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How about jumping across buildings?
[ Said as if that's a completely normal thing to ask, along the lines of do you drink regular coffee or decaf? Time to go upstairs--so to speak, anyway. More of an elevator ride, considering. ]
[ Said as if that's a completely normal thing to ask, along the lines of do you drink regular coffee or decaf? Time to go upstairs--so to speak, anyway. More of an elevator ride, considering. ]
Depends. Is that gonna be a problem?
[ He gives her a sidelong grin. ]
[ He gives her a sidelong grin. ]
[ His smile broadens, genuine satisfaction at the answer she gives. ]
Taught Nathan how to jump rooftops when he was a kid. You'll be fine.
[ When the elevator dings and the doors whoosh open again, they're a little lobby area, a small, neatish garden outside. It's not a bad rooftop hangout, if not particular standout. ]
Of course, if you don't wanna, we can stick around up here.
Taught Nathan how to jump rooftops when he was a kid. You'll be fine.
[ When the elevator dings and the doors whoosh open again, they're a little lobby area, a small, neatish garden outside. It's not a bad rooftop hangout, if not particular standout. ]
Of course, if you don't wanna, we can stick around up here.
All right, c'mere.
[ There's some kind of...he has no idea what it is, frankly, but on the rooftop, in addition to the little garden-y stuff, there's some greenery-covered...something. Big metal cases, he'd guess, about as tall as he is, housing stuff that makes the the building work. The top of them is grown over with a plant he doesn't recognize, the long tendrils and leaves drooping down like a lacy curtain to disguise the fact that there's something ugly and urban behind them. ]
Now, you wanna avoid climbing too much on things with leaves or vines in the way. Never know what's underneath 'em. But this one's an exception. [ Mostly because he'd really, really wanted to climb it, and if you can reach the top edge, the sides don't make much of a difference. ] You want a boost?
[ He makes a cup of his hands, bends enough that she can use his palms as an extra step. What's easy for him to reach might be tougher for her. ]
[ There's some kind of...he has no idea what it is, frankly, but on the rooftop, in addition to the little garden-y stuff, there's some greenery-covered...something. Big metal cases, he'd guess, about as tall as he is, housing stuff that makes the the building work. The top of them is grown over with a plant he doesn't recognize, the long tendrils and leaves drooping down like a lacy curtain to disguise the fact that there's something ugly and urban behind them. ]
Now, you wanna avoid climbing too much on things with leaves or vines in the way. Never know what's underneath 'em. But this one's an exception. [ Mostly because he'd really, really wanted to climb it, and if you can reach the top edge, the sides don't make much of a difference. ] You want a boost?
[ He makes a cup of his hands, bends enough that she can use his palms as an extra step. What's easy for him to reach might be tougher for her. ]
[ By Sam's metric, this is gonna be simple--so easy that he'd never have suggested it to Nathan, who undoubtedly figured it out on his own. They're halfway there already, once she gets up there and he scrambles up next to her.
Back in the garden proper, there's a good-sized wall keeping people from falling to their deaths, for obvious reasons. Up here, the wall's no longer chest-height--for Sam, anyway--but below their feet, and it's easy to see a chunk of the city at large. Some of the buildings are taller than this one, but plenty are around the same height. ]
See that garden? Right over there. [ Believe it or not, it's the building nearest them, the space between the two eminently jumpable (at least by Sam's metric). It's a little across, a little down, from where they are, and it's clearly fancier than the building Sam lives in, if not by a huge amount. Jump from this metal casing to the cement wall across the way, scramble over it, and you're in with bigger, slightly wilder-looking plants, huge blooming flowers that spend all day soaking up the summer sun. ] Gotta live there to get access to it. Unless you got a different way in.
[ And as long as you don't worry about how far down the ground is, doing this stuff is easy. ]
You wanna give it a try?
Back in the garden proper, there's a good-sized wall keeping people from falling to their deaths, for obvious reasons. Up here, the wall's no longer chest-height--for Sam, anyway--but below their feet, and it's easy to see a chunk of the city at large. Some of the buildings are taller than this one, but plenty are around the same height. ]
See that garden? Right over there. [ Believe it or not, it's the building nearest them, the space between the two eminently jumpable (at least by Sam's metric). It's a little across, a little down, from where they are, and it's clearly fancier than the building Sam lives in, if not by a huge amount. Jump from this metal casing to the cement wall across the way, scramble over it, and you're in with bigger, slightly wilder-looking plants, huge blooming flowers that spend all day soaking up the summer sun. ] Gotta live there to get access to it. Unless you got a different way in.
[ And as long as you don't worry about how far down the ground is, doing this stuff is easy. ]
You wanna give it a try?
You, uh, you jump.
[ He's not really sure how to explain it--that, he never really did with Nathan. What he did do, though... ]
Watch me, okay? Do what I do.
[ Here, Sam doesn't take a running start. Great way, under the circumstances, to trip or slip or otherwise get his ass handed to him by a goddamn plant. Instead, he goes to the edge of the casing and leaps.
Maybe it helps that he's tall, but it also helps that it's close, and that he's aiming down rather than up. A little more room for error, though he doesn't err. In a moment, he's scrambled over the wall, so there's room for her to land. ]
Now you!
[ He's not really sure how to explain it--that, he never really did with Nathan. What he did do, though... ]
Watch me, okay? Do what I do.
[ Here, Sam doesn't take a running start. Great way, under the circumstances, to trip or slip or otherwise get his ass handed to him by a goddamn plant. Instead, he goes to the edge of the casing and leaps.
Maybe it helps that he's tall, but it also helps that it's close, and that he's aiming down rather than up. A little more room for error, though he doesn't err. In a moment, he's scrambled over the wall, so there's room for her to land. ]
Now you!
[Jumping down is certainly less scary, it's the whole landing on the wall thing she's not a huge fan of. But again, her pride precludes her from backing out, so she takes a deep breath. Suck it up, Kyna.
And then she leaps. For one terrifying, weightless instant, she's certain she's not going to make it, but then she does. It's not at all graceful—in fact, instead of landing on the wall, her stomach hits it, and the breath is knocked out of her, but she scrambles up and shoves herself over, landing on her ass on the roof.]
Ow, Jesus.
And then she leaps. For one terrifying, weightless instant, she's certain she's not going to make it, but then she does. It's not at all graceful—in fact, instead of landing on the wall, her stomach hits it, and the breath is knocked out of her, but she scrambles up and shoves herself over, landing on her ass on the roof.]
Ow, Jesus.
[ Watching her jump is a lot of things: kind of funny, kind of brave, kind of scary? More than he remembers it being with Nathan, back when they were kids--but he was a stupid teenager then, convinced he was gonna live forever.
And there's nothing to worry about, anyway, because she makes it without any trouble. Sure, the landing's something they gotta work on, but for the most part? She did good. ]
Hey, hey, you're okay. Walk it off, right? [ He's holding out a hand to her as he says it, trying to help her up and make sure she didn't take any real damage all at once. ] Lookit this place.
[ The only flowers he recognizes are the roses, but they all smell incredible to him. It's a small space, made strangely cozy by all the plants--there's even a little table and chairs under a pergola that's all grown over with greenery. ]
Whaddaya think? Worthy of a few pics?
And there's nothing to worry about, anyway, because she makes it without any trouble. Sure, the landing's something they gotta work on, but for the most part? She did good. ]
Hey, hey, you're okay. Walk it off, right? [ He's holding out a hand to her as he says it, trying to help her up and make sure she didn't take any real damage all at once. ] Lookit this place.
[ The only flowers he recognizes are the roses, but they all smell incredible to him. It's a small space, made strangely cozy by all the plants--there's even a little table and chairs under a pergola that's all grown over with greenery. ]
Whaddaya think? Worthy of a few pics?
[Her stomach hurts a bit, and her pride is wounded, but otherwise she's fine. When she takes his hand, he gets a rush of adrenaline and fading fear, and she beams at him.]
Holy shit, that was awesome.
[It's only then that she looks around at the flowers and plants crowding the rooftop. There's so many that they nearly hide the safety wall, making the whole thing look like some kind of tiny jungle in the sky.]
This is amazing.
Holy shit, that was awesome.
[It's only then that she looks around at the flowers and plants crowding the rooftop. There's so many that they nearly hide the safety wall, making the whole thing look like some kind of tiny jungle in the sky.]
This is amazing.
[ And he's all pride, grinning down at her and coming through the palm of his hand: atta girl, Kyna, now look at this. She seems happy enough that he'd be tempted to keep holding on, if he didn't think it'd get weird. ]
Do that a couple hundred more times, you'll be an expert. C'mon.
[ And now that they're here, they can enjoy themselves a little. He walks over to the patio set, under the shade of hundreds of leaves, and makes himself at home. ]
There's so many people living in these buildings that everyone figures I'm just from another floor. Long as they don't see me jumping over, no one catches on.
Do that a couple hundred more times, you'll be an expert. C'mon.
[ And now that they're here, they can enjoy themselves a little. He walks over to the patio set, under the shade of hundreds of leaves, and makes himself at home. ]
There's so many people living in these buildings that everyone figures I'm just from another floor. Long as they don't see me jumping over, no one catches on.
[ The way she says it, he kind of has to pause: does that mean I killed him or something else? He's trying to think of the alternatives, and all of them sound like something out of a bad movie from his childhood. What, she locks him in some other dimension with her spooky, definitely-not-weird magic?
What exactly happened isn't really the point, he knows--that look on her face is, that sadness trying to masquerade as mere seriousness.
But she said she wanted to talk about it. So he asks. It comes out more like a statement than a question. ]
How bad's that?
What exactly happened isn't really the point, he knows--that look on her face is, that sadness trying to masquerade as mere seriousness.
But she said she wanted to talk about it. So he asks. It comes out more like a statement than a question. ]
How bad's that?
My dad wasn't really... In control anymore.
[Her voice is quieter now, halting, like she's forcing herself to continue. She has her eyes locked on a loose thread on his jeans, and she reaches for it impulsively, twisting it around her finger.]
Sam got hurt trying to protect me. And he must have called my brother before we left, because he showed up, and it was just the two of us with Sam unconscious, and...
[Deep breath, Kyna. Get through it. Sam isn't freaking out so far. It's fine. She's practically radiating anxiety and regret, though, and she knows it.]
So we tried to, you know... banish the thing. I mean, I did. Nico can't use magic, so. [So he couldn't.] But sometimes when a binding goes wrong, or whatever, it's like... like putting two pieces of tape together sticky sides down, you know? The person and the spirit are too tangled up. So it didn't...
[She clears her throat, eyes still locked on that little thread, catching it with her fingernails.]
He didn't make it. But Sam did.
[Her voice is quieter now, halting, like she's forcing herself to continue. She has her eyes locked on a loose thread on his jeans, and she reaches for it impulsively, twisting it around her finger.]
Sam got hurt trying to protect me. And he must have called my brother before we left, because he showed up, and it was just the two of us with Sam unconscious, and...
[Deep breath, Kyna. Get through it. Sam isn't freaking out so far. It's fine. She's practically radiating anxiety and regret, though, and she knows it.]
So we tried to, you know... banish the thing. I mean, I did. Nico can't use magic, so. [So he couldn't.] But sometimes when a binding goes wrong, or whatever, it's like... like putting two pieces of tape together sticky sides down, you know? The person and the spirit are too tangled up. So it didn't...
[She clears her throat, eyes still locked on that little thread, catching it with her fingernails.]
He didn't make it. But Sam did.
[ There's a lot of he in the things she says, and he has to think about it to untangle it all. For a second, he thinks: wait, your brother got killed? But no, it's her father, isn't it? She tried to save her father, and she killed him instead.
Sam doesn't want to think about how familiar that sounds. ]
C'mere.
[ He's no good at this shit, but this much, he knows: if you're talking to a girl, and she gets a look like that on her face, you gotta do something. Usually, he'd find a way to make a quick exit, but Kyna's different--and anyway, she's picking at a thread on his jeans, and somehow, that connection between them feels unbreakable. It's a thread, and it's more than that.
So he sets his drink down on an endtable and puts his arm around her and wonders if this is what he's supposed to be doing here, pulling her into his side and trying not to think too much about what it feels like to hold onto her. ]
Sam doesn't want to think about how familiar that sounds. ]
C'mere.
[ He's no good at this shit, but this much, he knows: if you're talking to a girl, and she gets a look like that on her face, you gotta do something. Usually, he'd find a way to make a quick exit, but Kyna's different--and anyway, she's picking at a thread on his jeans, and somehow, that connection between them feels unbreakable. It's a thread, and it's more than that.
So he sets his drink down on an endtable and puts his arm around her and wonders if this is what he's supposed to be doing here, pulling her into his side and trying not to think too much about what it feels like to hold onto her. ]
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