[attr="class","castleonthehill"]
He follows the red light, not unlike the leaves that fell and bled from the trees right outside the office building. The first time's an accident, the second a curiosity, and he'll later have to admit that by the fourth time, it was no lack of knowing the rules— it had become a habit that he simply couldn't break, routine. Perhaps he really did practice a form of mental masochism, actively seeking to be scolded for bothering her with the ears of a live radio audience, but those were the simple pleasures.

The slight chill that was beckoning the coming winter made him pause for a moment— almost an entire year experienced, the emptiness that he had carried with him slowly but surely filled. He had thought that he had made his choices firm and clear, but that was the thing about this crazy mambo called life— sometimes, it made choices for you, and you learned to live with it. For all of it, he would be forever grateful. He'd been taken to heights he simply wouldn't have thought of for himself, given a chance where he had not seen a chance for himself.

Approaching the window of his office, pumpkin spice latte in an official merchandise line Goodnight Moon mug, his hand traced the window sill, reflection looking back at him over the oranges and reds and yellows that bathed the city. It still scares him to approach the end of the year, but with a sip of his pumpkin spice latte, he'd figured that the arrow of time would march forward, no matter what was said and done.

"you only get one chance. one. after this, no more even stepping into the radio division ever again."

A smug smirk on his lips, he shoots back a text just as quickly.

"that's all i'll need— see you at the restaurant soon, sweetheart"



Stepping out of the building, he looked overhead, spotting the top of the media conglomerate, where they hosted one of the city's best cafeterias, complete with an executive chef. A look more westward, and he could spot the top of the Nexus Tower, crowning the Artemisian skyline. Zephyr's ultra sleek and modern headquarters wore on distinctly, a splice of two buildings in a U-formation, GAIA's barely visible toward the East (and barely functional looking if he were to be honest).

And across the street, just past one of Artemis's busiest intersections, was the grand headquarters of his old company, what was once home a towering fortress where even he no longer had the right to traverse without a proper visitor badge.

His gaze holds for a moment until it snaps back to the intersection's pedestrian light turning green.

He walks onward now, forward.

[attr="class","castleonthehill"]

It's strange to be looking up at himself again— frowning at the way that the tie was not neatly tied, looking somewhat disheaveled, it was good for a June opening season, but he wasn't too sure how the promotional material would hold up with the changing of the seasons.

He heard a voice behind him, startling him. "So, what do you think?"

"Isn't it a little much?" he asked, scratching the back of his head. "I can barely recognize myself!"

The media conglomerate CEO laughed, patting him on the shoulder. "A new job calls for a new image. You're looking so much better now."

A change in image was nothing for someone who had been an idol, his hair dyed into every possible shade of blonde, pulling off every concept that was thrown at them, even when he personally felt nothing for some of the styles that they wore, the brand endorsements, all the trends.

But looking up at this poster, it was one hundred percent him. No charicature, nothing masquerading, and the show was all his.

"You'll do great out there," he was commended, a pat on his shoulder.



Stepping out onto Pisces Beach, he gripped tightly onto the leash, barely able to keep up with the shiba pup.

"Woah, Mintaka, don't go so fast!" he called out, the warmth on his skin almost unforgiving, the smell of fresh hot dogs on the pier much too tempting for the dog.

The sounds of children splashing on the beach, kites soaring in the air, the pitch of a volleyball over the net were music as he ran down the shore to catch up with the rambunctious shiba inu. "Where are you going?!"

The leash comes lose out of his hand, the panic seeming to reach his throat until Mintaka came to a full stop, hopping onto the pier bench.

"You need some rest, Minty?" Panting, he sat himself down and took a deep breath, letting it out with the swell of the tide.

The sun was finally out, and here he was on the cusp of something greater. Like the verdant leaves of the trees in Arbor Park, he could finally breath. It was all his to take.

[attr="class","castleonthehill"]

Artemis is absolutely beautiful at this time of year, as much as he felt like he couldn't fully appreciate it with the constant in and out that came with becoming one of the media conglomerate's most anticipated new faces. Media studies and broadcasting courses, interviews and public relations primers abound, it was a miracle that he'd seen the light of day some days. He'd have to be ready for a launch in the middle of the year, though he'd kept it in the back of his mind that the CEO had been friendly enough to give him some extra time if he needed it.

Can't rush perfection, after all!

For once, though, he could say that he was putting his all into this new beginning, this rebirth as the flowers bloomed again outside. Headphones in ears, he continued his jog around the Arbor, passing Strawberry Hill and Stow Lake. There'd always been stories of hauntings and being careful around the area at night, but he'd never felt a lick of such a presence.

After all, what kind of ghost or evil spirit would dare disturb the magnolias and the awakening of the flora and fauna in this park? He was absolutely rejuvinated to be breathing fresh air, the kind of new life that came as the cold subsided. A rebirth, in more ways that one.



Pausing for a moment, the text is enough to get a smile out of him, something small out of the many unanswered. He pens his quick reply.



Making his way to the park bench now, he flops down onto it, wiping the sweat from his brow. This was much earlier than he normally would have been awake, but a run had just felt right for today. It was as if the clouds had passed, the winter of his discontent over.

And even then, as he placed a hand on his chest, slowing down his breathing, it felt like there was something that had yet to bloom.