Gathering Post

[londoncallingmods]

The best thing about London was that there was always something to do, no matter what your interests were. This weekend there was a jazz festival in Bloomsbury, an ale festival that would take you through a drunken train tour of the city, an African culture festival near Covent Garden, and several movie screenings, parties, and other pockets of fun.

Tourists were flooding in from all over, and many Londoners were slipping off to, or coming back from, their latest trips to Barcelona, Paris, or Ibiza. The weather was warm, and it had been fairly dry and sunny lately- Really, it was the perfect place to be right now. ...At least that's what anyone who wasn't heading off to some tropical wonderland would tell you at least.

As day faded into evening, bars came alive and shop windows lit up, inviting in tourists and locals alike. The city buzzed well into the night, calming only briefly in the morning, before bursting back into life again.

(Have your pup be anywhere in the city you like. This GP is intended to take place over the course of Sat and Sun, but will be open all week long! Remember to add your pup's tag after you tag in!)

Comments

[jageskro]

"Any idea how to get there?" Jag asked. He wasn't sure why he cared. Maybe it was just that Val was something else, like him. Not a mutant, but still. There was a kinship there, and Jag always strongly reacted to kinship.

[hollow_moon]

"Most of the texts suggest meditation. Some suggest attempting to achieve an out of body experience," Val replied.

[jageskro]

"That makes no sense," Jag stated with a sceptical pout. "It sounds to me like you'd want to get more in touch with your body, not less?" Not that he had any idea what it was like for Val. He only knew what the fire was like for him.

[hollow_moon]

"My understanding is that if you separate from yourself, you can speak with the wolf," Val replied. "Though I'm not sure how I'd manage that."

[jageskro]

"So he isn't a part of you?" Jag was having a hard time wrapping his mind around that. "Or is it like those split personality things?" Could you talk to your different personalities that way? Jag didn't have a clue.

[hollow_moon]

"He is- And he isn't. It's hard to explain. I'm present in the wolf, and he is present in me- Even here and now. However, our desires and needs aren't always the same, if that makes sense," Val sighed, trying to explain. "It's like having two versions of yourself inhabiting the same space. Not separate, but never truly together."

[jageskro]

"That sounds fucking miserable," Jag bluntly stated, watching Val's face.

[hollow_moon]

"It's certainly complicated, but it's not awful. We've learned how to exist in this shared body. I'm quite attached to him, and he's fond of me, I think," Val replied, though there was a slight hint of sadness in his tone.

"Some months I'm so very alert while the wolf is in control, and there is nothing more exhilarating than those moments when we are truly one."

[jageskro]

There had to be a way that this could happen more. Jag's own control hadn't come easily, but by now he was doing well. Of course, he hadn't had anywhere near as much ground to cover. "I can only imagine." He reckoned that was a bit what the fire felt like, to him.

[hollow_moon]

Val sighed, then laughed as he slumped a bit in his seat. "Deal lord, I am a mess today, my friend. I don't suppose I could convince you to walk me home, could I?"

[jageskro]

"What, no Jaguar today?" Jag asked, a small, teasing smile stretching his lips. "Come on, let's go," he added, so Val wouldn't think he was evading giving him a no. He was absolutely giving him a yes, and he stood and hitched his bag up on his shoulder.

[hollow_moon]

Smiling, val tucked a generous amount of money beneath his cup, then got to his feet as well. Though as he stood it became apparent why he was nervous about making it home on his own. He was a touch unsteady on his feet, and seemed a little stiff as he began to walk.

"I really am glad I ran into you today. I'd been thinking I might call you this week, actually," he confessed.

[jageskro]

Those words gave Jag the perfect emotional cue to slip an arm around Val's waist as they walked away from the café - not actually supporting him, but there if he needed him, and otherwise enjoying the touch, because of Val. "Yeah?" he asked with a smile as he did just that, eyes twinkling before he looked back ahead at where they were walking. "More mummies you need my help with?"

[hollow_moon]

"Fresh out of mummies. Though I do have some haunted dolls if you're interested," Val replied, leaning slightly into the other man as they walked.

[jageskro]

"I'm always up for an adventure," Jag replied, still smiling.

[hollow_moon]

"I'm glad one of us has energy," Val relied, chuckling softly as he guided them over to the next block. "I just want to curl up in bed and listen to soft music. ...Perhaps down several cups of tea while I'm at it."

[jageskro]

"The dolls will keep, I'm certain," Jag stated easily. "Want to snog until you doze off?" He hoped that would be a better option than tea.

[hollow_moon]

"I think that sounds lovely," Val assured him, leaning over and pressing a kiss to Jag's cheek as they approached his block.

"Tea first though, if that's alright," he added with a wink.

[jageskro]

"I never understood people's love of tea," Jag admitted with a smile, "until I tasted Drina's. A lot more spices, a lot more flavour. It's the only tea I drink." He was just making conversation, without much of a point.

[hollow_moon]

"Well my cousin owns a shop in London, she gifts me all sorts. Let me brew you something rich and flavourful. I might yet win your tastebuds over," Val grinned as he unlocked the gate and led them inside the house.

[jageskro]

Jag laughed, unwinding his arm from Val's waist so walking in would be less awkward, but staying close by just in case. "Sure, why not. But I can brew it. You just sit down and tell me where to find that wonderful tea."

[hollow_moon]

"No, please, I can manage," Val insisted. "The kettle's electric, and I've got strainers for the tea. Please, just sit at the counter, make yourself at home, Jag."

[jageskro]

"Mate, no offense, but you look like death warmed over," Jag pointed out, but still settled at the counter, leaning an elbow on it. If Val wanted to do it, he'd let him. But still... "Bet I'm faster than your kettle, though," he couldn't help but add, smirking a little.

[hollow_moon]

Val chuckled a bit, then smirked.

"Alright then, show off. Let's see it then," he said, filling two mugs with water, then setting them in front of Jag as he scooped rich and spicy black tea into two colourful silicone infusers that were shaped like tea bags.

[jageskro]

Jag chuckled, shaking his head. "And in ceramic. Sure, I can do this." Fire had already curled around the two mugs, licking at the side of them and over their rim, heating up the water from every direction. The water began to boil in, honestly, about the same time it would have taken an efficient electric kettle. But ceramic made it harder, so Jag was calling it a win.