[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220421/ea8a48e0849fd3e3eeed931b6a67ebcc.png[/img]
[img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/ce581d33-d6d5-4e92-a089-3a8371123f4c.jpg[/img]
[i][color=2ed969][sup]Featuring Gavriel and Avigail Phillips-Shomer[/sup][/color][/i]
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[sup][color=28e0af][i]Timestamp: The First Wednesday After The Events At Serpent House[/i][/color][/sup][/center]
[indent][color=silver][color=2ed969]“You’ve been anxious lately,”[/color] Avigail commented to her son as they sat on the bench outside Main Street Sound. She had made a mini picnic to share on her lunch break with her two sons but JP had gotten unexpectedly busy inside the store and told them to go ahead without him, so they had left a sandwich behind for him and gotten out of the way before settling down in their current seats. [color=2ed969]“Are you doing alright?”[/color]

[color=28e0af]“As alright as I can be,”[/color] Rye answered honestly as he took a bite out of his sandwich, pulling his earbuds out and taking his time to chew slowly and swallow his food before continuing. [color=28e0af]“I mean, the letters? It’s messed up, but I was gone for most of it. I read them, and I’m definitely not going to be genuinely good for a while as you’ve already seen from my nightmare last night. [i]But[/i] I have my family to lean on. Momma Belmonte? What am I supposed to do with that but accept it, you know? It’s completely out of my control and I was gone for most of that too. All I can do is be here [i]now[/i] for everyone that needs me, to help where I can and take control where I’m able. If I can crack jokes and make someone smile and maybe forget how hellish their life is for a moment, I’m gonna.”[/color]

Avigail watched as her son picked at the crust of his sandwich, tossing the crumbled bits to the ground for the pigeons to pick up. She was rarely conflicted about having moved to Edenridge as a whole, but everything that has happened to her son has had her revisiting that choice more than she’d like to admit. She’d watched her son blossom, wither, and start to grow again in this community and she would be lying if she said it didn’t warm and break her heart in equal measure. Luckily, with the weekly therapy and the time away from the town, Rye had been slowly getting healthier again, recovering right along with his savta whether he knew it or not. These recent road bumps will simply be another small setback that will further his growth once dealt with. She was sure of it. She had to be.

That doesn’t mean she doesn’t need to worry about him while the setbacks occur.

[color=2ed969]“You being gone wasn’t your fault, that was out of your control and no one expected this to happen. I seem to remember you telling Danny exactly that when he came back from camp,”[/color] She pointed out, reaching out to still her son's fidgeting hands and lead the sandwich to his mouth where it belongs. Rye allowed the direction with an accepting eye roll, used to his mother bulldozing through his anxious habits to make sure he ate properly. [color=2ed969]"Remember to take time for yourself, [i]Bubbe[/i], I’d never tell you not to help someone but you can't be there for those you love if you wear yourself too thin."[/color]

[color=28e0af]"I know I know, I promise to be true to my own health and stay aware of my own energy levels and all that. But seriously Ma, there are a lot of people hurting right now that are going to need support and I'm actually in a place to give it again, I think,"[/color] Rye leaned against his mother's side as he wiped the crumbs off his hand and onto the ground, knowing she was only worrying for his well being and loving her all the more for it. [color=28e0af]“I’m not the best listener, but I can be there for people, you know? I’m not going to develop some savior complex and burn myself out, I’m just trying to help those I love see things a little clearer. You raised me right and you raised me well, now I'm going to spread that good energy.”[/color]

They sat there in mutual silence for a moment as his mother processed his words and finished her own sandwich. She studied her son, so proud of the beautiful and strong-willed man he had become while silently lamenting what pushed him to such a point in the first place. You never really knew what you were going to get with him sometimes now. She was ashamed to admit it- even to herself- but without Robyn, JP, and the rest of their little family Avigail doesn’t know if she would have been able to bring her son back from the depths. She was amazing, but she was still just one woman, and the trauma this town creates cannot be healed by a single person. Sometimes even the physical wounds take more than just her own two steady hands.

[color=2ed969]“You’ve grown so much. And I am so proud of you and everything you’ve done,”[/color] Avigail said seriously, putting her arms around her son and dropping her cheek to the top of his head as she squeezed him tight. She then started loudly kissing his head while rocking him back and forth playfully. [color=2ed969]“My baby is a grown man now! What am I going to do once you don’t need me anymore!”[/color] she bemoaned dramatically while her son laughed and flailed along with the routine.

[color=28e0af]“You’ll still have Winnie and Mallory to harass if you really think I’ve aged out!”[/color] He laughed out as he untangled himself from his mother’s grasp. [color=28e0af]“Winnie’s not even a full eighteen yet and Mal’s only [i]sixteen[/i].”[/color] he scoffed.

[color=2ed969]“Don’t say that like you’re so much older,”[/color] Avigail scolded teasingly with an exaggerated eye roll. Her mission was accomplished, though, as her son was grinning again. [color=2ed969]“You can still see a pediatrician at your age, so I still get to fuss over you as much as humanly possible.”[/color]

[color=28e0af]“I don’t think that’s a real rule, but I’m gonna let it slide,”[/color] Gavriel joked as he stood up from the bench after checking his phone, turning around to reach his hand out to her. [color=28e0af]“Only because your lunch break is over and I’d hate to send you off after you just lost an argument.”[/color]

[color=2ed969]“Oof, the cheek on you, I don’t know where you get it,”[/color] Avigail accepted her son’s offered hand and rose from the bench as well with his help. 

[color=28e0af]“Yeah, because how on earth could we pinpoint the biggest parental influence in my life,”[/color] Rye deadpanned. [color=28e0af]“It really must be Momma, right? She’s a well of dry humor and sarcasm.”[/color]

[color=2ed969]“Oy [i]vey[/i],”[/color] His mother rolled her eyes good naturedly, showing exactly where he got that move from. [color=2ed969]“Okay you brat. I’m going to leave before you decide to take back my win too. I can feel the mischief pouring off of you right now,”[/color] Avigail laughed. [color=2ed969]“Remember to take care of yourself, and I’ll see you and JP at home tonight for family game night.”[/color] She gave him a kiss before picking up her little [url=https://149352953.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/organ_transplant_lunch_bag.png]cooler[/url]- a gift from Gavriel of course- and heading back the way she had come. [color=2ed969]“Love you!”[/color]

[color=28e0af]“Love you too, don’t accept any drugs from strangers! Only people you know!”[/color] Rye called after his mother, who raised her hand in a peace sign but otherwise did not turn around.[color=28e0af] “By god I love that woman.”[/color] He looked into the window of MSM and saw that the chaos from earlier had completely disappeared while he and his mother had their lunch, so he happily bounded back into the shop and hopped onto the counter to further harass his favorite person.[/color][/indent]