New Year, New Journal (Izmailovsky Market)

[Seren]

Seren let Casey take the lead, moving with her through the thinning crowd and into the warmth of the café. The transition was immediate and almost physical: the cold’s sharp edge dulled, the market’s chaos softened into a low murmur, and with it the constant background shimmer of want settled into something quieter. Fewer people. Fewer lights. Easier to breathe.

She ordered tea, thanking Casey quietly when she paid, and then followed her to the table. As Casey shed layers, Seren’s gaze stayed polite but not uninterested. She noticed the small things – the way Casey’s shoulders eased once she sat, the way the gold motes clustered closer now, no longer scattered by cold or movement. They hovered warmly, steady, still a little brighter than before. Still a hopeful curiosity that hadn’t tipped into urgency.

Seren pulled free her own scarf and hat without fuss. She wore a simple aran sweater underneath her coat – all her clothes were serviceable rather than fashionable. She smiled, small and genuine, eyes lifting to meet Casey’s again. Not holding too long, just enough. Then she wrapped her hands around her own mug, letting the heat sink into her fingers, grounding herself before she answered.

“I travel,” she said first, lightly. “A lot. Cities mostly, I like learning them.” She paused for a moment, thoughtful. “Bookshops. Libraries. Places where people talk without realising they’re saying important things. I read – way too much, probably. Folklore, history, things that don’t fit neatly into categories. And I write, obviously” she added, tapping the edge of her new journal with one finger. There was a faint, self-aware curve of her lips.

“But I’ve been living here a while now. Looking for… well, patterns, I suppose. And places where people don’t mind a little strangeness.” She took a sip, then glanced back at Casey, curiosity genuine but measured. “What about you? Besides braving Moscow in January for stationery,” she said, tone warm, almost teasing. “What made this year feel like it needed recording?”

[Casey]

Casey leaned forward as Seren spoke, listening with rapt attention. Both hands cradled her cup of coffee and the warmth of it spread through her. Traveling was fun, and it seemed like Seren did a lot of research into folklore. Bookshops and libraries were among some of Casey’s favorite places to go. When Seren spoke, she couldn’t help but be interested - for no other reason than it just sounded interesting.

Casey smirked when she mentioned strangeness. ”Well, you’ll certainly find a lot of strangeness around here,” she was reminded of Nox. Strange things followed him and his entourage of people like a loyal puppy.

”Im a musician,” Casey said, leaning in a little to speak quieter. She didn’t want to attract fan attention of any nearby - she wanted this time to get to know Seren and not take pictures or give autographs. ”Play bass guitar for Cadence Mathis.” she kept hubris out of her tone. She wasn’t bragging, just stating the truth. ”It means I travel quite a bit too, although my trips are probably different than yours.”

Casey took a sip of her coffee, taking the time to gather her thoughts to answer Seren’s next question. There was a lot there, and she certainly didn’t want to overwhelm Seren with an unpacking of everything she had gone through recently. She wasn’t embarrassed by it, but it was a lot. ”Lately I’ve just been going through some good personal growth. Things that I used to feel guilty for that I shouldn’t have are being resolved. It’s freeing, and I think that it’s probably a good time to reinforce that I don’t really do anything worthy of those guilts,” she chuckled a bit. ”I know - that’s incredibly vague - it’s just a long story - one I’m willing to share, but I don’t want to overburden you.” it was true. Casey didn’t want to lay her burdens on this woman. But she would be very okay with talking about it. It helped sort things out to talk about it.

[Seren]

Seren listened without interrupting, elbows resting lightly on the table, fingers curved around her mug. As Casey leaned in, the space between them closed just enough to matter. The café’s background noise softened into something distant, and with it Seren became more aware of the gold around Casey – still warm, still steady, but now threaded with something else: a careful restraint. Not secrecy exactly. Maybe a choice.

When Casey mentioned being a musician, Seren’s brows lifted a fraction, not in surprise, but in recognition. Not of her specifically, just of the way it suddenly made sense to her – the soft, more intimate way she thought Casey wanted to be seen. The difference between a public and private persona. She’d heard of Cadence Mathis, but it was the vague recognition of something in the popular sphere. Seren wouldn’t have recognised her any more than she’d recognised Casey.

“Different kinds of travel still leave the same marks,” she said. “You learn how to live out of a bag. How to arrive without settling.” She paused for a moment, then added, more gentle and thoughtful: “How to decide what parts of yourself are allowed to come with you.”

At the mention of guilt, Seren saw the glimmer shift – loosening, rearranging, as if something tight had finally been unclenched. It sat close to Casey’s chest, not bright, but sincere. Seren didn’t reach for it. She let it be. But she could see the desire to share. She smiled again, softer this time. Her thumb traced the rim of her mug, grounding, and she studied Casey with open curiosity rather than intensity. “You don’t owe me the whole version,” she said. “But I’d like the true one. Whatever piece feels safe to share over coffee.”

[Casey]

So much of what Seren said was correct. At the very least, in between tours, the band got to settle, but on tour, you never really completely unpacked. She wasn’t sure what she left behind though. Probably moments like this. Moments where she was just Casey. Not Casey the rock star - not that she minded being a rock star, but sometimes it was nice to be just Casey.

Casey gave her a look of gratitude when she said Casey could share. She wouldn’t go too deep, but it was nice to have release. The pressure had built up for awhile, and even though she had vented at times, this would be the first since she had started to truly accept things.

”The truth of it is I was raised in a strict and oppressive religious tradition. Everything I did was measure against what my parents and church leaders saw as perfection. It was difficult and confusing to deal with as an adolescent girl growing up. As a result - I felt guilty about a lot of things - even for existing at times. And since it was during formative years - well - it lingered.” she smile. ”But I’m dealing with it now. I’ll be okay.”

Casey sighed, feeling relieved at letting that out - even non-specifics. ”Thank you for listening to that. I know it’s kind of odd to bring up those sort of things when you just met someone.” Casey felt her attraction getting stronger and she smiled brightly. ”You’re very easy to talk to.”

She rested her arms on the table, hands still cradling her mug. ”Sounds like you do a lot of research - folklore and history. Do you have a specialty or favorite subject? she asked, interested but also wondering how best to bring up that she was liking Seren. It had been a long time since she had even thought about things like this. Maybe it would be best to just focus on friendship for now.

[Seren]

Seren didn’t interrupt. It wasn’t instinct; she saw when words needed room, especially when the desire was to be listened to. As Casey talked about her upbringing, the motes around her shifted in a way Seren recognised well. The want there wasn’t for absolution or reassurance; it was the quieter desire to be believed without being corrected. To have pain acknowledged without it being reframed into something else. The gold dulled at the edges as Casey spoke, less tightly wound, as though naming it had loosened something long held in the body.

“That doesn’t sound odd,” Seren said when Casey finished. Her tone carried no judgement, only steadiness. “And I’m glad you’re dealing with it now. Not everyone gets to.”

She let a breath pass, careful not to step into the role people so often tried to give her – the one who understood too much. She rarely had to even say anything for others to ascribe meaning to her attention: their desires reflected back, and they usually misinterpreted Seren as the source of the change in them, though it was only really that she brought such things more easily to the conscious surface. It wasn’t always a bad thing, and often it helped in a quiet way, but equally it was something Seren was always aware of.

When Casey said she was easy to talk to, Seren saw the glimmer warm again, subtle but unmistakable. She felt it pulse like a quiet heartbeat, brushing against her awareness, and she kept herself steady, careful not to let it flare beyond observation. Her shoulders relaxed slightly, though the alertness never fully left. Seren just smiled, soft this time, eyes lingering for a heartbeat longer than before. She took a sip of her tea.

At the question about her interests, Seren tilted her head slightly, considering. “The kind that survives in fragments. Stories people swear aren’t real anymore but still won’t quite let go of.” Her thumb traced the rim of her cup again as she spoke. “I’m interested in patterns, I suppose. The things that repeat across cultures even when there’s no clear reason they should.”

Her gaze met Casey’s again, steady and unguarded. “And you?” Seren added, lightly. “When you’re not on tour, what pulls at you? What do you look for when no one’s asking you to be anything in particular?” The question was open-ended, an invitation without expectation. She kept herself steady, attentive but not invasive, letting Casey fill the space however she chose.

[Casey]

Casey hadn’t been completely unobservant. Casey noticed some nuances in their conversation - the way her gaze would linger a little longer or the way she always smiled lightly. Her gaze was never intense, matching the easiness in which Casey found her to talk to. Casey had noticed her polite, but interested gaze as she had removed her outer layers. But she also seemed reserved. Perhaps it was shyness or something else, but Casey was beginning to feel emboldened by it all. Casey had kept her interest low, not wanting to be too much, but maybe it was time to see if things could go farther.

As Seren spoke of what she researched and was interested, Casey found herself genuinely fascinated by it. There wasn’t much there, perhaps things too personal to share, or with crazy magic stuff happening, maybe she was just afraid to share it. Casey’s posture shifted. He rested her elbow on the table and cupped her chin in her hand, her eyes gleaming with fascination.

”Pattens…” she said the word, with a slight smile. The word meant something, and Casey was curious what stories and legends she had found. Maybe ones that mentioned people like Elyse and Anita. She was certain there were probably loads regarding channelers. What about it dreamers like herself.

She sat up a little more, putting her arm back down as she considered Seren’s question. ”Well, letting go of old guilt is helping me be okay to be myself a lot more. A journey of self discovery of sorts. Learning new things about myself. Seeing patterns in myself I haven’t noticed before. Accepting things that I’m now ready to accept. I’ve met a lot of people - many of them very interesting people.” she met Seren’s gaze and smiled, allowing her boldness to come through. ”Sometimes I’m lucky - I meet someone interesting that also happens to have pretty eyes.” she let the flirt linger then. Hopefully her bravery didn’t mess things up.