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On a soccer field not too far away, Krishna Dhawan dribbled a ball. His team had abruptly cancelled their biweekly practice due to the captain's wife going into labor. A completely understandable reason, but given Gwen's own recent hiatus due to her mother's new child... the florist was quite tired of birth at the moment. And the idea of children in general.

For this reason, he abandoned his normal practice field when he found it too close to a junior league game. The rainbow-haired man had no desire to listen to their cries or the yellings of overenthusastic parents. He had thought about returning to the flower shop, but Krishna craved the exertion. Plus, he had already arranged for the shop to be taken care of, and driven all the way out here.

But with a new field came new challenges. He may have known his home turf like the back of a calloused hand, but this new field was in far worse condition. A misplaced step into an unseen divet made him stumble. His aimed kick still connected with the ball--but it sent the object flying towards a teal-haired lacrosse player!

Once Krishna looked up to follow the path of his ball, his gaze became markedly interested. The 'victim' of the oncoming object was immediately attractive, certainly. Of more interest to him, however, were the more subtle details. Swirls of black ink around the younger man's wrist tantalized him, particularly since the same markings appeared further up his arm. Those additional marks flitted in and out of vision as the dirty, white t-shirt shifted. How large was the tattoo? Why that particular pattern? ... did he have any others?

Krishna would have preferred to simply observe his fellow athelete in action and try to use his eyes to answer these questions... but he had come with purpose. He jogged over to the lacrosse player and spoke first, simple words though they may have been, "My ball?"

"I am not new; my field is merely overrun with urchins." The soccer player indicated the distant field with a wave of his hand. Judging from the looks of the situation, it was half-time. He merely hoped the parents had enough sense to clean up all the water bottles and discarded orange peels. It was not his job to clean the park, but Krishna greatly disliked seeing a mess where one should not be. It showed a basic lack of respect for the others who used the space. "You?"

As he moved over, Krishna knew this encounter could be short. It would take no time at all to retrieve his soccer ball from the offered contraption in the other athelete's hand. Normally, he would do so and go right back to practice. He would have his ball; why talk more? Why interact with someone more than necessary? Yet, he found himself tipping the crosse down in a purposeful way as he retrieved his ball. It allowed him the excuse of 'falling' to steady himself by gripping the younger man's arm.

The ball tipped out of the tiny net and rolled to Krishna's feet due to this action. The soccer player offered a small, quick smile of his own as though in apology for the slight.

The strong muscles beneath his hand and the warm, wide smile that was given to him pleased Krishna. Both were simple, honest and... warm. He broke the contact before it became anything weird for either of them. He listened to the information given to him. DCU... his would-be Alma Mater. Also indicative that the other man was, indeed, a man and not a teenager.

The touch of cold rubber against his hand made him take the ball and tuck it under one arm. Again, he had a perfect opportunity to leave, but he heard himself offering, "I will help look?"

"I'm Krishna." It was thrown in, almost as an after thought, but that he would offer it at all was a clear indication that the rainbow-haired man felt his new acquaintance was worthy of his time. And--although he would never admit it aloud--that he wished to spend more of it with the lacrosse player.

Sekani. An interesting name to top off all of the other interesting features. This more active form of people watching was more stressful due to the need for conversation... but the florist could not argue with the results. His observations got more personal, this way, beyond a mere collection of facts.

"The trees are filled with 'small white things,'" Krishna pointed out with a small snort. He had never seen a lacrosse ball, but surely it would stand out. Or his vivacious companion would spot it and then he would retrieve it. He reached to pluck a piece of 'popcorn' from the other man's hair before moving away. "I will search the left."

Climbing was not one of Krishna's best skills. Attempting to climb in cleats meant for keeping him positioned on the ground was not making it any easier. The spikes slid against the bark of the wood, but the florist forced himself to continue. He could not give up at this point. Neither his pride nor his vanity would allow it. Against the orange backgrop of the setting sun, he peered through the trees in search of the object Sekani described.

It took a few minutes, but eventually he craned himself forward. Could it be? It was the right size and shape and color. "I see it." Krishna called over to his new companion. He pointed over to the tree Sekani currently climbed, where the ball had become wedged in the nook of two branches. The ball was higher than he suspected the smaller man could reach. He hopped down from his spot, his cleated feet sinking slightly into the grass before he straightened up. "Need a hand?"

The soccer player watched the bluenette scurry about the branches with no small amount of appreciation. He was clearly skilled and possessing of an odd sort of grace... not that he would ever say such a thing out loud. As it was, he was simply grateful that the illusive ball had been located.

Krishna accepted the hand up gratefully, impressed with the amount of strength he felt there. He could think of far worse ways of spending his time then with an attractive young man with warm hands... even if it did require climbing trees as well. He positioned himself as best he could on the branches under Sekani, steading his footing. Only then did he offer the promised boost, stretching up. "If you stand on my shoulders... you can reach?"

"As you wish." Denied the opportunity to show off, Krishna proceed to climb the path Sekani abandoned in silence. He tossed his hair to keep it out of his face but climed with an increasing amount of confidence. He had survived one popcorn tree, afterall, and the path he currently took had been manned before. What had he to fear?

As suspected, his additional height enabled him to reach the ball. An unexpected complication, however, was his cleats. They continued to make his stance unsteady. But he had come too far to stop now... particularly when a grimey-footed lacrosse player was looking for his assistance. The florist stretched out and grabbed the ball.

The good news was that the lacross ball was saved! It plunked safely down to the waiting grass, free from its bark prison. The bad news was that Krishna lost his footing. He was able to catch himself on the branch, but like a fish on a hook, he dangled. Dangling was not dignified and not likely to earn him the gratitude and respect he sought from the bluenette who so expertly climbed trees. Not to mention that if he fell from this height, he was likely to sprain an ankle or crack his head open on the unforgiving ground. With these thoughts in mind, Krishna began to struggle to pull himself up.