Keplar's Nova

He paused the tuning on his guitar in order to give Temperance a proper look of confusion. He hadn’t thought he was being too loud. There was definitely a silent thought joke about someone being too old.

“Sorry.”

Bast was notorious on campus for just perching on a random ledge or spot around Polaris in order to play his guitar. This moment was simply that; him sitting along the path that lead out towards Novas.

“I could play it out of tune.” He offered with a grin.

“...but that might be worse.” He made a brief motion to his ear as if it was necessary to add onto the implication.

Ice Animal Sculptures

She’s in the middle of pulling something out of the oven when what she has on the stove on the opposite side of the kitchen begins to boil over; at that moment, she sees someone enter the room in her peripheral. Charlie doesn’t take the time to see who it is before she speaks hurriedly. “Can you turn down that stove burner?” And then, a careless afterthought: “Please.” ( @polarisbri​ )

“Oof! Got it!” Her pace is picked up to a trot and she spins the burner off.

“You’ve got a whole bakery going here!” She looked around wide eyed, simultaneously impressed and concerned.

“What do you need help with?” She asks as she walks over to wash her hands. “Put me to work.”

She walked closer and peaked over Charlie’s shoulder.

“Taste tester is preferred but I could mix things up too.” She teased.

Despite the curse and despite the blow up from Charlie, Harper seemed to hold no animosity even immediately after.

If given the opportunity Harper avoided most conflict. Mostly because crisis and chaos was pulled towards her to get balanced on the regular.

It felt surreal. The typical dumbass grin he wore melted into a sincerely awed expression as the snowflakes paused and then burst around them.

Danger was no where on Bast’s radar. And even if she called his attention to it, he wouldn’t take caution. At least, not enough to create distance between them. Not unless she requested it.

The temperature in the room had dropped and Bast could see his own breath as he watched her search for the clothes. Really, he was staring. His brain couldn’t comprehend her suffering and her loneliness. He didn’t get why someone like Odelia was alone so often. He had determined so far that she was kind, smart, had a sense of humor, and was hot as hell beautiful.

When Odelia came back with a hat, Bast laughed and adjusted it on the snowman’s head. “This is going to end up looking like a Halloween decoration if you put me in charge.” He warned playfully and then dug into his pockets to try and figure out what to use.

He produced some loose change, a cigarette and an old metallic looking gum wrapper that had been balled up.

The penny and quarter went to be eyes, the gum wrapper was the nose, and then he stuck the cigarette in the snowman’s mouth.

“Do you know where snowmen keep their money?”

He was back to grinning like an absolute idiot.

If she took the bait for the joke, he’d reach over and with a slight of hand trick, he’d pretend to pull another quarter from behind her ear.

“In a snow bank.”

Originally posted by hellofavillain

Odelia, although delighted, was being reckless and stupid. The last time she’d had this sort of fun, she’d sent her entire town outside of Tel Aviv in frost for the entire growing season. They had all died because of her negligence. Her siblings, her parents– they suffered at her hand. What right did she have to be so careless with her powers?

Odelia watched as he gave the snowman a face, and clapped her hands in delight as he pulled a quarter from behind her ear. She smiled in spite of herself– Bast had a way of improving her mood and almost making her forget her own trauma.

Almost.

With a wave of her hand, all of the snow and snowmen disappeared, the quarters and gum wrapper and cigarette clattering to the floor.

Her sister’s voice rings in her ears, please don’t shut me out again!

“Well,” Odelia bristles, the smile on her lips admittedly much more fake. “That was fun. Thank you so much for humoring me.”

Wait. What—?

He blinked at the spot the snowman had been and then looked up at Odelia with concern. He didn’t bother to hide any of that confusion that he felt.

Was it the bad joke?

No... she had laughed!

His blue eyes searched over her as if trying to piece a now broken puzzle together.

“Humor you?” He shook his head. “Thanks for humoring me!” He laughed softly but also seemed unsure.

Without knowing what line he had crossed to have her suddenly shut down, he moved to pick up the trash from the floor.

He took a step towards the door and opened his mouth to start some form of a bantered goodbye but then he stopped and turned to face her. He remembered why he had shown up in the first place.

His eyebrows furrowed some and he was obviously struggling to say something more appropriate for the moment.

“Gotta promise me something.” He hid the seriousness of his request under a lopsided grin.

“Before you go thinking anything stupid again you have to consult me first.”

He winked.

“That’s my wheelhouse. Not yours.”

He really wasn’t sure where he stood with her after the sudden shift or where things had gone wrong, but he didn’t want to leave without at least trying to repair the moment.

“I’ll bite your ankles.” She narrowed her eyes playfully, warning them in an empty threat after teased for being short. 

When they made an assumption that she was too scared to get numbers her jaw dropped and she got a gleam in her eyes to suggest that what River had just suggested was fighting words.  “You better watch it River or else you’ll be tossed into your own namesake.” She threatened him a second time and shook her head, muttering something about ‘girls numbers’ and ‘game’ and ‘if she really wanted to’.  Izzy was a weird creature. She could waltz right up to a stranger and ask their number or start up a conversation with anyone so long as she didn’t care about them.  Add in emotions and suddenly she was dysfunctional. But few at Polaris had learned this. Always kept at arms length. Attachments meant stability. Stability was the opposite of change.  When River explained that meaning behind the slang term she nodded along. “I guess I could see that. You’ve got the confidence and the focus. You can keep people’s attention. Sure. Why not? Being a sharpshooter isn’t the worst thing you’ve been called I’m sure.” But then she grinned boldly.  “You were bored. I fixed it. You’re welcome.”  She did a little dance with the underwear she found of his that had something ridiculous as a print. 

“Like a little Chihuahua? That’s so cute! I’ve always wanted one of those!”

River’s smirk quickly turned into a grin, and they crossed their arms as Izzy tried to deflect. “You already promised to throw me into a lake, so why would I be scared of a river? You’re losing your edge, babe.” 

Instead of letting up, they decided to mess with Izzy by getting personal. “Any girl’s you’ve got your eyes on that I know? Even if I don’t know her, tell me. You conveniently let me blab on about my personal life so you don’t have to talk about yours. People like you always think I don’t notice, but I do.” 

I just happen love talking about myself, and the attention is nice too.

River shifted their focus to another area of their closet, hoping to find the missing piece of clothing. “Yeah, fucking tell me about it. I usually something in the vein of obnoxious or attention-seeking,” they called over their shoulder. “Being called a sniper is cool and all until I sit down and realize I’m painfully single.”

They gasped and hurried across the room to snatch the underwear from Izzy’s grasp. “Stop going through my underwear! You’re such a weirdo. We’re looking for my swim shorts, remember? Focus. You can be a creep some other time.”

Izzy’s answer to River was to be obnoxious and list off the names of all of the women in “Mambo #5”.

The grin she wore was triumphant and pretty priceless. As if she had been waiting to use that comeback.

“It’s so cute you assume I have a personal life. I have one life. It’s pretty damn public.” She made a wide sweeping gesture with the underwear as a flag. “Unlike these.”

It was difficult to tell if her deflection was just her being stuck in ‘banter’ mode or if she was purposefully avoiding. She didn’t have an obvious ‘soft spot’.

With a subtle and smooth motion of her hand, the tea kettle moved over to the correct burner. It wasn’t telekinesis; instead a thin vine had wrapped around the handle and pulled it into place. It’s next trick was to dial the stove to the correct setting. All an extension of Anka’s arm.

“It’s a simple blend of lavender and camomile but the honey is from our own stock this year.” She explained with a pride that emphasizes the “our” part of her life. She really loved her students. Her job wasn’t just a paycheck. Polaris was home.

“What do you think you’ll do now?” It was a vague an gentle question that Alaric could take in any direction.

Alaric takes the tea gratefully, and lets warmth and comfort envelop him as he takes a sip. The combination of lavender, chamomile and honey reminds him of something he can’t quite place. The hot beverage is quite like a hug. He needs it.

Food was a life force and something Anka was passionate about. Often she’d go on about how people took food for granted, how too many things were processed past a point of being recognizable and so on. It was a classic “old person” rant but it typically ended with her showering whoever would listen with fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and teas from the greenhouse and garden.

She looked over Alaric in a motherly way as if determining whether or not he needed any more “mending” but she released him to the world.

“Anything or anyone else a trouble to you?” She asked and then glanced at the space where the ‘curse’ had previously done some damage before she had cleaned things up.

“Things got quite interesting for a moment.”

There wasn’t a moment of hesitation before Bast was playing in the snow that formed around him.

He scooped up a handful and started to pack it into a snowball and narrowed his eyes at Odelia as if he was sizing her up. A worthy adversary in a snowball ‘fight.’

He lofted it lazily into the air in an arc that she could easily avoid but it might ‘poof’ onto the top of her head on contact if she didn’t move.

The assembly of the snowman had Bast laughing and totally amazed. “Wait! That’s cheating!” He mocked a complaint and pointed at the ground.

“You’re supposed to wrestle the snow on the ground and hope it sticks to itself and then push it around the yard randomly until it’s big enough!” He teased.

He stepped up and touched the snowman as if to confirm it was real.

The fire witch didn’t emanate heat. In fact, most of the time Bast looked and acted like a typical “mortal.” It was only in times of extreme upset that the flames appeared; and typically he was good natured.

“I’ll take either.” He nodded sagely with a smirk. “Any reason to celebrate right?”

What he wasn’t explaining is that “holidays” of any sort weren’t something he experienced as a child. Instead, celebrations were more phrased as ‘mom’s boyfriend got out of jail!’ And ‘we’re not getting evicted this month.’ Or, ‘someone remembered your birthday correctly here’s a mostly used gift card.”

He wasn’t so sheltered. He knew the rest of the world wasn’t the same as his. He knew of families that had large family get togethers, feasts, and decorations.

“What can we decorate our new friend with?” He asked and looked around her apartment briefly before turning an eager look back to Odelia.

There was genuine happiness on his face; fully transparent with his emotions. Although he might have dressed the part of the ‘bad boy’ he didn’t act it. It was mostly a defensive tactic he kept from his mortal life. If he looked like he was a threat; maybe he could have peace.

Originally posted by buckybarnesbakery

As the snowball sails toward her head, Odelia momentarily debates letting it hit her or brushing it away. Instead, she opts to show off a little more. This is dangerous– nobody has ever reacted in such a way to her powers, and having someone appreciate them… it’s like a sip of the most incredible wine, gulping it down and then being told you’ll only have that one glass. She knows it won’t end well, but it’s so freeing.

Instead, she waves a hand and the snowball bursts into a million tiny crystals that suspend in the air for a moment before she sends them whirling on the wind she creates, falling down around her like diamonds that settle in her hair, on her nose.

“Right,” She nods, before launching into her drawers for an article of clothing she can wrap around the snowfamily.

There’s not too many wintry garments in her possession, believe it or not, as Odelia always runs chilly and the temperature doesn’t affect her. If anything, she’s easily overheated– anything above freezing is balmy for her.

Still, she’s able to dig up a couple of scarves, hats, and headbands, that might do their job. “You’re on your own for the faces.”

Danger was no where on Bast’s radar. And even if she called his attention to it, he wouldn’t take caution. At least, not enough to create distance between them. Not unless she requested it.

The temperature in the room had dropped and Bast could see his own breath as he watched her search for the clothes. Really, he was staring. His brain couldn’t comprehend her suffering and her loneliness. He didn’t get why someone like Odelia was alone so often. He had determined so far that she was kind, smart, had a sense of humor, and was hot as hell beautiful.

When Odelia came back with a hat, Bast laughed and adjusted it on the snowman’s head. “This is going to end up looking like a Halloween decoration if you put me in charge.” He warned playfully and then dug into his pockets to try and figure out what to use.

He produced some loose change, a cigarette and an old metallic looking gum wrapper that had been balled up.

The penny and quarter went to be eyes, the gum wrapper was the nose, and then he stuck the cigarette in the snowman’s mouth.

“Do you know where snowmen keep their money?”

He was back to grinning like an absolute idiot.

If she took the bait for the joke, he’d reach over and with a slight of hand trick, he’d pretend to pull another quarter from behind her ear.

“In a snow bank.”