xp_logs | Julian & Dori: Tree Time (backdated) (Reply)

Dori discovers Julian sulking in the woods after his break-up with Nico.

Walking through the branches once the snow started to melt off was interesting. It wasn't warm enough yet that they were completely clear of the white, cold stuff. Or the occasional patch of ice. It was hard not to slip and fall from the branches on days like this, but her balance made up for it.

At least, she thought, the days were getting warmer.

Not far away in the same woods, a young and familiar man sat beneath a barren oak, his coat pulled tight around him as he failed to keep the cold from penetrating to his bones. Tears streaked his face and tiny bits of moisture had frozen on the tips of his eyelashes as the moon rose. He was completely oblivious to the world around him- for all he cared, the large creature crashing through the woods may have well been a bear come to gobble him up.

Dori saw him and paused in her present tree when she saw him. Was he, crying? After a moment, she worked her way over, "Um... Julian?"

Startled by his own name, Julian jumped slightly, throttled back to reality and the cold bleak woods he'd been in for hours. "What?!" he looked up, "oh...hey, D-D-Dori."

"Ohmigosh, what happened?" Doreen said, he looked like death warmed over.

The words were out of his mouth before he even realized it, "Nico broke up with me." Suddenly, it was real, and the woods around them began to creak as his pent up energy and anger was directed outwards across the trees around them. His girlfriend, whom he loved...had loved...no, still loved, was no longer a part of his life.

Dori held on to the trunk, it was, after all, what her claws were for, "Ohmigod, I'm sorry! But, um... stop moving the trees? I'm going to maybe fall off."

The trees slowly stopped creaking and swaying by some invisible breeze, as Julian shook his head and tried to ignore his chattering teeth. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Doreen said, she dropped down then, hitting the ground easily, "What happened?"

Her answer was met with more silence as an uncomfortable stillness settled over the woods. "She said she cared about me too much to hurt me or some crap."

"...But doing this hurt you," Doreen said, confused. Okay, she was a girl and she had to admit that some girls simply didn't make sense, "How does this save you from that? What really happened? Was it something else? Or is Nico just going insane?"

"All of the above. You know I was in medlab for a couple days, right?" Julain sighed, wiping the rapidly cooling moisture from his cheeks and trying to compose himself.

"Yeah, I know," Doreen said, moving to sit next to her friend, "I was kind of worried."

"She and I were..." he gestured for her to fill in the blanks herself, "and she lost control, sucked some energy from me."

Dori resolved not to be jealous of the fact that any of her friends had a relationship of some kind. It was a lot harder than it sounded, but right now she was more concerned about Julian than she was about wallowing in self pity, "It was an accident though. That shouldn't make her so sacred. I mean, you two really like eachother, right?"

"Apparently not enough," Julian said, despondently.

"...I'm sorry," Doreen said, and meant it, "I.. I mean, I know I'm really not good at stuff like this for things like this," it wasn't like she had a boyfriend currently or EVER after all, "So... I don't know... I guess, well, uh, I know! Let's go out somewhere, you know, totally as friends as stuff," she said simply. Not that she had to add the clarification, but she but she felt the need to for some reason.

Things got quiet for a moment, the natural sounds of the forest returning to them slowly as Julian reigned himself in. "What did you have in mind?"