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Lawrence narrowed his eyes at Nash and gave him a look of disgust. “You’ve seen quite enough of my divinity.” He said coldly. “So I’m afraid my clothes are staying entirely where they are. Even if it wasn’t cold or disgusting that would be the case. You burned that bridge when you called me unattractive.” The “old” comment also stung the way it always did, taken directly as an insult (because clearly the gift shop mattered less than he did) rankling Lawrence’s pride. This heightened his self-consciousness more than usual which had the knock-on effect of also heightening his irritability. He took an angry sip of coffee, feeling a little nauseous at the thought of the calories involved, Melvin probably took sugar. Drinking it was a sort of self-flagellation and it twistedly made him feel better.

“I should have noted you as someone who wouldn’t appreciate animals.” It was a trait which Lawrence considered emblematic of someone who lacked imagination or a desire to to reach back to primal more visceral instincts. Nash – as far as he was concerned – was someone who stood for nothing more than intellectual tedium and his indifference towards nature just made this fact even clearer. Of course, this was as usual through Lawrence’s logic where he classed his own proclivity towards harming animals as just another degree of appreciation.

When Melvin started talking about water and the ocean, Lawrence found his own tension levels rising, thinking against his will about how horrible it would be to fall into a disused and murky aquarium and never surface. He wasn’t sure why everyone had to always talk about the damnable ocean as if it was something nice and not just a colossal murder puddle with no remorse for anyone or anything. He hated it and tolerated talk about it only because it was inexplicably important to Melvin.

He also found his nerves even more frayed by the fact they were still talking about Nash’s life. His inherent narcissism was not at all at peace with someone else being deemed more interesting than him.

He put down the coffee mug and sulkily stalked over to the cash register, which -when it wouldn’t open with button pressing - he violently and impassively tore open with his left claw, summoned in a flash of further irritation and blazing white runic light.

It was empty, apart from a few cents and a dollar, all of which he stowed neatly in his wallet.

The production of a strange floating fish by Melvin when he finally noticed it threw him off and he stopped in his tracks, stepping back a pace from the other man and back behind the counter

“Erm. What on earth is that?” he said, clearly not about to let it slide, even despite Melvin’s nonchalance towards it.

“Is it dangerous?” he snapped, glaring at the fish.

He pointed up. "This is Babel. He's watching over me while I work with Atlantis up here. He won't hurt you. Just don't...touch him."

"Come." He called, cupping his hands so Babel could rest in them and held them up for the two to see, one thumb rubbing Babel's side. "See. He's fine. I guess he doesn't like pockets." Since he had seen Babel so often, he only associated the fish to Atlantis and the mystery of their technology.

He looked around and could feel the tightness in his stomach get worse. "Do you....think this place is stable?" He looked around nervously again. "I think I might step outside for some fresh air."

Nash gave the fish another long, scrutinizing look, as though he half expected it to just flop out of the air and die on the ground. Except it was still floating, looking perfectly pleasant and golden, bobbing around Melvin's head before he was plucked from the air again.

"So...it's like...a pet?" he asked, as he climbed over a knocked over shelf and made his way over to the doorway. Melvin was still acting like a Nervous Nelly, and Lawrence was - well, Lawrence, and the gift shop was starting to feel a little too crowded.

"Nothing in here, andele andele."

Nash shoved his shoulder into the gift shop door to push it open and stepped back out, a gust of cold air twining around them, carrying with it the faint scent of smoke. He didn't wait for the others, instead meandering a few more paces back towards the front gate several yards away.

There were a bunch of glossy pamphlets on the ground. Nash squatted, reached out, and plucked one up, dangling it from his fingertips.

"Look, kindling," he said sardonically.

Lawrence didn't comment about his opinion on pets and how stupid it was to need them on the island, nor how crazy he thought it was to outright trust Atlantis. He'd tried trusting a powerful entity once and it had cost him years of his life, some scars and his fertility. He wasn't really in the mood for more blind trust in exchange for power, it was woefully overrated.

Peering at the pamphlet Melvin held up he raised a brow. "A little anachronistic no? They certainly seem out of step with the rest of this place." He shot Nash a look and smirked, throwing in a tiny smidgeon of Taym imitating as he did so. "Anachronistic means it seems like it's from another period of time."

Melvin found something more interesting though, the cart outwardly seeming worn but inside still full of wares.

"I would agree that they evacuated, except everything is so very overgrown." Lawrence said, gesturing at the plants which were encroaching on so much of the park.

He shrugged his shoulders. "If we are up against an entity which meddles with time here, I am outright calling my dibs right now on being twenty years younger."

"If we have a time-altering entitity, I'd rather see it talked to or killed. Whatever can give gifts of years usually wants a payment. No one does anything for free. It might turn us into a water buffalo." He looked over at Lawr, not wanting him to get tempted by any offer for anything. "Why just 20? You could ask to stay a set age all your life if it can alter time." Not that Melvin was against Lawr staying the age he was as he knew Lawr as none other than how he looked now, save a few years from the horsemen punishment. Still, a little more his age wasn't exactly a BAD thing - not that he'd get to enjoy it now.

He looked up and then checked his watch. "I forget the time change." He said, looking up at where Nash was pointing. "Good idea to be high up than on the ground if there are some wild animals. Something could pounce us in all this overgrowth."

Moving that way, he looked at the map. "This place sure had a nice assortment of animals. Even had a avian section too and a reptile land." He said, looking it over in the way a tourist might before folding it and looking up at the steps that lead to different rope bridges and a platform. It was a good thing they weren't taking any of the rope course or Lawr might need help, though he was flexible and stealthy enough that he might not.

Once atop the steps on the platform, he realized something. "There isn't enough space for a fire here....just us and our bags." If that.

Nash was doing what he did best at present - namely tuning out any of the conversation that had to do with anything about Lawrence. He was still smarting from the condescending tone of voice, his face still a little flushed, Nash climbing the stairs with angry footsteps, though he said nothing.

Maybe they'd be lucky, and some of the snakes from the reptile section would come in the night and strangle Lawrence. Nash was not looking forward to the night, brisk air turning colder as the sun dipped lower, and it was with a sinking sensation in his stomach that Nash realized the reality of their sleeping situation.

Especially because Lawrence was next to him, too close and in the ******** middle. Melvin was on the other side.

"Get the ******** away from me," Nash snapped, feeling, not for the first time, grateful for the fact that on any given day he wore at least three layers of clothing, and had more stashed away in his bag. "I'm not sleeping next to your sorry a**."

Misery had been the place that Lawrence had allowed himself to move to when they had climbed up to the platform, misery in the place of the restless irritation that had exemplified him the whole time they'd been walking about. However Nash pitching a massive fit about being anywhere near him only brought him back to the previous place.

He was angry not just because of the other man's ridiculousness but out of frustration at his own limitations and somewhere also some residual memory of the homophobia of his brother and father. Men didn't cuddle, men didn't touch. Perhaps if it wasn't for the medication he'd have lashed out sharply for the slight, all claws and indignation, but right now he just gave Nash a flat look before choosing to ignore his protest and stay where he was.

Melvin said it would be colder still that night and the thought twisted up bitterly in him. He wouldn't get any sleep, it was guaranteed, especially not with Nash being surly and his usual stupid self about everything.

"Do whatever you like.' he said to Melvin, already feeling the creeping tingles of a shiver across his back and scalp. Huddling up a little more he tucked his arms into his sleeves and hugged himself under the fabric. He wished he'd worn even more layers than he had. It was stupid. He'd lived in Sweden for long enough to know how to dress for the cold, but when you were on a tropical island it all just felt distant.

At least he'd only have five fingers to get frostbite.

There wasn't much space for them to do much of anything, and he felt the exhaustion of still adapting to life back on land complied with the issues between the two which had been nothing but jabs and remarks since the lighthouse. Standing up, he looked at Lawr who was stubbornly maintaining his spot and uncaring with what actually was decided - though he was sure he would be once something was done that he didn't like.

Moving closer to Nash, he reached out for him. "Nash." He said, not exactly sure what to say to him. He hadn't even had time to really make amends for the fight that happened down in Atlantis between them all.

"I'm not ******** Lawr. It's not cuddling. It's trying to keep warm. I....I had hoped you'd help me keep from freezing my a** off. Keep me warm." He breathed out, looking pleadingly over to him before he moved a little closer to whisper. "I missed you."

"How about I sit in the center? Everyone can be warm. I can't maintain much body heat without your help....and.......I know you are warm." The night on the rooftop said as much.