Lying on a Beach
Posted by Hans 'The Baron' von Richtoven
on August 23, 2023, 7:20 am
The scene opens up. You’re dozing, the sound of the music you’re listening to there in the background. You hear the music dip in volume temporarily and the ping of new message pulse through, rousing you from your torpor. While your eyes are shielded from the sun by your aviators you nevertheless need to blink several times to wash away the tiredness washing over you and let your vision focus on what’s around you. Looking up, you see one of the white beaches of St Maarten open up before you, azure waters beyond gently lapping at the shore and a quiet peacefulness about the place that matches the mirrors the feeling in your bones. What a beautiful sight. Taking in the view, your eyes drift down to observe the sight of your sleeping wife nuzzling into your chest. Your left arm is draped around her as you both lie in the giant hammock slung beneath two large palm trees, the fronds of which are providing ample shade from the white orb sat in the sky. An even more beautiful sight. Smiling down at her as that thought crosses your mind, your eyes linger a fraction longer before moving across to the small table parked across from where your head is lying. On it lies your phone along with an empty high glass from which your wife had drank her cocktail earlier and a local brand bottle of beer, some light dregs remaining at the bottom of it capturing the light. Careful so as not to disturb Vanessa you reach across to the table with your right hand, navigating round the glassware until you grip the phone and take it towards you. The notification expands as the iPhone registers your face. A message from Butch? Tapping the message notification open, you take in what your friend has sent. How’s the tan? A glance down at yourself. From what wasn’t hidden from view by his green trunks or his wife, he was looking good. Your various bruises are starting to disappear too. They hadn’t been as numerous as when you’d faced Maniac at the previous show, but nevertheless you will be glad to see the back of them. You do have to accept that living in LA has helped though, being able to lie out in the garden for an hour or so most nights or take it in while jogging at the Academy’s track outside had done most of the work. The wee guy loved the videos. Wisdom hopes you’re wearing ear plugs though! A light rumble of amusement comes from your chest, Vanessa stirring slightly at it. She stretches one leg out a fraction more, before nuzzling in further. You find your left hand idly toying with her hair and scap, circling motions and the like. Comforting for you both in truth. Casting your mind back to the other day, you recall fondly spending time at the short strip of beach that separates the ocean from the airport, the large aircraft coming in to land at St Maartens needing to practically skim a few meters above the top of the wire fence. You’d both spent the morning taking it in turns to try and jump up and catch the wheels, joking with the other over how close you’d gotten on each effort. The afternoon had then been spent washing the sand out of your hair, blown up from the force of the engines. Worth it though. Your focus goes back to your phone as it pings once more, a second message dropping in from Butch. Also, heads up, Havoc card goes live in an hour. You’re facing Draconis pal. Speak soon. That last line gets read a second time, your eyebrows raising up behind the aviators. Oh, that’s interesting… Flicking the power button briefly to turn the off and back to it’s locked state, you gently place the phone back to where it had resided on the table. Haven’t fought Draconis since I held the world title… From one extreme to the next it would seem. From the brave new future the HWA was aiming towards with Herr Branson, towards the remains of the past iteration of HWA in the form of Draconis. You weren’t ignorant to ignore that you probably sat better in that latter category in the eyes of many as well, but still, it would be nothing like the last time you’d fought, you could be sure of that. You’d both changed in the years since. Draconis had been on quite the run and the last two defeats he’d had didn’t take the shine off what he’d managed since HWA had returned to the airwaves. Nevertheless, it didn’t change what you were doing either right at this second, nor what you’d do when you’d return to LA in the next few days. You were a professional afterall and this rest you were on was just as important as the grind you’d be on at the Academy. On that note. You catch sight of one of the waiters up at the nearby bar, tilting your head at him, and gesturing down at the table beside you. A thumbs up in your direction swiftly follows as the man ducks in to the bar to make Vanessa’s cocktail and get another bottle for you out from the fridge. Glancing back down at your wife and then back out towards the ocean beyond, you find yourself smiling. The scene fades out to black.
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