petty_dabbler

The little trip to the fae lands had been a success. He'd retrieved the stone, saved the girl, and gotten out without even having to make a deal with Fin. What an idiot. John was so judgmental. He knew in his heart it wasn't fair, and Danny warming to Fin did influence his opinion, but, still. What an idiot.

He'd had a late night at the pub, shaking away the shadow of this last demon. He was walking home, staggering a bit, when something hit him hard. It raced through him lightnign fast, yet he could feel it in every single cell.

"Oh, holy shit," he said, instantly sober. It didn't feel bad, but John had been between worlds enough to know when the fabric of reality shifted.

And the aftertaste on his tongue was Fae.

"Wonder who fucked up," he said to himself, lit a fag, and walked on home.

In the morning he could still feel a residual tingle in his limbs and he didn't like it. He was sure it'd go away, and he'd gotten online and as far as he could tell nothing was different. Politics, music, magic, wars, and whatever the fuck was going on across the pond. Same shit, different day.

And the Next day when he woke up and he still had that bloody taste on his tongue he decided he'd probably better investigate.

He knew two fae in the city. One...he wasn't talking to. Bloody dangerous and John was reckless sometimes but he wasn't a fool.

That left the actor. He still had his number so sent him a quick text.

Beans by St. Bart's 2pm today r u available xxJohn

He figured Fin likely didn't keep his number so he should sign it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"I have no one. ...Well, no, I have his friends and lovers, but I think they're all still hung up on the whole him being burned alive thing, bar a few who seemed okay moving on. As for work, yeah, my projects are all still happening here. My understanding of these things is that only people exceptionally close to the person, place, or thing that's changed become aware of the change. Everything around it simply corrects itself or merges where able. I've lived through this before, kind of. On a smaller scale. It was a whole thing with a necklace- Don't care to get into it, but it caused a ripple and time just corrected itself to fit the new fiction."

From:

petty_dabbler

"Interesting," John replied, listening closely. "You're sharp as a tack. How long have you known you were fae? Were you born to it?"

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"God no, I was... Twenty, I think?" Fin said. "And I'm not an expert, I just know enough to get by."

From:

petty_dabbler

"He didn't know much before. Bloody powerful. Powerful, but only the most basic knowledge to control it. I mean, he had somecontrol, but not nearly enough for as old as he was," John said. He was clearly judgy about it, but for him it was a fact of life. You had to know what to do with your power.

"You've no idea what a relief it is to know you're not going to accidentally try to kill yourself poking around where you shouldn't."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"Well, uh, I do my best, mum," Fin replied, not really understanding John's angle here. He was very hot and cold and it made it hard to talk to him.

From:

petty_dabbler

"Last week he decided...I actually don't know if he decided it...but his magic went after mine. And mine pushed back. It didn't go well for him," he explained, then added. "I didn't mean to hurt him. There's an example."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"What do you mean 'went after'? My magic reaches out on its own sometimes, but it's never aggressive. I need a better explanation," Fin replied.

From:

petty_dabbler

"He was...poking me. On purpose. I think it was just curious. It was obnoxious, though," he said. "I don't think he ever did anything malicious. Like...ever. Except to himself."

John took his beer with a warm smile for the girl and smoothly passed a few bucks into her apron pocket. Just a little sleight of hand for a nice surprise later.

"He wasn't well. I don't know if anyone you've talked to has told you. He wasn't well."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"Anorexic," Fin nodded. "We all have things we do to hurt ourselves, John. A few packs a day, an extra large fry, small cuts on the thigh you glamour away. Can't scold people for being flawed. It's what makes us, us."

From:

petty_dabbler

"I get the feeling there was a lot more to it than just an eating disorder," he said. Fin had told him once, and he'd been a complete asshole, but he had heard him. "Death clung to him, even before the equinox bullshit."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"I feel like you have unresolved stuff with him, and I dunno what to say. I mean, death has been a constant companion for me in some ways too. I mean, I wrote a whole damn play about it," Fin shrugged.

From:

petty_dabbler

John had missed more opportunities to apologize than he could count. No reason to apologize to the man across from him who he didn't even know.

"You write too?" John asked instead.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"I try," Fin replied, pausing to sip his beer. "I've been told I'm not bad at it. Play won an award even."

From:

petty_dabbler

"Hmm."

He took a drink and then tapped out a cig...only to put it back.

"You seem a lot more...together. That's a compliment, just so you know."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"Thanks, I think," Fin replied. "Guess I'm better at hiding the mess."

From:

petty_dabbler

"I can respect that," John nodded. "It's better for the world if it doesn't know what kind of mess we are. To repression," he said then, lifting his glass in toast, then downing half of it.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"No, man. You're reading me all wrong. It's important to bare your soul. It's how we cope, how we heal," Fin said, shaking his head. "The hard part is finding people to talk to who aren't going to fuck you up worse."

From:

petty_dabbler

"That..."

John covered a burp with this fist.

"...Would be everyone I've ever met, seems like."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"Maybe hang out with nicer people? Just a thought," Fin shrugged.

From:

petty_dabbler

"Oh, I would love to, mate. But my line of work? I deal with the worst. Didn't quite realize that's where life would take me," he shrugged. Too late to change it now.

He lifted his hand to take a drag a cigarette he hadn't lit out of habit, but began to cough. It had been coming on for a day or so. He figured he'd caught what Danny had. But this time he felt that strange, familiar pull in his chest.

Well that only had lasted til the Summer King's death. Figured.

Edited Date: 2020-08-30 05:55 pm (UTC)

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"You should be dead," Fin noted.

"Sorry, I don't mean that in an aggressive way, just- I can see your illness. Feel it even. Cancer, right?"

From:

petty_dabbler

John finished off, cleared his throat and nodded.

"Yeah, stage 69," he chuckled, hacking once one sharply. "He took it away for a bit for some unknown reason. He didn't even ask me to deal, he just took it in. Idiot asking for a death sentence," he said, pityiing the dead fae with a shake of his head. "But it don't make a difference here or there. You're right. I should have died many times over."