Augustus Bernard | ᛏ Tīwaz ᛏ (oathretractor) wrote in paxletalelogs, @ 2017-04-16 01:15:00 |
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Entry tags: | freyr, tyr |
to smile on the pale dawn
Who: Gus and Rafael
What: It’s not good to fall asleep when there’s a storm a-brewing...
Where: Out on the Pax lawn(s)
When: Late afternoon, just before dusk, April 6th
It often took a lot of different factors, jumbled up together and spat out again, for Gus to feel content. This was one of those rare moments: a beautiful afternoon, his stomach full from leftovers he’d scarfed down as soon as he’d gotten home from class, and plenty of time to finish his homework assignments for the evening. Add to this mix that he was pretty-kinda-sure that Alice maybe-sorta liked him, he had an amazing--if still mysterious--stash upstairs that worked wonders for not only his arthritis but his mood, and his toilet no longer clogged thanks to BB’s special gift.
Today was one of those decent days. Better than most. Good, even. In fact, it was so good that he decided to study outside, finding a spot on the lawn of Pax that seemed relatively free of anthills and other crawling, annoying creatures. Gus brought a book down with him, still trying to wrap his mind around Aristotle’s whims and fancies.
In direct correlation with the relatively quiet atmosphere, and the ongoing conversation in his mind as he read (do we really owe science to this dude?), Gus’ eyes began to close. He fought the wave of relaxed sleepiness off as long as he could, but finally caved. Soon he was a snoring mass upon the Pax grounds, his book left open on his chest. Unbeknownst to him, the sky grew darker as he dreamed.
As clouds gathered overhead and the first quiet rumblings of thunder made themselves heard, Rafael made his way down the sidewalk, umbrella in hand. It was not open yet, and he was near enough to the apartment to render it largely unnecessary. But as he stopped beside his sleeping neighbor he opened the little clasp that held the umbrella closed, ready to open it above them both if the bottom did indeed fall out.
"Excuse me," he said, stretching one foot out to tap the sole of the young man's shoe. "You may want to take that inside…"
In response to the gentle nudge from a fellow Pax resident, Gus let out a particularly loud snore. It was so loud, in fact, that he woke himself up: confused, disoriented, and altogether flustered. “Wha--?” He managed to say, the half-formed word sounding foreign to him. Blinking in confusion, he pushed himself into a sitting position, the collection of Aristotle's writings falling into the grass. First scrubbing a hand across his face to further wake himself up (had he been drooling?), Gus then looked up at the man that’d disturbed his slumber.
When he did, he also noticed the grey clouds collecting overhead, the sun nevertheless struggling to shine all the while. Well, that explained why Mary Poppins had given him a wake up call.
“Uh, hey. Who’re you?”
"Rafael," he said, "and you and Aristotle are about to get soaked. You can borrow my umbrella if you need it. Or just stay in our lobby until it clears." He pointed toward the building just beyond them. "I live just over there. I'm sure our concierge wouldn't mind."
“Oh. Yeah, I get it. Guess the weatherman was wrong.” Gus grabbed his book and got up from the ground so that he could talk to Rafael face-to-face. Bits of grass clung to his jeans and shirt, but he paid them no mind. “It’s cool. I, uh. I live here. Name’s Augustus.” He tried out a smile, hair messy from his recent nap. The sky overhead rumbled angrily, and the first of the rain fell--small, light drops which no doubt were a warning. “My sister lives here, too. BB--Brittany. Dunno if you know her, but like. You don’t have to know her to know of her. If you know what I mean.”
Rafael laughed, nodding understanding. He beckoned Gus to follow as the rain began to fall in earnest: stronger than before, though not enough to warrant using the umbrella yet. "BB is your sister? She's actually the very first neighbor I met. She's very entertaining." And sharper, too, at times; her interview had been in places far more piercing than he liked. Rafael suspected any brother of hers would be well aware of that. "It's good to meet you, Augustus. How are you liking the place?"
The book tucked under his arm (as if that would keep it dry), Gus kept his steps in time with Rafael’s, glad they’d make it inside the building before his shoes became soaked. Or so he hoped. “Heh, yeah. Entertaining’s a good word for BB. There’s probably a few others.” Despite the friendliness of his statement, Gus nonetheless shot a quick glance at Rafael to make sure he wasn’t trying to totally insult his sister. It certainly didn’t seem like it; in fact, all things considered, if Rafael was nice enough to get him out of the rain, then he probably was too nice to ever insult BB.
Which was just fine with Gus.
“Sure. You, too.” He chewed on the question, simple though it was. “It’s okay. Got a weird present last week, but like. Other than that,” and other than the odd meeting with that Abel guy in the middle of a darkened parking lot, “I like it.” Brows furrowed in thought, Gus looked over again at the other resident. “Did you get anything weird? I mean. BB got something, too, she said it was like a shark movie. Didn’t know to expect free gifts here, or I might’ve left out a wishlist or something.”
The other man laughed again. "I agree," he said. "I got a very small boat? A little gold balsa wood thing with a cloth sail. It's silly, but I actually like it. I'm going to put a few coats of waterproofing on it and add it to my betta fish's tank. It could use a little decoration."
Gus had no idea what balsa wood was, and as such, tried to merely nod along to what Rafael was saying. Boats were pretty cool, even if they were small enough for a fish.
They reached the door of Pax Letale in the same stride. Rafael stepped in front of his new acquaintance, opening the door wide for him to pass through, then followed close behind. "It seems everyone got something," he said. "Very specific items, too. Makes you wonder why those things…" He shrugged. "What did you get? Something more useful than my gift or BB's, I hope."
“Those things what?” he asked, looking curiously at his neighbor before turning his attention to the floormat. Gus stomped his shoes on it, attempting to alleviate whatever eventual squeaking would occur as he walked along the tiled floor of the lobby. Thankfully, his socks were barely squishy at this point--they’d come inside just in time, a loud crack of thunder booming overhead. “Oh, uh. Yeah, mine is useful.” Unsure of how to acceptably phrase the details, he rubbed nervously at the back of his neck, shifting on the floormat. “I kinda have this condition. Like, since I was little. You ever heard of a kid getting arthritis? Anyway. Someone gave me some medicine that helps with the pain.” Gus stepped off the floormat, testing his shoes on the tile for squeaks. Satisfied at the minimal amount of annoying noise, he shrugged and glanced out the tall door windows at the rain coming down in sheets. “It’s totally medicinal. Kinda stronger than my prescription. It’s weird, though, that someone just knew.”
"I hope it helps," Rafael said, nodding. Though he made note of the young man's condition, there was nothing to truly say in regard to it; he neither wanted to pry nor to cause his neighbor any further discomfort. So he smiled, warm and bright. "If you ever want to share I'm sure you'll have no shortage of interested parties." He tipped his head toward the corridor beyond the concierge. "Well, this is my stop. It was very good to meet you, Augustus."
“Heh, probably.” To be fair, this was California. But also to be fair, Gus wasn’t exactly sure he wanted to share with everyone--BB was fine, but who else could be trusted?
Well, maybe this Rafael guy.
“Yeah, yeah, you too. Thanks, by the way. For waking me up when you did. Might’ve just slept through the entire storm and woke up a mile down the road or something.” He returned the other man’s smile with one of his own, albeit three shades more reserved. Clutching his book--it only seemed a little damp--Gus decided to wait out the storm in the lobby, to watch it safely from within a warm building. These windows were bigger than the ones in his apartment, at any rate. “I’ll see you around, Rafael,” he said, certainty in his words.