around Kevin. Fey he might be, but before that, he had been a human - and hadn’t really forgotten his roots. He still treated her as someone with worth, with respect. In this world, that was no small thing. “Yes. I have watched The Hangover and I can confirm that whilst it’s a superb movie, Vegas was slightly out of my budget.” Teasing playfully, she grinned. “You should pay me more.”

Restless, Kaitlin began to hike once more, in singleminded pursuit of the peak - and the view it would bring. It was yet another example of how hard work reaped towards - and that if you pushed yourself, you could find perfection. “I did bring beer though!” She shouted out behind her, without turning back around. “So, maybe going back down will be harder after all.” It would be nice, she thought, if she could make Kevin let go...if they could let go together, just for a little while. Such indulgences were rare for the two of them - and here, no one was watching. “I just figured you deserved...at least one of the traditions you were raised with. Even if they’re not technically mine.”

She intended to marry as a fey, or not at all.

Hazel crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow. She felt like she could write a dissertation on why the real heroes should were Hufflepuffs, but most of what she believed had already been said on the internet somewhere. “You do know that I’m a Hufflepuff, right?” she asked, pretending to be offended. The charade didn’t last long though, her smile cracked through. “But honestly, Hufflepuffs are tougher than they appear at first glance – you really can’t go by the movies.” 

She let the subject drop and looked into the bag Kaitlin showed her. “That’s awesome! Forest deserves some happiness. I mean, I can’t guarantee that he and Mari will be happy together but I hope so. The hopeless romantic in me wants them to be in love and live happily ever after.”

Kaitlin wouldn’t have been surprised if everyone in the world could agree on wanting him to be happy. “Yeah, he does.” Noting Hazel’s use of Forest’s fey name, Kaitlin realised that for the first time, she had too. But she’d never dare do such a thing to his face. It felt odd, modifying her behaviour around her sister...as if there was a gap between them. As if the distinction between fey and human mattered for them. Hazel - and Kevin - were the only ones it wasn’t supposed to matter for. Suddenly pensive, Kaitlin turned to her. “Do you think...do you think you’ll ever get married like that? At Lugnasad?” 

Keep a balanced diet. Patrick chuckled at that. “I can respect it.” He had a habit of doing the same, bottomless pit that he was, whenever he and Emmet actually hung out. Emmet, somehow, was more of a bottomless pit than Patrick. But they didn’t really hang out much anymore - probably because something had crawled up Emmet’s ass and died and made him unbearable to be around most of the time. It meant more food for Patrick whenever he and Bri were hanging, but it didn’t change the fact that something, someone, was missing. 

It was similar to the sensation he felt when spending time with his mom since his dad had gone on to Alltar. He’d learned to cope with it years ago.

As soon as she mentioned Ireland, Patrick wanted to pounce on it, but managed to hold back his eagerness as their server arrived. He let Kaitlin order first before following it up with his own usual: Guinness and the mango habanero wings… with a side of nachos because he’d never actually tried them. “So you’ve been to Ireland?” he asked while crossing one long leg under the table. “Or you’re from Ireland? I’m dying to go, but so far…” He spread his palms wide and shrugged. “It hasn’t panned out.”

After ordering a cider (the closest she could come to beer, she explained, almost apologizing) Kaitlin leaned back into the conversation, pleasantly surprised at the uptick in his voice after she mentioned Ireland. “No, I’m not. But my parents are.” It was true in every sense of it. Kaitlin knew her birth parents - Hazel’s family - had come over generations ago. And her parents (’foster’ parents, a few would quibble) were fey, which made them more Irish than most. “So I’ve always felt connected to it.”

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she continued. “Um - I kind of went on a ‘find myself’ world trip a few years ago? And I actually ended up in Ireland. This doesn’t make sense, but it’s the thing that made me come back to New York.” Not wanting to die in the Fidchell games - Kaitlin was trying to find a way to live in this world, to search for the beauty humanity could offer. Ireland was the only thing that came close...a tether that did not belong to her. After going there, she knew she had to come back. She knew she had to figure out a way to win. 

“Well it comes highly recommended from me. Any special connection or do you just look good in green?”

Who: @ofrosetints​ When: September 9th, 2018 Where: The Irish Pub

Nick did a double take. 

It was Kaitlin. Probably people did the same thing, on occasion, with him and Sean. He wasn’t identical to Sean, but they were similar enough that, from behind or at a glance, one could have been the other for a second or two. It was probably the same for almost all changelings. Nickel wondered if there was some sort of unknowable magic involved in that, if fate intervened and said, okay, this one matches this one. This one, born in time to be this one.  

It wouldn’t surprise him too badly, anyway. 

“Where’s your Guinness?” Nickel asked, sliding into the stool one away from her, opening the conversation in a mildly teasing tone. “You’re gonna come to a bar and not get a beer?”

Between Sean and Nickel, the other set of changelings she knew, she would have picked Nickel any day. But really, that wasn’t saying much. Unseelie he was - and that was enough to gain Kaitlin’s mistrust, no matter how unwarranted it could have been. Ancient grudges were the only seelie things she had to hold onto.

Looking up from her lemonade, Kaitlin felt two things. At first relief - because it was Nickel and not Sean. But then, apprehension - because whatever this was, she couldn’t be sure that it wasn’t bad. 

Wrinkling her nose at his suggestion, she recoiled at the thought. “I hate beer.” For years, she had desperately pretended to love it, learning to drink it without gagging. But then, one day, someone had asked her what the point in pretending was? She might have answered with a thousand things. But she had stopped drinking it. “Besides, I guess that means there’s more for you.”

Sorrel forced himself to smile at the interruption. He wasn’t interested in entertaining the desperate human that always seemed to hang around like a bad smell. At least he hadn’t seen much of her since Ad Fidchell and for that he had been grateful. If she hadn’t been so desperate to fit in she would have been tolerable. She looked so out of place, so dull among the fey. Even the Unseelie were shining brighter than her.

“Well, I’m here, aren’t I?” Sorrel said, he kept his voice light, playful. He didn’t particularly like her, but that was no reason for her not to adore him. He forced out a chuckle and turned his back to her to try once more for a drink. There must have been a new bartender on tonight, Sorrel was poured a negroni in record time.

She was still there. Still watching him, her expression unreadable. “O’Retlann, isn’t it?” He scanned his memory banks, searching for the girls name. He was sure he had heard Bette’s brother mention it several times. Back when he could still remember it. A genuine smile crossed his lips this time. “Kaitlin.” That was right. And people thought he was self absorbed.

“Shouldn’t you be training? Less than a year til the Games. Just think, in a year all your dreams could come true…” More likely, she would be dead.

Knowing it would do no good - and knowing she needed to say something anyway, Kaitlin stiffened her spine, addressing Sorrel a little straighter. He may have been a Seelie and but just a human, but she refused to let herself be inferior to him. He had magic...but she had morality. (Kaitlin intended to never have to pick between the two). “And what? Rules don’t apply to you?” She already knew the answer before it came. Some smart comment about how no, they didn’t. 

Some Knight in shining armour he was.

More likely to be the dragon than the savior. 

She hated to admit how much it pained her that he had to search for her name - when she had studied and learnt all there was to know about him. Half of her wanted to believe it was for show...that he was just pretending (seemed like a theme of his), but truthfully, she knew that he had never cared to remember it. Despite having worked in the casino with him for a decade now. 

“It’s a little late in the evening.” She pointed out, trying not to let her tone sour. Truthfully, she hadn’t been training quite as hard lately. Whether that would prove to be later fatal...only time would tell. Some of her spirit had been dampened. And Sorrel was to blame. Smile faltering at the implication behind his ellipsis, Kaitlin played with her drink for a few moments. “Why do you care so much about player training anyway?”

Tinder, for someone who thrived off of social interaction the way Patrick did, was perfect for taking what would have been an otherwise uneventful Friday night at home and turning it into… something. He hadn’t gone and searched Kaitlin out on other social medias, deciding he’d let himself find out information about her as the night went on       if it ever began. Being ghosted would suck for all of five minutes before he got over it. 

But as luck would have it, she showed up. 

“Ha! I’ve learned to take all height comments as compliments. It really throws people when they’re trying to insult you, y’know?” He replied. Height comments were the first thing out of everyone’s mouths, no matter what. With a shake of his head, Patrick gestured for her to sit before he sat back down opposite her. “Just a lil’ old-fashioned luck of the Irish is all. You come here often?” What a lame line. Normally, he didn’t have any problem with small talk, didn’t feel any sort of self-conscious about what he said with anyone. His mother had always said he’d never met a stranger       and she’d said it about as often as she now wondered how he’d never been kidnapped as a child. “'cause if you don’t, I definitely recommend the mango habanera wings.”

Her laughter came easily. Grateful that the conversation appeared not to have come to a standstill five minutes after it had began, Kaitlin took her seat, tucking her chair in and leaning inwards, elbows on the table. “I mean, if you can’t look someone in the eyes whilst you’re insulting them, then maybe you shouldn’t be insulting them at all.” Crinkling her forehead in thought, she broke into a smile. “I don’t think that’s a saying. But it should be.” 

Luck of the Irish. On that saying, Kaitlin had concur. She had never met a group of people so blessed as the fey - near-immortal beings, almost Godly in the way they carried themselves. Blessed with magic, they were divine, beauty beyond doubt. How she craved to even have a piece of them, a slice of such luck. “Way too much for it to be good for me. The bartenders all know me by name.” It was one of the only places in the city where fey mingled with humans easily. You could never be equal - but in some places, that was less transparent than others. “Nah - for me, it’s curly fries or nachos all the way. I switch. To keep a balanced diet and all.” She joked. As a server headed their way, Kaitlin ran her fingers across the wood. “I guess I love it so much here because it reminds me of the real thing. Ireland, I mean. Or their pubs, at least.”

He didn’t put stock in luck       hadn’t been raised to believe it was much of a thing, even when surrounded by fey whose Irish ancestry closely linked them to the ‘luck of the Irish’ idea. But if it were real and had he believed in it, it would have been just his luck to end up in an elevator with Kaitlin. His… mortal enemy was too serious a connotation, but occasional nuisance was too gentle. She fell somewhere in the middle, only occasionally shifting from one extreme to the other depending on his mood and her behavior. 

Today, she was inching closer to mortal enemy with every jab of her thumb against the ‘help’ button.

“Jab it a few more times, surely it’ll work then,” Sean muttered before his eyebrow rose at her comment. The absurdity of it made him snort. “Believe it or not, my wet dream isn’t beating you to death in an elevator. For starters, I’m an exhibitionist.” Deadpan comment delivered, his gaze moved back to his phone so that he could finish his text before pocketing it and folding his arms over his chest. His weight settled back into the corner, legs crossing at the ankles. “ Didn’t peg you for paranoia, Kaity Kat. Losing your rosy outlook on life already?”

It was hard to pinpoint the exact thing she despised about Sean. It was more...everything. Every ounce of him - from his deadpan comments to his smirks, to the way he enjoyed to wind her up, to the way he appeared to treat others...it was all worthy of condemnation. Of course, at the root of it, lay the fundamental differences in their courts. Born and bred to hate each other - even as children. Eyeing each other up, perhaps they had known they would possibly have to kill each other - and known that because of that, they could never allow a shred of warmth.

All these years alter - and here they still were. Still players. Still not being picked. 

Stuck in a lift.

“At least I’m trying.” Kaitlin replied. Half of her hadn’t want to dignify him with an answer. The other half of her couldn’t help it. Either way, respond or not, he would find a comment that dug under her flesh, exploiting a weakness at the heart of who she was. If Kaitlin was enduring rosiness, then Sean was razor wit, his comments like lightning. Slumping against the side of the elevator, Kaitlin lay her head against the wall. “Why don’t we just save the death threats for Fidchell?” After a moment, she added. “If we ever get picked.” She had expected Sean to be picked this year. Hadn’t...wished it...not exactly. But she had been surprised. Maybe he was weaker than she thought.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Nadia looked up when she heard her name, expecting a fan or someone who wanted an autograph. As a supermodel she wasn’t exactly as popular as a TV or movie star (yet…a girl could dream and she really did need to break into a new medium) but she had her fans. Instead she met the gaze of that girl who lived in her building. The one who was always hanging around Kev–Forest’s apartment. Why would she be coming over to say– oh shit. Was she his wife? 

Her eyes narrowed slightly. A “friend” of Kevin’s. Right. These days Kevin’s friends knew him as Forest and anyone who really knew him had to know that he tended to avoid his little sister like she was typhoid Mary. 

“No, I’m not,” Nadia answered, trying to mask her suspicion. “I take it that means you’re not either…are you looking for him? I mean, I’ve seen you two together and I know he just got married. Are congratulations in order?” 

Are congratulations in order? Kaitlins smile flattened - and then fell off her face all together. Happiness was replaced by surprise. It wasn’t that the thought was...unpleasant. On the contrary, if she ever had her wish granted - and joined the Seelie court - she would happily partake in the Lugnasad marriage tradition. Was there anything more romantic than two people brought together by chance - and then falling in love? The wrong way round, some might say - but as long as it happened any way around, Kaitlin didn’t mind.

“Me?” Time did not dull the shock in her voice. “No. No. I’m not - “ She wasn’t jealous. Not in the way people might think. More envious that Kevin had been taken another step beyond her, that there was more that separated them. “I’m not - we couldn’t have gotten married.” No sooner had the words slipped did Kaitlin realise she needed to be more careful. Whatever story Kevin had told...it probably wasn’t the whole truth. Now that she came to think of it - how much did Nadia know? “But er - I know his wife. She’s - beautiful though. Really pretty.”