Esther Westfall

“I bet they’d love it! Maybe we could start a club or something for them. Woah—we could make tee shirts with otter figures on the front and stuff—” Jordan would probably end up rambling for minutes about that hypothetical suggestion, but he blinked at Esther’s offer. “Oh, really? Sure, thank you! If, uh, it’s okay, that is,” he added, smiling and looking excitedly at the figures in his palms. “Do you have some different colored paper? That could be fun.”

Esther smiled at the suggestion. It sounded stupid as fuck, and yet, they wanted to very much do that. "I'd like that." At Jordan's question they nodded. "Yeah we got a few different colors. Got any preferences?"

darkenedroad

@estherwestfall

Malachi ran their hands over their face as they slumped onto the couch and let out a long sigh. It had been a long day and they still needed to leave again in a couple of hours. They sat quietly, listening to the bubbling of the fish tank in the corner of the room when the door opened, causing them to look over. "Have a good day?" They asked.

#darkenedroad #c: malachi

They were surprised when Malachi spoke up to them as Esther entered the apartment. Both of them kept to themselves and it seemed like a fine enough arrangement. They glanced down at the little paper bag in their hand, a few otter figurines purchased with their employee discount at The Conservatory. "Uh, yeah, not too bad. You?"

Esther shifted from foot to foot, weighing on a question that had been on their mind for a while. "Actually. Um. Can I ask you something?"

Readmore for lyrics and playlist link

#abuse tw #hiraeth.task #hiraeth.task003 #task #musing

#hiraeth.task #task #musing #hiraeth.task005

strawberette

@estherwestfall / closed starter / esther westfall setting: joan of arc’s refuge

It was so different in the apartment now that it wasn’t just herself and Mal. Not a bad different, but different. Ophelia never really adapted to change well, but she certainly tried. And besides, she liked Esther. Something about their energy was enjoyable and comforting. Where she sometimes had to look out for Mal, she found that Esther didn’t exactly need that type of support. It was interesting to her.

Still, she found herself out in the kitchen making them both pancakes and bacon. It was meant to be a sort of celebratory thing... Something to help Esther feel more at home. So when they appeared in the kitchen, Ophelia laughed, pancake mix in her hair and on her face. "These look more like mishappen eggs, but the pancakes are almost done!" She hoped they were hungry too. "Sorry, I forgot to say good morning... Good morning!"

#strawberette #c: ophelia

Esther shook their head, a smile on their lips as they joined Ophelia in the kitchen. "Morning." They grabbed a nearby rag and gently dabbed the other's face. "Hope you don't mean the pancakes on your face," they teased. Still, the gesture was appreciated. Esther couldn't remember the last time someone cooked for them. They had always been expected to prepare each meal the moment they were tall enough to reach the stove.

arcanae

"Ohhhh," Star blinked slowly in response, eyebrows rising as their mouth made a little 'o' shape. Well, at least Esther seemed to be eating it anyway. She shrugged, thinking on it for a moment. "Probably... lollipops? They gotta be good ones, though. None of that green apple business. Or, oh! Maybe cake? But chocolate cake."

Whoops, probably shouldn't have said that. At least Star didn't seem upset about it. Esther snorted out a laugh at her answer. "Then what the hell's considered a good lollipop?" Cake though...maybe they should make them one. They hadn't made cake very often in the past, but Esther remembered the process being fairly easy.

#arcanae #c: star

“Oh my gosh, you’re right! I wouldn’t want them to be lonely,” Jordan agreed, gently picking up another one of the little otter figures. “Maybe I should get a third, too! One for me and my roommates, Angie and Wes!” Maybe they could set them on the kitchen counter and have them guard the fruit bowl. Well, even if Esther wasn’t trying to make him spend more money, it looked like the shop was going to get revenue either way.

They glanced down at the otters, biting their lip. "I...might get some for my friends too." It was still a weird feeling when they openly admitted to having friends. That anyone would willingly choose them for company. "Do you want them gift wrapped? It's normally extra but I can do it for free. Not like I'm busy."

darkenedroad

"No." Pippa shook her head. "It's just something I have to do to get people to go on the tour, that's all. I promise, it's all professional when it begins."

They couldn't help the snort. "Does it actually work?"

#darkenedroad #c: pippa

arcanae

“Yeah, of course I do. Who doesn’t?” Star shoved down another mouthful of sandwich. “I guess some people don’t, maybe,” They admitted next around the mouthful of food before swallowing, “Buuuuut I do. When something isn’t sweet, it doesn’t taste as good.”

"I...might be some people." At least not anything this sweet. Still, they kept eating, lest they waste food. Esther glanced to the other. "So what's your favorite sweet thing?"

#arcanae #c: star

Jordan followed with a pep in his step, his enthusiasm only rising at all the crystals and pendants. “Woah, cool!” He leaned a little closer, peering at the little animals too. “Yeah, these are really cute! I—Oh my gosh, it’s an otter,” he nearly gasped, carefully picking up the crystallized critter. “Did you know otters hold hands so they stay together when sleeping? It’s called, um… rafting, I think!”

Esther couldn't help smiling at Jordan's excitement. He reminded them a lot of Ophelia. "Wait, really? That's actually pretty cute." Out of nowhere, they felt a pang in their chest as they thought of the nights they held on to their brother as they slept. It was always the two of them against the world. "If you get one feels like you should get two. Not like, trying to upsell you. I don't care if this place makes money. But.....so they're not separated."

arcanae

Star visibly relaxed as Esther took a sandwich, smiling a little wider in relief. "It's peanut butter and fluff. Y'know, the marshmallow stuff? It's really good." Really sweet, too, which Star liked. They took a bite, sighing in relief.

Esther had actually never heard of fluff. Taking a bite of the sandwich, they tried not to make a face. It was not really good. "Uh yeah, great," they offered instead. It took a lot of effort to swallow the mouthful. Not wanting to hurt Star's feelings, they took another bite. "So you really like sweets huh?"

#arcanae #c: star

“I’m glad you like it!” Jordan told them, only to fall into thought at the question. “Ummm—I guess I didn’t come here looking for any one thing, but…” He was more just browsing around, having decided to come to the museum on a whim too. “I figured I could just look around and maybe find something cool! But oh gosh, everything looks cool.” And he didn’t exactly have the money to buy everything in the store. Looking back at Esther, he smiled. “Is there any stuff here that doesn’t get sold much? Or anything new?”

They bit their lip in thought. "Yeah, hold on." Getting up from their crouch, Esther led Jordan to a display of crystals, pendants, and other nicer items. They picked up a small crystallized animal. "People assume these are really expensive but they're only like five credits. It's also not as fancy as all this other shit," they inclined their head to the higher end items. "It's kinda cute, ya know?"

“Oh, it’s okay!” Jordan assured them over their uncertainty. He smiled and thankfully took the toy, trying to silently pinpoint what shade of blue it was. But his attention drifted back to Esther. “Do you like working here? I guess it can get a little lonely sometimes… it’s kinda slow right now,” he admitted, glancing around the currently empty gift shop. Well, excluding the two of them. “But there’s a lot of cool things in this shop! I feel like it would take me forever to look at everything!”

Esther shook their head. "I like that it's quiet. I'd rather be alone than with a bunch of people. And it's not like the job's hard." They glanced around the shop. There was a lot here. "Do you, uh, need help finding something?"

Jordan had been walking around the different exhibits with a pamphlet in his hands and a smile on his face. He came upon the gift shop eventually, eyes darting all over the stocked room. A voice brought his attention over to the employee. “Oh, hi! How are you?” he greeted, wandering a little closer. “Oh, uh, just looking around! This place is so cool—oh wow, is that a frilled lizard?” Jordan peered at the toy in their hands, curious about the creature’s coloring. “I’m not sure if blue is one of its common colors—or is it a Hiraeth thing?” Hiraeth had a lot of plants that were unique to it, so maybe that extended to animals too? Or maybe it was just for the toy.

A small smile made it's way onto their lips, Jordan's enthusiasm infectious. Honestly, it was why they chose to work at the museum; they thought it was pretty cool too. And a giant fuck you to their parents... At his question Esther's brows furrowed and they glanced down at the toy. "I...guess? I'm kinda the worst person to ask about that sorta thing." They held the toy out to Jordan. "It's cute though."