Main Campfire, Tuesday Evening

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

Alex felt restless enough to emerge from his alcove and head out to the main campfire again. It was easier to both smoke and stay warm since it'd gotten weirdly cold over the last few days. Whatever. He was from Iowa. He was used to this type of weather.

Didn't mean he would pass up a fire.

So, he slouched down against a log, crossing his feet at the ankle and leaning back to blow smoke into the air. It was the second week of classes and, amazingly, they weren't going that badly. Of course, considering the classes, Alex didn't know how they could go badly.

He'd take the good news while he could. It didn't happen often.

[campfires are open things!]

Comments

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"I hope your dog doesn't catch on fire." It was a good enough greeting and there was a dog and a fire so he was just being cautious.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"She's smart enough to avoid it, just like most people are," he said with a ruffle of her fur.

"But thank you."

He looked up from his notebook.

"Liir. Nice to meet you."

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"Alex," he said, repeating that name in his head a few times. "Liir? Swedish?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"Ozian," he corrected.

"Or, hell, who knows. She was probably just slurring something. Alex is...?"

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"My name." Other than that, he didn't know.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He shrugged.

"I thought you might have some quirk about names."

He ruffled the dog's fur.

"This is Makejoy. If you like dogs, she likes you. Otherwise, I'll keep her over here."

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"Better keep her over there while I'm smoking," he said, waving the cigarette a little. "I don't wanna get ashed in your dog's hair."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"Much appreciated. The smell does tend to linger."

He leaned back against the log.

"I won't ask the obvious, so... how are you adjusting to this place?"

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"Besides the glitter, I haven't had much to adjust to besides waking up in a cabin full of people," he said. "So, hasn't been too hard."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"Sometimes, that can be enough. Where are you from, Alex? If you don't mind me asking of course."

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"Iowa," he said, getting used to sharing by now. "Midwest. There's not much there."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"I've never been," he had to admit, "but I knew a girl from Kansas when I was younger."

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, the only way Iowa differs from Kansas is two letters," he said, making a bad joke. "It's the land of nothing. One state blends into the other."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"She was certainly boring enough," he said with a bit of a wince, "though very, well, very nice."

It was her distinguishing characteristic.

"Glad to be here then?"

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"No." He shook his head. "Rather be anywhere else."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

That got a blink.

"Any particular reason for that?"

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"Not one I want to share," he said, shrugging. "No one needs to know but me."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"I can respect that.

"I'm sure it could be worse, though."

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"Probably." He gave a lazy shrug. "Right now, this is worse for me."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"Well, at least you're not dead."

That seemed a positive note.

"You haven't turned into anything yet, have you?"

[fratboybitch.livejournal.com]

"No." Weird question. "Not planning on turning into anything either. I'll leave that up to everyone else who seems to be sniffing glue on a regular basis."