#oskarranstrom.talk

[dxrkenedheights]

where: felix's apartment

with: oskar ranstrom, nina ranstrom and felix ranstrom @manybcdthings

★・・・・・・★

As stated, Oskar arrives at his brother's apartment at precisely 1 p.m., his punctuality not surprising nor his meticulous nature. However, as he steps into the familiar space, there's a noticeable slump to his posture. He quickly realizes that Nina, likely for her own amusement, has delayed her own arrival. Leaving him and Felix alone after weeks of no contact. Navigating anything with Felix these days feels like a minefield. Oskar stands awkwardly, unsure of where to step next. He observes his brother, noting that Felix seems slightly rejuvenated, a spark in his eyes that wasn’t there before. Oskar equates this newfound vitality to the return of Isabella Belcourt in Felix’s life. A small pang of guilt tugs at him, remembering the conversation he had with her at the Beekman Hotel. A conversation that now feels like a betrayal.

The room is heavy with silence at first, the kind that wraps around you like a dense fog. Uncomfortable and tight. When they do speak, the small talk is stilted and their words barely break the surface of their strained relationship. Desperate for a distraction, Oskar turns to the purpose of his visit, using it as a lifeline. He glances at the two large leather chests in the room. Old and worn, their leather cracked and tired after traveling through countless generations. Buckling under the weight of untold secrets. With a weak wave of his hand, Oskar gestures towards them, trying to deflect the awkward tension. "So, Madi got hold of these somehow?" his voice resonates with a hint of intrigue. "I'm guessing on the day when she told me she left her purse at our parents' place." he had found it odd at the time that Madi had visited Agneta and Olaf, a rare occurrence that now makes much more sense.

Taking hesitant steps towards the chests, Oskar's mind races back to their childhood. "I remember seeing these as kids. Not inside them, obviously. Mom seemed to want them out of sight and out of mind. I'm guessing for a reason, one that you and Madi have carelessly discovered." he looks to Felix with expectancy and with a casual wave of his hand, he dismisses Nina’s absence. "What have you found? She can catch up." Oskar's eyes linger on the chests, their presence a physical reminder of the mysteries that have always surrounded their family. He feels a mix of curiosity and dread, wondering what revelations lie within those old, tired containers. "You should have texted me when Madisyn arrived with them, Felix. Agneta will lose her mind when she finds out."

[dxrkenedheights]

where: zenith offices

with: oskar ranstrom and madisyn kennedy @wilddwcrds

★・・・・・・★

As soon as he strolls through the doors, Oskar hears the familiar tone of his daughter's voice. He's never quite sure if she's berating everybody she encounters, or if he's tuned enough of the sound out that everything rolls into one for him. He barely even acknowledges her beyond a nod of his head as he passes, signaling her to follow. "I saw the text about the Brooklyn apartment. I said to wait a few more weeks to start buying property." it's not even a greeting, but it is to him, passing knowledge and advice is akin to care. Oskar presses for the elevator, taking a momentary glance from his phone to Madisyn. From there, it's a steel gaze with an obvious churning of thoughts before Oskar is glancing back to his phone and stepping into the ready elevator. "It's the middle of the day, why are you sparkling?" his flat tone refers to her clothes but further than that, Oskar's voice is as level as always. "Does Charlotte let you wear that at work?"

[dxrkenedheights]

where: beekman hotel

with: oskar ranstrom and thea sinclair @ofwrxth

★・・・・・・★

It's almost reminiscent of the first time Oskar truly saw Thea. A blur of other guests around her, her form singled out entirely as if in a spotlight to him. Even his steps towards her are gradual, just as they were back then. And from afar, even the way Oskar peers to her almost seems to be with a nostalgia. All of it closing in on him as he nears and gently reaches for her arm, one very simple question on his lips. "Do you have the time to go to my place and check on Henrik?" he asks quietly, his phone hovering in his other hand. "She just text me and said he's vomited a few times. Nothing serious but he won't settle. Asking for you." Oskar adds, and one of those things is a lie. "Obviously pointless if he wants you. Do you have my key, or...?" he's already gesturing for them to walk back to the cloakroom, as if the resolve is solid.

[dxrkenedheights]

where: felix's apartment, flashback

with: oskar ranstrom and felix ranstrom @manybcdthings

★・・・・・・★

He wasn't surprised when his brother didn't join for dinner, given the string of unanswered texts before Oskar returned home. It was more than obvious what Felix decided was a better evening spent, and also precisely why Oskar ensures his visit is bright and early the next morning. The Californian sun has barely peeked above the horizon when he arrives, letting himself into the apartment that isn't even Felix's. Despite trashed and mistreated as if it is. Oskar isn't surprised by the sight he's greeted with, his brother sprawled uncomfortably on the couch, dusty residue on the coffee table, bottles scattered and mostly empty. But he is surprised by the half naked woman in the kitchen area who makes herself known by a startled noise, the situation perhaps made stranger by Oskar's unimpressed and stern glare. But the commotion is enough to stir Felix's eyes open, which is all that matters. "Get rid of her and get showered, we're going for a hike." he says clearly, unfazed if Felix's company overhears as she scampers to a bedroom. Oskar able to glimpse another set of legs dangling from the bed. "Get rid of them," he clarifies, not even a hint of amusement in his tone as he peels to leave. "I'm parked up outside. Maybe eat something." he says, taking a quick glance to the now safe kitchen space. "If you even buy food."

[dxrkenedheights]

where: pool side

with: oskar ranstrom and felix ranstrom @manybcdthings

Oskar has to admit, if only to himself, that he never imagined he would be the sort of man to accept a social invitation that wasn't attached to some kind of business prospect. And yet here he is. The realization struck him the moment he arrived at Azul Veranda, stepping out into warm Caribbean air. The last time he had taken anything resembling a real vacation, Henrik was small enough to fall asleep with his head tucked against Oskar's shoulder, stubbornly clutching a stuffed dinosaur.

Now Oskar sits beside a pool in a t-shirt and shorts and even after two days the entire situation still feels faintly surreal. Unfortunately, the tropical Caribbean has very quickly turned into something closer to a quiet personal disaster. To make it worse, it's entirely his own fault as to why. Because no matter how much he tries to focus on the book resting in his hands, his mind keeps circling back to the one person it absolutely should not be thinking about. Isla. Jesus, they were stupid. There's really no more dignified word for it than that. Too many drinks, certainly, and the oppressive warmth of the evening had done them no favors, but the real problem had been the conversation. They talked longer than two relative strangers should have about things that actually mattered, about the kind of subjects that slip past polite surface talk and lodge somewhere personal before either person realizes what's happening.

And, if he's being honest with himself, the situation was made significantly worse by the simple fact that she is...Well. Oskar deliberately avoids finishing that thought. Across the pool Isla stands with her sister and several other guests, sunlight catching in the dark fall of her hair as she listens to someone speaking, and Oskar makes a very conscious effort not to look in that direction. Instead, he lowers his gaze firmly to the book in his hands and the same sentence greets him again. The one he's been reading for the better part of ten minutes. His eyes drift slowly off the page despite himself, already beginning to track toward the far side of the pool. But this time, they land on Felix, who appears in front of him with the unsettling timing of someone who has either been standing there longer than expected or has simply materialized out of the afternoon heat.

Oskar studies him for a moment and immediately recognizes the expression on his brother's face. It's the same one Felix wore as a child whenever someone attempted to offer him a partial explanation and he knew, instinctively and irritatingly, that the rest of the truth had been left out. Annoyingly determined. "Morning." Oskar says as Felix approaches, before glancing briefly toward the sun hanging far too high in the sky to justify that greeting. "Or afternoon, I suppose. No Bunny?" Oskar raises an eyebrow, already grinning. "You know, this won't be much of a vacation for either of us if I'm the only person you talk to the entire time." his attention returns to the open pages, though the words remain just as stubbornly unreadable as they were before.

[dxrkenedheights]

where: the beekman hotel

with: oskar ranstrom and lorena ramirez @gloriouswhispers

Oskar had, perhaps naively, assumed that the grunt work phase of his career was over. And technically, he wasn't wrong. He just was not exactly right either. Occasionally, his expertise was needed on site. Oversight, guidance, a little hand holding here and there. He didn't mind, in theory. As long as it didn't interfere with his scheduled lunches. Which, naturally, it always did. Not to mention, Nina developed an impressive knack for evading her own responsibilities and, with impressive precision, rerouting them directly onto his desk. So, as Oskar approaches the Beekman, it all snaps into place. The vagueness, the elusive 'researcher' she mentioned. Of course. Of course it's Lorena. Who else would it be? He nearly scoffs but quickly catches himself.

Lorena. The Parlor Mirror. A career low point, and it wasn't even that long ago. She, ever the eager witch with the patience of a wasp, decided to take the lead during what should have been a routine extraction. He was downstairs, calmly securing the wards in the basement of what very much looked like an abyssal epicenter disguised as a charming brownstone, when Lorena took it upon herself to neutralize the mirror's magic without so much as a warning. The next ten seconds featured a level of chaos he still finds difficult to describe without sighing aggressively. Glass everywhere. Screaming. A haunted mirror trying to eat her, quite literally. And because of her charming improvisation, the building now sits on the Institute's permanent watchlist, radiating residual abyssal energy they still can't fully erase or dull. It's a cursed bruise on his otherwise impeccable record.

"Wonderful." Oskar mutters under his breath as he approaches, offering Lorena the briefest glance, just long enough to register her face and regret it, before breezing past and into the hotel. "Let's try to make this quick, shall we? And maybe, just for fun, I'll be the one to handle any mirrors this time." he adds, the quip effortlessly dry. He holds the door open for her, polite out of habit, not sentiment, and steps into the lobby without breaking stride. "Nina said you arranged a meeting here. We're insurance today, are we?" he says, more a statement than a question. He's already slowing his pace just slightly as they walk rather than marching straight to the front desk.

It hasn't been long since that fateful night, but stepping back inside the Beekman already feels surreal. That night left a mark, not just on the building, but on everyone who was there. The fire. The curse that passed between them like a fever. That ward that seemed to absorb all their attempts to get free, and then that final blast that felt like it tore through marrow. Even now, something's not quite right. Not overt, not loud, but just enough for a whisper of unease to creep into his mind. That slight imbalance in the air, the taste of unfinished business. "Perception magic is permitted." Oskar says, voice low and deliberate. "Just make them feel as if there's no rush to get us out. Nothing suspicious."

[dxrkenedheights]

where: beekman hotel

with: oskar ranstrom and isabella belcourt @rviner

★・・・・・・★

Despite social pleasantries threatening to drown his patience, Oskar can navigate such events with practiced ease. He loathes them entirely yet finds himself swept into a group conversation, only to watch it fragment over passing moments until it leaves just Isabella Belcourt at his side. A nod acknowledges her presence, and the fact that now the two of them are caught in a moment where it would be too impolite to simply walk away. Their only commonality is Felix, and it hangs in the air until Oskar waves a delicate gesture to the small witch. "I would say it will be nice to see you at our Friday dinners again, but..." he trails off, glancing through the room with a wry smirk. There's a level of discomfort he finds, simply with the fact that Isabella is privy to his family's dynamics...but only from Felix whispering his skewed perspective in her ear. He's certain she's well aware of the limited, practically non existent, contact between brothers. "I doubt that will be happening any time soon." Oskar finally adds with a glance to the Belcourt and a gesture towards Felix in the distance. "None of us were aware until tonight." he admits, referring to the subtle exchanges the rest of his family witnessed between his brother and Bella. "Brave of you." Oskar then muses with a sharp and assessing tone "I believe there's a sacred rule in psychology about keeping therapy out of personal matters, but maybe I am wrong. It's been a while..." since he's paid any attention to that nonsense, the words are said loud enough in his own mind to bring a smirk to Oskar's lips.