WHO: Brynn and Rhys Stone WHEN: Afternoon of January 30 WHERE: Dunhaven Youth Center SUMMARY: The siblings have a chat about Dungeons and Dragons, making friends with nerds, and whether or not Rhys is a nerd himself. This is in progress and will be updated when it's complete! WARNINGS: None
There was a twelve year old boy sitting at one of the tables in the art center, painstakingly poking at a small figurine. It was a quiet day, which meant Brynn was spending more time staring off into space than she would have normally. The boy had a lot of her attention that afternoon. There was something about him she couldnât stop thinking about.
Not in any weird sort of way, of course. Well, maybe it was weirdâŚ
Brynn shook her head and pushed her hair out of her eyes. It just felt so familiar, what he was doing. Heâd mentioned DnD when heâd first gotten there, and Brynn had looked at him like sheâd seen a ghost. Sheâd had to look up what he meant. It still didnât clarify anything.
She shook herself out of her daze and headed over to where Rhys was. It was so sweet, what he did here, for the kids. âDid you or G ever play Dungeons and Dragons?â
When Rhys recognized Brynn's approach, he looked up from what he was doing -- carefully stamping the inside cover of a shipment of books that had just arrived earlier that day and then placing them, alphabetically by author, on shelves. The stamp simply laid claim to the books belonging to the Dunhaven Youth Center, not that it would actually stop anyone from taking the books, of course. They were meant to be taken home to be read and returned to the makeshift library in the center, but sometimes books didn't make their way back to their shelves. That was fine by Rhys, though. In fact, several of the books in his last order had been to replace those that had gone missing. He just hoped that the missing books had found new homes on a bookshelf in a kid's room and not at the bottom of a backpack.
"Dungeons and Dragons?" Brynn's question surprised him, but he took it as seriously as any question she might have asked. Though he'd never played, he did at least know what she was talking about. "I don't think so, no. At least, I never played."
Rhys slid a book onto the shelf, then faced Brynn directly, giving her his full attention. "Are you interested in playing?"
âNo,â Brynn frowned a little and shook her head, though she couldnât deny that it had piqued her interest. She wouldnât have any clue where to start learning about it, or where sheâd find anyone to play with.
No, that wasnât true. Eve would be able to help with that.
If Rhys never played, why was it so damn familiar? âI was just thinking, thatâs all. I thought it was just because of this dream I had, but I donât even know why I wouldâve been thinking about it in the first place. So I thought --â Her voice trailed off for a moment and she shrugged. âMaybe I watched you guys sometime.â
"A dream you had?" Rhys repeated, his head tipping to the side in curiosity. He paused, nudging his glasses up his nose before he continued. "Maybe it was something your brain latched onto from a TV show or movie. Or maybe your brain is just telling you that you need a creative outlet through tabletop gaming?" He smiled at that, knowing it was probably a stretch.
Her mentioning of dreams forced his mind to think of his own of recent. They had been featuring a lot of horses and sword fighting; the former could be attributed to Lyllia, her profession, and the horses that lived on the same acreage that they did, but the swords were new. Maybe his brain was trying to get him into a new hobby, too.
âMaybeâŚâ Brynnâs eyes narrowed a little as she considered the options her brother mentioned. She couldnât think of anything sheâd watched recently that had mentioned it, but it was possible that on one of her late-night Netflix binges, there had been something. She hardly remembered what she watched at 3 am when she couldnât sleep, anyway. It made sense that it might slip into her dreams.
âIt was weird. I didnât know anything about it,â she continued, âso that much wasnât unusual. But I was hanging out with a bunch of boys who were obsessed. And when I say obsessed, I mean name-dropping monsters and everything into conversations every chance they got. Huge nerds.â She didnât mean it as an insult, though. âBut maybe youâre right. It could be fun to pretend to be someone else and make up some big adventure.â
"Interesting," Rhys replied, considering her dream as she described it. He let his arms cross over his chest, then leaned back against one of the taller shelves of books. "If it sounds interesting to you, though, you should check it out. I'll bet they have info on it at that gaming store in town. Maybe you'll find your group of nerds there."
Though he didn't necessarily realize it, he was defaulting into his parental role, something that happened all too often with Brynn. He had been her legal guardian for longer than he had their brother, but he had also been striving to be as involved in his sister's life as possible since the day she was born. Though he knew that she was perfectly capable of meeting people and forging friendships without his meddling, he thought it might be a good way to go about it.
Brynn rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, too. A familiar warmth bloomed in her chest as she thought about finding her own group of nerds - nerds like the boys sheâd dreamt about, loyal and funny and weird and protective and honest.
âI already have a group of nerds,â she countered. âThereâs Eve, and you.â Because as cool as some people thought Rhys was, heâd always be her dorky older brother, too. He was older enough that sheâd spent a lot of time admiring him and thinking he was cool, but she also saw the way he was with just them, just Lyllia, and she knew he was a giant dork underneath. âAnd, anyway, I know how to make friends.â
"Oh, I know you do," Rhys conceded. "People would be idiots if they didn't want to be your friend anyway." He'd been saying exactly that since Brynn was a kid and he still stood by it. There was no one better than his sister, as far as he was concerned; their brother was great and all, but he'd always had a special place in his heart for her.
"And don't go around talking about how I'm a nerd too much," Rhys continued with a teasing smile, clearly not serious. He'd given up on hiding his nerdier passions long ago, once he'd stopped pushing himself into studying business and playing football and doing what he wanted, instead. "Let's keep that between us."
âYou have to say that,â she pointed out, one neatly plucked eyebrow arching as she looked at him. That wasnât to say she didnât believe him; for most of her life, Brynn had exuded a casual confidence that either drew people in or made them jealous. It wasnât all a farce, although Brynn had found that faking it did the trick if she didnât really feel it.
As for his request⌠Brynn shrugged, trying to look evasive and mysterious, like she might really tell the world. âWeâll see,â she said simply. âI canât make promises.â