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

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"Beka, hello," he said, looking away from the sky and holding a hand up to wave at her. Considering that he'd worn tunics himself during his time in the Community and had just recently made the switch himself, he just smiled at the new clothing. He knew that adjustment wasn't always the easiest.

"How are you?" he asked, smiling. "Were you exploring?"

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

She nodded and sat down in the chair facing him. "I got bored," she admitted, leaving out the part where her roommate's pictures gave her the creeps if she looked at them too long. And somehow it was impossible not to end up looking at them. "You look at ease."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"I've been watching the clouds," he explained, pointing and looking back up. "They've calmed me considerably. I never really noticed them before."

They weren't important, weren't something the Community paid attention to unless the weather turned bad. In hindsight, Jonas was surprised they hadn't found a way to control the weather.

"It's relaxing," he added.

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

Beka automatically glanced up, leaning her head against the back of the chair. The sky wasn't something she paid much attention to either, despite having a constellation for cat.

"As long as they don't rain syrup?" she guessed.

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"Yes, that," he said and laughed, keeping his eyes on the sky and the clouds for a moment longer. "If it were raining syrup, I probably wouldn't be as interested. It's interesting to think that something so sticky could emerge from something so...soft looking."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"Do you think they'd really be soft if you could touch them?" Beka wondered.

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"I think so," he said after a moment spent considering that. "With the way they look, I can't see them being anything other than soft. They remind me of cotton."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

She nodded and reached up to rub her shoulder, not aware that she was doing it. "Or wool, that's yet to be spun."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"I don't know if I know that is," he said after a moment spent searching through his memory banks for the word, for the context. "A material of some kind?"

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

She could have foreseen that, she realized. "Do you know what sheep are?"

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"An animal," he supplied, nodding. "I've never actually seen one save for in pictures. They're made of this wool?"

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

Beka smiled. "They make wool," she corrected, there was a difference. "Their coat to get through winter is thick and soft. Once the weather gets warmer, people shave off the coats. They'd shed them off anyway, it gets too warm for them. The coat is wool. Spinners make threads from them and that gets used to make clothes. They make the warmest capes from wool and it keeps warm even when it's wet."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"The shaving..." He trailed off, trying to imagine that happening to the animal he'd once seen in a picture. "That doesn't hurt them?"

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"No," she shook her head. "It's like getting your hair cut."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"I've only had two of those in my life," he told her, brushing a hand through his dark hair. He'd need it cut soon, though. "I can understand the heat though. I had long hair for awhile. It got warm during the summer season. We weren't allowed a haircut till the Ceremony of Ten."

He was certain that made no sense to Beka and he pulled a face upon realizing that he'd phrased it that way.

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

She had long hair, usually it was tied up in a brain, but she did get that part at least. "I think your hair must have been longer than mine at some point," she teased. "What's the Ceremony of Ten?"

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"I apologize for that phrasing," he said, feeling quite sheepish about the phrasing. His cheeks reddened and he ducked his head, shaking it. "When I turned ten, that's happened. All the boys were given haircuts."

In a ceremony. In front of the entire community. It hadn't been the most exciting ceremony Jonas had ever attended.

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"You needn't apologize," she said with a frown, not seeing what was embarrassing about it. "Twas a ceremony for all lads your age?" she guessed.

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"Yes," he said, nodding. "And for the girls. They girls had their braids removed. Cut, I mean. That only happened during the tenth year."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"But after you could do what you wanted?" she asked, wondering if he'd chosen to only cut his hair once more.

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

Shaking his head, he said, "It had to remain above my ears. It was considered more masculine."

Of course, it'd grown since his last haircut which had been his choice and was now just touching his ears. He liked his hair now. He liked having that choice.

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

She wrinkled her nose. "Your community has a lot of rules," she remarked.

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"Yes," he said, able to realize that now. "It's been an adjustment to realize that not every place is like that."

[provostsdog.livejournal.com]

"But a good one?" she asked. "Tis a strange thing to make rules about."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"A good one, yes," he agreed with a slow nod. "Sometimes, I feel a little helpless without rules but I'm learning to ask and adjust to those times. It's gotten better."