the deck: thursday evening

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

When the sun started to go down, Nathan stop himself from wandering outside. He'd tried staying inside but as it got darker and later, he'd started to feel sicker and sicker and after a few minutes of that, he'd given up and retreated outside.

He'd gone to the roof a few days ago but hadn't been to the deck yet despite passing it on the way to and from class. It looked comfortable and Nathan settled himself into a chair and leaned back. The moon was passing between clouds but every little glimpse had Nathan inhaling and feeling stronger and stronger.

He'd taken a chance today and had left the scarf and gloves in his room. It meant the tattoos on his neck, wrist and finger were visible but Nathan figured that he'd look even sillier if he kept wearing cold weather clothes during the summer season. He'd take the risk of people seeing the tattoos. He'd learned they were even fashionable in some countries.

Nathan leaned back even further, eyes up on the sky. The clouds were thick and might be bringing rain but right now, it was nice and cool and the sickness he'd felt earlier was a thing of the past.

[Open place, open post]

Comments

[kenselvren]

Jalian didn't like to feel too cooped-up in the building, so she was wandering the grounds before sleep time. She spotted the body heat on the deck, and headed closer to see who it was.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

The body heat belonged to Nathan and when he heard someone approaching, he pulled himself away from the view of the night sky and looked over.

He didn't recognize the new arrival but that didn't surprise him. He didn't recognize many people just yet.

[kenselvren]

Jalian didn't recognize him, either, but she nodded in acknowledgement to him.

Then remembered he was probably another student, as strange as that was, and gave him an only very slightly grudging, "Hello."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Hey," Nathan greeted, nodding back. "Come out for some fresh air?"

His socialization skills were almost non-existent thus his small talk was going to be very inane. For the moment, at least. He'd learn.

[kenselvren]

And Jalian's socialization skills mostly involved knives, time mechanics, and not talking to males. This would go well.

"It's strange to be closed in by such thick walls," Jalian answered with a shrug. The Corvichi ship had been bigger, but it had hummed with its own strange kind of life; the dormitories here didn't.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I just don't like walls period," Nathan said with a brief nod. "It's suffocating. I like being outside in the open air a lot more than being inside, in a bedroom. I feel trapped."

[kenselvren]

"Are you one of those afraid of small places?" Jalian asked. She was only curious, not judging.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I don't like being inside period," Nathan shared with a slight shrug. "Prefer being outside no matter how big the room. Just feels better out here. More...natural."

[kenselvren]

"Because it is," Jalian answered with a matching shrug. "I like having places to walk. Freeways and forests."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Don't think you're gonna find the first thing here," Nathan said, having become familiar with freeways during his escape from the Council. "This place has lots of stairs. Tried those out yet?"

Nathan had. They weren't fun.

[kenselvren]

"I've walked everywhere I can find on the island," Jalian answered. "It's best to know your terrain, in case there's fighting."

She didn't mind stairs. Much.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"You expecting fighting?" Nathan asked mildly. He'd heard that the island could produce that but it was nice to think that maybe it'd be peaceful here. "I've barely heard of any crime occurring here so far."

[kenselvren]

"I like to be ready." Jalian shrugged. "Better to prepare and not need it." She pointed her chin at his visible tattoos. "I don't know your marks." Not that that was surprising; she didn't know much about this world. "Where is your clan from? Someplace with no dangers?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I wish," Nathan muttered, rubbing a hand over the tattoo on his neck. "No, there's plenty of dangers where I'm from. It's kind of why I'm here. That I came here intentionally either but...it's confusing. So are the tattoos."

[kenselvren]

"How did you get here?" Jalian asked curiously.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I'm still not sure about that," Nathan admitted with a half shrug. "I wasn't here one moment and the next I was. There was no travel by plane or boat or train or foot. I was just...here."