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Hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket immediately after he spoke. Carter clutched his phone instinctively, keeping it secure as she spoke. He was considering just how bad it would be if water trickled its way anywhere near it.
Shrugging his shoulders, he let his mouth drag to a kn owing grin. He didn't say a word, he just let the time pass and the rain inevitably fall.
The sudden movement of his hand did not go unnoticed, but she made no comment. It amused her to know that part of his insistence to stay, at least in her mind, came from his stubbornness. The rain ultimately fell, small droplets initially, and that prompted her to move. A drop hit her face and she brushed it away without touching her skin. "I guess it's a party now."
They stood apart, but as soon as the rain started, she took a few steps forward to lessen the distance. "So are we going to just stand here?" Rya brushed her hair back, "Because at this point I think you've already committed to at least an afternoon of chaos with me."
Small droplets fell against his shoulders and hair lightly. The sound of it was calming to some degree, but Carter knew she'd get a lot more out of the element than he ever could. It didn't seem to bother her in the slightest, but then, she had every inch of control in this situation.
"This stand off is of your own creation." He pointed out with an amused tone and a laugh. "It's entirely up to you when it finishes."
Rya rarely explained the attraction she had towards the element because even she had a hard time doing so. It felt instinctual, much like a child is drawn to their mother minutes after birth. Her body gravitated towards it, her fingers twitched when she knew rain would come, and personally, she didn't know what life would be like without that sense of security. She didn't know if Carter held the same sentiments as she when it came to his element, but she only imagined he had a love of the land in his own specific way.
She watched his hair darken from the water, ruining the shape she was sure he intentionally created, "So it's a stand off now?" Rya raised her hand and pulled at the water that fell down the side of his face, waiting for a reaction "Maybe I'll just hold off for a bit longer, then." The Brit wasn't immune to illness after these storms, especially with the fluctuating temperatures, but that hardly bothered her now. Partially too stubborn to end it here, partially enjoying the rain, she'd make it last if only for a little while longer.
Carter laughed at the notion of a stand off. As people scattered in their own way for cover, there they stood. He was completely out of his element and she was entirely engrossed in hers. Homefield advantage slipped from his hands in seconds.
His face twitched with the unfamiliar movement of water against his skin, knowing it was her doing.
"No my dear," Carter interjected, reaching for her outstretched hand and curling his around it; "I'm giving you all the power here." Over this. Over himself. It was all enfolded, "What you do with it is entirely up to you."
People stared from a distance; she felt their eyes from where they stood. They didn't understand the way her body buzzed with every drop and they never would. Carter, however, understood to an extent. The terrakinetic may have been completely out of his element -literally- but he could comprehend the sentiment.
When he grabbed her hand, her lips parted.
To be frank, something about being this close to Carter felt strangely foreign but all too familiar. Her head tilted back slightly to maintain eye contact, but the look of surprise died almost as soon as it appeared. Instead, Rya closed her fingers to grip the hand that now held her own and she backed away, pulling him along with her. "Now that I think about it, you're far more attractive healthy."
Normally she'd have stayed except she felt the implication of the moment breathing down her neck and for the first time in a while, felt unsure of how to proceed. So much for the ball falling in her court. Carter Chevalier
Small things were everything Carter looked for in an interaction. It wasn't so like him at all to just give power up, and it was even less like him to admit he was doing it. yet there he was, being forward and honest and open. He could see the way it changed her, even if only for a second.
A slight tug of his hand and his steps weren't fighting the movement she asked for. Moving was her decision to make, after all, so he was giving into it. True to his word.
"I appreciate the sentiment. The care." He replied finally, his tone soft to match the little curve of his mouth upwards.
Carter Chevalier was intriguing, to say the least. Gentle at times, head always held high. She remembered when they first met, he became a conquest. Shortly after, he became a friend. The blonde twin always had something to say, always had the right way to get under her skin. When he left, it took her by surprise how much she actually had grown used to his presence; Rya took advantage of it, really.
Her hand dropped from his, and instead it ran through her hair, brushing the the drenched hair back.
"So how does it feel?" She asked, her usual veil of sarcasm displaced for now, "Being back?"
When she let his hand go, Carter thought nothing of it. His hands filtered along the side of his face to ease the water away. Then they moved up to his hair. it was bound to be flat for a while now, so his fingers ran through it to slick it all back as best he could.
"It feels simple." He replied honestly. It went without saying that anything would feel simple coming out of the life he led, "I think that's what I missed the most about the idea of this place."
He shrugged his shoulders, because it felt so easy. "What about you?"
Rya knew more than most the appeal of a simplistic life. She enjoyed the fast pace of London at times, but more often than not, her favorite thing was to escape it all and breathe in fresh air, "I've always thought the same." Carter living a simple life didn't match up with the individual who left so long ago, but then again, people change over time. She certainly did.
The question was turned back to her, "London is a place I've lived, but it hardly feels like home."
It must have seemed rare for Carter to ever admit that anywhere was as good as his home country. In high school he had always been so sure of how much he wanted to return home, yet there he was, standing on the street with her without a second thought for Paris.
He had to smile for the fact that she clearly appreciated his answer. She openly shared he sentiment further as she continued talking. It was hard not to get lost in it. "And Stagfort is home for you? That's quite the strong connection."
Though the words felt effortlessly easy, her mind still reminded her of the sentimentality of her statement. The brunette shook off the feeling, knowing full well that if the blonde could open up in such a way, he deserved honesty. "You remember who I was," She shuffled, her fingers dove into her pockets to avoid pulling at the water anymore.
"And I'm not that person anymore. At least, not entirely," She shrugged, "Thanks, in part, because of this place." The anger she used to hold, the constant resentment she harbored led her to do the stupidest things for the sake of the thrill. She didn't want that and Stagfort allowed her to develop into a person she enjoyed. She stopped doing things to spite others, and instead started to do things to enjoy herself. It was a liberating realization.
Trying to wipe a negative slate clean was never easy. The older, arguably wiser Carter knew that better than anyone. He had his shortcomings and he knew that was to be expected, but the fact that he tried on any level was surely commendable. Easily, he sought the same for her.
"And what part of you is it that you've left behind? What's so different?" Though he could assume the obvious, her actions when they last met wouldn't meet the assumption, so he had to ask.
