InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "titty sprinkles!"

Taeja Kim ☠ Jörmungandr (jormungandr) wrote in paxletalelogs,
@ 2011-12-09 19:59:00

Entry tags:

jormungandr, sigyn

the serpent coil, out of the earth
Who: Serena & Adam.
What: Merry meetings.
Where: Serena's workplace!
When: Late afternoon.
Warnings: Almost certainly none.

It had been some time since Adam had brought a case home with him, so to speak. Ordinarily he went about his business, saving those who could be saved, leading into rest those for whom nothing could be done. It was difficult work at times, taxing in its way, but it granted him a sense of fulfillment that was well worth the sacrifices it demanded. It let him sleep soundly at night, knowing he had done all he could, that the world was somehow, in some small way, better for his being in it. But the memory of this patient had stayed with him for reasons he had not yet begun to fathom. Perhaps it was her passing resemblance to his sisters, with their striking features and singular fair, dark-haired complexions. Perhaps she reminded him, too, of someone else, someone his presence seemed to hurt as much as it helped; but this was a thought - for now - best pushed aside, shoved back into its place, behind a firmly closed door. But perhaps it was only the nature of her injuries, gruesome, self-inflicted wounds that had ended in her temporary, involuntary stay in a psychiatric ward, and her subsequent release into longer-term, protracted mental evaluation and care.

Whatever the nature of his initial interest, time had done nothing to lessen his curiosity regarding her recuperation. And so Adam found himself at the office of a newly arrived therapist, hoping against hope that he was not somehow breaking protocol - or if he was, that it might, this time, be forgiven.

"I'll only be a minute," he explained to the receptionist, who appeared to be having none of his explanation. Adam realized he likely seemed a stalker, an EMT with a god complex who felt entitled to be a part of the lives that he saved. He lifted the scarf he clutched in his hand, a clearly handmade affair the girl had left behind in the ambulance. He had carefully cleaned it of the blood it had borne. "I just want her to have this back."

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jormungandr
2011-12-10 11:23 pm UTC (link)
"Serena. Okay." He smiled, setting in now, looking more at his ease.

He drew a breath, nodding agreement. He had little interest in tea, but he was disinclined to appear an unwilling guest, particularly with her having so recently come to his rescue, and shown no reticence in his own errand-running. A cuppa couldn't hurt, he figured. So he fell into step behind her, shuffling quietly down the hallway toward her office.

"Is Miss Browning one of your first patients here?"
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jormungandr
2011-12-12 01:03 pm UTC (link)
To Adam it felt odd to even approach the couch, threateningly Freudian as it seemed to him. In all his years of high school torment - and even now that his foremost childhood bully had returned, bringing with him all the baggage Adam had thought he'd left behind - he had never sought counseling. In Adam's family you played the hand you were dealt: No complaints, no self pity, just hard work and perseverance. It left him uncertain how he felt about this stranger, familiar though she seemed. So, clearing his throat, he took the proffered seat, leaving his black boots on.

"A paramedic, too," he added, smiling softly, hoping she would read no edge in the slight correction. "And I guess it's ten years, now." He shook his head, exhaling on a sigh. "Time flies."
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jormungandr
2011-12-18 05:37 pm UTC (link)
"A few times," he said. "A couple of conferences, and once for a concert. Is that where you're from?"

He felt a slight furrow crease his brow, feeling a slight but piercing sense of deja vu. Perhaps it was only the mention of the city, he thought; he was an avid reader of the building's online community, and he felt sure there had been recent mention of the city. There was at least one tenant from Chicago, after all - he remembered well the brief but painful message Fiona had left upon her sister's passing. Chalking it up to this potential cause, he ignored the strange sensation. It was hardly the first time he had felt that familiarity, and he was certain it would not be the last. With his mind chasing down this winding rabbit trail, when he spoke again, he sounded a bit distracted to say the least.

"I don't think it's that, though," he mused. "I live around here; maybe I've seen you in the area? I live in Pax Letale, an old beachfront hotel." He glanced over to her, black eyes meeting hers. "Sound familiar?"
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jormungandr
2011-12-22 12:06 am UTC (link)
He smiled at her answer, a soft, quiet chuckle escaping him at her assessment. Pax Letale was creepy in numerous ways, but he had long ago gotten used to odd coincidences, strange occurrences, and the seeming inability to go anywhere in Orange County without falling headlong into another inexplicable Pax connection. It was almost as if the place had its own center of gravity, luring people in whether they willed it our not. Certain people, anyway. It was impossible, now, for Adam to push from his mind the bizarre events that had happened there of late. Where was Serena's connection to the place? What had pulled her beneath its shadowed roof? They all had some part to play, of that he was certain.

Homey was another interesting choice of words, and one with which he would fully agree. He knew others who felt distinctly otherwise, and yet could not bear to leave; but that, too, was kind of like home.

"October was a year," he said. "We've had some changes at the front desk, and we seem to go through concierges like mad, but other than that..." He shrugged. "I like it there. What do you think of it so far?"
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jormungandr
2011-12-27 02:37 pm UTC (link)
"Oh?"

He quirked a brow, his curiosity further piqued. In the year he had lived at Pax he had come to believe there were no coincidences. Coiled deep within him Jörmungandr agreed; Fate had brought them here, his very own Urðr, and her call was inescapable. They would all of them play their parts in time. But he kept these thoughts, muffled and muted as they were, to himself, having found long ago such strange ideas lent themselves only to awkwardness.

"And who's that?"
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jormungandr
2012-01-07 01:52 pm UTC (link)
He noted the slide of her fingers over her hair, a gesture whose meaning he well understood; her conscious intent might have differed, but her interest in the man was impossible not to note. She was stirred in a way Adam knew well. It was a sensation their strange building seemed to bring with it, every bit as tangible and inexplicable as the transformations they had been forced to endure. They were each of them drawn to someone, it seemed, platonically or otherwise. He wondered at the nature of Serena's draw to this particular individual - then found himself curious as to why he cared so.

"I do."

Such a small response to cover so much; so inadequate to express the bizarre memories he possessed, flashes of a serpent and his anthropomorphic father. Quickly realizing how odd his silent contemplation may seem, he smiled over at her, leaning more comfortably back in his seat. "He seems like a decent guy from what I've seen. And I'm sure it's good to see a familiar face in a new city, huh."
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