caim :: all i wanna do

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

Key appreciated his hiss of sympathy, and she was about dismiss her moment of clumsiness - maybe even bring up how the other day she walked into a door - to show him that everything was fine. But her explanation and all words failed her when he nearly closed their distance to check on her. Key stopped breathing - completely taken aback, Key could only focus on sensation of his fingers on her skin. They were warm. He was warm. She could feel the warmth off him since he was so close. It was probably all that muscle - all the sheer mass. He was like a furnace, and she wanted so badly to hold him.

I definitely like you. she thought, but aloud she said. "Thanks." As in thanks for making sure I was OK.

Key liked guys before, she knew what the experience consisted of. There was acceleration in heartbeat. Shortness of breath. An overwhelming desire to be as close as humanly possible to the other person. Key wasn't stupid, and she knew what was happening now. But her liking him didn't necessarily mean a damn thing. She still had no idea what his life consisted of or who he really was. Did his life have a place for her or would he ever feel the same way? Was she misguided?

Too many thoughts in too short a span of time. One thing that surprised Key more than her attraction (which wasn't so surprising - it made complete sense to her considering how hot he was) was how long it must've been since someone, even briefly, took care of her. It surprised her just how much she missed that. And how cold it felt when he stepped away.

So when he offered her some ice, Key couldn't even imagine ever desiring more chill. "No ice. I'm fine." She hesitated before asking, "Do you want any help putting stuff away?" It was only polite to offer after all ...

[MASON MIEL CAIN]

Mason smiled at her. "Um, I think I got it. I'll just be a sec." He said, mostly he needed to clear his head. He kept thinking of how soft her skin was against his calloused fingertips, how nice she smelled.... No one would have been able to blame him, he'd been in jail with several hundred men for the past five years, any guy would be a little frustrated and turned on by a pretty girl. But he was surprised at how he didn't just want to jump on her, he wanted to care for her. Maybe that was misplaced fro his guilt about abandoning his sister, but Caim was definitely not his sister.

He threw the food in the fridge and lined his apothecary purchases on a shelf before he grabbed a saw, an axe and threw a long chain over his shoulder. Mason emerged from the garage looking like some kind of mechanical super man, his arms bulging with effort of carrying too much at once.

After throwing in some protective gloves and his one pair of glasses, he stripped off his jacket and tossed that in the back as well. His short sleeve blue shirt was tight, exposing part of his hammer tattoo on his right bicep, and the long scar from the knife fight on his left forearm. For a moment Mason looked at the scar and then he got into the truck, turning the key.

"Ready to go?" He asked her with a small smile, some hair falling into his eyes.


ooc- imagine that style hammer is in like line art form, lol

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

Caim sat alone in the car, tapping her fingers against her leg. Overly curious, she looked around his car, trying to find clues. To what, she wasn't sure. She just wanted to piece together who he was and what his life was like.

His car looked surprisingly neat - for a man. Not that all men were slobs, but Key wouldn't have been surprised. She was happy that his car wasn't a mess. It meant he was probably organized, and responsible. Good manly qualities to have.

Just as she was thinking this, Key caught sight of him walking back towards the car.

No one should've been allowed to look that good. Shit. Key thought to herself. Shit shit shit shit ... The curse echoed in her brain as she felt a blush creeping up on her. It was physically impossible for her to look away. The loose hair obscuring his sparkling blue eyes. Those shoulders. Those arms. That chest. All coming towards her general direction hauling power tools like some sort of mountain-man-sex-god. Key knew it wasn't all about looks, but she couldn't help but imagine that he must've been fantastic in bed.

Thankfully before he opened the door and came in, Key remembered to close her mouth. She smiled vaguely in his direction, and then looked straight ahead, pressing her hands between her knees (as though that would somehow help her keep them to herself.) When he asked her a question, she simply replied with an Mhm. She had a suspicion that her voice would fail if she tried to speak.

ococ- she would've asked about the tattoo, but she's a bit speechless right now =P

[MASON MIEL CAIN]

She murmured a go ahead and he turned the car onto the road. He flipped on the radio and drove them toward the woods and down a dirt road that was mostly a wide path. He drove the truck carefully, trying not to look at her lest he manage to crash them or pop a tire on the underbrush. Finally, he parked and got out. "Here we are," he said, not like that would mean much to her. Mason flashed her an excited smile, raising his eyebrows lightly as he hopped out, his boots crunching sticks below him. "Watch your head!" he added, both as a warning and a little joke at her expense.

Once she was out of the car, he figured he'd familiarize her with the equipment before they left the path to find a tree that couldn't crush his vehicle. "Okay..." He said assessing the scene and tossing her a pair of gloves. "Those will be too big for you, but I'm not going to let you hurt yourself." He said with a chuckle and a shake of his head, technically she'd already hurt herself.

"So the chain is for hauling the logs," He said, picking up the long coiled chain and heaving it over a massive shoulder. "This is a battery powered saw that will do some grunt work," He slung that over the other shoulder. "And this," Mason finished, shaking the axe lightly witha goofy look on his face. Mason was sort of aware he sounded ridiculous. "Is an axe, obviously, and its super sharp, so watch yourself." He said.

After hesitating a moment he held it out and said, "You can carry it if you want to feel like a woodsman... woodswomen... whatever." He said with a chuckle and a shake of his head. Something about being with her fried his brain.

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

Key surppresed a sarcastic smile as she carefully climbed out of his car, avoiding incident. Mason looked way too excited about this. Chopping down a tree was either very fun or he was glad to have her along. Key couldn't be sure which was the more likely answer, but of course she could indulge in her fantasies.

Key stood before him to listen carefully, also taking the opportunity to stare at his face. She caught the gloves though and put them on, laughing at the sight. She raised her hands to showcase how each glove was as large as her face. "Yeah. Just a tad big."

She watched him sling the chain over her shoulder and thought, Oh, to be that chain. And then Oh, to be that battery powered saw. But his description over the axe was the most hilarious, and she laughed herself momentarily out of her lustful thoughts.

She was partially wondering what all this explanation was for. He had invited her to watch an impressively built man chop down a tree. What'd she need the gloves for? But when he offered her the axe, Key smiled and looked up at him suspiciously. "You warn me about exiting your vehicle, but you're willing to let me carry an axe?"

She took it before he could rethink it. "Thank you." she said, in mock sincerity. "You've just helped me realize my life-long dream of being a lumberjack." The axe definitely had some weight to it, but she leaned it on shoulder. "And axe-murderer," she added casually.

[MASON MIEL CAIN]

When he saw the size of his glove in relation to her face her guffawed with laughed. "Yeah, just a bit." He agreed sarcastically. She was certainly helping his mood, which was nice. He needed to get out of his head. Chloe would certainly appreciate it, given she had to feel everything he was feeling too.

He chuckled and nodded, "Hey, I'm not crazy, I'm didn't give you the power tools." Mason laughed, nodding his head over to a little trail they would be taking, each hand going to secure one of the objects slung over his body.

Mason laughed at her stance and looked at her over my shoulder and his words erupted from his mouth with hers. "You make a cute lumberjack." He decided before he could stop his mouth. And then he heard what she had said as his ears caught up with his mouth and he chuckled again.

"I really wouldn't try to attack me with that," He joked. Mason regretted it though, he didn't want to scare her---he had just gotten out of jail for assault. He shook his head, obviously he should keep his mouth shut.

Mason stopped by a tree that was large, but not too big that he couldn't cut it down. Not too tall that it should hurt anyone... "This looks like a good one." he said, not looking at her.

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

He had a point. At least he hadn't given her power tools. Key shrugged in recognition of the fact and followed him along, smiling to herself over the "cute lumberjack" comment. She was always overcome with a wonderful sensation whenever she stepped into the woods. There was buzzing; the steady pulse of life that radiated through the trees. Key always felt energized when she came here.

I really wouldn't try to attack me with that. She would've been lying if she had said she wasn't scared when he said that. But when she saw him shake his head as though he regretted it, Key couldn't help but feel guilty. No, it's unfair. I can't judge him based on stupid people's rumors. Everything he'd done up to this point was nothing if not kind. He's not going to hurt me. she affirmed to herself, as if she could will it true.

"You're right." she said, trying to recapture to casual and light-hearted mood. She strolled next him, trying to keep up with his long strides and seem carefree, as though she hadn't been bothered by his comment. "Poisoning you would be much more my element."

When they came to the tree, Key took off one of her gloves and walked over to the trunk. Palm pressed against bark, Key looked up at its massive height. She could feel the sap seeping up; cells transferring energy from the roots deep in the earth to the foliage high above. In college, Key had some stoner friends that told her being high was incredible because the very structure of your mind changed. She figured, though, there was nothing more mind-blowing that thinking like a tree.

She glanced over at Mason. "You picked a worthy opponent." she said with a smile. "He's not going to go down easy."

[MASON MIEL CAIN]

Mason was glad when she easily said she would rather poison him and chuckled accordingly. "I guess I shouldn't let you make me any food then huh?" He said with a smile, trying to go back to light hearted. He was well aware this could be awkward. Damn his past. It really got to him, how one night could ruin a man. Even Chloe had said it, his size and being an "attempted murderer" as she put it, made her love life impossible. He hurt everyone he knew, whether he tried too or not. Mason sighed and tried to focus on what she was saying.

Could she talk to the tree? Maybe she could... Mason looked up at the tree. "Good, I like a challenge." He said with a fait nod, dropping the chain and the saw to the ground. Mason slid on his protective gloves.With that he picked up the electric saw and tested it, watching the blades spin.

"Watch yourself," Mason directed as he moved toward the tree with the saw, the metal coming in contact with the wood, spraying wood-chips up at him . He really did need glasses.

Either way, he felt like he had in high school, trying to impress a pretty girl. He was showing her his skills, his biceps large as they steadied the metal against the wood. The whrr of the mechanics creating a line of weakness in the tree.

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

Key stepped away some, though not far enough so that her view of "impressively built guy chopping down tree" was obscured. That, along with his pleasant company, was her reason for being here. Mason stepped towards the tree, and Key couldn't help buy think Mason vs Tree, round one.

The challengers face off. Key actually sat down - on a root so that her butt wasn't touching the cold, damp earth. She rested her hands, snug in their oversized gloves, on her lap. Challenger one is an impression specimen. Mason's biceps were literally unreal. Key wondered if he could lift her with one hand - she glanced down at her legs. After staring at his body, they looked unbelievably scrawny. She hadn't been eating well lately - did Mason even like skinny girls? And the battle begins!

So she liked him. Him. Big guy over there bringing down a tree. How odd. Challenger one makes some head-way. People weren't going to be happy about that. At least, they wouldn't be, but it wasn't like Key was planning on telling anyone. There wasn't anyone left that she was close to. And he just keeps on dolling out damage! He couldn't possibly like her. Why would he? He wasn't even aware of how damaged she was. If he knew ...

Key shook her head. No way she'd want him to see her like that. What she was like most nights these days; drinking herself numb so that she could sleep. Crying herself to sleep stopped working after the fourth night, and she couldn't stay awake with all those thoughts. Key looked down in shame and sadness, glad Mason was distracted with something else.

[MASON MIEL CAIN]

Mason continued to work the saw, getting lost in the hum of the blades, the splinters of wood, flying around him. He hoped he was as impressive as he felt. He wasn't sure why he wanted so much for her to be in awe of him. Maybe it just had to do with everyone else in town who weren't giving him a chance to start over from what happened five years ago. In any case, he went about 3/4th of the way with the saw and know it was time for the axe, better for a slow finish with these things. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, he just hoped that Caim wasn't too bored.

He turned and she looked a little sad. Mason wiped the sweat from his brow with his arm and said, "How ya' holding up?" He picked up the axe from near her and wondered if maybe he should let her take a go at it, would that cheer her up? If he'd been another sort of man he would have realized he could hold her, show her how to swing the axe...

Mason glanced back at the tree, which now swayed slightly in the breeze. "Did you wanna give it a whack?" He asked finally. It could be pretty therapeutic.

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

Mason asked her how she was and Caim looked up with a smile, trying to feign normalcy. She nodded ardently. "Great." she assured him, making eye contact to reinforce her sincerity. His eyes are such a lovely shade of blue. At his recommendation, Key raised her eyes brows - her? Chop down a tree? Her immediate response was no, but Key stopped herself from saying it. She eyed the tree in a new light. Unsure as to why, Key nodded and got the axe from him.

She approached the tree. Jaw clenched, Key took a swing. The axe logged neatly into the trunk and it took effort to yank it back out, but Key kept at it. Swing. Again. And again.

Gilly hadn't even stayed for the funeral. As soon as the paperwork was in order and the arrangements were made, she took off. Key had been suspicious because her sister had spent most of the time sitting on the front porch and smoking. When had she started smoking? Gilly was sitting and smoking. It was nighttime and Key came to sit next to her. "I'm not staying." Gilly said. Key asked her what she meant, but part of her already knew. "You think I'm just going to stay here and deal with things?" Key asked. Gilly didn't even hesitate in answering, "Yes." She blew out some smoke. "You're a better person than me."

Gilly drove away, and Key remembered throwing her pack of cigarettes after her.

Swing. Swing. Suddenly Key heard a crack, and snapped back to reality, panting from the effort. The tree was falling. Key dropped with axe and rushed towards Mason, clinging to his arm and standing partially behind him.

[MASON MIEL CAIN]

Mason had expected her to need help, or only get a little chopping done before she gave out, but he watched as she swung the axe at the tree like her life depended on it. He said nothing and watched, so far she didn't ook like she would hurt herself. He would chop it up later, she could have this moment. It seemed like she needed it. Poor beautiful thing, she shouldn't have to hurt so much, but she was alone and that was a horrible way to feel.

She didn't have to be alone anymore.

She had him now.

The trunk cracked and started to tip and ran over, her tiny hands clutched at him through the fabric of her oversized gloves. "Timber!" Mason shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. It was polite etiquette for tree cutting after all, but he doubted many would be out now. The sky was turning purple and pink as the sun moved toward the horizon. They'd have enough light to cart the tree back in pieces probably. Then he realized how anxious she seemed and he reached around so he was facing her. Mason placed his hands over her ears just in time for the loud thud as the tree hit the ground.


He stroked her hair, trying to be soothing. "Its okay, you did good." He said with a smile. He walked toward the axe and picked it up, looking at the tree stump with a little smile. Who knew she had it in her?

"We'll probably have to cut it in half again and then drag back to the truck... maybe in thirds..." Mason looked it over carefully, wondering what was best to do and if she was okay.

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

Key felt like a kid when he covered her ears from the sound, but she was also thankful for it because in her state of mind she wouldn't have thought to do that. His hands, just as she postulated, were massive against her face. They felt protective though. Like they could wrap around all of her.

Her heart still pounded from the effort, though her breathing was normalizing. Her lips felt dry, though. When the tree fell, the impact sent vibrations up her legs. Key looked up at Mason, worried at his reaction to her erractic behavior, also licking her lip. But he told her she did good, so she breathed a sigh of relief. The way he stroked her hair helped calm her down - it felt nice.

Key looked over extent of the tree, still unable to process that she was partially responsible for bringing something so large down. Mason was calculating how to divide it, but all Key could think of was how she spent most of her energy on that outburst, but also how she definitely did not want to leave. "Do we saw off the parts, then?" She asked, wanting it to be clear that she was going to make herself useful. She also liked saying "we".

[MASON MIEL CAIN]

As she licked her lips, Mason couldn't help but notice how adorable it was, and how much he liked having her so close. It was easy, warm and simple. It wasn't nearly as fraught as everything else these days seemed to be. He wasn't sure why she felt like that, but she did and Mason was glad to have her with him.

"Well we have to cut off the braches and we have to cut the trunk in a couple sections to get it all into the truck." Mason explained, silently glad she hadn't yet remembered to let go of his arm. "I guess one of us can chop the branches and the other can use the saw on the trunk..." He liked using his own power with an axe but maybe it was silly to give her the power tools... "We still have enough light for that, probably, but I'll have to chop it up smaller another day." He said. Obviously, people didn't shove whole tree branches in their fireplaces.

Mason put his hand over hers and patted it, at a lost of exactly how to relate to her. She was younger than his sister it seemed, and he wanted to protect her, but he also wanted to kiss her, which he never thought he'd really feel again since his fiance left him.

"Which do you want to do?"

[CAIM VENUS HYSSOP]

Key listened to his explanation, trying imagine each situation. "I guess one of us can chop the branches and the other can use the saw on the trunk..." Key could probably chop a few branches, but there was no way she'd be able to clear the whole tree. Most of her spontaneous energy was spent mad-hacking the trunk. She could almost imagine the arch that her arms and back would develop very quickly. The saw seemed easier in theory, but Key wasn't sure how long she'd be able to hold it up - it looked heavy. Key let go of Mason's arm, needing to run her hands through her hair and out of her face.

Key wish she could be of more help, but she didn't bank on actually having to do work. Had she known, she would've considered that before saying yes. "I can chop the branches." Key offered, hoping that she wouldn't burn out too quickly.