#cascadeopen

"Cujo!" His windbreaker swished with his every step, taking long strides along the trail as he tried to catch up with his dog. Well, not his dog. Technically, Cujo belonged to his dad, which felt like a cruel punchline after surviving a childhood where he wasn't allowed so much as a goldfish. He'd gotten the beagle almost five years ago, but Cujo had somehow retained his too-big paws and floppy ears, making him that much harder to ever say 'no' to. After slipping his collar and extending this hike an extra twenty minutes? Scott didn't think those literal puppy dog eyes would be working on him for a long while. He sighed, squinting up at the sky that'd gone gray, a fine mist of rain just starting. "Cujo, where you at, boy!"

where: utp

"I work there, I'm pretty sure I'd know if it was actually haunted."

location: the blue ox

"thanks again for letting me drag you along. i owe you one." though she loved discovering new artists to feature on her show and supporting local legends, there were a thousand other places arden would rather be than at the blue ox on one of their busy nights. the building was nearly at capacity, so much so the air around them felt too thick to breathe and the first act hadn't even stepped on stage yet. the blonde turned her attention to the poor soul she'd managed to convince to spend their tuesday night with her and smiled. "drinks first? my treat, obviously."

"Look, I'm not saying it looks bad on you, I'm just saying maybe it's not your color?" Nessa stands outside the unisex changing room with her hands on her hips, deep in concentration. She took her job as fashion advisor very seriously. "Like, raspberry type pinks look awful on me. You just have to trial and error these things." A woman clears her throat behind them, seemingly impatient to use the sole changing room of the thrift store, but Nessa doesn't budge from her spot. "When I sew an outfit, I have to try it on like fifty times. Probably because I measure it wrong the first time, but hey, trial and error!"

Sometimes January liked to pretend she was more athletic than she actually was. She'd get these urges to put on her sneakers and go over to Audrey Horne Park to jog. Typically, she'd make it halfway around the path before she remembered how unathletic she was. The weather was nice today and January had been at the bakery all day, so she thought a nice jog around the park would be a good way to unwind. As per usual, she was wrong about that. So, instead of finishing her run, she'd collapsed like a starfish in the grass, staring up at the clouds in the sky. "Not dead," January mused when a shadow passed over her. "Just bad at running..." She patted the spot next to her. "Join me, it's nice down here. No one has to pretend to be athletic down here..."

"Oh, come on—it's just another twenty minutes!" A breathless laugh escaped and their body turned around. Nilay's hand shading over their eyes while a bright and mischievous grin appearing. Now, “twenty minutes”, after two and a half hours of hiking, was perhaps bullshit in this situation. For themself? It was as easy as breathing. There was another laugh as they jogged over to their companion. Looking up above them, a content sigh at the sunshine beaming on their face through the trees. This was peaceful. Perhaps one of the few genuine moments of peace in months. “Seriously, we can make it.” They looked back at the other. Both eyebrows raising up, half-concern, half-smug. “Unless you want to take five?”

🏛️𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜: nilay öztürk & up to player ( @cascadestarters )

🏺𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: near redwood skywalk