April Showers (Open)

[Hart Kenney]

Hart was still getting used to Vermont weather after the years spent in North Carolina. The forecast for Monday was snow! Snow! In April! The highest the temperature had been all week was 51 degrees, though Saturday promised to get up to 54.

That seemed downright temperate given recent weeks, he reflected, pulling his coat closer about him.

Despite the frigidness of the evening he hadn't gone home after work; he longed for fresh air and the breeze after being cooped up inside answering phones and playing on facebook all day, and thus he found himself at the lake.

He briefly entertained the idea of sitting on one of the benches dispersed around the periphery of the lake, but that notion was soon quelled when he realized they were all yellow with pollen as well as damp from the drizzle earlier in the day. That was for the best; movement would keep him warmer than lounging.

The cold made him sluggish, and he made slow laps about the lake, the wind stinging his ears and turning the tips red until he pulled up the hood on his coat.

He was on his second lap when grey clouds skittered across the sky, moving at a quicker pace than he had realized when he'd first spotted them from the distance. Soon they were directly overhead, and fat drops of water began to fall from the sky.

He was on the opposite side of the pond from his car, and he vocally cursed his luck.

"This always happens." He grumbled, tugging at his hood and turning his lazy walk into a mad dash. "Weather doesn't like me round this lake."

[Ricio Miller]

Ricio was sitting by the edge of the lake enjoying the breeze on his face and arms. Living in the outdoors for several years, Ricio had learned to pick up on signs that wet weather was headed his way, so he was enjoying a few moments of sun before it when back behind the clouds. Not that the cold bothered him, but getting wet was sometimes annoying because it took forever to dry this time of year.

He sat up as a man jogged by where he was laying out in the grass. Glad to see someone else was out enjoying himself, Ricio watched his progress around the lake for a while before he noticed the tale-tell signs of an approaching rainstorm.

He’d managed to gather his backpack and tug on his windbreaker(which he used in place of a raincoat) when the first drops began to fall. He was making his way towards the gazebo by the pond when he heard the other man’s ranting.

“Hey,” he yelled from under the roof of the gazebo as the man began making a mad dash for cover. “Under here!”

[Hart Kenney]

Hart was dashing madly back toward his car when he heard a voice calling frantically, obviously trying to get someone's attention. He automatically slowed down, glancing around him until it became obvious that the voice was directed at him.

He looked toward the voice, spying another man huddling beneath a gazebo.

That was far closer than his car, and he gratefully changed course, darting toward the welcome shelter.

"Thanks," He panted, collapsing onto the gazebo floor with obvious relief. "I thought I was gonna get drenched out there before I got back to the car."

He was already damp enough that even his jacket couldn't entirely protect him from the cold, but he would surely dry off while waiting for the storm to blow past.

Since they were stuck with one another's company he offered his savior a hand. "I'm Hart. Do you come around here regularly?"

[Ricio Miller]

Ricio was glad to see that the man had changed his coarse and headed towards the gazebo. It wasn’t so much that he longed for the company while he waited out the storm. But he hated to see someone else suffering if he had the chance to help them. Sure, being soaked wasn’t all that big of a deal. But it did make one uncomfortable. And comfort was key to happiness.

“No worries,” he said smiling as he eased his backpack off his shoulders. “Just tryin to help out my fellow man.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a thermos of hot tea, holding it out towards Hart. “Tea? It’ll warm you up.”

Ricio grinned at the question. Well considering I use this place as a bedroom from time to time, I’d say I come here a lot, was what he thought about replying. He reconsidered it though. Not because he was ashamed of his lifestyle, but he didn’t want to send Hart running off in the ran just when he had found a dry place to wait out the storm.

“Ricio, pleasure to meet ya,” he said, shaking Hart’s hand. “I guess you could say that. I’m a big fan of the outdoors.” He gestured to the gray skies and sheets of rain. “Beautiful, ain’t it?”

[Kessa Westwood]

Looking back, Kessa reflected on her past at Hammel, it seemed to go from bad to worse over the course of the year . She didn’t trust herself or her ability as much as she could throw herself, keeping herself busy seem the best yet it didn’t always work, her friends drifted away and who could blame them, Kessa had become a needy soul that was fearful of her own shadow.

At her last infirmary visit she begged for help, her pleas were heard and soon she would be seeing a shrink, she could say the word as much as she could say she had an “ability” both words seem hidden from her mind.

The walk by the lake was an escape and she lost herself in thoughts that drifted from family to her ab… curse. Her eyes fixed on a pair of pure white swans that didn’t seem to have a care in the world, oh how she wished she could be a graceful swan.

A sudden downpour of rain didn’t bother the swans but snapped Kessa back to reality and sent her running to the only cover a gazebo that had two guys seeking cover also. At this point Kessa didn’t care who was there she just wanted to get out of the rain that soaked thru her clothes down to her fair skin, leaving her cold, wet and miserable.

Once under the cover of the gazebo she shook herself like a wet dog, her hair dripped water, her shoes squashed with each step, her sweater felt like it weighed a ton, not to mention her book bag!

Sheeply she looked at the two guys and softly said “Hello”

[Hart Kenney]

Hart accepted the tea gratefully, with a murmured "Thanks, man," before gulping down tea, delighting not only in the warmth spreading throughout his body but also in the caffeine rush.

"Ahhh," He smacked his lips in satisfaction before handing the thermos back to Ricio. "Once this downpour stops I guess I owe you some more tea." He grinned, his good humor returning along with warmth and relative dryness.

He squinted out into the rain at the other man's appreciative comments, not entirely convinced, but he replied with what he hoped was an appropriate level of agreement. "Every time I come out this way I get rained on. Makes it hard to bask in the glories of the outdoors when I'm running for shelter."

He liked nature well enough, though he preferred it tame and with the ability to return to civilization and controlled temperatures and shelter.

He wasn't much for spending too much time away from air conditioning.

Not that he would share that with someone who started off their acquaintanceship with comments on how much he loved the outdoors.

That line of conversation was mercifully shut off when a young girl stumbled into the shelter of the gazebo with them, ruining whatever dryness he'd managed to obtain by shaking all over the two of them.

"Hey." He took in the book bag and her youthful appearance. Student. Possibly from Hammel, but possibly not.

"Looks like the weather men have another victim. It would be nice of them to predict the rain accurately once in awhile."

[Ricio Miller]

“No problem,” Ricio answered taking back the thermos and helping himself to some of the tea. “And don’t worry about paying me back, maybe some day you’ll be the one yelling at me to get under some shelter.” He grinned, showing that he was half joking. There wasn’t much that Ricio felt the need to take shelter from.

”For some,” Ricio replies. He was used to others not seeing what he saw in nature. Everywhere he looked, he saw comfort and home. He was about to start into a rant of people not appreciating the beauty around them, living too fast, and other such ideals when a young girl arrived in the gazebo.

He held up a hand to block some of the water from flinging into his face as she shook herself off. “Welcome to our little hide-away,” he said smiling as he lowered his hand.

“It’s the only job where you can be wrong half the time and still not get fired,” he added to Hart’s comment. He offered his thermos of tea to her as well. “This will warm you up.”

[Kessa Westwood]

For one that loved the water and swimming she sure hated getting soaked by the sudden downpour of rain, now her clothes stuck to her thin, fair frame like glue to paper. Her hair!, oh her hair! All she could do with it now was to get it off her face and out of her eyes.

Once she finished complaining to herself about just how soaked and wet she was, her attention turned to her company before her. Two guys one that looked like he could be in a gang, the other was just as wet as her, maybe abit older then her? What ever it didn’t matter as long as they keep their hands to themselves.

The one that looked like he could be part of a gang welcomed here, holding out his hand to her and offering her tea from a thermos. Shaking her hand she offered it to the man and politely declined the tea. The other man Kessa saw him looking at her as he said “Hey”

She gave a faint smile to the two as she agreed that the weather man needs to do a better job at predicting the weather or at least the course of these downpours.

Speaking softly she asked if one of them had a piece of gum.

[Hart Kenney]

Hart couldn't help but grin at Ricio's comments regarding weathermen. "That's some wisdom," He agreed, wrapping his arms around his knees as he watched the rain continue to pour outside their shelter. Maybe he should have gone into meteorology and been a weather forecaster. But then, he didn't know that they had more trans* friendly policies than the school system had. It probably depended on the states.

At least Vermont had rules in place to protect his employment.

His musings were cut short as the girl asked if either of them had any gum. He spread his arms wide, shrugging apologetically. "Nope, sorry."

That wasn't the sort of thing he thought to take on runs around the lake; perhaps in different circumstances she would have had more luck with that request, at least from him.

He turned to glance questioningly at Ricio. He had a thermos, maybe he would have gum to share with her.

[Ricio Miller]

Ricio returned Hart’s grin as his weatherman comment. Seeing the other man huddling up against his legs, Ricio wondered if he was cold or something. He considered offering his jacket, but it had been a while since he’d had a chance to wash it. Maybe if Hart started to shiver he would.

He turned to smile at the girl who seemed to worried about being soaked. When she asked for gum, Ricio paused for a moment to think, before he started rummaging through his pack. He didn’t find any gum, but managed to turn up a tin of mints. He offered them to the girl. “Sorry, no gum. But you’re welcome to one of these,” he said.

He also found a small towel, which was cleaner than his jacket. “And if you’d like to dry off a little,” he held it out to the girl as well. He figured he could always lay it out to dry when the sun came back. Or start a fire later that night.

Turning back to Hart he gestured towards the gray skies. “Looks like it might stick around for awhile,” he said, smiling. After all, Ricio had no place to be so a little wet weather wasn’t that big of a deal to him.