{"id":180,"date":"2023-04-21T01:00:44","date_gmt":"2023-04-21T06:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/?p=180"},"modified":"2024-02-10T10:23:15","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T16:23:15","slug":"falling-flat-and-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/falling-flat-and-fast\/","title":{"rendered":"Falling Flat (and Fast)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Post-show, backstage hallway<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The roar of the crowd was still echoing off the walls, but back here, it felt like the world had come to a screeching halt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The set had gone off surprisingly well\u2014shockingly well, considering Gabriel had played the entire first half like his claws were being powered by a nuclear reactor and a gallon of espresso. His bass solos had been tight, maybe even a little too tight, like he\u2019d transcended normal rhythm and entered some higher plane of cosmic groove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now\u2026 now, reality was dragging him back down like a cinderblock on a bungee cord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel stumbled through the stage-left curtain and sagged against the cinderblock wall, fur soaked with sweat, his breath coming in short, shallow bursts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWater\u2026\u201d he croaked. \u201cIs\u2026 is water a thing? Still legal? Am I\u2026 am I vibrating?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark was the first to reach him, eyes wide but calm, gently easing the bass from Gabriel\u2019s hands before it could be dropped or turned into a hallucinated helicopter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane was second. He didn\u2019t say a word. Just crouched low in front of him, icy blue eyes locked on Gabriel\u2019s glazed ones. The panic, the sheer velocity that had been pushing Gabriel forward for hours\u2026 it was gone. All that remained was a trembling werewolf whose whole body looked like it was trying to shut down in alphabetical order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t\u2026 feel my ears,\u201d Gabriel whispered, blinking slowly. \u201cDid we play yet?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane exhaled through his nose and eased his arms under Gabriel\u2019s to hold him steady. \u201cYeah, my wolf. We played. You crushed it. And now you\u2019re crashing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel nodded once, then slumped forward, his forehead resting against Thane\u2019s shoulder. \u201cSorry\u2026\u201d he murmured. \u201cI didn\u2019t mean to. I just thought it\u2019d be fun. They were cool guys. And the powder made the air<\/em> make music.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know,\u201d Thane said softly, one clawed hand gently resting against the back of Gabriel\u2019s neck. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to explain. You\u2019re okay now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonah appeared with a bottle of water, holding it out like he was defusing a bomb. \u201cUh. Should I\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Thane said, accepting it without looking. \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark stood nearby, arms crossed, brow furrowed in the way he did when he was balancing concern with the urge to yell. \u201cI\u2019ll go find the tour manager. Tell him we need a later checkout tomorrow. And maybe a forklift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel groaned into Thane\u2019s shoulder. \u201cI think my organs are trying to swap jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re gonna be fine,\u201d Thane murmured. \u201cJust ride it out. We\u2019ve got you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026You still love me even though I\u2019m an idiot?\u201d Gabriel whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane\u2019s arms tightened just slightly around him. \u201cI love you especially<\/em> because you\u2019re an idiot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From down the hall, Maya shouted, \u201cTell him to puke before<\/em> he hits the hotel carpet!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark deadpanned, \u201cNow that\u2019s<\/em> leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Post-show, backstage hallway The roar of the crowd was still echoing off the walls, but back here, it felt like the world had come to a screeching halt. The set had gone off surprisingly well\u2014shockingly well, considering Gabriel had played the entire first half like his claws were being powered by a nuclear reactor and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3300,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions\/3300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}