[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/260117/ceb83a85.png[/img] [img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/65201897d7d9adb5d55bb5e018e554ad/3515cc2cbb42fd78-8b/s540x810/c780ccd93849f57207ffd5901fa696d9511d1b0c.gifv[/img] [sub][b][color=#75779c]Location[/color][/b]: #226 Miners Street → Pines Holler Police Station [b][color=#75779c]Interacting with[/color][/b]: [color=#ff4500]Aiden [@altered-tundra][/color][/sub] [color=#75779c]_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ [/color] Losing power in the Pines wasn't exactly uncommon. Valen had lived there for over four years now and had endured the anomaly more times than he could count on both hands, which, for most people, meant too often. Considering that, one might have expected the man to be prepared for a recurrence, but Valen hadn't exactly been in the best mindset since his break-up with Dallas—or during their relationship, for that matter. He was in the middle of showering, his body already lathered with soap, when the room went dark. Despite the steady sound of falling water, Valen still heard the change in ambiance as the white noise inside the house fell into a hush. [color=#75779c]“Are you serious right now?"[/color] He asked flatly, squinting uselessly through the wet stream. Of course he would be in the one room without a natural light source, his bathroom window having been broken for the better part of a year. He hadn't even known how he'd smashed the damn thing, but he suspected it was yet another instance of him doing fucked up shit while intoxicated. He was sure Dallas knew—not that he ever asked her. The frame had been boarded up, the plan to fix it falling through the cracks month after month. Only now did he regret his negligence. [color=#75779c]"Fucking perfect,"[/color] he breathed in irritation, doing his best to rinse off before cutting the water. He didn't bother trying to dress in the dark, not caring if his neighbors saw him buck-ass naked. At any rate, he doubted the sight would be anything new, and it wasn't like he lived next to any minors. He made a hasty grab at the pile of clothing on the dingy counter and trusted he knew the layout well enough to navigate to the kitchen; compared to the rest of the house, that space held the most sunlight. He almost made it unscathed, nearly reaching the end of the hall before kicking the corner of a table he still hadn't gotten used to—he wasn't the one who bought it, after all. He let out a strangled curse, hobbling over to the kitchen island where the morning sun was filtering in. He tossed his uniform onto the surface, indifferent to the fact that it sailed clear off the other side from the force. Disregarding the early hour and the escape of cold air, Valen crossed over to the fridge and yanked open the door to pull out a beer. He drained half the bottle in one go, leaning back against the counter to stare testily at the blank face of the kitchen clock. Sweat was already starting to form on his freshly bathed skin—a beautiful addition to the start of his morning. It didn’t matter that he would be on shift in half an hour or that he was meeting his new partner—some rookie, according to the chatter at the station. He needed the morale boost; he could already tell it was going to be a long day. [color=#75779c]_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ [/color] Somehow, Valen managed to still make it into work with five minutes to spare. His shirt was only slightly creased from its stint on the linoleum, and a quick swig of Listerine had eliminated the evidence of alcohol on his breath. He’d already finished the pre-shift inspection on the patrol vehicle when a vaguely familiar voice clipped through the humid air: [color=#ff4500]“Officer Lockwood.”[/color] Valen turned his torso to catch sight of Dallas’s friend… What was his name again? Gavin? Austin? They'd met a few times through Dal, though their interactions had always been limited. The kid had an obnoxious energy that never failed to get on Valen’s nerves—he only tolerated being around the pair in small doses at any given time. It hadn’t helped that Dallas’s personality seemed to flourish in her friend’s company in a way that it no longer did around Valen. The truth had been a bitter pill to swallow, and he had refused to acknowledge it at the time. Then it was too late. Valen’s jaw flexed as he inclined his head in return, stalling for a beat as the kid—who apparently was the rookie he got saddled with—carried on blathering. [color=#ff4500]“So, how does this work? Are you, the veteran, going to force me to drive and hope I learn while doing it?”[/color] Valen let out a humorless laugh, crossing his arms while he scrutinized his new partner; he really shouldn't have talked himself out of that second beer. [color=#75779c]“Caden, right? Yeah, no—I don't think so. You barely look like you passed your Drivers Ed class yesterday,”[/color] he replied dryly, gesturing towards the passenger side. [color=#75779c]“Get in. You can take notes.”[/color] There was no way in hell he was letting some baby-faced rookie drive his unit, regardless of who he was friends with. A mechanical click sounded as the doors unlocked. Valen walked stiffly past Caden and pulled open the driver's door with more force than was necessary before sinking into the worn seat. He worked his expression as he watched the kid come around in the rearview mirror, trying to convince himself he could tolerate him for an entire shift. [i]...Fuck.[/i] He should have called off when the power went out. [/center]