then they fluffed up like miyazaki characters

[specifiercity]

Who: Arthur (specifiercity) & Raleigh (righthemisphere)
What: a running club reunion
When: early september!
Where: the streets of trench



[Is that... a Raleigh Arthur sees? Is that his good running buddy Raleigh Becket? Make eye contact!]

Comments

[righthemisphere]

Ah. Something bittersweet crosses Raleigh's face but he smiles to push it away, glancing up at the sky- the normal sky- remembering what he can before looking back to his friend.

"It was quiet. No birds, no people, nothing. One by one everybody left.. I guess we were waiting it out until we could be sure Chuck would be able to make the journey. We never did know but by the end everything just.. collapsed. Like a big sigh. There was no way we could stay longer. I looked for a way but."

Raleigh shrugs. He was that desperate to keep Chuck alive. He tried, but there was no power to focus like Ramona had. No time. And no one left to make a deal with. No devil to sell his soul.

"In the end we had to go through the door and hope it worked out."

[specifiercity]

Arthur listens, patient and thoughtful. He knows how much it meant to Raleigh to keep this thing with Chuck going, to make sure they made it together. He smiles and brings his hand up to Raleigh's bicep.

"I'm glad it did."

He gives Raleigh's arm an affectionate pat, but suddenly sparks fly from his hand and he pulls back abruptly.

"Shit — sorry."

[righthemisphere]

Keep this thing with Chuck going, yeah, you know. Keep him alive. Devil's in the details, buddy. He smiles softly before getting zapped by the world's newest, most serious Pikachu and jolting backwards with a yelp.

"Jesus-" he shakes his hand out. He's so fried from electrical pulse it's amazing he can feel it but Christ alive.

"Let me guess, new weird powers?"

[specifiercity]

"Yeah, I don't have them under control just yet," he says with a sigh. "I got Eames pretty good a few days ago."

He looks down at his hands — he doesn't like his own body being this unpredictable, but the excitement of the the new powers overrides it.

"Same with you?"

[righthemisphere]

"Yeah," he nods and considers his own hands for a moment before slipping them back into his coat pockets.

"I'm like the Human Torch without the spandex."

Not that he wants the spandex and honestly the The Fantastic Four are a B team ensemble anyway, but whatever.

"My friend Mako calls it Firebending."

[specifiercity]

"Mako, yeah," Arthur says with a thoughtful frown. "I met him back in Deerington. I saw him use electricity too."

[righthemisphere]

"That's right," Raleigh nods.

"Lighting bending or something. He said once he used it working in a power plant. Seems like some high level stuff."

[specifiercity]

"Did his have to do with blood like this does?"

Arthur's spent a lot of time in Gaze already, no surprise there.

[righthemisphere]

"No, it's how he was born," Raleigh shakes his head.

"But come to think of it he said he'd developed ice abilities. I bet that's got to do with the blood thing."

A beat.

"Chuck bleeds black glitter now. So that's a thing."

[specifiercity]

"Darkblood," Arthur says with a nod, like his brain's right back in the library. "Eames too. Haven't seen any glitter yet, though."

Wouldn't that be magical.

[righthemisphere]

It would be something.

"Wow.. so you've really looked into this. Any tips for noob?"

[specifiercity]

Arthur shrugs the shrug of a tired and helpless man.

"Honestly there's just enough variation that any standardized method to practice it won't be very effective. I'm just trying to practice and get it under control, but it's only been a couple weeks."

He holds out his hand to look down at it with a sigh. "I can barely sleep... maybe when the moon finally lets me get some rest I won't have so many misfires."

[righthemisphere]

"Mm," Raleigh nods and agrees.

A beat.

He very visibly gets an idea and opens his mouth before shutting it again.

.... no, it's still an idea.

"Arthur, I um."

Mmmm not sure actually. Might be stupid. Definitely is stupid.

[specifiercity]

Eyebrow.

"What's up?"

[righthemisphere]

"Do you want me to knock you out?"

Genuine question.

[specifiercity]

He doesn't know what he expected.

"Oh, um... no, that's alright. Thanks."

[righthemisphere]

This is how adults make friends right? He thinks Arthur would punch him out of he asked. Hell, he might still ask.

Not a mean punching out, a friendship punching out. For friends in need. With fists.

Yeah.

He nods a little and tries to half-laugh it off with a shrug.

"Desperate times and all. Last October I spent like.. ten hours the whole month. We're almost there again and who knows what's going to happen."

[specifiercity]

"Yeah," Arthur says, shaking his head. As much reading as he's done on the place, he's still adjusting to actually being here.

"I have some Camomile, if you need it."

[righthemisphere]

"If it gets any worse I might take you up on that. Should probably start stalking up on supplies anyway."

Is he still scarred from last October? Absolutely.

[specifiercity]

"Mm, I guess you didn't get to bring any cans of beans across the ocean," Arthur says with a sympathetic tilt of his head.

[righthemisphere]

Raleigh snorts and gives him a look between you're such an asshole and it's funny you should say that with a dash of I actually love you.

"Well, our house showed up here with all our stuff inside. Amazingly the beans have survived. Lucky me."

[specifiercity]

“That is lucky,” Arthur says. Dry because he’s still on this joke about the beans, but also it really is lucky.

“Eames’s house too. Even the horses were there.”

Yes. You waited this long for one line. Love me.

[righthemisphere]

"Do horses eat beans?"

i do love you

[specifiercity]

Arthur shrugs.

"I don't know, probably not."

/preen

[righthemisphere]

"Huh.. guess we'll have to eat'em then. We've got chickens by the way. If you ever want eggs I guess I'm your guy."

[specifiercity]

"That's good to know, thanks," Arthur says, genuinely grateful. He hasn't exactly been eating well with all this anxious energy and the time he's spent in Gaze rather than at home. It's a whole thing.

[righthemisphere]

Yeah he.. same. Hard same.

"So uh.. are you busy? Should I let you get on?"