( open ) december catch-all

[ettersberg]

Who: Thomas Nightingale (ettersberg) & various
What: piloting, mistletoes, everything else
When: december
Where: thesa, wyver, olympia
Warning(s): none yet



drift compatibility

[ he's flown in planes before, of course — even british wizards had to cross the channel somehow and anyone who'd have suggested broomsticks would have been the laughing stock of the entire folly, because it doesn't work that way. even before the war, he'd travelled as part of the foreign office, sometimes by plane and sometimes not.

no plane he's ever been in can compare to the ship he's in right now, strapped into one of the pilot seats and glancing at the controls in front of him with a somewhat sceptical expression. ]

I'm afraid I'm not quite sure how this is meant to work.

mistletoe

[ nightingale returns to olympia and settles into a routine in as much as he can. it hadn't been close to any holiday period when the world had ended for him, but it seems to be growing colder here and there is an increased air of festivity to everything.

every now and again, nightingale will find himself beneath a mistletoe at the same time as someone else, though never by design. if he notices the plant, he might try to simply ignore it, but if his companion notices as well, he'll speak: ]

Were there any traditions attached to it in your world?

wildcard

[ write your own starter, hit me up at abiosis for one, whatever floats your boat. ]

Comments

[ettersberg]

[ nightingale is glad to be back as well. he's glad to wear something other than merely linen, the suit he's currently in a heavier wool-mix, and he's glad for the less humid and warm climate. for the more ordered city construction as well. those are all things he'd taken for granted for a long time. ]

Ah, yes.

[ for a moment, his lips curve into a hint of a smile. ] My world had those traditions as well.

[ though he seems content enough to ignore them for the moment, to idly chat about rather than to act on them. ]

[poolhall_killer]

I've noticed a few traditions overlap between worlds. It's nice to see we have these in common. A way to connect to one another, if you will.

[He examines one of the mistletoe, noting how green it is against the environment.]

This might be a bit forward of me to ask, but have you ever, ah, partaken in the tradition?

[He's more curious than anything. Did people really kiss under the mistletoe? It's not just a myth or something, right?]

[ettersberg]

Traditions, but places as well. And events, it seems to me. [ he's talked to a number of people whose history also featured wwii. some who've fought in it, just as nightingale had.

mistletoes are a safer topic of conversation than the war, as far as nightingale is concerned. perhaps that why he admits: ] Once or twice, when I was younger. The tradition was that one would have to pluck a berry from the mistletoe and once there were none left anymore, there would be no more kisses.

[ he'd kissed a woman or two under the mistletoe, mainly on the cheek. he'd never quite seen the appeal, and kissing a man under the mistletoe had been out of the question in the times of nightingale's youth. ]

[poolhall_killer]

I haven't heard of that one before. It's quite an interesting take on the tradition.

[Venom can't say he's ever kissed anyone under the mistletoe. Of course he's almost never been kissed until he arrived here. He's not sure of the protocol when the mistletoe hangs from more than one spot. So far, he's been eyeing them but not doing anything.]

And I admit, it's kind of romantic. I take it many kisses were had that day?

[ettersberg]

Collectively, not individually.

[ there's a hint of a smile on nightingale's lips, though it's tinged with — let's call it nostalgia. the memories are good ones, but all the people in them are long dead. ]

It was considered quite déclassé to hog the mistletoe.

[poolhall_killer]

[The image of Nightingale (or anyone) hogging the mistletoe for kisses is actually amusing. It's enough to get a small chuckle out of the former assassin.]

So it was more to encourage mingling, I suppose.

Now I have to wonder if they have similar traditions here, considering they're growing mistletoe and all.

[ettersberg]

I have to admit, I never considered the rationale behind the tradition. I suppose it may have been for that purpose, yes.

[ he considers, for a moment. ]

None of the natives seem to pay it any particular attention.

[poolhall_killer]

[It's actually a bit refreshing to hear that the mistletoe is treated as a regular plant here. But Venom also feels a vague sympathy since it's kind of ignored otherwise. He's always had an odd soft spot for plants thanks to Lord Zato's fondness for them.]

Unlike here, where you could easily get dozens of kisses. Or a few from one person.

[Venom quickly realizes how that could be interpreted, his cheeks flushing behind all that hair.]

That is... ah...

[ettersberg]

[ nightingale tends not to anthropomorphise plants, so he feels neither sympathy nor much of anything else for the mistletoe. what he feels instead, is momentary surprise -- and somewhere behind it all, a fleeting sense of curiosity, perhaps even of want. it doesn't make it to the surface of his emotional landscape.

(these days, that kind of thing rarely does, unless it's dragged there by moonlight.) ]

That isn't my intent. [ he says after a moment, voice a little softer than before. ]

[poolhall_killer]

[Venom calms himself for a moment before speaking again, making sure his hair's covering his face. Nightingale doesn't need to see just how flustered he is.]

I'm sorry. That was rather crass of me to say.

Although, had it been your intention, I wouldn't mind at all.

[Is Venom... flirting? He seems to be trying, kind of testing the waters. Maybe his heart is finally healing as a few men around here have been catching his attention, including the one before him.]

[ettersberg]

Ah.

[ there's a moment when nightingale is -- not taken aback, precisely, but certainly processing those words and their implication. without outside prompts, he doesn't really let himself think of anyone as a potential partner, sexual or otherwise, doesn't let himself linger on whether he finds anyone handsome or not. ]

That's [ he hesitates for a moment, but then his lips curl up minutely. it's not an unwelcome admission, at any rate, even if he's at a loss what to do with it. ] good to know.

[poolhall_killer]

[Venom notes the smile, but isn't sure how to take the rest. Maybe he was laying it on too thick? Perhaps he should pull back and tread lighter.

He tucks some hair away from his face so Nightingale can see him properly. He doesn't think he's much to look at, but he's been told he's attractive...]

It's the truth.

[ettersberg]

[ not too thick -- but too fast, perhaps, for someone as reserved as nightingale when he's not under the influence of anything like whatever had been in the air recently in wyver. (he doesn't regret what happened under that influence, especially now that he's found his partners don't, either, but -- it's still out of the ordinary for him.)

out of the ordinary, but after a long moment, nightingale still leans in. not to kiss venom on the lips, mind, but to brush his own against the other man's cheek. it's a gentle thing, barely there. ]

[poolhall_killer]

[Venom wasn't expecting the kiss at all. He had planned on taking the conversation a bit further and offer a kiss of his own. It's so light, yet the former assassin can feel a slight tingling on in his cheek.

It's enough to bring a smile onto his face.]

Thank you.

[It's barely audible as Venom's rather flustered by the gesture.]

[ettersberg]

[ it's an odd thing, really, to think of someone who is a self-professed assassin and whose ethical code nightingale is still not quite sure of as cute -- but for a moment, that is precisely what nightingale thinks.

he doesn't quite smile himself, but there's warmth in his expression regardless. ]

Of course. [ he says, because any time feels too loaded and he's not entirely sure it would be the truth. ]

[poolhall_killer]

[Venom's always been a little on the emotional side. It's part of the reason why his hair's the way it is. But lately, his once-gloomy outlook has been brightened by the people around him.

It takes him a bit, but he drums up enough courage to speak again.]

Would you like to get some tea? It doesn't have to be today, but perhaps in the near future?

[ettersberg]

[ it sounds a great deal like a date, though nightingale grew up in a time when dating really wasn't the name for it at all, in a time when chaperones were still very much a thing.

a date with an assassin who wants to become a doctor. nightingale almost smiles. ]

Sometime this week.

[ that's a yes. ]

[poolhall_killer]

[Venom cannot help smiling a touch wider. Would it be considered a date? Well, it is two people meeting to possibly get to know each other better. And a small kiss was involved.]

That sounds fair.

[The former assassin should take his leave before turns into a larger ball of awkward.]

Until then, Mr. Nightingale.

[ettersberg]

[ nightingale gives a nod. ]

Until then.