A Little More Trust Cpt. 27

Colfax sat up to watch as Sawyer made his way back into the kitchen. He glanced over the bottom cupboards and drawers quickly, and a smirk came to his face. "I could still get it if you put me on the floor," he said with confidence, glancing over his shoulder at the human. He wasn't sure if Sawyer would register what he said before he got there, considering his ridiculously long strides, but it was worth a shot. Colfax didn't mind having a quicker mode of transportation, but he was itching to do something on his own.

He thought of something to say that was sure to get Sawyer to let him down. "I could make Indiana Jones look like an amateur." It was more boastful than he'd usually go for. But, he was certain that a challenge like that to one of Sawyer's favorite movie characters would get his attention for sure.

Sawyer had already paused in his steps, his curiosity piqued as to just what Colfax meant, but the last statement certainly got his attention. He glanced from the little person in his hands to the kitchen counter, gauging the distance between the floor and the destination. It was practically a cliffside to the little guy. He almost said it couldn’t be done, but Colfax’s confident tone argued otherwise. Not to mention Sawyer was proud of him for using a legitimate pop culture reference, even if it was insulting to his favorite action hero.

“Alright,” he conceded, kneeling down to deposit Colfax on the floor. “Let’s see what you’ve got, short stuff.” He was actually quite curious to see what Colfax was going to do, especially considering the bag with all his climbing gear was still high up on the counter. Sawyer straightened back up and immediately took a couple of steps back, not quite liking the perspective from such a difference in height. It wasn’t often that Colfax was on the floor and he was standing up straight. No wonder the little guy thought he was huge, Sawyer felt like he was practically looming. All the same, he stood still and watched the small figure on the floor, waiting to see these moves that would put Harrison Ford’s stunt doubles out of a job.

Colfax was back to the perspective he was used to. Furniture stretching high above, a wide expanse of floor in any direction, and of course a human looking so incredibly daunting. At least when Sawyer picked him up, Colfax didn't have to feel like the guy was looming over him; he was reminded quite starkly of why humans were so fearsome. Colfax was absolutely dwarfed in the human's shadow, but at least Sawyer gave him some room. It made it easier to ignore the fact that he had an audience. He needed to focus, since one wrong move in this venture could result in more than a few broken bones.

The column of drawers was on the opposite end of the counter from where his bag was, but they would be the greatest obstacle. The lowest one was too high to just hoist himself up. Colfax poised to get started, bending his knees and relaxing his shoulders. Then, he took a quick running start and jumped up, getting his hands on the edge of the lowest drawer. From there he had to swing his legs up to secure a foothold in the simple, decorative grooves in the wood. The hardest part was over, but there was still at least a ten-minute climb ahead.

From there, he found a kind of rhythm of reaching up to grip the top edges of each drawer, supplementing his climb with the patterns carved in the panels. Thank God humans didn't like things plain. Even with all his practice, Colfax didn't rush, and he didn't once take his focus off the task at hand. Until he reached the top, he couldn't afford to look away. The edge of the counter was the toughest. It stuck out farther than the face of the cabinets, meaning he had to lean awkwardly to get his arm over the side. There was a precious second in which Colfax was suspended by one hand, his feet no longer supported on the top drawer. And then, with a final grunt of exertion, he hoisted himself over the side. He paused to lie there and regain his breath and the feeling in his arms.

Sawyer watched Colfax climb with wide eyes, tracking his progress with bated breath. A large part of him was worried that the little guy would fall, but he was afraid that if he stepped close enough to be able to catch Colfax then he would need to. So instead he stood stock still as Colfax climbed up the sheer side of the cabinets, hardly even breathing so as to not break the little guy’s necessary concentration. What Colfax was doing was so impressive, and as a free climber himself Sawyer could appreciate the sheer ability present in the effort. It wasn’t an easy climb by any means. As Colfax got to the hardest part, the overhang of the countertop, Sawyer stood tense and ready to run forward. The little guy was hanging by one hand for a moment, but managed to get up by himself- much to Sawyer’s awe.

“Man, you weren’t kidding,” Sawyer exclaimed breathlessly, taking the few steps forward to the kitchen counter. He beamed down at the little person lying and catching his breath after the exertion. “That’s was fantastic, you’re a great climber Colfax.” He almost couldn’t believe that a little person had just climbed up his kitchen counter, much less that he had done it without any gear at all. “I swear, if you were my size I’d be dragging you to extreme sports club with me, everybody there could learn a lot from your form.” Of course, they didn’t have nearly the resources for something akin to what Colfax had just done; as tall as the counter was in comparison to the little guy, a human like Sawyer would have to find a forty-foot sheer cliff side somewhere. They didn’t exactly have one on campus.

A smile tugged at the corner of Colfax's mouth for a second or two. Pride from the compliments and endorphins from the intense workout both helped to keep a lot of his usual worries at bay. Even back home, he never got praise for his climbing skills. Considering how necessary they were to all viri, it wasn't usually seen as something praiseworthy. Even so, he liked to think that he was particularly good at it thanks to having a better reach than most viri. "If I was your size I don't think I'd be so good at it," he replied, getting to his feet once more. He still had to trek across the counter after all, but that was nothing.

Necessity was the best teacher, and Colfax had a feeling that if left to their own devices, many viri would not learn to climb so well; but, everything in the world was built at a much greater scale, so there weren't many options. He started to walk casually across the counter, angling himself so he could dodge around the sink. "Don't let that give you any ideas about climbing the sides of buildings," he quipped. Rushing at something like that without any hand or footholds was suicide.

Sawyer smirked at that, still in awe of the display of technical skill he’d just witnessed. “Dude, I was climbing buildings way before you came along,” he said. It wasn’t so much of a boast as a statement of fact. Much of the free climbing he’d done was on buildings around campus, once he felt confident and able enough to climb them of course. He’d gotten a lot better at climbing urban structures in the few years he’d been at college. It scared the living daylights out of Charlie.

Seeing a genuine smile from Colfax had been nice. Apparently compliments went a long way with the little guy. God knows he probably didn’t get them all that often. It was with a genuine smile of his own that Sawyer said, “I don’t know that I’ve ever considered drawers to be climbable before though. That was a pretty big effort for you, huh? No wonder you make grappling hooks out of things.” It would be exhausting to have to do something of that scale every day, especially when Colfax was worried about being seen by somebody. If a human Colfax didn’t already know had walked in while he was in the middle of his climb, he’d be totally stuck in plain sight.

Colfax held his arms out a small distance from his sides when he reached the sink. He walked along the narrow part of the counter between the sink and the sheer drop, unconcerned from the height. He was in perfect control of his balance, even when he glanced over his shoulder to answer Sawyer's remark. "Climbing without gear isn't so bad, but having a climbing rope is much faster and more direct." He hadn't had to improvise a very circuitous route to the counter this time, but there had been times when he needed to double back to travel safely somewhere.

He reached his bag and lifted it off the counter, pleased that it didn't appear to have gotten splashed at all from the ordeal earlier. With the familiar weight on his shoulder and the lingering pride from his achievement, Colfax actually felt pretty good. Things had been far from normal in the last twenty-four hours, but he had definitely improved upon some things, if at the cost of some pretty intense stress. He was glad he'd had a chance to really prove that he was quite capable of taking care of himself. "And that's why Indy is an amateur," he announced, unable to take the smug look off his face.

“Alright, alright,” Sawyer said with a laugh. He leaned on the counter near Colfax and grinned at him. “On behalf of Indiana Jones and myself, I concede. You’re much better at climbing than he is.” He reached out and poked Colfax, unable to resist getting one last word in. After all, the little guy was getting a bit too smug. If his head grew any larger his tiny little shoulders wouldn’t be able to support it. So he grinned and added, “But you don’t have half his personality.”

In truth, however, he was quite glad that Colfax was so happy. He hadn’t seen the little guy so pleased in the time since they’d met. It was clear that doing things on his own made Colfax happy, and while Sawyer had felt awfully nervous with the little guy being so high up on his own, he understood the feeling. This must be what Charlie feels like whenever I do crazy climbing things, he thought, smiling to himself at the notion. He couldn’t say that he would stop carrying Colfax around – after all, it was pretty fun, and ten times quicker – but now he at least knew all of what the little guy was capable of. It was quite a lot, surprisingly enough.

Colfax rolled his eyes. He should have known it would be too much to hope that his show of skill would get Sawyer to quit poking at him. Oh well. "Who needs personality?" he quipped. "It's not like I plan to join the debate team." Even without the viri/human gap, something that social sounded like an absolute nightmare. Colfax hardly tolerated talking in front of his own family. Talking in front of a room full of strangers? No.

He briefly wondered what he would be doing right now if Sawyer had never found him the day before. He certainly wouldn't have just climbed a counter for the hell of it. Colfax really didn't do many things for the sake of enjoying himself. The concept was a little foreign.

Sawyer chuckled at that. “The debate team might not take you,” he joked. “Sarcastic remarks don’t transfer well to the record, you know.” He gave Colfax a smile, before straightening up and reaching out a hand to pick him up. “Come on,” the human said, walking out of the kitchen once again. Now that Colfax had his bag, there was really no reason for them to be in there. “Let’s go play another game of chess or something. After all, we never got to finish our last one.”



“You know, I’m not all that surprised that viri also know how to play chess,” Charlie commented, giving Adrian a smile. He had suggested the game on a whim, and had been greeted with a wonderfully positive response from the viri. It would appear that this particular cultural norm, at least, transcended the species barrier. “It’s a game that has pervaded Western culture for a long time.”

He kept up the conversation casually as he set up the chess set on the kitchen table, enough away from Adrian so that the viri didn’t feel too crowded. It was a nice glass set, with pieces that came almost up to Adrian’s shoulders and had detailed features on each of the figures. Realizing this, Charlie frowned and said, “I do hope you’ll be able to manage the pieces alright. If it’s any trouble I’m sure we can figure something else out.”

Adrian watched Charlie set up the chess pieces with some awe, marveling at the intricate details on the glass. It was definitely a much nicer set than anything he had ever used. "I can probably push them around," he replied. He left his bag and his pencil lying on the table and walked up to his side of the board once all of the pieces were there. He lightly trailed a hand over the crenellated top of one of the rooks, noting the faint texture carved into it. "I guess if I need help I'll just ask," he admitted with a shrug and a sheepish smile. Standing among the pieces like that, he almost felt like he was one. It was an amusing thought.

"My dad and uncle used to play all the time. I made them teach me as soon as I could." He inched toward the front line of pawns, watching as Charlie carefully set up the pieces on the opposite side. For a human, Charlie moved so gently and purposefully; it made him very easy to get along with, without being nervous about his size. "I taught Colfax to play, too. He got pretty good at it before he moved away." Since then, Adrian's only chess partner had been his uncle. His mother and aunts never wanted to give it a try, claiming that the experts would make quick work of them.

Charlie smiled at the viri, placing the pieces in their correct spots almost purely out of habit. “I’m sure you were a great teacher,” he said to Adrian. It was infinitely interesting to him to hear Adrian talk about his family and friends, not only because they were memories of a viri, but because the two of them were becoming fast friends as well. Charlie loved to hear people talk about their own lives. He never tired of it. Maybe it was part of the reason he liked history so much; after all, what was history but the stories of everyone’s lives?

“My mother taught me,” he told Adrian, continuing the conversation. After placing the last piece he sat back in his seat and gestured for Adrian to take the first move, as the viri was playing the white pieces. “She’s wonderful at it, I didn’t manage to beat her in a match until I was ten. My sisters learned to play too, but they weren’t as interested as perhaps I wanted them to be.” He smiled fondly at the memories. “Elisabeth especially could never sit still long enough to actually finish a match.” His little sister always had too much energy for such an endeavor.

Adrian smiled faintly as Charlie described his experience learning chess. It sounded quite similar to his own, though Adrian didn't have any siblings to try to convince. He stooped to push one of his pieces forward, keeping his hands near the base so he wouldn't just tip it over. "Colfax's older sister is the same way; neither of us could ever convince her that she might actually have fun." He shook his head at the thought that some people actually found this boring. Challenging one's mind was one of the few things a viri could do without worrying about humans!

"I never did manage to win against my dad, but that's not for lack of trying!" he added with a smile, gesturing politely for Charlie to take his turn. While he spoke, Adrian walked off the board to make sure there was plenty of room for the human to work without them bumping into each other. "He was really good at it, he and my uncle both played all the time with their own families growing up. Their old set from my childhood is so worn out, you can hardly tell the kings from the queens anymore."

Charlie waited for Adrian to walk off the board before moving at all. Reaching forward he quietly moved one of his own pieces further across the board, before returning his hands to where they were resting in his lap. It hadn’t escaped his notice that Adrian spoke about his father in the past tense, but it would be impolite of him to inquire about it; and Adrian seemed to be cheerful enough as it was. So he simply smiled at Adrian and said, “It sounds like quite the family heirloom.”

He gestured lightly to the chess set they were playing with. “This one is rather more new, my older sister Amelia gave it to me as a Christmas gift a few years ago.” She had been really excited to give it to him, and he had been absolutely amazed by the quality of it- a successful holiday indeed. “I taught Sawyer to play on this set,” he added absently, thinking back to freshman year. Sawyer also had a bit too much energy to really devote himself to the game, but at least he was able to finish a match against Charlie. He was smart as well; Charlie was certain that his friend would be able to do much better when playing him if he simply focused.

"It's pretty nice," Adrian agreed, stepping on the board once more. He paused to consider his options for a moment, eyeing the piece Charlie had just moved. "I haven't seen many human sets. But these pieces are all pretty big. And- kinda heavy." He paused midsentence as he shoved another piece forward; but he laughed it off as he moved out of the way once more, checking out the board from the side. It really was fun to play chess at this scale, though he might take even longer to take some turns this way. He'd probably have to do a lot of walking to be able to see the layout of the board.

"I left our set with my uncle when I moved. I figured I might try to make my own. But this turned out way better." He grinned as he gestured to the pieces and how big they were compared to him. It was just too fun of a comparison. It was very lucky that Charlie liked to play chess, too. There were just more and more reasons to be friends with him. "No one would believe me if I told 'em I got to play chess with a set where the king was almost as tall as me."

Not that he planned to tell anyone he knew. They'd probably really let him have it, if they didn't freak out first. But the Code just didn't seem to fit his situation; it always assumed the worst about humans, and Charlie just kept proving it all wrong.

Adrian was simply so cheerful and pleased with their game that Charlie couldn’t help but be happy as well. He smiled as he lightly joked, “And no one would believe me if I told them I got to play chess with a man barely taller than the king piece.” It was a novel experience for both of them. Charlie wondered if the game was easier or harder from such a perspective, where the player was practically among the pieces. If anything it might feel a bit more realistic, and he understood where Adrian’s infectious enthusiasm was coming from. He was having a lot of fun as well with these sudden differences in scale.