Who: Axel and Open
When: Late afternoon
Where: A park in the city
Warnings: TBD



The day seemed little different than any day in midwinter: the sun hidden behind dull gun-metal skies, the breeze cold but above freezing, the sidewalks wet with rain and melting snow. Rain turned his hair into crazy loops of wet curls, trickled down the upturned collar of his coat. Hidden beneath his scarf, his uppermost tentacles threaded into his curls, out of sight of curious eyes, and he could taste the rain, scent the multiple components of pollution and mutation. Little of the latter anymore; most of the mutagens had worn away with time and weather patterns. What few molecules of it he could taste were unlikely to do him or anyone else harm.

Axel's heels rang on the sidewalk, loud in the muted day. Few were out in the persistent drizzle, and those who were hid beneath umbrellas. The cold and the wet didn't bother him; he enjoyed the rain, a creature of water and moisture. Normally he would be in his office at Aberforth Pharmaceuticals, but there had been an argument with members of his staff. He'd been angry, and angry was never a good thing for him. To prevent damage to property or staff, he thought it best if he went out and walked it off. It had worked; he felt calmer, more in control of himself, though his tentacles still wanted to emerge and let the rain fall on them. Perhaps later, when he was home, he'd strip off his shirt and stand out on the balcony with them extended.

He paused on the sidewalk that ran along the edge of the duck pond and turned his steps to the shore, the grass tan and crunchy with winter's cold. Before him the pond rippled gently in the breeze, as grey and cold as the sky above. The tense line of Axel's shoulders relaxed and he tucked his long hands into his coat pockets, his breath a soft white puff before him. The movement of the water was mesmerizing, calming, and he felt the remainder of his tension slough slowly away.