Another Night In (Michael/Dare)

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael shrugged and didn't answer right away, taking time to finish out the sandwich in his hand. "You could call it that. I mean, it was between her and Emilian." He took a long drink from his glass and grabbed another sandwich. "I liked talking to her," he said, "It was nice to have someone to talk to, there was only so much I could talk to Emilian about.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare nodded his understanding; he could imagine. Whether or not Emilian was worth talking to about anything seemed to depend a lot on his mood, which could change pretty quickly, Dare had learned. Plus there were topics that were obviously very sensitive, some to Emilian, and many to Michael, when Emilian teased Michael about them. And yet Emilian had seemed so...gently concerned about the article. Dare swallowed a bite of sandwich in a lump at that thought and reached for his glass again, draining it.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael focused on his sandwich, his mind flooded momentarily with memories. He took the silence of Dare's and lengthened it, taking a long drink of his pumpkin juice as he thought. The silence was comfortable, he thought, and so didn't mind keeping the silence as he finished his sandwich. "So, don't let me go two days without eating again," he said, glancing over at Dare.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare gave Michael a crooked smile between bites. "I'll do my best," he said. He didn't know how they'd managed it this time, or rather, he did, but he didn't want to think about it. The last two days had been a roller coaster of extreme highs and lows, and though the highs were worth remembering for the rest of his life, the lows... Dare was glad they'd made it through alive, glad their relationship was surviving. He loves you. Dare's smile returned as he looked at Michael.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael smiled and then downed the rest of his drink, setting his glass on the table when he was finished and standing. He looked back at Dare and bounced slightly on the balls of his feet, oddly energized by the last couple hours spent with Dare. While he hadn't forgotten what had happened, it was pushed into the back of his mind and it was fairly easy for him to just refuse to think about it, he would have plenty of time to dwell on it when Dare wasn't around. "What do you want to do?" he asked, running a hand through his hair.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare was still watching as Michael stood. He swallowed the last of his sandwich, shrugging, then said, "I'm game for about anything. I've still got stuff in my bag," he suggested, though he wasn't sure any of it appealed to Michael. "I can do a decent rune reading," he said. Divination was something he thought was fun, so he had a rune set and used it once in a while for divination, but he was pretty spot-on most of the time.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"Do you want to do one?" Michael asked, shifting on his feet, "I know you've mentioned it a few times." He had never seen anyone do a rune reading, so he was interested, though anything Dare wanted to do would have been fine with him. He just wanted to do something, because the longer his mind wasn't occupied with something else, the larger the chance negative thoughts could enter his mind.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare shrugged. "May as well," he said. Dare picked up his glass to refill it, then took a casual drink as he crossed to his bag. He rifled through for a moment until he found a soft velveteen pouch, then crossed over to the bed, setting his drink on the nightstand. "You'll have to think of a question," he said, climbing onto the bed to sit cross-legged. Dare opened the bag to draw out a smallish white cloth and spread it out, then closed the bag again, moving it in his hands to mix the runes.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael followed Dare over to the bed, pushing off his shoes and pulling off his socks before getting up on the bed across from Dare. "Like what?" he asked, tilting his head to look down at the bag for a few seconds, then back up at Dare. He didn't know what to ask, there were no questions...well, no questions he would ask Dare, anyway.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"Anything," Dare said. "Usually about something that's going on or something in the future. Something about yourself." He glanced up at Michael, his eyes glittering softly. "And you don't have to tell me, you can keep it to yourself," he said. That had been Silver's number one concern when Dare had first tried to test out his rune lessons on his brother, so it was natural he'd mention it. Dare knew what he'd ask, but he tried to keep his mind off his own issues to concentrate on Michael.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael still had no idea what to ask, so he had to pause a moment to consider. Then, when he had a question, he still paused, unsure if he wanted to know or to wait, and then nodded. He didn't want to wait on an owl to tell him, though there was always the chance the runes would be wrong, he wanted to know. "Okay, I've got one," he said, will I get a reply from mom? He wanted to know what, as well, but if he wasn't getting a reply, then what did that matter?

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare nodded, then pulled open the bag's drawstring top. One at a time, he pulled out three rune stones and laid them on the cloth, side by side. He set the bag down next to him, then looked at the runes a moment, making sure he had everything right in his mind. "Okay," he said at last. "I did a Norns spread, which means there's one each for the past, present, and future. It shows how things have evolved, and tells you where they could go.

"This one," Dare said, pointing at the rune on his left, "is the past. Berkana means rebirth and positive outcomes in things you do. It's also the rune of families. But your rune is upside-down, so it's a warning to be careful of new beginnings. It's also a warning of family troubles. But remember, that's the past," Dare finished, pausing for Michael to take that all in.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael nodded and his eyebrows creased as he stared down at the rune and took in everything Dare said. It made sense, he thought, when he put what Dare had said to his past choices and experiences. The new beginnings had brought around good things, but they had also caused a lot of problems. A few seconds later he looked up at Dare, nodding again for him to continue.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare returned Michael's nod, then looked back down at the runes, pointing lightly at the one in the center. "This is the present," he began. "Raido means to ride. Raido can be a journey, but it's more likely to mean communication. Some of the books say it means council, judgment, and moral correctness, so it can also stand for good advice and leadership." Dare looked back up at Michael then, hoping Michael was able to relate to all this.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael tilted his head, that one not as obvious as the first had been. Communication, that could be him and Dare, right? And he was definitely on a journey, if not in a physical sense. He shrugged slightly, ready to move on, until his question came back to his mind. Perhaps that meant that his mother would be understanding, but then his mind went back to judgment, something they were dealing with heavily. His eyebrows came together and he shook his head lightly, that one was a little too much for him to think on. "That one's a lot," he commented, then nodded for Dare to go on.