Meeting the fiancé's otherworldly friends

[volurofthehearth]

The invitation was very clear about the nature of the gathering. Or as clear as the upper class get about these things. He had needed to insist upon doing them himself as her eyes had brightened and she'd smiled wide at the mention of making them. Rather than the texts that are often favoured by Nexus residents, these are paper invitations delivered by couriers post-haste. They specify the time and date that each person is invited to come and meet his new fiancé. A simple chat over tea to make introductions.

Isidor, insisting she would only be a distraction, left Viatorus to handle things with Lyall guarding the door as per usual. If Viatorus were the suspicious type he might linger on the notion that she vanished purposefully to put himself and his wife-to-be to the test, but then that wouldn't be very nice of her.

Viatorus' office apartment is... different. The main room which everyone enters into feels warmer, closer, inviting. The chairs and couch face each other a little more, tables positioned perfectly to make sure everyone can see everyone with ease. There are vases of flowers here and there, pale and demure bundles with little bursts of colour. Above each of the doors are smaller bundles of dried plants that twist and intertwine so that once pinned up they appear as decorations that makes the apartment feel more like a natural space. The air smells ever so faintly of vanilla and cinnamon, the last gift Ingirun gives to Viatorus' Nexus home.

It is only because of his company that Viatorus has chosen to wear a relatively untouched blue-grey suit and even a blue tie to match his light blue shirt. Ingirun's impeccably pinned up hair makes her retro ensemble of a loose white silk shirt and long green skirt appear as the perfect combination of smart casual. With cakes, pastries, sandwiches and mini-tarts all prepared, now all they need to do is wait for the first visitor to arrive.

Comments

[volurofthehearth]

"It's perfect, Steve," Viatorus assures him.

"Ah, but an artist is expected to be creative," she points out. Turning to Viatorus and back to Steve, she pauses. "Would it be possible to commission a larger one? It doesn't have to be the same if you would like to do it differently."

[juststeverogers]

"Have you...shown Miss Ingirun your magic yet?"

Steve gives Viatorus a curious glance. If there's something specific she'd like him to draw from, he'd be more than happy to. Though, Steve very much doubts even if she's seen it she'll have seen it the same way Steve did. Considering..you know..Steve was in Viatorus' body at the time. He's not sure how the perspective would change if it was someone else.

He should ask Harrowheart what it was like. He had come along, after all.

"I'd be happy to make a larger one. I thoroughly enjoyed sketching this and I could do something more given more space. And don't worry about a price." Steve holds up a hand before either of them can object. "We'll call it a present."

A wedding present, but Steve isn't sure if Viatorus is okay with the 'W' word yet.

[volurofthehearth]

"No." Viatorus fidgets and starts looking guilty.

"He hasn't has the time. He does so much study, you know," Runa interjects quickly, throwing in a smile for good measure. The two share a brief look and Viatorus smiles gratefully at her for a split second. She's quick to turn the conversation back to art. "I would love that! You're so kind!" She claps her hands. "Go wild! We can pay for the materials at least!"

"I must ask you about how you found the dreamwalking," Viatorus pipes up, a little more energetically this time. "I haven't heard someone else's perspective before."

[juststeverogers]

"Alright, that seems fair enough. I'll leave the framing and the like to you as well then."

In case they want an enchanted frame or something so fine Steve doesn't even have the imagination to think of what sort of material they'd make one out of. He pulls a small flip style notepad out of his pocket and flips to a To Do list and adds the request to it with a star next to it. Very important, of course. High priority.

Away go the sketchbook and notepad now that the conversation has moved on and Steve gives a thoughtful frown while he thinks on it.

"To be honest? At first I truly thought I was home. I didn't realize it wasn't real. Not right away."

[volurofthehearth]

Viatorus shuffles forward without noticing his obvious interest. "What gave it away?" Steve is barely left a moment to answer before the scholar continues, "Was it difficult to move, or travel? Or make decisions? Did you see others there? Did they have the right faces for who they were meant to represent? Could you talk to Harrowheart?" He scoots dangerously close to the edge of his seat. "What did he look like? What did he feel like?"

Suddenly Runa laughs and rests a hand on Viatorus' arm. "Give the man a chance!" She tips her head to Steve. "I think he would make you write an essay on it if he could."

"Would you?" The dreamwalker's enthusiasm takes a minute to calm when Runa gives him a gentle, meaningful look. "Sorry."

[juststeverogers]

Steve thinks back to their body swapping adventure with a thoughtful hum. He's not sure how to talk about it politely, without ruining the nice visit they're having. But he's determined to try, because with everything that happened at the time, they hadn't really ever had the chance to talk about it then.

"Harrow and I were ourselves. I was back in my apartment in Brooklyn and was gonna show him around. Tings were...fuzzy around the edges like any other dream. It seemed to take no time at all to show him the place I took art classes at, the place where Bucky and I worked sometimes, the movie theater. But, Viatorus I was dreaming a lot about home back then. I didn't want to be awake. When I was sleeping, I was always home. I figured it out when Bucky showed up. It was the same dream I had lots of nights. Being back home, seeing Buck....and realizing he had to leave. Go to war. Without me. And if it was a good dream we'd split up just like we did. And..if it wasn't...I'd see what he became. And he'd usually kill me. It was a reoccurring nightmare I had a lot, back then."

Steve shrugs his shoulders while he takes a sip from his coffee.

"I'm not hiding in the past nearly so much, these days. But Me, Harrow, and Bucky all looked normal. I don't really remember there being too many other folks. Like, they were there. New York's a busy town. But it was almsot like they were background fixtures. I didn't notice 'em much."

[volurofthehearth]

Viatorus' fingers twitch as they rest on his knees. The telltale sign of his urge to take notes. Mental notes will have to do for now, but committing this information to memory is rather fitting. That's how he takes notes on his walks, after all. He nods at various intervals to show he understands what's being told to him and to encourage Steve's story. Runa, on the other hand, takes strategic, silent sips of her coffee and stays still apart from glances between the other two. To her, it's clear she's an honoured guest hearing a personal story.

Once Steve finishes, Viatorus nods some more, his hands finally coming together to fidget. "That makes sense. I… I almost wish you could have tried more, to see what you would have experienced…" He drifts off into thought only for a moment before snapping back to reality and smiling gently at his friend. "It's better that you didn't. You're already a vivid dreamer, clearly, and you, um… you seem to enjoy what you did. So. That's… That's better."

[juststeverogers]

"I don't think you would have wanted that. You about had kittens when you found out I'd done it at all, accidentally or no."

Steve gives a soft chuckle and a shrug of his bony shoulders. He's had a lot of time since the incident to mull over the dream and as Viatorus said Steve spent a lot of time dreaming, especially the year before. He gives Runa a glance then and makes his smile a bit wider.

"There was an...accident in the Nexus that caused a bit of a stir, and I ended up with Viatorus' magics for a time." Among other things. "It got a bit awkward, but we came out closer for it, I think."

[volurofthehearth]

Runa looks between Steve and Viatorus who is nodding his head in agreement with his friend. "Oh, was this the time you swapped bodies..?"

Viatorus' cheeks flush red. "Isidor told you?"

"She was warning me about the dangers of the Nexus," Runa explains and then smiles with a friendly tilt of her head. "It's part of her role to warn me of dangers you face." Ignoring the concern appearing on Viatorus's face, she turns to Steve again. "That must have been quite traumatic for everyone. I'm glad something good came out of it."

[juststeverogers]

"Uhh.."

Very eloquent, Rogers.

Certainly not suspicious whatsoever if this was something that was supposed to be kept a secret. As is the panicked look he shoots Viatorus in a desperate attempt to gain insight as to how he should respond. Ingirun won't suspect a thing. Except she totally knows what's up already and now Steve just feels awkward.

"It was...uhm. It was definitely one of the more alarming situations that befell the Nexus. But Harrow, Viatorus, and I became rather close because of it. And I've heard we weren't the only ones who bonded because of the event. It's interesting how many of these situations end up bringing the denizens closer together, rather than driving wedges between us."

[volurofthehearth]

Runa nods slowly as Steve talks, eyes wide and attentive. "It makes you a family because of it. You grow and learn together. I wish people on our world acted as kindly." She tilts head and leans a little closer. "Does it scare you that things like that can happen? Do you ever want to live somewhere else?"

[juststeverogers]

The smile Steve shoots Viatorus then is all the confirmation Runa will need to know she's right. He considers the dream walker and their deathknight companion his two best friends in this place and despite the things that happened during the body swap, he wouldn't trade it for the world because it's made them so much closer friends.

He's grateful he's had the chance to walk in their shoes, if only for a little bit. Gotten a fresh perspective on things.

Been able to share his own story with them in turn.

"Everything always goes back to normal soon enough. I'm not as frightened by them as I used to be. It's just something to get used to in the Nexus. And as infrequent as the events are, it's not really worth stressing over." The last question gives him pause, at least a little.

"...Somewhere other than the Nexus? Well, I can only think of one place I'd rather be. But since its inaccessible, the Nexus has become my home."

[volurofthehearth]

"That's very brave of you," she tells him honestly. Especially for a man from a time like his. She's not sure she would be as good at the openness he shows.

She smiles encouragingly. "Well at least you have lots of holiday options. Have you been to many other worlds? I know the Nexus is an adventure all of its own, but there are many other worlds too."

[juststeverogers]

"I've got to see Viatorus' home, and I've gone to see Blaze's version of a future Earth during my stay here. I don't do a whole lot of travelling, but what I have done has been incredibly educational. And...okay I can't even pretend to be proper here I got to see space when I went back with Blaze and that's just unreal."

He gives a slight chuckle at his own excitement before nervously rubbing at the back of his neck. He supposes that might be blase in the future but for him it was nothing short of breathtaking.

"There's just so much I've never seen before."

[volurofthehearth]

As little traveling as it is, Runa folds her arms so that she can prop her chin up on her palm, fingers resting lightly on her cheek. Viatorus may remain straight backed and proper, but she looks utterly entranced. "Space… What was it like? Was it beautiful? Was it frightening? Was it cold?"

[juststeverogers]

"It was incredible! Vast and open and just...the view was breathtaking."

Steve's fairly certain Blaze could have jettisoned him out of an airlock and he would have died happy in that moment. There's plenty to be afraid of in space but Steve has never made it to the fear point of his respect for that frontier. He was too busy picking his jaw up off the floor of the Exo's ship.

"We weren't out there for very long of course, she was taking me to their home. But getting to see Earth from that view too was just....a deathbed memory."

Oh dear, Steve could talk about Space for literally ever. Finding out he missed the moon landing was one of the saddest moments ever until they assured him he could watch clips online.

[volurofthehearth]

"'A deathbed memory'," she repeats, rocking towards Viatorus with a smile. "How poetic!"

The comment gets a small smile from Viatorus and stirs him from his thoughts. "I've only ever seen space in dreams. Seeing in person... I think I would be awestruck."

"Another thing for you to experience through the Nexus," Runa suggests brightly. "You should both make lists. Oh but they would get long..."

[juststeverogers]

"I'm sure Blaze would show you if you asked her."

Steve is quick to jump on the chance for his friends to see what he's seen.

"Or, I mean, you could always see it through my memories right? I've seen it firsthand now, so it should be the same?" He has no idea how the magic works, so he's shooting in the dark quite a bit here. The glance he gives Ingirun is telling of his uncertainty. It would totally work right?

"Oh! I do have A List of things I must experience outside of my time or world. I try to get to them as quickly as I'm able."