[ maybe caleb can notice that rafayel definitely looks like he's been walking, moving alongside the location he may have just shared moments prior. clearly prepared to have walked away, and so he pauses...
when he hears a familiar voice stopping him in his tracks. naturally, rafayel plays it off like he wasn't just about to go back on his last message to him. ... and weirdly enough it's easy when it feels kind of nice to be in general presence.
he hates this imprinting, actually. ] You did, but I didn't expect how new.
[ but, the rest of what he says— ]
You... [ rafayel has been stunned to silence. ] Maybe I just have that effect on people.
It isn't you. [ zero hesitation. ] It's the Natural Soul.
[ it doesn't really matter if rafayel tried to skip out on the meeting. he has him here now, which has unfortunately eased a lot of his irritation. it almost feels like he's happy to be with him once more, even though he knows that can't be true. they're strangers, ones who share more grievances with each other than fond camaraderie. ]
I've only been here for a little over a month and I wasn't exactly jumping at the chance to imprint with someone. You're the first.
[ and if he has any say in the matter, rafayel is going to be the last. ]
[ for some reason, the clarification doesn't bother him. if anything, it made him feel slightly more secure in their mutual sanity. while the imprinting may have been an irrefutable fact, it looks like it didn't have full control of them, at least. if just because rafayel feels similarly.
he may be drawn to him more than the average person, but his thoughts were still his, and the apathy he generally had still lingered. he flexes his hand for a second, as if recalling the last time they were in contact with one another, before he does eventually focus his gaze back on caleb. ]
Weird, you're not my first. [ is it the bond he speaks of, or if he just being particularly bitter. the words come out of his mouth before he expects them too, and he takes a moment to let them linger. ] Or that's how it should be.
[ still, he does come closer. ]
Don't try and look too happy now. [ surely a healthy amount of ironic humor fixes everything. ]
[ dw rafayel even if it was true that he isnโt your first, it wouldnโt shatter his worldview. it might have even come as a relief, since there is something oddly intimate about being each otherโs first imprints. ]
Iโll try to contain my joy. [ sarcastic to a T. ]
I donโt expect us to be all chummy with each other, but since distance seems to irk it, I think we should establish a reasonable routine. [ a beat, before he clarifies: ] To meet up. Just to... quell it.
[ the response doesn't get anything beyond a mild hint of a huff. it could barely constitute a sigh, if just because it's clear that rafayel is attempting to face him with a sense of neutrality. the more his natural soul seems to find solace and comfort in caleb, the more rafayel wanted to fight it.
but, of course, it was more important not to make that obvious. he's already shown enough vulnerability in front of him. or, the other version of him. ] You think that'll be enough for you?
I wouldn't want you to bite someone else's throat. [ that actually wouldn't matter to him.
at times like these rafayel wonders if he's really changed all that much in some ways. or if this was his own version of backsliding to whatever version of himself became much more prevalent in a certain bodyguard's presence. ]
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no subject
when he hears a familiar voice stopping him in his tracks. naturally, rafayel plays it off like he wasn't just about to go back on his last message to him. ... and weirdly enough it's easy when it feels kind of nice to be in general presence.
he hates this imprinting, actually. ] You did, but I didn't expect how new.
[ but, the rest of what he says— ]
You... [ rafayel has been stunned to silence. ] Maybe I just have that effect on people.
no subject
[ it doesn't really matter if rafayel tried to skip out on the meeting. he has him here now, which has unfortunately eased a lot of his irritation. it almost feels like he's happy to be with him once more, even though he knows that can't be true. they're strangers, ones who share more grievances with each other than fond camaraderie. ]
I've only been here for a little over a month and I wasn't exactly jumping at the chance to imprint with someone. You're the first.
[ and if he has any say in the matter, rafayel is going to be the last. ]
no subject
he may be drawn to him more than the average person, but his thoughts were still his, and the apathy he generally had still lingered. he flexes his hand for a second, as if recalling the last time they were in contact with one another, before he does eventually focus his gaze back on caleb. ]
Weird, you're not my first. [ is it the bond he speaks of, or if he just being particularly bitter. the words come out of his mouth before he expects them too, and he takes a moment to let them linger. ] Or that's how it should be.
[ still, he does come closer. ]
Don't try and look too happy now. [ surely a healthy amount of ironic humor fixes everything. ]
no subject
Iโll try to contain my joy. [ sarcastic to a T. ]
I donโt expect us to be all chummy with each other, but since distance seems to irk it, I think we should establish a reasonable routine. [ a beat, before he clarifies: ] To meet up. Just to... quell it.
[ that sounds fair. right? ]
Maybe like... at least once every two weeks.
no subject
but, of course, it was more important not to make that obvious. he's already shown enough vulnerability in front of him. or, the other version of him. ] You think that'll be enough for you?
I wouldn't want you to bite someone else's throat. [ that actually wouldn't matter to him.
at times like these rafayel wonders if he's really changed all that much in some ways. or if this was his own version of backsliding to whatever version of himself became much more prevalent in a certain bodyguard's presence. ]