Gathering Post - London Calling

[londoncallingmods]

The world at large seemed heavier this week, bad news from across the pond drifting over like a bad storm and raining down on the city. Still, stiff upper lip and all that. If London had stopped every time things had seemed bleak, it would have fallen long ago.

And so life went on, as it must. 

The skies were a bit grey and the streets slightly damp, but the Christmas lights were coming on early this year, and Harrods already had the streets lit up with wonder and sparkle. Cafes and bars followed suit, and twinkling lights were everywhere you looked, casting a much needed bit of whimsy and wonder over the stark looking faces that passed by. It was hard to stay grim when children and adults alike seemed so entranced by it all.

There were plenty of events going on as well. From the Lord Mayor's Show or the Dulwich Christmas Bazaar, to the usual concerts, festivities, and even bowling. 

London may have looked a bit foggy and miserable, but there was pleanty of joy to be found for those who went looking.

(Gathering post! Just a nice mellow post to combat those post election blues, and balance out the drama from Halloween. As always, this post will be open for at least a week, so tag in and check back often to tag others. <3)

Comments

[nirav]

Nirav remembered the woman, she'd been less than pleasant when they'd met. Enough so that he nearly didn't make his way over when he could see she was beginning to sob. ...He could feel that pain though, the ache echoing inside of him. A kind of empathy he couldn't control, born from a kind of magic that was in his blood.

He hesitated, then took his coffee and moved to stand beside her. He wanted to touch her, to reassure her that whatever was wrong could be righted- But instead he quietly sat down across from her.

"You look pained," he said gently.

[akatawitch]

Sunny was usually very good at detecting people in her space. It was part of self-preservation. She had to know when people who might hurt her were close by, and had had to know since she was very small. But now, either she was so distracted or he had so quiet a presence that she didn't know he was there until he'd spoken.

Her head snapped up, her eyes and face red and her nose running. It was not in the slightest a dignified look. She tried to wipe her face with her hand, ashamed that she'd let herself go so far.

[nirav]

"I didn't mean to startle you," he said, reaching into his pocket and producing a half empty pack of tissues.

"Here," he said gently, holding the pack out in offering.

[akatawitch]

Sunny hesitated a moment before taking the offered tissues and croaking a quiet "thank you." She wiped her face and dabbed her eyes, hoping she wouldn't have to blow her nose as well.

[nirav]

Nirav nodded, allowing her a moment before speaking again.

"Do you wish to talk about it?" he offered gently. "I can't promise any good advice, but I'm an exceptional listener."

[akatawitch]

"I don't know if there's really advice for this," Sunny answered softly.

[nirav]

"All the better, as I said, listening is by far the greater skill I have to offer," Nirav assured her.

[akatawitch]

Sunny considered him for a moment, before she shrugged and explained. "The election in the states."

[nirav]

"...Ah," Nirav replied awkwardly. He didn't follow politics usually, but the American election had been impossible to ignore.

"Surely if we're dwelling on those sorts of things we should be drinking something stronger than coffee or tea," he said, leaning in as though conspiring with her. "I hear the polish have a vodka that is nearly 200 proof. That may do the job," he quipped.

[akatawitch]

Sunny smiled, a wan and awkward expression, and sipped her tea. She'd been nursing it for much too long for it to still be warm, but that was one of the little privileges of magic. "That sounds dangerous."

[nirav]

"Possibly lethal," Nirav admitted with a playful smile, making it clear he wasn't being serious about getting wasted. ...Not completely anyway. "Perhaps just an amaretto and cake instead. In my experience sweetness can numb just as well as drink- And is far less likely to end in misery."

[akatawitch]

Sunny's smile twitched wider at that. "Cake does sound pretty amazing right now."

[nirav]

"Red velvet, perhaps? I know a place quite near," the elf offered.

[akatawitch]

Sunny looked at him for a long moment, considering. Not because she thought he wasn't sincere, but exactly because she thought he was. She was a stranger, and one who had rebuffed him. Why did he care?

But she nodded. "Yeah. That sounds good."