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Dorcas Meadowes, Britain's tiniest vigilante (forgetmenow) wrote in incipimusiterum,
@ 2023-08-07 22:35:00

Entry tags:

character: dorcas meadowes, inactive: damocles belby, location: england: tinworth

Dorcas Meadowes & Damocles Belby
Rating • August 5 • Tinworth

Trade and Talk

Halfway through market season Dorcas had fewer book donations in her shopping bag, which was all to the benefit of the courgettes she'd brought to barter with Damocles, or the bread and cheese she'd bought from Greta at the Magic Neap stall. There were other items layered throughout – a beaded necklace for her mum, a bag of tea leaves – and as she breathed in the honeysuckle-scented air, the picture of rural relaxation, she reminded herself not to set down the bag and check that everything was still intact. The jar of honey had been expertly packaged up. The courgettes hadn't slid down, and even if they had, they would survive, and even if they didn't, she had more at the cottage a short walk away.

Focus instead on the people. On the moment. The community that she was here to support in their jam-making and pottery, though she only needed so many bowls. Neighbours, whether or not they were Tinworthians, who she saw every weekend for every summer every year. And a booth full of odd and colourful hats which was new this summer and Dorcas hadn't yet bought anything from. She stopped there now, puzzling over a sequined beret. She liked to spread the bounty of her market purchases among her friends, but she couldn't imagine who she'd buy any of these for.

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damoclesbelby
2023-08-15 09:08 am UTC (link)

He had checked his bag thrice for what he was bringing over to share with Dorcas, yet he was still on the edge as he reaching the weekend market. He extended this concentrated care to everything he did in his life, but he was particularly concerned about the tomatoes he had promised to his friend, partially because he felt like he had oversold them to her. They were un-shapely, wild looking things, left to their own devices as they grew in a corner of his greenhouse that he didn't visit for a full week. By the time he noticed, they were everywhere and while he offered them to Dorcas on a whim, he now felt just the slightest bit on edge about handing over something so unseemly. Especially after having read the poem she had shared earlier.

The intrinsic beauty and fragility of emotions depicted in it had made him question his offering, and while usually he would ignore such a line of thinking, it was perhaps a marker of the high esteem in which he held his friend that he was thinking if he should just buy her some better looking tomatoes from one of the produce-laden stalls.

After walking around for a minute to find her, he spotted her eyeing a particularly sparkly beret.

"I hope you're not considering that for me. My head is not made for such wild adornment," he said, both announcing his presence and to calm his nerves. Focusing on outside trivialities worked to calm his nerves, especially since after he had stepped out of the fray that was working at St Mungo's. His solitude journeyed with him wherever he went now, easy to identify if someone looked into his eyes at close quarters, but it was also easy to hide like this. Easy joviality.

"Hullo, Dorcas. Keeping well?"

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forgetmenow
2023-08-16 05:37 am UTC (link)

Dorcas turned with a welcoming smile. Damocles was one of her quieter and more thoughtful friends, and one she saw less often than she would like. It would be a lie to say she was completely at her ease with him, as true ease was not a thing she came by easily. Nor did she worry less about him than some others. He'd had his share of tragedy and upheaval, and like the rest needed help and kindness, and – more than some – community. And since he didn't seek out company often, she was always honoured when he sought hers. The best thing she could do under such circumstances was to be a soothing presence, a role she took on often enough that it soothed her to wear it.

"I'm in my favourite place and the weather is fine," she said. "And a friend has come to visit. I'm very well indeed."

Damocles was much taller than her, but she was used to that and her eyes were good. As she took him in now, two weeks after their initial plans, she wondered how ensconced in his work he'd been lately, and how much of this visit was due to Bea's prodding. It didn't matter on her end – she was used to people forgetting as well, and she had a life of her own – but it affected his mood. He seemed much as ever, with a depth below his manner. Did he look more tired than usual? Did she, for that matter? Probably. It was hard to tell.

"Have you been here long? Have you found anything you like? Apart from the hat, of course, which we've already ruled out."

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damoclesbelby
2023-08-19 05:03 pm UTC (link)

Damocles (sadly) did not know many people who possessed the talent for putting someone at ease with such few words. Her answer to his question was simple, direct - and it did away with his initial nerves. He could feel the ordinary, everyday cynicism chipping away in her diminutive but mighty presence. And so, head bowed to listen to her as usual, and a smile he only had to offer her, he nodded.

"That is good to hear."

He didn't mention the war or the weight of her work as he imagined it, but he silently did make a mental note of thanking Bea for pushing him to come out today. Not that he wasn't going to fulfil his promise to Dorcas, it was just that a recent addition to a test batch of his potion had failed to perform as he had imagined and he had spent a good few days in rage and despair. Today, though, the day was bright, and his company delightful. He did not have much to darken his mind, for now.

"Oh. Not very long." He pointed to a few stalls selling pantry essentials and canned goods. "I bought some much needed things...yes, Bea gave me a list because she found the pantry empty yet again. Isn't there some sort of a service that can just...show up to fill the cupboards? I neither have the time nor --" the desire to eat is what he stopped himself from uttering because it veered terribly close to the new rumours he had heard about himself. Besides, he didn't want to dampen the conversation.

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