Unnamed park, Long Island, 3AM. []
Hayden: See-saww. See-saww. See-saww. The swing creaked. Hayden gently rocked backwards and forwards, his eyes blinking several times. Someone dreaming about an upcoming math test. He rolled his eyes backwards.
3x + y = 13 x + 6y = -7. Answer. X = 5. Y= -2. Easy.
He could do that in his sleep. Yet he couldn't sleep. Looking into people's dreams always soothed him, gave him a sense of control. This playpark in particular was great for dreamwork. It was empty, and it was quiet. Except for microbacteria and small insects, of course. But still, it suited his purposes.
Skylar: It was a miracle Skylar wasn't drunk. In fact it was an even larger miracle that he was sober and awake. As he kicked an empty beer can down the pavement it rattled so loud that it covered the song the crickets were making in the dark. Skylar paused as he passed the gate to the play park, he'd been stood up...again. He was beginning to think that maybe his charm was beginning to wear off, he'd never been stood up before or even denied. He paused at the gate entering the playpark, his face painting a picture of sorrow, why hadn't he drunk yet? Maybe he just couldn't bring himself to. Feeling a slight rush of nostalgia from a lost a childhood he turned into the now desolate and forgotten playpark, he only remembered faintly memories of running around with other children in his carehome in Paris. As he entered the soft creaking of the swing grew louder, someone else was here, Skylar wandered closer to the swing, seeing a boy clad in a hoodie and slacks. He didn't speak, he didn't have to, he knew why they were both here.
Hayden: Hayden continued to swing, lost in his own little world. He liked it here. Sometimes, he could tap into the dreams of the kids who once played here. Most were adults now, with children of his own. He didn't really play in any parks when he was a kid - most of the folks back home were middle-aged or elderly. But the son of Hypnos never minded. He liked his own company. He was thrown out of his hyper-focus, by a clanging sound. A lanky teenager - even skinner than he was, walked right into the park. His eyes were red, probably from drugs or a lack of sleep. His powers over sleep indicated that the latter was probably true. Drug dealers most likely avoided dishevelled suits. Still regarding the man with a degree of suspicion, Hayden continued to mutter under his breath. He was counting Prime Numbers. It always calmed him down. They were fixed, but stretched out infinitely towards the heavens. It appealed to his dreaminess, and his logical interior. "Umm... sorry." Hayden muttered, looking away from Skylar's eyes. "So, bad date huh?"
Skylar: He hadn't expected the boy to talk, in fact he was actually surprised when the boy began to talk, jumping a bit once the noise left the boys mouth, "Uh...yeah....I guess you could call it that...." He lifted his hand up to scratch his 5 o'clock shadow that had begun to form on his face, "I'm not sure you could even call it a 'date', she didn't even show up." He walked over close to the swing set, dragging his feet behind him as he approached on of the swings, turning around and sitting gently upon it, careful not to disturb the other boy.
Hayden: "Oh...." Hayden paused awkwardly. "Well, apparently 17% of first dates end up in second ones, so you probably dodged a bullet there..." He shrugged his shoulders and leaned back. This talking thing wasn't exactly his forte. "Sorry man, I suck at talking. I kissed one girl in Sixth Grade. I think she did it because I had space-candy that day. Space Camp was weird - well I learnt a lot about gravitational forces and mathematics, but that's fairly irrelevant. Again, sorry."
Skylar: He started to swing, the hinges beginning to creak as he flew up and down. He laughed gently at Hayden's awkwardness, he used to know someone like that, "So you're not the sort of person I usually hang out with?" He stopped swinging again and started swinging around in circles in order to face Hayden, "I've never been to Space Camp, tell me more..."
Hayden: Despite his fatigue, Hayden perked up at the mention of Science Camp. He had fond memories of the place. "Actually, it was a Science Camp. We took lessons in mathematics, astrophysics, mechanical and technical engineering, you should know the basics. Mom sent me there one summer. I think I chose to specialise mostly in astrophysics and engineering: basically what the layman would call rocket science. I was more into the theoretical side of things - talking about dark matter, pulsars and such. But we also learnt how to get a rocket into the air. It takes a lot of fuel. The idea is that every action, has an equal and opposite reaction. You have to generate enough velocity for the rocket to escape the pull of gravity, and fly into space. It's pretty fascinating actually."
Skylar: He nodded along to whatever Hayden said as if he had a clue what he was talking about, he actually didn't care it's just that he just enjoyed listening to people talk about things they were passionate about. "So I'm guessing you want to be an astronaut or something?" He tilted his head trying to think of other jobs that could make use of such experience. "A physicist? Ohhhh or maybe one of those NASA guys that's replies whenever they have a 'problem'?"
Hayden: The son of Hypnos barely noticed Skylar's fatigue - his passive aura probably wasn't helping much. He just shrugged his shoulders and blinked a couple of times. "Nah. To become an astronaut, you have to have at least a thousand hour's worth of experience as a jet pilot, a bachelor's degree in a related field, a perfect physical exam etc etc." He didn't mention that his insomnia would hinder his progress. "I want to work in Computer Science, probably working with hardware, rather than software." He smiled. "What about you?"
Skylar: He bit his lip. What did he want to do? He'd tried music but that didn't work, he typically forgot to practice, and art? No he couldn't, art was too hard for him. He liked languages but that would sound lame. He said it anyway, "Eh...I liked languages, well....studying them, translating is annoying."
Hayden: "Did you know that only 20% of Americans have passports?" Hayden mused. "I'm thinking of getting one - but I won't leave the States anytime soon." He chuckled, getting a little more comfortable around the strange man. "Actually I'm learning Ancient Greek at the moment. It's hard. Languages have rules, but they're illogical. Math or code is much simpler to read."
Skylar: He laughed gently after he mentioned Ancient Greek, a small smile remaining on his face, "Ancient Greek is easy. It's basically my mother tongue plus not all languages are illogical...German's pretty logical once you learn the rules. It's the spelling that's a bitch. I keep mixing up the letters and shit...it's kinda infuriating."
Hayden: "I guess I could call it my mother tongue, apart from English. Technically it's my father tongue, but I don't really differentiate between the two. Languages are definitely based on logical rules, but it's the exceptions to the rules that I found difficult. We actually had a couple of language books back home, but I never really read them." Hayden mused. "If I wanted to learn another language, it'd probably be Klingon. Cong-langs are fascinating." He chuckled. "So you're greek then?"
Skylar: He shrugged, "Whatever floats your boat, and I'm French, my Dad's Greek...if he counts....I don't think he counts...he's kinda a cunt." He quickly turned around to check and make sure his father wasn't behind him and wasn't trying to turn him into a cat again, thankfully nothing was there, he exhaled in relief as his eyes met the silent darkness. "Sorry, knowing him he could be anywhere and I just wouldn't know it until I say the wrong thing at the wrong time."