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singdreamchild · 1 year ago

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Roses on Gravestones

Timing: Early August

Location: Eluria Cemetery

Parties: Cassius @singdreamchild & Xochitl @vanishingreyes

Summary: Cassius goes to leave the crypt, only to run into Xochitl visiting her friend's final resting space. An introspective conversation takes place.

Content warning: Topics of death and grieving

By all accounts, she should have hated graveyards, and she did. Usually. She hated the idea that Mackenzie had been alone for so long, even though Xóchitl was fairly certain she didn’t believe in life after death. There was no way her friend was still walking around anywhere.

Still, there was a weird sort of comfort to cemeteries, and at least there, people weren’t likely to bother her too much. It was a welcome antidote to the sheer amount of talking and solving of others’ problems that she had to do all day.

She’d found that sometimes bringing flowers to often-left-alone graves, since returning to town. Xóchitl figured it had to have been because she hoped that after everything, after two decades (plus), people still treated Mackenzie’s grave with respect. That maybe her favorite duck plush was still there, or had been replaced with a newer version.

She heard a crunch as she was laying down the flowers of the day (carnations), and Xóchitl turned around to see who was behind her, far too much of a part of her longing for it to somehow be her friend, claiming that everything had all been a joke.

This was the second time that Cassius had found someone too close for comfort at the crypt he spent his time in. At least this time it wasn’t a student, right? Before he gave himself away, he had noticed the woman laying flowers at a grave of someone who had passed away long ago. The crunch of the branch under his foot gave him away before he could leave without being detected. Damn, he really had to get better at his sneaking abilities. Cursing under his breath, he gave a polite smile to the woman. “Apologies, I did not mean to distract you from your mourning.” He spoke in a soft tone, smile going from polite to awkward in a few short moments.

He wanted to keep walking, but something rooted him in place. He didn’t know what to say, to ask who they were to them, but that felt too personal. “I often come here to read. I find that the dead still deserve to have company.” He found himself saying instead, shifting his feet slightly so he didn’t appear so stock-still. Sometimes it was hard to remember to look as though he were alive.

Cassius then looked to the flowers, nodding slightly. “Red carnations. They symbolize love and affection.” He noted, remembering the period in his life when he had fixated on flowers and their meanings. His sire had gone through a lot of bouquets of flowers in that time period, he wondered if he had ever appreciated it. Unsure if the woman intended the meaning behind them, he realized it was a rather odd thing to bring up. “I uh, used to study flower meanings when I was younger.” He then explained with a brief smile.

“Oh - no, not mourning. I was merely visiting a grave to ensure that whomever is buried here does not feel alone. Which may sound silly, but it is what I have chosen to do, and so I’d prefer to not hear ridicule.” Xóchitl knew logically that she shouldn’t lie, and yet it felt all too easy to do so. Better than having someone ask questions about why she was visiting the grave of a child, twenty years after the date marked on the stone.

“I find the same. Besides, there is something comforting about cemeteries. It makes the dead feel as though they aren’t as far away as we might think they are.” It sounded like something she’d heard manman’s mom say, once, about someone in her running club. Either way, Xóchitl was still hesitant to let her guard down, but there was something that she could do, and that was offer the stranger a smile, and a gesture to join her, if he so wished.

“That they do - did you really? Can I ask what your favorite flower and meaning is? Or top five, if choosing one is too difficult to do?”

Cassius nodded his head in understanding as the woman explained herself. “A kindred spirit then,” he said in response. “I often find that there are people here who never have flowers, some stones are more worse for wear than the others, those are the ones I choose to visit.” He explained as he put a hand onto the stone of the individual she had chosen to visit.

“I am Cassius,” he introduced with a soft bow of his head. “I often find comfort in a quote from Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughter-House Five.” He spoke, eyes distant as he began to recite a passage. “When a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past, so it is very silly for people to die at his funeral. All moments past, present, and future, always have existed, always will exist.” He gave a sad smile for a moment, remembering all the people he had met in his life that got to die when he was stuck in a state of undeath.

He took her invitation and sat down beside her. “I like the Forget-me-not.” He began with a nod. “It symbolizes true love and memories.” He explained with a simple shrug of his shoulders. “There is also the Greek story behind the hyacinth flower.” He spoke, pressing a finger to his chin as he recalled the tale. “A young Spartan prince that was loved by the Greek god Apollo was struck down by Zephyrus of the West Winds in jealousy. Unable to heal him, Apollo instead turned his body into the hyacinth flower, inscribing the petals with his love for him.” He shook his head, realizing he was rambling on about flowers. “Apologies, I tend to get lost in thought when I talk about things I find passion in.”

“Kindred spirit indeed,” she gave a slight nod of her head. “Yes, I find it sad if a stone is left to get too dirty, or if it looks neglected, though I suppose there comes the chance of a time when no one who knew the person is still around.” Which wasn’t such a pleasant thought at all, and one that Xóchitl did her best to rid herself of the first chance she had.

“I’m Xóchitl,” she responded in turn, “pleasure to meet you, even if it’s not in the most standard of ways.” There was something immediately comforting about his presence, despite him being a complete stranger. “That is a good quote – and — well, I’m sorry to have not been entirely truthful before. I do visit graves of those I don’t know but I - I did know her.” She looked down. “She was my best friend.” Her shoulders dropped, her typical sure sort of stance gone. “I am sorry for not telling you the truth. You are just so kind, so I couldn’t keep lying to you, even if it was only a small lie.”

He claimed apologies for getting lost in his passions, and Xóchitl only shook her head. “That is hardly something to apologize for, I think. I love hearing about what others are passionate about. Are you a florist, or is this simply a passion project of yours?”

His face fell as she spoke about the grave in particular. That she was important to this woman he now knew to be Xóchitl. “I am sorry for your loss.” He spoke, laying a hand down on the top of the stone, as if comforting it. “You have no reason to be sorry,” he began as he looked over to her. “Death is a personal thing. Sometimes it feels too vulnerable to admit the truth. As if speaking it aloud makes it more real.” He gave a sad smile, something he knew from personal experience with living as long as he had.

“Simply a passion of mine from younger years.” He explained with a shrug of his left shoulder. “The information stuck and never truly left my mind.” He explained with a roll of his eyes at himself. He didn’t share that he had learned this in, quite literally, a different lifetime. Back in a world that no longer existed, where technology wasn’t even thought of, and people communicated their feelings in terms of flowers and hand-written notes.

“I am still sorry, but thank you – for your kindness, and for everything else.” Because he hadn’t had to say any of that, and yet he had, yet he’d stayed so kind, so giving, and just pleasant to talk to. Which wasn’t something Xóchitl always found around here. Or around anywhere, were she honest. “I would’ve thought I’d be used to it by now, but yes, I think you are right.” She offered him a cautious, sad smile back.

“A very neat sort of passion, if I might say so myself.” She nodded. “I think it’s kind of lovely, to be able to tell emotions or stories or any such thing without using spoken words, or even written words. Without words at all.” Xóchitl ran her fingertips along the top of Mackenzie’s grave. “Would a bouquet then show a whole range of things to say? If each flower means something different.”

Cassius felt a pang of sadness for the woman. He remembered when he had lost his mother, the last of his family to pass away and finally leaving him truly alone with no one but his sire to call family. He had gone back to England to check on her every now and again, and the last time he went, he had found that the house they had lived in was then occupied by someone else. He had went to the cemetery where his father was buried, only to find her tombstone next to his. He had never gotten to say goodbye. He frowned, a wave of understanding washing over him. “We live in a culture that does not talk about death. I find it rather normal to not get used to it. Such is the nature of grief.”

He thought for a moment, the idea of a bouquet of flowers portraying all the things that he couldn’t say out loud, all hidden into different meanings. “I would imagine it would be a beautiful message to send, even if the recipient didn’t fully understand its meaning.” He had given flowers before, only for the message to be lost on deaf ears. He gave a sad smile to the woman. “I apologize for interrupting your mourning.” Cassius then said, taking a step away, not wanting to overstep.

“You make a very good point,” she began, “but still. It happened when I was little. It shouldn’t still impact me so much now.” Even though Xóchitl knew that that wasn’t entirely true. It just somehow, for some reason, felt better to say, even if it was a lie. Which was probably not great, but she’d gotten so used to telling white lies at this point that she was able to shrug it off perhaps more easily than she should have been able to.

“Oh, that does sound lovely, though I suppose I might only want to give them if someone knew the meaning. Otherwise I would just send a bouquet of their favorites.” Xóchitl shook her head, “not interrupting at all. It is rather nice to not be alone, but I am sorry if I’ve interrupted yours.”

Cassius shook his head at the woman’s notion of getting over it. “Please. I’ve lost people many years ago that still effect me to this day.” He insisted, waving a hand through the air. “Just because they left us, doesn’t mean the pain goes away as time goes on. You just learn how to cope with it better. That doesn’t mean there are times when the grief doesn’t take its hold.” He thought back to his family, he had lost them in the 1800s, now it was the 21st century but he still thought about it from time to time.

“You have not. I simply go for a stroll through the cemetery.” At night. And he doesn’t leave. Oh yes, and he happens to live in the nearby crypt. All things he was thinking about burt didn’t dare to say aloud. “I come rather often,” Cassius confessed, shrugging his shoulders. “I shall bring her flowers from time to time, now that I know she’s here.” He then spoke, a soft smile on his lips that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I shall let you be. I should get back home.” He spoke, gesturing towards the exit of the cemetery, pretending as if he didn’t live in the cemetery. “We shall see each other again, I’m sure.” He spoke, tilting his head to the side with a sly smile. “After all, it’s a smaller town than we give it credit for.”

“I am sorry to hear that,” she offered, genuine. “That’s true – I suppose, or I’ve heard that said enough times that I think it must be.” Or at least, for the time being, Xóchitl could believe it. Even if a good part of her didn’t want to, or fought back and refused to. “You grow around your grief, not away from it.” That was something that some therapist had said to her at one point or another. Probably while they asked her to draw some picture and she drew one of what had to have been hundreds of her and Mackenzie, or her, alone.

None of those had ever ended up on her parents’ fridge. She’d torn them up, many times, crying and screaming about it all. Because the pictures were just a wish, they weren’t real, and it wasn’t good to stare at them all the time. She did that enough with the actual photos she had of her and her best friend. “Okay, it is a beautiful place to stroll through.” Even if Xóchitl was a bit curious about why someone would so willingly and easily go on a stroll through this place. “Thank you. She’s not picky, but she also loves colors and just anything pretty. Even dandelions.” She worried her lip for a moment, desperately wanting her friend back, desperately doing all she could to not cry. “Yes, I’ll – we’ll be – I’ll see you again, I’m sure.” Even if his knowing anything about Mackenzie made part of her never want to see him again.

But maybe it could be something of some sort of comfort, somehow. “I’m glad she’ll have someone else looking after her, too.”

#threads #Roses on Gravestones #t;vanishingreyes #t;

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eliaskahtri · 1 year ago

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Viper's Den || Elias & Marcus

Location: Side of the road somewhere

Timing: Current

Parties: Marcus (@thenavysealkie) & Elias (@eliaskahtri)

Summary: Elias's car breaks down in a rainstorm and attracts the attention of a beithir. Marcus comes running along and jumps into the car before the snake can attack him.

Content Warning: None

Sputter, sputter, pop! Well, that’s that. His trusty car had finally died. And there he was on the side of the road in the middle of a forested area. “Well, this could be worse.” He decided aloud. After he said that, a cosmic force somewhere decided it’d be the funniest timing to hit Elias with a torrential downpour. The clouds had been dark and foreboding, but he had hoped he would have made it to his apartment first. BOOM, a loud crack of thunder sounded overhead. “Me and my big mouth.” He muttered to himself, biting his lip and shaking his head. There was no point in getting out of the car to check under its hood if it would pour like this, was there? Another clap of thunder roared overhead, and Elias leaned back in his seat, letting out a deep and frustrated sigh. “Hilarious timing, universe.” He shouted up at the roof of his car, glaring at the cosmic joke that seemed to be his life.

Of course, hearing his indignation, the universe couldn’t just take that lying down. Something THUNKed against the side of his car. Then he heard hissing. Not just any hissing, snake hissing. “Oh, you’ve GOT to be kidding me.” He then shouted, shaking his fist at the sky before looking out his passenger window to see a very large and vibrant green snake striking at the glass of his car window. Now, Elias was no stranger to snakes. Hiking as much as he did, one became familiar with different kinds of snakes and what to watch out for. Vibrant coloring? That didn’t mean anything good. He swore its eyes were almost glowing they were so red. “Ha!” He shouted at the snake, pointing at it as it struck the window again. “Can’t get me, can you?” He looked around his car, quickly picking up the umbrella in the back seat to use as fodder in case the snake broke the glass.

The snake began to circle the car after the third strike, hissing again as it searched for a way to its victim.

It was an unseasonably warm day for a Maine winter, and Marcus had every intention of taking advantage. While it was the perfect temperature for a nice run, he couldn’t help but notice the overcast skies forming overhead about halfway through his route. Giving a hearty sigh, he decided to finish his run since he was already so far from home. Besides, a little rain never hurt anyone, right?

Just then, a massive clap of thunder boomed out, and suddenly a torrential downpour of rain dumped right onto Marcus’s head. He was immediately soaked to the skin, and struggling to see in the sudden monsoon. He was expecting a light drizzle that would build into a storm, not an instant avalanche of rain coming down on him in sheets. Worst of all, the rain was freezing cold.

Wanting to get under a roof and into some warm clothes, he decided to take a shortcut in order to take the path of least resistance back home. As he ran down the road, he passed a parked car. While he normally wouldn’t look twice at it, just as he would for any other parked car, this one had something slithering all over it. It was a giant snake and there was a person trapped inside the car! Marcus couldn’t make out who the person was, but either way it was somebody who needed help. Reaching into his running shorts, he palmed his pocket knife and slowly made his way over to the giant creature.

Elias watched in horror as a figure ran past the car, then did a double take and turned around. “No! Leave me here. You’re not safe out there!” He cried out as the man began to creep toward the creature. “Fucking do-gooders, all of you.” He muttered to himself as the snake turned its attention to Marcus. It let out another hiss, slowly raising its head toward Marcus, slithering towards him with its mouth open and fangs bared. Seeing this, Elias began to bang on his window, drawing the attention of both the man and, thankfully, the snake. The snake struck out at Elias’s window, long enough for Elias to motion for Marcus to the passenger side door. “Get in the car, it’s not worth it!” He yelled.

Unlocking his doors, Elias continued to bang on his window to draw the snake’s attention. “Yeah, that’s right. Look at me, not at him. Get the tasty snack still in its wrapper and not the one conveniently behind you.” Elias goaded, pointing and leering at the snake long enough for Marcus to do something.

As Marcus drew closer to the beast, he realized it was much larger than he thought it would be. While he was never one to run away from a fight, he found himself frozen in fear as the large serpent reared its head towards him and bared its fangs, looking as if it were about to strike. Would his knife even do anything? He remembered the zombie from the ocean, the vampire, and even the giant spider he had taken down, each one with the help of some friends. None of those situations had made him more certain of his own doom than he was in that moment.

Just then, he heard banging from the passenger side window, and saw the snake divert its attention to the driver of the vehicle. As the snake circled around, Marcus slowly felt himself able to move his body again as the fear and panic subsided. He then heard shouting for him to get into the open door, and Marcus certainly didn’t need to be told twice.

“Fuck that thing’s big. Bigger than I thought, at least” he said as he closed the door behind him. Now they were both trapped with a hungry snake ready to pounce on them. They needed a game plan. Marcus turned to talk out a strategy with his unlikely partner when he really laid eyes on him for the first time. It was a familiar face to say the least.

“Elias?”

Elias blinked at the familiar figure as Marcus clambered into his car. He blinked. He knew his name. They had that discussion about mythical creatures, about both being from the west coast. “Marcus.” He answered with a nod of his head. He frowned, wishing he had something to offer the other to dry him off. “I’d drive away from the snake, but my car broke down.” He confessed. As the snake began to circle the car again, Elias locked the doors. He wasn’t about to find out if snakes in Wicked’s Rest could open car doors. As the storm raged on, lightning streaking across the sky followed by another roar of thunder, Elias leaned back in his seat. “Looks like we’re stuck here.”

He glanced over at Marcus, recognizing running shorts when he saw them. He hated them. Elias would forever run in long pants before being forced into another pair of those skimpy shorts. He blinked, realizing he was staring far too long at the man to be acceptable. “Got caught in it while running, huh?” He returned to the car's windshield, watching as the large snake circled around the car again. Between that snake and the rain, they were going nowhere anytime soon. “So, uh. Anything exciting happen to you lately?” He decided to ask, not knowing how else to pass the time. He frowned as the windows began to fog, reaching out and drawing a frowny face before wiping it away, wanting to keep his eyes on the damn snake.

Upon hearing the man’s car wouldn’t start, Marcus almost wanted to run out of the car and make a break for it. After all, weren’t they both essentially sitting ducks if they were to stay there? But in spite of this, Marcus simply couldn’t work up the guts to open the door and give that thing a chance to take a shot at him. One bite would undoubtedly be enough to end his life right then and there.

“Probably better to just wait for a rescue, I guess”.

Marcus didn’t know much about cars, except that they need gas and oil changes. Sometimes the brakes go bad and you have to pay way too much money to get them fixed. So Elias’s car being completely broken down was well out of his realm of expertise. Besides, it wasn’t like he could go out there and pop the hood with that snake crawling around.

He couldn’t help but notice where his old acquaintance’s eyes had gone. Is he checking me out? Marcus thought to himself. Of course, he already knew the answer to this question, he had seen that look before from both men and women alike. Well he was dressing for comfort rather to impress, he was pleased to see he could at least still grab his attention. Especially in a life threatening situation such as this one.

“Yep, just as I had reached the farthest point in my run from home. Go figure. I swear, the weather in this town is almost as unpredictable as its residents. Do you run much?”

“Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the whole town got coated in goo. So uh, I don’t know if you’d classify that as ‘exciting’, but it’s definitely noteworthy. Other than that…” Marcus took a long pause as he chose his words carefully. “Got something back that was very important to me. Not without a price, of course, but I’m very excited to have it back. And how about you? I know you went back out to La La Land, how did that treat you? Probably not great if you wound up back here”.

Watching as Marcus’s face went through the stages of grief, Elias shrugged his shoulders. “Waiting is the only game I can play right now.” He responded, taking his phone out of his pocket to show Marcus he had no signal. There was no getting help unless the rain stopped or someone showed mercy on their sorry asses.

Elias knew cars. He knew cars because it was his nature to take things apart and put them back together. It’s how he learned how things worked. Sure, his dad hadn’t been happy about it, but he had put it back together! He blinked, snapping back to the present. There was nothing he could do about his broken-down car right now, not with the torrential downpour and a vicious snake.

Elias blinked at Marcus’s question, then nodded his head somewhat dumbly. “I go running every morning.” He answered. “Hiking and running help me clear my head.” He shrugged. I don’t know how you wear those shorts, he almost said. They leave nothing to the imagination. He made a face to himself, then looked out the window as the snake made another lap around the car. “How far do you go every day?” He then asked, finding it nice to find someone else who was a runner. He seemed to be running into many of those types of people lately.

“Exciting, running people out of their homes, oh yeah. I heard.” He frowned, not sure what to make of the whole situation. He tried not to think about what the hell was in that toxic sludge. Elias was stunned momentarily, realizing that Marcus had read about him. He wasn’t in many newspapers, but he was in enough that the other seemed to notice. “Oh, I, uh.” He frowned, unsure if he wanted to explain his complete breakdown to a stranger.

He sighed, shrugging. “Ran into some bad shit here, went back to California.” He explained vaguely. “Finished the project I was working on back at home, and it ended up being kind of a breakthrough in the field.” He scratched at the back of his neck, the anxious tick again revealing itself. He hated talking about this stuff. It made him feel weak. He was weak, wasn’t he? “Long story short, my assistant is from here, and I couldn’t tell her no when I was offered a place to continue my research at the local hospital.” He frowned, staring down at his hands. All of it still felt like one colossal mistake, even if it did mean he got to be reunited with friendly faces.

He had to admit it, Marcus certainly didn’t take Elias to be such an active runner. Something about his nerdy personality and demeanor had Marcus assume he probably didn’t get out much. He was happy to be wrong though, as he had met somebody who took physical fitness about as seriously as he did.

“Couple miles into town, then a couple miles back home. I don’t run every day though, when it’s nicer out I prefer to swim. The water’s always where I’ve felt the most at home. When it’s in the ocean, that is. Falling down from the sky is a different story entirely” he said, glancing out the window again. The snake had made a few more half hearted attempts to lunge at the windows, but mostly seemed content to keep circling the duo as they waited for a miracle to come save them.

Marcus heard the man’s story about having to move and nodded thoughtfully. When he went back home, the urge was certainly strong to stay in Washington and never look back. But the ghosts of his past continued to tether him to this town, and wouldn’t stop doing so until he handled his unfinished business here. He wondered if Elias had similar unfinished business.

“I get it. There’s a lot of bad shit in this town. I’ve wanted to get away from it all countless times. Awfully noble of you to trade nice sunny California for the cold and gray New England life just to make your assistant happy. You must like them a lot. And it’s cool you can still keep on with your research out here. Who knows, maybe your talents are better placed out here anyway. Everything happens for a reason, right?”

Elias nodded his head as Marcus explained his usual routine. “That’s about what I do, just a few miles there and back. I like to take the nature trails. I’m an avid hiker as well.” He waved his hands as he spoke. “You could probably go swimming in the road right about now.” He then added, pointing to the quickly flooding sides of the street. “Fuck running home. You can do the butterfly home!” He exclaimed with a playful grin, looking over to Marcus and waggling his brows as if trying to tempt him into considering it.

He swallowed thickly as Marcus said he understood. Did he understand? Had he seen things that he couldn’t explain away? Things that defy logic? Defy reasoning? Elias suddenly became acutely aware of the emergency medication he kept stashed in his pocket. No, he wouldn’t have another breakdown in front of a stranger. A hot stranger, at that. No, not today. He took a slow breath, regulating himself back to normal. “I mean, I…” he trailed off as the snake struck at the car again. “That’s getting annoying.” He decided aloud, shaking his head as he tried to get back to what he was saying. “I met people here that I genuinely enjoy, so it wasn’t like it was a very hard decision.” He shrugged a shoulder. He didn’t mention that he was actively trying to find the things that his psychologist told him weren’t real.

“Yeah. Right.” Elias murmured, brows knitting together as he worried about what reason he could possibly have in this town that had already driven him to the edge once. Still, he couldn’t deny that he was curious. Something was nagging at him to ask Marcus. So he did. “Have you seen things you can’t explain?” He asked, looking over at him with a genuinely curious expression. He just wanted an outside opinion that wasn’t Regan for once. “Like, things that don’t make sense in the realm of science.” He bit his lip, realizing he probably sounded crazy.

Marcus couldn’t help but laugh at the man’s suggestion of swimming in the road. He had to admit, the water was rising quickly, and this car may quickly become a very shitty boat.

“Now there’s an idea, hop on my back and I’ll outswim the giant snake that’s trying to eat us,” he replied, turning to Elias and cocking an eyebrow.

Marcus nodded understandingly. “There are some really good people out here. People just trying to make the best of everything. Probably why everyone in a town that’s so hostile can maintain some semblance of sanity, everybody supports each other. For the most part at least. I guess it’s a sense of community you can’t get just anywhere, eh?” He knew how silicon valley and most of California could be; cutthroat. The personalities and goodwill were as plastic and artificial as their faces. Most of the STEM bros he knew of would have fed Elias to the snake for just a little extra distance as they made a run for it.

“I can explain plenty of what I’ve seen. You need to define what you mean by ‘science’. Because there’s the generally accepted info you get from those thick ass textbooks, and then there’s the science that you observe. If you saw a unicorn, but your books and research papers told you they didn’t exist, which would you believe? Your eyes, or your books? I believe that there’s a lot of the world that hasn’t been studied or understood, but that doesn’t mean those things aren’t real or unexplainable.” He knew Elias did work in medicine, but couldn’t remember exactly what area in particular. Either way, he may have been too much of a rationalist to deep dive straight into the supernatural, even with a gigantic snake beating at the window of his own car.

Grinning at the suggestion, Elias nodded his head. “Now that’s what I call a solid plan.” He exclaimed, pretending to open the door. Nope, not even for the bit was that a good idea. He leaned back into his seat. His brows furrowed as Marcus talked about what he saw versus what research and textbooks would say. He blinked. He was supposed to tell him that he was being ridiculous, not try to get him to see that the way he was seeing things was wrong. He shook his head. No, no. Believing what your eyes were seeing were for people who weren’t prescribed anti-psychotics.

Elias frowned, staring down at his hands that gripped at his steering wheel until his knuckles went white. “Right. Well. Thanks for indulging me.” He spoke quietly, afraid to open that door. He couldn’t go through another existential crisis while a snake was desperate to turn him into snake food.

He opened his mouth to say more, but Elias watched as the snake stuck at his door, and this time, the glass began to crack. Eyes wide with horror, he leaned closer into Marcus’s space, flinching as the snake struck again, breaking through the glass. “Shit!” He shouted out, grabbing onto Marcus’s shoulder in a panic. “Open the glove box. I’ve got a knife in there!” He shouted, panicking as the snake began to slither in through the now shattered window.

As Elias spoke, Marcus couldn’t help but feel as though he had struck a nerve. To be fair, he knew he may have given him the talk of the paranormal before Elias was ready to hear it. But at the same time, the man had been living in this town for how long? This revelation had to have come to him sooner or later. Looking into the maw of a hungry giant snake seemed like as good a time as any to come to terms with the existence of the supernatural.

Speaking of the giant snake’s maw, it had managed to break through the glass and into the car. Marcus reached for his knife, and heard Elias instruct him to grab his knife out of the glovebox as well. For both of their sakes, he hoped that Elias knew how to use it. He would have appreciated the sudden closeness if not for the noodle of death right in front of them both.

Marcus handed Elias his knife while holding out his own towards the creature. It seemed to halt the beast’s advance briefly, but it soon began its serpentine movements again towards the duo. Marcus slashed at it, but it quickly wiggled its body out of harm’s way before starting upon the two again. They would both need to attack this thing at the same time if they wanted to have any hope of actually doing some damage.

As soon as Marcus handed him the knife, Elias quickly flicked it open. He kept himself pressed up against the other man to get himself as far away from the snake as he possibly could. It was in the car, staring down Marcus with bared fangs. Elias swore that he could see the venom drip off of his fang the longer he stared. As it reared itself to strike, Elias stabbed through it as hard as he could. The snake began to struggle, trying to get away from the attack, but it was too late. As soon as it wiggled itself back and forth, he lost grip of the knife. The snake began to thrash around in the car, knife clanging against the car as it moved.

Elias gaped. He couldn’t believe he had done that. He thought back to the giant rat that was trying to kill Kaden back when he had first moved into town. This wasn’t the first time he’d come across a wild animal that wanted someone dead. Elias reached out for the knife, grabbing hold of it before the snake tried to snap at his hand. “Fuck!” He swore as he yanked his hand away, knife in hand. Desperate to defend itself, the snake snapped at Elias this time. It came close, but not before Elias stuck out the blade, and it pierced through the snake as it launched itself at him.

Eyes squeezed shut, Elias kept waiting to get bitten, but it never came. Slowly, he opened his eyes. The snake was lying in their lap, dead. “Ha!” He let out, staring down at the dead snake, feeling his body shake from the adrenaline, completely not realizing how close to Marcus he was until he turned his face to look at the man, and their noses practically touched.

Marcus almost couldn’t believe his eyes. He thought that this man was a reserved, nerdy, and very naive man. But watching the way he carved through the snake impressed him on a level he couldn’t quite articulate. The beast lay dead, and the storm raged on just outside the vehicle. On top of all of that, Elias had nestled himself nearly into Marcus’s lap. The man turned to face him, and he found their faces extremely close to one another.

Was he developing feelings? He definitely didn’t seem like Marcus’s usual choice of partner. While this would have made a perfect opportunity to steal a kiss, he didn’t want to complicate any feelings with William still hanging around in the background. Still, he couldn’t help himself from making a cheeky comment.

“That was some damn fine knife work. Can’t wait to see how you handle something with a bit more weight to it” he said, with a coy wink. If there was any time to shoot his shot, this probably would have been the time, he figured. Even if it wasn’t anything serious, he never knew what would happen when he finally got William to piss off for good.

Elias blinked at Marcus’s come-on and quickly put himself back into his own seat. “Uh. Ha!” He let out nervously, looking down at the now dead snake. “I… used to hike really tough trails. I did a hike that lasted three months one time, and I had to know basic self-defense. Never know what’ll happen in the woods with wild animals and other crazy people hiking the same trail.” Elias thought for a moment, then smirked to himself. “And yes, I know my way around a knife.” He spoke, shooting Marcus a knowing look before opening his door to shove the snake out of the car.

He wasn’t sure what to do with such a statement. He wasn’t one for flirting. He wasn’t good at it, it made him feel all weird and clammy. He stared down at the snake, sighing as he let the rain pour down on him. Now that the window was broken, what was the point? “Well, at least the snake has been dealt with.” He spoke as he got himself back into the car and shut the door. He tried the ignition, and the car sputtered. He sighed, shaking his head. “Come on, you’ve never acted like this before,” he complained to the car. He tried the key again. This time, a little more happened, but still didn’t start. “It’s the alternator,” he explained. “And while I know my way around cars, I’m not big into fixing them in the middle of a rain storm.” He also didn’t have the tools with him. So it looked like he was calling a tow when the rain let up, and he could call someone. He looked over at Marcus, frowned, then decided to try one more time. The car sputtered but eventually roared to life. “Yes!” He exclaimed, patting the steering wheel. “Can I drive you back home? This rain isn’t going to let up anytime soon.” He asked as he pulled the car back onto the road.

Marcus had to give Elias credit, he was growing to like the man more and more as a result of their little encounter here. He couldn’t tell if Elias was reciprocating his come on or not, so decided not to try anything further.

“I hear there are a lot of people waiting out on those trails looking for people to rob. Good thing you didn’t have to use it until now, for both of our sakes I’m also glad you were prepared.”

He watched in amazement as, by some small miracle, the engine finally roared back to life. Marcus figured sometimes turning the key and praying to every major or minor deity in existence can work wonders. If you believe in that sort of thing, that is.

“Well, I’d hate to cut our time short. But we’re both soaking wet and I don’t know about you, but I could use a change of clothes. I would love a ride home, the streets aren’t much good for walking right now. But we should definitely get together again some time. Probably be more fun without a giant snake trying to eat us.”

If nothing else, Marcus was happy to make a new friend who seemed to share some interests with him. It was just as he said earlier, this town was full of very good people trying to help each other out. Elias was one example of this, and he intended to keep him around. After all, good friends could be hard to come by.

#Viper's Den #threads #t;thenavysealkie #t;

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