Quote from Indy on February 23, 2024, 3:57 am

Henry said nothing when he dropped the food in front of us besides a grunt that might been 'enjoy', or 'good luck' - and then the man was out of there. I stared at the burger, stared at Lyra, and somehow despite the impending full moon didn't feel hungry at all.

"Sure, I am a bad sign, big bad wolf and all," the words were stumbling out without the normal quality control, though still crisped flat to a monotone. I reached for a fry to stall, the noted she had done the same - and felt the discomfort in however subconsciously mirroring her. I munched at it, neglecting to add the ketchup.

Quote from Kaqurei on March 15, 2024, 10:50 pm

How was it he could still look so rugged and dishevelled, even in uniform? It must be the eye patch. And that thick, blond hair. Calling himself a big, bad wolf... if she pictured him saying it en Espanol with just the right lighting she was going to lose at this little game of poker they were playing, that was for sure. So she tried very, very hard not to picture it.

But it wasn't any use. His deadpan became sultry and flirtatous. When had she changed into a strapless red dress? Oh look, now the table was gone and the lights were dramatic. He grabbed her by the shoulders. "No deberíamos, está prohibido--" she would start to say, before he pressed his finger to her bright red lips.

"Shh," he would say, smiling in that roguish way of his, "Bésame."

Oh, how'd she'd want to. But they both knew the risk! They could lose everything! "Pero si el capitán se entera--" she'd gasp, and feel faint. She'd feel the warmth of his breath on her face, and flutter her long, dark lashes, wanting, but knowing their love could not be. Would a single kiss doom them to ruin? No--she couldn't, she wouldn't--but... But... But who was she to refuse?

The scene would end there, with the dramatic kiss--and some nosey busybody who had, in fact, witnessed the scandalous act. What would happen in the next episode, would they be exposed? One of them would lose their job--and then--

She swallowed, feeling her heart fluttering like a bird in her chest, before she realized she was staring. How long had she been staring?

She cleared her throat and had at another fry, ducking her head a bit so that her curls might fall a bit in front of her face, which felt considerably warmer than usual.

Quote from Indy on April 4, 2024, 3:54 pm

Ever wish you could read someone's mind?

Ever wish what you knew every look, every quiver, every word meant?

Being a werewolf is kind of like that. Except it isn't. It's like getting a one-paragraph plot summary to a movie you haven't seen, and then trying to figure out the pieces between it. And there in her eyes was a story.

Except, I was still struggling to find mine. I think I muttered something. Sorry?  It must have been an apology for my miserable excuse of a joke, and whatever she thought it meant. I was certainly turning a color...

She cleared her throat. I wasn't back to earth. I was floating somewhere in space and burning up on re-entry. She tucked into a fry like nothing had happened. And I....

"Um.... what... do your parents do?" the stupid little script circled my head, like she was just someone I'd met on the street before and not.. well... something more.

Quote from Kaqurei on April 15, 2024, 6:34 pm

She was caught off guard, just for a second. It was funny, they'd known each other a little while now, but other than that confession about her uncle, she'd never really talked much about her family with him.

"Oh, uh," she started, ripped quite abruptly from her fantasies.

"Papi drives a cab," she said. "Always said he was made for it. Loves to drive, loves to listen. He comes home with the craziest stories sometimes." She was looking inward now, fond memories. She caught herself, and tried to bite the laugh before it escaped her lips, but could not. Sparkling dark eyes met Val's as she confessed, "I think, for the first time, I have him beat for meeting the most interesting stranger."

There she was, getting lost in his eyes again. But she cleared her throat and took a sip of her drink. She looked around, again something awkward, and rapped her knuckles on the table with a little tune before she smiled again and shrugged. "My Mami---she's ahhh--er, well she's everything. She's Mami. The best cook, runs a tight ship, a girl's most trusted confidant, and will still slap you into next Sunday if you talk back--" she laughed again and shook her head, an acquiescing you know how it is that was unspoken in her expression. "--she does it all."

She lifted her glass for another sip. "How about yours?" she asked.

Quote from Indy on April 16, 2024, 11:48 am

There was reassurance in society scripts. How is your day? It's fine. It sure is raining hard today. Yeah it is.  What do you do for work?... rather than the alternative. The alternative being uncharted territory in the best of worlds, and stumbling into a landmine with every step. This is why societal niceties were invented. Because we're all just all too up in our heads to deal with the what-ifs every single second.

I listened happily, imagining Lyra's family. It sounded nice. Papi had a moustache, a deep laugh, and still tried to hold his children like they were babies sometimes even if he was a tiny man. Her mom was a tornado in a woman's body, tightly coiled and neat on the surface, but ready to be a force unto herself if circumstances demanded it. And then there was Lyra, some happy middle ground between the two - or maybe, the terrifying combination of all her parents strengths.

I was about to ask if she had siblings.

And there's the catch...

There were no scripts where it came to my family dynamics. Normal life had become a joke before I'd entered puberty. I'd say I was stupid for asking the question, but then again, there were few social scripts I could fall back on that wouldn't fall into the murky depths of uncharted territory.

I munched on a fry, distantly observing the warm vapors of a burger I should probably eat - but every other sensation was too loud to connect with my hunger more than mildly. As I swallowed hard, my lips pursed into a kind of smile (probably pained) and I just shrugged. If she hadn't figured out I was a hot mess by now, then she sure was about to.

"Eh... lost both of them young," I tried not to come across as a brooding action hero- then caught myself in a laugh because there was no way anyone would ever believe that for a second.

"Sorry - it's not funny, but yaknow, it's kind of funny to have normal conversations sometimes.. anyways, yeah closest I got is Robin. Not sure if I mentioned her? Former roommate slash crime fighting partner slash mom slash warden when I was bad. Basically raised me to be a," I motioned my hands broadly, "Functioning member of society. We used to do odd jobs together, but now she's doing a sort of.. ehh, you could call it rehabilitation camp up in the woods somewhere far off. She still calls, though. Hasn't fallen off the map completely".

 

Quote from Kaqurei on May 10, 2024, 8:14 pm

He wasn't a tall, dark, and handsome stranger with an eye patch anymore. He was a tall, dark, and handsome Val, which made him all the more intriguing every second she spent in his company. The child who always wanted to be a police officer when he grew up, who somehow managed to become a werewolf first. He'd lost his family young, he said, and she'd be lying if the thought didn't cross her mind that somehow the two events were related. Unlike her usual flights into fancy, there was no guilty pleasure in that imagining however. She remembered the night Kimberly died. What she saw, or what she didn't. She'd seen Reggie change, and what he did to that diner. What Reggie and Clay did to each other... Being a child, losing his parents like that? She didn't want to think about it, and shivered involuntarily.

He probably didn't lose his parents like that. It was probably something normal, like drugs or a car crash. Not that there was any "nice" way for a child to lose his parents... But the "normal" ways were easier to process, somehow. They followed the script.

Enter the Robin character. The room mate slash crime fighting partner slash mom slash warden. A normal person trying to picture the woman who fit that description most like would have come up empty and asked for clarification. In Lyra's mind, she was already close to seven feet tall and toting a machete through the jungle, with a machine gun strapped to her back.

"She sounds pretty bad a**," Lyra said, grinning. "Bet she kept you in line, Señor Mal Presagio." Though she said it like she couldn't picture Val actually ever needing to be kept in line. "Is she a werewolf too? Or--er-- does she know, I mean? Nevermind, that's too personal. Is that too personal?"

Quote from Indy on May 11, 2024, 1:57 am

I couldn't help but laugh at Lyra's assessment - and just as much, the way she grinned till the corners of her eyes wrinkled. Something in it brought ease to the conversation. All the same, I was keeping tabs in the goings of the diner; last thing I needed was for Henry to know more than he should, or to think I needed psychiatric assistance.

"Yeah, she is," I said with a small laugh, answering both questions simultaneously.  The smell of the burger finally caught up. Trust the lizard brain to eventually notice hunger, even if the frontal lobe was preoccupied.

It had gone a little cold, but I had found my hunger abruptly enough it didn't matter. I took a nice bite, savoring every bit of the red meat I hadn't had in weeks, then swallowed.

"At this point, we've gone past personal. I knew her before I was turned, but she helped me through it. I was not" I took a tentative munch of a fry, "A cute puppy. She had to be a good cop and bad cop, for that"

Quote from Kaqurei on May 11, 2024, 10:29 am

Lyra took a sip of her drink. "So mom, roommate, crime fighting partner, practically raised you and knew you Before. Sounds like there are a lot of stories there. How did you meet?"

Quote from Indy on May 11, 2024, 10:47 am

I brought my fingers together. That was a simple question with a long story. It would be easy to deflect. I'm sure Lyra would understand. Though she was an expert in poking her nose where it didn't belong, she'd already asked if she'd overstepped.

"Alright. None of the staff is paying attention, and as far as I can tell, no creepy goons from our neighbors are eavesdropping. Just let me finish this burger first".

I did as such, finishing it as efficiently as possible while not going 'rabid starving dog'. It would have been easy to deflect, but what was the point when the entirety of the Captains already knew anyways? What was the point in pretending I was on a normal date, when I couldn't even get past topical questions ?

I cleaned the grease off my fingers, then drew them pensively together.

"Right, then. Before I was a werewolf, I was a werewolf hunter. Not a very talented one... I was like... well anywhere from twelve to seventeen".

It had started easy. Now I was struggling, "I was working with my uncle.. or more like, my uncle was stuck with me and trying to work... he'd come across me when - well, yeah. Twelve. And I would guess he didn't really like having some stupid twelve-year-old running around".

"It's not uncommon for hunters to employ werewolves... which sounds counterintuitive. But it does happen - although I wouldn't call the dynamic... equal. He picked up Robin at first temporarily, but then he made it permeant. Probably, and if I were to guess, she was a lot better with me than he was".

I went for a fry and crunched. In one question she was about to find ten more.