asphodel viveca & felix @manybcdthings
viveca steps into the courtyard, one hand already digging through her purse. she doesn't need to look up to know he's there. felix has that kind of gravity, like the atmosphere shifts around him. maybe it follows him. maybe he drags it behind him like a storm cloud. either way, she feels it before she sees him, and it draws the faintest smirk to her lips as her fingers close around the familiar shape of her cigarette case. 'don't tell your father.' she mutters, quiet as the words are punctuated by the flick of her lighter. she doesn't slow her stride as she moves, and she doesn't ask if he minds her company. there are a thousand things she could say. how are you? how are you holding up? please, let me do something. but those thoughts get caught somewhere between her throat and her pride, never quite reaching the surface. instead, the way she eases herself onto the ledge beside him says all the things she doesn't.
'have you eaten today?' vivi then asks, the question rolling off her tongue as her eyes scan over her son quickly. she sounds clinical, almost. but there's something buried beneath it. a flicker of concern too sharp to be softened by tone. but, she doesn't wait for the answer. the cigarette's already between her lips, the inhale steady. 'i had the most ghastly dream.' she says, like it's the most natural segue in the world. 'i meant to tell you at dinner the other night, but you weren't exactly…' a pause, eyes narrowing slightly as she finds the word. 'receptive to the world.'
viveca doesn't dwell on the comment, or how she throws it out there as if she wants it to land. her story is already unfolding. 'you were covered in tattoos. absolutely everywhere.' her fingers trace along her temple, then down her neck. 'it was dreadful. you looked like a receipt someone had scribbled on in a rush and shoved into their pocket.' a soft hum follows, low and thoughtful, as her eyes drift across the courtyard like she might find the meaning in the shadows there. 'i haven't figured out what it meant.' vivi murmurs, almost to herself. 'if it meant anything at all.'