(goodnight!!)
Pheasant Brook (O/O with Icarus!)
(I'm maybe back for a bit!)
Connor gave a quick smile. "Hey." he greeted. "Uhm…it was good." he fidgeted a little. "For the most part."
(sweet!)
“For the most part?” Wilhelm tilted his head, an air on concern edging into his voice. “Do you care to explain?”
"Eh. Yer buddy Romeo is an ass." Connor replied, plopping down in a seat and letting out a sigh. "Also ran into some guys that wanted ta play some sorta territorial Alpha male bullshit in the afternoon."
“Fucking tell me about it. I hate the kid.” Wilhelm slid his bookmark into the marked pages, setting the thick book down on a side table. “What’d they say? Or do, I suppose.”
"No' much. Just made it rather clear wha' my "place" is in this school. And also tha' if ah showed any signs of being…well. A fairy, they'd find a way ta make me pay for bringing such perversion into their high society." He shrugged a little. He had learned a long time ago to let those sort of insults just roll off his shoulders.
“That’s disgusting. I’m sorry, Connor. I’ll be honest, being around me won’t help your case either. Do whatever you want to concerning that, but I’m just saying that spending time with a boy who got caught with- you know, I’m not going to finish that. Never mind.” Wilhelm laughed, shaking his head. He ran his fingers through Bonnie’s neatly trimmed fur, looking at Connor with soft eyes. “Other than that, how was it? Any issues getting around? I know the map was a little bit rough.”
Connor looked over at Wilhelm. He shrugged. "Ah'm no' going to stop bein' near yah just because o' some assholes." he replied with a faint smile. "Bu' other than that, it was fine. The map was a big help. Thank you." he let out a little laugh. "An' if I got lost, ah could just ask teachers for help."
“Yeah? That’s good to hear.” Wilhelm yawned, feeling the fire’s heat wash over him like a shell at high tide. The crackling pops filled the otherwise quiet room. “That’s cherrywood in the fireplace. You can tell by the smell, plus the little smoke coming from the fire. I’m not sure where it came from, actually. Not that different places produce different qualities- although I’m sure that’s not untrue, it’s just that I don’t think there are any cherry trees near here, and- fuck, I suppose I’m rambling. I’m sorry, that can’t be interesting to hear.” He readjusted his posture again, hand kept on the dog.
Connor laughed a little bit, pulling his legs up into the chair to sit crosslegged. "Mm. I don't mind th' ramblin'. Yeh should see me get stahted on paints an' drawing supplies an' stoof." he replied with a smile. "Tell yeh wha', though. Yeh can ramble all yeh want, so long as ah get ta draw yeh while you talk. Sound like a deal?"
“Mmm, deal. So what’s interesting is that, while I already said we don’t really have any cherry trees near here, we have a lot, and I mean a lot of London Planetree and lime. Oak too, obviously. What’s interesting is that lime and planetree really aren’t worth burning. Obviously the oak is, but it’s time consuming to prepare.. I think somewhere I read that it takes two years to season, whatever that means. Isn’t that interesting? Now, my all time favorite burning wood is actually cedar. Long flame time, very warm..” Wilhelm continued his thought process, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. “Now, this is all a very long, drawn-out way to say that as much as cherry is lovely to burn, I just feel that it isn’t appropriate to burn any time other than Christmas.”
(gtg for real now lol. Good night!)
Connor pulled out his sketchbook and sketched Wilhelm as the other male talked, smiling a little as he listened and drew. The fires flickering light made it a little complicated to draw out the correct shapes, but he knew Wilhelm well enough now that he was able to assemble everything correctly, lightly drawing in the rough shapes before starting to work on the details.
(gn! and i’d just like to apologize for the fuckibg speeches i’m about to write)
“And you may be thinking that that’s a very bold statement, and I would have to agree, but hold on. I’d be inclined to just spread the time frame for burning cherry out to winter as a whole if it weren’t for the smell. It’s just a smell that invokes Christmas, isn’t it? It’s iconic too. You could walk into a room where cherry wood is burning and say ‘Oh, yes, there’s cherry wood in that fireplace’, and frankly, I don’t think I would be surprised. If you’re looking for a versatile wood, I would say cedar. I don’t personally attach any specific time frame to it. Cedar itself is an evergreen, which most people associate with winter, and I can’t blame them, but it’s not like you can’t grow or use plants out of the season they’re associated with. For example, I regularly force bulbs at home, amaryllis and paperwhites being the first flowers that come to mind. Paperwhites are beautiful, but they’re so offensive to every sense except sight it’s ridiculous. They smell like a funeral parlor, I swear!” Wilhelm rolled his eyes, curling locks of his own his in between fingers.
(It's totally fine lol)
Connor's mouth twitched in a faint smile as Wilhelm talked, resisting the urge to laugh a little at the other boy. He kept drawing, trying to capture the movement of Wilhelm's body, trying to capture the light and excitement in the other boy's eyes and face as he spoke animatedly about his plants, and types of wood. Connor just absorbed the information quietly as he drew.
"I'd have to say, though, my favorite bulbs to force are hyacinth. I have a magenta one at home, it's gorgeous. Of course, they can take a little while, the longest time I've ever had is.. 13 weeks, I think? But it's so worth it in the end. Hyacinth are perennials, which is perfect, because I hate growing plants tat only bloom once, you know?" Wilhelm smiled, his eyes seeming to smile along with him. "My mother is no stranger asking me to raise flowers for her table centerpieces. At this point, I've had to have grown about a dozen!" The German boy laughed, shaking his head. An underlying air of melancholy hid underneath his words and smiles, but it was clearly there.
Connor sharpened his pencil, the faint rasp of metal on wood going through the room. He gathered up the shavings and threw them into the fire, then continued to draw Wilhelm. He listened quietly as the other boy spoke, now moving into the details of the drawing.
"Ah, but I'm sure you don't really want to hear that much about plants." Wilhelm shook his head slightly, giving Connor a glance out of the corner of his eye. He listened the fire crackle, falling silent and giving way the the burning wood's song.
Connor shrugged a little. "Ah told yeh. Yeh could ramble all yah wanted to, so long as ah got ta draw yeh while yeh did." he put the finishing touches on the drawing, and held the sketchbook out to Wilhelm. "See?" the drawing was of Wilhelm in the chair, the fire before him and the dog in his lap. It was done in more of a sketchy style than a lot of Connor's other drawings, the lines a little less neat and clean.
Wilhelm looked at the sketchbook, his eyes wide "Oh.. Connor's, that's beautiful. You're an amazing artist." He smiled at the other male, leaning forward a tiny bit. The Yorkie still lay curled in his lap, fast asleep. "I mean..! That's breathtaking. If I saw that in an art gallery, I don't think I would be surprised."
Connor blushed a little at the praise, smiling a bit shyly. "Thanks." He replied, putting the sketchbook down, back in his lap. He brushed a finger over the page, and then signed his name at the bottom. "Yeh want it? The drawing, ah mean. Yeh can have it, if yeh want." He glanced over at Wilhelm.
"I'd love to keep it- if you're sure you don't want it, I mean." Wilhelm smiled, ruffling up his dark curls. "Thank you, Connor." He sat back in his chair, running his fingers through Bonnie's fur. The boy picked up the little lap dog, who had just woken up, and buried his face in her fur.
Connor smiled, and carefully tore out the drawing, holding it out to Wilhelm with a smile. "'course yeh can have it." He replied with a smile. "It's a drawin' of yeh anyways."
“Thank you, thank you.” Wilhelm took the drawing, studying it closely. “The lighting in here is so dim, and yet you captured the shapes so well. How?” He tilted his head, curls falling to one side. “It’s astounding.”
Connor smiled. "Well, ah already knew the basic shapes to draw yeh, so it wasn't tha' hard ta do." He shrugged a little, looking at Wilhelm.
“I see. At any rate, it’s a stunning drawing.” Wilhelm opened the front cover of his book, sliding the drawing in between the first page and the hardcover.
"Thanks. What are yeh reading?" Connor replied, looking at Wilhelm curiously. He still had his legs crossed and pulled up into the chair.
“Oh, this? It’s good! My mother sent it to me.” Wilhelm picked up the thick book, its mossy cover and golden title shimmering in the firelight. “It’s on plants, as you’d expect. Beautiful anatomical drawings, though! I’d tear some out for my wall, but I think I’ll wait until the pages are older and more worn in.”
Connor smiled. "Oh. That's really cool." He said. He wished…he wished his own mother were alive and well and able to send him things. He wouldn't have to be so afraid of his uncle, too.
“She’s very kind. Sends me things on occasion, mostly letters. Obviously we don’t see each other much during the school year, so it’s nice.” Wilhelm let go of Bonnie, who quickly leapt down from his lap, tottering over to Connor. “She doesn’t agree with a few.. choice parts of me, but.. who does, really?” He laughed, stretching his arms above his head.
(I gtg to bed now. Idk if I'll be on again. Good night!)
Connor picked up the dog, petting her gently. He shrugged. "My parents…are dead, so I have no idea what they would think of me anymore. I know my uncle hates my guts, but…" He shrugged again, shaking his head.