i'm a ruin

The red robes catch his eye right away, a stark contrast in comparison to the other Followers. He wonders if they have some meaning, but the thought is quickly dismissed when they speak to him.

“I– I don’t know why I’m here, honestly.” He can’t keep his voice steady, the thought of being among Osiris’ Followers a lot to take in. He speaks a partial truth. That is, in the end, didn’t he always know he’d end up here?

The Dawning Ball. A day that was supposed to be about celebrating, good cheer for the coming year, and having a good time with those you were close to. This was the first year that Haytham had dared to even go, spending much too long grooming both himself and Prestigious so they would look nice together.

And then, of course, Blaise had to be there. Haytham should have figured, considering, but he hadn’t even really put much mind towards who would show up. But the moment he saw the exo early in the evening, hanging off his husband’s arm – he had a feeling there would be an issue.

And, of course, he was right. In fact, Haytham had a feeling maybe Blaise was watching and waiting, because it seemed like the one moment Prestigious had walked away to fetch him something… Blaise appeared beside him.

Haytham tried to pretend like he didn’t notice him at first. Staring off in the direction that his boyfriend had gone, ignoring the small exo that was pretending to look at the food on the table. But he could feel those blue eyes flicking back and forth to him, and when he didn’t acknowledge the other warlock’s presence, Blaise finally spoke to him.

“Oh, Haytham!” He said, as if he hadn’t known Haytham was there at all.“You and Prestigious are here?”

Haytham let out a small huff of annoyed breath, sipping on the drink that he had in his hand, making sure to take his time to reply. “Clearly.” He said – knowing for certain Blaise had been watching, then, since Prestigious wasn’t there for him to actually see.

“Wow.” Blaise said, in a way that was absolutely not a genuine exclamation of surprise. Only then did Haytham tilt his head, fully looking towards his current company as he waited for whatever stab was coming. “I didn’t know they let just anyone come to the ball. Dallas made it sound like it was for… how did he put it… proper Guardians?”

Continuing to stare at Blaise for a long few more seconds, he took another sip of his drink. It was an open party – he knew it, and he was sure Blaise knew it as well. But still, he couldn’t help but fight back just a little bit, even if it was in poor taste. He lowered his drink, holding it in between both of his hands as he said as sweetly as he could manage.

“If that were true, Blaise, then I’d be curious to know how you manged to get in. Past riding on your husband’s reputation, that is.”

Honestly Blaise doesn't know why he's surprised to see Haytham and.. Prestigious at the party, but it still doesn't negate the fact that it rubs him the wrong way. After all the trouble that Titan's caused, even lately, getting assigned to Wall duty for the second time for his bad behavior, Blaise just feels like he shouldn't be allowed to show up at all.

Haytham, on the other hand, doesn't bother him as much, but the irritation towards him can't be helped. Like he can't see just how insufferable Prestigious is. Warlocks are supposed to be smart. Haytham is smart. Giving Prestigious the benefit of the doubt is just not smart!

His little comment is probably taking things a bit too far, as he tends to do sometimes, but what Haytham says is undoubtedly worse. "Oh?" Optics jolt brighter for just a second, easy to miss if one wasn't paying attention, but he catches himself, knowing better than to get angry over something so petty. "Well," Forcing a laugh, he puts a gentle hand on Haytham's arm. "I have submitted hundreds of pages of research to the Vanguard. Maybe even thousands? You must have overlooked that, but it's understandable, Haytham."

(( BOLD ALL THAT APPLY. Italicize leaning or former. ))

[ WEALTH ]

$ Financial : wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty

✚ Medical : fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non applicable

✪ Class or Caste : upper / middle / working / street trash / slave / unsure

✔ Education : qualified / unqualified / studying / other

✖ Criminal Record : yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no / has committed crimes but not caught yet

[ FAMILY ]

◒ Children : has a child or children / has no children / wants children /

◑ Relationship with Family : closer with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased

◔ Affiliation : orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by birth parent(s) / not applicable

[ TRAITS + TENDENCIES ]

♦ extroverted /introverted / in between

♦ disorganized / organized / in between

♦ close-minded / open minded / in between

♦ calm / anxious / in between

♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in between

♦ cautious / reckless / in between

♦ patient / impatient / in between

♦ outspoken / reserved / in between

♦ leader / follower / in between

♦ empathetic / unempathetic / in between

♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in between

♦ traditional / modern / in between

♦ hard working / lazy / in between

♦ cultured / uncultured / in between / unknown

♦ loyal / disloyal / in between / unknown

♦ faithful / unfaithful / in between

[ BELIEFS ]

★ Faith : monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic / it’s complicated / humanist

☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits : yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✮ Belief in an Afterlife : yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✯ Belief in Reincarnation : yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

❃ Belief in Aliens : yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✧ Religious : orthodox / liberal / in between / not religlious / protestant

❀ Philosophical : yes / no / don’t know

[ SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION ]

❤ Sexuality : heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual / demisexual

❥ Sex : sex repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naive and clueless

♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naive and clueless

❣ Sexually : adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious / inhibited

⚧ Potential Sexual Partners : male / female / agender / other / none / all

⚧ Potential Romantic Partners : male / female / agender / other / none / all

[ ABILITIES ]

☠ Combat Skills : excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

≡ Literacy Skills : excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✍ Artistic Skills : excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✂ Technical Skills : excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

[ HABITS ]

☕ Drinking Alcohol : never / sometimes / frequently /  to excess

☁ Smoking : trying to quit / never / sometimes / frequently / to excess

✿ Other Narcotics : never / sometimes / frequently / to excess

✌ Medicinal Drugs : never / sometimes / frequently / to excess

☻ Indulgent Food : never / sometimes / frequently / to excess

$ Splurge Spending : never / sometimes / frequently / to excess

For every “⏳” I receive, my muse will openly talk about a bit of their backstory.

“I went to Mars not that long ago. A year now, maybe? For some answers.” It was a trip he’d taken with only his Ghost, a very personal journey for him. A dark time. Confused, unsure of who we was anymore.

“You know the Exoscience building is still there? Thousands of files, mine included. Probably won’t have a lot of luck reading much.” He laughs to himself, quiet. “Lots and lots of decryption. And corruption. It took Trinket a couple days just to decipher the basics!”

“Scary stuff.” A tilt of his head, gaze off to the side, his thoughts anywhere but here. “Some of it, at least. I was just a kid. Sixteen.” He pauses for a long few seconds, optics unblinking before he comes back to the present, straightening up. A deep breath. “I feel like if I’d had known I’d become a Guardian, I probably wouldn’t have done it.”

“Shhhhh.” Ricochet quickly hushes his boyfriend, moving to put is arm around him. “Don’t think like that. Dallas is, like, one of the most legit guardians I’ve ever met.”

But, still, he knew that there was a chance. There was always a chance. Dallas didn’t leave the city, and Ricochet honestly wasn’t sure if he was as combat-ready as he looked. They probably had to keep up with their training, right? Plus, Dallas was an exo – exos were naturally supposed to be good at fighting, right?

The thought might have been ironic if he hadn’t been so worried.

“Dallas is fine. He’ll be fine.” He states again, though he has a feeling that Blaise won’t believe him no matter how much he says it, not until his husband is confirmed to be safe. He knew, to an extent, how the warlock’s mind worked. Swirling and swirling at times without any sort of way to stop it. “I promise.”

He knows that Ricochet is just trying to make him feel better, and honestly in a way he is right. Dallas is a legitimate Guardian, probably one of the strongest people that he's ever met, his Light extremely bright. Powerful. But they don't know. They can't know anything for sure.

At that point, Trinket takes his leave, floating out of Blaise's hands towards Baby, who's probably just as uneasy as the rest of them. Blaise take the opportunity to lean into the Hunter's embrace, his optics dimming. "Okay. Okay. You're right. Dallas can take care of himself." He pauses for a long few moments, trying to convince his own mind that's true. He said the words, but… the what-ifs don't stop coming.

Just keep it together, he tells himself. They'll be back home before he knows it, and they'll find his husband -- ugh, he's just not good at being positive!! Hands reach for Ricochet, his arms wrapping around him as he buries his face against the Hunter's shirt. "I want to believe it..."

“It’s okay, Peanut. Don’t worry about it.” Ricochet says, more out of instinct than anything, because in the pit of his stomach he feels like nothing is okay. He knew that there was a chance that going back to the city was going to be hugely dangerous. Dallas’ voice had been very serious in the transmission, almost scarily so thinking back to it.

They start to make their way back towards the ship, silence falling over them until they got there.“Baby, can you set the coordinates for the city?” He asked, and she beeped in response, floating over towards the cockpit to set the ship’s flight pattern.

Ricochet, figuring she could handle it, moved to sit down on a cushioned bench to the side, motioning for Blaise to sit down with him. “Hopefully by the time we get there, things will already be figured out.” He commented, trying to force some optimism for both of their sakes.

Blaise sits beside to Ricochet, needing to be as close to him as possible. He’s the only thing he has right now -- this being the last possible thing he ever could have expected. He never leaves the City anymore!! And now this? The one time he actually takes a trip?

Trinket rests in the palms of his hands, single glowing eye looking up at him. Dimmer than usual. They can both sense each other's apprehension. Uncertainty.  All he wants is to have his Ghost replay the message over to him, but he doesn't want to do it in front of Ricochet. However, it doesn't stop his mind from going over the words in his head. The City was compromised. The way Dallas told him that he loved him right before the transmission ended.