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

[hollow_moon]

Val let himself be pulled in, leaning into Jag as if he didn't trust his feet fully to keep him upright.

"I just mean... Growing up, I was so often surrounded by what passes for normal- Or some perceived notion of normal anyway. At school I was surrounded by boys who wanted to be just like their fathers, who never put a toe out of line, and could have never understood or accepted what I am. ...So I treasure any quirk, large or small, I find in others."

[jageskro]

"Shit, you're going to love me," Jag stated with an amused grin. There wasn't much about his life, or him, that was conventional. He pressed a few soft kisses along the line of Val's jaw. "Where d'you wanna curl up?"

[hollow_moon]

"I'd say the bedroom, but I'm not certain I'm steady enough for stairs. ...There's a chaise in the living room that seats two," he suggested.

[jageskro]

"Let's do that," Jag agreed, and turned to drop a little sugar in his tea. He'd stir it later. For now he just picked it up and slid an arm around Val's waist again. "Want me to get your tea?" He could probably pull off holding both mugs in one hand, by their handles.

[hollow_moon]

"I can manage," Val insisted, picking up his cup as they headed for the living room.

It was styled in dark rich woods and leathers, one wall lines in filled bookshelves, another dominated by a fairly large telly and other media equipment.

"We could put a movie on, if you'd like," he offered.

[jageskro]

"Whatever," Jag answered honestly. "I'm not planning on focusing on much beside you."

[hollow_moon]

"Hardly worth your attention today," Val chuckled, putting his cup down, then gingerly lowering himself into the chair. "Just a broken mess of a man today, Jag."

[jageskro]

"I'm still holding out hope for a decent snog," Jag warned him teasingly, setting his mug down beside his and having zero compunction about pulling off his loosely laced boots to join Val on the chair, without worrying about damaging it. It looked, like everything else in here, pricy.

He settled beside Val, his body angled towards him, and laid a hand on his forearm, searching his eyes. "Let me decide, yeah? What's worth my attention." Or he wouldn't be here. And yeah, part of it was about all that fucked up shit about Val's father. But maybe not all of it.

[hollow_moon]

"Alright," Val agreed, settling in close and resting his head against Jag's shoulder as he sighed softly and closed his eyes for a moment.

"I just know I'm no fun like this."

And wasn't that the only thing most people wanted from him? A bit of fun and a laugh?

[jageskro]

Jag's arm wrapped warmly around Val, and his other hand wound up cradling the side of his face. His lips brushed a kiss on his forehead, and his voice was warm and quietly playful as he answered, "Well, you're still very pretty to look at."

[hollow_moon]

"Glad to hear I've still got something going for me," Val laughed, smiling faintly as his hand came to rest on Jag's hip.

"Tell me how you've been, what you've been up to," he nudged gently, feeling as if he'd spent far to much time blabbering on about himself today.

[jageskro]

"Oh, the usual," Jag told him, smiling a little and glad if he could offer Val some comfort, right then. "Playing with fire. Getting into scraps." He paused, fingers playing with Val's hair, and then added, "Trying to come to terms with the idea that I owe my fire to genetics, rather than some form of magic. Mostly failing."

[hollow_moon]

"Your talents run in the family then?" Val asked curiously.

[jageskro]

"No idea," Jag answered, something like distance cutting through his tone. He forced himself to relax immediately, by moving on from that topic immediately. "I've met some people - like me. Or so they say. They say it's a gene inside us."

Don't get him wrong, he trusted Emma. But she could only talk about what she knew. Maybe he wasn't like her Pyro, and like that John bloke.

[hollow_moon]

"Really?" Val asked, suddenly looking very interested. "How remarkable."

[jageskro]

"I hate it," Jag replied with a wince. "The thought that it could be due to a single gene. That seems scientific. Cold." He refrained from shaking his head, so he wouldn't dislodge Val, and just added, quietly, almost to himself, "It's never felt like that."

[hollow_moon]

"Well, for whatever my thoughts are worth... Just because they are like you, does not mean you are like them, Jag," val suggested in a soothing tone.

[jageskro]

Jag smiled at his words, and brushed a kiss on his forehead. "No, yeah. 's why I can't wrap my head around it, I reckon. Still clinging to that possibility."

And, well, lycans existed. There was clearly more than mutants in the world.

[hollow_moon]

"I don't think anyone can know what makes you the way you are more than you can," Val shrugged. "But even if they're right, it doesn't change things. You're still you, and your powers are no doubt as unique as your fingerprints."

[jageskro]

"I don't mind not being the only fire wielder in town," Jag murmured against Val's temple. "I don't know what it is that bugs me. You ought to drink your tea before it's gone cold," he added, reaching out with the arm around Val's shoulders to grab his mug and hand it to him.

[hollow_moon]

"Mmm, I suppose I should," Val sighed, taking the cup and sipping. "The day after is always the worst- I do promise I'll be more fun in a day or so."

[jageskro]

Jag stroked his hand over Val's back when he straightened up enough to drink, easily keeping the contact going. He was a very tactile bloke, alright? "And I'm looking forward to that," he promised him with a half smile. "But I'm enjoying this, too." Being curled up with Val wasn't exactly a hardship. "I only wish you didn't feel miserable."

[hollow_moon]

"You've improved my mood and wellness tenfold, simply by being here," Val assured him with a soft smile.

[jageskro]

That soft smile made the one on Val's lips stretch. "Then my job here is done," he answered, playing, his hand settling easily on Val's shoulder.

[hollow_moon]

"You know I'm having another party in a few weeks- Perhaps this time you'd like to come as a guest, rather than a performer," Val suggested.