Obed Brandt | Hades (obedear) wrote in paxletalelogs, @ 2017-02-08 19:13:00 |
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Entry tags: | fenrir, hades |
smoke gets in your eyes
Who: Obed & Abel.
What: Abel meets his first neighbor.
Where: Outside the Pax Letale complex.
When: Early morning.
Notes: Completed gdoc.
Eyes closed, Abel sucked in a deep breath through his nose; the warm feeling of the cancer stick between his index and middle finger laced the oxygen he took in with the subtle burning sensation of nicotine and smoke. He lifted the paper to his lips and took another drag, tapping the stick with his thumb to loose ash. As he breathed out, a thin, transparent cloud wafting around him only to quickly be erased by the breeze, he took in the sight of his new home. His sneakers were dug into the edge of the grass where it came up against the concrete pathway circling the tall wings of the Pax Letale apartment complex. He could easily picture a moat, walls, something more defensible a long time ago. Shaking his head, he brought the cigarette up again, lips cupping the tip as he turned. A man with a small dog was just coming up the path, and Abel watched him for a moment, back bowed forward, head canted, before raising the hand holding the cigarette in greeting when it was clear they were going to cross paths.
The man returned the wave; the little dog answered with a high-pitched yip. "Hanni, settle," the man said, and gave a slight tug on the thin black lead. When the dog seemed to obey -- at least for the moment -- he and his master stopped on the sidewalk, just in front of the newcomer. "Good morning," he said. He tipped his blonde head toward the building that loomed over them. "New in the building?"
Abel inclined his head, turning it to blow smoke toward the parking lot.
"Abel Parrish, 507," he replied, switching his cigarette to the other hand and hold the former out for a handshake. His head remained downcast, his excuse shading his eyes from the early morning sun with a furrowed brow. "I've been in the area for awhile, and just came across this place. Pretty convenient location."
Nodding, the man shook his hand. "Obed Brandt. My fiancée and I are in D3. It's good to see a new face around. To be as nice as it is, the building is still surprisingly vacant. I believe there's only one other tenant on your floor so far. You'll have the run of the place, pretty much." He smiled. "I suppose there's worse things than relative peace and quiet."
Abel smiled, mimicking Obed's nod. "I definitely can't fault that. Do you know the tenant on my floor? You're the first person I've met, face to face, anyway."
"Not personally," Obed answered. "I've seen her in the lobby and at events, but beyond that…" He shrugged. "We're all still getting a feel for one another. Is there anything you need? Any help moving in or getting settled?"
He shook his head, in the middle of another drag. Blowing smoke, he smiled as the transparent, ghostly lines filtered out through his teeth. The small dog at Obed's feet had not stopped staring at him with its tiny ears pressed flat to its tiny skull, and it started up a small whine, an undercurrent to Abel's next words. He glanced down at the animal, thoughts of punting it across the yard wending their way through his head. He met Obed's gaze again before speaking.
"Don't have much to move in. Pretty much already done. So tell me this, then, even though I've already signed the lease -- you like it here?"
"I do." Obed was briefly distracted, glancing down at Hanni as the little dog danced and whined. He mumbled a quiet consolation at the dog before returning his focus to his neighbor. "It's a good property with attentive management, as best I can tell. Unless something drastically changes, I'll probably be here for a while."
Hanni's little nails clicked on the sidewalk, then were muffled as he reached grass and continued his impatient motions. "I'm sorry," he said, "I don't know what's gotten into him today."
Abel looked back to the dog; their gazes locked, and Hanni's whine turned into a deep-throated growl, his little needle-like teeth exposed.
"It's OK," he replied, unperturbed. "Maybe there's a coyote or something in the area. Animals can sense a lot more than we can." He glanced back up to Obed, flicking more ash off of his cigarette. "That's good to hear, though. I was hoping to stick around for awhile. I haven't felt quite as...at home here as I have elsewhere."
He sucked down one last drag, glanced at Hanni and briefly thought of throwing the lit smoke in the dog's face. As if he could read his mind, Hanni's growl dropped and he sank into the grass, clearly trying to make himself as small as possible. Abel dropped the butt, grinding it under his heel.
He smiled toothily at Obed, hands sliding into his pockets. "Great to meet you. I'm sure we'll see each other around, neighbor." His head bobbed, and with long strides, Abel moved toward the front of the building, clearly headed toward the interior.
"You too, Abel."
Obed nodded farewell, but did not watch him leave; his focus was instead on the dog at his feet, whose behavior had so quickly and dramatically changed. Hanni met his master's eyes with his own, his ears swiveling off of his head and in Obed's direction. With Abel's absence, he'd returned to his old self, and seemed none worse for the wear.