fandomtownies | The Rocky Bits, Sunday, Late-afternoon

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The Rocky Bits, Sunday, Late-afternoon

After Zack's shift, the puppy headed down to the rocky bits, where he proceeded to get his run-and-jump on like a... Well, like a crazy kid in a lot of purple clothing who could do leaping backflips from a standstill. Feel free to use your imagination on that front.

He had things to think about that he'd been mostly running from for weeks, and his headspace was always at its best while he was keeping active. Just doing squats wasn't going to cut it. He needed to run. It gave him something to focus on while he tried to sift his way through the feathers drifting through his mind, and the monsters sitting in the corners, waiting to reach out and grab him.

... Something to focus on. That didn't necessarily mean that he was paying the most careful attention to where he was going.

[Tacked up with somebody in mind, but the Rocky Bits are totally open, as Rocky Bits are! And now I am done getting my spammy on.]

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Jak had scaled the Rocky Bits how many times? Yeah. It was good morning exercise, and afternoon exercise, and really nothing more, but he took to it with verve. Up one end! Down the other! His feet were developing calluses on their calluses, and he didn't care!

Of course, because he'd been there about fifty times, he didn't really have to pay that much attention to where he was going, either. Which was usually good, because he could just focus on the adrenaline pumping through his legs and--

It's sufficient to say that he had not necessarily planned to encounter the very large, very human-shaped, and very unexpected piece of rock that suddenly seemed to appear out of thin air in front of him.

And Zack, who was in fact not a rock but who did happen to be large and quite human shaped with the possible exception of his hair, certainly wasn't expecting to see the not quite as large but similarly human-shaped stone that happened to be barrelling directly toward him.

Try though he might to hit the brakes, the resulting thud that they made as they collided was really quite spectacular.

Birds flew away in the distance.

There were people back home who'd be impressed by Jak's newfound ability to produce sound, even! Not just the thud, but also the sudden, surprised grunt of what the hell ow and the resultant sigh of I haven't got any air left in my lungs! and, finally, the thwock of Jak's ass hitting the rock.

The other rock. Not the rock he'd just hit. We were still a family show.

He swore he could see flut-fluts. Waaah?

Oh, wait. That was just the sky. He finished off his noisy streak with a slow "Mrrhhhh?"

Zack, who was now similarly on his rear end on the rock-that-was-not-the-rock-that-he'd-run-into, was wondering where all those little flapbeats who were circling his head had come from.

... Nope. Also just sky.

His vocalizations were only slightly more eloquent than that of the other rock.

"Ow?"

Edited 2009-12-13 13:22 (UTC)

Jak veered half upright, rubbing the back of his head - because it hurt, this time.

He pulled a face at Zack. What the what now in the what? ...Dude, he could still see flut-fluts.

The flapbeats probably weren't going anywhere anytime soon, either.

Zack heaved himself into a sort of sitting position, if sitting involved propping oneself up on one's elbows and attempting to remember how to breathe, and gave Jak a look that was meant to convey, at least until he managed to get enough air back into his lungs to be able to form words, a fuzzy sort of 'where in the world did you come from?'

It was possible, however, that the gist of it was more or less a 'bzuh,' instead.

Jak's expression became even more dubious. Zack was asking him? What? Whatitty-what-what with a tapdancing what on the mountain of what (property of Arthur, the Once and Future King of What) and...

Um.

Jak pressed his hand to the rock and tried to stagger up to his feet, which only worked insofar that he managed to put his hand on the boulder he was sitting on and made a kind of pathetic owie noise. Okay.

That owie noise really was kinda pathetic, wasn't it?

Owie.

"Here, I..." Zack held up a finger, because more words were not forthcoming at all, and then rooted about in his pocket, surfacing with two vials of potion. Sweet, delicious potion that kinda tasted like cough syrup mixed with tar but one could not be choosy when one's health bar had just been knocked to next to nil.

Or something.

With a noise that was kind of like a breathless squeak conveying yet another fun and new level of 'ow,' he held one out toward Jak.

Hey, wait. Jak remembered those things. From... somewhere. Somewhere with flut-fluts. And stuff. Actually, the last time he saw one of those, he had the imprint of a tree stuck on his forehead, so it was like... a thing. Or something.

Whatever.

He reached forwards and snagged it without thinking. Downed it. Pulled a massive face. Ew. Ew.

Zack's own face was less 'ew,' and more, 'yay, I am no longer seeing flapbeats!'

"Sorry, man. You kinda get used to the taste, after a while."

Really, Zack, you could have apologized for barrelling into the guy like a dual horn on a rampage, instead. But that would have made sense or something, huh?

It was still kind of disgusting, but the lack of squeaking flut-fluts was kind of a pro. At least now Jak's hand-on-the-rock routine was actually managing to get him, you know, upright.

He brushed the dirt off of his tunic, blinked once or twice to get his bearings, and offered Zack a hand.

Oooh. A hand. Zack could totally appreciate hands when they were offered, and he grinned up at Jak before taking it and hauling himself to his feet.

"Good day for a run, huh?" He gave a little smile, and then started to dust his own clothing off. "Just, maybe not in opposite directions like that. Ow."

Yeah, no more running into each other, please and thanks. Jak shook his head right along, because seriously, ow. Now that he was done dusting himself off, his arms could settle into a good, sensible crossing position, and he gave Zack a curious look. First time he saw him around here...

Edited 2009-12-13 14:50 (UTC)

Zack's 'feathers and monsters' issues were being swept under the table for the time being, because there were totally more important things to focus on, now.

Was Jak pondering what Zack was pondering?

"Think you have a good enough handle on where the trees are around here, Jak?"

Jak's arm-crossing became way more pronounced arm-crossing. Of course he did. Precursors, who did Zack think that he was?

The race was totally on.

"Good!" Oh, it so was. Zack took all of a moment to give a satisfied nod.

And then he was off and running, back the way he'd come from, with an exclamation of 'Yeah!' and some giddy laughter tossed in for good measure.

Distractions were awesome. Distractions that involved some measure of competition were the best ever.

Hey hey hey hey!

Why didn't nobody bother to wait until he knew they were off before they started in these days?

... Yeah, like Jak was going to stay put and complain about that. He pushed off against the rocks, plowing forward and after Zack, previous injuries forgotten. Come on. Cover some of that distance!

Onward! Forward! Jump and run and rocks and more rocks and another jump and maybe a flip for that one just because it was more fun that way! So, really, the only difference between what he was doing now and what he'd been doing before he's run into Jak was that he now had a really quiet guy with greenish hair hot on his heels.

And Zack was so cool with that, he might as well have been icing up.

"So," he yelled back, looking over his shoulder, "any idea where we're racing to?"

Because Jak was so totally going to be able to answer you, Zack.

It was definitely giving Jak's lungs a nice little workout, and some pebbles dug into his exposed feet. Not that he cared. Just a couple of scratches on the calluses, nothing much, he'd be right as rain in a split second.

And then came the question.

And then came the face. The face that read what? and I have no clue, honestly and maybe we should've decided on that, first in several fun-to-shake-up shapes.

No. No, Zack, he had no idea.

Zack had no idea, either. Which... Didn't bother Zack in the least, actually.

"Maybe we just go until one of us decides we can't go any longer, then?"

Which was a good way to make somebody pass out in a few hours' time, wasn't it? But at least it'd make for good exercise in the meanwhile?

Jak shot him another look. The point of racing was that you got somewhere! Fast!

He made a little circle in the air with his hand. Lap around the Rocky Bits? ...While still running, yes.

Zack was kinda running sideways, now, so that he could keep an eye on what Jak was saying- it would be easier if the guy could speak, but he wasn't going to complain about it. Some people couldn't talk, some people couldn't do math or ride a chocobo. Variety was the spice of life!

And running sideways was a decent sort of challenge anyhow, even if it was slowing Zack down slightly.

"Once around, then, and see if we're feeling up for another?"

Jak gave him the thumbs up. Exactly that!

... and nearly stumbled over a jutting rock. Darn. They had to get down to ground level to get to a good starting point!

Zack seemed to be thinking about the same as his sideways run caused him to almost go tumbling head over heels over a crack in the stones.

Fortunately, ground level was about five feet to the left and a straight drop down, huh?

"Last one down is a rotten condor egg!"

Said the kid who was now flinging himself over the edge, yes.

Somewhere, Jono was facepalming.

Luckily, that somewhere was somewhere else, because Jak didn't hesitate to throw himself off the same edge and, uh. Hope he landed on his feet? He totally would. Watch him soar! And thud.

Co-thud! Dual-thud! Thudding in stereo!

Zack hit the ground and went into a deep crouch before, like some sort of spring-loaded toy, he launched himself back into the air to kick off another mad dash.

"So, from here, all the way around and back again?"

Yeah, that just prompted Jak to hit the ground for a barrel roll, using the force to propel himself forward at maximum speed so he could... flick back into a running position that was practically tandem with Zack's. Ha! Take that.

...

Being where he was, he now nodded. Yep! Simple, smooth, and he was totally faster.

Oh he was, was he? Zack shot him a sideways grin and a little salute. He could handle this neck-and-neck stuff for a while, sure, and then maybe he'd have to start pushing himself a little harder near the finish line. If he could remember where that was supposed to be by the time they were done running their lap of the rocky bits.

"Maybe we hit the preserve after this?"

Jak shot him a considering look. You know what? Maybe they could! ... After this lap. He nodded, then kicked harder, forcing himself to extend... just an inch... beyond Zack...

Oh, hey, inching. Inching!

Naturally, this meant that Zack was going to have to try to push himself a little harder still! If he leaned foooorward a little more, and he streeeetched out as he ran, then, see, he was almost kinda an inch ahead!

It helped, being tall.

Heeeeeeeeeey!

He could do better than that! Like... stomp! Against the ground! Or something. ... Not like a chocobo. Anyway, Jak could be faster. Much, much faster.

Half an inch faster.

And anyhow, Zack was totally the king of the chocobo stomp, here. Or, he would be, if he could ever find that summon materia. He knew that it was out there! It was supposedly very awesome, and his chocobo stomps were incomplete without a chocobo being involved!

That half an inch was going to be the death of Zack, today, darn it. He was practically running from a crouch, kicking up bits of stone behind him, and Jak was sure as heck giving him a workout, here.

"You're good," he shared. Which cost him another half an inch of focus, damn it.

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The Rocky Bits, Sunday, Late-afternoon

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