RP:Impatiently
Summary: A correspondence between Lita and Xiem about his return to Rynvale to work on the deck to her villa.
A letter is delivered via courier to the Nildran Construction Office. It is sealed with a dab of black wax and stamped with a card's spade symbol. The letter X elegantly printed on the front is the only indication of who it had been meant for. Along with the letter is a small parcel wrapped in plain brown paper and tied with string. It is far from fancy. The courier says nothing and upon delivery, takes his leave...
Xiem,
It has been a long time since I've written anyone a proper letter. Forgive me that it's taken a week and more to set words to paper for you at last. I had been hoping to see you again, if I'm honest, but I know you are busy. I hope you won't find it too forward if I say I find myself missing you, and our conversations, all the same. I know you hold a special place in your heart for the beauty of Frostmaw's stars but I wonder if you've ever enjoyed the sunset over the open ocean? Perhaps, along with a fire pit, you could design a seated swing as well? I adore the hammock but it is ill suited for company. And then perhaps you might enjoy one of those sunsets with me. Before you find yourself back on the island, please let me know what type of food and drink you prefer, so I can at least ensure you're fed while you're here.
~ L
Inside the wrapped package is a framed page from the sketchbook he'd gotten her. She'd pressed a trio of wildflowers from the front garden and painted the background with a smear of color to match.
Xiembantointh is excited to get her letter and not afraid to hide it with a stupid grin on his face as he reads while he pretends not to notice a few of his workers watching him with a curious stare during their lunch break at work. He overhears a worker ask another if their boss is indeed blushing? He folds the paper back up for later that night when he can properly reply and asks the office manager to take the painting back to his office to hang it. It might seem odd, but he does live in a small apartment above the office, so it’s home for him. His letter is sealed with a light blue wax and stamped with a diamond 💎 symbol. It is addressed to SoulsKin with the letter L on the front. He makes sure to send it off the next morning, uncaring of how eager it might seem because he’s not about mind games, he’s just too old for that. She will notice there are slight smudges here and there from his left hand brushing over the wet ink, but he figures it gives the letter "character".
Lita,
It is wonderful to receive your letter. I look back on our conversations with fondness whenever the day feels long. I admit, I miss your company as well. I have seen many beachside sunsets in my time. Unfortunately, I am an old soul, but something tells me the crackling of a fire and relaxing by your side is an experience that will truly enhance it. I wouldn’t dare miss it.
As for food? I enjoy sandwiches and a nice cold stout. That is very thoughtful of you, I appreciate you for it, but make sure you bring your favorites so we can enjoy together. The painting you sent along was immediately hung in my office so I can see it every day and it reminds me of you, as if I need help with that.
Thinking of you,
Xiem
Lita has to fight Cal being a bit of an ass about the letter. Not that getting words sent to the shop for business was an unusual thing but they usually didn't come sealed with such pretty designs, and they were usually addressed per her aliases and not with her initial. As such, he gets a mildly affectionate but slightly annoyed elbow in the ribs before finally handing it over. "Sweet on this one, then?" He's asking as she traces the diamond in the wax seal with her index finger.
"Mind your business." Her relationship with the smuggler is a complicated one but there are few things she doesn't eventually share with him.
He grunts at her, kissing the crown of her hair. "You are my business." He says before turning to disappear through the shop's back door and into the tunnels below.
She heads upstairs. Once a small office, she'd converted it into a living space years ago when she couldn't stand to be at the beach house. With Leo moonlighting at the shop now, and making improvements on the beach house, perhaps it's a good time to convert it back. She wouldn't be surprised to learn that Xiem had done the same with his office. She admired that his work was so important to him, that he'd built something to honor something good and share that light with others. She reads the letter at least three times before finally writing to him again…
Xiem,
I shouldn't be surprised to learn you are a man of simple pleasures. Though I wonder if the appreciation came with age or has always been. Either way, consider sandwiches and a nice cold stout waiting for you on your return. Though in truth I'll have to ask for recommendations on a decent brand.
I don't know if you've followed much regarding the upcoming tournaments in Vailkrin but I've signed up for it and now with the days drawing near, I find myself more nervous for it than I thought I would be. I had hoped it might be a way for me to face some fears and I was excited at first but I look back and think perhaps I was more headstrong and stubborn and now it's too late to undo what's begun.
I feel like there's so much I want to say and yet I sit here staring at this page and waiting for the ink to form words. I'm not used to so easily talking about myself, about Hanan or Chio. So few people ask anymore but I hope you know how much it meant to me that you did. And how much it meant to get to share some small part of who they were. I admire the company and life you've built to honor Nildran and I realize I've let my fear and guilt paralyze me from doing anything good with the memories of those I've lost. I hope I can still change that in some way.
I'm holding you to your word about that beach sunset by a crackling fire, also. That sounds absolutely divine.
Impatiently,
~ Lita
Xiembantointh is happy to have received her letter while he was home instead of in front of his employees this time because it made him tear up a little and he needs to have some form of professionalism in front of them. This is why he’s decided to work on the deck on his own because he doesn’t trust himself not to flirt with her in front of them or curb his lingering gazes. He has a strict rule not to fraternize with the clients, at least not during the duration of the projects and he is not about to compromise his morals. This is half of the reason why he keeps wearing his wedding band, it has been a wall of sorts.
So, a loophole! There is nothing wrong with helping out a friend with the payment of sandwiches and beer in return! After reading her letter, he blinks the threatening tears away to mark another day off his calendar that is counting down to a large red circle with the name ‘Lita’ in the middle. Even though he is bummed that it has only been nearly three weeks, he is glad it is half way there. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have someone all that close to share this experience with other than his daughter and even though she noticed the extra pep in his step during the end of his visit, he knows she probably would cringe at the thought of her remaining parent being flirtatious.
Dearest Lita,
My journey into enjoying the simple things isn’t an epic tale, but I wouldn’t mind sharing my unusual story with you one day in person. I enjoy the local brand wherever I may be because they are each unique in their own way. I’m not much of a fighter myself, but I do enjoy watching a good match. If you’ll do me the favor of letting me know when and where, I’ll make sure I am in attendance to cheer you on. I know you’ll do great!
That’s perfectly normal, but I’m in no rush. I’ve lived a long life already and it’s not getting any shorter, so I’ve got all the time on this plane to patiently wait for you to find whatever words you’d like. You have no idea how your words have already honored me just now and how special it feels to be able to help someone, even though they were the one helping me. I enjoy hearing about those who touched your life positively and when we reminisce about those we have loved and lost, it is an honor to their memory. That is their legacy and a gift they left for us.
When I first get back to Rynvale, it will be a hectic first day, but I always treat the whole company to a banquet dinner at the local bar, tavern or Inn. Would you please join us that night at the Broken Barrel for a carefree time of jovial laughter, tall tales, drinks and food?
Affectionately,
Xiem
P.S. Just a few more weeks.
Lita waits until she's back at the beach house to read his letter this time. Stretched out in the hammock with a bottle of honeyed whiskey within reach. The words Dearest and Affectionately make her blush even before she's read the bulk of the letter. It's a girlish response she rarely affords herself and yet he seems keen to provoke at every chance...
Xiem,
I make no promise of a good match but I would be honored by your attendance, if not a tad embarrassed, depending on the outcome. We fall and learn to rise in any circumstance and I've learned in recent months that that is far easier a thing to do when you've other people around. It's been a long time it seems since I've had people around. Or at least, since I've let people in and allowed myself to care for them in return. I'm still learning and still entirely terrified of it, but I'm also grateful for it. It's a comforting thing sometimes to feel alone. Lonely, but often less painful than the memory of loss or failure. I feel like it's been a constant companion for so long now, I find it hard sometimes to remember how not to be that way. But I'm trying.
Here she sets the letter aside, beneath the bottle of whiskey on the ground as she takes up her glass, sipping it as the hammock sways lazily. She wants to tell him yes, that she would love to join him for dinner at the Barrel. But his entire company would be there? Maybe even his daughter, since they were building her house. Either way, it would be his people. And this feels like more than just an invitation to dinner but an invitation into his world. Except that the person he's known in the privacy of their time together is not the persona she so often wears in public. Would he look at her differently if she were crass and flirtatious with others? Would he think less of her? She chews at her lower lip worrying over it. Was she reading too much into it? It was a work dinner, she was a client now. Maybe that was all it was. The whiskey helps. A little. She takes up the letter again, groaning at the ring the bottle has left on the page, and continues writing.
I would be most honored to join you all for dinner, thank you.
Earnestly,
~Lita
She stares at it for a long time wanting to add more. Knowing she should. That she should be honest about her worry and hesitation. But she can't bring herself to write it down, to lend so much truth to it as to acknowledge it on paper. Maybe if he were here to tell her the concerns were unfounded it would be different. But she would only have to hope that when this dinner came along, she found the strength and fortitude to make an appearance.
Xiembantointh rips into the letter and then slumps down into his office chair as he can sense a slight shift in her tone. It feels odd to know this tinge of intuition about someone he met not long ago, but he trusts it. Unfortunately, he knows there has been a change, but he has no clue as to what. For a moment he simply stares at the painted wildflower she sent him while considering where he went wrong before glancing at the calendar again and mumbling something about ten days. He must consider his next written words carefully because it will probably be their last correspondence until he sees her again and he selfishly wants to see her as soon as he is able. He rereads her words carefully and the only thing he can focus on is how alone she has been, but that she enjoys her solitude. Maybe she doesn't like group settings.
Dearest Lita,
Whatever the outcome, I will still be amazed and proud of you for putting yourself out there. The drive and determination to enter that tournament makes you all the more admirable in my opinion. In certain situations, we do need some time alone to find ourselves within the deafening silence of solitude. I admit, I became a bit of a recluse for the first fifty years or so after Nildran's illness took her and even my kids knew to let me be. It was astoundingly lonely and bitterly painful, but required in the end. I am happy that you're trying and letting others see that wonderful shining light of yours.
I'm glad you'll show! I won't apologize for selfishly wanting to see you as soon as I can.
More impatient,
Xiem
He ended up staring at the words for a long time with consideration on rewording it or tossing it all together to start over, but in the end it is true and he's not one to censor himself. If she isn't as excited to see him anymore then… it will suck, but it is out of his hands. She may take a step back and he will confidently stay right in place.