The Roof, Friday Evening

[nottrivial]

Well, there was some kind of issue going on with sharks outside, which wasn't surprising given that similar things had happened every day this week. Today they were walking on two legs, though, and Alec had his bow on him in case he should come across one, but for now he was just going to stick to the roof and try not to blow what was probably a temporary burst of Fandom strangeness out of proportion.

Which still felt weird as a rationalization point, because, well, it hadn't been that long ago since a temporary burst of Fandom strangeness had gotten him shot and beaten up and more than a little bit heartbroken all in the span of a few days. But there it was.

So: roof. He had an apple to eat and his bow strapped to his back, and he was going to try not to get too homesick looking around at the island from way up here and not seeing tall buildings everywhere.

That was the plan, anyway.

[[open!]]

Comments

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

Luke had no business being out on the roof other than the fact that he had been busy preparing stuff for tomorrow and wanted to have a break that didn't involve being killed by a shark. Being on high ground seemed like the best course of action to avoid this.

"Hey," he said when he spotted Alec, not at all disappointed to find that the roof was occupied. "Nice bow."

[nottrivial]

Avoiding death by shark was always a pretty good plan, it was true.

Alec, meanwhile, had to stop being startled when people happened to come up behind him in public places. It really shouldn't be that surprising anymore.

"Oh." Yes, it was a human being, Alec. Say hello. "Um, thank you. It's a Penobscot at half-size." Which might or might not mean anything to Luke, really. "Are you... do you know much about weapons?"

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"It depends on what type," Luke admitted, stepping closer so he could look over the edge of the roof. "I know a lot about swords and knives, not so much on bows. So, no, I'm not exactly sure what Penobscot means."

[nottrivial]

"It's just -- named after the tribe that designed it." Alec, he hadn't even asked, god. "The doubled-up wood helps reinforce it. So if you're charged by a, a shark or something, it won't shatter even if it gets flung."

He was rambling on the assumption that Luke wanted this information. So... A for effort, Alec.

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

Luckily for Alec, Luke found that sort of stuff genuinely interesting rather than extremely nerdy. "And we are having a bit of a shark problem this week so I can see why it'd be nice to have on hand."

"I'm Luke, by the way."

[nottrivial]

"Alec," Alec returned. Helpfully.

So... yes.

After a few moments he thought he'd risk being awkward some more, and tried, "So, swords and knives?"

As conversation-starters went, it was, you know. Somewhere between commenting on the weather and staring at your own feet.

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I've been using them since I was a kid since I grew up in a pretty dangerous environment," he explained. "When I got to someplace safe they decided to put my skills to good use and I started training a bunch of kids at a camp."

He paused.

"These kids also lived in dangerous environments, I wasn't shoving swords at them and demanding they kill things."

[nottrivial]

"Oh." Huh. "That's. Useful."

Though he wondered if it was strange that he hadn't actually been perturbed by the thought of kids having swords shoved at them.

"I was -- sort of trained like that," he offered. "But it was more like standard education for me."

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Was the bow your choice or did someone else pick that for a weapon?" Luke asked. He sat down on the edge of the roof and let his feet dangle over the edge, not worried in the least about that since he was wearing his Converse.

[nottrivial]

Alec was just going to not sit there, because he couldn't fly and didn't have super-amazing jumping powers and was cursed to be a huge worrier forever.

"Oh." It was possible that was one of his favorite words. "No, I just -- I mean, I studied a lot of weapons, but the bow's my favorite. It's... easier to use from a distance." Which he was always going to worry made him a coward, but, there it was. "Why swords?"

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"It's the first weapon I got my hands on and one I had a talent for," he said. "Long range weapons require a certain amount of patience and I admit I don't really have a talent for that."

[nottrivial]

Alec nodded. "I'm okay as far as patience goes," he said. "But melee weapons are harder to be strategic with. You have to think a lot faster."

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"That's true. Of course it can sometimes lead to stupid mistakes." He was the one with the giant scar on his face, after all. "So what are you doing up here? Angling to shoot some sharks?"

[nottrivial]

Alec looked a little sheepish at that. "Avoiding them, actually," he admitted. "But if they get as high up as this, I figure it's fair to shoot them."

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Don't worry, I was avoiding them too," Luke said, chuckling a little. "I'm pretty sure I could take on a shark but it seems like a messy and wet business. I'd rather not get into it."

[nottrivial]

"And around here you can only be so sure they aren't people under some strange island magic," Alec filled in. "Or... tame sharks being possessed."

Riiiight.

"...The former is probably more likely."

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, probably. Guess I should be thankful I'm still human right now," Luke said with a smile. "But getting turned into a shark wouldn't be the worst thing to happen, I guess. My boyfriend can talk to sea life so I'm sure he wouldn't let me get lost at sea or something. He better not, anyway."

[nottrivial]

"Your... oh." Alec had to learn how to stop being surprised by that kind of thing. The whole multiverse was not as repressed as the Shadowhunter community. "That's a pretty nice power to have. Actually."

Especially this week.

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, tell me about it," Luke said, politely ignoring Alec's initial hesitation. He didn't sense anything hostile from Alec so he didn't find any need to glare at him or anything. "He can control the ocean, stuff like that. It's pretty cool and I'm jealous as hell."