|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 4:52 pm
Lawrence found himself cold again and this time got up without a word, as Lawrences tended to do.
And then he turned into a barn owl, because that was something else Lawrences did, and he leapt off the platform into the night, circling the platform in the cool night air. Feathers helped. Flying helped. Having his space away from them helped.
Let them figure their nonsense out, he thought. In the meantime he'd keep warm.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 5:33 pm
He was so damn tired.
Less physically, although sparring consistently with Lawrence was exhausting in and of itself. Mentally, however, he felt on edge and irritable, nerves fraying around the edges with every snide remark that was tossed his way. He couldn't say he was helping matters, tossing jibes right back; but that too was wearying in its own way.
Nash was staring out mutinously across the ropes course and felt Melvin's tentative hand brush against his back, heard the quiet note of desperation in his voice. Some of the fight went out from him, even as there was a rustle of feathers and an owl swooped away around them - an owl that looked annoyingly familiar, now that Nash knew who it was.
He sighed.
As much as he was disgusted by Lawrence, and as much as he wanted nothing more than to just walk away from it all, Melvin was a friend, and he didn't particularly care to see anything happen to him. Nash twisted around, leaning to press a brief, light kiss to Melvin's cold mouth before he stepped around him to sink down onto the floor of the pavilion again. Not for Lawrence to see, but for his and Melvin's sake, because he disliked fighting with people he generally got along with. It was, really, an I missed you too, except in Nash language.
"Fine," he said, sounding less irritated than before. "If you're in the middle, I'll behave."
He slid a look up to Melvin, feeling drained. "I swear."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 6:00 pm
He closed his eyes as he stood there, hearing the flutter of wings and knowing Lawr had left despite his feelings that it was dangerous. Why was he annoyed? Was it because he wasn't getting all the attention? Or was it because Nash wasn't just doing whatever he wanted or providing him with warmth?
He'll have to come down eventually. It will get dark. He'll get cold. He thought to himself, not turning away to look up and instead focusing on Nash.
Just as it seemed like Nash would also leave him, going off to some rope bridge to fume and yet be cold, he returned, and left him in stunned silence as he felt his lips brush against his so quickly that he had to convince himself he hadn't just desperately wished for the kiss enough to imagine it and it did happen. Touching them to somehow preserve the sensation, he felt that ripping hunger at having been away from physical contact for nearly a month. It was enough to make him reenact that night, watching owl included.
Taking a breath, he turned and moved back, glad that Nash had returned, and settled in the now vacant middle. "I'm not trying to lecture either of you. I don't don't want anyone fighting when we have other things to focus on. As much as I wish you two would get along, I know it's not going to happen. I don't expect it to happen. You two are....very different form each other." It was one of the appealing things about Nash. He had been something Lawr was not, a refreshing change to years spent with Lawr.
Reaching for his pack, he arranged a black case, long and holding something rigidly firm, before he pulled out the sleeping bag inside and closed the pack. Setting the backpack behind him, he unzipped the blanket out so that it could be shared and looked up at the circling bird with a sigh. He'd come down. He'd be safe. It was going to be okay.
He turned back to Nash and gave him a tired smile. "You already helped warm me up with that kiss. Keep it up and you can keep the blanket." He leaned in, not taking Nash's example of a little peck, and kissed him to actually feel his lips more deeply before parting. "Thank you. It's....been a while." A long while. A really long long while.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 7:00 pm
He had a feeling Lawrence was sulking - either that, or it was just a habit to turn into an owl whenever he wasn't getting his way. Nash gave the bird circling overhead a brief, annoyed glance, then dropped his eyes again, bringing one leg up so that he could rest his elbow on his knee, propping his chin up in his hand.
This was all a big mess, and he was tired of it being a big mess. And it was cold, and it was late, and he had no desire to continue squabbling when all Nash really wanted to do was go home, but that wasn't an option just yet - unfortunately.
"I know you're not," he mumbled. A few strands of hair had fallen out of his ponytail, curling over his shoulder. "Fighting on a mission is stupid. At the very least, I'll stop, for now, just so we can get through this ******** thing without any of us dying."
Including Lawrence, but he wasn't about to say he didn't care about that, so he just kept it as it was. Melvin was moving to lay out his sleeping bag, and Nash turned his head to watch him, arm dropping to rest across his knee. He had not, as it turned out, expected for Melvin to lean in again, had expected even less the kiss that turned out much longer than his own had been.
Nash's gaze flickered across Melvin's face, feeling a flicker of amusement, in spite of everything, though all he did was let out a sigh. Ignoring the fact that Lawrence was probably watching - this wasn't for him, after all - a hand reached up, curled around the back of Melvin's head, and pulled him back in again with a resigned sort of exhale, Nash's lips parting against his for a long, deep kiss that would surely work to warm them both up.
He let himself linger for a long few moments before pulling away.
"That's your welcome back gift," he informed Melvin, and pecked him one last time before dropping his hand away. "Since I'm sure you didn't get any sugar from the fish, as you've said."
He reached around for his own bag, Nash digging into it to pull out a small throw blanket, which was more just a single person thing and couldn't hardly fit more than that, and a few extra sweatshirts, which he tossed onto the sleeping bag. He zipped the bag up again, then bunched it up to use as a pillow, Nash easing himself down.
"Is he gonna come back down, or is he just gonna stay a bird forever?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 3:22 am
Lawrence wanted to just focus on flying, the way the cold dead air was difficult to navigate, the lack of thermals and updrafts, anything that would take his mind off of Nash and Melvin. But he couldn't. They were movement and sound and to the owl that was impossible to ignore, all the hallmarks of prey.
Even high up he could hear them, because of course he could, he could hear the grass rustling far below and the sussuration of the trees moving out there in the darkness. But mostly he heard them talking and kissing.
You two are...very different from one another.
Different was a word he didn't like, it was a word his father had used before he switched to simply saying there was something wrong with him. Nash was normal, Nash didn't need medication just to avoid seeing things which weren't there and hurting people. Melvin had to know that and understand that. Nash probably felt easy, like dealing with something without hassle or hurt, without all the problems he represented. To someone like Lawrence there was only logic in choosing the better individual, the more fashionable model. There was nothing he could do about it, it was a simple inexorable fact.
He was used to flying on the island so this new environment quickly tired him out, finding he was using more wingbeats than usual just to stay aloft. He landed on the roof and puffed up his feathers. It was difficult to go back down now, finding himself somewhat replaced by how content everyone else seemed without him present. It wasn't that he cared what they thought exactly, it was simply that to barge back in would be rude and rudeness wasn't something he enjoyed, it demeaned the impression he made on others, it messed with the mask.
He lifted one foot up into his fluff, balancing on just the one, as puffed up as he got but it was still too cold to stay like this. He'd end up in bad shape if he did. There weren't many options but to go back, but maybe he could just wait till everyone was asleep.
There were mice out there he realised, unlike the island, and it made the soundscape so much different and more engaging, he could listen to it for a while, if he had to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 5:54 am
He beamed at his welcome home gift, feeling more and more in the mood and his spirits better than they had been since the trip started. It was a nice refresher of being back on land - which means people, Nash, and kisses. As much as Atlantis was worlds above them in technology, they still had no one to cuddle up with at night.
"I'll have to leave more often then if that's my return gift." He said, moving his bag into a makeshift pillow and looking up as he heard the flutter of wings drop down but not to the platform.
"He's going to get cold." He muttered. "Lawr! Come down here please. You're going to freeze without any cover. You can stay a owl if that's what you want." It would save of their limited space and be easier to warm up a owl than a full person, he just wasn't sure if he felt better or worse as a owl near Nash.
"He said he had good hearing." He muttered again before leaning back and looking up. Babel slowly drifted down to settle on one of the posts of the platform. "Sorry Babel. You can't merge with anything here."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 6:17 am
It was nice to see Melvin more at ease, considering how tense he'd been in the gift shop. They were all tense, in one way or another, though Nash was, at least, attempting to ease back on all of the irritation that kept flaring up so easily around Lawrence.
"Yeah, yeah," said Nash dryly. "I think a few people might have a say about you continuing to disappear for long periods of time."
Not that they'd not had contact with Melvin while he was gone, but it wasn't like they could just pop down and see him all the time. Atlantis was underwater, after all. And it was guarded, according to Melvin. It was generally a lot easier to hang with people if they were actually somewhere in the vicinity of yourself.
Even if the last time he had seen Melvin before this had resulted in him and Lawrence attacking each other and Nash stalking out, but that was beside the point.
He eyed the owl, still an owl, and then the fish, squinting at both.
"How does that even work?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 6:55 am
Lawrence heard Melvin just fine, but he didn't move an inch at first.
You can stay an owl if you want.
Of course he could, as an owl no one would need to get upset about being in contact with him, nor would he encroach upon their oh so valuable space down there in their little love nest. Except this artifact took effort and there was always a toll in what it did to him, having essentially a time limit in how long he could sustain it. He wouldn't be spending the night as an owl and leaving himself in recovery when he might need it again to escape something truly dangerous.
Still, he didn't at all want to go back down there and have to deal with Nash. Acting as if it didn't irritate him was taxing and he was already the sort of cold that seemed to creep in and curl itself around his bones.
The thought occured to him that maybe he could go find somewhere else and meet back here in the morning, that maybe there'd be a rooftop or an attic somewhere he could nestle in out of the cold and open vulnerability of a platform. But he knew he'd end up in trouble over that no doubt, he wasn't really permitted off on his own any longer, on missions or otherwise in case he killed someone or did something criminal.
He'd like to be killing someone tonight, that at least was true.
Leaning forward off the roof he glided down to the platform and landed on the furthest unoccupied edge, turning back into his usual self and letting his legs hang over the edge as if he was considering jumping, one arm hooked around the nearest post and his back to both of them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 8:12 am
"They can say what they want. I have a alliance to work on, and I think that kinda is up there in Deus' best interest. It's just one less hunter for them to worry about in the end. At least I wouldn't be missing. Just - out at a different outpost. One that has a bed and no real dangers to me." Aside from the manipulation of his mind's memory and the use of his body by a foreign entity he knew very little about.
Turning his head up, he looked over at Babel who was moving slightly watching them. "I don't know really. Babel was Sophie's companion. It would show up to help her talk to us and float about before melting back into the walls or floor. I can't be sure how Atlantis uses Fear to power themselves, so Babel could either be efficient enough to conserve the Fear it has for long duration of time or siphoning off of me. I don't feel any more or less taxed then I do just from trying to adjust again to life back in the world."
With a flutter, he saw the owl return, settling there before it shifted back into Lawr. Back to them. Holding the pole. Danging off the edge.
Frowning, he glanced at Nash before turning his body enough to reach out and tug on the back of Lawr's coat. "Can you lay beside me? I don't want you getting cold, and I'd like to get warm too. Please?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 2:39 pm
"Sophie's the mermaid thing, right?" Nash asked, staring up at the thatched roof of their little sleeping grounds and then letting his gaze move again to the fish. It was really there, floating around, looking quite solid, although still very bizarre. "Does it...talk now? I guess it could be like, I dunno, a friend to talk to or something."
As Lawrence thumped back down onto the little pavilion, Nash reminded himself, not for the first time, that he was not going to squabble with him, because that would inevitably lead to shitty consequences, and he was too damn tired for that. He could play nice, if he wanted to.
Maybe.
Nash was on his back, one arm slung beneath his head. He closed his eyes, but he wasn't sleeping, only calming himself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 3:24 pm
Lawrence didn't look around at first, stubbornly keeping his back to both of the other men, even as his coat was pulled at. But though he was irritated there was no reason to be rude to Melvin and he moved over, sliding under the sleeping bag, at least what he could get of it and curling against the other man, his bad arm across Melvin's back. It was warmer up close but he knew being on the outside would be a lot less fun than being in the middle.
At least he probably wouldn't die. Right now anyway.
"I wasn't sure if you two were quite done." he said, muttering against Melvin's neck.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 3:50 pm
"Yeah. The AI golem guide that welcomes people to Atlantis. I just named her that. She isn't actually called that." He said, feeling bad Soarca disapproved of the name Sophie.
"It can't talk. It just...floats and I can ask it to come or rest or whatever else. It knows small commands. Or maybe tolerates small commands." He wasn't sure if the fish could do algebra or not.
As Lawr finally moved in, Melvin moved just a little to allow his arms to move under him and unzipped his coat. The whole point was to share head, so he opened his coat to allow his own natural warmth to start warming up the inside of the blanket cocoon. Or so he hoped. He then raised both arms back to nudge both men closer to his sides, not hiding that he was glad he managed to get them to finally rest. "Tuck the ends of the blanket under you so we can keep the warmth in." He advised.
At Lawr's comment, he quirked an eyebrow before leaning in to whisper. "You've seen us do more than kiss, but thank you for the privacy." A little too late now all things considered, but at least it was something.
He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes to rest just a little.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 5:11 pm
"Weird," said Nash, because it was, his eyes still following the fish around. "I mean, not the weirdest thing I've seen here, but still...weird."
Mostly because it was a fish. It was supposed to need water to live, and yet here it was, floating around perfectly pleasantly through the chill night air as though this was where it belonged. With a sigh, Nash shifted just a little closer, moving the blankets just enough to tuck under where they were supposed to be, rolling onto his side. He wasn't generally a cuddler - even with Kade he was intensely stubborn about it, although that was for an entirely different reason that made him miss Kade, in spite of all of his attempts not to think about him - but this was a situation where he rarely had a choice in the matter. It was too damned cold to try and solo it out.
He made very, very sure he was neither looking, nor touching Lawrence whatsoever, but he did burrow against Melvin's side, Nash closing his eyes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 6:10 pm
Lawrence and sleep had always had a very turbulent relationship. He'd always felt it was an essentially useless function, something which delayed progress and rendered one vulnerable several hours a night every single night for one's whole life. However, unlike eating, it was an essential function which he'd never managed to control no matter how hard he tried. He was an insomniac most of the time, a factor which was only exacerbated by his medication and far too many nights he'd just given up on pacing his own mind and vanished out of the house to go visit whoever he was obsessed with at any given time or simply to go for a long walk. He knew it was going to be difficult to sleep here, next to someone who considered him an enemy, but it was a factor which was slightly mitigated by the comfort Melvin represented. He'd spent a long time next to the other man and with his eyes closed, his senses full of the clean scent of him, it was at least possible to pretend he wasn't stuck here.
"It wasn't about privacy." Lawr said sullenly, still muffled against his back. "I just wasn't sure if I'd be interrupting the show is all." It would be funny more than anything else if they'd all gotten killed because Melvin and Nash had gotten too carried away.
Melvin at least was warm and after tucking the sheet behind him Lawrence sought the warmth out shamelessly, tucking his hands underneath Melvin's coat and then shirt to get the maximum heat he could possibly leech and tried very hard to relax.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MoonKitsune rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 6:34 pm
It was warm here, and he felt the comforting pressure of their presence against him. A hand on either of their sides to draw them in, to sense they were there, safe, breathing against him. At long last the bickering stopped for the sweet silence of sleep, and he savored the rarity of having both Nash and Lawr against him. It was far from the rampant fantasies of a man a long time deprived of human contact let along anything intimate, but he could at least know the bliss of what a cuddle sandwich felt. It wasn't the exactly sandwich he wanted, but it was blissful and warm.
After tensing for a split second as Lawr's hold hand moved under his shirt, he eased back to relax. With the overgrowth rustling, he felt content here, glad he was the type of person who actually was rather warm.
He had dozed, a fluttering sleep that slowly sank from the comfort of those around him, before he heard it. A low rumble turned into a roar. Gasping in a lungful of cold air, his eyes went wide, adjusting to the darkness as he noticed the flickering light reflecting off the scales of Babel as it swirled about frantically.
"Guys!" He called out, shaking them both as he slowly sat up.
He heard the rope bridge further off jostle but he couldn't see anything in the dark. Something was moving. Something large. Something close by. Quote: The creature looks like a mutated black panther.It looks like there's some sort of artifact gone wild, or maybe it's just an excess of FEAR built up over the years that has taken physical form. Regardless of how and what it is, you have to get rid of it. If you lose: It would be wise to pendant out before you get critically injured beyond repair. Perhaps you should come back and try again another day, when all of you aren't so tired and wounded...
If you succeed: The creature explodes into dust.-----
MUTATED BLACK PANTHERHP: 105 (Auto -3)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
