Voracious.

No, Mors didn’t matter right then. Well, he did, but his comfort didn’t.

“I just wish to tell you that he is harmless and while I understand if you wish to leave, I know I would if I were in your situation, he can help you. I can’t imagine the transition into this world is easy and going it alone it has to be hard.”

“I think I’d.. go for a cat. They’re really cute.

″Not for much longer, no,‶ Josh replied, drawling on no, ″but you have me to show you the ropes, so no biggie, right? Right!‶

Will he ever stop flirting with her? Probably not, knowing Josh.

″Honestly, though, you really aren’t. I mean, if you couldn’t already tell.‶ Even though he’s already made it obvious that he’d be more than fine with her kissing him again, he was still unsure if he….got the point across. No offense to Ever.

“Totally necessary. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She giggled, then, and shifted so she could see the TV again.

Sailor Moon now. Discussion later.

You are walking down K-254. The sun is merciless on your back and neck. Something tells you this is what hell feels like. Another step and suddenly you are soaked to the core. The asphalt weeps with you as it cracks. You are reminded of your bones.

There is only farmland as far as you can see. You are standing on your porch. The romantics would be proud. You put on your glasses. The beautiful fields are replaced with industrialization. Acrid smoke and the smell of dying cattle burns your eyes. The romantics are dead.

It has been months since the last time you visited the mall. You feel disconnected from society. Everyone around you waves hello. They forget to remind you how close the city is. You feel lost.

The scent of sweet grass hangs heavy in the air. You have never seen a sky so cloudless. Butterflies surround you as you rest in the tall grass. A meadowlark calls from a few paces away. Nearby, a silo spontaneously explodes. Your parents can hear it happen from many miles away.

Railroad tracks run endlessly over the golden landscape. You decide to walk along the ties. Cows and quiet wildlife surround you. The rails are too hot to touch. The trees sway in a violent wind. There is no breeze.

Leaves release their embrace. You walk over their corpses. You think nothing of the crunching, the sound of their bones. They wish they could have been more. You’re enjoying the crisp autumn weather.

Coyotes fill the night air with sorrow. Bullfrogs join the symphony of sadness. Locusts and June bugs offer a melancholy accompaniment. You are used to these sounds. Tires heavy on a dirt road; strides through dry underbrush. You remain a good neighbor and keep to your side of the fence.

You are only half-clothed. Opening the door, you step outside. The porch is warm under your feet. It’s four in the morning. The thunder rumbles on and the lightning won’t stop tricking you into thinking it’s day. Humidity weighs heavily on your skin. It won’t let up—it hasn’t for weeks. Where the grass should be tan, it is black.

Scenery flies past you. Your car’s engine fills your head. Looking out the window, you notice many, many rolling hills. They are all green. Alive. Limestone pokes out like a large, decayed beast’s remains. You sing along to the same song you’ve heard on the radio for the past three years.

For a moment, he felt pretty stupid about what he’d told her — then again, he really didn’t mind if she did kiss him again. So at the same time, he felt kind of glad that he said anything? The internal conversation was an odd one, leaving him to chuckle to himself.

He was completely and utterly aware that he had not worked his way out of this one just yet. That would take time, and with just who he was talking to — oh, it would be awhile before he even made a dent. Then again, this was his specialty; ignoring things. Only, right now, he was sort of….not doing it on purpose, surprisingly.

Definitely a good thing she’d assumed the latter. Not that she minded all that much. Sure, it was a little disappointing, but she’d get over it easily. Well. Mostly.

His jab at her kissing skills had a faux-offended gasp leaving her. “Hey! That’s mean.” She pouted, then; lower lip jutting out, arms crossing over her chest---the whole nine yards. “I’m not that bad.”

″It’s in the middle of nowhere if you have no sense of direction, sure — or if you don’t have a map. Those are bullshit, though.‶

They never did anyone any good, did they? Unless you naturally knew how to read one without having to stare at the damn thing for a good ten minutes [ in which you would have missed your turn, but that’s your problem ]. Why was he even thinking about maps? Anyway, looking Ever over quickly, he couldn’t help but be a little curious as to why she chose this get up — then again, this was Ever. Ever full of surprises, you could say. On the contrary, it wasn’t exactly much of a surprise.

Instead of raising the question about her attire, he gestured to her bag, free hand going to his hip. ″You want me to carry that in for you? Or do you think you can handle it?‶ he asked, finding it the most gentlemanly thing to do.

But, fuck, he wasn’t exactly a gentleman, now was he? A half-baked one, maybe, but he had a ways to go.

“Awh, aren’t you nice.” She was teasing, of course. Not that she didn’t immediately hand over her bag.

Hey. It was heavy.

Slipping her hands into the pockets of her jacket, Ever lifted a leg (without bending her knee) and took a step towards the cabin; looking akin to a cartoon character.

He joins Ever in the living room soon after, sliding his cup onto the coffee table before stalking towards the dvd rack — bad movies, that’s what he was looking for. Something to make fun of, or something like that. Or, anything that Ever would want to watch. He had something in mind, though Josh figured that asking would be better.

Slipping probably one of the worst movies he owned [ Troll 2 ] from the rack, he looked down at it for a second, soon plopping down on the floor as he took out a few more movies – some good, some bad –, putting them into a little pile.

Those were here favorite moments.

Because, for that amount of time, Josh was himself. In the purest of ways. Not burdened by all the crap he had to go through.

″Abilify and Geodon,‶ he said after a moments hesitation. Josh gave a dry chuckle, lifting his glass. ″Can’t wait to see how these screw up my system,‶ he said bitterly, each and every word dripping with unadulterated sarcasm.

He almost felt guilty, talking shit about Dr. Hill. He was only trying to help. Well, his attempts to ‘help’ hadn’t exactly gotten him that far. He’d swirl the contents of the glass, quiet, thinking — he wasn’t positive on what to do for the rest of the day, other than sleep, or…. Giving a small shake of his head, he rubbed his face tiredly and sighed. Then, he froze, before straightening himself and pointing at Ever.

When he mentioned movies, of course, she beamed. Ever was always down for movie night. Plus---the added pun just made her generally happy.

″….How can I say no to that face? Go wild, Ev.‶

It didn’t take long, of course. Everything was simply buried in her bathroom cabinet.

She turned on him with a brush and a bottle of white face paint.