[PRP] Adventure (Jack/Chel/???) [FIN]

[medigel]

He breathed it all in and exhaled a long sigh, amber eyes bright. The frenetic atmosphere disturbed him in a similar way the ambient noise of the infirmary did when he worked there: the volume was much louder here, of course, but he was used to some form of chaos. Even if it wore faces that would probably sneer and tear at them if they knew the truth. Hell, maybe it that knowledge alone that paradoxically gave him some sort of comfort, that they were so very oblivious as Shun had said and couldn't possibly notice them with far more interesting things going on.

Feeling Chel tense, he stroked his thumb over her fingers, forgetting to account for his nails and lightly scraping her skin with the motion. "We belong here," he reminded her under his breath, taking the first step in.
 

[chiickadee]

"d**k," she shot back.

---

Chel was somewhat winded, having had a good time but also having to take Jack around the entire thing so he could see every creature, every gross meal on the menu (seriously Chel drew a line at blood soup), every interesting conversation-

"C'mon," she told him once they were outside, crouching low to the ground to offer her piggy back services. If she was feeling winded, Jack was undoubtedly worse off for lack of stamina. That was her hunch anyways. "Get on. You did good in there."  

[medigel]

It wasn't the stamina that did him in than his inability to handle people so directly for that long. He had been breathless long before they ever made it outside; what had kept Jack going was his innate drive to learn everything about Halloween he could. But the fuel was running low and his act had drained him. He should have refused the piggy back on principle, but the idea of walking anymore in this golem was like a physical act in and of itself that took his energy.

Nevertheless, there was still that spark of awe in his voice. "I wonder if this is what people call a religious experience," he said as he crawled on and secured himself. "Layers and layers of culture, subsects, clans, packs, covens, schools...So many centuries of history, Chel." Jack was tired but well spent, his head still buzzing with all the wonderful noise. "What we could learn from them...They reflect us, our moods and our fears. What we could learn."

chiickadee

 

[chiickadee]

For once Chel got a spark of Jack's arrogance, caused by information she already knew. "I know man. That's why yer whole division exists." There was a terribly pained look on her face like she was about to cry for a multitude of reasons, but it quickly passed into crooked features and adoration on her face. "You can do so much. Yer so smart I'm sure yer already cookin' up somethin' amazin'."

More quietly and privately as she walked him towards the gates. "I'm glad you like it. I-" Hesitation where other words were meant to go. "I- like it here too." There was more of Amityville to see, but Jack was burnt and she was mentally and emotionally exhausted, so she slumped towards the gates of the school.

"It sucks to go back," she told him. "I'm kind of a p***y for bein' scared." She laughed something hollow and shrugged him up further on her back. Words she couldn't explained were revealed in the wrinkles around her eyes as she thought about having to return to a place where shirt silences followed looks to her wrist, where vigilance was required at all times until she broke down in the middle of the night. "You know we can't talk about any of this right? We go back we say we studied some demon s**t and report the Valentine's portals. That's it." A serious warning to Jack, because her life was involved. "Even in our rooms or when we're alone." But she was never really alone.  

[medigel]

"I know," he said. But then it really hit him: the difference between Deus and Halloween, the inability to talk about how amazing it was without phrasing it in the context of what information was useful, and the culpability they faced if someone found out they made genuine friendly contact rather than examine and studied. Suddenly he felt a deeper appreciation for how much Chel carried around, and he was glad she couldn't see him in that moment.

Jack set his head atop hers because it felt more familiar than the other way around. "I know," he repeated more quietly. And then, "Thank you."  

[chiickadee]

"Fer what? Tour and stuff? Totes dude. Any time." Well not any time due to the week long probation between golem visits, but those were details.

She passed a miniature herd of zombies and her grip tightened ever so slightly. It hadn't been all that long since the bizarre zombification of Deus and her trepidation still showed. Luckily zombies were slow and it was easy to jog past them.

"You knows its actually possible to stay in these things for a few days? You need special reason to do it, but maybe one day we could bullshit our way into a Halloween vacation." It was something to think about, anyways. Anything to keep Jack as lively as he'd been before. She didn't want to drag him down with her own thoughts of bombs and red tape.  

[medigel]

He made a musing sound and watched the zombies shuffle away. "Coming here for Halloween would be ******** amazing," Jack suggested. "We have to do that this year, if something doesn't happen." Nothing had last year, he could be cautiously hopeful.

Leaning over, he took one last advantage of his sharp teeth and nibbled the top of Chel's ear. "I have a better way of thanking you when we get back." His own particular way of saying don't be scared.  

[chiickadee]

Chel was surprised that Jack would offer up his birthday as sacrifice. It must have really been important for him if the egocentric was giving up a day all about him.

She pulled her head away from his ear, not disliking the feeling, but not wanting the distraction while she was walking with dead weight on her back. "******** you," she said back, affection tainting her annoyance. Affection that was beginning to worry her. "You even up for it, jelly legs?"  

[medigel]

"The plan is more ******** you," he replied with a cheeky look. "I can make the rest of the way, watch."

He wiggled his way off and stumbled at first when he touched ground. The golem felt heavier on his limbs than before, but Jack stubbornly lifted his feet anyway. "They really need to update these," he grumbled.  

[chiickadee]

"Can't wait," Chel said earnestly. When he got off she held up her arms for support, hovering closely in case he fell until he got back on his feet. Then she backed off and just put a hand on the small of his back.

She nodded and said, "Yeah. It'd be nice if we could bang 'em around a bit or move 'em further. Bet suns would get a kick outta bein' able to fight s**t on their home turf." She paused thoughtfully and added, "Voice s**t too."  

[medigel]

"Durability doesn't mean combat ready, let alone the fact that weapons aren't available in one. But voices would be a nice touch," he observed. "Golems aren't my forte, but after promotion I could ask around. Someone should be working on those."

Promotion. The word brought him closer to the white and gold reality of hunters. Back to the world of watchful eyes, paranoia, and not-so-humans. He made a small face as they left Amityville.  

[chiickadee]

"Oh... Yeah I guess." Chel deferred ti Jack's judgment on the idea. He was the smart science one.

The church seemed too close and Chel slowed her pace for a number of reasons. More time with Jack, less time with a bomb on her arm. For Jack Deus was reality but for Chel it was prison.

"You're gonna get promoted soon for sure," she assured him, unsure if the Lifer promotion was as rigorous as hers had been. "And then we're gonna ******** in your new coat." Still predatory, still Chel.  

[medigel]

The pace was familiar: the walk to the lighthouse, the walk to the labs. "Just for you," he replied with a smirk. "But I think it'll be very soon. Once I have a chat with that clone, I'll put in my papers and work something out. And then, finally, I'll have a little abandoned house by the cemetery with a black picket fence, dead trees, and a pet dragon."  

[chiickadee]

Chel was too tired to assign an emotion to how she felt about their casual banter, but she did pull him closer in the mechanical way reserved for her indecision.

Two weeks, just two weeks stretched into forever.

"Start with a house in the towns," she said instead, pushing a kiss onto the side of his head. The walks were blurring together- why were they always walking to such a finite destination? To Deus, to death. "And marry me proper first." That part was a joke, mostly.

She moved the conversation elsewhere with the dragging end of her laugh. "M'glad datin' isn't ********' weird. Losin' you as a friend would be the worst."  

[medigel]

"Who said I wasn't talking about the towns?" he shot back, feigning offense. "s**t, I'll plant and kill a tree myself if I have to." Aesthetics.

Just as unconsciously, Jack slid an arm around her waist. "Slow down, sugarplum, I only just got the key to your room."