PC: CALEB

[headmt]

Comments

[katzepaw]

Well, you make quite a pair.

[But smiling a little at him, fond.]

[headmt]

[He's sort of laughing for a bit, apparently cheering up after the moment of gut-dropping sadness, but after a few minutes of just sitting on his butt on this ice it fades off again.]

World sort of ... moves on, doesn't it? [...] Not saying that's a bad thing.

[katzepaw]

It does and doesn't. Maybe not grief all the time, but she didn't forget you. None of us did.

[headmt]

Yeah. Last thing I want is to give any of you more grief, though.

[A pause. Then he sort of shakes it off.]

My ass is cold.

[katzepaw]

[Starting to get up, a little wobbly, and then extending a hand to him.]

[headmt]

[Reaching up to take it, getting up a little wobbly himself - easy smile back on.]

You're rather impressive, you know.

[katzepaw]

What, as a skater? Not particularly.

[He's not sure what he means, exactly, but the smile makes him feel a little strange.]

[headmt]

[Just skating backwards in front of Caleb at this point. Show-off. Seems he is kind of good at it actually. Could be he was lying about never having done it before.]

Yeah, I see a spot for you on the Dwendalian Empire skating team at the next Wildemount games.

[Obviously he meant in that sweet memory.]

Just. In general.

[katzepaw]

[Stop. Kind of looking away from him a little, like he's just distracted. What the fuck is this, what is any of this.]

[headmt]

[ He stops, looking him over. ]

Well not everything changes at least.

[katzepaw]

I don't understand what you're saying.

[Why are they even here, on a date, ice skating around. Sure, it's a task, but. What are they doing.]

[headmt]

[What are they doing here. Molly just slowly circles over to the edge of the rink, leaning against the sides of it.]

I'm ... saying that you're an interesting person. Just-- Good at talking to people. Know you don't think so and all, but least every time I see it, you're running circles around me. Making the kids laugh and telling Yasha all the right things.

[katzepaw]

I don't think so, Mollymauk.

[Folding his arms awkwardly across his chest, obviously uncomfortable but more than that just confused.]

[headmt]

[He doesn't really know where he fucked up here, so he's equally confused at this point? Also crossing his arms.]

It's a good thing. I'm saying it's fucking good to see. You're all-- everything I see in these memories from the both of you, it's good. I'm proud of you.

[katzepaw]

[He didn't fuck up exactly, but he's saying these nice things about him, very nice, and he - at a certain point, it's too much. He can hear something like that sometimes, maybe even listen occasionally. He knows he's improved, he knows he's a lot better a person than he used to be.

But Molly has been. . . saying these things, and in general acting as though he finds something very appealing about him. Being better than a hollow shell of a person, selfish and cowardly, being someone his closest friends can care for, is not quite the same as being likable and good at talking to people.]

. . . Okay.

[He seems like he is very obviously just saying 'okay' to get him to stop.]

[headmt]

[This is why Molly doesn't date? He feels like he put his foot straight through something and fucked something perfectly nice.]

Okay.

[Hm.]

[katzepaw]

. . . Sorry.

[Molly didn't fuck something nice? Obviously he did? But yeah, it is a little bit fucked.]

[headmt]

[...]

Yeah yeah. It's fine.

[Hopping over the barrier and wobbling over to change back into his boots.]

Come on. Final stop.

[katzepaw]

. . . Alright.

[Skating over to the side of the rink, following him over the side.

[headmt]

[From where he's sitting and changing into his boots again, just yeeting a fucking snowball at his sadsack head.]

[katzepaw]

[While he's putting on his own boots, a little easier to get on than Molly's, smacked in the head with a snowball.]

Ah. You will regret that.

[Rolling up a snowball himself and tossing it right back at him.]

[headmt]

[He genuinely probably has better aim that Molly does, considering all his practice lobbing fireballs. It nails him right in the face which he takes like a champ. And by that I mean going OOF flopping himself backwards right into the snow and laying perfectly still, eyes closed.]

[katzepaw]

Oh no, Molly, are you alright? Please, say something.

[He says this in a worried tone, but he's gathering a bigass armful of snow before he approaches.]

[headmt]

[He says nothing, but he's not like, being subtle. Just cracking an eye to watch for when he comes over with that snow armful and

in a poof of mist, just pops up thirty feet away.]

Oi! Fuck you!

[katzepaw]

Mollymauk, I have already used my magic today to turn Maya into a goose!

[Running after him, though!]