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Ailward AspectPermalink Reply by ✓ Argent Kara Ailward on April 26, 2019 at 16:44

Argent wasn’t really an expert in things, unless being an expert in being the aspect of light was a thing but she enjoyed many different things, she was never the best at anything really, she’d have liked to be but that would require her to put all of her energy into one single thing and she couldn’t bring herself to do day. There was so much in the world to enjoy seeing and doing, choosing just one seemed like an injustice to the others. She supposed that kinda made her a jack of all trades, she rarely found herself in a situation where she didn’t know how to do something and if she did then she was all for learning how to do it. That made for a very interesting catalog of skills that the redhead possessed, from bartending, to fighting, to singing to knitting, skiing, and shooting. Painting was like that for her too, she didn’t have the wildest visual imagination so she was never going to paint a unique masterpiece, but ask her to look at something and make something that resembled it or fill in gaps, she could do that.

She hummed softly as the two of them worked on the dollhouse, looking at the pretty purple color that Caleb had chosen to use and smiling a little, she liked most colors, she wasn’t the kind of person to oppose a certain one for any reason and she wore bright colors pretty much all the time. She liked bright things that made the world light up a little more and the idea of taking the faded and damaged house and turning it into something bright and beautiful again, it made her feel excited.

She also grabbed a paintbrush and moved around the structure, grabbing a matte black paint and mixing it onto a plate and then dabbing the brush into it, she started to paint the faded and cracked area around the bottom of the house which lined the bottom, her eyes were focused on not making a mess or getting the very dark paint all over the lighter parts of the wood. So much so that she barely noticed the question he asked. After a moment she pursed her lips and shrugged “Blue I think” she commented and laughed, she had wanted to spite her parents for buying her everything in pink she supposed. It was ironic because rose pink was her favorite color of all time now “Though that was more to spit my parents than anything” she admitted as she looked over at him.

“Do you have a favorite color?” she asked as she finished lining the back and then moved around a little to do the side.

HumanPermalink Reply by ✓ Caleb Eli Segal ~Mod~ on April 27, 2019 at 8:10

Before long, the tiny house was not only clean, but also repaired and standing with the first few coats of drying paint. The shutters were lavender, as he'd painted, and there was a statement turquoise door. It was the doll-house of every child's imagination and he was glad to see it no longer suffering in the dark. As an only child, he'd grown up entertaining himself largely and the outdoors had a large part of that. He'd more than once, at age seven, come home from playing with large patches of dust on his clothes and scrapes and bruises on his knees from climbing trees....and falling out of them. 

It was easy enough to learn to climb, once you'd taken a few rough falls. It awakened willpower and a widened perspective to the way the world ran. These were things his father would have taught him; if only Spencer had been brave enough to speak up for love and spend what short years he had with Adalie raising his son. 

"Green," Caleb answered, a tilt to his head as he thought back to the color schemes of the lake house and the tranquility they still evoked today. He wasn't very fond of abstract details, but once they were about a person, they were interesting to remember. "

It was a surprise with staying in their people-sized home that Caleb hadn't met most of the Ailwards yet. They seemed to be a private bunch, which he didn't mind. Argent had always been kind when they met up over the past few weeks. It was a good opportunity to get to know someone.

"Is there anything that makes you laugh harder than the rest?

Ailward AspectPermalink Reply by ✓ Argent Kara Ailward on April 27, 2019 at 22:32

It didn’t take long for the two of them to fix up the house, they both worked in silence as they painted the different parts of the wood with the colors they found most appropriate and then left it to dry. She stared at it for a little while kinda proud of the way that it had turned out, she hadn’t really expected to be redoing an entire model this morning but she found that was one of the interesting things about Caleb, he was more of a doer than a talker and they always ended up walking or exploring, fixing up things mostly. She did most of the talking and sometimes he answered her questions sometimes he didn’t, she didn’t mind though, just figured there were some things he liked to keep to himself.

When he answered his favorite color she smiled softly, she liked all colors so whichever he answered it would remind her of something “Mmm, green reminds me of this meadow we used to go to when I was child, it had all these wildflowers but in the September there would be poppies and there was just an entire field of these red flowers on a bed of green” she smiled softly, one of the only good memories she really had from her childhood, to be honest.

His question about laughing made her raise her brows for a moment in surprise and then she pursed her lips slightly and shrugged “My brother enjoys playing pranks…” she chuckled just thinking about “On pretty much every person who lives here” she smiled “One time he managed to slip dye into one of my other brother’s shampoo bottle and he never lived it down” she chuckled softly.

“Do you drink?” she asked curiously “I’ve been learning mixology lately so maybe I could show you some of the stuff I’ve learned” she offered since they now needed to wait for the dollhouse to try before they could do any more work on it or decide what they were going to do with it.

HumanPermalink Reply by ✓ Caleb Eli Segal ~Mod~ on April 29, 2019 at 21:54

Caleb had often wondered what it would be like to have siblings; growing up, he'd been an only child and his parents hadn't stayed together after he was born. There were a lot of factors in that: his father's debts, his mother's home sickness, and their eventual differing beliefs on how and where their son should be raised. Adalie had spent two years in a marriage that slowly began to kill her inspiration for life and after that, it had been enough. Caleb still had pictures of him and his father, baby photos mostly, but a few that must have been taken shortly before he was two and his mother left to return to France. He'd always wondered about the man who should have raised him: what was he like and would he love his son, were they ever to meet? Spencer's likeness in the old photos showed resemblance. It wasn't prominent, but he could see himself in his father's strong jaw and deep set eyes. However, the likeness stopped at color. Caleb's were blue.

As an introverted child who'd been raised spending the majority of his time schooling from his Mother's rich knowledge of the arts, music, and both French and English; he'd struggled adapting to a new private school in outskirts of the city where scope for the imagination was limited and tutoring strict. Despite that he could fluently speak two languages and knew more about renaissance painters than his art teacher, his lack of proper schooling in other areas was accentuated. It took falling behind a grade and two extra hours of supervised study with his Aunt before he finally caught up with peers in Maths and Sciences. Algebra was the worst. School wasn't cut out for everyone and he'd fallen through the cracks in most of his teacher's eyes. Except his art teacher, who appreciated his knowledge and eventually began coaxing hesitant laughs out of the thirteen year old.  In a spinning world, art had become his refuge. 

Today, had been a sliver of old lake houses and bright morning palette's filled with colors. He'd had friends in France, but few who knew about his personal life. Guarded, he hadn't felt a light shine on his face like the day he met Ava. Now, it was dark.

Finally setting down his brush with a slight sigh, the young man stepped back to survey the work. Caleb had to admit that he was proud of the job that he and Argent had accomplished. A few hours ago, the toy set looked like it had been ready to be tossed in the trash and with a little encouragement, it was colorful again. As she'd said, a toy any child would like. He examined the top of the roof which was bare apart from the wood. Perhaps, he'd hunt down some shingles and renovate them into tiny versions. There was always something more that could be done, even when projects felt right. 

He had met several Ailwards by now and one thing he seemed to note in common between them was a knock of intuition that while not perfect, was strangely accurate. Almost, magical. It was the first time he'd had a friend who didn't mind both silence and always expanding curiosity. Caleb smiled (briefly) before tucking his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Occasionally. Do you use Chardonnay?"

Ailward AspectPermalink Reply by ✓ Argent Kara Ailward on April 30, 2019 at 20:46

Argent had lived alongside her siblings for so long now that they knew each other like the back of their hands, sure, they weren’t related by blood but they were more of a family than most people ever truly experienced. The redhead had left behind her family for their backward and unbalanced views, something she couldn’t really blame them for considering how the world had been against her in that day and age but she was far beyond her time even then. She had always searched for a better world, one where everyone was equal regardless of who they were, what they believed in, who they loved or how they were raised. She believed that was the Ailward message, what they were trying to promote in Evermore, peace between everyone, supernatural and not and for the most part, it seemed to be working.

The redhead got a lot of her personality from those she had lived alongside for so long, she had a level head in dangerous situations much like her brother Ven, she was a little childish and playful at times like her brother Deus, she was caring and selfless like her sister Mal. But she was also very much herself, she was a compassionate and observant person who always liked to think before she spoke. She was opinionated but always tried to be well informed with her decisions and thoughts. She could be prone to acting on impulse when it came to the people she cared about though. There weren’t many she let behind her walls but the ones she did tended to stay there for as long as they were around her.

She had met a lot of people in her long life, a lot of them came and went in the blink of an eye, others walked in and stayed a little while. There was one common theme though unless they were her siblings, they all left eventually, all moved onto bigger and better things or eventually were caught up by their mortality. It was why she often tried to avoid getting too attached to people, eventually, they left.

Looking up at Caleb as he studied the house she saw the proud look on his face which made her smile, it was amazing what you could achieve in the space of a few hours if you put your mind to it and the toy looked so much better than it had collecting dust in the basement anyway and it inspired her a little to have a clear out of the things there, see if there were more things they could fix up like this one, she already planned to give the old beaten teddybear a bit of a patch up so he could live on the shelf in her room and be a sweet reminder of the friend she lost.

When he answered her question she nodded before beginning to lead the way to the bar area of the Ailward manor, they really had everything you could need in this place that sometimes she didn’t even feel the need to leave it. When they reached it she pointed out one of the bar stools for him and then headed behind as she looked for a long-dated Chardonnay she had spotted in the wine rack before. She took it out absentmindedly started pouring it out into a glass before pairing it with an elderflower cordial she thought would mix well with the dry white and then sliding it over to him “You know there’s a lot of children’s charities who take toy donations, we could try and find one with a special little girl to give the house to” she spoke softly with a gentle smile as she started fixing herself up a drink too.

HumanPermalink Reply by ✓ Caleb Eli Segal ~Mod~ on May 13, 2019 at 15:04

Despite spending the last few days tinkering together, Caleb had to admit, he hadn't learned a lot about Argent other than that she was kind, enthusiastic, and had some hidden story that perhaps was still unspoken. That was alright with him, though, because he was never the first one to share his fears or heartbreak unless either intoxicated or strong-armed. She didn't seem likely to do either, despite the glass of wine they both held. The dollhouse sat on a kitchen island in front of the two and Caleb stared it down while drinking a sip of what was perhaps one of the oldest wines he'd ever tasted. The manor did seem full of mysteries and how they acquired something like this was beyond him. The yellow walls and brightly colored lavender door puzzled him briefly, before he he set the glass down. It was missing something. As an occasional perfectionist, he did have a slight tendency to not let his projects rest, but the small house needed something that made it feel like a home. Caleb drummed his fingers on the table in thought, before nodding and reaching for a napkin. First, he flattened it against the table to smooth out any wrinkles and then began folding it within itself, crease by crease, until it could stand on it's own. "Tada!" 

A tiny paper napkin dog stood saluting the front porch. "La perfection." 

He loved the idea of bringing the tiny house to a children's home. His own parents had either died or left early on his life and he was very lucky to have never seen the inside of a place like one. He'd always gotten along very well with kids and tiny humans amused him. They were like walking bundles of questions and curiosity. He set his cup in the sink, handed her the tiny dog, and picked up the house. "Allonsy!"

Ailward AspectPermalink Reply by ✓ Argent Kara Ailward on May 13, 2019 at 23:18

They had a strange friendship, not one of many words but they seemed to enjoy being around one another nonetheless, it was easier than most because there didn’t seem to be that pressure you felt in most friendships to impress the other person or be someone you weren’t. They just seemed generally comfortable around one another and the silence didn’t feel weird or make her feel like she needed to fill it words. She did talk more than he did though, bringing up random stuff that came to mind, that was just her though, she was quite a chatty and enthusiastic person who liked to tell people about her experiences. As she sipped her drink she was confused as to what he was doing when he picked up a napkin but she’d learned to just go with whatever he was up to rather than question it. By the time he was done she leaned in close out of a fascination for the intricate way he was folding it and the recognized the shape of a little paper dog. She let out a loud peal of laughter and pressed her hands together “So perfect” she agreed with him, a house needed a resident after all and this one had quite the charm. Her green eyes lifted to meet his blues as she gave him a proud smile, glad of what they had managed to achieve this afternoon.

Argent knew a little about the children’s hospitals and orphanages in the city, she had looked into many places before she had decided where she wanted to volunteer her free time, in the end, she had decided on the veteran’s hospital because they often seemed to be neglected for attention but that didn’t mean she didn’t consider working with the children. She finished her glass of wine and set the glass into the sink before he very quickly passed her the origami dog and picked up the house ready to leave. She laughed and shook her head a little “You’re always ready for the next adventure huh?” she commented with an amused look on her face, always onto the next thing, she wondered if he ever got any rest. She didn’t mind though, she led the way out of the manor without another word.

The redhead led the way into the garage, opening the trunk of her car so that he could place it inside before she pulled up the location of a children’s hospice she was familiar with on her phone. She climbed into the driver’s seat setting the phone in her holder on the dash so that she could follow the directions. She was a newly permitted driver and still a little cautious with directions even though she knew her way around the city pretty well already. She waited for Caleb to climb into the passenger seat before she started the engine and set the little paper dog between them in the cup holder, it’s face looking up at Caleb. “Do you think you’ll end up staying in Evermore?” she asked as she pulled out of the driveway and started to head across the city.

HumanPermalink Reply by ✓ Caleb Eli Segal ~Mod~ on May 16, 2019 at 15:13

Caleb had picked up origami as a child while waiting in hospital guest rooms to see his mother during the short time that she was in emergent care before passing away. Of course, back then his folding techniques turned magazine sheets that were supposed to look like cranes more into crumples, but as an adult he'd found a way to enjoy it. It was a way to still his fiddling fingers from time to time and his friends enjoyed the output now that the craft had come a bit further into progression. He took the doll house up carefully and followed Argent out of the house and down the way towards a garage which hadn't been far from where they were working on his motorcycle a few days prior. There was still a lot of work to be done on that particular project and Caleb was beginning to wonder if he was in over his head. He'd repaired some things on various engines, but most of it had to do with the internal parts and his bike had been hit by a tree. That required a bit more technical labor skill than he possessed. If he didn't find someone who knew more, he maybe staying in Evermore longer than planned. However, for some reason, that didn't bother him.
Caleb carefully set their project in the backseat of the four door car and climbed in shot gun. Despite living in America for several years now, it still weirded him out that the steering wheel was on the opposite side of the car. Americans just had to do everything differently, didn't they? Even if it made less sense. Still, he was glad she was driving, seeing as he was only a week out from a concussed head. It wasn't in recovery prescription to drive a car on the wrong side of the road. The last thing he needed was to get into another accident. As they settled into the car and Argent backed out into the street, he had to think for a moment at her question, despite the intuition that urged him to answer in the positive.

"I'd like to stay. It's been...good. A quiet place to get away." It was extremely difficult to put into words why he needed to get away. His well meaning, but pushy Aunt who urged him back into the Parisian singles scene? Living across from an empty box he'd buried in the ground to help him cope? Both were true, but he couldn't manage to say them out loud. What came out was much more harsh, but so it is when contained until bursting. "Away from death."

Ailward AspectPermalink Reply by ✓ Argent Kara Ailward on May 16, 2019 at 21:59

Argent had her eyes focused on the road as she drove, she hadn’t really been all that enthusiastic about learning to drive but she got fed up of having to ask one of the guards to take her places and decided it was past time she caught up with the modern world. She was quite a cautious and occasionally nervous-seeming driver but she always managed to get from A to B without crashing. She’s never ridden a motorbike like the one Caleb had, considered it a few times but she did worry for her own safety with them, she’d seen how crazy could be on the roads, pulling out when they shouldn’t, going crazy speeds. She tended to just drive at her own pace, she had all the time in the world, after all, wasn’t worth risking being in an accident. “Did you ever learn to drive or do you just have a motorbike license?” she asked curiously, she could tell his bike was important to him, sentimental even perhaps. She wasn’t anywhere near as attached to her car, it was a means to an end to her.

Heading through the city she noted that it was actually much quieter than normal today, she wasn’t sure why, perhaps because it was late afternoon so people were still either at work or school? She wasn’t complaining either way because it made for quite the smooth drive. She really liked the look of Evermore, while it was a city, it wasn’t bumper on bumper traffic like she’d seen in some other cities and there were some really nice scenic areas to drive past, especially up by the mountains where the Initia maintained the area. She often drove up there and went for long walks alongside the lake and took in all the beautiful flowers there, ones you barely got to see anywhere else.

When she heard his words she smiled gently hearing he wanted to stay, Evermore had been a means to an end to her too, she came because her siblings came here and she couldn’t be away from them but she had quite grown to like the independence living here had given her. She could have an actual normal life here if she wanted to. His next words made her go quiet though and she glanced over at him with mouth slightly agape before she pressed her lips together. Unfortunately the first thing that came to her mind was that death always seemed to follow but she swallowed that particular gloomy thought “I know that feeling” she admitted with a solemn nod of her head, her eyes wavering as her mind went back to all the people she had lost in her long life “I think you’ll find Evermore is a good place to start over” she admitted with “Anyone can be anything here” she mused with a smile as she pulled up outside the children’s hospice “Here we are” she spoke softly as she pointed out the building through the windscreen.

HumanPermalink Reply by ✓ Caleb Eli Segal ~Mod~ on June 22, 2019 at 15:27

A new place to start over? Caleb could get behind that. It had been a long time since he really felt settled somewhere and lately the hunger that he'd felt for so many years to keep running was slowly beginning to dissipate. It left behind a real feeling of exhaustion, but for some reason, he didn't mind. In a way it was a relief to stay still. In the back of his mind, he could only wonder how close he'd come to running himself dry. Perhaps, for a while, his wandering could cease.
Caleb rolled down the car window as they drove into the long lane of trees that approached the Evermore Children's Family Home. A mix of old willow and oak with overgrown branches shaded the car as it rolled to a stop in the circular driveway. He followed Argent's lead up to the orphanage that was a stretch outside the city. It was an old building made of gray brick and cherry wood accents. The sounds of children and whistling wind greeted his ears as the approached. He pushed his hands into his pockets, curiosity pulling a smile to his face. He'd always enjoyed kids, more often they were easy to talk to than adults.
Such small...bundles of marvel and question.
The superintendent answered the door. She wore modest dress and had her hair pulled back so that impish toddlers would pull at it. Step by step, they were lead through the quiet halls. It was only once they reached the outdoor play area that it became clear why the wooden halls had been so abandoned. On a breezy, warm day, it made sense that children would want to be playing in the fresh air as much as they could. There was a set of swings where children of various ages took turns pushing one another, a bit rowdily, but mostly in good fun; and a slide where a line of seven (mostly) waited in turn.
Caleb looked out over the romp and halfway wished he were half his size and could join in. Even when childhood wasn't perfect, there really was nothing else like it.

Ailward AspectPermalink Reply by ✓ Argent Kara Ailward on July 7, 2019 at 22:04

After she climbed out of the car she locked it behind them and fell into step alongside Caleb her eyes scanning over the place and taking in the scene. The woman who led them around was explaining the work they did and how a general day at the establishment worked which the redhead found interesting. She did a lot of volunteering herself so she knew generally that the work could be quite challenging and tiring but she imagined working with kids made it even harder. She had massive respect for volunteers who could keep a smile on their face despite it all.

The walls inside the building looked very different to the professional outside, she could see little drawings and paintings the kids had done,they made her smile, especially the ones that had little pictures of animals because she always had a soft spot for animals. After they dropped off the toy which the superintendent seemed really excited about she followed her through to the garden play area. The kids actually looked like they were having a lot of fun, all out in the garden because it was a gorgeous sunny day, decked out in little hats to make sure they didn’t get too hot in the sun, it was very sweet.

She asked a few questions here and there about the work they did and how the adoption process for the kids worked along with other ways she could help them. Mostly it was needing more toys because the kids had grown out of a lot of them. She smiled softly, Argent had never really been in a place to think about having a family of her own but a part of her had always been intrigued by the idea of having a child of her own. She glanced up at Caleb who seemed to be lost in his own little world and smiled gently at him “Kinda reminds you of when you were young?” she asked curiously.

HumanPermalink Reply by ✓ Caleb Eli Segal ~Mod~ on July 9, 2019 at 20:48

He listened to both Argent's questions and the headmistress's replies. It sounded like the orphanage was short-staffed and in need of volunteers. There were at least twenty kids running around the colorful florals, almost evenly split between boys and girls. Perhaps, this would be a good place for him to use some of his extra time, now that he was almost fully recovered from his head injury. The fresh air from around the garden was truly nostalgic, although Caleb had a soft spot for the outdoors anyway. He reddened a bit, as his friend caught him stuck in his day dreams. "You have good eyes." 

The pair headed inside, where the tour could continue. "Most people can't tell  when I..." He struggled momentarily for the word. "get lost in the moment."

Argent was special, however. He could tell she was a very compassionate person. Caleb shoved his fingers deep into the pockets of his khakis and smiled in her direction. "Do you have any favorite childhood memories?"

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