2021-12-15 - Playing With Fire

It's raining, of course, but when does that ever stop Washingtonians? It's just a light drizzle after all. There's a brisk breeze off the bay, but it's relatively sheltered here, in the lee of Sweet Retreat, around the corner from the entrance. Light shines out the windows, and the winter chill hasn't shut down business; there are only so many places to go for an evening escape, especially for those underage. Tucked around that corner, Jules juggles a carry-out carton of food and what looks to be a lighter. With which she's trying to do...something. Not just light up; there's no cigarette hanging from her lips, for one. And secondly, it's not as if it's that hard to make a lighter light. "C'mon," she mutters, frowning in concentration. Something's not working.

Tyler has finished jogging and is now walking to bring his heart rate back down. He's wearing a pair of stylish jogging sweats and a tight black Tshirt that the rain has made stick to every curve of his muscular chest. The shirt has a Gray Harbor Fire Department logo over his heart. He notices the woman messing around with the lighter, and he furrows his brow a little, tilting his head as he watches. After a moment, he pushes some of the water off his hair and then slowly approaches. "You okay, miss?" he asks.

Jules immediately stops fiddling with the lighter as Tyler addresses her and looks up. The frown stays. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" There's a small challenge in her tone. She's a woman -- a woman of color, at that -- alone at night, called out to by a young white man -- suspicion's an immediate response. Recognition comes thereafter, though. "Oh, hey. I met you the other day at the coffee shop, right? You were there when I was meeting my roommate."

Tyler nods, "Yeah." He offers a friendly smile. "I was out for a run. You're just kind of out here all by yourself." He chuckles, "Staring at garbage." He shrugs, "You wouldn't be fine if that trash was attacking you or something weird."

The garbage remark gets a little smile tugging at Jules' lips. She relaxes a bit -- Tyler, probably not so threatening after all -- and answers, "You find interesting stuff in the garbage sometimes." Then she gives a little wave with the lighter, showing her hand. "I found this by the door, and I just wanted to see -- I don't know. If I could do that thing. Like what Ravn did the other day with the spoon." She shrugs. "Guess not, though." She tucks the lighter into the back pocket of her jeans, with leaves her with two hands free to pop open the top of her styrofoam carton. Inside, it's a delicious mess of fries, gravy, and cheese curds. "Want some?"

Tyler tilts his head a little. "You're trying to make fire?" Then he jokingly stresses, "WITH YOUR MIND!?!?" He laughs, "Like," he nods toward the garbage, waving his hand that way a little, "that?" the food carton lights up with a whoosh. "Fire man." He taps the emblem on his shirt, grinning.

Jules starts to look sheepish, but that expression quickly shifts as she's startled and jumps back a step. Hello, fire. "Oh shit." Her eyes are wide as she looks from the fire to Tyler. "Uh. Yeah. Like that."

Tyler steps over to her. "You ever make fire before? If not, what can you do? Maybe I can help you learn? If you want." He shrugs, "Don't be impressed. I've been at it a long time, and it came pretty easy for me."

"Don't be impressed, he says." Jules covers for her own surprise and impressed reaction with a dry, sardonic humor. "Yeah, a couple months back, I was at a beach bonfire with a couple friends, and something...happened. Like I grabbed it. I was just seeing if I could do it again." She cocks her head to one side, considering Tyler. "Yeah. Sure, Fire Man. See if you can teach me how to do that."

Tyler laughs, "Well, before you can make fire you need to practice moving it." He gestures at the small fire burning that he ignited. "Fire is alive. It breathes. It has wants and desires. You can encourage it, or you can put it down. Can you make that move at all?"

The joking manner drops, and Jules looks thoughtful as Tyler explains. "So what does it want, then?" she murmurs in the end. A question for a question. Her furrowed-brow look stays as she stares at the small little blaze. It merrily burns away. She squints. It burns. Nothing more. After a minute, she sighs. "I guess not. Maybe it doesn't want to burn when it's wet out."

"It wants what most people want. It wants to live. It needs air to breathe. It needs something combustable to eat. It thinks about how to best get those two things, and behaves accordingly." Tyler thinks a moment. "You know, maybe you'd do better with a flower? Have you ever tried to make a plant grow?"

"A flower?" Now Jules turns an incredulous stare on Tyler. "No." Once again, her tone is dry and a little flat. "No, I have not tried to make flowers bloom like a Disney princess."

Tyler laughs, "Well, it's not as pretty as all that, but yeah. You can encourage them to grow. Or, if you want, you can also make them wilt. I actually think the wilting is easier, but I can't speak for everyone. But, it's the same um... power, I guess? Like I said, you're affecting something that's basically alive. But, the idea that a plant is alive is maybe easier to wrap your brain around, so it might come easier for you."

"Hmm." A little nod greets those words. "I see what you mean. Maybe I'll try that sometime." Jules fishes out a fat fry from the gravy and eats it, licking her fingers after. She goes back to considering that small blaze, dwindling as it consumes the carton. This time, she doesn't glower at it as if her mind alone will set it ablaze. Just the little headtilt, and her eyes slightly lose their focus, like she's not staring at the fire itself, but through it. And--it flickers higher. Bends towards her, reaching out in thin fingers in her direction. For a brief, bright instant, those fingers turn the unearthly blue of fire at its hottest, and then it all subsides. Jules blinks and lets out a long hiss of air. "Ohh. That's what it's like."

Tyler smiles widely and he claps a couple of times. "There you go! See? You're becoming a regular pyro now!" He laughs, "That's great! It's a bit of a rush, huh?"

Jules grins, clearly pleased, though she's still got some of that faraway look in her eyes. "Yeah, it is." She almost leaves it there, but after a small pause adds, "It's almost like it's speaking to you."

Tyler nods, and there's a hint of yearning pleasure in his tone as he replies, "Yeah." He sniffs, wiping the water from his brow as he watches the last of the flame sputter out from the rain. "It sings to me. When I use the sparkle, it's like... joining it in harmony." Slowly, he smiles, and returns his attention to her. "I don't know how helpful I'd be, but, I don't mind giving you my number if you ever need help or want to talk about all this... stuff..."

“The sparkle. Is that what you call it?” Jules considers this, and Tyler along with it. “I’m not quite sure what to call it. Or if it has a name. Maybe it’s just speaking in a different way.” She closes the lid on her takeout carton. There’s still plenty left, but it must be going cold. “Yeah, sure. In case I set my house on fire and need help putting it out.”

Tyler pulls his phone out. "I dunnow. I don't really like to admit it, but I think destroying things comes easier to me." He sighs, like that's not something he wants to be true. He takes a moment to give her his number and put hers in his phone. "You good walking back to your car or whatever?" he asks with a flippant tone, trying to balance being responsible to keep her safe if she wants with not being sexist and implying she needs protection.

Away goes the phone, number saved under Fire Man. Presumably Tyler went into the notes section. “Yeah, I’m parked just at the end of the boardwalk, I should be fine. But I won’t stop you from walking that way, if you want.”

Tyler nods, and he shoves his hands into his sweat pant pockets. "No friends means no place to be, so I don't mind," he responds with a laugh. Once she's ready, he'll walk her back and then head home.