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Jackson Hole - Rhea's Cabin
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Emily
(last edited Jan 06, 2017 10:17PM)
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Dec 24, 2016 10:09AM
Very small and secluded located in Jackson Hole, Wyoming 
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It was a cold night in Jackson Hole and Elric had flown from San Francisco for a photo shoot. The nice thing about modeling was that they fly you everywhere, give free clothes, free alcohol, and free admittance to a lot of parties. The downside was that they were incredibly picky about what they let you eat, the girls were constantly giving him migraines, and he was hungry and exhausted and tired, standing in front of an old acquaintance's house.
Rhea's quiet evening at home was brought to an abrupt end by the pounding on her front door which was accompanied by familiar, irritated shouting. From her cozy armchair in front of the fire, and with a glass of wine in hand, she considered leaving Elric out on her front porch to freeze but didn't put it past him to stay true to his promise to shout louder. With a halfhearted groan, she untangled her legs from her blanket and padded barefoot across the floor to the door. She counted silently in her head- 1, 2, 3 - as she unlocked each lock before pulling the door open. "You know, I could just leave you out there because sooner or later you would develop hypothermia and your heart would slowly stop and then I wouldn't have to listen to you whine anymore," She greeted him. While most would take her words as cruel and dark, she knew Elric wouldn't take her seriously and know that she meant it in the most affectionate way... Well, as affectionate as she could be. She stepped aside to allow him to enter before pushing the door shut and locking it again.
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"Thanks for letting me stay here for the next couple days. You're saving me loads on room and board." He moved to sit on the couch. "And alcohol. After the last night in Vegas I think my wallet could take a few nights off from the model parties." He shook his head. "How are you doing? I haven't seen you in what- a year?"
"Ha-ha.... Hideout," She muttered as she maneuvered over Elric's bags and to the kitchen. She pulled the bottle of wine off the rack to refill her glass. She couldn't remember if he liked wine or not but she poured him a glass anyway and brought it to the living room. "Sounds like a rough life, I'm glad I'm here to make it a little easier on you," She said with sarcastic sympathy. Resettling in her chair, she sat cross-legged, sipping her wine. "Little less than a year." She said trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. It'd almost been a year since she'd been exiled and the memory was as fresh and painful as ever. "But I've been fine, I guess. Things have been uneventful. How about you and your fascinating life as a model?" She took another prolonged sip of wine and kept her gaze low.
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"It's better than my last job. Pizza delivery. You'd think it would have been a good fit because I don't have to deal with anyone, but apparently not because earthlings are lousy tippers and if you tell them that, then they get all defensive and preachy and whatnot. I'm trying to stick with this gig though. It pays well and it's pretty easy to glare at a camera when you have people telling you what to do. Plus people actually try and be nice to you most of the time." Another sip and he looked over at her. Her gaze was tense and reminiscent.
"Things are really uneventful here? You sure? Your face looks like you have something on your mind." He observed blatantly.
Rhea looked up suddenly and blinked. "Fine. I'm fine." She confirmed, forcing what she hoped was a reassuring, tight lipped smile. She took another drink of wine trying to calm her nerves. She wasn't used to having someone around and made a mental note to try to hide her emotions better. "I don't know how you can interact with Earthlings all day- they're arrogant, ignorant and irritating. At least a majority of the ones I've crossed are." She paused to think about her statement then continued. "Some aren't so bad, though, I guess. I don't know. I've worked with a few who were bearable enough. They're as much of nomads as I am and are just looking for their next paycheck so that they can head out of here. That was my plan too for a while, but I decided to stick around, at least until summer. Apparently it gets hot as hell here and there's no way I'm sticking around for that!"
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"Whatever. And earthlings are all those things and more. I've decided I don't care for them. However, I will happily let them pay me and pamper me. I'll tell you, though, it's not easy. There have been many times I have fantasized of giving a few of them a nice right hook. It helps me get through a shoot sometimes." He grinned. "It's hard to imagine this place being warm. I'm still trying to thaw out."
He sighed taking a long sip. "Oh to get out of here. Do you think one day the Overlooked are gonna find a way to smuggle some potentium past the border and get us back home?"
The thought of going home filled Rhea with a mix of emotions. Joy and happiness, but also anger, hate, and despair. The only reason she had to even want to go back was to get revenge on the Alliance, nothing else. She had nothing else there. She'd cut off everyone in her life and she was too scared to even exercise the thought if those who were still alive would take her back. Without thinking, she twiddled her left ring finger. Rhea shrugged, grasping her wine glass firmly, "Don't know... hopefully. When I was working with customs on Karana, I knew a few people who were trying to smuggle some Potentium to Earth, but I never got involved. I guess it's possible, but considering the resources the Alliance has to spy on everyone and get what they want, it makes it near impossible."
She hated how bitter and pessimistic she sounded but she saw no real possibility of Potentium making it to Earth. And even if it did, there'd be no way of communicating with the other Exiles. She didn't know any others except for Elric and she didn't think he knew everyone. There were just too many variables.
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"Well," He started, "There isn't anything we can do about that, but I am here for a few days and will be pushing your hospitality until I leave, so... what do you do for fun around here? We need to have at least have some fun in the snow because there sure as hell isn't going to be any when I fly back to San Francisco. And if we ever want to party, I know people that have a way of finding some pretty good ones. I promise I won't start any fights this time." He offered, not exactly sure what people in Jackson Hole did to entertain themselves when the weather likely had them stuck inside all the time.
Rhea offered a faint smile. She knew what Elric was trying to do and she appreciated it, but when it came to having fun, she knew little. Her idea of 'fun' was stargazing or snowshoeing, or staying locked inside her cabin away from the world. She wracked her brain trying to think up something to keep Elric entertained. "I honestly don't do much around here, but I think I get free ski passes at the resort where I work. They're closed now for the night, but if you wanted, you could hit the slopes tomorrow, or something." She honestly had never taken advantage of her work perks... the resort she worked at was just a glorified version of her cabin so she didn't spend much time outside of her shift there. She considered Elric's proposal of going to a party but knew it wasn't her scene so she didn't say anything.
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"Oh, and do you know if there are any good hot spring places around here? Some people at work were bugging me earlier with some nonsense about me having the 'local knowledge' at my fingertips since I know you. I told them to buzz off, but for some reason they keep pestering me. If you don't know, then I'll just google it or something so they stop, but I figured I'd ask." He shook his head. One day he was really not going to be able to handle the people he worked with anymore. He tried to think of is precious apartment back in San Francisco. It pays the rent... think of the rent... the sky high rent of that stupid city...
Rhea wracked her brain, trying to remember if there were any hot springs that were at the ski resort where she worked. Even though she was technically a local now, she didn't go out much and probably had only slightly more knowledge on the area than Elric did. "The only hot springs I'm aware of are both over an hours drive away from the resort. There's one North, and one South. I have heard of people hiking to Huckleberry Hot Springs, which is northern, but I've never done it," She said. "Unless that doesn't matter to you or if you think the all knowing google will have better answers-" She trailed off, realizing that some disdain had weaseled its way into her voice. She cleared her throat and set her wine glass down, standing up and moving to the window. "Either way," She continued, "It's up to you. I don't care."
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"Do you mind if I take a quick shower before I pass out? It'll take me three minutes max." He bargained, watching her over by the window. Something definitely was eating at her. That or she just really liked to watch the snow fall. Was she homesick? It was coming up on a year since she'd been exiled... and if he recalled correctly, she was raised in Karana.
"Hey, you sure me being here isn't going to be too much of an issue for you? I can totally get a room elsewhere if need be." He offered, stepping closer. He was still unsure if his presence had been contributing at all to the mood. After all, he was also a reminder of home.
From her position at the window, Rhea crossed her arms across her chest tightly, reminding herself that she needed to calm down and not get upset. She hadn't been upset by Elric's initial question but his reaction to her response obviously showed that she hadn't communicated her thoughts in the best way. That was on her, so she needed to calm down. She took a deep breath and tilted her head up to get a better view of the bright stars overhead. She turned quickly when he offered to leave. "No! It's totally fine!" She said almost a little too eagerly. She didn't quite know why, though. She took another breath. "It's fine, Elric, really. I'm happy to help. And yeah, feel free to shower. I made up the guest room for you. Second door on your left, in case you forgot," She jutted her chin in the direction of the hallway.
She grabbed her wine glass and brought it to the sink and rinsed it, leaving it on the counter. She put the bottle of wine away and began wiping down the counters, just to give her something to do.
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((Rhea is going to be resistant to any kind of romantic advances but that doesn't make it impossible. At this point she has so much hate towards the Alliance that it's all she can focus on. Plus her broken engagement with her ex-fiance still hurts her a lot. She's still in love with him but she's too angry and confused to sort out her emotions. The shower's in the bathroom next to the guest room. Her cabin is too small to have a guest bath haha))
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The shower was quick and cold half the time, but refreshing nonetheless, lasting about five minutes. He dried off haphazardly and threw on some sweats and a shirt from his bag before heading back out to the guest room. It was small to say the least, there wasn't much space to walk, let alone fit in a bet and a reasonable dresser, so everything was squished in. The room was freshly cleaned and the window overlooked nothing but trees and snow as far as he could see. Was she really alright living in a place like this? Personally, Elric wasn't sure if it would have been for hurtful or comforting to live somewhere that reminded him of home.
He walked out again to wish his friend goodnight. "I'm going to go ahead and crash. What time did you want to go skiing tomorrow? Shooting starts at 6pm, but I'm free all day before, so I think that should give us enough time."
Rhea cracked a smile and shook her head, rinsing her hands under the warm water that came from the faucet and drying them on a towel that was in a pile on the side of the sink. She turned off the overhead lights and, before crossing back into the living room, double checked the locks on the front door. She knew it was unnecessary to lock anything this far out of town, but it had become a comforting habit. She bent down and used a poker to spread out what was left of the fire in the fireplace. The flames dissipated, leaving glowing embers and a few small flickers. She turned out the lights. The front rooms were all dark with the exception of the yellow beams of light stretching from the hallway light.
"Doesn't matter to me," She responded. "Whatever works for you. I don't know if you get jet lag flying to Wyoming from California, but in any case, don't feel rushed if you want to catch up on some sleep," She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms casually. "I tend to wake up around 6 when it's still below freezing so if you can't handle that then I would suggest waiting until the sun comes up," A hint of an playful smile crossed her lips. "But like I said- it's your call."
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"And try not to tease me too hard. I will throw snowballs at you without mercy if need be." He smirked, "Sleep well." He wished her before returning to his room for the night.
((Do you want to go in the Jackson Hole thread, or I can request a thread for Jackson Hole Mountain Resort))
Rhea snorted and rolled her eyes but smiled genuinely. Using her shoulder, she pushed off the wall. "Sounds good," She said. She walked past him towards her room at the end of the hall. "And good luck with the snowball thing, or did you forget that I grew up on Karana where snowball fights are the national sport?" She smiled again and began pushing her bedroom door closed. "Good night," She said before shutting it completely. Once in her bedroom, she slipped out of her clothes, dropping them on the chair in the corner, and pulled her pajamas on. Like the rest of the cabin, her room was small, but it was cozy. Besides, it wasn't like she had a life's worth of stuff to fill a house with. She hadn't been allowed to bring anything with her when she was banished here. She pushed the bitter thought away, or at least did the best she could, and climbed into bed, turning of the light.
END SCENE
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