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 Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 11:21 pm
"I'd kill for some chicken and rice from the Chicken and Rice Guys." Rylan was famished. It was 7 a.m., a solid 24 hours after he'd first stepped into the fire station, and he was finally wrapping up. Shifts were never anything short of tiring. They lasted 24 hours, after all, and while actual fires didn't happen often in Ashdown, there was always something to be done. The apparatus needed care, every firefighter had to keep up to date on training, they had to lead public awareness seminars. Rylan's favorite days were the ones that had his company out in the community, teaching the school kids about the importance of fire prevention and what to do in case of a fire. Bringing Fidget out for the old stop-drop-and-roll demonstration was usually a hit. Those days didn't come often, though. More often than not, they'd listen to to the battalion chief drone on for a couple hours about the station, field a call or two about people who'd gotten stuck in elevators or cats that had gotten stuck on roofs, train And days like that left him hungry. Chicken and Rice Guys it was. At this hour, the food truck was usually sitting somewhere on Frat Row, conveniently on his way home.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 7:47 am
Today was one of those days where, realistically, Alexis could have slept the sunlight away and nobody would have bothered. They'd showed up at the animal shelter, they'd done their hours, they could have just gone home and curled up on the couch for the next twelve hours - it's not like anyone would notice - but they were restless. Restless meant city exploration. ...restless also, apparently, meant climbing on top of a truck someone had parked and clambering to a singular tree - which would, then, take them to the rooftops if they were careful about this branch. It was thin, and whippy (as was the entire tree, really; Alexis' weight was still carefully based against the truck), and if it broke under their feet they'd probably twist an ankle at the very least, and while that didn't mean they wouldn't be unable to walk home it meant they'd be ******** as far as running went until it healed up So -- careful, careful, inching -- oh s**t that was - uh. There was the food truck a few streets over, wasn't there? Probably what this guy wanted. Maybe if they kept quiet, he wouldn't look up and give them the same old spiel of GET DOWN YOU'LL HURT YOURSELF. That'd be the preferable option! But nothing ever went preferably.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 8:17 am
God, there was fog everywhere. If Rylan wasn't careful he'd have walked into the street. Not that there was an abundance of traffic at this hour, but these were the days that made him nervous. There'd be a spike in accidents. Lots of people needing help. The idea alone made him uneasy. He almost abandoned the idea of chicken and rice, but then his stomach growled so convincingly that he shook his head and continued on his beeline toward Frat Row. Rylan would have missed them entirely if not for the fact that Alexis had chosen to climb a truck. He'd turned to check it out, only to see Alexis braced carefully against the vehicle, poised to clamber into a tree that looked far to frail to support the weight of a grown person. "Uh. Hey there."
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 4:12 pm
The fog was perfect for every time except when it needed to be - his footfalls were loud enough that Alexis could have located him from those in addition to their elevated position, and that was fine and all, but - god. Ugh. This was a situation that could have been avoided. They knew what he was going to say, after all: and they didn't care for any of it. "Hey," Alexis drawled in return, voice filled with disdain, testing the strength of one branch - then another - then another. "If you're going to tell me to get down, I'm going to hurt myself, then you can leave. I know what I'm doing." And they were steady in their position, completely steady. "Th' hell are you doing out, anyways? The weather's awful."
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 8:12 pm
"Well, sure," he agreed. All things he would have gotten to. And the fact that Alexis knew it probably meant they did stuff like this a lot. A bit of a daredevil, maybe? Rylan could relate. Didn't mean it was smart, but he could understand if the motivation behind this tree-climbing came from a desire for some adrenaline. Otherwise, he wasn't sure what could have prompted Alexis to do such a thing. That was a precarious position to be in, after all, and not getting any less so as the branches continued to bend under testing. "I could ask you the same thing. Weather is awful, and looks to be getting worse. Best we all get home before something happens." Accidents happened all the time, and all it took was for one of them to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. "Anyway. Why are you doing that?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 7:11 pm
Alexis just kind of -- shrugged. "To each their own. I think the weather's comfy -- but I know a lotta others don't think so." The tree was definitely not going to hold their weight satisfactorily, but they weren't going to give Rylan that satisfaction of seeing them back down -- so they held their weight in one spot, rocking back and forth precariously, in a way they knew wouldn't send them toppling down (but looked like it would). "...Cause I felt like it. Why else?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 1:03 pm
Rylan gave Alexis a careful look. "That's a good enough reason for me," he said finally. It looked like they'd figured out that the tree wasn't going to bear any real weight, but he didn't say it. Better to let Alexis think they were getting their way. Rylan didn't want to argue with them - that might make them do something even more dangerous out of spite. "Sometimes you just want to do things for the rush, huh?" He added, making his way nonchalantly toward the truck and leaning against its side with his arms folded comfortably across his chest.
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Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 6:29 am
Alexis made a sharp noise at his acceptance -- clearly they didn't trust Rylan's statement, but they wouldn't push things. "I do things 'cause I want to. Doesn't everyone? The rush doesn't got to factor into it, y'know." They huffed, blowing stray strands of hair out of their face, and moved just enough that they could sit on the truck without the fear of falling and twisting their ankle (stupid goddamn tree, not even good for climbing, what was the point of it) to get a better visual angle to stare at Rylan with. "'m Alexis, by the way. You?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 2:34 pm
"Sure, but ever thought about why you want to do things like... climb into trees?" He asked with a grin as Alexis sat down on the truck. If he noticed the stare, he didn't show it, instead scrutinizing the tree with sudden interest. "Me, I'd probably climb that if somebody told me I couldn't. Just to prove them wrong, you know?" He'd been a scrawny kid before hitting puberty. Got picked on a lot in middle school, and had never managed to shake the need to show people how wrong they were to underestimate him. "Rylan," he answered. "Well, Cam. But I prefer Rylan."
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2016 5:56 pm
"Psychoanalyzing someone y'just met isn't very nice," Alexis drawled, "and I'd kinda prefer if you didn't. Makes a s**t first impression." They cocked their head to the side, owl-like, stare piercing, one hand absent-mindedly combing through stray hairs (in the way in the way in the way). "I like climbing because I can. And because I can, I will, because I enjoy it. Sorry if it's not deep enough for you." There was a genuine bite to it, sharp, ugly: hidden enough under what might have been sarcasm to not be immediately visible, but -- Alexis had been a scrawny kid. Still was. (Not a kid anymore, though.) But it hurt, if they elbowed you - they knew how to hurt enough that people didn't pick at their bones anymore. "Last name?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 9:04 pm
Rylan allowed himself a small chuckle. "Look, I'm not trying to make any sort of impression," he said. "I'm just trying to make conversation." Or, rather, he was trying to get home. But with the weather looking this ominous, he figured it was best not to leave Alexis all by themself if he could help it. Not that they seemed to particularly want his company, but at least they were sitting on the truck now and not still trying to shimmy up the sad-looking tree. He placed the palms of his hands on the edge of the truck bed and pushed himself up, perching - as well as someone his size could perch on anything - on the edge with feet dangling. "Yup, last name," he answered. "Been that way since I started rowing in high school." First the crews, then the Marines, now the fire department. It seemed his first foray into team sports at age 14 had set him quite permanently down the path of being referred to exclusively by his last name. Sometimes, it even felt weird to be called Cam on the rare occasions when it happened. "So what was the plan? The tree, and then the roof?"
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Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 7:40 am
"You say that," Alexis muttered, raising one eyebrow to indicate disbelief of the highest caliber. "People go into a conversation wantin' to make an impression. 's how things are." At Rylan's approach to their level, they shied away a bit, biting their lip but eventually letting him stay without further protest. It wouldn't be worth it. He seemed alright, and not everyone in their personal space wanted to commit mass homicide; it was a stupid mindset to have (and they couldn't get rid of it, which was obnoxious on the best of days and downright malevolent on the rest). "I didn't have a plan. It looked like something climbable, so I climbed it." The way Alexis said it, though, indicated Rylan was entirely right and they were just being contrary. "People leave all kinda things on the rooftops. 's nice up there." MoonRazor WOW did i take forever or what!!!!
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Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 9:13 am
The smile crept back across Rylan's face. "What have you found?" he asked. Alexis didn't seem like the easiest person to convince into a conversation, so he took the fact that they were still here and tolerating his presence as a good sign. "Seems an awful long way off the ground," he added. "Not sure I could do it." He wouldn't want to be up there voluntarily, anyway. He'd been on higher roofs and building faces on calls, but mostly to rescue people who adamantly did not want to be there anymore. Daekie XDD We've all been there!
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Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 4:37 pm
Alexis took a second to contemplate, smirking, and responded with a nonchalant "hookers and blow." They let that just sit in the air for a few seconds, quietly, before moving into a "nah, never found those, wouldn't mind it though." with a stretch of the arms. "Cash, generally. Jewelery. Things to pawn. 's hard livin' on your own, you know?" Alexis' clothing did correspond with what they were saying, at least: it was well-loved, but well-worn, with grime caked firmly into their shoes and the occasional loose thread in their hoodie.
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Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 4:36 pm
"Hookers and blow, huh," Rylan said, hooking his hands on the side of the truck and leaning back, as if it might give hi a better perspective on the roof in question. "Imagine a lot more people would be trying to get up on them if they had those up there." He turned to glance at Alexis and nodded. "Every little bit helps. What's the best thing you've found on a roof?"
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