[ota] aggressive normalcy

[thepupthatmatters]

There's still a lot to learn.

But that's okay. He's starting to feel properly that it's okay. It's okay that he's still getting used to walking with a knife in his boot. It's okay that he's adjusting to which Fives to call by their name and which will all but slap him if he doesn't say 'sir.' It's okay that his greatest visible skill is an incredibly efficient knack for getting paperwork filed and delivered, and that the skill he's been progressing best at is classical piano.

Yes, the man he came here to find is an overwhelming force of nature. Yes, watching his father Challenge to Ten had absolutely sent him, briefly, through half a crisis. But that's okay too.

Because he's here. He's here, and here is the right place to be.

It's the right place to be while he works at filing cabinets. It's the right place to be while he steals mouthfuls in the kitchen and whispers in more comfortable languages than English with other former Outsiders. It's the right place to be while he gets his ass handed to him in the training fields and forces himself back up onto his feet.

And it's the right place to be while he steals out on an afternoon off to just skip rocks over the newly thawed lake. Because it's really nice to know that skipping rocks and throwing knives are both starting to feel equally normal.

Comments

Force of nature, eh?

[theacethatmatters]

Julien is, really, taking Padraig out for some exercise. It's just that their hack through the various fields of the Deck ends up taking them out by the lake. And by Aleksei, apparently.

It's hard to sneak up on someone while riding a rather tall horse so it's quite likely Aleksei is aware of his approach long before he actually says anything, though nor does he say anything right away.

"I can't say I've ever done much of that."

DADDY YOU ARE SO TERRIFYING AND THE BEST

[thepupthatmatters]

He's gotten used to the sound of horses approaching. He's gotten used to not jumping when they trotted past. He hasn't lost the half-nervous need to glance up at them to keep just a bit wide, for all learning to ride is reducing the fear of the unknown.

They're still large beasts. They still shy at random. And they still often carry persons of interest.

This person of interest has him standing just a bit straighter, at least between moments of bent fluidity to toss the stones along the surface of the water. He pauses only briefly at the sound of Julien's voice before ducking down again to search for more smooth, flat stones.

"It's-- fun. Good practice but-- also fun."

what are you talking about julien is just a big fluffy puppy

[theacethatmatters]

"Is it." It's sort of a question, even if it doesn't quite sound like one.

But then Julien is sliding off Padraig and tying the horse's reins up out of the way so they don't get stepped on but he can graze while they talk.

"Show me, mm?"

...lies

[thepupthatmatters]

"Really?"

He doesn't mean to sound incredulous. Or excited. Thankfully, his words wind up somewhere in between the two lips stuck bland by the simultaneous desire to frown and smile.

"You have a minute?"

No big deal. Just skipping stones with an absent (and unwitting) parent.

Re: ...lies

[theacethatmatters]

He waves back at the horse contentedly cropping at the spring grass sprouting out of the ground. "He's not going anywhere."

And there was something about this kid he hadn't put his finger on yet. Some certain vibe he got off him that he did see in others. Or when he'd glimpsed Aleksei elsewhere in the Suit, that he didn't see between Aleksei and others, high cards or no. A bit of a conundrum, something to tease out.

"It's not something I've learnt about." But he could see a certain utility in it.

[thepupthatmatters]

It's different, somehow, than the prickling emotions which could be rationalized away while training or bringing the Ten files. It's purely recreational. It's sharing something in the other direction.

It's got a smile briefly on his lips before he nods and ducks his head.

"It-- You start with finding the right stones. Flat ones."

[theacethatmatters]

He'd gathered that part, but it's unnecessary to point out. This is probably a lesson he's learned from talking with Eileen. He just leans down and chooses one.

"Very well. Then?"

He's interested in how the boy holds it, how he makes the throw so it skips over the water instead of sinking beneath it.

[old_dog]

When it came to piano lessons, quite a few people had come and gone. When he first returned to the Deck, he didn't have the time to devote to it, and then there had been a lull between a certain Queen's death and the ascension to Ten where he'd seen prospective piano players almost every day. He hadn't had anyone over for piano lessons since then, so... it was odd and yet comforting to have a young man fumbling over keys in his private sanctuary out in Town. It was almost as if someone had pressed the pause button and forgot about the old recording until someone else accidentally pressed play again.

Equally odd and yet comforting was a familiar head of dark hair skipping stones on a lake that not too long ago had been a sheet of ice.

"Hey, trouble," he greeted. He interrupted the therapeutic stone-throwing by placing a box of what was hopefully familiar-looking farsangi fánk into the young man's hands.

[thepupthatmatters]

It had been nice, thus far, having the routine of spending time at a piano with the older Spade. It had been nice in particular that it had been Michael, once the slight nerves of the man being the Suit's Jack had worn off.

It was good to have someone patient in his life. Good to have someone who explained things with obvious familiarity with two worlds. Good to feel just a bit like there was a chance of really filling the void he'd barely been aware his grandparents had left.

He absolutely had grown to have a bright smile for Michael, even in moments of interruption like this. Certainly a cheerful little noise for the doughy treats as well, but the smile is mostly for the man himself.

"Ser. You left early to play hooks?"

[old_dog]

There was something familiar about the way the young man smiled, but it didn't bother him enough to warrant any deeper thought.

"Play hooks?" he asked with a tilt of the head and a smile in return. Either he'd missed something or something was lost in translation.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean."

[thepupthatmatters]

"прогул?"

He's been getting better at forcing himself through English, but surely hidden away at the lake, taking a break and about steal a bite of dessert. Surely it's acceptable here and now.

"It sounds like-- hooks in English, yes?"


[*Absenteeism?]

[old_dog]

"Ah, I see. I think people call it 'hooky'." Not that, you know, Michael would be all that savvy about slang words.

"I suppose you could call it that," he replied cheerily. He doesn't intentionally filter out longer words, but he consciously talks a little slower, for Aleksei. Years devoted to picking up other languages and a lick of common sense proved that it was easier to understand someone not going at a hundred miles a minute.

"I can't spend too much time here. It drives me crazy. You seem to be doing quite well, though."

[thepupthatmatters]

Slow helped. The lack of judgement helped. At the moments, taking a bite out of an entirely familiar doughnut helped, box offered back to the Jack with his still un-sticky hand.

"Hooky." Not as much fun to say as 'hooks,' but repeated under his breath briefly to get pushed more firmly into place. "It's good work, here. There's-- lots of feeling useful."

Which he liked. A lot. Who knew?

"And it's spring now. Everyone gets a bit crazy in winter."

[heartshy]

Jinx was trotting by - she trotted lots of places, it being a sad requirement of lack-of-height - when she saw that nice boy skipping rocks. On the lake. That wasn't freezing anymore.

(All things sweet and fluffy she loved warmer weather.)

Patting her pocket to ensure the existence of her handy Pez dispenser, Jinx changed the course of her trot (they wouldn't mind if the envelope got there a little later, right? It was just something small. She thinks. Probably.) to put Aleksei in her path.

[thepupthatmatters]

He'd grown up with long, cold winters. It absolutely had made him more and more appreciative when spring returned--or when spring even just started to return, really.

The simple fact of a warm day was enough to have him smiling, but glancing over his shoulder to catch sight of the young Heart who had supplied him with cocoa to get through the winter has him lighting up even more.

"--hey."

[heartshy]

Jinx beamed at him, waving her hand happily. Hello hello! The beginning of Spring was so exciting, wasn't it?

Oh wait. Not words.

Chewing her lip and staring at the clouds in the sky to lighten to pressure, she said "pretty out," in the biggest voice she could muster.

[thepupthatmatters]

She doesn't always start with words. That's all right. Words still aren't his forte here, but she's always got pretty clear meaning in her smile.

She also smiles a lot. That's not something everyone does--and absolutely something everyone needs a little bit of in their life.

"Very pretty. And-- warm, now. Good weather to go out visiting."

[heartshy]

It was so nice when she found people that didn't demand words. So much easier to find them in the first place, without pressure to use them.

Widening her smile a hair more, she bobbled her head in bubbly agreement.

Jinx offered her precious Tinkerbell Pez dispenser dispenser to him - celebratory agreement candy?

[thepupthatmatters]

Her smile is enough. Smiles are entirely beyond language.

Her beaming keeps his own grin in place, even at the inexplicable offer. "--what is it?"

[wilderhearts]

Jake had ridden this pathway many, many times. He was familiar with every blade of grass along its winding way, he sometimes fancied. Today, he had Fiona out, the pretty mare enjoying herself almost as much as the teenager on her back. Spring was coming and everyone seemed livelier, animals more than most.

Feeling Fifi's tensed muscles under him, Jake grinned, whistled to Mojo, then gave the mare a squeeze and her head, exhilarated as she instantly responded, smoothly flowing into a long, loping canter, her gait smooth as brand new silk. The trio rounded the bend a few beats later and Jake slowed the mare, spying a somewhat familiar figure near the lake's edge.

He lifted a hand in greeting, legging the prancing mare off the beaten trail to say hello, Mojo following enthusiastically.

[thepupthatmatters]

The sound of hoofs didn't get him tensing anymore. Time down at the stable has helped, of course; as has the fact that horses aren't actually as overwhelming, by and large, as they first appear.

It also helped that the sound, in unexpected places at unexpected times, usually meant someone like Jake showing up. Positive association.

Another stone was slung skimming over the water before he turned properly, grin still in place and hand lifting to wave back. "Errands, or just a bit of fun?"

[wilderhearts]

Reining in nearby, Jake grinned down from his saddle. "Little of both," was the happy reply, the sunshine in his tone as usual when he was with or around one of his beloved horses. Mojo added his own greeting by placing both large wet paws--he'd taken a splash in the lake, naturally--on Aleksei's trousers, tongue lolling out in a canine grin.

"Day off?" There were such things, after all.

[thepupthatmatters]

A little of both was a good answer. A sudden onslaught of wet, excited dog was a good greeting. All of this moment, really, was able to be summed up by 'good.'

In English, anyway. There were better adjectives in Hungarian, but they all boiled down to 'good' in the language he was forcing himself to live in as monolinguistically as possible.

"Afternoon." Which was better than lots of Twos of Spades could hope for, really. He ducked briefly down before taking a step closer, a round smooth stone offered in Jake's direction. "You skip?"

[wilderhearts]

Jake beamed in response. "Better'n nothin', I reckon." He slid down from Fiona's saddle, looping her reins behind her ears to allow her to graze without tripping on them.

Glancing down at the stone, he suddenly felt a flash of self-consciousness and his right arm twitched. "...haven't in a long time," he almost-muttered, scuffing his boot in the dirt.

[thepupthatmatters]

The moment of nervousness didn't quite register with Aleksei. His own attention, after all, was entirely distracted in searching among the pebbles for another good skipping rock.

"It will come back." The sentence came punctuated with a bright spark of a laugh as he examined a potential stone. "You should have seen earlier. Very many sank without a single skip."