03.2023 | WELCOME BACK! Hello friends old and new! I'm so excited to welcome you all back to SITW! I've made some changes to the plot and added the ability to play supernatural charcaters! So come and check it out! I can't wait to jump back into this little town with all of you!
A strange history surrounds the town, it is a place where mysterious and supernatural things have been known to happen. The reputation of the town reguarly draws in visitors and newcomers alike. While some residents avidly believe in the supernatural, others are far more skeptical. What do you believe?
Post by Francisco ‘Cisco’ Irwin on Nov 15, 2023 23:14:10 GMT
Cisco gave a determined nod, then breathed through another leg extension, trying -but failing miserably- to hide his discomfort and how much he was straining. Physical strength wasn’t his forte, but he also wasn’t about to call it quits. With a pause for a breath and a little mental pep-talk, he pushed through a second one AND a third one. But that was where he’d stop. He didn’t need to damage any muscles just to try and impress Ferris. Not that he felt anything he did couldn’t actually warrant impressing this man. Namely because Ferris was much more interesting than just about anyone in this small town!
“That’s it for me on this one!” He managed out as he sat up and shook his head, massaging a spot on his left calf for a moment. He might have only been a volunteer fire fighter, but Cisco put in his efforts to be in decent physical shape, he needed to be able to be relied upon in those tough situations. Thankfully adrenaline usually aided in where he lacked. Cisco stood and moved on to another machine, though he kept a watchful eye on Ferris. In case he needed help, ya know, due to his injury. Not just because he was nice to look at.
Cisco made a good effort to not stare too much when Ferris removed his shirt, but damn was that difficult. Not just because the man was very attractive to watch, but the bandage on his arm looked larger than he had originally expected. He winced at the idea of getting hurt on a solo hike. At least, he assumed he was solo.
“I mean, I typically prefer ‘wining and dining’ before showering, but whatever floats your boat, Sir.” He couldn’t help himself, cracking up at his own joke so heavily that he almost couldn’t catch his breath for a moment. Cisco grinned from ear to ear as he grabbed his bottle of water and took a swig and gave a playful wink to Ferris. “Yeah, giving the soup more time to just soften the potatoes and marinate in the flavors is never going to be a bad thing.”
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 16, 2023 0:08:30 GMT
Although possessing the ability to be competitive when it came to games, he wasn't so much of an alpha to turn their workout into such a thing. He was pleased to have someone to trade encouragement and jabs with instead of going about his routine solo like usual. Honestly, he didn't expect Cisco to push that hard, mildly impressed. "Don't worry, you'll feel it tomorrow," he teased seriously.
He was, however, invested enough in what he was doing to not pay too much attention to where Cisco's eyes explored.
Ferris finished up his last set and directed a confused look toward the other firefighter. The idea of eating while covered in sweat wasn't a pleasant one, but Cisco's words conjured the idea and left Ferris shaking his head. Maybe that was just how much of a foodie the other guy was, which paired well with his enjoyment of cooking. The wink sparked a small amount of understanding that the guy was teasing him, but to be honest, Ferris was quite oblivious of how he had worded his previous statement. "Uh, sure, Cisco," he replied with a shake of his head. It wasn't the strangest thing the man had said in his presence.
He stepped over to his own water bottle, unscrewing the lid and taking a few sips while Cisco talked about potatoes. He screwed the cap back on and then reached down for his shirt, using it to wipe sweat from his forehead. He led the way toward the showers, pausing to hold open the door if the other guy was going to do the same. He was a bit fuzzy about that but didn't want to slam the door in his face.
Human
Head Editor at The Tribune & Volunteer Firefighter
Post by Francisco ‘Cisco’ Irwin on Nov 16, 2023 3:09:16 GMT
He nodded at Ferris’ statement, knowing all too well how sore he’d find himself after a good night’s rest. Thankfully he knew he didn’t have a busy day tomorrow, so he’d be able to take it easy on himself.
Cisco watched him as he seemed to completely miss the play on words and couldn’t help but find it even more adorable. Ferris truly seemed oblivious to his flirtations, and oddly enough he found it quite entertaining, if not also a little endearing. “Oh gosh, we gotta work on your ability to pick up on jokes Sir.” He teased with a shake of his head as he screwed the lid back on his bottle of water and followed after the man.
“And subtle flirting.” He said with another wink as he walked through the doorway and chuckled to himself a little as he took another sip from his water. He walked toward the decently sized co-ed showers and paused at a closet to grab a towel and his bag with a change of clothes.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 16, 2023 4:41:32 GMT
Ferris didn't have the luxury of taking easy days, but he was used to it. Preferred it even. The busier he was. The better.
"Work on my...?" He asked, trailing off, holding the door open. His gaze followed Cisco through the door and into the hall as the man made it painfully clear that it wasn't just that Ferris had been slow on the uptake, but had missed the true meaning. His expression darkened a little at the notion of the man flirting with him, but only shook his head.
"Too subtle," he confessed, forcing a bit of a laugh. He knew Cisco well enough to know the guy had an easy-going humor and liked to make everything a joke. This was just more of the same, as far as he was concerned. It had to be. He wasn't particularly comfortable with true flirting. Besides, why would Cisco even be interested in him.
He shrugged the moment off and followed Cisco to the showers, ducking into the dormitory to grab his own towel and clothes. Being an older fire station, everything was co-ed. The dorm room and showers were no exception. It was a tight space, only a few shower heads in little wide tile alcoves, each with a shelf and hooks. Most had a curtain too, but while the space was kept clean, it was a bit old and when some of the rods rusted out, no one had bothered to replace them. There was a small shoe rack at the door with a pair of flip-flops for everyone.
Ferris set his things on the sink counter and stepped into one to turn on the water and let it heat up as he stripped the rest of the way down, tossing his sweaty shirt and sweatpants and briefs over the wall dividing the shower alcoves.
Human
Head Editor at The Tribune & Volunteer Firefighter
Post by Francisco ‘Cisco’ Irwin on Nov 17, 2023 15:28:27 GMT
Too subtle? Cisco could easily fix that, but he also wasn’t trying to get hit with any ‘sexual harassment’ claims anywhere, particularly not where he liked to volunteer. Afterall, just because he lived a sexually loose lifestyle, it didn’t mean everyone else did as well. Cisco actually learned most people were embarrassed by their sexuality and desires. Which is why he preferred the privacy of his home when getting someone comfortable and ready to open up to him.
He chuckled as he swapped out his gym shoes for his pair of flip flops, and picked one of the showers. He turned the water on and casually stripped out of his now sweaty clothes and stepped under the water running from the shower head.
“So, aside from failing at rock climbing, what do you like to do when you’re not here and out being a town hero?” Cisco chuckled a little at his own teasing of the fire chief, but they all knew he liked joking around like that. He lathered up a washcloth with some soap and set to scrubbing himself clean.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 17, 2023 19:29:07 GMT
The hot water felt good, especially on his still very sore back. He at least didn't feel stiff and was grateful he stuck to a good routine with work outs and taking care of himself. He pressed both hands against the wall, head handing down and staring at the floor for a minute, breathing in the steam.
The fire chief wasn't exactly expecting to shower in silence. The fire house was a community place, a close family of its own. He knew a lot of the firefighters, even the volunteers well. But he also knew they didn't know him as much. And certainly he wouldn't say he was close friends with any of them. Casual friends though, sure. But while he was expecting some conversation to crop up, Ferris wasn't expecting something personal. Even as casually' personal as asking after someone's hobbies was.
Ferris let out a single soft laugh at the term 'failing at rock climbing.' While not true to this moment, athletic or not, he doubted he was some expert at it. For sure he wasn't about to free climb any of the small cliffs nearby or go caving. Calling him a 'town hero' got another scoff that he brushed aside. He wouldn't call anything he had done here heroic, at least nothing out of the ordinary, anyway. Sure, it wasn't 'just a job' but he didn't think he deserved that much praise. It felt awkward. "I work at the equestrian center as a riding instructor on my days off," he said, both answering Cisco's question and not answering it.
"What about you when you're not here or at the paper?" he asked, much less cleverly than Cisco.
Human
Head Editor at The Tribune & Volunteer Firefighter
Post by Francisco ‘Cisco’ Irwin on Nov 17, 2023 21:58:24 GMT
Cisco the the hot water rinse off all the soap and suds from his body. He wasn’t and overly athletic man, but he had a nice physique. Typically his best workouts didn’t involve any equipment… or a gym. He smirked to himself as he washed his hair and nodded. “Nice, somehow horseback riding seems exactly like something you’d enjoy.” He chuckled a little and then shrugged.
“Oh, that’s easy. When I’ve got my kids I’m usually just spending time with them and letting them judge my cooking.” He grinned, closing his eyes and looking up at the shower head to just enjoy the feeling of the water running down his body. He turned around and leaned his back and head against the wall for a moment.
“When it’s just me… well, the rumor around town is I run a secret sex cult… which sounds way more interesting than what I actually do; which is try recipes o think the kids won’t like and hunt for new books to read. Occasionally I may bring an overnight guest home, but typically I’m rather boring.”
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 18, 2023 1:19:44 GMT
Ferris wasn't sure horseback riding seemed so funny or so obvious. But that was fine. He didn't need to impress or surprise anyone. Especially not while shaping up in the shower.
"Ever think about a part time job at the diner?" He teased. Not that the diner was bad food, but he cmgot the feeling Cisco wasn't looking for such a low level job. Some fine dining local place maybe more up his alley since he seemed to enjoy experimenting. Especially considering Ferris personally thought working as an editor for the newspaper was boring. That always seemed to be the biggest reason to the fire chief that Cisco volunteered here.
The phrase 'secret sex cult' made Ferris turn around and look at Cisco. Unsurprisingly, he had also stepped into the other stall across the way that was missing a curtain. What was surprising was him facing to the center of the room. It wasn't the first time he had seen the man naked, they both used these showers. Nor did Ferris normally care about casual nudity. People washed and dressed and pissed and did all sorts of things in the army and anywhere else when living in close quarters. It wasn't anything strange to him, there was an acceptible amount of eyeing each other and moving on.
But in the context of what Cisco was saying, Ferris definitely looked at the man entirely. Briefly. Volunteer or not, casual work out regime aside, he was very fit and attractive. Ferris turned back around to face the water and rinse off. More of a concern was that if Cisco even suspected he was looking at anything, he wouldn't just tease him, he would really flirt with him because he thought Ferris was interested.
Ferris didn't want to be interested. In anyone. But he found resisting that more and more impossible of late. "Cooking and books. And people go for that nerdy stuff, eh?" He said trying to joke, not directly addressing the other half of what the man said, though he was curious about Cisco's latest fling.
Human
Head Editor at The Tribune & Volunteer Firefighter
Post by Francisco ‘Cisco’ Irwin on Nov 18, 2023 3:09:41 GMT
Cisco chuckled at the recommendation, shaking his head and letting the water droplets fly at the movement. He had never seriously considered working in food, namely because everything in their small town was more ‘home cooking’ than ‘fine dinning’. But honestly, it wouldn’t be too much to consider driving to one of the neighboring towns for work.
Then again, he enjoyed the current work schedule. It worked well with the kids’ school schedules and such, so he couldn’t complain. “Not a bad idea, but maybe not any of the places in town… awkward history and all that jazz.” He shrugged playfully, and rinsed his hair with water once again.
When Ferris turned around at the mention of a ‘secret sex cult’ he couldn’t help but chuckle and shrug again, not at all embarrassed to be seen, and actually quite flattered that he did look. Not that it meant anything, people often got curious when odd things were said. And Cisco was known for saying many off things. He cut the water off and grabbed a towel, taking his time drying himself off. He smirked at the question and look back up to Ferris with a nod.
“Oh, absolutely. All of that, plus I’m generally very well dressed; it’s been my experience that women and men enjoy being seduced by a nerd.” Cisco gave a playful wink and continued drying off. “Just this past weekend I met a lovely woman while shopping for groceries. She seemed intrigued by the idea of me making a dish from scratch in nothing but an apron and feeding it to her blindfolded.” This of course was a more tame version of the story, as Cisco wasn’t keen to give all the details away. He might seem ‘nerdy’ to some, but it was quite the opposite in other settings.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 18, 2023 4:11:48 GMT
Ferris could only imagine that 'awkward history' meant he had slept with enough people at the diner and other locations that he felt weird working for them. Probably not surprising considering Cisco's reputation, but even Ferris knew most of the rumors were just rumors. Well...to be honest, maybe he couldn't assume that, knowing there were werewolves about. Cults or vampires or other supernatural things might not be so rare here as he thought. But Ferris wasn't about to be paranoid and suspect everyone of something.
The fire chief smirked at Cisco's pick-up advice, intending to make a comment about if he ever needed a wingman, but the wink threw him off, making him more uncomfortable than the reminder that Cisco was just as into men as he was women. Not that Ferris minded what the other man did, he just preferred to avoid the topic. Ferris stood under the water a bit longer but turned his off eventually too, reaching up to squish excess water from his hair before reaching for his own towel. He dried off and wrapped it around his waist, pausing as the man explained his very kinky encounter. "Damn, man, what the hell," he said, shaking his head. He got the feeling there was more to it than just some sensual dinner party. "Tell that lead to something more worthwhile," he said, collecting his clothes and moving toward the dorms to collect his own clothes.
It was probably more and more apparent that Ferris hadn't had anything 'worthwhile' in a long time.
Post by Francisco ‘Cisco’ Irwin on Nov 18, 2023 4:51:26 GMT
The man wrapped the towel around his waist and smirked as he recalled the encounter. “Absolutely, she was dangerously flexible too.” He said with a nod of his head. Just thinking back to his encounter with Andrea was almost enough to get him uncomfortable, but Cisco was a man with excellent control of himself. He might seem nerdy and come off as a bit of a goof to the guys at the fire station, but in the bedroom; he was quite the ‘daddy Dom’. The thought made him smirk as he walked to the sink, clearing a space in the mirror to style his hair.
“Apparently she was a former gymnast, and she had a major praise kink… and damn, that make it fun.” In his experience, paramours he took with praise links always seemed to be eager to please and seemed to get comfortable more easily, especially the quicker he picked up on the kink. He finished his hair and then grabbed his change of clothes. He moved to the locker room and set his bag back in the locker, and pulled off the towel to change into a pair of fresh black boxers, some great sweats and a white t-shirt that had the firehouse logo and information on it.
“She’s going to be back in town in about a month, I can ask her if she’s got any friends.” He offered with a playful wiggle of his eyebrows to Ferris. As playful and flirtatious as he was, Cisco didn’t ever aim to make anyone uncomfortable. He’d tease and joke, but he would never push boundaries without permission. He could tell that his openness seemed to give Ferris pause at times.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 18, 2023 5:30:19 GMT
He outright laughed at the term 'dangerously flexible.' "Sounds like a keeper," he teased, pulling on some grey sweats. At the very least, he got the feeling Cisco was interested in more than just a one-night stand. Former gymnast even. He'd had some experience with a kink like that, it seemed pretty common, at least on a lower level. But he wasn't nearly so experienced recently to match Cisco in the discussion of his recent pursuits. The man was on another level.
Ferris felt a little self-conscious in comparison. But that was mostly his own fault. He'd purposefully made himself emotionally and even physically unavailable for a while, with only a few one-time exceptions when he was either very drunk or very desperate and depressed. So far, he'd managed to project an aloof manner around town, but in truth he was just as lonely as ranger Vance.
He shook his head. "No thanks," he said quickly, tugging a similar shirt on over his head. His stomach growled suddenly, advertising how hungry he was. "Let's get some soup," he said, avoiding that conversation line.
Human
Head Editor at The Tribune & Volunteer Firefighter
Post by Francisco ‘Cisco’ Irwin on Nov 18, 2023 6:01:39 GMT
“I like to see where things go, but I’m not the monogamous type. So it just depends on if she’s okay with that or not.” He admitted with a casual shrug. It never bothered him to talk about things like this. Sometimes people got wildly defensive of their own preferences and the conversations got odd. For the most part, people just thought his preferences were just a ‘fancy way to say you’re a cheater’. Such small minded thinking. He pitied those who could grasp the complexities that accompanied non-monogamous relationships.
“Hey, more for me. Maybe I can interest her in a ménage à trois.” Cisco said with a smirk as he shut his locker and gave a nod about the mention of the soup. “Absolutely, I’m famished.” He said with a chuckle, making his way toward the kitchen and enjoying the scent of the potato soup wafting throughout the fire station. He grabbed down two bowls and started ladling soup into them, adding bacon crumbs on top and looking to Ferris with a raised brow. “Cheese, chives and sour cream for garnish, or no?”
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 18, 2023 6:32:10 GMT
"Divorce really worked out well for you, eh," he chuckled. More than he had when they discussed it before. He was glad Cisco had his life figured out, at least in the short term. Ferris wasn't too caught up on what other people's lifestyles were like. That wasn't his business. As for himself, he had thought he had things figured out until about six years ago. "What, you spoon feeding two blindfolded chicks? Have fun with that," he said, meaning it both sarcastically because he didn't get it, and seriously, because he knew Cisco got off to that sort of thing. Definitely not for him.
When they returned to the kitchen, the handful of other firefighters on duty had already helped themselves to some soup. There was still plenty left, considering there was only the five of them around. Ferris tossed a wave to the others where they lounged around the living space tv, watching some sitcom and eating soup on the couches. Long as they didn't get crumbs in the cushions, they were rather lax about it.
"Won't say no," Ferris said, taking a seat at the counter on one of the barstools. He scrubbed his hands through his still damp hair. He wasn't so vain about styling as Cisco, but he supposed he could look mildly more presentable. Ferris' vibe was less fine clothes and fancy hair and charm and more scruffy flannel, cigarettes and brooding. But he had to admit, it suited Cisco. He pulled his bowl toward himself once the other man had finished his presentation and dug it.
Human
Head Editor at The Tribune & Volunteer Firefighter
Post by Francisco ‘Cisco’ Irwin on Nov 18, 2023 15:11:54 GMT
“Hey, she asked for the divorce. I was happy with our arrangement, she was the one who wanted out.” While the divorce was certainly working out in his favor, he never wanted that. The romantic in him was crushed when she asked for the out. But he played a good sport and made light of things. He gave a shrug, then grinned at the mental image Ferris painted with his words. “Can’t use the same play twice, but I’m thinking about offering an assortment of things to dip in chocolate.” That thought alone gave him reason to grin and chuckle a little.
He waved to the other guys enjoying the soup as he added the shredded cheese, sprinkle of chopped chives and a dollop of sour cream to the center of the bowl. He slid the bowl to the counter space in front of Ferris and set down a spoon. After collecting his own bowl, he leaned against a counter and gave everything a good mix before enjoying the soup himself. It was never a disappointment to be met with the creamy notes of cheese, pairs with the bacon and potatoes. But he did think it was missing something. “Sourdough bread, light buttered would go perfectly with this.”