Rostislav Zelenka (ghostsongs) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-05-25 13:09:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | #october 2017, rostislav, rostislav x sabrina, sabrina |
Who: Sabrina and Rost
When: Thursday, Oct 26, after school
Where: school, truck
Status: Complete
Rost always felt a little creepy when he was hanging around the high school waiting for someone, but it didn’t bother him too badly. He had Sabrina’s phone number in his cell, but he hated using that thing and he was terrible at texting. Spoken English was so much easier than written English, and people used all kinds of abbreviations and the like in texts. So turning up to grab a chat with her as she walked wherever she was going was pretty convenient. The cops knew he didn’t mean any harm, and that was all Rost cared about.
Plus, it had been raining today. It had stopped for the moment, but Rost had taken the opportunity to take the work truck out and run some errands. If Sabrina was game, maybe he could drive her home or to work or something. He wanted to check in on her, and he had a couple more anti-nightmare trinkets to give her to pass along to her friends. She’d been in the middle of a scary situation, and he was rather fond of the girl. So he was sitting in the truck, waiting out in front of the school and keeping an eye out for that familiar black hair.
Sabrina did have to work after school and had resigned herself to having to walk to The Boathouse for her shift after the last bell rang. All she could do was hope it didn’t rain. She honestly needed to get a car. Even if it was an old junker that stalled at every Stop sign. Just something to get her from A to B. Or at least from A to close to B. With her bag on her shoulder, she left school, shooting off a quick ‘<3’ text to Mak.
When she looked up, it was hard not to notice the truck sitting in front of the school. She recognized it immediately as Rost’s, and then she spotted the man sitting behind the wheel. Brows drawn together curiously, Sabrina headed for the truck, unsure as to whether he was there for her, or for someone else. A grin formed at her lips and she waved as she approached his window. Rost always seemed to bring a smile to her face, even when she was feeling like shit. “Hey,” she greeted. “What are you doing here?”
He’d spotted her and rolled his window down, about to call for Sabrina when she spotted him back. Rost gave her a smile as she approached. She looked happier than she had the last time they’d talked, that was a good sign. “Hello,” he said back, leaning one elbow out the window. “I came to see you. Can I drive you somewhere?” It would be easier to talk in the truck, and Rost didn’t often have the opportunity to offer someone a ride, so he wanted to do it while he could.
Oh, what her fellow students would think and say, watching Sabrina get into the truck of the town's 'cemetery hobo'. Not that Sabrina cared. If anything, it amused her. "Uh, yeah, sure," she said, moving around the truck to climb up into the passenger side seat. "I actually have to work in like, a half an hour. Can you drive me to The Boathouse? And is everything okay?" He didn't look worried or distraught or anything, so Sabrina wondered if maybe he was just checking up on her. Things hadn't been so great the last time they spoke.
Rost didn’t much care what the other students thought, just as long as none of the adults thought he was kidnapping Sabrina or something. He knew that her home life wasn’t good and her parents probably wouldn't bother to make trouble with him as long as she returned home, but still. Rost’s reputation didn’t need ‘pervert’ tacked onto it. He really did need to learn to text. “Absolutely,” he answered and put the truck into gear as soon as Sabrina was buckled in. “Everything is well with me. I wanted to check on you and your friends.” Rost glanced over at her as he pulled away from the curb. “I have some more dream charms for you.”
Oh, right. Sabrina realized she hadn't seen Rost since that whole demon exorcism thing. She smiled at him and reached into her bag to search for her cigarettes. "I'll definitely take whatever you want to give me," she said, because now she knew creepy shit existed and she would much rather have good, solid dreams than those nightmares. "My friends are doing really good. Well, I mean, now they are. We... something really bad happened, but there were these witches that I knew, sort of, and they helped us fix everything. One of them was able to actually destroy the board and everything has sort of went back to normal. Did you know there are actual witches in town? Like, for real witches."
Rost’s brows had lifted as Sabrina spoke, and then he let out a laugh. “Yes, I did know,” he said, glancing over at her warmly. “I am friends with a few of them. That is excellent news, however. I am glad you found a solution. No more dreams?” He had to assume that was the case, and it was a load off of his mind. Rost didn’t like using his magical contacts unless he had to, they already did him so many favors, but he would have asked on Sabrina’s behalf if she was still having issues. “Who assisted you? If you do not mind me to ask.”
Of course he was friends with witches. That made total sense. "No more bad dreams," Sabrina said with a small nod. She wasn't sure she wanted to explain the whole demonic possession thing. It felt so... weirdly private, even though she trusted Rost and she knew he would believe her. Sabrina just didn't want to risk any of it getting back to Hunter's dad. She wasn't too concerned about mentioning who helped them though. It wasn't like it was super secret, what Reagan could do. "Reagan Kelly? And some dark haired guy who had been home with her. They both helped us. She gave me and a friend of mine some hex bags, and so... when things got bad, we went to her to see if she could do more. And she did. They did. Do you know her?"
Rost understood why she wasn’t throwing a bunch of details at him. Just hearing that it had been something terrible but it was fixed now was enough for him. He didn’t know the other kids involved, so he wasn’t personally invested. He was just glad that Sabrina was okay. He nodded a bit, unsurprised, when she gave him Reagan Kelly’s name. “I do know her, yes,” he confirmed. “And the man with her ... probably her man. Caius D’Onofrio.” Rost was sure he was pronouncing that all wrong, but he didn’t much care. He’d only met the man a couple of times, and he was decidedly less friendly than Reagan. “They are both descendants from the Six. Good witches to know. You and your friends were lucky.”
Sabrina's brows rose for a moment. She knew the name D'Onofrio. They owned almost everything in Point Pleasant, and she had seen the man - probably Caius's dad? Uncle? - in The Boathouse quite a bit. They were always told to behave and act professional when he was coming in for dinner. "Well, isn't that a match made in rich people heaven," Sabrina said dryly before grinning at Rost. "We did get lucky though. I don't know what we would have done if I hadn't known about her. Jesus, witches everywhere. I used to roll my eyes when we had to learn about the Six in school. It was like a generic Salem and not as interesting. But now I'm like, who else is a witch in this town?"
Rost chuckled at the first part, because it was true enough. He didn’t know Reagan well, not as more than an acquaintance, but he knew she loved her boyfriend. Husband, now, that was right. With their cursed relationship. Rost wasn’t going to get into that with Sabrina though. It wasn’t his business to start with. He just hoped they’d fixed whatever needed fixing. “You would be surprised,” he told Sabrina at the moment, glancing over with some lingering amusement. “I cannot name names, but ... more than you think. Many things are drawn here, if they have not been here all along.” Rost reached between them to some of the junk that took up the middle of the bench seat and pulled out a big ziplock baggie with several more tea strainers in it, all of them unique, some in better shape than others. “Even if problem is solved, give these to your friends if you wish,” he said as he offered it over. “They are good in general for dreams.”
"That sounds pretty ominous," Sabrina muttered. What sort of things were drawn here? Horrible things? Would it be super smart to ditch out and run from Point Pleasant and never come back? With Jasper's sister missing, a demon possession and witches, she was betting... probably. She watched Rost, her brows drawn in confusion and curiosity until he straightened with a ziplock. At first she thought he was getting her more weed, but she could see almost immediately that it was more of those tea things he'd given her before. She took the bag with a smile. "Oh man, yeah, I will. Anything that keeps the bad shit out is welcome, and I know they'll think so too. This is awesome, Rost. Thanks. Are things going okay with you? In the cemetery?"
It was fairly ominous, because this town was ominous. Rost wasn’t going to try and sugarcoat that for Sabrina. Surely she already knew anyway, having lived in Point Pleasant for so long. And losing her brother. It was difficult to tell sometimes what was a normal accident and what was the dark forces in town flexing their muscles, but Rost tended to err on the side of supernatural caution. He tried, anyway. “You are welcome,” he told her, glancing over with a smile as he kept driving them toward The Boathouse. “Things are well enough with me. I have not had any trouble lately. Just enjoying my new people, mostly.” His smile turned warmer for a moment. Dev looking into his past had been cleansing, in a way. As had been hearing from Mrs. Mercer, bless her soul. He kept hoping Delle would make herself known somehow ... but also he didn’t, at the same time. “How are other things with you?” he asked Sabrina.
Sabrina grinned, remembering when he told her about his 'new friends'. It sounded like they were still around, so that was good. "I hope they're enjoying you too," Sabrina said. She was definitely relieved to hear things seemed to be normal for him right now, which was also good. The cemetery could get super creepy sometimes, especially with grave robbers roaming about. "Things are fine," Sabrina said. "I mean, school sort of sucks, and... work sucks. Other things suck. But my girlfriend is awesome, so that kind of makes up for all the sucky parts. You met her once," she reminded him. "Mak?"
“Ah yes, I remember,” Rost said, glancing over at Sabrina again with another smile. The little black girl with the short hair. She’d seemed a little wary of him, but sweet. “I am glad she is not sucky.” Dev and Greer certainly seemed to be enjoying him, and Rost was determined to keep that going until this ended however it was going to end. If it did. They were staying for a while yet, at least, so he would just see how it played out, just like the rest of his life. “It is funny, how love can change the color of the world,” he mused, sounding a bit dreamy about it. They both deserved that, even as very different people. Everyone deserved love in some form, Rost thought. “I am pleased things are well with you, Sabrina. I do worry about my favorite young delinquents.”
Sabrina eyed Rost, still fingering the Ziploc bag with the new dream catchers, or whatever they were. "Well, you certainly sound like you're in love," she said with a chuckle. With two people, apparently. It was pretty sweet though, and Sabrina kind of wanted to come by the cemetery sometime and try to meet them. She was betting they were as weird... no not, weird, eccentric as he was. "I want to take offense at being called a delinquent, but you're probably right, so I'll just say you don't have to worry. I definitely learned my lesson. All I want to do now is try to graduate high school, make out with my girlfriend and smoke a lot of weed. I don't think that's too much to ask. Oh! And buy a car. Eventually. They're fucking expensive."
Rost was pretty sure that Dev and Greer wouldn’t even blink at him having teenage semi-friends. They knew he dealt in marijuana, and teens smoked plenty of pot, especially in small boring towns, so it wasn’t that weird. They also knew him well enough to know there wasn’t anything non-platonic about it. He thought they would adore Sabrina, and vice versa. Rost chuckled at her run-down of aspirations and tossed her another smile. “I mean it only with affection. Those sound like excellent goals,” he said. Maybe they weren’t lofty, but contentment was more important than grand success, he thought. “Make yourself happy. Life is too short for anything else.”
"So I keep hearing," Sabrina said, pulling out her cigarettes. She held up the pack for Rost. "Do you mind I smoke one before we get there? I usually smoke when I walk, and I don't have one before I begin my shift, I have to wait until break time and then I'll be cranky at people." Sabrina did what she could to make herself happy. It was hard to do with a dead brother she felt responsible for, and parents who barely acknowledged her existence anymore. Being happy would be getting out of Point Pleasant someday. Maybe not right away, but someday. "You can have one too, if you want one."
“No thank you, but you go ahead,” Rost assured her with a wave of his hand. He didn’t care if she smoked in there, it was a dirty work truck anyway, and not even his own. Even if it had been, Rost probably wouldn’t have minded. It wasn’t a habit he picked up very often, just when he was especially stressed, but it didn’t bother him when other people did it. Nor was he going to lecture her about how she was too young to smoke; he was sure she got that enough. Rost let the amiable silence settle as he drove toward The Boathouse.
Since Rost didn't seem to mind, Sabrina rolled down the window and lit the cigarette, wanting to make sure to blow the smoke out rather than let it linger in his truck. "So, I get that there are witches here now," Sabrina said after a moment. "But... they can't all be good, can they? With all the horrible stuff that happens in town, why don't any of them like, fix it? Shouldn't they have that ability? The cops just stumble around with no help. I don't get it." She was probably attributing too much power to the witches in Point Pleasant, but one had exorcised a demon. That had to be huge right? That was priest shit right there. So surely they could do more... help more. Right?
It was a fair question, and one that Rost had vaguely wondered himself once or twice. He shrugged his scrawny shoulders thoughtfully. “I believe most things are beyond their reach,” he said. That was giving them a lot of benefit of the doubt, but for the most part the people he’d met who he knew to be witches were good people. “They are only ... people with extra abilities. Some more than others. Not every person does all they can, anywhere. But I believe there are many dark things immune to magic, or difficult to get rid of.” He paused, then added, “I also have no doubt some witches are bad, just as some people are.” The world wasn’t black and white anywhere, only shades of gray, though Rost knew that was a hard lesson.
Sabrina considered this as she blew a stream of smoke out the window. "That's cheery to think about. Bad witches living around here. The good witches are scary enough." Okay, so Reagan and her man weren't scary really. Not in the general sense. But... scary in an intimidating sense? She wasn't sure if that was the right word or not. "Kind of makes me wonder what else around here is real. I mean, like, we hear stories all the time about what happened to this person or that person, all the weird places in town. But like, I just figured it's all bunk and designed for scares or to keep people in line. But now I don't know. It's creepy. Why do people stay here when they know the truth?" These were all questions Sabrina knew Rost probably couldn't answer, and she didn't really expect him to. She was mostly musing out loud, trying to work out the answers in her head.
He didn’t mind the questions, enjoying listening to her young mind step through them. Rost may not have had a lot of solid answers for her, but he had his own ideas on everything she asked, and he might as well share, for what it was worth. “Like most things in life, some is true, some is not,” he said, making a vague gesture with one hand. “It is difficult to know until you are faced with proof. But I believe there is a lot of darkness here. But ... it is like natural disasters, yes? Why stay somewhere that floods. Why stay when there is earthquakes. Home is your home and many families have been here for generations, playing the odds. Protect yourself how you can, and pray. Or ... well, there are many stupid people in the world, Sabrina, I believe you have an idea.” He glanced over at her with a grin. “Denial is powerful.”
Pray. Ha. Like that does anyone any good. There were a shit ton of unanswered prayers in Point Pleasant. What was the point? Still, Sabrina grinned back at Rost. "Yeah, stupidity and denial. That sounds about right. But yeah, I get what you're saying. I could move three hundred miles from this place and the next town I end up could be just like this one, or worse. You're still here too, so it can't be that bad. When you pull stakes and run for the hills, then I'll know it's time to call it a day." She brought the cigarette back to her lips. "Just don't disappear, okay? Like, if you ever do decide to leave, either on your own or with your people, make sure you say goodbye."
Rost chuckled, kind of touched that she saw him as a canary in the coal mine, so to speak. Like he had some inside knowledge of what was happening around them. He didn’t, not really. He was more sensitive than most people, he thought, and there had been times when he’d considered leaving this town behind, but there was always a reason to stay. The people he knew and loved, the duty he felt to his cemetery. Maybe that would change in the future, maybe not. “Oh of course,” he assured her, like that should’ve been obvious. “I would never abandon you wordless, if I get a say.” Rost was tempted to reach over and pat her, but that might be too much, so he didn’t. “You are a friend, I do not leave those easily.” He pulled the truck into the harbor street and headed more slowly toward The Boathouse. “But you are smart girl, as well. I have faith that you can make it here, or anywhere you wish.”
It was nice to hear. Sabrina didn't have that many friends, which was mostly her own fault, but still. And she knew the kind of reputation Rost had in town, but she didn't care. He was ten times more interesting than most. It felt good to know he considered her a friend too, despite their age difference. A lot of adults dismissed teenagers like her so quickly. "Thanks, Rost," Sabrina said warmly, flicking her half smoked cigarette out the window as they approached the restaurant. "And I can't wait to meet your new people. Assuming you're not keeping them, like, all secret and to yourself for awhile, anyway."
Rost found value in all people, regardless of age or creed or race or whatever. Being dirt poor for most of his life and wandering the world had opened his mind up to a lot. He’d seen right away that Sabrina marched to her own drummer, and he always liked that in people. Rost stopped the truck in front of the restaurant and gave her a warm smile. “Not at all, they love to be shared,” he said with a chuckle. That was kind of their whole thing. “We will all get together soon. And they are believers in everything, I think you will like them.” He could very well picture Greer especially taking a shine to Sabrina, maybe taking her under her wing a bit. Young girls needed strong women in their lives. “Have a good work day. And do not forget, only my mint.” He nodded toward the bag with the tea strainers in it.
Sabrina cocked a brow and grinned at that before she pushed the passenger side door open. She wasn't going to make a joke about being shared, since she figured she knew what he meant and there was no reason to make him blush. Sabrina grabbed her bag and slipped out. It took her a second to remember what he meant by his mint only before the tea strainers popped into her head. "Right! Your mint only," she said with a nod. "I'll remember and I'll make sure my friends remember too. Thanks for the ride!" Sabrina shut the door and waved at him through the window before she turned to walk up the path to the restaurant. Thanks to the ride, Sabrina had a bit of extra time before her shift started, which was always nice. She would change and then maybe smoke another cigarette before clocking in. With any luck, the night would fly by and she would be clocking out before she knew it.