ph_logs | [OPEN] Summer 2023 Catch-all!

Milo had been out chopping firewood and about to head back, a bundle of neatly split logs tied up and hooked onto his new prosthetic, when he heard yelling. Swearing, specifically.

Jogging past the treeline to the bluffs, he saw Lucas sitting on the rock ledge, not noticing the problem at first.

"Lucas! Hey, you okay over there ma--- WOAH." He halted, realization setting in as he got close enough to see the breadth of the problem. He averted his gaze, ignoring the heat in his cheeks. "Dude! What happened!"

Lucas does start a bit at Milo's appearance for two reasons. The first is that he's not expecting company out here and the other is a tad more obvious. No one's sitting out here in their birthday suits just because!

He tucks his legs in closer, trying to hug them to his chest with one arm while his left hand remains over the fresh scar on the back of his neck. "Well, uh...I kinda...sorta...died?"

"Aw jeez," he muttered. "And dying made you... naked? Y'know what, nevermind, I don't wanna know. I need both hands free to get my shirt off so hold this for a sec."

He handed his bundle of wood to Lucas, barely refraining from making a crass pun about "logs". With a bit of effort he tugged off his linen shirt. Beneath it was the harness he used to operate his hook, an array of leather straps converging on a silver O-ring, allowing him to operate the clamp with a pulley system. This also revealed that he was unsurprisingly quite muscular. Toned and tan shoulders framed a broad chest that had been earned with years and years of hard labor. He took the wood bundle back and gave Lucas the shirt.

"Hopefully the size difference will make it long enough to cover the important bits."

"I guess?" he says sheepishly, reaching for the kindling Milo holds out for him to take. He's too rattled to make a quip, but not enough to avert his gaze as Milo strips off his shirt.

Lucas is looking and not exactly respectfully.

"...Uh! I'm sure it'll be fine," Relinquishing the firewood Lucas takes the shirt and pulls it on over his head. He's real glad he's too emotionally whiplashed from waking up to pop a boner, but that feeling might not last. Damn...Milo is cut!

"Thanks." Lucas hugs his arms around himself, trying to summon the energy to stand and to tamp down on the fire in his cheeks.

Noticing the heat in Lucas' face and ignoring his own, he gave his companion a pat on the back. "Hey. It's gonna be alright. Lemme walk ya home, I'll body block you so nobody can check out your butt."

"Nawh, it's okay. I've got a cute ass," Lucas says with a rueful laugh. He does need a hand up and wobbles on unsteady bare feet. Luckily it seems the shirt is just long enough to hide, well, most things.

"What were you doing out here anyways, dude?"

"Choppin' firewood! Hence the wood bundle," he pointed out, gladly supporting Lucas as-needed. He's quite strong. "I came a little further out than usual because I didn't wanna use up too much of the wood near my house. Gotta give the trees time to make more, you know?"

After nearly toppling over again Lucas makes a grab for Milo, leaning into him.

"Gotcha...fire wood. Yeah." His fingers briefly tighten, a squeeze to either reassure Milo or himself. Lucas isn't sure which at this point.

"Can we go to your place? It's closer, right?" His voice is wobbling now, dangerously close to tears. Now that the adrenaline from waking up is starting to wear thin he's just keeping himself together.

"Yeah, man, of course," Milo agreed, nodding. "S'right up ahead. All my shit'll be too big for you, but... I dunno, you could wait at my place while I run to yours after some clothes, or I could take you home in the wagon they gave me so only the top half of you shows. After a break, of course."

"I'm okay with that, to be honest," Lucas grumbles. "I just want to take a break."

A shiver rolls through him and Lucas hugs his arms around himself. "And, I...don't want to be alone."

"Oh," Milo said softly. There was a pang of empathetic sadness to his tone. He patted Lucas' shoulder. "Well, I won't ditch you. We'll deal with this together, alright?"

"Thanks, dude." he manages to keep his tone steadier this time, but the hold around himself doesn't loosen an inch the whole time they are walking back towards Milo's place. Lucas watches his feet, the last flashes of cobblestone pavement keep replaying in his mind.

It's not like a reading. With a death that wasn't his own he could separate that memory from his, put it in a little mental box, and set it aside. But this he couldn't go through the usual routines.

He'll have hardly said a word the whole journey unless Milo said something first, but by the time they arrive his cheeks are wet with silent tears.

Milo lets the moment fall to silence, allowing Lucas a little time with his thoughts. But as they get back to his house and he turns to let Lucas inside, he finally sees the other man's face. His heart sinks at the sight of the tears.

He doesn't know what to say. He's not one of those people who feels that emotions are emasculating, but the fact remains that he was never really taught how to deal with moments like this. But he strains against the discomfort of unfamiliarity out of a desire to help. How could he not, for this kind, brave, funny person who he was so proud to call his first friend in Pumpkin Hollow?

With a broad and calloused hand, Milo reaches out and grabs Lucas' arm, gentle and reassuring. He gives it a squeeze, then shows him inside. "...You don't gotta talk about it, if you don't want," he offers, "but I'm all ears if you do."

At Milo's touch, Lucas can't help but to shiver. Something inside him breaks at the simple kindness and steady presence that Milo has always been since arriving in this strange place. The dam is opened, more tears follow well-worn trails down his cheeks, pooling at his chin before dripping down his borrow shirt as he steps inside.

"I know...it's just. This is...This is my job. I'm used to seeing death. I've experienced it so many different ways," And thank goodness for his IOPSA training or he would have gone mad a long time ago for it. Lucas swallows hard, trying to force back a wave of emotion threatening to crack completely through his remaining defenses.

"But this is different. I couldn't even control myself!" Even Neil attempting to point out what was going on did little to save the Medium from himself. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't put this on you..."

"No, no, it's fine, I offered," Milo reassured him. "I mean--- I heard a lot of shit about those curses. They really fucked some people up, you know? Even if this stuff is your job, like... you're just one person."

"I know..."

Reluctantly Lucas drags himself to the closest chair or couch and curls up on a cushion, legs hugged up to his chest again. The shirt just barely covers him but Lucas doesn't seem to mind or care at the moment. He wipes away tears and sighs.

"I'm a real fuck up, Milo. Before I came here I basically got myself killed, too."

"I mean," he began, both joking and serious, "me too. I reckon that's how most folks ended up here, right?"

Sitting across from him, Milo clapped Lucas' shoulder reassuringly. "For what it's worth, you're not alone. Shit happens. And this place... it's a chance to grow, right? Live and learn."

"I guess so," The admission is half-grumbled into his arm, sullen and pouty in its nature.

"I don't know if I ever will about some stuff." Curiosity is a curse to a fault. "But at least I have a good friend like you. Helps to not feel alone, right?"

"Hey, if you ever need a tagalong for doing something stupid, I'm your man," Milo joked warmly, but he meant it. "Someone's gotta look after your dumb ass. Might as well be my dumb ass."

"Sure..." Lucas says with a grin. Another shiver rolls through him. Just like the aftermath of a tough reading, there's a chill in his bones that won't abate easily.

"Can this dumb ass get a hug though?" He asks sheepishly, the realizing his basically just in Milo's shirt he hastily adds, ""Or a blanket."

"I can hook you up with both of those things, m'dude," Milo agreed easily, grabbing a blanket off the bed and tossing it onto Lucas' lap before catching him in a hearty side-hug with his "good" arm. "You feel a little better?"

Lucas catches the blanket easily enough, uncurling himself to spread the blanket out across his lap comfortably. He briefly leans into Milo and sighs quietly.

"Yeah...I do, thanks dude." He throws an arm around Milo's shoulders and briefly squeezes him before trying to shimmy out of the man's grip. He's suddenly feeling a bit flustered. "I don't want to put you out too much though. If it's cool with you, could I get in a nap? I think I can make it home just fine after that."

"Oh sure! Uh---" Milo looked around at his relatively small farmhouse, deciding that none of the chairs would really be comfortable enough for a nap... "You can use the bed if that wouldn't be weird for you?"

“...Would that be weird for you?” Lucas asks cautiously. “I mean, I’m not gonna say no to sleeping in a hunky guy’s bed.”

Hm. Did he say that last part out loud? Whoops.

“Err, well! I mean that I, you know…” Flustered Lucas throws the blanket entirely over himself. “Right here is fine!”

Milo nearly choked, not sure whether to laugh, have a panic attack, or... uh. Something else. ~~Fellas, is it gay to want to kiss the homies?~~

"Oh no, you can't just hide under the blanket. What'd you call me? Hunky?" He'd stick to teasing for now. Play it cool.

[OPEN] Summer 2023 Catch-all!

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