reznikolai | I N B O X

continued from here;

[It isn't until after she asked for a better description of the person she is to meet that Konoha remembers... that was a very stupid question. She'd forgotten after a year or two in her home world what it was like to stand out... but stepping out reminds her. Oh, yeah. He'd... probably find her no problem.

But Konoha still takes the effort to find a conspicuous place near the main entrance of the Emerald Park to stand, tail flicking slowly as she scans the crowd for a... Her gaze flicks down to the device in her hands to check the photo. A handsome blond human sea captain???]

[ She's left a surprisingly neatly-written note, slipped under his door. ]

ℑ 𝔯𝔢𝔮𝔲𝔦𝔯𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔫𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔢𝔩𝔩 𝔢𝔫𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔩.

- 𝔊𝔴𝔢𝔫𝔥𝔴𝔶𝔣𝔞𝔯

NIKOLAI
good evening greeting

have strange question
did
you give i shirt?
beach shirt?

i no memory but
smell is NIKOLAI…

[ For being the embodiment of the sun, Alina is not exhibiting a very, well, sunny disposition right now. She skulks along next to Nikolai on the beach, her mood a hilarious juxtaposition to their outfits and location. She's got her arms crossed protectively in front of her chest rather than offering her hand to hold in his. Her sunglasses are down, but they do little to actually hide her expression at the moment.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere: ]

You weren't going to offer her our spare room, were you?

[ Something seriously must be going on if Gwenhwyfar feels the need to text. ]

please
tell me nothing happened

hey this is nikolai, right

the same nikolai who illegally drove a bunch of our furniture to our new place

and took a whole bunch of pictures of connie's legs

that nikolai

[ hello, it's been a month, and inej has returned from hiberation. ]

Are you and Alina well?

[ hi, she guesses. ]

heeey :) i don't know if you remember me, this is ryan, we met like, a month and a half ago? sorry for not catching up sooner, august got kind of wild.

anyway i wanted to see how you and the little doughnut are doing, and if maybe your pup would like to try some gourmet dog biscuits?

Bar near me

( is this not the internet 👴👴👴 )

come back to bed 🥺😭

[ sent at 7:22am ]

[It’s been some time since a certain King of Ravka sent a very tasteful apology gift basket to the address of a converted barn in Emerald Park’s agricultural district called home by a certain married woman who may have been left a bit sudden and bereft after a gem and heat-fueled liaison.

Except, unlike the last time he sent one… This one isn’t acknowledged at all. No message. No return to sender. No contact since.

It isn’t until a later date, after words and apologies exchanged between women, that the same gift basket makes its way home. This time, the contents have been replaced with a variety of home-made sweets fitting (by some people’s reckoning) for the coming autumn season: steamed red bean jelly with chestnuts wrapped in dried bamboo leaf, moon-viewing dumplings, and sweet dried persimmons.

Attached, a short note,]

apologies for delay
thank you for gift
it was delicious.
please enjoy
share if you like

- konoha

[ So it has come to this. The High King of Faerie is sitting hunched over on his bed in the late afternoon, having just roused himself from uneasy slumber, staring at his phone.

After a few minutes' consideration, he finally gives in and types up the text. ]

Nikolai. I have need of your expertise.

[ attached. ]

I'm ok.
I'm at Inej and Kaz's apartment.
My phone died. Inej charged it for me while I took a shower.

Can I get your opinion?

A.

[ Below the letter, there's a photo of Matt. He's sprawled on a scarlet shag rug, wearing a black choker around his neck and a black lace bodysuit. ]

Or

B.

[ Same rug, but this time all Matt's wearing is a pearline harness. The collar's built into this one. ]

or maybe C: something else?

[ This is so awkward after the dream of home she had in which Nikolai was glimpsing into Gwenhwyfar's mind. ]

Are you well?

Sleeping well lately?

You are an idiot.

[In all honesty, Konoha hesitated to give the gifts she had picked out for Nikolai and Alina after... whatever has happened. But in the end, "two" can be any sort of combination of people, and maybe using the same pelt to make their gifts was meaningful, in some way. They were connected as coming from the same world no matter how their relationship changed going forward, so. Whether Nikolai attends her "longest night" party attempt at blending in to Gem traditions (and also, you know, not being alone) and gets them in person or she ends up needing to have them delivered...

The king of Ravka will end up with a handmade leather pouch for bullets and powders decorated with the fur of Primaveran deer-equivalent, accompanied by a thick cookbook containing a variety of recipes... and Konoha's recommendations and endorsements on various pages that she tested to make sure the recipes were gift-worthy, with comments such as "this one is much delicious!", "a little sweet", "i think cook few more minutes" and "careful with beet root stain" written in Konoha's careful but still inexperience hand in the corners of the pages.]

You said you can make airships and other vehicles, correct? Is there a size limit?

[ Hi, guess who? Preambles are for squares. ]

[when considering who to recruit for a certain secret party planning committee she had considered who was a mutual friend... but more importantly, when she thinks about it, this particular person might need a distraction, so...]

greetings NIKOLAI
is konoha

is now alright for speaking?

Do you miss me?

Special delivery!

[Unlike some of the edible gifts they have exchanged in the past, there is nothing pleasurable beforehand to predict the arrival of a package at Nikolai’s door. It’s just a normal day, (to most people), just a late winter chill in the air and spring beginning to hint at an arrival with the third moon of the year near full. The only ways some people had to count the months and guess how long it had been since-

The package contains… a large amount of red bean rice, some boiled oden, a seabream so well-cooked the bones could be removed… Coincidentally, all foods very easy to chew.

And there’s a note, in Konoha’s distinctive, still-learning hand, the characters occasionally shaky yet from her sincere attempts at proper calligraphy.]

made much too much food
please assist
thank you
enjoy.

[And that is all.]

network ⇒ action

OVERFLOW: network mingle

gwen doesn't do texts!!

Text; post-beach trip drunken boogaloo