[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ONd4lpK.png[/img][/center]
[color=00F8FE]Time: 10am
Location: Drake’s Birthday Bash
Interactions: Drake [@Lava Alckon]
Mentions: Ariella
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[color=9FA1A4]Callum stared at the ball of ice with a mix of confusion and disgust. Before the whiskey was poured he quickly snatched the ice from the glass and held it in his hand. His whiskey, the good stuff at that, was saved from being chilled and eventually, water downed by the unwanted addition that now dripped down his wrist. A wandering thought nearly made him sick, [color=00F8FE][i]had Darryn melted slowly, like ice in the summer sun, or was it quick? Did he feel it happening?[/i][/color]

[color=00F8FE]“Oh um, no thank you. I prefer it neat.”[/color] He told the bartender as he awkwardly handed the ball of ice back to the man. Once the ice was disposed of, Cal wiped the cold remnants away on the back of his neck. He turned to look at Drake, trying to focus on his words but finding himself distracted. 

He still saw Darryn. Or the illusion of Darryn, looking how Callum couldn’t stop picturing him looking. A beaten bloody mess that barely seemed human. Worse than that day he’d almost been executed, worse than Callum had looked fresh out of that alleyway. [color=00F8FE][i]Tortured. Someone had probably tortured Darryn. After Alibeth had tortured Darryn.[/i][/color] Cal couldn’t stop imagining it and the more he did the worse the illusion began to look. Cold, dead, eyes watched Callum from a head that sat atop melting flesh. Skin and muscle dripping onto the grass. 

He looked away, into at his glass but the familiar amber had turned to something vicious and bloody. He couldn’t bring himself to lift the glass to his lips. He looked at Drake instead, realizing he'd been ignoring the man's question. 

[color=00F8FE]“Sorry, I found out a friend of mine died today. And I think...no I was, I was a pretty bad friend to him before…” [i]Before someone turned him into a puddle.[/i][/color] He didn’t give voice to the rest of his sentence. [color=00F8FE]“Sorry, you asked about my intentions with Ari. I like spending time with her, it’s rare to meet genuinely kind people, without wanting anything from you. The way Ari is.”[/color] His eyes left Drake and with ease, he spotted Ari’s fiery hair as she spoke to a nervous-looking older man whose wig seemed to be slipping. 

He watched her hold up an empty glass, her skin flushed from the glass’s contents, her laughter echoing freely through the garden.  He smiled for a moment, happy to see her happy despite the interaction they’d all had with Victoria a moment ago. At the very least he intended to be a better friend to her than he was to Darryn. 

[color=00F8FE]“I know how people talk, and that we were alone in the woods together. Nothing scandalous,”[/color] Callum looked back at Drake, eye to eye before adding [color=00F8FE]“I promise you that.”[/color] Then he looked down at his glass of whiskey, the illusion still lingering. [color=00F8FE]“She brought me to a spot she found beautiful, peaceful, and I don’t often see that in the world. I just want to know her for who she is and try to see the things she sees. Be someone worth her time.”[/color] He closed his eyes and took a sip, savoring the comforting burn even as he wondered if he could be worth anyone’s time. 

[color=00F8FE]“How 'buot you Drake? Do you intend to be another person telling her how to spend her time, who to spend it with?”[/color] He asked, a genuine question rather than an accusation. [/color]