GP - London Calling

[mist_mods]

It had been months now, and London remained. The mist hadn't rolled back in, they hadn't all been dragged back to the icy beaches, and life was normal. ...Sort of. ...At least for the people who'd started in London. For others it was like being dumped somewhere new again, forced to either try and make their way home, or build a new life in a new city.

(OTA! London is here to stay, though the mist is still lurking, waiting to creep back in now and then.)

Comments

[goodfellow]

"Yeah this stuff usually doesn't come with an instruction manual," Robin said. "Anything in particular you're struggling with?"

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Well... I mean there's a lot of shit, but there is one thing that I'm not sure what to make of. Back on Halloween, I was briefly taken from that little town that popped up to this strange place. These other fae, unseelie, came looking for me. Wanted me to 'court' one of their own. They kept talking about how I wasn't bound to anyone, but suggested it was in my best interest to be with one of their kind," he explained.

"I've not heard from them since, but... Is that a thing? I mean, have you heard of that before?"

[goodfellow]

"Weird fae mating rituals? I mean, that kind of thing doesn't... surprise me. They're all about royalty and lineage and all that." Pause. "No offense but I assume inbreeding is a real problem by now."

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Yes, well, I'm not trying to join the family tree. ...They called me Dryad Trooping. And nymph, that came up as well," Fin said, frowning and taking another long drag. "Does that mean anything to you?"

[goodfellow]

"The trooping fae are the aristocracy," Robin said. "You know, now that you're here you can certainly seek them out if you want to. If they don't find you first."

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Mmm, I'll pass, I think. As much as I'd like a guide, I'd like one I can trust," Fin sighed, finishing his cigarette and stubbing it out. "Nothing I've learned about my kind fills me with confidence."

[goodfellow]

"I understand," Robin said, and blew another cloud of smoke up into the sky. "The only thing worse than fae are pucks."

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Can we be the exceptions to the rules then?" he asked with a smile, stepping a little closer.

[goodfellow]

Robin laughed. "Well yes, we definitely are. That's not in doubt."

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin smiled warmly at that, tugging lightly on the hem of Robin's shirt. "I like that, the idea of us being rarities."

[goodfellow]

Robin's lips curled up into a smile that was nearly a smirk. "You want to kiss me don't you."

[prince_of_nymphs]

He had, but the smug little smirk put him off slightly.

Shrugging one shoulder, Fin took a step back. "Felt like we were having a moment, I guess."

[goodfellow]

Robin's face fell, and then he sighed softly. "Seriously, Fin?"

[prince_of_nymphs]

"What?" the fae asked, not sure why he felt like he was being scolded.

[goodfellow]

"It's just... it's so easy to wound you, even accidentally. Can't you give me the benefit of the doubt? I'm not perfect, but you know I don't meant to hurt you feelings just by... I don't know, being me."

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I'm not wounded, I just- You get so smug, and it's- I dunno, intimidating, I guess," Fin said awkwardly. "Didn't mean to upset you or whatever."

[goodfellow]

Robin reminded himself the promise he'd just made - that he would not conflate old Fin with new Fin.

"It's different, being back here," he said. "Especially here." And gestured to his office. "A lot of memories."

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin followed the gesture, looking back into the office.

"Did you spend a lot of time here?" he asked. "I suppose you must have, it being your business and all."

[goodfellow]

"I did," Robin said. He pointed to the other door leading out of the office, not the one they'd come into. "There's a bed next door. Sometimes I just sleep here."

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Seems a bit lonely, sleeping a few walls away from a dance floor- Though I suppose it isn't for you. You're magnetic, I imagine alone is something you only are when you want to be."

[goodfellow]

"I'm rarely alone," Robin said, choosing the word carefully because alone was a very different thing than lonely.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I envy that," Fin said softly.

[goodfellow]

Robin arched an eyebrow. "Are you?" he asked. "Frequently alone?"

[prince_of_nymphs]

"No. ...I mean, I dunno. I have friends here, people I love and care about, but- I'm missing something, I'm just not sure what it is," Fin shrugged.

[goodfellow]

"There's a difference between being alone and being lonely," Robin said with a shrug. He finished his cigarette as well then and stubbed it out. "You want to go back inside?"