Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

Who: Whistler + OTA
What: Whistler decides to voluntarily leave his apartment for once
Where: Around town
When: Now
Warnings: N/A. Will change if needed. Update: Warnings for some discussion of self-harm in Whistler and Julie thread. 

It was odd. Generally the heat didn't bother Whistler much, not so long as he was inside anyway. But today it seemed to be getting to him. The skin of his back kept sticking just a little too much to the floor as he tried to work and his palms kept getting slick with sweat to a point where it made fiddling with small wires too frustrating.

But if he couldn't work there wasn't much he could be doing while he was holed up inside. 

Which was how he ended up outside. Something that is normally only done out of dire necessity: when he needs groceries. But today he's giving it a very tentative chance. Mostly just to get himself moving. To feel something other than floorboards and stone walls. 

If you look for him at his apartment you will only find a messily scribbled message jokingly saying 'Gone Fishing' (inspired by his conversation with a young man only the day before). But hey you should be impressed that it is legible at all given the circumstances. And he mostly figures no one is going to come looking for him. 

But if they do he can be found in various locations: 

Pools near the outside of town

Whistler has shrugged off his shirt and rolled up his pant legs so that he can lay with his legs in the water, back on the sand with his shirt over his face so as to protect his eyes. He's naturally tan so he's not overly worried about getting burned, but even so he's made sure to lay in a patch of shade. After all, tan or no tan, two suns is two suns.

Around the shops

Whistler can either be found shuffling along the town streets with his cane swinging in front of him or sitting on a bench picking at a berry muffin with his fingers and placing small bites of it almost delicately into his mouth. He's savoring it, thank you very much. 

Wildcard

Want to bump into him in a shop? Maybe you catch sight of the blind man about to try on a horrific technicolor t-shirt? Or you see him in the park napping? 

Choose your own adventure.

Comments

Pools

[redwinekindofgirl]

[When she spots him there, it's weird, because she remembers the last time she saw Whistler outside, which was coincidentally also the first time she saw Whistler outside.

She smiles, amused, and doesn't approach too closely before she pulls her phone out and sends a message.]

Did you know there's a guy here who looks just like you, only he's outside? It's really weird.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

[Whistler shifts to take up his phone and lazily half-smiles as he drawls out a response]

Is he better looking than I am?

[redwinekindofgirl]

[Snicker. She doesn't try to hide the noise she makes, and is easily close enough to be heard.]

You might have some competition.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

[He's grinning to himself now, having definitely heard that]

You caught me

[He calls out without changing position]

[redwinekindofgirl]

You're not making yourself hard to catch.

[Caught herself, though not for any effort spent trying to hide, Julie strolls over and sits down beside him. She touches his arm, just for a moment, as if to further inform him of her presence then curls one leg up to wrap her arm around it, resting her chin against the back of her hand.]

It's almost not too bad here, sometimes.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

[Whistler rolls his head in her direction, but the shirt still covers the upper part of his face]

I'm still not 100% convinced I like this whole 'fresh air' gig

[But the fact that he's chuckling and sounds utterly content might betray the fact that he's at least being partially won over]

The water feels nice.

[Pause]

....wanna go swimming?

[redwinekindofgirl]

You can swim? [It's not disbelief as much as surprise, followed by a quick scoffing sound directed at herself.] God, forget I asked. Why wouldn't you be able to.

[Julie thinks about it for a moment, eyes squinted slightly shut against the sun's glare as it shines off the water's surface.]

Sure, I could go for a swim.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

It's alright [He murmurs when she scoffs at herself] It's a common reaction. And it's not exactly like I'm Mr. Outdoorsy to begin with. But yeah. I can swim. It just tends not to be a great idea for me to swim by myself.

[He moves to sit up, shirt falling off his head]

But you're here now.

[redwinekindofgirl]

Okay, that, I get. [No dig at the blindness, but, you know, he is blind. She watches him, her head slightly tilted to one side and a comfortable warmth in her chest.]

You really trust me that much, don't you.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

[That gives him pause and he can't help but question if the hot feeling on his face is just the suns overhead.]

Well...yeah.

[She'd stayed with him when he was dying even though there were strangers and it meant her staying out in the open during an invasion. Then she'd looked after him when he was just a bumbling frightened kid...]

Is there a reason why I shouldn't?

[redwinekindofgirl]

... Pffh. [She uses his shoulder as leverage to push herself back up, and plants her hands on her hips.] You would have figured that out by now.

[There's a soft noise as her sandals are shaken off her feet, but when she's already in shorts and a t-shirt, there's little need to take off anything else.]

But, serious answer? No, there's no reason.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

Psssh yeah. Also you're about half my height.

[He grins teasingly, he knows perfectly well she could probably kill him easily if she liked but still, before following suit and getting to his feet.

Then he hesitates, turning bashful]

Uh...do you mind if I take my pants off? They'd get pretty heavy with the water....I promise I'm wearing underwear.

[The last thing he'd want is to make her think he was some sort of freaky perv]

[redwinekindofgirl]

Oh my God. [Julie presses both hands over her face, muffling both her sudden embarrassment and the laughter that threatens to follow.] Yes, Irwin, that's fine... God...

[Still snickering to herself, she takes a few steps back from the water and pulls a hair tie from her wrist to put her hair up. Then, she takes the short distance she's given herself for a run-up, jumping into the water and sending up a shower of spray.]

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

[Now his face is definitely burning for more reasons than just the sun, but in spite of it he begins kicking off his cargo pants and is just lucky that he's wearing his navy blue underwear today rather than white ones. Hopefully in this case it just looks like the speedo for a swim team.

Unlike her though, he edges to the water, letting his feet tell him by way of the gradient of the earth where the water's edge is. Then he simply turns, back to the water, stretches out his arms, and flops backwards]

Around the shops

[thelastjoy]

Girl's on the other side of the street, kicking rocks against a shop wall in a childish display of boredom. She's had little to do but explore, though the city is now as familiar as the back of her hand. Sometimes being out was better than being confined, even if it meant she had nothing to do until nightfall.

Whistler's presence is something to keep her occupied. He'd been kind enough, the few times they'd talked. Girl could do with a distraction that was more an easy breeze than a powder keg.

"Have you ever used that to wack someone?" She raises her voice from across the way, hoping she sounds familiar enough that he'll let her join him for a while.

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

"Plenty of times. And you always get away with it because people think you're just a guy who couldn't see them."

He grins, easing back against the bench.

"So. How is my backup singer doing?"

[thelastjoy]

"Livin' the life, ain't you?"

She laughs, making a quick way over to his side of the street. Girl stops near the bench, near his left.

"Rollin' with the punches and ready to hit the stage," she quips, scuffing her boots on the ground. "Things are gettin' sunnier, so no use in complainin'."

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

"Good answer"

He moves to pat the spot next to him on the bench.

"Care to join me? I'm having my 'obligatory one day outside' today."

[thelastjoy]

"One day out? I'm kinda thought the lack of sun would kill someone."

She waits a moment before sitting on the edge of the bench.

"What made you chose today to stop bein' a hermit?"

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

Whistler snickers quietly, "You're not the first to say that." In fact it seems to be a popular opinion among the few people who actually know him. He doesn't get out enough for their liking.

"Mm.... not really sure, to be honest. Got up today and for some reason felt like I couldn't stand to be inside."

He offers a weak shrug, acknowledging that the reasoning behind that is vague.

"And what about yourself? What brings you out on this fine day?"

[thelastjoy]

"Might oughta give those people a listen then" she jokes, tapping her nails on the bench. "Got your health on the line."

She cocks her head from side to side as she considers what he's saying. She can't say she knows what it's like to feel cooped up indoors, a side effect of living her life on the road meant shelter was usually a treat. But she knows needing a change of scenery. "Sometimes we get bored of the same old thing. Wanderlust gets the best of you."

Not that there is much wandering to do around here, much to Girl's disappointment.

"We didn't have a lotta walls back home. Feels kinda odd to be in 'em when there's a real sky overhead. Anyway, they've changed where we've been before. Might as well be out under the desert sun while I still can."

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

"Isn't it also true that most of the big bad monsters around here are also outside?"

That seems pretty bad for his health too. Possibly moreso than the lack of fresh air. In fact, when he got killed by the Null that had been an outside kind of deal. They hadn't come after him in his apartment.

"What's home like, then?"

[thelastjoy]

"Big bad things don't always come monster shaped. You can find 'em walkin' among the normal folk just as much as you'll find something lurkin' out here."

She's certainly afraid of the monsters she's seen; Girl's no fool about danger. But she's always been far more afraid of other people.

"I lived in a desert. Mine didn't have any towns like this. Just lots of open road and the occasional broken building to crash in. But this reminds me of home. Hot sand, cacti and the prettiest night skies." She sounds wistful, but proud of a place she's not sure she'll see again. "And we had music. If you found people out there, you'd find music."

[whistlewhilstyouwork]

"That is possibly the truest thing I've ever heard. But what's a kid like you doing knowing stuff like that?"

The question is mostly a joke, and his tone may imply as much. Whistler knows better than to think children are all innocent wee bairns protected from the world. Most know more about it than a good many adults. But even so, that doesn't change the upset feeling in his stomach when he's reminded of it.

"What kind of music?"

[thelastjoy]

"Why's ever here think I'm some kid?" Girl sighs. It's strange to her that so many people here think teenagers got the chance to be children. It highlights too many of the horrible things she'd learned to see as normal. "I've seen real monsters, same as everyone else."

The question reminds her of the way Party would look at her sometimes, back when she still cried whenever a gun went off and didn't understand why people lit candles for the dead. She didn't like that cold awareness of what life she'd missed because of circumstance.

"All kinds. Whatever the DJs could find from before the wars- D liked to play a lotta old rock. But a lotta runners made their own tunes. Loud and lots of yellin'. Kinda dirty soundin' since no one had a real recordin' setup. I always heard it was like what old garage bands sounded like.