truth, justice, and fire safety - 01 - around town

[silver_lined]

WHO: Kal and you! Kal and a few folks...
WHAT: Kal's made arrangements to meet a few people: might as well get that done!
WHERE: Kal's home, the fire station, around town
WHEN: End of May, early June
WARNINGS: none so far

Kal's spent the month remembering and it's been one hell of a month.

Now, though, now that he feels like he's got his feet under him (and maybe, a purely metaphorical cape settled squarely on his shoulders), it's time to start moving. Doing. Following up on those feelers he's been putting out and getting some things done.

Between his errands, his work with the fire department, and a few odds and ends around town helping people out where he can, he's been busy. But it's felt good. Incomplete, not quite enough... but good.

[ ooc: you can find Kal just about anywhere you like and if you'd like a specific starter (Clary? Alec? Chase? Bueller? just lemme know and I'll set it up for you! ]

Comments

@Chase

[silver_lined]

Kal spends a decent amount of time in the kitchen for a widower, both because the boys at the station house can always use a bit more to eat and because he just enjoys it. The recipes, left to him by the town's strange 'accident' that brought him here, had come to be more and more precious as they'd been surrounded by memories of meals and moments after school, after work, and all manner of other times. Today, however, he's in the kitchen working on some cookies because his nephew (he doesn't have a nephew, but he won't deny family when he finds it, never has) is here and he needs something for his hands to do while he talks to the boy.

Besides, chocolate chip makes everyone feel just a little bit better about life.

"So you were saying?"

@Clary

[silver_lined]

Kal'd been looking forward to the little cooking appointment since they'd first talked. Food was a gift, as far as he was concerned, and as a man who'd grown up on a farm, he could say quite easily that it was one of the simplest and most important that a person could give. That's why he's waiting outside of the market for Clary just a little earlier than they'd agreed and he's absolutely not using some of his abilities to scope out what might be a good selection of items for dinner tonight.

[bastardofipswich]

It's true: chocolate chip does make everyone feel better, and even Chase is no exception. And with the strange abilities (magic) he's discovered in himself, he's finding it harder and harder to go through the motions in this piece of crap little town. He knows he's meant for someplace greater than Idaho, and some life far more grand than going to some boring college to prepare for some boring job he has no interest in, solely for the sake of doing what's expected of every person once they reach adulthood.

With magic, every other aspect of life in Wayward Pines feels dreary and muted, freaking unbearable, to the point where he's not even sure he'll make it to the end of the school year (to graduation) without setting the school on fire with his mind.

But cookies with Uncle Kal help, even if he can't help but feel some weird feeling of longing as he hangs out in the kitchen with his (great-)uncle, like this is something he's always wanted on some level, but never really had.

"I'm just, like..." Chase punctuates his thought with a scoff. "What's the point of sticking it out to graduation? My grades are crap, anyway. I hate this school and this town, and I'm eighteen." Such a grown up! "I could move to, like, California and live out on my own if I wanted."

[silver_lined]

"And what's in California?" he asks with a raise of an eyebrow as he starts cleaning up the bowls and the measuring spoons and the rest of what he'd used to make said cookies. It's always best to clean sooner rather than later.

"What's to hate here, exactly?" He looks over at Chase. "Or more precisely, what's worthy running out on your education for? A few months more and you're graduated. Some things are worth a little patience, especially big decisions."

[babyhunter]

Clary was mostly on time. She had to swing by her house to grab some money before finally meeting Kal at the grocery store. When she arrived she was a little breathless, flashing the older man a bright smile.

"Hi!" She placed her palms on her knees. "Give me a second." This was what she got for running the whole way.

When Clary finally caught her breath she stood up straight and flashed him a brighter smile. "Hi. Thanks for meeting me."

[silver_lined]

He waved that off and, a couple of cloth shopping bags rolled up under one arm, offered the other to her with a nod towards the doors.

"Happy to help," he points out. But he does wince just a little. "You didn't have to rush, though. I'd have waited."

[bastardofipswich]

It's a good question, and Chase doesn't have much of an answer to it. He just shrugs his shoulders and ventures with, "I don't know. Everything? Actual cities with millions of people? And Hollywood's there." He could be a famous actor, you don't even know.

...

Yeah, it's pretty clear that Chase doesn't really know what he wants to do with his life. He leans back against the kitchen counter, watching Kal for a moment before he actually starts to help with the cleanup. Don't tell Sam that he can be helpful sometimes.

"And what's not to hate? Come on. It's so small and suffocating. I don't know how you like it here."

[silver_lined]

"What makes it suffocating?" he asks, quiet and settled and his voice stays low and smooth. He's not interrogating Chase, and he's definitely not questioning that he feels suffocated. He's just trying to figure out why and how. He won't argue small, but there's a matter of perspective between cramped and cozy.

[babyhunter]

"You came prepared." Clary took the offered bag with a bit of a sheepish smile. She hadn't thought to bring shopping bags. Usually she just used the paper bags that the store had. That or she shoved things into her backpack.

She shook her head. "Nah, I made it. I knew I would. What are we getting anyway? What are we making?" Clary remembered that he had mentioned a dish but she forgot what it was.

[bastardofipswich]

For once, Chase goes quiet before answering, actually considering his words instead of running his mouth with the usual complaints of boredom and stupid peers. How can he talk about all that he's thinking and feeling when he doesn't even know how to talk about his abilities? Or even if he should mention them at all.

"Just... knowing the most I can amount to here is being a big fish in a really tiny pond. A puddle. Why would anyone want to stay here?" He looks at Kal curiously and adds, "What made you want to?"

[angelic_archer]

As promised, Alec arrived at the fire station around lunchtime, leaving a note in the window announcing he'd be back in an hour. For the time since entering Wayward Pines, he felt nervous about the strangeness of his appearance compared to his neighbors. Most of them didn't look like they were members of a motorcycle gang or had tattoos covering most of their bodies. Most firefighters probably didn't look like that even if Alec couldn't remember what they'd looked like back home. At least he'd left most of the leather back at the shop, opting to look as normal as possible.

Absentmindedly rubbing the heel of his hand, he walked into the fire station, trying to ignore the instinct that warned him that he was supposed to remain hidden. Giving himself a mental shake, he couldn't quite understand that impulse since he worked with the public ever day. Looking around, he waited for someone to notice him, not wanting to wander where he wasn't invited.