Open The River Flows in Us

Aniuaui

Chester. Dragon in Denial
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Apr 1, 2020
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Listening to the tender fluttering of ivory keys, Chester's fingers instinctively fidgeted through the grass as though he played through the nostalgic score himself. Soft bated breaths whispered past his lips as his bowed head swayed gently in his quiet meditation. Sprawled calmly against the comforting base of a great Maple tree, the forest shielded him from the brunt of the cool spring gale, and the canopy gave him some relief from the strikingly warm sun of the late afternoon. His wild raven black hair lightly tickling his pale visage with every motion, and his long lashes brushed over the dark shadows that usually took permanent residence beneath his eyes.

Lost to his own world, large noise cancelling headphones blocked out any distractions as he let the melancholic melody melt his endless lists of miseries away. At least between the sweet scents of the lake, fresh blossoms, the fresh breeze and music, he could find some semblance of peace from the upturned chaos that had become of his life.

Not that it was as dramatic as he always seemed to make it out to be, but at least before, he had had some degree of contentment when he had been Antiquing among the best of Europe's markets and getting along just fine on online courses. Where most of his family could go where they may and do what they wanted, it always seemed that even kept at arms length; Chester could not be afforded the same basic right.

What was it they had said? Uncontrollable, unmanageable, A tragedy waiting to happen? He didn't have to hear it for himself... the shadows told him everything. Even when he didn't want them to. But he always did what he was told, trying to prove himself at every available opportunity, and yet still apparently it was all for naught. Just as he was gaining anything close to an iota of happiness, then POOF! He was whisked away to further than the furthest reaches of the Earth.

All for what?
Because he was a monster among monsters.

Gritting his teeth as his fist gripped and ripped at the grass beneath him, he felt a guttural growl growing in his throat. His own family didn't want him. Just gave him enough not to feel guilty over themselves then shoved him as far from their minds as they could spare! The greedy, ugly, selfish, rotten bunch -the lot!

No!
No...

Not Lizzy. Lizzy was the exception... But even she could not stop them. Even she agreed that it was better this way...

A deep hurtful betrayal. That much was true.

Jaw and body aching painfully again, Chester rolled his shoulders trying to calm himself once more. Resting his arm across his knee and massaging the bridge of his nose, he sighed haggardly.

"Has it really been two months already?" He muttered to himself with a ragged and scratchy voice.

It still didn't feel quite real at times. Magic. Magical Creatures. The whole bit.
It was a bit overwhelming, and even though he was finally attending classes and catching up fast, it felt so foreign and frightening.
Not to mention the whispers were louder than ever and harder to ignore.

He didn't want to be the freak. Maybe here he wouldn't be, but then again all he ever wanted to be... was just...

"Normal...." He sighed sadly, opening his startlingly bright blue eyes to stare out at the rippling waters of the lake.
 

Fox Tarts

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Jan 21, 2020
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Briar hummed, his face to the breeze as he walked the shore of the lake. It was good exercise, and the weather was lovely, if a tad cold. Not that it bothered him, bundled up as he was in a worn, warm tweed jacket and black ear muffs. The dragon had a rare free day, and idly wondered how to spend it. Perhaps reading? Or trying his hand at cooking again. This time without setting fire to the kitchen.

As he walked, he spied a young man resting under a lovely maple tree. The young man seemed almost. . . sad. The sight pulled on Briar's protective instincts. He and the others of his species were created to bring peace to those under their care. Briar had no one to care for, so everyone kinda became free real estate. Mind made up, Briar approached with an easy smile and relaxed body language.

"Hey there, care for some company?" He asked.
 

Aniuaui

Chester. Dragon in Denial
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Apr 1, 2020
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The little hairs on his arms rising as a chill went up his back, Chester felt the presence before he seen it as the young man came strolling up. Odd, usually that only happened around family...

Glancing out of his periphrial, he stared at the individuals’ feet, slowly removing his headphones.

“Me? Not particularly...” he answered bluntly, though not completely impolite.

“But be it not I, to stand in the way of free will. Hmm? Do as thou wilt, and all that.” He added with a bit more dramatic sarcasm as he gave a general wave to the shady grassy areas surrounding him.

“I can’t promise to be any better company though... so whatever floats your boat.” Chester added dryly with a shrug as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone, stopping his playlist.

Sitting in a few moments of extended silence, the melancholic youth fidgeted in the strangers warm happy presence.

“So uhhh... any particular reason you decided to pick this gloomy spot to grace?”
 

Fox Tarts

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Jan 21, 2020
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Do as he wills? Briar can do that, not minding the sarcasm. He dropped his bag down, and took a seat next to the young man. "Good company, bad company, I don't mind either. It's nice to sit down and talk to someone, no?" He said, and settled against the trunk of the tree. "Wouldn't call this spot gloomy." Briar said.

The dragon looked from the green leaves above them, to the sparkling water of the lake. A lovely view by any account. "I thought you might like someone to talk to. So, how's your day been? Read any good books?" Briar loved small talk, and it didn't matter if the topic was weather or weekend plans, all of it fascinated him! "Me, I've been deciding how to spend the free time I've found myself with. I was thinking of reading something, but have no idea what. Any book recommendations would be appreciated."
 

Aniuaui

Chester. Dragon in Denial
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Apr 1, 2020
74
Virginia
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Female
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Surprised that his usual prickly persona hadn’t driven the intruder off, Chester was certainly annoyed, but also grateful. It always took a good distraction to get him out of his own head. Whether it was welcome or not. So while the soft ripples of water and the birdsong carried on with their own melodious routines, the moody male leaned forward, wrapping his arms loosely around his knees.

“I don’t know about that. I’m not particularly the talkative type. I avoid it when I can.” He muttered admittedly, but remembering how rude it was to mumble in conversation, etiquette got the best of him as if he felt the angry disapproving eyes of his family boring in the back of his head.

Sucking in a deep breath and burying his face in his hands before forcing a weak fake smile, he tilted his head to look at his guest.

“My day’s been just Great.” ~Gawd that sounded fake. Be nice.~ He thought to himself, feeling his insides recoiling.

“I’m not used to public schooling. I hate crowds and noise. A lot of my last minute shipping stuff got delayed. And to top it off, my laptop crashed and I lost three essays I was working on. One of which is due tomorrow. So yea, it’s been peachy.” Growling to himself and raking his fingers through his wavy tangled locks, he quietly seethed.

But manners required, he attempted to keep his ‘friend’ engaged.

“As for books. I’ve read hundreds of ‘em. Most of them pretty good. Though our tastes in literature could vary greatly so asking someone you’ve only just met, seems a stretch. We haven’t even been properly introduced, yet you seem to seek my opinion.”

Shaking his head irritably, he gritted his teeth, glaring wearily at the water.

“But if you must ask, then… if you like historical fiction then Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama is a cultured choice about two orphans seeking a traditional Japanese careers amidst WWII. Tithe by Holly Black, is a dark twist on a modern fairy tale. A Snarky girl discovers she’s a changeling goes on to discover a lot of dark shit about the Faerie realms. Or if you’re looking for something more light-hearted and philosophical, than maybe The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Easy read with inspirational quotes. Travel and self-discovery and all that.”

Reminiscing over the past reads, he found his nerves calming a bit the more he spoke. There was nothing like a good book to help you escape harsher realities. Relaxing enough to give the guy a bit of slack he awkwardly held out a hand, avoiding eye contact.

“Chester Mayfield, by the way.”
 

Fox Tarts

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Briar found it strange that someone would wish to avoid talking, but held no judgement. After all, there were many kinds of sentient beings in the world, and they had different views from himself. His, perhaps the term conversational hostage was appropriate, did his best to engage and Briar gave them a soft smile in thanks. "That makes two of us in regard to school. I've never attended school at all before I found my way to the island.

"As for your laptop, the school library is a great resource. They know just about everyone which technological powers who could help get your essay back. Last week I wiped a whole computer, um, hard thing. A nice gentleman fixed it up and got things working." Briar spoke in an even, friendly tone. His helper nature kicking in once again. "I hope your day gets better."

He listened carefully to his conversation hostage's recommendations. Briar had no preference for genre, or even nonfiction and fiction. The sheer amount of books made available was both thrilling and daunting. Now he had several titles to seek out. "Those all sounds wonderful, I'll give them a read." Briar accepted the other's hand, happily shaking it.

"Briar Rose Scribe. A pleasure to meet you, Chester. I take it you're new to the island? I'm rather new myself. It's a strange and amazing place, isn't it?"
 

Aniuaui

Chester. Dragon in Denial
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Apr 1, 2020
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Virginia
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A minimal grimace on his face as the boy shook his hand with more vigor than Chester returned, he at least remembered to present a firm grip as was required of respectful exchanges.

Sighing morosely, he looked back out on the lake. “Yea, it’s at the library now. They said it might take a bit. Hence why I’m lingering and not home.” Then tilting his head back towards his friendly intruder he eyed him intently before raising a brow.

“Isn’t Briar Rose a girl’s name? Like a Disney a princess?” Then realizing what just came out of his mouth, he slapped a hand over his mouth and looked away. Ears growing red.

“Sorry! That was rude! I didn’t mean to say that.” Turning his head away, he fixed his gaze at the grass gripping a handful with his opposite hand.

~Shit.
The last thing he needed was hurting some saps feelings and getting called in for unintended bullying or something.~


Stumbling on and hoping to glide past his narrow comment he rambled, slipping up into his stammering as his hands started to wave around wildly.

“I-I-I’ve been here a-about a little o-over two m-months now. F-Frankly I miss the r-real world. E-even if I m-moved a lot, I got to see most of the world. B-but parents thought I’d be b-better off here d-due to p-poor health and s-s-safer because of my c-condition. S-so I havn’t actually seen m-much, I just g-go to classes and home and b-back again.” Arms folded, tucked, out, waving, Chester didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands as he spluttered out more than he actually felt comfortable with.

Then his palm was leaned back over his mouth once more as he pulled his knees in and rocked a bit awkwardly.

“And you?” His voice went a bit higher than intended, but he was left in pieces all due to a simple slip up in etiquette.

~And This is why I was forced to take all those damn classes, and why I prefer to stay home.~ He grumbled in the back of his thoughts.
 

Fox Tarts

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Briar tilted his head to the side. Funny, this was not the first time someone has told him he picked a "girl's name", and it was the second time someone referred to him with the word Disney. Some of the first books Briar read upon arriving on the island were Earth fairy tales. He loved the story of sleeping beauty and adopted the name of the story's protagonist. That the name was held by a woman did not matter much to him.

What was strange to him was how Chester seemed embarrassed to say so. "I don't see anything rude about what you said." He said kindly and honestly. "I found the name fitting to myself and I enjoy it." Briar's original name was lost to time, forgotten during his thousand year sleep. Though, he could recall having other names before that, but even they were hazy.

Briar watched Chester, concerned by the anxious shift in his demeanor. He followed the motion of Chester's hands, and listened. Then, when Chester stilled and asked, Briar shifted closer and placed a gentle hand on Chester's shoulder. "You know, I hardly know anything about Earth." He began, "I haven't left the island once since I came here. I'd love to visit Earth for the weekend, and I could use a guide. Would you like to accompany me? I'm sure you know a lot of great places to visit due to your travels."

Ever since Briar learned that the islands had portals to Earth and other realms he wished to visit other places. There was no portal to his home dimension, and he couldn't afford to pay for a custom one, but he did not morn the loss. After all, there were many new places for him to explore and learn about.
 

Aniuaui

Chester. Dragon in Denial
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Apr 1, 2020
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As a shiver ran up his spine when Briar reached out to touch him, Chester felt his back tense up, before he ever so hesitantly relaxed. Face still burning, his eyes glaring so intently at the grass, he wrapped his arms around his legs and thought for a moment.

On one hand, he wasn’t exactly lying in his ramble. He had been all over the world, lived in a lot of interesting places. But on the other hand, he hadn’t exactly been allowed to wander freely anywhere for fear another ‘accident’ would happen. So he wasn’t an expert, and would probably make a crappy guide and get them lost. But then again, no one had ever… invited him anywhere before…So it seemed like a really interesting thing to do.

He remained quiet for quite a while, deeply drowning in thoughts before glancing back nervously at Briar.

“Y-You…. You’re asking me?” He questioned ever softly. “You… don’t even know me though… h-how d-do you know you could t-trust me?”

His fingers fidgeted with a loose thread in his sweater. He focused on it most intently.

“I mean… it sounds…nice. Just… I’ve uhm. I may have lived in a lot of places…but uhm. I’ve never been far from home… So maybe I’m not… you know, a great choice...” Frowning and feeling already dejected, he buried his face in his arms.

Misunderstandings were so easy to get tangled in… it was probably why he wasn’t very sociable.
 

Fox Tarts

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Briar knew patience, and did not press for an answer. He gave Chester all the time he needed to respond. "Have you given me reason not to trust you?" Briar said, the thought never occurring to him. Someone might say he was too trusting, but it was not in Briar's nature to worry about such things. "Then that makes you perfect for the job." Briar added, "We could discover new places together. You could show me the places you've always wanted to go to but never could."

Chester seemed so dejected, as though Briar had already changed his mind and decided he was not sincere. "I understand if you don't want to." Briar said. After all, he supposed, he was just as much as a stranger. "Perhaps we can spend some time together on the island first. There are many places here I have not yet seen. When I fly I always see something interesting."

The tricky part was to watch the weather and not fly on days with rain. However, when he did find time to get up into the skies the island never failed to capture his attention. "I would like to get to know you as a friend."
 
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