Midna-Phobia

Blue Moon

Chase moved to open his mouth when Carys summarised what he’d said… poorly. However before he could move to speak she was already on the back of the bike, helmet on. The boy could only wince as he started up the bike. She seemed eager, possibly too eager. Chase began to worry perhaps this had not been his best idea. But he was a man of his word and he refused to go back on it. He slowly pulled out of the field and onto the driveway leading back to the main road.

He was taking it slow at first, taking the bends easy. He figured Carys would probably assume that he was taking it easy because of her and, whilst that was a factor it was mostly because of himself. He needed to gauge how she handled on the back, how much she would lean or fight and how her weight affected how the bike handled. Truth be told it had been a while since he had doubled and bikes were dangerous, as confident as he felt on one it was important to always remember how easily things could go from fine to disastrous.

Not to mention he’d have a hard time explaining broken bones. However they were only a few minutes down the road before he began picking up the pace, taking it to a point she would find exciting. However he made sure to keep it to the speed limit, Chase didn’t want to get in trouble with the small amount of law they had around here, and he was kind of scared of her roommate and no doubt she’d have a go at him if she found out he put her friend in unnecessary danger. In no time at all they were nearing the town, signs of buildings and inhabited life popping up here and there.

Blue Moon

Chase nodded his head to the side at her, a fiendishly delighted smile crossing his face as he picked up Chloe’s helmet and tossed it gently to the girl, a yellow and black, full face helmet with white stars on it. He figured that would be the closest match size wise. Moving over to the column between the two roller doors he ran his fingers along the sets of keys before snatching one up. He moved over to a red and white bike and wheeled it out of the garage. He grabbed a helmet of his own and quickly put it on before moving back over to the bike.

Wiping the seat over a few times with his hands before pulling down the passenger foot pegs and climbing on Chase started up the bike and made sure it was running smoothly before turning it back off and gesturing the girl over so he could talk to her. Now, realistically this bike would have been too tall for her to ride on her own, their heights were quite varied so Carys would have had trouble touching the ground once she was sitting on it. Luckily a pillion didn’t need to touch the ground but he figured it would be safer to go over some of the things she should know before they left.

He had no idea about her experience on a bike and figured it would be better to be safe than sorry. “Okay, so you just get to sit back here the whole time, feet on the pegs and you can hold onto my around the waist or shoulders, or on that strap behind your butt. Don’t be afraid of it, that’s what it’s there for. When we come to a stop you can keep your feet on the pegs, don’t try and touch the ground like I do. Most importantly, I need you to try and lean with me in the turns.

Don’t fight them and try and stay upright or you’ll change the course of the bike. I know it can be a little scary if you’ve never been on a bike before but you need to trust me okay? I’m gonna keep you safe. But, if you want we have spare bike jackets in case you’re worried.” He pointed to a rack which had a number of tough looking Kevlar, leather and other assorted material jackets hanging from it. “When you’re ready, just climb up and we’ll head into town. When we start getting close to your house just tap me on the shoulder and I’ll slow down so you can point me in the right direction okay?”

Blue Moon

All good, just wanted to make sure I was saying it right in my mind.

Blue Moon

Chase merely chuckled softly to himself and shook his head, his hair flopping lazily as he shrugged. “It isn’t annoyingly gracious to me, just how I was raised. People… people look out for one another around here. Being raised in such a large family group taught me the importance of treating people how you’d like to be treated.” He turned slightly, inviting the girl to walk beside him as they began making their way to his house. However they were quickly off the path and walking up through a well used dirt driveway through the forest with no real sign of a house through the trees.

“If you find you’re having too much trouble with your cell reception you might want to consider changing providers, I know there’s one that actually gets fairly good service out here. Can’t remember the name off the top of my head though.” He made a mental note to get the name for her when they reached the house. After that though he walked along for a long time without really saying much. The road seemed to stretch on forever before eventually houses started to come into view.

There was a fairly large clearing just up ahead, half a dozen houses sitting neatly throughout it, as if it weren’t the middle of a forest and just some urban neighbourhood. There were no fences, just trees and all the houses were surprisingly modern, so much so that they looked very out of place in such a rustic setting with big, open floor plans and large windowed walls allowing you to see straight into the kitchen, dining and living room for most of them. It kind of gave a similar feel to those houses you had right on the beach that were as open as possible to make you feel like you were outside.

Inside it was very easy to see a few people moving around and talking to each other comfortably. The familiarity and trust was all too clear though the boys from the beach were nowhere to be seen. Chase barely paused, instead walking over to a large enclosed garage, heaving up the roller doors to reveal a variety of vehicles, a few cars, all fairly new or at least in very well kept condition and a half dozen motorcycles that seemed dirty, but otherwise fine. “Now, did you want the comfort of a car or the excitement of a bike?” The boy asked with almost a tone of challenge in his voice as he smirked at the girl.

Blue Moon

A question: how do you actually pronounce your character's name? I've been saying it like Care-Iss (like a hiss noise)

Blue Moon

Chase shook his head slightly, chuckling to himself. There was certainly nothing wrong with a healthy attitude towards exploring now was there? So long as one managed to remain out of trouble he reminded himself. He didn’t want to count the number of times he’d heard of people wondering off and getting lost in the woods overnight. He and his friends had all wondered off in there over time too, of course. But they had never gotten lost. He knew those woods too well to get lost, they were practically his backyard.

When she said she was only forty minutes or so from her house he took a moment to look around and seemed to be crunching numbers in his head. He looked at her for a moment before he spoke. “You’re maybe an hour or so from the town, if that’s anything to go by. I know the gps mapping around here is a bit old and can sometimes be a bit off. However my house is five minutes that-a-way. And then it’ll only be a ten minute drive.” He shrugged his shoulders slightly, not wanting to pressure her into anything. He could see how being offered a ride might be seen as creepy by some girls.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t push. If you’re happy to walk I don’t mind at all, though I’d rather walk with you, I can understand why you might not want that. But if you do want a lift then the offer stands and I promise it won’t be any trouble. I can probably pick up something from the store whilst I’m there… you have no idea what it’s like living in a house with five other boys… so to speak. I’m sure the extra food will not go unappreciated.” He shrugged again. He’d made his offer and whatever she hose, he’d accept with as much grace as was possible.

Blue Moon

Mostly the boys were walking along at a leisurely pace, chatting amongst themselves. He suddenly felt someone bump into him from behind and the boy stopped turning and looking down, surprised to see a somewhat familiar face looking back up at him. The girl from last night. Carys? He took a step back to give her space as she fumbled a little with her words. The boy chuckled softly. “After last night, I’m surprised it wasn’t ‘Casanova’.” He had seen her later in the night, the boys had dutifully remained at the beach to make sure everyone got home safely and the beach was left in acceptable condition.

Needless to say he didn’t blame her for forgetting his friends’ names. “Mason, Ryan and Seth.” He introduced each boy in turn. He made sure not to address Seth as ‘Ryan’s brother’, he knew it bothered him. “So what are you doing all the way out here?” He eventually asked. The other boys gave him a look before Mason gave him a pat on the shoulder and they began walking ahead. He understood it simply meant they’d go ahead and he’d catch up later. “I mean this is a long way away from town…” He trailed off, realising that maybe she lived far from town like they did.

And they lived far from town. “Did… you want a lift home?” Chase eventually offered. “I mean if you don’t that’s fine, but I just thought…” he trailed off, deciding not to mention that she looked tired. Chase might not know exactly how to speak well to girls, but he knew enough to never say anything about how they look. Ever. Even if you thought it was good, they might find a way to twist it into something bad. “Or I could walk you back to your place?” He decided to offer instead, knowing trailing off wouldn’t be acceptable.

It wasn’t as if it was a dangerous place to walk around. No. In fact he was certain this was one of the safest places for a girl to be walking around on her own. Everyone knew everyone, so unless it was someone from out of town and there was no one around… but no one ever came here. Except maybe a few brave hunters every now and then who were after some of the wolves in the forest. However he’d rather not bring up those around Carys. It wasn’t something she needed to know about right now. And should someone around town find out she was hanging out, to use the term lightly, with them the wolves would come up eventually.

Blue Moon

OOC: All fine :) So long as you forgive the rather lackluster post on my behalf.

The afternoon was starting to roll in and Chase finally headed in, lazily riding a few waves in before sitting his board on the sand, flopping down on top of it. The other boys had come in about half an hour prior and had fish and hot chips for him. The boy smiled contently and began digging in. Honestly he was curious to know how it went with Seth last night, but knew better than to ask. Seth had been even quieter than he was which likely meant he was still feeling a little bad about the whole thing and was sulking.

Chase remembered back in the day when he, Ryan and Mason had used to sneak around to those bonfire parties. He had no older siblings technically to speak of, but that hadn’t stopped the older members of their extended family shooing them off or escorting them home the same as Ryan had Seth last night. The boy would bounce back. For a few minutes they all just sat there in silence, the only sounds were that of chewing and swallowing. Silence was usually a rare commodity amongst the group, especially one that lasted more than a minute or so.

“So everyone’s all good for camping next week?” Mason finally stated as the pile of food began dwindling down and their empty bellies began to feel full and satisfied. Ryan, who’s mouth was full of a chip sandwich, merely made a noise of agreement and continued chewing.

Chase nodded happily, smiling casually. They usually camped all year round, once a month or so, sometimes a little less during the winter and more frequently during the summer. Their group was usually small, the three boys and the two girls. Seth usually hung out with Jesse and Aiden, two other members of the extended family around his own age. He was probably only here because he was still in trouble from last night. The family groups were fairly large, but the ages were somewhat spread out, they tended to have kids around the same time. He supposed, in retrospect, it probably helped develop closer bonds between the group, something integral to their survival as a whole.

“So,” He leaned back in the sand slightly, blue eyes glancing up at the familiar faces around him. “Did we wanna catch another few sets or just head home?” He asked, receiving a few shrugs in response, which caused him to scoff and roll his eyes.

“It’s flattened out a fair bit.” Mason noted, dark gray eyes gazing out over the sea. “Might as well head off now.”

That seemed to be enough for the rest of the group and they all slowly clambered to their feet, boards underarm they began trudging towards the footpath, which travelled parallel to the beach along its length. They could have brought a car down, but the walk back wasn’t long and it was better for them in the long run.

Blue Moon

Both boys looked at each other quizzically; eyebrows raised on both parts as the girls spoke and eventually walked off together. Chase knew that this was normal behaviour amongst people their age. You go to a party, generally you drink a lot and you have a good time. Yet it wasn’t really a social norm that they or any of their family really partook in. An occasional drink every now and then on special occasions but never to access and the terms ‘drinking’ and ‘game’ were never used in the same sentence. It dulled the senses and clouded the mind and it wasn’t a sensation he enjoyed.

“She’s a wild one.” Mason stabbed with a wink, jabbing the other boy in the arm with his elbow. “Do you think you’ll see her again?”

Chase rolled his eyes and shook his head slowly. “Honestly? Not really. Maybe… around town or something, maybe a passing glance, a wave, how are you doing kind of thing. But I just…”

“But you wanna.” Mason stated, looking at the other boy seriously. Chase didn’t turn to look at him, simply shrugging his shoulder and letting his hair fall over his eyes as he stared at the fire. The older boy rolled his eyes and groaned loudly, pushing him on his shoulder. “Come on you sad sack, we should probably get a head start on clean up, now that Ryan has managed to weasel his way out of it. If you ask me he had Seth appear on purpose to get out of it.”

He stood and waited, Chase eventually standing too as the pair began cleaning up the mess on the beach. By sunrise you never would have guessed there had been a massive party save for some left over ash from the fire and a lot of disturbance in the sand. The boys didn’t make an appearance until midday; the sun was beaming down and the sand was just starting to get hot underfoot. But the waves were perfect; the water was blue, clear and extremely refreshing. The salt water splashing against his face was really helping to wake Chase up and clear his mind.

Seth was with them today, but Mason’s cousin as well as his own sister had elected to skip the surf in favour of a spa day. Chase didn’t mind, it was good for Ash to spend time with an older girl and she always looked up to Chloe. For now Chase was content to hang back behind the breaks, watching as his friends caught the beautiful waves nature had provided for them.

Blue Moon

Chase looked to the girl with a small, almost embarrassed smile and nodded slightly. “Yeah… but we all do. Small families, but we’re all like one big family… not related by blood, but you’d never know really.” He frowned slightly, knowing he wasn’t explaining it really well, because it was very hard to explain to someone, how they weren’t really related but that they… were? A big family not bound by blood, but by bond. They were all so close, it wasn’t impossible for an outsider to make it into the group, they did meet other people, some just hit it off better than other.

It was rare though, it took a lot to make it into that inner circle of family. And family meant a lot to them. Mason, as creepy as he had sounded, was right. Very few people bothered them, mostly because they kept to themselves but also because of how tight the group was. No one was ever really alone, a problem for one became a problem for the whole and they would defend their own to the death if need be. However he was not the best at explaining things like that, Mason was the more eloquent one among them.

Luckily his thoughts were interrupted by someone calling out Carys’ name. The boy turned his head sharply, honestly having forgotten that Carys had been here with someone before they had collided and he had kind of pulled her away. The other girl was certainly… something. The way she looked at him made him more than a little uncomfortable and when she accused him of potentially getting her friend in trouble the colour practically drained from his face. In reality she easily could have been referring to either himself or Mason, or both more likely. But it still felt like it was aimed at him.

Mason clearly thought his reaction was hilarious and began laughing loudly. “Don’t worry; I’m keeping a close eye on him. There will be no trouble. I must apologise for him stealing your friend though.” He assured her, flashing a charming smile that so often got them out of so much trouble. Charismatic bastard. Not that he ever complained about it of course. Mason was a natural born leader; there was no doubt about it. However he was never quick enough to come up with the words as easily as his friend did.