starsmisalign (starsmisalign) wrote in birthrightrpg, @ 2020-09-07 12:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | celeste henry, nesryn rowan |
The Great Outdoors
Who: Nesryn, Celeste
What: Picnic
Where: Cottonwood Cove
When: Present
Ratings/Warnings: None
Nesryn stretched her legs out. It felt good being primarily back in her normal functioning form as a human. While she found her wolf form comforting - she loved to run on four legs, to hunt, and find new adventures - she liked the more upright form better. Navigating the world was easier, anyway.
After a few texts back and forth she invited her friend Celeste out for a picnic on the beach at the Cove.
Ronnie had offered to make lunch after Nes called to check in and he’d inquired of her day. So a pit stop to Ronnie’s place for lunch and Nesryn met Celeste at the cove. Because she was friends with him, Nes extended the hangout offer to him but he had a few things to do and politely declined.
“This was a good idea,” Nesryn laughed, looking over at Celeste. She smiled at her friend. The day was beautiful, perfect for a beachside picnic. The holiday was approaching so there were a few other people around though everyone seemed respectful and there wasn’t overcrowding.
Celeste hadn’t been to Cottonwood Cove yet, and she was surprised by how much she liked it. She stretched out on the blanket they had laid out, angling her face toward the sun. Light bounced off of her dark sunglasses as she returned Nesryn’s smile. “It was,” she agreed easily. The brunette leaned over and removed a can of soda from the cooler, popping the tab.
In the distance, she could see pontoon boats traversing the lake, snatches of music and laughter reaching her ears. Sitting there felt like living in another time. There was an ease and simplicity that appealed to Celeste. “How was the full moon, by the way?”
While her adventures didn’t lead her to the Cove as much as she wanted, Nesryn had a soft spot in her heart for the place. She loved the water. Portland life had encouraged getting out into the sun for a hike or a swim and she rarely ignored the call. And she didn’t even mind the tourists.
“It was good,” she replied, softly. This full moon had been different. She and Brian had left with more on their plates between them than last time. Her smile grew just thinking about it. “I don’t think I told you. Before we left, Brian asked me to be his girlfriend. So this time was a little different,” she explained.
“That’s awesome, Nes.” The way the other woman lit up when she spoke about Brian was undeniably cute. It was strange; Celeste had never really cared about the relationships of others before. Now she was rooting for Nesryn’s.
She turned her interest toward the basket of food that sat next to the pair. “What did Ronnie pack us?”
“Thanks!” She was looking forward to all of the good times they would share together, and all of the experiences ahead of them. Whatever that meant. Even though they weren’t mated she considered herself his and also part of that little circle which made up wolves. Maybe it wasn’t large enough to be a pack or maybe the definition of pack had changed.
Into the picnic basket she went and her eyebrows lifted. “Ooh, a lot of stuff,” came the reply. For each of them were two sandwiches, a small container of yogurt dip and a larger container of fruit to share between, carrot and celery sticks for a snack, and a sealed carafe of fresh lemonade.
Celeste took a long drink of cold Coke, then reached out to take one of the sandwiches. She unwrapped it carefully and took a contemplative bite. “Okay,” she said, when she was finished chewing. “How did he make something so simple as a sandwich taste so good? He should sell these.”
The brunette relaxed, enjoying the food, the weather, and Nesryn’s company.
“Right?” She said, mouth full of sandwich. There was something so perfect and simple about the sandwiches and yet they seemed so much better. Happily, she chewed on another bite. “Poor guy, he seems like he’s been through a heck of a time or something. When I stopped by I could sense something. It’s not my business so I didn’t ask but it was there. You know what I mean?” She’d gotten close to the cook. “And someone should tell him to open his own place.” She would but the food he made was too good to let him get too far from the place they both worked.
Celeste nodded in confirmation that something was going on with Ronnie, but she didn’t elaborate. He could tell Nesryn himself, if he so chose. She set the sandwich down, half-eaten. “I think he’ll be okay,” she said vaguely.
She got to her feet and stretched, nodding toward the lake. “I want to feel the water,” Celeste told Nesryn. “How about you?”
That was good enough for her. She wanted her friends to come to her if they needed to without the fear of judgement. They didn’t always, and that was okay, too. “Okay.” She trusted Celeste’s word and left the page dog-eared there.
“Race you,” she laughed, already moving to stand up. At this time of the year the water wouldn’t be too cold but that wasn’t the case now. Her feet felt good in the water.
“Yeah, I don’t think that would be a fair race,” Celeste deadpanned before making her way to the edge of the water. She had long since kicked off her sneakers. The water lapped around her feet.
“I have a lot of questions about the were thing,” she admitted to Nesryn as she waded. “Like, for one...do you ever come across actual wolves? Can you talk to them?”
Nesryn smiled.
Those questions would be answered with as much honesty as she could give with exceptions. Protecting her family and Brian came before honesty. “Kind of. They’re natural predators and if I get on their territory they’re going to react the way they’re built. I don’t run into a lot of wolves here, but some wild ones back home. Fortunately I was rarely by myself on a run. But honestly, I’ve never really tried to communicate with one by myself. We try to steer clear of each other, if that make sense?”
Celeste nodded attentively. “It does,” she said, leaning down to run her fingertips through the cool water. “It’s odd to think about this whole other world that happens when we aren’t looking,” she mused quietly, her eyes on the lake’s horizon. “It must be strange to be a part of that, from birth.”
“It’s a lot to understand as a kid,” she explained. “How you can’t tell your friends, how you have to leave school for a few days without a good reason. Forgetting about the moon, or that you can smell perfume across the school or that you’re stronger than everyone.” Nesryn smiled. “I don’t feel any less than normal. I mean, I’m a regular girl. I just have a quirk.”
“That’s a good way to look at it,” Celeste answered. It certainly sounded like the best way to stay sane when every day meant having your senses assaulted by smells, sounds, sights...the brunette could only begin to imagine that. And the feeling of otherness as a child was something she understood all too well.
“I never went to school,” she admitted. “So I didn’t have to worry about coming up with excuses.”
Being little and trying to understand that you had to keep secrets had been challenging. Maybe that’s why her parents had a tutor come in those first few years to ensure her education was there while she worked out all of the harder things. “You didn’t? You’re so smart,” Nesryn added. “Either way, I ditched a lot of school so don’t worry.”
Her image was that of the prodigal daughter but in essence she was wild and born to run.
“Home schooled,” Celeste replied, turning to look at her friend with a slow smile. “I’m used to teaching myself things.”
“Your mind goes to home often, doesn’t it?” she asked the werewolf. “I mean, it makes sense. It sounds like you were really connected there.” Celeste hesitated, the real question on her tongue ready to spill out. “If you thought someone in your family was about to hurt a lot of people, what would you do?”
“That’s all I really knew until I left,” she confessed. Maybe it sounded like a broken record but all of her experience stemmed from there. And then she tilted her head. “I’d go back and try to stop them.” Her expression got a bit serious. But then her situation was different in context. “Is everything okay back home?” Her voice dropped and she didn’t expect Celeste to be forthcoming.
“I have no idea,” she answered, frowning slightly. It was true, technically. Celeste couldn’t really say if anything had ever been okay in the first place. For all she knew, everything was business as normal. But there was a nagging feeling, and it wouldn’t go away.
“I don’t know if I could go back,” she added. “But if I had to, I guess...I guess I would force myself.”
“You don’t have to go alone,” she replied. Celeste had friends who would back her up. “I don’t know what you have going on and it’s not my business, but you have people here who care about you.” She hoped that would comfort her friend. “And you don’t have to go back at all. Some things you can’t fix no matter how much you want to.” She had a problem too that was out of her control.
Celeste shook her head softly. She turned to make her way back to the blanket. “The only thing worse than going back would be feeling helpless,” she explained to Nesryn. “Trying and failing is one thing. I can handle that. But giving up because I think I can’t do something? And then turning on the news and seeing something awful has happened?” Her voice quavered. “I wouldn’t be able to look at myself anymore.”
The brunette took a deep, steadying breath, looking up at the sky. “I’m being a downer, aren’t I? This is supposed to be a picnic.”
With a bit of a frown she turned and followed her friend back to the blanket. “I can understand that. Trying can be important, even if the outcome is hopeless.” Whatever Celeste was up against she didn’t know, but she would be there for her friend if she could be.
Her smile began to come back. “You’re not being a downer. Never. I’m here to listen if you need to get things off of your chest.”
Celeste settled back onto the blanket, picking up the abandoned sandwich and staring at it. She appreciated Nesryn’s reassurance, but for some reason, it was difficult to say so. Instead, she looked up at her friend with a weak smile.
“I still need to meet Brian,” she said, changing the subject. “We should all hang out sometime.”
Nesryn nodded. Her smile was warm for both of them. “Oh totally! Next time he plays a show you and James should come and see!” That sounded like a good time, hanging out at the bar listening to live music. She hoped Brian would be okay with that but since the meeting, she had come to trust that they all were okay with each other.
Celeste nodded, turning her attention back to the water. “That’s a good idea,” she murmured, watching a woman and two small children splashing about. She took another bite of the sandwich to busy herself. Something had thrown her off course, changed the mood she had been in when the picnic started and she was struggling to crawl her way back. It was like shimmying through a tight, dark tunnel.
“There’s something I noticed about you,” the brunette told Nesryn, finding a conversational handhold that might help turn Celeste outward again. “I feel like being born the way you were could easily become a powertrip, but you’re not like that.”
That observation had her turning to look at her friend with interest. “I didn’t used to be this way,” she explained. “I was spoiled. A real brat. But I think I realized that throwing tantrums and being entitled didn’t get you what you wanted out of life. That, and the way my family operated wasn’t the right way,” she made a face.
“So I figured out that changing myself had to happen before I could really start to be free.”
It was hard to imagine Nesryn as anything other than what she was now. Perhaps that spoke to the other woman’s success in her goal. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing a good job.” Celeste’s smile turned more genuine and open. “Besides James, you’re the first person I met here who didn’t feel like…” She looked up at the sky, searching for the right word. “Who didn’t make me feel like I had to hide.”
Her smile grew. “I’m glad. I don’t want anyone to feel like they have to hide who they are, within reason, of course.” It was challenging to explain to someone that they could be themselves when most people were used to keeping secrets or dealing with problems on their own without help. “And that means a lot to me, that you trust me enough to feel comfortable with being yourself.”
“Oh, that is trust, isn’t it?” Celeste let out a small laugh. “I guess that was the word I was looking for.” They fell into a silence, this one more comfortable and natural than before. Birds circled overhead in the sky, and her eyes followed their patterns with mild interest. Her mind pulled away from its dark thoughts of Moab, and the goings on there.
Nodding, Nesryn picked up her sandwich and began to eat. It tasted so good for such a small thing and she wondered what her life would be like without the multitude of individuals in it. The people she had met along the way were like paint dotting the canvas of her life - Celeste was the cool blues, Brian the reds, Ronnie the greens, and Gabe and Derek made up the oranges and pinks. Whatever illustration they made would be beautiful but each one was no less important in the grand scheme.
“We should go to Vegas,” she piped up. “Girls time. Get a hotel or something and just get away.”
That made Celeste grin as she looked back at Nes. “Okay,” she agreed. “We will.” It was a simple thing, but it just helped reinforce the feeling of normalcy she experienced while spending time with the other woman.
She didn’t know yet what they’d do on their excursion only that it would be fun. Nesryn didn’t go to Vegas often; she liked the city but she wasn’t a gambler and didn’t visit the night life the way someone her age might alternatively. So having a reason to go and explore sounded fun. “Great! Let me know when you’re free and I’ll plan it. We can take my car and just leave whenever.” Thankfully Searchlight wasn’t too far of a commute, less than an hour of the traffic was good.
Celeste stretched back against the blanket, letting the sun wash over her. She closed her eyes, letting the sounds of their surroundings take over. A smile danced over her lips as she spoke. “It’s a plan.”