+- Beasts of Beyond (https://beastsofbeyond.com)
+-- Forum: Other Roleplay (https://beastsofbeyond.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=5)
+--- Forum: Human Roleplay (https://beastsofbeyond.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=33)
+--- Thread: come back to me in pieces — private (/showthread.php?tid=1310)
come back to me in pieces — private - tinsel - 05-13-2018
[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; line-height: 20px;"]
she didn’t like to run for the traditional reasons. there was no euphoria, no escapism. she didn’t like the way her lungs and legs would burn, the way her heart seemed to seize from the effort of forcing blood too quickly. she didn’t like the way everything passed by in blurs or the sounds of her feet smashing against the pavement for just a fraction of a second. she couldn’t care in the slightest about the health benefits or staying thin or any other bullshit reason you could think of. no, she liked to run because she could.
she was four, when they took it away, her right to run. she was four when they stuffed her in a cage with her brother, tight enough of a squeeze that she could hardly sit up. as decades passed, as the both of them grew longer, she couldn’t even properly sit up. they were let out by day, encircled by big men with big guns, and more than walking could get you shot. she went twenty years without being allowed to run, and now that she could, she did it for exactly that reason: because she could. she could wake up whenever the hell she wanted, slip out her front door, and run until her lungs were imploding and her feet were bleeding and her vision was growing black if she wanted. it was little things, little freedoms, that she’d taken for granted as a child.
most days, she ran by herself. she’d plug some headphones in, listen to one of the few songs she actually liked, and she’d run until she had something better to do. streak the streets of the city, up and down, no partiular route in mind, never stopping. she’d bought a car a few months back, but it stayed parked for the most part, because really, why drive anywhere when she could run there? she liked the cool morning air and the still dark sky and the way the earth felt so empty.
this morning, however, she had a partner. she wasn’t entirely sure why she’d coaxed elias into coming, in all honesty. he’d probably slow her down, he didn’t look like he desperately needed to work out, and he probably had better things to do with his time. but, she reasoned as she got dressed that morning, it probably had something to do with what dr. kozlowski said. she’d tried out therapy for half an appoitment (surprise surprise, she hated talking about her feelings as much as she’d thought), and the only real thing that had resonated with her was that she needed to start “letting people in”. it sounded awful, but she was trying it, wasn’t see? elias was nice, he was probably one of the few people she sort of liked, and she figured he’d be nice enough to let in, if he wanted to come into… well, wherever she was letting people into. online support groups didn’t really do her much help, so maybe a running buddy could.
the black tights felt almost nonexistant, and she sort of liked that. they weren’t too tight or too itchy and they didn’t distract her. it was getting warmer, and today seemed as good a day as any to shed her winter sweatshirt and sport just a sports bra. she wasn’t overly well endowed, so eyes weren’t really a concern, but it did expose her back. the skin was the worst there, the scarring so heavy that you could see more scar than skin. bullet scars dotted her arms, her back, her shoulders, every one of them another reminder of some horrible memory. all of the bullets were out, thank god, though she shivered at the memories of matteo’s massive mitts holding her shoulders, pressing her hard against the cages as khalid removed them from the next cell over, her own body tight as she fought to curl up and just cry. god, she sort of missed the days where pain did something to her.
she glanced at the clock on the wall that read 4:58, and immediately headed for her door, slipping right out. the sun hadn’t risen just yet, but she always preferred to beat the sun. she’d told elias to meet her outside at five, and she hoped he wasn’t oversleeping. hurrying down the stairs and through the lobby, she made it outside within a minute and, figuring she might have a few seconds to spare, began stretching. was she excited? sort of, in truth. who knows, maybe he’d get the hang of it and she’d have a proper running buddy.
( this is a mess but i tRIED okay i assumed from the guide they meant like an apartment apartment? but like if they live in houses then idk assume she’s outside of his house ig. [member=643]ELIAS.[/member] )
Re: come back to me in pieces — private - Beatles. - 05-13-2018
[align=center][div style="borderwidth=0px; width: 55%; color: black; line-height:115%; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"]5 AM. Fuck, man.
Elias was never up this early. Never. Why? Because he opened the bar at 11:00 and that meant that he could sleep in until at least ten. However, today was a little different. Today, he was going to go jogging. Elias was... never the athletic guy. He played for his town's junior ice hockey team until he was twelve or so, but that was really the extent of it. He had broken his shoulder one too many times, and after the accident, he had quit sports altogether. The rest of his middle school years were pretty uneventful, though in high school, he had started to involve himself in small after-school clubs. Even then, none of them involved sports. Eli never saw himself participating in anything athletic again. You'd never know it, though, considering that he was in pretty good shape. Not extremely good, but not bad, either. He had pretty good metabolism... for the moment. Who knew, though? Maybe he'd start putting on some pounds in a few years.
It wasn't like he had just thought of doing this on his own. No way. He had actually been coaxed into doing it by none other than Bianca. She was nice enough to consider a friendly acquaintance — perhaps even a friend in itself — and she had somehow convinced him to go running with her this one time. Only once, he thought to himself. Besides, it wasn't the worst thing in the world. His old hockey coach had made the boys run laps around the field as a warmup, so Elias was pretty confident that he could stand cardiac exercise.
Unlike Bianca, Elias wasn't exactly dressed for exercise. He didn't really have a reason to have those types of clothes, right? He did the best he could, though — dirty Converse sneakers, black shorts, and a plain gray t-shirt. Good enough for him. He was outside by 5:03; a little over the exact time, but he didn't really care. His eyes landed on Bianca, who looked like she was ready to run an entire triathlon or something. "Ey." He quickly greeted, taking his hands out of his pockets. Elias walked forward and asked, "So, how far are we running, again?" Hopefully not too far. He wasn't sure how much he could handle.
Re: come back to me in pieces — private - tinsel - 05-14-2018
[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; line-height: 20px;"]
she had to wonder if she'd have ever played sports, in another life. she figured she would have grown up in italy, where her parents had lived before they moved south. soccer, that had been the sport then, right? maybe she would have gotten into soccer. she was fast enough, quick on her feet, packed a hard kick. but she was thinking about what she'd do as who she was - if she'd grown up some other way, she'd be entirely different. maybe things would hurt her. maybe she'd prefer reading over running. maybe she'd be a doctor or a teacher, someone who helps lives instead of hurting them.
she'd been twisting herself into a trunk twist, a small crack escaping her back, when he approached. how far we running, again? she tried not to laugh at that, because him asking certainly wasn't a good sign. "depends on what you can take." she says, straightening, a smile playing at the corners of her lips, one brow quirking. "think you can do ten?" and, as though she worried he'd think yards or minutes, the smile grew. "miles, i mean. but i don't normally measure distance, i just go until i can't. or you can't, i suppose." it was a playful sort of jab, friendly fire per say.
"do you want to stretch?" she'd inquire, not sure if he already had at home. or maybe he'd think he didn't need to stretch, and learn his lesson the hard way, like she had too many times before. beth, the little old man with skin like leather and hair like little wisps atop his head, he'd always snicker at her when her legs would cramp up, poking her with his foot and calling her stupid. god, she missed beth.
Re: come back to me in pieces — private - Beatles. - 05-20-2018
[align=center][div style="borderwidth=0px; width: 55%; color: black; line-height:115%; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"]Elias blinked in surprise when he heard Bianca's response. He crossed his arms over his chest, slightly gritting his teeth together. "Ten miles?" He echoed, almost sounding like he was shocked. Jesus, she was insane. Was she trying to kill him? Truthfully, Elias could stand to get into more shape, but starting off at ten miles? He'd might as well get a heart-attack and collapse onto the floor. "Geez, uh, okay." He accepted the challenge, however, not wanting to wimp out immediately. Maybe he'd just go until he couldn't anymore, like she said.
Stretching? His hockey coach had always stressed the importance of stretching, but Eli never really got it (besides, he wasn't the most flexible guy ever). It would only be more time-consuming and probably wouldn't even make a difference at all, he figured. "Uh.. do we need to?" Eli asked, furrowing a brow. "I think I'll be fine, if you wanna, y'know, start now." Anything to get this over and done with, he supposed.
Re: come back to me in pieces — private - tinsel - 05-20-2018
[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; line-height: 20px;"]
he made ten miles sound hard. she was half tempted to point out that she'd crossed an entire continent on foot, or that some days she'd spend hours out there and run twenty, but she held it back, reminding herself that elias was from a different world. one where running was sport, not privilege, and she couldn't expect him to appreciate it, to crave it, the way her own body did. she hoped he'd never have to see that he took these things for granted.
"alright." she said with a slight, almost feline smile, peering at him out of the corner of her eye as she turned away. "go at a comfortable pace, i'll match it." and, without a seconds hesitation, took off quickly. what she lacked in mental abilities, bordering illiteracy and having no real concept of math beyond basic addition and subtraction, she made up for in strength and speed. she could throw a punch any day, run a seven minute mile with ease, and maybe that was a feat, but it was one she'd trade any day to be able to know things. maybe, she thought as she took off, i ought to try to get properly educated. try out some sort of online schooling or something. in the last three years, she'd learned how to read, but she wasn't quick, and she didn't understand half off the words. side effects of her childhood, she supposed.