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 Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 4:28 pm
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Thorne had learned to deal with restlessness well in the weeks after the ball. He'd learned how to tame it in Chris's hands, or in the plants, the skies, Mare's voice. But sometimes it still got out of control. Sometimes it dragged at him until a day when he snapped, when he had to drive the highway until it was dead and weightless in him. But even that didn't work on days like these.
Chris had gone on his run of plant watering for the day, and Thorne had decided then that he would use the time in between to work away the nervousness beneath his hands, the vibrations burning inside of him to do something reckless.
It was without much thought, without any sort of interest past I remember you, I know that we're alike in this at least, that Thorne texted Rylan, asking if he was interested in cliff diving or climbing or whatever adrenaline-inducing experience the fireman would be invested in this time around.
He wasn't really sure if he would answer, but he'd given him the address to meet at, and now sat on the hood of the camaro, the mist of early morning clinging to his arms as he waited for a show or no show.
Honestly, he had no idea where he stood with Rylan, if Corr had completely slaughtered any friendship that could be scrapped with the man.
But that kind of question seemed too long to put in a text message anyways.
( total word count: 497 250/247 )
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 7:05 pm
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It wasn't until the text came that Rylan fully realized the implications behind everything he'd learned and seen at the ball. The fetches, the doubles, the deaths. Thorne hadn't been Thorne for months. The firefighter wasn't too sure what to make of it, how to feel, whether it changed anything. Should it? There was no taking back everything that had happened in the last few months, and in truth, Rylan had never been one to look back.
So it was with forward-looking intentions that he replied, at first with a simple Sure and then, on second thought, with questions about details. It was an easy decision, really. Cliff diving was a suggestion he'd be hard-pressed to say no to, and after the most recent month's events, Rylan was happy for a change of pace.
By the time he'd rolled out of bed early that morning, his roommate was gone. Cas had taken to driving out at the crack of dawn with his dog to hit the trails on horseback, taking advantage of any moment of quiet and relative freedom to ponder the future.
On his part, Rylan let Fidget out to do his business and fed the dalmatian before making his way out to the truck with a backpack of spare clothes and trail snacks. The drive to Thorne's new address, he made in relative silence, listening to the quiet drone of the radio. When he pulled up to the curb, he let himself sit for a moment before pushing the truck into park and pulling the keys out of the ignition.
"So what's up with you that you need to go cliff diving?" he asked with a wry smile, shutting the truck door behind him. He knew the feeling. That itch for adrenaline that inevitably came from stress or boredom. There was usually a reason for it.
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 7:36 pm
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"At least one hundred reasons, most of which I won't bore you with," Thorne replied easily, looking up from his phone when Rylan appeared. There was a wry expression on his face, the smile pulling at his lips as he caught sight of the fireman. "Being stuck in the most god-awful place on earth for three months before escaping back into a world where I can actually choose when to eat and sleep and run my own life might have had something to do with it though. Any reason why you said yes?"
He dropped onto the gravel and hummed out a low, raw tune. At least Rylan looked mostly the same, even if Thorne had changed. And at least he wasn't getting punched in the face - which meant Corr hadn't done something absolutely terrible. Hopefully.
"And anyways, I could use an escape from the rain for a day, couldn't you?" He asked wryly. "Your car or mine? I'll pay gas either way."
He paused, tilted his head. It was odd, how easily he fell into pattern with Rylan when they both understood each other for that part of themselves that was shared, craving adrenaline that couldn't be found anywhere but the cliffs, the sea, the wilds. It was odd that he didn't feel a need yet to ask if Corr had done something insane.
And it was odd that Rylan didn't inquire. Or maybe - maybe it was just normal. Just the way they were.
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Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 9:07 pm
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"Hm. That could do it," Rylan agreed with a small smile, crossing over to give the look. "Me, I just like to jump off things that could kill me. You know this." Even if, for the last few months, it had been someone else in Thorne's place.
He folded his arms across his chest and let out a mirthful laugh, lifting his chin at the Camaro and shaking his head. "You want to drive that thing up to the cliffs? I think I'll take my bets on Lucy." He nodded back at his white Silverado, uncrossed his arms.
Truth be told, Rylan couldn't say he hadn't wondered which had been Thorne and which had been Corr. There were a host of questions he could ask, could maybe hear answers to. But with the opportunity here in front of him, he found there were many things he didn't really need to know. There were days and moments in the past, but they didn't require clarification.
This was now, after all.
The truck beeped as Rylan unlocked it and made his way toward the driver's side. "Any particular cliffs you had in mind?" he asked. There were few things in life more freeing that leaping off a cliff and plunging into the deep blue below. If nothing else, the risk involved and choosing to take it spoke to a special kind of agency that nobody could take away. Like staring straight at the people who would say no, don't do it, it's too dangerous and telling them to go suck a bag of dicks.
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