Running

[rhiannon_lee]

Nighttime in Cottonwood Cove was a spectacle: a pale, pebble-strewn ground underfoot, ghostly Joshua trees twisting against a barren landscape, and a sky so black and velvety that Rhiannon longed to touch it. The moon hung low and full as she knocked at the front door of Cian’s little cottage, which had been built by a wealthy contractor as a getaway spot for his family during the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s. With all that was temporary or mobile in this part of Clark County, Rhiannon appreciated the historical aspects of its framework, and how it lent a sense of time and place to an otherwise transient community.

The slayer’s dark hair was combed into a ponytail. After the sun went down, the desert temperature dropped sharply, and so she wore a loosely knit sweater over her tank top, jeans, and boots. A delicate crucifix glinted on her collarbone. She crossed her ankles and slipped her thumbs into her hip pockets as she waited for the Were to answer.

Comments

Re: Running

[cian_oneill]

He left the door open, the cooler night air of the desert allowed to enter and cool the interior of the cabin. His eyes followed her as she crossed the room, the towel in his hand scrubbing at the back of his neck, collecting the last of the water droplets that had collected in the strands of hair. He slung the towel over his shoulder as he walked across to where she was standing, leaning down to kiss her, a soft purr felt, rather than heard. As mouths parted his eyes met hers. "It has."

Re: Running

[rhiannon_lee]

Rhiannon tilted her head and the soft ends of her ponytail danced on her shoulder. She fiddled with the neck of his t-shirt, where his hair had dripped and left a damp spot that his towel didn’t catch. “I thought about you. A little. Once.” She tapped his chin and then, with fascination, she traced her index finger down to his Adam’s apple and the hollow above his clavicle, searching out and finding the source of the vibration. Cupping a hand around the base of his scalp, Rhiannon leaned into the shelter underneath his chin and kissed the muscles nearest his voice box. Tongue’s tip grazed the shaven skin, which tasted of his soap.

She withdrew.

Re: Running

[cian_oneill]

His eyelids lowered a little, hiding the flecks of gold that appeared then faded just as quickly. The cool of the evening air highlighting the trail her tongue had taken. His head lowered again, this time the kiss carrying an edge to it, lips pressing a little more firmly, tongue seeking access, tasting, claiming and inviting, as his fingers cradled the back of her head.

Re: Running

[rhiannon_lee]

Breathless. A sudden urge to climb up Cian’s torso and curl her knees around his ribcage.

No. No no, she thought. Bad.

Rhiannon strained away from the kiss, which wasn’t an easy feat. “I would say it was smart to leave the door open, but knowing us?” It didn’t matter. She slapped the seat of his shorts. “C’mon, we’re supposed to… fuck, what are we supposed to do? I can’t think.” She closed her eyes.

Re: Running

[cian_oneill]

"Run," he said simply. Already every nerve and sense in his body was heightened, and the kiss had only magnified that. He walked past her, padding bare foot across the living room and into the hall that led down past two bedrooms to a bathroom at the end. He hung the towel up, flicked off the light and returned to the living room.

Re: Running

[rhiannon_lee]

“Right. Where is my mind?” she murmured and leaned against the back of the leather couch. Fingernails tapped rhythmically on the smooth fabric as her ankles crossed for the second time; perhaps she should stand that way always. Squeeze her legs until reason returned.

‘Now you look like you have to pee.’

Rhiannon determined that she needed a decent fight; that’s why she was wound so tight.

“I’m ready when you are.”

Re: Running

[cian_oneill]

Just before reaching the living room Cian stripped off his shirt and shorts, dropping them on a chair just next to the hallway entrance. His head leaned from one side to the other, stretching his neck and his eyes flickered. A soft thud could be heard as large paws landed on the wooden floor, a slight hiss of breath as lungs shifted inside changing ribcage, spine changing and skin encasing it all become encased in fur.

Siofra padded around the end of the lounge, eyes now gold, with tiny flecks of green.

Re: Running

[rhiannon_lee]

“Hey, you.” Rhiannon watched the cat slink ever closer. She kept her fingers open and loose at her sides, in case he wanted to sniff her hand. Again she was struck by the oddity of having Cian one moment and this magnificent animal the next, and while there was some overlap between them, they also existed distinctly from one another. Not for the first time, she wondered how it would be to slice all that made her a slayer away from her normal self and stand them side by side. But she wasn’t sure the latter existed anymore.

“You ready to go?”

She waited for the animal to take the lead this time.

Re: Running

[cian_oneill]

The large head turned, an ear flicked, and he padded across to the screen door. A push of a nose and the door opened, the shoulders pushing forward and body following, down the stairs and across into the shadow of the tree just near the front door. With barely any movement of his head, just a light swiveling of ears, Siofra started moving, a trot that covered the ground steadily, heading across the road and through the scrubby bushes and rocks that littered that side of the road. With a couple of leaps the ridge was soon topped, and there he paused, looking over his shoulder. An indiscernible twitching of his nose assessed the wind and movements of life nearby as eyes scanned the surrounding area.

Re: Running

[rhiannon_lee]

Rhiannon’s sweater was comfortable now, but it wouldn’t be when she began to run. Her slender arms carried it overhead and dropped it on his couch. Making note of the Cougar’s direction through the screen door, she tugged off her jeans and worked them over her boots. A pair of tight, thin shorts kept her decent. The hiking boots were a recent purchase for the local terrain and she kept them on for the run, because she knew that several of the native snakes were poisonous and running shoes were no protection.

She closed the front door and eased the screen shut, as well. In a few short moments, she gained the ridge and looked across the desert at Siofra’s side. A brisk wind whistled past her ears. Although the cat was likely to scent sufficient pray for himself, there was no trace of hers, and for now that was fine. Rhiannon smiled and made the leap. The soles of her boots gripped the scraggly plants and shifting sediment as she started to run, darting around the larger boulders, leaping over those small enough to top without breaking her speed. Her leg muscles stretched pleasantly as she lengthened her stride. It wasn’t the towering cityscapes she had grown used to, but she felt the same freedom from the world.

The moon peeked from behind a smattering of high, icy clouds.

Re: Running

[cian_oneill]

He turned to watch her run, a flicker of green illuminating the golden irises, black slits accentuated by both. Muscle, bone and fur melded into movement that saw the cat start into a long steady lope, keeping pace behind the Slayer, at times diverting from the path she'd taken to take a slightly different one, then later converging on it again, after sensing the area around them.