faelans_folly | [Open - Area Around Irish Coffee After Midnight]

everywere posting in

I check all the locks and alarms again, even though I did that all on my last sweep. Routine is both an enemy and an ally. As long as I don't use the routine to become lazy and remain alert, it's my ally. Not that this place is a likely target but lack of vigilance is an enemy.

I can hear the training drilled into my head, even if I don't remember where and when it came from. Like everything else I know it's just there. No memory of how or why, just there.

I hear a sound, faint, but definitely there. No human could hear it, but then I'm not human. I don't know what I am, exactly, but I'm not human.

I sweep the flashlight back and forth, although I keep it on more to blind others than help me see. I can see perfectly in the dark, just like I can hear things a human shouldn't. I take a deep breath and I can smell that whatever it is, it's a human. Or at least smells similar to a human.

"Who's there?" I call out.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

irishcoffee

Maggie muttered to herself all the way back to the shop.

All right, it was a three block walk, but still. It was one in the morning and a time she'd sure as hell rather be buried in her comforter and not walking down the deserted Folly streets to pull the fruit from the freezer to the fridge so she wasn't making her tarts with popsicles in a few hours. Still muttering I start digging through the messenger bag around my shoulders for the keys.

"Why do they always go to the bottom?"

Her head snapped up when she heard the voice. "It's just me. Looking for my keys as usual."

From:

everywere

Up close I can smell her better and she smells like... the mountains. Fresh air, running water, trees growing out of the earth and a campfire. The wolf part of me wants to howl. Closer to the full moon and I might have. There's more though, I can smell the coffee and flour on her, which gives me an idea who it is.

"Can I see some ID?" I ask. I'm sure it's her, all my senses tell me it is, but it's a bad idea to only rely on that. Trust your instincts but verify. Another axiom of training I don't remember getting.

From:

irishcoffee

Maggie snorted. "Seriously? You're going to ask for my ID? You know a lot of people who'd be trying to get into this shop at one in the morning, in my nightgown and bare feet?"

Still, she reached into the bag then sighed. "It's on the kitchen table. My wallet. Why don't we just go inside when I find the key, I'll make you coffee."

From:

everywere

"You think everyone breaking in dresses in ski masks?" I ask, although for the first time I notice what she's wearing and my eyes go a bit wide and a heat flush through me. It's one of the downsides of being what I am, many animals have a very healthy sexual appetite. That and the constant, agonizing pain are the downsides.

Fortunately I'm used to dealing with them.

"Stopping for coffee will slow my rounds significantly," I say, part of me wondering if that's her purpose all along. Breaking the routine. I know it's unlikely, but not impossible. "But why don't you get your keys so you can show me your ID."

I also move in front of her because as deserted as it is out here, her nightgown doesn't hide much.

From:

irishcoffee

"Right, because harassing me for my ID is definitely going to keep you right on schedule," Maggie sighed and wished, not for the first time that there was even one elemental thing about her keys so she could pull them from the depths of her bag.

"Really," she asked turning to look over her shoulder and causing one shoulder of her gown to fall halfway down her upper arm. "Is this really necessary?"

From:

everywere

"No. You could have remembered to bring your ID with you and we'd be done with this by now," I say, keeping my eyes on the street. I can hear and smell a group of people coming. Drunk. Loud. The shaking of spray cans. I've warned them off several times before so they must be more determined this time. This might not go well.

"But I suggest you find your keys quickly and get inside."

From:

irishcoffee

"Why? Is there a rush of mad murdering thieves running up and down the main street this time of night?" Maggie shot back, exasperated. Finally, she just dumped the whole damned thing onto the ground and pulled the keyring up. "Finally."

She unlocked the door and pushed it open, gesturing him in. "Be my guest. I'll be in as soon as I get this stuff all put back in my bag."

From:

everywere

"Stay inside," I tell her, putting my hand behind me, gently pressing against her hip before stepping forward.

I don't want this confrontation, it's why I took this job. How often does a security guard have to fight people? I'm supposed to be a deterrent just by being here. Already I'm starting to assess my situation though. Almost unconsciously I've kept my face out of the cameras in this area and I'm moving so that my back is to the shop to prevent them from attacking me from more than 180 degrees. Part of me wants this fight, wants the violence, wants to hurt anyone that would dare attack me.

"Rent-a-cop, you here?" one of them shouts and the rest laugh. Eight of them, more than usual. Not enough, especially not when they're drunk.

"Go home," I tell them, keeping my flashlight pointed at the ground.

"No, asshole, you go home," the same one shouts, causing the rest to laugh.

My lips curl back in a sneer I can't hide. A predator gesture, showing my killing teeth. Not that they're smart enough to know what it means. Two are holding bottles of alcohol. Liquid courage.

They circle around in front of me and one of them lunges toward me with a crowbar. I shine my light if the face of another as I move to meet the attacker. I don't even have to speed myself up, they have no training or tact. Just stupidity.

I grab his wrist and twist. He screams in pain and the crowbar drops to the ground with a loud clang. I shove him back and turn to face my next attacker, smacking him in the nose with my flashlight. There's a loud crack and another scream as he stumbles back. Broken but not badly, enough to take him out of the fight.

It's all instinct now. Assess and eliminate the threats. Action reaction. The animal side of me is howling for blood but the training is so ingrained the animal side doesn't take over.

Then one of them, the leader, raises his hand and throws one of the bottles of alcohol at me. Inhumanely fast I catch it and throw it back. Only too late do I realize my mistake. The bottle isn't for drinking, it's a molotov cocktail.

"No!" I scream, but it's too late. It hits him in the chest and shatters, the alcohol drenching him and lighting him up on fire like a match.

Stupid. Stupid fucking mistake. The training and the animal side don't care about casualties like I do and because of that some punk kid is going to die and I'll have killed him.

From:

irishcoffee

One thing Maggie has always kept to the subtle side is her magic. She'll stir the air, light the fireplace, use air currents to carry things to her. And sometimes, on very bad days, her magic would influence the weather around them.

Watching the bottle fly, she knew it was no time for subtle.

Maggie stepped from around the man and brought her hand down in a sharp arch, calling the air in a straightline draft that his with the power of a weak tornado - enough to blow the flames off of him entirely and into the street where the gas burned harmlessly. With her other, she pulled water from the fountain across the square. Pulled it, and pulled cold from the air, then combined the two over the shaking boy.

When she was sure he was out of danger. She pulled her magic back and leaned back heavily against the glass front to her cafe. She turned to one of the other punks. "Take him to the hospital," she said in a voice nothing like the sweet one she was known for. This voice was deadly, "and do not show your faces here again."

From:

everywere

I've yet to come up against a situation that I don't know how to react to. I had thought, before this, I was trained to deal with anything. Maybe it's the shock of what I had done but I have no idea how to react to what happens next. One moment the kid is on fire and the next he's soaking wet.

The hair raises on the back of my neck at the energy in the air and the animal part of me wants to snarl, wants to rip the throats out of the pack of stupid kids that showed up here. It's all I can do to push that part of me down though, kneeling down on the ground, hunched over and curled up as I try to keep myself from shifting. Some part of my body recognizes the energy and sees it as dangerous. I don't want to fight anything though, I already almost killed someone today.

I take deep breaths, drawing the air in and huffing it out, trying to calm myself. There's no need to fight. No need to kill.

From:

irishcoffee

Maggie frowned when the crackle against her skin didn't let up when she released the magic. The boys were gone, the water and wind were gone.

But the man was curled in on himself and shaking. She touched his shoulder and it was like a live wire. She didn't know what it was...but she was willing to bet it wasn't good. Even with her strength waning, Maggie stepped into the shop and wrapped him in a current of air, lifting him into the shop and closing the door behind them. With a flick, she locked the door and pocketed the key. Whatever happened would happen here, the residents would be safe.

"Talk to me," she said softly. "What's happening?"

From:

everywere

Something is happening and I can feel myself moving. The animal side of me wants to thrash around and roar in defiance and it's all I can do to spot that. My teeth ache and I can feel my skin itching and burning as a pelt of fur tries to push through. I'm lucky this is so soon after the full moon or I might have lost it already.

"Don't- don't touch me," I huff, staying curled up in a ball. My fists are clenched tight, nails digging into my palms. I force myself to relax my hands. Pain is one of the things that can trigger the change. I close my eyes and focus on my breathing, making it steady.

"Don't do anything to me. Just leave me alone," I tell her. My heart is pounding in my ears and I work on that next, calming it down, slowing it. If I can get that under control I won't force a shift.

From:

irishcoffee

"I won't touch you. I won't do anything. You're safe here."

Now that she could see him, and really pay attention, she thought she had a pretty good idea about what was happening. It wasn't the first time she'd seen a shifter in action, and she didn't think it would be the last. that didn't make it any less disconcerting, especially considering she wasn't sure what he would turn into.

"Whatever you need to do, you're safe here. You can't hurt me."

From:

everywere

I close my eyes and shut her out. Shut everything out. The closer I am to shifting the more the silver in my tattoos burn. If I go much further I'll have to strip down or my clothes with catch on fire from it. Oddly enough, the smells in here help. Bread, coffee, fruits. Calming smells, non-threatening spells.

After what feels like a long moment my teeth stop to hurt and my skin doesn't feel like it's about to sprout a fur coat anymore. I'm sweating despite the cool temperature but I know I've got it under control now. One good thing about fighting back a shift is that it leaves the animal part of me too tired to try again anytime soon. I could force it if I needed to but I don't see that likely.

Slowly standing up I notice the burning smell and look at my clothes. Part of my security uniform is singed where my tattoos have burned through. If that's the worse that happened though, I'll take it. I turn to look at the woman and notice that she's still here. Seeing her sends a flush of heat through my, animal instincts telling me that sex is even better than violence.

"So. You got that ID?"

From:

irishcoffee

Maggie couldn't help it. She started laughing. "Seriously? You're seriously still asking for my ID after what just..."

Shaking her head and muttering to herself, she went to the drawer under the register and rummaged through it until she found her ID from the college where she still guest taught a few of the pastry classes. She handed it over to him.

"There you go," she huffed, laughter and indignation warring for dominance. "That set your little heart to rest that I'm not some other witch roaming the street in front of my own shop?"

From:

everywere

The ID isn't important but I don't know what else to do after that. I've never lost control like that in front of someone before. In the back of my mind my training tells me to kill her, to eliminate any witnesses. Fortunately that's an easy impulse to ignore.

I take the ID and look at it and then her face, examining the picture. I make sure.to keep my eyes on her face and only her face, as difficult as it is to do.

"Thank you, ma'am," I say, handing it back to her. "Everything appears to be in order."

From:

irishcoffee

What the hell, she thought, she'd never been known for smart decisions.

Instead of taking the ID back, she reached further and took his wrist. "Not so fast. You've been here a while, but we've yet to actually talk face to face. You disappeared before I could say anything. What is your name? And mind telling me what just happened?"

From:

everywere

I'm careful not to jerk my hand back, that's suspicious behavior. Her touch is calm though, she's calm. Not scared despite what happened. Normal people are freaked out by that sort of thing, which sets off more alarm bells in my head.

"I'm Jack," I say, pointing to the name on my security uniform. "Most people don't talk to their night security guard ever, so don't worry. And I had a panic attack is all."

From:

irishcoffee

"You know," Maggie said, fingers still on his hand, "if you pull my other leg, it plays a tune. That was no panic attack, Jack. I'm not entirely sure what it was, and I'm sure there was some panic in there, but that wasn't all it was."

She tried to catch his eyes with hers. "I meant what I said during. You're safe here."

From:

everywere

I can tell she's telling the truth from the way she smells and the sound of her heartbeat. I look at her hand on mine and back up to her. Not in the eyes, too many things have power over you if you look them in the eyes. Another piece of information I know without knowing how.

"What makes you think I need someplace safe?"

From:

irishcoffee

"Doesn't everyone?" Maggie countered. "I can tell you're hiding something, but there's more than that. I've seen it in the shell shocked, and in wounded animals. Skittish and a little afraid but trying to present an outwardly fierce shell."

She gave his hand just a little pressure.

From:

everywere

"I'm fine," I say, looking at her hand again and back at her. It's a lie, but I don't know what else to do. There isn't anyone here like me, I've looked, and no one who can help me that I can tell. I'm in this by myself and there's nothing to be gained by opening up, is there?

"I just... I lost control for a moment," I say, the image of the boy catching fire all too fresh in my mind. "I didn't mean to hurt that boy. I- If that was you that saved him, thank you. I was trying not to hurt them badly..."

From:

irishcoffee

"That boy," Maggie snarled and a little thread of anger filled her voice, "will be finding himself in jail tomorrow as soon as I can get ahold of Levi. You did nothing but throw something that was thrown at you back at him. I believe the popular phrasing refers to living and dying by the sword. As for the rest of them, they could have all used a little more fear put in them and hopefully they've received just that."

Her point made as vehemently as she could while keeping herself calm, she put her attention back on Jack. "What happens when you lose control?"

From:

everywere

"He didn't deserve to be lit on fire," I say. Some sense pounded into him? Definitely. But a stupid kid doesn't deserve to be lit on fire. It's extremely painful, somehow I know that from personal experience and I shudder at the memory. I also know I can survive it.

"And bad things happen when I lose control. Usually for other people."

From:

irishcoffee

"Then he shouldn't have lit the fuse," Maggie affirmed. "There are enough problems in the world without taking responsibility for ones you had no control over."

Then she took a bigger risk and took his other hand with hers. "Bad things can cover a lot of ground. Tell me what happens."