Sick/ Happy (Sha)

[Gunnar Frey]

Gunnar finally stood up, having spent the past half hour kneeling down and watching through the front of the vivarium in his living room. The snake was a new one he had picked up that morning, a present to himself, and was a truly stunning male pale toffee ball python. Even his rather sizeable wallet had felt a bit of strain at that, but he didn't really care about that. After everything, he felt he deserved something rather special. He would leave the snake alone for a week or two and let it settle in before trying to handle it, but he was already excited about it and its probable future offspring.

After a quick shower and getting changed into jeans and a loose-fitting band shirt with a leather jacket over it, Gunnar shut down his computer and fed the cockatoo before heading out into the cool evening air. It wasn't a long walk from his house into town, and he smiled softly to himself as he walked along to the rhythm of the music coming through the earbuds from his ipod. The sun had set, the street-lights casting long shadows, but he felt safer here than he had ever done back home. There was certainly something to be said about living in a small mountain town, that was for sure.

Eventually his footfalls led him to a bar, the warm lights from inside spilling onto the pavement outside, and when he unhook his earbud he could hear the soft sound of music coming from within. He breathed a quiet sigh. He hadn't set foot inside a bar since before rehab, before he'd quit drinking, before the pancreatitis had almost killed him. He hadn't had a sip of alcohol since then, though it had at times been so very difficult to resist, and it was still a lure pulling him in. Even now, just stood outside, he could feel it calling to him. Could feel the ache in his limbs pulling him towards it. Just for that sweet taste once more, that rush of adrenaline and endorphins, that thrill that had defined so very much of his life.

Almost before he realised it, Gunnar was walking up to the bar and settling on one of the stools there. It felt so natural, so right, and he felt his breath hitch as he ran a hand over the smooth wood of the bar top. It had been so long. So very, very long... His hand drifted to the thin leather cord around his wrist, and he unfastened it for the first time in a year. The little token was unhooped from it, and brown eyes looked over the little '5' engraved onto it. Five years sober. Five years free from this crutch. Five very long, very dry years... He flicked the little token onto the bar, away from him.

A barman with a Welsh accent approached him then, asking what he wanted. Gunnar actually thought about it for a long moment before smiling warmly.
“Oh, just a cranberry juice, thanks.”
Reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet, Gunnar fished out the silver token that was tucked inside it, with a little '6' engraved onto its surface. It was looped onto the leather cord, which was then fastened back around his wrist for another year.

Yes, he definitely deserved the new snake.

[Deleted]

A night out in town sounded rather pleasant. A long day at the petting zoo quite often eliminated it as an option, but today Nolan felt like he had enough energy and motivation left to head out and to grab something to drink at one of the bars. Just a relaxing night really; not feeling the need to go to one of the clubs to see if someone would be willing to head home with him. No, that didn’t sound tempting at this point. So, with that in mind, Nolan had dressed himself casual and had headed out with his truck to drive the couple of minutes into Pilot Ridge. Luckily it was a rather calm evening, meaning he effortlessly had found a parking spot near The Churchkey.

Same accounted for inside the bar. Enough stools to pick from at the bar, and even the one where he tended to sit down was still available. Nolan had been claiming it for the last twenty minutes or so when another man heaved himself on the one nearby. No particular attention was paid to this. The petting zoo owner merely cast a brief glance at Gunnar before gulping back another sip from his bottle of beer. Minding his own business was what he tended to do best.

At least until the token rolled to where he sat. Nolan at first opted to ignore it, but eventually he reached out and plucked it up from the bar, inspecting it for a single second before looking over at the man who had flicked it there. “This yours?” Having no clue that Gunnar might have gotten rid of it on purpose. It just felt right to at least check, right? To make sure nothing too important got lost. Then again, Nolan could only wonder why it had the five on there and if it would truly be of any importance.

“Kind of rolled my way…”

[Gunnar Frey]

Gunnar hadn’t really been paying any attention to the other people in the bar. He had once been a highly sociable person but his want to communicate with people had faded in response to the clusterfuck that had occurred after his disgrace. He had spent a few years learning to keep people at arms distance, and while his business was definitely teaching him how to interact with people again, it was still very much a work in progress. To be honest, he was quite happy with it being that way. When people got too close, that was when they tended to become troublesome. As a general rule, the less people knew about him, the better.

The juice arrived and Gunnar gave the barman a soft ‘thanks’ before taking a long drink of it. With the heady scent of alcohol in the air it just didn’t quite fill his aching need for a real drink, but it kept his hands and mind busy with something to concentrate on. Every second in here was a painful temptation, but he was convinced he was strong enough to fight it now. Six years. Six long, dry years. If after all that he couldn’t fight off his demons, what the hell was the point in trying anymore?

A voice snapped Gunnar out of his contemplation, and he slowly turned to face the other man with a smile that wasn’t entirely friendly. “Hmm?” When he saw the little token the man was indicating to, however, he gave a soft breath of a laugh. “Yeah… Yeah, I guess it is.” He normally got rid of all the old tokens, but… five years was a real milestone, wasn’t it? Perhaps that one might be worth hanging on to. Maybe he could even get a little tiny frame for it or something. He held out his hand for it. “I was just gonna trash it, but I think I’ll hang on to it. Thanks.”

A little of the defensiveness eased out of Gunnar’s smile as he relaxed slightly, thankful that the man hadn’t seemed to recognise him. Well, might as well at least attempt to be somewhat sociable. “You doing alright? It’s starting to get cold out, ey?”