▌Math, plants, and coffee- a kalon tryout▐❦

[Knickknacks]

❦ back to my post

username:: knickknacks
kalon name:: silas
gender:: male
age:: 34 in human years
birthday: April 18th
-----
residence:: a small [plant-filled] apartment in a big city
occupation:: high school math teacher/single dad to Firren
relationship status:: single definitely not crushing on a close
friend. nope. no way.
likes:: coffee with lots of sugar; his son's plants; cooking;
button-up shirts; sticking to routine; rainy days
and his son, obviously.
dislikes:: disorganization; being sick; hot, humid days

fast facts::
::rumors abound (aka Firren suspects) that Silas owned a
motorcycle in his younger years. Silas will neither
confirm nor deny this.

::Silas is actually a great cook! His favorite thing to
make is stir fry- it’s usually a chaotically colorful
mix of whatever he has on hand, but somehow
always ends up being delicious.

::despite his son’s talent for taking care of plants,
Silas himself has a bit of a "black thumb." He
couldn’t keep a dandelion alive if he tried.
Firren keeps him away from his flowerbox.

::confirmed: Silas wore ponytails when he was
younger. There is photo evidence of this.

personality::
defining traits:: intelligent; affectionate; a creature of habit

Silas is, overall, a pretty easygoing kalon. He serves as a sort of gentle authority figure to the younger kalons in his life- that being his son and the students he teaches. He likes to think of himself as understanding and approachable, but also not afraid to 'lay down the law' if need be. This is mostly true- Silas can be a somewhat timid soul at times, and doesn't like getting angry at others, but he won't stand for outright rudeness and disrespect.

Silas has an easy, affectionate relationship with his adopted son, Firren. Their days usually follow a pattern; Silas likes having a routine, a structure, to his daily life and feels that it's beneficial to his son as well.

Departure from routine can be an alarming thing for Silas; a negative trait of his is a certain resistance to change- if it’s forced upon him he’ll bridle against it, and if he has the potential to change something in his life he becomes a bit nervous to do so for fear of upsetting things. His son’s more enthusiastic, though sometimes simplistic, view of such things has actually proved to be helpful to Silas- he loves that he’s learned so much from being a parent. and hopes he’s doing a good job of it!

[Knickknacks]

6:00 a.m.
*beep, beep, beep, beep-

Silas groaned and rolled over, quickly slapping the ‘snooze’ button on his alarm clock to shut it up. He was warm and comfortable in bed, but he had coffee to brew, papers to review, and a son to wake up, so after snuggling indulgently into his blankets for another moment he forced himself to sit up and get out of bed.

The wood-planked floor of the apartment was smooth and slightly cool under Silas’ paws as he shuffled into the kitchen, all four eyes blinking blearily. He stifled a yawn as he busied himself with the coffee machine, placing the largest mug he had underneath the spout before venturing off to get supplies for the rest of his breakfast.

Before long he had whipped up a batch of pancake batter from a boxed mix and started to cook them, tipping the finished ones onto an ever-growing stack beside him as he went. The pancake stack grew bigger and more precarious, with Silas only stopping to retrieve his coffee from under the machine.

At around 6:30, Silas heard the groan of a chair being pushed away from the breakfast bar, letting him know that his son had been lured out of bed by the promise of a pancake breakfast.

“Good morning, Firren,” he said in a sing-song voice.

“Good morning, Dad,” Firren responded in similar tones, smiling sleepily. “Are any of those pancakes for me, or are you planning to eat them all?”

“I suppose I could spare some for you,” Silas said contemplatively, picking up the steaming plate of pancakes and placing it down on the breakfast bar beside his son, along with another place. “The syrup and fruit are in the fridge,” he said, turning this time to the coffee machine to brew his second cup.

After retrieving another steaming mug of coffee, Silas joined Firren at the counter. The two ate in comfortable silence, enjoying pancakes doused in syrup and cut strawberries. Once the pancakes had all been consumed, Silas and Firren ventured into their respective rooms to dress- Silas in a pair of khaki pants and a comfy flannel, and Firren in dark jeans, a gray t-shirt, and a dark green sweatshirt. Silas’ long hair was tucked behind his ears in a neat coil.

“Alright, team,” Silas said, clapping his paws together. “Our train leaves at 7:05, as always- let’s get our stuff together and head out!” He saw Firren grin at his reference to their two-kalon family unit as a ‘team.’ Five minutes later, laden with schoolbags, laptops, lesson plans, and snacks, the two departed, heading down two flights of stairs and out of their apartment building onto the chilly city streets. It may have been early, but that hadn’t done anything to reduce the number of kalons out- others were walking up and down the streets, clutching coffee cups and talking on phones and huddling into scarves, breathing cold puffs of breath out into the air.

-❦-

Everything had run rather smoothly this morning, Silas noted appreciatively. Sometimes he slept through his alarm, or Firren did- or they both did. Sometimes a shirt or shoe or paper Silas needed to hand back went missing, leading to a frantic last-minute search (and, consequently, a late departure). But today they’d both woken up alright, and though Silas still felt a little bleary, his third mug of coffee, clutched carefully in one hand, was helping to warm and wake him up. He saw Firren give an impressively large yawn as they descended a flight of stairs into the crowded subway station, following their usual path to a platform on the left, and boarded the waiting train. Wow, Silas noted, appreciating their near-perfect timing. I’m good.

He and Firren grabbed a couple of seats to the right of the door, tucking their bags into their laps and settling in for the ride. Silas saw Firren’s eyes drop shut a little bit and nudged his son awake, grinning. Firren wrinkled his nose in mock-annoyance and reached to unzip his backpack instead, rifling through the notebooks and papers to make sure he had everything.

“Ah, shoot,” he said, not sounding extremely bothered. Silas knew he hadn’t forgotten homework- if he had, Firren would sound more anxious. So what was it instead?

“I forgot my permission slip again,” Firren said, meeting his dad’s questioning gaze with a half-smile. “It’s not due until the end of the week, but I thought it would be nice to not be the last one turning it in for once.”

“Tomorrow, then,” Silas said easily as the doors slid shut and the train began to move forward. The dark tunnel walls whizzed by them, punctuated with the occasional splash of graffiti. They stopped at one, two, three stations, and then their first stop came- Firren’s, where he would disembark to get to his middle school.

When Firren was younger, they would both get off at his stop. Silas would walk him to school and then make the rest of the trip to the high school where he worked on foot. But now that Firren was getting more independent, he had begun to make the trip on his own. Silas was partially relieved to be spared the extra walk, especially in cold weather like this, but on the other hand he felt an odd sense of loss as he remembered walking tiny Firren into the elementary school over the years. His son was getting older.

Silas stood up with Firren as his son began piling his things together, slinging his backpack over one shoulder and grabbing his water bottle. He took his son’s paw and squeezed briefly before pulling Firren in for a quick hug.

“Love you, son,” Silas said, grinning.

“Love you too, Dad!” Firren said brightly, stepping out of his father’s arms and heading for the exit. Silas sat back down, all four eyes trained on his son’s back as the train began to move again and Firren was lost in the crowd.

-❦-

Silas’ ride was only one stop more, and then a short walk of just a few minutes to get to the high school. He entered the front courtyard at around 7:25, just over half an hour before the school day started. Not many students were here just yet- they gathered in small clusters in the front courtyard and the entrance hall, talking and laughing and complaining about how cold it was. More would start to trickle in as the start of the school day got closer, with a number that even showed up routinely late.

Silas was well-acquainted with a few of these latecomers- he had them in class. Some combination of annoying siblings, missed trains, and lost homework always seemed to conspire and make them late, if all the stories were to be believed. He let out a small chuckle, recalling some of the frantic tales he’d heard in the past, as he made his way through the blessedly warm hallways to his math classroom. It was quiet for now, the neat rows of desks standing empty, but Silas would have a full schedule once the day got going, teaching a variety of math classes to the various grades of students. He gave a small internal wince as he remembered that today he had his rowdy Geometry class during third period. They were nice kids, he acknowledged, and quite smart, but they seemed to lack a certain ability to keep quiet at times. Although, with the noise of that class, there also came a guaranteed does of hilarity. Those kids had made Silas laugh many times so far this year- though they’d also given him a considerable amount of headaches.

Just another day, Silas thought with a smile as he hung his coat over the back of his chair and got ready to begin the next phase of his day.

-❦-

[Knickknacks]

The last bell of the day rang, and Silas’ final class scrambled out of their chairs, grabbing books and water bottles and making for the door. Many of them waved and wished him a good day as they departed, smiling brightly.

It had been a good day, Silas decided. All the kids seemed to be coming along well; even the sophomore who had, last class, dramatically declared that she would be boycotting math for the rest of her school career, seemed to be progressing fine after a discussion with Silas and a little extra practice during her lunch hour.

Teachers weren’t allowed to leave the school until 3:20, once all of the students had departed for home, so Silas had a bit of time to kill before he headed out fo pick up his son. He passed the next little while checking homework papers- the fewer he had to do this evening, the better- and when he next looked at the clock, it was nearing 3:30. Silas scrambled out of his seat with a yelp, gathering his things before hurriedly exiting the building. Firren would be waiting for him.

-❦-

It was a three-block walk for Silas, not to the middle school, but to the small cafe they’d discovered last summer. It was a tiny place, but cozy, and after going there for lunch innumerable times during the summer months, Firren and Silas had decided to make it their after-school meeting place, where Firren would go after school and wait for his dad to come pick him up. They were both familiar with the owner of the cafe, and she had told Silas she was more than happy to let Firren hole up at the place while Silas finished up at the school.

Before long, Silas had reached the little place. A cheerfully painted window proclaimed the cafe’s name- “Sunnyside”- to all who passed by. Silas ducked inside, out of the chilly streets and into the warm, coffee-scented air of the cafe.

Silas spotted Firren at his usual table, nestled on a bench against the wood-paneled wall among a few small blue and yellow pillows, papers spread out on the table in front of him. Also on the table was a small white plate which, judging from the crumb residue on it, had previously held something delicious.

“Hi, Dad!” He said with a small smile, before bending down to scribble something else in a notebook.

“How was your day?” Silas asked, taking a seat opposite him.

“Good,” Firren said distractedly, busying himself with what looked like a math worksheet. “How was yours?”

“Good- as usual,” Silas responded. “May I ask what that used to be?” He said curiously, peering at the pile of crumbs on Firren’s plate.

“A scone!” Firren said, meeting his father’s eyes with a sly little smile. “Marie gave it to me- no charge.”

Marie was the owner of the cafe, a friend of Silas and Firren’s. Silas frowned down at his son’s knowing smile- and proceeded to nearly jump out of his chair when a voice sounded from behind him.

“Hello, Silas!”

Silas nearly fell out of his chair, righted himself, and then abandoned the chair altogether, standing up hurriedly (and decidedly not blushing). Before him stood another adult kalon, a little bit shorter than him, with curly yellow-and-white fur, bright blue eyes, and a sweet smile. Silas grinned back, brushing an escaped lock of hair out of his face.

“Good to see you again,” the other kalon said, brushing her flour-caked paws on her apron. “How are you?”

“I’m doing well, thank you Marie,” he said, trying to keep his voice even. “You?”

“I’m good, thanks for asking,” she responded, and her smile became somehow brighter. “Just trying out a new recipe of scone since business is a little slow at this time of day- Firren agreed to be a test subject for me. I won’t make a habit of feeding your son up on pastries while you’re not around, don’t worry,” she added with a small laugh, picking up Firren’s empty plate. “What did you think, Firren?”

“It was good,” he replied. “Really fluffy.”

“Excellent,” Marie said, beaming. “That’s what I was trying to do- tweak the balance of the recipe to make the scone even fluffier. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“What have you guys been up to lately?” She continued, leaving their table but staying within earshot. She paused near a table that looked to have been recently vacated, piling a few abandoned dishes into a neatly balanced stack.

She asked this question periodically, and Silas’ customary answer- ‘homework for both of us tonight-’ was on the tip of his tongue.

But as he turned around, smiling slightly, to say so, he saw Marie cast in the chilly overcast light shining in from outside and was struck by a... not a thought, so much as a quick stream of realizations.

She looks lonely (she looks beautiful) I should do something about that I should invite her over-

“Um. Firren and I were thinking of maybe having a movie night tonight,” he said, plowing ahead with his half-formed idea before he could second-guess himself. “You- you’re more than welcome to join us tonight if you like.” He ended this sentence with a slight lift. Not quite a statement, not quite a question.

Silas could feel Firren’s eyes on the back of his neck. Well that was an irresponsible thing to say, he thought, wincing internally. I have work, Firren has homework, that was way too forward of me- she’s probably got other plans- I’ll just-

“That is. You don’t have to. I’m sure you’re probably busy-“ he said quickly.

“Oh! That’s- that’s very kind of you, Silas- if you’re sure, I’d-“ Marie said at the same time. They both trailed off. Silas was fairly certain he was sweating. He heard a small snorting sound behind him, like Firren was trying to restrain giggles.

“I- I wouldn’t want to impose,” Marie continued. He guessed that if they weren’t full of dishes she’d be wringing her hands. She somehow looked nervous and hopeful at the same time, and Silas knew suddenly that he’d made the right decision. “But if you’re sure-“

“I am- very sure. You’re more than welcome. Anytime,” Silas blurted, giving her a small- hopefully reassuring?- smile.

“Okay,” Marie said, smiling back at him (she had a pretty smile, Silas noticed). “I’ll just- does seven work for you guys?“

“Seven is fine!” Silas said.

A short pause. Silence. Was Marie blushing? Silas couldn’t tell. He knew he was.

Firren probably thinks we’ve both lost it, he thought. Another internal wince.

“So I’ll just- see you guys then!” Marie said, adjusting her grip on her stack of dishes and bustling away into the kitchen.

Silas stared after her for a moment before turning back to Firren. His son looked ready to burst with glee, but he stayed silent until they’d gathered up all their things and stepped back out onto the street.

“Ha!” He crowed, drawing a startled look or two from passers-by. “You DO like Marie! I knew it! And you totally just asked her out on a date, too! Nice work, Dad!”

He darted, giggling, down the street toward the nearest subway station, and as Silas started after him he realized he was laughing too.

-❦-

[Knickknacks]

6:30 p.m.

“It’s not a date, you know,” Silas said, frowning at Firren from across the table. His son paused between bites of food- Silas had whipped up a stir fry of chicken and vegetables- and gave his dad a skeptical look.

“Sure it’s not,” he said, flashing that gleeful little smile again.

“Firren, I’m serious,” Silas protested, willing himself not to start blushing again.

“But you like Marie- I know you do!” Firren said, louder, setting down his fork. “And I’m pretty sure she likes you too- she smiles a bunch and fidgets with whatever she’s holding whenever you talk to her.”

Silas stopped for a minute to digest that information.

“That’s what all my classmates do when they like someone,” Firren continued, nodding sagely. “Not me, of course- but some of my friends. They’re all stupidly obvious about it but nobody ever seems to figure things out.”

“I’m sure,” Silas said wryly. “But my point is, Firren-” he reached across the table and placed his paw overtop his son’s to get his attention.

“I- and Marie, too, I guess- we’re not middle school students. We’re adults. We have more responsibilities- she has her business, I have my job and my students and you.” He gave Firren’s paw a little squeeze.

“You are the most important thing to me right now, Firren. The biggest and silliest and most plant-loving responsibility I have. My decisions affect you, too. I have to do what’s best for you- and starting a relationship would be a big change of things. Even if it’s with someone you like.”

“I do like Marie,” Firren insisted. “And I don’t mind. Really. You guys make each other happy- and Marie makes me happy, too! She always asks me about my plants and how they’re doing and gives me free stuff to eat and lets me help with her gardening out back sometimes and, overall, I really wouldn’t mind having her as a stepmom someday. I think... a change like that would be a good one, right?”

“I-“ Silas stopped. He was silent for a long moment before huffing a laugh and looking back up at his son, all four eyes slightly misty. “When did you get so wise and sensible?” He asked, smiling.

“It comes naturally,” Firren said, adopting a primly serious expression. Silas laughed.

“And you aren’t interested in girls yet, are you?” He asked, half-jokingly (but also hoping the answer was no- he didn’t think he could handle that potential drama just yet).

“No way,” Firren said, wrinkling his nose, the facade breaking. “All I need is you and my plants at this point. Promise.”

-❦-

Silas liked routine.

He liked structure, and firmly believed that having an order to life was good for both him and his son.

All things considered... today had ended up being a bit of a departure from routine. But not in a bad way.

Marie had showed up at 7:02, apologizing profusely about her slight lateness- she had underestimated the time the trip over would take. She’d barely exchanged pleasantries with Silas before Firren grabbed her paw and bustled her inside, all smiles and introductions as he showed her to the overflowing windowbox- the domain of all his plant friends, which Silas and his black thumb were kept well away from. Marie was overjoyed to meet all of Firren’s plants after having heard so much about them. Silas had stood back, watching the two of them, marveling at the *rightness* of all this.

They hadn’t started the movie on time, either- Firren had insisted on making popcorn, and their being in the kitchen led to him asking Marie about her scone recipe, which led to a demonstration of Marie’s cooking skills (and a small flour explosion, courtesy of Firren).

Normally, on a night like tonight, Silas and Firren would have worked- Silas on his grading and lesson plans, and Firren on his homework. Silas had noticed the work starting to pile up for his son- gone were the days of completing a single worksheet before play. According to Firren, the work for high schoolers was even worse- several older friends, or siblings of younger friends, had to stay up “really late” in order to keep up with all their work. Silas tried to be gentle on his students- so long as they were learning alright he didn’t feel a need to saddle them with tons of extra work.

Tonight, instead of doing homework, however, Silas, Firren, and Marie- along with several blankets- curled up on the well-worn green couch, watching a movie and polishing off the last of the cookies Marie had made in her little demonstration. The movie was Christopher Robin, which both Firren and the adults found to be sweet and a bit nostalgic.

When the credits began to roll, Firren yawned loudly and flopped dramatically across the pillows of the couch, curling further into his blanket. He would be heading to bed soon after Marie had gone, Silas thought.

Once Marie had gathered her things, Silas showed her to the door. As Marie slipped her coat on, she met his eyes and gave him another one of those small, sweet smiles. Silas felt his heart kind of maybe melt a little bit.

“Thank you for coming over tonight,” he said quietly. “It was... nice.”

“Thank you for inviting me!” Marie said brightly. “I did have fun- and I’m glad you guys enjoyed the cookies.”

Silas gave a small laugh, remembering the small ingredient hurricane that had been scattered around the kitchen in the process of making them.

“Well- I’ll see you tomorrow again, right?” Marie said, her voice softer now. She took a small step toward the door, her eyes lingering on his face, looking like there might be more she wanted to say.

There was more Silas wanted to say, too. More he didn’t want to leave unsaid.

“Marie, I- would you want to do this again sometime? I... really enjoyed tonight,” he confessed, feeling the heat of a blush threatening. He really ought to be able to keep his composure better, he was a grown adult for goodness’ sake, not a teenager- but Marie was smiling again, and that make it impossible to not smile back.

“I’d love that,” she said, and before he knew it her arms were around him for a brief hug. “We can work something out tomorrow, if you like?”

“I would, he said sincerely, returning her hug for a brief moment before she pulled away to head to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

Marie smiled at him once more, and then the door was closing and she was gone.

“So,” came Firren’s voice from somewhere behind him. “Did that count as asking her out on a date?”

“Oh, off to bed with you, you goof,” Silas said teasingly, turning around and waving his paws at his son in a shooing gesture. Firren laughed and slid off the couch, scurrying off to brush his teeth and wash his face before bed.

All in all... today had been good, Silas thought. Not *quite* the routine he was used to, but different in a good way. The best way.

-❦-

[Knickknacks]

-❦-

Aaaand that’s my form! Thanks for reading! ^^
I had a ton of fun writing this little slice of Silas and Firren’s life. Thanks so much for the opportunity to try out for this beautiful kal. <3

I’ve been doodling him in the margins of a bunch of papers; might share some of those doodles if I can find time to upload them but I may just leave it at the writing? We’ll see how things shake out.

The moodboard at the top of my form was made by me, though I own none of the stock images contained in the board itself. Firren and Marie, the other kalons in the story, are owned by me as well.

Total word count (not including the personality+stuff in the first post) is about 3,750- rounded off.

-❦-