RP:Old Habits Are Hard To Break
Summary:Alvina and Khitti have a chance meeting in the gothic garden next to Ginger Snapped Bakery And Sweetshop a couple days after she ran into Meri with the promise of a little gathering of children and chilled wine.
The Goth Garden
Khitti || A stack of books, a couple notebooks, an opened bottle of whiskey, and a strange fountain pen with purple smoke curling out of it sat on the wrought iron table Khitti was currently at, though she was asleep on some of it. The whiskey hadn’t been drunk much, so it was likely that Khitti had just passed out from working too hard again, as she was wont to do. She muttered some stuff in her sleep. Something about it being fine for her to go up against the massive salad monster alone. But then it wasn’t fine apparently because she quickly woke up in a cold sweat with a gasp. The redhead realized where she was and what she had been doing and soon returned to it, muttering again, but this time obscenities in her homeland’s language. Picking up the strange pen, she went back to work writing down the new information her and Quintessa had gotten from the experiments for the Warrior’s Guild, with the intent that all of it will be ready for whenever Kasyr held the next meeting.
Alvina hadn’t made a habit out of being in Cenril lately but for some things and people, she could make an exception. Khitti’s bakery was a comfort food in it’s own right. She’d been here many times and the familiarity of freshly baked goods and flour covered aprons was akin to working with metal or putting her kids to bed. It just felt right. The bakery, however, was sans Khitti upon entry so after Alvina bought a fresh tart, she thought she’d loop back to the garden situated right beside it. The orchids, from their raised stone bed, caught her attention from the wrought iron gates. Tack on the added bonus of it being relatively quiet and it was just inviting enough to pull her inside. Her red hair bled into the surrounding darker tones and in seconds, Alvina wasn’t in Cenril. She was tucked away in a place that smelled like the ocean and belladonna. It smelled…like something else familiar too. A few steps in, she catches sight of another shock of red hair among the flowers, complemented by stacks of books and purple plumes of smoke. Coincidence had been showing off the past couple weeks. She thinks about seeing Meri in Frostmaw and the potential of a kiddo play date. Now, tart in hand, a mini-meet up was in the cards. “Khitti?” She says softly, the quiet of the garden almost deafening with only the scribble of her pen to accompany her voice. The bard smiles, suddenly shy. “When did this garden get put in? It’s beautiful.”
Khitti ’s name being called almost didn’t register. It wasn’t the name, but rather the voice. How long had it been since she’d heard it? There was a sadness that wrenched her heart first before she finally realized it wasn’t just a passing memory. Crimson brows furrowed as she looked towards the tart-carrying woman. “Sometime last year…” Khitti’s words seemed far off and away as she tried to discern whether or not Alvina was real. This wasn’t a dream right? Or a dream within a dream? She’d had those before and they weren’t pleasant. “You’re real, right?” She blushed a little and looked down at her work again, realizing how stupid that question must sound. “How are you?” Khitti tried to push past the awkwardness that surfaced from her first question. Quickly, she removed her stack of books and sat them on the ground, then closed up her notebooks and set them on the stack, then finally she gave a wave of her hand and the shadow-ink pen disappeared. Once the table was cleared of all but the whiskey, she nodded in the other chair’s direction, so that Alvina could sit.
Alvina studies Khitti’s far off expression. Her lips part in a sad smile but she didn’t miss a beat at the other red head’s question. “I’ve been asking myself that a lot lately too. So far, I think I am.” She waits a beat, taking a single step forward before repeating the question. “Are you real too?” Not in jest but in appreciation for the thought. This Cenril, different and full of dark, beautiful things, could just as easily be a dream she wandered into. Maybe this is what it feels like, to slip peacefully into a garden, when death steals your last breath. Pushing the embarrassingly morbid thought aside, she walked closer to take the chair Khitti offered her. She’d heard that question a lot recently. She wants to change her answer each time, to say she’s less okay than she’d told the last person. For now, though, she forces a smile and tries “I’ve been so busy…I don’t know if I’m coming or going most days.” Busy but accomplishing almost nothing. Busy trying to emend the story of the last year of her life. “I’ve been trying to find a good place to buy a house but there are rumors about a sickness in Cenril?” She’d heard from Brennia. “How are you?” Her emerald eyes scanned Khitti’s face, searching for any hint of sickness. Though, Alvina didn’t know what the sickness was besides…making people sick. There was a lot she didn’t know anymore.
Khitti offered Alvina her own sad smile, but nodded. “Yeah, I’m real.” The other redhead’s forced smile didn’t go unnoticed, but Khitti wasn’t the type of pry -- she had her own secrets after all. Worries that she didn’t want to announce to others. She could definitely relate to the notion of not knowing whether she was coming or going and the thought of it prompted a smirk from Khitti. But once the sickness had been brought up, she offered a shrug. “I’ve heard it’s being dealt with. Two Halloweens ago, there was a party on a ship in the wharf. Suddenly people turned into zombies. It’s been ongoing since then. A demi-god named Caluss Alithyk caused it. An insect creature that Vakmatharas made a long time ago, that’s been going around calling himself the God of Undeath. It’s… been a whole thing. But, me and a lot of others from several guilds are working on it. The zombies themselves have been mostly contained. All that aside, it’s business as usual in Cenril.” Khitti was sure that Alvina would know what she meant. “Just be careful, okay?” She motioned at the two floors above the bakery, the Herzegler apartment. “Plus, you’ve got me living here, so things’ll work out.” Hopefully. She wasn’t gonna say the ‘hopefully’ part though. “I’m alright, I think. Too many “world ending scenarios” going on at once for my liking, but I guess I should be used to that by now.”
Alvina sets her tart on the table, feeling suddenly rude for not having another one. She picks at half of it, letting the savory sweetness nip at her tongue with Khitti’s overview of Cenril’s madness. “Zombies?” She said in disbelief, swallowing hard. They’d certainly seen odd things…and zombies weren’t the most alarming or concerning but it’s admittedly more complicated than a sickness. “Several guilds? That’s impressive too.” Khitti’s reassurance that things were overall the standard ‘Cenril’ normal earns a nod of understanding while Alvina looks away. The orchids really are beautiful. Khitti’s warning brings her emerald eyes back to her friend. “I’ll be careful.” But could she really be in Cenril of all places? An earnest smile spreads on the bard’s face at Khitti’s reassurance that she had her. “The most redeeming feature Cenril can offer, if you ask me.” One cheeky smile later, Alvina’s listening to Khitti’s complaint about ‘end of the world’ scenarios. “Geez, I know…there’s never a moment of peace anymore. It really makes me worry for the world our kids will grow up in.” She sighs, before biting her thumbnail absentmindedly. “You’ve got to be careful too. Not that you can’t defend yourself but…I just got back so..you’ve got to stick around a little while please. For me?” Alvina stops then, biting her lower lip and bringing up a topic as old as time. “A long time ago you told me about soul mates.” She waits a beat, checking her friend’s eyes for recognition. So many days and years had passed since then. She wouldn’t blame her if it was lost to time. “I don’t know, it really stuck with me. About how, whether it’s friends or otherwise, that soulmates aren’t all meant to last forever.” It had been during a time when Alvina was either heavily pregnant with the twins, the first of the Landon brood, and her feelings were complicated. “ ‘There’s always that one soulmate.’ “ She repeats Khitti’s words. “I know this is random but…I think about that day a lot. I think about that day and the day you left…and we weren’t sure you were ever going to come back.” She smiles weakly. “I always have the impossible urge to bake tarts when my head gets funny and it’s all your fault really.” The bard laughs, assigning blame with warm affection. “That’s all really to say, that even though I’ve been gone, I hope you know I didn’t forget about you or stop caring about you.” It was oddly placed between light introductions and whatever else was to come but it felt important to say now, just in case the possibility of a future play date came to pass between the pack of women Meri mentioned. It was too personal a thing to say amid a group, well maybe not too personal between Meri, Khitti and Alvina but she had no clue who Quintessa was. Might be awkward for heavy heart to hearts in unfamiliar company.
Khitti nodded to Alvina, when she asked for Khitti to be careful. “I am. I actually try nowadays, heh. It was a thing Brand demanded of me in the beginning after I came back. I still might do the self-sacrifice thing every now and then, but it’s not as bad as it used to be.” Once she quieted again and Alvina went on, her lips twisted downward into a frown as she listened. The frown disappeared though when the tart-baking was blamed on her, a smirk quickly replacing it. “Look, I can’t help that stress-baking is productive. Why do you think I made the bakery? I gotta make money off of it.” Then she had a thought. “I know you probably don’t need the money, but if you ever feel like working at the bakery to relieve stress, I’d be all for it. That way you don’t have to fill your place with tarts all the time.” She smiled faintly and nodded. “I’m glad you didn’t forget me though. I didn’t forget about you either.”
Alvina bursts out laughing at Khitti’s rebuttal about stress baking. “I mean…” She laughed. “You’re not wrong. And I think I prefer stress baking to self sacrificing. You know, if I get a say.” She winks, meaning well but knowing only a FEW of the many times Khitti must have been close to vanishing forever. But she hadn’t…and that was the thing Alvina had to anchor on. What was right now was what mattered. Her offer to work at the bakery catches her off guard. There’d be a place…for her here? Khitti couldn’t know how much it meant, to be offered a place here with her. A place to belong after hell and high water came and went. Then Khitti adds that she hadn’t forgotten about her either and Alvina has to fight the urge to squish Khitti in a tight hug and cry. “You won’t be able to forget me after you taste my carrot cake.” The bard promises brightly. “I’ve actually been in Frostmaw mostly, feeling out the old office in Frostmaw Towers. It’s very…vintage.” That was a nice way to say she was tucking herself there to avoid the rest of the world for a while. “I actually ran into Meri there…before I got a chance to really put feelers back out in the world.” Alvina wouldn’t mention Meri’s request to update the bow Khitti gifted to her, it didn’t feel like a conversation she should butt into. “But she suggested we get the kids together, with Quintessa?” The way she says their name shows Alvina isn’t familiar with them. “Which sounds nice. Let the kids run each other out, drink wine, try not to do any self sacrificing or world ending events. If you’d be up for it?” It’s possible Meri’s already mentioned it but just in case. Meri’d also mentioned something about Khitti’d changed but Alvina wasn’t sure if this was the time to ask. Alvina had her own secrets she was guarding, some she’d shared and some no one knew. Maybe… “It would be nice to be around people. It’s been me and the kids for a while now…and it gets kind of lonely.” She laughs nervously, fiddling with her wedding rings.
Khitti smirked, “Of course you get a say. I think most people would prefer it of me, to be honest, but old habits are hard to break sometimes.” Then she blinked. “You make carrot cake now too? Sheesh, woman, you’re gonna put me out of business. You’re going to have to let me try it one day, you know. It’s my absolute favorite cake.” Khitti watched the emotions change on Alvina’s face, and the way she was fiddling with her rings. She wondered if something had happened between her and Hudson. He -had- been seen around town again, and he even showed up at Khitti’s Yule ball. She’d thought it odd that there had been no sight of Alvina, but brushed it off. Plus she’d clearly not even been back yet! Khitti reached over the table and took Alvina’s hand. “Alvina, of course I’m going to go hang out with you guys.” She gave her hand a squeeze and then released it. “I’m… a little concerned about Dominic fitting in there though, but I can bring him.” The whole thing where Dominic was the only kid she knew that aged normally had been a worry since Fleur was born. She outgrew him rather quickly, moving on to Karasu and Quintessa’s adopted child. Khitti worried now about Alvina’s children having done the same as well. She sighed and took up the bottle of whiskey, taking a swig before putting it back down. “Quintessa’s good people. I ended up adopting her at one point. Not officially yet, but I wanted to get those world-ending things over with before I got the paperwork for it…”
Alvina didn’t know about a Yule ball and hadn’t been back by that point. Still, he would have mostly likely been there the way he was. Khitti’s hands touch Alvina and she looks up to meet the other red head’s gaze. “I’m so happy you will.” Relief spreads like a warm sunbeam under her skin. When Khitti mentions her concern for Dominic, Alvina looks confused for a split second before a suspicion clicks. “Oh well you know my youngest wants to be a puppy all the time…I guess she’s…technically almost nine?” Her math was off but she thinks that’d put Dominic and Meadow at similar ages with lycanthropy’s blessing of fast aging. Bryce might even be a suitable age. “Constantly running around like a dog, it’s a little embarrassing but what can you do?” She laughs. Kids. “Khitti’s assurance at Quintessa being good people relaxes Alvina. Not that she thought Khitti and Meri would hang out with ‘not good’ people but two nods of recommendations? That’s hard to beat. “Stress baking is all consuming and I got tired of making only tarts.” Her own tart sits, half eaten, on the table between them. She considers the whiskey, which she’s a light weight and couldn’t handle, but it makes her wonder if there’s wine back in Frostmaw she can drink as a little night cap. There’s probably something. Khitti mentions adopting Quintessa and Alvina looks surprised. “Adopting?” She tilts her head, curiously. “I have so much to catch up.” The bard chuckled, glancing at the sky overhead. If she wanted to get back to Frostmaw tonight, she’d need to leave soon. Begrudging the sun, Alvina eventually frowns. “I feel like we only got to talk for a second…” Wasn’t that how their talks always went? It was always too short and there were always more things she wanted to say. Instead of trying to jam in all the words that might matter, Alvina stood from her chair and crossed to Khitti’s side to hug her gently. A hug of apologies for leaving and a grateful hug that she’d run into her. “I have to start back or I’ll have to stop in Xalious on the way.” Nothing wrong with Xalious but it wasn’t her current hideaway. “I’m sorry.” The bard gives Khitti an extra squeeze for good measure before stepping back. Her hand lingers, holding Khitti’s for a moment before letting go completely. “I’ll see you soon?” She asks, almost too quietly, as if afraid of Khitti’s answer even though she’d confirmed moments ago.