Rowan Winters

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[princethomas]

"…Nothing."

Saskia watched her thumb trace along his lower lip, feeling the pink flesh there vibrate with the word, echoing it in her mind like she was playing back herself. Nothing. Emptiness. Numbness. Were the Hosts really the prisoners here? Or were they captured within themselves, left behind glass away from the ability to emote and to express? Was that oppression enough? Her stomach pitched forward, stumbling at the finish line, and the pang of hurt flashed in her eyes for just half a second before washing away completely. 

"Good," she murmured in reply, feeling his hands in her hair, running through the locks and evoking an array of chills down her spine. "If you can feel nothing, then you win. The person who cares less is always the one with the power, the one in control."

It seemed like such a tough lesson to learn, a harsh resolution to the softest of matters, but Saskia couldn’t resist the chance to shame herself, to fuel herself with so much self-loathing that she felt none of it at all. Pressing herself closer to Rowan, Saskia let her thumb pause before tracing down his chin, coming to rest at the collar of his shirt. Gently, with all the tenderness she could channel, Saskia dipped herself to him, pressing the pink of her lips against his as her other hand came to cradle the back of his neck. The taste of his mouth hinted at itself, the softness of their embrace breaking into her, chipping at her marble armor, and she brought her hand out from between them and up to his face, feeling the heat of his cheeks against her palm. 

"Touch me back," she managed against his lips, breath lost, mind scrambled and hands trembling in refusal to pull away. "Then tell me you feel nothing. Say it again."

[winters-rowan]

Saskia, always fluctuating and always changing...Rowan never knew what to expect out of her. He briefly remembered when he could once upon a time read Saskia so well he could predict her thoughts. Now, Rowan couldn't look through the closed gateway of her eyes even if he tried. Despite the blockade, Rowan accepted the gentle push of Saskia's lips against his own with slow hands wandering down her sides.

The small bumps of the bandage through the fabric of Saskia's shirt pressed against Rowan's palms as they moved to rest at her hips. Their movements were slow and precise, burning low like a dim ember.

This small, forced crack into their lack of interaction opened up and allowed more deep-rooted scars to bleed than he would have liked to admit. Rowan could feel the brokenness, the shattered sense of trust instilled in both of them that exuded just from one touch. 

Opening his eyes was a rude awakening to the lull Rowan had found himself drifting off in, taking Saskia along for the ride. "...Nothing. I feel nothing." Rowan repeated softly, a hand leaving her waist to stroke the soft skin of her cheek. "I could say it over and over, reiterate it until it's ingrained in your mind and all you can think of, but it makes no difference unless you say that you believe it."

[rubyweller]

"I’m not like most people," Ruby said, leaning down again, lining up the stick to the cue ball. "But I’ll tell you a secret," She said, taking another shot and sinking the 2. She walked over to where the cue had all but coincidentally landed, and stood next to the blonde. "Okay, so the trick is, you gotta lean over, close one eye," She said, acting all of it out as she spoke. "Not give a shit, and shoot," Ruby said, missing her shot by a long shot. She stood up, her cheeks slightly red, and smiled at him. "Just don’t do it like that."

[winters-rowan]

Rowan let out a snort, eyes closing and grinning as Ruby faltered right in front of him. "I'm starting to think you're not that good at this after all." He teased with a soft smirk. As Rowan talked, he bent down to steady the cue stick on his knuckles. With one eye closed like Ruby had said, he popped the ball forward, standing up to watch it bounce off the wall though missing the hole by a few inches. "Not giving a shit isn't paying off, Ruby. What shitty advice."

[cooper-douglas]

"Are you sure about that, Winters? I don’t want to disprove your claim at excellence."

[winters-rowan]

"You can spare my feelings, Cooper. Why don't you come join and 'disprove' my claim of excellence?"

[winters-rowan]

OOC: Who is your least favorite character to be filmed with?

"I don’t have a least favorite, but that may change in the future. Sorry to be so impartial."

[winters-rowan]

OOC: If The Hub ever burst out in civil war - Hub Loyalists vs. Rebels - which side would your characters be on, what would they do, and why?

"Rowan would undoubtedly be on the Loyalists’ side, if just for the sake of his lineage and his position of power. He feels that he has a duty to the Hub, and he wouldn’t even think twice before defending what he considers his home. Though Rowan himself may think, somewhere deep down, that the government going on in the Hub is broken, he’s not willing to dig that deep if it means destroying the Hub."

[winters-rowan]

OOC: Who is your favorite character on the show, and what plot would you want between them and your character (assuming any plot is possible)?

"Favorite character? I can’t choose!" Aaron laughed, scratching his cheek idly. "I’ve only interacted with a handful of characters, but if I had to round it down, I’d say that I have a strange fascination for Isaac. He’s a smug bastard who clashes a lot with Rowan. Jake and I are pretty good friends off set, and it’s fun to have such tension on set. There are no plots as of now, but who knows?"

[winters-rowan]

ooc: Lyndsy says that she would purposely mess up the kissing scenes just to do it again.

"Oh I heard her alright. God, she just loves to embarrass me, doesn't she?"

[winters-rowan]

Saskia or Luna?

"Fluctuates from day to day."

[winters-rowan]

OOC: Who do you ship most with Rowan? What is it like working with your character's romantic interests and filming intimate scenes?

"That’s one of those loaded questions, isn’t it?" Aaron chuckled softly, looking down at his hands. "In straightforward, complete honesty, I can’t say much if it’s only been such a short time into shooting these scenes. It’s barely even started and I’m getting these questions. I don’t know who I ship most with Rowan. With it being this early and me unaware of future scripts to come…anything can change."

"Intimate scenes? Ah…awkward. Not going to lie." Aaron laughed, shifting himself into a more comfortable position. "I need time to get to know my character’s love interests off stage. It’s more than awkward to be pushed on set with a script to flirt and kiss someone you’ve shared only a few sentences with. They’re beautiful ladies though, so I do feel privileged."

[winters-rowan]

[luna-kepler-deactivated20140818]

"Wait, what?” Her laugh was immeasurable compared to his teasing smirk and neatly hid the surprised tone of her voice; damn, this wasn’t hard after all. “If I had to ask for you to show me how to play, wouldn’t that indicate that i haven’t dabbled much in the sport?”

[winters-rowan]

"Good point." Rowan lazily bumped the stick against the side of the pool table, adjusting it for another shot. "The eight ball is always the one that you want to hit in last, or it's game over. Try for angle shots if you want, but those take practice to get the hang of it."

"And never forget the self-satisfied smirk every time you make it in."

[winters-rowan]

Yes?

[winters-rowan]

ooc// is rowan into guys??

ooc: i put him down as pan but so far he hasn’t been into guys, no. i’m still p undecided as to whether or not he’s just never been into a guy but the potential’s there, or if he already knows.

[princethomas]

Saskia kept herself in control, tight in her unwillingness to succumb, to allow herself to relinquish her power. There was something so frighteningly intimate about the moment, about the darkness, the quiet, the tension, the sensation of his skin brushing hers. A part of it felt so natural, like a part of the black night itself, carved from its likeness. But Saskia was fearful, trembling under the weight of the possibilities, of what this meant and what could happen. When had they ever been so painfully alone together?

"You don’t trust me anymore?" Saskia’s face fell blank, eyes wide but searching for the proper emotion to express how the idea made her feel. Her fingertips pressed to the backs of his hands on the chair, and she stepped towards him, trailing her gentle touch up along his arms with each minute step. Nestled between his legs, her hands quaking now against the slope of his shoulders, Saskia let her words spill like warm bath water. "We used to be so close."

Quietly, almost reverently, she shifted, drifting one thigh across his lap to rest against the outside of his hips before lifting her other thigh across, straddling him securely, and yet afraid of the interaction entirely as her fingertips traced small circles across the back of his neck. “We could be close again,” Saskia murmured, a proposition, a promise. Dipping down, she pressed the rosebud of her lips to his pulse, the coolness of her lips against the heat of his flesh, and she felt her stomach flip, erupt in air, and quiver as her hands did. Pulling back enough to feel his breath, Saskia ran her thumb along his bottom lip, meeting his gaze, “What are you feeling now?”

[winters-rowan]

Rowan sat there, silent and stationary. Saskia's fingers feathered across his arms, barely even touching his skin as goosebumps raced ahead of her touch. It was amazing how quick they were at flipping sides, with Rowan now preventing Saskia from being let in. So quick to change, though they never found themselves at the same side, always placing enough distance between them deemed safe.

Saskia was so close, Rowan almost found it hard to breathe. And even then, Rowan's eyes remained on hers, a silent energized tension building just from a locked gaze that remained there for far too long. If just for the sake of breaking it before it got too much to handle, he tilted his head to the side, eyelids drooping enough to erase Saskia from his sight and thoughts. 

The kiss almost felt nice. Comforting. The feeling went away as soon as Rowan blinked to reveal Saskia's face, so sad and dangerous.

We could be close again.

Hands went to thread through her wavy locks, siren voice pulsing dimly in the back of his head. Rowan liked the sound of that; but did he want to be close again like this? Was this really what he wanted? What either of them wanted?

Rowan went into this situation, determined to show Saskia that he was different than he was before. Even as Rowan was thinking it, he could already feel himself draw back into his solitary thoughts, shutting away the world and Saskia...just like before.

"...Nothing." His voice was barely above a whisper, blue pupils opaque, leaving his meaning misty within the wavering icy color. How easily will you believe that, Saskia?

[winters-rowan]

[luna-kepler-deactivated20140818]

Hoping that Rowan wouldn’t call her bluff when she implied she had no idea how to play pool — as if she hadn’t played it countless times as a form of mindless entertainment in The Hub — Luna moved to match her posture with his own, aiming for an imaginary solid that surely didn’t exist. Making a popping sound with her lips as the ball rolled straight into the hole on the far side of the table, Luna stood slowly with a firm smirk planted to her lips. “Do I need to add the priceless, cocky smirk when I score?” 

[winters-rowan]

"Yes of course." Rowan shot her a serious look, his eyes giving away the jest that hid underneath. "Where's the fun if you aren't a bit of a sore winner after every shot?" He let loose a teasing grin. "And how much I need to tell you depends on how much you need to know. Do you play often?"

[princethomas]

Saskia traced her fingers against her side, wishing she could will the sensation away. Rowan fumbled and fidgeted with himself, and for a moment, she wondered if they were mirroring each other, reflecting the insecurities of the other that lurked beneath their collected exteriors. 

"Is that it, Rowan?" Saskia murmured, voice raspy against the cold. "We will ourselves to regulate emotion? We feel only what we want to feel?" She moved towards him, face unperturbed but eyes curious, sad and searching. Her hands found his arms and traced down them, curving over his elbows to his wrists before gliding back up.

The drumming in her chest increased, pitter-pattering against the birdcage of her chest - was she testing Rowan or herself? What game had she chosen to play? “Tell me,” she whispered, stepping forward so that Rowan had to step backwards in time with her. “What are you feeling right now?” With another step, Saskia backed Rowan against the chair, her hands commanding him to sit, to submit to her will, to see her ways. “Blissful ignorance only happens if we allow it, you know.”

[winters-rowan]

Rowan stopped moving when he felt the touch of Saskia's eerily light fingers, warm though her words made a cold feeling settle within his system. It would have been oddly comforting if not for the glacial expression in Saskia's eyes. Instead, Rowan felt wary. Perhaps he was still caught up in the past if he was still shocked as to just who was standing in front of him.

One of the things that Rowan absolutely hated was submitting to another's demands. His job must have spoiled him after all this time. However, Rowan wanted to listen. Saskia wasn't stupid; she obviously had a point to prove or say, though Rowan wasn't sure if he should stay to find out.

With only a bit of resistance, Rowan found himself hesitantly sitting back in the chair, on guard and wary of Saskia's motives. "Right now? Distrustful. Suspicious. Apologetic. The list could go on, Saskia." Calm and collected as he could manage, Rowan eyed Saskia, the tip of his tongue absentmindedly flickering across his lower lip in thought. Calloused fingers wrapped around the edge of the chair's armrests, telling himself not to react too suddenly to anything unless he wanted to add another shade of blue to the agglomeration already stretching across Saskia's skin.

[princethomas]

If there was a way to mend a wound, Saskia knew it. She knew that pressure helped. Saliva could aid in the matter. Touch soothed pain on a neural level. In a military light, this was aiding in her healing, which seemed almost amusing as she felt her nose brush Rowan’s. This intimacy scared her, kept her reeling, eyes opening to meet his questioning ones. 

"It’s easier that way," she assured him, leaning back into the chair, away from their embrace. His scent lingered, and she shifted slowly to pull her shirt back over her head. "Constant positive thinking lulls us into blissful ignorance. I refuse to be caught off guard. Not again."

[winters-rowan]

And just like that, the short moment they shared was over. Rowan's gaze lingered on Saskia's just a bit before he straightened, hands busy fixing already neatly pressed clothing. He barely even had time to question himself as to what his motives were in doing that before Saskia continued the conversation.

"Again?" The question left Rowan's lips before he contemplated what he was going to say. He simply shook his head and went on talking. "You can't live on one side of the spectrum without having something to balance it out. Blissful ignorance only happens if you let it happen, Saskia."

[winters-rowan]

[luna-kepler-deactivated20140818]

"Well, if anyone has corrupted my memory it was you, asshole.” After grabbing the stick from him, Luna darted around to the other side of the table, pressing her hip into the table while leaning against it. “First tip?”

[winters-rowan]

Taking the other cue stick leaning against the table, Rowan slowly bent closer to the green surface before gently resting the pole on his hand, the tip snug between his knuckles. "There are a few ways to hold it, but I personally think this is the best way to gain more control over how you hit the ball. Always aim for the middle of the cue ball." He finished talking just when a satisfying smack emanated from the clashing as he stood up, watching it roll straight into the hole.