tell me how the { tables } turned // koyn

Stare
Retired Staff

3,105 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Feb 15, 2024 23:43:11 GMT -5

and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

tell me how the { tables } turned // koyn Jan 7, 2018 12:37:16 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Jan 7, 2018 12:37:16 GMT -5

Evelyn Sparrow

tell me how the tables turned
how i've grown from lessons learned
oh, i'll keep my faith in you

She'd gotten scared, and as was her habit, she'd consequently gone out and gotten absolutely hammered.

The winter air was harsh and biting against her bare arms as she stumbled along. She'd forgotten her jacket somewhere, though she couldn't remember where. Her nose was running and her ears had gone numb, but she pushed forward, only able to discern one thing in her drunken state.

She wanted to see Koi.

They had one night left. The next morning Ophelia would make her verdict, and they would either be free or condemned. Any ordinary person would have taken the opportunity to prepare, practice what they were going to say and then get plenty of sleep. But she'd never been an ordinary person, and somewhere around her fourth drink she'd decided that if she had one night left, she wanted to be with Koi.

Her fingers were numb by the time they were grasping his window and yanking it up. Even once she was inside and had closed it against the cold, a chill still ghosted over her skin, making her teeth chatter. Not thinking, she made her way over to his bed and climbed into the welcoming softness of his bed with a surprising amount of silent grace considering her level of intoxication. He barely moved. A sigh escaped her at the warmth of the covers, and she reached forward to place a hand on his shoulder.

"Board buy?" That wasn't right. "You awake?"

238 words
table by Kaplan!

Last Edit: Jan 7, 2018 14:18:38 GMT -5 by Stare

Bella
Tribute

427 POSTS

Pronouns: She/Her
last seen May 6, 2024 14:37:36 GMT -5

tell me how the { tables } turned // koyn Jan 7, 2018 14:41:10 GMT -5

Post by Bella on Jan 7, 2018 14:41:10 GMT -5

Sleep was hard to come by these days, as Koi waited to place their fate in the hands of a seafaring stranger. Exhaustion had finally won him over, and he didn’t mind losing for once. Scattered dreams came, the repetition of a name in his ears, floating images he couldn’t hold still. Then a cold breeze that felt almost real.

Koi dreamed briefly of ice before he felt it grasping at his shoulder, filling the sheets beside him with snow.

”Board buy?” She woke him like an electric shock and he shuddered, blinking to make out shapes in the moonlight. ”You awake?”

”Ev?” Koi quickly wiggled away from her under the sheets, bare-chested and shocked at the chill of her hand. A whisper creaked from his throat: ”What are you doing? You’re cold as ice.” He moved her fingers from his shoulder to clasp both of her hands in his, squeezing warmth into them. As he drew his face closer to breathe life into her frozen fingers, he felt the smell of alcohol burn his nostrils.

“Jeez, are you drunk?” he asked, a laugh sighing through his wrinkled nose.

Last Edit: Jan 7, 2018 14:42:14 GMT -5 by Bella

("there's nothing to fear")

Stare
Retired Staff

3,105 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Feb 15, 2024 23:43:11 GMT -5

and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

tell me how the { tables } turned // koyn Jan 7, 2018 16:45:18 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Jan 7, 2018 16:45:18 GMT -5

Evelyn Sparrow

tell me how the tables turned
how i've grown from lessons learned
oh, i'll keep my faith in you

Evelyn's heart stuttered at the feeling of both his hands around hers, thawing them out. She wanted to curl further into his warmth, but with her hands clasped in his the best she could do was scoot her shoulders a bit closer.

"No!" she protested, even though she was vaguely aware that it was a very poorly executed lie. She avoided his gaze, instead focusing on their hands and trying to wiggle her fingers a bit. "I just... s'cold. Wanted to see you." Her brows furrowed a bit and she tried to pull her knees up against her chest, startled when he feet bumped against his legs. She pulled them back, startled. "I think stomeone sole my boat - coat."

Her heart was still doing strange little cartwheels in her chest when she glanced back up, finding his eyes in the dark. Ripred, she was head over heels, wasn't she? Her sisters would mock her for going so soft, but suddenly their opinions didn't seem to matter so much. She freed one of her hands and placed it on the side of his face, smiling. She wanted to kiss him again, to wrap her arms about his shoulders and pull him as close to her as she possibly could, but she settled for running her fingers down the line of his jaw, then distractedly over his lips.

"Missed you," she admitted, even though she'd just seen him the night before. "How d'you do that? Make me miss you. I never miss anyone."

249 words
table by Kaplan!

Bella
Tribute

427 POSTS

Pronouns: She/Her
last seen May 6, 2024 14:37:36 GMT -5

tell me how the { tables } turned // koyn Jan 7, 2018 18:47:22 GMT -5

Post by Bella on Jan 7, 2018 18:47:22 GMT -5

Their faces were so close in the small bed and her arrival was so unexpected that Koi could almost believe he was still dreaming. He blinked hard.

“No!” Evelyn said, loud enough to startle him, and he shushed her. His parents were only one bedroom over, and he didn’t feel like explaining himself to his parents as well as Ophelia the next morning. That would be a conversation for another day. He cringed as her cold feet brushed his knees, crossing his legs under the blanket and rubbing one against the other. “Wanted to see you. I think stomeone sole my boat - coat.”

“Sold your coat?” he repeated, not to mock her but to confirm. Or was it stole? Either way she was freezing. He wanted to advise her against wandering out at night in the winter, especially during a windy month, without long sleeves at the very least, not to mention intoxicated. But she wasn’t the kind of girl to be persuaded once she was really set on something, so it probably wouldn’t have mattered anyways. Then her hand brushed his jaw, his lips, and he wasn’t worrying about it. He wasn’t worrying about anything, not for now, and he fixed his eyes on hers, glistening black and smiling through the dark, leaning into her hand.

”Missed you,” she said. ”How d’you do that? Make me miss you. I never miss anyone.”

“Beats me,” he answered. How’d he make her miss him enough to risk frostbite? Koi’s heart against his ribs felt louder than his voice. ”I missed you too.” He wanted to pull her in to him and donate the warmth of his body, smothering her in the comfort he was feeling right then. To match their bodies like puzzle pieces, closing the distance. But she was drunk, and he didn’t want to risk trying something she might say yes to now and regret sober. Or worse, something she might not remember. So he mirrored her movement, smoothing a thumb against her cheek and scooting in at the shoulders to kiss her on the forehead.

”I’m glad you’re here,” he admitted. He wasn’t getting any sleep, but who was he kidding trying to anyways? ”It’s been rough. You holding up okay?” He reached across her body and pulled the covers into her, tucking them snugly under her back.

("there's nothing to fear")

Stare
Retired Staff

3,105 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Feb 15, 2024 23:43:11 GMT -5

and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

tell me how the { tables } turned // koyn Jan 7, 2018 19:39:41 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Jan 7, 2018 19:39:41 GMT -5

Evelyn Sparrow

tell me how the tables turned
how i've grown from lessons learned
oh, i'll keep my faith in you

She briefly considered lying again, her lips pressing together uncertainly. She was good at lying. Even drunk, she was sure she could pull it off. But with their faces so close and his warmth thawing her wind-chilled skin, lying felt like too much of a betrayal. She shifted her hand to card her fingers through his hair, distracting herself with the feel of it.

"'m scared," she murmured. The confession rang in the silence, heavy and irreversible. She didn't think she would take it back if she could. Still, she shifted uncomfortably and changed the topic. "Remember when we broke into that house? Your bad's boss's?"

Her hand finally pulled away and she smiled a little at the memory. She'd thought he was just a silly tadpole then, a day's worth of excitement that she would quickly forget in favor of others. But then they'd jumped off a cliff and talked in a rowboat and argued over breakfast and kissed in a closet. Then everything had changed. "I didn't think you were anything then. But now you're e'rything. S'funny, right?"

He was everything, which meant she had everything to lose. But it was okay, for some reason. Lying there, her heart impossibly warm and feeling just a bit to big for her chest, she realized it was worth it.

Frowning, she turned her face just a bit further into his pillow. It smelled like him,
soothing and warming all at once. Her heart staggered again. "Sorry I didn't see it at first. Should've. You've always been anything."

254 words
table by Kaplan!

Bella
Tribute

427 POSTS

Pronouns: She/Her
last seen May 6, 2024 14:37:36 GMT -5

tell me how the { tables } turned // koyn Jan 7, 2018 22:50:39 GMT -5

Post by Bella on Jan 7, 2018 22:50:39 GMT -5

Evelyn’s confession muttered into his pillow left him speechless, his breath suddenly harder to catch in the chill seeping from the bare window. Everything, she’d said. That’s what he was now. Maybe it was the liquor talking, but he felt the warmth catch at his veins anyways, and he couldn’t stop smiling.

”Don’t be sorry,” he muttered back. She’d only apologized when it wasn’t needed. ”I didn’t see you so great either.” See the best parts of her, he’d meant to say. Her sense of daring, her sense of humor. And strength, stubbornness to spare but still kindness and honesty underneath it all. There had been mirages, too—facades cast in the heat of their adventures. The fearlessness he’d seen in the beginning wasn’t so certain now, but this showed him they were more alike than he’d thought, and he loved her even more for it.

“Don’t worry. She can’t keep you captive forever, right?” He wasn’t sure it was true, but it sounded right in his head, and the illusion kept the moment from dissipating. ”If she did I’d rescue you,” he joked, poking her foot with his toe and grinning. The image of Evelyn as a damsel in distress was just too funny.

Last Edit: Jan 7, 2018 22:52:21 GMT -5 by Bella

("there's nothing to fear")

Stare
Retired Staff

3,105 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Feb 15, 2024 23:43:11 GMT -5

and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

tell me how the { tables } turned // koyn Jan 9, 2018 19:02:18 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Jan 9, 2018 19:02:18 GMT -5

Evelyn Sparrow

tell me how the tables turned
how i've grown from lessons learned
oh, i'll keep my faith in you

Huffing through her nose, Evelyn tried to prop herself up onto one elbow. Her first attempt was hindered by her arm getting tangled in the blankets and she promptly fell back against the pillow, giggling. The second time she somehow managed to avoid being foiled by the sheets and grinned down at him, pleasantly lightheaded. "My knight in shining harbor, hm?" That wasn't right, but she liked the sound of it, anyway. With her free hand she brushed some of his sleep tousled hair away from his forehead. A part of her was tempted to lean over and kiss him, but whatever remained of her sensible self worried that she'd miss and they'd just end up banging foreheads. She decided against it. "'cept I'm no princess, am I?"

Princesses were proper and polite and considerate and demure. Evelyn couldn't remind a time when she'd been any of those things, let alone all of them. When she'd trained as a Career some of the other girls had wanted what they saw as the next best thing the formal royalty - a Victor's crown, a life of luxury, beautiful clothes and handsome Capitolite suitors. But even then, that hadn't interested Evelyn, either. She'd always been a creature of the sea, wild and unpredictable, drawn to nothing but the reckless spray of the ocean.

And, lately, the boy in front of her.

She felt a sudden twinge of anxiety and frowned, pulling her hand away. Princesses may not have gotten to have much fun, but she was sure Koi's parents would approve of one. A princess was definitely preferable to a rash thief who'd gotten into the bad habit of sneaking into their son's room in the middle of the night. Self consciously she reached up to tug her fingers through her own hair, cringing when she realized she couldn't remember the last time she brushed it.

"You don't want a princess, do you?" The question came out sounding more vulnerable than she'd intended it to, but in her tipsy state her mask of aloofness was already shattered. It was hardly worth protecting anymore. "'cause I'm not one. I think..." She hesitated, her frown deepening as she lost her train of thought. "Think I'm drunk."

table by Kaplan!

Bella
Tribute

427 POSTS

Pronouns: She/Her
last seen May 6, 2024 14:37:36 GMT -5

tell me how the { tables } turned // koyn Jan 15, 2018 19:28:05 GMT -5

Post by Bella on Jan 15, 2018 19:28:05 GMT -5

Koi laughed, rolled over to prop himself on his elbows. “Hmm. I think…” he mimicked, feigning deep introspection, “that might be an understatement. 'Smashed,' maybe?”

He’d seen her messing to get her hair in check, and he ran a free hand through the tangles, prying them apart with his fingers and smoothing them against the pillow. Her knotted locks were so thick that it would take hours to tug them all out like this, but he was just busying his hands. It was always like this; either wind-swept or bed wrinkled or wavy from the salt of the sea.

Koi couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her with fully brushed hair, and when he pictured it he thought it wouldn’t suit her anyways. It just wasn’t Evelyn; she wasn’t smooth around the edges, and definitely wasn’t tame. She was tangled, and though he knew he’d never be able to work his way through every knot he liked to toil at it anyways, just to be near her. To be a part of the world that she’d brought him into, sunset colors and stars, adventures and secrets and to love and to be loved, which meant so much more than the whole of his life had meant up until he’d met her. Of course he loved her.

Sighing, he flopped onto his back.

“Nah, I don’t want a princess,” he decided. “Too whiny. And proper. And boring. Always waiting around to be rescued.” He chuckled through his nose at the ceiling, where a fan shaped like a boat propeller hung idle. “Nah,” he repeated, almost to himself. “You don’t need saving, Ev, you don’t wait around. You’re brave. I like that about you.” He rolled his head over to see her. “I bet you’d look great in a dress, though.”

Last Edit: Jan 15, 2018 19:34:51 GMT -5 by Bella

("there's nothing to fear")

Stare
Retired Staff

3,105 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Feb 15, 2024 23:43:11 GMT -5

and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

tell me how the { tables } turned // koyn Jan 27, 2018 21:29:13 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Jan 27, 2018 21:29:13 GMT -5

Evelyn Sparrow

tell me how the tables turned
how i've grown from lessons learned
oh, i'll keep my faith in you

Evelyn snorted in a very un-princess-like fashion, slumping back down into the pillow with a grin. "Pirates don't wear dresses," she pointed out, snorting again at the thought of herself trying to navigate the rigging in an enormous, puffy pink gown. She'd be tangled up or in the water in a heartbeat. Pirates don't get the guy, either, though, a voice inside her whispered. Evelyn drew her eyebrows into a frown, but her expression softened when she looked up to meet his eyes. Leaning in, she kissed his nose lightly, drawing back and smiling. "Maybe I could make a 'ception, though. Jus' for you."

Burying her nose into the pillow, she closed her eyes and sighed. It finally felt like she was thawing out, the frost that had settled into her fingers and toes melting away at last. There was something else, too. A warmth in her chest that expanded to soften more than just the harsh bite of winter. Her eyes fluttered open again and she inspected Koi sleepily, her hand searching for his and then grasping it under the covers.

She would make a lot of exceptions just for him, she realized. It was something about his eyes, and the way his smile made her knees feel weak even when she wasn't standing. "Koi," she murmured, but suddenly she felt like she was underwater after that time she'd jumped off a cliff with him. Her lungs felt too small, making sentences catch in the back of her throat. Normally she would take it as a sign to stop talking, but somehow the words spilled out, anyway. "You know... you know I'm crazy 'bout you, right?"

When once she would have instantly regretted it, with the alcohol still buzzing in her veins she found that she wanted to tell him more. She wanted to tell him that she knew she wasn't good enough for him, that she'd probably never be good enough for him, and she wanted to ask him if that was selfish. She wanted to promise that she'd be better, somehow. She might mess up and still be a disaster at the end of the day, but she'd try, at least. The words were too heavy and tangled to ever come out right, though. Maybe some other day.

Her eyes drifted closed again, a hum sounding in the back of her throat. Her desire to curl up closer against him was combated by the fact that her limbs suddenly felt too heavy to move. Distantly, she remembered that she wasn't even lying in her own bed, and that Koi had parents who definitely weren't expecting to find a drunk redhead sprawled under his covers. "Hey," her own voice sounded far away. "Hey, should I... d'you want me to leave? So you... you can..."

She didn't finish her thought, and the last thing she remembered was pulling his hand up and pressing her lips against his knuckles before the warmth and the smell of him engulfed her in sleep.

table by Kaplan!

Bella
Tribute

427 POSTS

Pronouns: She/Her
last seen May 6, 2024 14:37:36 GMT -5

tell me how the { tables } turned // koyn Jan 28, 2018 20:59:29 GMT -5

Post by Bella on Jan 28, 2018 20:59:29 GMT -5

An exception. Half asleep, Koi’s mind conjured a vision, a flowing dress of white silk and long red hair draped down the back of it, two rings and a kiss shared in front of a crowd of family. It felt like an unlucky thing to wish for, and to avoid a jinx he kept the thought abstract and brief, a flash of sweet music in his mind. Was it stupid to dream of something permanent when so much lay out of his control? All he cared about was held in the hands of the Capitol or of Evelyn’s family, who saw him as an outsider. He resigned to save the worrying for tomorrow, and rolled onto his side, touching his forehead to Evelyn’s as she spoke.

“..you know I’m crazy ‘bout you, right?” He closed his eyes to her confession, saving it in his memory. She’d hardly be this sentimental sober, and to see her this vulnerable made him feel almost guilty, like he had walked in on her nude. But it wasn’t like he had been fishing for a compliment, so he didn’t try to stop her musing sleepily beside him. The way she spoke softly like they were sharing a secret made his chest flutter, and he loved to listen.

Then her voice grew quieter and her thoughts more tangled; he could almost feel her fighting sleep beside him as she drew his hand to her lips and muttered a question he couldn’t discern. He stroked her cheek with the thumb she’d brought close, but she was out cold. Koi hadn’t thought about sleeping arrangements but he knew she was here for the night and wouldn’t be moved; he wasn’t about to wake her up and ask her to walk home in the cold.

Listening to her breath against his face, Koi wanted so badly to pull her in and fall asleep holding her against his chest, knowing he’d keep her warm and they’d wake up together, bathed in the promising sunrise and happy in each other’s company. But he also knew that it wasn’t a good idea, that she was drunk and hadn’t been thinking straight, and that his parents were likely to check in on him while he slept. He had no idea how they would react, but it was a variable he didn’t feel up to dealing with until he’d figured out things with Ophelia. One thing at a time.

Carefully he slipped from her grasp and rolled from the bed, bare feet landing on the carpet. Then he pulled the covers around her shoulders and tucked them around her body, cradling her feet in the bottom of the blanket. “Sweet dreams,” he promised, leaning to press his lips into her forehead. When she slept she looked so peaceful it was deceiving, her face as smooth as porcelain.

Beneath a spare blanket Koi fell asleep on his bedroom floor, quickly and with dreams full of the ocean, rocked to sleep by the tides of a coming storm.

Last Edit: Jan 28, 2018 21:00:25 GMT -5 by Bella

("there's nothing to fear")