#(kerc)

@kouros-herc

Ken had been doing the dishes when his phone, sitting on the counter next to the sink, started to ring. He'd glanced at the name and startled when he saw the picture of his parents with the ID Mother looking back at him. He hastily dried a hand on a towel to reach forward and slide his finger across the screen to answer and hit the speaker button.

"Hi, Mom!" he greeted, trying to get everything in order to get his hands free and to get the phone into his hands.

"Hello, darlin'," said the phone muffled tone of his mother, pleasant and sweet. "How are you?"

"I'm good, you know," he replied, finally able to get the towel between his hands to dry off. "What about you? How's dad?"

"Oh, we were doin' just fine until we had to hear that you wouldn't be coming home for the holidays this year," she said and Ken squeezed his eyes shut, frozen in place as his stomach dropped. "So not only are we confused as to why our eldest doesn't want to see us, but we're also wondering why he has to act like a coward and get that message to us through his little sister at breakfast?"

Ken quickly scooped up the phone, getting it off speaker, and pressing it to his ear, "I'm- I didn't mean for her to tell you. I was going to call, but it was-!"

"Don't you dare use those time zone excuses," she said, voice still loud and making him wince as he leaned against the counter. "So it's true then? You're not coming home? Not even for Yom Kippur?"

Again, he hesitated to answer, knowing that as soon as he did the conversation was only going to get that much worse. The silence seemed to speak for itself.

@kouros-herc

A proper year and a month had turned over since Ken had been living with Hercules Kouros, and he had learned several things about his roommate over that time. Some things Hercules had told him out right, some things other people had given to him, and then there were the things that Ken had picked up on himself.

The main one being, Hercules' wardrobe.

Look, it was fine and all, but Ken couldn't help but to feel like the guy had so much more potential in him and that it was Ken's absolute responsibility to show him that! Seriously, he still kicked himself thinking about how he had let him take Vixey to Remy's in that window pain shirt and blue trouser ensemble. Agh! And that brown belt! No tie? No jacket? Unflattering? Boring? All things Ken knew Hercules wasn't. Just like he also wasn't the same old work out shorts and zip ups and slides.

He had just been trying to think of how to approach without scaring Hercules off, because he felt like if he said anything to alarm the self-consciousness of him in a negative way then it could all go very wrong.

@kouros-herc​

Twas...not quite the season just yet, but Ken could feel it brimming beneath the surface. Halloween had been kicked to the curb as soon as November hit, everyone waiting for the fuddy duddies to get their, ‘It’s not even December!’s out before they actually got to enjoy themselves and this time of year.

As for Ken and Hercules, they had been tasked with a mission. A nice mission, one that really made Ken happy to be apart of the Southern Isles.

One of the residents was in need of a little help this year. She was getting too old to be standing on any ladders or spending too much time out in the cold, but was still wanting to decorate her house for the season. 

The boys at 433 Sycamore were more than happy to help! And on top of the decorations she already had, Ken went out and got more because, already having a vision for this place.

“Alright!” Ken was standing on the front lawn with Herclues, the boxes of said decorations, and tools to help, sat around them, ready to be put up. “I think we should start with the roof.”

@kouros-herc

Ken was ever so happy that the magic was back in town, even if he had none himself. It meant that everyone at the Inn was back, thank goodness because he had seriously been wondering what the heck they were going to do, and it meant the town could settle back into normalcy. At least, what was normal for Swynlake.

He had felt bad last time for not signing up helping to clean everything up after the whole demon storm thingy at Prom, so when Hercules had asked if he wanted to help out this time he was quick to agree.

They had been assigned to help out in their own neck of the woods, where the Southern Isles was backed up against Enchantra herself. People’s fences had been mowed down by big ol’ branches and overgrown brush. And who better to rebuild them and cut all that back than them?

Probably several people with more experience in fence building but, hey, they were pretty good, too!

@kouros-herc

The Carson land had been tended to by other hands ever since the family had made enough money to pay for the services. The hedges were always trimmed, not a leaf out of place, and the grass was soft enough that several unplanned naps would occur in the week or two of Spring that Texas would offer. 

Once, when he had been 17 and bored, he had gone outside and sunk down to his knees beside the flowerbeds. Weeds were sprouting and he had started to pull at them. It had been one of his chores to do back in Swynlake, Jules giving him something simple but time consuming to do when she worked outside on the yard. 

His mother had been furious. Ken hadn’t touched a garden since. 

It’s why he had such nervous energy about him as he and Hercules stood, looking at their front yard. Giddy, to be sure, but still nervous. It didn’t look bad by any means but with Annie’s whole...thing, Ken thought they should clean it up a bit. Smooth over those rough edges with some TLC!