The Roof [of Smoking], Thursday Evening

[not_in_the_book]

It was strange being back in Fandom, even after almost two weeks since his return. He'd not been getting out much, really, so it felt good to get up to the roof.

He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, the first pack he'd bought in the past... Well, quite a long time. He usually didn't smoke alone, but something about the night just begged for one. So he opened the pack, slicing open the plastic cover with a fingernail (he really needed to get those cut), and tapped out one cigarette.

The spell to light it was easy enough -- calling heat was almost rudimentary, and, really, took almost less energy than pulling out a lighter, or striking a match. Breathing in, he let the smoke fill his lungs, and then released it with a sigh.

[Open like a roof, for anyone who'd have any reason to be up here! :D ]

Comments

[not-a-mused.livejournal.com]

Everyone had their reasons to smoke perhaps; Cal's involved a redhead he hadn't seen in two years and too many pirates he'd seen too much of all day. He tried not to give into the temptation of another cigarette tonight, but he found himself too restless after work to concentrate on anything. The nicotine addiction starting to malevolently settle under his skin, the redhead, and the pirates won, though, and he found himself drifting up to the roof again, slowly emptying out the contents of another pack.

[not_in_the_book]

"Hey," Ronan said, a careful greeting, as he breathed out another lungful of smoke. He eyed the other person come up to the roof. "Cal, right?"

[not-a-mused.livejournal.com]

Cal lifted his chin in response, noting that, if he couldn't shake the addiction, at least he would seem to be in company around this place, and at least it wasn't pot coming from the other guy this time. The other guy; he recognized him, but was finding he wasn't doing entirely well with names lately; there'd been too many of them. He mulled over it for a moment, trying to recall, over his cigarette after he'd lit it, breathed it in deeply.

"Yeah," he finally said, after a sigh of cancerous smoke escaped him. "It's...Ronan?"

If the other guy said more, he could be sure, because of that accent.

[not_in_the_book]

"Yeah," Ronan said. "We met... at the picnic, right?"

The cigarette definitely seemed to be... relaxing something. Or maybe it was the night air. Or both. "How're you finding Fandom?" he asked. "You said you came in last term, yeah? Must be settling pretty well by now, then."

[not-a-mused.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," Cal said again, with another nod, a simple statement to blanket most of what Ronan said, and he let a light grin pass by. "I kind of like to think I was 'settled' after the first week. I can settle pretty easily."

[fantastic-torch.livejournal.com]

Johnny was feeling a bit restless, thus he took himself up to the roof to check out the scenery and perhaps decide if he felt like flying.

He wasn't expecting to see Ronan and commented off-handedly for lack of anything better to say, "Those'll kill ya, you know."

[not_in_the_book]

"I've been told," Ronan said, chuckling softly. "But so'll getting attacked by giant alien bugs, and I survived that.

"How's it going?"

[fantastic-torch.livejournal.com]

"True," he replied with a light chuckle.

"Going good; can't complain. You?"

[not_in_the_book]

"Much the same, I suppose," Ronan replied. "Classes are going well. I ended up with a TA-ship, too, in my cryptozoology class."

It's almost a little frightening, how easily he said that word.

[fantastic-torch.livejournal.com]

"Crytowhat?" he asked, clearly not familiar with that word.

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

Sometimes Seregil felt the need to climb as high as he could. Which was what found him on the roof and spotting Ronan. "So what brings a person like you to a place like this?" he said, walking over.

[not_in_the_book]

"The company," Ronan replied, smoothly. "Which has just gone up in my estimation, I must admit."

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

"Well they say cream rises to the top and you can't get any higher here than the roofs," Seregil teased. He nodded at the cigarette Ronan held. "Tobaaco?" he asked, naming the more prevalent substance smoked in this world.

[not_in_the_book]

Ronan eyed the edge of the roof, memories of stepping out onto the air coming to mind. "Well, you can," he said, "but it's not always easy.

"Yeah, tobacco," Ronan replied. "I don't smoke it often, but every now and then..." He shrugged. "I just get the urge, I guess."

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

"I haven't tried it myself yet," Seregil said, eyeing the cigarette with curiosity.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

There was something about smokers, some kind of universal rule or something, that they tended to gravitate toward each other.

Which was why when Katchoo stepped out onto the roof she wasn't too surprised to see people up there, engaged in the same pursuit upon which she'd been intent.

"Irish, I didn't know you were the self-destructive type."

[not_in_the_book]

"I've got to have some vice," Ronan retorted, smiling at his 'little sister'. "Need a light?"

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo waved the hand that had just extracted that battered Bic from her pocket. "Nah, I got i --" The click and scrape of the flintwheel, sparks, but no flame. "Aw, hell."

[not_in_the_book]

"Here," Ronan said, and extended one hand. A snap and a whispered word -- so easy, calling fire -- had a flame extending from his thumb. "Got ya covered."

[not-a-mused.livejournal.com]

There was barely the sort of numbers to create the oppressive, lingering cloud of smoke, like Detroit smog, that Cal was envisioning, but that didn't stop him from thinking it and being vaguely amused by it as he noticed the blonde girl from the other night (and one of his classes, he'd realized) lighting up.

"No paints tonight?" he asked, head tilted slightly.

She was the painting girl, wasn't she? The vomit art. That was all he remembered.

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Nah," replied Katchoo, who remembered talking to him before she got distracted by the play of paint on canvas. "Not feelin' it tonight, so I'm not gonna force it."

[not-a-mused.livejournal.com]

"I can relate to that," Cal said, after a moment, and he cast his eyes around the roof a little for somewhere to potentially sit and get comfortable. "I've got a story I'm supposed to be writing."

[raspberryturk]

Okay, so, normally when Reno wanted a smoke, he'd just crack his window and pollute the air in his dorm room.

Apparently, smoke was bad for ferrets or something, so for Mako's sake, Reno was taking his cigarette up to the roof, nodding faintly at the assorted company already gathered there.

[not_in_the_book]

Ronan waved vaguely toward Reno with the hand not holding his cigarette. "Reno," he greeted, with a slight smile. "Evenin'."

[raspberryturk]

"It is that," Reno agreed in a breath of smoke, little wisps of gray accentuating each word. "Good night for a cigarette, yo."

Well, it was. As most tended to be. Naturally.