sixteenth snare

[fanstheflame]

[this morning finds Gale out in the front yard of Casa de Guts, a stack of boards piled up off to the side of the walkway. he's cleared away most of the snow, and put out a pair of sawhorses so that he can haul the boards up onto them and cut them. on top of another pair of sawhorses, his blueprints for the attic renovations and his journal are weighed down by stones, to keep them from blowing away.

as he works, he listens idly to the chatter coming off the pages and hums quietly to himself, an old tune from the Seam to keep the rhythm as he saws. it takes him a good two verses before he realizes just WHAT he's humming, and what it was written to allude to. once he does, he stops]

.... Been a long time since I even thought of that song.

[and that just sets him thinking. he'll continue working, even as he's flooded with thoughts about the past year: about how much he's changed, about how many have come and gone. Katniss is the only other one from the Districts left, now ... and even she had come and gone while he had stayed. he's beginning to understand how Allen, Crowley and Ino feel - his veteran housemates - and why he gravitated toward them so easily. he's cut from the same cloth from them, and was even before Paradisa even set its sights on him ... something like canvas or denim, the sort of cloth miners' clothes are made of. the sort of cloth that stands up to fire and smoke and friction and repeated use, that might fade at the creases, but doesn't fray.

he pauses in his work to look up at the house, and realizes that needing to add more rooms is a good sign: a sign that there are an increasing number of people made of the same stuff. he turns to look over the town at the spires of the castle, and grins.]

Hey. Cair Paradisa. Let's make a bet, you and me. Next year? Four floors.

Comments

[courageous_wit]

Oh, that song sounds lovely. Is it from your home world?

[fanstheflame]

It is, yeah. It's called Abraham's Daughter. There are words, but ... Katniss is the singer, not me.

How's it going?

[courageous_wit]

I didn't know she sang. We have so many musicians in the castle.

Oh, everything's going quite well. How are you?

[fanstheflame]

She's got the best voice in the District.

I'm good.... I've been working on adding more rooms to the attic, since we have more people living with us, now.

[courageous_wit]

Really? You know, I've never seen your house.

[whichwayyoulean]

[He listens to the humming, waits for Gale to speak, then plays the tune back on his guitar, just a few bars]

Pretty song. Kinda depressing, but pretty.

[fanstheflame]

You haven't even heard the words, yet. [he chuckles] There are happier ones, but this was the first one I thought of with a good beat to work to. Still hiding out?

[whichwayyoulean]

The tune is depressing enough.

[He considers]

I'm still in my room, but I think I've stepped up from hiding now.

[fanstheflame]

Yeah, I guess. ... You know any better ones? [he knows how good you are with that guitar, after all]

[whichwayyoulean]

I've learned a couple from Earth since I've been here.

Action just spamming you

[onlyanapple]

[Crowley's leaning on the doorjam, watching Gale work and as always not actually lifting a finger to help. ...Nothing that he'd expect Gale to notice, anyway.

Those boards sure are a lot easier to cut, though, a lot less heavy to lug around, while remain solid as ever. Maybe he's just getting stronger]

You probably shouldn't make bets with malevolent, mystical beings, you know. I speak from experience. It never ends well.

aw yeeeeeah.

[fanstheflame]

[Gale is blissfully unaware of the subtle influence Crowley's proximity has on his progress. dumb boy that he is, he probably is just chalking it up to getting stronger]

It's a good day. I feel like taking my chances.

[onlyanapple]

[Just the way the demon would want it. Can't have people catching him doing Good Deeds now, can he]

Well, don't come crying to me when it turns you into a hat rack or some bollocks again.

[fanstheflame]

It'd be a little hard to come cry to you as an inanimate object, anyway. But no whining to Crowley. Got it.

[just for that, you've jinxed him, he'll probably turn into a pair of Truck Nuts or something now]

[onlyanapple]

We could put wheels on you. Dribble water on you.

[And Crowley would laugh]

[i_got_this]

Dude, you could just make some goddamn apartments at this rate.

[South comes out to lean against the front doorframe and watch him work a moment. It's been good, to get away for a bit, and despite not being able to wish for every little thing, she's starting to see the appeal.]

[fanstheflame]

I could, I guess, but it wouldn't be the same. It wouldn't feel... as much like family.

.... Are you staying, then?

[i_got_this]

Well, I guess that makes sense.

[She shrugs and walks down to take a closer look at his work, mostly as a distraction.] Hadn't planned on it. Didn't think there would be any extra room for another permanent resident, but hey. You keep going, I might change my mind.

[fanstheflame]

I think you'd be a pretty good addition to the crowd if you did.

[he shrugs. he's not outwardly asking her to stay - it's not his call. but he's at least cool with the idea]

[i_got_this]

You all seem like people I could tolerate.

[She crosses her arms and leans against the sawhorse with a smirk. It's her way of being nice.] So how long do you think it'll take you to get everything set up?

[ino]

[guess who's sneaking up behind him to wrap her arms around his waist]

Somebody's hard at work.

[fanstheflame]

Hey. [he dusts the sawdust off his hands and turns so she can hold on to him without having to bury her face in his tall sweaty gross back]

What're you up to?

[ino]

[what if she likes putting her face in his sweaty gross back?? GOSH!!!

when he turns around, though, she'll pull back just a little bit so she can look up at him]

Coming out to ask you if you want anything to drink.

[fanstheflame]

You know, I was just thinking a glass of water was probably a good idea. [he grins.]

How do you always have such perfect timing?

[ino]

I'm just good like that.

[a little grin; she'll take another step back to start towards the front door] Water it is, then?