Damage Control
Quote from Indy on September 23, 2023, 2:43 amShe knew right where to put the jab, and I looked aside with an air of mortal wound. I knew the jest in her voice when I heard one, yet even the idea of it alone weas enough to give me pause. Lyra would be probably in some top-secret bunker if I'd had my way.
"And ruin the magic?" I asked instead, "Nahhh, we're going to pretend I'm some Prince Charming type. Tyranny already judges me. I don't need you too".
I meant it as a joke and turned the ignition of the car. It was the first time all week we'd been alone, since.. well, since we'd talked talked and now I was wishing desperately there was some kind of instruction manual of what to do next. Now I was squirming.
One thing we wouldn't be doing was heading straight to Chapman's under the watchful eye of his wife.
"You hungry?"
She knew right where to put the jab, and I looked aside with an air of mortal wound. I knew the jest in her voice when I heard one, yet even the idea of it alone weas enough to give me pause. Lyra would be probably in some top-secret bunker if I'd had my way.
"And ruin the magic?" I asked instead, "Nahhh, we're going to pretend I'm some Prince Charming type. Tyranny already judges me. I don't need you too".
I meant it as a joke and turned the ignition of the car. It was the first time all week we'd been alone, since.. well, since we'd talked talked and now I was wishing desperately there was some kind of instruction manual of what to do next. Now I was squirming.
One thing we wouldn't be doing was heading straight to Chapman's under the watchful eye of his wife.
"You hungry?"
Quote from Kaqurei on September 27, 2023, 1:33 pmLyra laughed. What a relief it felt, to actually laughed genuinely about something. After the past couple of days, she was beginning to wonder if she had forgotten how. But no, there it was, a genuine laugh.
"Oh don't go and feel too special, Tyranny judges everyone," she said, wiping a tear from her eye.
She leaned back in her seat and sighed. "Starved," she admitted. And it was an understatement. She had skipped breakfast and hadn't had an appetite by lunch, what short lunch break was afforded her was spent picking awkwardly at a dry bagel.
Lyra laughed. What a relief it felt, to actually laughed genuinely about something. After the past couple of days, she was beginning to wonder if she had forgotten how. But no, there it was, a genuine laugh.
"Oh don't go and feel too special, Tyranny judges everyone," she said, wiping a tear from her eye.
She leaned back in her seat and sighed. "Starved," she admitted. And it was an understatement. She had skipped breakfast and hadn't had an appetite by lunch, what short lunch break was afforded her was spent picking awkwardly at a dry bagel.
Quote from Indy on October 11, 2023, 1:36 pmThis was the part where I said something funny again. She'd laugh. We'd drive a while, talking about nothing, dancing around everything. Except all I could manage was a stiff snort as I shifted a gear. I felt like I was trying to ooze into the car seat.
Say something halfway entertaining, but all I could feel was something congealed at the bottom of my soul like bacon fat.
Everything should be fine - more fine than it had been in probably months - but I didn't know what to do with fine. Fine was for people that had spent their teenage years in proper pursuits of video games and girls. All I'd learned was how to hog-tie a werewolf and where to shoot.
It had been several minutes of silence. I'm sure even she could hear the ant crawling across my car hood. Suddenly I was struck by many things. How little I knew about her. How much, and simultaneously how little, she'd come to know about me.
"Sorry... I'm bad at this," at everything the little gremlin voice in my head added, "Can we.. start over with some stupid questions first? Where did you grow up? What do you do for fun, besides going for nature walks? What did you want to be when you were little?"
This was the part where I said something funny again. She'd laugh. We'd drive a while, talking about nothing, dancing around everything. Except all I could manage was a stiff snort as I shifted a gear. I felt like I was trying to ooze into the car seat.
Say something halfway entertaining, but all I could feel was something congealed at the bottom of my soul like bacon fat.
Everything should be fine - more fine than it had been in probably months - but I didn't know what to do with fine. Fine was for people that had spent their teenage years in proper pursuits of video games and girls. All I'd learned was how to hog-tie a werewolf and where to shoot.
It had been several minutes of silence. I'm sure even she could hear the ant crawling across my car hood. Suddenly I was struck by many things. How little I knew about her. How much, and simultaneously how little, she'd come to know about me.
"Sorry... I'm bad at this," at everything the little gremlin voice in my head added, "Can we.. start over with some stupid questions first? Where did you grow up? What do you do for fun, besides going for nature walks? What did you want to be when you were little?"
Quote from Kaqurei on October 11, 2023, 3:40 pmLyra looked startled for a second. Those were... not the next words she was expecting. She was thinking something like "How about Tony's?" or "You good with fast food?" to which she would have responded with an appropriately upbeat "Aw, man, yeah, Tony's is the best" or "I could go for a burger". She'd thought in the silence he was trying to think of a good place to grab some grub.
So he had been thinking about their last conversation as much as she had. It was simultaneously a relief and not. A relief: because he was in the same boat as she was. Not: because he didn't know where the paddle was either.
She forced a light chuckle, but smiled at him genuinely. "You're not the only one," she admitted. And then what? Another awkward silence as she tried to navigate where to go from there. Oh yeah, I'm bad at dating too. You're, like, my second boyfriend--ever. No pressure. Definitely did not want to open up that can of worms. And she made the resolution then and there she would never darken this relationship by the mention of Mateo's name. Ever.
"I haven't dated in a while," she said instead, bending the truth to her advantage. "I grew up in Pinerich," she said, "Not the fancy side. My folks are immigrants from South America. For fun, eh, I work with the K9's. And uh, ha, I watch telenovelas. They're trash. If you haven't seen one, don't."
She bit her lip, realizing old habits die hard. The words had flown out of her mouth without another thought. Mateo thought telenovelas were trash. Didn't mean she agreed. She didn't have to agree with him anymore.
"Anyway," she said, shrugging. "I was a cliché. I wanted to be a princess who rides unicorns and helps Papa Noel deliver presents on Christmas. How about you?"
Lyra looked startled for a second. Those were... not the next words she was expecting. She was thinking something like "How about Tony's?" or "You good with fast food?" to which she would have responded with an appropriately upbeat "Aw, man, yeah, Tony's is the best" or "I could go for a burger". She'd thought in the silence he was trying to think of a good place to grab some grub.
So he had been thinking about their last conversation as much as she had. It was simultaneously a relief and not. A relief: because he was in the same boat as she was. Not: because he didn't know where the paddle was either.
She forced a light chuckle, but smiled at him genuinely. "You're not the only one," she admitted. And then what? Another awkward silence as she tried to navigate where to go from there. Oh yeah, I'm bad at dating too. You're, like, my second boyfriend--ever. No pressure. Definitely did not want to open up that can of worms. And she made the resolution then and there she would never darken this relationship by the mention of Mateo's name. Ever.
"I haven't dated in a while," she said instead, bending the truth to her advantage. "I grew up in Pinerich," she said, "Not the fancy side. My folks are immigrants from South America. For fun, eh, I work with the K9's. And uh, ha, I watch telenovelas. They're trash. If you haven't seen one, don't."
She bit her lip, realizing old habits die hard. The words had flown out of her mouth without another thought. Mateo thought telenovelas were trash. Didn't mean she agreed. She didn't have to agree with him anymore.
"Anyway," she said, shrugging. "I was a cliché. I wanted to be a princess who rides unicorns and helps Papa Noel deliver presents on Christmas. How about you?"
Quote from Indy on October 11, 2023, 4:11 pmI laughed just a little after she did. It was relief mixed with adrenaline. I had to keep an eye on the speedometer to make sure I wasn't speeding and wouldn't give her a second opportunity to pull me over. Something in me twitched as the little gremlin heard 'haven't dated in a while' and added and him, not ever.
But you know. Some things were probably obvious about me just by a look. Evidentially my werewolfness, and probably my vast degrees of inexperience in all things dating. But for right now, we were sticking with easy. All the silly first date questions you ask someone before you get to the 'real' stuff. We'd done it backwards, so it seemed fair to return to easy mode.
"I'm not one to judge," I shrugged, "I watch Star Trek and anime for fun. I'd probably watch a telenovella if the snacks are good".
I laughed at her question, considering the irony, "Actually, what I am now.. just for different reasons. I thought high-speed police chases were cool. I wanted to be cool. Except I got motion sickness on the swing set so odds weren't looking good for me at the time".
I laughed just a little after she did. It was relief mixed with adrenaline. I had to keep an eye on the speedometer to make sure I wasn't speeding and wouldn't give her a second opportunity to pull me over. Something in me twitched as the little gremlin heard 'haven't dated in a while' and added and him, not ever.
But you know. Some things were probably obvious about me just by a look. Evidentially my werewolfness, and probably my vast degrees of inexperience in all things dating. But for right now, we were sticking with easy. All the silly first date questions you ask someone before you get to the 'real' stuff. We'd done it backwards, so it seemed fair to return to easy mode.
"I'm not one to judge," I shrugged, "I watch Star Trek and anime for fun. I'd probably watch a telenovella if the snacks are good".
I laughed at her question, considering the irony, "Actually, what I am now.. just for different reasons. I thought high-speed police chases were cool. I wanted to be cool. Except I got motion sickness on the swing set so odds weren't looking good for me at the time".
Quote from Adriana on November 3, 2023, 10:08 pm***
Back at the department, Chapman slammed the phone in his office down with a tensed hand and cursed audibly even between clenched teeth. Tara was called into his office shortly after.
***
Back at the department, Chapman slammed the phone in his office down with a tensed hand and cursed audibly even between clenched teeth. Tara was called into his office shortly after.
Quote from Indy on November 12, 2023, 2:39 pmThe conversation devolved into chitchat. Little conversations you'd have with someone standing next to you at the bus stop because you have nothing else to do. We went quiet before either of us dared asked about the weather. The air in the car was so thick it could be punctured by a knife.
It was weird not to know what to say, after everything. Telling her about werewolves might have been the easy part. Now I wanted to know everything, because some tiny voice in my head was chanting I'd mess it up before the end of the night. Maybe, I just wasn't that interesting.
We came to the diner just as I was contemplating how much longer this road could possibly go.
"Sorry, forgot to mention the place. It's a restaurant Ro- uh, my old roommate, used to work out. Decent food, just don't trust the coffee now that she doesn't work here. She's told me stories about the coffee filter. But if diner food isn't your style, I think there's a chinese food place just down the way".
I waited in baited anticipation for her response. Maybe she'd want to just go straight to Bob's and be done with this whole affair.
The conversation devolved into chitchat. Little conversations you'd have with someone standing next to you at the bus stop because you have nothing else to do. We went quiet before either of us dared asked about the weather. The air in the car was so thick it could be punctured by a knife.
It was weird not to know what to say, after everything. Telling her about werewolves might have been the easy part. Now I wanted to know everything, because some tiny voice in my head was chanting I'd mess it up before the end of the night. Maybe, I just wasn't that interesting.
We came to the diner just as I was contemplating how much longer this road could possibly go.
"Sorry, forgot to mention the place. It's a restaurant Ro- uh, my old roommate, used to work out. Decent food, just don't trust the coffee now that she doesn't work here. She's told me stories about the coffee filter. But if diner food isn't your style, I think there's a chinese food place just down the way".
I waited in baited anticipation for her response. Maybe she'd want to just go straight to Bob's and be done with this whole affair.
Quote from Kaqurei on November 12, 2023, 4:36 pmShe'd wondered if he thought being a werewolf was cool too, but didn't feel appropriate to ask something like that, so instead she'd chuckled and offered some kind of shallow affirmation that being a police officer really was pretty cool.
Then they fell into conversing like strangers. It was stiff and awkward and some part of her deep down inside wanted to scream just to to break the tension. Instead, she eventually slipped into silence. The gnawing pit of hunger in her gut was deepening into a ravenous beast that was expanding and crawling through her veins, taking her over. It was starting to get hard to think about anything else.
"I'm down for diner food," Lyra said. She couldn't care less about the coffee, she wanted food and at that point any old place would do, as long as it had something she could chew and swallow.
But she smiled a bit, noting the reservation in Val's voice--as if introducing the diner was like introducing his family somehow. He must have spent a lot of time here.
She got out of the car like it was on fire and shoved her hands into her pockets, looking apologetic. "Sorry I'm not much of a conversationalist tonight. I've been running on empty all day. I think it's catching up to me."
She'd wondered if he thought being a werewolf was cool too, but didn't feel appropriate to ask something like that, so instead she'd chuckled and offered some kind of shallow affirmation that being a police officer really was pretty cool.
Then they fell into conversing like strangers. It was stiff and awkward and some part of her deep down inside wanted to scream just to to break the tension. Instead, she eventually slipped into silence. The gnawing pit of hunger in her gut was deepening into a ravenous beast that was expanding and crawling through her veins, taking her over. It was starting to get hard to think about anything else.
"I'm down for diner food," Lyra said. She couldn't care less about the coffee, she wanted food and at that point any old place would do, as long as it had something she could chew and swallow.
But she smiled a bit, noting the reservation in Val's voice--as if introducing the diner was like introducing his family somehow. He must have spent a lot of time here.
She got out of the car like it was on fire and shoved her hands into her pockets, looking apologetic. "Sorry I'm not much of a conversationalist tonight. I've been running on empty all day. I think it's catching up to me."
Quote from Indy on November 12, 2023, 11:42 pmI wanted to laugh at myself for it. Trust me not to notice she was starving while I rambled about nonsense. I managed a short smile and a nod. Then I had to remember to stop smiling.
"The burgers here are great," I said simply.
I locked the car and then got the door for her at the diner. One of the servers gave me a friendly nod. Henry, I think. Robin had spoken well of him, and he certainly recognized me (I was a hard face to forget). I choose a spot by the window. The blinds were down so the sun wasn't shining in our face, but it was warm and I could watch people come and go. Trust old habits, I suppose.
The server came up to us quickly. I ordered several appetizers for us to share so at least her brain would have something to coagulate on. We ordered our meals as well - I had recommended several strongly to Lyra to make it simpler. The server assured us appetizers would be out quickly.
"If you look over there," I pointed across the parking lot towards a peak of the mountain, "Right at sunrise around this time of the year, the sun comes over it just right. The perfect sunbeam".
I wanted to laugh at myself for it. Trust me not to notice she was starving while I rambled about nonsense. I managed a short smile and a nod. Then I had to remember to stop smiling.
"The burgers here are great," I said simply.
I locked the car and then got the door for her at the diner. One of the servers gave me a friendly nod. Henry, I think. Robin had spoken well of him, and he certainly recognized me (I was a hard face to forget). I choose a spot by the window. The blinds were down so the sun wasn't shining in our face, but it was warm and I could watch people come and go. Trust old habits, I suppose.
The server came up to us quickly. I ordered several appetizers for us to share so at least her brain would have something to coagulate on. We ordered our meals as well - I had recommended several strongly to Lyra to make it simpler. The server assured us appetizers would be out quickly.
"If you look over there," I pointed across the parking lot towards a peak of the mountain, "Right at sunrise around this time of the year, the sun comes over it just right. The perfect sunbeam".
Quote from Kaqurei on November 15, 2023, 10:16 pmLyra smiled. Val seemed almost actually comfortable here. She noticed and appreciated his strategic seating arrangement. He was going to make a great cop. Already had been, really.
She was watching his face, as his surveyed the diner, the people, old memories here and there, and noticed suddenly that her heart was beating faster. A stupid smile she could hardly help came onto her face, and she quickly looked down at the menu to hide it before his eyes returned to her.
Oh the joys of staring hard at a menu, willing yourself to actually see what's on it or remember what he had recommended, but all you could really see was the reflection of his face on the glossy coating, and admire how the sunlight danced through his hair just right from that angle.
For a moment, she pictured him wearing a red scarf tied in a neat knot at the throat. She would grab the scarf and pull him across the table. They'd stare into each other's eyes. He'd be so confused for a moment. Then he'd know. Their hearts would race and their lips would meet, and the music would play.
¡Ay, caramba! focus, Lyra, focus. On what? Take your order, silly girl. Or realize that he'd said something. Sunbeam. Perfect. Mountain.
"Hmm? Oh, that sounds amazing."
Was she blushing? ...Smooth, Lyra, smooth. She felt stupid. She didn't know why she felt stupid. They were a thing now. She had rights to ogle him if she wanted to. And he had the right to notice. Still, some part of her wasn't ready to hand over her heart and be vulnerable, even now. It was in her hand, but she was still clutching it like the edge of a cliff she was hanging off of.
Lyra smiled. Val seemed almost actually comfortable here. She noticed and appreciated his strategic seating arrangement. He was going to make a great cop. Already had been, really.
She was watching his face, as his surveyed the diner, the people, old memories here and there, and noticed suddenly that her heart was beating faster. A stupid smile she could hardly help came onto her face, and she quickly looked down at the menu to hide it before his eyes returned to her.
Oh the joys of staring hard at a menu, willing yourself to actually see what's on it or remember what he had recommended, but all you could really see was the reflection of his face on the glossy coating, and admire how the sunlight danced through his hair just right from that angle.
For a moment, she pictured him wearing a red scarf tied in a neat knot at the throat. She would grab the scarf and pull him across the table. They'd stare into each other's eyes. He'd be so confused for a moment. Then he'd know. Their hearts would race and their lips would meet, and the music would play.
¡Ay, caramba! focus, Lyra, focus. On what? Take your order, silly girl. Or realize that he'd said something. Sunbeam. Perfect. Mountain.
"Hmm? Oh, that sounds amazing."
Was she blushing? ...Smooth, Lyra, smooth. She felt stupid. She didn't know why she felt stupid. They were a thing now. She had rights to ogle him if she wanted to. And he had the right to notice. Still, some part of her wasn't ready to hand over her heart and be vulnerable, even now. It was in her hand, but she was still clutching it like the edge of a cliff she was hanging off of.
