I Need to Run (Iridian)

Bowen

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Jul 20, 2015
950
@"Iridian Death"

Charlie's life had gone from boring but normal to dramatic but only surrounded by abnormal to - well. To this deeply personal chaos.

Sometimes he thought he could cope with it all. There were plenty of times when that really wasn't an option. This was one of those times. She couldn't stand being inside, surrounded by so much abnormal normalcy, stuck inside her own head and trying not to just claw her way to freedom.

He needed to escape, and running had always been his escape. So Charlie had grabbed a jacket to throw over her tshirt - it was way too cold for anything less, and even inside with the heat on her fingers were a little purple - and let his roommate know he was going out running. Sometimes they went running together. Charlie didn't really care right now, not one way or the other.

Charlie just needed to run.
 

Iridian Death

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Jul 26, 2015
169
They hadn't been roommates for long, but Natsumi had worked out Charlie liked running. What she wasn't sure about was whether Charlie was a boy or a girl, mostly because he was sometimes a she. "Wait up!" she flopped off the sofa, now knowing this was not the lazy day she had planned, but not really wanting to be alone for however long she was going to be. Sometimes the runs lasted hours.

Despite having super speed, she'd never actually shown Charlie, just because she didn't want to leave him in the dust. Maybe today was the day? The running was so slow, even if it was fast for ordinary people. Throwing on her red running jacket (but not seeing the point in changing into the full outfit considering she was wearing loose trousers), she wondered what made Charlie so desperate to run in this weather. Strange.

"Where do you want to run?" she asked, out of curiosity more than anything else.
 

Bowen

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Jul 20, 2015
950
@"Iridian Death"

So Natsumi was coming. Fine. Whatever. It was just going to be a different sort of run. That was fine. It was the running that was important.

"I just need to run," he said shortly, already itching to be out of the halls and surrounded by leaves and barren trees. It showed in her step, the way his weight was straining at her toes and it took all the strength in his shins to keep from just bolting.

"I need to run far," she amended, burrowing into his jacket as she pushed through a door and into the dull cold of fall. It might not have been that cold to others, but then Charlie could just blame it on being a ****ing dragon. Dragons had scales and were cold-blooded, weren't they? Even if they breathed fire.
 

Iridian Death

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Jul 26, 2015
169
@Bowen

"Alright then," the girl was on her feet, just as ready to dash, but not as eager. Charlie was eager; Natsumi decided this would be a good time to know how to read minds. Because she couldn't work out what made him so eager to run. She followed her outside, mostly frustrated by the leaves crunching rather than the grey sky. When was Autumn going to be over?

"Far... hey!" An idea popped into Natsumi's head, "Why don't we have a race?" She smiled innocently; this would be a nice way to show Charlie her abilities. He'd find out eventually anyway.
 

Bowen

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Jul 20, 2015
950
@"Iridian Death"

"A race?"

That might be a good idea. Run hard, run fast. There was no space for anything else when Charlie pushed himself for speed.

And it felt better too. There was more wind in her face. More air against him. Maybe it was a flying thing after all. Whatever it was, she needed it. Badly. Maybe it would ease up the ache of... whatever this really was.

"To the lake, then," he said quietly, and took off. Being able to shift from barely moving to full sprint in a step was a trick from soccer. It worked here. Charlie was fast. She spent a lot of time running, and had the muscles for it. He had the build and the body for it.

Charlie just wasn't powered by magic when it came to speed.
 

Iridian Death

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Jul 26, 2015
169
@Bowen

"Yeah, a race." Natsumi grinned, trying not to share her plans through a smirk. She knew Charlie would give it her all, and probably would beat her if she didn't apply powers.

"The lake it is," she agreed quickly, before he dashed off. For a few moments she watched her. Then, she willed herself to zoom so they were even, taking a deep breathe, she ran in front, reaching the lake in less than a minute, and sat near it, a little smirk formed, but otherwise, rather calm and collected, as if she expected Charlie to know that she could do that, and not expecting a reaction at all.
 

Bowen

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Jul 20, 2015
950
@"Iridian Death"

To the lake. It was a fair distance, and pushing Char's sprinting stamina a bit. That was fine. She wanted to feel the burn. To fight through the strain and the tightness and the shaking muscles.

He didn't expect to win; she wasn't really thinking like that. The competition was Natsumi's idea. The competition would be on Natsumi's side-

He still didn't expect to see Natsumi pull ahead, something just a bit off to the way she ran. She shook his head, uncertain if the oddness was just in her head - and tripped on a split in the pavement.

He landed a sprinting dragonlength away rather than just a few feet, skidding to a stop on a scaled belly and chin and panickedly reaching for something to grab onto. That apparently included with her negation magic, and snagged quite soundly on Natsumi.
 

Iridian Death

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Jul 26, 2015
169
Oops. Perhaps she should've put it more gently, since Charlie tripped over, and went flying in her direction. Not literally, but might as well had been, since she slid fairly far. Natsumi's first thought was whether Charlie was hurt or not.

"Are you okay?" she asked nervously, as Charlie grasped her. It made her feel a bit dizzy, and she didn't know she was that... weak, honestly. All that happened was he tried to find a place to hold, and she was the closest thing to her. It's not like she dragged her into the lake itself or anything.

"If you're hurt, I can... run and get the nurse," she was quite calm, like she was in many situations, and smiling. Which would be pretty bad if Charlie was hurt. "Or something." She almost wanted to laugh. He seemed to be in quite a bit surprised.

@Bowen
 

Bowen

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Jul 20, 2015
950
@"Iridian Death"

****. Charlie hadn't wiped out like that in a while, but at least it was on smooth pavement rather than gravel. Gravel tore skin like wet paper. He carefully picked herself up, leaning on Natsumi a bit until he'd sorted out what was bleeding.

"I'm okay," she said, giving his head a bit of a shake and then checking herself over. Some missing skin along his forearms and elbows, since she was in the habit of landing on them rather than his face, and some bruising to her ribs and legs that felt like cloth-burn at most. His clothing had taken the brunt of that, but had torn with the worst landing; her sleeves were kind of shredded, and blood welled up through the holes.

"Well. I'll heal. I've had worse." Like broken ankles. Those were way worse. He gave her arms a little shake, grimacing but not wincing. "I guess that's one way of getting out of my own head..."
 

Iridian Death

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Jul 26, 2015
169
"Oh, good, I was worried," Natsumi sighed. Perhaps showing both her powers in one day would be too overwhelming. "Maybe I should've told you sooner," she shrugged nonchalantly and laughed for a moment, smiling at the face of confusion. "While not running." She added quickly, glad that Charlie would be able to heal. "On concrete." Sighing, Natsumi was reconsidering her actions once an injury was involved like she often did, yet keeping her calm composure.

"Do you still want to run or...?" She was fine either way, but she didn't want Charlie to strain herself after her trip. It wasn't Natsumi's idea of fun, and she doubted that he was completely fine, even if she had persisted he was. Maybe they should go back to the dorm, even if just to get her some new clothes and a quick snack. Sure, they hadn't been running for very long at all, but it was quite different from her relaxing days when she had quite a bit of food.

"I mean, I think you should at least get those bits sorted out," she pointed at the blood.
 
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