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 Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 1:13 pm
The climbing wall might have been a sort of vicarious drive. The want to do something that at least felt somewhat risky, even when he knew that he’d be tethered, and knew – thanks to his last round of attempting this; that they would hold and slow his fall. Once he got there though, yeahhhh… that slowed his roll as the phrase went. He stared up at the wall like he was willing it to bend over so he could just… be at the top. This was maybe a really stupid idea given his sleeping ‘habits’ were pretty well shot lately thanks to nightmares after ‘That House’. He did see someone he knew though, the Paper on Antigone! “Hey!” he called and gave a tired wave. “How, how did that paper turn out?”
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 1:55 pm
Lily didn't know why she hadn't thought of the rock wall at the gym to solve all of this mess about needing to climb. The moment it hit her, she'd clambered down out of the makeshift hammock she'd been constructing on the roof of her apartment building and immediately changed clothes, hightailing it for the nearest fake climbing apparatus. It wasn't her natural forte, but weeks of practicing on trees had hardened her hands and built up enough upper body strength that it felt easier than the last time she'd tried. She'd been at the top of the wall for a few minutes now, but wasn't ready to ring the bell yet and signal that she'd like to be let down. However, she did hear a familiar voice and glanced down, waving from under all of her straps and protective gear. "B plus, said it was a solid premise but there were typos, which is my life story," Lily shrugged, nevertheless letting off a half-hearted smile. "Would've been totally screwed without you, though." She rang the bell and let herself drop to his level, though already she felt the itch to be up top, some silent frustration at letting her prize go so easily. "How's it been? Save any other GPAs?"
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 2:00 pm
“If I did, I think you’re the only one to admit it.” He said with a tired grin. “I thought maybe I’d see about trying to climb this bloody thing again. Last time someone proved to me the ropes worked by…giving me a push.” He said with a touch of wry humor in his voice. “Sorry… if you want to meet me at the top, you were a lot closer before I said hi.” He ducked his head embarrassed.
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 2:12 pm
"Yikes," Lily winced, putting a hand absentmindedly on her own ropes. "That's kind of an a*****e way to teach, I'm not about that trust fall stuff or whatever." It was bad vibes to teach based on fear, and Lily didn't appreciate that someone had apparently used that tactic on Zac, but that was a rant for another day. "It's no worries, I was just gonna come back down and climb it again anyway," she shrugged, testing the bottom row with a hand to get a sense of her footing. "I'm pretty slow, but I'll try to meet you up there, okay?" She held out her hand as a way to shake his hand, like she was making a deal or something, but she was looking for that touch of familiarity, that sense of pack she'd found with the others. After all, they still hadn't found number five, and time was running short.
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 2:22 pm
He glanced at the hand, and then took it, shaking it though a little surprised at the action. Not that handshakes were weird, it was just the timing struck him as slightly out of place. “I suppose there are worse things to have happen though.” He said distractedly, an after thought commentary on the previous ‘teaching method’ he’d encountered. “It’s a strange enough town you know?” He wished he hadn’t said it the moment the comment left his mouth, but it was too late to withdraw it now, so he tried to look focused on checking his harness, and then finding foot and hand holds.
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 2:31 pm
No strange werewolf family feels. Ah, well, such was life. "You're telling me," Lily scoffed, reaching for the highest hold she could grasp. "I didn't think that any of the spooky s**t people talked about was anything more than new age shops trying to get a foothold, but..." She paused, glancing over at Zac. He wasn't one of them--he didn't have to be involved. "...but...there's...some stuff on youtube that makes it look creepy at night, you know?" Lily was not practiced at lying, and she looked down at herself intently as she focused on the climb ahead. Maybe he would just let it go.
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 5:24 pm
He glanced at her; there was something very…haunted in his look, exacerbated by the dark circles under his eyes. “Yeah… youtube.” He said sounding distant, before shaking his head like he meant to clear it. “Yeah.” He said again, not really pushing, but there was a –knowing- tone. He wasn’t a good liar either… he didn’t even lie well about having been ‘lost’ in the ‘woods’ for seven days. He half… half wanted to tell her it was real… but something made him feel she might –already- know.
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 5:35 pm
Lily met his eyes, the terrible terrible look in his eyes, and on instinct she looked down at herself to see if maybe she'd sprouted the tail again, this time in public. Looking decidedly tailless, she let out a soft laugh, a strained one, and climbed up another peg. But why, then had he looked at her that way? "I dunno," she drawled, searching for something more. She had the pack, but she desperately needed to feel like she wasn't alone, joining some cult that inexplicably made her feel safe. "You believe any of the things people say? About this town being weird?"
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 6:16 pm
Her question gave him pause, just a brief moment of hesitation as he weighed the pros and cons of telling another. “You’ll maybe think I’m crazy, but, yes. And I think there’s a lot more than most of the town knows.” He said even as he turned his gaze towards the wall, reaching and testing handholds. The laugh though, the nervous laugh, he worried at his lip and climbed a little higher, his arms were shaking very slightly. “Sorry… if I upset you. “
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 6:51 pm
"It's no big deal, I was just curious," she shrugged, steadying her feet beneath her. Something wasn't quite clicking, but she couldn't think of how to word it... ...And then she remembered his face on a missing person's poster, floating around campus. "Wait, you were gone for a week," she paused, stopping in a place where she had a comfortable hold. Lucas said that the disappearances were because of the mysterious other world he'd been talking about. If Zac knew something, then maybe he had better answers than the ones she'd been given. She turned to look at Zac, giving him an impassive look. "I heard it had something to do with an other town. Is it true?"
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 7:17 pm
He –nearly- misses his next handhold, a moment of scrabbling fingers and a jolt of adrenaline. Not that she recognized him, he’s getting used to that, but she mentions the other town and there is a moment of fear in his eyes, worry. “H…How did you..” He stammered and then shook his head, clinging to the wall. “Silly question, sorry, it just caught me off guard.” He said softly. “L-let me get to the top. W-we can talk when I’m not going to make a bloody fool of myself… is that alright?”
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 8:33 pm
Lily hadn't meant to make him slip, and she nearly dove for the other climber, stopping only when she sees that he takes hold. " s**t--sorry," she hissed, wincing. She hadn't considered how delicate the topic could be, or how much of an impact it would have on the other boy, given that her own understanding was so sparse. She nodded meekly in agreement, tousling her hair. "To the top. Then, questions." With more vigor than she usually gave towards her efforts, Lily turned back to her hands and began to climb.
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 8:46 pm
“D-Don’t be sorry… not your fault, not at all.” He assured her, though there was an additional tremble in his voice from that burst of adrenaline. He made himself try and be calm, made himself keep climbing though he was shaking so hard by the time he reached the top he had to get help from one of the spotters to get up over the edge where he sat for a long moment, panting and wrapping his arms around himself like he could hide the exertion. “So much harder than most people here make that look.” He said giving a nervous laugh. “Sorry, about before. It um, I suspected it but I didn’t expect it.” He said softly.
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Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 1:36 am
"I mean...it was kind of my fault, dude of unspecified gender." Lily's pace was steady, but she was true to her word and climbed slowly, nevertheless pulling herself over the ledge on her own strength. "If it was easy, we'd have rock climbing nerds everywhere," she affirmed, but there was a softness to her voice, an understanding, as well as a heaviness to her breath. She wasn't completely exhausted, but the effort had her winded, and she took a swig from the water clipped to her belt before she shuffled closer and away from prying ears. "So it's true, then," she murmured darkly, searching his eyes for a response. "What do you know?"
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Posted: Sat May 21, 2016 7:57 am
He gave a small laugh, but a pleased one, some of the tension easing out of his shoulders at ‘Dude of unspecified gender’. He grew more serious again though at her question. “More than I want to?” He admitted earnestly. “And less at the same time. I know… a lot at least; maybe all of the strange around here is real. I’m helping people I know with… information on things I used to consider mythology… giant spi… giant spiders. Other… places that are like here but not…that kinda stuff.” He stumbled over the spider; it painted itself too clearly behind his eyelids and even when he opened them for a moment. He rubbed absently at his chest at the memory of its touch. AMItotic sorry! I thought I tagged this but I fail!
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