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[youngtimer]

NeverAcorned - Standard UN || HoratioV - Fog/Lighthouse UN || 5ofDiamonds - Casino Business || Odyssean - Anonymous/Sock UN

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, NEVERACORNED. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 208.52.15.25 *** NEVERACORNED has joined 208.52.15.25 <NEVERACORNED> This is the private channel for Horatio Hargreeves. Leave me a message and I'll reply as soon as I can. If this is related to the Lucky 38, please start your message with a '38' so I can prioritize. <NEVERACORNED> Spammers will be banned, IP tracked, and have their index fingers broken. Have a nice day. :)

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[youngtimer]

[she's not wrong: given the kind of drama the Hargreeves family got into, breaking might be on par with dinner, at the least. lunch was more for avoidant behavior, rampant denial, and emotional suppression. they're on track.]

Doing right by things is important to a lot of people here, all things considered. Myself included.

[he takes a breath, then realizes that he may as well just dive in and get the usual conversation over with]

Has anyone told you I'm actually fifty-eight years old? I promise this is related.

[isawallflower]

[ Immediately: ]

You're what?!

[ She squawks a little. Her neck puffs and stretches out. Her cheeks go red immediately after. ]

[youngtimer]

[he can't help but laugh at the response: he's never seen a harpy react to extreme things before, okay, and it's funny. like those NatGeo photographs of pissed off birds]

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. It's just - [he makes a little 'floof' gesture near his neck with his hands] - wasn't expecting that.

And yeah, I am. Back home, I had the ability to time-travel. I can give you the Cliff Notes explanation or the long one.

[the waiter shows up at that point, and he orders himself a large black coffee to start, figuring they'll need some time before they actually order lunch]

[isawallflower]

[ Riley's face remains fully red, especially when Horatio laughs. ]

It- it's just a- bird thing. [ She mumbles it, under her breath as the waiter comes along. Oh dear. She gets herself some tea. Riley and coffee don't really mix well. ]

You— I'm- how's time travel make you...that old, but you- you look, so— young!

[youngtimer]

It's neat. Please don't be embarrassed about it.

[when she makes the inevitable comment about his appearance, he chuckles, leaning back in his chair]

It's because when I tried to travel back to the time I left, I messed up the equation that made it possible. My consciousness came back through in one piece, but my body reverted to the age I was when I first moved through my timeline. Think of it like coming back home from a trip and only having your baby clothes to wear, only ... it's your whole self.

[isawallflower]

[ To go back and everything... All of it being like when she was even younger...

Riley shivers. ]

That...sounds genuinely awful, I'm sorry. [ She hesitates. ] So... Does that...mean you're...like, an adult...?

[youngtimer]

[her reaction catches him by surprise: Riley is the first person to actually say 'wow, that sounds awful'. everyone else either doesn't believe him, or thinks he's lucky to get a second chance. his careful, cheerfully-acerbic mask falls for a moment and he lets out a huff of disbelief.]

Yeah. It's even worse when all you have to wear is a closet full of school uniforms. I was honestly relieved when I showed up here, it meant I had options. But - yes. I was fifty-seven when I showed up here. Which means there's a forty-four year disparity between what you see and what's going on between my ears most of the time. It's also how I wound up being a bartender and, eventually, the manager of the Lucky. I don't blame you for judging me a bit on that. Most people do when they look at me.

[isawallflower]

[ After everything she's seen and been through, frankly she'll believe anything with little convincing. Once a staunch "ghosts probably aren't real" person, she's learned to roll with the punches. ]

O- oh, I definitely wasn't— [ judging him, but...she was, wasn't she? ] ...Okay, it wasn't really...judging, I just...don't have a good relationship with alcohol.

[ This is weird. Knowing he's an adult... That changes this but she's not sure in what way. She's all thrown off-guard. You have to signal different things to adults and other kids...right? ]

[youngtimer]

Noted.

[their drinks come, and he raises his to her in deference]

Here's to my not pressing about that unless you actually ever want to share, then. People have enough shit to deal with here, without having to dredge up their past.

[isawallflower]

[ A toast to something like that? How...strange. Strange but welcome. Her smile's caught between the mask she puts on for adults and a genuinely grateful twitch of her lips, as she raises her cup in return. ]

Yeah. Here's to...letting people take that first step. When they feel like they can. [ A moment later, quickly: ] To, uhm, you too? I hope- I don't wanna pry, like, about any of the...sensitive stuff.

[youngtimer]

[so there's a crack in that mask, he realizes, his own smile growing. good. he takes a sip of his coffee and pauses a moment to critique the brew. not bad, but not the best, his expression plainly says as he shrugs]

Honestly, there's not much I won't talk about. From before I got here, or after. I'm not really big on the mushy, feel-good conversations where everyone pours their hearts out, but ... If anyone asks me something, I tend to answer. And I'm a fairy, so ...

[a little wave of his hand takes the place of finishing the sentence: she's probably well aware that fairies can't lie]

[isawallflower]

[ And yet. She's not! So, he trails off, and Riley tilts her head in that birdlike way of hers. ]

So...? I'm sorry, the, uh— I've only really spent time with Miss Lusamine and- well, Celeste while she's been one, in terms of like...fairies.

[youngtimer]

[he makes a little sound of mild surprise as he tilts his head in the opposite direction to her, smiling a little]

Aha. Celeste already knew because of me, and Lusamine's pretty new to it, and she doesn't seem like the type of person who'd find out by example, so that makes sense.

[he shrugs]

Fairies can't lie without feeling really serious pain.

[isawallflower]

...Oh.

[ Well. First of all, poor fucking Celeste, and second of all— ]

I...genuinely had no idea, uh. That must be... Wow.

[youngtimer]

It sure was annoying to find out, let me tell you.

[he takes a sip of his coffee, thinking for a moment]

Do harpies have anything that inconvenient?

[isawallflower]

Um... No?

[ But she doesn't sound so sure. Being a harpy... In only a year—less than, if you deduct the time it took for her to change, the time she spent a manticore—it's become an intrinsic part of her. ]

The most inconvenience was really just...the change itself, um... Like, I get distracted by shiny things, sometimes? But I don't really mind that. It doesn't sound as...difficult to deal with, as being literally unable to lie.

[youngtimer]

I got lucky, some fairies with moth wings get the whole 'mesmerized by light' thing, too. I missed that one. Good thing, with the casino being full of all that neon and shit.

[he chuckles a little to himself]

You know, the changes are hard, but ... they're not the hardest part, sometimes. Sometimes it's more ... [he pauses, trying to put his words in order before he finishes the thought aloud] ... knowing that you have to live here, the best way you can, and deciding what the hell that even looks like.