“I could never allow that to happen.” Arden says, affecting her voice towards admonished, though of course she isn’t actually all that invested in the state of a total stranger’s appearance. The only thing Arden cares about, as ever, is what she can get out of it, and at the very lead a semi-hungover conversation is near the top of her list of priorities. She’s gorgeous, which doesn’t hurt. “Arden. I used to know someone named Aurora, fun fact.” Well, she once slept with someone named Aurora, but it’s the same difference, really. She knew her, and then she didn’t. It’s how Arden works. “You’re lovely, by the way. Another fun fact for you.”
She smiles, catching onto the heightened level of concern and reading it in the playful manner she assumes her companion intends. It’s not like she had been all that serious in assigning the duty in the first place so the continuation of her humor is welcomed. “Arden?” Rory repeats, unfamiliar with the name. Her social circles have been kept relatively small all her life so it’s not terribly surprising she’s never met another Arden. “Hopefully, this other-Aurora hasn’t set the bar too high, I wouldn’t want to disapp--” She allows her voice to drop out at the compliment, not having expected a stranger to be so nice. She can feel her smile growing and a flush tinting her cheeks. “That’s so kind of you to say, thank you.” The girl sips at her coffee, head ducking for a brief moment. “I’d say you’re rather lovely too!” They don’t know each other well, of course, but Rory’s statement is somehow still radiantly genuine.
To the contrary, Arden isn’t bothered by her presence; moreover, she’s a bit intrigued by it, and by the very slight swell of recognition she feels as she takes a closer look at her. They’ve never met before, no, but she thinks she’s at least seen her somewhere before. Which if this neighbourhood is one of her usual haunts, would make perfect sense. There’s no particularly innovative method to Arden’s madness, but there is a particular amusement to her tone at the question regardless, and she picks a little bit at her muffin, not bothering to eat an more just yet. “I guessed. You knew exactly where you were going when you came in; you didn’t hesitate. Just seems like the logical conclusion to draw.” All things considered, anyone would’ve probably thought the same thing, but she still likes feeling as if she has a sort of upper hand. That’s just how she works. “I’d actually like the company, if you don’t mind.” Arden has a feeling she won’t. She doesn’t seem like the type.
Explained as it was, Rory can understand where it might have been a lot more obvious that this was her beloved table than she had initially thought. Either that or this stranger just happens to be observant -- a trait Rory instinctively admires given her lack thereof. A smile instantly warms her whole being at the invitation to stay. Her coffee shop visits are usually solitary adventures but Rory is not, at heart, a solitary being. “Of course I don’t mind. This means you’re automatically signed up for whipped cream watch though. If I walk out of here with some on my nose or my upper lip, it’s your fault.” She’s being playful, obviously, mood lightened at the prospect of company and the graciousness with which her presence has been received. “I’m Aurora, by the way. Most everyone calls me Rory.” She’d hold out her hand but figures against it. A table between them meant drinks to spill and Rory’s been particularly clumsy of late.
“Yep, like.. as far as I’m aware, they are. That’d probably be really important to know, now that you mention it. I’ll get them to look into that. Technically, it’s not theirs, it’s their parents old car, they just use it whenever they can.. like when they have gas money. Which is less often than they’d like to admit..”
“The last thing you’d probably want is for a doctor studying audiology to try to apply their knowledge of the ear to your mouth. It probably doesn’t work the same way. That’s really nice of their parents... I hope they thank them often. Maybe I should take it out for a spin. I’m a natural, I’m sure of it.” She’s clearly kidding and a small smile works onto her lips.
For someone who has just spent the last eight hours or so thoroughly flinging herself from the proverbial bandwagon (and not sleeping), Arden is in relatively good spirits. The light bustle of the coffee shop, as well as the muffin she’s picking at in between sips of coffee, is comforting at the worst of times, and this is far from the worst. She considers herself lucky that she got through it with her consciousness remaining intact, and even now she’s sporadically tapping away at her phone, in touch with old friends and enemies. Admittedly, she’s a bit absorbed in herself when the figure first approaches, and it isn’t until she’s actually sitting down at her table that she really notices her. Beautiful. Sunglasses. Cane. Blind? That’s the obvious conclusion to draw, and even Arden’s currently recovering mind can reach it. She can also reach the one that tells her she hasn’t been noticed. Which she’s going to have to change. “I think I’ve taken your usual table.” She says, giving absolutely no warning before just jumping into it.
Rory startles -- which probably isn’t all that surprising considering how many noises spook her. She’s grateful the speaker interrupting her next sip of her drink has a voice far more gentle than a car horn or a door slamming back at Marlborough. “I’m so sorry,” she answers instantly, rewarding the stranger with a soft smile and a tip of her head. She feels around the floor for her cane, in case she should be forced to move tables -- the last thing she wishes is to intrude on someone’s day. “I should have really asked before just making myself at home here; how silly of me. If you could direct me to an open table, I’d be much appreciative and I could be out of your way.” If not too chipper, she’s certainly being too accommodating, especially for being so clearly disabled. A question bubbles to the surface of her mind shortly after, bringing her brow into a polite furrow. “How did you know this was my usual?”
Rory’s learned to roll with situations as they happened upon her -- something about being unable to properly gauge her surroundings forcing her to be flexible when encountering unexpected obstacles. Every day is an obstacle if she reflects on it the wrong way so, instead, she chooses to perceive them as an adventure -- even something as simple as her daily trips to her favorite little coffee shops. It’s early; she’s up and readying herself for her piano lessons that afternoon which puts her in relatively high spirits. Ordering her coffee at the front counter, she makes her way to her usual table once it’s been handed to her, cane tapping against chair legs and the occasional shoe. She doesn’t think to check if there’s somewhere there already or not -- it’s in such an obscure corner of the shop that it’s nearly always been free -- so, naturally, she slides into the comforting familiarity of the booth, dropping her cane to her side so she can curl both hands around the whipped cream topped drink with a pleased little sigh. Her tongue swipes across her lips after the first sip, unwilling to walk around the entire day with cream below her nose or something equally ridiculous. Just because she couldn’t see didn’t mean she didn’t care about her appearance, after all.
what are some things you find endearing in people?
“I find lots of things endearing! A favorite is when people take my hand to guide me places. It’s so much easier than attempting it on my own and it means I don’t have to, like, awkwardly ask to have my hand held. I also like it when people... forget. Like when they forget I’m blind, just for a moment, because I’m doing what everyone else does. I find that really cute, even if they apologize once they remember.”
do you ever still get afraid of the dark? obviously not the literal dark, but the sense of the unknown that's in the darkness? do you turn your lights on at home just because you know it'll make that go away, even if you can't see it for yourself?
“I don’t think I ever really grew out of that fear. Every day is filled with the unknown for me. I can surround myself with familiar places, smells, people, but everything else is completely out of my control and that’s scary. I do turn on the lights at home... contrary to what people picture as total blindness, you can see lights, sort of. It’s like if you close your eyes and look up at the sun, the inside of your eyelids is a different color, a different brightness, you know? But that doesn’t really make anything go away. It just makes me feel more... normal.”
how does it feel to know you will never see the faces of your future children?
“You don’t... you don’t have to see someone’s face to love them unconditionally. It’s -- I mean -- obviously it’s not great. Nothing about being blind is great. But if I even have ‘future children’ that alone would be a blessing so I’d focus on that aspect of it. What I have instead of what I don’t.”
“Hypothetically speaking– would you let someone who’s still in med school do surgery on your mouth, if it meant you got a huge discount? I have this, um.. friend, who needs their wisdom teeth out, and they can’t even afford to put gas in their car to get to work so they can afford to put gas in their car. Life is ironic that way…”
“It sounds a bit like a bad idea? Is this person in med school for dentistry? That sounds like a good place to start. I don’t know though -- I’ve heard nasty things about wisdom teeth removal in general. I didn’t know you -- I mean, your friend -- had a car.”
“At the risk of sounding like a Hallmark card, a wasted life would be one spent doing harm to others. I believe you can be fulfilled just by being a positive influence on those around you but a live spent maliciously, dragging others down for nothing besides self gain is a wasted life.”
Out of all the situations your disability has landed you in, what was the funniest and what was the most embarrassing?
“I try to find even the ‘embarrassing’ situations funny if I can. If I got flustered every time I bumped into someone or tripped them with my cane, I don’t know if I’d ever leave my apartment. I guess the funniest time would be when this sweet little old man thought I was a mime. I mean, I have a white cane and wear primarily black and white so I understand where he was coming from, I suppose. He was very apologetic once he realized. And the most embarrassing time might have been when I walked into a sex toy shop instead of a coffee shop. I asked for a mocha and the cashier asked if I meant coffee flavored lube. I’d say they need to make the signs clearer but I really don’t think that would have helped. I definitely, er, learned a lot?”
how does it feel to know that your wanna-be ghost looking ass wanna-be boyfriend knocked evie up? i mean, it must sting a little
“Ghost looking ... ? --- I mean, I wouldn’t know about that. But I’d really rather not believe mindless gossip. It’s unhealthy and if I start thinking about it seriously, I might not stop.”
rory doesn’t like to sleep alone. which is funny because aside from her relationship with caspar she’s never really had anyone to sleep next to -- but that doesn’t stop her from bundling up her stuffed animals in the space next to her and cocooning herself in blankets to mimic the warmth of a bedside companion. she would occasionally crawl into bed with her brother when she was really little but now has to make do on her own. she still has the life sized teddy bear caspar won for her at a festival back home and finds that nights she has it tucked next to her, she doesn’t have as frequent of nightmares.
☠ - angry/violent headcanon
anger and violence are never going to be rory’s immediate reaction, even to situations that should inceite anger or violence. the closest thing she’ll get to anger is a passionate disapproval and it’s never towards something or someone treating her poorly -- rather, she’s quicker to act for the sake of others being wronged and will speak out against injustices that don’t affect her directly.
✿ - Sex headcanon
rory is a virgin (is it possible?) and doesn’t especially think about sex as something she needs. she wouldn’t identify as asexual since she certainly experiences sexual attraction but it’s more of a passing curiosity. as someone who experiences much of the world through touch for lack of sight, rory finds touches like cuddling or having her hair played with fully filling her quota for physical intimacy.
■ - Bedroom/house/living quarters headcanon
rory’s apartment is impeccably clean to the point of being barren. she doesn’t possess many belongings for a lack of money and everything needs to be up off the floor so that she can navigate her way around without her cane. she likes to feel like she can be independent of the burden of her walking stick while in the comfort of her own home and if she keeps things in the same spot and out of her way, she has no fear of tripping or running into anything.
♡ - romantic headcanon
she’s only ever experienced romantic attraction for one person and that’s caspar hastings. things ended too painfully for her to consider reentering the dating sphere although, even if she thinks about it, she knows she wouldn’t want to anyways. giving her heart away was also one of the most fulfilling decisions she’s ever made and although in the end, things were messy, throughout their relationship, rory was the happiest she’s ever known. she wouldn’t hesitate to admit to herself that she’s still in love with caspar but she’s vowed never to admit to it out loud.
♥ - family headcanon
rory has only retained contact with her brother. he sets aside a portion of his income to transfer to her as a sort of allowance. he’s asked her on multiple occurances to come and move in with him so he could support her through more direct means but, not wanting to be a burden, she’s turned him down. she’d turn down his monetary generosity if she didn’t need it to survive. she loves her brother dearly and feels like he’s the only one who didn’t turn his back on her when she was stricken blind.
☮ - friendship headcanon
being at marlborough and having isaac, blake, payton, and even caspar around makes for the highest number of friends she’s ever had. rory never went to formal schooling so making meaningful connections with those around her was difficult without constant exposure. caspar was a special case, living next door and working his way seamlessly into her life. now, though, with so many friendly souls surrounding her, rory’s happily made more friends than she’s ever thought possible.
☼ - appearance headcanon
rory tries her very best as far as her appearance is concerned but, being blind, there’s only so much she can do. she makes sure her hair feels clean and is brushed to smoothness but can’t do anything with it besides slipping in a headband. her wardrobe consists entirely of black and white clothes save for a few exceptions (kept in a special separate location). being unable to see, she assures herself, this way, that no matter what she picks from her closet, it’ll match. black and white always go together.
“Not your fault,” is his first reply, because truly, it isn’t. Had he been paying attention, he easily could’ve noticed the blind girl with her stick and equally as easily avoided interrupting her path. It isn’t usual circumstances, so perhaps he shouldn’t be blaming himself too harshly either, though the responsibility of his fall does rest on his own two shoulders. “Just– can you stay standing there? Like… exactly where you are?” it’s a very odd request, he knows, but his scraped palms and bruised ego are nothing in comparison to the potential emotional turmoil he’ll suffer if he makes eye contact with his mother. Maybe if he stays down here on the ground, with this girl blocking his path, his mother won’t see him at all and rather she’ll think it’s some stranger who’s taken a tumble to the ground. That’s all he can hope for, and he knows she’d make no move to help whoever it was anyway, so he’s safe from her so long as this stranger does as he asks. “I just… there’s someone behind you that I’d rather didn’t see me down here. She’ll be gone soon, and then you can pretend you never even met the idiot who fell over your cane. Sorry, by the way.”
Although she’s almost entirely sure that there’s not much she can do to help this particular individual -- she’s spent enough time around Caspar to know that this new person was tall from the brief contact, even without sight -- the request he makes confuses her. “Just... stand still?” she repeats, remaining in place and awaiting something offered in explanation. Maybe he was going to use her as a support to get back to his feet; it’s not the smartest of moves but Isaac had managed it the other day when traffic had it out for him. She focuses on the sounds of the city in the short lapse that falls between them, fingers running nervous through her tresses. Finally, the voice intrudes once again and offers more information as to why she’s being asked to just... stand. “I hope I’m enough of a barrier to keep you from whoever,” she hums, smile overtaking her lips once more. “I certainly couldn’t see you down there.” Hopefully, her attempt at humor can draw the apologetic tone out of his voice. She might be quick to apologize herself but she doesn’t quite enjoy feeling like others are indebted to her in any way either. “You’re the one on the ground; I really don’t think an apology is necessary,” Rory adds, a bright tone filtering into her voice. Admittedly, she feels a bit empowered, talking down to someone, but only because she’s used to voices coming from above her short stature. “I’ll admit, this is the strangest request I’ve ever gotten,” she ponders aloud as she assesses the situation.
“I am deeply sorry for my ignorance in assuming,” he’s being playful (as is his nature), mostly because she appears to be doing the same thing. It’s comfortable territory for him, and he enjoys making other’s laugh more than anything else in the world. He chuckles quietly at her question, and maybe it’s a bit morbid to laugh at, but isn’t cancer in general? Isn’t just about everything in his life considered to be morbid these days? “No– no, I’m afraid there isn’t much helping me. I have cancer,” he’s used to people being curious about him and his condition, and he’s used to them dancing around the subject for fear of overstepping boundaries. He doesn’t much care who knows, he isn’t hiding anything, and if she could see him, she’d likely know for herself that it’s something serious. He’s just filling in the blanks for her, and his tone is just as light as it was before, still as friendly. There isn’t even a waver. “It’s okay, no point in bothering anyone else. I’ll be right as rain in a few minutes, once I’ve recuperated a bit. Not that I don’t trust those petite arms of yours, of course, but weren’t you on your way out? I don’t want to make you late or anything,” he won’t underestimate her just because of her disability, it’d be beyond hypocritical of him, and he doesn’t have loads of groceries to begin with. If she has the time and genuinely won’t be put off with helping him, he’s sure the two of them could manage it with relative ease.
“Good. I hope you’ve learned your lesson young man.” She scolds in jest, adopting an authoritative tone. It only adds to the irony that, at only eighteen, the chances of her being older than this stranger are slim to none, judging only by the sound of his voice, anyways. Her eyebrows raise at his explanation, not having expected such blunt honesty in his answer. Then again, she ponders, did she not do the same thing when it came to her own condition? The jovial edge she still hears in his voice speaks to how she combats pity and Rory finds her smile growing. “Okay, well, I meant helping you with your groceries but I’ll take it as a compliment that I look like a miracle cure.” She leans against the wall, allowing her cane to go slack seeing as she didn’t need it much. Her head is tipped downwards, towards the sound of his voice though she doubts she isn’t gazing somewhere off over his head all the same. “I was leaving, yes, but only to go for a walk. No appointment and nothing to be late for, really. So if you still need the help...” she allows the offer to dangle. Knowing he’s in at least a slightly similar position as her with her disability, she’s hesitant to make it seem like she doesn’t trust him to do things on her own. She’s merely inclined to benevolence and considers him a kindred spirit of sorts. If she can make a friend out of the circumstances, it’s only another benefit to being kind.
