isn't this great?

The bells jingled above Milo’s head as he stepped into the warmth of the local cafe. Shivers ran down his spine and Milo breathed out a relieved sigh to be indoors, watching his breath appear and dissipate in front of his mouth. Immediately finding Eric within the crowd, Milo waved and grinned, making his way to the table that Eric had gotten for the both of them.

Sitting down, Milo finally shed the cold peacoat hanging off his shoulders, now resting on the back of his chair to shed the last of the wet snow on the material. 

“It’s always a pleasure to see you outside of the context of school.” Milo laughed softly, rubbing his red nose. He leaned forward and brought his eyes up to meet Eric’s solemn ones. How Milo wished he could take the pain away for even just a little bit. If anybody deserved peace, it was his friend.

“Ah, well, I’m quite a boring person, I think. I always find a way to entertain myself back at home. TV, taking care of my cat, drawing, baking - “ Milo eagerly added, face brightening at the sudden reminder of his hobby.

“Especially when it’s cold out. Baking is a wonderful way to pass the time.”

ERIC CHUCKLED AT the thought. “I appreciate the suggestion, Lo, but I can’t bake. I’ve never baked anything in my life!” Vaguely, he could remember helping his mother cut out cookies in the shape of holiday symbols ― bells, trees, and bows. The young boy had taken the liberty of straying from the cookie cutters and making his own shapes ― a present and a snowball, both of which he was quite proud of. “You’ll have to teach me a few things some time,” he decided. “I was thinking more along the lines of sledding or skiing, but a sweet or two every now and again isn’t so awful for you, is it? Otherwise they wouldn’t be called sweets.” He smiled cheekily.

A grin felt so much more comfortable to wear while in someone’s company, and so he continued wearing it even as he shook his head. “I always forget that you’re a cat person. I don’t know how we ever became friends,” he teased. “That does remind me though that I’ve been thinking about getting a dog. I used to have one ― absolute best dog in the world. You would have loved him... But the second best dog must be out there, right? Just waiting for someone like me to come along. That’s what they say in those commercials. I’m just worried I won’t have enough time for one. How do you balance being a professor and a pet owner?”

SEVEN DEADLY SINDAY: “I take what they took from me.”

Eric furrowed his brows with concern, then quirked one light-heartedly. “That doesn’t sound like you, Lo. Have you been spending time with the pessimists again?” Despite the concerns the words raised coming from someone as gentle as his friends, the man had never been the sort to tell someone what to do or how to feel. A person had to make their own choices, he believed. “What are you hoping to take from them? Maybe I have an extra I can give to you instead,” he added with a laugh, slapping Milo lightly on the shoulder.

SEVEN DEADLY SINDAY:  “I can’t help that I deserve better than that.” 

Hurt spread like a contagion across the suddenly pale face of the man. He could feel his heart drop to his stomach. “Better than what, Ariel?” He pleaded desperately. “Arabelle and I ― we ― we aren’t even together. All this time I’ve been waiting for you, and you’ve been in love with another man like I never meant anything to you at all. Like the life we built together ― the family ―like… it just meant nothing to you.” Anyone else may have become angry at the remark, but Eric was just desperately confused. “Our life back in the Homeland - that was my best life, Ariel. If it wasn’t yours too then… I’m sorry, but I don’t think I have anything better to offer.”

SEVEN DEADLY SINDAY:  “Remind me why I’m doing this when I get nothing out of it?” ( @frightmvster )

“It’s all for the children,” Eric gladly reminded him. His features were decorated with a bright grin as he watched Jack step out in his bright red suit. “They’re going to love this. You’re just missing…” Mumbling to himself, he looked around for the last piece of the costume. “Aha!” He picked up the matching red hat and shook it out a bit, then placed it delicately on top of Jack’s head. “There you are, Bones. Or should I call you Mr. Claus, now?”

LOCATION: Fabletown Community College

STATUS: closed // @arabxlle-whitman

TEACHING WAS A great distraction for Eric Frederiksen. Lecturing on marine biology combined both what he was passionate about, the water, and what he was accustomed to back in the Homeland, which was being the center of attention for a large crowd of people. Often, he easily lost himself in the subject, coming back to reality only when a student asked for him to slow down or Roger or Milo interrupted his class. Most of his students were taking the class only to fulfill a required credit, which Eric didn’t mind, though consequently, it wasn’t often that anyone stayed behind after class for questions or discussions. When all had filed out of the classroom except one, he looked up from the desktop to ask if there was something he could help them with.

“Arabelle,” he greeted, surprised. “I didn’t even see you come in.” He shut down the computer and sloppily gathered the papers on his desk, which soon ended on the ground after a failed attempt to quickly transfer them to his brief case. Glancing towards her, he played it off with a chuckle, and bent down to collect the essays. “It’s going to be a long night grading these...” he mumbled. Then, to Arabelle, asked, “What did you think of the lecture today? There isn’t much left to teach in this course. The semester’s almost over. I hope you still found something interesting, though.” 

LOCATION: Sheriff's Office 

STATUS: closed // @misslvdy

APPOINTMENTS WITH THE sheriff had become a nearly weekly ritual since Eric Frederiksen arrived in Fabletown almost a little over a year ago. To badger for updates and fish for reassurance that the officials were doing all that they could to get a status on his children was the only thing that kept the man from feeling completely helpless against the Exodus. With so little available information, it was difficult not to give up hope, but he didn’t ever want his children to think that he had forgotten about them. 

As he walked into the station, a coffee in each hand, he greeted everyone he walked passed ― even stopped and asked how some were doing and how the job was treating them and if their families were well. When he reached the sheriff’s office, he waited patiently in the doorway until invited inside. “Knock, knock,” he announced with a smile. “I brought you a coffee. I’m afraid it’s not your usual. The barista talked me into trying some new, holiday drink. I don’t think it’s half bad, though I don’t know if I would agree that it’s the best in town... How’s the season treating you, Sheriff?”

LOCATION: Wonderland 

STATUS: closed // @rvsethorned

THE CLUBBING SCENE wasn’t one that Eric Frederiksen had ever found himself in before. Flashing lights and loud music was a new phenomenon for the science professor. The women wore so few clothes and the men even less, and every time a dancing body pressed against his he moved and wiggled and hurried away. His plaid shirt was hot in the atmosphere, and he searched endlessly for a corner of solitude that would allow him to unbutton the sleeves and roll them up to his elbows. Doing so did little to increase his comfort. 

As someone who was raised with lessons of how to be a proper host, Eric lurked along the walls, attempting to work up the courage to approach someone. Everyone seemed so busy, however, and very few seemed to be in the mood for a casual conversation. It was only in the midst of his observational state that he noticed a hefty bill fall from a woman’s pocket. He waited a split moment to see if she would notice, but when she began to walk away, he hurried to pick it up. “Excuse me  ― “ Eric walked quickly through the crowd to catch up with her. “Excuse me, Miss. You dropped this. You dropped this money over there.” He offered the bill to her. Then, seeing his opportunity for human interaction, he chuckled as though preparing to tell a joke, but didn’t. “You sure wouldn’t want to lose that.”

SEND MY MUSE “👀 + A QUESTION” AND THEY’LL HAVE TO ANSWER WITH 100% HONESTY.

The question was one Eric had an answer prepared for, as it was one that he told himself each morning when he woke up and each night before he went to bed. “I think Melody and Caspian are still in the Homeland being taken care of by my father and Ariel’s,” he said. “From what I can see, there haven’t been many children as young as them who have come to Fabletown yet. Maybe they never will. It’d be wonderful if they could be here with me, but for now I can only assume that they’re still at home where I last saw them.” 

LOCATION: Eric’s House 

STATUS: closed // @ellabellamy

THE DOORBELL RANG and Eric Frederiksen fiddled with his hands as he walked to greet his guest. The state of his surroundings was absolutely humiliating ― books and loose leaf paper littered the carpet, dirty dishes were piled high in the sink, and he couldn’t tell which clothes were clean and which weren’t. It wasn’t the sort of environment he was used to living in and it most certainly wasn’t the sort that he wanted to become used to, but motivation had been lost with the sunshine and time had gotten away from him. Where had the year gone?

“Hi. Ella,” he said as he opened the door, taking an awkwardly long pause between the greeting and her name. He had addressed an entire country and sea of citizens and had found his true love, albeit it appeared as though girls made him nervous regardless of circumstance. “Thanks for coming. I’m really sorry. It’s an awful... It’s just awful.” He looked over his shoulder at the mess behind him, then stepped aside to allow her to see for herself. “I don’t know when it got this bad. You have my word that it’s not usually like this. I don’t want it to be like this, either. It’s just so much and... I need help.” He looked at her with an nervous expression, as though fearful that she’d see the mess and deem it a lost cause. “We can clean this. Can’t we? Tell me I won’t have to live in this for the rest of my life.” 

SEND MY MUSE “👀 + A QUESTION” AND THEY’LL HAVE TO ANSWER WITH 100% HONESTY.

His shoulders slumped. This sort of pain wasn’t what he had been expecting when he agreed to answer truthfully. “It feels awful,” he answered. “It feels…” He furrowed his brows and blinked, trying to think of a comprehensible way to express what he felt about Ariel. “It hurts. It hurts more than anything I’ve ever felt before. But… If she’s happy then I’m happy, and that’s what I’ll keep telling myself.”

SEND MY MUSE “👀 + A QUESTION” AND THEY’LL HAVE TO ANSWER WITH 100% HONESTY.

“Of course,” Eric answered without hesitation. He shook his head at the mere thought that true love didn’t exist, as some pessimists often tried to convince him. “The feeling that you would do anything for someone else, would wait as long as you needed to for someone else… It’s hard not to believe in something I already have. I lost her, but she’s happy, so I’m happy. That’s true love.”  

LOCATION: Local Coffee Shop 

STATUS: closed // @milo-james-thatch

AS THE GROUND outside became coated with a thick layer of snow, Eric Frederiken’s thoughts became consumed with those of his children and the endless possibilities of where they were and what they were doing now. His longing for the reunion of his family was a torture endured year round, but the holidays made it nearly unbearable. Teaching at the local college at least got him out and about when he wanted to stay in, which he recognized as a benefit of the job, and it helped his mood ― until it couldn’t anymore. 

He looked up from the straw wrapper in his hand, which he had been mindlessly folding and unfolding and folding and unfolding and ― he smiled at Milo. “Hey. How are you? I’m glad you could make it. I know finals week is a bit stressful for everyone, but I thought it’d be nice to get away from grading for a bit.” Final papers and exams and emails from students begging for extra credit were a nice distraction from his own woes, but he could only stare at a computer screen for so long before his vision went fuzzy. “I know I should be relieved that the semester’s almost over. I just don’t know what to do with myself until the next one begins,” he sighed, looking outside with a sullen expression. “What do people usually do to occupy themselves here, Milo?”