"There are rules."
Aug. 3rd, 2012 09:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
renferretIt gets much worse.
(OOC: It was worked out that Sue hadn't actually given her book back in the prior scene.)
Train Tracks
Little more than a break in the lush thickness of the surrounding forest, a set of railway lines make their hesitant way east and west. Woodland dirt and underbrush gives reluctantly over onto gravel, and then to the rusted iron bars themselves; the wood lengths that bridge the span between them at intervals are gnarled and cracked with age, some looking uncomfortably rotten. Long, spiky weeds shoot up defiantly between and amongst the wood and metal, proclaiming clearly that this particular length of track has suffered some disuse in recent times. The sounds here are as soft and natural as anywhere else, and insects make their unhurried ways from flower to stalk unconcerned by the ancient construction.
The beginnings of various small paths twist off through the forest to the north and to the south.
Obvious exits:
West on the Tracks North South
Dagny has arrived.
Summer means that the sun is still above the horizon, even as the evening starts to draw late. Ex has put some considerable distance between herself and Edgewood, setting a rough, brisk pace that has left her a little sweaty, especially as she's still wearing her gloves. On hitting the tracks, she turned east, and that's where she can be found--her pace has slowed, and she's balance walking along one of the rails, her hands held out from her sides like the half spread wings of a very awkward bird. Everything about her speaks to tension, a smoldering anger that's just barely contained.
Kavi has arrived.
There's a crossroads up ahead, where a country road intersects over the tracks. It's still in the distance a ways, and depending on how good Ex's hearing is, she may or may not be aware of a quiet engine whirring down as a truck is turned off. The headlights are off, and it's not viewable from the tracks, hidden by thick foliage that borders the road. The driver's side door creaks as someone exits. It whumps shut a moment later and Dagny moves into view. She stands beside the track, hands in her pockets, something tucked under one arm. Once her eyes are on Ex, the girl may feel a push at her conscious. It's courteous at first, and then she will hear, as if whispered behind her, "We should talk."
Rina has arrived.
Ex comes to an abrupt stop at the sound of an engine dying, a door being opened and closed. Her eyes dart to the trees on either side of the tracks, and she's actually off the rail and halfway down the gravel slope when Dagny's voice springs into her head. She whirls around to where she thinks the voice is coming from, one fist raised...and sees no one.
The Get remains standing still where she is several yards ahead of Ex. Her posture is calm and relaxed, as is the voice that moves to directly beside Ex's ear (or what will be perceived as such by the lost cub). "I am here to return your book, but I would also like to speak with you. There are some things I think we need to discuss without the metis present."
Ex's eyes dart back to the tracks, and finally settle on Dagny's distant figure. Her nostrils flare wide, and her fist lowers (though it does not, noticeably, cease /being/ a fist). She turns toward Dagny and starts walking toward her, quickly, eyes narrowed.
"You are new here. That excuses a lot for you. You do not have a tribe dedicated to teaching you yet. That is a problem. Both for you and for the rest of us. There are rules. Not just Garou rules, but also rules about the places you've been hanging out. Edgewood, for instance. I do not want to turn you away from there, but for the sake of others, I may have to if you do not wish to abide by the rules there." The Get's voice is calm and quiet, as devoid of annoyance as any person's voice can be. Still, it can only be heard by Ex while the Galliard mindspeaks to the cub. Physically, her posture does not change. "You do not have to speak outloud. If you think a response, I will hear you. What is your name?"
"X!" the cub thinks. /Loudly/. And then she says, both out loud and in her head, "That's /my/ fucking sketchbook."
"Yes, it is. And Edgewood is my home, and home to many others. It is a safe haven. Your behaviour has taken away that safety for others, just as I have taken your sketchbook. You don't like having your things taken from you, do you?" The Get thinks to the girl, staring steadily at her as she continues her approach.
Ex breaks into a jog, and she doesn't actually reply until she gets close enough for her words to be audible. "I threw /rocks/," she fairly hisses toward Dagny. "I threw rocks at a fucking wall! That's--" Her eyes go to the thing under Dagny's arm. "That's /my/ thing. You have a whole fucking house. You need my stupid book too?"
"This is a thing that is important to you. It is a symbol, so is Edgewood." Dagny continues to think at the girl instead of speaking out loud. She sighs simply when Ex gets close, still unmoving. "And this book is not stupid. It means something - something big. Having it taken away from you makes you feel as if part of you is missing. You feel that having someone take it away is wrong, don't you?"
Ex briefly shows her teeth and jerks away toward the side. "Just go away. I'm going the fuck away, alright? I'm going."
"Unfortunately, because of what you are, you going away is not an option." This, the Get says verbally. "If you intend to run away, I will be forced to kill you to protect the others. I don't want to do that, and I'm sure you'd rather stay alive." Dag's fingers rap-tap against the cover of the sketchbook. She turns, watching Ex. "It sucks, doesn't it? But it doesn't have to. I want to give this back to you, but I can't do that if you're dead." She raises the sketchbook, holding it in both hands. "No one wants you to go away or be dead."
"No you don't," Ex says, her voice suddenly flat and ice cold. "And yes you do. I'm not playing your fucking game. You people are fucking /sick/. You're as fucking sick as the doctors. Ripping out tongues and killing babies and cutting off fingers and murdering anyone who doesn't want to join your cult-y war and die, and you say /you're/ saving the world, /you're/ the heroes? /Fuck/ that, and fuck /you/. I'm not getting euthanized. If you're going to murder me, I'm going to take your fucking eyes with me."
"I don't know what doctors you're talking about, but yes. You're right. We're fairly sick, if you look at us from a human perspective. We are nightmares, monsters, whatever. If you choose to think of us as some of your drawings, then by god, it's a wonder you haven't tried to run away yet!" Dag then fits the edge of the sketchbook in her palm and flips through a few pages, finding a particularly dark sketch. "Ah, like this one. Yes. The thing you don't understand yet is this: We are this, yes, but you can't even imagine, in the darkest corners of your mind, the kinds of things that we stop from happening. This? This is fucking Blue's Clues compared to what would happen if we didn't do the things we do. And it's all right that you can't imagine it. You haven't seen it yet, and to you, we're tremendously fucked up. I can't make you understand that. You want to be stubborn and you believe you're right, and that's fine. It's not my job to convince you otherwise, but it is my job to keep you from wandering away and making a bigger mess for us to clean up. So, it's your choice. Take your sketchbook and go back to the Greek House where you belong, or I put you down." There's a kind of tired, matter-of-factness to her words at this point.
Ex stares at Dagny for a long, long moment, before her eyes drop to the drawing she's opened to. It's quite a bit of silence before she responds, but when she does, it's quite short. "...You think those are /you/ people?"
"I'm sure these are something else entirely. Possibly related to the literature tucked in between the pages, but I don't know. Frankly, I don't care either. Whatever." She thumbs through a few more pages, quirking an eyebrow. "Either way, you still have a choice to make."
Ex sighs, rolls her eyes, and stabs a gloved finger at the sketchbook. "That's a /bird/," she says of the sparrow bodied, eyeless creature with the serrated beak and twisted feathers, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world, as Dagny pages past it. "/That's/ a doctor." This, of one of the many ill proportioned, hooded and faceless, knife-handed figure throughout the book. "The printouts are research, I got them from the library."
Dagny glances where Ex points, absorbing the information and humming quietly. "Your version seems more appropriate than how doctors try to look in person. Always smiling." The Get wrinkles her nose briefly and shakes her head. She flips a few more pages, stopping on the werewolf. "What about this one? If this isn't one of us, what is it?" She seems genuinely curious now, focusing on Ex's face for input.
Ex's facial muscles tighten. "...Me," she says after a moment. It carries the same kind of 'duh' tone as the rest of it, as if the surreal, monstrous werewolf getting strangled and torn apart should actually be recognizable. "I didn't say you could look."
"It had dirt on it. I brushed it off before the dirt could get trampled into the page." The Get says simply. "I was checking the other pages to make sure that none of them were in danger of falling out. That I saw your artwork was a side effect. A pleasant one, at least. You have a lot of talent. It'd be a shame not to channel it, you know." Dagny's face contorts into a look of concentration for a moment. "Speaking of artwork.. If you're interested, I know something that might work for you. A way to really funnel all that anger and hate and resentment into this." She gives the Sketchbook a firm shake. "I always found that my best work came when I really focused everything I had into it."
Ex reaches for the book. Snatches for it, more like. There's something a little brighter about her eyes, a greater tension in her jaw.
Dagny moves the sketchbook out from the path of the girl's snatching. "Tut tut. That isn't an option."
From along the trail that leads most directly to the highway, two figures can be seen running in the direction of the two garou. They both move quickly, more quickly once they spot Dagny and Ex. The taller of the two holds something in one hand, bulky enough to be clear it isn't just a fist. "Ex!" he calls, lifting the empty hand in the air in an abortive wave.
"Damn," the petite one mutters, keeping pace.
Ex's teeth flash again. "Not a fucking /rat/," she says, low and angry. "I'm not in your /maze/." She jerks her head toward the sound of voices, and if anything she looks even more frustrated. "You brought them too?"
At the sound of approaching footsteps, the Get turns a wary eye toward the approaching pair. "No, I didn't." Her own voice is low, a faint air of irritation. "Seems your keepers have come to collect you, then. Fine by me. I'll be keeping this. Have one of them babysit you at Edgewood if you want to come and talk about getting it back." Dag turns on her heel and, with the sketchbook, walks back toward the crossing and toward the truck sat there.
Kavi starts to slow, but then speeds up again, his gaze darting from one to the other, snagging for a moment on that sketchbook. "What--?" he calls as he nears.
"Ex, you okay?" Rina calls out, her course taking her toward the cub rather than the Get.
Ex stands still, unchanging. If she hears Kavi or Rina this time, it isn't clear. Her reaction is delayed by at least twenty to thirty seconds, but when it comes, it's immediate. The cub surges forward, black furred, mindless monstrosity, lunging in Dagny's direction.
The delay was enough. Dagny had reached, and climbed into, the truck. The engine had turned over and the Get was already turning around and pressing her foot to the gas pedal. Despite the speed, Ex's lunge will be met with dirt road as the truck speeds off down the road, tail lights obscured by thick clouds of dust.
Kavi detours quickly toward truck, toward cub, shifting as he moves. Still, it takes him precious seconds to reach the frenzied cub.
Rina backpedals rapidly, trying to get out of the Garou's path--human reflexes far slower than Crinos speed.
In those precious seconds, Rogue falls upon the spot that the truck has just vacated, tearing up chunks of hard-packed dirt and stones, dragging huge furrows into the road itself, cracking the boards of the old track. Anything that smells like the departed Get is crunched and torn, but this is to the exclusion of even so much as noticing the oncoming Kavi, or the backpedaling Rina. She lets out a howl that sounds like it belongs to a wounded animal, a sound of frustration and pain and sheer, unending fury.
Rina stands still, breathing a little fast with adrenaline.
Bridge Builder slows once again, and he casts a glance to Rina before approaching the cub. He moves slowly, and as he does, he shrinks down from crinos to glabro. "Ex," he says, as gently as the form allows.
By the time he reaches her, the frenzy has given way to more mindful, if no less destructive or emotional actions. Rogue pounds the road as hard as she can, silent now, then seizes one of the broken railway ties and hurls it away from her into the woods. A heavy, snorting breath forces its way out of her nostrils, through her clenched teeth.
Kavi looks back to Rina again, but his gaze doesn't linger on the kin once he's found her. Instead, he picks up a larger rock from near where the cub works her destruction and throws it, hard as he can, into the woods chasing the railroad tie.
Rina keeps her distance, letting the Crinos... chat this out.
Rogue throws a few more things after Kavi's rock. When she shifts, it's once again abrupt, right back to homid, and it's once again violent: she levels several furious, if rather weak at this point, punches at Kavi's torso. There's nothing calculating about them. It's pure emotion.
Kavi holds still against the onslaught, arms held out to the side, palms forward. He stays silent, as well, not even trying to speak until the fury is spent.
Eventually, though it takes quite a while, Ex's exhaustion outweighs her desire to hit things. She slows, and stops, and then slumps a step back from him. There are no tears. Not even a hint of tears.
Rina watches, both arms wrapped around herself.
Kavi staggers back a step, when the punches finally stop, and his breath catches in his throat and then restarts. He swallows, retaking his position of a moment before, just a step from the cub. "It's okay," he whispers, and slowly slips back down to homid. "It's okay."
Ex inhales sharply, and then finds sound again. "No it's /not/. It's not fucking okay. I gotta go, Kavi. I gotta /go/. She was going to kill me, and it wasn't going to mean anything to her."
"*No* one is gonna kill you, Ex," Rina says fiercely, finally taking a few steps toward them.
"/No/ one," Kavi repeats, and he glances down the road after the long departed truck. "No one. We're here. We won't let them."
"They're sick!" Ex says angrily. "They're fucking /sick/. Cutting off fingers, tearing out tongues, killing /babies/, locking people up! Why are you with them? You and Fezzik and the cheerful girl, the dirty girl, why don't you leave? Or kill them! Or burn their fucking house down, the greedy fucking /bitch/."
Pressing her lips together, Rina gives a swift shake of her head and looks to Kavi.
Kavi's eyes close for a brief second and he shakes his head as well. "Because. Because we need them." His brow furrows and he takes a sidestep back to include Rina more fully. "I know-- We're not perfect. But. If we killed them? Even if we left them? We'd become worse than they are. We can only..." He pulls in a breath and holds it for a beat before trying to speak again. "We need to hold them to the laws. And. And be the examples, become the leaders, so. So the things that shouldn't happen, /don't/ happen."
"They don't /care/," Ex says around gulps of air. "Phil told me your laws today. He was mad the Other Bitch wasn't following the respect people below you one, but /he/ doesn't follow it. /She/ doesn't follow it." She stabs a finger a the road. "It's just like anywhere, they can do whatever they fucking want and take whatever they fucking want because they can hurt you."
Rina winces, and says nothing--letting Kavi handle this.
Kavi frowns, and his shoulders roll backward a little, posture straightening. "Do you... Will you tell us what happened?"
"It doesn't matter." Ex scratches furiously at her cheek scars with one hand. "I threw rocks at the Greedy Bitch's house."
Rina takes a slow breath. "Who's the Greedy Bitch?"
Kavi looks down the road again, his eyes narrowing as if he could still make out the truck. "Whose house?" he asks along with Rina as he returns.
"The..." Ex pauses, and her frown intensifies. "/Her/." She points at the road again. "The Greedy Bitch. The...The Edge house."
"Edgewood, must be?" Rina looks over to Kavi. "Who was the girl?"
Kavi's brow furrows. "One of the Get. A galliard... Dagny, I think. I didn't know she was back." He shakes his head. "That's not her house. That's... That's the Sept's house."
"She said it was hers," Ex says hotly, more angry without a focus than being actively combative, for once. "She said it was hers, and I can't come back without a fucking /babysitter/, and she fucking /stole/ my /book/ and my /research/, because she's a greedy fucking BITCH, and then she came and found me and /looked/ at it in front of me, and wouldn't give it back, and then she /left/."
Rina straightens a fraction. "For fuck's sake," she mutters.
Kavi's lips pull back from his teeth, and he glares in the direction that the truck departed. His breathing changes, and it takes a moment for him to bring it back to normal. "She had no right," he whispers under his breath.
"Doesn't matter," Ex says, a little thickly. "Just let me go, okay? I'll be careful. I'll be away from people every full moon, I promise."
"Ex," Rina says quietly, "you're part of us. You're *not* a monster and you're not--what those fucking doctors put in your head, you're *more* than that."
Kavi swallows hard, and nods at Rina's words. It's a moment more before he's reined his anger in enough to speak for himself. "You're better than they are. Better than the ones who don't understand. And you still... You still have a lot to learn. You don't have to be around them. You don't have to be /like/ them."
Ex breathes deeply again. "She did understand. She knew it hurt, that's why she did it. And Phil likes her. And I don't want to go to her fucking stupid house anyway, unless I'm bringing fucking matches. She said werewolves are monsters, and she said I couldn't imagine what werewolves protect people from, and /FUCK/. /HER/."
"God *dammit*," Rina mutters, turning away and taking a few steps.
Kavi takes another deep breath and holds it, his fingers clenching into fists at his sides. "She had no right," Kavi whispers harshly, under his breath. He shakes his head, perhaps to clear it, and looks back to Ex. "Come back with us? For tonight? And we'll get your sketchbook back. We can eat, and. And after. We can talk about what you want to do."
Ex looks hesitant. "I'm supposed to be back at the Fury house before dawn." Nevermind she was clearly going to violate that earlier. "I've been doing it every night."
Kavi nods. "We'll call," he says, glancing once to Rina. His throat is still tight, and his voice carries the sound of his tension. "We'll let them know what happened. Where you are. After... We can talk about what you want to do, and if you want to go back there. And. And what they need to do to keep you safe."
Ex starts to say something, but then she stops, and nods several times. "Okay." A breath. "Okay. After we eat."
Rina nods, satisfied. "Yeah. Let's do that," she says, turning and giving Kavi a look of utter gratitude.
Kavi lets out a breath and some of the tension with it. He reaches for Rina's hand, to give it a quick squeeze. Then he nods down the path through which they came, and leads the way.
Tenement Building - Ground Floor(#2451RJ)
The ground floor of the apartment building is taken up mainly by the lobby, an open space with the front doors at one end and the elevator and the door leading to the stairwell at the other. The floor is covered in black and white tile in a checkerboard pattern, and the walls have been painted a neutral grey shade. A couch, two squashy armchairs, and two wooden chairs have been set up in a rough semi-circle around a square wooden coffee table, facing toward the front doors and positioned so as not to interfere with any traffic moving between there and the stairs. The furniture does not seem to be very old, but it has been well-worn in its short lifetime. A few potted plants have been set in corners, to give the old lobby a more welcoming atmosphere.
To the right of the main doors are mailboxes for building residents, and off to the left is the doorway into a cramped rental office (see +view), and other doors that lead to the building's large laundry room.
Contents:
Kavi(#3249PJOc)
Obvious exits:
Stairs Salem's Apartment Out
Rina has arrived.
Ex has been quiet the entire drive. Utterly so; she hasn't said one single word since getting into the car, even to direct questions, but she does seem...if not necessarily more relaxed, then certainly more pensive than angry. There's no sign of anxiety when they enter the Tenement either, no hesitation or second thoughts. She has her gloved hands stuffed into the pockets of her still somewhat oversized jeans. Likely, she's clutching her switchblade.
Ex . o O (MINE.)
"Your place?" Rina asks Kavi. "Might be better if we don't have company, yeah?"
Kavi is also quiet, as Rina drives, letting the tension of the situation slowly fade. He smiles, just a little, as they enter the tenement, and then looks across to Rina when she speaks. His brow furrows, as if the question confuses him, but after a moment he nods. "That's... That's a good idea. And. Maybe ziti?"
Ex nods faintly at the suggestion of ziti.
"Yeah," Rina says quietly, leading the way upstairs.
Tenement Building - Kavi's Apartment(#1617RJh)
The apartment isn't spacious, but it's certainly enough for a studio. Sparse furnishings are both utilitarian and warm, and the atmosphere of the whole is comfortable pragmatism.
The carpet is the same dark brown that lines the hall, the short pile easy to care for. Directly to the left of the entrance, behind the door, is a large closet. To the right is a desk built of cinderblocks and an old door. The left leg of the desk is formed of a two-drawer file cabinet. By the heater not far from the door is a blue canvas dog bed, mostly clean except for a few stray black hairs.
Beyond this entry/work area is a more conversational space. A futon of with a forest green cover sits at an angle in the far corner, wedged between two large windows. A torchiere behind the futon sheds a warm light over the room. When the futon is not pulled out as a sleeping pallet, a coffee table sits in front. Like the nesting tables to the side and the dresser nestled in the corner by the closet, the table shows enough wear that it was likely rescued from Good Will, or a trash day at the end of semester at SCCU.
To the right of this sitting area is a galley style kitchen. An open counter separates the kitchen from the rest of the apartment, and provides the only obvious dining space. A door leads from the kitchen into the bathroom.
The only really notable features of a personal nature are the two paintings. One is hung on the wall above the desk, clearly visible from almost every angle in the main area of the apartment. The other holds the prominent space to the left of the door.
Contents:
Kavi(#3249PJOc)
Obvious exits:
Out
Rina has arrived.
Kavi unlocks the door and steps inside. "Do you want to call, now?" he asks Ex as he starts taking off his boots.
"Okay," Ex says, the first word out of her mouth since they left the train tracks. "Tell them it's just for tonight." She rubs at a smudge of dirt on the side of her nose.
Rina heads for the kitchen, right away. "You want a shower, Ex?" she casts back over her shoulder. "We can give you some clean clothes, if you want."
Kavi pulls out his phone once the boots are off, and pushes the button to dial the phone at the Fury house. Apparently no one answers, because after a few seconds he speaks again, leaving a brief message. It does, as Ex requests, state that she's only with them for the night, and also asks that Melodie return his call as soon as possible.
"Kevin made these stick," Ex 'explains', plucking at the front of her hoodie. "They're really dirty though. I kept waking up on the ground." She glances toward the bathroom.
Rina nods. "We can still wash them," she says. "They're not... stuck to you."
Kavi closes the phone and pockets it again. "I can-- If you want? If you want different clothes? I can dedicate them, for you," he offers as he moves to the counter separating living room from kitchen.
Ex considers, then shakes her head. "No, I like these. Riley bought them. We can wash them though." She pulls her hands out of her pockets--yes, she /was/ clutching her switchblade, because there it is, still clenched in her fist--and pulls off the hoodie itself. She looks at it once it's in her hand, and pinches the fabric from below with two fingers.
"I'll get food going, Kavi?" Rina calls out.
Kavi opens his mouth, closes it again, and then goes to the closet. There isn't a hoodie, but he does offer Ex some loose fitting clothes that should at least be vaguely comfortable. He nods toward the bathroom door. "Do you know how to use the washer?"
Ex takes the new clothes, and then she has to hesitate again. Her mouth opens a little, and her forehead creases. Then the spell ends, and she turns away toward the bathroom. "Yeah."
Rina busies herself in the kitchen.
Kavi nods. "If--" He cuts off, though, and simply nods again. Once the door to the bathroom is closed he turns, and sets up the small table for the three of them.
It doesn't take long for the shower turn on, and it runs for quite some time.
Kavi looks back toward the door once, but he smiles as he comes to Rina's side.
The ziti's in the oven, and Rina is washing some greens for a salad; his presence makes her pause a moment, looking over to him, a tightness around her eyes.
Kavi shakes his head, and glances again to the bathroom door. "It'll be okay," he whispers as he returns to her, a hand coming to her shoulder.
Rina presses her lips together hard, her jaw tightening. "It's one fucking step forward and two back," she says, low and taut.
Kavi's gaze drops downward and he swallows, his own jaw clenching for a moment. But he shakes his head when he returns again. "She's here. She... After what-- After all that? She still came here, and. And was worried about... About them? It's hard, and. And I won't let what happened go unanswered... But she's not... She didn't fall back."
"Worried about who?" Rina asks softly, tearing the romaine.
Kavi pulls in a breath and holds it for a beat. "The Furies. Worried about... about following their curfew. Their rules. Even... Even after all that? Even wanting to run..." He swallows again. "It's good."
Rina's brow furrows, and she takes a slow breath. "Right."
Kavi mirrors her breath and steps in behind Rina. His arms wrap around her in an embrace that may, despite his intentions, interfere with her salad making process. "It'll be okay."
The shower shuts off, and there's the sound of the curtain being drawn back. Nothing further, for the moment.
Rina lets her hands still, as she relaxes back into him. "I'm just so fucking worried," she says quietly. "I know she needs the woods, I *know* that, but-- I thought she was just gonna be at the Fury place, not exposed to every fucking asshole out there..."
Kavi offers a small nod, just barely felt. "Before she goes back-- If that's what she wants? Before she goes back, I. I want to make sure they understand. They need to... to keep her safe. They need to know what that means."
There's a tiny noise from the bathroom, faint enough that it's not entirely clear if it's genuine. It sounds something like a gulping hiccup.
Rina tenses instantly, straightening a fraction.
Kavi's embrace tightens as well, though he makes no other move.
There are others that follow the first, just as quiet, if shorter and closer together. It lasts for maybe a minute, before it either stops, or grows quiet enough that it can't leak through the closed bathroom door.
Rina's pulling away from Kavi before thirty seconds have passed.
Kavi holds a bit longer, even as Rina starts to pull away, and his hand slips to hers as she leaves his embrace. He looks toward the door and then back to Rina, brow furrowed.
The interior of the bathroom remains quiet.
There's a quiet knock at the door. "Ex?" Rina asks softly.
It takes a moment for a response. Long enough for a swallow and a throat clear, at least, but Ex's voice still sounds shaky. "Yeah?"
Kavi's eyes close for a moment, but he doesn't interfere.
"You decent?" Rina asks, her voice still quiet.
There's another longer than necessary pause. "Yeah."
Rina swallows. "Can I come in, for a sec?" she asks.
Kavi catches his lower lip between his teeth and pulls in a breath, but still, he doesn't try to stop her.
A shorter beat. "Okay."
Rina slips inside, and doesn't shut the door behind her. Her expression is taut with worry. She keeps more than a step between them.
Kavi remains outside, and out of sight of the door, working on the salad that Rina abandoned.
Ex is sitting on the floor, with her back to the tub. She's changed into the clothes Kavi gave her, and her old clothes are lying in a very teenager-appropriate heap on the floor next to her. All but the gloves Nick gave her, which, despite being in dire need of a washing themselves, she has pulled right back on. A towel is draped over her shoulders. If there were tears, they're nowhere to be seen now, though her eyes are reddish, and red-rimmed. She doesn't really look up at Rina as the kin enters.
Rina swallows. Her voice is very quiet. "I-- I'd really like to touch you, for a sec, if you'll let me." She drops to a relaxed crouch, about arm's length away.
Ex blinks a few times, and her gaze wobbles a little over the floor, slightly unfocused. She swallows herself. "Yeah. Okay."
Taking a ragged breath, Rina rolls forward onto her knees, to kneel right beside Ex--definitely in personal space. She doesn't move fast, and all the while she's taking in every small movement or reaction.
Ex's head lowers a little more, and she doesn't look at Rina. There's definitely a lingering sense of unease, but there's no sign that it's about to bloom into anything worse, anything aggressive.
A hand's set gingerly in neutral territory, on the back of a shoulder. Slowly, carefully, the older woman leans in until this becomes a one-armed embrace--the avenue of escape left open, that second arm never coming to curve around the front.
Ex's head tips forward a little--just a little, a tiny fraction--toward Rina. And then, unmistakably, there's another hiccup swallow, which slides right into her voice, which is very, very quiet. "They were downstairs in the hall." A single, shaky breath. "We used Tide."
Rina takes a slow, long breath, and lets it out equally slowly. She gives a little nod against Ex's head.
Ex doesn't say anything further. There's another, single gulping breath, a slight tremor in her arms, and silence.
"Okay," Rina says softly. "Okay." The second arm finally joins the first, though the embrace is loose, unconfining.
Ex allows it for a little while. A minute, perhaps. Eventually she draws away, though there's nothing quick or forceful about her movements. There's the sense that, perhaps, she's a little beyond quick or forceful at all right now. She looks drained.
The salad is finished, and Kavi sets the kettle on to boil.
"You need anything?" Rina asks softly, as she sits back on her heels. One hand gives a quick little swipe to each cheek.
Ex scoops up the dirty, discarded clothes, and shakes her head. She slides rather smoothly to her feet and steps out into the rest of the apartment.
Rina actually stays back for a moment or two, and washes her hands, the sink running briefly.
Kavi looks toward the bathroom as Ex steps out. "Water," he asks. "Or juice?"
"Water," Ex says, after a moment's hesitation.
Kavi nods and turns to the fridge to pull out the pitcher.
Ex turns to take her load to the washer, and put it in. There's a faint hesitation in every movement as she goes about it, but none long enough to suggest that she's truly uncertain about any of the steps.
Rina comes out of the bathroom, passing Ex with a little touch to her shoulder. "Scusa," she says quietly. She heads straight for Kavi, wrapping both arms around his waist and clinging tight.
Kavi sets the pitcher down on the counter and turns in Rina's arms. "I love you," he whispers as he wraps his arms around her in turn.
Ex glances toward Rina at the touch. She proceeds to add the detergent, set the wash cycle, and then close the lid. She pauses for a moment there, listening to the washer start up, before she turns to head back to the kitchen.
Rina's tense enough to tremble slightly, at first--but within the space of a breath, she lets go and straightens, looking up at him. "Love you," she answers, reaching up to touch a hand to his cheek.
Kavi meets Rina's gaze and his hand covers hers for a moment before Ex returns. His fingers close gently around Rina's and he pulls her hand to his side. "Everything. Everything's ready. I finished the salad. And I started the water for tea. For later."
Ex pauses for a moment, just as she reaches the threshold of the kitchen. Her tongue touches her lower lip, and then she turns around again, heading back for the washer. There's the sound of the washer lid, and when she returns, she's not wearing the gloves (though she has pulled the sleeves of her short down a bit farther).
Rina gives Kavi a swift little smile, and kisses him briefly when Ex leaves again; then she turns to head for the table.
A soft smile remains as Kavi pours the water. He brings the pitcher to the table, as well as the glasses. His gaze on Ex, nods to the extra seat and takes his own. "Thank you," he says softly, though it isn't clear to whom he speaks.
(OOC: It was worked out that Sue hadn't actually given her book back in the prior scene.)
Train Tracks
Little more than a break in the lush thickness of the surrounding forest, a set of railway lines make their hesitant way east and west. Woodland dirt and underbrush gives reluctantly over onto gravel, and then to the rusted iron bars themselves; the wood lengths that bridge the span between them at intervals are gnarled and cracked with age, some looking uncomfortably rotten. Long, spiky weeds shoot up defiantly between and amongst the wood and metal, proclaiming clearly that this particular length of track has suffered some disuse in recent times. The sounds here are as soft and natural as anywhere else, and insects make their unhurried ways from flower to stalk unconcerned by the ancient construction.
The beginnings of various small paths twist off through the forest to the north and to the south.
Obvious exits:
West on the Tracks North South
Dagny has arrived.
Summer means that the sun is still above the horizon, even as the evening starts to draw late. Ex has put some considerable distance between herself and Edgewood, setting a rough, brisk pace that has left her a little sweaty, especially as she's still wearing her gloves. On hitting the tracks, she turned east, and that's where she can be found--her pace has slowed, and she's balance walking along one of the rails, her hands held out from her sides like the half spread wings of a very awkward bird. Everything about her speaks to tension, a smoldering anger that's just barely contained.
Kavi has arrived.
There's a crossroads up ahead, where a country road intersects over the tracks. It's still in the distance a ways, and depending on how good Ex's hearing is, she may or may not be aware of a quiet engine whirring down as a truck is turned off. The headlights are off, and it's not viewable from the tracks, hidden by thick foliage that borders the road. The driver's side door creaks as someone exits. It whumps shut a moment later and Dagny moves into view. She stands beside the track, hands in her pockets, something tucked under one arm. Once her eyes are on Ex, the girl may feel a push at her conscious. It's courteous at first, and then she will hear, as if whispered behind her, "We should talk."
Rina has arrived.
Ex comes to an abrupt stop at the sound of an engine dying, a door being opened and closed. Her eyes dart to the trees on either side of the tracks, and she's actually off the rail and halfway down the gravel slope when Dagny's voice springs into her head. She whirls around to where she thinks the voice is coming from, one fist raised...and sees no one.
The Get remains standing still where she is several yards ahead of Ex. Her posture is calm and relaxed, as is the voice that moves to directly beside Ex's ear (or what will be perceived as such by the lost cub). "I am here to return your book, but I would also like to speak with you. There are some things I think we need to discuss without the metis present."
Ex's eyes dart back to the tracks, and finally settle on Dagny's distant figure. Her nostrils flare wide, and her fist lowers (though it does not, noticeably, cease /being/ a fist). She turns toward Dagny and starts walking toward her, quickly, eyes narrowed.
"You are new here. That excuses a lot for you. You do not have a tribe dedicated to teaching you yet. That is a problem. Both for you and for the rest of us. There are rules. Not just Garou rules, but also rules about the places you've been hanging out. Edgewood, for instance. I do not want to turn you away from there, but for the sake of others, I may have to if you do not wish to abide by the rules there." The Get's voice is calm and quiet, as devoid of annoyance as any person's voice can be. Still, it can only be heard by Ex while the Galliard mindspeaks to the cub. Physically, her posture does not change. "You do not have to speak outloud. If you think a response, I will hear you. What is your name?"
"X!" the cub thinks. /Loudly/. And then she says, both out loud and in her head, "That's /my/ fucking sketchbook."
"Yes, it is. And Edgewood is my home, and home to many others. It is a safe haven. Your behaviour has taken away that safety for others, just as I have taken your sketchbook. You don't like having your things taken from you, do you?" The Get thinks to the girl, staring steadily at her as she continues her approach.
Ex breaks into a jog, and she doesn't actually reply until she gets close enough for her words to be audible. "I threw /rocks/," she fairly hisses toward Dagny. "I threw rocks at a fucking wall! That's--" Her eyes go to the thing under Dagny's arm. "That's /my/ thing. You have a whole fucking house. You need my stupid book too?"
"This is a thing that is important to you. It is a symbol, so is Edgewood." Dagny continues to think at the girl instead of speaking out loud. She sighs simply when Ex gets close, still unmoving. "And this book is not stupid. It means something - something big. Having it taken away from you makes you feel as if part of you is missing. You feel that having someone take it away is wrong, don't you?"
Ex briefly shows her teeth and jerks away toward the side. "Just go away. I'm going the fuck away, alright? I'm going."
"Unfortunately, because of what you are, you going away is not an option." This, the Get says verbally. "If you intend to run away, I will be forced to kill you to protect the others. I don't want to do that, and I'm sure you'd rather stay alive." Dag's fingers rap-tap against the cover of the sketchbook. She turns, watching Ex. "It sucks, doesn't it? But it doesn't have to. I want to give this back to you, but I can't do that if you're dead." She raises the sketchbook, holding it in both hands. "No one wants you to go away or be dead."
"No you don't," Ex says, her voice suddenly flat and ice cold. "And yes you do. I'm not playing your fucking game. You people are fucking /sick/. You're as fucking sick as the doctors. Ripping out tongues and killing babies and cutting off fingers and murdering anyone who doesn't want to join your cult-y war and die, and you say /you're/ saving the world, /you're/ the heroes? /Fuck/ that, and fuck /you/. I'm not getting euthanized. If you're going to murder me, I'm going to take your fucking eyes with me."
"I don't know what doctors you're talking about, but yes. You're right. We're fairly sick, if you look at us from a human perspective. We are nightmares, monsters, whatever. If you choose to think of us as some of your drawings, then by god, it's a wonder you haven't tried to run away yet!" Dag then fits the edge of the sketchbook in her palm and flips through a few pages, finding a particularly dark sketch. "Ah, like this one. Yes. The thing you don't understand yet is this: We are this, yes, but you can't even imagine, in the darkest corners of your mind, the kinds of things that we stop from happening. This? This is fucking Blue's Clues compared to what would happen if we didn't do the things we do. And it's all right that you can't imagine it. You haven't seen it yet, and to you, we're tremendously fucked up. I can't make you understand that. You want to be stubborn and you believe you're right, and that's fine. It's not my job to convince you otherwise, but it is my job to keep you from wandering away and making a bigger mess for us to clean up. So, it's your choice. Take your sketchbook and go back to the Greek House where you belong, or I put you down." There's a kind of tired, matter-of-factness to her words at this point.
Ex stares at Dagny for a long, long moment, before her eyes drop to the drawing she's opened to. It's quite a bit of silence before she responds, but when she does, it's quite short. "...You think those are /you/ people?"
"I'm sure these are something else entirely. Possibly related to the literature tucked in between the pages, but I don't know. Frankly, I don't care either. Whatever." She thumbs through a few more pages, quirking an eyebrow. "Either way, you still have a choice to make."
Ex sighs, rolls her eyes, and stabs a gloved finger at the sketchbook. "That's a /bird/," she says of the sparrow bodied, eyeless creature with the serrated beak and twisted feathers, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world, as Dagny pages past it. "/That's/ a doctor." This, of one of the many ill proportioned, hooded and faceless, knife-handed figure throughout the book. "The printouts are research, I got them from the library."
Dagny glances where Ex points, absorbing the information and humming quietly. "Your version seems more appropriate than how doctors try to look in person. Always smiling." The Get wrinkles her nose briefly and shakes her head. She flips a few more pages, stopping on the werewolf. "What about this one? If this isn't one of us, what is it?" She seems genuinely curious now, focusing on Ex's face for input.
Ex's facial muscles tighten. "...Me," she says after a moment. It carries the same kind of 'duh' tone as the rest of it, as if the surreal, monstrous werewolf getting strangled and torn apart should actually be recognizable. "I didn't say you could look."
"It had dirt on it. I brushed it off before the dirt could get trampled into the page." The Get says simply. "I was checking the other pages to make sure that none of them were in danger of falling out. That I saw your artwork was a side effect. A pleasant one, at least. You have a lot of talent. It'd be a shame not to channel it, you know." Dagny's face contorts into a look of concentration for a moment. "Speaking of artwork.. If you're interested, I know something that might work for you. A way to really funnel all that anger and hate and resentment into this." She gives the Sketchbook a firm shake. "I always found that my best work came when I really focused everything I had into it."
Ex reaches for the book. Snatches for it, more like. There's something a little brighter about her eyes, a greater tension in her jaw.
Dagny moves the sketchbook out from the path of the girl's snatching. "Tut tut. That isn't an option."
From along the trail that leads most directly to the highway, two figures can be seen running in the direction of the two garou. They both move quickly, more quickly once they spot Dagny and Ex. The taller of the two holds something in one hand, bulky enough to be clear it isn't just a fist. "Ex!" he calls, lifting the empty hand in the air in an abortive wave.
"Damn," the petite one mutters, keeping pace.
Ex's teeth flash again. "Not a fucking /rat/," she says, low and angry. "I'm not in your /maze/." She jerks her head toward the sound of voices, and if anything she looks even more frustrated. "You brought them too?"
At the sound of approaching footsteps, the Get turns a wary eye toward the approaching pair. "No, I didn't." Her own voice is low, a faint air of irritation. "Seems your keepers have come to collect you, then. Fine by me. I'll be keeping this. Have one of them babysit you at Edgewood if you want to come and talk about getting it back." Dag turns on her heel and, with the sketchbook, walks back toward the crossing and toward the truck sat there.
Kavi starts to slow, but then speeds up again, his gaze darting from one to the other, snagging for a moment on that sketchbook. "What--?" he calls as he nears.
"Ex, you okay?" Rina calls out, her course taking her toward the cub rather than the Get.
Ex stands still, unchanging. If she hears Kavi or Rina this time, it isn't clear. Her reaction is delayed by at least twenty to thirty seconds, but when it comes, it's immediate. The cub surges forward, black furred, mindless monstrosity, lunging in Dagny's direction.
The delay was enough. Dagny had reached, and climbed into, the truck. The engine had turned over and the Get was already turning around and pressing her foot to the gas pedal. Despite the speed, Ex's lunge will be met with dirt road as the truck speeds off down the road, tail lights obscured by thick clouds of dust.
Kavi detours quickly toward truck, toward cub, shifting as he moves. Still, it takes him precious seconds to reach the frenzied cub.
Rina backpedals rapidly, trying to get out of the Garou's path--human reflexes far slower than Crinos speed.
In those precious seconds, Rogue falls upon the spot that the truck has just vacated, tearing up chunks of hard-packed dirt and stones, dragging huge furrows into the road itself, cracking the boards of the old track. Anything that smells like the departed Get is crunched and torn, but this is to the exclusion of even so much as noticing the oncoming Kavi, or the backpedaling Rina. She lets out a howl that sounds like it belongs to a wounded animal, a sound of frustration and pain and sheer, unending fury.
Rina stands still, breathing a little fast with adrenaline.
Bridge Builder slows once again, and he casts a glance to Rina before approaching the cub. He moves slowly, and as he does, he shrinks down from crinos to glabro. "Ex," he says, as gently as the form allows.
By the time he reaches her, the frenzy has given way to more mindful, if no less destructive or emotional actions. Rogue pounds the road as hard as she can, silent now, then seizes one of the broken railway ties and hurls it away from her into the woods. A heavy, snorting breath forces its way out of her nostrils, through her clenched teeth.
Kavi looks back to Rina again, but his gaze doesn't linger on the kin once he's found her. Instead, he picks up a larger rock from near where the cub works her destruction and throws it, hard as he can, into the woods chasing the railroad tie.
Rina keeps her distance, letting the Crinos... chat this out.
Rogue throws a few more things after Kavi's rock. When she shifts, it's once again abrupt, right back to homid, and it's once again violent: she levels several furious, if rather weak at this point, punches at Kavi's torso. There's nothing calculating about them. It's pure emotion.
Kavi holds still against the onslaught, arms held out to the side, palms forward. He stays silent, as well, not even trying to speak until the fury is spent.
Eventually, though it takes quite a while, Ex's exhaustion outweighs her desire to hit things. She slows, and stops, and then slumps a step back from him. There are no tears. Not even a hint of tears.
Rina watches, both arms wrapped around herself.
Kavi staggers back a step, when the punches finally stop, and his breath catches in his throat and then restarts. He swallows, retaking his position of a moment before, just a step from the cub. "It's okay," he whispers, and slowly slips back down to homid. "It's okay."
Ex inhales sharply, and then finds sound again. "No it's /not/. It's not fucking okay. I gotta go, Kavi. I gotta /go/. She was going to kill me, and it wasn't going to mean anything to her."
"*No* one is gonna kill you, Ex," Rina says fiercely, finally taking a few steps toward them.
"/No/ one," Kavi repeats, and he glances down the road after the long departed truck. "No one. We're here. We won't let them."
"They're sick!" Ex says angrily. "They're fucking /sick/. Cutting off fingers, tearing out tongues, killing /babies/, locking people up! Why are you with them? You and Fezzik and the cheerful girl, the dirty girl, why don't you leave? Or kill them! Or burn their fucking house down, the greedy fucking /bitch/."
Pressing her lips together, Rina gives a swift shake of her head and looks to Kavi.
Kavi's eyes close for a brief second and he shakes his head as well. "Because. Because we need them." His brow furrows and he takes a sidestep back to include Rina more fully. "I know-- We're not perfect. But. If we killed them? Even if we left them? We'd become worse than they are. We can only..." He pulls in a breath and holds it for a beat before trying to speak again. "We need to hold them to the laws. And. And be the examples, become the leaders, so. So the things that shouldn't happen, /don't/ happen."
"They don't /care/," Ex says around gulps of air. "Phil told me your laws today. He was mad the Other Bitch wasn't following the respect people below you one, but /he/ doesn't follow it. /She/ doesn't follow it." She stabs a finger a the road. "It's just like anywhere, they can do whatever they fucking want and take whatever they fucking want because they can hurt you."
Rina winces, and says nothing--letting Kavi handle this.
Kavi frowns, and his shoulders roll backward a little, posture straightening. "Do you... Will you tell us what happened?"
"It doesn't matter." Ex scratches furiously at her cheek scars with one hand. "I threw rocks at the Greedy Bitch's house."
Rina takes a slow breath. "Who's the Greedy Bitch?"
Kavi looks down the road again, his eyes narrowing as if he could still make out the truck. "Whose house?" he asks along with Rina as he returns.
"The..." Ex pauses, and her frown intensifies. "/Her/." She points at the road again. "The Greedy Bitch. The...The Edge house."
"Edgewood, must be?" Rina looks over to Kavi. "Who was the girl?"
Kavi's brow furrows. "One of the Get. A galliard... Dagny, I think. I didn't know she was back." He shakes his head. "That's not her house. That's... That's the Sept's house."
"She said it was hers," Ex says hotly, more angry without a focus than being actively combative, for once. "She said it was hers, and I can't come back without a fucking /babysitter/, and she fucking /stole/ my /book/ and my /research/, because she's a greedy fucking BITCH, and then she came and found me and /looked/ at it in front of me, and wouldn't give it back, and then she /left/."
Rina straightens a fraction. "For fuck's sake," she mutters.
Kavi's lips pull back from his teeth, and he glares in the direction that the truck departed. His breathing changes, and it takes a moment for him to bring it back to normal. "She had no right," he whispers under his breath.
"Doesn't matter," Ex says, a little thickly. "Just let me go, okay? I'll be careful. I'll be away from people every full moon, I promise."
"Ex," Rina says quietly, "you're part of us. You're *not* a monster and you're not--what those fucking doctors put in your head, you're *more* than that."
Kavi swallows hard, and nods at Rina's words. It's a moment more before he's reined his anger in enough to speak for himself. "You're better than they are. Better than the ones who don't understand. And you still... You still have a lot to learn. You don't have to be around them. You don't have to be /like/ them."
Ex breathes deeply again. "She did understand. She knew it hurt, that's why she did it. And Phil likes her. And I don't want to go to her fucking stupid house anyway, unless I'm bringing fucking matches. She said werewolves are monsters, and she said I couldn't imagine what werewolves protect people from, and /FUCK/. /HER/."
"God *dammit*," Rina mutters, turning away and taking a few steps.
Kavi takes another deep breath and holds it, his fingers clenching into fists at his sides. "She had no right," Kavi whispers harshly, under his breath. He shakes his head, perhaps to clear it, and looks back to Ex. "Come back with us? For tonight? And we'll get your sketchbook back. We can eat, and. And after. We can talk about what you want to do."
Ex looks hesitant. "I'm supposed to be back at the Fury house before dawn." Nevermind she was clearly going to violate that earlier. "I've been doing it every night."
Kavi nods. "We'll call," he says, glancing once to Rina. His throat is still tight, and his voice carries the sound of his tension. "We'll let them know what happened. Where you are. After... We can talk about what you want to do, and if you want to go back there. And. And what they need to do to keep you safe."
Ex starts to say something, but then she stops, and nods several times. "Okay." A breath. "Okay. After we eat."
Rina nods, satisfied. "Yeah. Let's do that," she says, turning and giving Kavi a look of utter gratitude.
Kavi lets out a breath and some of the tension with it. He reaches for Rina's hand, to give it a quick squeeze. Then he nods down the path through which they came, and leads the way.
Tenement Building - Ground Floor(#2451RJ)
The ground floor of the apartment building is taken up mainly by the lobby, an open space with the front doors at one end and the elevator and the door leading to the stairwell at the other. The floor is covered in black and white tile in a checkerboard pattern, and the walls have been painted a neutral grey shade. A couch, two squashy armchairs, and two wooden chairs have been set up in a rough semi-circle around a square wooden coffee table, facing toward the front doors and positioned so as not to interfere with any traffic moving between there and the stairs. The furniture does not seem to be very old, but it has been well-worn in its short lifetime. A few potted plants have been set in corners, to give the old lobby a more welcoming atmosphere.
To the right of the main doors are mailboxes for building residents, and off to the left is the doorway into a cramped rental office (see +view), and other doors that lead to the building's large laundry room.
Contents:
Kavi(#3249PJOc)
Obvious exits:
Stairs Salem's Apartment Out
Rina has arrived.
Ex has been quiet the entire drive. Utterly so; she hasn't said one single word since getting into the car, even to direct questions, but she does seem...if not necessarily more relaxed, then certainly more pensive than angry. There's no sign of anxiety when they enter the Tenement either, no hesitation or second thoughts. She has her gloved hands stuffed into the pockets of her still somewhat oversized jeans. Likely, she's clutching her switchblade.
"Your place?" Rina asks Kavi. "Might be better if we don't have company, yeah?"
Kavi is also quiet, as Rina drives, letting the tension of the situation slowly fade. He smiles, just a little, as they enter the tenement, and then looks across to Rina when she speaks. His brow furrows, as if the question confuses him, but after a moment he nods. "That's... That's a good idea. And. Maybe ziti?"
Ex nods faintly at the suggestion of ziti.
"Yeah," Rina says quietly, leading the way upstairs.
Tenement Building - Kavi's Apartment(#1617RJh)
The apartment isn't spacious, but it's certainly enough for a studio. Sparse furnishings are both utilitarian and warm, and the atmosphere of the whole is comfortable pragmatism.
The carpet is the same dark brown that lines the hall, the short pile easy to care for. Directly to the left of the entrance, behind the door, is a large closet. To the right is a desk built of cinderblocks and an old door. The left leg of the desk is formed of a two-drawer file cabinet. By the heater not far from the door is a blue canvas dog bed, mostly clean except for a few stray black hairs.
Beyond this entry/work area is a more conversational space. A futon of with a forest green cover sits at an angle in the far corner, wedged between two large windows. A torchiere behind the futon sheds a warm light over the room. When the futon is not pulled out as a sleeping pallet, a coffee table sits in front. Like the nesting tables to the side and the dresser nestled in the corner by the closet, the table shows enough wear that it was likely rescued from Good Will, or a trash day at the end of semester at SCCU.
To the right of this sitting area is a galley style kitchen. An open counter separates the kitchen from the rest of the apartment, and provides the only obvious dining space. A door leads from the kitchen into the bathroom.
The only really notable features of a personal nature are the two paintings. One is hung on the wall above the desk, clearly visible from almost every angle in the main area of the apartment. The other holds the prominent space to the left of the door.
Contents:
Kavi(#3249PJOc)
Obvious exits:
Out
Rina has arrived.
Kavi unlocks the door and steps inside. "Do you want to call, now?" he asks Ex as he starts taking off his boots.
"Okay," Ex says, the first word out of her mouth since they left the train tracks. "Tell them it's just for tonight." She rubs at a smudge of dirt on the side of her nose.
Rina heads for the kitchen, right away. "You want a shower, Ex?" she casts back over her shoulder. "We can give you some clean clothes, if you want."
Kavi pulls out his phone once the boots are off, and pushes the button to dial the phone at the Fury house. Apparently no one answers, because after a few seconds he speaks again, leaving a brief message. It does, as Ex requests, state that she's only with them for the night, and also asks that Melodie return his call as soon as possible.
"Kevin made these stick," Ex 'explains', plucking at the front of her hoodie. "They're really dirty though. I kept waking up on the ground." She glances toward the bathroom.
Rina nods. "We can still wash them," she says. "They're not... stuck to you."
Kavi closes the phone and pockets it again. "I can-- If you want? If you want different clothes? I can dedicate them, for you," he offers as he moves to the counter separating living room from kitchen.
Ex considers, then shakes her head. "No, I like these. Riley bought them. We can wash them though." She pulls her hands out of her pockets--yes, she /was/ clutching her switchblade, because there it is, still clenched in her fist--and pulls off the hoodie itself. She looks at it once it's in her hand, and pinches the fabric from below with two fingers.
"I'll get food going, Kavi?" Rina calls out.
Kavi opens his mouth, closes it again, and then goes to the closet. There isn't a hoodie, but he does offer Ex some loose fitting clothes that should at least be vaguely comfortable. He nods toward the bathroom door. "Do you know how to use the washer?"
Ex takes the new clothes, and then she has to hesitate again. Her mouth opens a little, and her forehead creases. Then the spell ends, and she turns away toward the bathroom. "Yeah."
Rina busies herself in the kitchen.
Kavi nods. "If--" He cuts off, though, and simply nods again. Once the door to the bathroom is closed he turns, and sets up the small table for the three of them.
It doesn't take long for the shower turn on, and it runs for quite some time.
Kavi looks back toward the door once, but he smiles as he comes to Rina's side.
The ziti's in the oven, and Rina is washing some greens for a salad; his presence makes her pause a moment, looking over to him, a tightness around her eyes.
Kavi shakes his head, and glances again to the bathroom door. "It'll be okay," he whispers as he returns to her, a hand coming to her shoulder.
Rina presses her lips together hard, her jaw tightening. "It's one fucking step forward and two back," she says, low and taut.
Kavi's gaze drops downward and he swallows, his own jaw clenching for a moment. But he shakes his head when he returns again. "She's here. She... After what-- After all that? She still came here, and. And was worried about... About them? It's hard, and. And I won't let what happened go unanswered... But she's not... She didn't fall back."
"Worried about who?" Rina asks softly, tearing the romaine.
Kavi pulls in a breath and holds it for a beat. "The Furies. Worried about... about following their curfew. Their rules. Even... Even after all that? Even wanting to run..." He swallows again. "It's good."
Rina's brow furrows, and she takes a slow breath. "Right."
Kavi mirrors her breath and steps in behind Rina. His arms wrap around her in an embrace that may, despite his intentions, interfere with her salad making process. "It'll be okay."
The shower shuts off, and there's the sound of the curtain being drawn back. Nothing further, for the moment.
Rina lets her hands still, as she relaxes back into him. "I'm just so fucking worried," she says quietly. "I know she needs the woods, I *know* that, but-- I thought she was just gonna be at the Fury place, not exposed to every fucking asshole out there..."
Kavi offers a small nod, just barely felt. "Before she goes back-- If that's what she wants? Before she goes back, I. I want to make sure they understand. They need to... to keep her safe. They need to know what that means."
There's a tiny noise from the bathroom, faint enough that it's not entirely clear if it's genuine. It sounds something like a gulping hiccup.
Rina tenses instantly, straightening a fraction.
Kavi's embrace tightens as well, though he makes no other move.
There are others that follow the first, just as quiet, if shorter and closer together. It lasts for maybe a minute, before it either stops, or grows quiet enough that it can't leak through the closed bathroom door.
Rina's pulling away from Kavi before thirty seconds have passed.
Kavi holds a bit longer, even as Rina starts to pull away, and his hand slips to hers as she leaves his embrace. He looks toward the door and then back to Rina, brow furrowed.
The interior of the bathroom remains quiet.
There's a quiet knock at the door. "Ex?" Rina asks softly.
It takes a moment for a response. Long enough for a swallow and a throat clear, at least, but Ex's voice still sounds shaky. "Yeah?"
Kavi's eyes close for a moment, but he doesn't interfere.
"You decent?" Rina asks, her voice still quiet.
There's another longer than necessary pause. "Yeah."
Rina swallows. "Can I come in, for a sec?" she asks.
Kavi catches his lower lip between his teeth and pulls in a breath, but still, he doesn't try to stop her.
A shorter beat. "Okay."
Rina slips inside, and doesn't shut the door behind her. Her expression is taut with worry. She keeps more than a step between them.
Kavi remains outside, and out of sight of the door, working on the salad that Rina abandoned.
Ex is sitting on the floor, with her back to the tub. She's changed into the clothes Kavi gave her, and her old clothes are lying in a very teenager-appropriate heap on the floor next to her. All but the gloves Nick gave her, which, despite being in dire need of a washing themselves, she has pulled right back on. A towel is draped over her shoulders. If there were tears, they're nowhere to be seen now, though her eyes are reddish, and red-rimmed. She doesn't really look up at Rina as the kin enters.
Rina swallows. Her voice is very quiet. "I-- I'd really like to touch you, for a sec, if you'll let me." She drops to a relaxed crouch, about arm's length away.
Ex blinks a few times, and her gaze wobbles a little over the floor, slightly unfocused. She swallows herself. "Yeah. Okay."
Taking a ragged breath, Rina rolls forward onto her knees, to kneel right beside Ex--definitely in personal space. She doesn't move fast, and all the while she's taking in every small movement or reaction.
Ex's head lowers a little more, and she doesn't look at Rina. There's definitely a lingering sense of unease, but there's no sign that it's about to bloom into anything worse, anything aggressive.
A hand's set gingerly in neutral territory, on the back of a shoulder. Slowly, carefully, the older woman leans in until this becomes a one-armed embrace--the avenue of escape left open, that second arm never coming to curve around the front.
Ex's head tips forward a little--just a little, a tiny fraction--toward Rina. And then, unmistakably, there's another hiccup swallow, which slides right into her voice, which is very, very quiet. "They were downstairs in the hall." A single, shaky breath. "We used Tide."
Rina takes a slow, long breath, and lets it out equally slowly. She gives a little nod against Ex's head.
Ex doesn't say anything further. There's another, single gulping breath, a slight tremor in her arms, and silence.
"Okay," Rina says softly. "Okay." The second arm finally joins the first, though the embrace is loose, unconfining.
Ex allows it for a little while. A minute, perhaps. Eventually she draws away, though there's nothing quick or forceful about her movements. There's the sense that, perhaps, she's a little beyond quick or forceful at all right now. She looks drained.
The salad is finished, and Kavi sets the kettle on to boil.
"You need anything?" Rina asks softly, as she sits back on her heels. One hand gives a quick little swipe to each cheek.
Ex scoops up the dirty, discarded clothes, and shakes her head. She slides rather smoothly to her feet and steps out into the rest of the apartment.
Rina actually stays back for a moment or two, and washes her hands, the sink running briefly.
Kavi looks toward the bathroom as Ex steps out. "Water," he asks. "Or juice?"
"Water," Ex says, after a moment's hesitation.
Kavi nods and turns to the fridge to pull out the pitcher.
Ex turns to take her load to the washer, and put it in. There's a faint hesitation in every movement as she goes about it, but none long enough to suggest that she's truly uncertain about any of the steps.
Rina comes out of the bathroom, passing Ex with a little touch to her shoulder. "Scusa," she says quietly. She heads straight for Kavi, wrapping both arms around his waist and clinging tight.
Kavi sets the pitcher down on the counter and turns in Rina's arms. "I love you," he whispers as he wraps his arms around her in turn.
Ex glances toward Rina at the touch. She proceeds to add the detergent, set the wash cycle, and then close the lid. She pauses for a moment there, listening to the washer start up, before she turns to head back to the kitchen.
Rina's tense enough to tremble slightly, at first--but within the space of a breath, she lets go and straightens, looking up at him. "Love you," she answers, reaching up to touch a hand to his cheek.
Kavi meets Rina's gaze and his hand covers hers for a moment before Ex returns. His fingers close gently around Rina's and he pulls her hand to his side. "Everything. Everything's ready. I finished the salad. And I started the water for tea. For later."
Ex pauses for a moment, just as she reaches the threshold of the kitchen. Her tongue touches her lower lip, and then she turns around again, heading back for the washer. There's the sound of the washer lid, and when she returns, she's not wearing the gloves (though she has pulled the sleeves of her short down a bit farther).
Rina gives Kavi a swift little smile, and kisses him briefly when Ex leaves again; then she turns to head for the table.
A soft smile remains as Kavi pours the water. He brings the pitcher to the table, as well as the glasses. His gaze on Ex, nods to the extra seat and takes his own. "Thank you," he says softly, though it isn't clear to whom he speaks.
