driftin'

ELIOT ISAYEV. 30. Witch. Drifter. no pain > no gain

[eliot-isayev]

DATE: March 14th, 2022 TIME: 08:04 AM LOCATION: Himbo house

Eliot stretches his arms and legs, coming out of the shower. He is usually an early bird (unless he had drinks the night before), and uses the morning hours to exercising and burning some energy-- work up the appetite for the breakfast. And usually, he cooks for everyone because when he cooks, he tends to cook family size. At this point, he basically is the default cook around the house. Today’s menu, which he has been planning since last night, is a big bowl of fruit salad and bacon pancakes. He even prepped the batter in advance... As he grabs the shirts and shorts from the room, he hears Ezra coming out from the room. “Oh, hey, you’re up early.” He greets, heading toward the kitchen. Boris trails behind him for his breakfast as well. “I hope you’re hungry ‘cause you can’t skip breakfast-- it’s the most important meal of the day! Well, they’re all important but you get what I’m sayin’.”

@ezra-s​

[eliot-isayev]

thedarkestpartofhollis·:

.

“Oh…boy.” Hollis mumbled as he listened to Eliot, shaking his head a bit. The more he hung around Eliot, the more he understood why he and Lysander were best friends. They were just two peas in a pod, really, “Feeling emotions isn’t a bad thing.” He told Eliot, “Feeling them all at once is a bad thing.” At least, Hollis assumed it was. Emotions were complicated all on their own. When you make a cocktail of them all, it was just begging for disaster.

As Eliot pushed himself up from the stool, Hollis nodded and turned his gaze towards the bartender who was just watching this interaction, “You have a bottle of water?” Hopefully the fancy castle could supply that. After a few moments, he was actually passed one and Hollis nodded before he grabbed his cane and walked up to Eliot. Wrapping his arm around the younger male’s shoulders, he began to guide them towards the bathroom. Once he was sure that Eliot wasn’t going to fall over, he released him, but kept an extremely close eye on him.

“I don’t want to…make it seem like I’m judging your choice here…” Hollis began, his gaze shifting a bit, “But sometimes the best clarity comes from just talking to someone.” The alpha shrugged, “It’s hard being…vulnerable, I guess. But it does help.” If Hollis, the man who kept literally everything to himself, thought so, it had to have some merit to the statement, “Why didn’t you ask Lysander for that clarity?” He asked, his brows furrowing, “I am sure they would help.”

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“I regret everything,” the worst part probably is that this is not the same as ‘oh, I mixed the wrong drinks and it’s now making me sick’. If that was the case, he could throw up, take a hangover pill and try to rest up for a day or so. But this is different. How do you even throw up emotions? Making their way to the bathroom, Eliot keeps getting hit by the random bouts of emotions which is at best confusing. “You’re right. Emotions are bad on their own-- feeling them all at once is the worst.” He groans as he leans on the basin. He doesn’t feel like throwing up. Not yet at least.

Eliot washes his face, hoping that would help him. “Really? I’m judging myself right now,” he laughs hoarsely, wiping the water off of his face with the sweater. “Oof, talking to someone, yeah, no, that’s not really my style.” In order for him to talk about his feelings, he needs to know what he feels first which he usually doesn’t. Perhaps he is messed up that way. Half of the time he is just numb, and the other time he just numbs himself out with whatever distraction he can find. At the mention of Lys, he suddenly gets extremely frustrated and angry. Eliot tries really hard not to yell at Hollis who is just here to help him, “I can’t talk to Lys. They’re the reason why I need clarity. They have feelings for me apparently and I’m supposed to figure out if I have feelings for them or not but this whole thing is so stressful I can’t--” and then his emotional rollercoaster does a spin and he is grateful that Hollis is here. “Ugh, sorry, I know I’m being stupid, and you’re a great guy, like you’ve got your shits together, and that’s just, amazing. Like how do you do it? I can’t even figure out what to do with my life. Fuck, what’s wrong with me?” The later part becomes more like a classic Eliot rambling where he is just talking around people than at them, but with the pinch of spiraling sprinkled on top.

[eliot-isayev]

chloedevlin·:

@eliot-isayev·

“You know one day she might actually come up and see you.” she comments as she walks past the man looking into the wolf enclosure, moving herself behind him she leans herself against the wooden beam. Kali (the furry four legged creature in question) was currently several meters away from the viewing point while the rest of the pack was further into the enclosure, her head previously lifting to Chloe’s voice as she lowers herself back down onto her paws. “She recognises you though.” it’s an observation on her part, one that she figures would give him a reason to smile– or she thinks it would, anyway. It didn’t go unnoticed that the guy was the same guy who had shot fireballs around the small hall they were all trapped in and despite the internal acknowledgement on her part, she doesn’t feel the need to mention their shared experience, for she feels that’s a little too soon. 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Every time he visited the zoo, Eliot always came around to check the wolves. He is not entirely sure why-- it is weird for him to see them in captivity. Perhaps it’s not captivity, maybe he is just projecting, who knows. But Eliot would just stay there for a bit, gathering his thoughts in the crowd of strangers. He looks up when someone talks to him, and he tenses up briefly because she looks like a staff-- he may or may not have been sneaking into the zoo... But then again, what are they gonna do, send him to the zoo jail? “Aw, that’s sweet.” He laughs lightheartedly, waving at the wolf. The woman looks vaguely familiar too, but he can’t quite put the finger on it. “...do we know each other?” He blurts out the question, and immediately move on, “also, you work here, right? Can I ask you something?” he starts, looking toward the wolf. 

[eliot-isayev]

lola-rai·:

🍃

“…. I can’t tell if your life is bliss or a waking nightmare.” She shook her head, chuckling. Eliot was strange– though she figured as much when she realized he was a witch who preferred werewolves. She herself was a witch who preferred… well no one– but she didn’t really like witches much either. But Eliot might as well be a werewolf which made Lola wonder why he wasn’t one. He could trade his magic for fur and claws anytime he wanted and yet he didn’t. “Crops?” Lola repeated raising her brow. “I didn’t pin you down as a farmer.” God he really was strange. But endearing. At least he was never empty handed. Lola was pretty sure every time they met up he had something to offer– usually booze.  

“I actually can’t argue those aren’t all useful,” Lola admitted. “Better than having braincells for the stock market or micromanaging.” She knew she was smart but was careful about considering herself the smartest person in the room (present company excluded). Confidence was like a drug. At the proper dosage it could work wonders, but mess up the ratio and someone could find themselves down a path of destruction and death. “Brycen has certainly seen much worse injuries I don’t know why he would be worried,” she stated rolling her eyes. “Lys…” She wasn’t sure what Lys’ relationship was with Eliot. Roommates sure, but calling them friends felt like she was acting dumb. “Lys wants to protect the people he loves. He’s always been that way. One of the reasons everyone wanted him to be Supreme.” 

Lola was happy to down her shot– especially after stumbling into a conversation about her and Lysander’s pass. But of course Eliot had to make it worse. Lola huffed as she poured herself another shot. “He was a jerk. What else is there to say?” She downed her shot, this time wincing a little as the drink burned her throat and eyes. “Fuck,” she coughed, “did you use pain thinner?”

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“A little bit of both? Some days are good, some days are bad. That’s just life I guess.” Eliot gives a carefree shrug. He tries not to worry about things outside his control-- and he actively avoids the responsibility of being in control. Makes his life easier, or at the very least, bearable. After his father passed, nothing in his life made sense, so he stopped trying to understand it. “Well, I needed a job. I worked at a... farm, ranch, at a carnival one summer. Tried waiting and bartending but I kept breaking shits so that didn’t pan out. Oh, lifeguard. And, uh, lots of janitor and mover jobs.” He lists the kind of jobs he has had over the years. He can’t say it was always successful, but he did learn something from each job. “Ugh, yes. Stock market, that’s gotta be some kind of a scam. Money already doesn’t make much sense to me but invisible money? That’s not real, yo.” Eliot can’t say he understands what stocks are to begin with, but that is but a minor detail in his rant. 

He hums, pouring both of them another shots. “I think it’s weird ‘cause it’s, well, someone he’s close to. He gets very... ‘I must take care of you’ when he cares.” Brycen gives a damn about people, always looking out for others. Which is an admirable quality-- it’s just, Eliot has gotten so used to being on his own, it’s weird being cared for. “Lys... yeah. I know he acts all tough and grumpy but he’s a big softie.” He cackles before downing the second shot to hide the pinch of awkwardness in his words. “Makes sense, though. Folks back at the Nomads said he’d be a good leader. I dunno if he’s ever mentioned the Supreme part. He doesn’t talk about... before.” 

Eliot raises a brow, a quizzical smile hovering over his face. “Right. A jerk who stabbed you.” But he doesn’t pry. Instead, he just shrugs it off. If Lola doesn’t want to talk about it, that’s just that. Eliot is less ‘you need to tell me everything’ more ‘just let me know what you need and we’ll take care of it’ ride or die. “nah, man. Afraid it’s just vodka. You got any red bull? That always smooths it down for me.” He laughs at her response to the shot before going back to the kitchen to check on the chili.

[eliot-isayev]

thedarkestpartofhollis·:

.

Hollis wasn’t much for the magic side of the things. In his opinion, werewolves were by far the least magical species out there and he would steadfastly disagree with anyone who said anything otherwise. So he really was a loss for how they hid the castle and all that, “That does make sense. Just odd.” He shrugged. Hollis didn’t like not understanding things. He understood having to hide it from the humans. But from the supers? Just seemed…sketchy.

“Oh…I’m not much of one for clarity.” Hollis admitted, “I’m more of a…shove it down until it becomes too much kind of a guy. I’m sorry.” Usually Hollis’ clarity moments came after a large fight or something disastrious happening. Neither or which were great methods, honestly. Hopefully Eliot had a better way…however drinking a bunch of emotions didn’t seem great. “Oh, thank you. It’s all put together now. But if I add on more expansions, you’ll be the first person I hire.” He smiled softly.

He took a swig of his whiskey and heard an ‘oh no’ from Eliot. His brows furrowed as he turned towards the man, looking him over, “What’s going on?” Hollis asked. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the emotion shots were kicking in. All at once, probably, “Oh, no. Are you alright?” He asked and placed his hand on Eliot’s back, looking around for a solution as if it was just going to pop out at him. Nothing. He really didn’t know how those worked, whatsoever, but back in his college days, when he felt like shit after a night of drinking and schnanigans, purging his system was usually the best option, “Maybe we should…get you to a bathroom.” He said, “Can we do that for you?”

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“Yeah, I mean, this is America. I thought castles were only in like, Europe.” Eliot says, flicking at one of the shot glasses. He is more latched onto the idea of how weird castles are, rather than the fact that it has been hidden all along. “Wait, no, I guess we also have castles... or like forts. But they’re like, not this big and fancy.” 

Eliot lets out a laughter, the kind that sounds like ‘pwhaha’ “oh, no, I’m a huge fan of repressing shits. That’s basically my specialty. It’s just, I’ve gotten so fuckin’ great at repressing, I forgot how to the whole ‘get in touch with my feelings’. I’m hopin’ these drinks could help.” He gestures at the shot glasses lined up. “Aw, yeah. Definitely. You’ve got my number, right? Or I guess you can always just ask Bry or Lys...” he purses his lips, “and I dunno anything ‘bout running a law firm but if there’s anything I can help out, lemme know.”

As the drinks kick in, and Eliot curls up in a ball of emotions. “Ugh, I might have drank way too many of these juices. Bad choice. I knew feeling emotions was a mistake...” He laughs weakly before slumping on the bar. “This is terrible-- it’s like someone’s shoving the experience of watching emotional TV shows but all episodes are concentrated in 1 minute.” One second, he is finding this whole thing ridiculous and wants to laugh his ass off, and then he is pissed off at his past self for drinking too much, only to realize that time only moves forward and he can’t undo his past decisions, and get hit by a sense of nihilism and existential crisis. At Hollis’ suggestion, he snaps out of it and pushes himself up. Suddenly excited about the idea of going to the bathroom. “Yeah, bathroom sounds great.” 

[eliot-isayev]

lys-ash-rai·:

☿️

This is all so confusing. Eliot’s words make Ly’s heart jump in their chest and it’s fucking terrifying. They hang on every implication that says he might feel the same way, but at the same time it isn’t like they don’t already kind of know these things. What’s more nerve-wracking is that all this doesn’t necessarily mean that Eliot wants the same thing and Lys fears Eliot’s doing exactly what they didn’t want – letting them down easy. They shake their head in an attempt to clear away all the busy thoughts, but unable to keep the fears at bay. “So what does that mean for us?” They ask plainly, “I still don’t know what you want. Like what, you don’t want to reject me because you’re afraid of losing me? Or are you scared of us being together because you’re afraid of losing me? Cus if it’s that, I mean… Eliot, I don’t just love you, I’m in love with you. I have been for… a long time and if you feel even a fraction of how I feel then… I dunno, I’m tired of being afraid and I want to give this a shot if you do. The only thing you could do to screw up is if you left again. But like… if you don’t want this, just tell me and we can forget I ever said anything. Maybe we can even get someone to wipe our memories that we had these conversations and things can go back to normal. I just need to know what you want. Do you want to be with me or do you just like being around me?”

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Eliot opens his mouth to say something, but no answer comes out immediately. He presses his lips together tightly, groaning. “I... don’t know.” He says, “that’s why I’m so confused! I don’t know what I want or what to do. Like, the way I feel about you, how do I know if it’s not just best friend thing?” A little voice in his head goes, what the fuck is wrong with you, not knowing these shits? “Does it feel like my heart’s gonna jump out of my chest when I’m with you? Yeah, ‘cause I’m always excited to see you and you make me laugh my ass off. Do I never wanna be without you? Well, yeah, we already covered that part. Do things like kissing you and holding your hands cross my mind? I mean, yeah, ‘cause I still think about that time we practiced kissing after that movie when we were kids. You also walk around the house naked a lot and I have eyes, y’know?” He goes through the list Brycen mentioned, counting with his fingers. “Does that mean I wanna be like, your boyfriend? And then what? What if we give it a shot and it doesn’t work, and we try to go back to being best friends but then it’s too weird ‘cause we’d be exes? Fuck, Lys, I dunno if I can handle breakin’ up with you.” He stops himself from further rambling, and it occurs to him-- maybe he does overthink shits. “I don’t wanna leave, or-- fuck, dude, I’m not sayin’ we should forget about this literally like that.” Eliot sighs, rubbing his temples because this conversation has become so messy and he can feel his brain slow cooking inside his skull. “...I don’t know what I want and it feels like I’m already screwin’ this up. I’m terrible at this sorta things and I can already tell if we go out on a date or something, I’m just gonna royally fuck that up too.” 

[eliot-isayev]

blueeyedbrycen·:

🚑

Brycen loved having his friends and having them understand or at least be supportive of the situation that he was in. Eliot and Lys had both been there for him through a lot of it and he was certain that all of it was probably just as confusing to them as it was to him; but he wasn’t exactly sure. “I mean we do love each other I know that, just Christian isn’t the same person that I married. Maybe he’s a better version of the person he once in, if you get what I mean.” the wolf shrugged, at the thought that maybe Christian was a better person. “I don’t think it works that way El,” Brycen grinned a little at the idea of Eliot trying to help him out, “We are still legally married and I think we both kind of have to figure it out together.” The idea of that was sweet nevertheless but Brycen knew himself well enough to know that whatever was going on between Christian and himself, they would figure it out. Listening to his friend talk about relationships he smiled a little bit, Was Eliot wanting to be with someone? Was someone wanting to be with Eliot? Lord Brycen needed to know everything. “Well I haven’t been in my fair share of relationships, I dated a couple guys back in high school, much to my parents dismay. But I do know that when you love someone… or like someone a lot you tell them. Relationships can be complicated trust me,” he took a break for a moment “You just kind of know man, like when you’re with that person do you feel like your heart is going to jump out of your chest? Do you feel like you never want to be without that person? Do thinks like wanting to kiss them and hold their hands ever cross your mind?”

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Eliot hums, rolling his eyes as he considers, “Kinda? I mean, people change all the time. I’m not the same person since like 5 years ago, and I’m pretty sure you’re not either. Guess people usually don’t change like your guy but still... I dunno, I like to think important bits stay. That’s what matters, right?” He wants to believe that, that even though life may take you apart and build you back up, some fundamental parts of you remain. You just are different now, but you are still yourself. And maybe, just maybe, that’s okay... even if you can’t go back to the way you were. Eliot snaps out of it, one of his sporadic moments of clarity, and just laughs it off. “Fine, we’ll just keep that as the plan B for now. Operation Husband Trap.” At least from what he can tell, they probably won’t need it. Every time Brycen’s guy came visiting, he had this look and, well, let’s just say even Eliot could tell what that meant. “It sounds complicated, yeah.” He groans, “I... don’t think I’ve ever just known things? Is that bad? Yeah, I mean, I like being around-- this hypothetical person, hypothetically” Eliot emphasizes, because he doesn’t want Brycen to know about the thing between he and Lysander. Not yet, not when he is so confused and unsure. “Like I’m comfortable around them and... we tried kissing like way back when so sometimes I think about it. But overall, I just want that person in my life, obviously, but how do I know that’s not as friends?”

[eliot-isayev]

blueeyedbrycen·:·

🚑

Exploring the castle wasn’t as much fun as he was hoping it would be for himself, he had found himself id different events but nothing really seemed to be any fun if there wasn’t someone there with you. He had made some new friends a long the way which was nice but in the process he was just glad to stumble back upon a familiar face. The planetarium was probably the last place he would have went, he would have loved to lay and watch the stars with Christian but honestly he was still at loss about what to do with all his feelings for his husband. “I just thought maybe it would be a good idea to explore something different,” he shrugged looking over at the witch, “I have been somewhat with Christian, but I don’t it’s complicated and damn I love the man but it’s all weird you know.” he looked down at the ground for a second before looking up again. The fact that Christian was there was just enough for Brycen to be happy, even if he didn’t ever remember their life before, he was determined to make sure they continued a new life together. “I don’t know if it’d be the best to ask,” the man urged but he was curious, “What exactly do you wanna know? How do they work or something?”

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Eliot hums, pressing his lips into a thin line. Welp, that’s awkward. “Right. That’s rough, man. I mean, I don’t exactly get what you’re going through but I get things being weird and complicated.” He offers, because he can’t imagine being in Brycen’s situation. And really, empathy and relating to other people are not really his strongest suit. But he can mentally understand how things must be hard. “Well, hey, if you need any help with, I dunno, getting back into it, I’m sure there’s something I can do to help. Like be your wingman, or I dunno, pull like the parent trap.” Eliot suggests with a shrug. He can probably convince their mutual friends to help out... “I dunno, you’re pretty big on relationships... like you’re only married guy I’m friends with, complicated situations aside.” He rolls his eyes, wondering if that is okay for him to say. “Yeah, kinda? I’ve never been in one so I have no idea. Like I know TV shows and movies talk about it a lot, but that’s, y’know, stories. Guess I just don’t know how people like, get to the point of being in a relationship? Like how do you know if you wanna be in a relationship with someone?”

[eliot-isayev]

thedarkestpartofhollis·:

.

His gaze shifted towards the line of the empty glasses that Eliot had in front of him and he smirked softly, shaking his head. Hollis remembered those days… In fact, in a way, Eliot kind of reminded Hollis of himself when he was in college. Generally care free, happy go lucky… All that had changed for him when he was turned but he really hoped that Eliot could hold onto it. It was important. And unless something truly terrible happened to the guy, he felt like there wasn’t much that could shake Eliot.

Hollis’ eyes turned upwards towards the castle and he snorted a bit, “It is odd, isn’t it?” He asked, “I don’t know how any of us didn’t know about it before this…” It was all very perplexing. Not that Hollis expected to know everything about the supernatural world, but being on the council, he felt like he should have a bit of insider knowledge. That was far from the truth, however. In fact, he felt like the one member that was left out of the loop the most.

“What kind of emotional clarity do you need?” He asked Eliot with a quirk of his brow. Spotting the bartender, Hollis ordered himself a whiskey and shrugged his shoulders, “Not much is new with me.” He said, “Just…working, really. I started my own law firm so that’s taken up a lot of my time. It’s an extremely stressful process.” Most days, Hollis didn’t know why he was a lawyer. It was a thankless job. It was even more perplexing why he decided to open up his own firm.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Eliot gives a shrug with the ‘I dunno’ sound. “I thought New Yorkers don’t care about what’s on the Staten Island, maybe that’s it? Or is that a stereotype?” He has heard a bunch of jokes about how much New Yorkers hate or look down on or don’t care for the Staten Island, and New Jersey. But then again, every place has their own weird reputation, which most of the time holds some grain of truth but not always 100% accurate. At least that was his impression after traveling from place to place for years. “Guess it’s some magic mumbo jumbo, I dunno, hiding a castle here” says the witch who doesn’t know a thing about magically hiding a castle.

Hollis is like, the pack dad even aside from being the alpha, and lots of Eliot’s friends are werewolves. So he feels comfortable talking to him at least. “I dunno what kind of clarity are there. I just need to figure some shits out, like how I feel about things or... people.” He explains, still waiting for those drinks to kick in... “Wow, a law firm? That’s huge! Damn, if I had my own law firm I’d never stop talking about it.” That is so adult, and professional. Eliot can’t even imagine managing a food truck (an idea pitched by Brycen) let alone a fucking law firm full of lawyers. Think of how many lightbulbs they could change, or however the joke usually goes. “I bet it’s stressful. Well, if you need a hand, like actually carrying and moving things around the office, or I dunno, contractors, I can help so you just let me know, yeah?” He wonders in twenty years-- Hollis is like, what, fifty?-- he could be as responsible and mature as Hollis... He doubts it, because he is sitting here drinking way too many emotion juice.

And then it hits him like a truck, all at once, the emotion juice. “Oh, no.” Eliot leans forward on the bar, groaning. He feels angry and happy and sad and scared and excited all at once, like he watched one of those foreign films with subtitles with way too complicated ending and he doesn’t get it. Definitely no clarity. “Nope, I regret everything.”

[eliot-isayev]

lola-rai·:

🍃

Lola rolled her eyes with a sigh. Sure they’d both been attacked by that stupid werewolf but did it really have to be a whole thing? Maybe if she got Eliot in her good graces Lys would come around more. “Don’t strain your brain Eliot,” Lola told him. “Blood brothers is fine. Or scar buddies, whatever you want to call us. Just don’t make it weird.” It was already weird but nothing could really be done about the past. It was a good thing she didn’t see the fist pump else she might kick him out before he’d really settled in, the movement much too reminiscent of the frat guys she used to fuck in college. Though she didn’t think of Eliot as a frat guy or as the jerks she used to like to sleep with. He was obviously too nice. And perhaps too dumb. Lola looked back just in time to see the clear expression of thought across Eliot’s face. Like he was trying to solve a math problem meant for middle schoolers. “I’ve been asked if I run a greenhouse” she said, helping him out. No one had really asked her that. People didn’t really get invited over to her place.

Despite herself a smile tugs at Lola’s lips when Eliot asks her if she thinks him an amateur. “Well it’s good to know you have braincells where it counts.” She grabs some of the stuff he’s carrying and brings it to her plant free kitchen. “Heat up the chili on the stove and the nachos in the microwave? You’re the expert.” She turns around to look back at him on the couch, her apartment so small there is only about a five feet gap between them. “I’m healed yeah. Wish people would stop being weird every time I tell them I got stabbed,” she rolled her eyes. “I mean I could just lie but that’s a whole mess. You never lie just once.” She reached up into her cupboard and pulled out two shot glasses, brining them over to Eliot on the couch. Without another word she pours one for each of them. “You? Do people look at you like you’re a lamb being lead to slaughter when you tell them you got stabbed?” She downed her shot.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Eliot rolls his eyes, “my brain is unstrained, and it never will be, thank you very much” which is why he rambles so much, probably, like a pot full of cooked pasta and pasta water, which is sustenance. “No promises. Making things weird is kinda my thing. Not that I try to make things weird. It just happens around me.” And really, that’s not exactly his problem people are weirded out by him. If he actually cared what people thought of him, he wouldn’t be able to go about his day. Though he does like the sound of scar buddies, so he will stick with that name. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I’m not great with potted plants, but I can deal with like, crops.” He worked at some orchards and farms through his wandering years. It was pretty fun, especially running the big machines. But he doubts he is any good at growing plants like Lola. For one thing, he never bothered with getting a potted plant. Difficult to have those when you are constantly on the move. 

“Exactly. Braincells for cooking, building and fixing things, driving, y’know, useful things.” Eliot deflects her teasing (or maybe it’s an insult, who knows) with a casual shrug. He knows he isn’t exactly the smartest person he knows. That title goes to Lola, Brycen and Nolan, probably. He is comfortable with that, to be honest. It’s disarming, and he would rather people think of him as a big dumb guy than a big scary guy. He grabs a pot and starts heating up the chili, while the nacho is getting heated in a pan. Microwaving nachos-- nobody wants that soggy, sticky mess. “Eh. People are weird about injuries. Lys and Bry were freaked out, like this is my first rodeo gettin’ fucked up. At least they’re worried ‘cause they care but, other times I just don’t bring it up unless it comes up,” he snorts, jogging over to the couch to grab his shot. “But I’m glad you’re healed. Here’s to your health, huh.” He raises the glass and downs the drink. “So, who was that fucker, anyway?”

[eliot-isayev]

lys-ash-rai·:

☿️

Lys nods and shrugs, their usual confidence faltering in their mannerisms. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I just know it’s hard to talk about emotions, and I just… well, I don’t want you to let me down easy or make me feel like there’s hope when there isn’t or I don’t know whatever.” Their body courses with fear as they speak, an invasive thought in the back of their mind tells them this is how they lose Eliot again. Making the stupid mistake of ruining their friendship with big scary emotions. But it’s too late to take it all back so, “I just want the raw truth. And I don’t know, maybe you don’t even really know what that is until we go in there. I know you’re always honest with me, but… I mean, this goes for both of us when I say I think there’s a lot we don’t say. Not lies, just withheld details. I’m sorry, don’t mean to be weird, I’m just tired of overthinking.”

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Eliot purses his lips, breathing in slowly and holding it in his chest for a moment. Emotions are hard to talk about, mostly because he has spent all these years numbing out himself. The years faded into blur. Anything to forget the grief and guilt and loneliness. Now, all his words hold no weight, and it is difficult to bring himself down to the earth. “I’m tired of overthinking too.” He sighs, grimacing as he searches for his words. For the truth. “Look, obviously... I love you, not just because you’re my family, or ‘cause you’re the first friend I’ve ever made, or ‘cause you’re my best friend. I don’t think I’ve, I dunno, connected? with others like I did with you.” He forgets how to breathe once he starts to talk, and words just escape him. “And it’s crazy, I’ve been so fuckin’ miserable since I’ve left I didn’t even realize how miserable I was... But since you came lookin’ for me, everything just, started to make sense again. I mean, I’m broke, and I’m outta job, and I still have no fuckin’ clue what to do with my life but... I dunno, I feel alright. ‘cause you’re here.” He gives a small shrug, not sure where this is going even as he speaks. “So yeah, you’re important to me, Lys. I’m glad you’re back in my life, and I don’t want that to change– I don’t wanna lose you. ‘cause it just... feels right to be around you.” Eliot stops the rambling, taking a moment to catch his breath. He has no idea if any of that made sense, or if that was what Lys wanted to hear. “That’s... all, I think. My life really sucks without you in it, Lys. And I’m really scared I’m gonna screw this up somehow.”

[valtsv]

i refuse to apologize for being weird or offputting actually that's your problem i'm having a fantastic time

[eliot-isayev]

DATE: February 12th, 2022 TIME: 03:34 PM LOCATION: Planetarium

Eliot is leaning against a beanbag, taking a break from exploring the castle all morning. He was hoping for secret entrances or dungeons but no such luck. Maybe he just hasn’t looked hard enough. Either way, he could use a breather. The stars strewn above his head reminds him his days in the wilderness, lying on the hood of the truck and stargazing with either his father or Lys. He hangs his head backward, and sees Brycen walks in. “Yo, Bry, what are you doing up here?” He greets, pushing himself to sit up straight and lazily turns toward his roommate. “Thought you’d be hanging out with your husbando. Don’t they have like, couple’s classes?” Eliot tilts his head at the black outfit. As much as Brycen is one of his closest friends here, he doesn’t pry usually. Respecting privacy and whatnot. So if he is asking questions like that, it jus is from a place of genuine curiosity... “Hey, can I ask you something? About relationships and shits.” He blurts out another question, because he often goes to Brycen for advices.

@blueeyedbrycen​

[lys-ash-rai]

When: Evening

Where: Honesty Room

Closed Starter: @eliot-isayev

Ever since Lys had confessed their feelings things had been different between them and Eliot. Not bad necessarily, just… different. Almost like they were holding their breath around each other. Everything had just become more strained and Lys needed to know why. At the time he’d said it just to get it out, because it had been a truth held in so long it was at the point of bursting. They thought they didn’t need to know if Eliot felt the same way, but now they weren’t the same as they used to be. Maybe if he knew the answer he could stop holding his breath. The two of them walked by the Honesty Room and Lys stopped in front of it, eyes downcast, unable to make eye contact, they called after Eliot, “Hey El…” Brown eyes, full of fear stricken hope, peered up at Eliot, “Can we go in here? Please? I think… I need to go in here.”

[eliot-isayev]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“Alls I’m saying is, having a bigass castle in this place makes no sense to me, like this ain’t Europe and we don’t have kings--” Eliot was rambling about how weird it is to be in a castle when Lys stops on their track. He spins on his heel to notice the room that reads the Honesty Room. “Oh. Is this about... the New Year’s?” Eliot asks, scratching his forehead with an awkward look. Ever since that night at the zoo, things have been weird between he and Lys. Not like they avoided each other or got awkward. Most of the time, they were the same. It’s just that from time to time, there were moments where they both didn’t know what to say and the silence was unbearable so they both hastily found something to talk about... “I mean, I’m okay with talkin’ about it, but do we really need that room? I can just, y’know, talk. I had like shit tons of emotions juice earlier-- it didn’t help but I can still tell you how I feel. Not that it’d be any coherent or make sense.” He should be able to talk about it, he thinks at least. Eliot just doesn’t like the idea of having to rely on some magical forced honesty to talk about his feelings. “You know I’m always honest with you.”

[thedarkestpartofhollis]

Special Delivery For: @eliot-isayev​

Valentine’s Day had always been a commercial holiday that Hollis always wanted to enjoy but when you’re alone for it every year, it sure does make it difficult. Luckily for him, for the first time in a long while, he had a wonderful partner and, honestly, couldn’t be happier. He and Athena were running one of the booths but luckily, they were given time to wander around the party as well. Hollis gave Athena a kiss on the cheek before they separated for the time being, figuring they could go say hi to whomever or do whatever they wanted.

Hollis, particularly, wanted a drink. Approaching the bar, the male sat down on a stool and ordered himself a whiskey. They tried to swindle him into getting a boost of those ‘emotions’ but that just sounded like trouble to Hollis so he steadfastly declined. However, as they preparing his drink, he kept a steady eye, making sure they weren’t doing anything funny. Luckily, they didn’t, and moments later, his drink was passed to him. He smiled softly and took a swig from the glass, exhaling lightly.

Turning his gaze, he noticed a familiar face at the bar as well, “Oh, Eliot. Good to see you.” Hollis announced with a nod. After they had met from the blackout, he saw Eliot more and more considering he was roommates with Lysander and Brycen. He was a good kid (everyone was a kid to Hollis at this point). Being that he was such good friends with his pack, he started to keep on him as well. Not that Eliot knew that. At least, he didn’t think he did. “How are you doing? Enjoying the party?”

[eliot-isayev]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Valentine Day meant very little to Eliot, maybe except that he has an excuse to eat truck tons of candies. Though this year, invited to some fancyass castle, there’s a lot going on in his mind. Ever since the New Year’s, Eliot has been bouncing all over the place and not just because he has been busy job hunting and partying. He is still trying to wrap his head around what Lys told him, about the L word and his best friend... Eliot is not even sure if he has ever been in love, romantically, or if he is capable of that. Sure, he loves Lys and he loves spending time with his best friend, and yes, he feels less broken when he is with them but is he in love with Lys? Honestly, feelings are all too vague and intangible and mushy for Eliot to process. And then he walked right past a venue that serves bottled emotions-- and rewound his steps. That’s it! What’s a better way to process emotions than to drink ‘em? Naturally, Eliot ordered everything and downed every single one of them within a minute. Now he sits on the bar, tapping it impatiently while waiting for the effects to kick in.

“Oh, hey, Hollis,” Eliot greets with the trademark grin, putting down the last of the shot glass which now forms a long line with its brethren. “Yeah, weird how they have a castle here and it’s wayyy too fancy for my taste but! I’m about to hit emotional clarity ‘cause I drank all the feels.” He gives two thumbs up, and then notices the red shirts Hollis is wearing. “How ‘bout you? Anything new?” 

[eliot-isayev]

lola-rai·:···

Lola was on her couch, entombed in blankets save for her face and hands where she held a mug of tea. Winter was the worst. Even with the sun lamps for her plants still running her apartment was much too cold for her liking. Sipping at mint tea, three swift knocks called her attention. She glared at the door before beginning to slip out of her blanket cocoon. The door knocks came a second time. “Alright, alright!” She yelled despite being two feet from the door. She opened up, unimpressed to see Elliot. She could have guessed it would be him. Mostly because who else would come over? 

“Bruh?” she repeated. Her eyes flickered down to the nachos. “You brought over cold nachos? There is no way they’re still warm after the walk over here.” Despite her words Lola opened the door wider for Eliot to step inside her apartment. Most of the wall space was covered by plants or the large window in her living room, where the windowsill was also covered in plants. “I’ve got a microwave,” she informed him. “And chasers unless you really want to do shots.”

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“Yeah, bruh. We’re comrades now since we shared vodka and spilled blood together. Literally. You’re my scar buddy. In my book that’s like, blood brothers.” Eliot rambles before coming to an eventual pause, thinking out loud “or sisters. Siblings? Anyway, you get what I’m sayin’.” He gives a little victory fist pump when Lola lets him in, with a not-so-subtle ‘yes’ behind her back. “Huh. Lots of plants.” Her place is riddled with plants, Eliot wonders for a second he stepped into a planetarium... wait, no, that’s for planets. Some kind of a garden? Greenhouse? That’s it. He swivels around, careful not to get too close to any of the plants. He can now control the fire better than he used to be, but he still is a klutz and he doubts these flowerpots are Eliot-proofed and immune to gravity. “No, I’ve brought cold nachos with separate chili and grated cheese. What am I, an amateur?” He smirks, quite proud of himself for thinking ahead. To be fair, when it comes to snack situations, Eliot spends 5% more brain capacity. “But yeah, heating up the chili would be great. Not that I mind cold chili and nachos, but y’know, gotta melt the cheese somehow.” He says, taking off his jacket and flopping down on the couch. “Shots sound great, to be honest. The New Year’s has been kinda crazy and I could use the drinks. How are things with you? Is your injury all healed up now?” He probably should have checked that before bringing a whole bottle of Vodka. 

[eliot-isayev]

lohastings·:

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Logan had to admit that Eliot’s words had surprised her, she fought back letting her expression show it. Instead she let happiness take over as she congratulated him on following the assignments she’d left him with. “That’s amazing Eliot! I’m so happy for you!” She cheered on. “Maybe you didn’t actually need me to help you out…” Half speaking to herself and half to him. “Nice.” She nodded, continued to smile. “No it’s honestly a good breakthrough. You’re a baby witch so any kind of control is good!” She explained, she stood up. “Umm… do you want me to be honest or lie to you?” She asked, raised an eyebrow at him. “Potions are very temperamental and one wrong ingredient makes a very different potion.” She warned. “I ask once more do you want me to be honest or lie to you? Because both are very different answers.”

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Eliot gives her both thumbs up, laughing heartily, “thanks, man. Gotta say, I’m kinda proud of myself. Is that a thing people feel about themselves? ‘cause that’s pretty new for me.” At her remark, he shakes his head and then nods as in “no, no, no, you were super helpful! If you didn’t whoop my ass to get the work done I’ve gotten nowhere. You’re like my trainer, y’know, stand by me and tell me what to do, givin’ me advices so I can get better at things. It’s great.” It is clear he greatly appreciates Logan’s help, direct or indirect. Having a set goal of passing the test and joining the Coven, and someone who checks up on his progress regularly helped him to stay on track. He couldn’t have done it without her help. “Yeah, but if I can learn how not to set things on fire, I feel like I can practice and learn potions too” he says with his confidence on the roll after his progress. At her response in the form of a question, Eliot raises a brow to match her expression and shrugs, “honesty, always. Unless you wanna lie and say everything’s fine. I can handle it either way.”