[mid-morning]

[fairywren]

It's warm for December, 40s and rainy and stretching higher in the next week or so, if the report's anything to go by (which it sometimes is and sometimes isn't). Wren hasn't bothered to put on a real coat yet; he doesn't even have a hoodie under the leather jacket. It's nice, but it feels a little odd.

"Sorry, 'nar," he says, stepping neatly out of his dog's attempts to tie him up in her leash. "I know you're looking forward to snow, but you know what they say about patience." Neither of us have much, he finishes in his head. It had better snow by Christmas. There's a reason he had much less interest in the West Coast than Lexi ever did.

The warmth is tempting him down to the water, though. Not as though he couldn't handle it at its coldest, but it makes for a more comfortable experience. And mid-day during the week, far outside tourist season but without any sightseeing weather, he might be able to shift. The thought of it flutters under his skin.

Maybe after he gets Inari home.

[ooc: find wren making his way home with his dog, or heading down to the beach afterwards! st/lt/all tags welcome forever.]

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[tothelighthouse]

Wearing quite a few more layers than Wren, Dylan's walking Matilda - maybe she's walking him today. Everything that happened at the Cryptozoo has turned on his autopilot a little, and he doesn't notice for a moment that Matilda has started sniffing at Inari.

"Oh, sorry, is she okay with that?"

[fairywren]

Wren puts a hand up when he sees Dylan heading in their direction, but the younger man seems lost in thought. His greyhound pulls over to sniff at Inari.

Inari pricks up her ears, stretching on her little legs to sniff Matilda back, tail wagging gently and eyes bright.

"She absolutely thinks she's a big dog," Wren says with a fond smirk. "It's no problem."

"How are you?"

[tothelighthouse]

Dylan smiles, just a little. "She's adorable." Matilda lets Inari sniff her, happy to have found another friend.

How is he? He's not sure. And he's not sure how honest he should be.

"I'm not completely sure, if I'm honest. Bit out of sorts. How are you?"

[fairywren]

"She knows it, too," he says with a fond smirk at his puppy.

"I'm sorry." Wren adds a little bit of a question mark at the end, leaving that open for more explanation if Dylan would like, but not prying.

"Well," he says, as if he's not quite sure that's the right answer. "A little confused by this weather, but well. I was thinking about heading down to the beach if it's going to be this warm."

[tothelighthouse]

"S'okay." It's not really. "Well. Not really. But."

Should he explain?

"There's just been a lot of stuff to deal with lately. Y'know?"

He laughs softly, "everyone keeps telling me how warm it is and I'm like... is it? I think I might secretly be dead."

[fairywren]

Wren furrows his brow just slightly in a curious, concerned expression, but doesn't pry.

"I do know," he says, thoughtfully. "Not particularly right now, though I should probably deal with some things that have been on the back burner." Like making real peace with his mother, rather than this weird resignment she has to his life. The fact that she'd seen him through the worst, most broken parts of his life with words of support, and can't speak to him about the thing she's always known he would be -- it's just strange.

"It is," he says with an amused smile. "I'm used to it threatening snow by now. You're looking good for a zombie, if that's the case. Are you always this cold?"

[tothelighthouse]

Dylan laughs, a little embarrassed by the compliment, even if it is a joke, "thanks."

"Yeah, most of the time. It's quite annoying, but I deal." He shrugs.

He can tell Wren is curious about what he's alluding to, so he decides to tell him. Whether or not Wren will believe or understand is another thing to worry about.

"I saw something at the Cryptozoo. Something bad."

[fairywren]

Wren just smiles and inclines his head a little, comfortable with being forthright. "I'm the opposite," he says. "Was never really bothered by it."

He tilts his head in query, raising his eyebrow. "I heard a lot of strange things about that. Saw some strange things -- well, one. But nothing terrible. What was it?"

[tothelighthouse]

He nods a few times, mostly to himself, trying to work out the best way to put into words what had happened. He hadn't really talked about it since the day.

"I mean. I suppose it depends. It was terrible for me. It was a sort... dragon thing? And then it turned into my dad. Or maybe it wasn't him. I'm not sure. Either way I thought it was. And. He's not the best person. So I was frightened and sort of... ran off."

He shrugged. Trying to dismiss how terrible it was for him even after telling Wren it was terrible.

[fairywren]

Inari has gotten herself entirely wrapped around both of them in her haste to play with Matilda, and Wren, watching Dylan as he talks, glances away long enough to roll his eyes at her and crouch down to unclip her leash and scoop her into his arms, freeing the two of them from the leash.

He nods, seriously as Dylan explains. "I'm sorry," he says genuinely. "I -- don't know how I would have reacted to something like that. My father -- well, I never knew him long enough to be frightened, or not, of him. But seeing a vision of him, if I knew it was him, wouldn't have gone over well. So I can't imagine that." He doesn't have any judgment for an adult being terrified of their parents. He's known enough terrible people, and people who've survived terrible people, not to be fazed at all.

It does concern him, though; he likes Dylan. Maybe it's not his business, but Wren's never been good at backing off politely. "Is he still in your life?"

[tothelighthouse]

He has to think about that for a moment. His dad is alive, or so he assumes, but hasn't seen him since he was a kid. There's always this nagging fear, though, that he'll turn up again out of nowhere.

"I mean. Not really. I haven't seen him since I was little." He shrugs dismissively, feeling stupid, saying that, that he's still afraid of him.