OUR HOUSE

[saltwaterlungs]

CHARACTERS: Phil, Dimitri, Darcy, Ruby, the Venom Symbiote, and you!
DATE: June
LOCATION: The farmhouse on 499 Winter's Avenue
SITUATION: Home-making and housewarming
WARNINGS: Usual warnings for all characters involved but otherwise n/a

I'll light the fire, you place the flowers in the vase (Closed to phil/dimitri/ruby/venom)

Moving out of the Oak and Iron has been on Darcy’s mind- well. Virtually since she got to Pumpkin Hollow. But with Phil back and all, they started making plans for it in earnest. A combination of saving up and mysterious brass from some old dude fairy (??? she isn’t asking too many questions) means that they have the means. All they have to do is do it.

The week prior to the housewarming is spent working in and around the construction of a couple of new rooms, subdivided up from the old floor plan. Paint, wallpaper, fresh fabric to reupholster some of the furniture, a lot of cleaning. Plus there’s the logistics of moving all their stuff, which is significantly harder without cars and on an island that’s bigger than one ship. Darcy doesn’t even have that much shit, it just all stacks up somehow.

She spends her time mostly between generally assisting the move, setting up the kitchen, and putting her room together once they’ve finished building it. Darcy can be found doing any of those three things.

Rest your head for just five minutes, everything is done (Open)

It’s not going to be the shindig to end all shindigs, but once the dust has settled and everyone’s recovered from moving everything around, friends and family will get a call inviting them over. All the windows are open for the mild Summer night air, the curtains drift a little in the breeze, and the song of crickets can be heard from anywhere in the house. The lights inside the house are warm and cheery, and seem to beckon you in, the shadows around them seeming… darker, somehow.

There’s lemonade with some Phil-made ice cubes in it, and Darcy hasn’t moved from the kitchen in service of making canapes to feed anyone who shows up. Cold cuts on bread, sandwiches with cucumbers left over from the carnival, small fish cakes. It’s a good way to break the kitchen in. When the food has been made, Darcy sets up out the front on the porch, curled up with some lemonade on one of the chairs, looking out into the night and making some small greeting to anyone who approaches.

Life used to be so hard, now everything is easy cause of you

[wildcard!]

Comments

[inaurate]

rest your head

Claude isn't about to turn up to a housewarming party without a present, even if he wasn't asked to bring one. He doesn't really know any of Dimitri's housemates, save for Darcy (who he definitely does not remember from Garreg Mach but he will for sure keep pretending that he does), but hey, everyone likes tea, right?

The tin of dried chamomile is placed on a prominent spot on a kitchen counter, a simple note of congratulations signed on a slip of paper on top. He sneaks a canape from the plate Darcy is actively working on filling up with a grin. "The place is looking nice. Very homey."

on the outside looking in

Claude is as gracious a guest as he is a host, and he's pretty damn good at the latter. He's friendly and makes conversation easily with whoever's nearby; working at the pharmacy and collecting herbs around the island, he sees plenty of people in passing and readily jumps on the opportunity to actually make conversation. He honestly hasn't been to many parties like this, casual and intimate... it's nice. Completely different vibe to the feasts he grew up with, or the balls he attended in Fodlan, or even the victory feasts he threw during the war. It's closer to the third than anything else, but without the desperation tinging everything. Just the palpable relief and the unspoken I can't believe we made it here.

Being adjacent to such domesticity leaves him feeling wistful as the night goes on. He's always been a loud proponent of celebrating victories, but when the party ends, it's always onto his next goal. Will he ever be satisfied enough to consider his work done? Would he even want anything like this, if he had anyone to want it with, or does it just ache because it's not something he's ever really thought about having for himself to begin with? He doesn't like that he doesn't know the answers. He's careful not to let it show, though if someone catches him in a rare moment alone, there will be a glimpse behind the easy-going mask before it slides smoothly back into place.

wildcard

[idk man it's chill party vibes, come talk to your local pharmacist assistant/board games night runner and veterans poker frequenter/nominee for town council]

Rest your head

[saltwaterlungs]

"It's not a castle, but it's still pretty good," Darcy comments as she glances over to see the missing canape. Huffs. Sure it's meant to be eaten but she was making a nice pattern with it.

"And you didn't have to bring anything," she lightly scolds as she places the last of the little fishcakes onto the plate and picks up the tin, "but thanks. I'm not super big on tea but I know everyone else is. So. They'll appreciate it. Scootch a bit, you're in front of the dry goods cupboard."

[inaurate]

That's his biggest hint yet that Darcy isn't actually from Fodlan-- she's not into tea. "More of a coffee drinker?" He asks, obligingly moving out of the way. "Well, I wanted to, so there you go." Too late now, it's already brought! He snatches up a fishcake instead of picking off the already picked over plates like the brat that he is. Hey, at least that means he's trusting them not to poison their guests! "These are pretty good... Did you learn to make'em back home?"

[saltwaterlungs]

"Actually, I don't like either. We have water for a reason."

Not that Darcy knows much about Fodlan's tea culture. To be honest, considering her mental image for it is just 'medieval europe' she kind of assumes tea hadn't made it there yet.

"Ehn, yeah, but not quite like this. New fish and all. But the process is mostly the same, soak the breadcrumbs in milk and all that shit. Can you at least like, be consistent and take one from all of them."

[inaurate]

Fodlan is just a little bubble of anachronisms like that. Someone decided to rename the most common tea in Almyra after a Fodlan saint at one point. That has nothing to do with anything, just a tea-related gripe.

Her answers aren't enough for him to be certain that she isn't from Fodlan. At this point, he could just ask Dimitri, he's not exactly stellar at lying even if he is on an extended joke here... but where would be the fun in having the answer handed to him? He laughs at the gentle gripe and obliges, piling one from each of the remaining platters on a plate; it's hardly a tall ask for him to try one of everything. "Oh, just this once, since you asked. I much prefer to be consistently inconsistent you know. Keeps people guessing."

[saltwaterlungs]

"Thanks, I'll be sure to spread the rumour that you're a gentleman and taint your reputation forever," she says flatly.

The canapés are all good- nothing life-changing, but delicious and solid. Surprisingly filling too. This is a world where you can't do the 'get fast food on the way home after eating a dainty-ass fancy meal' trick, so a balance between them has to be struck. Walking home from the farmhouse still hungry would be a nightmare. Darcy puts the last of what they've made on the platter.

"And the fine print under the plates says if you eat in the kitchen, you help me wash up after."

[inaurate]

"Noooo, not my carefully curated reputation as a scoundrel!" Claude cries dramatically, placing the back of his hand on his forehead. Really hamming it up. "At least I'll still have my rougeish good looks to keep me warm at night."

Oh Darcy you may regret voluntelling him to help with the dishes. He'll certainly try his best but his track record isn't great. He grins. "You just want an excuse for me to stick around, don't you?"

[saltwaterlungs]

"You might need an extra blanket," Darcy starts, eager to nip this in the bud as fast as possible, "but I also wouldn't know. I like girls and I have a girlfriend. Mostly I like not having to do boring dumb chores entirely by myself after I spent all day prepping this food."

With any luck he'll get the hint without further prompting and she won't have to kick his ass.

[inaurate]

From the surprised look Claude gives her, he clearly was not expecting her to take his banter with any kind of seriousness. She's a bit too young for him, first of all! "Oh-- gods, I didn't mean it like that. I got a little carried away with the joking. Won't happen again, and I'm sorry about that." No ass kicking required!

[saltwaterlungs]

Looking over and actually seeing Claude flustered, even momentarily, is more of a win than she's managed to get with the whole Faerghus lie. It's a win, it totally counts.

"Just making sure. You probably saw my girlfriend around- Helena, the sweet looking one out there with the cane. She's definitely not from Faerghus, though, she's American. But I don't hold it against her."

Here, a nice easy out for him to save him the embarrassment.

[inaurate]

It is definitely a win, and Claude will gratefully take that easy out. "I saw her, but we haven't formally met. I've seen a few Americans around, though." Mostly from Vet Poker Night. The joke strikes him as a little odd-- he doesn't have the context for why someone being an American would be something to hold against them. "One would hope you wouldn't-- most of us aren't from Faerghus, especially here."

on the outside looking in

[goodweather]

At some point, the host makes his way to Claude. He's tall, he's got a warm and winning smile, and he's followed by a breeze that nicely complements the cooling summer air and a warm light that only seems to be falling on him. Weird!

"Hey there," he greets. "Thanks for coming. I don't think we've met. I'm Phil Connors." He holds out a hand, which has talons and scales on his fingers, like bird's feet. "I'm Darcy's dad."

[inaurate]

After meeting the literal giant bird guy, Phil's quirks seem pretty tame in comparison... though he does wonder if Phil always had those traits or if it's like Peter's wing situation. It feels rude to ask. If he were still Dimitri's age, he probably would have anyway. Claude accepts the handshake with the ease of a politician.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Claude von Riegan, I went to school with Dimitri. Years ago for me... less so for him even if you count the boat I hear you all met on. This place is very strange." He laughs it off, firmly burying thoughts of all the terrible things Dimitri has yet to experience back home. "Congratulations on the house, it looks lovely. I'm glad he has somewhere to stay that isn't just the Oak & Iron."

[goodweather]

"Hey, thanks." Phil beams. "Yeah, it's good, it's good. I mean, all the kids are really close to each other, and they all needed a place of their own to put their feet up. I figured it was as good of a plan as any for Dimitri and Ruby to move in with me and Darcy."

He takes a seat somewhere nearby. "It's good to meet another one of Dimitri's friends from home. I knew Dedue, but, ah, Mortanne hasn't caught up with him yet." And they both know how close the two of them were. "Dimitri also picked up music while we were on the ship. I'm his piano teacher."

[inaurate]

"He mentioned not wanting to live on his own before everyone else from the ship started coming in..." Claude likes his privacy way too much to invite someone to stay with him if there's another option, though-- so it's a good thing it all worked out the way it did! It feels strange but not entirely inaccurate to be referred to as Dimitri's friend. They'll certainly have a better chance at actually becoming friends here than they did back in their home world.

"Hopefully we'll see him soon as well." His eyebrows lift in interest at this new information, humor dancing in his eyes. "You know, I always told him he should pick up a hobby. Other than combat training, which barely counts."

[goodweather]

He chuckles mildly, a sound that comes from his chest. "Yeah. I don't remember how it started. I think I probably offered it to him. It's something that builds diligence, which he has plenty of, but also artistic. Gave him something to do that wasn't just... training like you said, or anxiously wandering around the ship we were trapped on. I had to do that a lot, filling up my time, without stuff like work and chores to do. Not that I missed doing dishes."

In some ways he misses having that much time on his hands, the same reason that sometimes he misses the loop. It's a breezy lifestyle, beyond the being trapped in closed quarters with people who all know you, and the requisite death trials.