[right][sup]Collab with [@Silent Observer][/sup][/right]
[center][hr][color=steelblue][h2]Tuesday, May 23rd[/h2][/color]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/g9BkReg.png[/img]

[color=steelblue]Location:[/color] The Lake
[color=steelblue]Characters:[/color] [color=7F9A65]Judah[/color] & [color=ffb6c1]Camille[/color]
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[indent]This was a feeling unlike anything Judah had ever felt in his entire young adult life. He had been to a lot of places, and he had certainly done a lot of drugs, but none of those things topped this moment. There was no greater high than the one he got when he jumped out of that plane, leaving his life and body at the mercy of the Earth’s gravitational pull. Maybe this is why being in an altered mental state is called a ‘high’ – [i]this[/i] was the thrill that people were chasing, and they weren’t even aware of it. 

Judah lost himself in the moment, forgetting that if he didn’t pull the cord for his chute in approximately two milliseconds, he was in for a world of pain upon impact. After a very brief, panicked scramble, Judah’s fingers found the ring on his chest and yanked. A dark blue balloon of fabric billowed out of the pack and caught the air currents behind him, slowing his descent. Of course, much like the flight itself, this maneuver could have been executed a little bit better. The impact of the water felt like it damn near took a layer of skin off, but nothing critical was broken.

Adrenaline coursed through the young man as he burst through the lake’s surface and gasped for breath. [i]Holy SHIT.[/i] Count him in as The Syndicate’s new official, ready AND willing, pilot. He could do this one hundred times over, especially with the company of a sexy little firecracker like Cami. Speaking of… Judah turned in search of his partner. 

Camille fell to the water just as Judah emerged, the force nearly knocking the wind out of her. She plunged into the lake, the parachute luckily keeping her from falling too far. It yanked her back, causing the straps to dig into her shoulders. Camille watched as air bubbled out of her mouth at the sudden movement. Fighting to orient herself, she finally kicked and broke through the surface with a gasp and a cough. Barely keeping her head above the water, she looked around. The parachute was finally fluttering down to land on the lake’s surface behind her, the material soaking up water and beginning to sink. She needed to detach before it pulled her down. 

Shaking, adrenaline-fueled hands fumbled around the clasp on her chest, usually deft fingers struggling to unlatch it. Judah, who had already freed himself from his chute, started swimming over to Camille.

[b][color=7F9A65]“Hey, you okay?”[/color][/b] He wanted to ask if she needed help, but took this one single moment to not sound like his usual patronizing self. The implication that he was willing to help, as she seemed to be struggling, was still there without directly asking.

Camille felt relief flood her (in spite of herself) at Judah’s voice. She wasn’t alone. He was here and she wasn’t alone, she wasn’t going to drown, she –

The clasp finally came undone.

[color=lightpink][b]“I’ve got it!”[/b][/color] she said breathlessly.

As quick as she could manage, she slipped the parachute off of her shoulders, immediately feeling the dragging weight leave her. Keeping her head up was still a struggle, but at least now she wasn’t in fear of going completely under. Her eyes finally focused on Judah, still wide and bright, but no longer panicked.

Talking over the wind and waves (apparently crashing a plane into a lake drummed up a few waves) proved difficult. They were both winded from the fall and trying to keep themselves afloat. Rather than continue to basically yell at each other, Judah nodded towards the shore and waited for her to start swimming. Once Camille did, he followed after, swimming a few strokes behind. He might be a dick, but he wasn’t going to swim ahead and let her drown or something tragic. 

Camille held her breath for most of the swim over, not wanting to risk breathing in the water. She focused on the shore growing closer with each messy stroke, fighting the choppy waves. 

But she didn't realize how close she was until the toe of her ruined shoe grazed the mud and rocks beneath her. 

She started in surprise, pausing her strokes. Then she put one foot down on the bottom of the lake. Then the other. Straightening up, Camille found herself standing waist-deep in the water. 

[color=lightpink][b]“Oh thank god,”[/b][/color] she breathed to herself. 

She looked up and brought the heels of her hands over her eyes. A long, quivering breath escaped her. In the dark, she focused on the feeling of the water pushing around her legs and dripping down her neck, the sound of her thundering heart and the waves washing over the shore. 

Camille hated swimming. And now she hated flying, too. It was a relief to finally have her feet on the ground. 

Her hands moved up from her eyes to run over her soaking hair. She opened her eyes with one more shaking breath. 

She was alive. She was fine.

Camille looked over her shoulder to check on her ‘partner’.

Said partner’s feet met the shore a few moments after Camille’s did. As soon as he was officially on land, the whole rush of everything came back in full force. Judah stood up, still knee deep in the lake, and shook off some water excitably. The mixture of the buzzing energy under his skin, and the way that Camille was standing and combing her hands through her hair, wet clothing clinging to her body, and the fact that they were [b][i]alive[/i][/b], it all went straight to his head. 

Judah didn’t think about it, he just did it. This was the epitome of living life to the fullest. He ran at the tan-skinned beauty, caught her around the waist in her moment of zen, and spun her around and off of her feet. She gave a sharp yelp in surprise as they twirled, her hands automatically going to his shoulders. Before she could fully react, he planted a full-on, no reservations kiss upon her lips. They were alive, they completed the mission, they earned this… at least, that’s how he felt.

Camille was stunned for a fraction of a moment when Judah kissed her as she processed what exactly was happening. What he was [i]doing.[/i] His lips were… actually kind of soft. Forceful and messy and lacking any sort of finesse, but… it wasn't the worst kiss Camille’d ever had. 

She allowed one more fraction of time to let herself enjoy it for all its uncouth glory.

Then she shoved Judah’s shoulders back, wound up, and slapped him across the face. Judah stepped back and dropped his hold on her waist, leaving her on her own two feet once more.

[b][color=7F9A65]“Oooooh~”[/color][/b] Judah remarked in a long, purr-like humm, his hand immediately went to his jaw in an attempt to rub away the sting. The bitch hit [i]hard[/i]. It was kind of, well... it was kind of hot. He hadn’t come across a girl this feisty since his days in Liberty City, and that was truly saying something. He laughed quietly, it was a breathy noise that got trapped in his throat as he smirked at Camille. [b][color=7F9A65]“Spicy. Don’t pretend you didn’t like it,”[/color][/b] he teased.

[i][color=lightpink]Oh good lord, he's into it,[/color][/i] Camille thought with no small amount of exasperation. But something about the way his lips quirked up… Camille straightened her spine, a haughty tilt to her head. 

[color=lightpink][b]“Not drowning and making it to shore?”[/b][/color] she asked, her voice light if a bit breathless. She stepped forward to close the distance between them again. A slender hand raised to pick off a stray piece of kelp on his shoulder and toss it delicately to the side. [color=lightpink][b]“Yes, I liked that very much, thank you for asking. Everything else?”[/b][/color] Her hand rested on his shoulder, pulling him down a bit. Her dark eyes locked on his. [color=lightpink][b]“Needs [i]practice[/i].”[/b][/color] She gave him a sweet smile of her own, pushing him back lightly. Then Camille turned away from him and started walking back up to the shore. 

[b][color=7F9A65]“Mmhmm,”[/color][/b] he murmured in response behind her back, obviously not buying it. [b][color=7F9A65]“Guess we’ll just have to practice, then.”[/color][/b] His tone was very matter-of-fact, spoken behind smiling lips. Judah followed her down the shoreline, seaweed and sand stuck to his pants and shoes inelegantly. He felt gross and soaked to the bone, but it was worth it. The young man stripped off his shirt, revealing the well-maintained, but not overly muscular physique beneath, and began ringing the water out of the thin cotton garment. He tilted his head up to listen for any signs of, well, ongoing chaos? They did just aid in the largest prison break this city had ever witnessed, surely there would be audible explosions and fanfare. 

[b][color=7F9A65]“We should get to the rendezvous point, that is, if they haven’t just assumed we died.”[/color][/b] Judah thought on that for a moment. Nah, Ryan would make sure someone checked up on the “Air Jew” crew. He rolled his eyes at the memory of Ry's joke and kept walking.

[color=lightpink][b]“I certainly would have,”[/b][/color] Camille said, pulling out an airtight bag as she walked beside him. She opened it to retrieve a simple mask with only one hole for the eyes. [color=lightpink][b]“Would knowing you longer cause them to have more, or less faith in you?”[/b][/color] Camille paused and looked up at the sound of police sirens drawing closer. A plane crash was bound to call attention. [color=lightpink][b]“We should probably avoid them.”[/b][/color]

[b][color=7F9A65]“It depends on who you'd ask,”[/color][/b] Judah replied to her inquiry with unexpected ease and honesty. He saw her putting her mask on and remembered his own. It was a simple blue ski mask, easily bunched up and stuffed in his back pocket and, like Camille’s, it was also kept dry by a bag. Judah unwrapped it and pulled it over his head before nodding in her direction. It was time to get out of here, meet up with the others, and have a fucking party.
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