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River & Felix - Felix's birthday, late-middle of party
Felix needs a bit of a break from being the center of attention, and River agrees to share her hiding spot. They get along remarkably well, and River presents him with a confidence-imbuing feather.
(Small spoilers for an unfinished party log w/ Caius. Sorry Caius!)
Truthfully, it was all a bit overwhelming. Having a party in his honor was not something Felix had any experience with, nor anything he had ever expected. The music, the clothes, the presents -- sometimes from almost total strangers -- and all of his friends gathered to celebrate for him was like something out of one of his dreams. At first, he'd been too startled to do anything but blush, but embarrassment was quickly chased away by a thrill of laughter, Felix's mis-matched eyes glittering brightly at the kindness, the warmth, the attention of his friends that was like air and water to him.
He had gotten a bit out of breath already earlier that evening, and Caius had thoughtfully provided him a moment's respite and another little private surprise: the red fox they had been feeding for a few weeks, brought indoors as a "guest" and kept calm and tame through Caius' illusions. Even Felix's break from the attention had been amazing and delightful!
Still, a few minutes' relief from 'amazing and delightful' couldn't hurt. As adept at slipping off unseen as he was at shining bright and colorful, Felix managed to get himself alone, by trying to tuck behind one of the large heavy curtains over the large mansion windows. Strangely, the curtain seemed a bit warmer than it ought. Perhaps a little more solid than a curtain should strictly be. Perhaps not only a curtain at all.
"It's a good hiding place," came a whisper from the floor, where River was sitting with her back to the wall, legs pulled tight against her chest so as to take up as little room as possible. It wouldn't do for people to notice a bump in the curtain. If nobody saw her, then she wasn't really there; but now Felix was going to make her be there, and maybe that was fine.
Felix drew in a small, startled breath, blinking down at the girl curled up in such a small space behind the curtain. Of course he recognized River. Pretty much everyone knew her, and knew to be careful around her. His mental shields were more like mental fluffy blankets, but he did his best to keep his thoughts calm and quieted.
It wasn't easy, breathless and thrilled and staggered by generosity as he was.
"Is it okay if I hide, too?" Felix asked, easing himself down to one knee. "It's all sort of a blur our there."
"Eye of the hurricane," River replied in a murmur. It was a yes, evidenced by her patting the floor beside her to invite him to sit. Not too close, of course; he didn't like to touch. So she just looked, and it was okay, anyway; she didn't need to touch anymore.
Being invited to stay by River seemed almost as wondrous as the festival of amazing clothes and generosity that Shinobi and Caius had given him. Felix's mouth twitched into a tentative smile, and he settled himself down to the floor fully, just behind the curtain so he couldn't be seen by the rest of the party. His brown and lavender plaid suit was just about the finest set of clothes he'd ever owned, so he moved with utmost care, keeping track of his hands and feet as if one mis-placed finger would spell disaster.
"Thank you for coming," Felix noted, once he was settled, as if they'd met over the punch bowl instead of in the shadows at the edge of the party. "I'm not sure I actually know everybody here," he added, his smile retreating back into shyness.
"But you know me," River replied, a question that wasn't phrased as one. She watched him closely, her eyes having long grown used to the half-light behind the curtain.
Felix felt safer in small, hidden places, even if it was dark and he couldn't quite see. "Everybody knows who you are," he answered, very quiet, but very truthful. Everyone knew River had been rescued from the Facility, returned as if from the dead. Everyone also knew that they should be careful with her, because she could get hurt so easily. "That's not the same as knowing you," Felix added, which was also the truth.
"Going to Hades changes someone," River murmured, frowning a little. Felix felt as if he knew what words meant. It wasn't all that common. "Maybe I am made of glass." Light shot through her, and she reflected it, prisms and distortions. What shape was she?
Words could sometimes mean different things, but not just anything. To Felix, glass didn't mean fragile, not necessarily. Mr. Corbeau had shown them in science class what glass could do with light. "Glass can take in the white light and show us all the colors that live inside it," he answered, which he knew was not exactly news to River. She was a genius. Felix was just kind of smart. "We wouldn't know they were there otherwise."
River smiled a little at Felix. He got it. "Prisms. It's like you read my mind." It felt odd, making a joke, but it also felt right.
Getting River to smile felt like a major accomplishment, even though Felix didn't know if it really was all that special. Everything he'd heard had made it seem like maybe she wasn't very happy. Or able to be happy. "I didn't," he promised quickly, tucking his chin down as his cheeks flushed lightly. "I try to keep my mind to myself. It's just that I like symbols. Metaphors, like what you said. Most people would think you meant 'fragile,' but there's so much more it could mean."
"And nothing is mutually exclusive," River finished, watching him curiously at the satisfaction swelling through him, and the sheepishness that came on its heels.
Felix nodded in firm agreement, pleased that she could talk to him, even if it was only a little. Still, knowing that he was chattering on about something to super-genius didn't make it easier to keep up his end of the conversation. Everything he said was probably like child's play to River. "You can mean multiple things at the same time. People can be a lot of things at the same time. Thinking otherwise is reductive and limiting."
River smiled at him again - a little sadly, because there was so often a touch of sadness to her, now, but he made sense, and he used words right. She reached up into her hair and pulled the emerald feather from her headband, then held it out to him.
A curious little sound escaped him when she offered the feather, but he wasn't so badly mannered that he would reject something so gracefully given. Felix reached to accept it, carefully so as not to crush the feather's fronds, but he blinked at River first. "Are you sure? It's so pretty with your dress."
"The dress isn't for me," River answered dismissively. "And the feather is for you." She hadn't known it until now, but it was now crystal clear to her.
Felix took her at her word. River knew things that other people didn't, saw things that other people couldn't -- that wasn't just her power, that was her mind. If she said it was for him, then it was probably true. "Hm," he mused, and then removed the tiny violet boutonniere from his buttonhole, tucked it into his chest pocket alongside the pocket square, and fit the feather into the buttonhole instead. Then he looked up at River for approval, questioning.
River smiled, despite the fact that the emerald green clashed with the purple - or maybe because it did. "You're ready."
Felix's eyes widened a little; had she known that he was hoping to gather up enough courage to ask Remus to dance? Slowly, he nodded, taking a deep breath. "Right. Do you... want to come out?"
"Maybe in a little while," River answered, after a few seconds' thought. He might be ready, but she wasn't. Not just yet.
He understood. The same reason she didn't want to come out was why he'd gone to hide in the first place. Sometimes you just couldn't. "If you want to, come talk later," Felix invited as he started to help himself up, with the slow awkwardness of someone intensely uncomfortable with his own body. "I've always wanted to have an intellectual conversation at an amazing cocktail party."
"I don't do linear," River warned him, but she couldn't help but smile a little. It felt good, feeling wanted.
"I'm not straight," Felix answered, barely suppressing a light giggle. He climbed back up to his feet, careful of the curtain, and peeked out to be sure the coast was clear before letting himself out. "Thanks for sharing your spot."
River watched him go, settling back down on her own behind the curtain. Then she murmured, "Thanks for sharing," fingertips gently running along the fabric of the curtain, so lightly that they did not disturb it.
(Small spoilers for an unfinished party log w/ Caius. Sorry Caius!)
Truthfully, it was all a bit overwhelming. Having a party in his honor was not something Felix had any experience with, nor anything he had ever expected. The music, the clothes, the presents -- sometimes from almost total strangers -- and all of his friends gathered to celebrate for him was like something out of one of his dreams. At first, he'd been too startled to do anything but blush, but embarrassment was quickly chased away by a thrill of laughter, Felix's mis-matched eyes glittering brightly at the kindness, the warmth, the attention of his friends that was like air and water to him.
He had gotten a bit out of breath already earlier that evening, and Caius had thoughtfully provided him a moment's respite and another little private surprise: the red fox they had been feeding for a few weeks, brought indoors as a "guest" and kept calm and tame through Caius' illusions. Even Felix's break from the attention had been amazing and delightful!
Still, a few minutes' relief from 'amazing and delightful' couldn't hurt. As adept at slipping off unseen as he was at shining bright and colorful, Felix managed to get himself alone, by trying to tuck behind one of the large heavy curtains over the large mansion windows. Strangely, the curtain seemed a bit warmer than it ought. Perhaps a little more solid than a curtain should strictly be. Perhaps not only a curtain at all.
"It's a good hiding place," came a whisper from the floor, where River was sitting with her back to the wall, legs pulled tight against her chest so as to take up as little room as possible. It wouldn't do for people to notice a bump in the curtain. If nobody saw her, then she wasn't really there; but now Felix was going to make her be there, and maybe that was fine.
Felix drew in a small, startled breath, blinking down at the girl curled up in such a small space behind the curtain. Of course he recognized River. Pretty much everyone knew her, and knew to be careful around her. His mental shields were more like mental fluffy blankets, but he did his best to keep his thoughts calm and quieted.
It wasn't easy, breathless and thrilled and staggered by generosity as he was.
"Is it okay if I hide, too?" Felix asked, easing himself down to one knee. "It's all sort of a blur our there."
"Eye of the hurricane," River replied in a murmur. It was a yes, evidenced by her patting the floor beside her to invite him to sit. Not too close, of course; he didn't like to touch. So she just looked, and it was okay, anyway; she didn't need to touch anymore.
Being invited to stay by River seemed almost as wondrous as the festival of amazing clothes and generosity that Shinobi and Caius had given him. Felix's mouth twitched into a tentative smile, and he settled himself down to the floor fully, just behind the curtain so he couldn't be seen by the rest of the party. His brown and lavender plaid suit was just about the finest set of clothes he'd ever owned, so he moved with utmost care, keeping track of his hands and feet as if one mis-placed finger would spell disaster.
"Thank you for coming," Felix noted, once he was settled, as if they'd met over the punch bowl instead of in the shadows at the edge of the party. "I'm not sure I actually know everybody here," he added, his smile retreating back into shyness.
"But you know me," River replied, a question that wasn't phrased as one. She watched him closely, her eyes having long grown used to the half-light behind the curtain.
Felix felt safer in small, hidden places, even if it was dark and he couldn't quite see. "Everybody knows who you are," he answered, very quiet, but very truthful. Everyone knew River had been rescued from the Facility, returned as if from the dead. Everyone also knew that they should be careful with her, because she could get hurt so easily. "That's not the same as knowing you," Felix added, which was also the truth.
"Going to Hades changes someone," River murmured, frowning a little. Felix felt as if he knew what words meant. It wasn't all that common. "Maybe I am made of glass." Light shot through her, and she reflected it, prisms and distortions. What shape was she?
Words could sometimes mean different things, but not just anything. To Felix, glass didn't mean fragile, not necessarily. Mr. Corbeau had shown them in science class what glass could do with light. "Glass can take in the white light and show us all the colors that live inside it," he answered, which he knew was not exactly news to River. She was a genius. Felix was just kind of smart. "We wouldn't know they were there otherwise."
River smiled a little at Felix. He got it. "Prisms. It's like you read my mind." It felt odd, making a joke, but it also felt right.
Getting River to smile felt like a major accomplishment, even though Felix didn't know if it really was all that special. Everything he'd heard had made it seem like maybe she wasn't very happy. Or able to be happy. "I didn't," he promised quickly, tucking his chin down as his cheeks flushed lightly. "I try to keep my mind to myself. It's just that I like symbols. Metaphors, like what you said. Most people would think you meant 'fragile,' but there's so much more it could mean."
"And nothing is mutually exclusive," River finished, watching him curiously at the satisfaction swelling through him, and the sheepishness that came on its heels.
Felix nodded in firm agreement, pleased that she could talk to him, even if it was only a little. Still, knowing that he was chattering on about something to super-genius didn't make it easier to keep up his end of the conversation. Everything he said was probably like child's play to River. "You can mean multiple things at the same time. People can be a lot of things at the same time. Thinking otherwise is reductive and limiting."
River smiled at him again - a little sadly, because there was so often a touch of sadness to her, now, but he made sense, and he used words right. She reached up into her hair and pulled the emerald feather from her headband, then held it out to him.
A curious little sound escaped him when she offered the feather, but he wasn't so badly mannered that he would reject something so gracefully given. Felix reached to accept it, carefully so as not to crush the feather's fronds, but he blinked at River first. "Are you sure? It's so pretty with your dress."
"The dress isn't for me," River answered dismissively. "And the feather is for you." She hadn't known it until now, but it was now crystal clear to her.
Felix took her at her word. River knew things that other people didn't, saw things that other people couldn't -- that wasn't just her power, that was her mind. If she said it was for him, then it was probably true. "Hm," he mused, and then removed the tiny violet boutonniere from his buttonhole, tucked it into his chest pocket alongside the pocket square, and fit the feather into the buttonhole instead. Then he looked up at River for approval, questioning.
River smiled, despite the fact that the emerald green clashed with the purple - or maybe because it did. "You're ready."
Felix's eyes widened a little; had she known that he was hoping to gather up enough courage to ask Remus to dance? Slowly, he nodded, taking a deep breath. "Right. Do you... want to come out?"
"Maybe in a little while," River answered, after a few seconds' thought. He might be ready, but she wasn't. Not just yet.
He understood. The same reason she didn't want to come out was why he'd gone to hide in the first place. Sometimes you just couldn't. "If you want to, come talk later," Felix invited as he started to help himself up, with the slow awkwardness of someone intensely uncomfortable with his own body. "I've always wanted to have an intellectual conversation at an amazing cocktail party."
"I don't do linear," River warned him, but she couldn't help but smile a little. It felt good, feeling wanted.
"I'm not straight," Felix answered, barely suppressing a light giggle. He climbed back up to his feet, careful of the curtain, and peeked out to be sure the coast was clear before letting himself out. "Thanks for sharing your spot."
River watched him go, settling back down on her own behind the curtain. Then she murmured, "Thanks for sharing," fingertips gently running along the fabric of the curtain, so lightly that they did not disturb it.