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iMunch cafe sits on the corner of North 31st Street and Baltz, on the west side of Brewerytown. A few blocks from Fairmount park in an otherwise pretty residential area. The place is busy, just after the lunchtime rush, but Sage has managed to secure and outdoor table. They're sipping on an iced coffee drink of some sort, and dressed in warm pastels that are striking against their cool dark skin and the neon blue lights that make up their features. That velvet choker that they were never without in Chicago is still affixed around their neck, and they're scrolling through their phone aimlessly while they wait.
Mearc arrives at the cafe, moving to sit across from Sage. There's been some definite shifts in his mien since they last spoke--those odd freckles of his are now each perfectly square, the color shifts similar to the rasterization in an old video game. His teef teeth are longer, more clearly predator's fangs in nature. And then there's the ring. Clearly hedgespun, in person it's all shadows and shards of rainbow light, rather than dark metal and black opal.
"You look good, Sage." A smile curls the corners of his lips as he sits down across from them.
"Mearcstapa." Sage breaks out into a wide smile as soon as they see him, and stand to offer him a hug. "It's been way too long, how are you? Besides running off the high of what I can only assume is a fairly recent engagement?" Their voice carries that same electric hum. Really, most everything about them is the same, at least on the surface.
"Well, last night, that's pretty recent." He takes the offered hug, chuckling. "I thought it was just going to be date night, turns out one of my partners had bigger plans."
"That's amazing, congratulations..." Sage squeezes him tight, (well, not very tight, they're kind of a slip of a thing, but they do their best) and then takes a step back, holding him by the shoulders to look him over.
"Philly's been good to you, it sounds like. What a difference a half year can make."
"Philly's been a disaster zone and I kind of love it. Different sort of problems than back home, some of which I actually feel useful for helping out with. Dunno how much attention you were paying to the whole Robin...thing. I've also ended up making some unusual friends and enemies. It's...just a different culture from the bottom up, in a lot of ways."
He shrugs, looking down at the menu. "Ooh, smoked salmon plate. That sounds amazing, I need a good bagel and lox in my life."
"I've been spending the past few months getting settled Ironside, to the point that I've really neglected the Freehold." Sage looks a little sheepish. "I really don't know what's been happening, I was vaguely aware of what was happening with Robin, but only in the most basic terms. But. Your timing is actually perfect, I ventured into our community space just yesterday for the first time in months. It's very much past the time when I should be making connections, and strengthening the ones I already have."
There's a beat, and she narrows her eyes slightly. "I hope that you feeling 'useful' hasn't led to you overworking yourself."
Mearc looks attempts to look innocent, his freckles rapidly redshifting. "I've been good about it lately. Concentrating on building my own connections, rather than just working. My partners and I are working on renovating a house, too. That's not a usefulness thing."
Sage nods with a smile, seeming satisfied with that answer. "Good for you. I'd hope that your partners are at least aware that that's a Thing, with you?" They shift forward, resting their chin in their hands. "Tell me about them, I want to know everything."
"They are very aware that's a thing. Luckily, it's not a thing they share, quite. Um. Lux is a street artist. They're a lot of a free spirit, but that helps me with a lot of my rigidity issues, I think. And Jack's a stagehand, involved heavily with the union. He's...he makes me want to be the tenderest version of myself possible for him." Mearc grins as he describes them both. "They couldn't be more different, from me and from one another, and it just works."
"They sound wonderful. Who proposed?" Sage holds a hand out, a request to see the ring more closely.
"Lux did. They invited us to the roof of the Beury building--you know, Boner 4Ever?--and I brought flowers, and Jack brought chocolate, and the dinner was cold by the time we remembered it..."
Sage laughs, their smile is wide and warm. "Philly has been good to you. Oh I'm so, so happy for you." There's a beat. "Do you feel safe, with them?" It's clear they're not asking about the status of the relationship, but rather about Mearcstapa's own feelings of safety in the world.
"Sage, I never feel safe. Hell, honestly, I see my job in the relationship as making sure they can feel safe as possible. We built a home with guillotine traps on the front and back doors, to make it feel safe as possible, you know?"
"That's why I asked." Their voice is soft. "To see how much being here has changed you." There's a beat. "I'm starting to play therapist, I'm sorry." They sit back with a shake of their head, and take a sip of their coffee. "How have you found this Freehold, in comparison to home?" Chicago is still home for them, apparently.
He lets out a low huff when they start to therapize in his direction.
"The crowns are hands-off, they seem determined to let people make a name for themselves on their own. Ari's the most personable, but even they're not really nosy. There's just a built in expectation that people are doing what they oughta, and if they aren't, they should be. Uh, I've ended up the local Scrivener, because there hasn't been one in a While and the Robin thing meant we really needed one."
"That doesn't surprise me in the least," they say of his new position. "I don't have particular designs on any sort of position at the moment, the sorts of things I'm good at are well covered by warmer seasons. It's always nice to have those in charge let us do our own thing. Too much oversight is...well." They gesture, letting Mearc fill in the rest of the sentence for himself.
"Like a collar." He nods his understanding. "In other-other news, there's a few other faces around who might be familiar--Eugene's here, dunno if you heard. And a librarian I know, one who's not Lost; they work at a bookshop in town."
"Oh, did they end up here? I hadn't heard, I'll have to stop by." Sage nods. "A librarian, mm? What prompted their move?"
"Family matters, their parents wouldn't support their dabbling with art, they ended up moving in with another family member from what I heard. They're about the cheeriest gothic soul you can imagine." He chuckles. "If you see a fella in a sugar-skull coat, introduce yourself, they're friendly."
"Ah. That's unfortunate for them, I hope they've been managing okay? I'll absolutely introduce myself if I see them, I've been known to go to a bookstore occasionally."
"It's an occult bookstore run by a mysterious figure with the surname 'Book'. Warning, it might not be the most normal bookstore in the world." Mearc lets out a warm laugh as he says this.
"Actual occult, or or just woo woo bullshit?" Sage asks with a laugh of their own.
Mearc gives Sage a wink, in answer to that question. "So, how about you? I know you've been working on mundane boring things, but...what's that meant for you, personally?"
"It's meant a house, and an office, and connections to Temple and some of the medical community here. A lot of gardening, I've turned my whole back lawn into vegetables and herbs, and I have a plot at the community garden down the street, too. Partially so I can weed everyone's plots and make sure what they've planted actually grows." Sage grins cheekily.
"Sneaky-sneaky. And if you're at Temple, that means either you know Annie, or you ought to know Annie; she's a student there, and a bartender at Club Vertigo."
"I don't know Annie, I work part time at their Counseling Center and have primarily meet students through there. She sounds like a connection worth making, though." Sage nods thoughtfully. "I've offered my services to a few of the funeral homes around, as well, and have had some positive results."
"Good. I'm glad to know you've been establishing yourself well. But clearly you ought to be hanging out with us-folks more."
"Clearly. Like I said, you have excellent timing, I've been slowing trying to do that. I had a lovely conversation on the Trod yesterday, about horseback riding, of all things." Sage shakes their head with a chuckle.
"Probably with Ros or Sigrun, if I had to guess. If not both." Mearc's smile warms up even more. "I like both of them, but I've had more interaction with Ros's mount. Don't think he likes me at all."
"Rosalyn, yes. I don't think he likes me, either. I'm sure it doesn't help that I flat out said I'm afraid of horses." Sage laughs, the electric buzz getting slightly louder as they do. "She offered to teach me to ride, she works at a stable somewhere. So I might try some exposure therapy for myself. I met Bailey as well, they also seem to be a pretty accomplished rider."
"I...don't think I've met Bailey yet. Huh." He tilts his head slightly to one side. "Meanwhile, I'm very much not a rider myself, either. And it's probably never going to be necessary for me to learn."
"I'm not sure it'll be necessary for me, but it could be nice to ease my fear a little. Both Bailey and Ros can ride through the Hedge, which could be useful. I'm not sure."
Mearc nods a bit. "I'm trying to think who else I really ought to introduce you to, but I think the bottom line is 'hang out more'. Has anyone told you about Maddy's Wafflehouse yet?"
"You, telling me to 'hang out more'?" Sage laughs again and nudges him with their foot under the table. "No one back home would believe me if I told them you said that. I don't know about Maddy's Wafflehouse, no."
Mearc pulls a notepad out of his messenger bag, and writes down an address. "Careful, the door from outside leads somewhere other than in. Read all posted rules. You probably will run into stranger people than us there."
"Okay..." They draw out the word, the neon tubes that make up their eyebrows inching upward. "Thanks for the warning. What stranger sorts of people? Or is this not the time?" They eye the street around them.
"Friends, or at least interesting acquaintances. All of whom will be following the same rules you are, if they wish to continue to eat waffles." His smirk is crooked, and with a subtle nod. Yep, not the time for details.
"Color me intrigued." Sage looks it, as they sip their coffee, and they slip the address into the tote bag in their lap. "I'm surprised you think the place is safe enough to let your guard down at all."
“There are good boundaries set up. The rules are enforced, and my experience with the other communities in town fostered trust...but those are definitely stories for another time.” His freckles shift green. “Maybe in your office at some point.”
"Absolutely." They pull out their wallet and a pen from their tote bag, and scribble an address down on the back of a business card before handing it to him. Navy blue text on a pale green background offers their services as a grief counselor.
"I'm happy to open my house to you as well, if you'd prefer something a little less clinical."
“Perhaps at some point, but I bring up your office because there are some things I’ve been sort of deliberately not trying to process.”
"Ah." Sage smiles and nods. "My office is always open, text me and we can set something up. Recurring, even, if you think you'll need more than one session."
"...maybe. We'll talk. For now, I really ought to get back to work. I've got a heist to plan." This comment comes with a wink, as if Mearc thinks of himself as some suave gentleman thief.
Sage chuckles. "Good luck with that. It was really lovely to see you, we should get together again soon, just to hang out. I should get back to work too."
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