Or: a seasonal-themed open post. Want to frolic in the spring flowers? Go to a warm, summery beach? Play in the autumn leaves? Have a snowball fight in the middle of winter? Lo and behold, here is the place to do it.
[ A snort leaves him, and Shea lifts his eyes up to look over the top of Alex's head at the wall. If he focuses his attention on one point, maybe it'll make it easier to block out the way that a different kind of warmth is washing over him. It's almost completely enveloping, and he's trying to pretend that it isn't there. Which is funny, almost hilarious, considering he didn't even remotely like Alex not too long ago. He represented everything that had happened to him, the pain and suffering and humiliation, the so-called prestige that would have been brought to the Harroways if they could only fit the collar tight enough.
But it's different than it used to be. When it changed, he doesn't know, but it changed. It crept up on him over months and months and became whatever this is, where he wants to keep him warm and protected.
He doesn't bring attention to what they're doing, or tries not to, just stays curled up with him despite the fact a part of him is lit up and feels like a rabbit - small and startled and wanting to run run run. ] Gonna hire the same staff or you aiming to put them out of work in the process?
[ It's an easy joke, teasing and light, in return for Alex's crabby one. ]
[ alex scoffs, but the sort of smile that dances onto his face is unmistakable. for as awkward as this positioning is, he's kind of glad for it right now, because it lets him keep his face turned away, hide these glances of affection that he can't seem to push down. ] All of them can stay except for the woman at the desk. She looked at us too weird.
[ but they are sort of weird company--a lost prince pretending to be a regular boy and his giant, hairy sidekick. still, he's joking again, because no, he totally wouldn't actually buy this up and replace everyone.
...maybe. okay, jury's still out on that was a joke or not.
he shifts upwards a little to pillow his head on his arm like shea's doing. it's a wise idea, keeps him a little more comfortable, and alex can feel sleep already starting to come a little easier because, damn it, he's comfy. he feels safe and protected and a million other things he definitely wouldn't have felt a few months ago. ] You could work there, if you wanted--I'm sure your smiling face'd be welcoming.
[ Tipping his head up a little more as he snorts - because the alternative is tucking his face down into Alex's neck or shoulder, and so long as he's consciously aware of himself, he's going to resist - Shea can't help the small huff of laughter that leaves him afterwards. ] For the best, probably. Doubt the girls got much better, themselves.
[ Girls with brightly colored hair, even in simple streaks, tend to get looked at the same as the odd pair that the two of them make. Individually, he and Alex would probably blend in with the rest of the world just fine. But he has almost half a foot and a solid fifty, sixty pounds on Alex, like he's made of brick where the little prince is fine crafted glass.
They're gonna get stared at, especially when one of them (Alexander) is a little on the cranky side when a long day leads to a shitty motel.
The laughter becomes something real with the horrible joke - which, actually horrible, but not for the reason Alex aims for - and in reflex with the movement his arm tightens a little. It doesn't loosen much when it peters into a chuckle, but he doesn't notice right off. Instead, he's more focused on smothering down the sudden feeling that's almost like loss, filling a space in his chest.
He shoves it down. ] Yeah, all right. When you don't need me 'round no more, I'll come sit on my arse in the middle of nowhere at a weird, ritzy hotel.
Bean barked at the barkeeper, Quinn looks like she could kill a man with one of her pinky fingers, and you look like you just came right off the mountain as the yeti himself. I'm probably the most normal one out of the three of us, and I'm in exile. [ just saying, okay. alex is pretty normal. he at least looks normal. not to mention, out of the four of them, he is the only human in the bunch. getting the group into this motel had been hard enough, as a lot of businesses don't look too well upon the magical type nowadays. thanks to the harroway laws, the majority of magical creatures had been outlawed.
not that alex would know anything about that.
the young prince buries his cheek in his elbow and pretends not to be happy when shea's arm tightens around him, pretends that the laughter didn't warm something up in his chest. shea is frustrating and just as immovable as a brick wall, and alex used to think he was as smart as one, too--he'd been proved wrong in that, certainly--but beyond anything else, they've started to become. ugh. friends.
maybe even more than that. loftily, and to continue the joke, he adds: ] You'll have to shave. It's a requirement.
Too bad I cut my hair more frequently. Could've really looked the part. [ Except that was from another time, one before he was reintroduced to society as a person and not a dog. That would be going back quite a few steps, and bringing him to memories he's not fond of reliving if he can help it. But here, in the present, things are... good, for once. His voice carries amusement, still. Especially when he teases Alex. ] You're the only one that's human, and I'm not sure you fully qualify. An ability to do magic means something more.
[ Which would be unfortunate, if someone found out. Punished by his family's own laws. How ironic - the family falls, and still punishes those who have magic in their blood, possibly its own blood.
Normally, Shea tries not to focus on what his senses tell him about Alex. But right now, in the middle of winter, it's like a small patch of warmth, like the lost prince is sun-baked and straight from summer. Emotions are difficult to describe, but he knows how to identify them. And this is a strange kind of happiness.
Quiet as he soaks it in, he carefully lowers his head again, angling it to rest his cheek against the down-soft hair at the back of Alex's head. If he doesn't say anything, maybe he won't have to move, nose tucked down and face hidden. ]
Nah, think I'll pass. [ Maybe he's not book smart, maybe his education has been limited and he doesn't know a lot about numbers and science, but he knows his instincts and trusts them. He knows magic and lore because it's in his blood. And he knows that leaving Alex will be the hardest thing he's ever done, in the end. ] Have a beard again by midday anyways.
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But it's different than it used to be. When it changed, he doesn't know, but it changed. It crept up on him over months and months and became whatever this is, where he wants to keep him warm and protected.
He doesn't bring attention to what they're doing, or tries not to, just stays curled up with him despite the fact a part of him is lit up and feels like a rabbit - small and startled and wanting to run run run. ] Gonna hire the same staff or you aiming to put them out of work in the process?
[ It's an easy joke, teasing and light, in return for Alex's crabby one. ]
no subject
[ but they are sort of weird company--a lost prince pretending to be a regular boy and his giant, hairy sidekick. still, he's joking again, because no, he totally wouldn't actually buy this up and replace everyone.
...maybe. okay, jury's still out on that was a joke or not.
he shifts upwards a little to pillow his head on his arm like shea's doing. it's a wise idea, keeps him a little more comfortable, and alex can feel sleep already starting to come a little easier because, damn it, he's comfy. he feels safe and protected and a million other things he definitely wouldn't have felt a few months ago. ] You could work there, if you wanted--I'm sure your smiling face'd be welcoming.
no subject
[ Girls with brightly colored hair, even in simple streaks, tend to get looked at the same as the odd pair that the two of them make. Individually, he and Alex would probably blend in with the rest of the world just fine. But he has almost half a foot and a solid fifty, sixty pounds on Alex, like he's made of brick where the little prince is fine crafted glass.
They're gonna get stared at, especially when one of them (Alexander) is a little on the cranky side when a long day leads to a shitty motel.
The laughter becomes something real with the horrible joke - which, actually horrible, but not for the reason Alex aims for - and in reflex with the movement his arm tightens a little. It doesn't loosen much when it peters into a chuckle, but he doesn't notice right off. Instead, he's more focused on smothering down the sudden feeling that's almost like loss, filling a space in his chest.
He shoves it down. ] Yeah, all right. When you don't need me 'round no more, I'll come sit on my arse in the middle of nowhere at a weird, ritzy hotel.
no subject
not that alex would know anything about that.
the young prince buries his cheek in his elbow and pretends not to be happy when shea's arm tightens around him, pretends that the laughter didn't warm something up in his chest. shea is frustrating and just as immovable as a brick wall, and alex used to think he was as smart as one, too--he'd been proved wrong in that, certainly--but beyond anything else, they've started to become. ugh. friends.
maybe even more than that. loftily, and to continue the joke, he adds: ] You'll have to shave. It's a requirement.
no subject
[ Which would be unfortunate, if someone found out. Punished by his family's own laws. How ironic - the family falls, and still punishes those who have magic in their blood, possibly its own blood.
Normally, Shea tries not to focus on what his senses tell him about Alex. But right now, in the middle of winter, it's like a small patch of warmth, like the lost prince is sun-baked and straight from summer. Emotions are difficult to describe, but he knows how to identify them. And this is a strange kind of happiness.
Quiet as he soaks it in, he carefully lowers his head again, angling it to rest his cheek against the down-soft hair at the back of Alex's head. If he doesn't say anything, maybe he won't have to move, nose tucked down and face hidden. ]
Nah, think I'll pass. [ Maybe he's not book smart, maybe his education has been limited and he doesn't know a lot about numbers and science, but he knows his instincts and trusts them. He knows magic and lore because it's in his blood. And he knows that leaving Alex will be the hardest thing he's ever done, in the end. ] Have a beard again by midday anyways.