(no subject)

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

Time: July 11, 2000
Place: Outside the manor, sunset
Status: Public
Summary: Brian has an evening jog


Brian had moved in several nights ago, and was already feeling better. Being around Adam always made things seem so much more purposeful. Adam was generally a good thing.

As he'd grown up, he'd come to understand a bit more of what happened-- but only a bit. He didn't feel like trying to decipher it all, cos it'd worked out for the best, really.

Despite purpose and faith, Brian wasn't completely satisfied, not yet. He did want things to do. Weekends down at the park wouldn't fill up all his time...

For now, though, he wasn't sure what was to do (perhaps meet this Hugo chap, learn about room service), so he was going on a jog. The manor was beautiful in the sunset.

He should have wondered how Adam'd come to have hold of such a huge house. What was meant by he 'kinda' owned it. But that was a flaw of his, wasn't it? Brian generally didn't wonder much, especially not when it came to Adam. Other things he might show some curiosity to, but not so much. He'd never liked deconstructing the world.

Brian was, in fact, a born follower. This isn't such a bad thing. Followers rarely start wars, and they usually wind up being essential. They can also appreciate beautiful things without asking themselves pesky questions..

He would have said 'wicked,' if he'd had much breath-- the place was full of gardens, though they needed a bit of a trim, and there were woods and a field...

It really was nice, here.

Comments

[playswithboys.livejournal.com]

Pepper was looking over all the things she was going to have to trim over the next.... well, hell with this, it was going to take forever. That's what she got for saying she'd be a gardener in a place like this. She was going to need advice about this sort of thing.

She longed to just run into the woods and be someone else for a while.

When she heard steady pounding she stiffened and looked around to see who might be approaching. She still wasn't sure how she felt about people from all sides being around the way Adam had said, and she didn't want to find herself caught off guard by anyone. Especially now that she remembered... what happened. Before.

When she caught sight of the figure, she blinked. Shook her head a bit. Blinked again. She hadn't seen him yet, oddly enough (Manor was a big place, though, and she'd been trying to get settled away from everyone to start), but was that really...?

"Brain! That you?"

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

"Pep! Hey, Pep!" Brian altered course. "What're you doing out here? Isn't it great?"

Then he was close enough to attempt to throw arms around her shoulders.

[playswithboys.livejournal.com]

Brian... Brian was different. He was taller, looked like. Stronger too, judging by the hug she'd just been squeezed into. She never remembered Brian taking up this much space. Looked bigger than Adam now, but that may have been the muscle mass talking. Strange.

She ducked out of his arms and stuck her tongue out at him. "Ugh, you hug me proper after you've had a shower, you. You're all sweaty and disgustin'."

She looked out over the weeds and exasperatedly. "I'm the new gardener, I guess. Was just lookin' at the foliage to figure out what I'm gonna have to do. Came home for the summer this year and needed a job. Looks like Adam put the suggestion in my head to come back and I was pretty 'sceptable." She stared at her feet frustratedly.

"But nevermind. Wha've you been doin' all the time I was gone? Did you stay in Tadfield?"

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

Brian gave her an odd look, something like a dog that'd been shown a card trick. She seemed upset about things.

"Naw, my parents went on this tour of the continent and took me along. It was really neat... but then we got home and I needed something to do, and I found this place!"

Pep'd already found a job here. That was too bad, but maybe he wouldn't've been such a great gardener.

[playswithboys.livejournal.com]

Tour around the continent? That was pretty impressive. Brian's parents were always doing stuff like that, they had more money than they let on sometimes. So Brian hadn't been going to school or anything.

found this place... So it seemed he'd done the same to Brian too. She wondered if he'd done it for Wensley. She wondered if he'd done it for all of them.

"Must have your mum upset that you're not at uni," Pepper guessed. "But you must've kept busy all that time on the continent. That's really cool. What're you going to do here?"

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

"She wants me to have a job more'n anything," Brian said. "Dad, now. Dad wants me at uni, he says I could be a barrister or summat if I 'pplied myself. But I don't really want to. I don't feel much like a barrister."

He rubbed his head. He knew his dad had money cos he'd gone to a good uni and gotten a really good job, but Brian didn't know what he'd do with all that money. His parents still kind of confused him.

"I don't know what I'm gonna be doing here. Maybe room service with Hugo. You met Hugo?"

[playswithboys.livejournal.com]

Brian as a barrister? There was a funny idea. Brian responsible? There was an impossible one.

Brian as room service?

Pepper almost fell out laughing. "You coming to people's rooms with those little carts that wouldn't even reach your knees, and popping corks on champaign? I'm going to order room service all the time!"

She paused as she registered the rest of what he'd said. "Hugo? No, I haven't really met anyone 'sides Brenda. Been keeping out of the way, really. Have you seen Wensley?"

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

"No, I haven't. I'm hoping to, though. We haven't seen each other in a while..." Brian scuffed the dirt.

He'd been having a hard time talking to Wens, for reasons he hadn't been closely examining.

"I haven't met Hugo either. Just Brenda and Adam and you."

[playswithboys.livejournal.com]

Seemed like both she and Brian had abandoned Adam and Wens, then. It wasn't the best feeling in the world, when Pepper got down to thinking about it. Then again, Wensley was harder than Adam, always had been. Too many barriers to deal with.

At least she'd had a reason to be gone, being at school and everything. She had expected that to make her feel better than it did.

"Looks like you an' me are in the same boat, Bri. Met the same people, and haven't been talking to lots of 'em for a while. For diff'rent reasons, 'course."

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. But it's gonna be okay, now. I mean, we're here."

[playswithboys.livejournal.com]

Pepper eyed Brian curiously. How much had Adam told him? And if he hadn't told him anything, was Pepper allowed to tell? She somehow thought that she wasn't.

As the Them, Pepper had always sort of unofficially been Second-In-Command to Adam, and she'd always thought it was because they knew she'd beat them all up if they didn't allow it. But now she was beginning to wonder if Adam actually had always had a reason for allowing her just a little bit closer. Didn't mean much, and she still didn't really know a thing.

But maybe Brian shouldn't know.

"Yeah, it's gonna be great," she told him, trying to sound as sure of herself as possible. "I gotta car too, so we can all pile in and go to the beach. Adam said."

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

"A car? Really? Wow." Brian beamed. Then frowned. "You all right, Pep?"

[playswithboys.livejournal.com]

Pepper shook her head. She really had to remember that the rest of the Them were the only people who could read her real easy. She wasn't used to people being able to do that anymore - no one could at uni.

"Fine," she told him with a smile. "And yeah, a car. Remember my mum's old Volkswagon? The little tiny thing with all the peace signs painted on it? It's fine different colors? Well, the mushrooms she did back in the 60s are startin' to get to her I think, and she forgot my birthday this year, so to make it up to me, she gave me the car."

[playswithboys.livejournal.com]

"Oh, will you?" she shouted back. But her sprint didn't last long, as she found herself stopping abruptly and gaping like she'd been smacked in the face unexpectedly.

There was a glade in the middle of this forest. And she was pretty sure no one knew about it. She'd never heard it mentioned, or read about it in any of the brochures for the manor. It was wide, open, green, vibrant even in the dark.

It was perfect.

"Brian! You've got to come 'ave a look at this!"

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

"What what what what what?" Brian bounded in behind her, throwing his arms up behind his head and puffing.

"Oy!"

He found himself staring.

[playswithboys.livejournal.com]

"You know this was here?" Pepper asked a minute or two later, once her voice came back to her.

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

"Uh-uh, ain't been out that far before..."

[playswithboys.livejournal.com]

Pepper grinned viciously. "Do you realize how terrible it woulda been if we'd a known this was here when we were kids?"

She stepped cautiously out onto the grass. "Feel kinda cheated, don't you?"

[average-adam.livejournal.com]

"Oh, Pepper, Brian, you found it!" exclaimed Adam as he stepped out to join his friends, eyes shining happily. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

[playswithboys.livejournal.com]

There he was. Pepper took a deep, steadying breath as she felt things start to click back into place. Maybe Wensley would find them in a day or so, and then....

"Did you actually hear me call you, or did your superpowers let you know you were needed to play?" She ran to the center of the glade and flopped down on the grass, looking up at the dark patch of sky that was allowed in the absence of cluttering trees. "So how long were you plannin' on keepin' this from us?" she teased.

[average-adam.livejournal.com]

Adam shrugged and smiled. "Dunno," he said, meaning that he just wasn't going to say.

"People've gotta find the neat stuff by adventurin'. How much cooler was it that you found it on your own rather than bein' shown?"

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

"I thought it was cooler," Brian said loyally.

[playswithboys.livejournal.com]

Hmph. If Adam was going to be cryptic than she would be too. Not fair of him to keep them out so much if he was the one calling them back there. Pepper wasn't sure she'd completely forgiven him for it, even if it was just a 'suggestion' he'd given her.

She did like the fact that she had found it on her own, he was right about that. But Brian could tell him. Pepper didn't feel like giving in at the moment, and stayed silent.

[bullfightposter.livejournal.com]

"S'quiet," Brian said, whispering unconciously. "Looks soft."

he flopped down in the groundcover with a sigh.

[average-adam.livejournal.com]

Turning a brilliant smile on Brian, Adam sat beside him, one arm across his shoulders. "'m glad, Bri."

He was quiet for a moment, appreciating the view, then he patted the ground next to him in an invitation to Pepper to join them. Appropos of not much, he said, "Know what? I really missed you two."