Captains (Uno, Lyra, & the Shepherds)
Quote from Kaqurei on August 8, 2023, 10:33 amA soft laugh. "Naciste para los problemas mi niña," she said. "You were born for trouble, my little girl. That's what mi abuela would say to me."
She was quiet a moment, after his question.
"Did I ever tell you why I became a police officer?" she asked instead of answering. "My whole family thought I was trouble. Everyone but mi tio Toro. I used to spend hours after school hanging out in his shop, helping him fix cars. He never told me I couldn't do it because I was too small or because I was a girl who shouldn't be interested in fixing cars, or whatever. We would talk. Well. I would talk. Mostly Toro would just listen. And I knew he listened, because when he did talk, he always had the best advice. He just sort of understood me. Better than anyone else."
Another pause.
"One day after school... I was about 14... I went to Toro's shop and it was all locked up. Same as when we left it the night before. He'd never come back to open it. I went to his house, thinking maybe he was sick or something. There were so many people there. And police. My mother caught me before I could see what had happened. She sent me back home. Come to find out later, his place had been sacked. Nobody knew where he was. The policía said he'd been involved in a gang. That there was trouble. Said he was probably dead. And they dropped the investigation, just like that. Nobody in the family believed that's what really happened. Toro was always a bit of a lone wolf, if you pardon the expression. A bit of an outcast. But he was a good man. It didn't add up."
She scoffed at the irony. "Some of my friends were members of the local gang. None of them knew what happened to Toro."
Another long pause. "When my sisters were frustrated with me, they would tease and say I was going to end up like Tio Toro, face down in a ditch somewhere. I believed they were right. But I decided then I was going to be a police officer. I was going to join search and rescue. I was going to find out what happened to my Tio."
A sigh. "Val, I like you. I like like you. A lot. If, after all this, if you don't want to..." Rephrase. Offering him an out hurt more than she was expecting it to, and he hadn't even said anything yet. "Everything I've found out in the last few months--yesterday... It doesn't change anything for me. I still... But... if it changes things for you..."
A soft laugh. "Naciste para los problemas mi niña," she said. "You were born for trouble, my little girl. That's what mi abuela would say to me."
She was quiet a moment, after his question.
"Did I ever tell you why I became a police officer?" she asked instead of answering. "My whole family thought I was trouble. Everyone but mi tio Toro. I used to spend hours after school hanging out in his shop, helping him fix cars. He never told me I couldn't do it because I was too small or because I was a girl who shouldn't be interested in fixing cars, or whatever. We would talk. Well. I would talk. Mostly Toro would just listen. And I knew he listened, because when he did talk, he always had the best advice. He just sort of understood me. Better than anyone else."
Another pause.
"One day after school... I was about 14... I went to Toro's shop and it was all locked up. Same as when we left it the night before. He'd never come back to open it. I went to his house, thinking maybe he was sick or something. There were so many people there. And police. My mother caught me before I could see what had happened. She sent me back home. Come to find out later, his place had been sacked. Nobody knew where he was. The policía said he'd been involved in a gang. That there was trouble. Said he was probably dead. And they dropped the investigation, just like that. Nobody in the family believed that's what really happened. Toro was always a bit of a lone wolf, if you pardon the expression. A bit of an outcast. But he was a good man. It didn't add up."
She scoffed at the irony. "Some of my friends were members of the local gang. None of them knew what happened to Toro."
Another long pause. "When my sisters were frustrated with me, they would tease and say I was going to end up like Tio Toro, face down in a ditch somewhere. I believed they were right. But I decided then I was going to be a police officer. I was going to join search and rescue. I was going to find out what happened to my Tio."
A sigh. "Val, I like you. I like like you. A lot. If, after all this, if you don't want to..." Rephrase. Offering him an out hurt more than she was expecting it to, and he hadn't even said anything yet. "Everything I've found out in the last few months--yesterday... It doesn't change anything for me. I still... But... if it changes things for you..."
Quote from Indy on August 8, 2023, 10:52 amI listened. I don't know, maybe it was fair to know her secret after she knew mine - but even so, I could feel the tone of her voice, the warmth of her breath, the look in her eyes even if I wasn't there to see it. The closeness felt both sudden and foretold.
I guess her reasons for being a police officer might not be that different than mine. Everyone had a reason. No one decided to put their life on the line for a passing fantasy.
And then she went for the kill. There wasn't enough popcorn on the ceiling to count. The knife twisted in my stomach, and I forgot how to breath. If there was ever an out of body experience - it was that one, observing as every system in my body shut down as my brain raced to figure out what to say. My face was hot and every other inch of me was ice-cold.
"It does change things.... a lot...." I stumbled the words, trying to remember when my tongue didn't feel like this awkward appendage, "If you didn't know... it was... wrong to put you in that danger. It still probably is".
A breath of air, godsend, returned two of the brain cells that had just fled into the night, "But... Even in spite of that, I couldn't stay away... and if even in knowing, you still..."
Stupid words. Robin didn't have to worry one bit about where this was going. I was about to choke on them.
"I do like you... Chapman will still probably skin me alive, but even then... I'll take the risk if you will".
I listened. I don't know, maybe it was fair to know her secret after she knew mine - but even so, I could feel the tone of her voice, the warmth of her breath, the look in her eyes even if I wasn't there to see it. The closeness felt both sudden and foretold.
I guess her reasons for being a police officer might not be that different than mine. Everyone had a reason. No one decided to put their life on the line for a passing fantasy.
And then she went for the kill. There wasn't enough popcorn on the ceiling to count. The knife twisted in my stomach, and I forgot how to breath. If there was ever an out of body experience - it was that one, observing as every system in my body shut down as my brain raced to figure out what to say. My face was hot and every other inch of me was ice-cold.
"It does change things.... a lot...." I stumbled the words, trying to remember when my tongue didn't feel like this awkward appendage, "If you didn't know... it was... wrong to put you in that danger. It still probably is".
A breath of air, godsend, returned two of the brain cells that had just fled into the night, "But... Even in spite of that, I couldn't stay away... and if even in knowing, you still..."
Stupid words. Robin didn't have to worry one bit about where this was going. I was about to choke on them.
"I do like you... Chapman will still probably skin me alive, but even then... I'll take the risk if you will".
Quote from Kaqurei on August 8, 2023, 3:15 pmLyra grinned. A weight she hadn't even known she was carrying felt lighter somehow. "Aw, don't you worry about him. He's a big old teddy bear," she said. Before reminding herself that technically Val had known him longer than she had. Probably knew him better. The Bob Chapman she knew was... well, a werewolf. She knew him about as well as she knew anyone on the force. And in light of last night's revelations? That probably wasn't as well as she once thought.
"Anyway," she said. "It's late. Er--early." She realized that if it were any other Tuesday, she'd be clocking in for work in about fifteen minutes. "Try to get some sleep. I don't know when we'll get called back in today. But my money's on soon."
Lyra grinned. A weight she hadn't even known she was carrying felt lighter somehow. "Aw, don't you worry about him. He's a big old teddy bear," she said. Before reminding herself that technically Val had known him longer than she had. Probably knew him better. The Bob Chapman she knew was... well, a werewolf. She knew him about as well as she knew anyone on the force. And in light of last night's revelations? That probably wasn't as well as she once thought.
"Anyway," she said. "It's late. Er--early." She realized that if it were any other Tuesday, she'd be clocking in for work in about fifteen minutes. "Try to get some sleep. I don't know when we'll get called back in today. But my money's on soon."
Quote from Indy on August 9, 2023, 11:22 am"Yeah..."
The dial tone rang and I snapped my phone shut.
It was like one weight had just lifted, and another had settled in to take its place. Ever since I'd gone over to Chapman's that night, nothing had been the same. Would ever be the same again. But was it ever? Ever since I'd seen my first werewolf, things had just ceased to follow any logical flow.
At least Lyra-
I couldn't finish the sentence. I still felt freshly microwaved on the inside, and ice-cold on the outside. But at least something. I decided to take her advice after all and try to get some sleep. As comfortable on the couch as I would be anywhere, I shut off the TV and buried my head into the crook of the sofa. Although I was certain it was the last thing I'd want to do, somehow, someway, I drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
"Yeah..."
The dial tone rang and I snapped my phone shut.
It was like one weight had just lifted, and another had settled in to take its place. Ever since I'd gone over to Chapman's that night, nothing had been the same. Would ever be the same again. But was it ever? Ever since I'd seen my first werewolf, things had just ceased to follow any logical flow.
At least Lyra-
I couldn't finish the sentence. I still felt freshly microwaved on the inside, and ice-cold on the outside. But at least something. I decided to take her advice after all and try to get some sleep. As comfortable on the couch as I would be anywhere, I shut off the TV and buried my head into the crook of the sofa. Although I was certain it was the last thing I'd want to do, somehow, someway, I drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
