004 [Closed] Heavy as a feather & Light as a brick

[brotherofagod]

Who; Jacob Miller & Nida
What; Crystal Addictions
Where; Roof of the Gray Building
When; January 29th
Warnings; SO MANY! Addiction, possible mention of drug use or other similar escapes from Jacob's backstory. Also possible mention of blood and vampires because that's part of Jacob's past.


The gleaming red crystal had been like an electric jolt to his system. A high that wasn't from the rush of blood emptying his veins or the hypnotic concoction of prescribed drugs. It let him fly and while he was drifting through those clouds he knew that he'd never fall. There was nothing to pull him down from the release. No matter how many times he held onto the crystal, it was the same.

It was a sudden rush but endless for as long as he focused on the crystal clamped tightly in his palm. Over and over again, the air rushed past him.

He had gotten permission. There was nothing wrong.

The only problem was that he didn't want to let anyone know about it. Nida knew. It was Nida’s crystal that he held in his palm. So why couldn’t he tell anyone else? Why did he try and hide the crystal that he held with him at all times? What was wrong with him?

All these questions worried through his thoughts, until his fingers brushed against the cool red crystal. Then he fell away.

Jacob's steps took him to the edge of the Gray Building. It wasn't for any nefarious purpose but to feel his body on the edge as he rode the euphoric high that engulfs him. It was innocent from his point of view but to an onlooker, it was the form of a man standing at the edge of a building.

Comments

[skyward_eyes]

Rooftops were definitely Nida's thing. And while he didn't often go out into the cold and ice to climb, he definitely had to practice at it too. Which in this case he was doing just to keep himself sharp.

What Nida wasn't expecting when he lifted himself over the edge of the building and onto the roof was to find Jacob there, on the other side of the roof, standing close to the edge. And Nida's heart skipped a beat. He'd seen enough to worry about the guy. He would always worry about the guy.

"It hurts, a lot, if you survive a fall like this. It isn't worth it."

[brotherofagod]

Jacob's eyes snapped out. "What?" The crystal slipped from his hand and clattered onto the rooftop as he turned to face Nida. It was true that he was standing on the ledge but he didn't consider himself close to falling. Not unless someone came up behind him and pushed him. It was a chilling thought and one that he hadn't considered before now.

"That isn't it." He stepped down from the edge of the building's roof, slipping on his gloves in the process. Jacob's footing wasn't perfect and it looked as if he might slip at any moment. "I just wanted to feel the wind."

There was nothing wrong with that.

Jacob leaned forward and picked up the red crystal, stashing it into his pocket before it could become a topic of conversation. He didn't really want to talk about how much he had begun to rely on it. "Do you think I'd come up here to jump? There are so many easier ways to do it."

[skyward_eyes]

The crystal. Nida... notices it, and it makes him frown. What were the chances...?

"There's plenty of wind back from the edge," Nida answered, arms crossing over his chest. He didn't like the feel of this at all, especially not with how active Siren was becoming in his mind, the old spirit swimming to attention in his mind. She was, after all, very attuned to his memories.

"Sometimes people see jumping as a more effective method than a blade," Nida answered. Something he very much knew from a good bit of experience. That was what really got him in the here and now.

[brotherofagod]

Jacob was ready to toss a sarcastic comment back at Nida when he felt his blood run cold. He knew that Nida had had a hard time throughout his life and he wondered if his friend was speaking from personal experiences.

It was uncomfortable to think about.

"I'm sure that's the case. I'm just careful around medications." The idea of closing his eyes and never waking up used to be alluring. "But for real, that wasn't my intention." Even as he spoke he walked towards Nida, moving away from the edge of the roof.

[skyward_eyes]

Too many personal experiences, Jacob. HE'd worry about it. A lot.

Still, he looks at Jacob, frowning.

"What were you holding?"

[brotherofagod]

"It's just a crystal." He didn't move to take it out of his pocket and he happened to leave out the detail that it was Nida's crystal.

"I was surprised and dropped it."

It wasn't so strange. Jacob had spent the month cleaning up the crystals and had a great deal of them stashed in his room because he had no idea what to do with them. Luckily they'll disappear in a few days.

[skyward_eyes]

A crystal huh? Still has it too.

"One of your memories? Trying to delve into them, feel them more acutely?"

[brotherofagod]

"No. I didn't find too many happy memories of mine and not all are things I've dealt with." Many of the things that bothered Jacob were in progress but he was working on it. Slowly.

He stalled and scratched the back of his head before he knew that he'd have to answer. Nida wasn't the kind of person to let it go. "It's your memory. The one I kept."

[skyward_eyes]

His memory. Nida... feared that. He knew that thrill, the love of heights. It led him to do the climbing he did, to seek the high places and the dangerous ones, to feel more alive. But damn, this was...

"So you do this often? Come up far too close to the edge and bask in my remembered adrenaline rush?"

[brotherofagod]

"Not often." Jacob's lower lip popped out in a slight pout. He didn't like being put on the spot like this and it was taking a lot of effort for him not to get overly defensive or angry. He knew that Nida meant well but if it was anyone other than Nida he was talking to, he'd likely have stormed away already.

"I just thought I'd try it to see if I got the same feeling. Aren't you up here for the same thing?"

[skyward_eyes]

"I'm up here to keep my skills sharp, since I have a student in climbing. BUt he knows better than to stand so close to the edge."

He let some of his fear, his concern, slip into his voice. Because he didn't want Jacob acting on the tension Nida could read in him. This could so easily get into an argument. His oldest student was definitely the most volatile.

[brotherofagod]

"You don't have to be concerned." Jacob answered automatically. He was approximately a yard from the edge of the building now but when he turned he could still see the ground below.

"When I was a kid I climbed everything. I fell from a tree that was about two stories up and broke my wrist once." Jacob shrugged and tried to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal. "I've always been like that." He had been ready to fight but Nida's words had calmed him down enough to think more rationally.

[skyward_eyes]

Now he was further away from the edge. But that didn't make up for what he'd done before. Where he'd been found.

"As was I. But even I know not to stand at the edge like that."

He moved now, circling around to stand between Jacob and the edge. "I don't think I like my memories being used like that."

[brotherofagod]

Jacob watched Nida circle him and conclude his plan once he was firmly placed between Jacob and the edge of the building. He hadn't thought that it was a big deal but he wasn't really looking for a fight.

His eyebrow twitched as he fished the crystal from his pocket.

"So you're taking it back?" He sounded a bit upset.

[skyward_eyes]

"I think I might have to," Nida says, looking at the other, concern on his face. "Coming up here, seeing you like that, it scared me, Jacob."

[brotherofagod]

He was ready to fight back but he could hear the fear in Nida's voice and it was uncomfortable. This wasn't what he wanted.

"Yeah." He conceded half-heartedly. "Here." He tossed the red crystal to Nida without really looking at what he was doing.

[skyward_eyes]

Nida caught the thing quickly, and for a moment he seemed unfocused, considering his own memory. Ah.

"Alright, thank you. I... Would prefer you learned climbing safely."

[brotherofagod]

Jacob crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Who said I don't do it safely." He was more accustomed to bouldering which didn't use harnesses or other safety measures and was absolutely not safe when performed in a city where there was concrete below but he didn't like Nida's assumption that Jacob wasn't putting any care into his actions.

He remembered how Yuki had acted after he'd died last time he'd been in the city. He wasn't planning to relive that reincarnation any time soon... assuming his luck held up.

[skyward_eyes]

If he was accustomed to bouldering, then Nida wouldn't judge him at all. That was the sort Nida most loved, beyond the general free climbing and parkour skills. So he wouldn't really judge if he knew that Jacob could do that comfortably.

But not trusting that Jacob was being careful had a lot to do with how he saw the guy this evening. Nida too hadn't been happy with Jacob's death. NO, he thought people needed more care.

"Given how I found you, trust is a bit harder right now."

[brotherofagod]

Jacob awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "I guess we'll have to go together sometime. Not that I think that there are a lot of rocks here." There weren't in the city but maybe outside the city. He hadn't had a lot of chances to explore outside of the city. The last time he'd lived here he hadn't been able to protect himself and while he could now, he'd be more comfortable if there was someone to watch his back.

"Or we can parkour." Which Jacob was significantly worse at.

[skyward_eyes]

"There aren't any nearby, or I'd be scrambling up them more instead of buildings," Nida admitted.

There weren't a lot of places here that gave him a true thrill when it came to climbing.

"I don't think you would keep up with my parkour skills. I trained with a master assassin in the first world that kidnapped me."

Too bad he couldn't remember the guy's name. Actually, there had been three of them, and he didn't remember any of their names.

[brotherofagod]

"I would definitely not." He could admit his limitations and his flexibility needed some work. He'd likely kick up his training to increase both his stamina and his flexibility. Strength was something that he had in spades thanks to his work.

"Maybe another time." After Jacob stopped feeling like a fool for standing on the top of the roof like this. The longer he spent just standing and talking with Nida, the more foolish he felt.

"Speaking of another time, I should go." He didn't know where but the location of the seemingly normal conversation felt strange.

[skyward_eyes]

"Alright then," Nida said, nodding before he moved to the edge himself. "Good night, Jacob. And please don't get hurt. Yuki would be distressed. As would I."

And with that, he lowered himself over the edge.