july catch-all for desmond

[trickofthelight]

1. all of july: job hunting
Desmond might have a place to stay for now, but the little bit of money he was given isn't going to last forever, so that only means one thing: he needs to find a job. Keeping to Circle Daybreak and other witch-friendly territories, Desmond walks along the streets, keeping an eye out for any signs in windows that indicate a place might be looking to take on an extra pair of hands. Unfamiliarity with the city, though, means he has a hard time navigating, and it takes no time at all to get lost.

Meaning it's time to accost a stranger, giving them a sheepish grin. "Do you have a minute? I think I took a wrong turn somewhere."

Otherwise, you might see him come in to a bar or a shop, looking around for the owner or someone who looks like they might be in charge. If they're otherwise occupied, he might turn to you instead. "Sorry, but would you happen to know who I should talk to about getting a job here? I heard they're hiring."

2. all of july: bird's eye view
There's no better way to see the city than from the roofs, so Desmond can frequently be found hauling himself up along fire escapes and -- occasionally -- architecture, though he's careful to try and do it out of sight of main thoroughfares. Still that could mean you see someone scrambling up the side of a building,hear a scuffle of feet outside your window, or a soft thump and some low swearing from an alleyway when he doesn't quite stick his landing the way he's supposed to.

Once he does get to the rooftops, Desmond pulls out a pen and a map of London, turning it around in his hands and flipping through it until he gets to the page that corresponds to whatever he's looking at right now. Narrowing his eyes, he tries to match the skyline and the landmarks to the map.

"Guess who built this place never heard of urban planning, did they?" he says out loud, to no one in particular.

[ ooc; need me to write up a custom starter? want to tag in with something completely unrelated? just shoot me a pm! ]

Comments

[trickofthelight]

It's not much, but it's something. As Cole stabilizes, Desmond exhales -- 'as hard as he can' for Cole really only means a tickle of pressure, nothing like the strangely tangible weight he'd had on the rooftop, but it's something.

"Yeah," he says with some relief. "There you go. That's better, right?" Tentatively, and awkwardly -- the Miles family was never much for physical affection when Desmond was growing up, and that's only gotten worse over time -- he gives Cole's hands a gentle squeeze back.

[hurtcomfort]

Cole's not much for physical affection either. A small squeeze of the hand, a hand on someone's shoulder, that's as much as he's ever been comfortable with. So as Desmond squeezes his hand, Cole just continues to squeeze back.

"It is." Cole's tone of voice has changed as well. He's not frantic and not scared anymore. Instead, he's simply calm. "It doesn't fix the hole. But it helps the hurt."

[trickofthelight]

"Yeah." It's not like these are the sort of problems that can be solved in a day. Desmond knows that, and hopefully, Cole does too.

"To be honest with you, I'm still learning how to be a medium, so I don't know how much I can help." He figures he can say this kind of thing now that Cole's calmer now. Most of the things he's read, even just for the theory, have been incredibly pompous texts about helping spirits moved on that bored him to tears.

"From what I know ... you can't just make someone become your anchor. It takes time."

[hurtcomfort]

"I'm still learning how to be a ghost," Cole admits. He was so lost, so confused for the longest time that he doesn't fully know what he can do, how he can do it, and what being a ghost means.

"Maybe we could learn together?" he tentatively asks. Desmond learns how to be a medium, Cole learns how to be a ghost, they see each other often and most importantly they talk. He desperately wants someone to talk with him. He feels so much more when that happens, now a fragile floating thing but someone who's solid.

[trickofthelight]

Don't look to Desmond for advice on that, buddy. He still has a lot of reading to do.

At the question, Desmond pauses, thinking it over seriously. When he speaks with ghosts -- which is rare enough -- he rarely sees them again. Cole's the only one he's spoken to twice, now, and despite everything he's alluded to being capable of in the past, it's hard to feel threatened by him. Not like some of the ghosts Desmond has seen, bleeding misery and shadows and jealous of the living.

"Sure," he says, slowly. "I guess I can use all the practice I could get." If he wants to become a good enough medium to help the Assassins without having to bleed out all over a piece of wood.

[hurtcomfort]

Cole just lights up when he hears that, giving Desmond a small smile. He doesn't make a move to hug him or anything, instead keeping his hands to himself, but it's obvious that he's an excited bundle of nervous energy. Desmond can help. Desmond will help. Cole's not going to be the scared anymore, this is good, this is right.

"Thank you," he simply says, utterly relieved.

[trickofthelight]

"Don't mention it," Desmond mutters, looking a bit embarrassed now. Seriously, don't mention it, Cole, it's embarrassing enough.

"You think you're good for now?" He kind of has a life to be getting back to, after all.

[hurtcomfort]

"I think so," Cole remarks with a little nod. After all, he'll talk to Desmond again.

He doesn't really know how to end the conversation though. So, Cole just kind of awkwardly nods at Desmond before he starts to float away, through the walls, back to his alleyway.