deck | early evening | saturday | september 12

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

In the Community, going out after certain hours hadn't been permitted save for the those with Assignments that required it. Even being three years removed from that place, it still took Jonas a few weeks to realize that he could go out and stay out without the fear of punishment.

There were so many things he knew he could be doing or could be learning but, tonight, he found himself just staring up at the darkening sky. It was overcast but the clouds still captivated him in ways that might seem mundane to almost everyone else. It was amazing to him how they moved, changed shape and combined with each other so effortlessly.

Jonas hoped he might see stars later, when the sky grew dark, but watching the clouds was all right with him for the moment. The book he'd brought lay unopened next to him, ready if the clouds grew boring. Jonas didn't see that happening though.

[the deck's open!]

Comments

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

Beka pulled her legs up in the chair, resting her chin on her knees. "Let me know when you do, mayhap I'll be able to figure it out then too."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"Unsure of yourself too?" Jonas asked quietly.

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

She nodded, the fabric of her jeans felt strange under her fingertips. "Tis an interesting world," she admitted, "but it'd be too easy to forget what it's like being a Dog."

It'd been worrying her, but she'd never let the thought form fully, let alone speak it out loud.

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"I don't think you'll forget," Jonas said after a moment of thought. "This is a strange place but I've found that memories tend to stay, even if they hide."

Unless you were him, of course. But most people weren't him.

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

She let out a breath, not convinced. She'd get rusty at least and she was grateful it was fight club the next day. "Mayhap I should see if the guards in town need some help," she said in a lighter tone. "I wonder if the armor is mandatory."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"Armor?" he repeated, not understanding. "That's...shielding of some sort, isn't it? Heavy shielding?"

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

She nodded. "Have you not seen the patrols in town yet?" she asked. "They wear some sort of white armor. It covers them from head to toe."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"I haven't ventured too far into town yet," he admitted, looking a little reluctant to actually do so. "I've been trying to acclimate to the area around the dorms and school before exploring out there."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

It was another Dog reaction, she guessed. She'd learned the map of Fandom by heart before she got here. Compared to the Lower City, Fandom Town was rather tame.

She nodded, though, figuring this would be harder on him from what she'd heard. "You should try the beach first, when you're ready," she added. "I think you'd like it."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"I...might." He'd known there was a beach here, even knew what one looked like but he hadn't actually been to one and the idea was an inviting one. "I've never been to one of those before. I might go, see what it looks like."

The colors in pictures he'd seen, all the blues, greens, golds and tans had been spectacular so he could only imagine what it looked like without the glossy glare that pictures tend to give off.

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"I'd not been either," she admitted. "I've been to Port Caynn, but the beach is very different from the docks in a harbor."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"What are the differences?" Jonas asked curiously. "I've never been to either."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"The docks are part of the city," she said and frowned. "I suppose they don't have to be, but the ones I've seen were. Tis where ships come in and unload their cargo and pick up a new one. There's always sommat to do at the docks. Corus has them too for the ships that go up and down the river. The beach..." She shrugged a shoulder and smiled a little. "It's just a stretch of sand or rock where the ocean ends."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"Ships," he repeated, turning the word over and putting a picture to the name. It was a mode of transportation over water, sometimes slower than over land and sometimes faster. "I've never seen a ship."

He hadn't seen a lot of things.

"What are the ships like?" he asked curiously. "Are they very big?"

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

She nodded. "Some of them are," she said. "They come in all sizes. There's boats just to transport a few people, or barges that go up and down the river. Those are bigger. The ships that go on the ocean can be huge. Some of them have three masts... It's hard to explain. You'd have to see it for yourself."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"There's a lot I'll have to see for myself," he said, understating it quite a lot. "Ships are just one of the many. I've only traveled by bicycle, sled and just recently airplane. I thank you for trying to explain, though."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

She smiled. "Does it help if I say I've never been on a ship either?" she asked. "I've just seen plenty. Most children in the Lower City have, the docks are interesting to hang around."

She hesitated then had to ask. "What's a bicycle and an airplane?"

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

Jonas typically wasn't put into the situation where he was explaining things. It took him a moment to answer.

"A bicycle has two wheels, one in front and one in the back. There are two handle bars and you power it by using your legs. There are pedals and you push with your legs to make it accelerate. An airplane is something that flies in the sky."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

Beka blinked, trying to imagine both items. The airplane was just going to win in oddity however. "You flew?"

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"I did," he said, sounding almost proud. The Community had planes, he knew that but he'd never been in one. So, actually experiencing one was still something amazing. "Well, the airplane flew, I was just a passenger."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

What's it like?" she asked curiously. She hadn't fed pigeons every day without wondering what it'd be like to fly.

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"It was...smooth," he said, using the first word that he could think of. "Very smooth. And...very high. We flew over the clouds. Close enough to touch."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"But you didn't," she summarized, since otherwise he'd have told her exactly how it felt a moment ago. "I'm curious now."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"I wasn't outside," he tried to explain, shaking his head at his failure. "It's rather like a large...classroom, maybe. There are seats that you sit in and the airplane is powered by technology."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

That was a bit disappointing as somehow she'd more been imagining a ship. "I'd ask how they get a room in the air, but it really is better not to wonder."