mordechai | 001. open post // quiet little burials.

[ Deirdra's husband, Gideon may be old, but he's young enough to remember that it's the birthday of a certain Alistair Mordechai. She asks him if she got the date right. Upon Gideon's confirmation, she promptly shoots a text to Alistair. ]

SENT: 06:30 PM
Hello, happy birthday Alistair. Hope everything is relatively good.
Rilea still dusts your favorite chair out by the patio.

[And he was about to go for a night out in the town (Ziz operatives had just cleared him for something like that, thankyouverymuch Riley).

Huh.]

SENT: 6:31 PM
Thanks. I figured she would.

[He does have the habit of turning up at the oddest times. He hasn't been able to do that, though, since...

Well. It's been almost a month now.]

[ She sets her phone down and starts this awkward dance between objects and people, where she asks Gideon whether he thinks Alistair is coming or not. Then, she picks up a few bottles then sets them down again, thinks about it, then picks them up again. THEN, she asks *whoever is at home, maybe Calintz or Rilea* if THEY think Alistair is coming this year or not, then does the awkward bottle thing again.

Finally, she settles to bringing out two 6-packs and waits by the patio. ]

[And the only reason why it takes Alistair over an hour to come around is because he still isn't at top form. He could have teleported, really, but he also wants to find every possible way of getting his body to cooperate with him. That means exercise.

(This is what he likes to tell himself anyway.)

So, at around 7:45 PM, Deirdra will hear the sound of a door opening, a booming greeting from Shane ("Well, well, well, Mordechai~ haven't seen yer sorry arse aroun' these parts a while!"), quiet words, greetings. Then Alistair's moving to join her on the patio.

He spots the six packs, smiles from around the cigarette that he's smoking. Sitting down now, to join her.]

You're right. The chair's still squeaky clean.

[ She's already slightly smiling as she hears Alistair enter the house. She waits til he sits down in front of him and slides one six pack to Alistair's direction. ]

Told you. So, happy birthday. I'd get you something nice but I guess free booze and quiet company would suit you better..

You know me too well.

[A small smile as he cracks a beer open.]

Looking good.

Well, [ she props her feet up on a chair nearby. ] I get a lot of exercise.

You look... [ Looks at him head to toe. ] A bit better now.

Still not quite good enough to go around the way that I want to, though.

[Huffs, like the grumpy old shit that he is. Doctors.

Deirdra probably knows the feeling.]

[ She laughs silently and looks up from her beer. ]

Where in the world do you want to go off to now?

[He didn't know, really. Anywhere beyond where he was now? Friends and family were hard on him, at times.

(Being so close to Hikaru was hard.)]

The Riders always need a good Dullahan on call. Zangyaku has its own issues to handle as well.

[ She looks at him with a small, amused smile.

C'mon Alistair, give the new Midnight Riders and Zangyaku kids a chance. ]

You know we can ride out together, right? I'm not your mom, nor am I your nurse.

I wouldn't mind. Maybe we could take Anton with us if he isn't too busy.

[He really wouldn't mind, now that he thinks about it. He's always been better on his own than with people, but 2012 has given him a number of exceptions.]

[ A quick rundown of the people she's bumped into in the last 30 minutes, and she remembers that Anton is actually home - bit of a surprise, but he is. He probably remembered and chose to be home, just in case. ]

Yeah, he's around.

[ Takes a swig of her beer. ]

We could go now?

Maybe tomorrow.

[Which was an Alistair Mordechai way of saying that he was actually okay with this, and maybe okay with sitting still for a bit.]

Besides, Calintz and Rilea are in. They're going to get mad at you.

[ She grins. Alistair is right. Rilea would have a fit for indulging Alistair when he should be resting.

Plus, it's nice to just sit here and chill out with him.

She raises her beer. ]

That's okay too.

[Lifting his own, to tap against hers.]

How have you been?

[ She takes another swig. ]

Good. In Vigil terms. You?

[ She slightly narrows her eyes at Alistair, as if to say 'No, really.' ]

Physically, I could be better.

[A bit of a pause, as he's drinking. And smoking. And drinking.]

Emotionally, I suppose I've been worse.

[ Her lips form to a thoughtful smile. ]

At least.

[ She taps her bottle with her fingers a couple of times. ]

It's always easier to get rid of physical wounds anyway.

No kidding.

[He's trying to make light of it, of course, and not quite succeeding.]

I'll manage. As things stand, we're better now.

[He and Hikaru Shinta may always be a work in progress, but they're very good at eventually getting to a better place.]

That's nice.

[ And she means that will all sincerity. Of course, she won't ask anymore. But at least someone is okay enough to be there for Hikaru, seeing as Aria is... being Aria. Plus, given what Aria told her not too long ago... Yeah...

She knocks back her beer before opening another one. ]

Did you have other plans tonight?

Beyond setting up at South? No.

[If Deirdra hadn't called him, he'd be back up at the gates of the South District again, playing defense for an estate that didn't really need it.

Go figure.]

[ Hm. ]

You ought to take a break sometimes, yknow. Or make some time for cake, and that's me talking.

But... [ She's kicking back a bit, accepting that Alistair does as Alistair wants. ]

... I understand if you do things your way. Just a suggestion.

You know that breaks and I don't mix well, Dee.

[It's the nickname that he's given her since a little before the Darkest Vigil. They've been through a lot together.

That might be why he can speak frankly with her in the first place.]

[ She smiles fondly at that. ]

Well, it was worth a shot.

[ Her gaze wonders up at the ceiling. ]

But hey, who knows? People change, right? You might come to enjoy them one day.

Waking the Dead 2.0 // May 5, 2063

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