first meeting starters / accepting! / @beaujole
he had been careless--stupid, really. in his undying need to feel the brunt of winter against his skin, he climbed too high, too far from all the comfort and familiarity of the earth he’d been born into. trading concrete foundations for ice-riddled steel, his bare hands carried him up and up and up, and they had braced his weight to withstand the furious whip of the breeze through his hair. thoughtlessness, indeed, was not one to be taken lightly. with her brows furrowed and lips pursed, she snapped at his wrists and struck his knees, placated only by the sight of overdue comeuppance--of a fragile, silly boy crashing into the river without even one ounce of grace.
carelessness is why he’s here now, on his hands and knees, coughing up ice-cold water and the contents of his own stomach. when he’s well enough to breathe without fear of choking on river water, his gaze darts towards the bridge that he’d practically been thrown from, courtesy of a poorly-timed step and a sheet of snow. lattices of ice embellish the structure, glittering in the afternoon sun and standing firm against the meek rays of warmth. briefly, he bemoans his would-be longest record of days without falling off constructions taller than a hundred meters, then turns his attention to a nearby stranger, only dimly aware of the question she’d asked.
“um--” he pauses to cough again, throat sore and freezing. his lungs feel as if they’ve been petrified, firm as stone and just as heavy in his rib cage. “--i’m fine, i think. just a little cold.”
a little does his state no justice, teeth clicking with the shivers racking his spine and the tips of his fingers turning the palest shade of blue. his clothes are plastered to his scrawny frame, only making him look that much smaller, that much more tired, and he’s willing to bet that the water clinging to his skin will freeze within no less than ten minutes if he doesn’t dry off before then. (he wouldn’t have any cash to his name; just his words.) standing turns out to be far more difficult than it should rightfully be, muscles sore and probably torn in places after swimming back to land, but he manages, somewhat, slightly hunched and still shaking to the bone. he needs to get indoors soon, but his splitting headache and quickly-blurring vision will do him no good--none at all.
