The Reservoir (4) : The Destiny City Reservoir opened about two years ago and is an easy escape from the big city. It’s a five minute drive outside of the Eastern side of town and features clear water and sandy beaches--although, the sand here is notorious for squeaking when you step on it. It’s a hot spot for all fun summer activities, but it’s been in the news for mysterious reports of some strange, aquatic monster. Some accounts say they’ve spotted a twenty foot long, snake like creature capable of rearing a long neck high above the water. It’s hard to tell if the videos are doctored, but there are too many rumors to dismiss easily. Something strange might be lurking deep in the water. Or it’s just a hoax to get people out to the Reservoir!
But…Sometimes, people feel like something is grabbing their ankle, even if they are just wading in the shallow end. In the deeper parts of the water, it gets a little more intense: something has been said to grab onto ankles and pull. People have been warned about dangerous pranks, but so far no one has been caught. In the shallow end, anyone unfortunate enough to be targeted may feel themselves being knocked off their feet and tugged into the water; anyone in deep water may feel a firm grip on their ankle, tugging them lower and lower. Somehow, anyone it targets is freed--either by wriggling and fighting, or because someone intervenes and pulls the would-be victim up. No one has drowned in the lake. Yet. It's impossible to see who, or what, is doing this, but it usually gives up after one failed attempt. Usually.
While you may find yourself harassed by the supposed cryptid, or see something visibly odd in the distance, you cannot take any pictures of the creature. Who knows if you’re even being attacked by the cryptid–or just another youma?
The weather had been filled with blue skies, puffy white clouds and the promises of a hot summer to come. People were out doing whatever they could to beat the heat. Some people chose to sequester themselves in air conditioned buildings, others took to pools or playing in hydrants left open for kids and the children at heart to play in, and some just opted to take to the wooded areas of parks. Some, some opted to leave the city as a whole and find cooler destinations. Aelius was of the latter group. With local pools packed and him being unwilling to step foot in his childhood home, Trey had volunteered to drive them out of the city and to the reservoir.
Aelius hadn’t been in the most chipper of moods. The idea of spending a day out with people hadn’t been at all interesting. In fact, he’d have been quite happy to hole up at his apartment, sweat out the heat there with curtains drawn and call it a day. Instead, Trey had convinced him that some time away would be good.
So, the young danseur found himself lounging along the banks of the reservoir in swim trunks, sunscreen shimmering on his too-pale skin, and a towel laid underneath him. As much as he hadn’t wanted to come out, spending any amount of time with Trey was precious. With the years lost it still felt surreal to be sharing moments like this again with the man, awkward thought they could be as they still felt each other out. Still settled into being themselves.
It was fascinations how things could be so different yet still have that sense of familiarity. Life was funny that was, he supposed.
“Glad you still like getting out and swimming.” Aelius remarked as he stretched out his legs in front of him and practically flopped back onto his towel, arms folded under his head. “You always did like any time we spent in the pool, though I am a bit surprised you chose the reservoir of all places.” Though, if Aelius was going to be honest, the atmosphere of the place was soothing to his frayed emotional state.
whimsical blue
LMK if this works for you!
Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2023 6:30 pm
Trey smiled as he finished tying off his hair in it's braid, safe from tangle now while he swam. He tossed it over his shoulder, sleek in his brief swimsuit, and ignored the looks and quiet tittering of some girls down the beach from them. He'd purposefully set them away from the worst of the crowds, hoping that would mollify Aelius's desire to be away from people.
He didn't fully understand what was going on in his younger brother's life, that he was so low-spirited. His husband was a General King. He should be at least content, if not ecstatic... but it was an awkward thing to bring up with him. Instead, diversions were his method to deal with it. Get him out of the house and doing things to distract him from whatever it was.
"I swim every day." Trey said smoothly. "Its part of how I stay in shape. Much more enjoyable than sweating in a gym. I do quite enough of that. This was just a good place to get you out into some fresh air that hopefully wasn't overly crowded. Any public pool would have been a nightmare in the middle of June."
He almost visibly shivered at that. No thank you.
"And of course, its a good excuse to have you to myself." He said with a sly look before he headed for the water's edge and splashed his way into it, diving smoothly into the cool water.
"Sweating it out in the gym isn't too bad. But, nothing beats sweating it out on a dance floor. If you're looking for something new, I can get you started in a beginners dance class." He smirked, knowing full well a beginner's class could be both oddly challenging and a mental slap in the face. Beginning classes were great for fundamentals and learning to use muscles a person typically has no need to rely on in any exhausting way. "Change things up for you a bit."
In honesty though, Trey knew what he was doing. While his brother's sculpted physic was different than his own, Trey was in very good shape. And if there was any doubt, the tittering of woman not far from them made it very obvious. Aelius wasn't ignorant to the remarks thrown his way too. Remarks that he solidly ignored as he attempted to soak up as much sun as he could.
"But you're right. This place is much better than a pool. If you'd even mentioned a public pool you would have had to drag my a** out of my apartment. This..." He released a breath. "This is at least less chaotic and jammed with bodies."
A comment about having him to himself followed by a splash had Aelius sitting up on elbows just in time to see Trey disappear under the water with ease. Slap one of those mermaid fins on the man and Trey would look like he belonged in the cool waters. Though, at that point, he might need to fight off the women who continued to throw side gazes their way.
Aelius sighed as he peeled himself away from the towel. His own swim trucks were a shorter variety. Speedo's weren't his thing, but the idea of looking like ones swimwear was wearing you was just not a style choice Aelius had ever preferred.
He followed Trey's path to the water in a need to be away from the few people still scattered around them. While there was an allure to letting the sun bake him alive and force a relaxation on him that he hadn't felt in months, Trey had made it a point to come out here with him when his brother could have quite easily stayed home in his own private pool. So, Aelius paused a moment to toe the water. For June it was already fairly warm, but help a good crispness to it that one didn't need to worry about dubious contents in the water. Another reason he didn't care for public pools. Disgusting. No, this was all-in-all the better decision. Plus, they got to enjoy some nature.
Opting to instead keep his hair dry for the time being, Aelius waded in as he turned to where he assumed his brother would resurface. Damn man could hold his breath, that was for sure. Another learned attribute of being a dedicated swimmer, Aelius surmised.
When Trey finally surface for air, Aelius was up to his waist in the water. A wave of a hand helped declare his location. "And you come up looking as put together as when you went under." The definite perks of longer hair. Keeping it contained was a bit easier than at the shoulder length Aelius kept it. While he could pull it back in a tail, his fringe was ever avoiding being contained.
He eased the rest of his body in up to his shoulder to swim out to his brother. While he could have technically stood, it wouldn't have been an easy or graceful approach to cross the distance. At least he didn't need to tread water as he stood shoulder deep near Trey. "Much quieter out here." He remarked.
Whimsical Blue
Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2023 11:23 am
The water was cool and clear, and most importantly, quiet as Trey stroked his arms through it, propelling himself forward. It felt wonderful over his heated skin. Here, he didn't have to think of anything other than the pressure of holding his breath and the motion of his limbs. Easy, smooth, peaceful. Perfect. He loved it like little else in his life.
Being teased about dancing slipped right past him, fully aware his brother was joking. Trey wasn't a bad dancer, in the social sense, but he didn't feel the same drive to do it that Aelius did, or get the same pleasure out of it. Maybe it was just that he'd never serious tried to learn, but that had always been Rowan's thing, a place he didn't want to intrude on. It was far more enjoyable to watch instead, enjoying the smooth and confident way his brother moved and how good he looked in the costumes he wore.
There was some sound of splashing even through the muffling water, so he was not surprised to surface finally and find Aelius up to his neck in it. The blue eyed man smiled around the few strands of loose hair that clung to his cheeks, swimming closer to his brother.
"It feels good, doesn't it?" He said, his eyes dancing. Something tickled his ankle and he kicked away from it. Probably one of the little fish... But the feeling came again, and then something wrapped itself around him. Startled, he tried to kick free of it, but only succeeded in ducking under the water... and being pulled towards the deeper end.
"It does." He responded with a smile. Whether Trey meant the temperature of the water or the lack of twittering from the crowds, it didn't matter. It all felt very good in the moment and brought a bit of calm upon the younger of the two.
That calm was very short lived though as Trey disappeared under the water in a manner that looked very unintentional. Aelius gave him a moment. Breath held as he scanned the dark water. Nothing.
"Trey!" He yelled, as panic began to sank in. He spun in the water, trying to see if the man had popped up elsewhere. Of the two, Trey was by far the stronger swimmer. Aelius was merely average at best but he wasted no more time and ducked under the dark water. Hands clawing around where his brother had been while he tried to peer through the murky water. Silt drifted in the water where Trey had been.
Rising up for air, Aelius began swimming deeper out.If Trey had gone to the shallow end he would have seen him by now. "Trey!"
He'd ******** drown him himself if this turned out to be a prank.
Whimsical Blue
Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 8:29 pm
Something definitely had a hold on him, and it was pulling him deeper into the water, deeper into the darkness at the bottom. Trey struggled as he watched the light dappled surface above recede, his brother's legs treading water where he'd been. Panic had him by the throat and it was all he could do to keep himself from screaming out all the air he had managed to gasp into his lungs when he'd been pulled under.
Trey's mind could not fathom what might have grabbed him and his thoughts tumbled through a multitude of explanations, none of them comforting. Maybe he'd gotten tangled in some sort of rope or cable... though the reservoir was known for being clean. Maybe it was some sort of monster... any normal person would have considered that impossible, but Trey was in a position to know monsters were very much real. That only terrified him more, knowing even if he'd been powered up, a youma like this would not have treated him any better.
Another tug and Trey flailed harder, kicking his feet wildly as he stroked for the surface with his arms. Panic was making his chest burn with the need for air and taking any grace from his movements. He reached, stretching, towards the figure of his brother and in a far part of his mind, he though... well, now Aelius will know what Trey had gone through.
He was in a panic now. How long had Trey been under?! It was impossible to tell. It felt like an eternity. Then...
There!
He saw a dark form under the water not far from him. The water was deep with a sharp drop off into the depths of the reservoir so Aelius was forced to tread water when he finally, FAINALLY, reached out and arm and felt something. A leg? Arm? It didn't matter. He just grabbed and pulled, half dipping under the water in his efforts as he tried to paddle backwards to pull Trey closer to the shore where he'd be able to actually stand.
"Trey! Hey, Trey!" He hollered, fear lacing his voice as he finally pulled the man up as he sputtered water himself. Aelius was, at most, a fair swimmer. His a** was not meant to be saving people's lives in any body of water where he couldn't stand.
"Are you ok? Hey!"
Whimsical Blue
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2023 9:34 pm
Trey reached, straining... and felt his brother's hand close around his own. There was a moment of struggle, and then the grip around his leg slipped and he kicked free of it. Powering towards the surface, he gave a surge and broke through, throwing his head back to gasp big lungfuls of air. Relief nearly sent him back under, but it was a fleeting feeling. Fear still had his heart pounding on his chest and as soon as he had that breath, he grabbed for his brother and threw the two of them towards the shore.
Trey didn't bother wasting breath on a reply to his brother's frantic questions. Instead, he focused on getting the two of them out of the water. He stroked powerfully, kicking his legs, until he felt his feet hit the sand bottom. Water splashed and flew as he flailed his way to stand and pulled Auelius up after him, half dragging him as he went.
It was only once he reached their blankets that he released his brother, collapsing down onto his towel with dark strands of hair stuck to the sides of his face and water streaming from him. It took ages for his heart beat to slow and his breathing to steady, the adrenaline making muscles shake in reaction.
Had some kind of ******** monster grabbed him? Was that what it was? Some youma that had gotten into the resevoir, or been placed there to prey on the citizens? The thought of it made Trey burn with rage that no one had thought to tell them. He could have ******** died to someone else's stupid ******** mistake... He was going to find out who was responsible and he was going to ******** roast them alive over Faustite's grate.
Trey didn't stop. Even as he gulped down air He dashed to the shore, practically dragging Aelius with him. The younger brother didn't give any resistance. He was as caught up in his own terror and feeding from his elder brothers. He followed suit in stroking to the shore, though his form was anything but the perfect, efficiency that Trey's was. It resulted in several tugs as he fell behind at times.
Aelius said nothing. The panic that Trey exhibited more than enough to keep lips shut in their pursuit of dry land and finally, once they were safely ashore and at their blankets, Aelius breathing heavily from the exertion did he say anything again.
"Hey. Are you alright?" He was a bit frantic with the question, hand flying to his brother's shoulder as he looked the man over for any signs of injuries. "You were under so long..." His own fear at the situation clenched at his throat. He swallowed hard.
"Just...breath. You're ok now." He attempted to soothe, whether it was for himself of Trey was questionable even to Aelius.
Whimsical Blue
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2023 5:51 pm
The shaking in his muscles wasn't going away, but as Trey looked up through sodden strands, he could see others further along the beach sending them look and talking in low voices. It was far too much attention for him right now and he threw his hair back as he clambored to his feet, his usual grace more stilted now.
"Lets get out of here." He said, voice still thin as he panted. "I don't know what the ******** that was, but I'm done playing beach."
It was only then that he came back to himself enough to give his brother a critical once over.
"You're okay? Nothing grabbed you too?" Trey asked as he reached a hand out for his shoulder. Aelius didn't look at all injured, but he just had to be sure. He lowered his voice and it thrummed with his latent anger. "Something grabbed me. I don't know what it was, but I have a good guess. And when I find it, I'm going to ******** kill it."
Or whomever had brought it to the resevoir. He wasn't picky.
Catching the direction his brother's eyes roamed, Aelius glanced over his shoulder to the other beach goers tossing them curious looks or blatantly staring and talking amongst each other. He looked back as Trey stood, he moved to his own feet swiftly.
"Probably for the best." He glanced back over his shoulder, tossing a glare at a couple who were closest and not hiding the fact they were giving the brothers too much attention. He turned back at Trey's words.
"I am fine. Swear. Nothing touched me." He said as he placed a hand on his brother's bare shoulder. "Just had the daylights scared out of me with you disappearing like that." It wasn't a lie. He'd been near the point of falling into pure panic. If Trey had remained under water for much longer, Aelius would have lost his s**t out there in the middle of the reservoir. What the would look like even he wasn't sure.
"I'd like front row seats to that." He remarked as he gently led hsi brother back to their items to collect them and head out. No secretive code words or hints were needed to deduce what it was that Trey thought it was that had grabbed him. Those in the know could quickly put two and two together.
"How do you feel?" He questioned "Are you really alright?" Genuine concern laced his voice as he rose from nabbing both of their towels, both uncermoniously drapped over a forearm.
Whimsical Blue
Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2023 5:15 pm
Trey's movements were terse and tight, snatching up his things and stuffing them without ceremony into the bag he'd brought. He didn't bother really drying himself as he dragged on a tshirt and some loose shorts, glad he hadn't bothered with tight jeans today.
"I'm fine." He snapped, only belatedly hearing the tone of his voice. A deep breath and he forced calmness on himself, gentling his voice and letting some of the tension out of his body when he turned to his brother.
"I'm fine." He said again, softer this time. Reaching, he took his towel from his brother and dug his keys out of his bag, turning towards the path back to the cars. "It just scared me. I might be a little sore tomorrow from the strain, but that's probably it. It might have been worse if I'd been down there longer, I don't know. I'll feel better once I'm safely home and get into my own hot tub."
Part of Trey resented having had to come here in the first place. He knew that was unfair, that he'd been enjoying himself and looking forward to more, especially just spending time with the brother he saw so little of these days. Whatever. There was nothing he could do about that now.
Following suit with his brother, Aelius began cleaning up his own items into the small bag he'd carted along. His shirt he pulled on over his wet skin and immediately was aware of how it clung to him. It would dry soon enough though in the heat of the day, and knowing how the sun was likely warming Trey's car, they'd both be dry before they got half way home. His shorts he looked at forlornly for their tightness. They were not going to be shimmied up his a** with how wet he was. Well, it wouldn't make a difference anyway.
Surprise flitted across Aelius's face at the tone that shot out of Trey. He recoiled both physically and emotionally, afraid he had overstepped a boundary he hadn't realized was there. Even as Trey reeled himself in, and smoothed out the words, Aelius shifted a bit uncomfortably, passing off the towel. "Right. Ok." He responded carefully. "I was just worried is all."
He turned and followed his older brother as he headed back to where the car was parked.
At the mention of the hot tub though Aelius was very aware that this day's outing had come to an end. If there was one thing he was not at all comfortable with yet, it was the idea of crossing that threshold and stepping back into what was once his home. There was too much of a risk of seeing Mom, but also the emotional turmoil of deal with all of those memories and the what-ifs was not on the docket. He was not ready for any of that.
"I am sure the hot tub will help." His voice held a note of something not quite right. But he offered his brother an encouraging smile.
Regret sat heavy for the days outcome as a bitterness soured what should have been an enjoyable summer day reconnecting with Trey. Why was it that things continuously seemed to go awry?
"We'll have to plan another day out." He said suddenly. "Maybe go see a show, do some retail therapy, or maybe just a movie night." He shrugged. "Doesn't really matter what we do." Aelius just wanted to get past this. Get comfortable again with Trey and feel like things weren't hanging between them. Only more time together reconnecting could do that.
Whimsical Blue
Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2023 5:34 pm
The further they got from the water, the more the tension bled out of Trey, and the anger with it. He still felt a bit rattled by the whole thing, but enough of his self-possession had returned that he could notice the sudden space between them and the awkward way Aelius held himself... as though unsure of what to do.
Part of him ached to realize that. He hadn't meant to snap... he hadn't meant to do anything to hurt his little brother. It had just been... a very trying episode. They were both off kilter from it.
"We'll definitely do something, and soon. I want to make up for the disaster this day has been. I'll look at my calendar as soon as I get home, and I'll give you a call with some dates. Sound good?" He said, trying to inject some lightness into his voice and manner. They didn't have to end this day on a low note.
The real work would come later, anyway. He had ever intention of finding whoever had put that youma in the reservoir... and make them regret it.
