Kaisou Mod Account (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kaisoumods) wrote2024-06-28 04:29 pm
kaisoumods) wrote2024-06-28 04:29 pm
ZODIAC GROUP CHAT [ZODIAC GROUP MEMBERS ONLY]
Zodiac
If Opportunity Doesn't Knock
Build a Door
MEMBERS:
[OOC: this is a catch-all group chat for the Zodiac members to use however they'd like. This chat is open ONLY to Zodiac members and is not actually part of the Libra app (but their own separate network). ]
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And while he waits in line, Ori absently keeps her gaze focused on the people coming and going; it's casual enough to brush it aside as some glancing around while she waits. Though her gaze focuses on Aventurine when he returns, brows raising at the cake. There's a soft "thank you", trying not to think too hard about it as she sips on her coffee. ]
Another game is it. [ Ori is getting the feeling he likes games but she doesn't mind playing. And he's right, she does have questions. ]
You first, or shall I?
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It's tails. You go first.
[He sets the coin on the table, but not flat; instead, he sets it so it spins. He's fidgety even on a good day. Maybe coffee was a bad idea.]
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[ She watches as the coin spins, quiet as she takes another sip of her coffee. There's a lot of things she could ask but - ]
That coin, where did you get it?
[ It sounds like an innocent enough question. ]
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[After vibrating and wobbling for a minute, the coin flops down. It's heads.]
I don't remember how I got it, but I held onto it all these years.
[That's a vague and rather dodgy answer. But for his turn, Aventurine gets straight to the point. He asks in perfect Turkish:]
« Do you believe in coincidence? »
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Then he asks his question.
And for the first time, that smiling façade shatters - eyes wide, looking at him as if she's seen a ghost. And as everything pieces itself together, isn't that basically what she's seeing? After all this time, surely he can't be -
- But there's no tricks or illusions. Ori would know, it's her job to know that, and it's just... him. With the resemblance and familiar coin and language she hasn't heard in so, so long. ]
« I do. That's what I thought this all was. »
[ She responds back in perfect Turkish as well, eyes glancing down at that coin again. Hands folding atop the table, clasped tightly together to hide the trembling.
It's her turn for a question, but her mind is blank. There's a lot she can ask, but there's only her heart thumping in her ears drowning out everything else - except a name that slips out - ]
« ... Kai? »
1/3
Hearing her speak his language, or at least the one he grew up with, there can be no doubt. Neither of them look the same as they once did, but the family resemblance still runs strong.
His smile thins, but he doesn't move. It's like he's glued in place. His blood rushes in his ears. He can feel every deep agonizing thump-thump of his heart in his chest.
What if this is a trap set by the people who split their family apart?]
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He still can't move. But his eyes say it all.
Say my name. Please call my name. I promise I haven't changed.
Your brother is still here.]
3/3
How long has it been since he heard that name? Spoken softly by his mother and sister, or yelled in harsher tones because of some playful thing he did, called in the same breath as his sister so they would come to eat. He remembers a polished greenish stone in his hand, semi-precious as he was told, but to him it felt like gold. Running his thumbs over it, learning how smooth it was, how heavy. And yet not nearly as precious as his sister's hand in his when he no longer could find her.
She calls his name, and he comes alive again.
All of the relief, all of the grief, rises up into his throat. He reaches for her hand.]
« Yasmin. »
[Who cares about the coffee or cake. He gets up and skirts around the bistro table, and pulls her tight against him.]
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And her misgivings are soothed when he reaches for her hand, says the name she hasn't heard in so, so long. Her mother scolding her when she got into mischief, ever the more wild twin, her brother pouting at her when she played a prank... It's been so long.
And she finally gets to hear it once more. Everything bubbles over; the anxiety and relief, vision blurring as all she can muster out in a shaking sob: ]
« Kai! »
[ He holds her tight, and she hangs on even tighter. The cake and coffee are ignored as she holds him, almost fearful he'll just vanish. Like all those dreams she had years ago, before she convinced herself that she was the only one left - where he would reach out for her and she would wake up, alone once more.
But she isn't alone now. He's here and solid and alive, and it makes her sob in relief.
Nothing else matters. Nothing else matters when her brother, her twin, is in her arms again after she believed she had lost him. She can worry about everything else later. ]
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He was certain she was dead.
How many times did he dream of waking up under a pile of corpses? How many times did he roll over, still seeing dreams behind his eyes, and believe he gazed into the face of his dead sister? Every time a girl went missing on the news he looked at the pictures, as if it might confirm what he knew all along.
And yet. And yet.
He doesn't cry. He feels like he's close, but the tears don't come. He's no longer the soft, tender boy who couldn't bear to be out of his sister's sight.]
« I don't believe in coincidence. I think that fate can be cruel, but this time... »
[With care, he gently pets her hair. A reversal of how they used to be, but one he welcomes at the moment.]
« I gained something precious. »
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But she blinks a few times, letting the tears fall and no, he's still here. Still holding her, still petting her hair as she would do for him. If he can't cry, then she can cry enough for the both of them; breath trembling and stuttering as her relief bubbles over. ]
« I'm so... Happy doesn't even begin to describe it. »
[ Ori lets herself lean back, looking up at Aventurine - at her precious brother - and she has to resist crying all over again. Her eyeliner and mascara have probably smudged, but none of that matters either; instead trembling hands lift, cupping his cheeks gently and managing a trembling laugh. He's really, truly here. ]
« It's really you, Kai. I'm not dreaming again. »
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« It's me, I promise. »
[He scrunches up his face for a moment and wiggles his nose.]
« Even when we're apart, we end up being alike... So much for Father's blue eyes. »
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« There goes your secret weapon for getting out of trouble. » [ The power of baby blues, which they wielded to great affect.
But there is some amusement, at how these odd changes mean their eyes are still similar. ]
« Though I think I can let that flying pants case slide now. »
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[He's sure they both did. It hurts to think of those years spent alone, so he pushes past them.
He covers her hands with his.]
« But that was a long time ago. You got away from everything after all. Thank goodness. »
[He fixes her hair after a minute, and then drags his chair around closer so he can sit down again.]
« Right... I'm sorry for the trouble. It wasn't on purpose, but I'll admit it was a silly risk. High reward, though, if I hadn't lost that bet. »
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But he's still her brother. No matter what may have changed over the years, he's still Kai. ]
« It was a long time ago. And now you're here too, grown up. Safe. »
[ Whatever happened to them, to him, it's all behind them now. They've escaped that nightmare and forged lives of their own.
She lets him fix her hair without fuss, before she sits too - not hesitating to reach for his hand again once he drags his chair closer. ]
« It's alright. As long as it didn't put you in any actual danger, I can forgive it... » [ And there's a squeeze of her hand around his. ]
« How's life for you now? Besides work, tell me about things. Any pets, are you seeing anyone? »
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« We made it. »
[He doesn't pull his hand away, quite happy to allow just this little bit of physical contact. She's the only one he'd tolerate it from.]
« It didn't. It was only dangerous to my career opportunities. »
[He tilts his head slightly.]
« Not seeing anyone. But I do have kids... » [He reaches into his pocket for his phone and unlocks it, and then he pulls up his camera roll. It is absolutely filled with cats. They have different-colored collars to tell them apart. Also they might be catkes? Who just pop out of their shells sometimes because they Feel Like It.]
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[ Even if her focus is on her brother, she's still aware on what's going on around them. And the fact that this cafe is close to the office means people are probably going to talk. But they can talk all they want. ]
« Aha. I would try to put a good word in, but I'm in a bit of trouble with the higher-ups myself. »
[ Some things never change, at least.
And she perks up when he reaches for his phone, her eyes widening when she sees the sheer volume of cats. But also she loves them already, they are so adorable look at them!! ]
« Oh, they're so cute! What are their names? You'll need to introduce me to them soon! »
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« What? No! You getting on the bad side of authority? Obviously they deserved what they got, then. »
[He loves his catkes.]
« Diamond, Topaz, and Pearl. » [It's nothing to do with Steven Universe, he swears.] « If you're free next weekend, you can come over and meet them. I'll make something. Cooking for myself just isn't fun, you know? »