ArchivedLogs:Building Things

Building Things
Dramatis Personae Ash, Jack
In Absentia	2014-12-10 '
Location <NYC> Harbor Commons - Treehaus - Lower East Side
A spiral of sturdy slatted wooden stairs winds up the trunk of an enormous oak, leading the way up to this treehouse positioned between a pair of trees at one side of the Commons yard, abutting the river. It's clear enough upon ascending that this is no ordinary treehouse, built sturdy-strong and with a polished finish that would rival most /regular/ residences. Spanning the distance between the pair of oaks, the treehouse is a long one-story building, equipped with both plumbing and electricity. The stairs lead up onto a wraparound balcony that projects out at one side to overlook the East River rushing by below. The doorway inside leads to a furnished sitting room, long low futon-couches on the pale wood floors, walls painted in leafy shades of green, exposed-beam ceilings that seem to have worked some of the actual branches of the tree into the curvature of the roof. The front room is bright and airy, large windows looking out on the Commons grounds and the river outside. Recessed lanterns in the wall give the room a warm glow, come nighttimes, and in the center of the room amid a stone-tiled patch of flooring there is a squat glass-encased gas fireplace providing warmth in winter. Off to one side of the room there is an elevated loft up nearer the ceiling, accessible by ladder and furnished with pillows and plush futon mattress and lots of blankets. The adjoining room is decorated in watery river-blues instead of leaf-greens; in here there's a small kitchenette to one side with sink and stove and toaster oven and counter space, cabinets on the walls. A long dining table in this room seats eight; by the windows, plenty of cushioning sits in the wide window-seats. Off in the very back, a tiny half-bathroom holds a sink and toilet. No stove in here; the wintertime tends to find this room much chillier, but there's generally plenty of warm blankets lying around the house. "Okay, this place is even more awesome up close," Jack murmurs quietly as he examines the outside of the Treehaus. In some borrowed clothes, the invisible teen's got a hood up again. He'd been wandering around the Commons, lost and thought. But then he found himself on the stairs going up to the treehaus and found himself fascinated with the structure. "Man, Hive is even better at this stuff than I thought," he remarks despite the snowflakes blowing around. Ash is inside, curled up on one of the futons with a book in his lap. He's sleeping, lightly, having nodded off while reading. It wasn't that long ago, as the tea kettle on the stove in the kitchenette is just now starting to whistle that it is ready. He stirs slowly and looks over in that direction. He starts to rise, then looks over toward another noise, blinking blank faced at Jack for a moment before rising and heading over to the kitchen. "Hive is a magician with buildings. You should see what he did in my home. But... well, you'd have to know me in order to understand why it's so fitting." Jack's a little startled and he jumps a bit. "Oh, sorry. I didn't..." he trails off as he turns. He blinks a few times when he sees Ash, surprised once more. "What did he do for your place?" Jack asks. He wonders for just a moment if he's dreaming again but shakes that thought out of his mind. He hesitates a moment before heading towards the kitchen as well. "Have we met?" he asks, trying to get a better look at Ash to see if he really is who he looked like to the invisible teen. "He made it the fanciest hole in the ground in Manhattan," Ash gives a little grin, his scraggly beard covered cheeks pulling back until rows of bright teeth can be seen. He smiles. "Well, it's not just a hole in the ground. There's more to it. See, my roommate has special needs too. He needs windows as well as dirt. It's got a great bathroom too. Moss on the ground, but that's more Jim than Hive." He takes the kettle off the heat and the whistling stops. He pours the water into a waiting cup, a metal contraption stuck in the basin. When Jack asks if they've met, Ash shakes his head. "Ah, not that I know of." Younger Ash is not the same man as he is in the future. He's a bit more of a mess, a wayward young man uncomfortable with life. "Are you new here?" "A hole in the ground? Like a basement?" Jack asks, a little confused. He doesn't quite know who Jim is but he's heard the name once or twice in passing since he's been staying around. He gives an unseen frown at Ash's answer wondering if he'd just imagined what he saw. "Sort of. I'm just a guest around here. I'm Jack," he says. "I'd offer a handshake but..." he trails off with a chuckle, holding up his hands. Of course it'll look like he's just holding up empty sleeves. "Do you not have hands?" Ash asks as his head tilts to one side, examining those empty sleeves. "Oh. It's a basement level apartment, with structures that support the upper levels, but gives me the ability to play around in the dirt as well. I'm really big into dirt. Love it. I like to shape it and lay in it, and some day, I hope to sculpting it. My roommate is gardener, too, but he's got a green thumb. He's really good at making things grow. I'm mostly focused on the dirt." He stirs his drink with the tea ball and stares down into the rapidly darkening liquid. "Guests have a way of turning permanent, once they find something to do." "I have hands," Jack replies with a chuckle, holding out one of his sleeves. "Just no off switch on the invisible thing. Feel free to check," he offers in case he's not believed. "Sculpt dirt? How does that work?" he's curious. "I thought you could only like...sculpt sand or clay," he says. There's a little chuckle from Jack at that comment though. "I don't think I'll be permanent. Not unless some things I'm hoping happen go really wrong." "I see," Ash nods and smiles, reaching out a hand for Jack to shake. "I'm perhaps being a little generic. Dirt in this case would be more mud - or rather clay and stone. Technically, you can sculpt a lot. You can sculpt sand when you melt it into glass." He pulls out the tea ball when it's done steeping and sets it on a saucer near the sink. "So, you've got something else that you're heading toward? That's good. It sounds like hope." "Really? No one else does," Jack jokes, taking the offered hand. Can't be seen but he can be felt. "I was just thinking like, sand castles," Jack laughs. "Didn't even think about making it glass. Do you do all of that? Glass and clay and stuff?" he asks. There's a nod from him a moment later. "Hope's the right word. Hoping everything goes well and this all turns out to be a good idea." "Maybe I'm magic." Ash just shrugs casually as he grasps Jack's hand firmly then releases, turning back to his tea. "Oh, sand castles. Did you know that there are elaborate sand castle competitions in which people make ten to fifteen foot sand castles and sculptures? They're probably bigger than that sometimes, but if you think about that, it's pretty huge. Maybe I'll try to do that next summer. I'll just go live on a beach until I get really good at it. If the work dries up." He draws in a deep breath and lets it out over the surface of the tea. "What idea is it, if you don't mind me asking." That gets a laugh out of Jack. "Could be. If not, you could always fake it. Say you made me disappear," he jokes again. "Seriously? Huh, that is pretty huge for a sand castle. And here I thought one that was more than two buckets of sand was big," he says with an unseen grin. "Wouldn't living on the beach be like...really expensive?" he asks. "Going back to school." "Nah. I'm just not necessarily someone who has to see everything to know it's there." Ash drinks down some of the tea, but it's a light sip and from the look on his face and the twitch of his lips, it's obvious that it's still too hot. "Yeah, look on the internet some time. Some of those sand castles are fantastical. And no, living on the beach is basically the cost of one tent - and maybe a permit if the beach required it." He takes another sip and moves out of the kitchen and heads toward the futon again, to sit. "Oh, good. School. That's good. My parents were really big into school." "Oh, you meant literally?" Jack blinks at that. "Didn't think of that, I thought you were goin' for a house on the beach or something," he chuckles. Following Ash, he keeps his hood up for the moment. "I didn't know you could get permits for living on a beach. I thought they were like...public property and the cops would chase people sleeping there off," he shrugs. "Yep. Literally. I am not rolling with dough. I work construction. It's okay, but I'm not always popular with the work crews. Hive helps me land some jobs when he has designed the buildings. I helped build this place." Ash gets comfortable in the cushions and cradles his cup close. "A lot of beaches are parks, owned by the government. You get permits in order to help pay for the maintenance of a place - just like any other camping excursion. Granted, there are some beaches that are owned by people and those beaches you may or may not have trouble staying on. Depends." "You helped build this place? Then you're pretty awesome too," Jack replies. "Seriously, this whole place is one of the coolest places I've ever been. Takes a great group to build a great design," he says. Jack elects to stay on his feet, leaning against the nearest leanable surface. "Huh. Might be worth looking into sometime...never spent a lot of time on the beach myself. Mostly a city boy." "Aw. Come on. You can't attribute all of this to me. I just followed instructions, put part A into part B according to the design." Ash chuckles a little and gestures to the treehouse. "Well, that's not completely true. I do have skill. I can put things in the places people request, like they want them." He drinks and puts the cup down. "I am not a city boy. Grew up in the middle of no where. It was a magical town. Spent most of my time in the mountains. Idylic." "Hey, everybody's got a part to play in building things. Not that I know much about building," Jack chuckles. "Other than with LEGOs anyway," he adds. Head tilting curiously, Jack tries to picture a mountain town. "What brings you to the city then?" he's still curious. "Oh. Well. Cities are full of people. Sometimes, you just gotta be around people, you know?" Ash admits as he gets up once more. "I should probably go get dinner ready. You hungry? You could come over for dinner. I make some mean enchiladas." He heads to the kitchenette to wash his mug and put it away. "Oh," Jack blinks. "Uh, sure. I could eat. Thanks, man. I can lend a hand if you'd like," he offers, following along. It'll click with him later that he hasn't gotten Ash's name. For now, he's just trying to be friendly and helpful.