thoughtformed | The Mother of All Logs

He'd met Lin early on in this event. They'd gone out for pizza and then fought some zombies - which was about par for the course for this island, by all appearances. Since then he'd felt oddly comforted by her presence. Perhaps, in a world filled with uncertainty, it was just nice to know that somebody had your back when it mattered.

Also, she could fling about boulders three times his size with her mind. That didn't hurt.

He was strolling downtown as the stars came out, trying to clear his head. He'd gone through a lot his four days of memory, including quite a bit that was just too much and too confusing to try to understand right now, and he needed to just calm down and think about something else.

At the moment, he was admiring the new growth they had in town: pine and fur trees, vines and ivy growing all over the buildings. It was unnatural, but he liked the effect, and enough was unnatural these days that he was not really bothered by it.

He closes his eyes and leans back against a wall, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, just letting the world roll by him.

The last few days had been a mess, and Lin wouldn't mind giving whomever had planned this a good dressing down as soon as she knew the culprit. Jenny had said she was on the police force, and the evidence seemed to bear her out, but it had been Lin's decision not to participate in patrols when she couldn't remember what laws she was meant to be defending. She would be no better than a vigilante in police uniform, and she knew, somehow, that she wouldn't really be helping if that were the case.

So instead she had spent her time exploring the strange new/old city she found herself in, subconsciously marking defensive positions and locations where there was likely to be trouble (though how she knew that was difficult to say). And then, of course, there had been the discovery of pizza.

Lin had a sneaking suspicion that her surprise at how much she enjoyed pizza meant that she hadn't tried it before, even when she'd had access to all her memories. Regardless, she found that she wanted to attempt as many varieties of the stuff as possible, and was headed out to the local sports bar to watch the latest lacross rerun - who would have thought that sports could be so fascinating? - and try the Bacon Supreme monstrosity that had smelled so good wafting by the other day.

She'd spent a good period of time with a young man in the same situation as herself - no memories and no purpose, hoping for a little companionship and someone who could watch each other's backs. She had the impression that he was intelligent, generally quiet (thank the spirits) with a serenely cheerful personality - it had been soothing against her heightened nerves. And it had turned out that he was good in a fight, too, and hadn't turned on her or fled when she ripped up a chunk of pavement and hurled it into that group of zombies without thinking. That was definitely a point in his favor.

Speaking of... Lin neatly sidestepped a pine tree that was trying diligently to embrace any passersby, and spotted her erstwhile companion. She hadn't been able to obtain his name the other day, so she simply paused next to him and dispensed with the pleasantries.

"Are you all right?"

A small smile creeps over his face as she pauses next to him, before she even speaks. He leans slightly closer to her, neglecting to open his eyes.

"Just fine, thank you for asking." His smile turns to look a little contented, despite everything. "Just taking a moment to appreciate where we are and what we do have, instead of worrying about where we'd like to be and what we're missing."

She huffed softly, a little surprised. Despite making the decision not to help with the police work, it seemed like all she could do was worry at the problem of the missing memories. Looking at his expression, she envied his ability to just set that all aside so easily and just... be. In the moment. Somehow she had this niggling feeling that someone else she knew had that ability, and she envied him for it too. She took a moment to just study his face, trying to figure out just how he was doing it. It didn't help, of course, but somehow looking at his calm instilled some in her as well.

A restlessness she hadn't really consciously recognized eased a little, and she took her own advice, stepping out of the flow of foot traffic to lean against the wall with him and take a deep breath. She let it out slowly through her nose, like she did before her warm ups (she did?) and prised away her mental fingers from any memories she thought she might possibly have within her grasp. Fighting back the surge of irrational panic, she let them drift away. She could always get them back later. Just... relax.

A run of fragrant juniper flowed across the brickwork, merrily draping itself in swoops and swags. Just over their heads, at a peak in the swag, several long, thin, green leaves began to uncurl themselves in a bunch.

Koizumi's smile widens as she steps out of the flow of traffic, following his lead. It was good to be able to take a step back, but it was better to be able to help others do so. His eyes open briefly, glancing over at her calmly. His eyes are a dark brown, and though deep and intense, they were serene.

His eyes close again as he leans in toward her, even closer than before. His frame seems to lose what little tension it had still retained.

Above them, the innocuous little plant glints cheerily as it begins to sprout plump berries the color of pure, shining snow.

Edited 2012-12-18 01:56 (UTC)

Lin finds herself leaning in toward him till their shoulders are braced against one another. It surprises her - she didn't think he was that close - but somehow it doesn't bother her. Something is swirling in her stomach, tightening pleasantly in her chest, and it has to do with him somehow. For the first time in... ages, she feels like she doesn't have to let her past determine her future. Whatever hurt there is, causing that weird, panicky flutter informing her in no uncertain terms that she doesn't have time for this and this is a bad idea and you don't even know each other and one lunch does not count as worth anything in the long term - it doesn't matter. He trusts himself to be able to relax in her presence, and he brings out a patch of calm that she needed, even if she didn't really want to admit it.

She allowed herself the luxury of a small smile. It felt strange, like she wasn't used to doing it. That was a shame... it felt nice. This was nice. Finding someone who didn't necessarily need words either. Just enjoying one another's company. Taking comfort in the other's proximity. She gives him a sideways glance under her lashes and stops, struck by the easy peace in his face. Her breath hitched.

Koizumi takes comfort from her touch and her heat when their shoulders come together, thinking how nice this was and taking nothing in this moment for granted. Though his eyes were closed, his concentration was fully on her. Somehow he gets the feeling that he's not really used to this; that something, perhaps the dead space he stumbled into earlier, makes things like this more complicated than he might have liked. Right now he doesn't care. Why bother worrying about something else, given what he had, right here and now.

Besides, given he only has four days of memory, right now he literally knows her almost as well as he knows himself. It was a strange position to be in, but not one that he really minded. He hears her breath hitch, and his head turns slightly toward her, his eyes slowly falling open.

Lin's already tilting her head to press their lips together. She isn't conscious of making the decision to do so, but there it is. Firm, but gentle, but making no bones about her intentions to be here a little while. Sometime in the last few seconds she's shifted to face him, allowing her to ease a hand up to his cheek.

His eyes are still only half open by the time her lips meet his, but at the contact they open wide - surprised and startled - as he freezes for just a moment. The moment passes, though, and he relaxes into the kiss, responding in kind as his eyes slide languidly shut once more. His hand mirrors hers, shifting up to her cheek.

He movements are all tender and gentle - and he very much lets her keep the initiative on this one, always responding to her lead.

Something tells her it's been a while since she's done this, which makes her bizarrely determined to make the best out of this. She lightened up a little when she felt him freeze up, but as soon as he relaxes, she goes into it with a will. Pressing her fingertips into the hollow behind his ear and running her thumb down the outer curve to pull lightly on his earlobe, she puts more energy into it, opening her lips to encourage a reciprocal gesture. Long suppressed passion beats on the gates of her heart screaming that it's about spirits-damned time, drowning out the part of her mind waving its hands and saying that this is really a very bad idea.

He loses himself to the kiss as it intensifies. His hand falls at her hip and he pulls her in closer, holding her there. His left hand moves up from her cheek to ruffle through her hair and help press their lips together tighter. He shivers as her fingertips pull gently at his earlobe, and his left hand spasms briefly.

When she increases the energy of the kiss and opens her lips, he takes the opportunity, dragging his teeth slowly over her bottom lip when he draws back to suck in a quick breath.

[ooc: Even though it doesn't look happy (it's the one I call 'pensive'), I think that this is probably the most sensual of my icons. I love this icon, but that fact is mildly frustrating.]

That touch of teeth pulls loose the restraints and she surges forward, pushing his shoulders back flat to the wall and pinning him there. Cushioning his head with her hand, she found herself pressing herself to him and kissing him as though she only had one chance to make this count. Fierce, demanding, almost bruising, hungry and a touch desperate. Her free hand runs up his arm to brush his hair out of his face and draw her nails down the side of his throat.

Koizumi lets out a surprised gasp as he's pushed against the wall, though his mouth is quickly otherwise occupied. He shivers as she draws her nails down his throat, the feeling far more intense than anything he's used to feeling. He wants to feel her, touch her; his hand tangles in her hair as their kiss becomes increasingly bold and frantic. He runs his tongue over her front teeth, gently probing deeper.

Lin's fierceness, the feelings of hunger and desperation, serve only to spur him on, kissing her harder and faster than before. He feels... surprisingly comfortable with her as the aggressor in this situation. Perhaps he's used to being the more submissive one in a relationship? It feels right to him, somehow.

Yes. This is exactly what she wants - what she needs. Hot, hard kisses, roaming hands clutching and pulling, being so vehemently wrapped up in another person. The world ceased to exist for these few, priceless moments.

Her hold on an internal barrier, so carefully maintained, slipped... faltered... fell. Oblivious to everything but sating the need she had been so viciously suppressing, she didn't even notice when the street began to rumble. Passers-by threw themselves to the edges of the sidewalks, diving into shops as cracks and fissures begin to appear in the pavement. Someone shrieked as chunks of concrete and asphalt began to rise and hover, shaking fit to burst. And the smaller ones did - in showers of gravel and dust - like little fireworks. Larger slabs snapped and broke, whirling chaotically through the street, smashing into walls and lamp posts, or nose-diving suddenly to shatter across the sidewalk.

Nothing matters but the two of them. Nothing matters, and the world around them doesn't exist... right up until the moment when he hears someone screaming. An instinct stronger even than the pull of the mistletoe kicks in, and his eyes snap open, quickly taking in the scene. Realizing what is happening, his hands grasp Lin's forearms and, in a sudden show of strength and initiative, pushes her forcibly off him.

"Lin! Look around you! Stop this, now!"

Given the violence of the exploding shrapnal, he has no time to be gentle with her or delicate regarding the situation. He regrests that, but right now there are more important things.

The older woman stumbles back, instinctively ducking a bit of rock, and slides into a defensive stance, angry and disoriented. What--? Oh no.

Immediately, she shuts down. Hard. All emotion is wiped from her face as she raises her open hands. The flying debris grinds to a halt in midair. Then lowers piecemeal as she directs each piece back to its original resting place. Or as close to it as she can manage. People are staring, getting to their feet, pressing against store windows, warily looking for anything else falling from the sky. Finally everything is more or less in place, and Lin can step away from Koizumi into the middle of the road, commanding attention as effortlessly as a feared principal entering the schoolyard.

"If everyone would please sit down or brace against a wall." Mothers gather their children closer and everyone hurries to obey. A flick of her hands and the lesser gravel and dust swirls into the air away from the people, then funnels down to fill in around the broken patches.

Lin takes a deep, fortifying breath. If she caused this, the least she can do is fix it. At least... if she can fix it. She clears her mind. Adopts a wide-based stance. And pushes.

A ripple rolls outward from her, slow and smooth, the pavement dipping and crumbling, and returning to its original height smooth and even. There are, of course, a few places where it doesn't quite work and the sidewalk is cracked, the asphalt of the street humped as though some animal is sleeping under it. But for the most part, everything fits.

She straightens, inclines her upper body in a half bow to the hushed pedestrians, and glances back over her shoulder at her... victim. She can't rightly think of him as a friend now. Not when she'd pushed herself on him so brashly, and endangered him in addition. Quietly, impassively, she says "I'm sorry." and starts off down the street.

Koizumi bites off a sigh of relief as the rocks and gravel stop whizzing about and Lin starts putting everything back into place. Nobody was hurt, and everything was all right. No real problems. She'd just have to be careful until she got her memories back - presumably she knew how to deal with this before, but without her memories she's forgotten how to control her powers. He sees her face shut down when she starts concentrating and steps away from him, but it doesn't worry him too much - he had seen her 'working' face before. He was confident she'd be done soon enough.

He takes a moment to take stock of what had just happened between them. Lin was a friend, but... he wasn't actually sure how much he liked Lin romantically. He didn't dislike her, and he had responded to her advances very enthusiastically.

Perhaps this was partially just a response to being confused and alone, though - losing all your memories, the very essence of who you are, could make you reach out and feel more intensely about the people who are there for you.

Right now, she was about the only real connection he had; his emotions were running too high, and he had too little experience with - well, with life - to really figure out how he felt. He had nothing with which to compare their relationship, romantic or otherwise. That was okay, though - they would just have to be careful, and they could figure this out slowly.

He was worried that Lin might take what she had accidentally done too harshly - it really wasn't her fault, but she might have trouble seeing that. He was very surprised, however, when she looked back at him. Her face was still completely closed off, her body tense, and her eyes... unsettling, shocking. He couldn't tell what it was with them, but upon seeing them, he just froze. Something wasn't right - and he could tell that this was somehow about more than just tearing up the sidewalk. What was she apologizing for?

He manages to regain himself just a few moments after she starts walking away, quickly trying to catch up. When he speaks, his voice is urgent and very concerned; his face is extremely open and expressive, managing to show just how confused and upset he is, hoping against hope that his one current friendship hadn't just somehow been ruined, though one might misinterpret the cause of his unhappiness.

"Wait! Lin, wait up! What's wrong?"

Even without her memories, Lin won't bow her head. She knows, somehow, that it's important to own up to your mistakes, and she won't let herself do anything less. She doesn't stop walking, though she does slow down a little so that he can catch up. "That was poor judgement on my part. It shouldn't have happened." She's retreated firmly into herself, trying to separate out her roiling emotions and force them back into their boxes. The problem is, none of them make a lot of sense. All of them are extremely entangled, not to mention reluctant to let go when they've got such a foothold. She clearly needs to practice her control - maybe that's why it felt so strange to be able to laugh and smile and enjoy the moment. Well, now that she knows that it's a problem, she'll just have to set about fixing it. She'll just stay calm until she can reach someplace she can release it all. Maybe that large park near the beach.

Koizumi looks surprised again, then looks away, seemingly downcast - though he keeps up with her, matching her stride.

She... doesn't like him, then?

Ignoring the feeling in the pit of his stomach, he turns back to her, concealing how he was really feeling.

"Nobody was injured. You will have to be careful until you can remember how to contain your powers, but there was no harm done. And if you didn't know that could happen, you could hardly be blamed for what happened."

Edited 2012-12-28 09:42 (UTC)

He keeps talking... It's distracting. How can she keep a tight hold on her abilities and wrestle her desire, regret, shame, fear, nerves... She couldn't get a grip on anything. She didn't think that she felt a strong romantic attraction to the boy, but why else would she have responded that way to his mere presence? And there was no doubt that she had started that, not him. She had pressured him into it - pretty literally - and she couldn't forgive herself for forcing that on him.

She shakes her head as if to discourage a buzzing insect. No one was injured. Aang's beard, she suddenly felt old. Old and exhausted. (Who was Aang and why did he have a beard? Question for another time.) A soft huff escaped her. "That depends on your view," she said tersely. A short pause was followed by, "It was blind luck that I didn't aggravate your own hurts."

Koizumi looks startled, nearly astonished; his eyes widen and he involuntarily halts momentarily in surprised. This certainly was not what he had expected when he had seen that look in her eyes.

"The kiss?!

Lin... it takes two people to share a kiss like that. I admit, that was... very strange. I get the feeling it was extremely out of character for me. However, my hurts are not that bad, and I was just as enthusiastic as you."

As he catches back up to her, he reaches out and hesitantly puts a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know how I feel about you. Everything's too jumbled and confused. However, if you'd let me, I'd like to stick around and figure it out."

If she were any less clamped down, she might have snapped his wrist, given her nerves. As it is, she only stiffens in an aborted attempt to slip away from his touch. Rationally, she knew that he was right. He had responded just as eagerly as she had advanced, if with a little more decorum. But it had still been she who forced herself on him in the first place. No wonder he wasn't sure how he felt about her - she swallowed the bitter anger the phrase caused, reminding herself that she wasn't sure about him, either. The whole experience was very unsettling. But there wasn't a good reason to deny him.

"I intend to go," her lips twitch in what might have been a tight, angry smile, but it's gone too quickly to be sure, "throw rocks around where they will do less harm to the surrounding architecture." The warning is plain in the lack of inflection - if he comes, he'll have to stay out of her way until she's ready. Or at least until she's tired herself out.

His hand draws back immediately when he feels her stiffen. It was extremely unclear what the boundaries were between them right now, but he did not want to overstep them.

"I understand." That's all he says, and he continues to walk beside her, though at a slightly increased distance. Near enough it was clear they were walking together, but not so close that it might make her uncomfortable. He hears the warning in her voice - he's ready to wait for as long as it takes.

He still wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but he did know he was going to do everything in his power to make it right.

Embroiled in her own inner struggles, Lin didn't speak all the way to the beach. Giving her companion a stern look and pointing at a nearby bench, she marched out into the sand.

It started out small, with forms and stances that lead into larger, more complex motions that ripped up the landscape. A full hour she spent dragging stone from the sand and wave to hurl them about in a show of strength and power unburdened by the restrictions usually present. Anger, self-recrimination, disgust, confusion - all were spent to fuel the condensing, lifting, cracking, powdering of earth. In the end, having exhausted her reserves, she let the stones lay where they fell, and simply smoothed the sands into a more even layer around them.

She still didn't understand what had just happened back there, or whether or not it was genuine feeling, but at least in this condition she was unlikely to cause anyone physical harm without meaning to. Nevertheless, she took a moment to compose herself before retreating from the field.

He follows her unspoken direction quietly, though he sits cross-legged slightly in front of the bench, as opposed to actually sitting on top of it.

He watches calmly and without complaint from behind her, seeming relaxed and content to wait there for as long as she needed. It was an impressive display, no doubt, but though he was contemplating the spectacle, his thoughts were elsewhere, all concentrated on her and her feelings. On what had happened between them.

He remains still and quiet as she slowly retreats from the field, the wind gently tugging at his hair. His eyes have recently closed, though he remains very aware of her. He waits for her to broach the topics that need discussion, so as not to push her.

The Mother of All Logs

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she should pin him to the wall

Why yes, she should!

♥

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