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Who: Linus Lowe & Dorin Lee
When: July 7th, Afternoon
Where: Enodia Station Grounds
What: Linus invites Dorin on an adventure! They climb Enodia Station's oddest tree and almost have an uncomfortable conversation. Thank goodness for interrupting squirrels!
Warnings: None
After spending nearly all day deep cleaning one stretch of hallway carpeting deep in the Administrative building (some kind of dramatic power mishap, they said, and it must have been to produce that vivid a shade of blue), Linus is desperate to spend what's left of the day outside in fresh air. He could never make it as a vampire—he craves the sun like a tree.
And a tree is exactly where he intends to spend it. A quick stop at home to change and he's heading out of the residential building when a familiar face flashes a memory and gives him pause.
He's certain he and Dorin talked about climbing at Pride, and the photo Dorin sent his way brought the (admittedly slightly hazy) memory into slightly sharper focus. He wouldn't have given it much thought except for the way Dorin avoided the topic when they talked later; Linus isn't one to press, but it makes him curious.
"Yo," he says, changing course slightly to head toward the nurse. "Thanks for the picture, man, it looked great." Then, without really waiting for a response or offering any context, he charged forward. "Hey, are you busy this fine afternoon? Follow up if the answer is no, how do you feel about trees and climbing them?"
Having just finished a long day in the clinic himself, Dorin is relieved to be walking across the Station under a clear blue sky and a bright summer sun. He takes the minor risk of closing his eyes and tilting his head back for a moment to fully revel in it...but just for a moment. The last thing he wants to do is bump into someone or trip or somehow cause a ruckus. And it's a good thing, too! Because Linus is now walking in his direction.
He blinks, momentarily surprised, then greets the other man with a warm smile. In truth, being face to face with him again for the first time since the Pride party puts Dorin on edge. Makes some small part of him want to run away and hide. But that's not Linus' fault. That's his fault. And he likes Linus, so he's determined not to let his worries be a black cloud on the day.
…Even if Linus immediately inviting him to climb almost makes him sputter.
That's just a coincidence, though. Climbing is Linus' thing. Everyone knows that.
"Hey! I'm...glad you like it," he answers sheepishly before hesitantly forcing himself to confront the unexpected invitation, "Ah. Climbing trees? I...haven't in a long time. I bet it's harder than I remember. Why?" He knows why.
Linus shrugs. "Because I'm going to investigate one and it's more fun not to do it alone." It's an honest enough answer. "Have you ever paid much attention to that orangey tree down at the southern end of the station? Near the forcefield. I'm pretty sure it moves its branches when people aren't there."
For a moment, Dorin seems to be at a loss. He doesn't spend much time exploring the paths that wind through the Station's interior forest and he definitely hasn't wandered as far as the edge of the forcefield to see an orange tree with potentially sentient branches. It sounds a little strange and a little whimsical and a little unsettling. But, out here, none of that should actually surprise him, should it?
"No. I...don't think I've even seen it," he admits, looking at the other man with the smallest tilt of his head and the faintest look of curious unease, "Do you think it's safe to climb? If it can move on its own?"
"I mean, I'm pretty sure it won't eat us or anything," Linus says, as though these words are reassuring. "Unless it just didn't have an appetite for me last time. Besides, they wouldn't let it stay on the grounds if it was dangerous, right?" This reasoning is probably better, he thinks.
"No pressure if you don't want to, obviously," Linus adds. "Just like, there's not a lot to do around here and it's a nice day. It can be an adventure. Like we're little kids again. Adulting sucks." (Linus does not hold strictly to this philosophy; his adult life has been pretty good so far, but he's heard others say it and even more agree with it.)
That answer -- pretty sure -- earns an uneasy laugh out of Dorin, though he looks at the other man with fondness and admiration just the same. Linus is brave and it makes him want to be brave too. At least a little bit. And he's probably right, anyway. If the tree were some dangerous Liminal maneater, the Security Division would've done something about it by now.
"No. I mean. That sounds fun. I haven't gone on an adventure in a while!" He nods in the direction that Linus had come from, inviting him to lead the way. With another shy smile, he adds, "Just...don't expect me to keep up with you, okay?"
"No worries," Linus assures him. It's a fairly quick, if winding, path toward the tree in question, and when they arrive, Linus is even more sure (with no evidence) that his hypothesis is correct. The tree is huge, sprawling out with low branches reaching straight toward them and dozens of trunks closely knotted together. Its leaves remind Linus of the ancient oaks he climbed as a child, but it looks like no oak tree he's ever seen anywhere else. The bark is dark and orange, the leaves are almost blue, and Linus is absolutely sure it moves its branches -- or maybe they just grow with bamboo speed. He's not a scientist, but he's ready for an experimentadventure anyway.
"It's freaking cool, right?"
The trip along the path with Linus is a pleasant one and Dorin almost forgets his unease with the other man as they walk along and make simple conversation under the warm summer sun. Once the Liminal tree actually comes into view, though, it's hard to make conversation about anything. It's hard not to just stop and stare at the enormous amalgamation of interwoven trunks and branches reaching toward the sky. The bark reminds him of uncut carnelian and the blueish leaves glint in the light. It's a strange but wonderful thing.
"...Wow," he breathes the word out softly without intending to and then glances at the other man, smiling broadly, "It's cool. And it's...beautiful! Don't you think?" Without waiting for an answer, he slips his phone out of his pocket and snaps a few pictures, angling each one with attentive care. He could stay at that for a while, but resists the urge and turns his attention back to Linus instead. The fearless leader.
"Ah. So. Where should we start?"
"Wherever you want, man," Linus grins. "There's a spot around the corner there that's pretty easy to hop up, I think, unless it's moved. Plus you'll get cooler pictures from up there," he adds, pointing to a spot the branches clear just enough to give a nice view of the rest of the woods. The rest of the normal, non-Liminal woods. "It's the only one I've found I'm sure is one of us. You know, like. This thing is definitely not native to Vermont."
Linus eyes the tree for a moment and then chooses his path, and in moments, he's feet off the ground. He doesn't go further yet, waiting for Dorin to join him up whatever path he's comfortable with.
Dorin's eyes follow where Linus points, up to a high perch from which the view must be stunning. He'd like to see it...but he feels his heartbeat jump and his body tense at the idea of climbing all the way up there too. He's starting to reconsider when he realizes that Linus has already dashed off toward the tree and is starting to climb.
So. There's nothing to do but follow!
Pulling in a breath and slipping his phone into his back pocket, he hurries after Linus. He spends a moment looking among the lower branches and scanning for natural grooves in the bark that might make decent places to hold on, but it's all guesswork. He really hasn't climbed a tree in years. Finally, he finds something that he thinks might do the trick and carefully starts to ascend. Even ignoring Liminal abilities, he's not as tall or as fit as Linus, so it's comparatively slow going for Dorin. It would be far quicker with his tentacles, but…that’s not happening. Finally, though, he's sitting on a branch slightly below the other man's and looking up at him with a smile.
"You...really don't have to wait for me!" Despite his apologetic tone, he finds himself pleasantly surprised to have made it this far and eager to keep going. It’s kind of exciting. As something occurs to him, he adds, "...I don't think they're moving?"
"I told you they wouldn't eat us," Linus calls down. He's found a comfortable perch from which he can study the branches. Dorin is right, they're not moving … at least, not right now. Maybe it's a nocturnal crawler. There are still plenty of ways he could be right about this.
He sits there for a moment, taking it all in. He can go much higher, he knows, but from this place it's like the tree is a whole forest unto itself, its own little world, away from any worries or troubles or arguments. It's a secret, and it can keep secrets, too.
He thinks for a little while before he talks to Dorin again, giving the other man a chance to catch up so they could talk a little quieter. Maybe this is a mistake, maybe he should just keep quiet, but he saw the look on Dorin's face when he invited him, the quick flash, and it doesn't seem fair to pretend there's nothing.
"So I wanted to, um," he starts, without quite knowing how to say anything. "I wanted to say I remember what we were talking about. At Pride. But it kind of seemed like you didn't want that. So I just wanted to say that you didn't say anything embarrassing, or anything. So don't worry about that."
Dorin is taking it all in too, quietly appreciating the strange wonder around them, until he looks back at Linus and realizes that the other man’s expression seems more serious than before. Gradually, as Linus starts to talk, his smile wanes.
He still doesn't remember everything he'd said at Pride. But he knows enough; that he'd talked about going climbing with Linus and maybe even keeping up someday with his extra limbs to help him along. Something like that. Without thinking, he folds his arms around himself, attempting to steady himself and subconsciously attempting to put one more layer between his now restlessly writhing tentacles and everything else. It's a precarious position to be in, sitting up in a tree, but that doesn't seem to cross his mind.
"I...appreciate you saying that," he manages, his voice almost too quiet to hear across the space between them now, "And I'm sorry I put you in that position. I just..." He looks down at the distant ground, his chest and throat feeling suddenly tight. The resolution he'd made with himself -- to find better ways to handle this and to work toward being honest, like Noah had said he should -- feels entirely out of reach.
Now would be a wonderful time for the tree to devour him whole, actually.
Dorin's reaction and obvious discomfort make Linus think he made a mistake. He doesn't know Dorin's Liminal deal, not really, or how extra limbs come into play with it, but he's met more than enough people like them to know not everyone got lucky like he did. Whatever it is is both real and difficult for Dorin, even if Linus doesn't understand it.
"Sorry," he says. "I just—we don't have to—sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. You didn't put me in a position. I just didn't want you to have to wonder about it. I won't say anything," he adds, leaving to anybody else implied.
Suddenly, a branch above them jostles. Is it a squirrel? Probably, but what if it's a moving branch? Linus's attention immediately shifts. "Did you hear that?"
Dorin can't quite bring himself to look at Linus and the other man's reassurances barely reach him through the tangle of self-loathing and despondence he's currently caught up in. The rustling overhead and the abrupt shift in Linus' attention, though, pulls him out of his own head a little. Startled, he jerks his gaze upward and nearly loses his balance, scrambling to unwrap his arms and steady himself on the branch again.
"...yeah," he manages, though his voice is still very quiet and he has to clear his throat before he can add, "What was it?"
Linus's eyes sparkle as he looks back at Dorin. He'd promised adventure. "Wanna find out?"
Finally, Dorin forces himself to look at Linus again. He doesn't know whether he wants to find out or not...but he knows he wants to escape what he's feeling right now more than anything. And if he can get back on the same page as the other man, all the better. He wants Linus to like him. So he nods and stands up on the branch, looking up just as more leaves overhead rustle and an unseen branch further up the tree creaks.
"...be careful. Okay?" he says before starting to climb and following the sounds upward.
"I'm always careful," Linus replies easily, and the laugh that follows lets it sound more like a joke than a lie.
The branches get thinner and less weight-bearing as they go higher, so there is more strategy involved. Suddenly, a squirrel chirps off to the left somewhere, and Linus catches sight of it scurrying away, creating the same kind of rustle it did before. He can't help but feel a little disappointed; at least the tree still isn't trying to eat them. That feels like a victory.
"It was a squirrel," Linus states the obvious and tries not to sound like he wishes it was something else. The tree is cool and beautiful on its own. Just because anything seems possible in the Riftlands doesn't mean the things that are there are any less amazing than what he might imagine.
He smiles back at Dorin. He's already decided he won't say anything about their earlier topic again, not ever, unless Dorin starts it. "I hope you can get some good pics up here," he says instead.
While this outcome is anticlimactic...that suits Dorin just fine. He's a bit out of breath by the time they reach the tippy top of the tree, but the rush of physical exertion and the uncertain excitement of potential danger have done a lot to clear his head. He feels better. And the view up here is amazing. He smiles sheepishly at Linus before slipping his phone out of his pocket and proceeding to take pictures of the surrounding landscape and the tree itself. Several catch the Station forcefield in the background, giving them an ethereal shine.
After a time, he turns the phone's camera in the direction of the other man hopefully. "Say cheese?" It's good to commemorate moments like this, after all!
Linus's grin is broad. "Cheese!" And then, "Wait, let's get one together." He moves with ease so they can take a tree selfie. And just before the camera clicks, a branch groans and rustles behind them, like it's pulling itself into a waving photobomb. "I knew it!"
When: July 7th, Afternoon
Where: Enodia Station Grounds
What: Linus invites Dorin on an adventure! They climb Enodia Station's oddest tree and almost have an uncomfortable conversation. Thank goodness for interrupting squirrels!
Warnings: None
After spending nearly all day deep cleaning one stretch of hallway carpeting deep in the Administrative building (some kind of dramatic power mishap, they said, and it must have been to produce that vivid a shade of blue), Linus is desperate to spend what's left of the day outside in fresh air. He could never make it as a vampire—he craves the sun like a tree.
And a tree is exactly where he intends to spend it. A quick stop at home to change and he's heading out of the residential building when a familiar face flashes a memory and gives him pause.
He's certain he and Dorin talked about climbing at Pride, and the photo Dorin sent his way brought the (admittedly slightly hazy) memory into slightly sharper focus. He wouldn't have given it much thought except for the way Dorin avoided the topic when they talked later; Linus isn't one to press, but it makes him curious.
"Yo," he says, changing course slightly to head toward the nurse. "Thanks for the picture, man, it looked great." Then, without really waiting for a response or offering any context, he charged forward. "Hey, are you busy this fine afternoon? Follow up if the answer is no, how do you feel about trees and climbing them?"
Having just finished a long day in the clinic himself, Dorin is relieved to be walking across the Station under a clear blue sky and a bright summer sun. He takes the minor risk of closing his eyes and tilting his head back for a moment to fully revel in it...but just for a moment. The last thing he wants to do is bump into someone or trip or somehow cause a ruckus. And it's a good thing, too! Because Linus is now walking in his direction.
He blinks, momentarily surprised, then greets the other man with a warm smile. In truth, being face to face with him again for the first time since the Pride party puts Dorin on edge. Makes some small part of him want to run away and hide. But that's not Linus' fault. That's his fault. And he likes Linus, so he's determined not to let his worries be a black cloud on the day.
…Even if Linus immediately inviting him to climb almost makes him sputter.
That's just a coincidence, though. Climbing is Linus' thing. Everyone knows that.
"Hey! I'm...glad you like it," he answers sheepishly before hesitantly forcing himself to confront the unexpected invitation, "Ah. Climbing trees? I...haven't in a long time. I bet it's harder than I remember. Why?" He knows why.
Linus shrugs. "Because I'm going to investigate one and it's more fun not to do it alone." It's an honest enough answer. "Have you ever paid much attention to that orangey tree down at the southern end of the station? Near the forcefield. I'm pretty sure it moves its branches when people aren't there."
For a moment, Dorin seems to be at a loss. He doesn't spend much time exploring the paths that wind through the Station's interior forest and he definitely hasn't wandered as far as the edge of the forcefield to see an orange tree with potentially sentient branches. It sounds a little strange and a little whimsical and a little unsettling. But, out here, none of that should actually surprise him, should it?
"No. I...don't think I've even seen it," he admits, looking at the other man with the smallest tilt of his head and the faintest look of curious unease, "Do you think it's safe to climb? If it can move on its own?"
"I mean, I'm pretty sure it won't eat us or anything," Linus says, as though these words are reassuring. "Unless it just didn't have an appetite for me last time. Besides, they wouldn't let it stay on the grounds if it was dangerous, right?" This reasoning is probably better, he thinks.
"No pressure if you don't want to, obviously," Linus adds. "Just like, there's not a lot to do around here and it's a nice day. It can be an adventure. Like we're little kids again. Adulting sucks." (Linus does not hold strictly to this philosophy; his adult life has been pretty good so far, but he's heard others say it and even more agree with it.)
That answer -- pretty sure -- earns an uneasy laugh out of Dorin, though he looks at the other man with fondness and admiration just the same. Linus is brave and it makes him want to be brave too. At least a little bit. And he's probably right, anyway. If the tree were some dangerous Liminal maneater, the Security Division would've done something about it by now.
"No. I mean. That sounds fun. I haven't gone on an adventure in a while!" He nods in the direction that Linus had come from, inviting him to lead the way. With another shy smile, he adds, "Just...don't expect me to keep up with you, okay?"
"No worries," Linus assures him. It's a fairly quick, if winding, path toward the tree in question, and when they arrive, Linus is even more sure (with no evidence) that his hypothesis is correct. The tree is huge, sprawling out with low branches reaching straight toward them and dozens of trunks closely knotted together. Its leaves remind Linus of the ancient oaks he climbed as a child, but it looks like no oak tree he's ever seen anywhere else. The bark is dark and orange, the leaves are almost blue, and Linus is absolutely sure it moves its branches -- or maybe they just grow with bamboo speed. He's not a scientist, but he's ready for an experimentadventure anyway.
"It's freaking cool, right?"
The trip along the path with Linus is a pleasant one and Dorin almost forgets his unease with the other man as they walk along and make simple conversation under the warm summer sun. Once the Liminal tree actually comes into view, though, it's hard to make conversation about anything. It's hard not to just stop and stare at the enormous amalgamation of interwoven trunks and branches reaching toward the sky. The bark reminds him of uncut carnelian and the blueish leaves glint in the light. It's a strange but wonderful thing.
"...Wow," he breathes the word out softly without intending to and then glances at the other man, smiling broadly, "It's cool. And it's...beautiful! Don't you think?" Without waiting for an answer, he slips his phone out of his pocket and snaps a few pictures, angling each one with attentive care. He could stay at that for a while, but resists the urge and turns his attention back to Linus instead. The fearless leader.
"Ah. So. Where should we start?"
"Wherever you want, man," Linus grins. "There's a spot around the corner there that's pretty easy to hop up, I think, unless it's moved. Plus you'll get cooler pictures from up there," he adds, pointing to a spot the branches clear just enough to give a nice view of the rest of the woods. The rest of the normal, non-Liminal woods. "It's the only one I've found I'm sure is one of us. You know, like. This thing is definitely not native to Vermont."
Linus eyes the tree for a moment and then chooses his path, and in moments, he's feet off the ground. He doesn't go further yet, waiting for Dorin to join him up whatever path he's comfortable with.
Dorin's eyes follow where Linus points, up to a high perch from which the view must be stunning. He'd like to see it...but he feels his heartbeat jump and his body tense at the idea of climbing all the way up there too. He's starting to reconsider when he realizes that Linus has already dashed off toward the tree and is starting to climb.
So. There's nothing to do but follow!
Pulling in a breath and slipping his phone into his back pocket, he hurries after Linus. He spends a moment looking among the lower branches and scanning for natural grooves in the bark that might make decent places to hold on, but it's all guesswork. He really hasn't climbed a tree in years. Finally, he finds something that he thinks might do the trick and carefully starts to ascend. Even ignoring Liminal abilities, he's not as tall or as fit as Linus, so it's comparatively slow going for Dorin. It would be far quicker with his tentacles, but…that’s not happening. Finally, though, he's sitting on a branch slightly below the other man's and looking up at him with a smile.
"You...really don't have to wait for me!" Despite his apologetic tone, he finds himself pleasantly surprised to have made it this far and eager to keep going. It’s kind of exciting. As something occurs to him, he adds, "...I don't think they're moving?"
"I told you they wouldn't eat us," Linus calls down. He's found a comfortable perch from which he can study the branches. Dorin is right, they're not moving … at least, not right now. Maybe it's a nocturnal crawler. There are still plenty of ways he could be right about this.
He sits there for a moment, taking it all in. He can go much higher, he knows, but from this place it's like the tree is a whole forest unto itself, its own little world, away from any worries or troubles or arguments. It's a secret, and it can keep secrets, too.
He thinks for a little while before he talks to Dorin again, giving the other man a chance to catch up so they could talk a little quieter. Maybe this is a mistake, maybe he should just keep quiet, but he saw the look on Dorin's face when he invited him, the quick flash, and it doesn't seem fair to pretend there's nothing.
"So I wanted to, um," he starts, without quite knowing how to say anything. "I wanted to say I remember what we were talking about. At Pride. But it kind of seemed like you didn't want that. So I just wanted to say that you didn't say anything embarrassing, or anything. So don't worry about that."
Dorin is taking it all in too, quietly appreciating the strange wonder around them, until he looks back at Linus and realizes that the other man’s expression seems more serious than before. Gradually, as Linus starts to talk, his smile wanes.
He still doesn't remember everything he'd said at Pride. But he knows enough; that he'd talked about going climbing with Linus and maybe even keeping up someday with his extra limbs to help him along. Something like that. Without thinking, he folds his arms around himself, attempting to steady himself and subconsciously attempting to put one more layer between his now restlessly writhing tentacles and everything else. It's a precarious position to be in, sitting up in a tree, but that doesn't seem to cross his mind.
"I...appreciate you saying that," he manages, his voice almost too quiet to hear across the space between them now, "And I'm sorry I put you in that position. I just..." He looks down at the distant ground, his chest and throat feeling suddenly tight. The resolution he'd made with himself -- to find better ways to handle this and to work toward being honest, like Noah had said he should -- feels entirely out of reach.
Now would be a wonderful time for the tree to devour him whole, actually.
Dorin's reaction and obvious discomfort make Linus think he made a mistake. He doesn't know Dorin's Liminal deal, not really, or how extra limbs come into play with it, but he's met more than enough people like them to know not everyone got lucky like he did. Whatever it is is both real and difficult for Dorin, even if Linus doesn't understand it.
"Sorry," he says. "I just—we don't have to—sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. You didn't put me in a position. I just didn't want you to have to wonder about it. I won't say anything," he adds, leaving to anybody else implied.
Suddenly, a branch above them jostles. Is it a squirrel? Probably, but what if it's a moving branch? Linus's attention immediately shifts. "Did you hear that?"
Dorin can't quite bring himself to look at Linus and the other man's reassurances barely reach him through the tangle of self-loathing and despondence he's currently caught up in. The rustling overhead and the abrupt shift in Linus' attention, though, pulls him out of his own head a little. Startled, he jerks his gaze upward and nearly loses his balance, scrambling to unwrap his arms and steady himself on the branch again.
"...yeah," he manages, though his voice is still very quiet and he has to clear his throat before he can add, "What was it?"
Linus's eyes sparkle as he looks back at Dorin. He'd promised adventure. "Wanna find out?"
Finally, Dorin forces himself to look at Linus again. He doesn't know whether he wants to find out or not...but he knows he wants to escape what he's feeling right now more than anything. And if he can get back on the same page as the other man, all the better. He wants Linus to like him. So he nods and stands up on the branch, looking up just as more leaves overhead rustle and an unseen branch further up the tree creaks.
"...be careful. Okay?" he says before starting to climb and following the sounds upward.
"I'm always careful," Linus replies easily, and the laugh that follows lets it sound more like a joke than a lie.
The branches get thinner and less weight-bearing as they go higher, so there is more strategy involved. Suddenly, a squirrel chirps off to the left somewhere, and Linus catches sight of it scurrying away, creating the same kind of rustle it did before. He can't help but feel a little disappointed; at least the tree still isn't trying to eat them. That feels like a victory.
"It was a squirrel," Linus states the obvious and tries not to sound like he wishes it was something else. The tree is cool and beautiful on its own. Just because anything seems possible in the Riftlands doesn't mean the things that are there are any less amazing than what he might imagine.
He smiles back at Dorin. He's already decided he won't say anything about their earlier topic again, not ever, unless Dorin starts it. "I hope you can get some good pics up here," he says instead.
While this outcome is anticlimactic...that suits Dorin just fine. He's a bit out of breath by the time they reach the tippy top of the tree, but the rush of physical exertion and the uncertain excitement of potential danger have done a lot to clear his head. He feels better. And the view up here is amazing. He smiles sheepishly at Linus before slipping his phone out of his pocket and proceeding to take pictures of the surrounding landscape and the tree itself. Several catch the Station forcefield in the background, giving them an ethereal shine.
After a time, he turns the phone's camera in the direction of the other man hopefully. "Say cheese?" It's good to commemorate moments like this, after all!
Linus's grin is broad. "Cheese!" And then, "Wait, let's get one together." He moves with ease so they can take a tree selfie. And just before the camera clicks, a branch groans and rustles behind them, like it's pulling itself into a waving photobomb. "I knew it!"