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Phillip Wolfe | Phobos ([info]inclinedfear) wrote in [info]paxletalelogs,
@ 2011-09-02 18:50:00

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Entry tags:phobos, tiamat

So, Wait, it's September but still warm enough to go swimming?
Who: Karin and Rylee
What:Their first meeting post-fireworks
Where:Poolside!
When:September 2nd

Rylee was ecstatic from the warm sunny weather. Typically there was the very beginnings of fall in the air when September rolled around and most of the pools closed up in his town. Swimming in September, other than in the creek, was pretty much non-existent in Rylee's life. When he realized that the apartment complexes pool didn't close at all during the course of the year, Rylee quickly dug out his swim trunks and prepared to go swimming during a rare afternoon off from work.

He figured he would be the only one at the pool and could enjoy swimming in relative peace. Just himself and his swim trunks and no awkward discussions with people he barely knew. A half an hour passed of Rylee doing laps back and forth, deciding that this would count towards his daily work out and he'd skip out on running, when he finally decided to take a break. Emerging from the water he pushed himself up to the side of the pool and sat with his feet dangling in the cool water.

Giving his head a shake he sprayed water around himself and immediately felt a flush of embarrassment as he realized a woman was standing near by. "Oh did I splash you? I'm sorry!" Rylee rubbed water out from his eyes and blinked once as he realized he knew the woman. "Oh, you're Karin, right? I'm sorry for splashing you."


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[info]sheltering_sky
2011-09-03 03:06 am UTC (link)
"Hi, Rylee," she said, chuckling at his enthusiastic apology. "Don't worry about it. I was just about to get in the water anyway." She shuffled closer to the pool's edge, careful of the puddles left on the textured concrete by Rylee and the countless other patrons of the day. The water was cool on her pale legs, a welcome change from the heat of the day. Gingerly she lowered herself first to sit at the pool's edge, then down into the water, slipping beneath its surface with the only the smallest of ripples. She was comfortable in the water, she noticed, more so than before; she had taken to swimming in the sea after all her beachside jogs, and of late found a sense of peace in the water she rarely felt anywhere else. Not for the first time she found herself wishing she could sleep there, with the calming rush of water in her ears and all around her, enveloping her like a second womb. She flushed as she realized how far her thoughts had gotten from her; carefully she reeled them in, her distant gaze refocusing on her neighbor.

"Good to see you out here," she said. "Someone I know. I don't mean to interrupt your laps. I can stay by the side of the pool here, if you're not finished."

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-09-04 01:58 pm UTC (link)
"Oh, I'm taking a break, don't worry about me," Rylee replied shyly. He looked at his feet in the water then peeked back at Karin. She seemed so confident and natural being by the pool and it made Rylee a little nervous. Not that she had done anything wrong; it was just how he reacted to everyone.

"If you want to do laps I can get out of your way as well. I've been here for a little while any way and the pool is big enough that I think we can share." He smiled and quickly glanced at his feet again. Slowly he moved them back and forth, feeling the water swish around his feet and calves. The daylight was caught in the drops of water on his skin as he stretched each leg out before bending them at the knee and submerging the leg once more.

"It's been a month... whoa, two months since I saw you last. I can't believe how quickly time is passing since I moved here," he continued with his voice quietly low. "How are you doing? I'm sorry I didn't really get to speak with you properly while we were setting off fireworks."

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[info]sheltering_sky
2011-09-04 03:24 pm UTC (link)
She was grateful for his offer, though she was more pleased at the idea of some company than with the prospect of doing laps. When he so easily picked up the thread of conversation, she found herself happier still.

"You were busy," she said, chuckling a bit as his unwarranted apology. "I had fun with you two." Then, suddenly, something about that memory jogged another. Their foray into pyromancy had occurred well before her stilted conversation with a thoroughly intoxicated Charlie, but what had been said in the course of the latter changed much about the former. Karin's eyes subtly widened, dark lashes fluttering as she blinked away her distant gaze. It was of course just a guess, and perhaps a long shot, that Rylee was, himself, the friend Charlie had sullenly mentioned. Her teeth nipped at her tongue as Karin reminded herself she would not meddle, would not ask, would not set this curiosity above the tenuous and easily broken comfort of this meeting. Perhaps later, she thought, she could talk things over with her sister, and gain a better grasp of the situation she considered herself to have, in a roundabout way, been drawn.

"I wasn't much of a conversationalist, anyway," she said, giving a derisive little laugh at her own guarded conduct. "Next time I'll try to have more to say." Easily she treaded water, seeming feather light within its liquid grip. The sweeping of her arms made the barest of sounds, a faint, hushed swish as she moved. "Two months," she echoed, shaking her head. "Are you getting used to the place, then? Do you like it here?" Have you heard anything odd, she wanted to ask, but again bit her tongue before that little insanity could slip free.

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-09-05 12:45 am UTC (link)
Rylee grinned, his face brightening up and a little bit of his anxiety slipping away. Had he not already met Karin he would have been much more nervous. It may have been a blessing that he met her while Charlie was around. He always seemed more capable of socializing when she was by his side. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. We always used to set fireworks off when we were kids. I don't think Charlie thought twice when considering getting some for the parking lot."

He slid himself slowly back into the water. He already was near the more deeper end of the pool but could easily stand without his head ducking under the water. Still, he went between wading water and pressing his feet on the floor.

"I think I have a pattern figured out for myself. I like it here, the people are pretty nice, and it's good to be around Charlie. We've known each other for years so that made adjusting here a little easier." His smile altered slightly after a moment of thought. He really did enjoy living there but he would be lying if he didn't admit that the building sometimes gave him the creeps. "How long have you been here?"

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[info]sheltering_sky
2011-09-05 04:45 pm UTC (link)
"Hm." Strange that she had to consider the question; it felt as if months had flown by without her noticing. Too, the months before her sister's arrival had been uneventful, lonely ones. When Fiona had arrived, it felt like waking up from a long and dreamless sleep, as if that was the moment she had truly arrived, herself. Her brow furrowed as she thought back, fighting rising frustration at her own failing memory. "I moved in around Christmas," she said, thinking aloud. "So almost a year, I guess." She laughed, shaking her head once more, bobbing more fervently in the water. "Time flies."

She found his choice of wording interesting: 'A pattern,' she thought, seemed a very particular way of putting the sentiment, though she knew at once what he meant. He was indeed a regimented sort of person, that was clear. She imagined a move must have been difficult for him. The thought brought an answering pang in her chest, her heart going thoroughly out to this relative stranger. "It's good you have someone here you know," she said. "That makes any transition smoother, I think. Even when your job or the city or the building itself seems weird, at least you have a sounding board who can tell you you're not crazy." She smiled, sighing softly. "I can't tell you how often my sister complains about the pizza here. A lot of other things, too, but very often the pizza."

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-09-06 09:32 pm UTC (link)
"Oh, your sister lives here as well?" Rylee asked before tipping his head back and letting the cool pool water wet his scalp. He looked back at Karin with water running down his face. "A lot of the people I've met seem to have someone here they can depend on in some way, which is great."

He smiled at Karin and sunk further into the water, hovering with his chin just above the surface. "I've never lived on this side of the country. It's nice to experience it. Although I miss the east sometimes but then other times... I kind of love it here, especially because it's still so warm out. Where did you live before here?"

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[info]sheltering_sky
2011-09-07 01:57 am UTC (link)
"Chicago," she said, a marked note of nostalgia bleeding into her tone. She smiled softly, memories welling unbidden. Often enough she could overlook such things; California was her home now, and it held more than enough to keep her busy and happy. But she had not felt herself in months, and she found little to blame it on other than the move. In some ways she felt she would never belong here. In others, it felt too familiar; uncomfortably, intrusively so. She shrugged, sending fresh ripples through the water around them. "I think knowing someone here does help," she said, swiftly changing the subject. "My sister Fee lives on the third floor. I don't know if you've met her." She chuckled, rolling her eyes. "She's a handful.

"Anyway, what about you? Where are you from? Originally."

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-09-07 08:54 pm UTC (link)
Scratching at the back of his neck, Rylee smiled as he replied. "Missouri. I grew up there but once I graduated High School I started to move around a lot. Went to college in Pennsylvania, my base was in Virginia, graduate school in Massachusetts. So this is the furthest west I've managed to go."

He slipped along in the water, never turning his back to Karin because he didn't want to be seen as rude, and rolled onto his back in the water briefly before finding his footing again. "Did you live in Chicago all your life? You and your sister? I have to say, I haven't met her yet."

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[info]sheltering_sky
2011-09-08 12:26 pm UTC (link)
"Wow, you did get around," Karin said, then chuckled at her own unintentional innuendo. "Moving, I mean. I guess you've seen a lot." She gave a little sigh, as if the small motion might blow away the stormy melancholy forever hanging too closely over her head. "My whole family are still back in Chicago. We never moved at all; our parents still live in the house we grew up in and everything. Fee moved in a few months after me. It's good to have her around." Lazily she swam a few slow strokes, drawing up nearer to the center of the pool.

"She's a pistol, as they say." Karin laughed at that, shaking her head. Rylee seemed nice enough, a good man at heart, if perhaps a bit timid. She wondered how he might take to Fiona, or if he would at all; she could be so boisterous, so overwhelming, in her way. It was a trait Karin liked, now that they were older, appreciating the whirlwind of liveliness and distraction she never failed to bring with her, but others did not always feel the same. "You'll have to meet her some time. I'm sure she'll get around to meeting you eventually, if you don't get to her first. She's pretty outgoing." She smiled, canting her head curiously. "Any siblings of your own?"

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-09-09 02:05 pm UTC (link)
"My ma is still at the house I grew up in. It's nice to go back there and visit. It feels like home more than any other place I've been to. Even my own apartments never felt exactly like home." Silently he thought that having Charlie around made it feel more natural, more like home, but he intentionally kept this to himself. Karin was nice and knew Charlie but he wasn't about to reveal his feelings for his friend to her.

"I would love to meet your sister," he replied with another smile. He was as close to being at ease as possible and the more Rylee relaxed, the more happy he was. "I'm an only child. Had some distant cousins that I only ever saw at funerals. Charlie was actually my best friend growin' up, still is, but I guess she was the closest thing I had to a sibling? Don't really know what it's like to have one so I'm just assuming. I didn't have many other friends. Charlie and I were like a package. You got one and you got the other." Again, another flash of his smile as he reflected Karin's movements and made a few strokes in the water.

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[info]sheltering_sky
2011-09-10 01:53 am UTC (link)
Somehow the revelation did not wholly surprise Karin. In the short time she had seen the two of them together, they had seemed nigh inseparable; there was a sense of ease between them, a lack of self consciousness she had noticed almost immediately. After her late night conversation with Charlie, Karin had her suspicions that friendship was not all that lay between them. She let the thought pass without comment.

She understood all too well that feeling of being out of place, of the space you called home feeling anything but. Briefly she fell silent, her thoughts turning inward, darkening considerably. But she forced this shadow from her mind, willing herself to focus on her companion rather than herself. "That sounds like having a sibling," she said, chuckling quietly. The sound was more distant, more distracted, than she had intended. "For better or worse." She laughed, a mirthless sound. "I'm sure you'll meet Fee around. She'd like you." Her gaze cleared; she flashed Rylee a bright smile. "She'd give you a hard time, but I think she'd like you."

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-09-10 01:40 pm UTC (link)
"Oh..." Rylee blushed slightly as his anxiety jumped a tiny bit. Being given a hard time by anyone had always left Rylee blushing horribly and feeling nervous. Charlie and Samuel seemed to be the only two who could get away with it without Rylee completely having a melt down. But he tried to convince himself that if Karin said her sister would like him, even if she gave him a hard time, then it would be okay. "For better or worse. I guess that's what happens with family." He smiled at Karin, his mind switching gears as he was filled with a level of happiness to think of Charlie as his family. His own.

Rylee moved back to the side of the pool and pushed himself up. As a child and teen, prior to the Corps, Rylee had been so scrawny that he normally needed to scramble or swim to the ladder in order to get out of the pool. Gaining muscle, and therefore strength, had it's benefits as he easily settled himself on the side of the pool again.

"You will have to introduce us one day. If she gives people a hard time she should meet Charlie too. Well... maybe not. Sometimes Charlie doesn't work well with people who are like her." Or any one for that matter, Rylee thought. But Charlie had seemed to react to Karin well, maybe she was becoming more sociable and welcoming to people, who knew.

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[info]sheltering_sky
2011-09-11 12:21 am UTC (link)
Karin watched him as he slipped from the water, noting how comfortable, how suited to himself he seemed. She wondered what that felt like; at one time she had known. Her teeth sank into her tongue, worrying at its bitten swell. She let a smile play over her lips, though it did not reach her eyes.

"I'll do that," she said. "And if the two of them are oil and water, you and I can run for cover together." She laughed, shaking her head at the remarkably vivid mental image.

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-09-11 02:13 am UTC (link)
"Ha, if your sister is anything as feisty as Charlie is, that would probably be very wise," Rylee said with a grin. "We should try to plan something out, you know? Maybe we can all meet up for some food at some point. I've only gone out for take out and pizza, I'm sure there are better places around here than that."

Rylee brought his feet out of the water and stood with the pool water running off of his body and swim trunks. He took a few steps away, trying not to turn his back to Karin because he didn't want to be rude, and grabbed for his towel when he became typically nervous. "I mean, if you'd like. You don't have to. Like... it could be me and Charlie and you and your sister. A group thing. But you don't have to if you're busy or anything. Don't feel pressured." He opened his mouth as if to say more then closed it and blushed.

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[info]sheltering_sky
2011-09-11 05:59 am UTC (link)
"Oh no, no," she said, raising a hand from the water to wave off his fears. "I don't. I think that would be really nice." She smiled softly, the gesture turning far more earnest the moment she saw his cheeks pinkening. Graciously she dropped her eyes, staring into the rippling water, hoping he would not feel too called out. "I'm sure Fee would be up for it. I'll figure out her schedule." She chanced a glance up to him, her eyes flicking to his beneath a veil of thick lashes. "You talk to Charlie and maybe send me a message on the forum, hm?"

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[info]inclinedfear
2011-09-11 04:43 pm UTC (link)
Rylee flashed his brilliant smile, grinning as he draped his towel over his shoulders. "Sounds great, Karin. I'll see what she has to say and get back to you. It'll be nice."

He slipped his feet into ratty sandals he had for the showers back in the nasty college dorms. Ten years old but Rylee didn't care, they still did the job and he didn't intend on throwing them out any time soon. "Well Karin, I think I'm going to head back up to my apartment. Go and get some things done. It's been nice talking to you, I hope you enjoy your swim. And if you ever need anything, please let me know. Over the forum or you can just come to my apartment. I'm in 706. Charlie is sometimes there when I'm not but you can just leave a message with her."

He smiled again, happy to have accomplished getting another friend. It was progress for one who was so nervous. He gave a wave to Karin before he began to ease away.

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[info]sheltering_sky
2011-09-11 11:35 pm UTC (link)
She waved back, inwardly as pleased as he. Her foray out into the world had gone better than she dared hope; his presence had been a bright spot in her day she had not counted on. She made a note to hold him to his offer, to seek out their company. Fiona would approve, she knew. It made her smile, sincerely, to think on it.

As she watched his retreating back she slipped beneath the surface of the water, letting the calming, liquid silence take her.

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