work's been busy, with everything that happened up post-meteor. annalise henderson had stepped down, which meant that ollie had to spent countless hours in some board room by himself and the two new heads, Laurence Anderson and Raziel Beckett, who were like - the most anti-social people ever. besides that, there was still countless other things to do. they'd gotten a few new recruits over at the base, the rifts still continued to cause problems with all the wild pokemon that it riled up, and ollie continued to struggle with the whole... penny thing.

[break][break] nugget, his yamper, joins foxglove in exploring the dirt. the pokemon gives an excited yip, encouraging the russet-furred leafeon into a chase.

[break][break] "hmm! iunno, aren't you supposed to be the gardener?" ollie chuckles at her, then points to an empty spot in the soil. "what about here?"

[break][break] crouching down beside her, he cracks open a bottle of cider and then hands it over to her before grabbing his own.

[break][break] "what are these, anyway?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
takes places pre post-dorm [break][break]
GRACIDIA 1/3

ollie had seemed incredibly excited to join her here. she feels a little guilty over it, but not that bad. he's had a lot on his plate and she, hers, and they've always understood that about each other. every time they come together, regardless of how long it's been, they slip into their cadences with ease. 

she laughs as he pops the tab open to her bottle. she waits for his and clinks them together. "the last of grace's strawberry cider, actually. she hasn't been able to brew more since the rebuild."

the spot he picks is one she'd been eyeing so she guess it's as good as any. she draws the little packet of seeds out from her pocket and fetches her spade. cider in one hand, pressed to her lips, she spears the earth with the other. 

"or did you mean the seeds? i'm not sure, actually. someone in town traded them to me for a bundle of flowers. Elisabeth Fiorelli told me to plant them here..."

ollie morales

☉

"wow," ollie whistled. "guess i'm a lucky guy, huh?"

[break][break] he winks before taking a sip of the cider. it's good. not that, of course, he expects any less of grace.

[break][break] ollie watches her press spade to earth and mimics her, the soft earth pilling underneath the metal before pooling in a pile somewhere else.

[break][break] "oh! from fiorelli floristry, right? i heard about that. she's gonna do eva and MATIAS SILPH' wedding."

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
takes places pre post-dorm [break][break]
GRACIDIA 1/3

"you really are," she says as she works on breaking up the dirt. "but i knew you'd appreciate it the most. it's why i brought them." that and it's been too long since they've just hung out and chatted.

there was always a pressure around him when he stayed with them. her own anxieties and the turbulence of her busy life hadn't made her much good for company, but she'd put a smile on her face and worked damn hard to make sure he recovered.

it's what friends do. 

"aw, really? well, the wedding will be wonderful. elisa's a talented florist and a lovely person. i think you two would get along."

her spade meets rock. one hand isn't strong enough to yank it out so she sets her cider down and tries with two, to no avail. "can you see if it'll budge for you?"

ollie morales

☉

he chuckles. "you and grace are too nice to me."

[break][break] but even so, ollie knocks back the drink.

[break][break] "hm? oh yeah - here, let me try."

[break][break] offering a palm, he waits until she hands him her spade and then with two hands tries to heave the rock that's burrowed underneath. with a bit of strong pressure, he's able to unearth it, to which he flashes her a bright smile.

[break][break] "see? easy as pie." his gaze twinkles. "and — really? i guess i'll have to go meet her." ollie didn't know much about Elisabeth Fiorelli, but if willow liked her, she must have been nice. "speaking of — since you said penny can't be my date for the wedding, did you want to come along?"

[break][break] his brow furrowed.

[break][break] "oh wait — would lance be mad?"

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
takes places pre post-dorm [break][break]
GRACIDIA 1/3

she tries not to be too annoyed that ollie manages to pull the rock out with some ease. she's a small thing, sure, but she's run a farm herself her entire life. she's not exactly weak. so she satisfies herself wordlessly with the conviction that she'd loosened it from the earth. 

"i didn't say you can't have her as your date," she says, exasperated. "just that maybe you shouldn't."

and then she blinks at the question and flushes a deep red. 

"oh, uh, lance and i aren't together anymore actually."

ollie morales

☉

"yeah, but it's the same thing, isn't it?"

[break][break] he rolls his eyes at her, but his lips dimple into a smile anyway, only to swap to surprise at her confession.

[break][break] "oh — uh, you aren't? what happened?"

[break][break] with the new opening, he sprinkles some of the seeds into the dirt and covers it with a spade.

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
takes places pre post-dorm [break][break]
GRACIDIA 1/3

what happened? what happened is she finally stopped lying to herself. what happened is she faced the truth and she probably hurt lance because of it, and maybe she could have been more gentle. maybe she could have been courteous, even.

"i broke up with him," she says and scratches her cheek, leaving a smudge of dirt. her cheeks stay rosy, but she can't keep her grin off her face. 

"it, er, just wasn't going to work out. he's not who i thought he was."

ollie morales

☉

ollie didn't know much about LANCE VOLLANS, at least not on a personal level. he was a good ranger, and ollie enjoyed working with him — but that could also be said for most people.

[break][break] what couldn't be said for most people was that they'd be good enough for willow atkins, that they'd be good enough to make her and ro happy.

[break][break] "oh," he said, then blinked. "wait what?"

[break][break] his eyes flash and he frowns, hands on his knees. there is a dangerous, almost overprotective look to his eyes.

[break][break] "what'd he do? i'll beat him up for ya, just give me the word wils."

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
takes places pre post-dorm [break][break]
GRACIDIA 1/3

as they're planting and ollie gets all up in arms over the possibility that lance hurt her, she smiles. Elisabeth Fiorelli had told her to plant them while reminding herself of what she's most thankful for. as her hands spread over the damp earth, she thanks her friendships - both elisabeth's and ollie's. 

she's grateful for much more, but in this moment, she looks up at ollie and thinks only to mellow his concern. 

"no, nothing like that. we just...weren't compatible." she's holding back and ollie might be the only person to look through the veil (save for bo), but she doesn't give him the opportunity to press. 

"so when's the wedding? so i can make sure i fit it into my calendar."

ollie morales

☉

compatible?

[break][break] "wils..."

[break][break] before he can say more, however, she pivots the conversation. she's an expert at doing it — or maybe it's just with him. maybe he's easy to read.

[break][break] "oh! i guess i should ask. i don't really know." his lips turn into a smile. "but i'm happy for her - she seems really happy."

[break][break] ollie kneels back onto his knees, tilting backwards. cheeks flushed, he stares at the moonlit sky and then slumps down on his back. grass splayed in his palms. an arm throws itself over his face, covering his expression then. it's a look he doesn't want to show, not even to willow. it's embarrassing.

[break][break] "ahhh, i hate this. i'm jealous. i just wish — i want that too."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
takes places pre post-dorm [break][break]
GRACIDIA 1/3

"well, i'll keep an eye out for that save the date," she says. the earth has been packed back over at this point. she shakes out her hands, rubs some of the excess dirt off of them with a small hand towel she'd brought, and then she tosses her spade into the jute bag she'd brought with her. 

she settles next to ollie, leaning her shoulder against his, and clinks their glasses together again. 

"you'll find someone. i promise. you're a good person, ollie. better than all the rest of us."

ollie morales

☉

"am i, though?"

[break][break] ollie turns to her, eyes moss-green and topaz in the falling dusk light.

[break][break] "you keep saying that, wils. that i'm a good person, that i'm deserving. that penny'll forgive me. that i'll find someone — and i just — "

[break][break] when he takes a sip this time, he lets it rest in the dirt between them.

[break][break] "i'm not better. i'm not, and i don't know how you can keep sayin' that."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
takes places pre post-dorm [break][break]
GRACIDIA 1/3