View source for Logs:Of Change and Love

{{Log
|chars=[[Javi]], [[Darwin]], [[Gareth]]
|gamedate=2022.09.11
|location=Hyde Park
|summary=Darwin makes people get up at like 5am on a Sunday to do some ritual which sadly doesn't involve blood /or/ sex.
|subtitle="I mean, we //can// keep it, though, right?"
|categories=Mortal+, Werewolf
|log=The text invitation comes early in the morning. So early that it's still quite dark out, though Darwin did at least warn Javi and Gareth of the hour ahead of time. Inside, moonlight from the gibbous moon filters in through the open sliding door at the edge of Darwin's apartment, the macramé curtain pulled back.

On the coffee table sits a rather modern-looking mortar and pestle, blue paint within. Beside it is a single flickering tealight. On the big rug that takes up most of the living room, five paper plates make a wide circle-- only, the living room is kind of a narrow rectangle so it's more of a squished oval, big enough for two people to sit within. The plates are cut into the shapes of moon faces, garnished with a little macaroni, courtesy of Miel. Miel, who must've swapped beds for the night, as the couch is empty.

"There's coffee in the kitchen, help yourself," says Darwin, looking particularly tense as he moves through the living room to adjust errant things. Over by the mugs on the counter is a charming little rectangular ant farm.

Gareth arrives just as he's told. Okay, he's a few minutes late, and he looks surprisingly awake. Doesn't stop him from going into the kitchen to help himself to coffee, of course. All the coffee. "Ookay so you promised no blood, right? Do we need to get naked in the light of the moon?" he asks with a *slightly* nervous laugh.

Javi arrives at the appointed time, and though he's looking a //bit// tired, he seems overall to be pretty happy. Of course, that's not exactly a rare occurrence for him, but maybe it's nice at this hour on a Sunday when they're about to engage in some unknown-to-him ritual that seems to be making Darwin a little tense.

"Thanks, man," he replies at the offer of coffee, though the first thing he actually does is look at the ant farm. "Hey guys," he says, leaning toward the enclosure. "Happy Sunday." As though the ants care (they do not). Only then does he turn around to survey the setup, though he cuts a look to Gareth at the question with a little snort of amusement. "If this is a sex thing, shoulda told me before," he says as his gaze shifts to Darwin. "Woulda brought some other stuff to contribute."

Darwin really should've expected /both/ of them to JOKE. He barks a laugh that breaks some of his own tension. "Gar, I'd never stop you from getting naked," he says, gravely, then, to Javi, "Sadly, /sadly/, no sex involved." Though this clearly gets him thinking. Are /any/ of the rites sex-related? /Could/ they be? HMM. "Sit in the ring of... plates when you're ready. And don't expect anything flashy."

The ants do not care, it's true. They meander along. One sits on a leaf. Queen Jess.

"Other stuff, huh? Someone sounds confident," Gareth says with a grin towards Javi, sipping his coffee and meandering towards the ring of plates, eyeing them curiously. "Is... this like..." he considers, wracking his mind. "Where the symbolism of the things is more important than the actual material it's made out of?"

"Okay, good to know," Javi replies, flashing Darwin a thumbs up, as though this is all very sensible. "Gotta make sure. Learning all kinds of new shit lately." He can't quite hide the grin underneath the veneer of solicitousness, though, and when Gareth replies he doesn't bother, returning it brightly as he shrugs, inclining his head a little bit in acknowledgement of it. But he leaves it there -- except for the smile, of course -- and does what he's told, taking a seat inside the ring of plates. He does seem interested in the answer to Gareth's question, looking more seriously toward Darwin even though he has to add, "They're real cute." The plates, that is.

Darwin's smile widens until it's sharpened to a deadly edge when Gareth makes his observation of the material. It's a good question! And yet, "I'm going to throw you off the balcony." Javi's praise dulls the edge, though Darwin still flusters a bit, clearly worried. "I'll tell Miel. Yeah, there's... a lot of symbolism. Different ways to do the same thing, so long as the symbols are there. And so long as the symbols are /clear/..."

Darwin settles onto his knees between the crescent and half moon plates, peeling his jackets off. One by one. There's four of them at this point, thrown into the heap. He's down to his undershirt. "...I promise it's not a sex thing," he says, hastily. "And no blood. No blood /this/ time." Reaching for the mortar, he takes a bit of blue paint on his fingers and reaches for Gareth's wrist, painting an odd symbol on the back of his hand.

"No!" Gareth says with a quick shake of his head. "I'm serious, Dar, I know shit all about rituals, I wasn't trying to make fun!" he promises earnestly. "Though the macaroni's kinda making me hungry now," he ponders and then settles down cross legged on the floor. "Aw, you were getting me excited there," he says wryly when Darwin asserts it's not a sex thing. He gives Darwin his hand easily, glancing back to Javi. "Have you done this kind of thing before?" he asks, curious.

That Miel had a hand in the setup has Javi nodding as he settles in, like he isn't surprised. "Cool," he replies, before he quiets to listen -- mostly, anyway. Maybe he eyes Darwin a little at all that layer shedding, but he lets it pass unremarked upon for now. At least, unremarked upon by words. His expression does remark on things pretty well a lot of the time, and it's doing that now, too.

He gets more serious when Gareth asks this, though, and he shrugs. "Kinda? I mean, I do rituals for my shit, too. Sometimes. So it's not, like...totally new, I guess. Never done one that's the same as this before but circles are important usually. So, you know, yeah." Which is a long answer that probably could have been encapsulated just by the first or last word, really, but maybe he's //slightly// nervous, too. But if he is, it's not going to stop him holding out his hand to Darwin when it's his turn to get his hand painted on.

Darwin gently squeezes Gareth's wrist. "Okay, okay. I believe you," he says through a little laugh, presumably at Gareth's disappointment. "There's just something about /circles/," he says with lingering humor. "I didn't know if you knew about Javi's ghost talky stuff, so I didn't mention it." Finishing with Gareth, he reaches for Javi's hand, fingers curled into his palm as he repeats the same symbol.

Beneath Darwin's undershirt, symbols of the same odd style can be seen faintly glowing in silver. Three of them, two on each shoulder, one at the center of his chest. Javi absolutely notices goosebumps. Releasing Javi's hand, Darwin sits back on his heels and looks between both of them. "Alright. Don't think too hard about this. Like, no pressure. Just speak from your heart. You first, Gar. Tell me your understanding of change. Change's role in nature, it's role in growth, it's role in love. Whatever you can think of."

"Huh, I guess I'm gonna have to do some reading up," Gareth responds to Javi with a reassuring smile. There's a tilt of his head to Darwin. "Circles are *cool* and I won't hear a word against them. But if you've got some macaroni left over I'm totally cooking macaroni cheese after this I'm fucking starving." He settles in a it, his motormouth shutting up for a moment while he thinks about what Darwin's told him to do, and then he starts talking about change.

At first it's superficial, the PI talking about how the weather changes, and how the tides change and so on. But as he continues it gets more and more personal, as he talks about how moments can change a person, whether it's a job that doesn't work out, or a case that goes off in a different directions than you expect. He skirts *dangerously* close to something deeply personal when he veers onto the subject of a *difficult* relationship with his family, but swerves away from it with a change (aha) of topic before he says much on it. For once, his ability to fill any silence comes in quite useful.

Javi's eyes catch on Darwin's goosebumps for a few seconds, and that more than anything has his smile fading a little bit, but he also doesn't mention it. Instead, he just nods to Gareth, conceding, "They are kinda cool, yeah." He shifts a little bit on the floor where he's settled, reaching up to rub a hand over the back of his neck, but he stays quiet for Gareth's turn. He's listening, though, his focus settled on the other man while he speaks. His brows pull together more thoughtfully, head tilting slightly to one side, with the sort of look like he's filing some things away for later consideration. He can't do //too// much considering right now, since he's up a moment later.

Even though he'd had some time to prepare, he may have been listening so hard that he wasn't actually thinking about that //he// was going to say. So, it takes him a few seconds to begin. And when he does, most of the things he says are pretty general, too, punctuated with plenty of 'ums' and 'likes.' However, unlike Gareth, he actually doesn't end up getting close to anything very deep, not even when he's meandered to what seems to be the end. He does say some things that relate specifically to him, but they're about the class he's taking, or types of people (though no one named specifically) he's met. All things someone might say for an icebreaker, nothing deep.

Darwin finds himself drawn into Gareth's explanation, following along with quiet little nods or raised eyebrows. When Gareth shuffles away from personal insight, Darwin politely shifts his gaze. By the end of it, he looks pleased, and reaches out to pat-pat Gareth's knee. "There's definitely mac and cheese in the kitchen," he assures in a quiet whisper.

When Javi elaborates on his understanding, Darwin watches with the same gentle attention, careful to avoid putting him on the spot with his gaze. The difference in depth doesn't seem to change Darwin's mild reactions, though his quiet study shades a little curious at Javi.

When Javi finishes, Darwin speaks up, twisting slightly to look through the sliding door. "Amahan Iduth, look upon and within the new hearts before you and find worth, love, and understanding." Then, silence. He exchanges a quick glance with Gareth--don't say anything, motormouth.

Gareth can absolutely be *quiet*. He can't, necessarily, be *still* but that's a different problem. His knee jiggles as Javi talks, but he's utterly caught by the other man's explanations and philosophies. His attention turns back to Darwin, the glance settling him for just a *moment*. He waits. Impatiently.

By the time he's finished, Javi seems like he might be a //bit// uncomfortable -- though he's also similar to Gareth in general, in that he isn't ever completely still for very long. So, it could just be that. In any case, he stays quiet, too, and eventually shuts his eyes, perhaps to focus on his breathing instead of whatever's going on inside his head.

Eventually, /eventually/, Javi and Gareth endure an alien sensation, slightly unnerving at first, before it becomes warm and calming. It spreads from the core, and the moonlight across the carpet almost seems to ripple with the quiet, pleasant breeze through the sliding door. Darwin exhales, apparently relieved. Then he hastily pulls all of his damn coats back on because he's /chattering/ at this point. He manages to steady his voice long enough to say, "Imparted in each of you is an aspect of a spirit of the highest exalted rank. Her love resides in your very soul. For now. When she shows her face in the coming month, full and bright, look at up at her and find the will and strength to accomplish anything. Mostly anything. Don't do anything stupid."

Darwin reaches for the coffee table, scooping up a napkin and using it to pinch two silver dollars. He gives one each to Gareth and Javi. "No, it's not magical. No, you don't need to keep it. It's just symbolic."

Gareth gives Javi and then Darwin both worried looks, Javi for his focusing and Darwin for his chatteringness. His eyes narrow for a moment but then he's being given a silver dollar, which he takes carefully. "I'm not going to spend it," he says with a wry smile.

Javi might be focusing, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's //perfect//. However, from the way he's sitting, and breathing, it would probably seem to someone who's observing it that he's something he's practiced quite a bit. His eyes open again when the feeling washes over him, and his smile returns -- it's wide and bright, as usual, but contended this time rather than amused. "Fucking cool," he murmurs appreciatively, and he cuts a look to Gareth to see his reaction, too. "Yeah," he agrees as he reaches to take his coin, his fingers curling around it like it's something a lot more precious than a silver dollar Darwin has just said has no true material significance. "I mean, we //can// keep it, though, right?"

Darwin rolls back from his knees, back settling against the TV stand behind him, head tipping back. He chuckles. "You're both cute. Yes, you can keep it. It's probably a good idea to have something to fend off the naughty wolves. Who knows how close we'll skim to whatever the vamps are up to."

Another warm breeze passes through the patio, fluttering the curtain as dawn begins to brighten the room. "Lunacy is more than just... scrambled memories. It's pure terror and delusion. It can open you up to spirits, and there's stories of humans getting pulled into the Shadow because of it. So... I appreciate you coming." He smiles. "I won't keep you from your beds, I know it's insanely early on a Sunday."

Gareth grins at Javi, nodding in recognition of whatever it is that's just happened to the two of them. "Definitely fucking cool," he agrees emphatically. There's a long pause as he very carefully tucks the silver dollar into his wallet, glancing back up at Darwin. He shrugs one shoulder. "Dar, man, I'm not going to sleep now. I'm pretty hyped up on well, whatever we just did."

"Yeah," Javi agrees, gesturing to Gareth for emphasis, "definitely not ready to go to bed. But in a good way," he adds quickly. "Maybe I'll go for a run." He reaches into his pocket for //his// wallet, too, slipping the coin into some pocket where it isn't likely to get lost from a lot of taking out and putting back of other things. "Thanks, man," he says as he slides it into his pocket again, then lifts a hand to Darwin, moving it enough to include Gareth in the wave for a goodbye. "I'll see you. Yeah?" And once the goodbyes are said, he'll head for the door and out.
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