Pulse
Pulse brings the glider to him, mounts it and rides up to Reaper. "They don't seem interested in continuing their little party. Shall we check out Gust?"
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Pulse
Pulse brings the glider to him, mounts it and rides up to Reaper. "They don't seem interested in continuing their little party. Shall we check out Gust?"
Pulse/Reaper/Riff/Gust
Riff (having flown up next to you under his own power) runs his hands through his hair, makes minor adjustments to his clothing, and generally gets himself back under control after that harrowing experience. That was...that was intense, man. Thanks for showing up - looks like Gust wouldn't have got me out on his own. How'd you find me, anyway?
The Reaper
The Reaper answers Riff, "We had no idea you had even been captured. Fortunately, we were already in place to spy on D-Train and his thugs. Which reminds me, the recorder. Pulse, can you retrieve it without frying it? If not, I don't think there was anything significant enough on it to risk me melding, go down there, unmelding, grabbing it, remelding, and coming back, praying that Vomitman doesn't hit me with the same thing he hit Gust with. We can cover the highlights by memory. After all, it's not like the meeting had even really gotten underway before we crashed it." He looks to Pulse for confirmation either way, before turning to Riff. "Hey Elvis, go check on Gust. I've seen dead guys that looked in better shape than him right now."
Pulse
Pulse shakes his head, "No... enough magnetism to grab the recorder would most certainly fry it."
Riff shrugs and heads over to have a look at Gust, who is doing a pretty good impression of being in a high state of shock. After a few moments, light spills out into the street through the gaping hole - someone's clearly gotten to the fuse box, finally. 1337 suddenly chirps in your ear ((I think Reaper has the earpiece?)). Hey coppers, how's the stakeout going? Didja remember your donuts? It's pretty quiet back here.
Draven
His expression relaxed as Natasha replied, shaking his head once and running his hand over his still clean shaven face.
Closing his eyes and grimmacing briefly, he responded with a a single stiff nod.
Hmmmm...wonder if my seemingly nonexistent metabolic needs have anything to do with that... he thought absently.
"Natasha, you know that I care deeply for you, as new as all this might be.
You also know, I imagine, that I have a hard time with the concept of...losing people and that this is more than a little too reminiscent for comfort.
Knowing all that, I want you to know, if you didn't already, that the last thing I want is to see you hurt or in trouble, least of all, by another empowered individual."
Leaning forward, he looked her in the eye, a both rueful and apologietic expression on his face, "Any normal boyfriends initial response, NS or not, would be to find the person that hurt you and aquaint him with the real meaning of agony at the first opportunity presented...
Despite all that though, this situation is, unfortunately, slightly more complicated."
He paused a moment to kick off his boots, throwing one leg over the arm of the chair. This was shaping up to be a longer visit than he anticipated. Not an entirely unpleasant turn of events, all things considered.
"Now that we've got that out of the way, a few questions to clarify.
After how paranoid you've been about being seen in public, avoiding the meeting and all, what compelled you to approach the unbelievably high profile NS Inferno?
More over, what would compell Jack to approach you in first place and what would then drive him to, purposely or not, attack you? You see, it seems slightly out of character for him, from what little I recall."
Draven smiled a slow, very dry smile as that sunk in.
"Now do you see my conundrum?"
The question is, how am I going to deal with it?...
Natasha Verraine
Tasha sighed. Draven was as protective as any guy who gave half a crap. Which was good, at least. Sweet, even. In his usual verbose way, he was just telling her cared about her. She smiled at the thought of it.
On the other hand... explaining what she's been up to would be a bit... harder. There weren't really many ways to put it, other than the obvious.
Trust me... I know it was a bad idea. But the man was about to set a bunch of stuff on fire. She said with a groan, But more than that... the blast thing downtown kinda... worried me. Just because I don't run around doing stupid, obvious stuff like some idiot in a cape doesn't mean someone else won't. And what happens if the next wannabe @#$%ing super villain decides to blow up someplace else? Someone I know might be there! I might be there! Or even, worse... some jerk gets the "power" to give everyone cancer by standing near them. I figure I should at least learn more about this whole mess, if only for the sake of not being ignorant.
She sighed, after the verbal tirade... and got up to get herself a drink from the fridge... bypassing some orange juice for a soda. She stalked over to Draven, and sat down on the floor under him wiggling her shoulders a bit to cozy up to him... and relax.
I didn't mean to get hurt... I didn't even expect to run across a "super" whatever we're called now... today. No one knows I can do things... and it's staying that way. Don't worry. She'll tell him, comfortingly, But with all these idiots running around in suits... it's only a matter of time before someone screws up, or decides to INTENTIONALLY take out part of town... and I'd rather not be blind-sided.
She'll allow herself a smirk, adding one more thing, What's so wrong about knowing each mutant's real name, address, and phone number?
Draven
That was...odd. Did she even notice that I just rather blatantly admitted to knowing her assailant personally?
Caught slightly off guard by her unexpected response, he didn't immediately respond, but instead reached down and, after running his fingers thoughtfully through her hair, guided her off of the floor onto his lap.
Where did all that come from? Is it my imagination, or is she being defensive? Or, maybe bumped her head harder than I thought...I don't remember her saying anything about X-rays after all.
You'd think that would be standard procedure though.
He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her gently.
"Of course. We discussed this once before and I generally approved. The more we know, the better off we are. We just have to be conscientious of whom we entrust with the information we already possess, and that which we gain as we move forward," he said softly into her hair.
"Idiots in costumes huh? I resemble that remark, remember? Sure I pull it off better than most, but..."
Suddenly, as he replayed her words in his mind, a thought struck him like a ton of bricks.
But...how? Unless she is capable of much greater distances than before. Or perhaps...
Smiling ever so slyly into the nape of her neck, he asked casually in a subtly sarcastic off hand tone, "So, what did you think of The Meeting?"
SpoilerCouldn't resist calling her out on that slip, intentional or not. Hope you don't mind.
Let me know if you have any serious questions. My PM box is always open.
Natasha Verraine
Clever boy... Tasha thought with a inward smile, Should I tell him what I can do? I'm pretty sure he wouldn't freak out... Or would he?
Instead she shrugged, It seemed like a waste of time to me. It was mostly some kind of meet-and-greet for people who think they're X-men. Some of those kids were far, far too young to be out doing what they're probably doing. This is gonna end badly.
She settled into Draven's lap comfortably, and leaned her head on his shoulder. Then immediately regretted the decision, and just leaned back against him instead.
Ow... She muttered, Anywho... don't be so conspiratorial babe... I'm the one who told you about it. Did you really think I wouldn't find SOME way to find out what happened there? As for Jack, the man is a gambler... lying is what he does for a living. If you know him and think he's a cool guy... maybe what happened was an accident... but he certainly sounded pretty harsh when I talked to him. Stress, maybe?
Giving a long sigh, she draped herself over her new man-pillow and curled her fingers through his hair, giving him a playful smile.
You can handle all that, ok? Just... leave me out of it entirely, ok? Don't even mention you know me. Please? It wouldn't take TOO much digging to find out who I hang around with, and then we could be in trouble.
Then she sealed her deal with a kiss... just to make her point. Or perhaps just because she liked kissing him. Or just maybe... a little of each.
Draven
Pulling back enough to look down at her, he said, "Love, I'm hurt that you'd even feel the need to remind me of leaving you out of things."
His voice held an obviously put on element of hurt, but it slowly became more serious as he continued, "In fact, I've been thinking about how to help you out in that regard. But, we can save that conversation for tomorrow I suppose."
He smiled knowingly, but pleasantly enough as he gently grasped her jaw and angled it towards his.
"I trust that, for now Natasha, you have your reasons for not being direct with me. But try to keep in mind the amazing things we could accomplish together..." he paused to deeply appreciate her lips for a moment, pulling away with some reluctant, "in Rainport of course."
"In the meantime..." he trailed off as he picked her up bodily from his lap as he stood up from the chair, moving as if she barely existed and laying her carefully upon her bed as he leaned over her.
"Leave Jack to me," he whispered, a wicked ominous smile gracing his lips as he looked deeply into her eyes.
Natasha Verraine
I'm not trying to mislead you, babe. I'm just not comfortable talking about everything... that's all. I don't really want you to know everything about me. I don't ask you to tell me everything about you... I don't even know exactly what you can do.
She have a soft squeak as he moved her to the bed... a little impressed at how easily he moved her... even as light as she was, he made it seem effortless.
Go... have fun. TRY not to kill anyone. She'll say, with a soft giggle, And give me a call tomorrow, ok? I want to know how things went. I'd invite you to stay here tonight... but I'm not feeling so great. I'm just gonna get to sleep after you go.
Draven
His smile persisted, although softening ever so slightly at her fairly obvious preventative hint.
"I know...I certainly will try..." he replied cryptically, leaning in to whisper in her ear "and I'm certain you would."
Smoothing her hair and tracing the curve of her jaw one final time he said goodbye and, after returning his boots to his feet departed into the night.
Regardless of intent, Jack had drastically altered the course of his evening. Not only that, he had very likely purposely hurt his girlfriend. The way he saw it, Jack owed him. Bigtime.
The cold smile emerged once more upon his lips as he turned the key in the ignition of his expensive coupe, the engine purring to life.
One way or another, he was going to pay. Somone always had to pay. How...? Well that was predominantly up to Jack.
I just hope you brought your wallet old friend.
The Reaper
The Reaper responds to 1337, "Not so quiet here, I'm afraid. We've had a bit of a tussle with D-Train. He had a super captive and we needed to get him out of there. Fortunately, we picked up some useful intel. Unfortunately, we left the tape and D-Train's got a few supers of his own on the payroll, so odds of us getting it out are slim. If Pulse doesn't have any objections, I think it's time to call it a night and debrief." The Reaper glances at Pulse, awaiting confirmation.
Pulse
Pulse nods, "I concur... I'm not anxious to face anyone who can depower us..."
Kid Zeus
Defense: 19
HP: 72/72
PP: 72/78
"Fun for you, huh? You know, I'm up for a little fun, myself. For instance, I noticed that you conduct electricity very, very well. Last time I was only trying to short circuit the nerves in your brain a little bit and knock you out, not try to hurt you. This time, though, I think I'm going to think a little bigger. I did give you the opportunity to give up." Kid Zeus said as his eyes glowed a little brighter and electrical discharges ran over his shoulders and down his arms in small jolts, casting strange shadows on the walls of the small store. An arc of electricity jumped between the first two fingers on his right hand as he held them up in a sort of fork-like gesture. "Why don't we see what this one does, hm?" he grinned as the space between his fingers snapped and crackled like an active taser gun.
Without any more warning, Kid Zeus flung his arm out toward Aether, the small crackles of current around his arms suddenly going into overdrive. The energy gathered into more or less an example of ball lightning in his palm before turning into a bolt and flashing across the intervening distance with a thunderous BOOM, rocking the game cartridges off of the walls.
SpoilerLightning Bolt! [roll0]
Potential Damage: [roll1]
Pulse/Reaper
1337 responds slowly. Well...huh. That's, uh, interesting. It's difficult to blame him for his slow reaction - after all, the last three times he checked with you in this hour you had absolutely nothing new to tell him. Well, the tape isn't strictly necessary if you guys heard the whole meeting anyway. I can do some fun stuff with voice analysis, but it's mostly icing. Anyway, glad to hear you guys made it okay and got the dude out. I was ringing in this time to say that I've been monitoring some of the message traffic I tracked down earlier, and it looks like the delivery that was scheduled for later tonight got moved to lunchtime tomorrow. Something about a the truck driver getting a speeding ticket crossing the Rockies. So-- oh. Oh sh!t. I bet...aw man, you guys might've been set up at that meeting. Gimme jussssssst a few seconds to skim back through the messages I intercepted and run a few analyses, and I'll get back to you. You hear the sounds of speedy typing in the background.
A dozen yards down the roof, Riff has been quietly talking to Gust for a minute. A quiet *whump* draws your attention, though which of them was the cause is hard to say. Looking over, you see Riff expostulating with a Gust who is trying very hard to wave him away.
Kid Zeus/Nos
The result is immediate and gratifying. The smoky figure in front of you shakes violently for the second that the electricity hits him, in complete silence. Nos cheers, Sock it to him, Sparky! Seeming to find his voice, Aether curses you in a completely different tone than his former light banter. F**k you ******-******, man, that ****ing HURT! Jumping backward reflexively into one of the racks of games between two aisles, he continues without stopping. I'm gonna make you regret that, you *******! Those games were mine, and you can't just show up and take 'em! Find your own ******** store to cherry pick from!
SpoilerPlease see OoC to clarify mechanics.
Kid Zeus
"For the love of- WE'RE NOT BREAKING THE LAW, @SSWIPE!" Kid Zeus yelled after the fleeing Aether as his feet left the ground and he shot back out of the back of the store. He almost had tried for another shot, but he suspected he'd done enough damage to the store just by standing in it already. So instead, he took to the air to get a bird's-eye view, trying to spot the fleeing suspect. He tried to fly along the line of Aether's route of escape, paralleling his course so that he'd be able to zero him when he came out of the wall on the other side. He left Nos in the store so that Aether wouldn't try to double-back. (Even though Nos probably couldn't do anything to harm the guy, Hadyn was gambling that his lightning strike had rattled Aether enough that he wouldn't push his luck.)
SpoilerSpot: [roll0]
Listen: [roll1]
Kid Zeus/Nos
For a dozen seconds, nothing happens. Then you hear a sudden Awww no you don't!! from Nos, still inside the door, followed by a *thump* and the sounds of running. Nos bursts out the back door of the shop the same way you came, katana held high. He went invisible and grabbed the games! Of course I did, Sherlock, comes the same mocking voice, from two dozen feet in front of Nos. "Sparky" here left them unguarded, after all. The sound of his feet abruptly stops. Nos catches up to the area where he heard him and takes an experimental swing or two, but doesn't connect with anything.
SpoilerFrom his voice and footsteps, you are able to pinpoint his location closely, but not exactly. On a game grid, we'd be looking at having a choice of one or two squares that he might be in. The two swings Nos made were near to, but not at exactly the same spot.
Kid Zeus
"I doubt whether those games will even work now, Aether, but if you're that determined..." Kid Zeus said as he flew down within range of the two metahumans on the ground. Crackling with energy, he made sure that he was at an angle in which Nos was out of the line of fire and threw out both of his hands. It took a little more effort, but he was able to force the lightning bolt which he normally threw into more of a forked cone effect, blanketing the area in which Aether seemed to be. This way, he couldn't miss by choosing the wrong area.
SpoilerUsing an Action Point to pull off some power stretching. It's 3pps/die for a cone attack and 2pps/die for a line, so I figure that adding one pp/die would be fair for the activation cost increase. Cool?
Also, I think I've been doing this all wrong. I don't have to do an attack roll for my energy attacks. They work more like Lightning Bolt from D&D, automatically hitting but for a Reflex Save for half damage. Not sure what the save DC is, but it says "Standard DC, Constitution-Based"
Kid Zeus/Nos
Alighting by Nos, Kid Zeus strains, forcing his usual lightning bolt into a different shape to send out a cone of forked lightning, blanketing the area he last heard Aether in. Nos ducks unnecessarily as the wave goes by, rubbing his neck with a rueful grin where all the hair has stood up.
The multiplicity of bolts strikes the entire area, none more than a foot or two apart. There is a moment of silence - then, from somewhere near the center of the area, Aether's voice comes again, with the slightly strained quality of someone standing very still with their stomach sucked in. Nice trick, Sparky. I'm a little bit faster than that, though. Why are you so hard over about this, anyway? You could just go back there and grab a few of your own, and both of us call it a night. They're gonna blame it all on me, anyway, and that new PS4 game is way overpriced to begin with. So think it over, buddy. We don't have to be butting heads here. So I'm gonna head on home, and you guys get to make a quick decision, 'cause I'm pretty sure there was an alarm on that back door, and the cops'll be here soon. So--
GRAHH!! Nos, tired of the talk, suddenly charges past you toward the voice, arms spread wide. He visibly collides with a heavy invisible object; though he had successfully located Aether, his attempt to grab him fails. As he stumbles past the point of impact and regains his footing, a small spray of video games flies out of midair, apparently spilling from the now-invisible bag they were being carried in. There is a distinct disappointed pause from Aether, who then mutters Whatever; your loss, dude, as the sound of his voice begins to move away.
SpoilerMechanics:
After your turn, Nos readied a partial charge to be triggered whenever he located Aether, hoping to knock down or grapple him (and yes, KZ may be surprised that Nos thought he'd actually connect - but then, you never asked him why there was a loud thump from inside the store when he was supposedly fighting an incorporeal). He located him successfully when he spoke, and beat the concealment miss chance, but failed the actual attack. Then Aether, having only used a free action to speak so far, used the rest of his turn, and now you're up again.
Kid Zeus
"Man, you are thick. For the last time...We're here to stop you and turn you in, not steal anything for ourselves!" Kid Zeus said, annoyed, beginning to think Aether was just trying to get on his nerves since there was no possible way anyone with an IQ over forty wouldn't have realized the situation by now.
He tried to home in on Aether's voice, working out in his mind which was it was moving from where Nos had tried for that tackle to get a general estimation of his target's location. Then, calling upon a surge of that nearly limitless internal battery he'd learned to harness, he sent another arching bolt of electricity snapping out from the palm of his hand. This close, Kid Zeus hoped that he'd have a better chance at hitting his target.
SpoilerDC17 Reflex Save for half of [roll0] damage. I guess I should roll a die for miss chance? D100? [roll1]
Kid Zeus/Nos
A small chuckle off to the left of your bolt is the only indication that Aether has perfectly understood the annoyance of his unsubtle temptations. See you around, kid, he says one last time in a strangely flat and thin voice (somewhat different from the hollow, echoing tone he had while incorporeal). You realize his voice is getting much further away, and as he nears the corner, you realize the chance of hitting him at all anymore is pretty slim. Nos lowers his katana with a sigh and begins picking up the video games on the ground.
Something about his last words signals to you a deeper interest, some quirk of curiosity in his voice that maybe here is a much more fun game. You feel the growing certainty that this chaotic looter may become a recurring thorn in your side.
The police sirens scream louder now, only one street away.
SpoilerWell, I don't mean to cut the scene short, but your chances *are* starting to get pretty slim, and I didn't want it to dwindle down into a boring "listen-shoot-likely miss" routine. Plus, he's been taking two moves to your one, since he's not attacking, so he is approaching the point of being out of range.
So yeah, uh...Nemesis, Kid Zeus. Kid Zeus, Nemesis. Have fun, kids. :)
Kid Zeus
"Damn it!" Kid Zeus growled, his teeth grinding together as the energy aura around him picked up for a moment from emotion. Eventually it died down to almost nothing as he seemed to calm himself, rubbing his face through his half-mask. "Well, at least those games are probably fried. He's going to be in for a surprise when he tries to play them." he shrugged to Nos. "Come on, we better meet the cops out front and make a report about what happened." he said as he started walking back toward the store. "Then I can start figuring out how I'm going to catch that lowlife next time."
Kid Zeus/Nos
Nos, having sheathed his katana, finishes putting the last of the games in a neat stack, perusing them in the dim light as he does so. Huh...good taste in games, at least. Flipping one over casually a few times as he walks toward Kid Zeus, he looks at the case. You know, the game might have been somewhat protected by the plastic bag and plastic case. Which is good news, really - the owner actually loses less that way, since we got the majority of them back, and it means the ones near your fireworks inside are probably still good, too.
Despite the escape of your quarry, he seems in a tolerably good mood. That was kinda awesome, with the stakeout and everything paying off. Too bad he got away, but it's pretty sweet having more of a challenge, too, especially since this guy just seems like a jerk, instead of a psychopath. Oh, which reminds me. I don't think he can do more than one trick at a time. I didn't see when he went invisible inside, 'cause I was looking the wrong way and he was behind one of the racks. But when I heard him go for the bag and dove for it, I knocked him on his rear pretty good. So at least he can't, or won't, do both at the same time. And either way, he can't get away from your bolts, huh? he finishes with his usual good-natured grin.
A few seconds later, the cops come into view and quickly pull up behind the store. Both cars open and a small handful of guns are immediately trained on you, though without much conviction, as you don't seem that threatening. One of the cops, a younger guy, breaks the pause to go into his best delivery of Okay, let's see your hands in the air, and no-- One of the older cops shushes him at that point, and calls across the small gap. You guys the supers who volunteered for the Ghost Bandit case?
Pulse
Pulse glances at the arguing heroes, he looks at Reaper and raises a brow, "One minute... before we head back." He opens his cloak in case Reaper wants to ride along now, and then mounts his glider and drifts over to Gust and Riff, "What's the argument, you two?"
Kid Zeus
Hadyn put his hands up to show that he was no threat but didn't really expect them to start shooting or anything since he was registered. They'd probably seen him and Nos, too, down at the station a few times already. Guys in costumes were usually hard to miss. "Yes, Sir, that's us. We caught him trying to rob the video game store just back there. Unfortunately, he got away, but I think we saved most of the merchandise if that's any consolation." he grinned sheepishly, putting his hands down. "He's one of us. He calls himself 'Aether' and can turn himself invisible and phase through solid objects. I hit him a couple of times with lightning and he ran off invisible. I don't know where he went, but I can describe him to you some more if you like. He may have dropped something in his haste to get away, so we might want to look around a little more as well..."
When the police had seen fit to let them go, Hadyn had just flown home. He took a roundabout route the way he always did, stopping somewhere several blocks away where he'd left a spare backpack of civilian clothes in a dried up gutter with a loose covering to change. Then he'd snuck inside just in time to catch hell from his mother for skipping out of school early and forgetting to pick up his sister. Hopefully at some point she'd get tired of yelling and just let him sleep...
The Reaper
The Reaper accepts Pulse's offered cloak, melding out of sight.
Pulse/Reaper
Riff looks up ruefully at Gust, who is a few inches off the ground and wobbling violently. He's drawn his hood up in an almost comical fashion to hide his face, and appears extremely distraught. Leave....me...ALONE!! he sputters in a very odd voice. Riff mutters under his breath to you, touching a slightly bleeding nose. He's pretty wigged out about whatever happened - looked like some kind of acid attack to me. I'm trying to calm him down, but he's not goin' for it, and he's still got enough juice left after that beating to make him hard to deal with. I'd just leave him be, but...I think he might hurt himself or something.
It's not hard to see that Gust is having a full-fledged panic attack.
Kid Zeus/Nos
The quartet of policemen is thorough, efficient, and grateful for the assist. The older policemen, beginning to take your statement, recognizes you two with a smile just before you offer your names - your escapade with the spider is widely known by now. Two of the other officers begin the search inside, while he takes down a succinct summary of your stakeout, the description of Aether, and everything that happened, especially the abilities and limits Aether seemed to have. The two officers inside are not finished by the time your brief tale is told, but it doesn't sound like there will be much to find. The video games are left in police custody for the owner to assess the total amount of damages in the morning, and you can't help but recall Aether's insistence of how little it would matter to take one for yourself - he was clearly right as to how easy ii would have been, with all the attention focused on him.
Just before you head out, the older policeman remembers something. Going back to the car, he digs out a small scrap of paper from the glove compartment, and hands it to Kid Zeus. It turns out to be a small sealed envelope. The department, with the help of the mayor, is creating a black handle for each of the registered supers. It'll be our way to get in touch with you quickly if there's a situation that needs mutant help, and it takes the work of trying to create a secure contact off of you. With an apologetic shrug to Nos, he says Sorry, pal, we didn't know you'd be along - you can pick yours up at the station any time you like. Spread the word, too. With a proffered handshake, he says Thanks again. Just for the future, do you guys know the deadly force laws? No one's gonna come down hard on you when you were dealing with an unknown mutant, but word from on high is to not be the first big mutant lawsuit, so we're aiming to avoid that. Other than that, you guys played it pretty by the book.
And then you're off, flying home with the officer's last words warm in your ears. You guys pulled a man's share tonight. We're all glad to have you on the team.
SpoilerHadyn, as a police officer's son, presumably knows the deadly force laws. Feel free to correct me, but I'm pretty sure the gist of it is: Don't use deadly force unless deadly force has been displayed or used against you. Until that point, you use words, display of force, or nonlethal options to subdue the criminal. That's what caused the officer's concern - if all three of your shots had hit, you could easily have killed him outright, and the newspapers love to talk about police brutality.
Natasha Verraine
Tasha woke to the sound of the door to her dorm opening. Sitting up with a grumbled noise, she looked groggily at her clock... and then, her roommate.
Oh.... hey. Sorry. Heather muttered, shutting the door as quietly as she could. I didn't mean to wake you up.
3 am? Tasha muttered, That's late for you. What's going on?
I was gonna... um... I was gonna stay out tonight, but... I wanted to make sure you were ok. Heather said, awkwardly, And to... um... apologise.
For what? Having a girlfriend? Tasha said, laying back again, I really don't have a problem with it, Heather. It's ok.
Yeah, I know. I just... I haven't even told my parents yet, you know? I didn't think you knew.
Maybe I'm just a mind reader. She said, deadpan.
Heather giggled, and played along with the (apparent) joke, And you never told me?! You're an awful friend, keeping secrets! Bad Tasha!
Hehe. Maybe my power is gay-dar!
They both laughed, though each for different reasons, as Heather got herself ready for bed... settling down in the cramped dorm room in her bed opposite Tasha's.
So it really doesn't...?
No. Tasha interrupted her. It really doesn't.
I was really worried. Heather said with a sigh of relief, I'm glad you're ok.
Sweetie, there is SOOO much more for me to worry about right now. Whether or not you like boys isn't really one of them. Don't worry. Tasha told her, curling up in a bundle of blankets, nice and snug.
Yeah. Good point. So, um... where's your boyfriend? Wasn't he coming by tonight?
He did. He left. He had stuff to do... and our room isn't really so private, you know?
That didn't stop my roomate last year. Heather said with a groan.
Kinky. She said snarkily, Don't worry, I wouldn't do that to you. I just KNOW it would end up on the internet somehow.
They laughed again, this time, entirely on the same page... and Heather hit the lights, settling down on her bed for the night.
Hey, I was thinking. How'd you like to go out tomorrow... to the movies or for ice cream or something? Ice cream is good for head injuries, right?
Ice cream is good for everything. Tasha agreed with a chuckle, It sounds good. Maybe after class?
Sure! We can take my car.
Thanks Heather... I appreciate it. Tasha said with an earnest smile.
Don't mention it. And feel better, ok?
Yeah, I'll try. Goodnight Heather.
Nite! She said, rolling over and curling the blankets around herself.
And for the first time since the accident... she had very little trouble getting to sleep.
(End of day 3 for Tasha! GLEEEEE!)
Draven
The night was dark, the thin sliver of moon overshadowed by ominously lowhanging clouds.
They scuttled across the sky, reminding Draven of how swiftly things could change.
How swiftly they had.
The irony of his precarious perch and how, only a few short days ago, he had held a rather similar positon, did not evade him.
As he had been, it may have, for as much of a night owl as had been his habit, by three in the morning he would have been less than alert.
As he was now, he missed nothing.
His eyes locked on the shifting sky, his crouched form invisible in the shifting shadows, his body completely at ease although he had held the postion for over an hour, he felt more unnatural in that moment than in any moment prior.
A revelation both dehumanizing as it was coldly exhilirating.
Although he noted the sensation of motion beneath him, on the stairs, he remained perfectly still. The warmth of a young woman. Not just any woman though, he knew her.
Only a few months ago, in what seemed like another life, she'd been his math tutor.
She had been good. Safe. He knew he could trust her with Natasha. Small comfort that it was, he was glad for it.
He would leave before the light came, but for now, he concentrated on the darkness that was not dark at all for him, emptying his mind of concern, resting though fully awake.
He watched patiently and for a time, found peace.
(END)
SpoilerSo ends book 3. Signings at the door. Book 4 out in July, preorder your copy today!
Seriously though, it's been a lot of fun. Huge thanks to you all.