Locke City Park: Running

[knights_king]

Who: Arthur York, Xander Jarle + OPEN
What: Running. Testing out an Echo.
When: 4/13, Evening.
Where: Locke City; Park
Warnings: D for Doofus.



A: for Xander

[Remembering how he had been willing to run through rubble and brave a living earthquake to pull people to safety and emergency vehicles, Arthur had made it a personal goal to find out how he did it. He left his apartment and his wallet behind, being smart enough to make the assumption that having identifying material on him could backfire, since there wasn't exactly much faith cast in numbered people.

He stood at the edge of the park wearing track pants and a hoodie, with the hood up. He coughed and began stretching, getting nervous in his endeavor to ready himself. He ended up stretching for a straight ten minutes without realizing it wasn't doing anything for him. Standing up and breathing as quietly as he could, he waited until he was certain no one was nearby.

His goal was to try and see if he could move quickly, like he did before. He got into a sprinting position, breathing in and out as calmly as he could muster. Putting everything he had into his run, he took one long gait before he realized his other foot wasn't touching down on the ground. No, he was flipping through the air. Airborne, Arthur saw grass and light poles swiftly passing him by as he had literally no control over what happened. Rather than running, Arthur simply launched himself into the air like a rocket.

Really, it was more serious than comical. He swiftly realized that he would die at that speed. As he came down, he tried to tuck himself in to land and it had the opposite effect--his feet dragged on the pavement and power surged in his legs, bouncing him up into a tree. He came down like a ragdoll, hitting every branch on the way down before eventually landing soundly in the grass. Running his fingers through the blades of grass beneath him, Arthur began to sit up. He checked his sides. His face. He wasn't hurt. Well, his body wasn't. One would get a different answer concerning his pride.]

B: Open!

[Later in the night, Arthur had gotten a better grip of running. Each step was a jolt of power and he had to take it into account that any movement he made, if uncontrolled, could be enough to send him rocketing through the air like a missile. After he practiced a bit of sprinting with that ridiculous speed, Saber found himself sitting on one of the park benches, staring up at the barely visible stars above, smiling like a dope. He didn't want to go home and be reminded of who he was when he stepped past the door. For the moment, he was pretty happy with what he was in the park.]

Comments

[dominateartimus]

[Xander was on his way home from work with a bag of groceries and was cutting through the park to lower his time of arrival at home. That is, until he spotted a younger blond man falling from a tree and on to the grass beneath him. He blinks his blue eyes and steps off of the pavement to investigate.]

...Are you all right?

[He was still a few steps away when he asked, a little bit of concern in his voice.]

[knights_king]

[The impact on the dirt wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it was. Saber, stretching out his fingers, stared at his hands for a moment before finally realizing that someone was next to him. Startled just a bit, Saber fell on his backside, one hand raising up to pinch his hood and make sure it was down enough to keep his face a bit shadowed. At least he hoped that was what it did.]

No, I'm cool! What'd you see? [Because, asking that exact question wasn't extremely suspicious.]

[dominateartimus]

[Well, that was certainly suspicious and a part of him wondered if this person was a part of the network. He hadn't checked the network since morning of Friday.]

All I saw was you falling from that tree. Why were you up there to begin with?

[knights_king]

[Suspicion warranted. Arthur smiler nervously, slowly picking himself up.]

I was climbin' it. Seems kind of fun to do, right?

[For a child, maybe. Arthur was pushing his luck. He hadn't ever needed to lie on his own, so he wasn't used to it.]

[dominateartimus]

[As Arthur starts to get back up on to his feet, he takes a few steps back to give him space. His attention turns to the tree with a slight frown.]

Not exactly. Those branches don't look like they would be able to support your weight.

[knights_king]

Ah. [Arthur had the worst poker face. Gaga looked down from heaven in disapproval.]

I dunno, I thought it'd work out better. [As to how he started at the top was the real question.]

[dominateartimus]

Clearly it didn't.

[There was a blank expression on his face as he shifts the plastic bag to his other hand. Although his gaze turns to the small indentation in the grass. That was unusual.]

...You're not having any difficulties with anything, are you?

B

[italktofish]

[Walking through the park late at night with a plastic bag containing a pair of lobsters from the grocery store is normal, right? Because that is just what this Arthur is doing.

He is also TALKING to the lobsters.]

Don't you guys worry! We'll go home for the night, and you can meet Granny and the others, and in the morning, after I take the kids to school, I'll take you to the beach and let you back to SWEET, OUTRAGEOUS FREEDOM!

[Yep, it's all perfectly normal. He doesn't seem to have noticed the other Arthur on the bench as he walks by, happily chatting away to the lobsters.]

Re: B

[knights_king]

[York lives in the deads. A guy talking to lobsters didn't at all seem out of place, so he didn't blink twice at him. Still, he was feeling more confident in himself and he thought what he heard was funny, so he decided to take a swing at the whole 'socialization' aspect of life he'd avoided until the last few months.]

Talk about playin' with your food, huh?

[York winced, realizing just how stupid the joke was only after committing himself to it. He tried to stop it, but it was too late.]

Y'know what, I'm sorry, that was the dumbest thing I've said in my life.

[italktofish]

And they're not FOOD! They're my friends, and I just RESCUED THEM FROM THE GROCERY STORE!

[knights_king]

[The big guy earned a withered look from his name and title based counterpart. He smiled all the same, easily won over by the guy's enthusiasm.]

Oh. You a vegan, then? [That was probably the most polite form of animal activism he'd ever heard of.]

[italktofish]

Certainly not! I go to church...well, not EVERY Sunday, but SOME SUNDAYS!

[Arthur, no, "vegan" does not mean what you seem to think it means.]

[knights_king]

[His jaw sunk to the floor.]

That's... Nah, that's bein' Catholic, right? [Arthur made his own little misconceptions, too.]

I'm talkin' about not eatin' meat.

[italktofish]

I'm not Catholic--I'm Methodist! I just don't eat things that can talk back! Like lobsters!

I SWEAR I thought I posted on this I'm so sorry

[occasus]

[ He can recognize superspeed when he sees it--and even if Kei didn't have it himself? It was obvious the kid was doing it. He felt...

Well. He felt kind of bad for him, trying his best to hide it.

Strumming his last chord, he let it fade into the air before tilting his head to the side and whistling long, sharp, and low. ]

Oiyaaa, kid. You're acting like an idiot. Come here.

[ Even if he's only 25, he knows it kind of sounds creepy. He doesn't care enough to do anything about it, though, and instead stops playing his guitar and fishes in his red jacket to grab his pack of cigarettes. ]

hugs out the grief

[knights_king]

[Arthur's bouncing through the trees halted a second time. He almost got the hang of it. As he came down and landed square on the grass, he looked up with a groan as Kei spoke up, realizing he landed fairly close to somebody. Jeez--he went so far that he actually passed his boundary of initial sight. It would be difficult to guess where people were if the scenery got too blurry at the horizon.

Thus, making his practice a bit... impractical.]

Tell me about it... [Standing up, Arthur felt too dizzy from his landing to worry about being outed as a Numbered person. He stumbled in Kei's direction, assuming the guy had a nice cold beer or some tylenol to help him deal with things.]

[occasus]

[ Nope. Kei lights his cigarette and leans back, brows knitting together as he thinks of the right way to say this. ]

You're still an idiot.

[ Ooohhkay maybe tact isn't Kei's forte. He sighs and tries again. ]

You didn't bother to conceal what you have--and instead of denying it happened you just... [ A wave of his hand and, afterwards, a quick drag off the smoke. ] ...Flat out admitted it. There are heroes here, but a lot of us don't want more attention than we get. I'd suggest you do it, too.

[knights_king]

Kei? [He knew this guy. Arthur had made it a career choice to try and save money, so he spent a lot of time in the park exercising in between reading to keep himself healthy and on top of things in an effort to stay away from expenses he couldn't afford.

One minor expense for him was music. Out of everything he did, Arthur couldn't do away with that.]

Goddamn, you're a Numbered dude, too?

[The musician in the park? Somehow, that seemed to be a pretty awesome happenstance, but Arthur was still too dizzy from the fall and his beating heart to weigh in on that aloud.]

[occasus]

Unfortunately. [ Kei's close to rolling his eyes, but--still. He'd noticed Arthur from the first video and said nothing, hoping to keep his distance.

Too late, now. ]

If you can rest for a bit, I'll show you how to do it--

[ And, as if in the blink of an eye, Kei's moved right behind him. ]

--Handle your speed.

[knights_king]

[For some reason, Arthur followed him. He took one step back and turned, eyes bulging wide from a mixture of realizing just how fast Kei was and the realization that he was moving without trying. It was a numbing, terrifying feeling that came with the suspicion that one's body wasn't quite under their own control.]

Jesus. I dunno if I could do it like you.

[He said, through a wheeze. A mixture of breaking into two cold sweats in such a short amount of time tended to ruin one's voice.]

[occasus]

Of course you can. It takes practice. Just not here. [ A pause, and he huffs, just slightly. Idiot.

idk if you were still interested sob, but - B

[struckout]

[ He seems happy enough... but the woman who practically storms up to him a little bit after he's sat down sure doesn't look it. She's actually dressed for running, in long shorts, a tank top, and just enough evidence of sweat to seal the deal, but apparently she's just now catching up with him...

Her agitation is palpable. She recognizes him- it's the same guy that she'd met while waiting in the park with her chocobo. ]

What do you think you're doing?

[ It's not quite a whisper, but about as close as one can get while also sounding thoroughly indignant. ]

arthur's body can handle more scrutiny, so yes

[knights_king]

[Kallie caught Arthur off guard and he leaned backward, much to his own regret. His bruises and sprains caught up to him all at once.

Arthur winced, rubbing his back after a bit of painful movement. It never hurt that much to reach behind himself before, but after crashing through a few dozen trees all at once, he kind of set himself up for a bit of strain.]

Hey--gah! Jesus...! [He held his side a moment before he clenched one eye tightly shut and looked up at her.]

Scared the crap outta me!

[struckout]

[ Whoops, well, Kallie steps back just slightly, but-- obviously this surprise means he wasn't even paying attention, and obviously, that just makes the whole thing worse. She crosses her arms, starting to glance around them before thinking better of it.

The question stands. Her lips press together, waiting for an answer, a little visibly edgy. ]

[knights_king]

[Leaning forward just a touch more, Arthur removed his hand from his side and planted it firmly on his knee. The pain wasn't immense, but plenty enough to have caught him off guard, so he missed just a few moments of memory, there.]

Uh, sorry... [His fists tightened up just a measure.] Did you ask me somethin'?