Who: Matt Murdock daredevil & Arthur Pendragon willriseagain What: Running in the Park When: Saturday, August 27, midday Where: A Local Park Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Matt is highly observant for a blind guy. Arthur is an aspiring lawyer while Matt is already a lawyer so if lawyers trigger you? This is chockful of triggers. Status: Partner Thread/Complete Upon Posting
~*~
Some people ran for their health, some ran because they were competing all the time, always competing, and some ran because they only felt alive when they were running. Matt Murdock ran as if The Devil was chasing him because, in a way, he was. Courtesy of his Dreams, Matt had learned to run without fear. His feet pounded the track in the park as he raced against the man in the mask who lived inside his head; he resented the cane bouncing at his side, hitting his thigh with every footfall.
Strange to think a blind man had to keep up appearances.
Matt stopped only when the sound of someone breathing hard caught his attention, capturing it, holding his ears fast so he stumbled slightly over a root which made him have to stop. It was the first time he'd had to stop running once he'd started in a long, long time. The heightened senses he'd earned from his Dreams kept him safe from stumbling---until apparently he got distracted as a result of them. Who'd have thought his hearing would have ever gotten acute enough to make him lose his footing over someone else's breathing?
"Hello?"
He called out into the air as if he couldn't tell where the sound originated from, playing the blind man as was expected of him.
~*~
Arthur wasn’t big on fitness, but he tried to get out to run a couple of times a week. He did enjoy the freedom it gave him though. That was besides the health benefits. It gave him some time to think things through, to give his thoughts some order. Today he had been thinking about Gwen and their relationship. He wanted to go back to how it was but he didn’t know if it was possible. Then there was his work. He was submitting about three or four job applications a day but he had yet to hear anything back about them.
Hopefully soon but it was weighing on his mind.
“Hi,” he said as he came to a stop by another man, panting as he spoke. The other guy didn’t seem too puffed from what Arthur could tell. He quickly thought that he might be blind but he didn’t want to assume anything with how the guy wasn’t looking directly at him and had called out into thin air from what he could tell. “I haven’t seen you around before have I?” he asked wracking his brain.
***
Lifting the corner of his mouth in a half-smile, Matt shook his head to the negative, "No. I would normally use that as an excuse to say 'I have no idea if you've ever seen me around, but I'm sure I haven't seen you.' I'll take it easy on you though because this trail seems to be treating you---unkindly."
This was a newer trail for Matt. He'd picked it based on the reviews listed on a popular running blog. There were all kinds of tracks in Orange County from indoor to sculpted outdoor to rugged terrains; this park featured an almost completely wild trail which made it more challenging. Matt had been enjoying the inclines himself when he'd heard someone following behind. It wasn't normal for him to take notice of others running the same trails -runner protocol was to allow other runners their peace- but he'd gotten thrown off stride by this man for some reason.
At present, Matt could say his trailmate was younger, reasonably fit but not spectacularly so, and had never run this trail or if he had?
He'd never done it with the kind of intensity he was putting in today.
"I'm Matt Murdock. I wanted a new challenge so I picked up this trail on a recommendation from a runners' board online. Do you run here regularly?"
~*~
Arthur chuckled slightly. “You're good and completely right. Never done this track before. It's a lot harder than I'd expected. If I do it again and I probably will, I'm sure I will get used to it eventually,” he shrugged.
The break was good. He could feel his breathing evening out which was good. He didn’t feel like he was struggling to breathe as badly as he had been.
“Arthur Pendragon, it's good to meet you,” he added with a smile introducing himself in turn.
***
Challenges were something Matt relished in his life. He'd been one who was determined to prove his adoptive parents right from the time he could first remember. They'd praised him for talking early, walking early, being the first among his peers to hit all the milestone markers for his developmental group, and never, not even once, had either of his parents made his blindness an issue or even a point of discussion. Matt Murdock had been blessed with his parents which was why he was the man he was today.
He knew that as well as he knew he'd be back to run this trail again himself.
"I'll be back for more of this myself because I love the burn. There's something exhilarating about it. I say that now because I have yet to trip over a root or knock myself out on a low-hanging branch. Keep in mind: my run has been pretty uneventful for a first time go."
Matt kept his smile even as he tried to pick up cues on what kind of person Arthur was---other than friendly with a kind voice, warm smile, and not the best lungs for a runner.
"Do you run anywhere else? I can recommend some good trails depending on what your particular poison is if you need some help finding a few good spots to lose yourself in the rhythm of putting one foot down after the other."
~*~
“That’s fair enough. I think this might be a bit too much for me at the moment but if I push myself perhaps it will be worth it,” he shrugged. “Just need to make myself get out and do it,” he admitted. “I don’t run as often as I would like to. I’m very good at finding excuses not to. I prefer the gym. I do run around the lack and various other parks though? I wouldn’t mind some suggestions though if you have them,” he shrugged.
He really did want to get into the running, it was quicker and easier to do when he had some time to kill than finding time to go to the gym. The latter was easier now that he wasn’t studying so much but it was spending money he didn’t really have after he’d paid for rent, groceries and other necessities.
You had to start somewhere though and here had seemed a good a place as any as he lived nearby.
***
Cocking his head to the side, Matt offered, "If you want to try several places out, I wouldn't say no to having someone run with me at a few spots I haven't tried out. I like a challenge as I said. I just---come with an obvious disadvantage when it comes to playing on a new court."
He wouldn't mind having someone run a trail with him to tell him to duck or dodge. It would be less obvious his senses were heightened if someone was with him; Matt didn't have many friends in the area as friendship had been less important to him than his career. Cultivating relationships with family members had been easy since his adoptive parents had been the only family Matt had to deal with period. He hadn't managed to branch out much beyond general acquaintances in college or during his internships.
People knew Matt to say hello---or to avoid saying anything at all to if they were the opposing counsel.
"Believe it or not? I prefer the outdoors over the gym because less people stare. People still stare. Don't think I'm not aware of them. I am. It's just not as oppressive when I have the wide open sky to buffer the space between me and any onlookers."
~*~
Arthur nodded. “You know, that would be good thanks,” he said with a nod. “Do you have your phone on you? I can give you my number if you want? Otherwise if you’re on the local network I’m around on that too,” he said with a shrug.
“I understand that though, it would be easier. You’re doing a good job though. I would have had a hard time picking you as blind if I had just passed you without paying attention,” he shrugged. Matt seemed to be highly capable and a part of Arthur wondered if he was completely blind with how well he was coping with navigating the track.
He wouldn’t ask though. It was none of his business.
***
No one who mentioned 'the local network' in Orange County meant anything other than Valarnet. Matt couldn't stop his eyebrows from shooting up in surprise as he realized this was someone who might actually understand him. People who had the Dreams were their own breed from the rest of the world. He couldn't imagine trying to move back to New York at this stage in his life with his nights filled up with playing vigilante in another life where he'd been born sighted to a poor family who had loved him rather than given him away.
"You're on Valarnet?"
Matt knew there was no harm in verifying before he said anything incriminating. He didn't practice criminal law in this life, but he'd been trained in it all the same.
"Here, I've got---my phone's been modified to make it functional for the blind."
He took his phone out, used his thumbprint to unlock the screen and requested, "Address Book. Add new contact. Name: Arthur Pendragon. Mobile Number:----"
Matt held the phone closer to where Arthur was standing so it could pick up his voice when he stated his number.
~*~
Arthur was somewhat surprised that Matt knew exactly what he was talking about by the local network. While there was a lot of people on the network compared to the amount of people in California it wasn’t that many. He wasn’t sure if it was fate or if something was happening to make them encounter one another.
“878-232-1233,” he replied into the phone before passing it back to Matt.
“Yeah, valarnet. I’m glad you know what it is about. I’m not sure if I’m surprised or not that you’re on there too. Given the population of California there isn’t that high a percentage on the net. Though there is a lot of it on us,” he shrugged.
***
"I'm on there. Have you started Dreaming?"
Matt wasn't going to volunteer his own insanity unless he knew Arthur could handle it. Given they had just met though? It was a fair bet they could have that conversation on their next run. They would make a good running team, Matt figured, since it seemed as if Arthur would be able to understand him better than anyone else he could find. What were the odds of meeting someone from the 'Net out on a random trail he'd picked from an internet review site? He was amused trying to do the math as he shook his head.
"Nevermind. Tell me next time we meet up. I'll send you an address for a run next weekend if you're free? I'm free right now since all my cases are under control."
~*~
Arthur started to shake his head at Matt’s comment before remembering that he couldn’t see him do it. He was about to verbally reply when Matt changed his mind. “Sure that works,” he agreed. “I don’t have anything planned. I look forward to hearing from you,” Arthur informed him. He was going to ask about the cases but thought it might be best to leave it for the time being.
They can always talk about that later on.
~*~
Waving at Arthur, Matt tucked his phone away, "I'm going to hit the trail to finish it off. You're welcome to try to keep up if you feel like it, but I won't hold it against you if you don't. I'm a rarely spotted creature: a nice lawyer."
He chuckled before taking off down the trail again. Matt wasn't as cautious as he ran this time. If Arthur was a member of Valarnet, he knew there were different people in the OC. Matt could manage to test out his willingness to accept someone unusual like himself with the rest of the trail. It wasn't too far. From what he could figure, they were already less than two miles from the end of the hiking trail. Who could blame him for wanting to see if the kid could really keep up with him when he had been so worried before about playing the perfect blind guy?
Matt was tired of pretending.
Arthur was a nice chance to stop as far as he was concerned. Or he hoped he would be. Time would tell.