[hr][hr][center][h1][color=firebrick]Black James(!)[/color][/h1] [img]https://v.cdn.vine.co/r/avatars/6AE78329E91063505631975227392_pic-r-1396533712688c4afde8ecf.jpg.jpg?versionId=ZnGOSit0zozlhxpJk0w6QVx4cSozVRdq[/img][/center] [hr][center][b][color=firebrick]Location:[/color][/b] Building [b]7[/b] (Rec Center)[/center][hr][hr] Sally's words put the start of a big smile on James's face. He shook his head a couple of times and responded, [color=firebrick]"Aight, aight. Y'all got a good argument. Only one bed in Cap'n Ash's place. Plenty couches, though. He's the kinda man that'd take one for a guest, too."[/color] In truth, it was a very good argument. With repeated insistence to the contrary of his stated suggestion from multiple sources over the past few minutes, one of them being the elder and wiser of the town, James began to see possibilities of an Ash/Thana coupling. He still didn't fully believe, it just didn't seem like it was in Ash's nature to be a fast operator or a One Night kind of guy. Then the thought hit him: How did he know that? It was true, his social life had been next to nothing for the past year, but was that guilt? No... Responsibility, maybe, but guilt? And why did that come up in his mind? Ash was no where in sight when Alicia died. James shook the idea away from his brain. Or at least tried to. The subject was starting to move on, and to a more event appropriate topic anyway. [color=firebrick]"Hells yes, Jack! Just flat [i]amazin'[/i] lady. The both of you. Newnan just wouldn't be right without the botha y'all."[/color] It was funny that way. Life moved on. It changed, it altered, sometimes it got better, sometimes it got worse. But as long as you were alive to see it, it just kept chugging along. He voiced part of that observation out loud, as it struck him. [color=firebrick]"Like that Little Engine that Could, ya know? No matter what Charlie keep throwin' at y'all, you two just keep on a'chuggin', what with y'all findin' each other, this marriage, and now they's gonna be a Little Newnan runnin' around? Hot damn, y'all. This excitin' stuff, right here."[/color] He stood up and extended his hands to the couple in a very informal sort of handshake, [color=firebrick]"And I just gotta toss a bigass CONGRATULATIONS at ya. I don't think folks can say it enough. This wedding, party, baby, whole nine? You need it. We all need it. Gettin' some good experiences in, doin' the [i]Human Thang[/i] 'stead of just scrapin' by. Hell y'all, that's what it's all about. Mmm hmm."[/color] James looked around the room from his now standing position before announcing, [color=firebrick]"Hey, I'm low of fluids... I'll be right back."[/color] James began the short walk to the bar. His pace was slow, and colored by a troubled look on his face. James's head hurt, and he kept remembering bits and pieces of the day that Alicia died. Unbidden, they kept coming up. Ash was devastated. James was devastated. They talked about her several times in the back of Ash's truck, at length, while self-medicating on homebrew. But this was old news. By the time he made it up to the bar, it hit him - If Ash [i]was[/i] in flagrante delicto with Miss Thana Martin, it meant that he was getting over it, moving on. And the only reason it would have bothered James so much was that he just hadn't dealt with it, himself. I mean, why would he need to? He was there to help out Ash, a man who was hopelessly in lo... No. Not hopelessly. They were in a relationship. Alicia had described their relationship to James in the past, saying that it was definitely [i]more[/i] than lust, but they weren't sure if it was love. Not the kind that Jack and Tati had, anyway. He leaned against the bar table. His head was pounding. He could feel his heart racing. No. James was talking to Ash so that [i]he[/i] could have someone to talk to, whether Ash knew it or not. The Captain mourned, though. Mourned hard. Went through a rough period. Faced it, dealt with his demons. But for the past year, James had been hiding from his, be it behind smiles, with hard work, or chumming it up with Ash. He felt like such a hypocrite. James ordered two neat drinks of whatever was clear and flammable. He killed one on the spot, and began to nurse the other. He barely realized that his hand was shaking, if just a little bit. [hr][hr][center][h1][b][i][color=steelblue]Ash[/color] & [color=0072bc]Thana[/color][/i][/b][/h1][img]https://media.giphy.com/media/C1PwffdEpkd8I/giphy.gif[/img][hr][b]Location:[/b] Building [b]A[/b] (Ash's House) [/center][hr] [color=steelblue]"I'll meet you up there, one minute."[/color] His voice gave a solid promise that there wasn't a radio call, summons, or incident short of [i]all out war[/i] that would prevent him from being with Thana in that one flat minute. Thana's head snapped back slightly, wondering just what they needed to wait on [i]this[/i] time. Cocking a brow her lips pursed to one side. [color=0072bc]"Better hurry,"[/color] she said as she looked at him. [color=0072bc]"60, 59, 58, 57,"[/color] she said as a smirk came to her lips. Letting the seconds tick over her tongue. [color=steelblue]"...better hurry..."[/color] mused Ash quietly, smiling down at Thana. But then she kept counting. [color=0072bc]"56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51, 50,"[/color] she continued as she started to step back away from him. Her hands trailing down his chest until they left his body and she took slow deliberate steps away from him. He slowly cocked his head to the side like a curious but confused mastiff. Her smirk turning into a coy smile as she let out a light giggle, yet she didn't halt her count. [color=0072bc]"49, 48, 47."[/color] Turning on her heels as she sauntered out of the room and towards the stairs. The monosyllabic thought of [color=steelblue][i]"Crap."[/i][/color] lanced across his mind. She was counting down his minute, and he was thirteen seconds down. Thana couldn't help but continue to smile as her feet padded over the floor, she knew she was making the situation too literal but she found it fun. [color=0072bc]"46, 45, 44, 43, 42,"[/color] she counted down, letting her voice raise slightly in volume to make sure he could still hear her. Every second she spoke aloud hammered an ongoing sense of fueled purpose. He would not be made a liar of that evening. Oh yes, Ash was making that minute. [color=0072bc]"41, 40, 39, 38, 37,"[/color] she called out in a sultry tone as she stepped up the stairs, her hand resting on the banister. She wondered what Ash was up to, what he needed a minute for. It wasn't like he needed to slip into something more comfortable. Comfort was on his mind, however. Thana's, mostly. Without much time to dally, Ash tossed another two logs on the fire and slid the fireplace screen closed. The last thing he wanted to do was set his home ablaze with the two of them inside of it, but he did want to ensure that his bedroom has some access to heat. That meant opening the flue. It was a real shame that the flue lever was stuck. Stopping at the mid landing of the stairs she turned around and glanced down the hallway. [color=0072bc]"36, 35, 34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27."[/color] Ash leaned against the lever. Shook it. Grunted and strained against it, digging his heels in and easing his weight against it. The flue would open, as God was his witness that fucking flue would open and he would make his minute. The numbers clicking off her tongue as she leaned back against the wall, ticking each one off on her finger tips as they drummed against the wall. [color=0072bc]"26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20."[/color] Momentary panic hit Ash. [color=steelblue][i]"...damnitdamnitdamnit..."[/i][/color] he mumbled, fully aware that he had lost precious seconds in this endeavor. There must be something wedged in there. [color=0072bc]"19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14,"[/color] she said as she bit on her bottom lip. She really didn't have a plan if he was late but she was sure she could think of something. Meanwhile, Ash had damned well had enough of that lever. He swiftly drew his big combat knife and deftly inserted it into the mechanism alongside the offending device, wiggling it about until he felt the telltale giving of carbon buildup breaking away. The lever slid into place, finally. Now his bedroom had access to the warmer air of the fire, though it would take about a half hour before a really noticeable change took place. They would have to find [i]some way[/i] to stay warm until then. Ash had ideas. Turning she continued up the stairs, each step slower than the one before it. Time moving with each second she called out to Ash. [color=0072bc]"13, 12, 11, 10."[/color] But he still wasn't quite ready. With speed of limb he did not commonly demonstrate, he slipped the bottle of peach liquor into a cargo pocket and grabbed both of their plates. At a dash, he crossed the hallway. He spied Thana from the corner of his eye as he passed by, but refused to waste any precious time acknowledging anything except for his one-minute mission. Stopping at the top of the stairs her eyes darted around. [color=0072bc]"9, 8, 7, 6,"[/color] she hummed out as she leaned against the railing at the top of the stairs. There was movement from the dining area below as Ash tucked their food into his personal fridge (benefit of being in charge) and grabbed two bottles of cold water. He had a feeling that they would be upstairs for a while, and would require precious hydration in the meantime. That was if he made it in time. Watching for him the last seconds rolled off her tongue. [color=0072bc]"5."[/color] Ash sprinted like a madman over those last few seconds, hitting the stairs with zeal. [color=0072bc]"4."[/color] His speed almost cost him about halfway up as his balance shifted forward, prompting the man to run/crawl the last few steps. [color=0072bc]"3."[/color] Still practically on the floor, he looked up at Thana. It was an excellent view. [color=0072bc]"2."[/color] He shifted both water bottles to his left hand and steadily regained his feet, throwing her a perfect military salute at the end. [color=0072bc]"1."[/color] [color=steelblue]"Present and accounted for, Ma'am."[/color] he said with the utmost of reverence. A rare boyish smile and rapidly dilating pupils betrayed him as he took the second to just look at Thana. No matter what tomorrow brought, Ash was extremely thankful for tonight. Thorough, intense debriefing. Yes, he liked this woman. Thana had to bite her bottom lip to keep from laughing. He was a handsome man but right then he was just down right adorable. A light chuckle slipped out as she returned the salute. The chuckle faded but the smile it had brought remained. Reaching out she took the bottles of water from his hand as her eyes met his. [color=0072bc]"I think your hands should be dealin' with somethin' else soldier,"[/color] she whispered as she stepped closer and draped her arms over his shoulders. Ash reached an arm around Thana, leaning in to sample the sweet, sweet nectar of her lips. At the last possible second, he froze. Arching his eyebrow in the most mischievous manner he could summon, he quietly agreed. [color=steelblue]"You're absolutely right, Ma'am."[/color] Thana's eyes had begun to drift close but snapped open as her lips didn't feel his. Her brow arcing in a curious manner. She didn't have time to ponder why his expression had suddenly become like a cat toying with a mouse. In an instant, Ash dipped her, supporting her controlled descent with a steady hand on her back. He pulled her in close, taking a moment to steal a kiss before slipping his other arm under her knees and lifting her from her feet. Glancing at the slightly ajar door to his bedroom, then back to Thana, Ash strode forward with confident, heavy footfalls. Pulling herself closer to him, her arms tightening around his shoulders while he carried her. Leaning close, her lips brushing against the side of his neck between soft nibbles. She hadn't expected to be carried across a threshold this evening but she was beginning to learn to expect the unexpected with Captain Holloway. It seemed he was full of surprises. Ones she was quite enjoying, especially this feeling of being held in his arms against his strong frame. A solid knock sounded as Ash kicked the door fully open and stepped inside the dimly illuminated room. The heavy wooden portal rebounded from the rubber tipped door bumper and closed behind the pair with a muted [i]click[/i]; an otherwise undramatic sound sealing them away from the rest of the empty house, promises of intimate euphoria within. [hr][hr][center][h1][b][i][color=ff8c00]Schrödinger[/color][/i][/b][/h1] [img]https://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/20051320.jpg[/img][/center] [hr][center][b]Location:[/b] Building [b]A[/b] (Ash's House) [/center][hr][hr] A door! Indeed, a door had opened somewhere in this house. Ever since the Alpha and the slimmer female that smelled of mating hormones began to rub mercilessly upon one another in the room with the fire, Schrodinger had made himself scarce. By "scarce", he tucked himself in the shadows of the side of the room, just underneath a piece of vintage furniture he was considering sharpening his claws upon sometime in the next few days. Well, if he decided to stick around. And yes, he watched as shamelessly as a Ceiling Cat. You see, the game plan was simple: Stick around to get warm, maybe get some quality nap time in. Afterwards, locate and consume as much unattended food as possible, then leave to find a concentration of Humans to show him as much love and attention that he could cheerfully tolerate. Just then, the step was Food. He knew that good stuff was in here someplace; the Alpha usually had some comparatively decent eatables around. The problem was, even in the haste associated with the two-leggers finding someplace private for their own personal howling sessions, that dog-spawned asshat [i]put the leftovers someplace else[/i]. Schrodinger wasn't around to see exactly where, and he couldn't immediately smell it out. So when he heard the door, he resolved that this would be a good place to continue his search. Further, split-second examination revealed that the door was upstairs. That was all Schrodinger needed to know. He was off in a flash, digging claws into carpet for proper purchase, turning on a dime, breaking feline land speed records. Silently hauling ass up the stairs, he saw the last second of Alpha carrying the female into the dim room before the door swung back. Schrodinger poured on the speed, but it was for naught. The same nanosecond the door came to a gentle close, he plowed into it. Now, he had the forethought to slam on the breaks and catch the solid door with his side instead of his face, but damage done. The wind was knocked out of him. Schrodinger lay next to the door for a few seconds, contemplating merely returning to the room with the lit fireplace and catching some more sleep. He stood, shook himself off, and wondered curiously into the air, [color=ff8c00]"Meow?"[/color][sub]1[/sub] During his introspective moment, he strained figure out what they were doing, locked away in an upstairs room without observable food nor fire, but to no avail. The fuzzy orange bastich didn't speak much in the way of Human, it was an odd sort of communication that was much more complicated than it needed to be. [color=ff8c00]"Meow..."[/color][sub]2[/sub] [hider=Translations] 1 = Who the hell does he think he is? 2 = Screw this. I'm taking a nap. [/hider]