[PRP] The Stars Seem Very Different (Jordan & Horace)

[The Semblance of Unity]

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Text to: Jordan
hey come outside

Horace had paused in plinking rocks at Jordan's window to actually text him. His tent was strapped to the top of his backpack, he had a couple of blankets inside as well as a few snacks and large thermos full of hot coffee. He was ready. Horace hoped Jordan was, too. A keycode was required to get inside Jordan's complex and Horace had forgotten to ask - plus, it was kind of fun to toss pebbles at what he was pretty sure was Jordan's window. Even if he missed a lot.

He picked up another pebble (made sure to pick small ones - he wasn't about to break a window) and tossed it up. Clink,  

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The Semblance of Unity

Text to: Horace
Be there in a moment

Jordan appeared briefly at the window, waved, and then vanished again. A couple of minutes later, he emerged from the stairwell and came out the door, flashing Horace a bright, pleased smile. "You've got pretty good aim," he said. "I see you're well supplied."  

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Was afraid I might break your window, though." He dropped the rock he was holding and it clattered alarmingly loudly on the sidewalk. Horace nearly jumped from the noise.

"Uh, anyway, I was thinking we could do the whole stars on the other side thing, if you wanna..." He looked oddly sheepishly or embarrassed. "That is, if we can find our way there."

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"It's probably not a big risk. Those were pretty small rocks." Jordan toed the rock, sending it skittering along the sidewalk until it fell off into the strip of brown grass beside it.

"Hey, I'm on board with that," he agreed, lighting up with an excited smile. "Do you think your magic glasses will help us get there, or should we just wander around until it takes pity on us?"

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Are you implying my arms are too noodle-like to launch a pebble like a bullet?" He grinned. It was easy to lose the embarrassed feeling when Jordan was so easy-going. "What if I've got biceps for days?" Horace was being silly and he flexed one arm, the effect ruined by the jacket he wore.

"Sadly, my glasses don't seem to show ways into, just out of... At least I haven't seen anything glowing on this side." He did a slow scan of their surroundings, just in case. "Nope. So I guess we just duck in and out of a lot of doors and hope we get lucky. Do you need to grab anything before we begin our quest - I brought enough stuff for both, I think."

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"Of course not," Jordan said gravely. "I simply assumed you would tone down your super-strength to avoid window-shattering force." He lifted one hand to squeeze the flexed bicep, and nodded. "Going for the Mr. Universe tournament?"

He thought for a moment. "I think I'm good, if you brought stuff. My jacket's warm enough and I locked up when I left the apartment."

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Horace snorted and, to his credit, managed not to shock Jordan. "No, just looking to be able to pick up guys, of course." He winked at Jordan.

"Let's go wandering and see - if we don't end up there, we can always be lame and camp in my backyard." He turned a corner and, although Horace had not noticed it, the atmosphere was decidedly different.

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"Lift with your legs, not your back," Jordan advised solemnly.

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed, and fell into step with Horace, smiling. When they turned the corner, he didn't notice the change in atmosphere immediately either, but after a few steps, he slowed. "Hey - is it a little emptier than it was a minute ago, or is it just me?"  

[The Semblance of Unity]

"I guess I just need to practice more. Or get a spotter." He grinned and debating making a crack about Jordan being the spotter, but that would mean he'd be more of a wing man than being lifted. And maybe that was weird and not what he wanted and Horace just wasn't sure and.... He was definitely over-thinking again.

He drew in a deep breath. "Yeah, it feels... different. The houses here are all dark and I don't think they are normally. People are usually home." Horace looked around. Everything seemed darker without all the lights from the houses polluting the sky, although some of the streets still had lights. "I think we're here. There's a park three blocks thataway and an empty lot over in the other way - or we can try to make it over to where the creek is. What do you want to do?" It felt kind of like being a little kid and sneaking out at night to play in the woods. Horace was glad that, of all things, at least the woods were no longer frightening to him.

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"Well, if you need practice, I'm pretty skinny," Jordan laughed. "And not afraid of heights."

"I guess it was listening." He made an impromptu bow to the world around them. "Thanks for being obliging," he said to the quiet, run-down town. "Hmm. How about the creek? That seems like it'd be a pretty decent place to camp, if you can see the sky well there. It might be a little chilly nearer the water, though."  

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Maybe I could use some practice." He shot Jordan an almost shy grin as he skirted his way around a lamp post. "Nice bow." Following suit, he saluted the night sky. "Thanks, buddy."

Then he started moving again. His memory was spot on when it came to directions as long as he'd traversed the area before. Horace could memorize maps easily, too, but it was a little harder to parse that into 3d surroundings sometimes. "Creek's good; it's this way. Chilly should be okay - I brought blankets and stuff, and we have each other." Which was the stupidest thing to say - so incredibly flirty and he coughed awkwardly.

"i mean, I have stuff. So... I'm not gonna lie, I get cold easy, so I tried to prepare."

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Jordan followed Horace's lead, trusting that his friend knew where he was going. He could usually trace his path back once he'd gone somewhere, but he needed a map or directions to get to a place the first time. "I'm sure we'll manage to keep warm," he replied cheerfully. "I mean, if nothing else, we can start a campfire, right? That's good for getting cozy beside."

He'd decided against singing something cheesy. That was probably a bit much.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Yeah, as long as we don't burn down the forest." He huffed, a song now thoroughly stuck in his head. Skidding a little, he hopped off the pavement and into the 'forest'. It was actually just a few trees, the it thinned near the creek. Past the creek was where it got thick. Which was fine by him; Horace wasn't frightened of the woods, but he didn't like them.

He held out his arms. "Ta-da." Crouching down, he shrugged off his backpack and began rooting around. It was damn heavy and his shoulders were entirely too happy to be free of their burden. Horace rolled them as he freed the sleeping bag. "Hey - wanna help me spread this out so our asses don't get stabbed by branches?"

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"Yeah, I'm not that much of a pyromaniac," Jordan laughed. "We can keep it small, I'm sure." He followed more sedately, hopping down into the grass and threading his way between the trees.

He made appropriately theatric impressed noises, and took the sleeping bag from Horace so that he could unzip it and spread it out after kicking a few sticks out of the way. "Sore shoulders?" he asked as he settled it.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Nice to know my flammable self is safe from your fiery clutches." He sighed. "Yeah, they hurt a bit. My fault for carrying so much stuff, though." Horace began to pull out random thing after thing after thing.

Beer, blankets, coffee, two mugs, some popcorn, some random snacks, and a thing of pork lo mein. "Huh. I don't remember throwing that in there. Maybe I, uh... tend to overpack." He looked at Jordan sheepishly, the movement sending a twine through his shoulder. Wow, what was he - some kind of weakling?

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