#silkeared

hansa had been watching the ghost for about five minutes. when she wasn't helping people pick out things, it seemed like ender was. what she really wanted to do was walk over and tell her she didn't work there but instead just let's her eyes do all the talking ( to the back of the ghost's head ). the annoying thing was she knew she'd like her too. she had her own ender once upon a time and the familiarity made the gorgon both nostalgic for having a friend like that, and sad when she thought of one of the backstabbers she accidentally killed. maybe ender finally feels hansa's thoughts but the gorgon let's her glare soften when ender turns towards her and meets her gaze. ❝ hold on, i have some new old stuff to sort through. ❞ they leave and return with a box barely a minute later. ❝ first pick if you want. ❞ a nice gesture said with zero emotion.

An offer to spend time with a friend had, on this occasion, encouraged Perdita to give one of her less favoured mediums another attempt. Typically, she preferred to sculpt with stone or ceramics, or sometimes with rare or bizarre materials. One sculpture she'd exhibited before Portum was a "self-portrait" made of disjointed broken statue parts and an assortment of obsolete machinery from mankind's may wars.

But woodcarving? Let's just say she wasn't as experienced with wood as a medium, but she figured that a nice change of pace would be a good way to work alongside Jasper. She had hoped it might seem a little less intimidating if she wasn't entirely in her element. Consider it more of... two friends attempting a new hobby together rather than one attempting to teach the other something, especially because she'd always been a bit of a crappy mentor.

But either way, she seemed to be in her element, rhythmically chipping away at her block of wood, stopping routinely to run her fingers across the jagged edges of her work.

"How's yours looking?" she asked with a slight hum, tilting her head a little to the right towards the werewolf sat next to her. "What is it that you're making, again?"

adelaide could practically hear her friend's voice in her ears, telling — no, demanding — she not waste being dressed up. ender helped her pick out the dress she was using for a night singing, but the night was still young and it seemed silly to go home. most decisions she made were on a whim, going with how she felt. and it was a good enough reason for the woman to go see him. the door opens and whatever was on addie's mind vanishes when she sees fletcher's face, mouth lifting into a smile. ❝ hi. ❞ even with the few inches her heels give her, she has to press into the balls of her feet to place a kiss on his cheek. ❝ i hope it's okay i just came by. i wanted to see you. ❞ wearing her heart on her sleeve came easy. just saying the thing; whatever it was in that moment. ❝ actually, i wanted you to see me. ❞ an admission that comes with a warmth starting to spread from her cheeks.

lost in time was better than lost literally. though, maybe not for adelaide. time was a tricky thing for her. but neither were the issue. she'd thank her new four-legged, furry friend for that. keeping up with the animal's routine over the past couple weeks helped to give the hybrid some routine of her own. ultimately helping when things got foggy. which they were now — literally. and getting darker, ade having lost track of time while out. the walk back is quiet. it's too easy to get caught in a downpour these days; you never know when it's gonna happen either. not that someone from the swamp minds a little rain. except new orleans rain is so much warmer. addie's luck is finally lost, a gust of cold wind rolling in with more fog accompanying it. they bring a couple of drops, then, a few more, and it's not long before it steadies. she knows they have a couple of minutes, if that, to find a place to wait it out and she knows just the spot. the firestation doors are open for the trucks with nowhere to go, and the pair tuck in, just enough to remain covered. she has taz sit, but in another minute she's standing, tail wagging and alerting ade to their company. ❝ sorry! just trying to wait out — ❞ she turns, surprised to see the dragon, words stuck for a moment. ❝ — the rain. ❞ gentle pats try to ease taz, but she's not yet learned to handle hier excitement when meeting someone new. ❝ that's okay right? ❞ despite his surliness, adelaide doesn't actually expect to be turned away. ❝ at least, for her sake?, ❞ she says of the brownish tan mix, really trying hammer it in for good measure. she's seen the other quite moody before.

the vampire couldn't say they felt very useful lately, but they were trying to. it was a strange feeling for them, not having all the answers or knowing where to find them. sasha wasn't good at doing nothing though. the junkyard had become their candy store, trying to find what they could, make some newer things for the town. being incredibly strong is probably their favorite thing, carrying a few pieces that might have been too heavy for them when they were human. ❝ do you mind grabbing that?, ❞ they call from behind a mask that works to block some of the blood smell that remains, head tilting towards their getaway part rolling away. ❝ you can just plop it right on top of this pile, ❞ there head motions to their arms.

the line was not very long, but a hold up at the register left a few people waiting. adelaide one of them. she didn't mind. it gave her time to think and rethink about what she wanted to get, humming softly to herself while reading over the menu again. a minute passes. another. a few pass and there's movement but adelaide is focused on the person standing in front of her. an angel. literally. what an incredible thing. mei's words pop into her head and addie fights a giggle but can't fight the intrusive thought, leaning forward slightly and taking a sniff. lucky her, he turns, mortifying the hybrid in the process. ❝ crap, sorry. i didn't mean to ... sniff ... you, ❞ absolutely mortifying. she smiles, hesitant, hoping since he is of divinity, he'll be kind. ❝ i had this strange idea that you would smell like yeast. but it's more like, ❞ she thinks for a second, ❝ motor oil. ❞

gabriel enjoyed walking through portum, to be reminded of how complicated it was. their first few weeks in portum were ... difficult, the array of demons and other beings strange for even one with such a long life. but as the years went, and he learned more about the mysterious town, they got used to this new normal — eventually beginning to understand why they found such a place. not all lived with such a purpose, even gabe feeling it slip at times; perhaps something human in them. but they knew ephraim struggled willing him to pop in on the angel — quite literally. instead of taking that walk he enjoyed, gabe closed his eyes and let the other come into view, letting themself arrive on top of the vehicle the other was working on. ❝ sometimes i wish you worked somewhere cleaner. ❞

"Jesus feckin' Christ, I didn't think there'd be this many people,"

Was she having doubts? Maybe. But in Íde's defence, she'd been in Portum for a month and in this band for a quarter of that time. Enough time for a couple of rehearsals, but not enough time to settle on an actual, proper band name. Enough time for a setlist, but not enough time for a warm up gig at the old haunt, or something, with their newest member.

They were on in five minutes, and it really seemed like that time was going to be filled with nothing but explicative and nervous Irish rambling from the pacing medium. Perhaps later she'll laugh about it, about why and how she'd ended up agreeing to the one situation that was going to make her lose her cool in public.

"What if my ma's in the audience? Or worse, what if she starts having ideas? Or if we're absolute shite and can't go out in public again?"