priorcommitment | she's got a smile like a flower; she looks so fine by the hour

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trixa iktomi

she's got a smile like a flower; she looks so fine by the hour

Marriage was not an institution that Ishiah took lightly. Robin had often, over the years, made jokes about the fact that there were birds that mated for life— Ishiah had never found such jokes quite so funny. The act of binding oneself to another person was no small choice, nothing to be taken lightly, especially in a day and age when marriage was no longer considered a necessity for consummation, or as a prerequisite to sexual intercourse. He knew, of course, that not all people felt an obligation to be completely sure of themselves before taking that step. That people married for money, for face, or just on the high of emotion, happiness erasing all fears. He knew, and he'd come to accept it over the years, never judging people for their follies and sticking by his policy of accepting everyone under his roof, anyone who didn't incur deliberate and knowing harm upon others.

But when it came to his friends and family, Ishiah's standards had always been a bit skewed in the direction of expecting more. Protecting more. So when Lucy had come to him with her good news, however glad Ishiah was for the fact that she could love someone enough in that moment to say yes, he still had his reservations. And certainly, the first priority of his before the ceremony was finding Pete Campbell and getting to know the man better.

Whether or not there was a proper way to go about the matter, Ishiah wasn't sure, and as was becoming typical for him whenever the peri needed advice, he found himself on Trixa's doorstep, knuckles rapping against the door.

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"Ohhhhh..." Trixa smirked. He really was worried about Lucy, wasn't he? It was almost cute the way his metaphoric feathers were ruffled. But she had no small amount of sympathy for him, he just wasn't emotionally equipped to deal with these sorts of situations, it had never been an issue for him and all of a sudden, she had a sunned flash of how confusing life must be back for him in New York. Robin, the Leandros boys, the whole emotional ball of wax.

"Here's a couple of tips. First, tell Lucy you want to meet him, don't do it behind her back. Second, if she can be there when you meet him, all the better, that way she can keep you from going all alpha male on him and vice versa. That the sort of advice you looking for?"

His eyes narrowed, considering her suggested plan of action, one which had been delivered so simply and directly that it almost seemed as though Ishiah hadn't had a good reason to be worried in the first place. As though he should have come to that conclusion himself, although he soon began to more closely scrutinize the plan, working through every detail for possible flaws. After all, the last thing that he wanted to do was to be forced to come to Trixa multiple times for advice. He seemed to need it more from her than she did him, and that imbalance was one that would always make the peri nervous, even if he trusted Trixa as much as he did anyone else on the island.

He simply didn't like owing people.

"But he would surely only show the better side of himself to me in front of Lucy, wouldn't he?" Ishiah asked, blinking. "Wouldn't I want to see him in his natural setting, before he's practiced and learned to put on whatever appearance he thinks would most impress me?"

"Which is why, after the first ice-breaking meeting, you invite him to lunch in a nice public place."

Good lord, she was going to have to teach him how to be an in-law, wasn't she? Step by ever-loving step. Christ. Maybe literally. Couldn't the Almighty give his retirees some coping skills? Free-will issues be damned.

Also, she wasn't having this conversation in her work-room. "C'mon, feather-brain, let's go grab a drink and sit on the porch like civilized beach bums."

For the first few minutes, Ishiah could only follow Trixa's lead, unable to organize his thoughts well enough to form any type of coherent sentence in the midst of such movement. He'd always been a rather focused person, a result of having been an angel for so many years, and even now, it was hard for him to multitask. Everything needed to be sorted by priority.

Apparently, making sure that he could keep up with Trixa was more immediate than the thoughts she had to give.

"Civilized beach bum seems to be an oxymoron," he stated lamely, still trying to work out the other details in his head, even as he waited for her to direct him towards whatever she wanted Ishiah to hep bring.

He looked a little befuddled, and she took a little more pity on him. "Grab the glasses, I'll get some tea." She was trying to cut back her drinking, at least a little, drinking herself to sleep every morning was starting to take a toll - at least it did in the mirror come mornings and she was just vain enough to care.

As she pulled the jug of herbal tea from her little kitchenette she continued to speak. "What the worse that can happen if you and this kid don't get along? Fist fight? Bruises heal, words can be apologized for. So long as you don't take a flaming sword to his gut, I think you'll be okay?"

His lips quirked at the mention of tea, his gaze nothing but appreciative. He was, perhaps, one of the very few people who drank water more often than anything else and never had much of a craving for other drinks, but he'd learned to enjoy tea as well with the new east wave that humans had undergone, pulling entertainment and traditions alike from the Pacific Rim. (He'd always meant to visit that one region, being that which he had the least familiarity with, but the opportunity had never arisen, and now he was on the island.)

Following Trixa's progress and reaching in her cupboards for a pair of glasses, instinctively polishing them for good measure, Ishiah inhaled. "I'm a member of the ITF, and as such, have a precedent to uphold. I doubt it'd be much appreciated if I decided to suddenly involve myself in an altercation with a perfectly respectable young man."

"Everyone has an off day, Ishiah, and a fistfight can be a damn good stress reliever."

With the jug of tea in her hand, she headed outside to sit on her door stoop. It was humid, when wasn't it? But it wasn't too bad and the tea would help. Besides, there was more of a breeze outside than there was in, and she was reminded a little of the old South, everyone's grandmothers on the front porch with their iced teas or mint juleps. There was a gentility in the image, a tangible nostalgia that made her smile a little.

"And if you really thought he was perfectly respectable, would we be having this conversation?"

"You may have a point," Ishiah conceded, although he still didn't know that he necessarily had some detail in particular that he could center on in Pete. He'd seen the young man around, of course. And he'd seemed fine then. Quiet, but of the sort that labeled one as an intellectual, someone who liked to consider all the details before coming to any defined conclusion. "Perhaps it has less to do with respectability, and more that I'm unsure about the speed with which they're progressing with this marriage. The mistake could as easily be on Lucy's half as it could be on Mister Campbell's. But at my age, I suppose I see much of everything as a rush among people here."

He placed both of the glasses down on the table, and sat in the chair further from the entrance.

"Desperate to make the most of whatever amount of time they have here. It informs their decisions differently."

"Fast isn't always bad, Ishiah, just because our kinda can take a few thousand years to work out our relationship issues, doesn't mean humans can't sort the same issues out in a manner of months."

It was almost amusing, Ishiah's disquiet about the whole thing and she wasn't sure if it was his recently acquired over-protectiveness or his bafflement on how to deal with it. Either way, she was shuffling it into a nice place in her memory. In case Robin ever came back. Or if Leo showed. Either of them would no doubt find it as amusing as she did.

"Are you this worried about Caliban and Niko back in New York, or is this an island thing that's developed?"

Again, Ishiah had reason to believe that Trixa knew her way around this area better than the peri ever would, her words carrying a reason that even he was able to work through, even if his heels struggled to find ground with every single step, to keep from being dragged unwillingly into some blind faith that he wasn't sure Pete had earned. His eyes closed, willing the temper down. Above everything else, Lucy's happiness should have been his first priority, but Ishiah wondered if perhaps he wasn't the right person to ask on how best to reach that end. She probably wouldn't like it, if she knew that Ishiah was harboring such doubts about her fiancé. Quite frankly, Ishiah didn't like himself right then.

His eyes opened, and they were calm, however briefly that would last.

"Take another look at Caliban and Niko, and tell me that either of them wouldn't be able to handle themselves," he instructed quietly. "I'll tell you this much— Niko was able to cut himself off from a woman he loved simply because her relatively estranged daughter posed a threat to the brothers. Caliban has had various women approach him on this island, and has yet to make a move beyond a kiss or two. If anything, those two are as relatively hesitant as either of us would be."

"I didn't mean romantically, I meant, just, in general, you're protective in general. I'm guessing that's a new thing."

She chuckled, not really surprised he'd missed the point. Peris tended to be very linear in their thinking. Start to goal, with no meandering to consider the nuances. He'd been looking for advice on romantic matters, so that was what he'd assumed. Perfectly understandable, after all.

"And, for the record, being protective has nothing to do with their ability to protect themselves. You're protective of people, romantically, physically, emotionally, because you care about them. And I'm guessing you must care for Lucy quite a bit, don't you?"

"New?" Ishiah wondered, gaze lowering as he stopped to consider the way that his behavior had been in years and decades past, even centuries ago when he'd first moved over to Manhattan. He pressed his lips together— it wasn't entirely true. He knew what it meant to protect those around him, the people whose welfare he was most invested in, one way or another. However, there was something about Lucy in particular, something that concerned Ishiah on a level not just practical, but emotional, one that he'd only recently discovered back home upon the death of Cambriel.

"Relatively so, perhaps," he agreed at last. "Until I'd witnessed the death of my brother, I'm not sure that my efforts went far beyond what practically had to be." His gray-blue eyes flickered up to Trixa's own, conflicted.

"I want Lucy to be happy. And the same goes for all of my friends here. Yourself as well, surprising though that initially was to me."

Her head shook lightly at the back-handed compliment, deciding in all the things they were talking about, it was the least of her concerns. Something filed away for later if at all, something she could easily dismiss if needed. There were more important things to discuss, more important emotions to explore. Knowing he wasn't the tactile sort, she still slid over close to him, wrapping her arms around him in a loos embrace while she kissed his cheek.

"We love you, too, Feathers. And it's all natural. Duty, doing what's believed to be morally right eventually becomes doing what's emotionally right. It hurts more, it's confusing as hell because you can't reason with emotion, and if something goes wrong the damage can be irreversible." Pulling back, she gave him a smile. "She wants you to be happy, too. She wants to share her happiness with you, even if you don't understand it. So maybe stop thinking about it so much and just... enjoy the feeling. Our kind, the long-lived, we don't get to do these things very often. Have families, friends, lovers..." The Gods only knew she'd resisted the impulse for too long back home. "When you have them, cherish them."

She slid back to her spot on the step, looking out to the distance, comparing it to a million other places she'd been in memories stretched out into thousands of years. "If you find a piece of it here, I get that you want to know that you need to examine it, but maybe... maybe you just gotta let this one go, Ishiah. Be there for her, don't worry about him and if it all goes pear-shaped, I'll help you send him to the clinic - no questions asked."

For a brief period of time after the kiss, Ishiah found himself unable to move. It wasn't that the kiss was especially earth-shattering, nor that there was an immediate surge of emotion that left him speechless. Quite the opposite. It was a gesture so freely and easily given, but of an unfamiliar sort— even Lucy, in her affection, had never been so tactile (or what counted as such, for Ishiah in specific). And so he didn't know what to respond, didn't have the time, no momenet of silence or inaction for him to slip into as he merely sat still as she went through the rest of her advice. That, he managed to file away as well as anything else, the takeaway being that perhaps the only way to keep Lucy happy was to share in her sentiment, barring a little extra attention.

Just in case he had reason to be wary.

"Okay," he said first with a furrowed brow and a slight nod. There seemed to be a finality in her words, a path given for every possible fork in the road, no need for further details or explanation. And so, when he took in a breath to speak again, the question dove in another direction entirely.

"Is that going to become a regular occurrence?" he asked, finger briefly pointing to his cheek.

She tried to restrain herself, she really did. Honestly. But after seeing his temporarily frozen demeanor, after sensing his acceptance and resignation, she felt a surge of accomplishment. A rush that in all her impotence in this place, she still had some skill, some measure of her talent remaining and, well, she couldn't help it. She tried, but in the end the curiosity of his reaction won. Curiosity always did with her kind. It was one of her few weaknesses.

So with a lecherous grin and a teasing twitch of her eyebrows she leaned forward and asked, "Would you like it to be?"

Robin would be proud. Or jealous. Either way it was a win in her book.

"Originally, I wouldn't have felt strongly either way," Ishiah replied, still bound to honesty as he ever was, and too taken aback to filter himself for any special gain. He felt something knotting uncomfortably in his stomach, which forced him to shift in his seat. Notably, slightly away from where Trixa was, a subconscious choice that quickly rose to the forefront of Ishiah's mind. "I only asked so as to know whether or not I needed to know how to respond to it on a regular basis."

His eyes widened a touch at her expression.

"Now I'm beginning to doubt whether or not I want it at all."

Just for that, she leaned over and gave him another peck on the cheek. Perhaps she'd make it a new game, something she could do that would keep Ishiah on his toes. Or maybe not, perhaps with adjusting to being an essential in-law he didn't need her teasing. Perhaps just once, the mischief-maker would set aside the mischief to continue being a friend. Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Besides, she could always change her mind.

"Last time, promise. Unless you really, really need it. Or deserve it. Haven't decided which it should be."

Able to anticipate the action this time around, Ishiah didn't flinch when Trixa leaned in, even though he stlil regarded her with a look of confusion and, to a lighter degree, skepticism as well. The greatest difficulty was still in the fact that he couldn't determine what her motivation was in kissing him. Certainly, he didn't want to assume that it had anything to do with the usual motivation behind a kiss, one of wooing the other involved party. (His mind had leapt to it anyway, lacking other context, but the more he thought about it now, the more it didn't seem quite to fit.)

"I don't understand what... there is about this that I need," he slowly remarked, mulling over his words. "Which is not to say that it's unpleasant, but it seems every action is taken with a purpose in mind."

"Not every action has an ulterior motive, you give me too much credit for being devious. Sometimes I do things for the hell of it."

She tone softened, and for a moment, she let herself get serious. As much fun as it was to poke him, this wasn't the time. She didn't want to alienate him, she didn't want him to start avoiding her. Not with him being her last solid connection to home, the surly Auephling notwithstanding. She took his hand and held it, giving it a slight squeeze.

"I don't want anything but my friend. Here... we try to live in the moment, we try to keep from dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Ruffling your feathers, it amuses me, it confuses you which amuses me more and I should do it, but..." She spread her hands out in a 'there you have it' gesture. "Trust me, lover-boy, I decide to try and seduce you, you'll know it."

He relaxed at her reassurance, at the fact that she was still willing to give it at all. There were some days when Ishiah was sure that people would tire of having to lay out every process, every thought, every reaction to him in a way that the peri could process, and at that point he would have to start to find his own way in the fray. It wasn't a prospect that he would lament over, if forced to it, but there was no doubt that he appreciated Trixa's loyalty nonetheless.

"Well, it's... harmless amusement, for the most part," Ishiah considered, brows furrowing as he wondered if he was giving her too much of a free hand with that statement. "And so long as that's the case, it's more of a joke, isn't it? Only with the difficulty of my sense of humor not having quite aligned with the majority of other people's yet."

He tried for a light smile. "Don't take this literally, though, but I think the proper response is to this hypothetical seduction is 'I would like to see you try.'"

Trixa laughed. Out loud and with great gusto, it was the best thing she'd heard all day. Maybe the peri was learning her brand of humor after all. Stranger things had happened and probably would again, their luck, but until then, she'd gotten Ishiah to crack a joke. And a lecherous one to boot.

Well, lecherous for him, Robin would have had a completely different comment.

"Yes, yes, you would. I may not be a puck, but I'm pretty damn good when I want to be."

Again, Ishiah found himself slightly taken aback at the strength of her reaction, laughter that might have bristled his wings back in the day. Now, however, he didn't have the strength or willpower to be angry, and was removed enough from the moment that he could see it all for what it was. The rare moment in which both Trixa and him seemed to see on the same level again. His lips curved in a small smile.

"I'll take your word for it."

He only paused briefly before looking up again, expression more serious, voice quieted. "Thank you, Trixa. My apologies for asking so many favors of you."

"That's what friends do, Ishiah, they ask favors and annoy the hell out each other." She smiled, letting him know she was perfectly content with that. It was part of the package, after all, being friends with a peri. Being friends with anyone, really: human, puck, trickster and all, each one came with baggage, each one with questions to be answered.

Wow, her Mama must be laughing her ass off somewhere with Trixa being so philosophical and all.

"I'm not going anywhere and the door's always open, understand?"

He could only wonder if it was possible to iterate a message too often. If promises grew old more quickly than a person did himself, if bowling another person over with the same promise time and time again made it lose its color somehow. With peri, it had always been easier. Being of a single mind, it didn't take promises to offer reassurance; it only required a look. But that was a level which Ishiah was fairly certain that he would never quite find with Trixa, and so he pressed his lips closed, finding words which could only just describe the way he felt.

"And mine to you as well, though I believe thus far, it's still I who am in your debt," he replied, lips barely quirked.

"Don't worry about it. I'm the one that's supernaturally equipped to know what makes people and things tick. Couldn't be what I am otherwise."

It wasn't ego if it was true. How could she possibly be what she was, do what she did, if she didn't have that innate ability to find out and understand what made people, gods, and any other being do the things it did. You can't con what you don't understand. You can't trick if you don't know that the other party really wants in life.

"But sooner or later, I'm sure I'll take you up on that."

"It's one thing to be skilled, and another to share that talent with others," Ishiah countered in turn, his own way of giving a compliment, though one muted at best— he didn't feel that it would have done much for either Trixa or himself had he prostrated himself in gratitude, their friendship too reliant on the fact that both were on solid ground, both equals in their own way, capable of helping the other, no struggling power dynamic between them.

Besides, Ishiah didn't wax poetic about just anyone, and hadn't even done so often with Robin himself.

"But I'll be waiting."

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she's got a smile like a flower; she looks so fine by the hour

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