Topic: Moth To A Flame

Lynched

Date: 2017-02-27 06:35 EST
February 26, 2017 -- Hours before Dawn
His Apartment Above the Diner
Rhy'Din
A continuation of Rambling On

Pin pricks. Metal slipping beneath the flesh. Plumes of red blend into clarity.
"That won't help you."
Dread. Helpless.... Faithless.

He'd slipped into the spiraling vortex of images rather quickly. Soft tufts of comfort was a prison for him. What was an escape for others, sleep was something he wished he could escape. He hated that it was necessary. He'd tried to go days without sleeping, procrastinating the inevitable. But he only learned that it had an opposite effect. Harder crashing. Sleeping longer. More opportunities for haunting images to assault his mind like a battering of hawk's wings.

He could do little else than to succumb to them, to accept it for what it was.

It was his life now.

Those images sprang up like a camera's flash, some too bright to make out, all of them too quick to register their meaning.

He whimpered in his sleep, a sound far less human and much more hinting to his animal. His fingers sank into the blankets and sheets, curling though clawless as he seemed to seek some form of grip on reality even in his unconsciousness. He contorted himself into as much of a ball as his human body could manage, sinking beneath blankets that were more suffocating than comforting. Even in his dream state, that thin fabric was interpreted as a crushing weight. Bars.... Chains...

Orbs hidden by thick lash and eyelids danced frantically, flitting over the scenes corrupting his mind. The whimpering ensued, almost a quiet plea for them to stop but they were relentless.

He'd escaped the Unknown, but he couldn't seem to escape himself.

Orchid Evans

Date: 2017-02-27 06:54 EST
Orchid pretty much had the same dream every night; it should?ve been categorized as a nightmare, but it wasn?t all that scary to her. They were simply memories, she?d gotten through them once, so they didn?t haunt her in her dreams.

The day she died was traumatic on everyone but her. She...hadn?t meant to trade her life for Phoenix?s, though that?s how it appeared that day. She?d stumbled in front of one of Solaris? attacks, and that was it. Her soul and body were destroyed. It was Phoenix that had collected her remains, even her soul? She?d used her blood to bring Orchid?s body back to life, and?she kept Orchid?s soul inside of herself, piecing it back together like a jigsaw puzzle. Why? Why had she done that? Phoenix hated Orchid. Still, she saved her, and risked her own wellness to pull it off.

The dream was always the same, Orchid?s eyes resurfaced to find herself in a room. She couldn?t feel a thing, not physically, not emotionally. She was completely numb. Her body was strapped down, and everything was blurry. Then, after a moment a figure would prick her with a needle, and that was it. Her eyes would roll back shut.

It was the whimpering that stirred the tiny weapon from her slumber upon Lynch?s couch. She?d always been a light sleeper, had to be given the circumstances her people lived beneath. Orchid?s brows ticked lightly as she opened her eyes and rubbed at them. Her hair was a complete mess from her laying down with it wet. A deep breath was sucked in before she slowly scooted herself across the floor. She had to grab the sides of her pants and lift them up like a dress to keep from tripping on them or walking right out of them. Short girl struggles.

It felt invasive to just walk into his bedroom, but?since when did she know boundaries? After all, he?d offered for her to sleep in the bed, he told her if she needed anything to come in. I need him to quit his bitching? Does that count? Her hand pressed against the door and slowly opened it as she worked herself across the floor to the bed where he lay. She climbed in, barely disturbing the mattress with her weight and hovered over him. Her hand came out slowly, and then she?d be scratching the hair just behind his ear. Wide eyes stared at him like she was expecting to get bitten, or thrown across the room, but she didn?t stop or really think twice.

Lynched

Date: 2017-02-27 07:10 EST
He was nothing less than a ball beneath the comforter on that bed, the only thing poking out was the top of his head. He'd burrowed his face into the covers as if it could help him but it did little more than create a pocket of heat.

For a being so lively in his sleep, it seemed to have him under relatively heavy. A ball of trembling muscle strained as he twitched from unseen forces attacking him in his unconsciousness.

He didn't hear or sense her come into his room. In a sleeping state was when Seth was most vulnerable, unable to be riled easily from it as if the dreams themselves chained him down. He didn't feel the faintest shift of movement on the mattress where her weight hardly made a dent.

The whimpering continued on until he felt fingers in the hair behind his ear; still damp from the cold shower he'd soaked them both with and the aid of a blanket to keep the moisture in his thick mussed locks. The moment the fingers moved, he visibly flinched and seemed to pull away from them. Yet, he didn't wake.

His eyes squeezed as if the fingers he could distantly feel were a part of the force attacking him in his sleep, his nostrils flaring against the blanket. A short lived whine was muffled by the blanket covering his face as he caved in on himself against the touch.

Orchid Evans

Date: 2017-02-27 07:37 EST
The gentle scratching seemed to be doing nothing for the man and it drew a frown on her features. She'd dealt with night terrors before, but didn't really know how to comfort him in general. Certain things worked on certain people, and it was a trial and error sort of thing, it seemed. In her experience, anyways. When the fingers raking gently against his scalp didn't work she chewed on her lip in thought.

Perhaps worrying a bit on what he might think if he woke up. He seemed to be lost to whatever it was, though. Maybe touching anywhere near his face wasn't a good idea.... He'd never actually bit her the night before, but he was...mouthy... that coupled with being distressed? It seemed to go hand in hand with biting. At least with animals. Orchid wasn't a fan of biting... Nipping? Perfectly okay. She made a face and scooted a bit closer to him, pulling her hand back and resting it on her knee as she climbed further in to get closer to him.

"Alright, Big Guy..." the tiny girl muttered. Her hands crept along the blankets until she felt his spine which was curved inward due to the ball he was making himself into. "It's okay," she cooed softly, rubbing his back gently but with a little bit of force to sooth him out of whatever it was that he was going through in his head. "It's just a dream," she whispered. "...Unless it's Freddy Kruger...and then you're probably going to wake up dead.. but that's okay...you will be avenged..."

Lynched

Date: 2017-02-27 08:04 EST
Shackles. Prodding. Pain...

A whining huff sputtering from his lips against the blanket, a shuddering convulsion as a tremble tore through muscles. Whatever was haunting his dreams was tearing him apart, his face burrowing back and forth against the blanket in a half-assed form of a nuzzle.

It was uncertain if he was one to lash out against night terrors, he'd never had anyone around when he slept before. At least... not since Father Santiago. That had been years ago, and the terrors seemed to have grown stronger over time. More violent. More urgent. It was as if whatever his mind was trying to get him to remember was becoming more insistent, but he was resisting it subconsciously.

The creeping hands that pressed over the blanket seemed to make him tremble, jolting when she passed over scars hidden by fabric. It was as if his body remembered what happened there, but his mind wasn't registering. It was simply a foreign object touching him and he was fighting against it.

He let out a lone whimper until the tones of her voice spilled into the air around him. For a split second, he stilled completely. A balled statue beneath the comforter.

Her voice was distant, like whispers down an empty hallway. Coaxing him to follow and find the exit. That difference between what had been real and what was real. The more she spoke, tugged at the rope pulling him from the well of nightmares, the more the trembling storm calmed. Fingers gripping onto the sheets until they were white as bone eased slowly, flooding color back into the digits.

What started as a whimper trailed into a shuddering breath, his lungs threatening to suffocate him giving in to allow air to fill them. His brows furrowed as he reached the edges of consciousness. That hazy state between being asleep and being awake. His mind was mottled with the assault of the night terror, confused as he mumbled something under his breath that made absolutely no sense and was nearly inaudible. It very well could've passed as a grumble.

He rubbed his face against the blanket to rid himself of an itch, a low grumble rolling between his lips as his spine started to straighten out and turn to roll onto his back. His muscles ached from the tension and position his dreams had left him in, he could feel it vaguely in his hazy exhaustion. That broody expression he often had from the natural slopes of his brows grew deeper when they furrowed, his nose twitching a bit as her scent laced the air to alert him of another presence in the room. "....Pomegranates.." He mumbled, still very much on the edges of sleep again.

Orchid Evans

Date: 2017-02-27 08:16 EST
The more she spoke, the more he seemed to calm down. She wasn't exactly the most comforting person to be around, mainly because she had a word-vomit habit that made her lips spill every thought that came into her brain. She made a face when he seemed to stir, and pinched her lips tight to try and keep him from waking up. When he straightened out and rolled onto his back, she dipped her hand beneath the blanket and gently rubbed the pads of her fingers over his chest with a frown. She couldn't help but think...

Is this normal for him...?

Her village was a place of nightmares, she knew that. Still, her siblings didn't tend to have nightmares every night... He spilled that word out to describe her scent, and she snickered lightly. "That's right..." in a very soft whisper. "Pomegranates," she nodded. The second pillow was grabbed and folded so that she could rest her head down while she stroked his chest with soothing fingers. She'd try to stay awake, watch over him a bit to make sure he got peaceful sleep.

Lynched

Date: 2017-02-27 08:40 EST
Night terrors were his "normal." He knew enough that not everyone had dreams like his. He knew they weren't normal to have, but nothing about his situation was what one would call normal. But it's all he's ever known.

He had breaks through the night, when his body and mind over-exerted itself from the tremors and images. Being surrounded by black was his sanctuary, when his mind gave up on trying to force him to relive his past. When his body gave out from exhaustion and he was left as nothing more than dead weight on a mattress for a couple hours before it started again.

That was his normal.

Having a girl in his room soothing and coaxing him out of the terrors... that was.. not. He might've been able to express his gratitude for her trying were it not for the exhaustion settling into his limbs and making his brain foggy. He could feel the fingers at his chest, though the scars under the fabric of his shirt was brushed, he didn't flinch from it this time. He was aware what he'd just seen had been his dreams. Distantly recognizing that it was Orchid in his room enough to not panic about a stranger, but not exactly registering enough to get weird like he would've in a fully alert and awake state.

Pomegranates were much better with the scent that came with the memories. Of blood, sweat and the peculiar scent of fear. And though he couldn't find the energy or conscious effort to open his eyes, like a moth to a flame he was drawn to the fresher scent to wash out what his dreams left him with.

Rolling onto his side as his eyes remained closed, he didn't seem acutely aware of his actions as he reached with one arm. Slowly, almost strained movements like his muscles were resisting any exertion of energy as he hooked his arm around the petite girl and wormed his way closer. "Pomergranite tebby beers..." His speech slurred with exhaustion and being half asleep. Seth... wasn't all there at the moment.

Orchid Evans

Date: 2017-02-27 08:49 EST
When he adjusted and rolled, she lifted up her arm lightly to prevent her fingers from getting caught under him. She'd fully planned to leave when he seemed to be in some form of peaceful sleep. His arm was reaching, and she stiffened up with wide eyes. "Tebby..beers...?" she questioned under her breath as he hooked that arm around her. An unsure grunt escaped her lips as he began moving in.

Teddy bear... Oh crap... So much for an easy exit..

Orchid stiffened up even more when he essentially turned her into a stuffed animal and cuddled her. She took in a breath as if weighing the situation. She could've probably struggled out of it and made an escape, but she didn't want to risk his sleep.


It wasn't only that, though. She couldn't remember the last time she just slept with someone. Yeah, she could. It was Katan. They had nights where they just shared the bed, and suddenly everything felt less lonely. She missed it. Missed having someone holding her. She lifted her head to let the pillow unfold and sighed lightly. Her eyes fell shut, and soon, she'd be off to dreamland. Maybe this time it would be something different. Maybe...

Orchid Evans

Date: 2017-03-01 03:33 EST
At some point in the night, Orchid had rolled her body over so that her butt was against his stomach. Probably would've been less innocent if she wasn't a short little thing. Her hair was a mess, hiding her face which was twitching lightly at the lips as she murmured and groaned in her sleep. Orchid's legs were pulled up lightly so that her feet were resting against his body and she seemed to be having a different dream than the usual. Maybe it was because someone else was with her, or maybe it was because she'd woken up at some point in the night. Either way, it was not the same. "Ngh... Petunia...You can't use a puppy...nn...as a towel..." That poor dream puppy! "...use this kitten instead..."


Playing the role of The Big (Really Big to Her) Spoon: Seth Lynch. Orchid's rolling didn't disturb Seth's sleep, he'd only seemed to curl his arm a bit tighter around her waist and burrowed his nose into the tufts of her hair. After she'd calmed him down from the 'bout of night terrors, they hadn't returned the rest of the night. Pomegranate Tebby Beers effectiveness: super effective. His nose twitched slightly at the sounds of groaning, but it wasn't until her mumbling about towel puppies and towel kittens found his ears that he stirred. Still in that haze between being awake and asleep, he stretched out his legs until they shook slightly with the effort. His arm tightened a bit on her waist as his nose nuzzled into her hair..... hair? What?..... Pomegranates... Cobalt eyes snapped wide open at the realization that he was currently spooning someone and his head popped up like a meerkat. "What the fuu..." Trailing off as he looked at Orchid, sloooowly unhooking his arm from her waist.


"...you should've thought about it....fore you spilled the grape...soda..." Muttered Orchid with another light groan. When he began to wake and tightened his hold on her, she stirred lightly, a smile made its way on her face when his nose buried itself into her hair. When he snapped up and began his slow break-away, Orchid let out a light grunt and squeezed her eyes tighter shut. Her legs kicked lightly to force her butt back against his stomach. Dammit, she wasn't ready to get up yet, why was he moving? "Ngh...don't..." she sleepy muttered.


His brows furrowed, now that he was certainly wide awake and could register the words she mumbled. He leaned his head back and mouth 'grape soda?' before shaking his head. He'd managed to unhook his arm from her waist and scooted a few inches away from her until the collision of her butt hit his stomach again and he pressed his lips together. His hand up in the air like someone had a gun on him, he stilled for a moment when she told him 'don't'. He blinked, glancing downward for a moment as he lifted the edge of the blanket to peek under it. Sighing relief from his nostrils, he let it go. Alright, pants are still on. Looking at her again, then around the room, back to her. Slow in his movements, he started to maneuver out of the blanket and probably looked like he was in a slow motion scene of a film as he started to make an escape of crawling over her to escape.


Orchid had woken up for the most part when he'd started to pull back, so when he began moving even more, she sighed a frustrated sigh. Was it so much to ask for him to sit uncomfortably for another hour or so while she got more sleep? Clearly she didn't seem to think so, cause she was annoyed. "You're...not as good at being quiet as you think you are..." she muttered to him, a hand combing through that massive sex hair she had going on.


He was awake and alert, but his brain wasn't at fully functioning capacity. And he had that confusion of what the hell happened the night before that made it a jumbled mess, too. He'd tried to be smooth and pull off the escape-crawl flawlessly. But... he was still a canine. They weren't nearly as sneaky as they thought they were. He managed to get his toes to the floor before she muttered to him, making his eyes snap to her and he stilled instantly like she just now caught him in the act. "...I was going to let you keep sleeping," he mumbled. Which... was a catch 22 since he'd woken her by all his movements. He was still crouched mostly on the bed, balanced on a knee and two palms with one leg stretched toward the floor and suddenly a statue.


Orchid managed to swipe her hair from her -very- blue eyes, and looked over at him. It took everything she had to remain steel-faced and not break down in cackles at the awkward position he'd put himself in. "You're gonna sleep with a girl and then try to sneak away in the morning?" an eyebrow propped up on her head. She meant sleep in the literal sense, but he didn't need to know that just yet. What? She liked screwing with him!


He remained still as a statue even as she looked at him and steeled her gaze, somehow keeping his balance like he was a deer caught in the headlights. Though that changed when she said he'd slept with her and... he didn't think she meant literally at the moment. Sapphires widened as he stared at her and his balance wavered as his knee slipped from the bed and his hip crashed into the side of the mattress. He grunted as he caught himself and scrambled to stand, but that flush of color broke loose over the angles of his cheeks as he blinked. "Wait.. we.." He probably looked like an idiot standing there, with a dumb confused expression on his face. Then his
brows furrowed. "....I don't remember.."


Don'tlaughDon'tlaughDon'tlaugh! But come on! He was like an adorable little puppy! She raised her eyebrows when he began and then her expression fell as those heartbreaking words fell from his lips. "You don't...remember? Was I... Was I that bland? Damn, I thought... I thought I was worth remembering..." she muttered softly. That poor bastard. Something in her head was telling her to stop it, but then three more things were telling her to keep going! No mercy!


It was pretty easy to tell he was nervous and awkward as could be as his fidgeting fingers ruffled the messy thick locks of hair that was sticking up at all angles. Seeing her expression fall into heartbreak and the words she muttered finding his ears, he went from adorable little puppy to a puppy that just peed on someone's favorite blanket.. they've had since birth. She thought he looked guilty when he doused her with icy water? Forgetting sleepy with a girl had him actually ducking his head a bit and stammering for an explanation. "I don't... I'm sor... ry... I'm... Ngh." Dammit, Orchid. You're evil! EVILLLLLLLL.

Orchid Evans

Date: 2017-03-01 03:34 EST
It was about then that she realized that he...was a genuinely good guy. Most men probably would've been like, my bad. His guilt was all over his face, and he hadn't done a thing wrong...She shook her head, "Stop it, I'm messing with you," she said and lowered her eyes. Now it was her turn to feel and look guilty. "I'm sorry... We did sleep together, but...that's all that happened.." she told him. "I woke up to you having a nightmare... I came in to calm you down, you put an arm around me and cuddled me, so instead of leaving I went to sleep. That's all that happened."


He was struggling with his memories and trying to put pieces together when she told him to stop it and he looked at her confused. When she said she was messing with him? Most people would probably get angered and throw a fit, maybe call her a bitch. He just looked relieved and let out a sigh that released the tension in his shoulders. "Oh..." His eyes closed for a moment before he looked at her explain and read the guilt on her own face then. "You got me," he snickered, but offered a small smirk to try to ease her guilt some. Instead of getting angered by it, he took it as a joke. And was a little too relieved that his memory hadn't failed him sleeping with someone to be mad about it. "I need a cigarette," he mumbled, furrowing his brows slightly like it was a sudden revelation before turning toward the door. "Want one?" He offered, glancing over his shoulder. Seth was about 50 shades of weird.


When he took it well, she kind of....just stared at him. She half expected him to tell her to get the hell out of the house and not come back. Scrunching her nose lightly, she nodded shortly after and moved from beneath the blankets to get to the floor. Her...feet didn't touch with her legs dangling so she had to hop off. Rocking from foot to foot to pull the too-long pants up her legs, she grunted lightly. "You are extremely too tall.." she muttered moving after him in a light waddle.


He didn't see the point in getting angry about it. There hadn't really been any harm done other than confusing the hell out of him. Making it to the doorway, he paused and looked over at her hiking up the pants like she was ready for a flood. "...You're too short," he objected, scrunching his own nose before breaching the doorway to the living room. He glanced around, remembering the he'd left his other pack of cigarettes in his pants... that were soaked and in his hamper.. Oops. He should probably take care of that before it mildewed but he couldn't be bothered right now. Moving instead to the kitchen where he kept his carton of smokes on top of the fridge, he didn't have to stand on tippy toes to reach -ha!. Plucking one of the packs out, he started tearing off the cellophane wrapper while returning to the living room. "Oh and.. thanks.. for last night." He didn't remember the night before, but he felt better this morning than he had in a while. So whatever she'd done, must've worked and let him get some sleep for once.


"I'm not short... I'm travel sized..." Orchid objected right back. "You should invest in smaller pajama pants if you're going to make a habit of hosing me off," she teased him, following him to the living room and waiting there. When he thanked her, she didn't really understand at first, but then just nodded. "It's no problem," she said with a shake of her head. "I... deal with that sort of thing pretty often.. Lots of siblings, lots of nightmares... But.. Is that normal for you?" she asked with a frown. "Do you...sleep like that every night?" Most people she knew would wake up if the dream got bad enough, but it seemed like he was just trapped in it.


There was a bit of a smirk to her retort. He'd heard 'fun sized' plenty of times, but 'travel sized' was a new one for him. Scrunching his nose, he snickered. "Maybe I should've given you a pair of my shorts. They probably would've fit you like pants." Having made it to the living room, he opened the pack and tore out the front side of the tinfoil before pulling out two sticks, holding one out to her. Her asking about his dreams had him quiet a moment, not really looking at her before nodding a bit. "Long as I remember," he mumbled softly, tucking the filter of his own cigarette between his lips before he moved off looking for a lighter.


The beansprout stuck out her tongue and squeezed her eyes shut, "That was ruuuude." Was she actually offended? Nah. She knew she was a shortstack. Wasn't a thing she could do about it. When he answered her question it was her turn to fall silent. When he moved off for a lighter, she moved over to the couch and sat down. Her legs hung from it, swinging lightly as she watched after him. "Do you...want me to stay over some nights? Soften the blow?" she asked, tilting her head. "It was... nice to have someone to lay with." Her way of saying it wouldn't just be for him, though it came out awkward as all hell.


"Or honest?" He countered with a raise of brow, a brief glance her way. Maybe he'd have her put on a pair of his shorts to see if they fit her like pants. At the very least they'd be capris! His eyes scanned the counter until he spotted a lighter by the ashtray near the sink and he grabbed both, bringing them back to the living room. He paused, blinking at her when she made that offer before continuing to sit down on the couch. Shaking his head, "you don't have to do that," he mumbled - softly. He set the ashtray on the small coffee table in front of them before reaching out to light her cigarette then his own. She made it seem like it wasn't just for him, and he was having a hard time admitting it did actually feel nice to lay there with someone. It wasn't like he'd never had a woman in his bed before, but it'd surely been a long time. Even just to sleep.


Orchid leaned in to bum his light, and when he lit the cigarette, she'd take a drag and tilt her head lightly at what he'd said. "I know I don't have to do that," she said with a furrow of her brow. "I can't imagine a scenario where I'd have to do it... I-- Unless of course my father sold me into slavery and you owned me... Or like, if a judge ordered it.. Or if there was a little tiny microchip implanted into my brain and it made me do everything you--" she had her fingers pinched to show a tiny amount of space between finger and thumb before freezing up. "Y'know what? Nevermind... I'm just saying, if I didn't wanna do it, I wouldn't have offered. I gotta be at work sometimes, and I've gotta be at the village in case there's an attack, but... I'd be happy to spend the nights that I'm off over here."

Orchid Evans

Date: 2017-03-01 03:35 EST
He took a deep drag of his cigarette once the cherry was sparked to life, setting the lighter down on the table next to the ashtray. He glanced over at her when she went on her early morning ramble fit and he lifted a brow at her. His expression seemed more questionable the more she went on until she went on to tell him 'nevermind'. Explaining her schedule, he shifted his shoulders where he leaned his elbows on his knees. He didn't really look at her then, and he made it seem like he didn't seem to care either way. In a way, he didn't. But he also wasn't one to ask for help, especially about this. It was his burden, not someone else's. The only reason he even considered it was because she said it would benefit her too. He scrunched his nose as he took a drag from his cigarette, exhaling with his words. "You can if you want."


Watching him making his decision had her perking a brow as she took a drag from the cigarette, and then she finally grinned. "Seth Lynch, Master of Kung Fu and also apathy..." she giggled at that, because she was freaking funny, aight? "Okay, good. I want. I'll be over any night I can," she said with a nod at that. "You gonna leave a key under the mat, or should I just climb in through the window?" there wasn't much of a doubt that she could do it as long as there was something to grab onto or climb.


He snickered at the tack-on of his name, particularly the last, he raised a brow at her with amusement. Taking a slow inhale of his cigarette, he seemed to consider it for a moment. "As amusing as the prospect of you climbing through the window is... If James and Karen see you sneaking in through the window, they'll probably have a heart attack," he crinkled his nose at the thought. "I'll give you a key to the back door." He pointed to a door that didn't really seem to fit in with the layout of the apartment. For a small apartment, there was two exits. One to the diner, and one out the back for emergencies... or having girls come in apparently. But he didn't feel like explaining why he needed an extra key to the diner to them. They'd ask more questions he'd even know how to begin to answer.


This girl came over, and I hosed her down with cold water because she was biting me, but it's alright! I started it! ...anyways, I felt bad 'cause she looked cold, so I had her sleep over. Turns out, sleeping with her puts an end to my crippling night terrors, so I'mma need an extra key, thaaaanks. Seemed....simple enough. Okay, maybe the back door was best. Though she didn't seem to think too much on it, "Okay, cool... and I'll bring my own pants, and some extra. I wet the bed sometimes..." The last part was whispered.


That's... the precise explanation he'd like to avoid. Especially since.. James and Karen... might not even know about the night terrors.. They'd never seen him sleep, okay? And he managed throughout the day for the most part. He snickered when she mentioned bringing pants, only to cut his eyes over to her and blinked slowly at the bed wetting admission? Maybe? Was she kidding? He seemed to be trying to figure that out as he stared at her and took a drag of his cigarette.


P-p-p-pokerface p-p-pokerface... As he took that drag she matched it, and then shook her head. "Once, a while ago. But I had drank a lot that night, and...shut up." Scrunching her face up at him, she bitchfaced before looking toward the ash tray. She flicked the ashes and shrugged lightly folding her legs onto the couch and sitting Indian style to look over at him. "So... In the spirit of being fatties, do you wanna like... Grab breakfast after this? I've gotta check in with the village after, buuuuut... I'm up for eating if you are~"


He just stared at her and blinked until she told him that, ending up snickering and shaking his head. "I didn't say anything," he scrunched his nose. Taking a drag, he ashed his own cigarette before looking back to her when she situated herself and asked about breakfast. He glanced to the clock to check the time, used to waking up well before his shift. "I have to go down to the diner for in about an hour, I can cook you something if you're hungry in the meantime." It wasn't like he didn't just sit there chainsmoking most mornings to pass the time before his shift anyways.


"You were thinking things... I know, I was a mind reader for a little while~" she chimed, and then eyed him with a smirk. "Okay, that one was a lie," she admitted with a snicker. "But I still know you were thinking things," she said with a pointed glare. When he spoke of cooking, she eyed him. "You sure you wanna cook like...right before you go down to cook all day?" Orchid asked, tilting her head. "I'd offer to cook but all I know how to make is burnt toast.."


?I wa--..." He started and got cut off at the knees with a firm clamping of his mouth closing, giving her an are you **** kidding me? expression. He'd believe the basketball player thing before mind reader! When she said it was a lie, though, he snickered and rolled his eyes. "I'd hope so," he scrunched his nose briefly, taking another drag of his smoke. He held up one hand either in a scout's honor sort of way or surrender, both were plausible as she settled that glare on him. Shrugging, "I like to cook," he admitted. It was something to do with his hands, and something to focus on. Finishing off his cigarette, he shook his head. "... I'm definitely cooking," he chuckled. Pass on the burnt toast, thanks.


At least that was something she couldn't do? Cook. 'I used to be a chef' would never come out of her mouth. She made a face at him when he scrunched his nose, and raised an eyebrow. "Mhm.." Like she wasn't so sure, about whatever she interpreted that as. She smoked slower than him, it seemed, because she still had a little ways to go before she finished. Still, she sat up a bit and bounced on her butt, raising a brow. "Okay, you can cook...but I make the best burnt toast ever..."


At least that's something he had an edge on! He's never been a fire fighter-basketball player-therapist-jockey before, so... cooking good food was really all he had. He glanced over to her as she moved around, ADD starting to kick in now that he was waking up and finishing off his cigarette. He stubbed it out with a few jabs into the tray before the corner of his mouth curled into a smirk. ".... I'll take your word on that."